Eliot flew down the stairs, stealth be damned.
"Eliot, I'm on my way with Lucille. Let me know her exact location when you get there." For the member of the team most prone to freaking out, Hardison was surprisingly calm. Maybe it had something to do with Nate not being there, even more than normal.
Eliot made it to the ground floor and was about to tear through the front door when he stumbled directly into the social. Luckily, Sophie had been listening and met up with him before he could cause any commotion.
"Mr. Ross!" she exclaimed, her accent light and lilting. She smiled flirtatiously at him, all notions of anxiety entirely absent. "So nice to see you!"
"Um, hello there, miss…" He had no idea which alias she was using for this job.
"Call me Stella," she drawled.
Eliot shot her a micro-glare, just a twitch of his eyebrows, really, but she got the point.
"Yes of course, Mr. Ross." She turned to the group of people she had been talking with. "We'll only be a moment, darlings."
As soon as they were out of sight and earshot, they took off running towards the exits, Sophie's shoes deposited on the way out.
"Guys, I'm at the Uberose building. Where's Parker?" Hardison asked from Lucille.
"Around the side by Warren's office." The wind and the rain stole their breath and their voices. They bent forward, eyes to the ground.
Eliot and Sophie rounded the corner of the building, just as Hardison came jogging up to them from the other direction. Eliot looked up, eyes shielded from the storm with the back of his hand. He pointed to a spot ahead of them.
"There."
The team, sans Nate, broke into a sprint. In front of them was Parker, tangled in her climbing gear and soaking wet. She wasn't moving.
"Parker!"
Eliot reached her first. He knelt to the ground, searching for her face in the mess of tangled, wind-whipped blonde hair. Sophie and Hardison came up behind him a moment later, panting from the exertion.
"Parker?" Sophie asked quietly. "Is she okay?"
"Parker?" Eliot tapped her shoulder, her cheek, her forehead. Nothing. Looking her over, he didn't see much besides the wrist she broke being slammed into the wall and a few cuts on her face.
The wind did nothing to help his assessment. He squinted against it, using his fingers to see as he moved them briefly over her body.
Hardison sighed audibly, but said nothing. He turned away from the two team members on the ground and brought his hands to his face. He couldn't watch.
"Hardison, get Lucille. We gotta get her outta here." Eliot stood from his spot on the ground.
The hacker wasted no time getting the hell out of there. He loved Parker to death, and the sight of her broken and so still seriously unnerved him. He broke into a sprint, head bent against the wind. Rain pelted him from every side it seemed, but he just plowed forward. Lucille was only around the corner.
He really had to give Eliot credit. There was no way he could do what Eliot did. It was more than just taking a beating, more than fighting, or punching people, or getting punched. He was the person that kept the team together, that kept them safe. Nate was supposed to be the head of the family, so to speak, but it was Eliot that kept them from ripping each other apart, from walking out, from losing their way. It wasn't the fighting that was the hardest part of his job. It was the responsibility, the action. The ability to kneel next to a broken, still Parker and not lose his mind.
"Eliot?" Sophie tapped his shoulder.
"What?" he asked, but he already saw what she did.
Parker was doing her best to open her eyes and hold onto consciousness, but it was a losing battle. Her head was absolutely pounding and she felt like she might throw up. Not to mention the sharp burning that came from her chest, her wrist- everywhere, really.
"Parker," Eliot said quietly. The wind whipped most of his voice away, but she looked at him anyway. It hurt to focus her eyes, so she closed them and concentrated on breathing.
"Hey, stay awake," he demanded, gently tapping her cheek.
"I'm awake," she growled, giving her best impression of a grouchy Eliot.
"Can you move?" he asked gruffly.
Parker half-heartedly kicked at the direction she thought she heard his voice come from. In reality, she only lifted her foot a few inches, but it was enough for Eliot to know he could move her.
"Sophie, untangle these ropes," he demanded. She did as she was told, carefully pulling Parker's equipment from her body.
No more than a few seconds after she finished, Hardison pulled up in Lucille, tires squealing and wipers swiping furiously.
Sophie stood, brushing futilely at the mud caked on her knees and in her dress.
Hardison jumped out of the driver's seat, ran around the back of Lucille, and threw open the door. "Is she okay?" he yelled into the wind.
Eliot ignored him, instead bending down to pick her up from the ground. She didn't seem to notice. He carried her across the short distance to Lucille, and maneuvered himself so that she was laying on her back, her head resting on his thigh.
It definitely wasn't the first time he'd laid a brother on his lap like that. Hopefully this time it wouldn't be his last look at her.
Sophie jumped into the passenger seat, and Hardison slammed the accelerator before the doors were even closed. "So what happened?" she asked, twisting around to look at Eliot.
"She was trying to get into Warren's office via the window. The storm threw her around a bunch, took out her rig." He reached into the first aid kit Hardison kept in Lucille for an instant ice pack, which he cracked, shook, and placed against Parker's forehead. She murmured in gratitude.
Sophie looked at them in horror. "What was she doing on the side of a building in the middle of a storm?" She glanced through the windshield; the rain and wind had not let up. In fact, they must have gotten worse.
"Nate said," Parker mumbled, startling the rest of the team. They didn't realize she was listening.
Sophie was indignant. "Is he stupid?" She untwisted herself to face forward. Carsickness was a bitch, and Hardison's driving wasn't helping matters. Luckily, they were almost back at Nate's apartment.
"More than stupid," Eliot muttered. He moved the ice pack from Parker's forehead to her collarbone. His fingers moved deftly across her skin, feeling for damage. Perhaps most disturbing of the whole situation was her not fighting him, even a little. Her only argument came in the form of a quick inhale as his fingers grazed her ribs. Maybe broken.
Hardison pulled Lucille into McRory's back parking lot and killed the engine. Sophie jumped out of the passenger seat immediately, followed by Hardison. Together they pulled open the passenger door and helped Eliot get himself and Parker out into the blinding rain.
Hardison jogged in front of Eliot and Parker, grabbing the door. As Eliot passed through, Hardison leaned close, his eyes serious. "Parker first."
Eliot didn't acknowledge him, but silently agreed. Parker first- they'd get her assessed, bandaged, drugged, and to bed. Then the rains of hell would descend on Nate and his pathetic crusade of self-pity.
