Fic: Mr. Big Damn Hero
Title: Mr. Big Damn Hero
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Beta: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Rating: G
Genre: Friendship, smidgen of Angst
Word Count: 1,806
Characters/Pairings: Miriam, Ben, Eli, mentions of Hannah and David
A/N: Just a quick note to say we're going back to one fic a week (instead of every other week), because I'm impatient like that. I'm sure you're all disappointed.
Miriam steps into Eli's bedroom, glancing at him as she grabs his ringing cell phone from his bedside table.
He's dead to the world, sound asleep from a combination of pain killers and sheer exhaustion, and she knows there's nothing that's going to wake him up except his own body.
She glances at the phone as she pulls the door shut, smiling at the name on the display, and pushes the button to answer it as she moves into the kitchen.
"Hey, Benny."
"Mom 2. Hey." Ben sounds surprised, and a little confused. "Not that I'm not thrilled to talk to you, but where's Eli?"
"He's asleep," Miriam replies, bending to check the casserole in the oven. "He just got home from the hospital earlier today."
"Whoa!" Ben exclaims. "Hold on, the hospital? What happened? Is he okay?"
Miriam leans against the counter, smiling at Ben's rapid-fire questioning, and the concern in his voice. "He's fine. Injured in the line of duty."
"The line of duty? He's been working for the FBI for what, a week now?"
Miriam's smile turns wry. "A week and a half."
"What the hell happened?"
"I'm sure he'd rather tell you himself, but I can assure you, it's thrilling."
Ben laughs quietly. "He's okay, though?"
"Yeah, nothing life threatening. I just came down to stay with him for a few days, help him out until he can manage on his own again. You want me to have him email you?"
"Yeah, when he's up to it."
"I will." She grabs a bottle of tea from the refrigerator, and moves into the living room to settle on the couch. "You up for talking to me for a little while? I need an update on what you've been up to."
Ben laughs. "Sure."
A couple of days later, Eli's sitting up in bed, his laptop open in front of him, and Ben's face filling his screen.
"All right, Mr. Big Damn Hero," Ben says, gesturing at Eli's shoulder. "What the hell happened?"
Eli laughs, glancing down at the large bandage on his shoulder. "I got shot."
"Yeah, I figured that much. How?"
Eli takes a breath, wondering how best to condense the story.
"My boss's daughter was kidnapped," he says finally, "and I got shot, um, rescuing her."
Ben raises his eyebrows. "Okay, big damn hero indeed. So wait, are we talking like, little girl, or -"
Eli shakes his head, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "She's 23."
Ben's eyebrows rise even higher, and he opens his mouth to speak, but Eli cuts him off.
"Calm down, Ben. Yes, she's cute, but she's just been through a horrible experience, and her dad is my boss."
"Okay, okay," Ben concedes, holding up his hands. "But come on, dude. Why the hell were you even involved in something like that already? Last time I talked to you, you said you were just gonna be pushing papers for the first few weeks."
Eli shifts a little, looking down at his lap. "Everything just happened really quickly. A lot of stuff went down, and I was helping Agent Cole -" He breaks off with a short laugh, and shakes his head. "God knows how many rules I broke. I'm surprised I haven't been fired. Or maybe I have, and they're just waiting for me to get better before they tell me."
"I doubt it, not if you saved your boss's daughter."
Eli nods. "Yeah, maybe David - er, Agent Cole said something."
"If you're on a first name basis already, then I have no doubt." Eli laughs, and Ben grins. "What's her name? His daughter?"
Eli can't stop the smile that curves his lips. "Hannah. I met her the day she was taken."
Ben makes a knowing sound. "You're in love already, aren't you?"
Eli laughs again, and shakes his head. "I don't know. I only talked to her for a few minutes -"
"Apparently long enough to risk your life for her."
Eli shrugs as best he can with one injured shoulder, picking at his blanket.
"I don't know what it is about her," he finally confesses. "I only talked to her for a few minutes, but all I could think about for the rest of that day was her. I don't even know that much about her, just what I learned over the course of the investigation, but I want to get to know her better so bad."
"What does she look like?"
Eli smiles, Hannah's face filling his mind, though he tries to avoid thinking about her bruises.
"A little shorter than me. Long blonde hair, hazel eyes, cute little dimple in her chin. Amazing smile." He shakes his head, shrugging again as he looks at the screen. "She's gorgeous, Ben. Maybe the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. And her face when she saw me down in the basement - I can't get it out of my head."
"You are so far gone already."
Eli snorts. "Shut up."
"So go after her."
"Ben, she's just been through all of this shit, and her dad has this rule about her not dating agents -"
"Then be her friend. Give her time. But don't let her get away."
"Yeah," Eli murmurs, his lips curving at the thought of getting to spend more time with her.
He takes a breath as he looks back at the screen, trying to ignore the knowing smile on his best friend's face.
"Okay, I haven't talked to you since Christmas, so what's going on with you? Hopefully not getting shot at like me."
"Nah," Ben says, "it's been months since we were shot at."
Eli rolls his eyes, and Ben laughs.
"Just doing the same old, same old. Building houses, schools, making sure they get supplies and stuff. We'll probably be moving again soon, I think things are pretty well established here now."
"Saving the world, one village at a time?" Eli says with a grin.
Ben grins back, and nods. "Yeah, something like that."
"And I have no doubt you've got your hands on some cute little volunteer."
Ben's grin widens. "Something like that. There was a guy too, but his tour ended a few weeks ago."
Eli smiles, and then raises his eyebrows. "Just be careful. One of you in the world is bad enough, we don't need any little mini Bens running around. Especially on more than one continent."
"Oh, shut up," Ben retorts, though he's laughing. "And you know, I might say the same thing about you."
Eli snorts. "Yeah, I don't think there's any danger of that any time soon."
Ben smirks. "Don't be so quick to dismiss. You never know. Maybe Hannah -"
"Ben, don't."
"I'm just saying -"
"No," Eli says sharply. "Don't talk about her like that, okay?"
Ben's quiet for a moment, taken aback by Eli's sudden irritation, and then says softly, "Jesus, Eli, what happened to her?"
Eli sighs, raising his free hand to his forehead. He thinks again about finding Hannah in the basement, the bruise on her cheek, the ones on her arms and wrists, the broken strap of her tank top.
"I don't know," he murmurs. "I haven't been to work, so I haven't seen the case file lately. I've talked to her a few times, but obviously not about that." He pauses, and then shakes his head.
"I don't know," he says again, "but it's not good. They - they hurt her, I don't know how bad yet, but I just - can't think of her like that. Not now. And I don't want you talking about her like that either."
Ben nods, holding up his hands. "Okay, Eli, I'm sorry."
Eli nods, rubbing at his eyes, suddenly feeling drained.
"I think you need to rest," Ben says quietly, "and I need to go. Take care of yourself, and let me know how you're doing, okay?"
Eli nods again, trying to smile.
"I love you, man."
At that, Eli does smile, a short laugh escaping him, and he looks up at Ben. "I love you too."
"Later, Eli," Ben says with a wave.
Eli waves back, still smiling. "Later."
Ben's face disappears from the screen, and Eli sighs, exiting the chat program and closing his laptop.
He can't stop thinking about Hannah now, wondering how she's doing. She visited him a couple of times while he was in the hospital, and though she seemed okay, there were times when he saw the lingering fear in her eyes, when sudden noises made her jump, even in a place that should've made her feel safe, with her dad in the chair right next to her.
He doesn't know what all happened to her, and while he knows he can look at the file when he gets back to work, part of him doesn't want to. Maybe because he doesn't want to know, or maybe because he wants to hear it from her, whenever she's ready to tell him, however long it takes for her to get to that point.
It's not important right now for him to know. He just wants to know her, and hopes he can get that chance.
His thoughts drift back to Ben, and he smiles a little. He knows Ben's enjoying himself, and doing a lot of good, wherever he is, but Eli can't help missing him, and hopes he plans to come back soon.
Part of him wonders if Ben would like Hannah, and then shakes his head. Who wouldn't like Hannah?
He snorts softly, and mutters, "Well, besides the asshole who took her," just as he hears the front door close.
"Mom?" he calls, tossing the covers aside, and his mother enters the room a moment later, smiling as she walks over to the bed.
"Hey, sweetheart. Talk to Ben?"
Eli nods, smiling back as he swings his legs over the edge of the bed.
Miriam arches an eyebrow at him. "I suppose this is your way of saying you want to eat lunch in the kitchen?"
Eli laughs a little and nods again. "Yeah, I'm tired of lying in bed."
He stands carefully, taking care not to move his hurt shoulder too much, and is still for a moment, bracing lightly against the bed.
"Are you okay?" Miriam asks, frowning up at him.
"Yeah, I think I've just been lying down too much."
Miriam raises a hand to rub his back as they start from the room. "Maybe we'll go for a walk after lunch."
"That would require putting on a shirt," Eli murmurs, and then looks down at his pajama bottoms. "And real pants."
"I think you can get by with just a jacket." Miriam pauses, and then adds, "Instead of the shirt, I mean, you'll still need real pants."
Eli snorts, and Miriam grins as they move into the kitchen.
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Beta: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Rating: G
Genre: Friendship, smidgen of Angst
Word Count: 1,806
Characters/Pairings: Miriam, Ben, Eli, mentions of Hannah and David
A/N: Just a quick note to say we're going back to one fic a week (instead of every other week), because I'm impatient like that. I'm sure you're all disappointed.
Miriam steps into Eli's bedroom, glancing at him as she grabs his ringing cell phone from his bedside table.
He's dead to the world, sound asleep from a combination of pain killers and sheer exhaustion, and she knows there's nothing that's going to wake him up except his own body.
She glances at the phone as she pulls the door shut, smiling at the name on the display, and pushes the button to answer it as she moves into the kitchen.
"Hey, Benny."
"Mom 2. Hey." Ben sounds surprised, and a little confused. "Not that I'm not thrilled to talk to you, but where's Eli?"
"He's asleep," Miriam replies, bending to check the casserole in the oven. "He just got home from the hospital earlier today."
"Whoa!" Ben exclaims. "Hold on, the hospital? What happened? Is he okay?"
Miriam leans against the counter, smiling at Ben's rapid-fire questioning, and the concern in his voice. "He's fine. Injured in the line of duty."
"The line of duty? He's been working for the FBI for what, a week now?"
Miriam's smile turns wry. "A week and a half."
"What the hell happened?"
"I'm sure he'd rather tell you himself, but I can assure you, it's thrilling."
Ben laughs quietly. "He's okay, though?"
"Yeah, nothing life threatening. I just came down to stay with him for a few days, help him out until he can manage on his own again. You want me to have him email you?"
"Yeah, when he's up to it."
"I will." She grabs a bottle of tea from the refrigerator, and moves into the living room to settle on the couch. "You up for talking to me for a little while? I need an update on what you've been up to."
Ben laughs. "Sure."
A couple of days later, Eli's sitting up in bed, his laptop open in front of him, and Ben's face filling his screen.
"All right, Mr. Big Damn Hero," Ben says, gesturing at Eli's shoulder. "What the hell happened?"
Eli laughs, glancing down at the large bandage on his shoulder. "I got shot."
"Yeah, I figured that much. How?"
Eli takes a breath, wondering how best to condense the story.
"My boss's daughter was kidnapped," he says finally, "and I got shot, um, rescuing her."
Ben raises his eyebrows. "Okay, big damn hero indeed. So wait, are we talking like, little girl, or -"
Eli shakes his head, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "She's 23."
Ben's eyebrows rise even higher, and he opens his mouth to speak, but Eli cuts him off.
"Calm down, Ben. Yes, she's cute, but she's just been through a horrible experience, and her dad is my boss."
"Okay, okay," Ben concedes, holding up his hands. "But come on, dude. Why the hell were you even involved in something like that already? Last time I talked to you, you said you were just gonna be pushing papers for the first few weeks."
Eli shifts a little, looking down at his lap. "Everything just happened really quickly. A lot of stuff went down, and I was helping Agent Cole -" He breaks off with a short laugh, and shakes his head. "God knows how many rules I broke. I'm surprised I haven't been fired. Or maybe I have, and they're just waiting for me to get better before they tell me."
"I doubt it, not if you saved your boss's daughter."
Eli nods. "Yeah, maybe David - er, Agent Cole said something."
"If you're on a first name basis already, then I have no doubt." Eli laughs, and Ben grins. "What's her name? His daughter?"
Eli can't stop the smile that curves his lips. "Hannah. I met her the day she was taken."
Ben makes a knowing sound. "You're in love already, aren't you?"
Eli laughs again, and shakes his head. "I don't know. I only talked to her for a few minutes -"
"Apparently long enough to risk your life for her."
Eli shrugs as best he can with one injured shoulder, picking at his blanket.
"I don't know what it is about her," he finally confesses. "I only talked to her for a few minutes, but all I could think about for the rest of that day was her. I don't even know that much about her, just what I learned over the course of the investigation, but I want to get to know her better so bad."
"What does she look like?"
Eli smiles, Hannah's face filling his mind, though he tries to avoid thinking about her bruises.
"A little shorter than me. Long blonde hair, hazel eyes, cute little dimple in her chin. Amazing smile." He shakes his head, shrugging again as he looks at the screen. "She's gorgeous, Ben. Maybe the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. And her face when she saw me down in the basement - I can't get it out of my head."
"You are so far gone already."
Eli snorts. "Shut up."
"So go after her."
"Ben, she's just been through all of this shit, and her dad has this rule about her not dating agents -"
"Then be her friend. Give her time. But don't let her get away."
"Yeah," Eli murmurs, his lips curving at the thought of getting to spend more time with her.
He takes a breath as he looks back at the screen, trying to ignore the knowing smile on his best friend's face.
"Okay, I haven't talked to you since Christmas, so what's going on with you? Hopefully not getting shot at like me."
"Nah," Ben says, "it's been months since we were shot at."
Eli rolls his eyes, and Ben laughs.
"Just doing the same old, same old. Building houses, schools, making sure they get supplies and stuff. We'll probably be moving again soon, I think things are pretty well established here now."
"Saving the world, one village at a time?" Eli says with a grin.
Ben grins back, and nods. "Yeah, something like that."
"And I have no doubt you've got your hands on some cute little volunteer."
Ben's grin widens. "Something like that. There was a guy too, but his tour ended a few weeks ago."
Eli smiles, and then raises his eyebrows. "Just be careful. One of you in the world is bad enough, we don't need any little mini Bens running around. Especially on more than one continent."
"Oh, shut up," Ben retorts, though he's laughing. "And you know, I might say the same thing about you."
Eli snorts. "Yeah, I don't think there's any danger of that any time soon."
Ben smirks. "Don't be so quick to dismiss. You never know. Maybe Hannah -"
"Ben, don't."
"I'm just saying -"
"No," Eli says sharply. "Don't talk about her like that, okay?"
Ben's quiet for a moment, taken aback by Eli's sudden irritation, and then says softly, "Jesus, Eli, what happened to her?"
Eli sighs, raising his free hand to his forehead. He thinks again about finding Hannah in the basement, the bruise on her cheek, the ones on her arms and wrists, the broken strap of her tank top.
"I don't know," he murmurs. "I haven't been to work, so I haven't seen the case file lately. I've talked to her a few times, but obviously not about that." He pauses, and then shakes his head.
"I don't know," he says again, "but it's not good. They - they hurt her, I don't know how bad yet, but I just - can't think of her like that. Not now. And I don't want you talking about her like that either."
Ben nods, holding up his hands. "Okay, Eli, I'm sorry."
Eli nods, rubbing at his eyes, suddenly feeling drained.
"I think you need to rest," Ben says quietly, "and I need to go. Take care of yourself, and let me know how you're doing, okay?"
Eli nods again, trying to smile.
"I love you, man."
At that, Eli does smile, a short laugh escaping him, and he looks up at Ben. "I love you too."
"Later, Eli," Ben says with a wave.
Eli waves back, still smiling. "Later."
Ben's face disappears from the screen, and Eli sighs, exiting the chat program and closing his laptop.
He can't stop thinking about Hannah now, wondering how she's doing. She visited him a couple of times while he was in the hospital, and though she seemed okay, there were times when he saw the lingering fear in her eyes, when sudden noises made her jump, even in a place that should've made her feel safe, with her dad in the chair right next to her.
He doesn't know what all happened to her, and while he knows he can look at the file when he gets back to work, part of him doesn't want to. Maybe because he doesn't want to know, or maybe because he wants to hear it from her, whenever she's ready to tell him, however long it takes for her to get to that point.
It's not important right now for him to know. He just wants to know her, and hopes he can get that chance.
His thoughts drift back to Ben, and he smiles a little. He knows Ben's enjoying himself, and doing a lot of good, wherever he is, but Eli can't help missing him, and hopes he plans to come back soon.
Part of him wonders if Ben would like Hannah, and then shakes his head. Who wouldn't like Hannah?
He snorts softly, and mutters, "Well, besides the asshole who took her," just as he hears the front door close.
"Mom?" he calls, tossing the covers aside, and his mother enters the room a moment later, smiling as she walks over to the bed.
"Hey, sweetheart. Talk to Ben?"
Eli nods, smiling back as he swings his legs over the edge of the bed.
Miriam arches an eyebrow at him. "I suppose this is your way of saying you want to eat lunch in the kitchen?"
Eli laughs a little and nods again. "Yeah, I'm tired of lying in bed."
He stands carefully, taking care not to move his hurt shoulder too much, and is still for a moment, bracing lightly against the bed.
"Are you okay?" Miriam asks, frowning up at him.
"Yeah, I think I've just been lying down too much."
Miriam raises a hand to rub his back as they start from the room. "Maybe we'll go for a walk after lunch."
"That would require putting on a shirt," Eli murmurs, and then looks down at his pajama bottoms. "And real pants."
"I think you can get by with just a jacket." Miriam pauses, and then adds, "Instead of the shirt, I mean, you'll still need real pants."
Eli snorts, and Miriam grins as they move into the kitchen.