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Hardison was disappointed.
Being shot was overrated and nothing like in the movies. Of course, in the back of his mind, he knew this wasn't true. The rational part of his brain told him so. Man, Elliot told him so! He guessed that nothing really prepares you until it happened. Hell, he didn't know that he got hit until he felt the pain rip through him.
He was disappointed.
He meant that the good guy got up after the bullet like it was nothing. Kicked some ass and saved the girl. Now, he felt kind of cheated. No girl. Laying on a cold, cement floor in pain. Bullets were flying everywhere. He felt something sticky under his back. Fun times, man. Really fun times. He could have sworn Elliot was shouting or maybe that was the alarm. Hell, he thought that he turned that thing off.
It was almost funny.
He wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be in another area of the building. Elliot tripped some sort of trap and here he was.
Wrong place, Wrong time.
Story of his life, right?
He took a breath and then he started coughing. Sharp pains ran through his chest and body as he continued to cough. Fucking hell…that hurt. The coughing eased up enough to give him some rest. He panted softly as he licked his lips. He tasted the blood on his lips. His eyes darted around to see if he could Elliot. The only thing he could hear was the assault of gunfire and yelling. His eyes became fixed on the edge of the green storage container.
It was ugly green too. The type of green that vomited looked like. He wondered if all the storage painter dudes went into a room and decided they would make all storage containers this ugly. Maybe, they thought if they made the container that ugly, no one would steal it.
Maybe he should tell them about Parker.
Nah….
He shivered slightly.
Man, when did it get so cold in here?
The funny part of his brain told him that he was going into shock. Once upon a time, he didn't know about shock, gun fights, or 99 bottles of beer on the wall…that was totally Parker's fault. Once upon a time, the biggest thing that he had to worry about was the FBI or if he was going to miss the next Doctor Who episode while he was hacking into top secret documents.
Miss it? Sometimes.
Want to go back? Never.
Sure…he had thoughts about making his own crew but these guys…these guys are family.
Crazy, mix up, he-could-have-sworn-that-they-got-dropped-on-their- heads-when-they were-babies…family.
A wave of emotion tightened up his throat. Damn…he didn't think that being shot made you that emotional. Honestly, he shouldn't be too worried, man. Nate will have it covered. He will make sure that Nana is set, and the new dude takes care of his babies. Sophie will make sure that Parker doesn't fall apart. She is good like that. Elliot is like a rock, man.
No worries.
He shivered again.
You know, as for the way to go, it wasn't too bad.
Very overrated, man.
Because you know, once you get shot, you are out of the game. That is how the story goes. Not here. Oh, no…here he was. Shivering…coughing…possible bleeding all over the place. Oh, don't forget, staring at ugly storage container…debating about writing to the dudes and asking why? Why? Were they out of the red paint?
Conclusion to this story: Being shot is entirely overrated.
He wanted his money back from all of those action movies he saw.
He felt a pair of hands push him onto his back. He felt Elliot's eyes burn into him. He grasped as Elliot's hands pressed against his chest.
"Hold on, Hardison. The others are nearby, and an ambulance will be here soon. If you ever think about dying, I will kick your ass."
Glad he will be missed.
"You know…I am surprised that you haven't said anything yet."
He blinked for a moment and frowned. Elliot was starting to look kind of fuzzy but he remembered something from this morning.
"Your socks are green."
Elliot blinked then he burst out laughing. He could have sworn that it almost sounded like a sob.
"You better hold on. I still have to take you real fishing…not that X-Box crap from before."
Dude…it was the Wii.
"Just…hold on….okay. Just…"
He wondered briefly as Elliot started to fade away. If he would be disappointed, if he didn't.
End