A/N This fic was a gift for burn_the_ships for Leverage Gift Exchange.

Siberia- Russia

It was cold, very cold in the small room. Hardison was working on a computer typing as fast as he could with his fingers freezing even though he had thick gloves on.

"We should really make it a rule to never do cons in cold countries." He complained to the others through comms. "It's so cold here that even the connection is freezing"

"Hardison, shut up and hurry up." Eliot Spencer hissed. "You're at least inside. What do you think I'm feeling outside in the middle of a snow storm? Hot? Do you want to switch places?"

"Ehm… no. I was just saying." He continued typing.

"Parker, is everything okay at your end?" Eliot asked having not heard from the thief from quite some time.

"Yes, sure"

The thief was sitting Indian style on top of the building. Around her waist was the tight knot of her harness as she was ready to repel down when Hardison was finished with his part of the heist.

"The snow falling is so nice" she added. "So hypnotizing" she was studying each flake falling down.

"There's something wrong with you" Eliot shook his head.

"Guys, I'm nearly done here. I will have the files on my…" Hardison interrupted his speech. "Something is wrong"

"What?" Eliot was now on high alert. He had made sure the guards were all been taken care of. Most of them were out, dealing with a diversion they had created, others were still unconscious from when Eliot knocked them out.

"Something is happening with the computer. It fried my equipment and it's starting some sort of countdown." He kept typing on the keyboard but nothing was happening, he was locked out.

"Countdown for what?" Parker asked now standing still.

"I don't know, but I don't think it's for something good." Hardison was agitated.

"Hardison," Eliot ordered. "Get out of there, now!"

He didn't have to be told twice. Hardison quickly got up, leaving his things there, and made his way towards the door. He tried the handle but it didn't budge. He tried working on the electronic keypad controlling the door, but nothing happened. With his tablet computer, he tried to hack in the system, but it was completely shut down.

"Guys, I can't get out." Now he was panicking.

"What do you mean you can't get out?" Eliot hissed in the comms, already running towards the building.

"What do you think I mean by I can't get out?" He was shouting "I'm locked inside!"

"Parker!" Eliot simply said and the thief understood.

"I'm on it" she nodded even though he couldn't see her. She started making her way down the side of the building towards the floor and room where Hardison was trapped in.

"You're gonna have to go out of the widow."

"It's a bullet proof glass" Hardison reminded them. "How are you going to break it?"

Parker smirked. "Leave that to me! Everything explodes" She was already outside the black tinted glass window hanging from the harness. She places C4 on the glass and started moving away from the blast zone.

Eliot was standing on the ground right beneath where the action was happening. "Hardison step as far away as you can from the widow."

"Not to rush you or anything, but the countdown is down to 18 seconds."

Once Parker felt she was safe from the blast she pressed the button initiating the C4. Unfortunately the explosion didn't break all the thick glass, but just cracked it. "Hardison, jump!" Parker shouted.

"You what?" the hacker shouted back in disbelief.

"Jump through the cracked window, I'll catch you" she said with confidence.

"I don't…" he was shaking his head.

"Do you trust me?" she said with pausing. Part of her was afraid he would say no.

"Always." He whispered.

4 seconds left.

He ran as fast as he could and with his eyes closed he jumped towards the glass, breaking the already fragile crack. Behind him the computer and consequently the room exploded. He was scared, the heat was burning his back despite the cold weather. He felt falling down, fast, and it was a 16 floors high jump. They said that when you're about to die you see your life flashing before you, Hardison saw only blank. For the first time his brain had shut down. Then he felt it. The last thing he felt was someone grabbing his arm and slowing down his fall. That was the last thing before he let the blankness take over.

"Hardison! Hardison!" Eliot was slightly slapping his friends face trying to wake him up.

He had seen the whole scene unfolded before him. Hardison jumping out of the window, the explosion behind him, Parker catching him and coming down.

"How is he?" Parker got out of her gear and kneeled beside them.

Eliot was checking for injuries. There were some visible scratches on his face from the glass, he patted his arms, legs and lastly his back and head. And that's when he felt it, even though his gloved hand the feeling and smell was unmistakable: blood. He slowly turned his friend around to check the damage. He heard Parker gasping.

"That doesn't look good."

"No it's not" He said solemnly. Hardison needed to go to a hospital and fast, but they were in Siberia, in Russia, where they were going to ask a lot of questions that they couldn't answer.

It was not looking good, not good at all.

Tenerife – Canary Islands

Nathan Ford was sitting at the hotel bar sipping his drink. He was waiting for his wife who had gone to the ladies room minutes ago. It had been six months since they had left Portland and the rest of the team to run the business. Nate and Sophie had taken advantage of the retirement to travel around the world and relax. It had been nice to let Sophie take charge of his life for the time being. No more getting inside the bad guys head, no more planning, no more… well the conning and grifting was still there, but it didn't dictate their lives.

His thoughts were interrupted by the yelling of a man at the far table. He was yelling at a poor waitress who certainly didn't deserve so much hatred. Nate looked up just to see his wife turning around the corner and watching the scene. The arrogant client stormed off and passed next to Sophie almost knocking her down. Nate smirked. His eyes followed very carefully his wife's movements and his smile got brighter when she walked closer to him and sat on the chair to his right.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked before sipping his drink again.

"I don't know what you're talking about" she smiled coyly.

"Oh really?"

Sophie smiled playfully and then showed him the wallet she had lifted from the man. "He deserved it. He's lucky I didn't do worse to him. Shouting at that poor girl like that"

After finishing his drink, he got up and held his hand to help Sophie up. The girfter opened the wallet she had lifted and put all the notes on the table, making sure the young waitress would get a high tip.

"You're incorrigible, you know that, right?" He watched her dumped the now empty wallet in a trash can.

"And you love me for it." She smiled and stopped his walk to kiss him. "Have they called yet?" They continued their way towards their hotel room.

He sighed. "No, not yet."

"They're two days late." She pointed out as they got inside the lift.

"I know, I'm sure they're fine, they're probably just caught up in a con." He tried to reassure her. He was getting slightly worried to. Their pact was that the three younger members of the teams called every two weeks so that they knew they were still alive. Nate wasn't usually so over protective, he did tell them he was confident on their abilities to carry on his work, but they were going after potential dangerous bad guys and both him and Sophie wanted to be reassured that they were okay.

"They've never missed a deadline. And if they knew they weren't going to make it, they've always told us before." She turned towards her husband. "What if…"

"Sophie" he stopped her putting his hands on her shoulder. "don't go there. It will only worry you more. We give them another 24 hours. If we haven't heard from them by then…"

"Then we can start worrying." She finished off for him.

The lift reached their floor. He put an arm around her shoulder and they walked down the corridor.

"When did you become such a mother hen?" he chuckled.

"Nate," she lifted her head from his chest. "About that…"

She was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He took it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID. "See!" he showed her the screen. "It's Eliot" he answered. "Hey Eliot, we were…" he stopped on his tracks. "Yeah, that is a valid reason."

Sophie noticed how her husband's expression changed. Something was wrong.

"Where are you now?" the mastermind asked. He nodded. "Okay, we'll be there as soon as we can." He closed the phone call.

"Nate," she said agitated. "Nate, what's going on?"

"We need to go to Moscow. They're there. They need our help." They reached their room and Nate opened it with his keycard.

"What are you not telling me?"

He sighed. He knew he couldn't keep her in the dark for long. "It's Hardison. He's at the hospital."

She gasped. "How…"

"It's bad."

Ten hours later Nate and Sophie finally reached the hospital in Moscow. They got off the lift and the first thing they saw exiting were Eliot and Parker in the waiting room. The thief was curled up on a chair. Her eyes red and puffy from the tears she was trying so hard not cry. She couldn't be seen as weak, not since Nate left her in charge of the group. It was all her fault. It was her fault that Hardison got hurt.

Eliot was standing vigil against a wall. He kept one eye on Parker, wondering if the thief was going to flee somewhere when things got too tough for her, and one eye down the corridor, in a room where his friend was laying inside.

"Eliot" Nate called in a whisper.

The hitter turned around and some of his tension left his shoulder at the sight of his old friends. "Nate" he was enfolded in Sophie's embrace and he awkwardly returned the hug.

"How is it going?" she asked when they separated.

"He still hasn't woken up. He took a nasty blow to the head and a splinter is still lodged against his spinal column. He needs to have a second surgery once he has recovered, or there's the risk he will be paralyzed."

"Oh gosh" Sophie gasped covering her mouth in shock.

"How is Parker taking it?" Nate nodded towards the thief that still hasn't turned around since their arrival.

"She blames herself" he sighed. "It was a trap Nate. They wanted to take all of us down"

The mastermind's eyes darken. He didn't like that someone was targeting his team. "Show me everything you have got"

Eliot passed him Hardison's tablet, hoping the mastermind would know how to get the information he needed. "Hardison would have been more useful now" he sadly chuckled. "He tried to teach me something in the last few months, but you know me and technology"

"Yeah," Nate sat down on one of the chairs and started looking at the files that Hardison had gathered and organized.

Meanwhile Sophie slowly walked towards Parker who was looking out of the window, her gaze lost in the distance.

"Parker…" Sophie tried to get her attention carefully.

The young blonde turned her head and then in one second she was standing up, her arms around the grifter. Sophie was at first surprise, Parker rarely showed emotions, but once she recovered she hugged the thief tight and whispered in her ear that everything was going to be fine.

One hour later Nate had all the details he needed. Eliot, Parker and Hardison had been contacted two days earlier by a father, John Morse, saying that his son got involved into a gang and he wanted their help to get his son out of it. Hardison followed a trace and he discovered that the gang was just a small fish in a big pond. They decided to go straight to the big fish since he was also on their list, Ilia Kharkov an international arms dealer who smuggled money to finances various terrorists cells.

The hacker had located the office in Siberia where Kharkov kept all the list of his clients and transactions. That's when the con went south.

"Are you sure it was a setup?" Nate asked the hitter once he was finish reading the files.

"Yes" he nodded. "Hardison did the usual background check on the client and everything was in order, but when I called the number he gave us it was disconnected. I have asked a friend at the police department to check the house and it was empty, like no one ever lived there. Someone sent us Morse as a client and then made sure we wouldn't come out of that office alive."

"They certainly went to a lot of trouble, why not just kill you in Portland? Why send you all the way to Siberia where there was the possibility that you could have survived the explosion?" Nate wondered to himself. He started thinking, connecting all the dots and filling the blanks. "Because one of you getting hurt would have made Sophie and I come here, all five of us in one building…"

Eliot was now in full alert. He looked around searching for something or someone suspicious.

"Alec" Parker exclaimed getting up fast and running towards the room. They still weren't allowed to go in, but they could look at him through the glass window. The hacker was still unconscious attached to all the tubes and wires.

"They knew exactly who to hit first and leave us vulnerable now that we don't know who our enemy is" Nate told Eliot and Sophie.

"I don't like it, Nate. Not knowing who we're against with."

"I know"

Nate and Sophie went to a hotel to rest since they were still exhausted from the voyage and the jet lag. After a lot of convincing they managed to drag Parker out of the hospital too and she was now resting in her room. Eliot had stayed behind to vigil on Hardison.

"Nate, how dangerous is it going to be?" Sophie asked her husband as she was drying her hair with a towel after the shower she had taken.

Nate was laying on the bed studying again the files, hoping to find a clue. She crawled next to him to take a peek at the screen. "Whoever is behind this, they have an advantage. They know who we are, our strengths and weaknesses. We've got…" he sighed and lightly threw the tablet at the end of the bed. He covered his face with his hands and laid back. His head nestling on Sophie's lap. "We've got nothing, Sophie. Nothing"

She ran her hands through his hair, trying to relax him. "I'm sure you'll figure something out. You always do." She leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead. "Now let's try to get some sleep."

"I can't." he shook his head while getting up. "I want to look at those files again. I'm missing something, I'm sure"

She sighed knowing that nothing she could say would convince him to rest. "Okay," she got under the bed covers. "I need to sleep. Start from the Kharkov, I think he's the key"

He nodded and kept working. He got through one of Hardison's program and did another research on Kharkov. He read his file and finally one name was familiar. One of Kharkov past associates was someone they had already met.

Nate picked up the phone and made a call to someone. Someone he didn't think he was going to hear again so soon.

"Hello?"

"Sterling"

"Nate, this is a surprise. Aren't you travelling around the world with your lovely wife?"

"We've got a problem"

"What makes you think I'm going to help you? I'm pretty sure we're even now."

"Hardison is in a hospital. He's seriously injured. Someone is targeting my team and I think I know exactly who he is, but the last time I saw him I left him in your custody" he was slightly angry.

"Who?"

"Tony Kadjic"

"That's impossible. He should be still in prison." Sterling replied irritated. "I mean, he is in prison!" No one escapes from one of his prison.

"Could you check, please? My team was dealing with an old associate of his and I don't believe in coincidences, do you?"

"I'll make some calls. I'll let you know when I find something"

Once Sterling hung up, Nate went to bed knowing that for now he couldn't do anything more.

The morning after Nate, Sophie and Parker went back to the hospital. For now, Nate kept his discoveries for himself, at least until he heard from Sterling again.

They had just arrived when the nurse informed that Hardison had finally woken up.

"Hey" Parker got closer to the bed were the hacker was still laying.

"Hey, mama" he looked around and saw that everyone was there. "Hey, did these two cut your vacation short?" he slightly nodded towards Sophie and Nate.

"Nah," the older man waved him off. "Moscow was our next stop anyway" he smirked

Eliot kept an eye on the hacker and knew that something was wrong. "Hardison?"

The hacker gave a small sad smile. "Of course you would be the one to notice."

"What's going on?" Parker frowned.

"I can't feel my legs." The young man confessed after a small hesitation. "They say it's because of the splinter still inside. I need to have a second surgery to remove it and hopefully it will get better."

Parker gulped. "When…?"

"The sooner the better" he said " Maybe even today"

"Alec…"

"It's going to be okay, baby girl" he ran a comforting hand over her arm. "I'll be fine."

Nate's phone vibrated in his pocket. "Sorry, I need to take this" he said leaving the room.

Sophie watched him walk away, something was going on.

"So?" Nate answered the phone knowing already who was at the other side.

"You were right." Sterling snapped. "Apparently Kadjic escaped from prison a week ago and no one informed me about it. Nate, he had over three years to plan his revenge against your team. I'm pretty sure I'm on his list too."

"You need to take Olivia and Maggie somewhere safe" he told him. He still had trouble believing that his ex-wife was dating Sterling.

"I'm on it. I'm going to send you all I've got on Kadjic. I've got all my agents in full alert. He's going to go back in prison, where he belongs."

Nate re-entered Hardison's room.

"Nate, what's going on?" Sophie asked. "Did you find something?"

"Kadjic is behind the attack. Kharkov is working for him. Sterling just confirmed me he escaped from prison one week ago."

"At least now we know who we're dealing with" Eliot hissed. He could now put a face on his enemy and he couldn't wait to beat him up.

"Yeah," Nate nodded. "We can't play defense here. We need to attack, put an end to this before he hurts somebody else"

"I wish I could help you, guys, but…" he looked down at his unmoving legs

"The only thing you need to worry now, Hardison, is getting better" Nate reassured him.

"There is something I can still do for you." Hardison picked up his tablet. "Give you a location for Kadjic and Kharkov." He began typing and others shared a smile. At least the incident didn't bring his spirit down.

Reluctantly, the team left Hardison at the hospital. The only one that stayed behind with him was Sophie, who had insisted on being there for the hacker. Nate had looked at her strangely, realizing that there was something else behind her decision, but he had dropped the subject.

Nate, Parker and Eliot went to meet Sterling. Eliot wasn't too happy to work with the Interpol agent again, but the extra agents would have been useful. Kharkov's villa was surrounded by lots of armed men and he couldn't take all of them down.

"So," Parker looked at both men. "What's the plan?" she couldn't wait to taser someone. She needed to make someone pay for putting Hardison in a hospital bed.

"The plan is that my men and the Russian forces will go inside to arrest a known fugitive" Sterling told them firmly. "I still don't know why you're here" he complained.

"Kadjic is after us, you don't think we should be involved?" Eliot challenged him.

"I know that your presence here will only interfere with my plan"

"We took down Kadjic the first time. It's you that couldn't keep him locked up" Eliot replied heatedly.

"Guys. Guys. Enough!" Nate tried to take control of the situation. "Eliot is right. He wants us, so let's make him think he does."

"No way, Nate" Eliot shook his head understanding what was the mastermind's plan. "He already shot you once, there's no way you're going there as a bait. I'm not going to make Sophie a widow."

"It's me he wants. I testified against him at his trial. I had all the evidence against him. I'll draw him out and you can take care of the rest. Going there with an assault team will only cause unnecessary victims."

They knew he was right, but that didn't make it easier.

So the put the plan in motion. Nate called inside the house telling Kadjic that he was alone outside the house. A couple of men came outside to pick him up and escorted him inside towards a study

"Well, this is a surprise" Kadjic smirked from behind the desk. Ilia Kharkov was standing next to him. "How long has it been? Three years?"

"I'm here voluntarily, Kadjic. It's me you want, isn't it? Leave my team alone." Nate pressed a button from one of Hardison's gadget he had inside his jacket's pocket.

Tony Kadjic chuckled. "Have you got any idea how many problems your team caused me? I lost all my money, all my assets. It took me awhile to gather everything from the prison. How many favours I had to promise people so they could get me out. I knew taking down that hacker of yours would hurt you. He was the strong link. How did you even figure out I was behind it?"

"You should choose your friends better" Nate smirked. "Someone always talk"

Kadjic turned his head towards Kharkov.

The Russian looked shocked. "You don't believe him, do you? He's obviously lying. I would never betray you."

Nate shrugged. "How do you think Hardison survived the explosion? How did I find you?"

"Shut up" Kharkov shouted pointing a gun at Nate. "He's lying Tony. I swear." He begged.

"You don't believe me?" Nate continued. "Check his phone"

Kadjic took the mobile phone from Kharkov's pocket.

"Hit redial" Nate instructed.

Kadjic did as he was told and soon after Nate phone began to ring.

"That's not possible!" Kharkov was astonished. He then saw Kadjic pointing his gun at him. "They are playing us. I swear, I…" knowing there was nothing he could say to convince otherwise, he started shooting and running towards the door. He didn't even make a step outside when he felt something hard connecting with his jaw. He stumbled back and he looked up to see what happened. There standing above him was a very angry hitter.

"That was for my friend Hardison" he picked him up by his collar and threw him across the room. "Now, it's my turn"

Kadjic, realizing he had been played again, recovered from the shock and he pointed his gun towards Nate again.

"You. You're going to pay for this." He was about to pull the trigger when a jolt of electricity ran through him. He collapsed on the floor and right behind him was a grinning thief with a taser in her hand.

"I so love doing that"

Nate just smirked and shook his head. He looked around him to see Interpol and the Russian police arrest the rest of the of Kharkov and Kadjic men.

"Well," he heard Sterling come from behind him. "You did it again, Nate"

"Well... I had helped. Even injured, Hardison can create serious damage. Does this mean we're even again?"

James Sterling went to the drink cart and poured two glasses of scotch. He passed one to Nate and smirked. "Until the next time"

When they got back, they couldn't wait to tell the good news to Hardison and Sophie. The hacker was probably just about to wake up from his anesthesia after his second surgery and they hoped it had been a success.

The hacker was already awake when they walked inside his room. "Hey," he smiled "So did you take the bad guys down?"

"Did you have any doubts?" Eliot smirked.

"And you…" Parker asked hesitant. "How did it go?"

With a lot of effort, he slowly wiggled his toes. "It's not much, but it's better than nothing" Hardison smiled. "They say with a lot of therapy, I'll get full use of the legs. I just need to be patient."

"That's great, man" Eliot high fived him. "Don't you worry. I have already put down an exercise regime to have you up in no time"

The hacker groaned. "I'm going hate you at the end, aren't I?"

The others chuckled.

"Well, Sophie and I decided to stay in Portland for the time being. At least until you aren't all back to business."

"Yeah," the grifter smiled. "I need someone else to talk to besides Nate. Being with him 24/7 was starting to get frustrating."

"You what?" Nate exclaimed scowling, snapping his head towards his wife.

"I'm just kidding, darling" she playfully kissed him, but once he had his head turned again, she shook her head to the others.

Two weeks later the gang was back in Portland. Parker slowly pushed Hardison's wheelchair through the brewery's doors and they were surprised by a party that the employers of the Brew Pub threw for their boss. Everyone was having fun and Eliot was passing around glasses of wine to make a toast.

"No, thanks" Sophie quietly refused, taking a glass of grape juice instead.

"Since when do you say no to wine?" her husband inquired.

"Well," she blushed. "there's something I've been meaning to tell you since Tenerife." She was scared of his reaction. "Nate, I'm pregnant"

Nate's eyes doubled their size "Seriously?"

"Seriously" she nodded. "We're going to be parents"

"Wow," he was shocked. "that's a surprise"

"A good or a bad surprise?"

He smiled. "A good surprise. Definitely a good one" he put his arms around her waist and pulled her body against his to give her a full kiss. He then laid a hand on her womb, even thought it was still early to feel anything.

"Well, congratulation guys." The others smiled and hugged the couple.

"I guess we'll be staying in Portland for a while now" Nate smirked, not minding it for a bit.

"To family" Eliot proposed a toast.

"To family"

THE END