A/N: I apologise for the long wait. The characters and I had a disagreement over the road to take to get on with the story. This is the longest chapter I've ever written so I hope you will forgive my tardiness. :)

TNT owns all of the characters and their quirks. I only own this storyline.

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Chapter 10: Of Love and Loss

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Ian Blackpoole turned in his leather chair and looked out of the window. Downtown Los Angeles spread beneath his feet from thirty stories up. He swirled the whiskey in his glass before taking another sip. At 9 pm sharp, there was a sharp knock on the door. Right on time as always.

"Come in." The door opened to reveal a short, stocky man dressed impeccably in a well-tailored suit. He had the same square jaw as his brother but his eyes are set a little too wide apart, his nose crooked from being broken one too many times and his hairline already receding.

Edi Kadjic was the less good looking of the brothers, serving a more behind the scenes role until he was forced into the spotlight following the arrest of Tony.

"It's done?" Blackpoole asked as he poured Edi a drink.

"The woman has been taken care of." Edi replied simply, accepting the drink.

"And Ford?"

"Locked up tight." Edi took a sip of the whiskey, closing his eyes as the liquid burn its way down the throat. "My brother will be here in a couple of days, I trust the arrangements have been made to, ah, facilitate his border crossing?"

"All done as agreed. He should have no problems at all." Blackpoole replied, raising his glass to eye level. "A toast then, to your family reunion?"

Edi Kadjic raised his glass in salute and drained the liquor. He put the empty glass on the table and stood, gave a small nod to Blackpoole and stepped out of the office.

Blackpoole returned to his position of staring out his window. The rest of the office has been emptied hours ago but there's no telling who might happen by if he were to leave with Edi.

One can never be too careful about such things.

His current office was about half the size of his old office in IYS but what his current position lacks in luxury and prestige, it made up for in terms of power. He poured himself another finger of whiskey and reflected on the last few years.

He had struggled for a couple of years after being booted out of IYS, living on whatever assets and cash he had managed to squirrel away.

That had all change the day he met Edi Kadjic.

The man had approached him with a job offer, to run a shipping company. He had been suspicious about the man's intentions until he had brought up Nathan Ford. By then, Nate's team had gained a certain level of infamy among a selected group of people.

Edi had explained how Nate's testimony had put his brother behind bars and exposed their shipping channel in Boston, dealing a devastating blow to their business. They now have their sights set on the Los Angeles port and wanted Blackpoole to help them grease some palms and schmooze some politicians. Blackpoole may have left IYS in disgrace but he still had connections in some high places.

Opinions of him among those people had drifted from disgust towards sympathy as more of Nate's victims came to light. Not that any of them had the guts to confront him head on. These are people whose primary concerns are saving their own skins after all.

Blackpoole had finally been convinced when Edi readily agreed to support any plans he might have to take down Nate and his crew and sealed their agreement over a round of drinks.

He had taken his time to plan his revenge, patience after all is one of his best traits, and the first part had gone off without a hitch.

Taking out Maggie had been slightly regrettable. He had enjoyed working with the beautiful blonde but he was sure she had been part of the ploy to take him down, even if he had never found any proof and he knew Nate still cared very much for his ex-wife.

Revenge would be sweet.

My fault. My fault. The mantra ran through Eliot's mind as he swore under his breath.

It was his job to protect them.

True, Maggie was not technically part of the team and for all intents and purposes, she had nothing to do with them. But this involved Blackpoole. And she had played a crucial role in ensuring the success of The Second David Job. He should have considered the possibility that she would be in danger when Sterling delivered that damn file.

He would not make the same mistake again.

"Tara." Two pairs of eyes turned to him, confused.

"Kadjic might go after her. I'm going to call her now. Give her a heads up."

Parker watched Eliot walked to the kitchenette to make the call.

My fault. My fault. It was the only thought in her head as her tears continued to flow. Nate had left the team in her hands so he and Sophie could retire, have a shot at a normal life.

Instead, she had failed to consider all the possible scenarios that the reappearance of Ian Blackpoole brought.

And now Maggie's gone. How am I going to tell Nate?

Hardison felt numb.

My fault. My fault. Any slight relief he had felt when Parker and Eliot had finally got Nate to the hospital were gone the instant he saw the coroner appearing with the body bag.

That image, it will haunt him forever. He had failed to keep track of Blackpoole and Kadjic. Two of their previous marks, previously unrelated suddenly making contact? It should have set off all kinds of warning bells.

But he had missed it. And it had blown up in their faces.

Maggie dead. Nate maybe dead. All of them in danger.

An unfamiliar voice came over Sophie's coms.

"Family of Sam White?"

"Guys? The doctor is out with news of Nate."

"Family of Sam White?"

"Yes, I'm his wife Lara."

"I'm Dr Kelly. Your husband is out of surgery." The doctor looked sympathetically at the woman sitting alone in the waiting room, a child asleep on her lap. She had seen her share of distraught and worried family members in the decade she had been an ER surgeon at the hospital but this woman looked like she's been through hell.

She looks liked she hasn't slept in days. Dr Kelly thought to herself before continuing. "He was brought in with massive internal bleeding and damages to his stomach, pancreas and a punctured lung. He also had a couple of broken ribs and fluid in his brain. His heart stopped at one point but we managed to revive him. We've managed to repair most of the damage and we've put him under an induced coma for now to help with the healing process. Your husband is a very lucky man; he might not have made it if he was brought in a couple of hours later."

"Can I see him?"

"They're bringing him into the ICU now but I'm afraid you can't go in now. You may watch him through the window. I suggest you return home and try to get some rest. You may come by to see him during visiting hours tomorrow but children under 12 are not allowed to enter. The nurse here will show you where."

"Thank you doctor."

Dr Kelly acknowledged the woman with a nod and left.

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Sophie gently shifted her daughter from her lap and lifted her, resting Maria's head against her shoulder and followed the nurse to the ICU ward. She could barely see Nate beneath the many tubes hooking him up to the various machines at his side.

She wanted nothing more at that moment to run into the room and touch him, to feel him and convince herself that he was still alive and real. I thought I lost you Nate. You must make it through this. I can't lose you. Sophie thought, willing the words to pass from her brain straight into his.

She was thankful that her daughter remained in deep slumber; this was not a conversation she wants to have with Maria now.

"Sophie? Are you at the ICU ward?" Eliot's voice came through the coms.

"Yes. Nate. He looks so… so vulnerable."

"Sophie, Parker and me are on our way to the hospital now. You need to come back to the hotel with us. It's safer here."

"What? No. I'm not leaving him." Her voice rose slightly in volume, attracting a curious glance from a passing nurse.

"He won't be alone, Parker will watch over him and Hardison is monitoring the cams. You need to rest and get your strength back."

"How will Parker watch him? She can't be seen here, if the police comes back they will question her."

"Vents." Came Parker's reply.

"I've been here for hours, and you had no problems with that." Sophie replied stubbornly. She can't bear the thought of leaving Nate, the fear of losing him again was too overpowering.

"That was before I found out they killed Maggie. They killed her Soph. This changes things. At least bring Maria back first." Eliot said. The comment about Maria swayed Sophie.

Sophie sighed. "You're right. But I'm coming back once I've settled Maria." Eliot knew better than to try and contradict her. That can wait until they are all in the hotel room.

Eliot gave Sophie the address and room number of the hotel room, he assured her that he would be following close behind.

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Entering the hotel room, Sophie was greeted with a brief hug by the hacker, relief evident on his face. Sophie gave him a small smile and made her way to the adjacent bedroom to settle Maria in. She heard Eliot enter as she put Maria onto the bed and tucked the blanket around her.

She spotted the bag they had packed from her house sitting in the corner of the room and pulled out a change of clothes before heading to the bathroom.

She let the hot water cascade down, the heat slowly turning her skin red. She relished the pain, the burning feeling, wanting the heat to burn away the pain and anxiety.

Eventually, even the hot water ceased to hurt. Sophie turned off the shower and stepped out. The exhaustion from the last couple of days started to seep in, every muscle in her body seem to have given up at once. She barely made it to the bed, snuggling next to Maria.

Maybe just a short nap, she thought to herself as she closed her eyes.

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When she opened her eyes, she could see a small silver of sunlight shining in through the gap of the blackout curtains.

She was alone on the bed.

Panic seized her heart as she bolted up and frantically looked around for any sign of her daughter or signs of struggle.

A familiar giggle floated in from outside the closed door and Sophie felt her body relaxed. She opened the bedroom door and was greeted with the sight of Maria and Parker decorating the hacker, currently sleeping on the pull out couch, with toothpaste and whipped cream.

"And what exactly are the both of you doing?" Sophie asked trying to hide the amusement in her voice.

Both girls froze and turned around, identical guilty looks on their faces. Parker recovered first.

"She started it."

"Parker, she's three." Turning to her daughter she said, "Come on darling, we have to get you cleaned up." Taking Maria's hand, she walked towards the bathroom. "And I expect Hardison to be undecorated by the time we are done young lady."

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All traces of whipped cream and toothpaste were gone from Hardison when mother and daughter emerged from the bathroom. Parker was sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring intently at the laptop screen. A solemn looking Maria sat down quietly next to Parker.

"Where's Eliot? And why didn't you wake me up this morning?" Sophie questioned.

"Eliot said you needed the rest. He's at the hospital watching Nate." Parker replied, handing an earbud to Sophie.

"It's almost one. I have to go see Nate." Sophie said, placing her earbud in and looked around the living room for her car keys. "Parker? Where are my car keys?"

"Eliot took them. He drove your car back to the house last night." Parker replied, eyes never leaving the screen and producing another set of car keys. "You can use this car instead. It's the black Toyota, parked right next to the lobby."

Sophie took the keys and turned towards the door but was stopped in her tracks by a small voice.

"Mommy? Can I see daddy too?" Maria looked up at Sophie. "Prince Alec says he's sick."

Sophie kneeled down and looked into her daughter's eyes. "Darling, daddy is very very sick and he's in the hospital now. And it's easy for him to make you sick too, so you can't go see him yet ok?"

Tears started to fill up those crystal blue orbs she knew so well.

"But I miss daddy." In her world, it was a perfectly good reason.

"I know sweetheart. I'm sure he misses you too. I promise I'll bring you as soon as possible. But right now I need you to stay here with Parker. Can you do that for me?"

Maria gave a tearful nod and hugged her mother tight; "Give daddy a hug from me please." Maria said before running back to Parker's side.

Eliot had been at the hospital for the entire morning and so far he had managed to stay under the radar while keeping an eye on Nate's room and the various entry points. He had been into Nate's room after the morning rounds and had looked over the mastermind's charts.

Judging from his injuries, Eliot suspected that Nate had been subjected to a brutal beating. They had beat him to an inch of his life and left him to die. They could have easily killed him, bullet through the head.

Instead, they had let him suffer, wanted him to suffer. Blackpoole is making good on his threat, he already got to Maggie and all of them now have giant targets on their backs.

And hence the dilemma. If it were up to him, they would all be at the safe house by now but Sophie would never agree to leave Nate behind.

Neither would Hardison.

Nor Parker.

Hell, he didn't like the idea himself but if ever there was a time to take a calculated risk, it was now. He was fairly confident that they were in more danger than Nate at the moment, they had every opportunity to kill him but had left him alive. On the other hand, there's no telling how that plan might change if all of them were out of reach.

Ideally, they would take Nate with them but his condition currently is too critical to move him safely. Frustrated, he stood up and went to make another round of the ward.

At the entrance, he spotted Sophie at the nurse's station. Their eyes met for a second but neither acknowledged each other. Sophie made her way into Nate's room while Eliot retreated back into the shadows to resume his watch.

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Sophie sat down on the chair next to Nate's bed and took his hand in hers. It was cool to her touch, lacking all the warmth she had come to associate with him.

The machines beeped and whirred around her with a gentle rhythm. A constant reminder of the many tethers tying him to life, to her, to them. She tried to recall if she had ever seen him so vulnerable but came up blank.

He had always been the strong and steady presence in her life.

Even when he had been drunk near to the point of oblivion.

Even when she had left him to find herself.

Even when he was in jail.

Never had the idea of losing him forever been so real.

"Nate. If you can hear me, we're all safe and sound. I know how stubborn you can be so I expect nothing less in your desire to come back to us." Sophie could hear her voice breaking slightly and she reached up to brush his hair. "Don't you dare die on me. Don't even think about it. I'll hunt you down if you do. You know that right? No way you are getting away from me that easily."

She brought his hand up to her lips and kissed it. "Maria misses her father very much. We all do."

"Eliot? One of our friends from the warehouse just showed up at the hospital. Facial recognition picked him up." Hardison's voice came over the coms, low and urgent.

"Where is he now? Is he alone? How did he get to the hospital? Sophie, stay with Nate."

Sophie listened to Eliot's rapid questions, her grip on Nate's hand tightening.

"Elevator 1, on his way up to your level. I'm trying to trace his steps now but he's alone in the elevator."

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Eliot ran the short distance from his position to the lift lobby. Right on cue, the door to elevator 1 opened and a look of recognition crossed the face of the man inside.

Before he could step out, Eliot had shoved him against the wall of the elevator and landed a swift punch across his face. The elevator door closed behind them. The man pulled out a blade and thrust towards Eliot. He twisted to the right just in time, the blade narrowly missing him. His left hand gripped the man's arm and twisted it, causing the man to howl and drop the blade in pain.

A swift knee to the man's torso and he was down.

The ding of the elevator door opening divided Eliot's attention for a second, enough time for the man to pick up the blade and bury it into Eliot's thigh.

A woman screamed but Eliot turned back without so much as a flinch and punched the man in the head, knocking him out.

Eliot glanced up at the LED display, which now showed L. The woman outside stared at Eliot in shock, her scream already attracting the attention of a small crowd.

Out of his peripheral vision, he spotted the approaching guards and quickly pushed his way through the crowd limping as fast as he could towards the side door he had spotted that morning.

"Hardison. I'm blown and I have a knife in my leg. Am I clear in the parking lot? Going out by the side door now."

"Yeah man. You're good. I found the goon's car. He came solo."

"Eliot? Get to the car. I'm coming down now to drive you back." Sophie said. Eliot wanted to protest but he knew there's no way he could limp all the way back to the hotel without attracting any attention.

"Parker, get me the hotel's first aid kit. Hardison, find the sewing kit in our room." Eliot replied instead.

"I'll get you some painkillers. See you at the car in five minutes."

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Fifteen minutes later found them all back at the hotel. Eliot and Parker locked in the bathroom stitching up Eliot's thigh, Sophie putting Maria down for her nap and Hardison hard at work scrubbing the recordings of Eliot's scuffle from the hospital security cams.

Eliot limped out after Parker ten minutes later looking slightly pale but otherwise none the worse for wear. Eliot sat down on the sofa, closing his eyes for a short rest. His eyes popped open as soon as he heard Sophie returned to the living room.

"We have to go to the safe house." He held out his hand in anticipation of Sophie's protests. "Look, I don't know how the goon found us at the hospital but he did. It's only a matter of time before he finds us here. We have to clear out before that."

"They could have been after Nate. They know the alias he was checked in under, it's not that difficult to find him. We can't just leave him behind" Sophie retorted. Eliot sighed. He did not have to look at Parker and Hardison to know that he was fighting a losing battle.

"I have a plan. It's risky and let's hope it will be worth it."

After another restless night, they were all assembled in the living room, packed and ready to leave.

"Let's go steal a Nate." Parker announced.

Parker and Hardison grabbed their luggage and left. Sophie knelt down in front of Maria. "Darling, I need you to go with Eliot ok? Mommy has to go get daddy."

"Daddy's coming home?"

"Yes darling. Now I need you to be a good girl for Eliot alright? Do everything he says and you'll get to see daddy soon."

Maria nodded at her mother and turned to give Eliot a big smile. "I'll be good Sir Eli."

Eliot returned her smile. "Well maybe we can stop for ice cream then sweetheart." He gave her a wink and turned to Sophie. "You be careful too. I'll see you soon." Sophie nodded and watched Eliot walked out the door with her daughter.

She walked over to the window and watched them until they drove out of sight. Taking a deep breath, she gave the room one last check, ensuring they left nothing behind and left for the hospital.

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Dr Kelly was at the nurse's station when Sophie arrived, her face darkening when she saw her.

"Mrs White, I must insist you reconsider your decision."

"I understand your concerns Dr Kelly and I'm grateful for everything you've done but Dr Jacobs at Bellvue Hospital is an old friend and I would feel better if we transfer Sam over."

"I still don't see how he could have agreed to transfer when the patient is still in such critical condition." Dr Kelly replied suspiciously.

Sophie was saved from coming up with a reply by the arrival of Parker and Hardison, disguised as paramedics.

"We're here to transfer a patient by the name Sam White? To Bellvue Hospital I believe." Hardison spoke to the nurse, while Parker handed over the paperwork. The nurse looked over the paperwork and pointed out Nate's room to them.

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They managed to get Nate onto the ambulance without a hitch and they all breathed a collective sigh of relief as soon as Hardison drove out of the hospital premises. They took a few detours and backtracked quite a bit before setting off towards their real destination.

"We're here. Where are you guys now?" Eliot asked.

"Nearing the place where I hid the van. We'll see you in about 30 minutes." Hardison replied, turning into a side alley where an unmarked black van was parked. They carefully moved Nate and all the equipment from the ambulance and continued on their way.

Eliot met them at the door when they turned into the garage, crossed arms and grim faced. They moved Nate to the ground level room, already set up with some medical equipment.

A tall, well-toned man was waiting for them, his chestnut coloured hair cropped high and tight.

"This is your doctor friend?" Hardison asked Eliot staring at the stranger. "He looks like a hitter."

"Dr Allen Grey. I met him back in the day." Eliot ignored Hardison's comment and introduced his friend.

"Just call me Allen. I owe Spencer a great debt." The doctor smiled and held out his hand. Eliot heard Hardison muttered of course you do under his breath and shot him a glare.

"I think we should let Allen do his thing. Everybody out." Eliot said after introductions have been made. The team gathered in the living room while Allen examined Nate. They sat in silence but the tension seemed to have dissipated slightly.

They were together, alive and relatively safe for now.

Parker broke the silence first. "Someone is going to have to tell Nate about Maggie."

"I'll do it." Sophie answered immediately. Parker nodded mutely.

"So Parker, what's the plan now?" Eliot asked.

"I'm not sure." She replied softly. "I think we should wait for Nate." Allen came out from the room and their attention turned to him.

"Surprisingly your little trip hasn't made his condition any worse. I've got him settled in and you may go see him one at a time and only for a short while. I might need to bring him to get some scans done in a couple of days but we'll cross that bridge when the time comes." The doctor said to them.

"I'll get Maria." Sophie said, making her way up the stairs as the others made their way towards Nate's room.