A/N: To be clear, there's a bit of time lapse between the previous chapter and this chapter- about a months time. Now why didn't I write a chapter for that month? To be honest, it just doesn't fit into my planned out plot line. But be happy! More action, and more of our favourite Flashpoint characters!

"Spike!" Greg yelled down the hall, "Lets go!"

"Boss- no more than..." Spike started.

"I don't care Spike, you have to move!"

"I can do it!" Spike yelled back.

Sadly, the yell was recorded by the headset. Christ, that was loud...

"Perra!" Spike exclaimed, over the headset, "North or south of our source?"

In the truck, I brought up the schematics, and quickly scanned them, looking for the wire Spike was asking for, "South of source, most likely covered with dummy wiring- look for the wire that's bridging the resistor- that's your wire."

"Copy that." Spike said, as he used his sleeve to wipe his brow before bending over the timed explosive device.

I carried Matthew down the hall. I was wearing my SRU uniform, but I was still waiting for the sitter to arrive. I had to use my other arm to support Matthew, as my left shoulder was still tender, even after a month's worth of physical therapy.

I pounded on Megan's door with my other arm. It was only 7:30am, but everyone needs to do their part.

Haley will be back from the meeting with her client in an hour and a half. Sitter, should get here any minute. Drive Megan to school, because she lost her bus card, and has to wait another week to get her new one; then race into work.

"Megan, you ready?"

Her door opened, and she calmly came out, with her backpack slung over her back, with a 'I wish I could've slept for another 5 hours' look on her face.

"Hello?" came a older woman's voice.

Finally- the sitter.

I raced down the hall, and greeted her, as she took off her shoes.

"First day back, Mr. Perrasmith?" she asked, as she noted the stark grey uniform.

"I had my re-qualify last week, and I'm ready to go back, so yeah." I said, as I passed a squirming Matthew to her, "Ok..."

"Forgetting something?" she asked, as she rocked Matthew back and forth.

"Yeah..." I said, as I looked into the living room, and didn't see Megan, so I turned down the hall and yelled, "Megan- lets go!"

We pulled up to Megan's school. The entire drive was quiet, except for when we first got into the car, in which Megan asked, "Can I drive?"

She opened the door, and started to get out.

"Megan..." started.

"What?" she snapped back at me.

"Hey- no need to bite my head off. I'm getting enough of that from your mother as it is. Hope you have a good day at school. Remember- Kevin Wordsworth is going to pick you up and take you to soccer, since I'm working a ten today, ok?"

"Yeah, ok. Anything else?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a tan car from a distance, and a man inside it...Just focus Kris...

"Yeah. Be safe- can you manage that?"

"Can you?" she asked.

"Hey-" I explained to her, "Me and your mom are going through a bit of a rough patch, ok? She wasn't too happy when I got shot, and she was less than happy when I passed my re-qualifying tests."

"So why are you going back, if mom's resenting you for it?"

I was suddenly taken back. I didn't think Megan was picking up on that.

"Whatever." I replied back, "Just remember, if anything happens, and I mean anything, you know who to call, right?"

"Spike?"

"No- me."

Spike. Jeez. Sure the guy had a sort of geeky appeal to him...

I walked into the SRU building with my bag over my uninjured shoulder. Oddly, I didn't see anyone milling around the lobby, like I usually do. I just figured everyone would be in the gym or debriefing room.

I entered the locker room, and I was suddenly taken aback by the amount of people in here.

What the hell?

I saw Greg peer out from behind his locker door, when he said something to another guy, which I could only assume was Ed, as I could see the top of a shiny, bald scalp, just above the locker door.

"Well that ruined the entire surprise." Ed said, as he shut his locker.

As if on cue from Ed's words, the rest of the team appeared from random places all over the locker room- Spike and Sam jumped out from behind me from the showers, patting me on the back. Ed and Greg approached and shook my hands.

"Glad you're back." Greg said, as he shook my hand.

Suddenly, two thin arms wrapped around me, as I turned to find Jules giving me a big hug.

"This place was different without you." she said, as she let up.

Everyone was relieved to see me. Even the dispatchers- Winnie, some new guy, Trevor or something like that, and Kiera were there to welcome me back.

"Ok," Greg said, loudly, to get everyone's attention, "Dispatchers- back to your desks, team one, we're hitting the shooting range downstairs in ten."

I walked over to my locker, as almost everyone from the room dissipated. I opened by locker, and started putting away some of the gear from my bag.

"Glad you're back." Ed, said as he sat down on the bench, "Then again, you didn't miss much. Had to be the slowest month we've had in a while."

"Yeah?" I asked, as I donned my black, load bearing equipment vest.

"Oh, before I forget..." Ed said, as he stood and opened his locker.

He rummaged around in his locker for a bit while I put on my drop pouch, and made some adjustments to my belt keepers.

"We responded to a call a week or so ago- 3 year old daughter kidnapped at gunpoint in front of her mother," Ed explained, as he handed me an envelope, "Anyways, long story short, we got the kid back, unharmed of course, because that's how we roll..."

"Of course." I responded back, allowing him to continue.

"Anyways, we started talking about you on scene, and the mother recognized your name."

Ed made a motion, which made me think he wanted me to open the envelope.

I opened it, and out fell a wallet sized picture of a 3-year old baby girl, sleeping and clutching a soft blue blanket.

"It's your god-daughter, right?" Ed asked.

I smiled. "Ella." I said, as I smiled even wider. I haven't seen her since...well, the baptism.

"You close?" Ed asked, as he shut his locker, and looked at the open door of my locker that I was leaning on.

"Yeah- we're almost family." I said, "Lauren, her mother...her parents died in a car crash when she was eight. She lived with me and my parents until she turned eighteen."

Ed smiled, as he started to leave, "It's nice to see you smile Perra."

"Thanks Ed."

"No problem," he said, as he opened the door and started walking out, "Now maybe you can open your mail you got over a month ago."

I looked over to my locker door, as I saw the magnet holding up the mail that Kiera had delivered to me weeks and weeks ago...We never did go to Casa Blancas.

I took the envelope out from behind the magnet, and replaced it with the picture of Ella.

Oh, right. Shooting range.

I walked down the hallway, as I started opening the envelope. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Greg was in the debriefing room.

I finished opening the envelope, and like the other one, a picture fell out.

I wasn't quick enough to grab it, so it fell on the floor. After stooping down to get it, I noticed that it had fallen picture side down, and there was writing on the back of the picture, written with a black felt point marker.

'I'm watching her. I'll take her when you least expect it.'

Confused, I turned over the picture.

I took in the picture, and within seconds, found myself running into the debriefing room.

"Boss."

"Yeah?" Greg asked, as he turned around, "What's up?"

"You need to see this."

A/N: So as you can tell- BIG cliffhanger. Who is in the picture? What about the bomb Spike was attending to- is it related? What about Lauren and Ella? Mere coincidence? These questions and more will be answered in the next installment, which will finish off this chapter! Read and review- it'll get me back into the 'New Beginning' mindset, as I'm currently working on other fictions.