Author's Note: 100 chapters . . . can you believe it? When I started this story, I never even knew that I would make it to 30 chapters, let alone a 100. A lot of thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story, who has requested for this story, who has favorited/story alerted this story. I really can't thank you all for your support even when I was MIA for a bit. So, I thought really long and hard about what I wanted to do to commemorate 100 chapters and I've decided that today, I'll be doing a request and tomorrow I will be doing a triple plot segment! So, this request comes from CamJ who requested, "After being hit, Eliot lost his memory." I honestly was so excited to do this request! Memory-loss fics always have interested me. Anyways, I'm not a medical expert so if I got something wrong, sorry! So, I hope you guys enjoy and thanks for supporting me for 100 chapters!
All in all it was a normal job.
The bad guys were an insurance company that loved to trick their clients out of their hard-earned savings. Nate had come up with a plan relatively quickly and it seemed like everything was going to end nicely and soon.
Then came the hired thugs that the insurance company kept on retainer. They weren't your run-of-the-mill security and Eliot had his hands full trying to deal with all of them. Parker had jumped into the fray too, trying to help Eliot out and she had managed to knock one guy unconscious when it happened.
Eliot was punched to the head.
Hard.
He went down and honestly, after that it was all a big blur to Parker. The rest of the guards were taken care of by a few tasers that Hardison had managed to procure and then after that, they were in an ambulance going to the hospital. Eliot hadn't moved when the paramedics had put him on the gurney and that stillness scared Parker. Eliot had never been still before—even when he slept, he would toss and turn and move all over the bed. Now, lying in the hospital bed, he seemed almost frozen.
As still as death.
"His condition is stable," The doctor had said to the team after Eliot had been put into this own room, a heart monitor steadily filling the silence in the impersonal room. "We just need to wait until he wakes up."
Waiting is the worst part as far as Parker is concerned. She's never been patient, but now she can't help but squirm in the uncomfortable hospital chair and glare at Eliot for choosing to be comatose for so long. Sophie is with her, acting the exact opposite of her with sadness seemingly engulfing her. Parker can hear Nate and Hardison outside the room discussing what to do with the insurance company.
She wants Eliot to awaken.
She doesn't want to be scared anymore. She needs him to open his eyes and tell her to stop staring at him or anything along those lines.
He needs to awaken.
When he does open his eyes, he doesn't remember anyone. He scans everyone with a defensive glint in his eyes and Parker feels her heart shatter into a million pieces. She's numb as he asks her what her name is and who she is. The only thing that comes out of her mouth is a strangled sob as she sprints out of the room.
She cries for what seems like hours before Sophie finds her. Whispering soothing words into her ear, Parker allows herself to be embraced by her longtime friend.
"It's okay," Sophie assures her. "He'll get his memory back."
Parker tries desperately to believe that, but she heard the doctor. This memory loss could vanish in hours or it could last for years and she isn't sure if she could stand Eliot looking at her as a stranger for that long. She allows herself to wallow in the sadness for ten minutes and then snaps herself out of it.
She'll make Eliot remember!
They take Eliot back to their "home" a few days after the incident. Each team member tries his or her own unique way of getting Eliot to remember. Nate has Eliot look at pictures of all the criminals he's helped take down and explains old jobs they've pulled off. Hardison shows Eliot his latest technical toys and tries to goad Eliot into wanting to test them, but the former hitter just stares at him. Sophie goes the more conventional route and shows him video clips that she's been secretly filming. Nothing seems to work and a week after Eliot's been released from the hospital, he still doesn't remember anyone or anything from his life with the Leverage team.
That's when Parker decides that it's her turn.
"Are you sure about this?" Eliot hesitantly questions as Parker double-checks his equipment.
"Not really," She tells him cheerfully as she now checks her own gear. "But jumping is fun! You used to do it with me all the time!"
"I did?" He asks in a shocked tone.
"Yep!" She lies smoothly, but frankly, she's getting desperate. The thief doesn't think she can take another day of Eliot not being Eliot. She needs to bring him back and this is the only way she can think of how to do it. Maybe the adrenaline will kick in and jolt his brain into remembering!
"Ready?" Parker takes his hand within hers and remembers her Eliot—the one that teased her, smiled at her, and baked her the best cookies that she had ever tasted. She needs that Eliot back. She has to get him back!
"No." Eliot replies, fear clearly evident on his face.
"It'll be easy!" She assures him, trying to ease his apprehension. "We jump off buildings all the time!" He eyes her oddly and mutters something about her not being normal and for a second, she allows hope to fill her.
That hope shatters when he meets her eyes again with that blank stare.
"Well, let's do this." He grumbles.
She takes off running with him hot on her heels. They jump together and for a second, it's like they're flying through the air. When they land on the other building—the equipment worked wonders—she turns around, expectantly waiting to see her Eliot.
"That was kind of fun." He mumbles, the blank stare still in place.
Parker's grin falls.
He still doesn't remember.
She's become very desperate.
Every plan she comes up with to make Eliot remember fails and as time passes, Parker worries that she won't ever be able to get Eliot to remember her. Sophie has assured her multiple times that everything will work out in the end, but Parker can see in her eyes that her closest friend is lying. Everyone is starting to lose hope and that terrifies her. It was her fault that Eliot got hurt in the first place. She has to fix this situation and get Eliot back to normal.
"Uh, Parker, right?" She meets the "new" Eliot's gaze and tries not to break down crying at the sight of the coldness in his eyes. Her Eliot had nothing but warmth whenever he met her eyes.
"Yeah." She keeps her answers short so he won't hear how close she is to breaking down and losing it.
"I baked these for you." He hands her a small plate of cookies and Parker can't keep the surprise off her face.
"What—?"
"I don't remember much," He confesses as he runs a hand through his hair. "It's all kind of fuzzy, but I do recall making these with you." His lips turn up in a smile. "Except, you kept eating all the cookie dough."
Without thinking, she throws herself at him and he almost topples to the floor before embracing her in a hug.
There's still hope after all.
It's a slow process, but gradually Eliot starts to remember things.
He'll be talking to Nate and he'll mention how hard the guards were at the Lancaster job they pulled off a few months ago or he'll be laughing with Hardison over a performance Sophie gave during a job that took place last year. He starts cooking again and practices his fighting techniques and slowly, but surely, her Eliot begins to return.
A month after the whole ordeal, he walks into headquarters and just stares at her. She quirks an eyebrow and is about to ask him what he's doing when a determined look flashes in his eyes. He bridges the small space between them, pulls her to him, and kisses her. There's no need to ask for confirmation if he finally remembers everything, the way he's kissing her so passionately proves that he does. When he finally releases her, he grins and the warmth is back in his eyes.
"I missed you." She confesses, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I'm back." He tells her.
"Want to go jumping?" She asks quietly, just needing to confirm once more to make sure that Parker isn't dreaming this.
"Hell no." He chuckles dryly and she joins in.
"Yeah, you're back."
He holds her once more and Parker feels like the luckiest girl in the world. He's returned to her.
And all is right in her world.
Author's Note: Thanks again for supporting this story! Here's to reaching 100 more chapters! If you have the time, please review and request! Tomorrow, I'll give you three chapters of plot, so please look forward to that.