A/N: Here's chapter 3. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it for you. I'd like to send out a special thank you to all of you who have been reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing. Reviews really make my day.

I don't own Leverage, nor any of the characters involved in this story, except for the original ones. I write for fun and not for profit.

Thanks for reading.

Chapter 3

Eliot took the water that Parker gave him gratefully, and drained the bottle. When he was finished, he looked at the two of them, and said, "The next thing on the list for all of us is to shower. We'll need to burn our clothes, and possibly also our shoes. Then, we'll need some supplies."

"Come on. I'll show you where the other bedrooms are," Vance said. "If you'll make a list, I can have one of my men pick up your supplies." With that, he led the two younger people out, and then returned a moment later, with another bottle of water for Eliot. Opening one of the cabinets, he pulled out a bag of saline solution, and started to prepare an IV.

"Vance, I don't want the others here while the doctor is treating me." He glanced at the door.

"I'm pretty sure they aren't going to want to leave you, brother. And they've earned the right to stay. If you don't want them here, you'll have to send them away. I'm not going to do it."

"My main concern is making sure that if the two facets of my life must clash, neither will cause harm to the other."

"And it's hard for you to do that not knowing who the doctor is," Vance said, glancing at Eliot with a look he couldn't read. He took a deep breath, and then said, "Don Sullivan."

"Sully? You called Sully?"

"That's who Doc would've called, and you know it. She trained him. He's the next best after her. And, however you might feel about him, he's not a danger to your team."

That was true. He wasn't. What he was, however, was a world class interrogator. Eliot had no real reason not to like Sully. Their paths had crossed a couple of times, on missions involving more than one team, but they had never really been on the same team. Eliot and Doc and Vance made too good a team together for anyone to be willing to split them up often. Still, Eliot had been on the wrong side of too many of those interrogations in other countries for this to make him comfortable. He hid his feelings well, but Vance knew him better than most, and must have seen something in his actions or on his face, because he asked, "Eliot?"

"When's he supposed to get here?"

"Well, he said he was finishing up a case and would stop by on his way home."

"Anytime, then. I'd better shower."

"You need some help getting in there?"

"We'll see." Eliot was already up and moving, using the furniture to help him retain his mobility on his own. Vance followed behind, to catch him if he started to fall. He hopped over to the small stool Vance had in the corner, and sat down on it. Vance fished the first aid kit out of the cabinet, and withdrew a small pair of scissors, handing them to Eliot. He then placed the kit within easy reach of the injured man.

"Go on back and check in with your men. You don't want to be all night getting the loose ends tied up. I'll be fine." Maneuvering around until he was able to get his wallet out of his back pocket with the other hand, he handed Vance two twenties and said, "Maybe bring some dinner back when you come. I probably won't eat much, but Parker and Hardison will be hungry, and now that I think about it, it might not be a good idea for them to go out again, especially if I can't be with them."

He saw the look Vance was giving him, and said simply, "Just a bit of my past life starting to rear its ugly head. The person in question, well, revenge ain't his style, unless he's getting paid for it, that is. I'd be more worried about him seeing them as a newfound threat and deciding to eliminate it before it causes further problems." Vance nodded, and said, "What else do you need?"

"That depends on how well stocked you keep this place."

"Probably as well as you keep yours stocked."

"All right, then you'll have pain meds and antibiotics, yeah?"

Vance nodded.

"Then I just need a shirt I don't have to pull over my head, and jeans that don't have a hole in the leg. And we'll all need another pair of shoes. I'm not sure what else Parker and Hardison will need. And I don't know their sizes."

"I'll ask them. Are you sure you're going to be able to get back to bed all right?"

"I'll be fine." Vance left the room.

While they had been talking, Eliot had cut what was left of his shirt off, and holding onto the sink, he had slid his jeans down to his knees with one hand, and he now proceeded to kick them the rest of the way off of the uninjured leg. Sitting back down on the stool, he worked them off of the other leg, and let them drop to the ground. He started to unwind the bandage on his shoulder. The outer layers, which were mostly dry, came off easily. When he got to the inner layers, soaked with blood, he discovered the bandage had stuck to the wound. Wetting a towel under the sink faucet, he clenched his teeth and pulled hard and fast. The bandage came off and fresh blood welled out of the wound. He replaced the gauze with the wet towel, putting pressure on the wound as he did so. When the pain had faded somewhat, he put one hand on the side of the bathtub, and shifted his body to the side of the tub. Then he reached out and turned the water on, and waited until it got hot. Turning himself around, so that his legs were in the shower, he stood up and began washing himself all over with the medical grade anti-bacterial soap with which Vance kept this shower outfitted.

Eliot quickly moved through his ablutions in the shower, knowing his leg wouldn't last long. He washed his hair, and then concentrated on scrubbing himself from top to bottom. He winced slightly as the hot water hit his wounds, and gritted his teeth, but he wanted to be sure the wounds were not contaminated by either the virus or any type of debris or germs, so he stayed with it. Ten minutes later, he was out, toweling his hair dry. He dressed only in a clean pair of boxers, and draped a towel over his shoulders, not seeing any reason to dress, when he'd only have to remove his clothes again when Sully arrived.

He ran a comb through his hair, and then moved back out into the room he had come from, to find Hardison and Parker there waiting for him. Hardison jumped up and moved over to help him back to the cot he had sat on before. Eliot growled at him, wondering when he would learn they Eliot had no problem asking for help when he needed it. The issue was that they had a different perspective of what constitutes "need". Hardison ended up following him, ready to catch him if he fell.

When he sat back down on his cot, Parker handed him another bottle of water.

"I texted Sophie and let her know we're staying here for a few days." Hardison exchanged a glance with Eliot. Neither man was sure he wanted to know what she had said in that text. Parker was Parker, and sometimes, communicating with her could be interesting. Shaking his head, Eliot made a mental note to call Nate later.

"Where's Vance?" Hardison asked.

"He went to finish taking care of business. He's bringing dinner back when he's finished. Doctor Sullivan should be here any minute. Will you two go out into the living area and answer the door when he comes?"

The two clearly wanted to stay, but they knew they might not hear the door when the doctor came, and it was more important for them to be there now. So, they went out and turned on the television, scrolling through the channels to find something to watch. They sat down together on the sofa, holding one another and settling in to wait.