Here's the new chapter. Sorry, this was later than my usual updates, but I've reached a very busy time of year at work right now, and likely might not update as fast as usual. Thank you all for being so patient with me and for continuing to read and enjoy my stories.

The usual disclaimers apply. I don't own Leverage or any of the characters, except those of my own creation. I write for fun and not for profit. I don't write slash. Again, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Chapter 6

"What do you want to do about the coroner's office, Eliot?"

Eliot had his back to the policeman, checking the small thief for injuries. "What?" he asked, forcing his mind to focus on words he'd only barely heard.

"I'm assuming you don't want them to come here. They'll be asking some questions."

"Do we have a choice?" Eliot had always figured things like that fell under the heading 'in for a penny, in for a pound' He ran through some options in his head.. He could call some military friends and have Gabby taken to a military morgue, and while he'd still have to explain everything, he'd be doing so to people who knew him and trusted him. He hesitated to do that, though. First off, he didn't really want his military friends involved in this, except as a last resort, and they were not the kind to just let things like this go. Second, he knew asking them for help with civilians was a one-shot deal, and he wanted to use it only when he had to do so. The business with Conrad had been different, as the man was a threat to National Security, so it wasn't really a civilian matter, either time.

"Well, she died here. There's not much way around that."

"She wasn't attacked here." He thought for another moment. Pat was a good man, and a decent cop. He owed them a favor, but Eliot couldn't ask him to put his career at risk to make sure they stayed clear. There were lines he wouldn't cross. "I'll take care of it, Pat. Thank you for your help." He wasn't looking at Bonanno. Instead, he was efficiently laying out all of the supplies he'd need to treat Parker.

Understanding that Eliot's focus was on something else right now, and reasoning that the less he knew about all of this, the better, he slipped out of the room, coming face to face with a startled team staring at him and wondering how he got back into the treatment room when they had just seen him running down the hallway.

(0o0)

Carefully, he cut her shirt down the center, and tore it open. Purple black bruises were starting to appear on her abdomen and chest, but Eliot saw less damage than he was expecting. Of course, the most dangerous damage would be what couldn't be seen. Gently, he began probing her ribs for signs that they might be broken, and looking for places where she might have intermal injuries. She groaned as he touched a particular area on her left side, but didn't wake up. He turned her half up on her side, so he could probe her back, and he found some kidney damage. He gently wrapped her midsection to stabilize her ribs, but he didn't want to put too much pressure on her damaged kidneys, so he was careful not to wrap it too tight.

When he finished with that, he started at her feet and cut each pant leg up the outside seam, until he had cut them completely off. He ran his fingers up the sides of her legs, probing for injuries, and when he felt the heat radiating from both knees, he knew she would be in a great deal of pain when she woke up. Unable to give her anything for the pain while she was unconscious, he resolved to do what he could for her.

Fishing around in one of the cabinets, he withdrew two ace bandages and wrapped them around Parker's knees. Then, he iced them, so the swelling would go down while she was sleeping. When he had finished treating the injuries which were readily apparent, he covered her with a blanket to ward off shock. Shaking her gently, he said, "Parker? Parker? Wake up, Darlin'." She didn't move or respond. Withdrawing his penlight from his pocket, he parted her eyelid with two fingers, and shone the light back and forth in her left eye, and then in her right. Her pupils were dilated, but responsive. Likely, she had a concussion, and he was concerned that he couldn't wake her up. Looking around for something that would make some noise, his eyes fell on the stainless steel bowl he had been using to treat Gabby, still lying on the floor where it had hit. It would do nicely. Now for something to use on it. Trotting over to the part of the room he used as a gym, he retrieved the metal yard stick he kept there, and squatted on the floor next to Parker's cot. Placing the bowl as close to her ear as he could get it, he struck it as hard as he could with the yardstick, and grinned broadly when she jumped. She was in there!

Seconds later, the door opened, and the rest of the team trooped inside, having heard the commotion and wanting to check to make sure everything was all right. Eliot felt their presence, but gave no outward sign that he knew they were there. His attention was focused completely on Parker.

"Parker, come on back, Sweetheart," he said loudly, shaking her a bit more roughly this time. Suddenly, her eyes popped open, and a look of confusion crossed her face as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. She sat up fast, and then leaned forward and retched on the cot in front of her.

"Easy, Darlin'," Eliot said gently, reaching out to her. Before he could touch her, she made a small, high pitched squeaking sound in the back of her throat, scrambled off the side of the cot away from Eliot, and crawled to the corner, where she sat trembling and refusing to look anywhere but down at her hands.

Sophie started over to her, but Eliot put out a hand to stop her. "Don't," he growled. "She doesn't know us right now, and doesn't understand that we're trying to help her. Softening his voice when he saw that Sophie was upset, he said, "Go on out to the living room and wait for me. We'll discuss it out there." Seeing the way that Sophie was looking at him, he lowered his voice, and said, "She's confused and scared right now. If you try to approach her, there's no telling what she'll do—she could hurt you, or she could run away again and then we wouldn't be able to help her. I can't let that happen." He paused and looked her directly in the eyes. Brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face, he said, "You won't wanna see this. Take the rest of the team out to the living room, and I'll be out in a few minutes. I'll answer all of your questions then."

"Promise?"

"I promise. I'm counting on you to take care of them, Sophie, while I take care of her."

"Why me?"

"You're the only one who can. Go on now," he said kindly, giving her one of his trademark Spencer smiles. She smiled back, and then turned and shooed the rest of the team out of the room and back into the living room, closing the door behind them as she went.

Eliot watched them leave, then turned back to Parker and slowly approached her. He stopped when he saw that she was trying to back further into the corner, and was still shaking violently. "Parker, I know you're confused right now. You don't know where you are or how you got here, but I need you to trust me when I tell you that you are among friends. We won't hurt you. I just want to help you. Sweetheart, it's me, Eliot." She seemed to be calming down a little as he watched her. His voice was soothing, even if she didn't know him, and he hoped, on some level, that she recognized his voice and found some comfort in it. As he talked, he inched ever closer, so slowly that any objective observer wouldn't be able to say for sure that he moved at all. When he got close enough, he stopped, waiting for the right time. Then, quick as lightning, he pinned her arms and legs against her body, and brought her over to one of the cots in the room, where he tied her securely enough that she couldn't move. It wasn't a good long term solution, he knew that, and would rather have put her to sleep, and to have hoped that when she woke her mind would be clearer, but that wasn't an option with the concussion. He hated having to do it, and knew what her reaction would likely be toward him once she was free, but he was hoping it would keep her there long enough that she would come back to herself somewhat, and he thought he could probably make Parker understand what he had done, when she was Parker again, and that she might even forgive him. He would deal with the fallout later, though. The important thing right now was to help her.