Hey y'all-it's been a while, huh? I am officially finished with the semester *thank the Lord* and I have about three(?) or so weeks off until I start back at work so I can FINALLY start writing again! Yay!

This is going to be a collection of one-shots, centered around everyone's favorite blonde sniper, mister Sam Braddock.

In some, Sam might be injured and in others, Sam might just be his normal Samtastic, badass self.

Mainly Sam-centric, but the other members of Team One, along with some OC's, will also appear.

Enjoy!

*Italics are thoughts*

The One with the Explosion

"Sam, status! What's your status?!" Greg yelled into his earpiece. "Come on Sam, talk to me!"

Hearing nothing over the comms, Greg turned to the rest of his team and shared a heartbroken, shell-shocked look.

Around them, firemen and emergency response team members were shouting and several of them rushed into the burning, crumbling building behind them—the same building that Sam had run into moments ago to set up a Sierra perch.

The explosion that followed Sam's entrance into the building was loud, incredibly loud, but the pained scream from their teammate that came over the comms, and immediate silence that followed, was deafening.

At that moment, everything seemed to stop. The hot call Team One had been called out on was completely forgotten and as Greg, Ed, Wordy, Spike, Lou, and Jules all watched the newly exploded building start to crumble, they felt their own hearts crumble as well.

The loud, shrill siren of an arriving ambulance brought them all back to the present. The cab doors opened and Steve and his partner both jumped out. Steve ran over to his favorite group of SRU officers while his partner ran around to the back of the ambulance to grab their gear.

"Hey guys, what do we got?" Steve asked before getting a good look at the group of officers that stood in front of him. "Where's Sam?"

Jules, Spike, and Lou looked down, struggling to keep the tears in their eyes from spilling over. Wordy and Ed shifted their eyes away from the paramedic. Greg sighed, making Steve turn his focus onto him. With a flick of the head towards the smoking mass of concrete a couple buildings away, Greg answered Steve's question.

Steve followed Greg's gesture and saw the half-collapsed building behind them. He immediately got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. "No...?"

Jules sniffled and finally looked at Steve. "He had just gone in to find a Sierra spot when the explosion happened."

Spike put an arm around Jules' shoulder and gave her a small, comforting squeeze as her voice cracked at the end of her statement. "We haven't heard from him since."

Steve seemed to deflate at the news. "Damn..."

"The fire department got the fire put out quickly and the rescue team is clearing the debris from the entrance as we speak," Ed said, having now pulled himself together and back into team leader mode. "Once the entrance is cleared and they determine its stable enough to enter, we'll go in and look for Sam."

"And if the building isn't stable enough for us to go in?" Wordy asked. He hated playing Devil's advocate, but he felt that someone needed to ask the hard questions.

"We're not leaving Sam in there!" Ed yelled, anger and emotion at the situation evident in his voice. "We have to-"

Ed's statement was cut off by a rustling sound coming from over the comms. Looking at the faces of the other members of Team One, Ed knew that they had heard it as well.

"Surely the rescue team hasn't made it in already?" Lou asked, looking at his boss for confirmation.

Greg shook his head. "No, they're still clearing the debris from the entrance."

"Maybe they found another way in?"

"No, there are no other viable entrances. They are supposed to notify us when they got inside-"

This time, Greg's conversation was cut off. This time, there was something other than rustling; a soft groan could be heard. It was faint, so faint they could barely hear it, but every member of Team One did, and they knew that that groan could only belong to one person: Sam.

"Sam?!" Greg asked, practically pleading.

Greg shared a look of hope with the others. Steve, not having a comm set, had no idea what was going on or what the members of Team One were hearing, but hearing Greg say Sam's name, he found himself feeling the same hope the members of Team One felt.

"Sam, buddy, can you hear me?" Greg tried again, hoping he was successful at concealing the desperation in his voice.

The members of Team One stood silent, hoping and praying that they would hear a response back. Seconds later, they were rewarded when they heard a rough, raspy voice come over the comms.

"S-Sarge?"

Sam's voice, although it sounded horrible and chalked full of pain, was like the heavens opened up and a choir of angels were singing. Sam was alive!

The team had no idea how injured Sam was, but he was alive and for now, that was all that mattered.

"It's good to hear your voice buddy!" Greg said, unable to keep the relief out of his voice and the smile off of his face. "Are you OK? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Sam coughed a painful sounding cough several times before groaning loudly. After about a minute, Sam finally answered. "I uh-I hurt everywhere, and my head and ribs are killing me, but as far as I can tell, all of my parts are in one piece."

Sam's cheeky assessment of his injuries put a smile on his teammates' faces.

"Just hang tight, OK Samo?" Ed said, relieved to be able to talk to his friend and teammate. "The rescue team is clearing out the debris and once they're finished, we'll bring the medics in."

"NO!" Sam yelled in a pained, hushed whisper. "No one else comes in here."

Confusion clouded the faces of everyone in the conversation.

"Sam? What's going on?" Wordy asked. He knew how much Sam hated having to receive medical help, but he couldn't help but think that this was extreme, even for Sam.

"Someone else is in here." Sam answered, his voice going out.

...

To say the team was shocked at Sam's announcement was an understatement; the looks on their faces said it all.

"What are you talking about?" Ed asked, confused. When Sam didn't answer immediately, he got concerned. "Sam?"

"I think he passed out again," Spike said, listening to the slow, raspy breathing coming from over the comm.

"Do you really think there's someone else in that building?" Jules asked, looking wide-eyed at the guys. "I mean, the unis said the building had been cleared."

"Someone might have snuck in afterwards," Greg said. He turned to face Spike. "Check surrounding cameras, see if you can find out if anyone entered that building before Sam."

Spike nodded. "I'm on it." He said and immediately pulled out his laptop to check the cameras.

Ed looked at Greg, determination on his face. "I don't care what the rescue squad says. If there is someone else in that building, we go in first and eliminate the threat. Once it's safe, then the medics can come in."

"I got him!" Spike announced from behind his computer.

Greg, Ed, Wordy, Lou, Jules and Steve all gathered around Spike. He played back the video feed from the security camera on the building across the street. Everyone watched as a man carrying two bags quickly entered the building seconds after the unis finished clearing it, completely undetected.

"The guy had two bags," Lou observed. "Does that mean two bombs?"

"Or more," Jules added, somberly.

The looks on the faces of the other members of Team One told Lou all he needed to know; they had reached the same conclusion.

"Damn." Wordy voiced what they were all feeling.

"Uh guys, we gave another problem." Spike said, looking up from the video feed on his computer. "The bomber went into the building but never came out. Sam was right, the guy's still inside the building."

"Son of a bitch," Greg said as he removed his cap and rubbed a hand across his head. Could things be any worse?

This shift would be going down in history as one of the longest, most emotional shifts Team One has ever had. Nonstop calls, some bogus, plagued the team since their shift started, but this call topped everything. The only good thing that had happened since they arrived on the scene (other than finding out Sam was alive, that is) was that the attempted bank robbery, the reason for the hot call, had ended quickly with the peaceful release of the hostages once the subjects saw the explosion.

Thank God for small mercies, Greg thought to himself. He looked around at the controlled chaos; emergency personnel were bustling around, evacuating people from the area and helping those who needed it, the rescue team, with the help of the fire department, were still working to clear the debris in front of the door and the members of his team were all huddled around Spike's laptop at the front of one of the SUVs. Greg sighed. Team One's long day just seemed to keep getting longer.

...

The shifting of rubble brought Sam back to consciousness. He groaned as his body protested at the small movements caused by the rubble moving. Sam was a tad surprised that his team didn't immediately respond to his groan but then he realized he couldn't hear anything from the comms at all.

Slowly and carefully reaching up to touch his ear, Sam was surprised—and a bit relieved—to find that his earpiece was gone. Huh. Must have fallen out when I passed out.

Being careful not to move too much or too quickly, Sam reached his arm out and began feeling around for his earpiece. Finally finding it, Sam brought it back up to his head and slipped it in his ear. "Guys?"

Sam cracked a small smile at the unanimous, six-person call of "SAM!" he heard over the comm.

"Sam, buddy! How are you holding up?"

"I'm OK, Sarge."

Sam heard the scoffs from over the comms and he could practically feel the disapproving eye rolls his team was surely giving him after his very typical Sam answer. He heard mumbles in the background and soon another familiar voice joined the conversation. Steve.

"Hey Sam, it's Steve. How do you feel? Can you tell me what your injuries are?"

"Steve, I'm OK for now. Really."

Sam heard Ed rage over the comms. "You were just in an explosion, Braddock! You will answer Steve's questions honestly and to a T or I will confine you to truck duty for the foreseeable future. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Sam grumbled with an eye roll. "My chest is really tight—I think a couple of ribs might be broken and, considering that I'm seeing two of everything, I'm pretty sure I have a concussion too. My entire body is sore, but I think those are the only two things that could cause a problem with getting me out of here. Speaking of which, Sarge, what's the status with the rescue team? Have they made it through yet?"

"Not yet buddy. They're still moving debris. The fire department's not sure how stable the building is so they're being extremely careful."

"Copy that Sarge," Sam groaned. That was not the news he wanted to hear, especially as the pain in his head cranked up a few notches.

"Don't worry Samo," Ed said. "As soon as the debris is clear and we're given the OK, we'll get you out of there."

"I know you will Ed. That's not what I'm worried about..." Sam said sluggishly, his voice going out at the end. His head was killing him and he was so tired.

Hearing the drowsiness in Sam's voice, Steve started to worry even more. "Hey, hey, hey!" He called over the comms anxiously. "Sam, you have to stay awake, OK? Do not go to sleep!"

As Sam struggled to do what Steve said, he knew he was fighting a losing battle. "Sorry Steve," Sam breathed out before succumbing to unconsciousness, completely oblivious to the desperate shouts from his teammates coming over the comms.

...

After several of their desperate calls for Sam went unanswered, the members of Team One shared a saddened look. Steve tried to calm their fears by reassuring them that Sam was still alive, because it was for his benefit as much as it was for theirs, but he knew the only thing that would truly soothe them was Sam.

...

As Steve monitored Sam the best he could over the comms, the members of Team One geared up and got ready so they could enter the building as soon as they got the OK.

Spike and Lou watched as Ed and Jules checked their guns. Spike raised an eyebrow at them. "Do you guys really think that's necessary?"

"You heard what Sam said and you saw the video," Ed answered. "There's someone else in there and we need to be prepared."

"But do you really think he survived? The explosion was massive; it leveled almost half of the building!"

"Sam survived," Jules said pointedly.

"Yeah, but he's Samtastic; I wouldn't expect anything less," Spike said admiringly. "This guy on the other hand…we don't know if he's even alive, and if he is, I doubt he'll be in any shape to try and do something."

"Preparedness is key Spike," Greg said as he joined the group. "You need to take your gear as well. There's still at least one bomb unaccounted for and I don't want any more surprises."

Spike nodded and ran to the truck to get his gear. The rest of Team One looked back towards the building, silently willing the rescue team to finish moving the debris.

Moments after Spike returned to the group, a member of the rescue team came over. "We have the entrance cleared and we've added some additional support where it was needed. However, even with the added support, the structure is still not as stable as we would like. Since I'm sure I can't keep you from going in there," he said, sending a pointed look to all of the armed and determined SRU officers. "Be careful. Go in one at a time and don't stay any longer than you need to; the less stress on the remaining structure, the better."

The members of Team One nodded understandably and the rescue crew member returned to his group. Before Team One moved out, Ed turned to face Steve. "Stay right outside of the exit until we find Sam. The less people in there, the better."

Steve nodded and went to join his partner by their ambulance, which was next to the newest ambulance that was called out after the revelation that someone else was in the explosion with Sam.

All members of Team One, minus the one inside the building, made their way to the entrance. Entering the building one at a time, the members of Team One came face to face with the devastation that had housed their teammate, and friend, for the past few hours. Dust and debris mixed with bits and pieces of sheetrock and rebar covered the floor. Gaping holes and exposed brick stood where whole walls once did and they each found themselves more than thankful that Sam had survived.

Any fears Team One had about the bomber were settled when they found his unconscious body behind a corner desk, the second bomb still inside and unarmed in the bag beside him. After Spike confirmed that the bomb wasn't going to blow, Greg called in the paramedics to take him to the hospital and a uni to accompany them in case the bomber regained consciousness and tried to do something.

Once the bomber had been taken care of, the members of Team One moved further into the building. They decided to split up and cover more ground so Ed, Wordy and Lou went to the left and Greg, Jules and Spike went to the right. Nothing turned up with Greg, Jules and Spike's search, but Ed, Wordy and Lou were a bit luckier. Behind a pile of rubble near the stairs, a pair of black boots could be seen, as well as a very familiar pair of gray "cool" pants. Rounding the corner of the rubble, Ed, Wordy and Lou came face to face with the unconscious, bloodied face of their teammate.

"Sam!" They all three called in unison.

"Greg, we found him!" Ed called to the others over the comms. "Get to the east side of the building, now!"

Hearing the urgency in Ed's voice, Greg, Jules and Spike quickly but carefully made their way to the other side of the building. When they arrived, the three of them saw Lou standing close by and just the tops of Ed's and Wordy's heads sticking out over the pile of rubble and debris. Rounding the corner of the pile they saw Ed bent over Sam's unconscious body checking his pulse and Wordy was holding a bandage to a freely bleeding gash on the back of Sam's head.

"Eddy?" Greg asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Pulse is strong, but slow." Ed said, looking up at him. "We need to get Steve in here."

Nodding, Greg called for him over the comms. Knowing that both Steve and his partner plus a lot of medical equipment would be needed, Greg knew that they would need to clear out.

"Alright guys," Greg said, pulling out his Sergeant voice. "Ed, Wordy, you two stay with Sam. Jules, Spike, Lou-Steve and his partner are both going to be in here with a lot of gear. I don't want to stress the structure anymore than we need too. Let's wait outside while they take care of Sam."

As much as Jules, Lou and Spike wanted to stay with Sam, Greg's tone warranted no arguments. With one last look at Sam, Greg, Jules, Spike and Lou all headed out of the building the same time Steve and his partner entered, pulling the stretcher between them.

...

With one final glance back at Sam, Jules was able to see Steve and his partner trade places with Ed and Wordy and start treating Sam.

Time seemed to moved incredibly slow as two-thirds of Team One stood outside the blown up building, waiting for the rest of their teammates to get out. They knew Sam was alive, and getting the best possible treatment he could get in his current situation, but they would not feel better until Sam was out of that building and on his way to the hospital.

Less than ten minutes later, although it felt like an eternity, Ed and Wordy exited the building. They were closely followed by Steve and his partner, the stretcher holding Sam in between them. After loading Sam into the ambulance, Wordy climbed in as well and they sped off to the hospital. Ed and the others were left standing there, watching as the ambulance carrying their teammate drove out of sight.

"Eddy?" Greg asked, looking at his team leader and friend. "How is he?"

Ed sighed and rubbed a hand across his tired face. "He's still unconscious. Steve wasn't too happy with Sam's pupillary responses, but he was doing everything he could for him."

Seeing the incredibly worried looks on his teammates' faces, Ed quickly added "Steve's confident that Sam only has a bad concussion—nothing too serious or life-altering."

The members of Team One were overcome with relief at Ed's last statement and, after making sure their job was done and the unis had the scene covered, Greg, Ed, Spike, Jules and Lou all piled into the SUVs and rushed off to the hospital where Wordy would hopefully have an update for them.

...

Fifteen minutes later, the members of Team One found Wordy slumped in a chair. As they approached him, they all prepared themselves for the worst.

"Wordy?" Jules asked cautiously. "Has there been any news?"

Wordy sighed and looked up from his hands to the concerned faces of his teammates. "No word yet. Sam was unconscious the entire ride here, but Steve said his vitals remained strong the entire time. He seemed to be waking up as they were moving him into the ER, but I don't know for sure and no one's told me anything."

Sighing with disappointment, everyone grabbed a seat around the waiting room and settled in, ready to wait as long as it took to get an update on Sam.

...

Two hours later and several things had happened. First, Holleran had called Greg and took Team One off of duty for the rest of shift. Then, local unis who were still working the scene had called with updates from not only the explosion, but the attempted bank robbery as well. That conversation was not as pleasant as the conversation with Holleran and, after Greg relayed the phone call to the team, it left all members frustrated and upset. Team One had also received an update on the bomber, who would be released into police custody the following morning after he was observed overnight, but they still had no update whatsoever on Sam.

Having his frustration reach an all-time max, Ed quickly rose from his seat and was about to storm over to the nurse's station and demand an update when the ER doors opened and an exhausted looking doctor walked out.

Seeing the group of uniformed SRU officers, the doctor walked right over to them. "Am I right to assume that you all are here for Sam Braddock?"

Every member of Team One nodded and stood to move closer to the doctor.

"I'm Dr. Johnson; I've been treating Sam since he arrived. I'm sorry it took so long for me to get out here and give you an update—Sam's been keeping us on our toes for a while." Seeing the fearful looks on Team One's faces, Dr. Johnson was quick to continue and ease their worries. "Don't worry, he's stable. He has a very serious concussion, the side effects of which are definitely making themselves known. With the concussion alone, we're going to keep him in here for a few days for observation, but he also has 4 broken ribs and several bruised ribs. The ribs were a clean break so we have them wrapped and we have him on some IV pain medication. We were able to close the gash on the back of Sam's head with 4 staples and there were some other lacerations on his arms and face that required a few stitches, but most were superficial. Because of how filthy he was when he arrived, and the amount of information we were able to get from the paramedics, I also have Sam on a very strong IV antibiotic to try and prevent any infections. He's also covered in bruises. All in all, Sam's going to be extremely sore and have one hell of a headache for a while, but he going to make a full recovery."

The relief that came with the doctor's assurance that Sam would recover was almost palpable. Dr. Johnson smiled at the relieved looks that came over the faces of Team One. These were the kind of updates he liked giving.

"We will be moving him to a private room in a few minutes," Dr. Johnson announced to the group. "If you want to head to the third floor waiting room, I'll have a nurse come and get you once Sam is settled in."

Greg thanked Dr. Johnson, then joined Ed, Wordy, Spike, Lou and Jules on the long trek up to the third floor.

...

Thirty minutes after arriving in the third floor waiting room, a nurse came out to meet Team One. She walked them through the halls and stopped them outside of Sam's room. The older, gray-haired nurse turned to face them. "You can all go in, but keep your visit short and quiet; he has a headache. You have fifteen minutes until visiting hours are over." The nurse finished laying down her rules then stalked off to deal with her other patients, leaving a slightly shocked Team One in her wake.

The members of Team One all shared a disbelieving look before silently entering Sam's darkened hospital room. As they all gathered around the bed, they got a good look and their injured teammate, despite the little light in the lines were etched on to Sam's face and the multitude of cuts and bruises that covered his body stood out in stark contrast on the paleness of Sam's skin.

As Greg, Ed, Wordy, Spike, Jules and Lou all closed in around the hospital bed, Sam's exhausted, pained eyes opened to meet them. "Hey guys."

Hearing Sam's quiet, tired voice made all of his teammates smile.

"Hey buddy," Ed said quietly, happy to see his teammate awake. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck."

Spike chuckled. "Not a truck buddy; it's more like a building fell on you."

Sam gave a small laugh before the pain in his chest stopped him. Wrapping an arm around his ribs with a small groan, Sam added, "Yeah, that's definitely more fitting. Did you guys find the other guy?"

"Yeah, we did. He was unconscious next to the second bomb." Ed said, pressing the button to give Sam more pain relief. Sam gave him a small, thankful smile.

"It turns out the bomber was the buddy of our attempted bank robber." Greg announced. Six pairs of shocked eyes turned to look at him. He had not mentioned this fact to anyone. "Yeah. According to the unis that interviewed the robber at the scene after we left and the one guarding the bomber now, our bomber was watching the robbery play out and when he saw us pull up, he thought the bombs would distract us enough to give his buddy time to escape."

"Are you kidding me?" Jules asked in disbelief.

"'Fraid so. Apparently they saw it work on some TV show or something…" Greg trailed off, rolling his eyes at the obvious stupidity involved in the plan.

The members of Team One all stared at each other, shocked into silence. No one knew what to say about the situation; they were at a complete loss of words.

After a few moments of shocked silence, Sam broke the silence. "Let me get this straight—I got blown up and trapped in a building because of some stupid 'it'll work because I saw it on TV" type of plan?!" After seeing Greg's head nod, Sam exclaimed "Oh my God."

Sam's exclamation brought on a huge release of stress and tension and soon everyone in the room was laughing. The rest of their visit was filled with quiet chatter and laughter until the grouchy nurse from before came to kick them out.

Each member of Team One said goodbye to Sam before leaving to head back to the Barn to change and go home. Ed was the last one to leave. He walked up to the side of Sam's bed and lightly squeezed his arm. "You really scared us today Samo. I think we're going to have to start bubble wrapping you when you're on the clock."

Sam gave him a small smile through the exhaustion and haze of pain medicine. "Somehow I don't think that's going to make a huge difference, but I appreciate the thought."

Ed smiled at the cheeky reply but before he could reply, Sam's nurse cleared her throat, definitely unimpressed with the fact that he was still there. Ed glared at her then turned his attention back to Sam. "Rest up and listen to the doctors. We'll be back again tomorrow."

"Thanks Ed." Sam said as he closed his eyes and drifted off.

Ed smiled down at him then left the room, not bothering to say anything to crotchety nurse glaring at him in the corner. As he got into the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor, Ed thought back to earlier events and how differently things could have turned out. He realized that, as much as he hated any of his team being in the hospital, the hospital was way better than the alternative.

Sam was going to be OK and Team One would be whole again. Their crazy, dysfunctional family would be whole again.

The end (of this one-shot anyways).

I hope you all enjoyed!

Stay tuned for the next one!
(I don't know when that one will go up because I'll be out of state next week and won't have my computer. I promise to get it up ASAP though!)