Disclaimer: I don't own Angel or Leverage. They belong to Joss Whedon and Dean Devlin.
Convergence
Chapter 9: Resolution
When Eliot woke up in the morning his side was killing him. The gash that was there hadn't been very deep, but it had been deep enough to worry about bleeding out too much, definitely needing stitches. He'd stitched it very carefully and bandaged it even more so, all after cleaning it thoroughly, but apparently it wasn't thorough enough. Eliot bit back a groan as he gently palpated the area to check it, trying not to wake Parker as he shifted. The demon thing had gauged him with its claws; that was how he'd gotten the injury. And it was from another dimension, so there was probably something on it that this dimension's disinfectant couldn't kill. And damn, he hated the supernatural because this was definitely infected.
He cursed under his breath and tried getting up again, gently picking Parker up then placing her back into the chair, where she curled up happily, still asleep. Eliot wandered back to his kitchen, shutting the door and un-bandaging the wound to get another look at it. He grimaced as he looked at the definitely infected gash on his side and cursed again. This was why he had left all this shit behind after L.A. He tried to work through the pain without a sound, but he couldn't help the little gasp he made as he cut the stitches out. Eliot bit back a grunt of pain as he tried to disinfect the gash again. "Damn it," he muttered, cleaning it out best he could.
"Gooooood morning!" he heard Hardison announce as he slammed the front door open.
"Shit," Eliot cursed. There was no way he was letting anyone see this. One, it made him feel like an idiot, and two, he didn't want to look weak in front of everyone. He put some quick stitches in the gash, knowing he'd have to re-disinfect it whenever he could get away again. He rebandaged it and left the kitchen to greet Hardison, who was holding a conversation with Willow about…something incredibly geeky. Parker was trying to follow the conversation with interest, but Eliot could tell she didn't understand all the geek-speak (much like himself).
He walked over to the chair Parker was perched on and tapped her shoulder. She glanced up at him before moving to let him sit in the chair and settling herself on the arm. Just as Parker looked ready to open her mouth, Nate came stumbling down the stairs and Buffy and crew came in the front door.
Faith headed directly for the kitchen, presumably to help Nate brew the coffee. The rest of them headed towards Willow and settled down on the floor and table. Hardison glanced towards Eliot, seemingly just noticing him. A look of sadness and confusion flickered briefly across his face before he grinned.
"So what's for breakfast?"
Eliot snorted. "Make it yourself. I've been cooking way too much this week."
Hardison pouted a bit, but went to get some cereal. Parker turned toward Eliot with a grin, actually batting her eyelashes at him. Eliot groaned and rolled his eyes, but followed Hardison into the kitchen and got her a bowl of cereal, grabbing an apple for himself before heading back to the living room and handing the bowl to her before sitting back down.
"Oh, what. You'll make something for Parker but you won't for me?" Hardison complained.
"It's cereal Hardison."
"Yeah! But you got Parker's for her and I—"
"Just eat your breakfast," Eliot commanded, taking a bite of his apple. "Y'all can help yourself to anything in the kitchens for breakfast," he added, turning towards Buffy and her crew.
"Thanks," Xander replied as they all moved in that direction.
"There's pig's blood in the back of my fridge," Eliot called after Spike and Angel.
"That's still disgusting," Hardison announced through a mouthful of Frosted Flakes.
Eliot shrugged and finished his apple as everyone milled around. Eventually the whole group was congregated in the living room again and the silence grew awkward.
"Sooooooooooo," Hardison said, "anyone care to explain this whole 'monsters' thing in better detail?"
Eliot sighed. "You really wanna know?"
"Uh. Yeah! Way I see it I should know about these things. That way they don't take me by surprise," Hardison retorted.
Eliot sighed, glancing over at Buffy. "Y'all mind? Before you leave?"
Buffy took a breath, "Sure. We can go into the whole speech. But there's one thing it all boils down to: monsters are real. Yada, yada, yada. There's really not much else you need to know."
"You're normal. You don't need to worry about this stuff," Xander added.
"It doesn't change the fact that we need to be informed," Nate butted in, "We run a high-risk job. And I'm pretty sure we've probably run across this stuff before without even knowing it. And I like to know what I'm up against. Or what I'll possibly be up against in the future."
Buffy nodded, standing and moving in front of the group. "So it goes like this…"
The conversation went on for a couple of hours, explaining the very basics of the supernatural realms. Hardison and Nate asked plenty of questions, trying to delve deeper, but the gang never went far beneath the surface of the world Eliot wanted to protect his team from. Parker sat and nodded along, like she knew what was going on, and Eliot sat trying not to move so that the pain in his side wouldn't become a bigger problem than it already was.
At the end of the talk, Nate and Hardison were looking a bit shell-shocked. Eliot took it upon himself to lead Buffy and crew out into the hallway to let the information overload soak in. He tried not to clutch at his side as he lifted himself out of the chair, but he noticed Angel's brow furrow in a typical fashion as he noticed Eliot's slight grimace. He ignored it and led them all outside, shutting the door softly behind them.
"Thanks for coming out," he said, offering a hand to Buffy.
She smiled, shaking his hand, "No problem. Anything else comes up, just call. You're an ally. I can see that now."
Eliot grinned as he caught Angel rolling his eyes behind her. "Thanks," he repeated.
Faith pushed her way through the crowd. "I'm gonna leave with them, Linds. Girl's gotta keep moving," she said, giving him a tight hug. He tried not to grimace as he wrapped his arms around her in return.
"Be safe," he cautioned, grinning at her as she stepped back.
"You too, wonder boy."
Eliot chuckled, patting her head as she walked away. Faith scowled at him, sticking her tongue out as she returned to Xander's side.
"Everybody ready?" Buffy asked, slinging a duffle bag of weapons over her shoulder.
"I'm staying," Angel announced from the back of the group. Everyone turned to look at him. "Look, I've been tracking these people for a long time. I'm staying in Boston until I know for sure it's taken care of," he explained. Buffy looked ready to retort, so he cut her off. "I'll contact you guys when I'm done here for sure. I'm tired of not being on the same side. I like working with you. I just want to make sure this is finished. I've spent way too much time on it not to."
Buffy nodded, waving goodbye to Eliot before turning and walking away, the rest of her team following behind her. When they disappeared down the stairs Angel turned towards Eliot.
"So…mind putting me up for a few more days?" he questioned.
"I still don't like you," Eliot replied.
"But?"
"Sure," Eliot sighed. There was no point in arguing, really. Angel would stick around like a burr anyways. There was a moment of silence. "Say it."
"Okay. You're still hurt."
"Yup."
"It's infected."
"That's why I hate the supernatural."
"I can—"
"I don't need your help Angel."
"Okay, okay."
Eliot crossed his arms, glaring at Angel across the hall. He didn't know why the vampire was trying to help and he wasn't sure which scared him more: Angel trying to kill him repeatedly or trying to be nice. It was too soon to tell.
"You'll need to restock the blood."
Eliot snorted. "Do it yourself. Bucher's open after dark," he replied, walking back into Nate's apartment.
"Fine," Angel replied, following him through the living area and into Eliot's kitchen, closing the door. Eliot glared at him, but went about taking his bandages off again anyways. He knew Angel, stubborn asshole that he was, wouldn't leave. He grimaced a bit as pain shot through his torso when he tried to get at the stitches again. "Need help?"
"I'm fine…" Eliot ground out.
"Yeah, sure," Angel replied, coming over anyways, swatting Eliot's hands away and getting to work on the wound himself. Eliot growled, but let him. The infection was hurting and he didn't feel like fighting with the vampire when he knew Angel would win anyways. "You need a stronger disinfectant."
"Then get me one when you go get your blood," Eliot replied, biting back a hiss of pain as the disinfectant hit the gash. "Why are you helping me?"
"You don't seem to get it, Lindsey," Angel replied, getting ready to bandage up Eliot's side again, "I'm not the bad guy. I never was."
"You tortured me. The whole time I was in L.A. Hell, you cut off my hand. You tried to have me killed," Eliot bit out as Angel put a little too much pressure on his very sensitive, still infected side.
"You were evil," Angel replied calmly, finished bandaging.
"I was a corporate lawyer. Who then quit and spent two years doing nothing but research Wolfram and Hart in order to take them down. You're the one who sold out."
"I was trying to take them down from the inside."
"You had me killed."
"Relax. You survived."
Eliot huffed, moving to the sink for a glass of water. "So why are you sticking around here?"
"I need to make sure—"
"Bullshit."
Angel sighed, leaning against the fridge, "Fine. You're hell-bent on protecting your team. Right now, you can't. Plain and simple. You can barely move without wincing." Eliot growled in protest, but Angel talked over him, "and let's face it, there's still a chance that our shenanigans from last night result in a small attack on us."
Eliot hated it, but he knew Angel was right. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to do. He needed to suck up his pride eventually, right? It was time to move past L.A. Way past. "Thanks…and for what it's worth…I'm sorry. About trying to kill you." And it was true. Mostly. Eliot was sorry for that part of his life. He still felt slightly justified in the whole thing, but Angel hadn't been in the wrong. He might have been a little…overzealous when it came to stopping everything Eliot planned. But in the end he was trying to save the world. And Eliot worked for evil incarnate.
Angel blinked in surprise. "Thanks…sorry about the hand. And the whole assassination thing."
Eliot grinned. "Can we move on and pretend this little…heart to heart…thing…never happened?" he replied, gesturing between them.
"Please," Angel said, putting away Eliot's medical supplies. "Ready to go back out there?"
"Shut up. Don't patronize me."
It was night by the time Eliot was able to leave Nate's apartment. Parker spent all day sitting next to Eliot trying to keep him in a pointless conversation while Hardison grilled Angel on life as a vampire. When night fell, Nate kicked them all out. Hardison and Parker headed to their respective apartments. Eliot glanced up at Angel. "You can sleep on my couch…" he grumbled.
Angel grinned, "Lead the way."
Eliot started walking. He wasn't sure if it was smart to take a vampire back to his very secure apartment, but he could just uninvite the guy as soon as he left.
"Um…can we stop by the butcher's? I like eating in the mornings."
"It's on the way."
When they got back to Eliot's apartment, he invited Angel inside and gave him a blanket for the couch. He then went into his workout room (where he kept all his medical supplies) and dug around for a magical salve he knew he had in there somewhere. It wouldn't heal the gash in his side, but it should help in making the infection a lot more bearable. Combined with the stronger disinfectant he found, he should be able to get the infection to go away in a few days. Then the gash could actually start to heal.
He grinned in silent triumph when he found it, turning around to set everything up on the table and almost running into Angel. "Don't do that!"
Angel grinned, "Need help?"
"I'm not a two-year old. I can take care of myself. I've been doing so for years."
"Okay," Angel shrugged, walking back into the living room, "Goodnight."
Eliot rolled his eyes and got to work.
Hardison, Nate, and Parker were all sitting in the living area when Eliot and Angel walked in the next morning.
"—doesn't change the fact that puppets are evil!" Angel exclaimed as he came in and sat down.
Eliot rolled his eyes, "Maybe. But at least they're small. I mean, I'd rather fight a puppet than a werewolf."
Nate opened his mouth to say something, but decided that there wasn't really much he could actually say to that, so closed it again.
"Hey, Eliot, what'cha talkin' about?" Parker questioned, rocking back and forth in her armchair.
Eliot sighed, ignoring her and settling back in his chair. His side still hurt like hell and now he had to put up with Her Royal Craziness for the rest of the day. Most days he truly loved Parker like a sister, but some days it took all his strength to try not to strangle her. Eliot closed his eyes and let himself fall into a sleep-like trance to the sound of Hardison and Parker's voices.
Eliot jerked himself awake what had to be three hours later, if the sun was anything to go by. It was incredibly unusual for him to sleep at all, much less this long, but he figured that meant his body was doing its job healing the infected gash in his side, which was currently throbbing. But that wasn't what had awoken him. He turned towards the kitchen, where the rest of his team was hanging out with Angel. He forced himself to his feet and over to the counter.
"Hey sleepy-head," Hardison greeted with a big grin.
Eliot growled in his direction before turning to Angel. "Something's wrong."
Angel put down his mug and stood. "You sure?"
Eliot nodded, turning towards the window. "There."
Angel frowned at Eliot briefly before turning towards the rest of Eliot's team. "Hide," he ordered, ushering them down to hide between counters in the kitchen.
Eliot took a few deep breaths to prepare himself for whatever came through the window, turning slightly when Angel's hand landed on his shoulder.
"Don't overextend yourself," he warned quietly right as the window broke.
Angel immediately placed himself between Eliot and the demon that had come through. It was ugly and blue, but was only about the size of Eliot, so he was fairly confident they could get rid of it quickly. They worked in tandem to confuse the demon until Eliot was able to grab a foot-long knife from its hiding place and toss it to Angel who quickly decapitated the thing, causing a greenish goop to pool over the floor. "Gross," Eliot said, trying to flick some of the goop off of his hand.
"Maybe we should send the demon back to them in pieces to prove that we shouldn't be messed with…" Angel proposed, poking at the demon head with his foot.
Eliot shrugged, "Sounds good to me."
Nate and Hardison chose that moment to come out of hiding. "What is that thing?" Hardison asked.
"Demon. The younger coven members probably sent it to try to get back at us," Eliot answered.
"We're sending a message back," Angel finished.
"Where's Parker?" Eliot questioned, looking around the room.
"Right here!" she chirped, seeming to appear right behind Angel, making him jump.
Eliot held back a laugh. He was in so much pain from his injury that it was actually getting hard for him to stand straight. "Angel, let's get this guy sent back to the coven before his…goop starts staining the floor."
A/N: Sooooo sorry it took so long. To make it up to you, I'm also posting the last chapter pretty quick here. Like tomorrow.
