A/N: Thanks again for reading and reviewing! To KevinxoShelley, I liked that you noticed the Wordy moment. I really believe that he is that kind of man. I've been trying to make all characters as how they seem to be in the show. In this chapter there will be some "Emotions behind the man" as I call it, with Sam and Ed. I have one planned for Spike as well. Just have to work on Greg, I haven't put him much in the story yet. I was just wondering what you guys think. Am I on the right track with the characters? Also, I'm glad to hear that so many of you like Spike and Nat! Originally I didn't care, but now the idea of them together starts to grow on me (with a new story in mind, yeah!). - I still have no medical knowledge - Enjoy!
Jules was sitting next to Natalie in the waiting area. While Greg, Ed, Wordy and Leah drove straight away to the hospital to be there for her, Spike went to Natalie's place to talk to her and bring her to the hospital. When she and Spike walked into the waiting area her eyes were red and her face was pale. She didn't spoke to anyone until the doctor came to let them know that Sam was stable and settled in his room. He was going to stay for an undetermined time at the neurology department. Jules let Nat be alone with Sam for a minute, before she joined here. Later the team went in, two by two, before the nurse came to tell that Sam needed to rest. He had been awake during the visits, but was very groggy. She wasn't sure if it was due to the seizure or because of all the meds he got. It was very important that Sam could sleep without sounds and movements around him, so his nerves would get the rest that was so much needed. So Jules was not allowed to stay with him overnight. However, she decided not to go home but stay in the waiting area. If something happened, if he had another seizure, she would be there for him. Her team tried to convince her to go home and get some rest, but all in vain. She was staying not matter what. So after a while the guys, including Leah, went home since they all had a shift the next day. But Jules was glad that Natalie had decided to stay with her all night.
"He hates hospitals." Natalie suddenly said.
"Yeah I have noticed." Jules replied to her. She had never known the exact reason of it and wondered if Natalie knew. Nobody liked hospitals, but Sam seemed to have a very specific hate against hospitals.
"He was waiting in the hospital when they told him." Natalie continued, very softly. Jules didn't have to wonder long what she was talking about.
"He was there all alone, waiting for her, waiting for my parents. And then a police officer told him that she was dead. He saw her getting hit by the car, but just couldn't believe she was dead. But when the police officer told him, he knew it was true. It took my parents an hour to get there. And all that time he was sitting there alone." Natalie finished.
Jules saw the pain on her face, she wanted to say something to her, but she couldn't. She had a lump in her throat that she couldn't swallow away. From the moment Sam stepped into her life he always had this cheery, slightly cocky way of acting. It didn't take her long to find out that there were other emotions behind this mask. Even before they were dating she had seen them. She remembered when a buddy from his time in Afghanistan had committed suicide. It had affected him in a way you can only call human. Anger and hurt. That's why she loved him so much. He had this amazing positive look of life, making him capable of enjoying all things around him. But at the same time he was capable of showing emotion. Okay, you had to encourage him, and he didn't like it, but he did anyway. And after he did he would continue his life and find his positive spirit back. Jules liked to believe that this exactly was the reason why Sam, so far, escaped PTSD. But now she was thinking about this little blond boy with blue eyes, all alone in a time were he needed someone the most. And she just couldn't believe that he was the person he became to be. She took Nat's hand and they looked at each other with the same thought.
Sitting here in the middle of the night, having his past in their minds; will he have a future?
Ed walked with Wordy back into the house. It had been a quiet ride. Greg offered to drive Leah and Spike home and Ed drove back with Wordy, since Sofia was still at their house. She stayed to help Shelley clean up the backyard and the kitchen and help her to calm the three girls down. They were pretty upset and Ed was glad that Izzy was to young to understand that something was wrong. He and Wordy walked straight into the warm arms of their wives and at times like these he was really glad to have such an amazing woman by his side.
Everything was cleaned and Wordy's girls were in bed and asleep, so he picked up the tiny warm bundle his daughter had formed on the couch and went home with Sophia. At home he found Clark in his room, listening to music, and he stepped in to take his son in a tight hug. Clark, not knowing what was going on, let his father hug him. He would probable go to his mom afterwards to find out what happened. This was kind of a usual thing. After a long hug where his son probable started to feel uncomfortable he let go of him and walked to the bathroom to take a shower. He had a good son, he was proud of him. After the shower he joined Sophia in bed and wrapped his arms around her. Not wanting to think about today, not wanting to think about tomorrow. Tomorrow, a day were they had to start recruiting a new member.
The next morning Sam woke up as if he had been in a coma for weeks. It took him a moment to realise where he was, but as soon as he saw the white walls he knew. The hospital. Slowly the memories of the previous day came to his mind. He had been so happy to leave the hospital, to only be brought back to it a few hours later. A nurse came in to check on him and let him know she would inform Jules that he was awake.
A few minutes later she and Natalie stepped in. They looked terrible and he felt the urge to step out of bed and put them down for a nice long nap. Except for some sore muscles he felt great. There is nothing a long sleep can't fix, he thought to himself.
"Morning ladies." He grinned up to them as they walked up to him. They sat down in the chairs next to his bed. They looked a bit relieved that he was so cheerful.
"How are you feeling Sam."? Jules asked him. Her voice was rough and full of fear.
"I'm good Jules, really. I slept like I have never before and am full of energy again." He tried to comfort her.
"Don't worry to much, okay?" He asked her and she nodded.
"Have you two been here all night?" he asked them in a stern voice.
"Yeah! I wasn't going to leave you alone with the nurses. I'm sure already half of them have a crush on you." Jules joked. She was definitely feeling better now she saw with her own eyes that Sam was good for the moment.
But Natalie kept quiet and after a while she stood up and said she was going to inform everyone on how he was doing.
Jules stayed with him all morning until she went to pick up some coffee at their favourite coffee place. She didn't want to leave him but he begged her over and over and finally started pouting. When she left he had to laugh, Jules was ready to do everything for him at the moment and that was something he didn't mind.
Back at the Barn, Ed and Greg were going over a list of potential new SRU members. Not long ago team 5 was recruiting for a new member and there were a few guys that were considered for the job, with only one job vacancy. So along with a few other guys they were coming in today to be tested by the four original members of team one and one member from team 3. Donna had agreed to lend one of her members to team one and Danny was a good substitute. He was also a young sniper and in some ways he reminded them a bit of Sam. Tomorrow Jules would be back making them a team of six again. And as soon a new guy had been recruited, Danny would return to team 3 again. Spike didn't like it, that they were recruiting and showed it. Ed understood him, he didn't like it either. But it would be for their own safety. And Sam's place was not at stake. As soon as he was better, he could return at his position. The chief had said himself.
"So the cute, shy and a bit awkward girl at the coffee place said "Hi" to you."
Jules said as she handed the coffee to Sam. It had surprised her; she always talked to Jules as long as Sam wasn't there, but until know she never mentioned Sam before. It was very clearly she had a crush on Sam. So much that even Sam had noticed and that said a lot. For some reason Sam never seemed to get it when girls stopped breathing when he walked by. But this girl was overly sweet, she would turn completely red when Sam walked in and wasn't able to say a word in his presence. Jules always had the urge to tell her all the annoying characteristics Sam had, to help her get over him. But today she said "Say hi to Sam for me" with a head as red as tomatoes.
But Sam wasn't able to reply on this. He had taken a sip from his coffee and started choking and gagging.
With a betrayed look he looked up at Jules. "What's the hell is this!" he exclaimed.
"It's your coffee." Jules guiltily said.
"No, no, no, this is not coffee." He said pushing the cup back in Jules hands, as if to say bring me my real coffee.
"It is! It's exactly how you like yours," she replied, "only decaf." She added softly.
"Jules, if you take out the caffeine it's not coffee anymore!" He really looked betrayed and upset.
"Sam I'm not giving you anything that might be bad for you. So you can just drink it or throw it out, but I'm not getting you a regular coffee. It's still the real stuff coming from a good coffee shop, so I'm sure it's better than anything you will get here. Which is probably tea!" She firmly told him, hoping he would accept it.
Surprisingly enough he did, he muttered inaudible words after every gulp he took but he drank his coffee.
He was really starting to feel restless. The doctors only let him walk to the bathroom and back when needed, other than that he was on bed rest. So Jules had to pull anything she came up with to try to entertain him. He himself had some thoughts about how she could entertain him but that would definitely bring his nerves in overdrive. Hers as well probably, the thought of them getting caught by a nurse wasn't appealing. Of course Sam thought otherwise. Not knowing what to do with Sam being bored to maximum level she went down to the children's department. If Sam behaved like a child, she would probably find something here that would entertain him. And she did! She found a PSP not being used at the moment and a game called "Call of Duty Black Ops". She smiled walking back to neurology. He was going to love this.
Sam was lying in bed occupied with his new addiction. Jules had found a way to make up the decaf coffee by bringing him this awesome game! At first he had looked at it sceptical but as soon as he tried it he was hooked. That didn't mean he was okay with decaf coffee, but he understood Jules. Nat however would be different, so as soon as she came by this afternoon, he had started to work guilt on her, he laughed while he thought back at the moment.
"Sam, you really should have told me." Natalie quietly told him. She was clearly not at ease yet.
"I know, and I was going to but I wanted to know what it was before I told you. I thought it would be easier for you if there were answers." He knew he should have told her, but she was his little sister and it was his job to protect her. He didn't want her to feel bad, but at this moment he was on a mission, and his mission was coffee.
"Beside, it is not as if you tell me everything. Apparently we are not so close, otherwise you would have told me you are seeing someone." He did it; guilt was all over her face.
"Sam, don't say that! The reason we didn't tell you is because we are not sure yet if there is something to tell. You know I love you!" She looked a bit shocked. Now Sam was feeling a bit guilty.
"Okay, I get it. Doesn't mean I like it though. But maybe you can get me something while I think about forgiving you." He said with a very innocent smile on his face. He knew before she answered him she was going to do everything for him.
"Sure, of course, whatever you need". She said relieved.
"I want coffee, real coffee, from my favourite coffee place." Was all he needed to say. Nat jumped up from her chair eagerly to get him what he wanted. Before she walked out of the door Sam called her name.
"Oh and Nat, don't hurt him okay? He is… well he needs someone who is good for him, okay?" He didn't need to say more, she nodded and left for a coffee run.
In the middle of a big battle Nat arrived with his coffee. One sip told him this was the real deal and he enjoyed every moment of it. He had to hurry up though, Jules would be back any moment. She had left for a few hours to help the team recruit a new member. But that was something he rather not thought about, him being replaced. He knew it was inevitable. He wouldn't be able to get back to work for at least a while. This morning he felt great, better than the last weeks, but later on the day he started to feel weird again. He was sweating a bit and at some point his hands started to tremble again. He had told the doctors and more test were done. But so far nothing was found.
When Jules arrived he saw her face turn into worry. He probably wasn't looking so great. He told her he was fine though, there wasn't anything she could do for him anyway, and he told her that he was going for a nap until dinner. He was feeling a bit dizzy so he happily closed his eyes. Jules hand was caressing his arm and it made him feel calm, he really loved her, he thought before he felt himself slip into a deep sleep.
Jules was in a frantic state, she hadn't seen it coming. He was just taking a nap until his dinner was brought. But then she couldn't wake him up. He didn't respond to her or the nurse. The nurse went to page the doctor straight away and now a whole crew was standing inside his room.
She and Natalie were waiting outside his room watching what was happening inside. After a while his doctor came outside to talk to them.
"During his sleep Sam has slipped into a coma." He said in a very serious way. He gave them a moment to realise what he had said. Jules heard him, but she couldn't register the words being said. She was sitting right next to him, watching him sleep, when did this happen? She was already blaming herself that she hadn't noticed.
"The body is protecting himself from an unknown threat by shutting down all unnecessary parts, causing him to be in a coma. His heart however is very strong. It's beating a bit too fast for my liking, just like when he had a seizure. But it's a steady heartbeat. His pupils are reacting and so are his reflexes. So now it is up to us to find out what is causing all of this and it's up to him to keep fighting against it until we have answers and we can take over. He is stable now, but I don't know how long that will last. He is going to be transported to ICU, so we can keep a closer eye on him. I would like to ask you to meet me up there in about a half an hour. I want to ask you some more questions regarding Sam's state today. He seemed to do well this morning, I want to know what happened since." De doctor finished and he went back to Sam's room.
Jules had called the team and Wordy as soon as the doctor talked to her and Natalie. They were already home and all jumped in their car to go to the hospital. Sophia had brought dinner for all of them while Shelley watched Izzy. Late at night they left again. There was nothing they could do for him. He was still stable and his heart rate went down to normal. Again Natalie stayed in the hospital with Jules. She had taken some time off from work to be with Sam. It was a long and uncomfortable night. The chairs in the ICU were not so comfortable as the ones on the neurology department.
The next morning the doctor did his round and checked on Sam. Nothing had changed overnight and after two minutes he left again. Greg and Wordy called in to check on Sam and she told them nothing had changed. She heard Natalie on the phone talking to Spike. They sat again in their uncomfortable chairs when the doctor ran up to them, followed by some nurses. At the other end of the hospital corridor they saw 2 security guards running up to them. The doctor and the nurses went into Sam's room while the security guards took their place in front of the room. Jules wanted to go inside but the security guard shook his head, she wasn't allowed in. Nurses were running in and out of Sam's room and Jules and Natalie started to panic that something terrible had happened while they were on their phones. After what seemed like forever the doctor came outside. The expression on his face looked like anger, but his voice was under control.
"Jules, I need you to call your team to get in here right away." Before he turned around he added, "Not as his friends, I need them to come in as Team One, someone is doing this to him." He left leaving the security guards in front of the door and Jules and Natalie in shock.
A/N: Okay, please don't yell at me! I know I promised you would find out what happened to Sam in this chapter. I really planned to, but when I started writing it came out like this. And this was just the best point to stop writing. I'm sorry! But at least you know now that it is a somebody and not a something. For the rest you will have to wait for the next update. Unfortunately I'm going to be really busy this weekend, have a few party's to attend and I'm working. I will do my best to update as soon as possible.
