That's What I Do

Chapter 3

A/N: I own nothing from TNT's world of Leverage and make nothing off of this story other than the satisfaction of writing it.

Eliot came to in a cold room. The sounds and smells of a hospital clued him in to his location. He listened but didn't hear any police radio chatter. His eyes snapped open. Memory caught up to him and he relaxed a bit. He moved his arms slightly to make sure there were no cuffs restraining him. He was free. That was a good sign. Lifting his head, Eliot saw that a curtain had been drawn around his bed, and he caught the sound of someone moaning in agony on the other side. Other voices were speaking in medical jargon and mentioned that the motorcyclist had lost a battle with a truck.

Self-assessing, Eliot was pleased to note that the nausea was gone. His head still hurt enough that an injudicious movement caused a sharp pain that blinded him but at least he wouldn't spew. Again. That had been embarrassing. Deciding against sitting directly upright, Eliot rolled onto his right side and levered himself up with a braced arm. He took his time as he reminded himself he'd felt worse during numerous other awakenings. Much worse. Slumped at the edge of the bed, Eliot was preparing to jump down and onto his own two feet when the curtain was jerked aside perfunctorily and a man with a doctor's coat walked into his space.

"And you're going where?" The young intern was surprised to find his patient upright. True, the skull X-rays had shown no major damage or internal bleeding but his patient did have a skull fracture and three broken ribs. "You can't leave. We're admitting you for overnight observation." It had been a long night and he needed to get some sleep. Dealing with a beligerent patient had not been on his agenda this late in his shift.

"Not happening. I'm outta here." The determined look on Eliot's face showed his intentions plainly enough.

Not wanting to have to fight the man, Dr. Tipton tried to reason with him first. He had no idea who he was up against. "Before you do anything, how about letting us clean up and stitch that head wound?"

Reaching up to feel the wound on his head, Eliot thought for a second and agreed. It would be really hard for him to take care of it himself since he couldn't see it except in a mirror. He wasn't sure how squeamish the others would be if he asked their help. "Fine." Actually, he could make a pretty accurate guess at their individual responses to such a request. He sighed.

Motioning the silent nurse behind him over, the intern left to speak to his patient's brother. Hopefully Tom could convince Mark to stay overnight. Taking Eliot's chart and films with him, he went to go enlist his aid.

The waiting room was crowded but when he called out for Mark Baker, four people turned and headed towards him. "Tom Baker?"

The older man nodded and spoke, "These are friends. You can speak in front of them."

"Come with me." Doctor Tipton led them into a small room where he jabbed several X-rays into the clips of the light box and turned it on. He pointed first at the series of head X-rays. "There is a hairline fracture at the temporal lobe but we found no evidence of inter-cranial bleeding. And here," as he switched the films, "he's got three broken ribs in the left upper thorasic and two cracked in the lower left thorasic region." He sighed, a bit confused. "What exactly does your brother do for a living?"

"Why?" Nate could figure out where this was going. A person would have to be blind to not see all the lines of old fractures and breaks on the films. "He worked as a stuntman for a while; he's retired now."

"If he's retired, what happened?"

Sophie was primed. "We had all gone out to eat. Mark was walking me to my car when we were mugged. One of them had a nightstick and hit him. When he was down on the ground, they started kicking him. I screamed and then," she waved expansively at the others," Tom and Rick and Mary ran up and scared them off. I guess we were too many. Anyway, Mark passed out in the car as we brought him here."

Something still wasn't making sense but the intern wasn't interested in their story. It was for the police to handle the assault report. "I need your help," he said turning towards Tom. "Your brother is trying to check himself out and leave."

"I thought you said that he was okay." A fist clenched around Nate's heart. He'd begun to relax but now the doctor had caused that fist to tighten again; Eliot was a member of his team who had been hurt while doing what he planned and apparently this was not something that a few stitches or bandages or ice pack could patch up.

Patting the air with placating hands, Dr. Tipton assured the circle of worried people that yes, Mark would be all right with rest. "Yes, he should. But head injuries can be tricky. He needs to be watched. Please," he said taking Nate by the elbow, "come with me and help me convince him he needs to stay."

Both men heard Eliot before they saw him. "Get those away from me. You're not touching me with those."

Exchanging puzzled glances, the two sped up and walked around the curtain. Eliot was holding the nurse's arm immobile. In her hand was a pair of scissors. "I need to remove all hair from around the wound so that I can stitch it," she said primly.

"No way!" Eliot pushed her back and moved to jump off the bed.

"Hold on," Nate said holding out one hand and placing it against Eliot's shoulder. Turning to the intern he said, "Give us a minute?"

Once they were alone, he rounded on Eliot. "What are you trying to do? Cause a scene? Just let them…"

Eliot cut him off. "She ain't cutting my hair!" Narrowing his eyes at Nate, he continued. "It's not vanity. Think. All the muscle you've seen, what do they look like? What do they have in common?"

Seeing that Eliot was serious, Nate thought about it. Big bruisers. Serious. Brainless…it clicked. "Military haircuts."

"Yeah. I had short hair when I first started but then I realized it made me stand out in certain countries and in certain situations. People don't expect someone like me to have long hair. I've gotten safely through checkpoints, I think, because I look like a cowboy or biker rather than a hitter."

Finally understanding a bit more about Eliot, Nate had to agree. "But you need to get that stitched just the same. It's still bleeding."

"Fine. You trim the hair around the cut. But just enough so it can be stitched up."

"Whoa. I am not going to stitch you." Nate remembered Eliot's gloved hands, bloody, working on the gunshot wound he himself had received. He so did not want to have to do the same thing.

Eliot huffed. "I'm not asking for that." Nate would take forever anyways and besides, he might mess up the stitches. "Just cut the hair. Let Nurse Ratched do the stitching then we're outta here."

"That's the other thing. The doctor says you need to stay for observation."

"No." Eliot was adamant. Seeing that Nate wasn't getting the point, he spelled it out. "Those guys know I was hurt. I kinda left some clues behind." He was sure that if they checked the bedroom, they'd see the blood and vomit on the carpet. "This is the nearest hospital right?" At Nate's nod, he continued. "They'll come right here. And I'll be trapped." Eliot wouldn't really be trapped but there were civilians here who might get in the way and get hurt. "Look. I know what symptoms the nurses will be looking for. I just need one of you to help me." Eliot's blue gaze was clear and Nate felt he had to believe the man. Surely Eliot knew what he was doing. For years, Nate had heard about this retrieval specialist who ended up in dangerous situations again and again but always seemed to escape. Somehow. There had been that Turkish prison; Eliot had been off the grid for several months with that one…but he was here, standing, so to speak. Shaking his head to bring his wandering thoughts back to the moment, Nate weighed all the facts. While he knew Eliot hated to show any weakness, he also knew the man wasn't an idiot. If he thought he could watch out for himself or that he could be okay with them to help him, then he could.

"Alright. What do we do?"

"Get the doc back in here. Then get those scissors from that…that…woman and cut my hair."

Nate went to the door and called out to Doctor Tipton. "He wants to talk to you." Turning to the nurse, he held his hand out for the scissors. "Allow me." Smiling as disarmingly as he could, he asked for some tape as well. Turning around, he went back inside the curtained alcove and had to hide a smile. Eliot had made his way to a full upright position and had his arms crossed across his chest. A truculent expression was on his face. The doctor didn't have a chance.

"Give me the AMA papers."

Doctor Tipton was stumped. His patient was an adult, he seemed lucid and coherent, and he passed the reflex tests. He had someone to drive him home. And he apparently knew about the against medical advice papers that would discharge him but keep the hospital from being sued if something happened. Turning to glare at Nate, Dr. Tipton said, "Will you be keeping an eye on him for the next 48 hours?"

"One of us will," Nate explained. He wasn't sure how Eliot would handle being watched by Parker or Hardison but if he wanted out of here that was a condition.

"You'd better. If he starts hemorrhaging, you have to realize it quickly and get him to a hospital immediately." At Nate's nod, he continued giving instructions about what to keep an eye out for. Finished with his lecture, he glared at the two men for a moment. Didn't either realize how dangerous a blow to the head could be? "I'll go get the paperwork but this is definitely against my advice. But he's not leaving until that head wound is stitched." He jerked the curtain closed behind him since there was no door to slam.

Facing Eliot, Nate tried to figure out how best to proceed. The nurse had washed off the dried blood while he'd been unconscious so it was just a matter of separating the strands of hair and trimming some of them. "Sit still," Nate sighed.

Eyes rolling, Eliot tried to decide if Nate was testing him. Did Nate think he was going to complain and flinch as he himself had done when being stitched after being shot? Really, these people did not understand him.

Nate tore off several strips of tape and told Eliot to hold them. Using the edges of the scissors, Nate separated the hair that was horizontal to the wound and pulled them up and over Eliot's head. He used the tape to keep it from falling back down. Next, he separated the sections of hair that were directly over, on, or below the wound straight out from the side of Eliot's head and cut them as close to the scalp as he could. "That should do it," he said. Going to the curtain, he got the nurse's attention. "You should be able to stitch it now."

It had been a long day for Nurse Kitka, and she was irritated with this patient. Setting up her suturing kit, she looked at the wound. The vanity of some people. At least now there was enough hair missing that she could see to stitch the wound closed. She was in such a hurry that it wasn't until after several stitches had been made that she realized that she had not injected any Lidocaine at the site. Yet her patient hadn't flinched or moved or indicated any discomfort at all. Huh. She looked to make sure he was conscious. Ice blue eyes met hers, narrowed, and glared. She quickly finished the job. While she cleaned up the debris, she addressed the older man standing by the bed. "You'll need to make sure that the wound is kept dry and that if you notice any signs of infection that you take him to a doctor immediately. Of course, with all this hair in the way, you probably won't notice if it reddens."

"Thank you, nurse." Nate said. He could see that Eliot was getting frustrated and would say something soon that even if he didn't regret it, Nate would. Looking intently at Eliot, Nate had to hide a smile. With his hair piled up on the top of his head and sticking out in all directions while below the wound it hung was damp and straggly, he had to admit that Eliot looked rather comical. But that internal laugh died quickly. Eliot had been hurt and badly. It was not a laughing matter. Eliot reached up to pull off the tape but Nate batted his hands away and removed the pieces himself. Eliot slid off the bed to the floor. He held onto the edge for a moment until he was sure his legs were steady under him. "Let's go," he muttered.

"Not so fast cowboy. You still need to sign the paperwork. And then I'm sure the cops will want an incident report as well." Both men had forgotten the presence of the nurse.

Not with Hardison erasing any files that existed. Putting his finger to his ear, Nate whispered, "Hardison?"

He'd already asked the hacker to delete anything related to Eliot as soon as it was put into the system. Since it took a while for cops to respond, they would not even know the report had been called in before it vanished. "Give me about five more minutes, Nate, and then I'm done. There won't be any record of an assault at all."

"Good. Once you're done with that, go get the car. Keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. They might be looking for us."

Nate had also instructed Sophie to take care of all the payments using the company's insurance while Parker was lifting the charts and films.

When Eliot and Nate came into the waiting room, neither woman was exactly sure about how they felt about Eliot and all that he'd gone through. Sophie was especially wary. She'd seen Eliot taken down directly in front of her because of her. If there had been no gun to her head, she was certain Eliot would have ruled the battlefield. Hardison had told them about Eliot taking down four guards in just a few second when they'd first started working together. She knew Eliot was a great fighter and was dismayed to find out how much she had depended on him to get them out. She'd been terrified waiting for him to regain consciousness.

Parker, as usual, put her foot in her mouth when she saw Eliot. "So, Sparky, what's going to be your next trick?" Sophie smacked her on the arm. "Owww. What'd I do?" Parker looked back at Eliot who definitely looked the worse for wear. "What?" she asked no one in particular.

Eliot closed his eyes and just shook his head slightly. Trust Parker to react the same. For someone reputed to be insane, she was the most predictable of the bunch in certain situations. It gave him a bit of odd comfort.

"Are you okay?" asked the dark-haired woman. Sophie wasn't sure in her own mind if she was asking about his health or his mental composure after killing a man. His job did entail hurting people but she wasn't sure how much of that involved killing people. Did such a deed even affect him any more? She was confused and knew this was not over in her own thoughts at all.

Eliot was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. Without even cracking his eyes open, he replied, "I'm fine." He relished the slight breeze each time the doors opened and closed.

"Car's here," Parker chirped as she headed out the automatic doors of the ER when Hardison pulled up.

"Eliot?" Gripping the man lightly by the elbow, Sophie tugged him towards the car. Unresisting, Eliot allowed himself to be led. Normally he would have shrugged off her touch but he could sense she was leery around him, and he didn't want to make her any more nervous. They were a team of sorts and one didn't treat team members the way one did overbearing hospital personnel. Sophie opened the front door of the car and motioned him to climb in. It was normally her spot but she felt he would want a bit more space than the back seat would give him.

Lips twitching in a small smile of thanks, Eliot sank down into the car. His ribs definitely thanked her. He could almost relax. He would once they were in some new hotel. He didn't close his eyes; instead he watched the side mirror to see if anyone was tailing them. He had to squint a bit since he didn't have his glasses. He couldn't spot anyone during the entire trip; they should be safe for the night. He hoped.

While at the hospital, Nate had thought about splitting the team up for the night. But on second thought, he wasn't sure if those others knew how many the team numbered. They had only seen Eliot, Sophie, and Hardison. So maybe they would only be looking for three and not five. He was divided. What finally decided him was the need to monitor Eliot. They could each take shorter shifts and still get some rest themselves.

"Hardison, do we have everything we need?"

"Well, I got all the data I could pull and Parker got those files from Macias' place. I won't know until I get a chance to look things over though."

"Where is the hotel we're staying at tonight?" Nate followed Haridson's directions hoping the hotel was close so that they could all rest soon. Trying not to be obvious, Nate watched Eliot out of the corner of his eye. The younger man had scooted down in his seat and was resting his head against the seat back. His eyes were focused out the side window, and his brow was furrowed. Whether it was pain or something else, Nate didn't want to ask in front of the others. Streetlights flickered across Eliot's face, darkening then lightening his features. Nate thought Eliot himself was reflected in that pattern. The man himself was both light and dark. He was straightforward with admitting that his skills lay with his fighting prowess. But the motives behind such a career path were unknown. There was definitely more dark than light inside Eliot. Nate had hoped that the team could balance that dichotomy a bit. But with what had happened tonight, he wasn't so sure. Seeing Eliot kill someone, even if that someone had been trying to kill them, would surely affect Sophie and Hardison. How much and in what manner only time would tell. He drove on through the darkness.

Opening the door to the room, Nate switched on the lights and dropped their two bags by the door. He gestured towards the two beds allowing Eliot to pick the one he wanted.

Eliot was running out of energy. He sank down on bed nearest the bathroom. He didn't think he'd get nauseous again, but then he might. If he did, he hoped he'd have enough warning to actually make it there. If he could even move. His overextended muscles were cramping and his overtired body was shutting down. Past experience told him it would be very hard for him to move tomorrow.

Nate broke into Eliot's musings. "So what do we look for?" At Eliot's quizzical glance, he continued. "Warning signs that we need to get to back to a hospital. Dr. Tipton mentioned things but what do you want us to assess?"

"Oh." He was pleased that Nate trusted him enough to decide what he wanted help with observing. "You'll need to wake me up about every hour. Get me to talk. Check for slurred speech; make sure I can actually complete a coherent thought. See if I'm dizzy. I'll have to sit up to check that." There was no way he would climb to his feet that many times. If they thought he was grouchy normally, heaven help them over the next couple of days. He'd have to keep a check on himself to make sure he didn't truly alienate any of them too much. He surprised himself. Since when did he ever care what others thought about him? Not since he left home that last time he figured. Thinking, Eliot wondered. Could he trust Nate to stay sober long enough to keep an eye on him? "You watching all night or tagging off with the others?" He hoped at least if Nate did drink and drink too much, his relief would take over before it affected him too much.

"I've got it for the next four hours then Parker said she'd come in."

Eliot rolled his eyes. "Make sure she knows that I need some sleep. That I don't want to chat when she wakes me up." He huffed at the thought.

Cracking a smile for the first time in many hours, Nate assured the younger man he would. "Go to sleep." He watched as Eliot toed off his shoes and slowly settled back onto the bed. He started to roll to one side but his body apparently had other ideas so he lay flat on his back and closed his eyes. His face relaxed, and Nate knew he was asleep. Nate wondered if he should turn off the light but it didn't seem to be disturbing Eliot any. Of course, the man could, and probably had, slept anywhere. Setting his phone for an hour, Nate settled back to figure out their next move.

TBC

I'd love to know what you thought about this chapter. More will be coming soon. I'm updating about once a week and have many chapters to go.