"It's instinct to fight for survival, but what is it to protect the ones you love?" ~ me

Getting back to the office had been hell. The adrenaline rush was wearing off and he could feel his body protesting. He had stripped off his shirt to stop the bleeding when Moreau had shot the Italian woman so he was now left in a tank top. He quickly donned his jacket before entering the loft so no one would see his own marks.

He looked around. They'd dropped The Italian off at the hospital and Nate was tending to Sophie. Hardison was working on finding Moreau again. "Where's Parker?" he asked harshly; it was important he find her after what he heard...

"Vents somewhere," the hacker mumbled without looking up.

Dismissing him, Eliot grabbed a beer and stalked out to his flat. He had a house on the edges of town but had bought out the top floor of Leverage Inc in case he was too injured to drive. He followed the sounds of the thief's breathing on the com, as she'd forgotten to take it out. He could tell she'd been injured, presumably in the bomb just by hearing it as he fought the gunman. Why the others didn't notice, he had no idea but Parker had as much survival instincts as he did. And neither of them showed weak moments.

Especially after a day like today. First-aid kit in hand, he stopped at one end of the hallway, right near the vent. Tapping on the archway lightly he slipped out his com from his ear before he called to her. "Parker, are you ok? Gotta come out, darlin', c'mon."

The cover clattered to the carpet and a small hand stuck out with her own earbud. The scrapes on her hands already visible. She was in shadow but the heavy-hitched breathing was a give away. Silently she reached toward him; both groaning as he carefully helped her down. Hobbling they both went into his room and sat on the bed. "I'm sorry," she whispered touching his ribs softly.

"It's ok, it's what I do," was his again automatic phrase, pulling away.

"I just - what now?" she asked.

"I'll patch you up and get'ya up to Nate's; then I'm going home." What he really meant was he was disappearing for a week or two, get his head on straight and heal up.

"Eliot, no, I -" she went to touch his arm, feeling the bruised muscles tense.

"I said leave it, Parker!" he growled fiercely.

She flinched for a second but then leveled a stare on him. Even hurt and broken, she still didn't back down. What did that make her now? Ever fiber of her being was saying to crawl back into that vent and hide. But Eliot - Eliot was just as broken, if not more. And she knew he needed her. Even if his mind was shutting his heart down to protect himself.

"No." Parker then reached over to grab the bandages. She made to start cleaning her own cuts when he grabbed her wrist. His body was still tight and angry but the touch gentle. "I can patch myself up."

"So can I," he countered. After a moment the thief sighed and let him do the work. There were some she couldn't fix alone. Truth of it was, the bomb, and the gunfire she'd heard from his battle scared her. She could've lost him. Parker was resiliant but she was still emotionally vulnerable. And if either the hitter or tiny thief were honest with themselves; they had feelings for each other. "There, all done."

Eliot trusted Parker. She may be 20 pounds of crazy but he had come to trust her more than anyone. And she'd had his back a number of times. When she was done fixing a few scrapes on his knees, back, and popping his shoulder back in, they both carefully stood. Grabbing some of her extra clothes that were kept in his bags, he offered the shower to her. "Thank you, Eliot." Parker then did something unexpected. But really you never know what to expect from the crazy blonde... She kissed him!

Eliot and Parker both groaned at the tenderness of the moment. "I'm glad you made it out of there. When I heard you tell Nate - and then the bullet sounds, I... first the first time in so long I thought, this is worse than losing money."

And as strange as her declaration sounded, the southern man found it touching. "Thank you, sweetheart. You too." He gently touched her cheek before placing a kiss to her temple. "I'm so glad you're ok. If Hardison had cut the wrong wire...," he ended with a growl before pulling her to him again. "I'm dangerous, Parker. Today just proves we shouldn't be doing this."

"But I heard all of it, I saw it in your eyes. I know you're afraid of becoming whatever monster Moreau tried to make you, but you're not. You did what you had to protect us."

It'd still take the hitter awhile to calm down, to reign control of his instincts again. And it'd be some time until Parker felt comfortable enough to go home instead of sleeping in the airshafts. But it did happen eventually. And one night, they both found themselves waking up in each other's arms not in the least feeling like it was wrong.