AN: Thank you to all of my kind reviewers for all your wonderful comments. You know who you are.
I will never own Leverage, but it doesn't hurt to play with the characters from time to time….
"Good to see you back with us," Nate greeted as he walked back through the door, "you've had us worried."
Eliot tried to move when he found his voice had abandoned him, when the pain reminded him that he was to lay still and move his head only for the moment. Surely his throat shouldn't hurt quite this much he thought. Happy to see the team gathered around, he smiled as best he could to show them he was okay and they didn't need to worry about him.
"Don't try to talk Eliot," Sophie spoke up to the pale hitter. "Parker is going to help you with some ice chips." The grifter said nodding towards the thief off to his right. "The doctor wants to you to have plenty in order to soothe your throat after the ventilator."
After attempting to speak again, despite the warning, the croak Eliot managed to emit caused a coughing fit and unable to expel the tickle, he found the pain resonating through his chest excruciating. Thankfully the morphine chose that moment to kick into his system from the machine next to his bed. Parker brought the ice chips closer while Nate helped support Eliot's head.
Meanwhile, Hardison motioned to Tara who had hung back from the others; she was still feeling guilty at not being able to warn the injured man of the peril he was running towards. Hopefully she would feel better once she'd talked to Eliot.
"Are you okay?" asked a worried Parker, "Do we need to get the doctor Nate?"
"N ..o ……." croaked Eliot. "Ev..yon….'k?" he continued.
"We'll talk, you stay quiet please Eliot." Said Nate sternly. "Everyone is fine, apart from you. You gave us one hell of a scare here and you need to rest your voice until it gets easier on your throat for you to talk. Just let us take care of you for a change." Although a request, Nate left no room for argument in his voice. He hoped the stubborn young man would actually listen to him on this occasion.
For a short while the team sat around Eliot chatting. They filled him in on their cover first, followed by their concern after finding the hitter in the parking lot. Tara had tried to apologise and the hitter cut her off, asking Nate to explain. Nate knew what Eliot would tell her, that it was his job alone to take the hits and there was nothing she could have done to change things. Other than get wounded herself and Eliot would not find that an acceptable compromise. Nate knew how worried Tara had been, but no amount of assurance from the team would help, she needed to hear it from Eliot. Okay, so he hadn't actually said the words, but she had watched his face while Nate explained and she finally understood just how far he would go to protect this team, his family. Finally feeling part of the family, she began to realise just why they'd been so unsettled when Sophie departed suddenly. Of course that was all history, Sophie was back and the team were all now sat around Eliot's bed telling him how worried they'd been about him. Eliot had smiled when he found out he was married to Parker and Sophie even noticed that Parker had even blushed a little when they talked about it. After an hour had passed they noticed Eliot's eyelids were staying closed longer each time he blinked, he was falling back to sleep. Lowering the volume gently on their conversation, they carried on hoping their voices might soothe him on his journey back to sleep. None of them really wanted to leave either. He knew they were there, that they hadn't left him. Eliot was thinking about how much he felt at home with the team around him; it had been a very long time since he'd felt like that. Cared for, respected and safe, now they really were a family.
A few hours after the team had left Eliot woke up once more. Spotting immediately the silence, he felt somewhat disappointed that everyone had left him. Still, time alone meant he could work out just what he was able to manage for himself. Trying to slide to the side, reaching for the cup of ice chips, he noticed that there was a mop of blond hair laid upon his bedside. The owner clearly tired herself, he found himself somewhat relieved she had stayed with him; he really didn't like being left behind. Smiling to himself Parker had her head laid on the edge of his bed he mused, content with the sound of her breathing, it almost sounded like a cat purring, it brought the smile back to his face once more. Thinking back to before the shooting, Eliot actually wondered if he had managed to tell her how he felt, but found it was all a little blurry. After a short while of checking out his injuries and what machines he was hooked up to, he thought about how much he needed to use the toilet. To his relief and simultaneous abject horror, he discovered that little problem had been taken care of on his behalf, shifting slightly on the bed, he tried to fight the very real sensation of wetting yourself that you feel with a catheter in place. He found that even the gentlest of movement in his chest hurt like hell and feeling physically weak for the first time in years, he didn't like it one little bit. Biting back a growl of sheer frustration and clenching of his free fist caused him to knock his IV against the rail of his bed. Turning to check on Parker, he was rewarded with a pair of shiny blue eyes staring back at him and the brightest smile he could have ever hoped for. It wasn't until that moment that he realised how much he had missed her, even though he'd only been asleep.
"Hello Sparky," smiled Parker, "Going somewhere?"
"N..o," he whispered, pointing at his throat, "ice…chips ple…as" hoping he wouldn't start coughing again.
Reaching forward Parker took hold of the ice chips and moved closer to feed some more of them to Eliot. Grateful for the relief they gave his throat he managed a second spoonful before shaking his head slowly.
"Does that feel better?" asked Parker, after a slight pause and with a confused look across her face, "I don't know how else to help Eliot."
"Parker, it's okay," he spoke more clearly this time and at last he managed more than one word when he said, "I'm glad you stayed." Hearing his first words again after such an ordeal, Parker burst into tears and at the same time she was trying to smile and it was very confusing for Eliot who wasn't long awake to understand this emotional woman. Trying to move his hand he snagged his IV on the bed rail. Cursing himself for being unable to reach out to his gir..his friend, he had to settle for offering support from the flat of his back.
"Shush darlin', don't cry," the hitter croaked, annoyed with how weak he sounded even to himself.
"Sorry," Parker sniffled, drying her tears, "I just…..You scared me, when I saw you, I.. I was terrified and I couldn't do anything to help."
"I don't remember much about what happened really," said Eliot honestly, "who did this?"
"We don't know yet" Parker said honestly, "although I'm sure Hardison is working on it in between his other things."
"What?" a little louder than he'd meant to now he had his voice back "Sorry what else is he doing? Who came after Rand?"
"A house and you were shot by the men who took him." Came the obvious answer she decided.
"Okay, back up darlin', we don't know who did it, where is Rand?" Pausing only to open his mouth for the ice chips Parker was offering, despite wishing he'd asked these questions when Nate was still there, "secondly, what house?"
"Well, Hardison did something to make our slush fund..ah… bigger, then Nate found a large mansion on the outskirts of Boston, in the countryside, with lots of gardens. They've rented it straight away and have been fixing it up." Looking at Eliot, who she'd clearly lost at some point, spotting his confusion Parker continued "Yeah, I don't understand what Hardison did either, but after you're released the doctor says you're going to need help with things," watching Eliot's face drop at the thought of his inability while he recovered; clearly it did not sit well with the hitter, "sorry Eliot, it's only for a little while until you're strong enough. I don't know what to say, we all want to help, so we thought we'd move in together for a while."
"Oh, I see," Eliot said quietly, closing his eyes while he breathed to calm himself, he didn't want to scare Parker off by growling at her within the first few hours of being awake, plus it hurt far too much.
"As for Rand, we've been here since you were brought in almost four days ago." Parker added. "I have no idea where he is. Whoever wanted him, has him I say we leave him where he is."
Interrupted by the nurse who came to take Eliot's observations, Parker sat back down on her chair out of the way, waiting to see how he was doing. "It's nice to see you awake Mr Carmichael, how are you feeling? Do you need anything extra for pain?"
"No, I'm fine." Growled Eliot "thanks."
"Mr Carmichael, I can see that your blood pressure is elevated and as you've only been awake for a short while, I'd like to let the doctor check you over, so I'm going to page him." Said the Nurse, slightly concerned for her patient, moving outside to her station he paged Dr Meyer. Thinking though that Matilda had been right, he was handsome.
"Eliot, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel worse," Parker said meekly, "I'm going to call Nate and have him to come back to sit with you for a while."
"No Parker," Eliot didn't want her to go, but it was hard to explain how difficult he found having to accept help "please stay."
"I know I make mistakes with what I say," Parker assumed it was her Eliot was mad at "Sophie is helping me with that."
Deciding he'd been unfair, it wasn't Parker that was upsetting him, he was in pain, frustrated by his injuries and she was in the firing line. He needed her to know that she was trusted and while she had told him about her life earlier that week, he had planned to show her that he trusted her in return. He was sore and feeling awful but he needed to learn to count on the team while he was with them. It wasn't going to be easy after so many years by himself, but he was going to have to try being patient. First things first, he wanted and needed to reassure Parker.
"Sweetheart, you ain't done nothin' wrong," talking without hydrating his throat had caused him to start into a coughing fit once again. Holding his chest, he looked in pain and Parker was worried so she pressed the buzzer. Thankfully the doctor had already been on his way. They asked Parker to try to calm him while they supported his chest with a large pillow, gently raising the electric hospital bed, which allowed him to cough without disrupting his stitches too much. Parker stood next to Eliot's head, stroking the back of his hair and holding the thumb on his right hand. His left was trying to hold his chest together. Parker was scared but tried to be brave for Eliot. She couldn't see his face where she stood, but she could feel him shaking with each wracking cough.
"Will he be okay Doctor?" Parker asked as soon as the doctor helped Eliot drop back down unto the bed.
"I believe so, just let me check him over first and then I'll tell you what's happening. Would you like to wait outside?"
Looking to Eliot for his opinion, he shook his head for her to stay and took hold of her hand. She immediately cradled it with her other hand and began to stroke the back of it the same way she'd seen him rub the horse in Kentucky when it was scared.
"Okay, your blood pressure is a little higher than I'd like it to be and it would be beneficial to your recovery if you were sedated mildly to help you get a good nights sleep. It won't be like before, you'll wake up naturally, and it will just help you get a proper sleep." Dr Meyer went on to explain that it was too early for him to be trying to move around with the chest wounds and if it weren't for the pneumonia he'd have been restricted in his movement completely. The cough was complicating matters. Parker looked over towards Eliot, hoping he'd take the doctors advice and not fight him on it. Much to her chagrin he agreed with the doctor straight away, clearly he was hurting much more than he let on.
"Alright, how long will it take to kick in?" Eliot looked up towards the doctor, he'd seen Parker look at him and truth be told he hurt too much to fight them on this. If he had his way he would prefer to wake up when the cough was gone, it had been that painful and awkward to cough with bullet wounds in your chest.
"You'll start to feel drowsy to begin with and then you'll just drop off naturally, anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. Why do you ask?"
"Well I ain't seen my wife since I was bleedin' all over her in a parkin' lot, do you think we could have half hour first, then I'll take the medicine?" Eliot stared right at the doctor as he asked hoping that he could intimidate him should there be a problem.
Again he was surprised when the doctor simply stated, "Why, yes of course, we'll stop by at the top of the hour and see how you're all doing, okay?" Dr Meyer was met with nodded agreements from both the Carmichaels. What a lovely couple he thought as he went off about his rounds of the hospital, these tragic accidents seem to always happen to such nice people. When the nurse and doctor had left the room Parker subconsciously looked at the clock on the wall, 1926 they had just over half hour to talk. What was it that Eliot wanted to say to her, she was pretty sure she'd upset him by making him talk which in turn led to his bout of coughing. She wished Sophie would come and rescue her, before she made a complete mess of it.
"I'm sorry Eliot, I didn't mean to cause you more pain," rambled Parker quickly and quietly towards the floor, "I'll call Nate and have him head over if you like?"
"No, what, wait, I ain't mad at you?" Eliot looked horrified that he was making Parker so edgy. She hadn't been this skitty around him since they'd first met, if there'd been a window opening in his room, he'd have been seriously worried about her throwing herself out, "I just wanted to talk to you, that's all sweetheart."
Eliot patted the left hand side of his bed, where there was less machinery and wires, "Come, sit down Parker, please?"
Nodding, she headed around the bed and sat down gingerly, careful not to touch anything, including Eliot. "I'm sorry."
"No more apologies, though some ice would be good," he smiled to her. Watching as she lifted another cup of ice off the tray table she helped him raise his head every so slightly to ease the ice chips soothing his raw throat.
"Is that enough for now? I'll keep them nearby, just wave your hand if you want more, and try not to talk too much, like the nurse said." Parker's voice was weird, she sounded almost automated and it just didn't sit right with the hitter.
"Are you alright Parker?" Eliot asked her outright.
"Yes silly, you're the one in the hospital bed full of holes," Parker shivered at what she had just said and seeing the hitter's reaction she added, "I'm fine, just been worried about you." She smiled as she answered. See he thought, that's better already.
"I was really lookin' forward to gettin' that guy back for hurtin' you, I'm sorry things didn't go to plan." Eliot started straight in, he had a lot he meant to say to Parker, the not-so gentle reminder of the dangers that surrounded their professions was enough to make him tell her how he felt and all his secrets there and then.
"It's more important that you get better now Eliot," Parker was trying to keep things the way Sophie had told her. Stick to topic and things that apply in general to the situation. "I was worried about you." She risked a confession and was rewarded with the biggest smile she thought she'd seen from the handsome Southerner. It reached all the way up to his bright blue eyes and made her feel the butterflies in her stomach again. She had never noticed how wide his eyes were when he smiled and what a gorgeous mouth he had.
"I was beginnin' to think I'd dreamed all this in my coma," Eliot explained as he took Parker's hand in his. "No more pretendin' now, I can hold your hand for real. I've got so much I need and want to tell you, but I ain't good at this kinda thing," Eliot was interrupted with a tickle in his throat, trying to stave off the cough actually caused more pain. Parker stroked his hair while holding the pillow to his chest to help with the coughing as the doctor had suggested. When the fit of coughs was over Parker refilled the ice cup and helped Eliot with another cupful. Looking back up into her beautiful eyes, he couldn't resist telling her how he felt.
"I'm fallin' in love with you Parker," Eliot confessed, "I don't know how or when it happened but I can't stop thinkin' about you. That's the good part, the bad part is I'm a wanted man sweetheart this ain't always goin' to be easy. I just wanted you to think 'bout that before you tell me what you think, 'kay."
"Oh thank god, I thought you were mad at me and I'd ruined everything. I love you Eliot, I can't stop thinking about you and I've been going out of my mind with worry about you since you were shot. I thought you'd die before I got to kiss you again." Parker leaned forward and simply asked, "Can I kiss you now?"
"Yes please darlin'" drawled the hitter, finally finding his voice once more. The pair's eyes met as Parker lowered her head towards his lips. The kiss began gently with Parker's hands framing Eliot's face. He couldn't lift his arms too high to embrace her so settled with stroking her arms while the kiss deepened. Soon they were exploring each other's mouths tasting each other for the first time all over again. The ice made Eliot's mouth cool and dry whereas Parker's mouth was warm and moist, the different sensation only fuelled the passion that ignited between them.
AN: A short chapter, for which I apologise, but I'm ahead of the game and this was a good place to finish their second, first kiss - I'm all smiles now and look forward to your thoughts. Thanks again for helping me through this first story, your support has been amazing on this site. Take care :)