Hardison was the first on the scene – he'd just been leaving Nate's when he heard the explosion. He ran around the back of the building, hoping to find a way in. He knew that Eliot had walked Nona home. He looked frantically but didn't see anything, but then he saw Nona unconcious a few feet from the door. Kneeling beside her he tried to check her over as best he could, his only knowledge being what Eliot had taught him. He checked for a pulse and sent up a prayer of thanks when he found one. He pushed her hair back and tried calling her name

"Nona, come on girl wake up. Eliot will kill me if I let you die."

Nona groaned – her head hurt so bad and she felt like she'd been run over by a truck. But somewhere in the foggy distance someone was calling her name.

"Nona, come on wake up"

It was Hardison, but what was he doing here? The last thing she rememebered was Eliot in her apartment – oh God Eliot, the explosion! She struggled to sit up

"Whoa hold on there" Hardison was pushing her back

"But Eliot, he's –"

"Nates got him" he pointed and she saw Nate pulling an unconcious Eliot from the building

"Can you walk? I want to get you away from the building" Nodding, she stood with the help of Hardison and hobbled a few yards to where Nate had dragged Eliot. Parker was there too on the phone with what she assumed was the fire department. Dropping down next to Eliot's lifeless body, she cried

"Oh Eliot, Nate is he?"

Nate shook his head

"He has a pulse he just hasn't come around yet."

"Eliot, come on please wake up" she pleaded as she ran her hands over his soot and blood covered face. Tears welled in her eyes as she thought about how he'd saved her life by pushing her through the doorway.

"Hey I'm not dead yet" Eliot said as he found her crying

"Oh Eliot" she said and threw herself on him

He swallowed his cry of pain as she hugged him because right now nothing felt better than having her wrapped around him

"I'm telling you I'm fine" Eliot barked at the paramedic later as they checked him over

"But sir" Eliot's growl was enough to shut the poor guy up

"I'll be sure to look after him" Nona told him, she'd been checked out and cleared to go home.

"Fine, sign these and you're free to go" Eliot scribbled his name across the bottom and grabbed Nona's hand

"Let's get out of here"

"But where are we going to go? Your building hasn't been cleared yet by the fire department"

"Then I guess we'll have to go to my house"

"Your house?" she asked confused

"Can you drive?" he asked, handing her the keys to his Silverado

"Yeah, but-"

"Then let's go"

Forty-five minutes and a stop at Walmart later, they pulled up in front of an old farmhouse

"This is it?

"Yeah come on" Eliot replied grabbing the shopping bags

Nona couldn't get over how beautiful it was; lilac bushes flanked the front of the house on either side of a wrap around porch while Japanese holly lined the stone walkway. When they walked in she could tell that the house had been renovated; whoever it was kept the original feel of the house while adding modern conviences.

"Eliot this is beautiful" she said as she ran her hand over the handcarved banister of the main staircase

"Thanks I haven't had a chance to finish everything, but it's home"

"You did this?"

He smiled, slightly embarrassed by her look of praise

"Yeah, I find it relaxing"

"Well then you must be in a zenlike state; this must have taken hours"

"Well I fit it in when I can – would you like to see the rest of it?"

"As much as I would love that, I'd love a shower even more" she said pointedly looking at her soot covered clothes

"Oh right, what was I thinking master bathroom is upstairs."

Once he got her towels and the clothes they'd picked up Eliot left her to take care of business

To use the word bathroom was an understatement Nona thought as she took in the double sink with matching mirrors, and enormous tub with whirlpool option. Hell even the shower was large enough to fit four. She adjusted the water and struggled to pull of her clothes; once she'd managed that she deposited them in the trash and stepped into the shower. After the initial pain of the spray hitting her wounds, the water pressure became theraputic and her muscles began to relax.

'Man I'm going to have to have Eliot install one of these in my bathroom' she thought. Then it dawned on her – she no longer had a home; hell she had no home, no business, no anything. What was she going to do? Where was she going to go? She was suddenly overwhelmed and couldn't stop the sobs that racked her body.

After hearing the door closed, Eliot took the opportunity to shower in the downstairs bathroom. He was done in about 15 minutes and decided to give Nona some more time so he sat down in his recliner and was dozing in about 5 minutes. Startling himself awake, he looked at the clock and decided to check on her. As he reached the top of the stairs, he thought he heard crying. He went into the bedroom and stood outside the bathroom.

"Nona?" he called softly through the door. The only response he got was gut – wrenching sobs and that was enough for him. As soon as he went in he pulled open the shower door and stepped in. Finding her huddled in the corner, he gently stood her up. Fighting him at first, her flayling fists were soon clinging to his shirt and hanging on for dear life. He rinsed her under the spray then wrapped her in a towel and carried her to the large, king sized bed and laid her down, tucking the blanket around her. He turned to pull off his wet clothes when her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

"Please don't leave me."

"I just want to get my wet clothes off." He said, and within seconds he'd stripped naked and was pulling her into his arms while she cried.

Nona couldn't believe she was falling apart like this. She hadn't done this since the day after she left Steven, but then she was alone now….now she had Eliot who hadn't said a word, but merely held her while she cried. Soon the sobs subsided and became sniffles. As she felt Eliot's hand running the length of her back she became very aware of the fact that the only thing separating them was a bathroom towel.

"I'm sorry" she said and began to pull away. Eliot, sensing that she was uncomfortable with their current situation reassured her

"Nona look at me" he pulled her chin up until she was forced to meet his gaze

"I would never do anything you didn't want me to"

"I know I'm being silly; afterall I was practically jumping you back at my apartment and now…" she trailed off

"Now you're dealing with the fact that someone tried to kill you" he said matter of factly

"You have every right to pull away, but I really wish you wouldn't" She looked into his eyes which held a miriad of emotions; concern, empathy, admiration, and desire. It was the last one that had her stripping off the towel and pulling him close.

"You're sure?" he asked

"I mean you've been through a lot, so I would understand if you –" her mouth came crashing down on his, swallowing the last of his sentence. She pushed past his lips and plunged her tongue into his mouth. Her hands tunneled in his hair while she pressed her already hard nipples into his hair-roughened chest. His hands ran down the length of her back and pulled her against him; when she found his weak spot again, he groaned and flipped her underneath him. He kissed his way down her neck, across her collarbone until he came to the twin peaks of her breasts. They were beautiful; large enough for his hands and aching for his touch. Taking one nipple between his thumb and forefinger, he closed his mouth over the other and heard her cry out

"Oh God Eliot!" she couldn't think, it felt too good. Her hips twitched as she felt his erection pressing against her and when his hand reached for her sensitive core, she nearly came undone. He inserted one, then two fingers and discovered she was already wet. She moaned when he placed his thumb over her clit and began to stroke her.

She was close, he could tell but he wanted this to be good for her so he began to kiss his way down her body; stopping when he found a particularly sensitive spot like the inside of her thigh, or the back of her knee. When he reached her center he hooked her legs over his shoulders. Parting her folds, he replaced his fingers with his tongue.

Her fingers dug into the sheets as his mouth closed over her. The pressure was building and she thought for sure that she would die if he stopped

"Oh Eliot don't stop, I'm almost there please!" she shuddered as her climax overtook her and fireworks exploded behind her eyes.

She couldn't catch her breath it had never been like that for her; though Steven always was a selfish lover. Not Eliot, he had taken his time cherishing her and making sure that she was satisfied. Well now it was her turn to cherish him; she pushed him back against the pillows and began by kissing the small scar on his lip and working her way down, stopping to kiss every scar along the way. One day she was going to have to ask him about all of them. For now though, she had something more important to take care of.

He sucked in a breath when her hand closed over him; she ran her hand up and down his large shaft, brushing her thumb across the head

"Nona"

It excited her the way he growled her name. She moved her hand and bent to take him in her mouth.

Eliot groaned as she ran her tongue up and down; when she took him in fully and began to suck him he knew he had to stop her

"I want to be inside you" he said to her confused look

He reached over and grabbed a condom from the nightstand drawer. Once he was covered, he urged her over him

"You want me on top?" she asked shyly

"Only if you want to"

Her answer was to straddle him and guide him into her heat

God she was tight, but she felt oh so good. Eliot couldn't stop the almost primal sound that escaped him as she covered him to the hilt and her walls began to clench around him. He loved the way her breasts bounced in his face as she rode him. He reached out and began to play with her nipples, making her even more excited as her rhythm increased. He was close but he was determined for her to come first. Gripping her hips he met her thrust for thrust

"Eliot I'm so close please don't stop, keep, yes right there" the clench of her release fed his own and he soon followed her over the edge.

"That was…." Eliot couldn't find the words to explain how being with Nona had somehow made him feel whole again. Something he hadn't felt since before he'd joined the army.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm not that experienced but-"

Eliot cut her off with a kiss

"That was the most incredible experience of my life"

"Eliot please, you don't have to placate me" she said, her face already red

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"No, but-"

"Look I don't know what other quote unquote men have told you and quite frankly I don't care. I'm here now and I'm telling you that you are one of the most beautiful" he kissed her

"generous" another on her shoulder

"wonderful" he worked his way lower

"Most incredible women I have ever met" he finished by kissing her breasts. She sucked in a breath, she couldn't think when he touched her like that.

"Well then I guess I'll take that as a compliment" she said when she finally found her voice

He smiled

"Are you hungry?"

"A little"

"Be right back" he got up and headed to the bathroom and after cleaning himself up he threw on a pair of jeans, not bothering to button them and headed down to the kitchen. He didn't have much but he managed to throw together some grilled cheese sandwiches and paired it with some of the fruit they had picked up. Grabbing a couple of bottles of water he took the tray and headed back upstairs

He found her flipping through his music collection when he returned

"See anything you like?" he asked when her hand stopped on a particular cd

She smiled

"Waylon Jennings, a man after my own heart"

"You like country huh" he said setting the tray down

"Well I really like all kinds, but I have a soft spot for country"

"Me too as you can tell. It's also my favorite type of music to play"

"That's right Jill mentioned that you played together sometimes"

He nodded

"Whenever I can find the time"

"I'd love to hear you play"

"Unfortunately my guitar's back at the apartment – raincheck?"

"Most definitely; besides I'm too hungry anyway." She said eyeing the sandwiches

"Well then let's eat" he grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards the bed

They talked while they ate; she told him about her family and the hell that she went through while her mom was sick. He asked about the tatoo on her lower back and she explained that the eagle landing on a bear's back was a combination of the Lakota symbols for courage and strength. She'd gotten it after she'd left Steven to remind her that she was strong. He shared a little about his family, though he did mention that for obvious reasons that he didn't get to see them much. When she asked about all his scars he shook it off for the most part

"It's all part of the job"

"What, for you to almost get killed everytime you go out on a job?"

"My role is to protect the team"

"Yeah, but who protects you? I mean look, you were shot in Mongolia" she said pointing to his bicep

"Myanmar" he corrected

"Whatever my point is-" he cut her off as he kissed her

"I don't know how long we have til Hardison calls us with info. I really don't want to spend it talking, fighting, whatever it is we're doing – do you?"

"No I can think of better ways to spend out time" she said kissing him, and as he reached for her, she could already feel her desire building. He broke long enough to shed his jeans and then began kissing the length of her body.

When she thought she couldn't take anymore he flipped her on her stomach and placed open mouthed kisses down her spine, taking time to linger on her tatoo.

"Please Eliot" she begged when he pulled her ass up against his erection, teasing her

"Hang on baby" he reached over her and placed her hands on the rungs of the headboard. He slid two fingers in and found her drenched; she growled impatiently when he removed them but that growl turned into a sigh as he entered her from behind. He nearly collapsed as she took him fully; gripping her hips he began moving until together they found a rhythm that within minutes had them calling out each others names.