![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
telarynTitle: Taking a Bullet
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
telaryn
Word Count: 954
Fandom: Leverage/BTVS
Characters: Nate Ford, Eliot/Faith, Detective Bonanno
Rating: PG-13
Warnings:
Disclaimer: No ownership implied, no profit obtained.
Summary: In the middle of a job about to go south, Faith takes an attack meant for Nate. Nate has to once again face the downside of his daughter being a superhero.
Author's Note: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
angst_bingo's Round 3, for the prompt "poisoning". This is a Ties That Bind 'Verse story.
They saw the sunlight spark off the rifle barrel at nearly the same moment. Eliot was moving to intercept Nate before his brain had fully processed what he’d seen. He was fast – faster than normal human speed and strength – but Faith was a Slayer. She put herself between Nate and the sniper just in time for a gleaming silver projectile to bury itself in her back.
The force of the shot carried her forward into her father’s arms. Eliot reached them a moment later, positioning himself as an additional layer of protection for the mastermind, and forcing Nate back towards shelter. If he’d been in the sniper’s position he would have withdrawn and waited for another opportunity to present itself, but under the circumstances Eliot wasn’t going to bet whoever had fired the shot thought the same way he did.
“Run!” he yelled, pulling an unconscious Faith free from Nate’s grip. It took him a split second to realize that there was a feathered dart protruding from her back; plucking it free, he swept her into his arms and followed the older man at a dead run.
Fuck! A litany of curses rolled through his mind as the part of his brain tasked with worrying about such things analyzed the device held tight in his fist. Poison…drugs… Whatever the dart had been tipped with, it had overcome Faith’s metabolism instantly. The implications of it having been meant for Nate were disturbing to consider.
All in all, he would have preferred a traditional bullet. Faith could have survived being shot.
Almost as if the sniper had heard him, the sharp crack of a semi-automatic rifle split the air. Eliot put on a burst of speed as bullets chewed up the dirt behind them – barreling into Nate and sending them all crashing through the door and tumbling to the ground. Eliot managed to twist his body at the last second and protect Faith from the worst of the impact. Nate was back on his feet almost immediately, racing to secure the door.
“Sorry, darlin',” Eliot muttered, laying Faith on her back as gently as he could. He immediately probed the side of her neck, searching frantically for a pulse.
“How is she?” Nate went to his knees on Faith’s other side.
Growling under his breath, Eliot closed his eyes and concentrated harder. He found the beat after another half-second – thready and much too fast. “Dammit,” he sighed explosively, the tension of the previous several moments bleeding out of him in a rush.
“Hardison, we need an ambulance now.” He looked up, meeting Nate’s eyes. “Faith’s been poisoned.”
*******************
Detective Bonanno had been with the police officers that responded to the reports of shots being fired. Nate had been climbing into the ambulance with Faith when their eyes met.
“You need to stay,” Nate said, glancing down at Eliot. “Spin him something he can live with.”
“That poison was meant for you, Nate,” Eliot said, his voice low and urgent. “And you don’t have a Slayer’s metabolism.”
Nate reached down and gripped his shoulder. “He’s not going to let me ride with her, Eliot. Please.”
He was fairly certain it was the ‘please’ that won him the argument. “No reckless moves,” Eliot warned, stepping back from the ambulance. He touched his ear reflexively. “Sophie, Parker, Hardison – meet Nate and Faith at the hospital. I’ll join you guys later.”
Nate looked up, signaling Bonanno as to his intentions. The police detective rolled his eyes, but nodded for Nate to go. Exhaling in relief, Nate turned and moved further into the ambulance. An EMT moved aside, gesturing him to a seat near Faith’s head. How many more times are we going to do this? he thought, heart breaking as he reached out to smooth errant strands of hair back off her forehead.
“I’m supposed to protect you,” he murmured, continuing to stroke her hair. “That’s my job.” But she hadn't hesitated. Nate hadn’t even realized there was a threat until he saw both Faith and Eliot moving towards him. I’ve got to start being smarter. The people he cared about weren't supposed to be risking themselves for him. He wasn’t some mob boss or power broker to expect people to be willing to die for him.
Especially not you, he thought. Not his only child. He’d barely survived losing his son – he’d lost his heart too thoroughly to his daughter to risk going through the experience again. “You're going to be okay,” he told her softly. “I'm your father – you're supposed to be a good girl and do what I tell you, you hear me?”
It was a ridiculous statement – enough so that Nate half expected Faith to come awake just to point it out to him. But she remained unconscious, body fighting whatever substance had been used on her. She looked so weak and fragile he could barely breathe around his fear. “How is she?” he asked, looking across at the two EMTs.
They exchanged looks, then the woman answered him. “She's stable. Your friend gave us the dart; they'll be able to analyze whatever it was carrying at the hospital. Once they know what the poison is, they'll be able to treat her properly.”
“Of course,” her partner added, his expression shrewd, “if you wanted to give us more details on what happened – how she got like this...” His voice trailed off meaningfully.
Nate managed not to rise to the bait. “You're assuming I know,” he said, turning his attention back to his unconscious child.
Author:
telarynWord Count: 954
Fandom: Leverage/BTVS
Characters: Nate Ford, Eliot/Faith, Detective Bonanno
Rating: PG-13
Warnings:
Disclaimer: No ownership implied, no profit obtained.
Summary: In the middle of a job about to go south, Faith takes an attack meant for Nate. Nate has to once again face the downside of his daughter being a superhero.
Author's Note: Written for
angst_bingo's Round 3, for the prompt "poisoning". This is a Ties That Bind 'Verse story.They saw the sunlight spark off the rifle barrel at nearly the same moment. Eliot was moving to intercept Nate before his brain had fully processed what he’d seen. He was fast – faster than normal human speed and strength – but Faith was a Slayer. She put herself between Nate and the sniper just in time for a gleaming silver projectile to bury itself in her back.
The force of the shot carried her forward into her father’s arms. Eliot reached them a moment later, positioning himself as an additional layer of protection for the mastermind, and forcing Nate back towards shelter. If he’d been in the sniper’s position he would have withdrawn and waited for another opportunity to present itself, but under the circumstances Eliot wasn’t going to bet whoever had fired the shot thought the same way he did.
“Run!” he yelled, pulling an unconscious Faith free from Nate’s grip. It took him a split second to realize that there was a feathered dart protruding from her back; plucking it free, he swept her into his arms and followed the older man at a dead run.
Fuck! A litany of curses rolled through his mind as the part of his brain tasked with worrying about such things analyzed the device held tight in his fist. Poison…drugs… Whatever the dart had been tipped with, it had overcome Faith’s metabolism instantly. The implications of it having been meant for Nate were disturbing to consider.
All in all, he would have preferred a traditional bullet. Faith could have survived being shot.
Almost as if the sniper had heard him, the sharp crack of a semi-automatic rifle split the air. Eliot put on a burst of speed as bullets chewed up the dirt behind them – barreling into Nate and sending them all crashing through the door and tumbling to the ground. Eliot managed to twist his body at the last second and protect Faith from the worst of the impact. Nate was back on his feet almost immediately, racing to secure the door.
“Sorry, darlin',” Eliot muttered, laying Faith on her back as gently as he could. He immediately probed the side of her neck, searching frantically for a pulse.
“How is she?” Nate went to his knees on Faith’s other side.
Growling under his breath, Eliot closed his eyes and concentrated harder. He found the beat after another half-second – thready and much too fast. “Dammit,” he sighed explosively, the tension of the previous several moments bleeding out of him in a rush.
“Hardison, we need an ambulance now.” He looked up, meeting Nate’s eyes. “Faith’s been poisoned.”
*******************
Detective Bonanno had been with the police officers that responded to the reports of shots being fired. Nate had been climbing into the ambulance with Faith when their eyes met.
“You need to stay,” Nate said, glancing down at Eliot. “Spin him something he can live with.”
“That poison was meant for you, Nate,” Eliot said, his voice low and urgent. “And you don’t have a Slayer’s metabolism.”
Nate reached down and gripped his shoulder. “He’s not going to let me ride with her, Eliot. Please.”
He was fairly certain it was the ‘please’ that won him the argument. “No reckless moves,” Eliot warned, stepping back from the ambulance. He touched his ear reflexively. “Sophie, Parker, Hardison – meet Nate and Faith at the hospital. I’ll join you guys later.”
Nate looked up, signaling Bonanno as to his intentions. The police detective rolled his eyes, but nodded for Nate to go. Exhaling in relief, Nate turned and moved further into the ambulance. An EMT moved aside, gesturing him to a seat near Faith’s head. How many more times are we going to do this? he thought, heart breaking as he reached out to smooth errant strands of hair back off her forehead.
“I’m supposed to protect you,” he murmured, continuing to stroke her hair. “That’s my job.” But she hadn't hesitated. Nate hadn’t even realized there was a threat until he saw both Faith and Eliot moving towards him. I’ve got to start being smarter. The people he cared about weren't supposed to be risking themselves for him. He wasn’t some mob boss or power broker to expect people to be willing to die for him.
Especially not you, he thought. Not his only child. He’d barely survived losing his son – he’d lost his heart too thoroughly to his daughter to risk going through the experience again. “You're going to be okay,” he told her softly. “I'm your father – you're supposed to be a good girl and do what I tell you, you hear me?”
It was a ridiculous statement – enough so that Nate half expected Faith to come awake just to point it out to him. But she remained unconscious, body fighting whatever substance had been used on her. She looked so weak and fragile he could barely breathe around his fear. “How is she?” he asked, looking across at the two EMTs.
They exchanged looks, then the woman answered him. “She's stable. Your friend gave us the dart; they'll be able to analyze whatever it was carrying at the hospital. Once they know what the poison is, they'll be able to treat her properly.”
“Of course,” her partner added, his expression shrewd, “if you wanted to give us more details on what happened – how she got like this...” His voice trailed off meaningfully.
Nate managed not to rise to the bait. “You're assuming I know,” he said, turning his attention back to his unconscious child.
Tags: