Chapter 3

Nate and David pulled up at the designated meeting place to find it deserted. He knew his team was around but did not know exactly where and Moreau had not shown yet. David stopped the car and they both climbed out and walked to the front of the car leaning against it as they waited for Moreau to arrive.

A half hour later a van pulled up. Nate raised his eyebrows and bent his head telling his people to be ready and reminding them the girl was their priority. Moreau climbed out of the van along with four heavily armed men.

"We meet again Ford." Damian said amiably. "I knew you would not be able to resist being the 'white knight' willing to sacrifice yourself for a friend or a child or…well anybody I suppose."

"Well Damian we do know each other quite well don't we?"

"Yes and I am going to get to know you a lot better." Damian smiled at him. He was looking forward to having Nate in his hands. He knew the team would be around somewhere but was sure he would be able to get the man into the van and away before they could stop him.

"Where is my daughter?" David asked stepping forward.

"She is fine." Damian said then moved his head indicating that they should unload the child. "I will hand her over as soon as you walk over here Nate."

"Now Damian I thought we had clarified that we know each other fairly well." Nate said to the man. He wanted to see the child first before he did anything.

Damian smiled at him and then motioned to one of his men who walked back to the van pulling the girl out and pushing her forward to stand beside Moreau.

"The girl first Moreau, send her over and David and her will leave here alone." Nate said holding the man's gaze. Moreau nodded and pushed the child forward. David moved forward as the little girl ran to him and fell into his arms.

"Go David NOW." Nate instructed as he walked past the Mastermind.

"Nate be careful he will make his move as soon as David is gone." Sophie's anxious voice came through the coms.

David looked at Nate and nodded then carried his daughter to the car put her in it climbed in and sped away leaving Nate alone with Moreau and his men. He however did not go far as soon as he was sure they were far enough away he told his daughter to stay in the car and then made his way back as quickly as possible. He was a Marine and he did not leave a man behind to face possible death and especially if he was a friend. His daughter was safe and now he had to make sure Nate got out of this too.

"So Nate shall we…?" Moreau said indicating that Nate should join him. Nate smiled at the man and started to walk forward and that is when all hell broke loose.

Eliot moved in taking out one of the guards with Parker moving in on the other side. Moreau pulled out his gun and fired at Nate who ducked down and ran for cover. Another two men exited the vehicle opening fire and sending all of them for cover. Moreau climbed into the van and told the driver to get him out of there. He watched as his other men fired continuously giving them cover and then caught a glimpse of Nate and fired off three quick shots seeing the Mastermind go down with the third one. He was about to fire again at the prone man when David appeared firing at him striking the van before he grabbed Nate and pulled him under cover of the bushes. He looked down at his friend and saw the bullet had entered on the left side of the chest and the man was struggling to breathe with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"David…Elysia…"

"She's fine Nate…. Just hold on there now Nate stay with me now common Nate stay with me."

Moreau's van sped off down the road leaving two of his men behind who were quickly subdued by Eliot.

"Nate…" Sophie called out as she came out from the cover she had taken when the shooting had begun.

"Over here." David called out brining all four of them running.

Sophie saw Nate lying on his back his eyes closed. His shirt was bloody and there was blood trickling down his chin.

"Oh my God Nate." She said as she watched Eliot fall to his knees by the Masterminds side.

"Nate…" Eliot said as he leaned over the man, but he got no reply, just two blue eyes staring up at him filled with pain. "We need to get him to a hospital." Eliot said taking off his shirt and holding it to Nate's chest to try and stem the flow of blood. "Parker get the van."

"I got to go get my daughter." David said looking down at the Mastermind then back at Eliot.

"Go." Eliot told him then he placed his hands under the stricken man and lifted him easily headed out to where Parker had just arrived with the van.

He nodded and ran towards where he had left his car. Finding it and his daughter where he left it he climbed in and set off towards the hospital that Eliot had told them they would take Nate to.

In the van Eliot knelt next to Nate while Sophie sat of the floor of the van with Nate's head resting on her lap. He was breathing haltingly now, and more blood oozed from his mouth. He was dying and Sophie knew it, she could see in Eliot's eyes that Nate might not even make it to the hospital. Damn the man, damn him for always putting himself in harm's way, always taking the risks without any thought of how him being hurt or killed doing what he thought was right did to them, did to her.

They arrived at the hospital and Nate was taken from them and into the trauma rooms. Eliot turned to Sophie who was now covered with Nate's blood as was he. After only a few minutes they watched as Nate was pushed out of the trauma rooms and through the doors to theatre. A nurse came to them and told them that a doctor would be out to talk to them as soon as they could. Sophie nodded at the woman and then sat down heavily on the waiting room chairs.

"We are going to need help here Eliot." Parker said drawing the Hitter away from Sophie. "Moreau is going to come after him, after us and we need cover for Nate and for us."

"Call Sterling." Sophie said as she listened to them speak. "Tell him…tell him he owes Nate and Nate needs him now."

Parker looked at the woman and nodded. None of them liked Sterling but he was their best bet at this stage under these circumstances.

"Hardison give us some cover until he get's here." Parker said as she lifted her phone to contact the Interpol agent. "Eliot, take Sophie and get cleaned up."

Sophie just looked at her and then could not help smiling. This was Parker, the Parker that Nate had seen, the one who could take charge and do what needed to be done no matter what was happening. She allowed Eliot to take her hand and lead her out to the van and then take her home to change. He doubted Nate would be out of surgery for at least a few hours, that was if he survived the surgery. Eliot stopped himself thinking about that as he looked over at Sophie his heart heavy as he saw the sadness and fear on the woman's face. They took only an hour to get showered and dressed and then back to the hospital, finding Parker and Hardison where they had left them and still no news of Nate. At least that told them that Nate was fighting on Eliot thought to himself.

"Sophie…" David said as he walked up to them carrying his daughter in his arms.

"He is in surgery." Sophie said softly looking at the man who was responsible for Nate being in the situation he was. No she thought, that was not fair, he had been used by Moreau and he had his daughter to think of. David had saved Nate, he had dragged him away before Moreau could finish him, she looked at the child and smiled a sad smile knowing they all would have done whatever it took to get that little girl back, especially because it was their fault she was in danger in the first place.

They all then took seats to wait for news of Nate, after an hour Sterling made his appearance and Eliot took him aside explaining everything that had happened and that Hardison had given them all cover as Interpol agents. Sterling nodded and then walked over to Sophie going down on his haunches in front of her.

"He is a stubborn, strong man Sophie…" He said softly. "He'll pull through you'll see."

Sophie looked at the man and smiled. She knew after the last job and after their marriage Nate and Sterling had rekindled their friendship somewhat. She was still not sure exactly what had ended their friendship before only that it had something to do with what happened to Sam.

"Thank you James." She said softly. Sterling nodded then took a seat beside her to wait with them.

Two hours later a doctor approached them and asked if they were Nathan Ford's family. Sophie immediately stood and told him she was his wife asking how he was.

"Well he made it through surgery. The bullet passed through his chest cavity damaging his heart and left lung, he also lost a substantial amount of blood. He is currently in recovery however we will move him to ICU shortly."

"Will he be alright?"

"Mrs Ford your husband is in critical condition and we will have more of an idea what we are looking at in a few hours." The doctor said non-committedly, he was not prepared to tell the woman her husband would survive, with these types of injuries there was no guarantee.

"Thank you doctor. Can I see him?" Sophie said knowing that the doctor did not want to give her a direct answer.

"Not until the morning I am afraid." The doctor told her. "I suggest you all go home and get some rest, there is nothing you can do for him at the moment."

"I am not going anywhere." Sophie said as Eliot turned towards her. She knew he was going to say the doctor was right and they should go and get some rest.

"Sophie, Nate is going to need you tomorrow and over the next few days, it is not going to help if you are too exhausted to be there for him." Eliot said. "We won't leave him alone we will take turns staying here and we can all keep our coms in."

"He's right Sophie." Parker said stepping up to the woman and pulling her into a hug. "Go home and get some rest. You can come back in a few hours and I will stay here with him until then."

"Listen guys…" Sterling said as he stood up. "Let's not forget that Moreau is out there, and he is going to be coming for Nate and yourselves, so I am going to have Nate put under protective custody and Eliot…" He said turning to the Hitter. "You make sure they are taken care of, especially Sophie."

"Thank you Sterling." Eliot said, he did not like the man, but he appreciated what he was doing for them now.

"Right, Hardison and I will stay. Eliot take Sophie home and let her get some rest. Coms in at all times alright?"

"Sterling you also need to put a protection detail on David and his daughter." Sophie told him.

"I doubt he will come after me again and if he does I will be ready." David said pulling his daughter tighter to him as he considered that the man might come after him or Elysia again.

"I will put somebody on you as well anyway." Sterling said, he would be able to swing that considering that he was going to take down one of the most wanted men in Damian Moreau.

"Good, Nate would want that." Parker said knowing that the Mastermind would want his friend and his friend's daughter protected, that was why he was here in this hospital in the first place, trying to get the girl back.

Sophie watched them all as they made their plans and felt an overwhelming pride in them. They had all come so far, and they had all grown and they all owed that to Nate. They cared for each other so much and their bonds were closer than most blood family. Their love for Nate was remarkable, love, respect and admiration for the man who had given them all a life they could lead and be proud of. She wondered if Nate really appreciated what he meant to all of them. She looked at Sterling and her eyes told him that she was grateful for his help and then she left with Eliot. She knew they had the threat of Moreau who was still out there and would be incredibly angry, angry that Nate had bested him again and he would be coming for him, although she doubted he would try anything now. She was also not naive enough to believe the man was not going to come after the rest of the team, but they would be ready for him. They had beaten the man once, they would do it again and this time he was not going to be locked up, he was going down for good she thought her expression darkening.