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Title: Such a Tiny Thing
Fandom: Leverage
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Parker, with some Eliot & others
Prompt: Blood Loss
Rating: PG13/T
Warnings: Blood
Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone that belongs to Leverage...except the DVDs.
Word Count: 1,528
Summary: Parker ended up in a lot of trouble over such a tiny thing. (H/C Bingo fill)
Too much blood, she thought. There was too much blood dripping between her fingers and soaking the makeshift bandage.
It had been such a simple job – break in, grab the miniature, place the fake and get out. The small museum took up only two floors at the top of a five-story building. Sophie would keep the guard busy, playing the helpless tourist while Nate and Hardison monitored things from the van. Eliot patrolled the outside watching for any sign the girls needed help, or to cause a distraction if called for.
With the guard happily distracted by Sophie’s charm, getting in had been easy. Hardison took down the electronics for her, so she had swiftly picked the lock on the case and snatched her prize. Once she gave the word, he shut down the elevators on the first floor, allowing her to rappel down and exit the building as quickly as possible. Everything had gone great.
Until the service elevator began moving. The machinery snarled her lines, and she found herself dashed against the railings of the elevator shaft. Some extended bit of metal had caught her mid-thigh, and opened a jagged wound down its side. As she perched on top of the elevator car itself, she had wriggled out of her harness and shirt. Tearing the shirt, she had formed a pressure bandage, but it did not seem to be working.
“Parker?”
The concerned voice in her ear reminded her of her teammates.
“Eliot?”
“Where are you, crazy girl? You should be out by now.”
“Ah, there was a…bit of a problem,” she replied, pressing even harder on the bandage.
After a moment of silence, she heard him bite off a curse.
“Where?” he growled.
“On top of the service elevator, fourth floor.”
“I’m on my way.”
Nate broke in.
“Hardison, why the hell is that elevator operational?”
“I don’t know, man. I shut everything down!” the hacker exclaimed.
“Look again,” ordered the leader. “Parker, are you all right?”
“Umm,” she paused, looking down at her leg.
“Parker.” Nate spoke her name softly, but with a commanding edge. He expected the truth.
She sighed, reluctant to share her weakness with everyone.
“There’s a lot of blood, Nate. It got my leg pretty good.”
For a few seconds, she could only hear the sound of her own breathing.
“Eliot, get her down the west side stairs. Hardison, get us moving – we’ll meet them there. Sophie, when Eliot confirms he’s reached her, get out. We’ll meet you at the arranged spot.”
Parker leaned against the wall behind her to wait. Trying to keep pressure on her wound, she stared at the miniature in her hand.
So much trouble over such a tiny thing.
Originally painted in France in the late 18th century for one of the few prominent Jewish families in France, it had stayed in the family through all the troubles that followed until the German occupation during World War II. At that time, it had been stolen by the Nazis and the family had been sent to the concentration camps. Only one member had survived. He had started searching for the treasures of his family, and his descendents had followed in his footsteps. They had finally tracked down the newest owners who also owned the museum. They had agreed to review the files of the family and to return the miniature. Everything had been handled in a professional manner…until the family found they had been given a fraud. Unfortunately they found themselves up against an old and moneyed group. No one was willing to take them on. Enter Leverage Inc.
Closing her eyes, she could feel her head swimming. The light-headedness surprised her. She shifted uncomfortably and hissed as the move jolted her leg.
“Parker?”
“Just a bad move, Nate.”
“Okay, be careful. Eliot should be there in just a moment.”
“Sure.”
Glancing down at her leg, she could see the red stain spreading across the bandage. Fighting to keep her breathing steady, she focused on the wall across from her and began mentally walking herself through breaking into the British Museum. A scraping noise from above caught her attention. She looked up and met Eliot’s eyes. He had pried the doors open, and now dropped down beside her.
“How you doin’ there, darlin’?”
Pulling off his pack, he dug out an emergency first aid kit. Even as his hands moved quickly and efficiently to remove and replace the makeshift bandage, he glanced up to scan her face. She did not answer him.
“Parker? I need to know how you feel.”
“Tired.”
Her one word answer earned her a narrowed eyed look. Finishing his work, he stood up.
“Okay, let me do the work.”
As he lifted her up, she grayed out. By the time she came back awake, he had managed to get her out of the elevator shaft and into the stairwell. He was moving down the stairs as quickly as he could with her cradled in his arms. She blinked for a moment and then laid her head back down on his shoulder.
“I need you to stay awake just a bit longer, Parker.”
“Working on it.”
She began muttering to herself, going back over the steps for the British Museum once more. Eliot huffed out a laugh as she complained about the newer cameras they had installed. As he reached the first floor, the door flew open. Nate held it as Eliot barreled out and hustled her into the van. As she reached that safe zone, she surrendered to the darkness that had been creeping around her vision.
Soft voices snagged her attention, dragging her out of the comfortable blackness she had been resting in. Without opening her eyes, she focused on the sounds.
“How is she doing?”
Sophie? She sounded breathless. Where had she been?
“Still unconscious.”
Okay, that was Nate, just a little bit away.
“Doctor says she should be waking soon.”
Eliot was closer.
“Thanks for making a food run.”
That sounded like Hardison, if he had is mouth full. She gave a little sniff in amusement. All noises ceased. She froze, unsure of what had happened.
“Parker?”
Eliot’s voice drew her attention. She wrinkled her nose, but left her eyes closed.
“Come on, darlin’. Open your eyes. I need you to look at me.”
She gave a sharp inhale. Eliot sounded…worried. Eliot never got worried; at least, he never got the scared sort of worried. She really did not like hearing that sound in his voice. She began to try and open her eyes, to look at him like he wanted.
She felt them flutter.
“That’s it. Keep trying.”
A couple of long moments passed before the message finally got through to her eyelids. They seemed so heavy, but at last they opened. A blurry figure leaned over her. Blinking slowly, she managed to bring Eliot into focus. His lips quirked in a quick smile.
“’Bout time you woke up, Sleeping Beauty.”
She scrunched her nose in a frown as she glanced around the hospital room.
“What happened?”
“You passed out,” replied Sophie, coming up on her other side. The older woman’s dark eyes had circles underneath them.
“You need a nap,” Parker told her.
Her four teammates chuckled and an invisible weight seemed to lift from the room. She looked at them in confusion.
“Parker.” Nate’s voice captured her attention. He moved to stand next to Sophie. “How do you feel?”
“I’m still tired,” she answered.
“No surprise there. You lost a lot of blood,” said Hardison from the end of the bed.
“Yes, she did. And now she needs more rest,” said a strident voice from the doorway.
An older, but still tough looking nurse stood there, hands on her hips. She gave each of them a narrowed look.
“We relaxed the rules while she was unconscious. Now that she’s woken up, you lot need to go get some sleep before we have you as patients.”
Sophie, Nate and Hardison said their farewells to Parker and moved towards the door. Eliot pulled the visitor’s chair over and sat down. He and the nurse exchanged a long, measuring glance. Finally, the nurse huffed and pointed at him.
“Fine! You can stay, but you let her sleep. And don’t complain to me when you fall over from exhaustion!”
She left, hustling their smiling teammates out the door in front of her. Parker turned to Eliot.
“Two days?”
“That was some serious blood loss, darlin’. They did some surgery on your leg to fix you up, and you had to have a blood transfusion.”
“Oh,” she replied, letting her eyes drift shut. They popped back open.
“Hey! Did the family get the portrait?”
“Yeah, Nate met with them.”
“Good.”
She began to doze off, but not letting herself really fall asleep. She hated being vulnerable like this. Suddenly a heavy hand rested on hers. Dragging her sleepy eyes open, she looked in Eliot’s serious gaze. He gave her a half-smile.
“Go to sleep, Crazy Girl. I’ve got you.”
With that reassurance, and the comfort of his hand on hers, she let herself tumble into sleep. Eliot was here…she was safe.
Fandom: Leverage
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Parker, with some Eliot & others
Prompt: Blood Loss
Rating: PG13/T
Warnings: Blood
Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone that belongs to Leverage...except the DVDs.
Word Count: 1,528
Summary: Parker ended up in a lot of trouble over such a tiny thing. (H/C Bingo fill)
Too much blood, she thought. There was too much blood dripping between her fingers and soaking the makeshift bandage.
It had been such a simple job – break in, grab the miniature, place the fake and get out. The small museum took up only two floors at the top of a five-story building. Sophie would keep the guard busy, playing the helpless tourist while Nate and Hardison monitored things from the van. Eliot patrolled the outside watching for any sign the girls needed help, or to cause a distraction if called for.
With the guard happily distracted by Sophie’s charm, getting in had been easy. Hardison took down the electronics for her, so she had swiftly picked the lock on the case and snatched her prize. Once she gave the word, he shut down the elevators on the first floor, allowing her to rappel down and exit the building as quickly as possible. Everything had gone great.
Until the service elevator began moving. The machinery snarled her lines, and she found herself dashed against the railings of the elevator shaft. Some extended bit of metal had caught her mid-thigh, and opened a jagged wound down its side. As she perched on top of the elevator car itself, she had wriggled out of her harness and shirt. Tearing the shirt, she had formed a pressure bandage, but it did not seem to be working.
“Parker?”
The concerned voice in her ear reminded her of her teammates.
“Eliot?”
“Where are you, crazy girl? You should be out by now.”
“Ah, there was a…bit of a problem,” she replied, pressing even harder on the bandage.
After a moment of silence, she heard him bite off a curse.
“Where?” he growled.
“On top of the service elevator, fourth floor.”
“I’m on my way.”
Nate broke in.
“Hardison, why the hell is that elevator operational?”
“I don’t know, man. I shut everything down!” the hacker exclaimed.
“Look again,” ordered the leader. “Parker, are you all right?”
“Umm,” she paused, looking down at her leg.
“Parker.” Nate spoke her name softly, but with a commanding edge. He expected the truth.
She sighed, reluctant to share her weakness with everyone.
“There’s a lot of blood, Nate. It got my leg pretty good.”
For a few seconds, she could only hear the sound of her own breathing.
“Eliot, get her down the west side stairs. Hardison, get us moving – we’ll meet them there. Sophie, when Eliot confirms he’s reached her, get out. We’ll meet you at the arranged spot.”
Parker leaned against the wall behind her to wait. Trying to keep pressure on her wound, she stared at the miniature in her hand.
So much trouble over such a tiny thing.
Originally painted in France in the late 18th century for one of the few prominent Jewish families in France, it had stayed in the family through all the troubles that followed until the German occupation during World War II. At that time, it had been stolen by the Nazis and the family had been sent to the concentration camps. Only one member had survived. He had started searching for the treasures of his family, and his descendents had followed in his footsteps. They had finally tracked down the newest owners who also owned the museum. They had agreed to review the files of the family and to return the miniature. Everything had been handled in a professional manner…until the family found they had been given a fraud. Unfortunately they found themselves up against an old and moneyed group. No one was willing to take them on. Enter Leverage Inc.
Closing her eyes, she could feel her head swimming. The light-headedness surprised her. She shifted uncomfortably and hissed as the move jolted her leg.
“Parker?”
“Just a bad move, Nate.”
“Okay, be careful. Eliot should be there in just a moment.”
“Sure.”
Glancing down at her leg, she could see the red stain spreading across the bandage. Fighting to keep her breathing steady, she focused on the wall across from her and began mentally walking herself through breaking into the British Museum. A scraping noise from above caught her attention. She looked up and met Eliot’s eyes. He had pried the doors open, and now dropped down beside her.
“How you doin’ there, darlin’?”
Pulling off his pack, he dug out an emergency first aid kit. Even as his hands moved quickly and efficiently to remove and replace the makeshift bandage, he glanced up to scan her face. She did not answer him.
“Parker? I need to know how you feel.”
“Tired.”
Her one word answer earned her a narrowed eyed look. Finishing his work, he stood up.
“Okay, let me do the work.”
As he lifted her up, she grayed out. By the time she came back awake, he had managed to get her out of the elevator shaft and into the stairwell. He was moving down the stairs as quickly as he could with her cradled in his arms. She blinked for a moment and then laid her head back down on his shoulder.
“I need you to stay awake just a bit longer, Parker.”
“Working on it.”
She began muttering to herself, going back over the steps for the British Museum once more. Eliot huffed out a laugh as she complained about the newer cameras they had installed. As he reached the first floor, the door flew open. Nate held it as Eliot barreled out and hustled her into the van. As she reached that safe zone, she surrendered to the darkness that had been creeping around her vision.
Soft voices snagged her attention, dragging her out of the comfortable blackness she had been resting in. Without opening her eyes, she focused on the sounds.
“How is she doing?”
Sophie? She sounded breathless. Where had she been?
“Still unconscious.”
Okay, that was Nate, just a little bit away.
“Doctor says she should be waking soon.”
Eliot was closer.
“Thanks for making a food run.”
That sounded like Hardison, if he had is mouth full. She gave a little sniff in amusement. All noises ceased. She froze, unsure of what had happened.
“Parker?”
Eliot’s voice drew her attention. She wrinkled her nose, but left her eyes closed.
“Come on, darlin’. Open your eyes. I need you to look at me.”
She gave a sharp inhale. Eliot sounded…worried. Eliot never got worried; at least, he never got the scared sort of worried. She really did not like hearing that sound in his voice. She began to try and open her eyes, to look at him like he wanted.
She felt them flutter.
“That’s it. Keep trying.”
A couple of long moments passed before the message finally got through to her eyelids. They seemed so heavy, but at last they opened. A blurry figure leaned over her. Blinking slowly, she managed to bring Eliot into focus. His lips quirked in a quick smile.
“’Bout time you woke up, Sleeping Beauty.”
She scrunched her nose in a frown as she glanced around the hospital room.
“What happened?”
“You passed out,” replied Sophie, coming up on her other side. The older woman’s dark eyes had circles underneath them.
“You need a nap,” Parker told her.
Her four teammates chuckled and an invisible weight seemed to lift from the room. She looked at them in confusion.
“Parker.” Nate’s voice captured her attention. He moved to stand next to Sophie. “How do you feel?”
“I’m still tired,” she answered.
“No surprise there. You lost a lot of blood,” said Hardison from the end of the bed.
“Yes, she did. And now she needs more rest,” said a strident voice from the doorway.
An older, but still tough looking nurse stood there, hands on her hips. She gave each of them a narrowed look.
“We relaxed the rules while she was unconscious. Now that she’s woken up, you lot need to go get some sleep before we have you as patients.”
Sophie, Nate and Hardison said their farewells to Parker and moved towards the door. Eliot pulled the visitor’s chair over and sat down. He and the nurse exchanged a long, measuring glance. Finally, the nurse huffed and pointed at him.
“Fine! You can stay, but you let her sleep. And don’t complain to me when you fall over from exhaustion!”
She left, hustling their smiling teammates out the door in front of her. Parker turned to Eliot.
“Two days?”
“That was some serious blood loss, darlin’. They did some surgery on your leg to fix you up, and you had to have a blood transfusion.”
“Oh,” she replied, letting her eyes drift shut. They popped back open.
“Hey! Did the family get the portrait?”
“Yeah, Nate met with them.”
“Good.”
She began to doze off, but not letting herself really fall asleep. She hated being vulnerable like this. Suddenly a heavy hand rested on hers. Dragging her sleepy eyes open, she looked in Eliot’s serious gaze. He gave her a half-smile.
“Go to sleep, Crazy Girl. I’ve got you.”
With that reassurance, and the comfort of his hand on hers, she let herself tumble into sleep. Eliot was here…she was safe.
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