Author's Notes: Seems like I'm getting further and further behind in my updates. I'm so sorry. However, we only have 10 more school days left before the summer break so hopefully there will be more time for writing. Thanks for sticking with me despite the delays.

Disclaimer: The show Flashpoint and its characters were created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern and belong to them and the networks who air the episodes. Since the show has ended, our only way of getting new Flashpoint is through fan fiction. This story is my attempt to help fill the void, and the only profit I make is the warm fuzzy feeling reviews give me. Anything that does not come directly from the show is my own creation and should not be used without my permission.

What's Past is Now Present

Chapter 15

"Sam, I'm fine. I wasn't hurt."

Sitting sideways in the passenger seat of the SUV, Jules was, perhaps, in the one oasis of calm in an otherwise bustling scene. Sam was practically hovering beside the open door. Worry was emanating off him in waves.

"I know." His voice was tight. The moment the shots fired call had come in, Sam's heart had been beating practically out of control, despite the fact that it was Jules who'd made the call and he could hear she was okay. The team had once more split in half as Ed, Leah, and Spike stayed on the other call and Greg and Sam had responded to Jules's location. Even after they had arrived on scene to find that things had calmed down and that nobody had been hurt, he hadn't been able to calm down.

"Then why do you keep looking at me like I'm about to crumble into a thousand pieces right before your eyes?"

Sam blew out a frustrated breath. "I don't know, maybe it has something to do with the fact that yesterday you go rushing direct to threat without being armed, then today you get attacked in the stairwell of the hospital, almost go flying off the top of a building to prevent a kid from falling to his death, and now you're involved in a drive by shooting. Call me crazy but that's just too many close calls in too short a time."

"And except for a stupid lump and a slight headache, I wasn't injured in any of the close calls." Jules reminded him. She and Wordy had been just about to get in the patrol car that would take him back to Guns and Gangs and her to join the rest of the team when she'd noticed a metallic glint sticking out a window of a car that was going much too slow for a normally bustling street. She immediately recognized what it was and had cried out a warning to the uniform officers while pushing Wordy to the ground. The windows of the patrol car were the only victims of the resulting gunfire.

Even as Jules had radioed in the shots fired, she was unholstering her own weapon. She pointed it at the retreating vehicle but didn't fire. Doing so would only run the risk of endangering others.

"It definitely could have been much worse." Wordy agreed as he and Greg approached the vehicle. "I'd forgotten what a mean tackle she has. Not that I'm complaining. Shelly would never forgive me if I ended up with a bullet in my head. So thank you for keeping me on my wife's good side."

Greg looked grim as he looked over the notes he'd made on his notepad. "So Wordy says he didn't get a good look at the vehicle. What about you, Jules?"

"Four door late model sedan, black, tinted windows. Tags had been removed so I didn't get so much as a partial plate. I couldn't tell how many were inside, at least two since the shooter was in the back seat and wasn't driving. Sorry, I know it's not a lot to go on."

Wordy chuckled. "Way more than I picked up on. I don't get it; I've investigated plenty of drive-bys but this isn't exactly the neighborhood they usually happen in. Why here, why now? Who or what were they targeting?"

Greg turned to look at the shot out windows of the patrol car. "No doubt where they were aiming. The question is, were they targeting Toronto Metro Police in general or one of you in particular."

Sam, who hadn't really taken his eyes off Jules through the whole exchange, frowned. "Maybe all those close calls weren't so random."

Jules frowned. "Come on, Sam, you met Nicko, do you really think he had anything to do with hurting Al or trying to hurt me?"

"No," Sam admitted without hesitation. "But he was on that roof today because of what happened to Al yesterday. You were leaving the hospital after visiting Al when that attack happened, and now you were investigating the shooting when this drive-by happened. Too coincidental if you ask me."

Greg pulled his cap off and ran his hand over his head before settling the cap back into position. He glanced back at the shot up car and then back to Jules. "He's got a point. I think we have to at least consider the possibility that you are the target here, Jules."

Her frown couldn't deepen much more so Jules folded her arms across her chest. "That doesn't make sense. Why would they target me? There was no reason for them to know I was even in the gym yesterday. In case you've forgotten, I suggested that we leak the information that I'd seen something but both of you nixed that idea. The fact that I was even there was kept in house."

"What about Barry? Does he know you were at the gym yesterday?" Wordy asked. He might not be Team One anymore but his heart would always be with his former teammates. He didn't like the idea that any of them could be targeted this way.

Sam nodded, glancing over at their former teammate. It seemed odd hearing Wordy mention the guy by name as if he'd known him. Then he remembered that it was a good possibility that he had. Sometimes it was easy to forget that as much as he loved Jules, the rest of the team, minus Leah, had known her longer than he had. That they shared a history with her he hadn't been a part of. "Yeah, why?"

"Collins intimated that it was possible Barry had something to do with his father's shooting." Wordy shot Jules an apologetic glance. "Sorry, Jules, I know you said you don't think he would be capable of hurting his father, but if he's the only one outside our own people who knew you were there, I think we have to consider the possibility."

Sam reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. She could tell he wanted to do more but was maintaining a sense of professionalism. "Jules, you said yourself this morning that it seemed a little too coincidental that the attack happened the way it did. You also said you felt like there was something familiar about the guys…"

"It wasn't Barry that attacked me today." Jules cut him off before he could finish his statement.

Sam's jaw rocked slightly but it was Greg that pushed the issue. "Didn't you say the men who attacked you in the stairwell were masked?"

Jules resisted the urge to reach up and rub her temple. She was pretty sure at least some if not most of her headache currently was coming from dealing with the worry of the men in her life. Worry that was causing reactions in them they normally wouldn't show. Reactions that were seriously ticking her off. "Yeah, but you know as well as I do that while it's hard to make a positive ID on a masked subject, it's not difficult to positively rule out suspects even without a facial recognition. Neither of the guys in the stairwell this morning were Barry's size or build."

Greg glanced over at Wordy. "You said Collins suggested that Barry could have been involved in the shooting yesterday. Did he have solid reasons for pointing the finger at him or was he just trying divert attention off himself?"

"He suggested that it was possibly money motivated. Said Barry had had a falling out with his father and because of that he can't get his foot in the door anymore with the fight scene. As for Collins himself, I don't know. He didn't seem surprised to see us but did seem to be surprised that we suspected him."

Sam's frown deepened even more than seemed humanly possible. "Why wasn't he surprised to see you? How the hell did he know you were coming?"

"He didn't." Jules insisted, sounding tired. "He wasn't expecting us, just me. He figured I was jumping at the bit to get back into fighting and that I would want him to set things up for me. Like I'd ever…" She didn't finish her thought but blew out an exasperated breath. "Look, Collins is a slimy opportunist but after talking to him, I don't think he had anything to do with Al getting hurt. I don't think he was trying to implicate Barry to remove suspicions from himself, but I don't he's right either."

Greg looked over at Wordy once more. "Money motivated, huh? You think you could run financials on Barry Taggert and see if anything suspicious shows up?"

Wordy nodded. "Yeah, I can do that as soon as I'm back at the station. I'll also ask around, check to make sure his alibi for both yesterday and today are solid. I'll let you know if I find out anything important."

Jules huffed. Hadn't they heard her say Barry couldn't have been involved? When had her opinion quit mattering? How dare they talk about the case like she wasn't even there? She looked at Sam who was still standing next to her in the open doorway of the SUV. "Sam, move."

Before he could even fully process her request, Jules leaned forward and grabbed the car door pulling it towards her. Sam had no choice but to take a couple of steps back as she slammed the door. The three men heard the audible click of the lock being engaged.

Sam had the keys in his pocket; a locked door wasn't a deterrent. The fact that Jules followed that by turning her back to them with her arms crossed over her chest was. He wasn't sure what had upset her so much but he'd learned many things about the woman he loved since they'd started dating. Confronting her when she was angry wasn't the way to improve her mood, especially not with an audience present.

Greg put a hand on his shoulder. Sam glanced back and could see the concern in the older man's eyes. Sam wasn't quite sure if the concern was for him or for Jules, but he appreciated it nonetheless. "Sam, it's been a long day. We've done everything we can do here. The rest of the team is already back at the barn. You and Jules head back there as well. I'll drop Wordy off at Guns and Gangs and then I'll be there."

Wordy reached out to shake Sam's hand. There was an expression of understood sympathy in Wordy's eyes. "Don't take her reactions personally, Sam. She doesn't really mean it. It'll get better eventually, after it gets worse that is. If you need anything - if either of you need anything - I'm here. Especially if you just need someone to talk to about everything."

It was almost as if Wordy was talking about something more than what had just happened, but Sam didn't know what it could be. He thanked him anyway. Going around to the driver's side of the SUV, he unlocked the door and climbed inside. As he looked over at Jules, she twisted once more in her seat to look straight ahead. He sighed. He hadn't seen her this upset in a long time. "Want to talk about it?"

She didn't answer or respond in any way. With a frown, Sam slapped the key in the ignition and started the SUV. He pulled away from the curb and merged into traffic. He'd been around Jules enough to know that it was usually better to just leave well enough alone until she calmed down enough to be ready to talk. He knew that and was usually content to do just that. Today was different though. Chalk it up to his concern over too many close calls in one day, but he couldn't handle the sudden temperature drop or her frosty silence. There wasn't even a hint of pleading in his voice when he urged, "Jules, don't do this. Don't shut me out."

Jules turned just her head, her brown eyes practically flashing. "Seriously? You're really sitting there telling me not to shut you out when that's exactly what the three of you were just doing to me?"

Stopping for a red light, Sam glanced over at her. "Shut you out? How did we do that?"

"What would you call it then? I told all of you that Barry wouldn't be involved with hurting Al but Sarge just ignored me. Told Wordy to check him out anyway. How is that not shutting me out? It's like my opinion didn't matter. And you just stood there and let them."

Common sense told Sam to keep his mouth shut and just let her vent. Trying to reason or argue with her would get him nowhere. Sometimes it was better to just let her rage without comment. Like the release valve on a pressure cooker, allowing her to do so blew off enough steam that it was then safe to proceed. He knew this and yet he found himself responding anyway. "I just stood there and let them because they were making sense. Maybe you're just too close to this one. Maybe you just don't want to see the potential danger Barry poses. Maybe some old feelings you still have won't let you see what he's capable of."

The problem with pressure cookers was that when handled improperly, the built up internal pressure could cause a disastrous explosion. The slight edge in Sam's voice was enough to fully ignite Jules's already rising temper. She twisted in her seat as much as the seatbelt would allow. "What the hell? I'm too close? I don't see his dangerous side? Feelings? Do you even hear yourself? I never thought you would pull this jealous crap."

Without another word, Sam suddenly pulled into a nearby parking lot and turned off the engine. If they were going to fight, he certainly wasn't going to do so while driving. His jaw tightened and the vein in his temple visibly throbbed. "That's what you think this is about? You think I'm jealous? Do you really think I'm that insecure? And if so, what about Sarge and Wordy? What's their excuse? I love you, Jules, and I know you love me too. Why would I be jealous of that smooth talking idiot who apparently thinks your name is Darling? Even if I hadn't seen the way you reacted to him yesterday, I wouldn't suspect that you still liked him let alone loved him. Okay? That's not what this is about. I'm not jealous of him. Honestly, I'm surprised you even had anything to do with him to start with. I know you though, Jules. I know you are fiercely loyal to your friends. When I said you might have feelings, I simply meant that I think it would be hard for you to see the potential for dark in anyone you used to care about."

Jules's anger deflated ever so slightly under the weight of his harsh tone. Sam's words might have been of love but his tone was anything but loving. She'd upset him with her accusation, maybe as much as their actions had upset her. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Trust me, Sam, I know all about his potential for dark. I know probably better than anyone exactly what he's capable of. And the only feelings I still carry for Barry are ones of anger and distrust. That's why my word that it wasn't him should carry more weight. I'm not protesting his potential guilt out of some sort of misguided sense of loyalty."

Sam's eyes never left hers, the blue depths an icy pool of concern and frustration. "You know Sarge has to consider every angle. If he didn't check out every possibility, he wouldn't be doing his job. I think you would realize that if you weren't so emotionally invested in this case. I'm worried about you, Jules. Not only are you not thinking clearly, but it looks like someone is targeting you as well. I think we all have a right to be worried."

His anger might have taken a punch out of her own, but it hadn't completely gotten rid of it. If he thought his words were going to smooth things over, he was wrong. If anything, it made things worse. Jules rolled her eyes in an exaggerated motion. "We don't even know if anyone is targeting me, Sam. The attack at the hospital and the drive by just now could have been isolated incidents not even related to what happened to Al."

"Just like you don't know that those attempts weren't directed at you because of what happened. Face it, Jules, Barry is the only one outside someone in the department who knew you were at the gym when Al was shot. That doesn't look good for him. If you weren't so emotionally involved in this case, we wouldn't be having this discussion."

"Maybe you and the others are the ones too emotionally involved. Admit it, you want him to be responsible because you think he got away Scott free for how he treated me. You hate that someone hurt me and you weren't there to protect me. Never mind that you didn't even know me then. If Barry's guilty now, then you get a chance to sweep in and make up for what happened years ago."

Sam looked away, not wanting to admit even to himself that there was some validity in what she'd said. Not that he was hoping to pin Al's shooting on Barry in some sort of need for revenge. He doubted Jules even really thought that he was. However, his protective nature hated that Jules had gone through what had happened and he hadn't been able to do anything to make things better. It had been hard enough keeping the fact that Al had told him about what happened secret from her; now that the truth was out, he couldn't hide his feelings on the subject. There was no way he was going to stand by and let anything new happen. Not if there was anyway he could prevent it. He sighed. "Jules, I don't want to fight with you. I don't even know why this has to be a fight. What's the harm of Wordy checking into Barry? If he didn't have anything to do with what happened to Al, then there'll be nothing for Wordy to find. What's the harm in that?"

As suddenly as the anger had come on, it left just as quickly. Jules slumped her shoulders, fighting the urge to unbuckle her seatbelt and scoot closer to Sam. "We have absolutely nothing to go on, Sam. I owe Al so much; I can't let him down. If the focus of the investigation is on Barry, then it's not on the real suspects. I can't afford to let that happen. We can't waste time chasing a dead end." A couple of tears slipped down Jules's cheeks and her voice was thick with emotion. She swiped at her face impatiently.

Sam reached over and lightly caressed her cheek. "We aren't going to let Al down." He put a heavy emphasis on the pronoun. She wasn't in this alone, and he'd damn well make sure she remembered that. "Just because we check out Barry doesn't mean we're going to let any other leads go. You are right, though. We don't have anything to go on. Maybe investigating Barry will give us more leads to follow. Who knows maybe someone is targeting him through Al."

Jules leaned her head against the back of the seat. She hadn't considered that. She turned her head so that she was looking at Sam. She frowned. "You say that, but I can tell you really think he's guilty. Or is it that you just want him to be guilty?"

Sam sighed. "I don't want him to be guilty any more than you really want him to be innocent. You're right about one thing though. I am emotionally involved because you are involved. Where you are concerned, my heart is right there. I'm not going to apologize for that. I swear to you though; I'm not jealous."

Feeling a momentary pang of regret for her earlier accusation, Jules grimaced. "Good, because there's no reason to be. Barry is my past. A lesson learned. You are my now and, despite the way it might have looked earlier, the only one I want in my future."

Before Sam could reply, Jules's cell phone rang. She reached for it; her heart skipping a beat when she saw it was the hospital. Sam watched her carefully as the color seemed to drain a little from her face as she listened. When she ended the call a couple more tears fell. Her lower lip trembled. "That was the hospital. Al's vital signs are all over the place right now. They suggested that I might want to come."

Sam nodded, once again turning the key in the ignition. "Call Sarge and give him a heads up. We'll be there in no time."

True to his word, Sam wasted no time as he weaved in and out of traffic. It took them only minutes to reach the hospital but then they had to wait at the entrance of ICU for word on Al's condition. The nurse who finally emerged looked grim. "Mr. Taggert's blood pressure and heart rate made a drastic jump. We think he is trying to wake up despite the medication we've given him to keep him sedated."

"That's good though; isn't it? That he's waking up?" Sam inserted.

The nurse frowned. "Ordinarily I'd say yes. However, given the extent of the damage the bullet did and its proximity to Mr. Taggert's heart, the rise in his blood pressure is not good. The reason why the doctor wanted to keep Mr. Taggert unconscious was so he wouldn't put a strain on his heart."

Sam's arms encircled Jules's waist and held her tightly. He could feel her trembling. She bit her lower lip. "Is he going to be okay?"

The nurse offered her a slight smile of reassurance. "We're going to do everything possible to see that he is. The doctor wants to increase the medication we're giving him to keep him sedated. That should bring his blood pressure and heart rate back down."

Jules nodded. "Can I see him before you do that? I know it's not visiting time…"

"Sure. Just remember it's possible he can hear anything you say. Try not to upset him any worse than he already is."

Jules promised and she and Sam made their way down the hallway to Al's cubical. No matter how many times she'd been back to see him since the shooting, it always took Jules a moment to adjust to seeing Al like he currently was. The machines were more active than they'd been the previous times; alarm lights blinking in response to his elevated blood pressure and heart rate.

She took a step toward the bed and slipped her hand in his. She gave it a comforting squeeze as she reached out with her other hand to brush away the strands of hair on his forehead. "Hey Old Man, no fair giving the nurses a hard time. Didn't we talk about this? Settle down and let them take care of you."

His eyes fluttered slightly and his lips were moving as if he were saying something. Jules faintly caught the word "Sass." She bit her lip and leaned closer to him. "I'm right here, Al. Don't try to talk. Calm down and quit working your heart so much."

"Watch…out…Barry."