Shooting at Shadows- Chapter 2
Alrighty, here we go again. I'll see where this takes me. Thanks for the reviews, those awesome people who review. And if you didn't review...why not? :) It's cool though, I'm guilty of being lazy in some cases, you can review this chapter to make up for it. I still don't own anything.
"Seriously Ed, it's not as bad now, I can walk." Sam sounded frustrated as he got out of the car and started slowly walking to the hospital doors.
"I know you can Sam, I know." Ed said as he backed off slightly but still kept his hands ready to steady him if necessary. Sam slowly walked towards the doors of the hospital occasionally using the cars in the parking lot as support. Ed had tried to help, offering his arm as support and offering to go grab a wheelchair but Sam had vehemently refused. As they approached the doors of the hospital Ed stepped in front of Sam and held a door open. Sam looked at Ed with stubborn eyes and made his way through the other door, opening it himself. Ed shook his head as he rejoined Sam on his way to the check in desk. The woman at the desk looked up from her computer and saw Sam slowly walk up to her in his full uniform.
"Sam Braddock, I just need to be cleared for duty. Slipped and hit my head." He said simply with a calm face.
"Yeah, Ed Lane, SRU Team One Leader." Ed pulled his badge out and showed it to the woman. He was only partially in his uniform as he had been in the process changing when Sam fell. "He was showing some signs of a concussion, he needs to be completely checked before anyone clears him for anything." Ed added with authority. The woman looked at both of them before she sent someone out with a wheelchair.
"I can walk." Sam said as he started down the hall without giving Ed or the wheelchair a second glance. Ed went to find a seat away from the other people in the waiting room and pulled out his cell phone.
"Winnie, it's Ed. The boss around?" He asked as he heard the familiar officer connect to the line.
"You guys must have some psychic connection or something. Here he is." Winnie said as Ed heard the phone being put on hold and then connected to Greg's.
"Eddie, how we doing?" Greg wanted to know what was going on, but he didn't seem overly worried. They'd had a lot worse happen in the past and Sam was a tough guy.
"I think he's going to be fine, he was walking on his own, back to his stubborn self." Ed said with a combination of bitterness and a small smile.
"Alright, well keep me updated. See what the doctor says but try to get him to go home and rest. Even if it isn't very bad, he's not going on a calls today." Greg paused for a moment. "I'll be right there." His voice came clearer over the phone. "Keep my updated Eddie."
"Will do Boss." He said as he hung up the phone and returned it to his pocket. Oh Sam, Ed thought as he smiled. Leave it to you to slip on a drop of shaving cream after getting through Afghanistan unharmed...physically...Ed's thoughts drifted as he wondered how deep the scars were under his closely maintained facade. It's tough to mislead a bunch of seasoned profilers but Sam had done pretty well in the beginning. It was only through his own disclosures, for the most part, that the team found anything out about him. Ed and Greg had talked extensively about Sam. He was one of the best snipers they'd ever had, he had solid physical strength and was an asset on entry teams; he had great tactical skills and was able to put together a plan on his feet and, though he still needed some work negotiating he seemed like a solid part of the team.
He had lived up to all of the standards set and they had mostly broken him out of the individualistic attitudes that he held so dear. By necessity he was a loner during his hard life. Emotional connection was not something that he could afford as he constantly moved to new military bases and then to to different areas of war zones. Emotions would get you killed and compartmentalization was the only way to survive the hard years. But Sam had opened up. Ed was sure that Jules had expedited that process. Ed sat in the waiting room softly laughing to himself as he tried to figure out how they thought they could possibly hide their relationship. It was a good shot. He thought as he again laughed at the pairing. He looked at his watch, it had been almost 45 minutes and he was starting to get antsy. He was considering finding a magazine when the doors opened and Sam came walking through slowly, the same expression of frustration still plastered onto his face. Ed stood and met him about halfway with a curious expression. He was trying not to act too concerned, Sam was hating all the attention he was getting, but he needed him to know that he was there and was his friend as well as his Team Leader.
"What's the good word?" Ed asked with a bit of a smile. Sam always made eye contact. Some people took his persist stare as aggressiveness but Ed knew that it was more a habit than a threat.
"I'll be back to normal in a day or two. Small concussion." Sam said with an unwavering face. Ed nodded.
"Great. I'll take you home to get some rest." Ed said with a smile as he started to lead the way out the door. He held it open again for Sam but he didn't make a point of it like when they came in. Sam reluctantly followed and once they were in the parking lot he started the inevitable protests.
"I'm not going home Ed. Let me come back to work and I'll find something to do." Sam's features betrayed his relaxed tone. His face was stiff, almost chiseled into a scowl but his tone relayed a genuine desire to return to work. Ed looked at him carefully.
"The Boss told me to take you home and I'd better have one hell of a reason not to in order to go against him." Ed said gently. He knew where Sam was coming from, he hated being sidelined even if he was hurting. Ed looked again at Sam as he started the car. His eyes seemed cold but Ed knew better than taking that at face value. He nodded. "You're not allowed anywhere near the gym, the shooting range, or combat training." Ed said with firm authority.
"What am I supposed to do then?" Sam asked with a mixed look of relief for coming back to work and confusion about what he was allowed to do.
"Well I believe that there's some paperwork with your name on it and a negotiator handbook just waiting to be reread." Sam let out a small groan as Ed smiled.
"You wanted to come back to work Sam." Ed laughed a bit as they drove quietly back to Headquarters.
Ugh! I got the greatest idea in the middle of writing this chapter, too many ideas! I don't like to write more than one story at a time because I need to finish one before starting another, I will never be leaving a story unfinished, it's one of my pet-peeves. So I'm going to try to pound this one out and then I'll figure out where I'm going to go next. Having a bit of trouble getting into this story, hopefully as it picks up I'll get more attached. Tell me what you think.