A/N:So it turns out that I have picked a title that is already in use by another RB fanfic. But no point in changing it... lets just share it!

Sam parked the car at the edge of the cordoned off zone. There was an ambulance already parked there and another squad car. They hurried out of the car and he lifted the tape for her then followed her onto the scene. Noelle and Peck were talking to one of the EMT's and in the back of the Ambulance the other EMT was patching a woman up.

"What's going on?" Sam asked as he approached. "Is it really a 10-46?"

"We have a jumper." Noelle said as she pointed up. Sam and Andy looked up and saw someone standing on the edge of the roof.

"Who is he?"

"Husband…" she gestured to the lady in the back of the ambulance. "I didn't get the full story, she isn't very coherent. Something about a mortgage…"

"Fire truck?"

"On its way but there was a warehouse fire in York and it could be 20 minutes before it gets here."

"20 minutes?" Sam ran a hand through his hair. "Has anyone talked to him yet?"

"Not yet."

"Do we have a name? Anything?"

"The wife was screaming out "James"."

"Are the D's on the way?"

"Barbar is 10 mins out."

"Okay, Noelle, go talk to the wife, get any information you can, Peck this crowd is going to start to build up, call for more back up and make sure there is no cordon breech. I'm going up to talk to him. McNally you're with me."

Sam rushed off towards the building with Andy on his tail. It was a well to do apartment building, complete with a doorman, 8 stories high. The doorman held the door open and followed them into the lobby.

"Do you know the gentleman upstairs?" Sam asked as they pressed the button for the lift.

"Not really officer, I only started here a couple of weeks ago and I've been on the night shift until yesterday."

"Okay, don't let anyone other residents in or out. Fire truck should be here soon."

"Yes sir."

The lift hadn't moved from the 6th floor since he called it so Sam looked around and found the door to the stairs.

"C'mon McNally, looks like we're hoofing it."

The stairwell was bare and concrete, but well lit. Andy kept up easily enough, even though he took the steps in twos and threes.

"Have you seen someone jump before?" She asked and immediately regretted it, realising how macabre the question sounded. "I mean, have you had to talk someone down before?"

"You mean have I successfully talked someone down before."

"Have you?"

"Once."

This gave Andy a little hope as they took the final steep steps up onto the roof. The door was heavy and Sam held it open for her then made a silent gesture for her to close it softly. There was a deep layer of loose gravel on the roof and hard to walk on. It wasn't a functional roof but used only for satellites and a centralised air-con units. They hurried over to the south west corner where James was standing but slowed then stopped as they approached. The roof had a small lipped curb around the edge, no pillars or architraves. Nothing, Sam noticed, that he could hold onto or grab if he got too close.

"James? Your name is James?" Sam spoke softly, evenly, keeping his voice calm. It was very different to the tone Andy usually heard from him when he was interviewing people or interrogating suspects. This was a calm soft tone that she imagined he would use should he speak to a kid.

James turned slowly. He spotted them but passed no remarks and turned back to look at the street below. Andy and Sam took a few steps closer. Sam gestured for her to fan out and they widened their approach as they got closer.

"James…my name is Sam, this is Andy." A few steps closer. "What is it you need buddy?"

"To jump."

Sam glanced at Andy who was fixed on the jumper. He recognised that tone. He had been in this position more than once. There was so much you could tell from the tone of voice of a jumper. Some of them had no intentions of jumping, they just needed to walk up to the edge of the abyss before they realised they couldn't do it. These people's voices quivered with fear, they were crying and angry and usually holding onto something behind them.

But then there was James. His voice was low and steady. There was no trace of tears on his face. He was wearing a suit and his tie was still neatly secured in place. His arms hung loose by his sides despite the sill he was standing on probably only being 10 inches wide.

"You don't want to do that James, we can help you. Why don't you come back here, talk to me."

"Talk." James's head shook. "I tried talking. I tried talking to my boss when I got made redundant. I tried talking to my contacts when I was looking for another job. I tried talking to my bank manager when they foreclosed on my house. Talk? I'm done talking."

Andy circled closer from the left and Sam from the right. They were only 3 feet away from him now. Andy wanted to lurch for him, grab his jacket, pull him back in safely, but Sam who saw that look in her eye shook his head.

"I know it all seems bleak right now-"

"Bleak is not the word."

"Jumping isn't the answer."

"No?" James turned slightly to Sam and showed no sign of surprise at how close he was. Sam noted his eyes. Cold, dead, decision made.

"Grab him McNally!" He yelled and he ran forward to get hold of him too. James thrust his hands out, crucifixion style and just let his body fall. Sam got there first, and grabbed the corner of James jacket. But it wasn't enough. The weight of James falling pulled Sam closer than he would have liked to the edge. He dug his heels into the ground but the gravel gave him no purchase. James had fallen back and hit the wall. Sam had hold of him with both hands, his heels were being dragged ever closer to the edge. Sam threw his body to the floor, hoping the wider surface area would stop him from falling over the edge himself.

Andy was lying on her stomach; her legs spread eagled and she reached down. She grabbed James' shirt collar, taking some of the weight off Sam and giving him a chance to adjust his grip, but her hold on him was tenuous.

"Sir… he's slipping!"

"Hold on McNally… hold on!"

James was no help, he kicked and squirmed reached his hands up to beat Andy's to loosen her grip. Sam was now lying next to her and was grasping bunches of James' shirt. Andy lost her grip and Sam got dragged half over the edge.

"McNally!" he yelled. He had one hand holding James' shirt and he could feel it ripping. James was thumping his arm, moving his body, using the wall as leverage. Sam's other hand was on the lipped curb, holding himself onto the roof and Andy was holding his belt, trying to stop him from falling.

Sam felt something sharp on his arm and he looked down to see James hitting him with a pen, there was a gash down his arm and James took another swing and stabbed his arm again. He yelled out in pain and tried his best to hold on but it was no use. The shirt ripped and James fell, leaving Sam half dangling off the roof himself, his arm punctured, blood pouring from the wound. The sounds of screams from below travelled up and rattled in his head. Andy was pulling on his belt, trying to get him back onto the roof fully and when he could move again he helped her.

He rolled over onto his back, his head in her lap and started up at the clear blue sky. His breathing was ragged and his heart was beating slower than he thought it should then he realised it wasn't just his heart… everything was in slow motion. Andy leaned over him, right into the middle of his field of vision, blocking the sun, causing her to be nothing but a silhouette. She was talking but he couldn't hear her. She slapped his cheeks with the backs of her hands but still nothing.

"Sir? Sam? Officer Swarek?" She tried everything but he was dazed. His eyes closed over and for a second she thought he fainted until he scrunched them closed, tighter. "Sir?"

Sam opened his eyes, took a minute to focus on her then rolled off her lap and onto all fours. He felt dizzy. She put a hand on his back that he could still feel through his vest. He stood up and only then Andy noticed the blood.

"Oh god… your arm!" She snatched his arm and took a look. The gash was deep and ran about three inches down on the inside of his forearm, another smaller cut ran across his wrist just below the other one. "Here, hang on…" she looked around but there was nothing to wrap it with. The blood was flowing freely and she could see him pale before her eyes. As quick as she could she pulled off her vest then ripped her uniform shirt over her head and wrapped it as tightly as she could around the wounds. She grabbed her vest off the floor and led him back to the door way.

Andy radioed for help when they got off the roof and stood in the lobby on the 8th floor waiting for the elevator. Sam was quiet; she watched his eyes fade and roll. He had his arm draped over her shoulder and was leaning more and more on her as they waited. Finally when the car arrived she hefted him in and pressed the floor for the lobby. Sam fell against the far wall and slid to the floor. She knelt beside him and held onto the shirt that was wrapped on his arm but already the blood was seeping out of it.

"Hold on, were nearly there… hold on!" she said over and over. Her hands were stained red, and when she reached up to push her fringe out of her eyes she smeared it on her brow.

"Andy…" his voice was low and his breathing ragged. "If something happens…"

"Shhhhh nothing is going to happen, you are going to be fine."

"You can...have the...rest of my sandwich," he said then he grinned but it faded fast and his eyes closed.

"Sam!" she slapped his cheeks but there was no response.

When the elevator door opened two EMT's rushed in. They pushed her aside and lay him down as one of them pulled her shirt off his arm and the other checked his pulse.

"He's in shock, pulse 140 and thready, BP 50 over 30," one of them said.

"Give him 125 mg solumedrol, IV push!"

"You got it. Put pressure on that wound."

Andy pushed herself into the corner trying to get out of the way and watched it all happen around her. They packed his wound with clean gauze but all too quickly it bled through.

"BP's going nowhere, still 50 over 30. Pulse OX 90."

"We need to get some o-neg and get him to the ER."

"O-neg in."

They used the split backboard to lift him and carried him to the gurney that was waiting outside. They wheeled him to the ambulance and pushed him in. Andy tried to get in the back with him but Noelle grabbed her.

"McNally, no! You need to stay here, give your statement."

Andy was dazed, her face was smeared with blood, her hands were red, she was carrying her vest and blood stained uniform shirt, and was wearing only a navy tee.

"Okay," she nodded and turned to face the scene. The fire truck had arrived and were enforcing the cordon that Peck set up. Another ambulance was on scene, the EMT's checked James' body but it wasn't long before they gave up. One of them was on the phone, Andy guessed to the coroner and the other one was packing equipment away.

Noelle guided Andy over to the ambulance and forced her to sit down on the back step. The EMT checked her head where the blood was but Andy brushed her hands away.

"It's not mine, it's not my blood." The EMT nodded and instead started to clean it up for her. She handed her some antiseptic wet wipes for her hands. Andy frantically wiped the blood away but couldn't get rid of it completely.

Gerry came around to the back of the Ambulance and put a hand on her shoulder. "McNally…Andy… are you ok?" She looked up at him, her eyes wide and scared, her brow furrowed.

"Sam…" she blurted out.

"Tell me what happened."

"Okay…" she took a few deep breaths and tried to focus. "We entered the building, Sam told the doorman to secure the door, not to let any residents in or out…the elevator was taking too long so we took the stairs. We got to the roof…James was standing on the edge."

"Did he speak, did you speak to him?"

"Sam spoke to him…asked him to come back from the edge…he said something about losing his job, his house…" Andy faltered; she struggled to recall in detail what happened when all she could see was Sam lying in her arms, blood pouring out of his arm and his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

"Then what?" Gerry urged her to continue.

"I'm not sure… Sam yelled for me to grab him. He grabbed him too. He got the jacket. I was holding his collar, the guy… James…he was trying to break free…I lost my grip." Andy covered her face with her hands.

"It's okay Andy," Noelle rubbed her arm, encouraging her to continue.

"Sam was still holding on, but he was being pulled over the edge. I grabbed Sam's belt…he was half hanging over the roof then…I dunno…Sam yelled out and it must have been when he…when James fell because I could pull him back onto the roof. I only noticed the cut on his arm then…"

"Okay, Andy, okay." Gerry squeezed her shoulder and walked off to talk to the coroner who just arrived on scene.

"He's going to be fine Andy," Noelle said encouragingly. "He lost some blood, they'll patch him up and he'll be right as rain." Andy nodded silently but Noelle saw that she wasn't going to be able to calm down until she saw for herself.

"I just need to go see if…"

"Go, we'll take it from here."

Andy didn't need to wait for a second approval so she thanks Noelle and hurried off to the squad car Sam had parked earlier. She used the spare set he kept under the driver's seat and took off.