Summary: Secrets have a way of making their way out into the open, even when they've been hidden by the best thieves in the world with the most amazing security.
Disclaimer: I don't own Leverage, can't even steal it (not Parker here), but I do plan on borrowing it for a bit since this mischievous bunny named Plot won't leave me alone.
Chapter 2
Nate was beginning to really worry. They'd made it to the hospital moments ago, and doctors were rushing 'Eliot Sanderson' to surgery. A short, brunette nurse had just asked Nate about his 'brother's' medical history. Although he had a bare bones history for everyone on his team, there were some things that he just never thought to ask, like blood type or medicinal allergies.
Nathan had taken out his ear bud when he'd gotten to the hospital and realized how serious the situation had become. He knew Sophie and Hardison were worried enough, especially riding with Parker. The young blond had quickly fallen back into unconsciousness following Sophie talking to her through her earpiece. Nate didn't want to worry them by letting them know how seriously Eliot was hurt. He tried to ignore Parker's voice from just a week ago and couldn't hide his accompanying smile at her innocence, "No one can hurt him. He's Superman, come to save us from big bad Lex Luthor and his billionaire friends." Sometimes it seemed that really was the case, right down to the bald billionaires, but right now it wasn't the case. Other than a serious concussion, there were some very dangerously place glass shards and that was all the doctors had told him, yet there was definitely something more problematic, given the twenty percent chance of survival.
Nate took a deep breath to center himself, and then pulled out his cell, saying Hardison aloud so the phone would dial out. Hardison answered on the second ring, still in the ambulance with an unconscious Parker and a frantic Sophie. He checked the phone, and answered upon seeing Nate's name. Skipping pleasantries, he answered, "How's Eliot?"
Nate ignored the hacker's question, not wanting to upset the others any more at the moment, "Hardison, I need you to find some medical files for Eliot and Parker. We need blood types, allergies, anything you can get."
Hardison's eyes narrowed, just as it usually did immediately before one of his rants, and Sophie quickly and quietly warned him not to startle the still unconscious thief. He lowered his voice, before ranting into the phone, "You do realize that Parker has no last name and came out of the foster system, and then there's Eliot whose name is still possibly an alias and anyone looking into him could alert any number of people to his location. Worse still, he'd be vulnerable and we might not be able to protect him. Come on, now. You know I'm amazing, but…"
"Just do it, Hardison," Nate's voice grumbled, cutting him off and hanging up his cell.
Despite Hardison's rant, his fingers moved across the keyboard of his laptop, searching for anything to help Parker or Eliot and carefully avoiding anything that might raise any red flags. Every few minutes, Alec's eyes would fall on Parker's body, taking in the bruises and various signs that she'd recently been hurt. It made his stomach churn to think about, though, so he would turn back to the computer searching through Child Protective Service databases to find something on Parker.
Sophie made an effort to stay out of the way of the paramedics, while still keeping a gentle grip on Parker's hand and running a comforting hand across her cheek and hair when she'd begin to squirm or show outward sign of pain. Sophie could feel Parker calming down at her familiar, gentle touch. She turned at a quiet shout of joy from Alec, as he dialed Nate's phone number.
"I found Eliot's medical papers, or should I say Spencer. According to this, Eliot's real name is Spencer Eliot Carter. How did no one ever look for that? He's going to…"
Sophie interrupted, "Hardison, focus."
"As far as I can tell there are no allergies to medicines and his blood type is A-, which means…" Hardison began, only to be interrupted again.
"I know what it means Hardison. I'm A- too, so if nothing else, I can donate. Anything else that sticks out," Nate asked.
Hardison continued scanning the documents, "not that I can see. I'll bring Parker's with me when we get there. Shouldn't we be worried about taking Eliot to a hospital anyway? The guy racks up enemies like Sophie racks up shoes."
Hardison nearly laughed at the indignant look on Sophie's face, but the situation was weighing heavily on him and the rest of the conscious part of the team. Nate's assuring voice answered the youngest member, "we'll have to deal with that if and when it becomes a problem. Eliot needs to be in a hospital."
Hardison knew Nate was trying to keep him calm, but the idea that Eliot, who Parker claimed to be indestructible, was in bad enough shape to need a hospital said more than if Nate had just told him the truth.
Sophie and Hardison felt the ambulance slow as it turned into the parking lot of the hospital and attempted to stay out of the way of the paramedics, doctors, and nurses that swarmed the emergency vehicle. Soon, the two followed the medical personnel and Parker into the hospital, hoping for the best.
Once inside, Hardison returned to working on the computer to find any information that could help their friends through this. Searching into Parker's past was difficult at best and frustrating at worst, but eventually he found her medical records. She was AB+, and had an allergy to sulfa drugs. He told the doctors about his 'fiancé's' medical information, as they got her into a room and began checking her over. He'd barely noticed Sophie and Nate quietly talking in the corner, but even that quick glance clued him in to the small flask Nate used to pour alcohol into a plastic coffee cup. He could almost hear, even from his distance, Sophie's insistence that now was not the time for him to be drinking, and Hardison couldn't help but agree.
He turned back to his computer, hoping to check and make sure that no one had broken through any firewalls to find any information that he was using, when a doctor stepped out of a double door at the opening to hospital wing from the waiting room, asking for the family of Eliot Sanderson. In moments, he joined Nate and Sophie as the doctor led them into a small room filled with chairs flowers and a serious-looking doctor.
Elsewhere, Parker awoke in a room that smelled of disinfectant. She was laying on a bed about as comfortable as the cot that foster family number seven made her sleep in when she lived there. She could hear the swooshing of the air that nestled itself between the people who were talking just a bit too loud. Opening her eyes, she looked around to see machinery and people.
Parker's eyes then narrowed in on a nurse who was rounding the corner with a small clear container, filled with a slightly amber colored liquid, which also had a needle around an inch long. Needles were bad. Needles meant drugs. Drugs meant fuzzy heads and hands that didn't stay where they belonged. Needles were an invention of the devil himself, or maybe Lex Luthor or some other equally evil villain.
"No," Parker told the nurse, her voice sounding, funny, gravelly or at least what she imagined gravel would sound like if it weren't a rock and could talk. The thought brought a tiny, passing smile to her face, as she imagined some piece of gravel with big circular eyes and a mouth that looked like Alec's mouth. The point was that she was hoarse and not sure exactly why some lady was coming at her with an evil needle.
Apparently the nurse saw where her eyes were stationed, and assured her, "it'll help with the pain."
Parker opened her mouth again, this time it sounded less gravelly and hurt just a little less, "no drugs, I don't do drugs."
At this, Parker moved to get her out of the bed, but a male nurse held her down. He told her that they were only trying to help with a bit of a southern drawl, like Eliot had.
Her brain stopped on that. Where was Eliot anyway? She couldn't find him when she was in the car. Why was she trying to find Eliot in the car anyway? Didn't he usually drive a truck? Nate had a car, a mid-life crisis car that he called responsible. Sophie and Alec had cars too, but Eliot definitely had a truck, so why was she looking for him in the car.
Parker barely registered the steady beeping grow more rapid, as she started trying to remember. There was something important that she should know, but it was apparently jumping out of her brain and zip-lining to her feet, something about Eliot.
She could see the nurses and doctors talking to her, but she couldn't seem to focus on them, other than the one with a mustache that looked like he had drawn it on with a marker of course. Something was wrong. Her stomach knew it, because it was doing that thing where it felt like it was being squeezed like a stress ball every few seconds.
Something was wrong with Eliot. He wasn't in the car, but then neither was she. She was in the hospital, and Nate wouldn't take her here unless something was wrong with her. He hated hospitals because of Sam.
"Shh, Parker, you're all right. You're safe here," a familiar and soft voice explained, catching her off guard. She knew that voice. How long had she been wondering about Eliot anyway? When did the doctors and nurses leave and Sophie come in?
Her eyes moved to match face with voice and see Sophie standing over her, combing her hair out of her face and speaking softly to her. When did Sophie get here, and why did she have red eyes that made her look like a raccoon?
She didn't know, so she did the only thing she could, she asked, "why do you look like a raccoon?" It was Sophie and Sophie never minded answering her questions. She heard a startled choke to her left that usually meant someone thought she was strange or something, and was usually accompanied by a confused look. She turned to see Hardison, coughing, gummy worms in hand.
"Oh, Parker," Sophie began, the same way she always did when she was about to explain something to her about the "normal" people, but she didn't this time. No, she simply stepped forward and wrapped her arms around a stiff and confused Parker, who looked to Nate now to explain.
Nate moved forward for a moment, grabbing Sophie's shoulders and pulling her back a bit. He whispered in her ear, but Parker could still hear them because it was a small hospital room. Nate had told Sophie to go check on Eliot. Sophie nodded quietly and turned, so Parker decided to ask before she left, "Why was I trying to find Eliot in a car? He drives a truck, right?"
On her left, Hardison shifted, stood, took the two steps to the bed, and motioned for Nate and Sophie to go check on Eliot, indicating that he'd handle it. Parker watched curiously as they left, before looking at Hardison, noticing now that he looked very tired.
"Do you want to sleep on the bed? I'll just go into the vent," she said, and watched as Alec's face got scrunched and she could see wrinkles that had never been there before.
Hardison took a deep breath, "Parker, do you remember what happened when the job went south?"
The conversation lasted until Parker couldn't fight the effects of the pain medication in her IV anymore, and faded off to sleep. Alec covered her with the blankets, kissed her head gently, and settled down for a long night in a chair. He just hoped he'd be able to handle the stiff back in the morning.
He tried to ignore the fact that Nate was being type tested right now, because something had happened in the crash that had caused Eliot's kidneys to shut down and he was probably going to need a new one.
Hardison again grabbed his computer. He needed to find someone related to Eliot. Nate may be type testing, but the best match is family, at least that's what all the doctor shows on TV and the surgeon on Eliot's case said.
A/N: Okay, I know there is a lot of set-up, but things are finally to the point that some of the plot ideas will come into play. Hope you enjoyed it and I'd like to say thank you to all of you who did the story alerts or commented. I appreciate it!