-hops in late at night-

Time for more Leverage fanfic, folks. 

So, this one is set in the first episode of season 2, The Beantown Bailout Job. Not too many spoilers, mainly just me writing a deleted scene we didn’t quite see where the team decides to unofficially make Nate’s apartment the new base of operations without his permission. xD

Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!

 

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Sophie came back downstairs to the bar quicker than the others thought she would. Her eyes were a little wide and she fiddled with the hem of her skirt as she hesitantly moved back towards them.

 

Going up to talk to Nate hadn’t taken very long at all, apparently.

 

Parker narrowed her eyes suspiciously and set down her glass of juice.

 

Sophie caught the look, but decided to ignore it. She cleared her throat slightly and walked closer, coming up next to Eliot, by the spot Nate had been sitting in just a few minutes before.

 

“Eliot?” her voice was just barely loud enough for Parker to catch her words over the bustling sounds of the bar around them. “Could you… possibly come with me? For just a minute?”

 

Very vague, and still nervous sounding. Parker got more suspicious. Where was Nate anyway?

 

Eliot’s brow furrowed. “Why?” he eyed Sophie.

 

She shifted her stance, running her fingers through the ends of her hair and not meeting Eliot’s gaze. “There was just… I… um…”

 

“Conversation didn’t go well?” Hardison guessed, taking another sip from his orange soda.

 

“Or didn’t go at all,” Parker guessed.

 

“Well, I…” Sophie stopped for a second and sighed loudly, puffing out her cheeks. “I didn’t exactly get to say much. I went up there and there was this… other man, with a knife. And he came after Nate and things just…”

 

Eliot was out of his chair immediately. “Some guy came after Nate? Dammit Sophie, you couldn’t have just led with that?” He ran for the stairs, and Parker and Hardison were right behind him. All three shot back questions to Sophie as they went.

 

Where did the guy go? Was Nate okay? What had happened?

 

And Sophie stayed too flustered and vague to give any actually good answers. So by the time they got up the stairs, they were all agitated enough before they got to where Nate was flat on his back in the hallway.

 

Eliot quickly got down next to him and checked his pulse, scanning him over for injuries. “Looks like he’s alright. Don’t see any blood…”

 

“His forehead looks a little red though,” Parker pointed out as she bent over to pick up Nate’s fallen hat and put it on her own head.

 

Eliot looked closer. “Yeah…” he frowned and patted Nate’s cheek a little. No response.

 

Hardison looked sideways at Sophie. “I thought you said this guy had a knife.”

 

“He did! He just…” Sophie bit her lip. “Nate sort of… chased him off before he could do anything. But then when Nate was coming back in the door, I didn’t know it was him and I picked up a baking sheet and…”

 

All eyes went to Sophie.

 

“I think I… sort of… knocked him out? By accident?”

 

“With a cookie sheet?” Hardison’s eyebrows went up.

 

“Yeah, Sophie, jeez.” Parker looked disgusted. “If you were going to the kitchen anyway… Nate has kitchen knives.”

 

Eliot dropped his head back and groaned.

 

“I just wanted some help getting him inside, alright?” Sophie spread her hands. “We can just… drop him off, I’ll leave an apology note and we can go.”

 

“Fine,” Eliot growled. He looked over at Hardison and gave a sharp nod. “Get his legs, will ya?”

 

Hardison moved over to take up his position and the two of them hefted up Nate’s limp form between them, moving for the door.

 

Parker darted in barely ahead of them, spinning in a slow circle to look around as she got to the center of the room. She wasn’t sure what she’d imagined Nate’s apartment to look like up until now, but this was a lot nicer than she thought. Up until now, she sort of thought Nate just lived in a constant state of either scheming or drinking. And all this ordinary stuff, all put away and sitting around in an organized fashion didn’t give any hint to either of those.

 

There weren’t even any top-secret blueprints or whiskey bottles lying around. It was a little jarring.

 

“I guess he didn’t give all his money away, huh?” she remarked, scuffing one sneaker against the shiny wood of the floor.

 

Eliot and Hardison dropped Nate onto the couch with a soft thump, then both of them straightened up, joining Parker in looking around the apartment.

 

“Guess not,” Hardison muttered. “This is a pretty nice place. Man, he really is digging the whole regular life thing again, isn’t he?”

 

Sophie’s eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips. “Mm.”

 

Eliot gave her a look. “Shouldn’t you be writing your apology note?”

 

“Did anyone else notice how vague he was when we asked him what he’d been doing?” Sophie ignored Eliot’s remark. “And also there was just a man with a knife that tried to kill him. I don’t think he’s staying out of the game nearly as well as he was trying to let on.”

 

She raised her eyebrows, propping a hand on her hip and gesturing to the slumped form on the couch. Nate’s head hung sideways and one arm dangled with his fingers touching the floor.

 

“I mean, look at him! He needs us!”

 

Ignoring the fact that she was the reason he was unconscious in the first place, Sophie did have a point. Everyone was quiet for a second.

 

Eliot folded his arms and glanced around the area. “I should probably… take a quick look around. See if there was anything in here that guy might have been after. And make sure nobody else is hanging around.”

 

No one stopped him as he started moving around the apartment and looking through things.

 

Parker edged closer to the couch, leaning to peer over the back. She plucked the hat off her own head and set it back down over Nate’s face, then started going through his pockets.

 

Hardison’s eyes widened. “Hey, whoa, Parker…”

 

“I’m not taking anything,” she defended. “Eliot’s seeing what he can find around Nate’s apartment so we can figure stuff out. I’m seeing what I can find in Nate’s pockets. I’m helping.” Parker pulled out Nate’s wallet, his phone, and a few crumpled receipts. She held up the phone and wiggled it, holding Hardison’s gaze.

 

A grin broke across Hardison’s face. “Well, when you put it that way…” he held out his hand and Parker tossed him the phone.

 

Sophie smirked. “I’ll take a look around upstairs.”

 

They all split up for a few minutes, all taking their own routes to figure out what they could about Nate’s life in the past months. Eliot and Sophie looked through belongings, Parker checked through his wallet, cards and receipts, and Hardison picked up on phone history and any digital trails he could find on Nate’s computer.

 

Parker frowned slightly at a hospital parking lot ticket. Didn’t Nate hate hospitals? He wasn’t hurt or anything, why was he going to a hospital?

 

“That’s weird,” she mumbled.

 

“What is?” Sophie asked as she came back down the stairs. “Find something?”

 

“Just a… thing from a hospital.” Parker shoved it over at her as she walked closer. “Look.”

 

Sophie blinked and frowned. “Huh.”

 

Eliot came back around the corner, a folded blanket under one arm. “I didn’t find much. Had no idea Nate could be so… normal.” He moved over to the couch and shook out the blanket.

 

“Oh, you guys.” Hardison’s mouth curved up in a smile as he tapped a few more keys on the computer. “Nate couldn’t stay out of the game if he tried. You wouldn’t believe this traffic cam footage I just found. He’s got a good reason to be at the hospital.”

 

Eliot stiffened as he bent over to lay the blanket over Nate. “You got into traffic cams already? How could you possibly have…?”

 

“Eliot, I find your lack of faith disturbing.” Hardison spun around in the chair. “See, there was a big accident downtown earlier, right near a bar. I was already planning to check it out, but hadn’t yet. And sure enough, Nate was there.”

 

Sophie’s eyes widened. “Nate was in a car accident?”

 

“No, but he was around. And there’s a dad and his little girl who are very thankful he was.” Hardison turned back around and double clicked on one of the many small windows he had open on the computer.

 

The others moved closer, watching the grainy footage on the screen. It wasn’t the best video quality, but that was quite obviously Nate helping the young girl and her father from the overturned car just before it burst into flames.

 

“So they were the ones he was seeing at the hospital,” Eliot eyed the battered figures of the father and daughter.

 

“Bingo. Not only that, but there are definitely some signs of foul play around the car crash so…” Hardison leaned back and spread his arms. “Guys, Nate already has a job for us.”

 

“That, and if he’s made enemies by checking it out already, there’s a good chance the man with the knife wasn’t alone,” Sophie pointed out.

 

Eliot pressed his lips together in a tight line. “Probably best if we don’t leave him alone then.”

 

“Nate does need help with the job too,” Parker pointed out. “I mean, what if he needs someone to… steal something for him, or hack something, or punch someone, or do weird accents? He can’t do that without us.”

 

“Trying to go into a job by himself isn’t gonna end well,” Hardison drummed his fingers on the desk. “And we all know it. He’s gonna get in way over his head.”

 

There were a few seconds of silence, then Parker spoke again.

 

“I think we should stay.”

 

“At least until morning,” Sophie agreed, fiddling with one of her earrings. “Just… to make sure he’s okay.”

 

Eliot nodded. “I can stand guard. Watch the door.”

 

“And I’ll get a head start on this next job here,” Hardison spun back around in his seat, grinning. “Tomorrow morning, we are back in business, people.” He paused for a second. “I mean… as long as Nate says we are.”

 

Parker snorted. “No, we’re definitely back in business.”

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Hope you liked it! 

Have a great rest of your week, everyone. And I’ll be back with my monthly wrap-up soon. -fingergun-

~writefury