disclaimer: i am not a medical professional. most of the hypothermia stuff is true, but some needed to be bent for the story. again, just go with it.
'It always feels longer,' she thinks to herself. Parker knows that her freefall rate is approximately thirty-two feet per second and this pier is thirty-five feet from the waterline. Just over one second.
She crosses her arms and legs to prepare for impact, braces herself against the cold and waits. It isn't the first time something like this has happened, knots have slipped, a wire stopper broke once, but it is the first time it happened with the team. Usually in a situation like this her mind would be racing with her next step. This time is different. She thinks about her team, and hopes desperately that her slip up won't spoil the con.
The last thing she hears is Hardison's voice calling her name, then- splash!
The cold shocks her, stealing the air from her lungs as she fights to reach the surface. Her body is pushed against one of the barnacle covered pillars of the dock as she tries to catch her breath. She knows that she needs to swim now, her limbs are already starting to go numb.
While Nate and Sophie try to hold their poker faces, Eliot and Hardison are losing their minds. The hacker is out of the van and running across the parking lot toward waterfront. Eliot is sprinting to the edge of the pier searching for any sign of their teammate.
"Eliot, can you see her?" Hardison demands.
"Not yet, hold on!" he barks, looking over the side. "I see her! She's swimming." The whole team relaxes a fraction, but Hardison doesn't slow his pace. "I'll be damned," Eliot mutters, his eyes still glued to Parker's head bobbing through the water. She might look like Klepto-Barbie, but she's tough. 'Thank god for that,' he thinks, taking off at a run again.
Hardison almost collides with two power walkers and a jogger as he cuts across the walkway. He hurdles a low fence, finally seeing Parker when he lands in the patchy grass at the water's edge. She's still trying to swim but seems to be having considerable trouble with the last ten feet. Her teammate quickly traverses the border of large rocks and is waist deep in the bitterly cold water in seconds. In another moment, he reaches her and starts hauling her back toward the rocks.
"I got you. Relax, baby, I got you," he says as she flails clumsily trying to free herself. "Eliot, get the van," Hardison commands through clenched teeth. Parker clings to him stumbling over the uneven stones. When her legs buckle, he scoops her up and that will be the last she remembers of this ordeal.
The van screeches to a halt at the curb, and in ten seconds it's squealing away again.
"Get the wet clothes off her," Eliot orders from the driver seat. He ignores the sarcastic "Good idea," from Hardison and punches the gas even harder. "Check her breathing."
"It's, uh, slow, but steady," he says distractedly. His hands are sluggish and his own clothes are soaked too, making removing hers difficult and frustrating. "She needs a hospital, man. She doesn't look good."
"We'll be there in one minute!"
Following Eliot's instructions, Hardison handles her carefully. He places handwarmers on her chest, neck and abdomen then wraps a thick blanket around her.
"Don't rub her skin! If she's frostbit it'll hurt her."
"What else do I do?" His emotions are getting dangerously close to the surface. Seeing someone you love in a state like this and being completely useless is devastating. If his mind and body weren't so overloaded, Hardison might be shaken by the notion that he loves Parker. Under the circumstances, mental triage pushes that issue off to the sidelines for now.
"It s ok, we're here." Eliot slams on the brakes and hops out. By the time he rounds the van, Hardison is already toting the bundle of Parker toward the door to the emergency room. "We need help here!" he shouts, running ahead. "It's my sister and her boyfriend. She fell into the harbor!" The nurse races around the desk, shouting instructions to her subordinates. A gurney meets Hardison just inside the doors and he lays Parker down. She looks so terribly still amongst the flurry of activity.
"Sir, what is her name?" the nurse asks as they take off down the hall.
"Par-" Hardison starts to say, but Eliot cuts him off.
"Alice. Alice White," While his mind is a bit clearer than his teammate's, that is the only alias that he can remember. The hacker gives him a grateful look when Eliot takes over the rapid Q and A.
"How long was she in the water?"
"Five minutes."
"And, how long ago was that?"
"Fifteen, tops."
"Any allergies?"
"None that I know of."
"Did she hit her head?"
"No, but she passed out right after we got her out of the water."
"Ok, guys, I need you to step back and give us some room." Hardison tries to protest, but Eliot puts his arm out to hold him back. "Someone will be out to update you soon," she adds disappearing behind the swinging doors after Parker.
"I don't want her to wake up alone," Hardison says quietly, still gazing at the closed doors. When the shorter man turns to him, it starts as sympathy but switches quickly to suspicious concern.
"Dude, you're shaking."
"I'm fine," he assures unconvincingly. "Jus' tired." Eliot watches him closely as he ambles over to a chair along the wall. He trips over his own feet, but catches himself before sliding into the sitting position.
"Nurse!"
"Eliot, where are you guys?" Nate's voice chimes in.
"Mass General on Fruit Street," He mutters as a nurse walks over. "Excuse me, I think my friend over there might have a slight case of hypothermia. Can we get him some dry clothes and a blanket?"
"Absolutely," she replies seeming alarmed by his casual tone. "Sir, I need you to come with me. We're going to get you out of these wet things and have somebody take a look at you." Hardison looks a little dazed but follows with out objection.
"How's Parker?" Judging by his voice, he's moving pretty quickly. "Taxi!"
"She's was out of it when we came in and now they won't let us see her. I honestly don t know."
"Ok, I'll be there in-"
"No, wait. We need id's. Alice White for Parker and another for Hardison."
"Got it."
-
"We've stabilized her and her temp is almost back to normal," the doctor is explaining.
"Oh, thank god," mumbles Sophie. The doctor takes a deep breath before continuing, never a good sign. He can't help but notice the variety in Alice White's family. Her very worried looking boyfriend is dressed in scrubs, while her brother looks (and smells) like a fisherman. And, her aunt, an expensively dressed British woman, seems an odd match for her uncle, who is pacing uncomfortably in his cheap suit.
"She's not completely responsive."
"What does that mean?" Hardison inquires quickly.
"Sir, she's had quite a shock, and so have you. She's been drifting in and out of consciousness, but she hasn't been fully coherent. I've given her a mild sedative to ease any strain on her heart; that will wear off in about three hours. I have every hope that she will recover fully within the next twelve hours, but there is a slight possibility that she could remain comatose for an indeterminate amount of time."
His words hung in the air like a dense fog. Every member of the team wanted to either punch something or drink something, possibly both.
"May we see her?" Sophie's refined voice cuts through their racing thoughts.
"Yes, but only two at a time, please."
"We understand," She says kindly, rising from the uncomfortable waiting room chair. She nods at Nate, who appreciatively heads for the exit. "Mark and I will see her first," she motions for Hardison. "I'll just be a minute, then you can go on in," she says over her shoulder to Eliot. When they reach the room, Sophie rushes to Parker's side. She grasps the girl's hand and murmurs soothing words like a pro.
"She looks pale," mutters Hardison, frozen at the foot of the bed.
"It's this lighting, love. It's not kind to any of us."
"But, she's so..." he says, unable to take his eyes of her seemingly lifeless form.
"Still? I know. I half expected her to be perched on the windowsill with a bowl of cereal." She smiles wistfully until she sees the look on his face. "Alec," hearing his rarely used first name, he lifts his gaze to Sophie, "Parker's strong. She's not the type to go quietly into the night. She'll wake up. Soon. I know it." He nods in agreement and pulls up a chair on the other side of the bed.
"Did we blow the con?" he asks changing the subject.
"No. Thompson thinks Nate's crazy, but that actually made it easier to spook him." Turning to look out the window, she pushes the heavy material aside. "It's a nice view. You should open the curtains in the morning."
"Me?"
"Yes. We're going to finish this and you're going to stay with her." She leaves no room for question. "I know how it feels," Sophie adds cryptically. Without another word, she squeezes Parker's hand, kisses Hardison's cheek and retreats, her heels clicking down the hallway. In Sophie's absence he inches the chair closer and takes the pale hand in his much darker one.
He stiffens up when Eliot walks in, but he doesn't release her hand.
"Sophie thinks I should-"
"I know. Like you said, she shouldn't wake up alone." Eliot rambles around with his hands shoved in his pockets. "You did real good today," he say begrudgingly. Sincerity never came easily between these two.
"You wouldn't have done the same?"
"Of course, I would have. No question," he says sounding insulted. "I'm a retrieval specialist. That's what I do, but I've never seen a computer geek run at a full sprint into freezing water before. Didn t even break stride..."
"It's Parker. I had to."
"I know." Eliot couldn't argue with that. If he had been closer, he would have done the exact same thing. It's not that he didn't think Hardison would have gone to the aid of any member of the team, because he would have. Eliot just doubted that he would have done so without at least a second of hesitation. One moment to think of his own safety or comfort. One moment to look for another option. One moment to gather his courage.
Not when it was Parker; for her there was no hesitation whatsoever.
"We'll be fine," Eliot states. "A fake drop off, a bag switch and a tip off call. Then we can all go home."
"Call me if you need anything."
"Just worry about her."
Hardison didn't think it was physically possible to worry anymore about one person at one moment than he did right now. Instead of telling Eliot that, he just said, "I will," and turned back toward Parker.
"You should talk to her," Eliot says from the doorway. "She's used to hearing your voice in her ear. Might be comforting, or something." Hardison nods in agreement and then they are alone again. He takes out his ear piece and inhales deeply.
"I know you're in there, Parker... God, I wish I knew if that was your first or last name. Or, any part of your real name..." How do you love someone without knowing their real name? "Elliot told them your name is Alice White, in case you were wondering. And, if anybody asks, I'm Mark Meral... your boyfriend." Parker doesn t seem to mind the situation so he continues inventing their completely unnecessary cover story.
"Now, this Mark dude, he sounds like he works in tech support at U-Mass, right? Yeah, he's been there way too long, really starting to hate the students. Spilling energy drinks on keyboards and what not," He rambles on. "As for Alice, she's been working as a bank teller, but she secretly wants to be an artist. She started taking a painting class at the U, that's how they met. Been together almost two years now."
He lowers his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, even though no one can hear him, probably not even Parker. "Don't tell Alice this but, Mark bought her a ring. Actually two rings, he just can't decide which one to give her. He's been carrying around both the damn things for three weeks."
After three hours, she still hasn't stirred. After four hours, Hardison puts his comm. back into his ear to check on the team. Mission accomplished without any notable hitches. With her condition unchanged, the team sits tight. Hardison will contact them with any new developments. Removing his ear piece once again he resituates himself, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the bed.
"Parker, I need you to wake up," he says a little after midnight. "There's something I have to tell you. It's important and I need for you to really hear me." Hardison sighs heavily and drops his head down onto his arms. It doesn't look comfortable, his upper body hunched on the edge of the bed, his right hand still gently grasping hers. His exhausted mind and body don't seem to care. He is asleep in a matter of minutes.