It took about forty minutes to get to their destination and Hardison cut the lights before pulling into the side alley next to a boarded up building with a sign that said New Hope Clinic. Eliot was the first out of the van when he saw a large man in a tux standing next to a leggy brunette in a cocktail dress. Hardison got out and walked over. "She's in the back Ellie." He said and the woman ignored him, hurrying to the back of the van and opening the doors.
"David, lets get her inside." Ellie said, all business. The man, David pulled some bolt cutters from the back of the truck that was already parked by the door. He walked over to the door and cut the padlock, removing the chain from the door and pushing it open. "I need a gurney." Ellie said and with a nod he grabbed one from just inside the door, coming over to the van with it. "You and you, help me get her onto the gurney." Ellie said to Eliot and Nate who did as they were asked.
"I'll get her in, go change." David said to Ellie who breezed by Eliot to help with the gurney. Ellie nodded and headed inside, passing Hardison again without so much as a glance. When the team got Parker into the clinic Ellie had already changed into pink scrubs with her hair pulled up into a ponytail that still showed signs of the curls she'd obviously taken time with. She helped move the petite blonde into a side room where she immediately began examining her.
"What's wrong with her?" Nate asked from the doorway. Ellie looked up to see the entire team of thieves standing behind him, watching intently as she examined the woman.
"I'll tell you when I've finished my examination." Ellie's voice was tense but she smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure she'll be fine." Ellie waved David in who was now dressed in scrubs. "Honey, come help me." She said and together they began to treat Parker. "We need to set and cast the leg first. What's your name sweetie?" Ellie asked and Parker answered softly. "Alright Parker, we're going to give you some pain medication for when we set your leg, but I'm not going to put you to sleep. It's going to sound awful when we do it, but you won't feel a thing." Ellie reassured her as she injected Parker's leg with a local anesthetic.
"I don't do drugs." Parker insisted feebly, attempting to sit up.
"It's not drugs, its medication, whole different connotation darlin'." David said reassuringly. "I'm going to hold your shoulders while she sets your leg okay, I just need you to relax." David explained, not wanting to upset her. Parker nodded wearily, knowing that if Hardison trusted these people that she should as well. David put his hands on her shoulders and Parker noticed absently the way his dark skin contrasted with hers that was pale and wondered if Hardison's would look the same next to hers. Ellie quickly used medical scissors to cut the leg of her pants up to the hip, parting the fabric so that she could see the wound. She probed it gently, feeling the break with sensitive and well trained fingers.
David nodded at Ellie and in one fluid movement Ellie yanked Parker's leg, hearing the bone snap back into place. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that several members of the group standing in the doorway paled and licked their lips nervously. "If you're going to be sick, go into the other room." Ellie's voice left no room for debate but she saw that none of them so much as moved.
The two quickly put a fiberglass cast on Parker's leg then moved on to her hands. "This is going to hurt a bit Parker, but I'll be as gentle as possible." Ellie said, her voice gentle. She snipped the remnants of Parker's gloves off her hands. "David, I'm going to need the antibiotic gel." Ellie said as she began to spray the wounds with a saline solution. Parker hissed and Ellie winced. "I'm sorry." She whispered, hating it that she was hurting her. David brought in the ointment and soon Ellie had neatly wrapped both hands. "Parker I'm going to give some something to dull the pain." Ellie smiled reassuringly at the young woman's protest. "It's not enough to dull your senses, though it might make you a little bit sleepy." Parker finally nodded and Ellie injected the pain meds into her arm. "You guys can stay with her, Alec, I need to talk to you." Ellie said sternly, moving out into the other room.
Hardison reluctantly followed her out into the darkened waiting area, stopping in surprise when she slapped his hand away from the light switch. "Don't touch that." She said, not looking at him.
"Look Ellie, I appreciate this, we'll get out of your hair now." Hardison said, taking a step back when she turned on him.
"I don't hear from you for six years, SIX YEARS! And then you call me, telling me to meet you, that you need my help. I ask no questions and you bring me some poor girl that's banged up and still, I ask no questions. But I will not lose my license for you. Do you understand?" Ellie said, her voice getting louder by the second. David poked his head into the room.
"Ellie, honey, we need to get everyone out of here. I called Carissa and she said he's asleep in our bed, we can put her in his room." David said calmly and Ellie nodded.
"Alec, I need to keep Parker under observation for a few days, I'm sure your 'friends' won't want to leave her, so I suggest that you all come stay with us. And you and I are going to have a very serious, very long conversation. Understand?" Ellie asked and Hardison gave a slight nod, knowing better than to argue with her.
David moved into the other room and began to quickly and efficiently gather things they might need at the house. An IV machine was moved as well as several bags of fluids. He also gathered a box of extra bandages and more antibiotic gel. "We'll fold the gurney into the van so that she can stay comfortable until we get to the house." David explained, his voice warm and deep. "El, you should probably write up an antibiotic scrip, have Alec's friend go fill it. I'll load Parker into the van and we'll head home." Ellie nodded and grabbed her prescription pad, waving Sophie over.
"I'm going to write this prescription for Cipro, I'll put it in your name so you can pick it up. Tell Kelly at the pharmacy to put it on the clinic's tab." She handed the small prescription paper to the grifter.
Sophie headed for the door, then turned. "Where exactly is this pharmacy?" She asked, realizing that she had no idea where they were. "Down and around the corner. Take a left at the stop sign and you won't be able to miss it." Ellie told her and with a nod Sophie headed out at a brisk pace, wanting to get back as soon as possible.
"We need to get Parker into the van, and then we'll fix the clinic." Ellie said and David nodded.
"You're sure about this?" He asked, personally he thought they all seemed like nice enough people, despite not knowing much about them.
"I don't think we have much of an option." Ellie whispered to her husband, acutely aware of the thieves around them. "If Josef finds out we were here he'll snap."
"Alright." David said with a nod then went out and helped Eliot move Parker into the van. He headed back inside. "El, I want you to get in the truck, I'll do this." He said, giving her a reassuring smile. She nodded, trusting him implicitly. She breezed past the three men on her way out.
"Where are you going?" Nate asked.
"To the truck. It's time to go." Ellie said, striding past them. These last few weeks had left her wrung out and emotional and her brother showing up in the middle of the night with an injured woman didn't do much to ease her nerves.
David made his way into the clinic and grabbed things off shelves, throwing them around. Eliot was in the clinic in a flash, drawn by the noise. "What are you doin' man?" Eliot asked, a frown furrowing his brow.
"We don't own the clinic anymore, and aren't allowed to be inside the building. I'm staging a break in." David's voice was heavy and Eliot nodded and began to help him trash the room. They made short work of it and soon were out in the vehicles with Ellie and David leading the way.
"Hardison, can we trust them?" Nate asked, though the woman had bandaged Parker up, he wasn't sure that this wasn't going to end badly for the team.
"Yeah, we can trust them." Hardison was uncharacteristically quiet, and Nate didn't think it was just because Parker had been hurt.
"Who are they?" Sophie asked, her voice soft.
"My sister and her husband." Hardison's answer could hardly be heard over the sounds of the vans engine.
"Sister?" Sophie asked, clearly surprised. "I didn't know you had a sister."
"That's because I didn't want her drawn into my world. I haven't seen her in years." Hardison's voice practically dripped with the guilt that he was obviously feeling.
"It sounds like you have a chance to patch things up between the two of you." Nate said in his best fatherly tone. "Family isn't something you should throw away."
"We're here." Hardison pulled the van into the driveway of a small two story home with an adorable little yard. The team unloaded and helped Ellie and David take Parker into the house. David carried Parker upstairs and gently laid her on a bed with a rocket ship comforter and then closed the door behind him, leaving her there to sleep.
"We don't have a guest room, but I can put an air mattress in the office downstairs." Ellie explained to the group, watching as David came downstairs and paid the babysitter who left.
"We don't want to impose, we'll just stay in with Parker if you don't mind." Nate said, wanting to keep his team in his sight, worrying about them. Tonight had been stressful and he knew that they all felt best when together.
"I'll get you some blankets and another chair or two." Ellie said and David followed. Soon Parker's room had been made as comfortable for the group as it possibly could be, two easy chairs were moved in and there was a twin air mattress on the floor. There were plenty of blankets and pillows to go around. Parker was still sleeping peacefully, the pain medication was still in effect. "Do you need anything?" Ellie asked and when everyone in the team shook their heads she nodded. "Alright, we're just across the hall if anything comes up. Bathroom is at the hall. Help yourself to the kitchen." Ellie stifled a yawn and headed into her room.
David had already changed into his pajamas and was lying on the bed beside their five year old son. "He's out." David whispered with a smile. Ellie nodded and quickly changed into her pajamas and then slipped into bed beside her son. It had been a very long day, and seeing her brother for the first time in years had rocked her emotionally. But tomorrow she would talk to him, find out why precisely he'd been so standoffish and maybe even introduce him to his namesake, the adorable little boy sleeping next to her.