Bike Rack
Companion Piece: Continuation of Fragments of a Beautiful Life: 4 - Open Minds and Kind Words Soothe the Pain
Riding Back to Support Group Meeting – 11:45 pm
He was pedaling hard. He could not believe he left his phone in the restroom. He hoped Kelly had not left yet. Almost home and he went to pull out his phone to remotely unlock the security system at his apartment and his hand landed on an empty pocket.
If he didn't get there fast it would be an expensive repair to his door because he had configured his system to work with only his phone, no keys and no key pads. Stupid. At the time he thought it was great but now he realized that was really stupid. Adding keypads was a must.
Tomorrow he would set about rectifying that. That is if he got into his apartment at all tonight. It was cool out now but would be rather cold by morning. He did not look forward to sleeping outside. Been there and done that too much in the military.
Outside Support Group Meeting – 11:45 pm
Ed patted Kelly on the back "Thanks again for everything tonight Kelly."
Turning from locking the door Kelly said "Anytime Ed. I know you did not get a chance to speak tonight. How are you handling the Kovac's shooting?"
Ed's eyes closed a moment then looked steadily into Kelly's "I'm good. Never easy to take a life. Darren was too far gone and I stuck to priority of life; citizens, officers then subjects. Darren threatened Spike and then he was going to shoot Sam. Couldn't allow that."
Kelly nodded "I can see that you two really care about Sam. He was in a world of hurt tonight."
Greg sighed "Yes he was. But I'm glad he felt comfortable to talk. I'm not sure if he will come often. But I'm glad he knows he has somewhere to go if things get to overwhelming for him."
As the three of them headed out to the left to the parking lot Kelly said "Six years in Special Forces. Sam will have a lot of potential triggers. Are you sure he does not have PTSD?"
Putting his hands up in placation at Ed's hard glare Kelly added "Just asking out of concern, no judgement."
Ed softened his look and responded "No Sam does not have PTSD. In fact, according to his psychologist Dr. Dawn Tansy, Sam has one of the best coping mechanisms she has ever seen. I can second that, with what I know about him."
Kelly squinted and asked "So why did he need us if he has this Dr. Tansy?"
Greg explained "She has been away at a conference in Germany as a keynote speaker. If Sam did not come tonight I would have contacted her again on Monday when she returned."
Ed stood at the car door as Greg and Kelly conversed a moment about Dawn's qualifications. Kelly was always on the lookout for good psychologists to refer members of the group too. Ed saw a figure on a bike speeding towards the building.
In the limited streetlights he wasn't sure if it was Sam. The hair was blonde and cut military style and he was of similar build. But Sam left over fifteen minutes ago. Why would he be returning?
"Why is Samo returning?" Ed said as he headed back to the building and towards the bike rack, which was to the right of the entrance and behind a three quarter height wall, because that is where the person on the bike was headed.
Greg and Kelly heard Ed and looked in the direction that Ed was headed. They followed.
Outside Support Group Meeting – Bike Rack – 11:53 pm
Carles headed straight for the bike rack. He was almost there when he saw Ed, Greg and thank god Kelly heading for the bike rack too. He smiled knowing he would not be sleeping outside tonight. Carles waved as he came to a stop just near the bike rack.
Ed called out "Thought you were Sam. What are you doing back here?"
Hopping off his bike Carles answered "Left my phone in the bathroom stall. Can't get into my apartment without it."
At the quizzical looks from Ed, Greg and Kelly, Carles briefly explained his self-installed security system.
Ed chuckled "You know Spike would like you."
"Spike?" Carles asked.
Greg nodded "Our techie. Ed is right; you two would get along beautifully."
Kelly said "Put your bike in the rack Carles and I'll open up so you can get your phone." Then he headed for the entrance with his keys in his hands.
Carles grinned and headed to the bike rack. He stopped short as he rounded the wall. The first thought that went through his head was that Sam lied to him. The pill container was for caffeine pills, that was for certain, he had read it. But the pills must have been something he slipped into it.
His friend Johnson, who died of an overdose of downers, had hid his addiction that way. No one knew until he died that was how he was hiding his downers. Johnson had used a small Tylenol bottle.
With deep concern Carles turned back to Greg and Ed and said "Um. I think you guys have a problem and I'm worried for Sam. I saw Sam taking pills in the bathroom tonight. He said they were caffeine pills and he showed me the bottle. But … um. I don't think that's what they were."
Ed looked critically at Carles, "Why do you say that?"
"Because … um … well you have to see this … its Sam" Carles stammered out as he turned his head back to the bike rack.
Rushing forward Ed and Greg stopped as they rounded the corner.
Ed shook his head and grinned with a twinkle in his eyes "Well don't that beat all."
Greg chuckled as he turned to Carles "We know they were not caffeine pills."
Carles was confused by the reaction. Sam was straddling his bike. His arms were crossed on the handle bars. Carles could see his was out. But why were Ed and Greg smiling and chuckling?
"If you knew why did you let him take them? He needs more help than our group can give him. He needs professional drug counseling. He needs help to kick the habit before it ruins his life or kills him" Carles said with clear concern in his voice and in his expression.
Ed chuckled "No counseling needed. They were sugar pills. Spike swapped them out today."
Greg explained "We knew Sam was not sleeping. We suspected nightmares. The team conspired to cut-off his caffeine today. Hence, the reason for only decaf coffee tonight. Sam was too wired on caffeine and we hoped in doing so that he would actually sleep tonight."
Carles looked back at Sam in disbelief "So he is sleeping? How? He's standing and straddling a bike. Shouldn't he be falling over?"
Kelly wondered what was taking so long for Carles to come to the entrance and had wandered back in time to hear Carles. He looked at Sam. "Wow that is some skill. I bet with six years in Special Forces that came in handy."
Ed nodded "Yeah. The only tricky part is we have to wake him without startling him. Startling Sam is a good way to get killed."
Greg chuckled and added "Or to get thrown onto your back in seconds flat and almost get a fist slammed into your jaw."
"Yeah, yeah, don't remind me" Ed muttered.
Kelly laughed "Sounds like personal experience."
"Oh yeah" Greg said with mirth "Eddie here learned the hard way not to startle Sam."
Ed grinned "I'm not the only one. Remember Leah and the taxi?"
Greg stated "Couldn't forget that. So how do you think we should wake him; especially given his exhausted state and the nightmares he has been having? It could be extremely risky."
Looking around Ed could only come up with one idea but he would try loud speaking first. He stepped forward but far away enough from Sam and called out loudly "Samo wake up. Hey wake up."
When Sam made no indication of waking Ed stepped to the rear of the bike and grabbed the tire. Ed tried again with words "Sam you need to wake up. You cannot sleep here." With no response again, Ed shook the back tire vigorously.
Sam startled awake. His eyes flew open and he scanned quickly trying to figure out where he was and why the earth was shaking so violently. Was it an earthquake?
Realization of where he was at dawned quickly. Sam lifted his head and turned to look behind him. He saw Ed's huge Cheshire cat grin.
Smiling hugely Ed shook his head slowly from side to side "Samo, Samo, Samo." He sighed dramatically then added "You know I'm gonna have to add bike rack to the unacceptable nap locations list."
Sam looked beyond Ed and saw the Sarge, Carles and Kelly looking at him. It hit him that he had been sleeping.
He smiled and said "That's alright. At least I was sleeping. Those damned caffeine pills suck. They are not working."
Greg and Ed laughed and Greg said "Come on Sam. Leave your bike here. I'll give you a ride home."
Swinging his leg over his bike, Sam nodded in agreement. It would not be wise to try to ride home right now. He was exhausted.
Ed swung his arm around Sam's shoulder "How about you come spend the night at my home. We can go shoot some golf in the morning then trounce Clark and his friends in a few games of basketball. We can come here after that and pick up your bike."
That sounded good to Sam. He liked shooting golf with Ed and he liked playing basketball with Clark. He nodded and said tiredly "Sure, thanks Ed. I just gotta lock my bike up."
"Toss me the keys Sam. I'll take care of it and give the keys back to Greg. You look dead on your feet" Carles said.
Sam dug out his keys and handed them over. Ed started moving and took Sam in tow with him. He guided an exhausted Sam to Greg's car.
Greg patted Sam's back as Ed and Sam walked by him. He watched them walk slowly to his car. Greg was glad that Sam took Ed up on his offer. They were making inroads with Sam. He was letting the team take care of him when he needed it. That was good.
Carles quickly locked up Sam's bike and handed the keys to Greg. He turned to Kelly and said "I'll just run in and get my phone."
Kelly nodded as Carles headed off. Then he turned to his old friend "What is this unacceptable nap locations list?"
Greg laughed "Oh just a list of the odd places we have found Sam sleeping. Bike rack is certainly one of the oddest places. But I'm damned glad Carles left his phone. Otherwise we would have never known. Sam would have gotten cold tonight. Not a good thing for his lungs."
Kelly nodded as an old news report and something Greg had shared in one of the meetings came to mind. Kelly blew out a breath "I didn't connect it before. That's him. The one you were so upset about. The one you thought you would lose because of the way the team treated him. The one that got shot in the gang war."
Several emotions flickered across Greg's face. He tilted his head and replied "Yeah that's him. That's Samtastic."
Kelly patted Greg's back and said sincerely "You did good Greg. I can see you all did good. Sam is lucky to have you and Ed in his life."
Greg grinned "We are lucky to have him in our lives too." Then he headed toward the car seeing Ed close the back passenger door. He waved to Kelly and said "Goodnight."
Kelly stood and watched Greg and Ed get into the car as he thought; yeah it is a good night. Then Kelly said softly out loud as the car pulled out of the parking lot "I hope you have pleasant dreams tonight Sam. You deserve them."
Epilogue
Sam had pleasant dreams and slept well that night. Sophie made him a wonderful breakfast and Sam enjoyed his Saturday with Ed and Clark.
On Sunday, Sam made a call to his Dad and his father said he would send Carles the name of the soldier that had saved him. Then he went for a day long bike ride and enjoyed the feeling of the cool breeze on his face.
Sam woke rested at 4:30 am on Monday and headed into the barn after chucking his caffeine pills into the trash. He didn't need them. Besides they were useless anyways, even after taking more than recommended amount he had fallen asleep straddling his bike in the bike rack.
Matt was happy to see Sam doing better and that in time that memory of Shy would become less painful and his soul would heal.
Bernael was pissed off that he had failed again and faded away to plan his next attempt to claim Samuel's soul.
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AN: Hope you enjoyed this short one. I'd love to hear what you thought of it.