Disclaimer: I absolutely do not own Leverage! I only play with the characters...

A/N: So, this is my first Leverage story. The idea came from FrankiesGirl21 and is dedicated to all the Leverage convertees (you know who you are). It's also somewhat of an early birthday present to FrankiesGril21 since this whole story idea was hers. Thanks Nic!

It was getting harder to breath. That was the only thing that kept spinning around and around in her head. Almost like a carousel. A sparkly carousel. With tigers and dragons and…wait…she was getting distracted now. She needed to just breath.

Why did she need to breath though?

Oh, that's right, it supposedly kept her alive. She was getting really tired though, and her chest was all raspy and tight, making funny wheezing noises whenever she managed to take a breath. She knew what that meant.

She was having an asthma attack.

Darn it! She hadn't had one in so long. She didn't even think about it anymore. There were just so much better things to think about. Like Eliot's new shiny sword! That was a nice sword….

Focus! She had to focus on breathing. Like one of her foster moms had told her once when she was little. But, this was such a bad time for this! She was supposed to be setting up new cameras in her warehouse. Unfortunately, the vents were full of dust, cobwebs, and apparently some dark green mold. It would've been fun and cool if she was actually able to breath right now.

She had started coughing not long after entering the vents, but she kept going. She coughed sometimes in vents so it was no big deal after all. Then the wheezing had started and she got really hot and sticky, but she was almost done. Only two more cameras. And she couldn't just stop what she was doing. It was too important! No one could be allowed to get into her stuff or get near her without her knowing. Without her being ready.

But then, just as she was finishing with the last camera update her breath hitched painfully in her tight chest and she got that light headed feeling. And she was so sleepy. She had tried to move. Really, she did! But the dizziness and wheezing hit her full force like a giant four wheeler in the chest and she collapsed.

Now, she couldn't move and the vent seemed to be closing in on her. The only sound echoing through the small encasement was her own, labored breathing and occasional cough as more dust filtered into her lungs. And she was so sleepy….

Wait, what was that?

She knew she heard something…or someone? No one should be here! This was her place. This wasn't right. She needed to get up and see who broke into her lair. No one should be breaking into her warehouse!

She tried to turn onto her side, move forward, but the movement apparently made her lungs unhappy. They tightened painfully like a snake wrapped around her chest and then another coughing fit started making it impossible to catch her breath.

She was still coughing uncontrollably and struggling to take even a small breath when a vent panel only a foot or two in front of her went flying upwards with a loud 'bang'. The loud and unsuspected noise made her jump slightly, her breath hitching in her chest again.

"Parker?" Came a gruff voice that sounded slightly muffled.

She knew that voice! That was Eliot! Looking up she watched with wide eyes as a big hand brushed away cobwebs as it felt around before grabbing onto the vent's ledge along with another hand. Then suddenly big, muscular arms were coming into view, followed by the head and shoulders of Eliot Spencer. His hair was held back with a blue bandanna and he had dirt on his face, but also a strange look in his eyes when he first spotted her. What could that be? Anger? No…worry! The big, tough hitter who always called her crazy was actually worried about her. She would have grinned and maybe even giggled if she could actually breath.

"Damn it, Parker!" The hitter murmured angrily, but it didn't frighten her. He never really frightened her. She knew he was really just a big teddy bear. Or maybe a big cuddly tiger would be a better description? Either way she wasn't afraid of him because she knew he would never actually hurt her. It was in his eyes whenever he glanced at her.

They all thought she wasn't good with people and she wasn't…but Eliot wasn't just 'people'. He was her big ninja like teddy bear who always had her back and somehow she could always look at him and just…know. Know what he was really thinking and know he was never really serious when he called her names even if he thought he was.

"Parker! Open your eyes, darlin'." Eliot demanded, but with an edge of softness only he could manage.

"Eliot." She rasped out once she lifted the eyelids she didn't even know had closed and looked at Eliot who was squatted down by her head.

"What the hell happened? What's wrong?" He asked while sliding his hands under her and turning her over onto her back.

"Can't…breathe." She somehow managed to croak. "Asthma attack."

Eliot stopped pulling her towards the hole in the vent and stared down at her for a second. "You're asthmatic?" He asked, sounding slightly shocked and angry at the same time.

"Not…in a…" She tried, but was interrupted by more coughing. "long time. Got over it."

"Yeah Parker, you obviously got over it." She heard him mutter under his breath as he swatted away cobwebs with one hand while still pulling her with the other.

Her eyelids were getting heavy again and since Eliot was here she figured it was okay to close them. Just for a minute. Her head was all fuzzy, but she was still vaguely aware of him somehow getting her out of the vents. Then she felt his strong arms under her legs and shoulders as he carried her somewhere. She found she didn't really care at this point where he was taking her.

Her head was resting against the solid mass of his shoulder and that, plus the vibrations from his chest, seemed to calm her down. Being this close to him, wrapped in his protective arms, brought her a strange sense of security she'd never really felt before. She just knew everything would be alright now.

Unfortunately, he soon put her down on something soft and fluffy. Too soon. If she had the energy she would have pouted and asked him to pick her up again. He would have rolled his eyes and mumbled something about her mental state, but not before she'd catch of glimpse of a small smile. But she didn't have the energy right now.

"Parker, do you have an inhaler? Or a nebulizer?" His voice was kinda hazy, but determined, so she figured it'd be a good idea to answer.

"Bottom drawer, third…cabinet….in plastic baggy." She mumbled, gasping softly. The warm hand that had been on her cheek suddenly left and her eyes opened from the loss of contact. She then vaguely realized in the back of her mind that she was laying down on her bed and Eliot was going through her filing cabinet as if a bomb was about to go off and he only had a few seconds to grab something.

She wasn't really sure how long he was gone, but the next thing she knew he was standing over her again. He placed a hand in-between her shoulder blades and lifted her torso up while holding her rescue inhaler to her dry lips.

"Come on, Parker. On the count of three take a deep breath." He instructed and once he reached three she did as he said. They then repeated the action making her cough uncontrollably and gasp for breath, but this time she could actually take in some air.

Her lungs were finally beginning to loosen, the wheezing slowly fading, and the ability to breathe becoming easier. After a few minutes the haziness subsided as well and she opened her eyes. Only then did she realize why she was so warm and comfy.

Eliot was sitting on the edge of her bed, one leg dangling over, one arm wrapped around her waist from behind while his other hand was holding her slightly turned head against his chest so it was in-between his shoulder and his neck. And he was rocking. Just slowly moving back and forth as his hand occasionally ran through her hair gently.

It was official….she had never felt so safe and so cared for in her entire life. It was a feeling she wasn't used to and for a minute it scared her, but then the fear subsided and knew she never wanted to give this feeling up. It was hers now and no one could take it from her!

"You alright now, darlin'?" Came Eliot's deep, but soft voice that held a tinge of concern.

She nodded and brought her own hand up to clutch the one he had resting on her side. She didn't want him to leave and maybe her holding onto him would keep him here.

"Good. The team's got a new job. You weren't answering your phone so we were looking for you. I swear Parker if you ever pull something like this again…" He explained and trailed off, but didn't move to get up.

That explained why he was here, but that also meant they'd have to go eventually. She didn't want to though! She didn't want to lose this feeling! She didn't want to lose him.

"We got plenty of time, sweetheart." He whispered as his chin came to rest gently against the side of her head. "And I'm not leaving."

She smiled happily and closed her eyes, relaxing back against him for a bit longer. Apparently he could tell what she was thinking and could understand her just as well as she understood him.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this story! Hope you liked it!