Chapter Twenty-three
"I'm out of here." Eliot grumbled as he tossed his blanket to the side and carefully started to move his legs over the edge.
His doctor had been in first thing that morning to remove the stitches from his head and wrist and had since avoided all of his questions.
"Eliot stop." Nate stood immediately as he stopped Eliot from removing his pulse oximeter.
"Where are my clothes?" He scooted closer to the edge of the bed as he squirmed the devise off of his finger. His movements were sluggish and his muscles aching but he was determined.
"Eliot, you're going to hurt yourself." He stood firmly in front of him with a hand on his left shoulder to insure he didn't try to stand. "Why don't you lie down and I'll go find Dr. Torlyn." He tried to ease him back down but Eliot had set himself like a brick wall.
"No, I'm leaving with or without your help. Now where are my damn clothes?" He had only stayed upon Nate's insistance but the poking, prodding, and whispered conversations had pushed him to his limit.
"Eliot what's wrong?" Since the doctor had left that morning things had been quiet. He was reading from the nook Hardison had brought and he had thought Eliot had drifted to sleep but apparently that assumption had been wrong.
"Are you going to help me out or am I on my own?" Eliot looked him dead in the eye as he pulled Nate's arm from his.
"No you're not on your own, I'll help you." Nate agreed as he figured it best to stay on Eliots side. "Just calm down for me." Eliot's breathing had picked up and he could clearly hear it.
"I want out of here." He ignored Nate's suggestion as he did his best to stand. His legs were shaky from too long without much use and he had to shift most of his weight as his right leg was already protesting but he managed to keep both feet under him.
"Alright," Nate quickly had a hand out to hold him steady. He didn't know if Eliot's standing was causing any damage to his healing foot but he knew for sure it was probably causing him unnecessary pain. "I'll find Torlyn and we'll get you out of here but I'm not doing a thing until you calm yourself."
"I'm fine." If Nate wouldn't get his clothes he'd just have to get them himself.
"Eliot you're going to end up on your ass!" Nate warned as he watched him stumble toward the cabinet.
"Where the hell are my clothes?" He slammed the door seconds after opening it having found it completely empty.
Nate watched as he leaned heavily on the cabinet, his arm sliding under a sling and across his torso. It may have looked to be his best attempt at crossing his arms in annoyance but he more suspected he was craddling aching ribs. "Just come sit down for a minute."
"If I don't have clothes in the next fifteen seconds I'm leaving without 'em." The dull burn that had been in his thigh was quickly turning into a wildfire and he knew it wouldn't be long before his knee went out, it was already screaming.
"I threw them out." He hadn't brought anything for him to change into and the ones that had been returned he would have liked to burn.
"Guess I'm gone then."
"Eliot you'll never get past all the nurses out there."
"Watch me." He used the back of his hand to wipe away some sweat that was threatening to drop into his eyes as he tried moving toward the door but Nate blocked him.
"Okay we'll go, just let me call Hardison to bring you some clothes."
"I ain't stayin'."
"No, I promise we'll go just as soon as he gets here." Nate watched as Eliot's glare softened the slightest and he took advantage of it completely. "I'm going to go call him but promise me you wont pull a Parker and hop out the window while I'm gone."
"Tell him to hurry up." He ordered as he watched Nate pull his phone out.
"I will." Nate assured as he exited the room, he would have liked to have gotten Eliot back in bed first but right now he wouldn't be able to make him do anything.
Quickly he headed toward the nurses station thankful to see Elaine sitting there. "What can I do for you sugar?" She smiled warmly at Mr. Elliott, he and his brother were a charming bunch and she'd be sad to see them go.
"Spencer just had some sort of panic attack and I was wondering if there wasn't something you could do for him, it's got him really flustered." Nate spoke carefully as to avoid the Bostoner that came out when he spoke quickly. Though he had picked up some Southern slang from Eliot he hadn't really grasped the Oklahoman accent properly and how others didn't question his forced mediocre growl compared to Eliot's natural drawl still had him mind boggled.
"That poor dear, you should have paged me." She chastised. "I'll have to get permission from his doctor but I think we'll be able to manage a sedative."
"Do you think there's any way you could avoid telling him it's a sedative?" When Eliot found out about this he'd surely be pissed but as long as it wasn't immediate he'd deal.
"I'll see what I can do." Elaine agreed as she placed the call.
"Thank you" Nate left her to that task as he lifted his phone waiting for an answer before starting a conversation of his own. "Hardison I want you to pack a bag for Eliot, he's being discharged in the morning and I want you and Parker to stay clear of the hospital today." He didn't wait for a reply as he hung up and walked back into room 457.
"What took you so long?" Eliot lifted his head as he heard the door open.
"No signal" Nate lied. He was glad to see Eliot sitting on the bed, though it was more propped on the edge. "I talked to Elaine and she's already drawing the papers to make you a free man." That lie was bigger but the tension that left Eliot as he sat next to him made it worth it.
"Did you tell him not to take all day?"
"He knows." Nate mumbled as he coaxed Eliot over to the middle of the bed.
"Mr. Elliott?" Elaine knocked softly as she entered the room. The shade had been drawn and the lighting was dim at best from the gloomy weather outside.
"Yes?" Nate answered more to keep up appearance than anything.
"We've got approval." She glanced at Spencer for a moment who was indeed looking skittish before pulling a needle from the cupboard she had just unlocked.
Watching the woman carefully Eliot was back on alert the second he spotted a vial. "I don't want anymore of your damn drugs!"
"Sweetie it's for your own good."This wasn't the curtious gentleman she visited and she could see why his brother was worried.
"The hell it is!"
"Sugar it's doctors orders." Elaine moved closer but Eliot scooted back. "I don't want to have to call the orderlies." The last thing she wanted to see was him being held down.
"Call 'em" He laughed bitterly, the ones he had seen would give shame to a pizza deliverers image.
"El," Nate leaned in so that his lips were barely an inch from Eliot's ear as he whispered, "all of that will take time and they might try to keep you here longer. Just get the shot and you can sleep it off on the way home."
It took an almost exasperated moment before Eliot gave a slight nod and Nate motioned for Elaine to continue. He felt guilty for the deception but he knew these were not the circumstances for Eliot to go home under.
"It's the end of my shift but I hope you'll feel better by the time I see you tomorrow Sweetie." She patted a band-aid over the injection sight before dropping the needle in its disposal bin. "Have a good night."
"You too Elaine." Nate bid distractedly as he kept his focus on Eliot.
"I thought you said he knew better than to take all day." Eliot huffed as he rubbed at his eye, the skin around it still held a pull and felt slightly swollen but he'd be first to admit it was an absolute improvement from when he first opened it and though he still hadn't seen himself he'd wager that if there had been bruising it was probably yellow by now.
"He'll be on his way soon enough." Nate raised the head of the bed as he manuevered Eliot closer, his head was already starting to droop.
"When will that be?" Eliot wondered as he watched Nate pull his legs onto the bed, he should've been protesting but he really couldn't find the energy to care.
"He knows when he's supposed to come." Nate mumbled as he kicked off his shoes and sat next to Eliot coaxing him into leaning into him before stretching his legs out.
It was a tight squeeze with him lying on the actual bed and Eliot more on him but it worked, mainly after he got rid of the sling and Eliot could drape his arm across his abdomen and out of the way of bumping it.
"What did she give me?" He was suddenly having a hard time keeping his eyes open and the slight calm that had appeared gave him a few guesses.
"A sedative." Nate answered simply as he rubbed comforting patterns up and down his back. The truth wouldn't hurt now, it was later he'd have to worry.
"So I take it Hardison isn't coming." He tried to focus on Nate's touch to keep him alert but it was only serving to soothe him closer to sleep.
"He'll be here in the morning." He watched as Eliot's eyes slid closed and waited to make sure he had indeed drifted off before he stopped the motion on his back and moved to card his fingers through his hair.
The action was calming to him though rare since Eliot complained whenever he attempted to do so. He had asked why once but the answer was snippy, him saying he didn't want to be petted like an animal. That's what he said but Nate suspected from the look that had appeared in his eyes that it brought back unwanted memories, possibly an ex.
"What set you off like that?" He whispered as he placed a kiss atop Eliot's head. "Which one is it this time Eliot?" He continued smoothing his hair back as he let his fingers run over the pink scar at his hairline and down through tangled curls as he wondered which of Eliot's demons could have caused such an unusual outburst.
E/N: I doubt that will ever happen again. I don't know how I did it but I made that above scene as much fluffy as it is agnsty, that shouldn't even be possible.
As for all the attention you guys have been giving me lately.
I absolutely love it!
I already feel like starting the next chapter because you've all been so awesome. And knowing me, it's probably gonna be a fight.