Disclaimer: I don't own Leverage…

A/N: Yeah…if you like Nate and Parker…really really like them…you're going to want tissues. If you love Nate and or Parker…like, are madly in love with either one of them…I'm sorry…I feel your pain, and I wrote this!

Chapter 4: Trapped in the Dark

Parker was sleeping on the cold stone floor of the cell she and Nate had been thrown into together. Her head rested on Nate's folded up blazer as he gently stroked her hair. He smiled down at her sadly, glad that she was finally getting rest, but even that small comfort was drowned out by the state she was in.

Her face was cut and bruised, dried blood matted in her hair. Her right arm lay at her side, bent at an odd angle and Nate knew it was broken. The left arm draped across her torso protectively indicated damage to her ribs. She shifted in her sleep, causing her to wince and hiss in pain.

"Shh Parker…it'll be alright," he whispered, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face. Thankfully, she quieted down again as she fell back asleep.

I wonder what the others are doing, he wondered, leaning his head back against the wall. Hopefully they scattered. Or at least Eliot and Hardison…Sophie can just stay wherever she is.

He sighed and looked out the small window to the outside. "Sophie," he whispered. "What will you do when I'm not there to go back to?"

She would probably assume the worst, that he had given up and left her. And then, quite possibly, she would move on. Would she even wonder where he was?

Parker shivered and Nate moved closer to her when she didn't stop. Gingerly, he laid down next to her and pulled her into his arms, trying to share body warmth.

Pain shot through his whole body and he knew that if they didn't get help soon, he wasn't going to make it. His chest was constantly on fire and it felt like at least three of his ribs were broken. His head still swam from the concussion, which obviously wasn't getting any better. His only concern at that point however, was taking care of Parker. She needed to survive, even if he didn't.

Sighing, he pulled her as close as he possibly could. He rested his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes. Eventually, Nate was able to drift off to sleep.

Nate awoke with a jerk the next morning when he heard a metal plate skim across the floor as it was shoved in through the flap at the bottom of the door. Parker was still deeply asleep and so Nate pulled away carefully, brushing hair from her face and pulling the plate over. There was only a small piece of bread and a very short glass of water. He sighed and set it next to Parker. The amount of food they got wasn't even enough to keep one person alive for very long, and she needed it more than him.

He sat there watching her and after a while she began to stir. Her eyes opened slowly and she tried to sit up, but Nate hurried to help so she didn't hurt herself.

"Morning," he said.

"Morn…ing," Parker rasped and Nate grabbed the water, handing it to her. She drank gratefully and set the glass back down. "Did they…come yet?" she asked weakly, leaning back against the wall next to him.

"Only to drop off room service," he said jokingly, handing her the bread. "You're breakfast mademoiselle."

"What about you?" she asked, taking it from him and eyeing him suspiciously.

"Oh, don't worry, I ate already," he said.

Parker ripped the bread in half and handed half to Nate. "Take it," she said.

"Parker, it's okay, I ate already," he said again.

"Liar, take it," she said, taking his hand and forcing his fingers around the bread. "You're starving, we both need it."

"You're in worse shape Parker," Nate protested, trying to give it back to her.

"And it's not going to help me get better if you're starving yourself to death so that I have more to eat," she said, taking a small bite out of her bread. Nate sighed and slowly ate his bread, glancing over at Parker every once in a while, wishing that there was some way he could get her out of there.

When they were finished eating and Parker had made Nate drink the rest of the water, she curled up against him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her against him.

"Do you know what I'm going to do when we get out of here?" he asked.

"What?" Parker rasped.

"I'm going to take you and Eliot and Hardison on a nice long vacation," he said, resting his cheek on the top of her head, comforting her as he would a daughter.

He heard her give a pained laugh and leaned into him. They both jumped when the door slammed open and two huge guards came walking in.

"Morning gentlemen, or is it afternoon?" Nate asked, releasing Parker and standing up slowly, trying to draw attention away from Parker. The guards however didn't go for it and one pushed past him to get to her. "No!" he snarled, moving forward, but was immediately grabbed from behind, holding him back. He struggled to break free but was too weak.

"Nate!" Parker cried as the guard grabbed her hair and started dragging her out of the cell.

"Parker!" he shouted as she was pulled out of the room. He heard her calling out to him in the hall, but the man holding him threw him against the wall and Nate hit his head. Lights flashed in front of his eyes as he heard the door slam shut and he was left alone.

Parker's cries still reached his ears and Nate slammed his fist against the wall, cursing himself for not being stronger.

The blonde thief was dragged down the hall to a room at the end where she was shoved in a chair and then tied down. She tried to break free, but every movement sent pain shooting through her chest.

Hadeon Volynskji, the Cleaver of Kiev, stepped forward, eying her speculatively. "How are you fairing my dear?" he asked, cracking his knuckles.

Parker glared at him but kept her mouth shut, refusing to give him the pleasure of an answer. He sighed.

"Parker, Parker, Parker, how many times must we go through this?" Hadeon asked, punching her in the face and grapping her hair and yanking her head back. "Where is he?"

"I…don't know…" she said through clenched teeth.

"Liar!" he shouted, whipping around and kicking her in the chest. She screamed in pain, tears coming to her eyes, gasping desperately for breath. "Where is he?!"

"I don't know!" Parker cried, her head falling forward, chin resting against her chest.

"I'm going to ask you one more time before this gets very bad. Where is he Parker? Where is Eliot Spencer?"

Parker gave a pained laugh and fixed the Cleaver with a defiant stare. "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied.

Hadeon nodded and looked to someone standing behind her. Suddenly, it felt like fire was coursing through ever cell in her body and she screamed, but the scream became a name.

"NATE!"

The pain ended and Parker sagged in her chair, breathing heavily. "This will keep getting harder until you tell me where he is or I kill you," Volynskji said.

"You'll kill me anyway…what does it matter?" Parker gasped.

"I might kill you faster…which means less pain for you.

"You wouldn't…it wouldn't be…as fun…" she panted. He nodded, a thoughtful look in his eyes. He held out a hand and one of his cronies handed him a blade, glowing orange with heat.

"That's very true my dear," he said, stepping forward, holding the blade out. Parker, on instinct, tried to back away, but was trapped in the chair.

There was an orange blur and then Parker's whole gut was on fire. She screamed again, crying out for Nate inadvertently before passing out, embracing the darkness.

Nate's head jerked up at the sound of the door opening. Both guards were back and tossed the unconscious thief into the cell. He scrambled to her side and lifted her into his arms, cradling her on his lap. His eyes looked her over and rage boiled inside of him when he saw the gash on her stomach, deeper than he could care for, but, thankfully, cauterized so she wouldn't bleed out.

"Parker…" he whispered. "Can you hear me sweetie?"

She stirred, just barely, turning towards his voice. "Nate?" she asked, voice barely a whisper.

"Hey Parker," he said gently, smiling in relief.

"You called me sweetie…" she whispered before wincing in pain. "It hurts…oh…it hurts so much…" she moaned, tears creeping out form beneath her closed eyelids.

"I know…" he whispered in her ear. His one hand began to stroke her hair and rock her he back and forth ever so gently. "Shh…rest Parker…" he said over and over again until she finally passed out.

Nate held her a little longer before laying her down as softly as possible, resting her head on his blazer. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead before standing up. He glared at the guards standing in the doorway, knowing they were waiting for him.

They led him down the hall, one in front, one in back, back to where the Cleaver was waiting.

"Hello Mr. Ford," he said as Nate walked in and was shoved into the same chair Parker had occupied not that long ago. "How are you this fine day?"

Nate was silent, staring at the wall. Volynskji frowned and shrugged. "You try to be polite, you try to be civil and they refuse to cooperate. What else can you do?" he asked of no one in particular. He then reached forward and pulled Nate from the chair, dragging him over to a tin tub.

"Do you know what it feels like to drown Mr. Ford?" he asked before thrusting Nate's head into the water. He tried to struggle, but the guards grabbed his arms and held him in place.

Nate held his breath, but with each passing second his lungs felt more and more ready to burst. At the last second, he was pulled out and thrown to the floor gasping for breath.

"Mr. Ford, I know that I will not be able to break you physically," the Cleaver said before delivering a kick to Nate's chest. Nate cried out as his already broken ribs screamed in protest. He wrapped his arms around his chest and rolling over, tried to get away. "You have been trained too well. Your friend, however, is another story. She is very," a blow to the knee and Nate heard something crack, "very," a punch to the head, "fragile," and he picked Nate back up and threw him back in the water.

Nate struggled, adrenaline kicking in and giving him one last burst of strength, and he broke free. The Cleaver laughed at him.

"Ah, Mr. Ford, you are much more fun to play with. You have an inner fire that Ms. Parker is quickly losing. It is a shame…she might break in two days…two hours…two minutes…"

"You touch her again," Nate snarled as he painfully struggled to his feet. "You touch her again…and I'll freaking kill you…"

"I would like to see that Mr. Ford," Volynskji said, chuckling as he motioned to the other men in the room. They grabbed Nate's arms and held him as the Cleaver walked over and stopped a few feet in front of Nate. "If you just ell me where Eliot Spencer is, we can end this right here and right now."

"Obviously you know…the type of man Eliot is…how he operates…if he was running…he wouldn't tell anyone where he was going…" Nate panted heavily, wet hair hanging in his face.

Hadeon nodded before kicking Nate in the chest. The honest man had been through too much and quickly lost consciousness from pain, his screams fading into ragged breathing. The Cleaver grabbed Nate's hair and pulled his head back.

"Then you had better hope he comes for you…soon," he whispered before releasing Nate and allowing his guards to return the man to the cell and Parker.

Parker had woken at the sound of Nate's screams and lay there, pretending to be unconscious. When she heard the door open and felt Nate being thrown on the floor next to her, it took everything she had not to move.

She waited until the door closed again before her eyes flew open. He was in bad shape, really bad, but even if she knew what to do, there wasn't anything she could do. Instead, she sat up and leaned against the wall. Then, very carefully, she lifted his upper half and rested his head in her lap, brushing away the wet hair that was plastered to his face. As she watched him, she felt herself break down at the hopelessness of the situation.

"I don't know what to do Nate…" she whispered, staring at the wall. "I don't know what to do…please guys…you have to hurry…"