Disclaimer: I don't own "Lie to Me."

Author's note: Hey, sorry guys. I was suddenly caught in college things and then i was whisked away on more vacation. But, it was pleasant. :) Also, when I got home I watched all my recorded shows only to see...a guy from my high school in the Leverage episode! I was shocked and excited and I didn't know what to think! But it was super awesome to see that. Anyhoo...here's the final chapter...kinda short, but I hope it wraps things up nicely, because, frankly, I am very done with this story and I want it to be oooooverr...plus, I already have plans for another story. Also, any suggestions on other fandoms I should try? Now, go read! :D


7. Capture the Flag

Ben ran with everything he had. With quick apologies, he shoved his way past innocent bystanders and chased the man who had put Eli in the hospital and intended to do the same to Ria. If he caught this man, the nightmare would be almost over. All that would be left was to find Ria , wherever she may be.

He needed to get Frankford.

His legs pushed him faster and the space between him and Frankford shrunk slowly. Ben's heart pounded with the hope of success and his legs suddenly took control of themselves as he jumped and watched as his hands came closer and closer to Thomas Frankford's back.

Suddenly, there was a collision.

Ben had him, wriggling beneath him like a helpless worm.


"Here, Eli, take a drink of water." Foster said softly as she offered him a cup of clear liquid. He took it in both hands, but as his hands shook violently, the water spilled down the sides of the cup. He looked to Gillian with pleading eyes. She caught the hint and took the cup from him, gently helping him sip the water.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He nodded gingerly, leaning back on his pillow wearily and nearly blending in with the whiteness of the sheets.

Footsteps found their way into the room.

"Caught him, Lightman." Ben huffed as he pushed forward the cuffed psycho with distaste. Eli's eyes roved every which way to avoid eye contact with his torturer and his troubling past.

Lightman watched the lunatic with curiosity, wondering what step he should take next in this game. But that's what it was: a game. A game that Cal had now won.

"Looks like I win." Cal stated, coming towards him with a wicked glint in his eye. "I found all of your players in this game. Now you have to tell me where my employee is." Frankford watched Lightman with an observant eye, glancing at Loker every now and then.

"I suppose you're right. You've won the game and I owe you a reward. Get your notebook ready, because I will only say this once." Thomas replied, grinning evilly. Reynolds immediately dialed the phone for a unit to be set out at once and awaited the lunatic's answer. "It's near the tracks." he explained and proceeded to give away the address with a gleeful smile.

"It was a fun game, Dr. Lightman." he said cheerfully, then looked to Loker. "And you were an incredibly fun toy." Eli cringed and sunk further into his pillow, willing himself to disappear.

"Goodbye, Mr. Frankford." Cal mumbled, signaling for Reynolds to push the criminal out of the room and off to a proper holding cell for him. "And good riddance…"

They could hear Ben calling units to the address Ria was held at while he handed off the man to the agents outside the door.

This game was almost over, they just had to recapture their employee and make it back to base.


Ria sat in the empty room, watching as Eli continued to slump further in his chair, awaiting his final death. In his case, he had no idea what would happen; he didn't know that the only intention of the lunatics was to hospitalize him. He didn't know if he was going to die or what. But she knew that he wanted to die at that very moment. She could tell simply by his body language. If she got back, no…when she got back, she was going straight to the hospital to see Eli. She watched what he'd gone through, and she knew it better than anyone else in the team. They both understood what had happened to each other, and she wasn't going to leave Eli to deal with the grief on his own.

A muffled shout brought her out of her thoughts. Her ears strained, trying to determine if it was the freak she'd seen before or not. The deep, gruff voice seemed oddly familiar, but she was sure it wasn't the man who was here before.

"Go!" the voice shouted just outside the door and a man kicked the door open with a sturdy kick.

Ria almost cried when she saw Reynolds walking through that door.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked gruffly as he cut her out of her restraints. She nodded, trying hard not to let out any tears. "You're safe now. We got 'em all." Ria smiled and sniffled a little as she glanced at the TV screen. Reynolds followed her eyes, pausing as he watched the sad footage of Loker.

Eli cried bitterly.

There was an awkward silence as Ben and the other agents watched the tape with sorrow filling their eyes. Reynolds looked more disturbed by it than anybody.

"I want to go to the hospital." Ria stated clearly. Ben looked back at her, taking in her determined expression and stealing a look at the screen every now and then. He couldn't deny her request. He knew that Eli needed her and she probably wouldn't be able to sleep until she knew she had done what she could for her close coworker.

"Alright, we'll getchya to the hospital." he promised, beckoning over another agent to help him cut her from her restraints. Ria smiled, hardly caring when the tape was ripped painfully off her skin.


Gillian watched Eli fearfully, as if she was afraid he would suddenly crumble into tiny little dust particles. He looked like he could. Even Cal found himself wishing he was in the boy's place. Loker recovered quickly from shock and most anything else, but he still had that short time of agony and torture. All he needed was somebody he could talk to, but Gillian didn't know what to say, and Cal suspected he would only say something to worsen the situation. Besides, if Foster couldn't fix it, then who could?

"Brought you a visitor, Loker." Ben announced as he entered the room. Ria walked slowly out from behind the agent, rubbing at her wrists as she went. Gillian could see an expression on Ria's face that she recognized; a look of a helper.

"Maybe it's best we leave them alone." Foster suggested, pulling Cal's arm along as she pushed Agent Reynolds back out of the door. They chanced one more glance behind them before disappearing behind a closed door.

"Eli?" Ria said softly as she came closer and took a seat next to her coworker. He looked up at her, his eyes dark and heavy with awful experiences.

"I'm glad you're okay." he croaked, swallowing painfully.

"I saw what went through." she stated immediately, not wasting any time on silence or idle chit-chat. "How you didn't know if you were going to die there alone, or if somebody would find you." Eli gazed at her with empty eyes, his guise giving the impression that he was confused by her statement. What would it help?

Ria stood and wrapped her arms around Eli in a tight hug, holding him close to her, but also being careful of his injuries.

"I'm sorry that had to happen to you." she apologized as she continued to embrace the broken man in front of her. "If we knew, we would've done everything to find you. We would never leave you behind." He weakly put his own arms around her, gratefully clinging to her as part of his troubles melted away.

"You won't die alone." she mumbled, knowing he was thankful for her reassurance as he hugged her tighter, despite the weakness in his muscles.

"Thank you, Torres." he muttered into her shoulder. She smiled, willing to keep up this embrace for as long as he needed it.


Eli collapsed into his office chair, sighing as he stretched out his fingers. The team watched him closely to make sure he was really well enough to come in to The Lightman Group. After a few minutes of watching him healthily and happily log into the system, they were satisfied with their observations.

"Glad you're okay, Loker." Foster said, smiling before she got back to work.

"Get crackin' on those video files." Lightman barked. His expression softened and he patted Loker gently on the shoulder. "Glad to have you back." He too went his merry way to finish work around the office.

"Do you need anything?" Ria asked, seating herself beside him while he opened up various files on the computer.

"Well…" Eli started, pausing for awhile as he turned and stared at her. "I could really use one of those cozy, long Ria hugs." he told her, giving her a wink. She laughed and patted his knee.

"I'll let you know when they're available." she teased, still chuckling as she left the analysis room. Eli watched her go with vague interest, then shrugged and went back to his office chores.

He smiled as he remembered her words:

"You won't die alone."

That's all Eli needed.

Fin.


Author's Note: Yeah...hope that was okay. Anyway, please review on how you think the story was. :) And for my next tale...I'm bringing in Eli's older brother! Just for some brotherly bonding and bickering. It should be pretty good...I hope.