Chapter 25

My attention has been focused on finding a new place to live. And I've been sick for three days, which sucks by the way..lol. So forgive me if you find the chapter lacking.

"Italics" means they're speakin' on a home video.

"I've already…told you…you fuckin' nazi…I can't move…another muscle!" Eliot panted in frustration as sweat dripped down his face.

Gabe chuckled. "Now now gorgeous, that's no way to speak to your miracle worker," he chastised. "Just two more and you can rest," he promised.

With a glare reminiscent of her Eliot before the accident, Sarah watched as he struggled to lift his right leg up and stretch it behind him from his position on all fours. She silently cheered as he finished the reps Gabe requested of him and had to stop from rushing forward when he collapsed on the mat in exhaustion.

"Hey guys, how's it goin'?" she asked as she walked toward them.

"I'm fixin' to kill him. That's how it's goin'," Eliot replied as Gabe helped him onto a workout bench.

"Here," she said softly, handing him a bottle of water.

"Thanks," he replied with a grateful smile before taking a long drink.

Gabe walked away for a moment when one of the other therapists called for his help.

"Has he really been that bad? You liked him just fine this mornin'."

"No," he sighed. "I'm just sore, worn out and my legs feel like wet noodles at the moment," he admitted.

Sarah kneeled down in front of him and smiled as she looked up at him. "It'll get easier, I promise. You weren't out of commission that long and the fact that you're even able to walk short distances is due to the therapy Gabe gave you while you were in the coma. I know you…you can do this."

"No, you know the me before the accident. Right now, I'm not him and I don't know if I ever will be again." Sarah started to argue, but he stopped her. "I'm not sayin' it's not possible. The point I'm tryin' to make is that maybe the me that I am right now…maybe I can't do this."

She grabbed his face in both of her hands and directed his gaze to her. "I never wanna hear you talk like that again. You're right, we don't know if you'll get your memories back. If not, we'll deal with that when it comes. Right now though, we have to get you back up to full strength. If you give up, you're only hurtin' yourself…you understand? So suck it up…put your big boy pants on and do whatever Gabe tells you to…okay?" she finished with a pleading look.

"Wow, I was just going to tell him to stop bitchin', but that works to," Gabe chuckled as he came up beside them.

"Are you always like this with me?" Eliot asked her as she stood back up.

"If you mean tellin' it to you like it is and not pullin' any punches…then yeah," she finished with a shrug.

"Thanks…I needed it," he told her, then looked at Gabe. "Sorry I blew up on you man. I'm ready…torture away," he stated.

"Good. Now we're gonna work on your arms. We'll start with one pound weights for today."

"I'll be back later, okay?" Sarah told him. And once he nodded, she turned and left.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Do you think he'll like them?" Lily asked Sophie as she bit her lip nervously.

"I already told you he would Lil," Cam told her in exasperation from next to her.

"Why wouldn't he like them?" Parker asked in confusion from the front seat.

"They're his favorite, of course he'll love them sweetie," Sophie assured her.

"But they were his favorite before his forgot. What if he don't like them now?"

"You'll never know until he tries them," Sophie told her as she pulled into the hospital parking lot.

Sophie had barely stopped the car before Lily jumped out of it, Parker in pursuit. "They're both so impatient," Cam commented, earning a chuckle from his Aunt.

By the time Sophie and Cam made it to Eliot's room, Lily was again sitting at the end of her dad's bed and Parker was perched on the back of the couch behind Hardison.

"These are really good," Eliot commented as he bit into the cookie again. "What are they called?"

"Sand Tarts. They're like sugar cookies, but they have lemon and ground pecans in 'em, plus cinnamon on top," Lily explained. "They're your favorites."

Sarah looked a little worried for a moment but Eliot allayed her fears. "I can see why," he answered with a grin. "They're delicious." The grin he received in return lit up Lily's face as she lunged forward to hug him. However, even though he didn't remember anything, his instincts remained intact and reacted to the sudden movement by grabbing her shoulders and holding her at arms length, earning a couple of gasps. "What the…" he exclaimed in confusion as he immediately released her. The sad, nervous look on her face hurt him. "Lily I'm so sorry…I don't know…"

Everyone froze as they waited to see what would happen. "It's okay daddy. I shoulda asked first," she concluded. When she looked up, the smile returned when she saw Eliot's arms opened.

"Come 'ere," he requested with a hopeful look.

She was quickly in his arms. "I'm glad you like them daddy," she told him happily, causing everyone in the room to smile in relief.

Eliot looked at Sarah from above Lily's head with a questioning look. 'I'll explain later,' she mouthed back, to which he nodded.

"Where did you find Sand Tarts in Russia?" Sarah asked curiously.

"I made them," Lily proclaimed proudly.

"How? Our hotel room doesn't have a kitchen," Sarah responded in confusion.

"Uhm…"

"Lily…"

"It was nothin'," Lily muttered.

"Lily Catherine…"

"Uh oh, you're gonna get it now," Cam teased, but shut up at his mother's glare.

"I may have talked the hotel chef into helpin' me," she admitted in a soft voice.

"She pulled a Sophie," Parker blurted with a big grin.

"What does that mean?" Eliot asked with a perplexed expression.

"You didn't!" Sarah hissed in disbelief.

"It wasn't bad. I was just nice to him and told him how good his cookin' was and how I wish I could cook like him one day," she admitted.

"So you buttered him up," Sarah concluded. When Lily became very interested in her father's bed sheets, Sarah knew there was more to tell. "What else?"

"Uhm…I told him I knew a cookie recipe that he might not know and that I wasn't very good at it. He offered to help after that," she finished.

"You gave him the look didn't ya," Cam guessed with a chuckle.

"Ooh isn't that the one that Sophie…" the thief trailed off when the grifter sent her a glare, earning a smirk from Nate.

"What look?" Eliot asked, still confused at the situation, so Cam explained with a grin.

"She has this look she uses to get what she wants. The only one who's immune is mom and I. It used to work on you all the time."

Sarah started to address her daughter but Lily beat her to it. "It wasn't for a selfish reason!" she defended. "You made us promise not to do stuff like that for us. I did it for daddy."

Sarah stared at her daughter for a good, long moment, making Lily more nervous. Sarah let a soft smile grace her face as she spoke. "You're right, I concede. You're not in trouble. It was a nice thing to do." Lily grinned widely and threw herself off the bed and into her mother's lap, hugging her thoroughly.

"It seems that there's always somethin' goin' on in this family," Eliot stated.

"You have no idea," Hardison agreed.

"There is definitely never a dull moment," Sophie added as Nate nodded in agreement.

"So how'd your first therapy session go man?" Hardison asked.

"I hurt," was Eliot's reply. "But the hot soak after was nice."

"If the soreness hasn't lessened by later tonight, I'll talk to Gabe and see if massaging your muscles will help," Sarah offered.

"That'd be great," he answered in gratitude.

Parker leaned over and whispered in Hardison's ear. "I was getting' to that mama," he replied.

"What is it Hardison?" Nate asked.

"Well I thought I'd help out our man here with his memories."

"How so Alec?" Sarah asked.

"I've hooked up my laptop to the TV and I thought he could watch some home videos I have on it," he answered.

"Alec…I don't know…" Sarah began.

"Do you have somethin' with all of us together? Like a holiday or a birthday?" Eliot asked.

He noticed the look Sarah gave him. "I'd like to know who I was before. And it might help me remember," he explained.

Sarah nodded to Hardison and he turned on the TV and opened his laptop. Moments later the home movie began, starting with a two year old Lily sitting on her father's shoulder as he instructed her on how to put the star on top of the Christmas tree.

"El please be careful," Sarah pleaded.

"It's fine sweetheart, she's safe. Aren't ya beautiful?" he asked, patting the little girl on the legs.

"Yes daddy," she replied happily as she reached out to carefully place the star.

"When's the turkey gonna be done?" Hardison asked.

"Why don't you ask your girlfriend," Sarah answered and the camera was jerked in her direction to show her smiling face.

"You let her cook the turkey?" Hardison asked in disbelief.

"It was so exciting Alec!" the thief exclaimed as she came into view.

"I can't believe you really let Aunt Parker try to cook the turkey that year," Cam commented, chuckling at the memory.

"I take offense to that!" the thief exclaimed with a pout.

"Was it bad?" Eliot asked.

"Just watch, you'll see," Sarah answered with a smile.

Hardison turned the camera to Nate and Sophie who were on a couch snuggling and speaking softly to each other with smiles on their faces. "Hey lovebirds! Stop makin' out and help with the decorating," he ordered.

"I don't see you doing anything except video taping everyone else," Sophie pointed out.

"Well someone's gotta document the occasion," the hacker defended. "Now get up! There's still garland and mistletoe to put up," he ordered.

"You know if we don't help, he'll just keep bothering us," Nate pointed out, earning a chuckle from all but the hacker.

"Dad!" a nine year old Cam exclaimed. "Remember you gotta help me with the cookies for Santa!"

"What kind are we makin' this year?" Eliot asked as he set Lily down, who immediately ran over to Sophie. "Aun' Sophie, up please," she asked politely with her little arms raised in anticipation.

Sophie smiled as she happily picked up her goddaughter.

"Do you and Nate have kids?" Eliot asked, drawing their attention away from the screen.

A sad smile briefly passed over the grifter's face before she answered. "I can't have children."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Eliot replied in remorse.

"Don't worry about it. That's why I have Cam and Lily to spoil thoroughly," she concluded with a smile at the two in question.

Their attention was drawn back to the TV as they heard Eliot yell. "What the hell Parker!"

"Bad word daddy!" Lily cried jubilantly, earning a few chuckles from the video and the hospital room.

Everyone in the video turned to the kitchen and watched as a large plume of smoke exited followed by the sound of Eliot choking.

"El? What happened?" Sarah asked worriedly as she walked into the kitchen holding her hand over her mouth and nose. A moment later they heard her call out. "Parker! Wanna explain why the temperature on the oven is higher than when we put the turkey in?"

Hardison jerked the camera toward Parker who had a mixed expression of worry and confusion. "I thought if it was double the temperature that it would cook faster," she admitted.

"It doesn't work like that Parker," Sophie told her as she wrapped her arm around her in a comforting manner.

"Did I mess up dinner?" she asked remorsefully.

"Ah no mama, we'll figure somethin' out," they heard Hardison say before the camera was turned off.

When the video came back on, they were sitting around the tree opening presents.

"What'd we eat for dinner?" Eliot asked curiously from his bed.

Nate smiled. "Sarah was prepared…she had a spare turkey that she had de boned and sliced up. Only took half an hour for it to be ready, then we ate," he finished with a smile.

"Did you ever learn to cook?" Eliot asked Parker.

"No. Sarah's tried to teach me, but I just don't get it," she shrugged, earning a pat on the leg from Hardison. "But I can make a cake!" she exclaimed as an afterthought.

"Only with supervision," Hardison muttered, to which she smacked him on the shoulder.

For the next half-hour, they watched the TV as wrapping paper went flying and smiles spread while they had opened their presents. When it was finished, she looked at her husband and recognized the look of stress on his face.

"Okay, I think that's enough for now. El, I mean Eliot, needs to rest," she told the others.

"Can we come back later?" Cam asked.

"Only if you sneak me in some dinner when you do," she compromised, to which Cam and Lily nodded emphatically, but Sarah noticed hurt in her daughter's eyes. "How about I walk you guys out?" she offered, to which Lily ran up and grabbed her hand eagerly. "I'll be right back," she promised Eliot, before leaving the room with their daughter.

Hardison hung back as the room emptied, then sidled up to Eliot's bedside with his laptop. "Okay, this folder right here has nothin' but home videos. Birthdays, holidays and such," he told the hitter as he opened the folder. "Each folder is labeled with the occasion and date. All you have to do is click on the one you want to watch and as long as the TV is on channel 3, it'll start playin'," he explained.

"You're leavin' your laptop with me?" Eliot asked in surprise. "I was told by the others that it's usually attached to your hip?"

Hardison chuckled. "That's usually true man. But I figured…you know that maybe the more you saw of how you were before might help," he explained.

"Thanks man. Did I like computers before?"

A big, toothy grin appeared on the hacker's face. "Hell no. It took everything in my excessive repertoire to teach you to use PhotoShop."

Eliot chuckled as Sara walked back into the room. "What's so funny?" she asked curiously.

"Just talkin' about my apparent lack of computer skills," Eliot answered earning a snort from Hardison in the process.

"That's one way of puttin' it," he muttered as he walked around the bed and to the door. "Catch you guys later."

Once they were alone, she looked at him and smiled. "You up for a walk?"

Eliot furrowed his brow. "I doubt I could get to the bathroom at this point."

"Didn't mean you actually had to walk. I'll be right back," she said as she left the room.

Eliot's curiosity grew as he waited for her to return. When she finally did, he smiled. "Care to go for a ride?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

"Sure would," he replied with a grin of his own as he slowly raised himself into a sitting position.

After helping put his robe on, she lowered him into the wheelchair, then covered his legs with a blanket. At his confused look, she explained. "It's about sixty two degrees outside."

"But didn't you tell me it was June?"

"Yeah, but this is Russia," she answered as she pushed him down the hallway.

"Is Lily okay?"

Sarah sighed. "She'll be fine."

"I didn't mean to…"

"You didn't do it on purpose. She knows that. And she understands that you don't remember anything, so it's bound to cause some…incidents. She just wanted reassurance is all," she explained, to which he nodded.

She pushed him out a set of doors that led to a small, outside garden. "I figured you could use some fresh air."

"Thought you told the others that I needed rest?" he asked as he breathed in the smells around him.

"Rest doesn't necessarily mean sleep." When he looked up at her, she caved. "Plus I didn't want you getting overwhelmed by the home movies," she admitted.

"It's a lot to take in, but it's good to know what I was like before all of this."

"Have you remembered anythin'?" she asked.

He heard the hopeful tone in her voice. "Sorry, but no. I admit, I do feel a pull toward you, Lily and Cam…but I have no emotion or memory to tie to it."

"That's okay, it's only been two days," she replied as she pushed him slowly around the garden.

After a moments silence, he spoke up. "You can call me El if you want to."

"What?"

"I noticed you started to call me that in the room but corrected yourself. I don't mind."

"Oh, okay…I wasn't sure…"

"I don't want you to act different around me just because I don't remember you. It might speed up recovering my memories," he suggested. "Speakin' of which…"

"Ah yes. Well...in the military you learned and adapted very quickly, impressin' a lot of people in the process. You soon got recruited into a special ops unit that specialized in…for lack of a better word…assassination." She stopped at a table and sat down. "Should I continue?"

His eyes were a little wide as he nodded.

For the next hour, she told him all she knew. Up to and including him meeting the group and the job that threw them together.

"So to sum up…I was in the military, was trained to be an assassin, freelanced myself to the highest bidder as a retrieval specialist, and met the group on a job and decided to stay with them as the muscle."

"Yeah, that's about it. Have I officially freaked you out?"

"Uhm…I'm not sure. But you said that I only help people now?"

"Yeah. As you'll hear the kids say…'we only use our powers for good'," she chuckled as she stood.

"How did we meet?" he asked curiously.

"We'll save that for tomorrow. It's getting' late and you really do need to rest. Your next session with Gabe is in the mornin'," she told him as she started pushing him back into the hospital.

"Oh joy," he monotoned, causing her to laugh.

I am sooooo very sorry that this is so damn late. Being sick is not conducive to getting' ideas flowin'. Extra cookies to all and a kiss from Eliot for all your patience. =)

Jen