Chapter twenty-four
That night he had prepared himself for anger, for the backsplash that would surely come when Eliot woke. When it didn't come he moved to perfect the reasons he would use in the arguement that would take place come morning, though it was now morning and not a word had been shared between them.
Eliot was near dead silent and Nathan feared making a sound would cause an explosion of great lengths. He had the perfect explanation just waiting to be used and the longer he was ignored the more he knew he'd need it.
He just didn't know how to go about things.
The last two hours had been spent with Eliot staring at the ceiling and him staring at Eliot and if it kept up much longer he was positive he'd erupt from such torture.
"I can practically hear you thinking over there." Those words were so unexpected that he nearly jumped at the sound. Eliot showed no outward indication of having said a thing and Nate would have believed himself to be hearing things if he hadn't seen his lips move.
"I'm a thinker." Was the only reply that came to mind, though it was dull at best.
"You're a planner." Eliot corrected as he turned his gaze to Nate. "You'll bleed, sweat, and cry to make sure things turn out the way you want in the end." The words were hard but even.
"Eliot about yesterday," They had locked eyes and as much as Nate wanted to look away he didn't so much as blink.
"There's nothing to say for yesterday." Except maybe he held a false hope believing he could count on Nate.
"Eliot" He could feel the distance Eliot was quickly placing between them. "You weren't doing well yesterday and I had to make a choice, I did what I thought best and if given the option I wouldn't change a thing."
"Nice to know you wont hesitate in gettin' me drugged up again." He looked away with distaste. Of course comin' from Nate an apology would be too much to ask for.
"Now that isn't fair!" He was supposed to be keeping to his speech but anger always seemed to trump rationality. "You were set and intent on hurting yourself and that wasn't a risk I was willing to take! So if you want to be pissed FINE but don't go expecting me to feel bad for helpin' you!"
"I don't expect you to feel a thing."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Here they were yet again and he was tired of being made out as the bad guy.
"I wanted out of here, I asked you to get me out of here and you didn't give a damn." Hurt was how he felt but he wouldn't show it, his injuries were leaving him vulnerable enough.
"The only reason I made sure you stayed was because I do give a damn! How am I supposed to know that you're not suffering some sort of PTSD from being hit by a car or that all of this didn't trudge up some bad memories from one of the many hell holes you're so intent on keeping secret! That I'm actually hearing what you want from me and I'm not catching you in some flash back from a decade ago?" Nate moved about in front of the bed as Eliot glanced out the window. Just once he'd like to know what Eliot wanted from him.
"And staying here is gonna help what? These people don't know me, they know a Spencer Elliott who was probably given some half cocked backround to explain away any questions curious minds might ask." He hadn't bothered to ask but they'd surely dubbed him an ex-soldier who was probably in some sort of the security business. He knew what they thought of him, his silence allowed their imaginations to run wild but they couldn't even begin to understand half of it.
"Did one more day really make that much of a difference? You'll be discharged in less than two hours." Dr. Torlyn seemed more than happy to let them go three days before their scheduled leave.
"The day means nothing, your words do." He didn't like betrayal and it was something Nate always seemed to have him feeling. "If you would have said you wanted to leave I would have said when, I wouldn't have questioned it. I would have stopped to think that maybe the reason you weren't feeling well had to do with the hospital itself. Without a second thought we would've been out of here because that's what was asked of me and I'd do that for you."
He had stopped to look at Nate who was clearly listening but he didn't know if it was to grasp the point or to find another excuse to validate himself. "That's what I'd do for you but what did you do for me? You made false promises, broke my trust repeatedly with multiple lies, you offered me the pretence of a quick escape so I'd allow myself to be drugged quickly and quietly. So like I said there's nothing about yesterday left to be said that wasn't already spoken loud and clear by your actions."
"Eliot I..." Damn it. He had had reasons and an explanation that he had perfected.
And where had they gone?
Right out the window.
"didn't have time to come up with a plan b." He didn't know why he stupidly allowed himself to expect something different.
Eliot felt played and though he still felt as if he had done the right thing Nate was left feeling like a complete ass. He was at a loss for words and Eliot had just said he didn't want to hear them so he stayed silent as he reclaimed his seat next to the bed.
Eliot had continued staring at the ceiling and he continued staring at Eliot and it was almost, almost as if they had never spoken.
-*-N-E-L-I-0-T-*-
It was over an hour and a half later when Hardison and Parker finally showed with sweats and a t-shirt and to their surprise the mood was quite chilly for the occasion.
Eliot said nothing as he took the clothes they offered and pushed the button to page a nurse. It was Elaine who appeared in the doorway seconds later, Eliot offering her a slight smile as he nudged his head toward the pile of clothes on his bed. She smiled back knowingly as she nodded that she would indeed help him.
It was Nate that left the room first, looking at Eliot with only the slightest hint of hurt in his eye as he turned to leave. Hardison and Parker knew something was up but didn't dare to ask as they followed him.
"Looks like it's about ready to storm out there." Elaine viewed as she pushed his wheelchair toward the exit.
"I hope it does." Parker smiled. She had stayed with Eliot to make sure he was all good and signed out while the other two went to get the cars.
"It's nice to see someone who still appreciates a good rain shower." Elaine herself enjoyed the sounds that came from it but she couldn't say as much for the actual water. "Looks like you're set." She pushed him towards the automobiles where both men were out and waiting. "Now you make sure to follow doctors orders and take care of yourself."
"Yes ma'am." He smiled as he stood, something she was intent on helping him with though he could manage. Well mostly.
"I mean it, and I better not see you back in here sugar." She warned as he settled.
"Not a chance Darlin'." She was well over the age of bein' his momma but he was a charmer and she was flattered and the smile showed it.
"Thank you" Nate offered his hand which she shook as she watched Eliot push the seat all the way back in the car and immediately stretch out his right leg.
"It's my job and I enjoy doin' it. He's a good man and even better company." She excused herself with a wave as she pushed the wheel chair back with a shout of, "See you sometime Sweetie!"
"We set then?" Hardison asked as he showed the keys that Parker promptly snatched. "HEY! No way are you drivin' the injured man anywhere!"
"I can drive just fine!" She didn't know what that was supposed to mean.
"Parker" Nate stressed. "give me the keys."
"It's fine." Eliot snapped, he wasn't waitin' all day for the grass to grow. "Parker lets go." She giddily hopped to the other side of the car and got in.
"I ain't drivin' with you again." He doubted she had passed any actual driving tests and there was no immediate threat so it just wasn't gonna happen.
"Then get a ride with Nate." Parker suggested through Eliot's still open door. The looks she received had her rolling her eyes though she still offered words they'd want to hear. "You go first, I'll follow the whole way there."
They were still reluctant but two minutes later she had them both seatbelted in the car and was following Nate away from the hospital. "Is the rain here really that much different than what we get in Boston?" She wondered aloud as the first few drops hit the windshield.
"It's..." Eliot tried to think of the words for a Southern rain shower as he stared out at his truck. "indescribable."
"Try" She pleaded as she opened the window a slit to feel a slight mist as the rain started falling harder and she had to turn on the wipers.
"It's..." He breathed in the scent that reminded him of wet nights spent on his grandfathers porch, a memory that was a comfort. "home."
"I don't understand." She complained as she followed Nate into the turning lane.
"You wanna see?" He asked as they waited on the arrow.
"What do you mean?" She didn't get what she wasn't seeing as she stared at the drops that rolled down trying to figure out how they could be considered home.
"Let me show you." Eliot offered, the prospect of getting away was more than appealing.
"How?" She turned to look at him annoyed with how long the light was taking.
"Go straight."
"I told Nate I'd follow him." Her grip on the steering wheel tightened as she reminded herself just that.
"We're thieves Parker, he should know by now not to take our words at face value." Maybe it was said a little bitterly but the light had just turned and there wasn't any time before they'd too be doing so.
He just stared at her intently as Nate turned and seconds later smiled when Parker swerved and they barely missed slamming into a jeep, a good dozen horns letting their error be known.
"Where to now?" She asked after a glance in the mirror told her they wouldn't be worrying about the police. She probably should have listened to that little voice, did as she said she would but Eliot was offering a new experience and she was curious.
"Just keep goin'." He reclined in his chair as he simply listened to the rains pitter patter, there were a few places he had in mind and he'd give her directions soon enough but for now he was going to take a minute to lose himself.
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They had heard the screeching of tires, he had turned to see that Parker was no longer behind them, had told Nate as much but he just shrugged it off and kept driving. He had called Parker, or attempted to but soon found out her phone had been turned off. He had even started to track her GPS but Nate confiscated his phone with gruff orders to leave them alone. All of this bothered him but not as greatly or as deeply as his current location.
Hardison was waiting for Nate in no other than a liquor stores parking lot. Parker and Eliot had gone rouge, they could have switched cars, lost her phone, changed aliases, and could very well be over the border in a few hours.
Well maybe that was a little overboard, they probably weren't heading to Mexico but they were still very much missing in his opinion and the only thing it seemed like Nate planned to do was buy a bottle.
"What now?" Hardison questioned as he glared at the bottle of bourbon that had been placed on the bench next to him, Nate hadn't even bothered to get a bag.
"We go back to the house." He switched gears, backing out of his parking space.
"What about Eliot and Parker?" He did not want to be the sole witness to Nate's quest to the bottom of that bottle which was pretty big.
"They can take care of themselves." He glanced down at the liquor with sympathy, in so many ways it was mistreated and misunderstood and he could relate. He had been thinking about that morning and the day before, he had many a thing to figure out and the bourban was there just in case he didn't like the answers he came up with.
"I can't believe that woman! He just got out of the hospital and she knows he's got pills to take and she pulls a stunt like this!" He knew she shouldn't have been allowed to drive but did anyone ever listen to him.
"No," Nate disagreed. "this was Eliot's doing." It was easy to figure that Eliot would take full advantage of his newly found freedom he just didn't expect it to happen so soon. Though he should have, in no way could moving from a room to a house hold more appeal than the open road.
He was trying to reclaim a feeling Nate had denied him and who better to do that with than the woman who chased it over the sides of buildings. He was set and intent on finding an escape and Nate'd let him but when he came back, because he would come back, maybe, just maybe there'd be a set of rules and boundaries waiting for him like the ones he had given not so long ago.
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"Who owns this place?" Apparently Eliot had wanted to go for a drive because it had been nearly half an hour of her driving around exploring the city and eventually getting completely lost before he finally gave her some direction.
Along the way he pointed out places that caught his interest, offered tidbits on what he knew about them, and announced the rare bird or plant he'd spot out and about. Parker found herself listening intently wondering if that was how everyone felt about the place they grew up. Eliot told her that his dad was in sales so when he'd be gone longer than a few weeks everyone else packed up and went with, he'd seen quite a bit of Oklahoma that way. Had been in a few dozen of it's cities, the longest being four months but they always returned to the family home.
"Somebody that I used to know." Eliot offered dismissively as he sat carefully on a bench.
He had thought of where would show Parker the true beauty in a rain storm and had almost taken her to a barn though further thought rationalized that she probably wasn't redneck enough to appreciate that. He had been about to tell her to turn around when a place he had nearly forgotten came to mind and soon enough they were turning down a private drive that lasted about a mile.
From the road you saw nothing more than a thick of trees but once on the inside you'd have a view of a decently sized greenhouse, one which they had currently taken shelter inside of.
"And they wont mind us being here?" Parker was staring at the glass ceiling watching as the water splattered. She had helped Eliot to the entrance and by the time he sat it was breathless and with a grunt. She wanted to tell him it was time to go back but he was looking content and she was actually enjoying spending time with him.
"No," He breathed as he listened to thunder that sounded more excited than angry. "wont nobody know." The way Parker looked at him had him adding," Unless you tell them."
She shook her head childishly as she sat next to him as if her silence meant she had been sworn to secrecy.
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"Are you honestly going to just sit there drinking?" Hardison grumbled as he watched Nate poor himself a second glass but he couldn't be too judgemental as he was sipping the liquor instead of throwing it back.
"Did you have something better in mind?" Nate turned from the table he was sitting at to see Hardison pacing.
"Yeah, let me track them down." He did not jump slightly at the unexpected boom of thunder.
"And what? Force them to come back. Believe it or not I can't force them to do something they don't want to." The original plan had been to sort his thoughts but he realized his questions couldn't be answered by himself so although it angered him he'd just have to wait for Eliot to provide them.
"The hell you can't! Obviously you did something to piss him off and you need to fix it because he's gonna end up killin' himself if you don't." He shocked even himself with those words but he meant them. Nate was acting as if he didn't care while he was thinking of the million ways Eliot was going to end up back in the hospital.
"And what did you do to Parker huh? Cause she seemed to be just as eager to get away from you as he was from me!" Hardison had no right assuming and if he wanted to play that game than he'd give it right back to him.
"I didn't do a damn thing and it's not even the same." He sat angrily across from Nate. He was going to go stir crazy if they didn't show up soon.
"How isn't it? You try your best with her and what do you get?" He raised an eyebrow and smirked when Hardison simply sunk further into his chair. "Exactly. You only do what you think is right, try to make it all work but it never seems to be good enough." No matter how hard he tried it always seemed as if he managed to fuck it up and it had him wondering if they would be better off going their seperate ways. Eliot was clearly unhappy and despite his good intentions progress was scarce as they continued making circles.
"What does she want from me?"
"That my friend is the million dollar question." Nate slid his glass to Hardison already getting up to retrieve his own.
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"I think I understand what you meant by indescribable now." Her bare feet had found a puddle with just enough mud to squish between her toes, the only thing that would get you in one of Boston's water puddles was some kind of fungus. "But I think it's more attitude than anything else."
"More like the lack of pollution and presence of trees that aren't surrounded by pavement." He offered softly. Parker had opened one of the doors to let some of the breeze in but he had to stop her from going out. He himself would still stand on the roof during a drizzle searching for the vague memory of a feeling he once had but a rain like this would surely have her catching a cold.
"Maybe," She was content with how things were, Eliot leaning against her slighty but she could hear the drowsiness in his voice and knew it was time to go. He didn't say as much but judging by the way he kept readjusting on th bench and stretching out his leg he was aching and it was probably past time for his meds. "but it's not home." She had found that in the team and therefore Boston. "Not mine."
"I can 'cept that." He mumbled as he barely caught his head from drifting to the side. As of lately he'd been fighting sleep as if it was death itself, the drug induced state leaving him feeling more exhaustion than before he fell into it.
"Come on Bubba," Parker stood stretching out with a sigh. "it's time to go. I'm hungry and if we stick around any longer you'll fall asleep on the way back." She wondered if he'd let her come again though.
"So I'm not allowed to catch a nap on the ride back?" He didn't sleep in any form of transportation, it was a rule, but he was wondering why she sounded worried about him dosing.
"Well you can if you want but then we wont make it back."
"Oh?" He watched her pull a face probably mirroring his own expression as she helped him stand. If this was her way of saying she planned to kidnap him he should most likely be worried but there were worse people that could have the job.
"I don't know where we are."
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They had nearly reached the bottom of the bottle and Nate could say with all honesty that most of that liquid was not in the bottom of his belly, but that didn't mean he wasn't a bit buzzed himself. They had swapped sorrows and complaints and really weren't any better off for it.
"To hell with it!" He was Nathan Ford a self proclaimed no good and Eliot knew all of this from the beginning, why should he be expected to change that now.
"To hell with them!" Hardison cheered which Nate soon chorused almost in the same way a toast would be delivered. After that silence fell as they continued to think of the insanity their relationships defined.
In Hardison's opinion Nate had it easier. At least at the end of the day he could say he had problems with his boyfriend. Parker was different, she had him so confused some days that he didn't know whether they were stopping or starting.
With her life was a constant waiting game and right now he was just sitting through another round. "When do you think they'll be back?"
E/N: Do you see the size of this thing? It totally ran away with me but that's probably because everybody up there is acting a mess.
Eliot is feeling betrayed and is just trying to get away from his troubles which we all know wont work.
Parker got caught up in the moment and didn't even bother with anything really. She didn't even realize that in some form she was used as a get away driver again.
Hardison started off on a good straight path but it wasn't long before Nate deviously roped him in. I swear next chapter he'll be sleeping it off on the couch!
And Nate? That man is driving me insane!
Every time I try to get something going he has to throw a wrench in it.
After all the work I put into getting them two back together he's thinking about taking the easy way out! But the joke of it all is I'm so on his side.
He's misunderstood and Eliot get's that, he really does but now that he has so much being placed on his plate he just wants Nate to be there and a constant but the water's too rocky for that.
Nate's been left to watch every word, action, phrase, and thought and there's just no way he wont rock the boat no matter how hard he tries and of course he's getting tired of that and if it continues it will only be a matter of time before he's calling it quits.
So it's actually all Eliot's fault, LOL (don't ask where the rant came from) but seriously it is just so much easier to get these two fighting than to have them play nice but I'll work on it and hopefully by the next chapter I'll manage to get them talking and maybe even pry an I'm sorry from Nate's stubborn self.