Author's Note: This is an episode tag to Clean hands. The concussion grenade has done more damage than first thought. I have to apologise. I just started typing and this is what came out. It didn't put much thought into it. It's another story that just came to mind and I had to get it out on paper.

Disclaimer: I don't own any character in Flashpoint.

Warning: Un-betaed.

Sam watched Volcek and knew the man wouldn't spill. Sam spent the last hour with this man, he wasn't a bad man, just a man in pain. Sam was getting frustrated now as he watched this man remain silent. No matter what, Wilkins wasn't worth throwing everything away for.

"Come on. Buddy, he's already in custody. Whatever it is, it's not going to happen, the more cooperative you are the better it'll be for you…"

Sam interrupted then, not wanting the fellow soldier to get himself any deeper than he already was. "This isn't the Sudan, Walter. We can't change the rules, we got a job to do no matter what."

Sam was surprised that the Boss was so interested in what he was saying, "What about the Sudan?"

"He was stationed there last year. Why?"

The Boss didn't answer him, he just started dialling, "Wordy, Donna get back to the prisoner right away."

"What's up?" Ed asked Greg, knowing something was wrong.

"Stupid." Greg cursed himself, "Superintendant McClain's office?" Sam looked at him confused and worried. This was bad and he knew it. Greg looked at him, annoyed with himself. "Yeah, did Agent Simple call today about a change in the escort route for Peter Wilkins?" Sam watched as his boss's face screwed up in frustration and he knew the answer to the question before Greg told them, "Okay, Ed, they didn't get a call. They didn't get a call, she wasn't talking to them."

"So what's that got to do with Brody?" Ed asked getting just as annoyed as his boss.

"Yeah, I think Brody was telling the truth, he didn't have anything to do with this, it was Walter and Delia." Greg knew he was right when Volcek looked up at him.

"Listen to me, Walter, I know you're trying to protect her but you're not. If Agent Simple hurts that man, then she's done, she's destroyed."

"Have you not been listening, Greg? She's already done! Wilkins got her sister the same time he got my Julie. She could've lost it like most of us but she was strong, she didn't even tell her superiors. Her sister had a married name so she just kept it to herself."

"She tell you this in Khartoum, the Sudan?"

"Yes, it's like it happened for a reason, I mean what are the chances, both of us being there, both of us trying to get away from the same thing. She can't…you can't get away. You can't get away, it's like you can smell it on each other…it stinks, like…um…like gasoline. That kind of pain."

"What's she gonna do, Walter?"

"All I had to do was shoot him. Now that's all she has to do."

Sam heard Wordy report that they were looking at the CCTV, but Donna had the idea of checking Delia's ID card. She found her. "The two of you get down there, I'm on my way." Greg ordered.

"Sam, take care of him." Ed ordered Sam to stay with Volcek, while he went to back Greg up.

Sam nodded his confirmation. He was glad to stay because he really wasn't up to backing anyone up. Once Ed and Greg were out of sight, Sam closed his eyes and leaned back against a column, feeling a bad headache coming on. Volcek frown at him from his position on the floor, maybe his concussion grenade did more damage than he thought, "You okay?" He didn't want anyone else getting hurt, he just wanted Wilkins dead, like his daughter.

Sam opened his eyes and glared at him, "Don't even think about trying anything. I'm Special Forces, remember? I can still take you."

Volcek smirked, "My job's done. I'm not going to try and escape."

Sam shook his head. "You're wrong, you know."

Volcek rolled his eyes. These people didn't know what he was going through, they couldn't possibly understand that Delia and he needed this. "This is the only right thing I've done since my daughter died."

Sam shook his head again, "I'm not talking about Wilkins, I'm talking about what you said about what Delia has to do." Sam could see Volcek didn't understand what he was saying. "You said 'Now that's all she has to do.' Shoot him." Sam looked at him with eyes older than he really is, "That's easier said than done. If you're not a killer than pulling a trigger and killing someone in cold blood isn't easy. That's not all she has to do, she has to convince herself that what she is doing is the right thing to do, that it is justice and not murder, that after this, she will feel free. It isn't going to be easy. She's a cop. She swore to protect. No matter how much she hates Wilkins, killing him will be against her nature. You think you two were helping each other. All you did is make it worse. Now you have to live with what's about to happen to her."

"And what's that? Go to jail? We can both live with that. We knew what we were in for."

Sam shook his head sadly at this man. "I told you before that your desired outcome isn't likely knowing our rules of engagement. I'm telling you that again. If my team gets to Delia before she can kill Wilkins, then we can't let her do it and we'll use lethal force if it comes to that." Sam could hear the chatter over his head set. They've found her and they're trying to talk her down. It didn't sound good, but he didn't let Walter know.

Volcek looked at him, confused and angry, "You will kill her, when all she's doing is getting rid of a piece of scum from this earth?"

Sam looked back at him with so much pain in his eyes, because he could hear what was about to happen; what his team is going to be forced to do. "We don't get to choose, Walter. If all police officers were allowed to choose who to shoot and who to set free, this country will be in chaos. You're a soldier, how can you not understand that?" Sam closed his eyes and a tear escaped the corner of his eyes. He could almost feel his team's pain. A shot was fired after hearing his Boss call out to Delia. He didn't have to be there to know what happened. Sam opened his eyes and looked at Volcek. "It's done."

Volcek looked at Sam, not quite understanding what he meant, then it sunk in and he lost his composure, breaking down in sobs. Sam stood there, allowing him the time to grieve, but not taking his eyes off his prisoner. After a little while Sam pushed himself off the column, taking a little time to steady himself before reaching down and taking Volcek by the arm and helping him to his feet. "I'm sorry, Walter." Sam said, before leading him to the SUVs where his team would be.

SRU headquarters

Sam swung his bag over his shoulder. They've debriefed. The case didn't go as planned, Donna was forced to shoot a cop, she was going to need a lot of support but Greg, Wordy and Ed could deal with that. Right now, Sam needed to go home and sleep off the headache that seemed to be growing since they left the airport. He passed Wordy on the way out. "Hey, how's the ribs?" Sam asked him, eyeing the bag Wordy had over his shoulder, "You want me to help you with that?"

Wordy winced as he adjusted the bag, "Nah, thanks buddy, but I'm good." Sam nodded. "You did good today, you know, keeping a cool head while Walter had a grenade in your face."

Sam smiled, "Yeah, I figured you guys had a plan. Just glad Ed's a good shot." He turned towards the front door, "I'll see you tomorrow. Say good night to your girls for me." Wordy was headed to the garage.

"Will do."

Beep...beep…beep…BEEP!

Sam shot up in bed at the extremely loud sound of the alarm clock, wincing at the headache it was causing. He picked up the offensive clock and turned it off, looking at the time before putting it back down. 4.15am. Sam groaned, he wasn't sure he was up to a day at SRU, but it was better than lying around here waiting for a call from Jules to tell him she wants to break up. Sam got up slowly, trying to not aggravate his head and headed for the bathroom to get ready for work. It didn't take him long to get ready in the mornings, he didn't need to take a shower because they all showered after morning workouts and breakfast, shaving and brushing only took fifteen minutes. He was looking forward to the ride to work. The cool air in his face always made him feel refreshed and ready for another day at SRU.

Sam arrived feeling not as great as he thought he would, the ride was more exhausting than usual and the cool air didn't help his headache as he had hoped, not to mention, traffic was bad for drivers today and every honk of the horn was like a stab to his brain. Sam put his things away in his locker before heading to the gym. Wordy, Ed and Greg had already started. "Morning." Sam got onto the exercise bike and started his workout.

Ed smirked, "Guy rides to work and then chooses to use the exercise bike for a workout." That earned a laugh from the other two, Sam just glared at him. The truth was, it required the least effort from him. He frowned, at how sick he was feeling now. Maybe he wasn't up a day at work. Donna walked in then, looking a little to happy. It was obvious she was over compensating for how she really felt. Sam really did feel bad for her, but that didn't matter right now because he needed a waste basket. He put a hand to his mouth and jumped off the bike, he would love to have made it to the bathroom before throwing up but the trashcan was closer. His breakfast made a come back.

Donna was shocked when Sam pushed past her and threw up. She looked back at the others, seeing if they had any idea what was happening. She knew Sam didn't like her, but she didn't think her presence would cause this. They all stopped what they were doing and walked over to their sick team mate. Sam had finished throwing up the contents in his stomach, he wiped his mouth and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, hoping it was settle the nausea.

"Sam?" It was Ed, his tone wanting an answer as well as showing concern.

Sam didn't open his eyes, still leaning over the bin, in case he needed to throw up some more. "Just give me a sec." He requested groggily.

"Here, have some water." Wordy handed over Sam's water bottle. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at the bottle. He took it, taking a mouthful and spitting it out before drinking from it. It didn't help, the nausea just made him throw it back up.

"Aw…what the hell is going on?" Sam groaned when he finished hurling. He wiped his mouth and pushed himself off the bin, turning around, the light from the window stabbed into his head. "Ah…" His arm flew up to his eyes, blocking the light.

Greg watched Sam who looked like he was fighting off a phantom attacker. "Get him into the conference room and close the blinds." He ordered Ed and Wordy.

"Can I help with anything?" Donna asked, she had been standing there watching the team worry over Sam and there was nothing she could do. She felt out of place.

"We've got this, Donna. I don't think Sam wants you watching him throw up any more than you already have." Greg said, he didn't want her feeling left out, but there was nothing she could do for Sam. "Just let Spike and Lou know what's happening and tell them we're handling it so just continue with your workouts." Donna nodded.

Ed and Wordy lowered Sam onto one of the chairs and then proceeded to close all the blinds. "How's that, Sam?" Ed asked when all the blinds were closed.

Sam cautiously opened one eye and when that didn't aggravate his headache, he opened the other one, relieved, "That's good."

"This better not be a hangover, Sam?" Greg asked sitting in the chair next to him. He knew how much trouble Sam would be in if he turned up to work with a hangover.

Sam glared at him, annoyed and a little offended, "Right, Boss, cause yesterday was such a good day I went out and celebrated all by myself." The densest person in the world couldn't have missed the sarcasm. "Can't believe you…" He couldn't finish, why wouldn't the room just stop moving? Groaning, he leaned his head forward and rested them in his arms on the table.

"Right, sorry, stupid thing to say." Greg put a hand on Sam's back and looked at Wordy and Ed, seeing if they knew what was going on. Both of them shook their head as they studied their sick team mate. "Could it be something you ate? Did you fall off your bike? What's causing this?"

Sam turned his head to look at his boss when he answered, "Fall off my bike?" The look he gave his boss would've been funny if Sam didn't look so pale. "Do me a favour, Boss, don't talk unless you have something intelligent to say." Greg glared at Ed and Wordy who burst out laughing. Sam obviously wasn't feeling well to say that to Sergeant Greg Parker.

Wordy looked at Sam thoughtfully, when he stopped laughing, "Sam, sit up." Sam groaned, he didn't want to but he did what he was told. Wordy turned Sam around to face him and leaned over so that he could look straight into his eyes.

"What do you see, Wordy?" Ed asked.

Wordy looked up, "Pupils are uneven. I think it's a concussion."

"Concussion? How did…" Ed stopped when the realisation of what happened hit him, "You jumped on a freakin' concussion grenade."

Greg sat back and breathed out heavily, not happy with himself for forgetting that Sam had done that and for not telling Sam to get checked out. He got up and stepped outside. They could hear him call out to Kira, "Kira, call EMS, tell them we have an officer with a possible concussion." He turned back to see Sam squinting at him.

"Don't move, Boss." Sam ordered, then holding his hands out and slowly moving them together, frowning, "Just need to…put you back together again." Greg looked at him confused, then looked over at Ed who shrugged.

Wordy chuckled, though it wasn't supposed to be funny, "Double vision, Boss." He provided.

Greg rolled his eyes and sat back down. "Sorry, Sam I should've known." He was too preoccupied with the case he had neglected an injured team mate.

"Sir," Sam rested his head on the table again, "I didn't even know. I thought I just had a headache."

"Well, next time you get a headache from jumping on a grenade maybe you should get yourself checked out." Ed advised, a little bit condescending and a lot of concern.

Sam felt like sticking his tongue out but figured it's not a good look for an SRU officer, so he settled for just glaring, "Oh no…" Sam grabbed his stomach and Wordy quickly grabbed a waste basket, but it wasn't needed because Sam had already emptied his stomach and now it was just dry heaves. Ed grimaced in sympathy knowing how painful dry heaving could be. Sam lifted his head when he was done and somehow he managed to get even paler.

Greg took the waste basket, "EMS will be here soon," but Sam didn't hear him. He didn't hear anything as his eyes rolled back and everything went black.

"Sam!" Ed and Greg saw that he was about to topple over and stopped him before he could fall off the seat. "Where's the damn paramedics!" Ed growled impatiently, standing with Sam resting against him so that he wouldn't fall. The paramedics walked through the door then, "About time!"

Greg got up and got out of their way, "He just lost consciousness. He's been nauseous, had double vision, bright lights hurt, and he's had a headache since yesterday."

"We're guessing it's caused by a concussion grenade." Ed added.

"Any reason why we only just got called?" The lady paramedic asked, not very happy with them. The other one was shining a light in Sam's eyes and checking his blood pressure.

"He wasn't showing symptoms until this morning." Wordy told them, "He rode his bike in this morning so it probably aggravated it and accelerated the symptoms."

"Okay, we need to get him to the hospital for an MRI and maybe some painkillers for the headache depending on what the doctor there thinks." The male paramedic told them, then nodded to his partner to get Sam onto the gurney.

Sam chose that moment to wake up, looking around groggily, so the paramedic decided to do a few more tests. "Well, him waking up so soon is a good sign." The paramedic told him as a way of reassuring them, knowing that his partner was wrong to use an accusing tone towards them earlier, "Sir, can you tell me your name?" Sam's vision cleared and frowned at the man in front of him.

"Who are you?" Obviously, his mind hasn't cleared.

"My name's Doug, I'm a paramedic. Now, can you tell me your name?"

"Sam Braddock." Sam answered with a heavy sigh.

"Okay, Sam, that's good. Now what's the last thing you remember?"

That one was a little harder to answer, all he remembers is throwing up so that was his answer. Doug looked up at Wordy, Greg and Ed, to see how accurate that was, they all nodded. "Great, that's a good sign. Now, we're going to get you to a hospital and get an MRI to determine the extent of your injury."

"I hate hospitals." Sam groaned, but allowed Doug and his lady partner to help him onto the gurney.

"Does anybody want to ride with him?"

"No!" Sam answered for them, "They're SRU officers, they have more important things to do than sitting around at the hospital. I'll be fine, the nurses and doctors will take care of me." Sam closed his eyes, which meant he didn't want to hear any arguments. Greg nodded to Doug to tell him they were good, but handed him a card.

"Get the doctor to call us once his MRI results come in." Doug took the card and put it in his pocket, then proceeded to push Sam out of the room.

Outside the room, Spike, Lou and Donna stood at Kira's desk, as the paramedics wheeled Sam out. "What the hell happened to Sam?" Spike asked the three older members of Team One. He was told by Donna that Sam was throwing up and now he's off to the hospital, looking very pale.

Greg rubbed his face, feeling a headache of his own coming on. "He has a concussion from yesterday. For now, everybody get in the conference so we can get the day started. A doctor will call me with an update on Sam's condition later on, so we'll know more then."

Two hours later…

It's been a slow day for Team One and that meant it would've been a good day if they all weren't worried about Sam. They were in the middle of a training run when Kira's voice came through Greg's comm. "Sir, Dr Hilary Jenson is on the line from St Simon's about Sam."

Greg put up a hand for the team to stop what they were doing. "Put her through, Kira."

"Dr Jenson, how's my guy?" the rest of the team listened through their own headsets.

"Sergeant Parker, I've looked through Mr Braddock's MRI and it's showing a mild concussion." The team breathed a sigh of relief at that news, they were worried it might've been worse. "Now, there's two ways we can do this. Even though it's a mild concussion he still needs to be monitored for the next few days just in case he has a relapse. We can either keep him here in the hospital or he can go home provided someone will be watching over him 24/7. To tell you the truth, I would prefer the latter; the hospital is very full this week."

Greg looked at the team. They all nodded or shrugged, both meaning the same thing; Team One takes care of their own. "We'll take care of him, Doctor. When will he be ready to leave?"

"He's ready now. If you could come over or send someone over, I can discharge him and give you instructions with the medication and care."

Ed put up his hand to say he'd go and Greg nodded, "Ed Lane will come get him. What room?"

"He'll be in the patient's discharge lounge."

"Thank you, Doctor." Greg cut the call and looked at the rest of the team. "You heard the doctor, he's fine. So can we get our heads back here in training and not over there?"

They laughed in relief. It was true, nobody had their mind on the job today, which was why Greg ran drills that the team was so familiar with, they could do it in their sleep. "Okay, Ed, get going before Sam checks himself out."

"Right, I'll take him home to Sophie and then get back here." Ed let them know before heading out, getting his phone out to give his wife the heads up.

"I don't see why you can't take me home." Sam complained in the car, but only half-heartedly. He kept his eyes closed, the sun too bright for them. "Why is sun still up?" He groaned.

Ed chuckled, Sam was actually pretty funny when he has a concussion. Most people were irritable but he was actually quite likeable. Ed took off his sunglasses and handed them to Sam. "Here, this should help."

Sam opened his eyes to a slit and saw the shades. He took them gratefully and put them on. "Thanks. Are you sure Sophie's okay with this?"

"Sure, it's fine. You can take Clark's room."

Sam shook his head, "The couch is good."

Ed smirked, "You're not getting Clark's room because you're a guest, you're getting it because you need it. Doctor's orders were total bed rest and no strenuous activities. You get in that bed and stay in it, unless you need to take a leak or have a shower."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope and you better do as you're told, the boss ain't happy with you already."

Sam looked at Ed, confused, "Why? I told you I didn't feel so bad until this morning."

"Yeah," Ed grimaced, "That's not it."

"Then what is it?" Sam didn't like the look on Ed's face.

"You pretty much called him an idiot this morning." Sam looked at him, not knowing if he should take him seriously or not, "It's true. You didn't like his questions so you told him to shut up unless he had something intelligent to say."

Sam shook his head, "Nah, I wouldn't say that."

Ed laughed, "Don't believe me, ask Wordy. It was actually quite hilarious."

Sam groaned, "He knows that I have a concussion, right? I wasn't myself."

Ed shrugged, "Tell you the truth, you have a better sense of humour when you're not yourself," Then added when he saw Sam's expression, "No offense."

"Offense taken!" Sam closed his eyes and leaned his head back, "Why'd they send you of all people anyway…No offense!"

Ed laughed and shook his head, "I volunteered. Sophie can watch you while we're at work. Wordy probably would've but he has three girls, I figured Clark would be less…girly."

Sam chuckled at that, then turned serious, "Thanks, Ed."

"You're welcome, Sam."

The END