What Is Your Name? & Come Home Sam

Four Days After Rescue – Base Hospital Afghanistan – Sam's Room – 2000 Hours (8 pm)

Zach was seated in the small hard utilitarian chair not meant for hours of sitting. His butt ached from sitting here on and off for the last eight hours. The General had finally had to order Winds and Mason leave after the third day to get some rest and clean up. They were due back here again in a few hours as they were now rotating shifts so Sam was never alone.

Six hours ago Zach had finally talked his uncle into doing the same thing. His uncle had not left Sam's bedside since they arrived. Zach had resorted to threatening to call Aunt Yvonne and have her order him to leave. That did the trick. Before he left the General in his command voice demanded that Zach call immediately if anything changed. Zach had promised he would.

The first two days the doctor kept him fully sedated. Over the last two days Sam had woken briefly many, many times but he was never responsive. His eyes were unfocused and he did not speak or indicate in any way he heard them.

Waking never lasted more than a minute or so then Sam was back into the blackness. The doctor said it was likely related to coming out of the sedation or the effect of the pain meds and not to worry.

But he changed his tune when he got Sam's full history last night. The doctor found out that this was actually the second severe concussion Sam had in a two month period. One concussion was bad but two in such a short period of time could cause problems. Then when he added the blunt force trauma to the head from the beatings he became concerned. But he said they would have to wait until Sam woke fully to assess what if any damage had occurred.

The doctor had started to reduce the amount of pain meds last night to see if Sam would wake for longer periods of time. He had woken more often but the amount of time did not increase nor was he responsive. Their timetable to take Sam home was now on a day by day basis. The doctor would not release Sam until he could maintain wakefulness and he ascertained the impacts of the concussions.

Zach couldn't put up with the chair anymore and rose for the umpteenth time and strode to the window and lightly banged his head on the window. He wanted his cousin to wake up. He wanted him to be okay. This just wasn't fair. All of them had worked so hard to help him recover the last time. This just wasn't fair. Fate was so cruel to him.

He had been surprised to find out that Matt had a son. He remembered the fun he, Matt and Sam had four wheeling after he got his driver's license. Only met the man once but he really liked him. Matt and Sam had a true brother connection. Sam got pulled into all this to save Ben. Sam would say it was worth it. But as far as Zach was concerned it still wasn't fair. Why couldn't this just be considered a special assignment?

His phone began to vibrate. He checked it. Text message from Blaze again. He typed out 'no change' and sent it. Zach had been the designated go between. He handled all the phone calls sharing information about Sam.

At first they had been non-stop from everyone until he put a key contact in place for each group. His dad was now handling the family. Blaze was handling the JTF2 guys. Parker was handling the SRU team. But even with only three now he still got so many calls and texts wanting the latest info. But right now sadly he only had to say 'no change'.

Zach got angry and kicked the little chair. It flew across the room and banged into the wall making a rather loud crashing noise. Anger released for the moment he stomped over and picked it up and plopped down in it.

Sam opened his eyes startled by a loud sound. Where the hell was he? Why did he hurt so much? These were his first thoughts. He shifted in the bed to get more comfortable. It didn't work and his effort only caused him to groan in pain.

Instantly there was someone in front of him. He was trying to focus but he couldn't make the image clear. No amount of blinking brought it into focus; everything was fuzzy and blurry. The light hurt his head which already was pounding. The sounds emitted by whoever it was hurt his head too. It was too hard to distinguish actual words through the constant buzzing in his ears. Sam wanted to escape the pain.

He wanted to slip back to oblivion where things didn't hurt. Sam tried to block out the painful sound. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Not knowing who it was made him anxious.

Sam pulled away from the hand. The talking stopped. A little less pain as the buzzing lessened a bit. He wanted to ask where he was and why he was in so much pain but he would not be able to hear the answer so he just closed his eyes.

That's when a few words broke through the buzzing barrier 'dammit say something'. The words slammed around in his head spiking his pain. He opened his eyes again and he squinted trying lessen the impact of the light and figure out who it was.

The image had not changed, still too blurry to recognize. Disjointed words pounded into his head 'come, we, all, worried, need, awake, you, something, please, do it'. He needed the sound to stop it hurt too much.

When Zach saw Sam's eyes open, he instantly went to the bed and started talking trying to get a response, any response. He defied what he knew about Sam and hoped it wouldn't be a death sentence as he placed his hand on his shoulder when he was getting no response. Sam pulled away from him. He stopped talking for a few moments but then Sam's eyes closed.

Zach started talking again but didn't try to touch him again. In his frustration he said loudly "Sam, dammit say something." He was happy to see Sam's eyes open again.

Still rather loudly he continued "Sam, come on cuz. We are all worried about you. You need to stay awake. Sam you need to say something. Anything. Cuz please, come on you can do it."

He saw Sam squinting and the pain etched on his face. The light, the concussion, the light hurt him. Zach quickly switched off the overhead bright examination light leaving only the small dim light over the sink on. Zach continued to talk loudly as the eyes stayed open and relaxed a small bit from the tight squint. Thank god he was getting some response.

Less light was better but Sam really needed to get the sound to stop or his head was going to explode. Sam managed to slur out "Stop, hurts, please stop" as he closed his eyes again.

Zach immediately stopped talking. He pressed the call button. He realized that Sam was in serious pain. The slurred speech really concerned him.

The nurse popped in and loudly asked what was needed. Zach saw Sam flinch in pain. He walked to her and softly told her to get the doctor that Sam was awake but in pain and he spoke. He walked back over to Sam who had not opened his eyes. He laid his hand on his shoulder again and whispered "Doctor's coming. Try to relax cuz."

Sam felt the hand again but did not pull away. He heard the buzzing but not the words. Without sight and sound and with the pain things were so disjointed. He felt vulnerable.

He didn't know where he was, how he got here, why it hurt, or who was in the room with him. He also felt afraid, but mostly because there was on big question he had no answer for.

Who was he?

The doctor came in and Zach quietly told him what had occurred. "Likely the concussion, I ordered scans for tomorrow but will move them up now. But first I need to do an assessment" the doctor said.

"But what about the pain? Light and sound seem to hurt him, he needs something now" Zach asked.

The look on the doctor's face was not happy when he related "I could up his meds but that would put him back to sleep. I'm afraid he is going to have to be in pain for a bit while I do the assessment."

Zach's face mirrored the doctors. God dammit he thought. Hasn't Sam had enough of that already? But he understood.

He should step out to call the General. Zach knew he would be dead meat if he didn't call right away but he thought it would be better to have real news not just that Sam was in pain. So he stood at the end of the bed to observe.

The doctor approached the bed. He'd been warned not to touch without getting acknowledgment first. If the concussion was as bad as he thought he knew he would have to speak loudly to be heard. It would hurt his patient but it had to be done. He'd seen many concussions and usually his patients said the ringing drowned out words.

Very loudly, almost a shout, the doctor said "I'm Doctor Nettle. I need to examine you. I need to check your eyes and ears. I need to touch you. Are you okay with that?"

The words hurt so badly but he heard them clearly. He nodded slightly. He felt the hands as the doctor examined his ears. He wanted to scream in pain and pull away when a sharp light lanced his eyes but he just clenched his jaw. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly when the doctor was done.

Loudly again the doctor informed "I'm sending you down for a scan. You have a severe concussion. I see light and sound cause you pain. When we are done I can help with that. But I need to ask you a few questions first though." Sam nodded slightly. "Okay, first question what is your name?"

Sam wracked his brain then said "No."

Zach tensed.

The doctor wondered if this was because the soldier was part of a Priority 1 and didn't know that black out had been lifted so he said "Soldier, the Priority 1 blackout has been lifted by the General. Your code name was Hell-Froze. With that information are you now able to tell me your name?"

Zach relaxed a bit, Sam was following protocol not to id himself, whew.

He was a soldier? What was a Priority 1 blackout? He had a code name? Who the hell was he? He finally answered "No."

Zach froze.

This was not good the doctor thought "Do you know where you are?"

"No."

"Do you know what the date is?" Dr. Nettle asked

Sam thought hard or as hard as he could through the pounding. Dejectedly he said "No."

"What is the last thing you remember?"

Nothing made sense. Everything in his head was fragmented into a billion pieces. He could not grasp a single memory. Who the hell was he? Anxiety was increased swiftly. He started to rise as he felt the need to run, to flee, to hide.

Zach was rooted in place. Sam, no, Christ no. He started to panic inside. He was going to have to tell Uncle Will that Sam had no memory of who he was.

Dr. Nettle watched closely. His patient was rapidly becoming unsettled. He could see the fear taking over.

He quickly said "It is okay, calm now. This happens with concussions. Relax. Don't try to think too hard. It will come in time. I need you to lie back and relax now."

Then the doctor gently put his hand on Sam's shoulder and pushed him down to the bed. "I'm going to up your pain meds just as soon as the scans are done. It will put you to sleep. Until then we are going to make it very dark and quiet for you. We'll be back in a few to take you for the scans, relax for now."

Sam nodded slightly.

The doctor indicated for Zach to follow him from the room and the doctor turned off the only light on in the room as he left. In the hall he said "Sam is suffering from the effects of the severe concussion. The scans will tell us the current condition, if the swelling increased or decreased. As you saw he is having trouble remembering. Don't panic, it is usually temporary. To help with the pain there needs to be no sounds and no lights for now. Just sit with him but no talking."

Zach nodded. The doctor left to order the scans. Zach slid down the wall and sat on the floor.

Don't panic the doctor said, don't panic. But all he wanted to do was panic. Zach was trying very hard to get ahold of himself when he heard laughter down the hall. Winds was teasing Mason about some cute orderly.

Mason had just shoved Winds lightly but made him lose his balance and ram into the wall. Winds righted himself and glared at Mason.

Stopping, Mason smiled and said "Serves you right. Christ man the little slip of a thing looked to be young enough to be my daughter. She was just being nice to Blondie."

Winds was about to retort when he noticed Zach sitting on the floor outside the room. A look of panic on his face. Winds hurried forward and bent down "Zach what's wrong?"

Zach looked to Winds "I gotta call Uncle Will." He pulled his phone out. They were shaking.

Winds stayed his hands "What is it?"

Mason went to push the door to Blondie's room open.

Zach stood quickly grabbed his arm and said urgently "Quiet, no sound, no lights."

Mason stopped "Why?"

"He woke up." Both Winds and Mason smiled, but it quickly faded at the look on Zach face. Zach explained what had happened.

"So he really doesn't know who he is?" Winds asked.

"I have to call Uncle Will now" Zach said dejectedly.

"No wait, wait until the scans come back. The General was so wiped out he needs rest. Maybe it is just temporary and he will remember shortly" Mason stated.

Zach shook his head no then dialed. He knew his uncle needed to know this and now.

Seven Days After Rescue – SRU HQ

Greg was in the briefing room going over the final candidates to replace Leo. He was sad to see him go. He really was a pretty good fit for the team. He had all the skills necessary except negotiating skills, but they could have helped him with that given time. But right now he was torn between Kelly Haverson and Mike Fringle.

He really didn't want to pick one. Sam was coming home in the next week or so. Zach had not said much other than they were delayed because the doctor did not want Sam to fly yet because of the concussions. Understandable. He was pulled away from his musings as Ed entered.

"Hey Greg, decide on our new team member yet?" Ed asked pulling out a chair and sitting.

Greg twisted his mouth into a concentrated smile "Either Kelly or Mike." He closed the files not ready to make the decision.

Spike rounded the corner "Hey Boss, did they tell you when Sam was gonna be back?"

"Not exactly, in the week or so. Zach said it all depends" Greg replied.

"Is he coming here or the base to recover?" Jules said as she joined the group.

Greg said "Not sure, but most likely the base since he is in the Army. Zach was not real clear with his information. Almost like he was hiding or avoiding something."

Wordy strode in "Who was avoiding what?" he asked.

Ed piped up "Boss was just saying that Zach was holding something back when he gave details about Sam."

"I can't wait to see him. It's been too long. They won't even let us talk to him or Sykpe or anything. Strange, must be part of that whole stupid blackout protocol thing. I'm just so glad he is coming home soon" Spike added swinging around his chair happily.

Everyone laughed. They felt exactly the same way.

"So, guys, out to the gun range, we got some training to today. Down two we are not on call. But we'll patrol a bit later." Ed told them.

Jules asked "Where's Leah?"

"Had some personal things to attend too, family I think. She'll be gone the next four weeks" Greg told the team.

He opened the files again. With Leah gone he had to select someone. "Input time, Kelly or Mike?" They were no help, two for Mike and two for Kelly.

Greg made a decision. It would be Mike. He had better sniper skills and tactical skills than Kelly. Kelly was great at negotiations but they already had a full complement of negotiators. "I'll bring Mike in early next week. We can put him through his paces in the shoot house."

Spike muttered something under his breath. Jules nudged him "What was that Spike?"

He looked at her surprised she had heard. No one but Sam ever heard him when he muttered under his breath. His hearing was too damned acute. He could never sneak up on Sam always knew when someone entered a room. "Nothin" he quickly answered.

"No it was something, give it up. What'd ya say" she lightly punched his arm.

Spike looked as Jules embarrassed "Said he was no Samtastic."

Jules smiled feeling the same exact way. Although Mike was a blue eyed blonde, Spike was definitely right he was no Samtastic.

Greg looked to them all and said sternly "None of that. We certainly don't want to repeat the same mistake a third time."

Duly admonished the team headed out to the gun range.

Jules piped up "Meet you guys out there in a moment, I just need to make a quick stop." Jules headed for the women's locker room.

She went to her locker and opened it. She took out her small black notebook and looked at the picture of Sam. She ripped off a small slip of paper and wrote 'please don't forget me. please come back to me. waiting for you Sam'. She folded the paper, put the book away and closed her locker then left the women's locker room.

Jules covertly slipped into the men's locker room. She went to Sam's locker and silently slipped the note into the vent. As she leaned her head on the locker she thought this is so hard waiting for him to come home.

But at least she knew Sam was coming home now. Zach had not told them much of anything since the first night. Just he had broken ribs, an injured ankle, tons of bruises and a bad concussion that kept him from traveling.

Whispering to the locker Jules said "Come home Sam. Come back where you belong" before she headed out to the gun range to beat the pants off the guys in target shooting.

It would be easy, too easy. She missed the challenge of trying to beat Sam at the range. His eyesight was exceptional which made him so accurate.