Reminiscing, Act I Scene II
Nate and the team reminisce about old times and the life they'd had together. Set shortly after Sophie conks Nate on the head. She calls Eliot for advice, which leads to an interesting conversation over the phone. Originally started as the beginning to a different series, then somehow took on a life of its own. Enjoy.
"Nate? Our Nate? The Nate we all love and respect, that Nate, was in a fight when you went to check on him?" Eliot couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice. He just couldn't visualize Nate fighting with anyone. Not that he thought Nate was pushover, far from it. It just wasn't his style, to fight back physically. Nate was a mind games kind of guy. He played chess; he liked getting inside his opponents head and screwing with him. He left the physical stuff to him, to Eliot. After all, that was his specialty.
"Yes, Eliot, Nate was fighting for his life. I don't see what you think was so amusing about it." Sophie complained over the phone, the panic leaving her voice. "It was horrible. The man had a knife and…"
"Wait, he had a knife? This guy came at Nate with a knife?" The hitter, who had been reclining on his hotel bed, sat up with a start. "You're sure? What did the guy look like? Tell me everything. Start from the beginning."
"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Sophie inhaled before continuing. "I went upstairs to tell Nate…something and found his door ajar. That wasn't like him, so I pushed it open only to see a man with a knife trying to stab Nate! He was trying to kill him! So I head butted him. I think I broke his nose."
"Who, Nate?"
"No! The guy! The guy with the knife, the one trying to kill Nate."
"Okay. So you broke his nose. Good job."
"Yes, well, he took off after that. Nate chased him into the hall…"
"Wait, Nate chased after him?" Eliot swore softly before lecturing Sophie. "Why'd you let him?"
"He only went a few feet down the hall. He came straight back… But…"
Eliot sighed. Things could never be simple, could they? "But what?"
"Well, I kind of hit him on the head with a–a pan, I think. I don't know, I grabbed the closest thing at hand."
"Hit who?"
"Nate…" Sophie answered slowly. "I think I knocked him out."
Eliot snorted. "You knocked Nate out as he was coming back inside his condo."
"Yes."
Eliot shook his head. "Sophie, you are one of a kind."
"Now what's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, nothing." Eliot chuckled. "Look, stay the night. Watch over him, okay? If you hit him hard enough to knock him out, chances are he'll stay knocked out for a couple hours. Don't worry, he should be fine. I'll come check on him in the morning. Bring the others up to speed. Maybe they can help us figure this out."
"Got it. Thanks Eliot."
"Oh, and Sophie?"
"Yes."
"Call me if he wakes up before I get there."
"Of course. See you later, Eliot. Take care."
"Yeah. You too. Keep safe. Lock the doors." Eliot hung up and tossed his cell phone on the chair across the room, flopping back on the bed. Nate had gotten into trouble only moments after meeting up with them again. Maybe this was fate. Obviously, Nate couldn't keep safe if he was away from him. He could have been seriously injured if Sophie hadn't shown up. Eliot snorted at the mental picture of her smack Nate with a pan. Well, at least he got away with a light hit.
He rolled over on his side. Now that Nate had quit drinking, maybe working with him would be better. Maybe Nate could hold on to those special moments right after the end of a con, those moments of thanks, with better clarity. He certainly hoped so. Well, that was hoping that he'd be open to the idea of rejoining them. His reaction last night was a point against them, but Eliot was determined to change his mind. Nate would welcome them back if he worked harder to convince him. He was sure of it.
And, of course, we all know how that turns out. I'm not quite sure how this came to be, it just kind of happened, but I enjoyed writing it. Below are a few notes I made after writing it.
Cookies to anyone who noticed Eliot made appoint of saying "love" and "Nate" in the same sentence. And yes. He does convince Nate to give them a second chance. I *heart* Eliot3Nate ^o^
***
Note. Everything voiced here are of the author's opinions and are in no way tied to the original series. Leverage is in no way tied to the author and the author, although mighty in her own way, cannot change or influence any part of the show. It would be awesome if she could, though. All rights reserved. ©