Here's the next chapter y'all! Enjoy!

Six hours. That's how long it had been since Sam was transferred from the ICU to the CCU. Major Braddock had taken the General back to the base for a meeting with the CCA and Natalie and Mrs. Braddock had both returned to Sam's place to rest and deal with family members wanting updates on Sam. The members of Team One took turns standing guard outside of Sam's room while the others waited for him to wake up inside. When Dr. Knox arrived to check on Sam, Ed, who was standing guard with Wordy outside, opened the door to Sam's room and followed him inside, Wordy right on their tails. Inside the room, Greg, Jules and Spike were spread around the room, all keeping a watchful eye on their sleeping teammate. They all perked up a bit when Dr. Knox entered the room and began to check on Sam.

"So, Dr. Knox, how's our boy?" Greg asked as Dr. Knox finished his examination and wrote the updates on Sam's chart.

Dr. Knox smiled and looked at the anxious team of SRU officers. "He looks good. His levels are back to normal and there has not been one problem since the…issue last night. I'm going to leave the chest tube in for at least another day or so but—" Dr. Knox shook his head in disbelief and looked at Sam then back to his team, a smile on his face. "If I wasn't the one who operated on him and saw first-hand just how severe his injuries were, there's no way I would believe that he was shot yesterday."

Spike laughed. "Well, we do call him Samtastic for a reason doc!"

Dr. Knox smiled. "I believe it."

Jules looked from Sam to Dr. Knox. "Any idea when he'll wake up?"

"We've been slowly weaning him off the sedation since moving him out of the ICU. Best guess? I would say sometime today. It could be anywhere between the next few hours and sometime tonight. Whenever it does happen however, be sure to keep him as calm as possible and either notify me or a nurse. Got it?"

Team One nodded and Dr. Knox left the room. Everyone sighed in relief at a good report from Dr. Knox and Jules texted Natalie and told her about the update. Jules looked up from her phone to the rest of her team. "Do you guys really think Sam is going to wake up today?"

Wordy smiled and put a comforting hand on Jules's back. "Oh absolutely. In fact, he'll probably be awake sooner rather than later just to keep proving the doctors wrong."

Greg smiled and clapped Wordy on the back. "Very true, and Sam does have a knack for surprising us. He just loves to keep us on our toes."

"Well someone has too." A rough, groggy voice came from the bed. Shocked by the unexpected yet totally welcomed voice, Team One turned around to see the bright blue eyes of their teammate staring back at them.

"Oh my god, Sam!" Jules screeched as she rushed over to Sam's side. The rest of the team followed closely behind her, surrounding Sam on all sides. Greg pressed the call button for the nurse. Jules squeezed Sam's hand. "Sam?"

"Hey," Sam muttered sleepily as he slowly looked around at his teammates. All of their faces showed immense relief and elation.

"Hey yourself," Ed said with a smile and a small chuckle. "How'ya feelin' buddy?"

Sam closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath. A sharp, burning pain radiated throughout his chest and he grimaced then answered Ed's question with a moan. "Ouch."

A small smile and concerned eyes appeared on Ed's face. "That good, huh?"

Before Sam could answer, Dr. Knox and a nurse came into the room. He ushered Team One out of the room and began to give Sam a full checkup. Outside in the hall, Team One waited on an update and Jules texted Nat and told her that Sam was awake. A few minutes later, Dr. Knox and his nurse come out of Sam's room, both looking pleased. The nurse walked away but Dr. Knox went over to Team One. "He looks good. He says he's not in a lot of pain but I'm pretty sure he was lying so I went ahead and hooked him up to a morphine pump if the pain gets too bad. Please make sure he uses I t if he needs it. You can go back in and see him, but remember to keep him as calm as you can. The nurse has a sedative. If Sam gets too worked up, press the call button and she'll come and administer it."

Everyone nodded and Greg stepped forward and shook Dr. Knox's hand. "Thank you, doctor."

Dr. Knox smiled and turned to leave. Team One returned to Sam's room where he was no longer lying flat in bed, but slightly elevated to aid with his breathing. His team surrounded him again and Jules took his hand. "Better?"

Sam nodded once, but he had a look of confusion on his face that did not go unnoticed by his team. Wordy put a hand on Sam's shoulder to get his attention. "Sam, you okay? What are you thinking about?"

"What happened? Why am I here?"

Wordy looked around at his team, his eyes landing on Greg and Ed. Greg gave a small nod and looked back at Sam. "What do you remember Sam?"

"Um… I was speaking at the General's funeral and then…nothing. What happened?"

"You were shot. Twice." Spike said gently, carefully eyeing his best friend. Sam's brow furrowed at the news and Jules squeezed his hand. Sam still looked confused and the others were just going to keep quiet and let him process everything, but when he started shaking his head, they grew concerned.

"Sam?" Ed asked cautiously. He gently squeezed Sam's shoulder, trying to get him to focus on what he was trying to say. "Sam, buddy, it's OK. I know everything is really confusing right now but it's going to be OK…"

"No, no, no, there's something else!" Sam exclaimed, agitated and confused. "I saw the General. Here, in the hospital. Last night, he was in my room. What the hell is going on?! He's supposed to be dead!"

Sam was breathing hard and starting to shake. Team One looked at each other, fear in their eyes. Ed put his hands on Sam's shoulders and leaned over him until he was right in front of his face. "Sam, Sam look at me. You have to calm down, OK? Calm down."

Jules squeezed his hand and rubbed his arm soothingly. "We'll answer all of your questions as best as we can, but you need to calm down first. Slow your breathing down."

Sam nodded and tried to slow his breathing down. His team watched with anxious eyes. After a couple of minutes, Sam's breathing had returned to normal and his body was much more relaxed. He looked around to his teammates. "OK, I'm as calm as I'm going to get. Tell me what's going on."

"OK Sam, we'll tell you, but you have to stay calm. The nurse has drugs to sedate you with and I won't hesitate to call her in here to use them." Ed told Sam seriously, crossing his arms and looking down at him.

"I'll try my hardest, but no promises."

Ed sighed, annoyed by the stubborn honesty coming from his young teammate. "After you were shot, you were taken to the hospital. Your mom, sister and uncle followed behind the ambulance and we followed behind them."

"There were so many people in the waiting room for you that they moved us into a private family room to wait," Spike threw in with a smile. "You're so popular Samtastic."

Everyone smiled and rolled their eyes. Ed continued the story. "We had been waiting for an update on your condition for hours when the General just walked into the room, demanding updates on how you were."

"After the initial shock wore off, we questioned him and he told us everything." Wordy added, giving his teammate a concerned, fatherly glance.

"He told us that while he was in Kandahar, he started receiving threats. His team started investigating and found out they were being sent from a group of insurgents. When the threats got more serious, he decided he had to do something." Greg said, trying to stifle the anger he still felt towards the General.

"So, what, he faked his own death?" Sam asked, shocked.

Jules nodded and squeezed his hand. "Yeah. He did."

Sam scoffed. "That's messed up, even for him."

Team One smiled slightly. Spike chuckled and looked at Sam, a full-blown grin on his face. "You should have heard what Natalie had to say. The General is not her favorite person right now."

"He's not mine either." Sam mumbled as his eyes clouded with fury.

His teammates looked at each other, concerned. Before Sam could say anything else, the door to his room opened and his mom, sister and uncle walked in. They joined Team One, surrounding the bed, and showered Sam with gentle hugs and loving greetings. Sam looked at his uncle, eyes dark with anger. "Where is he?"

Major Braddock looked at his nephew, eyes sad. "He's back on base, waiting for the CCA to arrive. I've got people watching him, under strict orders to never let him out of their sights and to ignore every order he tries to give them."

"Good." Sam's reply was almost growled. The room was silent as they all waited for Sam to collect himself again. Once Sam was somewhat calm, he looked at his team and family surrounding him. "So who did it? Who shot me?"

"His name is Amir Faris. He and his brother Ali are part of the insurgent group responsible for the threats against your father. They were arrested last night."

"How did they know the General was still alive?"

"We're not sure." Major Braddock said, sighing. "More than likely, there was a leak within the group of military personnel your father had that not only told the insurgents that he was alive, but also gave them information on his whereabouts and his funeral. The CCA wants us to wait to question them until he arrives." Major Braddock saw the growing look of confusion , disbelief and anger on Sam's face and he automatically knew what his nephew was thinking. "Sam, relax. I promise you that Amir, Ali, whomever the leak is AND your dad will get what they deserve; the CCA and I will guarantee that." Sam seemed to visually relax and everyone smiled. Major Braddock gave a short laugh and looked at Sam. "You need to relax more, kid. You're going to go prematurely gray."

Sam frowned and his friends and family all laughed at his expense. They continued to fill him in on his injuries and all issues involving his father. After a while, the only emotion on Sam's face was pain. He tried to hide it as best as he could, but his team and his family easily saw through his façade. Against Sam's wishes, Jules pushed the button on his morphine pump and sent the stubborn sniper into a pain free slumber.

...

Hours later, Major Braddock sat inside of an interrogation room, staring down Amir Faris, the man responsible for threatening his brother and putting his only nephew in the hospital. In another room nearby, Major Burns dealt with Ali. CCA Lieutenant-General Marquis Hainse observed and listened to the interrogations, writing down any pertinent information. It wasn't until the very end of Amir's interview that Major Braddock was able to get the information he wanted; the name of the leak, the one who gave them the information to carry out their deadly plan. It was Lieutenant Roberts.