Hi. I'm Jenna. I'm new here. I've written for a couple of different fandoms in the past. Basically, people who aren't there like to take up residence in my head and recently, Eliot decided to hang out for a while. He's pretty cool to hang out with. Kinda quiet and a little grumpy but sweet. Anyway I had a couple of scenarios pop into my head and he liked this one. I hope you all do as well.
Shoving the unconscious body aside with his foot, Eliot scanned the room as Parker finished copying the files onto a flash drive. He'd have liked for this to have been a bit more under the radar but this was the last chance to get the information that would take this son of a bitch out.
It all started as most jobs did, with clients seeking them out for help. Everything seemed simple enough at the start. Until Hardison did his due diligence, that was. The discovery of shipping containers filled with sick and scared women from Asia changed the case entirely. Oh, they were going to get restitution for their clients, but Nate nearly came unglued at the human trafficking. To be honest, Eliot did too, and that was why he voiced no objection to ramping things up. Maybe it was a little reckless but what he saw in those containers turned his stomach–and he'd seen some things in his time.
So stealth went out the window along with most caution. And there Eliot stood in the middle of four unconscious men waiting for the files to transfer that would decisively link this scumbag to the women in the containers.
"Parker…Eliot? How's it coming?" Nate's voice over the comms was fighting to stay calm. He knew he sent them out on a limb but no one had argued about the less than quiet approach they were taking. Not even his hitter. If anyone was going to complain about the chances being taken, it was Eliot.
"Almost got it," Parker responded.
It was then that Eliot heard something.
"Shh…" he held up a hand to keep Parker from saying anything else.
"Wha–"
"Shh!"
"Eliot, what is it?" Nate demanded in his ear.
"Shut the hell up and I might be able to tell you."
Everyone finally quieted down and Eliot listened again.
He heard it again and groaned.
"Shit."
He was already headed for the source of the sound when frantic babble erupted in Eliot's ear. Finally Hardison's voice won out.
"You did not just say that and then clam up!."
Eliot merely grunted and headed toward a stack of boxes in the corner. The noise was small which meant what was hiding behind the boxes probably was too. He knew he heard a child. Most likely terrified. Probably of him since he'd just beat up four men with guns. At least Parker was here. She'd look less scary to a kid anyway.
What the hell was a child doing there anyway? A glorified warehouse was all it really was and at this hour…it should be past this kid's bedtime.
Peering behind the boxes, Eliot found what he expected–and yet, not what he expected. He had hoped this was some stupid 'take your kid to work day' for one of the goons. Child care could be hard to find and the asshole these guys were working for probably didn't pay enough for a full time nanny. If this was the case, he could leave the kid and once Daddy Dearest came around, everything would be just fine.
This wasn't that though. Crouched in front of him was a dirty, bruised and bleeding girl of maybe three years old with silent tears making tracks down her chubby cheeks.
"Shit." he whispered. Quickly he squatted down to her level and watched as she pushed herself to standing. Hardison started yelling again so Eliot took the earpiece out and stuffed it in his pocket. Parker could explain if she wanted. He needed his full attention on this little girl.
Eliot schooled his features as he fully took stock of the tot. It wouldn't do for her to see his rage at what he saw. He definitely made sure he wasn't doing 'the thing with his eyes'. She stood there in a tattered nightgown? Dress? Whatever it was it could hardly be classified as clothing for as torn as it was. From what he could see there was scarcely an inch of the child not bruised, scraped, or cut.
"Hey little one," he began, using the softest voice he had. "I'm Eliot."
The child appraised him and then lifted her eyes to Parker.
"That's Parker."
"Pawker," the little girl repeated and then turned her wide eyes back to Eliot. "Ewiot."
Eliot smiled at her.
"What's your name, little one?"
"Giwl."
The girl toddled toward him with her bottom lip out forming a pout. She pointed to an ugly scrape on her knee.
"Owie."
"Yeah that looks like a bad owie."
Then she pointed to a cut on his lip.
"Owie."
Eliot knew the men wouldn't be coming around anytime soon but he also knew time was very much of the essence. Shrugging out of his jacket, he wrapped it around the girl.
"You wanna come with us?"
She nodded and reached for him as he gingerly picked her up. He didn't want to bump or jostle any of her 'owies'.
He quickly put the comm back in his ear.
"We're coming out," he said, nodding at Parker to follow behind.
Once in the van, Nate spied the girl and his eyebrows rose. Hardison offered to take her but she clung to Eliot.
Things were quiet for a while and Eliot wondered what he was in for when he got everyone's opinion on things. But, seriously, what else was he supposed to do? Leave her there? Nate wouldn't've. Sophie and Hardison wouldn't either. Even the ever pragmatic Parker wouldn't. Only a monster would leave the poor child where she was.
Eliot had been monstrous in the past–done monstrous things–but he'd like to think he wasn't really a monster.
Sitting on the couch under the weight of the eyes of his team, Eliot focused his eyes on the floor in front of him. No one had quite figured out what to say and surely no one wanted voices to be raised. By the time they had exited Lucille at HQ, the little girl was sound asleep with one hand clutching tight to the front of Eliot's shirt and the fingers of the other tangled into his long hair.
The quiet, while awkward, was useful. He could think a little. He knew that sooner rather than later he'd have to see to her injuries. Everything looked to be relatively superficial but he dreaded it all the same. She was little more than a baby and abrasions the likes of which he could see on her were painful. So many nerve endings affected. He tried not to think about the fact that she had no name that she knew other than just being called 'girl.'
That would make things a lot harder for what came next, which was to try to find her real family. Someone out there was missing this child.
Finally he sighed and felt the attention of his teammates sharpen on him.
"Hardison," he said softly. "Can you figure out who she is or where she came from? Someone's gotta be just devastated without her."
"I–uh–I already have searches going through missing children databases. If I had her DNA, it–it might be helpful."
Eliot nodded.
"I gotta clean her 'owies' anyway. I can swab some blood from that scrape on her knee. It hasn't scabbed over yet."
"We should probably think of something to call her while she's with us," Sophie said. "We can't just call her little one or–Girl."
She added the last with a shudder.
Parker bounced up at that.
"We should call her Snickers!"
"Shh, Parker, she's still asleep!" Eliot hissed. "And she's a little girl, not a cocker spaniel. She needs a real name."
Eliot sighed and shifted so that he could brush his hand over her forehead. Slowly her eyes opened.
"Ewiot."
"Hey sweetie," he said softly and with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I gotta take care of your owies now, okay?"
"Ewiot owies too?"
"I'll take care of my owies too."
He stood still holding the little girl. It was then she truly took notice of the others.
"Pawker," she said with a little wave. "Who dem?"
Hardison stepped forward as he had many times before when a scared child came to Nana's.
"I'm Alec."
"Awec."
Hardison's smile widened and he motioned to the two remaining members of the team.
"That's Sophie and Nate."
Sophie gave a small wave and Nate just nodded.
"Nate gumpy."
"Yeah," Eliot agreed. "Nate's grumpy alright."
Me again. Yeah, when we hit on how she says his name, he got all gushy. He's denying it now but he totally turned into a puddle o' goo. So cute. Anyway, just feeling it out here to see if anyone was interested in this. I have the next chapter mapped out. As for the story as a whole...well, I can see a couple of ways this could go but not sure which way I should go with it. I've run through both scenarios with Eliot and he says they're both okay with him. Luckily this will not end how it did the last time I had a character encounter a child in need. That guy was a wild west gunslinger and I still think I'd be more scared of Eliot if that happened to this little one.
Anyway, please let me know what you think. It's always a little scary to venture into a new sandbox. You never know if the kids are nice or not. If anyone has constructive criticism, that's cool too. Like that's not mean. So, yeah, just let me know what you think.-Jenna
