CHAPTER 41

I Wanna Stand Inside The Fire...

Walk Blind-folded On A Wire...

Every Man Dies... But Not Every Man Lives...

Have You Ever Skipped A Stone Across The Water...

Have You Eve Hitched A Free Ride On A Train...

Every Man Dies... Every Man Dies...

-Not Every Man Lives By Jason Aldean-

Eliot lay in the large hospital bed pretending to sleep while he listened to the muted voices that were too close. The voices, Nate and Sophie's to be exact, were quietly disputing what needed to be done as far as Eliot was concerned. They were in disagreement of whether Eliot needed to know about everything that had happened so far; which he was sure meant they didn't know whether to tell him or not that Kat was gone.

He really wished they'd take their argument outside his room, because the one thing Eliot was good at, even more than his masterly survival skills, was hearing what wasn't supposed to be heard. Eliot had the best ears in the business, a little-known fact he kept to himself. How else did they think he could distinguish the very distinctive differences between certain types of sounds? The skill helped him when he had to stake out his targets or lurk as Hardison had taken to saying. You a lurker Eliot; a lurker, and that ain't right, man. Not right at all.

Eliot quietly smiled to himself as he remembered surprising Hardison and Nate once with his lurking ability. What they hadn't latched onto was the fact that he'd heard every word that had passed between them and the client at the time. Hardison only commented on his lurking but forgot that he'd heard the entire conversation as well. Yep, Eliot heard a lot more than his team gave him credit for.

Finally, when the words she's gone and can't be found passed through his brain, he'd had enough. "Stop." He said in a neutral tone, but just loud enough to instantly gain their immediate attention. He slowly opened his eyes to see the two watching him from their stance by the door to his room.

"Eliot..." Sophie began, her eyes neutral. She was in grifter mode, he noticed; which meant she was hiding something from him.

No Soph..." He stopped her as he took in a slow breath. He'd been removed from that damned ventilator just that morning and while his voice was still a little ragged, it was surprising strong. It was his throat that was still a little raw from the torture of that tube and breathing too deeply not only rubbed his throat wrong, it also brought renewed pain to his chest. His new wounds were even worse than the first two he'd had to endure. Now he had so many holes in his body he couldn't help but feel like he was losing air from all of them. He carefully grabbed the hanging bar over his head to help pull himself up into a more comfortable position, but with his leg hanging slightly above the bed getting the leverage he needed wasn't easy.

Nate as well as Sophie quickly moved to his bedside to be prepared to offer their help. They knew he would refuse unless he just couldn't get by without it, but they also knew that while he was a proud man, he wasn't stupid. If he needed help to avoid further injury, he'd ask.

"I'm okay, guys. Gotta be able to move on my own eventually." He grumbled when Nate swore under his breath at the pained looks Eliot was giving them each time he moved even the slightest bit. "But I'm thinking that ain't right now." He paused as he unscrunched his eyes and focused on Nate. "Don't just stand there, Nate. Help me sit up." He grinned slightly to show he understood the man's frustration with him.

Nate shook his head and moved over to grip the younger man under his shoulders and help him shift a bit higher up in the bed while Sophie carefully pushed the button to slowly raise the bed for him; they worked in tandem to get him where he wanted to be.

"Better?" Nate asked when it seemed the hitter was settled into a more upright position.

"Yeah, better." Eliot spoke quietly before looking the older man directly in the eye. "And... I'll be even better if you... could hurry these doctors up and get... me outta this place. I hate hospitals... and I'd rather be back at my place in my own... bed where I can focus on healing up by myself." He tried to breath in between words, because it was hard to breath and talk, but he just ended up in more pain. He needed to stick to short answers, he reminded himself.

"Eliot, you were just shot this second time barely two days ago, there is no way the doctors are going to let you leave until your levels are where they want them. It's barely been a complete week since you were shot the first time and now these new wounds have aggravated everything Kat did to get you on your feet then." Sophie stopped when she realized she'd spoken Kat's name. She panicked and quickly looked at Nate for help. They'd been trying hard to keep him unaware of where the woman was, and now she'd gone and mentioned her.

Eliot quietly chuckled as he looked at Sophie's panicked face. He winced as the pain shot through him, but he couldn't help that these two were trying their best not to upset him thinking he'd break if they brought up Kat. All this time as a team and they didn't really understand him on this front. But that was his fault, he guessed, since he liked to keep his romantic life off limits with the team and he never mixed those two parts of his life... until now.

"You don't have to panic Sophie. I know Kat's not here... and I know you don't know... where she is."

Nate's eyebrows shot upward as he focused on Eliot. "You know?"

"Yeah, Nate. I know." He said quietly. "And you two can stop right now on... with the arguing about... how to tell me about it. I've always known... she wouldn't be here. Her life... the way she has to live... well, it's like I've had to... do my whole life... you have to move on. Her identity... here is burned. She'll need to... move on... somewhere else and... reinvent herself." He said as he moved his arm to cover his bare chest as he slowly breathed in and out between words. Short sentences were easy, but longer speeches required more oxygen and his lungs were still getting used to just being able to keep air inside them. They didn't have the strength to handle breathing and talking so Eliot ended up sounded winded when he spoke.

"But..." Sophie began. Listening to Eliot's explanation made sense, but something nagged at her and she didn't know how to put it into words. She wanted Eliot to be happy and he'd seemed happy with Kat from what little they'd learned about her, but he knew she'd move on. Yet, something wasn't quite right... Then it hit her. He knew she'd move on, yes...but he hadn't asked how she was. He might not know she'd been shot saving him.

They knew because they'd watched it unfold, Sophie and Emma from inside Lucille with Hardison while Nate with Vance and Matthew from the warehouse. They'd seen Evan slowly tormenting Eliot and they couldn't get inside to him in time. Then suddenly Kat was there to take the last bullet meant to kill their hitter... and it was Kat who had finally stopped Evan Chapman.

Having this new knowledge caused more anxiety within Sophie as she tried to figure a way around Eliot finding out too soon about Kat's injury along with her disappearance. She would have to talk with Nate as soon as possible, but first she needed Eliot stable. She wished she knew where the woman was, because right now Eliot needed her.

He had his family and his team, and normally that would have been great for anyone else, but Sophie knew in her heart it wasn't everything Eliot wanted. His team he could deal with but having Matthew and Emma close was going to be hard on him. Eliot wouldn't want them to see him hurting like this; he'd want them to get back to their lives and not be worrying about him. He'd crawl even deeper inside himself if they stayed too long. Add his missing Kat to that, and he'd probably end up taking off for God knew where to hide until he was able to pack all the pain down deep and put a lid on it.

He'd never mention her again to them, and they'd never know what exactly had happened between Kat and their hitter. The topic would be off limits and that just hurt Sophie to think about it. She'd just have to make sure he knew he could talk to them.

Eliot took pity on Sophie misinterpreting the expressions that crossed her face for worry about his health and is feelings for Kat. "Nate, why don't you... go hunt up one... one of those doctors. I want out... of here by... by morning." He turned to Nate and tried to convey his need to speak with Sophie alone.

"Ummm, yeah I'll go do that." Nate said as he moved away from the two and left the room.

Eliot turned to face Sophie and he allowed most of his defenses to melt away. He knew she needed to see him, not just the hitter, but him. She needed to know that he was still their Eliot as well as a man who had loved and most likely lost. "Soph..." He began in his soft dusty voice that Kat had said was like taking a long shot of Whiskey and honey in one quick move. "I know Kat's okay and I know... I'll see her again. You don't... don't need to worry about... me pining away." He tried to put into words what he felt she needed to hear. "I'm fine. Yes... I miss her, but I know this isn't the end. So, don't... worry so much. I'll find her... or she'll find me. And I'm not going... to sulk... around like a dewy-eyed schoolboy."

"But Eliot - it's more than just knowing you'll handle it or get along without her." She paused as she tried to think of how to do this. Nate hadn't wanted to tell Eliot anything yet, but Sophie knew from personal experience it was better to know when someone you care about is injured as well as missing. She knew Eliot would need to know.

This time Eliot reached out and took one of Sophie's hands in his. He'd always loved a woman's hands and Sophie's were strong, yet soft at the same time with her long tapering fingers and warm palms. "Soph... I know you're trying to tell me something... something else. And I... already know." He looked deep into her eyes. "But I also know she's all right."

"How can you know that?" She asked quietly as she moved to settle herself next to him on the large bed. "How can you know she's okay?"

Eliot heaved as deep a sigh as he dared and released Sophie's hands when she settled next to him. The movement caused a slight ripple of pain to coarse through his chest, but he could feel the painkiller taking effect as he watched the monitor attached to the PCA machine showing it would deliver the medication whether he wanted it or not. "I remember what happened... in that warehouse Sophie... and I know what Kat did to save me. I spent five days... with the woman and I don't think there is anyone... I would trust more to have my back than her. I know what she's had... to survive in the past and... and I know she will be fine. I know I'll be fine."

Sophie smiled at that. The man was nothing if not painfully self-sufficient. "I know you think you'll be fine, but I still worry. Love is a hard thing Eliot and I know you love her."

He couldn't help the grin that broke out on his face. "You're worried about my love life when you and... and Nate... are trying to keep everything you guys are... doing on the down low? I mean, yeah... you two told us so we'd know, but you guys are still walking around on eggshells with each other... and... and you're worried about my love life?"

"Yes, I suppose you're right. I shouldn't be talking about you and your life when I don't even know where mine is headed." She laughed softly as she thought about it. "But I can't help it, Eliot. I worry about you. I worry about all of you."

"Yes, mom." He replied without thinking. Then laughed till he started coughing and choking for air at the horrified look on Sophie's face. He sputtered between laughter and trying to breathe as she looked at him.

"Eliot Spencer!" She started to reach for his call button but stopped when his hand gently but firmly gripped her wrist and pulled it away. He slowly took in several breathes to get back in control before he spoke. "I'm fine Sophie, really..."

"Yeah right. Sure, you are. You big lump of hair and muscle and... and bullet holes! You'll be fine! You're always fine! And I am not old enough to be a mother, let alone yours!" She replied indignantly as she watched him trying hard not to laugh again for fear of a repeat of this last coughing session. "Fine. If you're so fine, then you can just lay there laughing and coughing and... and choking while I go find Nate and those doctors and tell them to shackle you to your bed for at least another week no matter what you say." She got up grumbling about men and their idiotic behavior as she walked out the door leaving Eliot caught between the laughing and the notion that she just might convince the doctors to keep him if she put on her best Sophie Devereaux grift.

"Sophie! Get... back here!" But it was too late. The woman was out the door before he could get the sentence out.

He didn't see the devilish grin on her face as she focused in on Nate along with Emma speaking to one of Eliot's doctors just down the hall. Call her mom, would he? Well, we'll just see about that! She squared her shoulders and smoothed a non-existent wrinkle from her skirt and with a final shake of her hair she headed off in their direction.

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"So, this is what I've been able to piece together happened after we spoke to Eliot on the phone when we turned back to head to the warehouse." Hardison said as he focused in on the other people in the room.

Haridson and Parker, who had been released from the hospital the day after being admitted, Nate and Sophie were in Nate's loft along with Vance and Matthew. Emma was at the hospital making sure Eliot did the full week that Sophie had managed to convince Eliot's doctors he needed before even being allowed to leave the ICU department. They had readily agreed - that was a no brainer for them - but the extra two weeks she tried to tack on to that was a little harder. While the doctors had been convinced it was necessary, it was Nate who had to step in and pull Sophie back, because he knew that Eliot would just give the hospital staff a harder time for it.

While Nate was ready to let the hitter stay there for six months if needed, he knew Eliot would escape the first chance he got, so it was futile to get the hospital staff involved in her scheme. He didn't know for sure what Eliot had said to Sophie, but after their little talk yesterday, Sophie was on a mission. He'd figured it out later though and he'd had to laugh at how the woman had grifted her way through the hospital staff and gotten everything she'd wanted, much to Eliot's chagrin.

He smiled to himself as he figured it would be worth it though since every minute Eliot was in the hospital was a minute towards his recovery. He could smile now without worry, since the doctors no longer termed Eliot's care as survival, but as recovery. Their hitter was going to be fine, albeit he had a long road to get back to 100 percent, but he was back home, and he was safe. He couldn't help thinking that this Kat person had done her job. She'd saved Eliot. She'd taken him out of danger and cared for him and when the end came, she'd taken the final bullet meant to kill him. She'd killed Evan Chapman before he could kill Eliot and she'd given him back to them.

So, it didn't matter what had gone down in the warehouse really, because he knew everything he needed to know. Now all he really needed to know was just how well Eliot would be. Not because of Kat, but because of his brother. His past. How would Eliot be after he processed all this history about his brother and what he'd become? Would they get their hitter back the way he'd been before? Or would there always be something in his past that could come out of the woodwork and take him from their grasp again?

Nate heaved a heavy sigh as he tried to listen to Hardison explaining everything with Vance and Whitmore's help on what had happened before they had gotten to the warehouse. Nate knew he couldn't do much about this situation, but there was one other thing he wanted to focus on once everyone went back to their respective lives. He'd have to handle his travel plans himself as he wouldn't want Hardison having to help keep his secrets, especially from Eliot. He'd already had the hacker set up the necessary bank accounts with two different banks here in Boston. Nate had then contacted both banks and made sure they sent enough money to the bank in the city he would be heading to soon. He'd also contacted one of the doctors that had helped care for Sam. The doctor had found the best oncologist in the states and he was prepared to take on this case for Nate when he was needed.

Now there was just one more thing Nate intended to do as soon as he could, and he knew that Eliot couldn't know about this. Eliot had to face his past on his own. He'd had to face Emma in the hospital, and he'd have to face the rest of it soon. And to do that, Nate knew that one part of Eliot's past needed to be around when he did.

Nate was going to take on this job alone. Eliot had saved all of them at one point or another. Eliot had saved his own family as well as his team family more than he'd hurt them no matter what he thought, and Nate knew Emma had saved Eliot this time as well as Kat. The two most important women in Eliot's life had his best interests at heart; and now so did Nate. He smiled again as he realized that if the others thought of Sophie like a mom, then he must be like the dad and as such he needed to protect his family. So, first chance he got he was going to make sure Eliot got the chances he deserved.

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Somewhere in Eliot's musings as he listened with glazed eyes while Emma continued to rip him up one side and down the other about what a huge pain in the ass brother he was and how she was so going to make sure Nathan Ford and his team chained him to the furnace whenever he got a wild hair to take on something like that warehouse scene ever again...

"What the hell is a Fort Apache approach?" Sam asked over his shoulder as he steered the SUV, he was driving onto the main highway heading for Boston. They were making good time and should be at the warehouse within the hour.

Kat was sitting in the back seat behind Sam while Eliot rode next to her. He'd said riding in the back would look better if anyone watched them arrive at the warehouse. He'd wanted Kat in the back with him so that Evan's men wouldn't see her until the last minute.

"It means I need coverage to all exits except one. I want one way in and one way out." Eliot paused as he worked on the bandage closest to the open neck of his shirt. It was coming undone since he'd pulled the scrubs off and dressed quickly in jeans and a shirt that Sam kept at the cabin in case he needed them. They were roughly the same size with the exception that Sam had two inches on him and this meant the jeans were a bit long, but with the heavy work boots Eliot had found on the back porch of the cabin, he figured he'd be okay.

"How are they going to do that if we get there first?" Kat asked as she pushed his hands away from the bandage and reached over to retape it with the tape she'd pulled from the medical supply bag Sam and Bella kept in the car for emergencies. "Stop that. You'll get it messed up and then you'll get it infected. I did not come all this way to have you keel over from a damn infection Eliot Spencer."

Eliot couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him at her tone. When she looked up sharply at him, he held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, darlin'. Just haven't met a woman in a very long time that I can go toe to toe with."

"Yeah, right." She replied with sarcasm. But as she lowered her head to work on the bandage while he relaxed next to her, she slowly let the small smile take over. When she'd finished the job, she reached to button the button over it, but leave a couple undone in case she needed to get to the wound again. "Okay, now again, how is your team going to know what to do since we will be there first?"

"Because that's the way we work...or did work." He paused as he searched into the bag that Kat had brought with them that she'd pulled from the back of the closet. The bag contained several guns with extra ammo and clips, but it was the knife holster that he latched onto. He pulled it out of the bag and looked at her questioningly.

Kat smiled as she saw the rather unorthodox gear and probably not most men's choice of weapon, but it was important to her. "That was Joe's, my older brother. He didn't much care for guns and he may have had to carry a rifle when on duty in the military, but he preferred a quieter approach. Said he liked knowing he could control where a knife went."

Eliot paused as he looked at her. He'd not heard of anyone else feeling the same way he did about weapons. "What about guns?" He asked as he maneuvered his way into the holster adjusting the straps to the right length under his arms.

"Joe didn't like guns. Said you could control everything until that bullet left the barrel, after that it was up to God. Personally, I think he preferred close contact with the enemy. Look them in the eye, you know?" Kat spoke quietly, but she couldn't help noticing how Eliot's fingers rubbed the well-worn leather as if it was a new toy. He paused though, when she mentioned God. "You prefer knives over guns?" She asked watching his expression.

Eliot looked up into her eyes. "Yeah. And I can agree with your brother up to a point."

"Which point? Having control or not?"

Eliot smirked as he replied, "Neither. About God. In my experience when the bullet leaves the barrel of the, it ain't God controlling it."

She met his eyes as he finished adjusting the straps and she couldn't help but see that for just a second he'd let his defenses down. "Yeah, I guess I can agree with you there." She replied quietly.

"Eliot? Are you even listening to me at all?" Emma finally reached out and poked him as she'd been trying to get his attention for the past minute.

"Ow!" Eliot said as he felt the poke to his uninjured left side. "What was that for?"

"You were tuning me out... again. Just like you always do when you don't want to listen to me." She said as the anger slowly faded from her tone. "You were in your own little world there..."

She could see it in his eyes. Eliot had always had their father's eyes more than she had and Eliot may have learned how to close himself off from others, but not her. No matter how far apart they were, she could always read his eyes. She sighed heavily as she knew there was no way she would ever get him to stop taking responsibility for every disaster that happened in this world. The man was a walking billboard that advertised "dump your crap on me - I can take it".

"What?" Eliot asked again as he heard her sigh. "Stop worrying about me, Em."

"Stop worrying about you? Really? Just stop worrying about you like I can stop Spence from eating all the green M & M's in the bag first thanks to you? Do you even know how to stop worrying about everything and everyone around you?"

Eliot chuckled at the M & M's statement, as it was his fault Spencer liked them the best.

"Yeah laugh it up, bullet hole boy. Thanks to you, Spencer thinks the more green ones he can eat the more he'll be like his Uncle Eliot and his father; big and strong and can take down anything."

Eliot raised his eyebrows at her. " 'Bullet hole boy?' That the best you can do?"

Emma looked at him with the look only mothers could master, but it always worked on Spencer and Matt. And now it would work on Eliot, she thought. "Don't you even go there with me. You try my patience Eliot Spencer and I am not responsible for what comes out of my mouth when I'm talking about you." She gave in as she took in his soft puppy dog look that Eliot always saved for just her. "All right, lay off the puppy eyes." She chuckled as she watched a nurse come into the room just in time to catch Eliot's sad pathetic look. She didn't know what was funnier, the fact that Eliot would have never let anyone else see that look or the new look as the nurse began fusing over him thinking he was in pain.

And as she got up to leave the room while the nurse fused over him and to take a break, she couldn't help smiling to herself when she heard Eliot's reply to the nurse questioning him on his pain level.

"Can't be more than a three right now, so I think I can handle that sponge bath darlin'."

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Kat sat in the large porch swing on the porch in the pajamas Flo had given her as she watched the sun coming up over the large home to the east. She sipped her coffee and stretched to help ease the stiffness in her side. A couple more days of healing and she'd be ready to start moving around more to work the stiffness completely from her bones.

She sat there alone thinking of Eliot. Flo had been keeping an ear out and knew he was going to be all right. When she'd told Kat that he was off the ventilator and resting better, she'd been so relieved... and happy. She knew she should leave soon, to move on, but right now she felt she was safe enough to allow her to continue to recover.

Flo didn't know what Kat had done at the warehouse before they'd gotten her out of there, no one did except Eliot and probably his team, but all that mattered to Kat was that Eliot was alive because of what she'd done and he was back with his team; that was the most important thing right now to her.

Flo and Benji agreed that she should stay in Boston. The doctor and Evan were gone and Eliot was the only person who knew the real her, and they were sure she'd be safe here. But Kat knew they just didn't want her to leave. She was at a crossroads herself on leaving, because of what she'd found here as well, but she needed to think rationally. If she wanted to continue saving those that needed it, she needed to be prepared to move on.

It excited her to think one day she could run into Eliot again, but it also kind of scared her as well. Seeing him again would bring up how much she'd done for him, how much she'd sacrificed of her walls just for him. No one, especially a man had ever seen her for who she really was. No one knew the whole story of her life. No one knew what she could do to save a life. No one that was except for Eliot Spencer. In less than 5 days that man knew everything there was to know about Katharine Malone-Wakefield and that both scared and thrilled her at the same time.

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When Sophie had seen that Hardison meant to go through the video footage of the warehouse scene next, she decided she didn't want to sit through that again. She couldn't watch as Eliot went down again. She'd seen it firsthand and it had been hard enough then. She didn't really want Parker to see the footage either but knew that the girl probably wouldn't leave.

"Ummm, I'm not really interested in watching this again, Nate." She turned to meet his eyes next to her as she whispered to only him. He nodded and she quietly got up from the table making her excuses. "Hardison, I think I'll leave this to you men to peruse, while I just go do a little shopping. Eliot's gonna need a few things when he gets home."

Parker looked at Sophie then at Nate. She wanted desperately to see what had happened to Eliot, but for some odd reason she suddenly had the urge to make sure Sophie was okay. She didn't know exactly why, but her mind was telling her she should go with Sophie. Maybe she was crazy after all, but she knew if she begged Hardison would play it for her in private so she really wouldn't miss anything and she kind of had the need to get outside.

She'd been cooped up since getting out of the hospital herself and her shoulder, while it still hurt, wasn't as bad today; and she really wanted to get some stuff for Eliot too. Some kind of welcome home gift. Maybe a new set of knives since everything in his safe house was lost. "Can I come too Sophie?"

Sophie almost fell over on her way to the apartment door when she heard Parker ask that, but she quickly regained her composure and smiled at the girl. "Of course, sweetie. I'd love the company. And you can help me remember everything Eliot lost in his safe house. We'll get everything he needs to stay here with Nate while he recuperates." She continued to smile as she winked at Nate.

"Great." Hardison said as the two women left the apartment. "Okay, since the girls aren't going to be seeing this, I'll just change things a bit and play the entire video. I had planned on cutting out most of the actual shooting because Sophie and Emma already saw it, and I didn't want Parker... well, I didn't want her to see El like that."

Nate grinned slightly and just nodded his head as he watched the young hacker work his keyboard magic, before the screens in front of them came alive with sight and sound.

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Kat froze when she heard Eliot's words after one of Evan's men released Bella and she grabbed her to send her to safety. She knew she'd make it, because Evan's men were dispatched all around the warehouse, but Eliot had chosen the one door they weren't guarding as closely. His one way in was their one way out.

Evan had men all around the main entrance and exit doors, but he'd neglected to focus on the door to the office that led to a side door to the outside. There Nate waited for the two women so he could get them back to the van while Matthew, Vance and some men they'd called for help watched the main entrance just outside of Evan's men's sights.

Eliot knew from experience this layout would mean the main entrance and exit doors would be where Evan would put all his attention. He knew Evan. So, he'd made sure Vance and Matthew knew to watch this other exit for Bella and Kat. It was Nate's job to get the women clear, but when Kat didn't come out with Bella, he hesitated for only a moment.

"Vance, Kat isn't with Bella. She stayed inside." He whispered as his earbud transmitted to the others.

Hardison had equipped Vance and Matthew with earbuds for just them and they were also equipped with military comms for their backup. Nate and Matthew had managed to convince Sophie and Emma to stay in the van with Hardison and it hadn't really been that hard for them to agree since they knew this was going to be handled like a military mission from here on out.

They had a better view inside the van with Hardison's monitors anyway, so they could warn anyone on the team if something came up they might not see.

"Damn." Vance replied as he listened to Nate. "Okay get Bella to the van and you stay there too, no arguments."

"Not arguing." Nate said as he pulled Bella along towards the main gate where Lucille was parked.

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Kat had guided Bella to the office door then quietly had turned back to help Eliot when she heard the first gunshot. She raced back around the corner just in time to see Eliot down holding his leg and Evan standing over him with a gun in his hand.

She hadn't seen a gun in his hand when they'd been facing each other talking. She was still a good 100 feet away as she watched Evan raise the gun again and aim at Eliot who just looked at the man standing over him.

Damn it Eliot! Fight back! She mentally screamed as she broke out in a run. She pulled the gun from the waistband of her jeans where she'd hidden it upon entering the warehouse. Se and Eliot had left Sam with the SUV to tell Eliot's team what they had planned to do, so she had no one right now to help her get to Eliot.

She ran as fast as she could, but she couldn't stop the second gunshot as she watched Evan shoot Eliot again; this time in the chest. She was too late she thought as she saw Eliot fall back completely onto his back now, not moving. Damn him, he was letting Evan kill him. He wasn't fighting at all.

This couldn't be happening, she thought. "No!" She screamed as she came close enough to bring her gun up and point in front of her.

The man on Evan's right turned to her and before he could raise his gun, she fired twice taking him down. The two men on Evan's left went down from bullets fired from an unknown source. She could only hope it meant that Eliot's team was here. She rushed past the man she'd shot and slid to her knees just in time to put herself between Evan and Eliot.

The man was aiming to take another shot at Eliot, and she managed to push herself into his line of fire just as he pulled the trigger for the third time. She felt the bullet tear through her left side, but she managed to bring her gun up and fire two shots dead center of Evan's chest. She watched as everything seemed to move in slow motion around her.

She'd killed two men and through it all, all she really saw was Eliot laying on the cold cement of the warehouse floor not moving. Not moving or breathing... Just as she felt her vision blurring around the edges, she was suddenly aware of the overpowering smell of gunpowder that hung in the air around her. She reached out to touch Eliot, but she couldn't be sure if she was touching him as she felt her world tilt violently to her right. She was going to pass out and she didn't know if Eliot was alive or dead. She didn't know if she'd been too late to save him this time.

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Epilogue

Nate sat in the parked rental car across the street from the address Emma had given him. He didn't know for sure if the man would speak to him or not, but he needed to do this. He'd promised himself that if they got Eliot back and alive, he was going to do his best to fix this part of things.

He hadn't had a drink in two solid weeks since they'd gotten Eliot back, and while he knew it wouldn't last, he was certain he would be able to at least control thing better.

He knew too well how much it cost a man to lose his son, and he wasn't going to sit by and let that happen again. He drew in a deep breath and got out of the car and walked across the street. He opened the gate and walked up to the front door of the modest ranch style house that had probably been here for forty years or so.

He raised his hand and knocked on the screen door and waited for the door to open. He could hear a television or radio playing inside and soon he heard movement as someone made their way to the door.

When the other man with the same blue eyes he looked at almost every day answered the door, he smiled.

"Mr. Ford, I presume?" The man said lightly as he held the screen door open to allow Nate entrance to the house. "I didn't expect you to actually come all this way."

Nate held out his hand and when the other man slowly gripped it for the quick handshake, he could feel the slight tremors that the disease was causing the man and his body to fight against every day. "I said I'd come, sir. And I hoped you'd be more willing to talk if you had to face me." The man smiled and Nate could see the resemblance right away then. At first the eyes were all that he'd thought the two men shared, but now seeing that smile, he knew this man probably smiled as rarely as Eliot himself did. Yes, the two did favor each other. "Shall we sit down and have that talk now, Mr. Spencer?"

The End

Update: AN: I was reminded by someone that I never read the letter Eliot wrote to his father. At the time, I wasn't sure what I was going to write. But now, I'm mulling it over and will probably add that here as soon as I come up with something I like. So be watching for updates!