Chapter 12

AN: As always nothing is mine, otherwise I'd be a lot richer.

Many thanks to all who are reading, I'm glad you are enjoying it.

The next day, Sarah, Nate, and Cam were sitting on the couch watching cartoons. The rest of the team was due back at any moment. She was amused by the sight of Cam sitting comfortably on Nate's lap. But Nate didn't seem to mind; in fact he had his arms around the little boy, talking to him about the cartoon.

She felt so comfortable around all of them. They were surely a mismatched group, but they had managed to form a sort of dysfunctional family. It didn't surprise her that she fit in so well around them. She had always felt at home with people who were considered out of the social norm. She still wasn't sure what was going to happen between her and Eliot. It helped that Cam was crazy about him already though. Eliot always made sure to spend time with him when he could. She had hoped that when she told him how she felt about lying that he would tell her what they were hiding. But no such luck, and even though everyone was so easy to get along with, she knew that they were hiding stuff around her. It hurt a little because she hated it when people tried to pretend to be something other than themselves. She wished they would trust her enough to tell her. She was pulled out of her thoughts when the front door slammed open.

Sophie came rushing through with the others following behind. "Bring him over to the couch and lay him down," she said breathlessly.

"Damn it Hardison, you said you had patched into ALL of the cameras," Eliot growled out in a strained voice.

"I did, I mean all but that one apparently…" he trailed off.

"Ya think!" Eliot yelled.

"It was kinda sloppy" Parker interjected. "You're usually better with computer stuff."

"Damn people, how was I to know it was running off another feed. And you did fine anyway, there was only like what? Four of them?"

"Six. There were six fully trained Special Forces." Eliot growled at him.

Sarah stood up from the couch to take in the situation. Then she saw Eliot. "What the HELL!" She came running towards them to help. "Hurry lets get him on the couch so I can get a look at him." They looked on in shock as she took over the situation quickly. They saw Nate rise from the couch behind her shaking his head. Cameron looked on curiously.

"Sarah?" Eliot groaned out in confusion.

"Yes it's me sweetheart" she replied. "Cam sweetie, can you go and get that bag from under my bed please?"

"Ok mama" he said as he ran out of the room.

"Darlin' what are you doin' here? Shouldn't you guys be at the park with Nate?"

She let out an unladylike snort. "Seriously? You get carried through the front door, beat up all to hell, and you ask me what I'm doin' here?" She just laughed as Cam came back in carrying a small bag. "Thanks sweetie, can you go play with your toys in our room for now?"

"Is Eliot ok mama?" he asked in a worried whisper.

"He'll be fine honey. Mama will fix him up. Now go on."

"I hope you get better Eliot," he said in a worried voice.

After he ran off, she continued her inspection of his injuries. "To answer your question, we came home early cause Cam was tired. Now lay still while I see what I can do for you." She opened the bag and started pulling out medical supplies. They noticed that she had a pretty impressive assortment.

"Where did you get all those supplies?" Sophie asked her.

"I got them from the back of an ambulance three days ago. I had a feeling they would be needed." They looked at her with wide eyes.

"You stole from an ambulance?" Parker said excitedly while clapping her hands together.

"Yeah I did," Sarah replied with a chuckle.

She rubbed some antibacterial solution on her hands and put on some latex gloves. She took out a large pair of shears, "Hope you're not attached to the shirt," she said as she proceeded to cut it off him. She felt his ribs and examined his chest for any other injuries. "Damn that's what I was afraid of. Ok, you have a small concussion, some minor injuries on your face, a dislocated shoulder, and a cracked rib. Which I'm sure you already know," she said looking pointedly at him. "But what I'm worried about is the knife wound in your side. It's deep enough that I'm gonna need to stitch it up." She rubbed iodine over the wound and he cussed. "Oh hush up you big baby, I'm sure you've had worse." She started feeding the thread through the needle when the others finally spoke up.

"Uhh, I think I speak for everyone when I say what the hell girl? How do you know your way so well around injuries and medical supplies? And why are you so calm about all this?" Hardison sputtered, spouting off the questions in quick succession.

"You know the job I had after my husband died? I was a registered nurse, so I'm used to being around injuries like this."

"You didn't tell us you were a nurse sweetheart" Eliot whispered in pain.

"Well you guys weren't exactly forthcoming with me either, now hold still." She finished stitching up the knife wound and removed her gloves. She used an elastic bandage to wrap his ribs. "Alec, I need you and Nate to hold him still while I pull his shoulder back into its socket." They grabbed hold of him as she gripped his arm. "Ok, on three, 1, 2." Then she pulled hard causing Eliot to yell out a curse. "Good, that's fixed. Now let me take a look at your face." She watched as Nate led the others away from the couch, talking to them in small whispers.

She was so upset at that moment. Seeing Eliot injured liked that scared her so badly. But she pushed back the worry and went into medical mode because his injuries came first.

"You keep surprisin' me you know" he whispered.

"That's me, I'm just full of surprises" she said, trying to act all casual about the situation. He saw the tears that started to fall as she cleaned up his face.

"Sarah?" he whispered.

"Eliot, when I saw you come through that door- Damn it," she growled out while wiping away the tears. He raised his good arm up and gently caressed the side of her face.

"I didn't mean to scare you sweetheart. I'll be fine. You stitched me up pretty good."

The others came back over then, apparently finished with their talk. "So how is he?" Nate asked Sarah as she finished up.

"Well, I wrapped his ribs, It's gonna have to heal on it's own. So no strenuous activity till I say otherwise. I stitched up the wound in his side but I'll have to keep an eye on it for infection. His shoulder will be sore for a day or two. The cuts on his face are minor, mostly superficial, but he'll have some swelling and some pretty impressive bruises. I'll have to keep an eye on him tonight though. The concussion is a little worse than I first thought, so he will have to be watched. But you're gonna need somewhere more comfortable to rest than the couch" she finished, looking at him.

"I'm not goin' home and leavin' you here unprotected" he started.

"You're in no condition to protect anybody at the moment. Nate? Could Cam stay here with you and Sophie tonight? If I can get Alec's help, I should be able to get him into his own bed."

"Sorry sweetheart, I think my apartment's too far away for me to travel."

"Who said I was talkin' about that apartment? I meant the one you have in this building," she said looking at him matter of factly.

"What? How did you—"

"Now's not the time for that. I'll explain later. Right now I need to get you in bed," she replied as she motioned for Hardison to come and help her. "Cameron!" she called out.

Cameron came back in and looked at Eliot with big eyes. His eyes started to water up as Sarah reached out for him and told him to come to her. "He's ok sweetie. It looks worse than it is, I promise."

"You sure he will be okay?" he asked with a sniffle.

"Yes, he'll be fine. You're gonna stay here with Sophie and Nate tonight okay? Mama's gonna go upstairs and stay with Eliot to watch him tonight."

"Can I stay with you guys till I go to bed?"

"Sure sweetie. Bring mama's bag with you."

With Hardison's help, they made their way slowly into his apartment and then his bedroom. After they got him settled and Cameron was assured he was okay he went into the living room to watch cartoons. The other's got comfortable around the bed looking between Eliot and Sarah. Once Sarah was satisfied that he was comfortable, she pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down. She took Eliot's hand and looked up at everyone.

"Was the con you pulled successful at least?"

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faster you get the next chapter. =)