PICC Line Disaster, Go Home & Both Sides

Two Weeks Later – SRU HQ – Men's Locker Room

Greg, Ed, Wordy, Lou and Sam were all nearly done dressing for work. Sam had rejoined the team last week and Ed put him on light duty all last week even though he was cleared for full active duty.

Sam was not a happy camper about that but did not buck too much about it at first. With Spike still out they did need someone in the truck. But Sam was getting very frustrated by the end of last week.

Ed had put Sam on light duty even though he passed all requals and was fit for duty. That was only because Ed was unsure of allowing Sam to get into any situations where Sam's PICC line could possibly be pulled out. Ed was worried even though Sam wore a special cuff around it that protected the PICC line.

The infection had been a very virulent strain and the doctor was being overly cautious. So Sam was still receiving twice daily antibiotic treatments even though his last two screens had come back clean. He would be receiving the treatment for another two weeks. So the PICC line would stay in place until he was done.

Sam sat down and tied his boots. He looked at Ed and wondered if he would put him in the truck again this week. He didn't think he could hack two more weeks of being in the truck for no reason. He needed to do his job, his full job. He needed to be out there protecting them.

He stood and took the bull by the horns, "Ed I was cleared for full active duty. I shouldn't be relegated to light duty in the truck."

Ed stopped buttoning his shirt and turned to look at Sam "You're in the truck until I say you are not."

Frustration rose in Sam and his voice reflected that "You have no cause to keep me in the truck. I can do my job."

Ed did not like the tone Sam used and he let his ire rise. He saw this argument coming during workout. "Braddock, I'm team leader. Do I have to remind you that as such the decision is mine and mine alone."

Sam slammed his locker closed and bit back "What do I have to do to prove to you I'm fit and fine for duty? You are team leader not my fucking nurse maid. I was cleared. Let me do my damned job."

"That's right, I'm team leader. You are in the truck. Period. Until that PICC line comes out you are in the truck. End of story" Ed growled.

Dammit, Sam was getting under his skin again. The damned rookie could not see he was doing this for his own good. If that PICC line got damaged or pulled out then Sam would have to have IVs started and that involved needles. Ed wanted to spare Sam having to deal with needles.

Pissed off now and not thinking clearly as he saw red, Sam started unbuttoning his shirt. He yanked it out of his pants and took it off. He undid the cuff that covered the PICC line.

"If that is the condition" Sam yelled as his hand moved toward the PICC line.

Wordy had stayed out of it until he saw what Sam intended to do. Jesus Christ, Sam was going to pull the PICC line out right here and now. Shit!

He lunged forward and grabbed Sam's hand.

Wordy urgently yelled "Sam, don't!"

Greg and Lou turned at Wordy's words. Both had expected the argument between Ed and Sam and usually it was best to let the two of them go at it and work it out. But Wordy's voice clued them into something other than words was going on.

Sam tried to get Wordy's hands off his. In his anger he pushed Wordy harder than he intended causing Wordy to step backwards.

The back of Wordy's legs connected with the bench and he toppled over backwards. Wordy's hands went wild reaching for purchase, trying to find something to stop his descent.

Unfortunately, he caught Sam's upper arm as Sam reached to grab him. Sam's hand missed Wordy by centimeters but Wordy's wedding ring caught on Sam's PICC line catheter. As Wordy fell, the PICC line was ripped out.

When Wordy hit the ground with a thud all eyes were on him but everyone was rooted in place. Then they all saw the PICC line lying on the bench. Their eyes all turned to Sam's arm.

"Shit!" each of them yelled.

Sam clamped his hand over the torn and bleeding sutures that had held the line in place. Ed and Lou raced to Sam and sat him down quickly. As Sam's face turned white and his hand turned red they laid him down on the floor.

Greg put a call into EMS. He was not sure how a PICC line was supposed to be removed but he knew it certainly was not like that.

Wordy got up and moved to Sam. "Christ Sam I so sorry."

Sam looked at Wordy "No I'm sorry. Are you okay? You hit the ground pretty hard."

"I'm fine … okay. I'm okay. No harm. But you Sam …" Wordy got out in a very worried tone.

Lou had run to get first aid kit as Ed was applying pressure. Lou opened the kit up and got out several gauze pads. Ed removed his hands that had gone on top of Sam's hand as Lou moved in with the gauze pads. Sam removed his hand too as Lou pressed the pads to his arm and took over applying pressure.

Ed stared down at Sam. Shit. He felt bad but he was so angry at Sam too. This was what he was trying to prevent. God dammit he had pushed Sam too hard. He should not have been so over protective.

His voice was hard but flat "Sam."

Sam turned ice hard eyes on Ed "The PICC line is out and it damned well is not going back in. Now you have no reason to keep me in the truck."

"The hell I don't. You're lying on the floor white as a sheet and your arm is bleeding like a stuck pig" Ed yelled back.

After hanging up with EMS, Greg came forward and tapped on Ed's shoulder to get his attention. When Ed and Sam simply glared at each other Greg pulled on Ed's arm.

"Ed come with me now" Greg said with authority.

Not wanting to break eye contact with Sam, Ed resisted. It was a glare of wills between two alpha males.

Ed was in charge and Sam would do what was best for him even if Ed had to read him the riot act over and over. God damned rookie didn't know the first damned thing about self-preservation. Well Sam was damned well going to learn if that was the last thing Ed taught him.

Sam was so sick of being mother-henned. Ed was clearly overstepping his authority. He was cleared dammit. He should not be in the truck and he damned well made sure of it now. The damned PICC line was out. Sam needed to be protecting the team. He met Ed's condition, Ed had no grounds to bench him now.

"Ed NOW!" Greg raised his voice when Ed and Sam showed no sign of either backing down.

When Ed turned to him Greg said softer "You are not helping matters. Come with me and make room for EMS."

Jim and his partner had just been at Timmy's when the call came in of an SRU officer in need of EMS at SRU HQ. He entered the locker room quickly hoping it was not Sam. But sure enough it was. Dammit!

He looked at Sam on the floor with Lou applying pressure to Sam's arm. Then Jim saw the PICC line on the bench "Holy crap Sam. What did you do, pull the damned thing out?"

Wordy looked up at Jim and sadly said "No that was me. It was an accident."

Greg pulled Ed out of the locker room as Jim knelt down next to Sam.

When Ed was gone Sam turned to Wordy and saw the worried look of hurt in his eyes. His voice was still infused with anger at Ed as he said "Not your fault Wordy. It was coming out today regardless."

"Sam I know you are upset with Ed. He is being overprotective and that is annoying you. But that is no reason for you to try and pull out the PICC line" Wordy said in his fatherly voice knowing Sam's angry tone was not directed at him but Ed.

As far as Wordy was concerned Ed pushed too far this time. They all knew how frustrated Sam was last week. The cover adequately protected the line. Sam should not have been relegated to the truck. Wordy tucked his own anger towards Ed away for the moment because it would not help Sam right now.

"He was smothering me Wordy. I can do my job. He laid out the conditions. I would be in the damned truck until the damned PICC line came out. So it had to come out" Sam responded but the heat in his voice was ebbing now that Ed was out of the room.

Jim shook his head and looked at Wordy "You said it was an accident."

"It was. I was trying to stop Sam from pulling it out. I tripped and snagged it and it ripped out" Wordy explained.

Realization that Sam had intended to pull it out himself hit Jim hard. Holy crap.

Jim turned back to Sam, his voice was rock hard and angry "What the hell were you thinking Sam? That line was in there for a reason. You've just earned yourself a trip to the ER for monitoring and a day or two off for your stupidity."

Sam turned to Jim "I do not need ER."

"Like hell you don't! We need to make sure the line did not break off inside. There are strict procedures to follow for a PICC line removal to prevent infection and god forbid other complications like an embolism" Jim said with heat hearing how fucking stupid Sam had just been.

Jim turned to his partner and said "Get the gurney. We're taking a ride."

Turning back to Sam who was trying to sit up Jim glared at Sam and reverted back to another time and place "Don't move your ass off that ground Blondie. The best thing they did was lay you flat. Just wait until I tell Blaze what an ass you've been today. I can imagine the ass chewing he is gonna give you. And you fully deserve it."

Sam glared at Jim "No need to tell him."

Jim's mirthless short laugh rang off the lockers then he said "Do you have any idea what a stupid thing you did? That line ends in the junction between your superior vena cava and the upper chamber of your heart on the right side you idiot. Pulling it out like this could have killed you Blondie. One air bubble or a clot formed around the line that came loose and poof you're dead. Fuck Blondie. I thought I taught you better."

Wordy's face fell and he sat back on his heels. He could have killed Sam. Wordy rose and quickly left the room. It was too much.

Lou looked at Sam and in a scathing tone said "Are you happy now? Wordy thinks he could have killed you. But he wouldn't be in this position if you just listened to Ed. It doesn't matter that Ed was being overbearing. He was doing it because he cares. We all care for you. Get that through your thick head Sam."

He was on a roll and he blurted out "Spike got shot because of you. None of you would have been in that hospital if you had just postponed that damned ski trip after you hurt your leg."

The stricken look on Sam's face made Lou stop. Oh shit he didn't just say that to Sam? He took a deep breath and started "Sam I didn't mean that."

Sam's voice was flat and emotionless "Yes you did. You said it, you meant it. Yes it was my fault Spike got shot and Scott got impaled and the Barton's blew up the hospital surgery room and injured many. None of that would have happened if it weren't for me. Go find Wordy and tell him for me that this is not his fault. It is my fault. I pushed him."

Lou looked at Sam and saw the closed off look. Aw Crap. Spike was going to be pissed off at him for speaking like that to Sam. Lou could see nothing he could say to Sam right now would be heard. Lou left the locker room to go find Wordy. This morning everything was so fucked up.

As Jim worked he saw the shutters close on Sam's face. He regretted his harsh words but what Sam tried to do was so stupid and he was still angry with him. But aw damn if the hurt in Sam's eyes didn't pierce straight to Jim's heart. Jim's voice softened "Sam?"

Jules entered the locker room quietly and was about to round the corner to where Sam was. She stopped a moment when she heard Sam speaking to Jim. She was aware what happened in here. The Boss, Ed, Wordy and Lou were going at each other in the briefing room over what happened. Instead of getting into the fray she had come to check on Sam and see if she could help.

His voice flat Sam said "What? You want another piece of me? Go ahead. I screw everything up. I'm a royal fuck up. I just left the team in shambles and shorthanded because I didn't want to be in the truck."

Jim put his hand on Sam's left arm and squeezed. He asked quietly "Why didn't you want to be in the truck?"

Sam looked at Jim his tone dead but his eyes hurting Sam said to Jim "Why do you think? I can't protect her from in the truck."

"You mean Jules?" Jim asked.

Jules sucked in a breath. What was it with her overhearing things that she probably shouldn't have lately? But she continued to listen because she wanted to gain insight into Sam. Why was he so opposed to being in the truck?

Sam nodded "Yeah. She is out there in the line of fire and I'm stuck in the truck. I cannot cover her from the truck. I cannot cover ANY of them from the truck. She got shot because I didn't cover her. I can't let that happen again. Never again. I have to protect them all, they are my family."

Jules sank to the bench. So that is why Sam could not stand to be in the truck. He wanted to protect her, all of them really. It hurt to know Sam still blamed himself for her being shot, it was not his fault. Jules dearly wished Sam could see that and accept it.

She watched as the gurney was brought in. She stood and followed it making herself known as approached.

"Sam?" Jules said with concern as she came around the corner.

Sam looked at Jules. He saw concern in her eyes.

Damn he was batting a thousand today. He fucked up royally letting his anger and frustration get the better of him. He had hurt the entire team. All he wanted to do was do his job and protect them but it had gone all wrong.

Jules waited for Jim and his partner to lift Sam onto the gurney then she took Sam's hand as they secured him with the straps. She said softly "Hey I'm here for you. I'm gonna ride to the ER with you. Okay?"

Sam wasn't sure he wanted her to. But part of him was screaming at him to tell her to come, that he needed her right now. Silence was his only option fearing what he might say out loud. Sam simply lightly squeezed her hand.

Jules smiled at Sam taking the squeeze to mean he wanted her to be with him. "I'm just gonna go tell the Sarge I'm heading out with you. I'll be right back."

Jim looked at Jules and said "Meet us at the rig, we're all set to go."

Nodding Jules rushed out to the briefing room. She knew the Boss would not have a problem with her going. She had heard him telling Peter to up Team Four just before she told him she was going with Sam.

It was a good thing the Boss upped Team Four. They all knew Team One was a man down with Spike out. Now they were two men down with Sam going to the hospital. And Wordy, Ed and Lou were in no state to be heading out for hot calls after what transpired in the locker room.

Before she got to the rig she placed a quick call to Spike and he agreed to meet her at the ER.

SRU HQ – Briefing Room

Ed, Wordy, Greg and Lou all quieted when Sam was pushed past the briefing room door on the gurney. Each watched with a mixture of feelings running through their heads. Anger was the most prevalent but anger at who was widely different.

Wordy was angry at Ed, Sam and himself. Mostly himself. He could have killed Sam. Wordy toyed with his wedding band. The item he held most dear had hurt Sam by snagging his line and yanking it out. His anger at Ed flared. That would not have happened if Ed had handled the situation better.

He turned on Ed as the door to SRU HQ closed and let him have it with both barrels. "You should have handled Sam better. We all know how he is like. That he doesn't do well when we hover too much. You just had to push him didn't you?"

Ed had not put the cap back on his anger at himself and at Sam yet and he responded heatedly "Look what Sam did! The line was ripped out solely due to his actions. This is exactly what I was trying to prevent. Now we are back to down two men. Sam has no sense of self-preservation. Someone has to look out for him because he damned well doesn't do it for himself."

Lou was angry at Sam at for his reaction to Ed and causing Wordy to fall and making Wordy feel badly that he hurt a teammate but he was angry at Ed for initiating the situation with his unreasonable behavior towards Sam.

His voice was strong and smooth but loud as Lou injected himself into the yelling match "Ed that wouldn't have happened if you were not being unreasonable. You and Sam need to get a grip. Your arguments are legendary in SRU now. Everyone is sick of them. As team leader we look to you to set the tone."

Lou lowered his voice but not the heat as he ground out "Some fucking tone. The result of your argument with Sam is that Sam is on his way to the hospital and Wordy now thinks he could have killed Sam based on what Jim said in there after you left."

He turned and strode to the window. What Lou didn't say was that he had been hurt by this too. It was self-inflicted but he felt bad for what he said to Sam about it being his fault that Spike got shot. It wasn't. But in the heat of the moment he had lost it.

They all knew that if Sam had been given the right antibiotics in the first place the infection would not have gotten to the point of being life-threatening to him. Scott and Spike and Sam would not have ended up in that hospital. The events that followed would not have happened either.

In one way Lou knew that even as bad as it was for everyone in the Craig hospital, it was good it happened that way. Because they were there, that little boy Ethan got the care he needed. Ethan could have died of septic shock if his appendix had burst. The only reason they had a sno-cat to go get a doctor that could operate on him was due to the chain of events that landed Sam, Spike and Scott in that hospital.

Lou blew out a frustrated breath. He was glad Jules had not been in the room and had gone to the hospital with Sam. The glare she had thrown at Ed when she told Sarge she was going had fire and daggers in it. Lou could hear Ed and Wordy arguing heatedly. Accusations were being flung back and forth. He could hear the Sarge trying to be peacemaker. Damn, the team was falling apart.

Greg could not get Ed and Wordy to calm down; after Lou strode to the windows they went back at each other trading deep cutting barbs. The fact that mellow Lou had yelled had shocked him. When Lou had moved off to the windows, it was clear Lou was extremely upset by all of this. As was he.

"ENOUGH!" Greg roared above Ed and Wordy.

Ed and Wordy finally stopped and turned to Greg with surprise on their faces. Lou turned from the window and looked at Sarge in shock. It was exceedingly rare that Greg raised his voice in that manner.

Greg having gotten their attention gave each one a long look. It was so he could calm himself enough to speak more calmly. He inhaled deeply then slowly released it. He raked his hands over his head several times collecting his thoughts.

Calm enough now Greg said "Go home all of you. We are off shift. There is no way in hell we can work together as a team today and I will not put everyone at risk. Go home. Cool off. We will meet tomorrow and reasonably discuss what happened in that locker room. I will contact each of you once I know Sam's status. But for today I don't want you going near him. Sam needs time to cool off too. Do I make myself clear?"

Ed started to protest and Greg shut him down "Ed not a word. You may be team leader but I'm Sergeant of this team. Go home. Think about your actions and the results. This has to stop and you need to figure out a way to deal with Sam differently. We all know he is different from us. The way his mind works. Accept that fact and develop a tactical strategy for dealing with him Ed …."

What Greg left off was 'or else you are gonna push Sam until he does something so stupid he actually gets himself killed'.

Lou turned and stalked out of the briefing room. He was glad to have the time off. He needed to do some serious thinking on how he could make it up to Sam. He knew his words had wounded Sam deeply.

But first he had to rid himself of his anger towards Sam for what happened too. And Ed. Lou also would have to deal with Spike and the chewing out Spike was likely to give him once he found out what he said to Sam. That was not gonna be pretty. Spike had gotten closer to Sam as they had recuperated together those weeks at Scott's home.

Wordy glared at Ed one last time and then headed to the locker room to grab his keys. He would not bother to stop and change. Wordy needed away from Ed and here right now. He needed to talk to Shel.

Shel would help him. Wordy was feeling so guilty over what happened. The wedding ring on his left hand felt as heavy as his heart right now. Part of him wanted to go to Sam too but he was still too angry with Sam for trying to pull out the PICC line in the first place. Greg was right, they needed time to think things through and then move forward reasonably.

Ed continued to look at Greg. He knew he screwed up but what else was he supposed to do? After Wordy and Lou left Ed asked "Are you going to see Sam?"

Greg blew out another breath and sighed as he wondered just what to do about the team. A tension had been brewing beneath the surface ever since the team had arrived at the hospital to find Sam and Spike injured. It had not resolved and it had reared its ugly head today. Greg needed time to think.

He answered "Yes. Go home Ed. I'm serious that you need to find a different way with Sam. We've had those conversations before about where Sam was when he joined the team. I'm afraid finding out about Matt's half-sister may have triggered his feelings again. You need to walk a different line with him than the rest of us. Sam does not respond the same way as the rest of us do."

"You should know this by now. After the incident when we made Sam take the mandatory vacation after he and Jules broke it off. He's been hurt so much in his life. He's lost people he feels he should have protected. You and I both know he is a protector at the core of his being. He will never be comfortable being sidelined when he feels it is his duty to protect the team" Greg explained for the umpteenth time to Ed.

This was a conversation that they had too many times. Ed and Sam were both so stubborn and set. They were becoming very predictable. Ed would push and push. Sam would bend to a certain point. But Sam had his breaking point and when he reached it he would lash out. Mostly not as stupidly as today.

Today Sam's reaction and actions had been colossally stupid. He would have to have a talk to Sam about that. Behavior like that could not be condoned. But Greg felt that there was something driving that behavior today; more than just normal frustration. Greg was certain it had to do with Sam's feeling about Matt that must have been reawakened.

"Go home Ed" Greg said as he headed out of the briefing room to go to the hospital.

Ed was silent for a long time just staring at the wall. Greg was right. He was always right. But just the hell was he going to do about it?

Slowly he turned and headed to the locker room to change and head home. No, not home he corrected. He needed to work out the anger before he could think clearly. Ed decided to change into his workout clothes again.

Some time on the heavy bag was badly needed Ed thought.

Hospital – Waiting Room

Jules was sitting but wanted to be pacing. They would not let her go back with Sam. She looked up when she heard her name.

Spike came to a halt after saying "Jules?"

Jules stood and said "He's stable as far as I know. Jim said they would have to do an x-ray to determine if the PICC line broke off and any remained inside. Jim is with him right now."

Spike nervously rocked on his heels "Jules just what the heck happened? Why would Sam do that?"

Jules paced back and forth in front of Spike "Ed. Ed pushed too hard. Sam reacted."

Jim entered the waiting room and saw Jules and Spike. He headed over and spoke "They did the x-ray as soon as we got here. Took him right back. There is a small piece that broke off about midline. They are going to have to do an interventional surgery and use a snag pull to remove the line."

Spike asked "What kind of surgery is that? Will Sam have to be put under? What are the risks?"

Placing a hand on Spike's shoulder to calm him Jim explained "No general. They can use nitrous to relax him and then use a local. It is a minimally invasive procedure that uses CT or x-ray to guide the snag pull to the broken line. They will simply gently pull it out. But I expect Dr. Fraser is going to keep Sam a day or two for observation."

Spike nodded "That's good." He then moved to a chair needing to sit down. The adrenaline rush he had since Jules called was ebbing.

Jules sat next to Spike and asked "Can I get you anything Spike?"

"No I'm good. Tell me exactly what happened Jules" Spike responded.

Jim wanted to know too. Jules explained what she had gathered from overhearing the guys yelling in the briefing room. When she finished Spike blew out a breath.

"Excuse me Jules, Spike. I need to go make a call. Then I have to head back out. I'll let Dr. Fraser know you two are waiting" Jim said and then turned.

After Jim left Spike turned to Jules and said "I'm so angry at the situation. But I can see both sides. Ed was trying to do what he thought best. I understand Sam's frustration too. He was fully cleared. Being in the truck frustrates him immensely. But what he tried to do was downright irresponsible. And now Wordy will feel responsible. That's not right Jules. Not right at all."

He looked Jules in the eyes and asked "What are we gonna do about it?"

Jules patted Spike's knee. She wasn't sure what to do about it but said "For now we will be here for Sam. Keep him in the hospital so he doesn't do more damage to himself. I'm sure the Boss will think of something to resolve the whole debacle."

She needed something to do to keep her mind off Sam right now so she said "Sounds like Sam will be a while. Let's head down to the café and grab a coffee. You can tell me how your rehab is going and how you are liking staying at Lou's."

Reluctantly, Spike rose and the two of them headed off to the cafe letting Nancy know where they were in case Sam or Dr. Fraser needed them.

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AN: As I looked at the position of this story in the timeline I decided that since it was before The Swim that I needed to build some tension in the team. For readers that have read The Swim you might recall that the team implodes after dealing with the stalker. There needed to be more underlying that explosion, enough that it warranted being sent to Wanderlust Lodge and the counseling sessions. I slightly tweaked the first chapter of The Swim to include a few thoughts about Ski Trip in Ed's musings of why he chose to deal with Sam the way he did.

Also next chapter is almost finished too so it will be a quick two chapter posting. Happy reading.

Would love to hear what you thought of this chapter and the tension between the team.