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AN: this takes place in season one, but closer to the end of the season. In my fics, it takes place after Secrets That We Keep. This is a one shot and will only be two chapters, three at the most. Thank you to those that requested this fic. This is my first one shot so we'll see how I do! Enjoy! I do not own Flashpoint or any of it's characters.
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Greg watched silently as the team practiced hand to hand. It had been a slow day call wise so they were using the down time to train.
Sam and Wordy were circling each other, both with serious looks on their face.
Wordy stabbed at Sam with the flexible plastic knife they used during training. He lunged forward, aiming for Sam's stomach.
Sam saw the move coming in Wordy's eyes and sidestepped as Wordy lunged forward. He grabbed the arm with the knife and pulled on it, making Wordy twist as he fell. Sam put a hard grip on Wordy's wrist so that he released the knife as he went down. Sam twisted Wordy's arm behind his back and turned his body at the same time so that Wordy rolled to his stomach in one move.
"Good." Greg said and motioned Sam to let Wordy up. As Wordy came up, Greg nodded to him and Wordy tensed his muscles.
When Sam had him almost all the way up, Wordy threw a soft punch at Sam's face, connecting, but not with much force. It was really only a glancing blow. Wordy lunged forward and put his hands around Sam's neck.
Sam was caught a little off guard by the blow but recovered quickly when Wordy lunged and put his hands around his neck. Sam brought both arms up with enough force to break Wordy's hold on his neck at the same time that he brought his knee up to Wordy's side. Again, he did it with less force so he didn't hurt Wordy. Wordy stumbled back and they stood eying each other.
Greg caught Ed's eye and signaled him to attack. Ed nodded and came at Sam from his left. He grabbed the knife from the floor and lunged up at Sam, hitting him in the stomach with the flexible plastic. He heard Sam grunt and saw him lift his leg up in a protective move which knocked the knife away, but if it was real he would've been stabbed.
Sam grabbed his stomach with one hand, knowing he now had to fight one handed. The knee pushed Ed back a little and Sam used the backward motion to bring his foot up enough to plant it on Ed's chest and push him back. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and saw Wordy coming at him again. He put brought his foot down and turned to Wordy. He turned slightly farther when Wordy put his hands out but Wordy was ready for him to deflect and landed a blow to Sam's stomach with one hand and grabbed his shirt with the other.
Sam bent over as the blow landed close to the spot the knife hit. He smiled slightly as he bent down further and kicked his legs out, sweeping Wordy's feet out from under him. Unfortunately, when Wordy went down his feet kicked out uncontrollably and he kicked Sam in the side of his left knee. Sam winced, but he covered it when he saw Ed coming towards him, determination in his eyes. Sam stood and saw that Ed had the knife again.
"C'mon Sam." Spike cheered next to Greg.
"Jules, get in there." Greg whispered to the brunette standing next to him.
"Three on one?" Jules raised a brow.
"It's not always fair." Greg shrugged. He wanted to see what the rookie would do when outnumbered and in the fight for his life.
Spike and Lew exchanged a look.
"Ok." Jules approached Sam who had his back to her. He was facing Wordy and Ed in front of him.
Wordy glanced at Ed when he saw Jules jump in the fray. Ed nodded at him and they advanced on Sam.
Sam heard the light footsteps behind him and rolled his eyes. He glanced behind him and saw Jules trying to sneak up on him. He turned so that he was facing all three of them. Greg, Spike and Lew were behind him. He pushed the imaginary button on his chest and said, "10-33." He kept his eyes on them, switching between them every few seconds. His knee was starting to throb so he was going to have to do this with one leg and one arm.
Ed lunged at Sam first from the middle. Sam moved towards him which made Ed look at him in confusion. It didn't last long and Ed swung the knife at Sam's good arm. Sam grabbed Ed's arm, holding the knife, and narrowly missed being cut. He brought his knee up and pushed Ed's arm down at the same time causing Ed's arm to hit his knee hard enough to drop the knife.
Wordy moved forward and Sam threw his elbow up when Wordy got close enough and connected with his face causing him to grab his nose and back off. Sam pulled Ed forward and got him down on the ground. Jules moved in, grabbed the knife and swiped at Sam's side, connecting. Sam growled and kicked his legs out so he his butt landed on Ed's back and his foot connected with her lower leg causing her to fall backwards.
"Agh." Ed groaned.
Sam smiled and pulled Ed's hands behind his back.
"Good job Sam." Greg smiled. He put a hand out and helped Sam get off of Ed's back.
Sam turned and saw Ed roll to his back. "You ok?" He put a hand out which Ed gladly took and Sam helped him stand.
"Yeah." Ed put a hand to his back and bent over to stretch it out. He stood back up and saw two cuts in Sam's shirt. "You?"
"Oh yeah." Sam smiled. He loved hand to hand. It was a good way to work off frustration or anything else. Sam looked to Wordy who had a towel to his nose, trying to stave off the blood. "Oh shit. Wordy you ok?"
Wordy smiled. "I'm good. You'll have to deal with Shel, not me." He winked.
Sam moved forward and put a hand out to Jules who was sitting on the mat. "You ok?"
"Yep." Jules smiled. She put a hand out and when Sam grabbed it to help her up she pulled him forwards, put her feet up and into his stomach as he fell forward and flipped him over behind her.
"Ooh." Spike, Lew and Greg winced and spoke in unison.
"Oof!" Sam said in surprise as he flipped and landed on his back behind Jules. Luckily he had the piece of mind to keep his left leg up as he landed and didn't let it touch the mat until after he landed. It was already sore and the extra impact wouldn't have helped. He looked at the ceiling as he tried to catch his breath and figure out what else he had just bruised. Jules' face appeared above him a minute later.
Jules smiled in satisfaction, but felt a little bad that she'd knocked the wind out of him. She felt better a few moments later when his breathing became more regular. She ignored the familiar tingling when she put her hand out, he put his hand in hers and she helped him up. She clapped him on the shoulder.
"Damn." Sam looked at her, a twinkle in his eye. He had gritted his teeth from wincing when she slapped his shoulder.
"Knock me over." Jules said teasingly.
"It was three on one!" Sam laughed.
"Nice job Samtastic!" Spike clapped a hand on Sam's other shoulder.
Lew smiled and added his congrats to the chorus of Team One.
"Team One! Hot call!" Winnie called over the klaxon alarm.
The team started running towards the lock up. Sam started to follow, but his knee started screaming at him. Damn it, he thought. Wordy hit me harder than I thought. He did a small skip to keep a little weight off of it, but Greg saw it and looked at him with concern.
"You ok Sam?" Greg asked.
Sam put a mask up and pushed the pain down. "Yes Boss." He jogged the last few feet to the lock up and started grabbing his gear.
Greg broke off and went to the desk to ask Winnie for details.
Jules saw little lines of pain around Sam's eyes and looked at him before looking back at the gear she was getting ready. "You ok?"
"Yes. I'm fine." Sam said irritably. He looked at her surprised expression and said, "sorry. Everyone keeps asking. I was just beaten up by three members of an elite SRU team. I'm sore, but I'm good."
Jules smiled in understanding. He was right. "Wait until tomorrow. You don't even know sore yet."
"Yeah, I know." Sam rolled his eyes, picked up his rifle bag and walked out with Jules following.
Sam had been glad for the distraction of the call so he didn't have to think about his knee. It was starting to swell a little and he couldn't wait to go home and ice it. That was until they got to the four story building with the barricaded subject inside. That part was ok, but Ed made him Sierra One and he had to climb all five floors of the building next to it because the elevator had broken down that morning. By the time he reached the second floor his knee was really hurting. He hissed as he started up the next flight of stairs.
Greg heard the hiss and looked at Spike in the truck next to him. That sounded like Sam. "Sam? Status."
Sam sighed and kicked himself for letting the hiss escape. He looked up the stair well. "Five more minutes, the elevator is broken, on my way up."
Greg got a sense that something was wrong. "You ok?"
"No harm." Sam said evenly. He turned off his comm and looked up at the three remaining flights. He knew it was going to hurt like hell, but he had to get up there. One more flight, he thought. Maybe I'll find a good spot there. He was breathing hard when he got to the next floor, but he kept moving. He knew once he stopped his knee would really start hurting.
He looked around the whole empty office floor and found the window for the subject's location. He couldn't see anything. He'd have to go up another flight to get a better angle. Damn. He hit his fist on the stairs bannister. He turned his comm back on and heard Ed saying he was going up the stairs to find him. "Ed?" Sam said as he started up the next flight, one stair at a time, stepping up with his good leg.
"Sam? Was your comm off? We've been calling you." Ed looked up at the stairs and could see Sam sliding his hand up the bannister slowly. "You ok?"
"Sorry, must've hit it accidentally. I'm good." Sam quickened his pace. "No vantage right here. Going up one more to see if I can get a better angle."
"Ok." Ed watched the hand slide faster. It didn't sound like Sam was telling the whole story. He didn't like it.
"Eddie, our subject is not responding. We may have to go tactical." Greg said through the headset.
Ed looked up one last time, turned and walked out of the building. "On my way to you Greg." When he reached the command truck, he pulled the door open angrily. "Boss, see you out here?" He said, standing at the door.
Greg looked back and saw Ed's angry face. He nodded and walked out of the truck, closing the door behind him. He turned off his receiver and Ed did the same. "What's up?"
"Sam's not telling us the truth. I watched him go up the stairs, he was moving slow. I think something happened during the training he's not telling us."
"Ok. So do we pull him? I need Jules as my second and Spike in the truck. That leaves you for tactical. We may need as many hands as we can on entry." Greg shook his head. "We need him on Sierra, but we address it after debrief."
Ed shook his head. He didn't like it, but he knew that if Sam was hurt, Sierra may be the best place for him on this call. He looked at Greg and nodded.
Sam reached the next floor and was relieved to have a better angle. He set up his remi and looked through the scope. Laying on his knee was not the greatest so he had to adjust it so he wasn't applying direct pressure to it. He called out the status in the room and the call was resolved thirty minutes later when he took the Sierra shot. Walking down the stairs wasn't as bad, but he was glad when the maintenance guy met him on the stairs and told him the elevator was fixed.
He took the elevator down and met SIU in the lobby. They took his guns and bagged them, then walked him to the cruiser. He saw Greg standing by the command truck and gave him a slight nod which Greg returned. He could see the concern etched on the Boss' face and wondered if that was because of the Sierra shot or because he had turned his comm off.
When he returned to the barn two hours later, he didn't have to wonder. He walked into the briefing room to find the team still there debriefing.
"How'd SIU go?" Ed asked, tipping his chin up.
"Good." Sam nodded and sat next to Jules on the near side of the table.
They went over the call and when they got to the point where Greg and Ed had called for Sam's status three times before he answered, Ed became angry. "What the hell were you thinking Sam? You never ever turn your comm off unless it's an emergency." Ed raged even though he and Greg had done it to discuss Sam.
"I'm sorry. I hit it on the way up the stairs." Sam put both hands up, palm up. "I'll be more careful next time."
"So I didn't see you taking your time up the stairs?"
Sam frowned at him. "Are you saying I was dilly dallying?"
"Were you?" Ed asked pointedly.
"No. It was five flights and I was going as fast I could. It was stifling hot in that stairwell. I was not taking my time. That would've put the hostage at risk and I wouldn't do that."
Ed leaned back. He sighed through his nose and attempted to calm himself. He knew by now that Sam would not do anything to put others at risk. He only risked himself for the good of others.
"Ok. Anything else?" Greg asked and looked at the team. When no one said anything he dismissed them. He watched Sam leave and didn't see anything in his gait that suggested he was in pain.
Sam headed to the locker room, walking normally, but his knee was killing him. He showered quickly and as he changed he saw the bruises starting to form on his stomach and side. He turned in the mirror and saw he had a large bruise forming across his shoulders where he landed there first when Jules flipped him. He blew out a breath and pulled his shirt on before anyone else saw. Spike came in from the showers and slapped him on the back. He couldn't help but pull away.
Spike frowned. "You ok?"
"Yeah. Just a little sore from hand to hand." Sam smiled and ducked his head.
Spike smiled back. "Yeah. That was pretty awesome."
Wordy got in his locker and listened to the conversation.
Sam pulled his pants up before Spike and Wordy could see his bruised and swollen knee. He buttoned his pants and stuck his arm under his shirt to put on deodorant.
Spike's eyes widened when he saw the dark bruises on Sam's stomach. "Damn." Spike stepped forward and pulled Sam's shirt up.
Sam looked down and chuckled. "It's not as bad as it looks."
Lew whistled when he walked in and saw Sam's stomach and side. "Wow."
Wordy looked and said, "damn." He watched Sam's face and saw the pain there.
"Let me see your back." Spike looked at Sam with concern.
Greg and Ed walked in and both stopped when they saw Sam's torso.
"Jesus Sam." Ed strode forward.
"It's fine Spike. I'm fine." Sam said and pulled down his shirt and looked at Ed.
"Oh yeah, then let me see your back? You landed hard when Jules flipped you." Spike gave him a determined look.
Sam stared back at him with the same determination.
"Sam." Greg said firmly.
Sam looked at him, his blue eyes flashing, lips in a thin line. He turned around and pulled his shirt over his head. He heard the gasps and looked over his shoulder at them.
There was a knock on the door and a female voice said, "decent?" Jules walked in as Ed said yes and saw Sam's back. "Oh my God Sam!" She ran forward and put a hand gently on his bruised shoulders. She pulled her hand back when he looked at her, desire in his eyes. "Is that from when I flipped you?"
Sam shrugged and carefully pulled the shirt over his head and down over his bruises. "It was three on one." He smirked.
Jules shook her head and looked at Greg with irritation. Her look said, this is your fault.
"It's ok guys. It's part of the job." Sam put his hands up, palms out.
"Well that earns your first round on me." Wordy said guiltily.
"Thanks but I'm going to take a rain check. Gonna go home and put some ice on my bruises." Sam smiled as he grabbed his bag and started to leave.
"You sure you're ok?" Jules asked as she walked out with him followed by the rest of the group.
Sam looked at her and gave her a lopsided smile. She does care, he thought. I wish I knew how much. "Yes."
"So that was it." Ed hung back and said in a low tone to Greg.
"Pretty normal after training like that." He saw the concern in Ed's eyes and nodded. "We'll keep a close eye on him. If we need to pull him we will."
"Without hesitation." Ed nodded.
When Sam got home, he laid on his couch with a beer and an ice pack on his knee. He wrapped it before he went to bed and slept fitfully. He took 600mg of Ibuprofen around 0100, which helped and he was able to sleep a little better until he got up at 0400. When he got up he knew there was no way he could jog or bike into work. Wordy had taken him home in his van since Sam said he was going to pass on The Goose. Wordy felt bad that their hand to hand had gotten so rough and told Sam he was sorry again on the way to Sam's house.
He called a cab and waited for it to arrive in the lobby of his building.