Thanks for the great response to this story. As you know I do not own the characters of Leverage. I just like to play in their sandbox.
Chap. 5
Eliot groaned as he came to himself. Where was he and what the hell happened? Why was it so dark and cold?
"Eliot, open your eyes, son."
Removing the chilled cloth from Eliot's eyes, Allen watched as the bright blue eyes appeared. There were so many questions in those eyes.
"You passed out in the stables. Parker said you had been battling a migraine for several days."
"I guess I lost the battle."
Allen chuckled.
"I guess you did. Is your head still hurting?"
"Not like it was. Just a dull ache now. How long was I out?"
"Just a little over five hours. We were all pretty worried."
"How did I get here?"
"Nate and I carried you. I had my doctor come out. Hardison found some migraine meds in your bag. I had my doctor come out and give you an injection of the same medication. It seems to have knocked out the worst of it."
"I usually never need the injections. The caplets usually do the job. When I get stressed, the headaches get worse."
"Did I cause this?"
"I did. I let you get to me."
The shivering increased, prompting Allen to tuck the blankets tighter around Eliot.
"Are you always cold with your migraines?"
"Yes."
"I'm going to get you a drink and something light to eat. Any requests?"
"You wouldn't happen to have strawberry lemonade would you?"
Allen smiled.
"I think I just might."
"Thank you."
Allen place the strawberry lemonade on the tray and grabbed a banana and some organic peanut butter. He wasn't sure if Eliot even liked either of the snacks, but something told him to go with it. The banana would help with the blood sugar he was certain had dropped since the fainting spell and the peanut butter had lots of protein.
Eliot saw the tray first, then he smelled the toast.
"You didn't have to do all that. I'm sorry for being a bother."
Allen placed the tray on the bed and sat beside Eliot.
"Hush. It was nothing. Besides, Parker made me pinky swear to take care of you before they left."
"Where are they? Are they safe?"
"They just went on a grocery run. They're fine. Hardison was almost out of Hot Pockets and Parker was out of cereal. The world was coming to an end!"
Eliot laughed, then winced as the pain spiked.
"You okay?"
"Fine."
Eliot grabbed the butter knife and smoothed peanut butter over the toast. He then sliced up the banana and lay it over the peanut butter. He remembered his father doing this as an afterschool snack on many occasions.
"Eliot! Where did you go?"
"Nowhere. Just thinking. Sorry."
"Did you have this as a snack when you were a kid? You seemed very familiar with it."
"My Dad made it for me after school sometimes. We would do my homework, talk about my day and snack."
Allen watched as Eliot's eyes lit up while talking about his father. Obviously, Eliot cared a great deal for his Dad. What about his mother?
"What kind of snacks did you mother make?"
The bright blue eyes darkened and shuttered as Eliot sipped the pink drink. He gently sloshed the ice in the glass before he spoke.
"My Mama would make a fruit salad sometimes. Whatever was in season. Other times she'd make a Caprese salad. Strawberry lemonade was something we did together. My Dad's thing was sun tea. We made it all summer."
Allen wondered what had happened to make this kid so distant. He thought the world of his parents, that much was clear. Oh well, maybe he could get more out of Eliot later. Now he just wanted to make sure the kid rested. He still seemed pretty spent.