Sneezes, Questions, AMA? & Spike's Worth It
Next Day – SRU HQ – Briefing Room – 1:00 pm
Lou walked into the briefing room and sneezed several times as he sat down. He reached for the tissues in the center of the table and blew his nose. He was still feeling a little tired. Lou was glad that Ed told them just before they left the hospital yesterday that they only had a half shift today and to come in at one.
Commander Holleran wanted them all to rest a bit after everything that went down at the Craig Hospital. The flight home yesterday afternoon had been rough in the storm. Lou felt bad for the Boss. He hated to fly. Was actually scared to but he had no choice. Zach got them here safely though; actually safer than his drive home.
He got stuck behind a three car pile-up when one car slid on a patch of ice. It slid into one on-coming car and the car behind them ran into them too. Luckily everyone was driving slowly and no one was hurt. But he spent about an hour out in the cold checking on the people in the cars then putting flares out to direct traffic around the accident until the patrol units and EMS arrived to take over.
When he got home he was completely frozen and exhausted. He had taken a hot shower then fallen in bed. Sleep eluded him. All Lou could think about was Spike and Sam. But mostly Spike.
Lou wanted to be there for Spike and to help take care of him. But he had to concede that the Braddock's would ensure Spike was well taken care. It would be better than here. Lou thought that if Spike was here then his dad might go off on him. That was abundantly clear after his call to Mr. Scarlatti yesterday.
He could not understand why Spike's father was so against Spike being in SRU. He heard Spike's Ma in the background. She was very worried about Spike. Lou did not lie to them but he did not go into graphic detail. All he told them was that Spike, Sam and Scott were injured during their ski trip and were at a hospital. They were getting the best care but could not be moved or reached via phone due to the storm.
Lou told them he would call back with an update when he got one via the RCMPs that had sat phones because normal phone lines were still down. He decided that after Sam and Spike were moved to Ottawa he would call and tell them that Scott invited Sam and Spike to stay with him as they all three recuperated.
When Spike was strong enough he would arrange for them to contact Spike. But until then Spike did not need to deal with the negative attitude of his father. Spike needed to be in a positive environment and surrounded by people that were proud of what he did. Spike would get that with Sam's family.
He sneezed again and rubbed his tired eyes. It was only half a shift Lou told himself; he could do a half shift. Then he would go home and sleep.
Jules looked at Lou "You don't look so hot."
Lou responded "I'm okay."
Wordy snorted "Yeah, if that is true then I look good in dresses."
Ed chuckled and looked more critically at Lou. He said "Go home Lou. You must still be run down from giving all that blood to Spike."
Jules reached around and rubbed Lou's back "Yeah you should go home."
Lou said "But we are down two men already."
Having heard the conversation as he entered Greg said firmly "And you remember how well that argument went over when Sam nearly died of bronchitis."
Ed arched an eyebrow "Braddock is rubbing off on you Lou and not in a good way."
Lou looked at everyone. He sighed "I'm a little tired but I'm good for light duty. Besides it is only half a shift."
Greg looked at him pointedly "Lou you are run down and quite possibly on the first stages of a cold. Take care of yourself. Go home."
Wordy added "If you caught a cold then you might infect all of us and then we would be more than three men down. If it is alright with the Boss I'll run you home."
Jules jumped on the bandwagon and added "Can you imagine how guilty Spike would feel if you did not take care of yourself and got sick after giving him blood?"
Lou shook his head. No wonder Sam got irritated when everyone mother-henned him. It was nice they cared but at the same time he was a grown man and knew his limits. It wasn't nice that Jules was trying to guilt him into going home either. But she did have a valid point. He was about to tell them once again that it was just half a shift and he was okay when Commander Holleran entered the room.
Norm looked at Team One, his eyes stopped on Young. Man he looked tired. He heard him sneezing before he came in and wondered if he was coming down with a cold after being in those frigid temperatures after giving blood.
He would address that in a moment but first Norm turned to Greg and stated "Parker I have a special assignment for your team for the next few days."
Greg looked at the Commander and asked "What would that be?"
Everyone turned and looked at Commander Holleran.
Norm set his eyes on Young and said "It's a good thing too. Your team appears to be three men down rather than two. Constable Young you need to go home. You don't look fit enough to be here today. You need to take care of yourself."
Lou stared at the Commander. Did he really look all that bad? He hadn't thought so when he looked in the bathroom mirror while shaving. But everyone was telling him to go home.
The Commander then added "What you did for Scarlatti was admirable. Everyone at the barn has heard about it and is quite proud of you including me. Without your assistance SRU could have lost a good officer. Thank you."
Norm turned back to Greg and said "Hence the special assignment. Winnie suggested that the SRU should lead a police force wide blood drive. So your team will visit each of the divisions and give a talk on the value and virtues of giving blood. Since your team is three men down that is a perfect assignment. It will be classified under your public relations duties."
"It will also give you a chance to run trials for a few temporary officers. Given Braddock's and Scarlatti's injuries it will be several weeks before they will be back on duty" Norn concluded.
What Norm did not say was that he knew how tight knit the team was and that the events had taken a toll on the team. Yes they were professionals but he was concerned with sending them into the field right now. They needed a few days to regroup and get their heads on straight. This was a perfect way to allow him to do that for Team One without putting them on official leave. Plus it would win the department brownie points with the public. Win-win, Norm thought.
Lou piped up "If that is all we have to do then I don't need to go home."
Greg, Ed, Jules and Wordy all turned to Lou and said "You're going home."
Lou slouched in his chair. Being mother-henned sucked he thought mutinously. But he nodded and said "I'm going home." Then he punctuated it with an unexpected sneeze.
Wordy looked to Greg and said "I'll drive him home."
Greg grinned. He loved the idea that the Commander had come up with, it assuaged his concerns for his team. Greg nodded "That would be good. Ed, Jules and I can get started on a plan for the blood drive."
Hospital – Sam's Room – 3:00 pm
Sam woke with only a slight headache. It was nothing even close to that migraine; that had hurt something awful. The only good part about it was Jules. She stayed with him until they sedated him. He just could not get relief from it with meds that normally worked. It was most likely due to the blast.
He still felt a little hot but it was nothing like it had been. Sam wondered how much time had passed. He hated being sedated because he had no concept of time. It could be hours or days. But he was feeling hungry so it had to be a while.
Looking around Sam saw that he was alone. The blinds were closed and the room was dim; most likely in deference to his migraine. Sam felt a little bereft that one of the team was not in the room with him. He had become spoiled and accustomed to at least one of them being in the room when he was hospitalized. Sam chided himself for feeling alone and surmised that the team was probably resting or visiting Spike.
He continued his silent scan and assessment of himself and his surroundings. He saw the IV bag of normal saline and a smaller bag that looked to be almost empty hanging from a pole. The small bag was probably antibiotics but he could not see the label because the bag was turned away from him. Sam followed the lines down and to his arm.
Sam saw a normal IV line in near his left wrist where the two lines were attached. But he felt something on his upper right arm. His eyes darted there and he saw something that sort of looked like an IV line but it just dangled there with no line attached and a capped off thingy. Sam wondered what it was for. He would have to ask.
The pain level of his leg was manageable. He wondered just how much pain meds they had been pumping in him and how long ago he had his last dose. Sam shifted in the bed and his muscles felt stiff and achy but not too bad.
Sam looked to the door of his room when it started to open. He hoped it was Jules. Sam really wanted to see her now that he was not so out of it. When Jules was here last time things were a bit fuzzy. But he did recall that Spike had been shot and Scott was sick and his leg was infected too.
He was a disappointed when it was a nurse.
Vera came in quietly not wanting to wake her patient if he was sleeping. She had gotten a goodnight's sleep and was doing a lot better today with a good rest. I was so nice that the Army and RCMP had arranged for extra medical personnel to relieve them. But they needed rest too, so she and Jasmine took over doing rounds this afternoon.
She smiled seeing Sam awake. Vera spoke softly in case his head was still hurting. "Hey Sam, you don't know me but I'm Vera. I'm one of the nurses that work here. I came in to check on you. How is your head feeling?"
"Not too bad. How long have I been out?" Sam answered quietly trying to cover the disappointment he felt at it not being Jules.
Vera checked his vitals and made notes "A full day. It is about three pm. How is your pain level in the leg?"
"Four or five, not too bad" Sam answered then asked "Do you know where my team is?"
He wanted to ask do you know where Jules is. But he thought better of it and went with team instead.
She set the clipboard on the table and took out a thermometer and took Sam's temperature in the ear. Vera stated "Not bad, you are hovering at about a hundred." She made note of that on the sheet.
Then she looked at Sam and replied "I'm told that your team left yesterday afternoon. I was sleep when they left. Ron said that the weather was okay in Toronto but not Ottawa. So your cousin flew them home."
Sam looked confused "If Toronto was clear why didn't they fly me out?"
Vera shrugged "I'm really not sure. All I know is that you, Scott and Spike and the unit guys are still here. Oh and all the medical staff they sent."
He wondered why he and Spike were not evac'd. Surely they would take them out before the team. That was standard protocol; evac the wounded first. That is if they were not stable enough to move.
Worry rose and Sam asked "How are Spike and Scott. Are they okay?"
Vera detached the antibiotics bag and checked Sam's IV location. She answered "Scott is responding well to the antibiotics for his leg infection. His lungs are a little congested but no pneumonia has set in. Spike is responding to the heparin and Dr. Parker says the blood clot is dissolving."
"Blood clot?" Sam asked with surprise his eyes going wide.
Vera grimaced, "Sorry … I forgot you were sedated when that happened. The doctor is optimistic that it can be dissolved before you are all flown to Ottawa."
"Ottawa? But I live in Toronto. So does Spike" Sam said. The more he talked with Vera the more confused he became.
Shaking her head Vera said "Sorry again. I heard from your cousin Zach that something called a Braddock invasion was taking place at Scott's home and that you three would be going there once you were released from the base hospital."
Sam just stared at Vera. He wondered who was giving the orders and decided to move him to Ottawa and then to Scott's house. To his parent's house would make sense if his dad was in charge. But to Scott's home that was strange. Sam was not adverse to the idea but he would have liked to have been consulted at least. And why Spike? Wouldn't he want to be near his parents? And Lou.
He decided that he needed to talk to Zach to actually get answers. Vera did not know. But there was something she would know. Sam pointed to the thingy in his right arm and asked "What is this for?"
Vera answered "That is a PICC line. It will allow you to get intravenous antibiotics once you are released. I'll let Dr. Parker explain it to you."
"Dr. Parker is here?" Sam asked as he silently sent a thank you to his dad.
His dad had actually sent Dr. Parker, wow. Dr. Parker took care of him many times when he was in JTF2. He was the best. The guys told him that it was Dr. Parker that saved him when they brought him in more dead than alive after rescuing him and worked with Matt to cover up his catatonia afterwards. Sam owed Dr. Parker more than he could repay. It would be nice to see him again.
"Yes she is" Vera replied with a smile. She really liked the young female surgeon. Dr. Parker really cared about her patients.
"She? No he's a he. Dr. Jasper Parker?" Sam said as confusion overtook him again.
Vera saw the confused look and said "She is a she and her name is Dr. Fiona Parker. Darned good surgeon. She saved Spike's life."
Sam laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. Being asleep for one day resulted in so much confusion. He sighed and asked "Can you find Zach for me? I need to speak to him. And Dr. Parker too."
Picking up her clipboard Vera said "The doctor should be in shortly and I'll see if I can round up Zach for you."
"Thank you" Sam said softly. His stomach growled loudly.
Vera chuckled "I'll order you something to eat too."
"You got green jello?" Sam asked with a hopeful note in his voice.
"I'll see what I can do" Vera said then she left the room.
Next Day – Hospital – Scott's Room – 5:00 pm
Jasmin raced into Scott's room and looked around frantically. Her eyes landed on Scott and then Zach. Darn it he wasn't here.
Looking up from the magazine he was reading Zach called out "Jasmin what's the rush?"
"He's not here" Jasmin said in rush as she started to head out.
Zach stood "Who is not here?" he questioned moving towards her.
Turning back to Zach she blurted out "Sam. Sam is missing. He's not in his room. Jeremy went to deliver his food and found his bed empty. He thought he might be in the bathroom even though he should not be up and walking. Jeremy waited several minutes but then knocked. There was no answer so he opened the bathroom door. It was empty too."
She started to head out and added "You warned us he didn't like hospitals. But we didn't think he would try to leave AMA with this storm."
Scott laughed, he knew Sam would not be that stupid to try and leave in this weather. Maybe if his fever had spiked but from what Zach told him it was a steady low grade fever today.
He asked "Have you checked Spike's room?"
Jasmin stopped and looked back at the laugh "No that was next. You think he will be in there?"
Scott nodded "Yeah. Sam is tight with his team. Zach said he was asking to see Spike this morning. I guess he got tired of waiting and took matters into his own hands."
Zach shook his head "Sam's a handful isn't he?"
Laughing Scott nodded then said "Go read Sam the riot act for me. Tell him I said that he better not move his ass from his bed again or I will have words with him."
Zach responded "Okay, I will. Perhaps we should move you and Sam into the same room until we leave. You could keep him in line."
Scott drew a deep breath after the coughing fit that his laughing caused then said "I'd suggest you put him with Spike. I don't want to chance getting him sick with his weaken immune system."
Jasmin smiled "That would be a good idea. I'll talk to Dr. Parker about that."
Then she and Zach left the room. Scott leaned back and took several deep breaths in through his nose. He smiled. Sam surely was a handful.
He thought, poor Jasmin, she had been so frantic thinking that Sam left AMA. From what Zach was saying Sam was cooperating but he had been itching to see Spike. Scott should have told the nurses to arrange for Sam to see Spike yesterday and this could have been avoided.
Hospital – Spike's Room – 5:10 pm
Sam had been sitting here for a half hour waiting for Spike to wake up. He would not wake him though. It was enough to see Spike even though he had many wires and tubes attached. The soft steady beep of Spike's heart monitor was reassuring.
He had truly thought that Noah had killed Spike when he saw him bleeding on the floor of the surgery. Where he got the energy to launch himself at Noah and to hang on so long Sam did not know. He should not have been able to do that.
Sam knew that for a fact based on how he felt right now. He was too exhausted to move. None of the nurses would listen to his demands to see Spike. So he had to take matters into his own hands because he just had to see him. Sam had to be here for him. Lou was not here and Spike needed someone to be there for him.
Just like Spike was always there for him and for Jules and for everyone else. Spike was the first one of the team to offer to stay with one of them if they had to spend time in the hospital. Spike had been there for him so many times.
Sam smiled thinking about the gumball execution kit Spike had made for him. Spike wanted to help when he was having trouble getting the images of glass teethed gumballs attacking him out of his head after the hot call at Gleason mall. It had worked wonders and was a fun distraction from the boredom of being in a hospital bed.
So now that Spike was badly injured and in the hospital Sam did not want him to be alone. Sam didn't like the fact that the team had to leave. But he understood, duty called, their jobs were important and the citizens of Toronto needed the team too.
Sam shifted slightly in the chair he had managed to pull close to the bed. He looked down at his IV location and thought that he probably shouldn't have pulled that out. His pajama bottoms and right hand were still stained with the blood that seeped out after he yanked the IV out.
But there was no way he could have made it to Spike's room dragging the IV pole. It hurt like hell to bear weight on his leg but he had managed to limp and sort of hop to Spike's room and pull this chair over to the bed before collapsing into it. It had taken all the energy reserves he had to do that. His leg was throbbing something fierce hanging down like it was now.
If the nurses had just listened and gotten a wheelchair to bring him in here he would not have left his room like he had. But they hadn't and Spike was important to him. So he managed to make it in here despite the pain. Sam would gladly experience even more pain to ensure that Spike was not alone right now.
The door opened and Sam turned his head. Ah crap. From the looks on Jasmin's, Dr. Parker's and Zach's faces he was in a shitload of trouble. Sam decided the best defense was a strong offense.
Sam stated firmly with a heavy dose of accusation in his voice "I wouldn't have come on my own if you had only listened to me and brought me in here with a wheelchair."
Zach stopped dead. He smiled then laughed. Damn, Sam sounded so much like his brother Adam at the moment. That was Adam's style; come out fighting even when he knew he had screwed up.
Fiona stopped just inside the room and put her hands on her hips in frustration as she said "My father-in-law warned me about you. I should have listened to him. Lesson learned." She smiled as she came forward and knelt down and pulled up his pants leg "I just hope you didn't do any damage to that leg of yours."
Sam grinned. He had been surprised to find out that Dr. Fiona Parker had married Jasper's son. She was feisty but caring and he liked her too.
Zach was not so easily swayed as he said with some heat "What the hell were you thinking Sam? You should not be out of bed much less walking the halls of this hospital on that leg. Scott says that if you don't keep your butt in bed he's got a few words for you."
Jasmin hissed "Shush. You'll wake Spike."
Spike chuckled weakly "Too late already awake."
Sam whipped his head to Spike and grinned when he saw Spike's eyes open. It was good to hear his laugh too, even if it was only a fraction of what it was normally.
"Sorry to wake you" Zach said as he moved to the foot of the bed
Jasmin moved forward and started to note down Spike's vitals. She could see that Sam was not leaving for a few moments so she got busy.
"Buddy, I'm here. How are you feeling?" Sam asked.
Spike turned his head slowly and looked at Sam. He gave Sam a small smile "Good to see you Sam. But I agree with Zach. Why are you here?"
Reaching out to grasp Spike's hand Sam answered "Where else would I be buddy? You are always there for me. About time I returned the favor."
His grasp still weak Spike squeezed Sam's hand "Well do me a favor and get back to your bed. Scott and me worked too hard to save your butt to have you go and ruin it now."
Sam squeezed back and said "Thank you Spike, for everything. I'm not ruining anything, just didn't think you should wake up alone since Lou and the rest of the team had to leave."
Spike had not been awake since he spoke to Lou and Wordy. So he asked "They're not here, how long have I been out?"
Dr. Parker stood after seeing that Sam had not done any damage to his leg and said "Two days. Your body needed the rest. The blood clot is almost completely gone. I'm hoping that you will be okay to travel tomorrow to Ottawa."
Spike blinked. Two days? Blood clot? Ottawa?
"Huh?" Spike said with confusion clearly on his face.
Sam grinned "Yeah I had about the same reaction buddy. Let me bring you up to speed. I spoke with the Boss and my dad last night. It seems the team decided that it would be better if you and I recuperated together."
"My family, Laura actually, decided that we should come and stay with her and Scott. She was quite adamant that we come. Jeff and Kyle got leave along with my uncle Erik. They have set up Scott's huge basement with three beds for when we are all released from the hospital."
His face took on a wary look "I have to warn you though, Scott's sisters and his mom, and quite possibly my mom and aunts will be there too. Prepare to be mother-henned to death."
Spike laughed lightly. The way he felt right about now, mother-henning sounded damned good. But then his mind landed on his Ma "Did someone call my parents. My Ma?"
Nodding Sam said "The Boss said Lou took care of that and told them that once you are settled at Scott's home that you would be calling them. Lou is giving them updates so unless you want to call you don't have to worry about that."
Spike could only imagine what his dad would say to him. None of it would be good or pleasant. It was not something he was ready to deal with. If he could call his Ma so she didn't worry that would be good but he trusted Lou to put her mind at ease for him right now.
Feeling the pull of sleep again, Spike closed his eyes and said wearily "Lou can take care of that for now."
"Rest now Spike. I'll be here" Sam said as he saw Spike pulled back under.
Sleep was good for him right now. Sam sighed. He was glad he was here when Spike woke up.
Dr. Parker checked Spike over quickly then turned to Sam and said "Sam we need to get you back into bed and get that IV started again."
Sam blanched and he went complete rigid as every muscle in his body constricted. Needles. They would have to use a needle to restart the IV.
Tightly Sam ground out "No. No IV."
Fiona felt so bad. The words were out of her mouth and too late she recalled what Jasper had shared with her when she spoke to him. Sam had a justified fear of needles. Jasper would not elaborate but said they needed to be avoided unless absolutely necessary to keep Sam alive. He had also given her the complete rundown on how Sam reacted to various medications so she was able to adjust things properly.
She breathed out a slow breath and said "I forgot, I'm sorry Sam. If you promise to stay well hydrated by drinking water we can switch to using the PICC line for your antibiotics, I have no oral version that will work for your infection. Remember what I told you, no needles are required using the PICC line. Can you do that?"
Sam nodded "Yeah."
He found out yesterday what the thing in his right arm was, it was a PICC line. He would need to be on antibiotic for several weeks and the type he needed to fight the infection only came in IV form. Having this would prevent him from having to deal with needles.
Dr. Parker put it in so that he did not have to stay in the hospital too. He could be given the medication at Scott's home without having an IV. She had explained it could stay in place for up to a year. That if the infection had gotten into the bone, which still might be a possibility, that he might need antibiotics for months. With the PICC line, he would be able to return to work too once his leg healed.
It was just his damned luck he ended up with an aggressive strain of staph infection. The meds the urgent care doctor gave him had been useless against it. At least Ed could not get mad at him. This wasn't his fault.
Well sorta it was. He had been behaving like a kid and racing Spike to the shower and slammed his shin into the corner of the shower. But the part where it got really infected was not his fault. He had followed the doctor's instructions up until they were stranded at the cabin. Even then he had tried to take care of it and had Scott clean it out.
Jasmin finished her vitals check and notes then looked at Sam then Spike. She wished she had listened to Sam and brought him earlier. He was right, they could have avoided this if she had only listened to him and heard that he needed to see Spike.
She made Zach's suggestion "Dr. Parker, perhaps we can bring Sam's bed in here."
Fiona grinned, "Good idea. My father-in-law said Sam always did better with someone in the room with him. Couldn't get away with things as easy."
Zach patted Sam's shoulder and said "You behave now or else I'll tell Scott." He thought a moment and added "and Ed."
Sam groaned but nodded. They all had his number now. Although none of them knew it, Sam didn't really feel up to being ornery right about now. Hell, with as exhausted as he was, getting up out of this chair was impossible at the moment too. And it wasn't like he could go anywhere for two reasons. Spike needed him and with the weather it was not like he could leave the hospital anyways.
He remained in the chair while his bed was moved into the room. While everyone was gone, Sam watched Spike who had drifted back to sleep and grinned. He thought that the good thing to come out of his little trip down the hall was now he could be here for Spike like Spike had been there for him.
As he looked closely at Spike he noticed purple bruising on his neck. They were finger marks. Did Noah Barton choke Spike? If so, Sam was glad the bastard was dead. No one choked his friend and got away with it.
Before long Sam was back in his bed. That was a chore and he let Jeremy and Zach do most the work. He ate his light dinner and drank a bunch of water. Jasmin showed him how the PICC line worked when she came in to give him his antibiotic and an oral dose of pain meds.
Sam drifted off to sleep shortly after. He had overexerted today coming to Spike's room and his body was letting him know that but it was worth it. Spike was worth it.