Chapter 19

Nate came back to consciousness an hour later, opening his eyes and looking up to find his wife leaning over him saying his name softly. He smiled at her and squeezed her hand that he felt holding his.

"Sophie…" He said hoarsely.

"Hey Nate…" He heard Hardison say and felt the light touch of Parker's hand on his, but his eyes remained fixed on Sophie.

"We have to have a long talk mister." Sophie said leaning in and kissing him softly.

"I'm sorry." Nate said as she pulled away.

"We will talk later Nate when you are stronger but talk we are going to talk." Sophie said and then smiled at him. "For now you just concentrate on getting better." She said. The man had taken four gunshot wounds in a short amount of time and he needed time to rest and recover, but she was not going to let what he had done pass, he had to understand that it was not acceptable in any way.

"Moreau?"

"In Interpol custody Nate. He is no more a danger to anybody. He is being charged with the murder of Elysia and David, your kidnapping and attempted murder as well as various other crimes, and then there are the previous charges, he is going away for a long time." Eliot told him.

Nate looked at his Hitter and nodded slightly. He was still a little ashamed of what he had asked the man to do and he was glad he had not done it. In the end he could not kill, and Eliot should never have to again. That was not their lives, not their way.

"Now you need your rest Mr Ford." Sophie told him. "So why don't you just close your eyes and go back to sleep ok, we will have plenty of time to talk later."

Nate smiled at her and let his eyes fall closed drifting back into sleep.

She stood and watched him until his breathing became even and rhythmical again then turned to the others.

"Well it's over Sophie." Eliot said softly.

"Yes thank God for that." Sophie said looking back at Nate. "But he can't keep doing this type of thing Eliot because one day we are not going to be able to get him out of it. One day he is going to do something we cannot save him from."

"I don't understand why he does it." Parker said looking at the sleeping man. He knew they would help him, back him in anything. He knew they were stronger as a team and that they could beat anybody if they worked together, why he always did this was difficult for her to understand. "I mean he always tells us not to go off and do things on our own and when we do it always turns out badly, why does he do it?"

"Because in his brain he is protecting us Parker." Hardison answered her. "He doesn't want us in danger."

"That's just stupid." Parker said. "We lead dangerous lives, do dangerous jobs, and he has always used us even if it was dangerous."

"Yes he always did Parker, but with the exception that if there was a job in the con that involved being in direct danger he took it. He always had us there for backup and he used us to draw out or make the plan work, but in the end the heat always came down on him, he was the point of contact and he was the one the 'marks' saw as the threat." Sophie said.

Eliot thought about that for a short time and then nodded. It was true, with a few exceptions and he knew those exceptions usually came down to the fact that Nate had no other way out of the con and he always took it badly when that happened. He knew who they were, he knew what they could do, and he knew how far he could push each of them without pushing them too far. He also knew his 'marks' and how far he could take them, again there were a few exceptions. But when it came down to it Nate would not let them fall, not ever, even if it cost him his life.

"He trusted us to continue with his legacy. Trusted me to get us through all our jobs and he is not there to take the fall anymore." Parker said thinking about what Sophie had said.

"Yes Parker but don't think he does not watch over you and if you ever got into trouble he would be there." Sophie said.

She had noticed that Nate kept up with their jobs, even on their honeymoon, just like he had with her life when he left IYS. He knew where she was and what she was doing even then, when his life was in complete chaos. With them he knew what jobs they were doing, and he knew the 'mark' as well as they did, and she had no doubt that if he thought they were heading for disaster he would step in. He had not had to in the last year except for a few well-placed suggestions on some jobs, but she knew he was ready to.

Sophie looked at Nate and then at them and sighed heavily. No matter what they planned or did or said, Nate was who he was, and he saw them as his family, and he would do what he felt he had to in any given situation. Her only consolation was that they would always be there to help him when he needed it no matter what.

"So what do we do?" Hardison asked thinking the same thing as Sophie, one day they would not be able to get to Nate on time to prevent the unthinkable from happening. Hell that was almost the case here, it was a miracle that Nate had survived this ordeal, he was lucky, but someday his luck was going to run out.

"I don't think we can do anything." Eliot said softly. Nate was Nate and they were not going to change him or the way he thought. "We can only be there when he needs us and hope we can get him out of anything he gets himself into."

Sophie looked at the Hitter and smiled a sad smile. He was right she thought. She may not like it and they may not like it, but it was the way it was.

"Well he is going to be out for a while I think so let's go get something to eat and get cleaned up then we can come back." Sophie said. She moved to Nate's side and leaned in placing a kiss on his lips and whispering that they would be back.