It seemed like such a long walk. Like her feet were weighed down by a hundred pounds of ball bearings or something. Even though the nurse tried to make chit chat and say encouraging things Parker wasn't really interested, and small talk was hardly her forte to begin with; so she paid it little attention.
"He was a real handful when they brought him in, but he's calmed down since. Such a shame to see that face all busted up, but you must be used to that by now..."
"What do you mean? It's not like we wreck cars everyday...or something..."
Parker stopped in her tracks, exactly what was this woman accusing her of? Did she know what they did, or who they were, the thief glanced around nervously looking for possible exits that she could sneak a battered Eliot thru when the nurse explained herself.
"The scars hunny. He's got a lot of scars...and his xrays...what's he do for a living? I don't know if I've ever seen so many fractures, and so much scarring before...not that it takes much away from the appeal. So we, the nurses and I that is, were wondering, what does he do? Security? Undercover police work?"
"Stunt man...he's a stunt man."
Parker took a breath and answered without hesitation, but she had to wonder..none of them had so much as seen Eliot shirtless, so how many scars were there? He was so private, even with the team. When he was hurt he closed himself off. He'd stick around for the wrap up, make sure all the loose strings were tied up, hell perform triage on everyone else as necessary, even cook for them. But when it came time to take care of Eliot, Eliot went into hiding to lick his own wounds. And no matter how soon another job came up he was there, sometimes bruised, sometimes stitched, but if he had suffered much worse he never let them know. You started to assume he couldn't really be hurt, but then something happened like today and you saw xrays and spoke to doctors and you had to start wondering just how often he was way more injured than he let on, and how he hid it.
"He worked for Tom Cruise in that Knight and Day movie."
Parker smiled a bit thinking of that, she'd gotten a good laugh over the possibility of it. It was just a little joke concerning Eliot's height, he wasn't exactly tall, even though he was pure muscle and would outweigh Tom Cruise by a bit with all that corded bulk. But if she or Sophie wore high enough heels they could look their hitter dead in the eye. So yes there had been countless references to them standing in holes during a con so he wouldn't look so short in comparison.
They stopped then and the nurse pulled back a blue curtain, and the conversation stopped abruptly. Parker was used to controlling her nerves, you had to be in a room filled with laser traps or compression floors, her job required it. But right now she wished Nate or Sophie was with her, she didn't know if she could face Eliot alone. Not knowing what he'd done for her, knowing he'd been hurt for her. She swallowed hard and the nurse reached out and took her hand. And for once Parker didn't flinch, pull away or even gape at the other woman like she was mentally unstable for touching her, she just let it happen, took some reassurance from it and nodded silently.
"He's going to be alright, doesn't look as pretty as your used to seeing him I'm sure, but he'll heal up just fine. Make sure you pick up the script for the antibiotic salve and use it on the gash above his eye three times a day. It'll prevent scarring."
Pretty? Not a term she'd normally use for their Hitter. But she had most certainly seen a lot of women go all weak in the knees for him. He could be charming, attractive, dorky, cute, a million things when he was trying to be. Same way he could be threatening, lethal and frightening when that was required.
"Absolutely." She nodded and replied as she stepped into the curtained off area and closed the drapes behind her. Her eyes were closed, and she only opened them in slow degrees, starting with the foot of the bed she'd work her way up until she was looking at his face. She started with bare feet...no foot...a thin white blanket covered his left leg, he should have a warmer blanket it was never warm enough in these places, when they got him home she'd buy him a really good blanket. Something you could curl up with and be cozy. Something in rabbit, well faux rabbit. Real furs gave her the creeps. Who wanted to wear a bunch of corpses? Her gaze traveled up the right leg, bare calf, strong muscle, coarse hairs, then the lower ridge of the knee brace, which made her wince in sympathy. She'd sprained a knee a few times, she knew how it felt, she'd worn the same brace and at best the heavy navy blue number made you walk all stiff an ungainly, at worse you couldn't walk on it at all. Or at least you didn't want to, when it came to her limbs Parker tended to heed doctor's warnings, she needed them to be 125%, and aggravating a joint injury was a really bad idea for her, for anyone. The brace extended up to the middle of his thigh and she caught a glimpse of gray cotton boxer briefs before the blanket covered his hips. She wondered how much luck she'd have convincing Eliot to stay off his leg while it healed, her best guess was little to none. Cornflower blue eyes continued their long journey, it was white blanket and sheets up until his chest, then it was bare skin and bruises...ugly bruises. All different shades of black, purple and blue with just hints of green and sick yellow at the furthest reaches. She bit hard on her lower lip, the room so silent she could hear him breathing, raspy, shallow, pained. She saw some of the scars then too, thin lines and thicker threads decorating his chest and stomach, they caught her attention for a minute or two. Bad yes, they told a variety of tales but they weren't horrible. Not in comparison to all that muscle, not that she'd ever doubted it, but the fact that Eliot was built like a brick wall, with the most amazing abs she'd ever seen, all those tiny intercostal muscles, wow...she'd just never really considered the whole package. It made her swallow hard before her perusal moved up to his shoulders, then to his face. His head was turned slightly and the bruised side showed, his eye was swollen shut; fractured cheekbone beneath and a sutured gash above. They hadn't cleaned off the dried blood yet, and it looked awful. She felt an urge to kiss the battered side of his face but paused when he shifted with a grunt and her eyes darted guiltily away, afraid she'd get caught staring at the good and the bad. He lifted a hand then and let it drop with a groan, her eyes finally moved to the worst of his injuries, the ones she knew would be the hardest for him to contend with, the ones she felt the most guilt over. His hands were trapped in a thick covering of padded splinting and ace bandages. From almost his elbows to the tips of his fingers, both broken hands were trapped, on the left only his thumb and the next finger were left unwrapped, on the right they had spared nothing.
"Oh boy, Sparky your gonna hate that."
"I already do. How long you planning to stand there and stare?"
He turned his chin then and one bleary orb looked up to her face as he snarled and snipped and tried to push up on his elbows to sit but the effort just left him wincing and breathless.
"Woah tiger...stay down now. Just waiting for test results and finishing up paperwork, then we'll get ya out of here."
Parker rushed to his side, not really sure what to do, or what to say but acting instinctively after the hitter fell back onto the pillows and closed his eyes. Those gentle, dexterous fingers brushed a lock of hair away from the bruised side of his face, digits danced over his features able to pluck a single strand away from the fresh stitches above his eye without so much as brushing the threads.
"Rest, please."
She whispered her voice soft and sweet and imploring as she ran the backs of her knuckles along her scruffy jawline.
"I'm sorry Eliot. I'm so sorry...I didn't listen. I shouldn't have run for the line, I thought I could get out and down before anyone would even see me. I'm the ghost, I'm quick and small and I sneak right past but this time...this time if it wasn't for you I'd be a splatter. A Parker shaped splatter of guts, and blood, and tissue, and black, and..."
"I get it. Really I get it. I thought of it, when you started screaming in my damn ear. It was all I thought of...you'd make a damn mess, a crazy damn mess sweetheart."
He forced a faint smile and she mirrored it, although her eyes were sad, his voice was weak and exhausted and even though he was trying to joke, she knew it was for her sake. She was glad his eyes were closed then as her thoughts careened from the Parker shaped splatter on the sidewalk to Eliot and everything he did, everything he gave and every chance he took just to be there for them, for all of them.
"You are going to need rest, and someone to keep an eye on you for awhile there Sparky. I'm your man, well, your girl, I guess. Since I'm not a man, obviously. I don't have any manly bits. The nurses here they all noticed your manly bits though even though we're supposed to be married there's a few women here that sure do seem to want you to stay awhile with them. I guess I should be jealous, wait I think I am jealous. Not that I haven't noticed you have manly bits, your bits are pretty damned obvious...not that I'm looking...I mean not that I'm blind. I am not blind..."
"Parker, darling...my heads pounding, it hurts when I breath and I know you mean well. But I can only handle so much crazy and still be able to stand being here, so could you just...pipe down? Hmmm?"
He waited a few seconds to see if she'd really comply with his request. He'd worded it very nicely, or at least he thought he had, he sure had tried to. It meant a lot that she tried, he knew it was next to impossible for her.
Sh stood there in silence looking him over form top to bottom again and then again. She wouldn't be able to pinpoint what possessed her to do what she did, call it appreciation. That about sounded right to her. She leaned in and pressed a very soft, extremely gentle kiss just above the stitches in his forehead. Before his eyes fluttered open she whispered.
"I know you want me to zip it but I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you, Eliot. For saving my life for saving all our lives, for everything...thank you. Now I'm gonna find you something to wear cause we can't have you leaving here in your shorts. The nurses would riot and bar the exits."
Before she left him to do some recon she found him another blanket, they had them stashed all over the place and yet they were so stingy with them. She shook it out and then draped it over him and pulled it up to his shoulders this time. His breathing was soft and even, but she could hear the stress in each inhalation and exhale. She knew it would only get better with time but it was still hard to listen to. Seeing him like this was hard; their Eliot was always so strong, so tough, so resilient. And here he was beaten, bloody and broken...but he'd be alright and that was what mattered most, That was what she planned to see happen, she'd make sure of it.
She left then, and made a quick run of the emergency department. She found his clothes in a bio hazard bin and even his shoes were ruined. So she dashed around and snagged him a pair of scrubs, pants and shirts both in sizes larger than he'd need to make it easier to slip them on over braces and splints. She snatched him some slipper socks and filled a plastic patient belongings bag with gauze pads and alcohol, a few ace bandages of various sizes, tape and sterile water and whatever else she cared to toss in there that she thought would be useful. By the time they had the discharge papers signed and the wheelchair ready she'd have everything and return to Eliot's bedside.
"Good morning glory...time to rise and shine and giddy-up outta Dodge here."
She smiled finding him sleeping and moved in right next to the bed and ran her fingertips over his bare shoulder until he came around for her. A testament to the injuries suffered and the medications in his system, it was the first time she'd ever seen Eliot Spencer wake slow and groggy ever. He usually shot up like a rocket and was raring to go within a heartbeat. This time his eye opened slow, and she could tell he was bewildered and out of sorts. She pulled the blankets down to his hips and then slid the bar down on the side of the bed. She slid herself right up beside him and slipped an arm behind his back to help him sit up.
"I can...geez...will ya stop already I'm hurt, I'm not..."
"Your not crippled, I know but seeing as how I'm your dearly beloved bride just let me help, it'll make all the nurses pea green with envy."
"I told Sop...Steph, not to let you watch that damn movie."
Even so she got him up to sitting and then moved away to grab the scrub shirt and help him pull it up over both broken hands and then over his head. It still too way to much effort and a lot of hissing on his part, but she was really glad she'd opted for such a large size, even though it swam on him.
"Fiddle dee dee Rhett Butler, least it's not made of my Momma's good curtains."
"Frankly my dear...I don't give a damn what it's made of. Just get me the hell outta here."
"And you said you weren't watching!"
She shifted the blankets off his legs then and helped him turn to the side, crouched down before him and looked up with a grin as she put the socks over his feet and then bunched up the scrub pants at his ankles before working them up his legs as far as she could while he was sitting.
"Smurf blue is definitely your color Ethan. But now's the fun part...on your feet soldier, well foot. Take it slow and use my shoulders for balance."
Eliot braced himself on her shoulders, snarling as his bandaged hands made the motion extremely difficult. Only first time he'd be sneering over his helplessness, he was positive there would be many more times to come. He laid his forearms on her shoulders and slid off the bed as far as he could, so that his good foot was as close to the floor as he could get it. Her hands on his thighs helped some, and she had his pants up to his hips and over them in an instant, even as she snaked the wheelchair with an ankle and all but shifted his weight for him so that he was dressed, moved and dropping fluidly into a seated position in less than a second. He didn't even have much of a chance to get dizzy.
"Wow, that was impressive."
"You ain't seen nothing yet. Your in good hands hubby."
Nate and Sophie arrived with Eliot's walking papers just as Parker was adjusting the leg rest and settling his braced limb into it. They'd be heading to Nate's for the time being. Tomorrow they'd decide where to take Eliot; where he'd be safe while he healed. Parker found herself in the back of the car, with a half knocked out, and drugged up numb Eliot Spencer leaning against her, and dozing off in her arms.
It was the second time that day that they had been tangled up in one another, and at that moment she couldn't think of anywhere else she would rather be. Sophie glanced back in the rear view mirror and watched as the thief gently brushed back the hitters long hair at his temple. The tender moment saw her reaching for Nate's hand and giving it a squeeze. Such a display of emotion from Parker was almost as unprecedented as seeing Eliot so helpless. This would be uncharted territory for all of them.
