A/N: Walks in 6 months late with Starbucks. And Sam Braddock still isn't mine.

Dispatch had called a few minutes earlier to alert ER doctors of an incoming officer in critical condition, so by the time the ambulance had arrived, the floor was clear and several of the surgeons were already scrubbing in. Like a burst of noise, the lobby was slapped into life as the SRU officer was rushed quickly towards an exam room. The paramedics were quick to explain the readings they had taken during the drive.

"I have a GSW to the abdomen, massive bloodloss. BP 74/42; pulse 142; respiration 34 shallow and diminished on the left side."

There was a countdown, and then the board was lifted from trolley, carefully moving the injured former soldier onto an examination table. From there, the room was flushed out except for the attending physician barking out orders to his nurses, who hurried to retrieve the necessary equipment and medication.

And as a nearby machine began to blip out the trembling beat of his physical heart, his true heart rested somewhere else.

XXXXX

"Subject is down."

And so was Jules, dropping to her knees besides the fallen older male. Though she knew it would be acting against protocol, she did not hesitate to push away the lifeless body to get a better look at the man Team One had been looking for the entire day.

The first thing she noticed was how pale he looked. That appearance of charming confidence and cockiness was no longer there; it was almost like this form was not Sam Braddock at all. Sam never, ever looked like this. Not him. Even when he was upset, there was some life to him. This was...

Jules felt arms wrapping around her from behind, pulling her back, which she fought instinctively. She didn't understand what they were doing or why, even as Greg forced her to face him. On the other side of Sam, Raf was doing the same to Rebecca, while smoke still wafted from the mouth of Spike's gun though it rested at his side. Ed was inspecting their fallen blonde comrade, pressing the fingers of one hand against his neck for a pulse while the others applied pressure to the wound on Sam's stomach.

She didn't understand; This was Sam. Why weren't they letting her get close to him? That should be her being there for him! He needed to know she was there!

As her eyes shifted back to the Boss, a blink brought everything into focus. He had pulled apart the front of her gear, staring down at something.

"Jules, you've been shot."

It was like she was hearing the words through underwater glass. They didn't make any sense, and yet as her attention was brought to the bullet hole in the material at her side, Jules realized that something hurt.

XXXXX

"No, you don't understand!"

Spike arguing with Inspector Stainton, who had arrived on scene to escort him to his SIU interview and was insisting they leave right away.

"Constable Scarlatti, you know standard procedure-"

"Just let me make a call, okay? I need to call someone." I need to tell Nat about her brother.

"Constable, if you have information that is vital to any ongoing investigation, you have an obligation to tell me."

"It's not that, I just - Natalie." His eyes flicked to the men loading Sam up onto a cart. "I have to be the one to tell her about this."

"Well, you can't." Stainton wasn't going to argue about this; two more officers came up from behind. "You can call her after SIU's done with you."

Spike let out a huff of frustration, already feeling the weight of everything piling on his shoulder. Today, he had seen Sam hurt as well as the evidence of the kinds of actions that resulted in that hurt. He had killed a man on the job in order to protect one of his own. And with all of that, there was just something worse about knowing that all of this didn't just happen to Sam or himself- it happened to Natalie, and she didn't even know it yet.

"I'll call her, man," a voice broke through his thoughts. Spike turned to find a sympathetic expression from Raf. Raf was the rookie now, still trying to find his place in the family, but that didn't mean he didn't feel any less when any one of them suffered.

The inspector mumbled something about not talking to witness officers, but Ed was quick to step up. "Can you just give us one second? Our teammate was shot today." It was spoken in a tone that few had ever challenged, and Stainton had never been one of those people in the past- and he wasn't going to start today. With barely a nod of his head, he stepped back, though still in listening range.

"Boss is going with Jules," the team leader informed them. Both Spike and Raf glanced in her direction and felt the weight of the sight of Greg at her side. "Spike, you're going to go and give your statement. And Raf..." There was a slight pause. "You're probably better off picking up Natalie so she doesn't have to worry about driving."

"What about you?" Spike tilted his head just before the officers from before came and insisted they had to leave at that moment. With him gone, Ed chose to give his other teammate the answer to the question posed before him.

"I'm going to the Bryans'."

A/N: I want to apologize for the ridiculous delay on this. My harddrive has failed several times between updates, and there's nothing more frustrating than losing whole chapters of something you've already written and having to write it again. I also started watching Rookie Blue in my absence, and I've already begun working on a few new fic ideas for crossovers and whatnot. But anyway... I plan on posting the next chapter tomorrow morning, because it's 3am where I live right now and I've got class, son!

As always, review and favorite! Your support is as sweet as surprise Cle Bennett cameos. :3