Skylight
Hey guys – here's another one shot for you guys to enjoy ^^
This was not beta'd
"There should be a skylight right around here," Spike cursed under his breath as he and Sam searched the warehouse's snow covered rooftop. "The blueprints are never wrong!"
"Never?" Sam smirked a bit in slight amusement, kicking at the thick heavy snow hoping to get a glimpse of what they were looking for. "Those blueprints were pretty old, the owner could have boarded them up for all we know – since we couldn't get a hold of the guy." The ex soldier shrugged, "let's hope they didn't, though."
Below them Greg and Jules were trying to talk down a two gang-members holding a girl hostage. Wordy and Ed were acting as shield and cover respectively.
Thanks to the abundant amount of crates in the warehouse the kids had enough cover to hide out for a while – and apparently enough ammunition to keep the team at a safe distance during the negotiations.
Everything was standing still, which was why Sam and Spike offered to try and get a vantage from above. Once they had eyes on the subjects they had a better chance on neutralizing the threat and bringing this whole mess to a peaceful ending.
That was if they could locate the skylight.
Sam sighed in frustration, shifting the strap of the bag holding his sniper rifle on his shoulder as he kicked at the thick snow a bit more and took a step forward.
"We need that skylight!" Spike was grumbling off to the side – by this point the Italian had pulled out his hand held computer to look the blueprints over again.
Crack.
Sam froze quickly, heart speeding up as the ground dipped dangerously underneath him. "Found it," Sam managed before the glass gave away completely underneath him.
Spike looked up from the small screen in his hands just as Sam disappeared from sight – the rush of movement accompanied by the ringing sound of shattering glass. "Sam!" He yelled, dashing forward carefully.
As he fell Sam reached out for something, anything to stop his sudden and rapid descent. Long sheets of glass sliced through the less protected areas of Sam's uniform, ripping through the fabric and into his skin, but Sam didn't care – he was frantic to save himself from the deadly fall.
Finally Sam's hands made solid contact with the side of the skylight now above him and he grabbed a hold of it for dear life – the jagged glass still left on the edge cutting into Sam's gloved hands with painful ease.
A strangled scream of pain escaped the back of Sam's throat as his body's weight added to the pressure on his now bleeding hands. In the back of his mind Sam knew he was lucky – besides the fact that he hadn't fallen to his death – the glass was cutting into the flesh of his palms, not into his fingers. If his fingers had made the grasp on the glass he knew he would have lost them.
Wincing in twisted agony Sam grunted and gasped trying to lift himself up to crawl back onto the roof – the motion caused the glass on the edge he was holding to slide deeper into his hands. More pain assaulted him and Sam's eyes closed as he dangled above his teammates in the warehouse.
There were more shards of glass clinging to his clothes and hiding in his hair, every time Sam moved more shifted or fell into the abyss below him.
Vaguely he could hear voices yelling around him – both below and above – but the meaning behind the words was drowned out with the sound of his heart beating like a hammer in his chest. It hurt to struggle – so Sam just let himself hang on.
Breathing through his nose Sam tried desperately to calm himself – panic could kill him if he gave into it. Sam needed to be calm – level headed.
The strap of the rifle bag had shifted in the process of his fall causing the weight of the bag to fall directly on Sam's throat. Gasping Sam was unable to fully regain control of his frantic breathing and looked up into Spike's worried face. The Italian's lips were moving rapidly forming words that Sam couldn't quite make out.
" – old on – Ed – oming – hold on." Sam managed to make out, his breath hitching as he tore his eyes away from Spike to look down – all Sam could see was the distance. Dizziness plagued him and though Sam had never been afraid of heights before he was terrified right now.
"Sam, Sam look at me – don't look down." Spike's words caught Sam's attention – everything seemed to be clearer suddenly. Like someone had splashed a cold bucket of water over his dulled senses to sharpen them – Sam's wide eyes looked back up at his friend only for his eyes to catch the gory sight of his hands.
Spike seemed to notice what Sam's eyes had locked onto. "No, don't look there either, Sam!"
The frantic tone in Spike's voice raised Sam's horrified blue eyes the rest of the way up to look at the tech specialist. "Spike – " Sam begged, eyes pleading better then he could express verbally for help.
"Hold on, buddy, you're going to be fine, just hold on." Spike's voice was still frantic, panicked – probably just as scared as Sam was. The tech's hands were holding one of his arms, Sam realized vaguely, but he wasn't trying to pull him up – why wasn't Spike trying to help him?
"Spike, please – " Sam begged, trying to shift the strap of the riffle bag so he could breathe easier – it only caused the strap to dig deeper into his skin and his body to swing and his hands to slip slightly. Another cry escaped him as his eyes slammed shut again. "Help me!" Sam forced his eyes open again – looking up into worried brown eyes.
"I'm going to buddy, Ed's coming, we're going to get you out of there." Spike tried to explain. Sam growled in frustration, nearly screaming again as he shifted his hands badly causing the glass to shred more of his flesh and scrape against his bones. Through the pain and terror Sam couldn't think of a reason for Spike to wait for Ed – the tech was fully capable of pulling Sam up by himself.
What Sam didn't realize though was if Spike did that the glass would do more harm to his already severely damaged hands.
Warm blood was dripped onto Sam's face and down his straining arms, which did nothing to calm his raging anxiety. Sam's eyes found the damage of his hands again and a sob of helplessness and pain bubbled up from within him. It hurt. It hurt so bad Sam wanted to let go – he nearly did, only to remember he really couldn't.
Eyes opened again and his vision was filled with a blurry aerial view of the warehouse below him.
Sam was sure he was going to die, his arms shaking from the strain of holding on and the agony radiating from his sliced palms.
"Sam, look at me, focus on me!" Spike was still talking to him from above – Sam was pretty sure his friend had never stopped.
"Damn it all, Spike – help me!" Sam screamed up at his so-called best friend. Sam nearly regretted the bitterness behind the words when he spied Spike's guilt stricken expression.
Ed appeared next to Spike, relaxing the tech slightly – the team leader's calm expression nearly helped Sam relax as well. Sam would be more relaxed when he was safe.
Reaching down Ed grabbed hold on Sam's other arm. "Okay Sam, don't move alright? Let Spike and I do all the work – we're going to pull you up. Do not move your hands at all, alright? You're going to be fine, but don't move your hands okay?"
Still hyperventilating Sam could only nod – only wanting to be on solid ground once more.
The two men above him shared a look and a nod before they started to pull Sam's hands from the ledge and lift him up onto the roof.
Sam's first instinct when his hands were pull free from the ledge was to hold on tighter, but Ed's voice above him commanded him to let go – so like a good soldier Sam did. Pain and more blood flowed from Sam's hands – once his body had been dragged on solid ground again Sam curled over torn palms protectively.
Ed and Spike were buzzing with motion – Spike removing the suffocating strap from Sam's neck and Ed trying to sooth Sam's pain riddled mind to get a better look at the damage of his hands.
"Sam, you're okay, just let me see how bad it is. The ambulance is on its way." Ed was saying, Spike was speaking to, low quiet words of encouragement and comfort – Sam was having a hard time focusing on anything except his own erratic breathing and the torment of his hands.
When Sam finally held out his mangled hands they all saw the devastation of the injuries. Blood drained out on the deep gashes – white tendons and bone could be made out in the wreckage of viciously torn flesh.
Promptly after viewing the damage Sam turned and lost the contents of his stomach violently in the snow next to him.
"It's going to be okay, Sam." Ed and Spike spoke together, hands reaching out to comfort Sam's shaking body. "It's going to be fine – just relax."
"Relax." Sam hissed out angrily, glaring up at his friends. His hands were ruined – his hands were his life.
"It's going to be fine." Ed's commanding tone caught Sam's attention and the younger man stared at his mentor. "You are going to be fine." It was a promise – an order.
Slowly Sam nodded in response – still pale and shaken; bleeding and in pain.
Once Ed was sure Sam was calming down he turned his attention to a pale Spike. "Let's get him up and help him down the latter."
"How?" Spike asked, causing Ed to pause and look at Sam's mangled hands again. There was no way Sam could grab onto the rungs.
"How about a line, you can lower me down in a harness." Sam ground out through clenched teeth.
Ed nodded waving Spike off to go retrieve the equipment they'd need. "Yeah, that'll work. Let's do it."
"What – what happened in the warehouse?" Sam gasped out, eyes avoiding his hands by remaining focused on Ed's calming face. He needed a distraction – something else to think about.
Ed seemed to understand the sentiment. "Once you dropped the kids surrendered. They didn't want anyone to get hurt and Greg told them we couldn't help you until the area was secure."
"The girl?"
"Wasn't really a hostage – she ended up being one of the gang banger's girlfriend." Ed shook his head.
A thought crossed Sam's mind and before he really thought about the consequences he lifted his right hand to check his ear. A gasp of pain was his reward and Ed grabbed his wrist gently, lowering it back down to Sam's lap.
"Careful." Ed warned needlessly.
"My – earwig must have fallen out in the fall." Sam explained, voice hitching a bit. "Didn't hear anything."
Ed nodded in acknowledgement. "You had other things on your mind."
Sam closed his eyes, holding back unwanted emotions. "My hands." He said simply, voicing his fears out loud.
"You'll be fine." Ed told him once more. "It's going to be fine."
Hope you enjoyed!
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