Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Leverage or any of its charaters.

AN1: So I've come to the decision that I will just do my take on certain episodes that I feel could've had underlying relationship between Alec and Eliot.

I would like to apologize in advance for any mistakes that you may come across. I'm only human so it's normal to makes mistakes here and there.. Anyways enjoy the chapter...

The crew were all sitting in their usual spots waiting for Hardison to return from the funeral home so they can could continue their con. After almost two hours of sitting they began to worry.

"I've called his cell and it keeps going straight to voicemail." Parker said putting her phone back in her pocket.

"I'm trying to track his earpiece but it's not tracking his location." Eliot said as he continued to type away on the keyboard.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Nate asked.

"Of course I know what I'm doing. I know more than just being a hitter." Eliot gritted through his teeth.

"You can cook." Parker said.

"Parker why don't you go see if he is down at the bar." Sophie suggested sending an apologetic look at Eliot. She knew he was devastated that they couldn't find Hardison.

/-/-/-/-/

The heat began to surround him as he breathed in deeply. His eyes slowly beagn to open to pitch black. Panic began to quickly take over and his first instict was to sit up. When he realized he couldn't sit up he began filling aroud to see where he was at. He knew he was in something small because he didn't have much room to move.

He began to fill on his person to see if he had anything that he could use. He found a lighter in his pocket so he quickly flicked the flame. He saw he was in a casket. So many thoughts ran through his mind. He tried pushing it open only to come to the conclusion that he was burried. He laid still for a second trying to think of how to get out of this situation. Then he put his finger to his ear to see if they had discovered his earpiece and hope was in his future when he felt it.

/-/-/-/-/

"Hello." a faint voice came through the earpieces causeing everyone to stop in their tracks.

They all looked at each other and made their way to the middle of the floor.

"Hardison?" Sophie asked.

"Can you hear me?" Alec asked.

"Hardison are you there?" Eliot asked. Sophie looked at him cause she could hear the fear in his voice.

"I... I think I'm burried." he said. He didn't want to say too much cause he didn't want to use up all his oxygen.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Eliot asked.

"(the black lady) and I were trying to negotiate a deal on some bonds. The rest after that is a big blur." he said.

"Hardison how big is the casket?" Parker asked as she came rushing back through the door.

"I don't know." he said.

"You listen to me Hardison I'm gonna get you out of there." Eliot said.

"There aren't that many cemeteries here. That's the only place they can bury someone in broad daylight without any suspecion right?" Sophie suggested.

"She's right." Nate agreed.

"Okay so what do we do?" Eliot asked getting antsy as he paced back and forth.

"Look up the cemteries I have an idea." Nate said.

Nate made his way over to the window and made a few phone calls.

"Eliot please talk to me. I'm scared." Alec said.

"I'm here man. I'm not going anywhere." Eliot said. All he wanted to do right now was grab his lover and never let him go. But he didn't want to let his guard down in front of everyone.

"What if I run out of air?" he asked. He was obviously scared and asked a valid question. What if they don't get to him in time.

"You won't. I promise we are going to get you." Eliot said trying to reassure you.

"I keep thinking about Christmas." he said.

Eliot's eyes grew large because he knew exactly what Alec was referrring to. That was the first time he told Alec that he loved him and wanted to spend the rest of his life with him. He has never felt so comfortable or complete with someone as he did with Alec. He never wanted to live life without him ever again.

"Do you remember that?" Alec asked Eliot.

He didn't care that everyone else could hear their conversation. He just only focued on Eliot and his voice. Focusing on Eliot took his mind off of him possibly dying while he was already buried. He knew Eliot was aprehensive about the others finding out about them.

"Of course I do. It was one of the best days ever." Eliot said. He glacned at Nate who gave him a look that he wasn't too fond of.

"Can you tell me one more time? I just want to hear it." Alec asked.

His gut turned because a part of him knew that even though Eliot loved him he wouldn't say it over the earpiece. A tear fell down his face and a sniffle escaped his mouth.

Eliot ran his hands over his face when he heard the sniffle. He was so mad at himself for not being brave enough to tell Alec what he wanted to hear. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Nate.

"Tell him." Nate said winking at him.

Eliot eyes grew wide. Nate knew all along. He couldn't believe it. He thought they wouldn't be okay with them two being together. He thought that they would think it would mess up the team dynamic.

"I love you Alec." Eliot said

"I love you too Eliot." Alec said.

"Aww. It's about time." Parker said.

"I promise you I'm gonna get you out of there. We're on our way to get you babe." Eliot said as he grabbed his jacket and they all ran out the door.

Almost twenty minutes later each one of them had seperate vehicles. Nate was in a regular car while Sophie was in an ambulance. Parker was in a cop car while Eliot was in the fire truck.

"What do you hear?" Nate asked as each of the them were at the designated cemteries.

Each one of them had their sirens blasting loud as it could go. Maybe if they had the roaring loud enough maybe he could hear it underground. They began to panic when Alec didn't respond. There was dead silence over the earpiece and Eliot's heartbeat began to pick up.

"Alec! Come on Alec say something." Eliot said yelling.

"C'mon Hardison you there?" Nate said.

"C'mon babe please say something. I can't lose you." Eliot said.

"Mmhm." a mumble came in.

Eliot ran his fingers through his hair with a sign on relief.

"Thank God." Eliot said.

"What happened?" Alec asked a bit confused.

"You're running out of air so you passed out." Nate said.

"What do you hear Hardison?" Sophie asked.

"I think I hear a siren." Alec said.

"Okay that's good. What kind? What kind of siren do you hear?" Eliot asked quickly.

"I don't know." Alec said.

"Come on babe. Think for me. Listen closely. What kind of siren do you hear?" Eliot asked again.

"I think it's an ambulance." Alec said.

Before Alec could even finish the word "ambulance" Eliot was already flooring it. He ran through every stop light. Nothing would stop him from getting him to the love of his life. He was the last one to get there. He couold see them from a distant and already saw that they were digging.

He ran as fast as he could possibly run. When he reached them he fell to his knees and used his hands to remove dirt. They were moving a mile a minute. He kept throwing up dirt until he could lift the top of the coffin. His heart began to beat faster when he saw brown polished wood come into his sight of vision.

"We're right here babe. We're right on top of you." Eliot said to no repsonse.

Alec not responding made him go faster and faster. He lifted the lid up and pulled Alec out and wrapped his arms around him.

"Don't ever scare me like that again babe. I thoght I was going to lose you." Eliot said as he continued to hug Alec.

"Thank you." Alec said after Eliot finally released his death grip.

"You're apart of the team Hardison. We always got each other's back. Plus I'm pretty sure Eliot would've gone a killing spree if we wouldn't have found you." Sophie said hugging Hardison.

"I'm glad you're okay." Parker said hugging Hardison.

"Yeah try not to get buried next time." Nate said trying to lighten the mood.

Eliot wrapped his arms around Alec again. He never knew he could love another man so much. He would give his life any day of the week to save Alec.

"I love you Eliot." Alec said giving him a kiss.

"I love you too." Eliot said.

He didn't care about saying it in front of the team anymore. From now on he was gonna make it a point to say it everyday now.

I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter.

All reviews good or bad are welcome...

Please don't forget to review...

Until next time...

-J