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Everybody is still shaken up about it. Sophie most of all. She does not dare to go anywhere near Eliot at the moment. Even Parker is quiet - for now. She sits next to the sofa on the floor, still looking at Eliot every two breaths as if she needs to make sure he was okay now. Hardison is probably even more shaken up then Sophie. He walks up and down in front of the monitors, giving Eliot a concerned look every time he turns to walk back.
“That was awful!” he still mumbles. “Awful. I never want to witness something like that again. Never!”
“Eliot I'm so sorry. I didn't know ...” Sophie tries to apologize carefully.
“Quiet. Please.” Eliot mutters, pressing his hands against his temples. “My head still feels like exploding any second. Just leave me alone. I'll be fine.”
It was rather obvious that Eliot was far from fine right now. It was even more obvious that he was embarrassed like hell. Nate stood behind the sofa, arms crossed, staring down at the hitter angrily.
“You allergic to anything, Eliot?”
“Don't know”, the young man replied. “Never happened to me before. Never been allergic to anything. Must be, though, obviously.”
“Sophie, would you make a list of every ingredient you used in that meal? We need to find out what caused this.”
'This' refers to Eliot starting to cough all off a sudden, jumping up and ripping his shirt open, because he thought he'd suffocate. A nasty rash on his neck and chest almost immediately followed that incident and when Eliot tried to flee the scene he felt dizzy and lost his balance for a moment.
Getting him to accept their help took the team long enough to risk him suffocating for real. Luckily, the allergic reaction dies down quickly. At least his breathing is normal by now.
“You know, this could have ended really badly” Nate states the obvious.
“That's why Sophie is never allowed in the kitchen EVER again”, Eliot grumbles.
“I'm not talking about Sophie or her cooking. She couldn't know you'd be allergic to anything. You never said a word. You obviously didn't know about it yourself.” Nate's voice is stern. “I'm talking about you pushing us away while you're almost suffocating and when we are trying to help you.”
“Well it's not like I did that consciously. I was trying to get some air.”
“Hardison could have given you mouth to mouth,” Parker suggests. Hardison gives a short squeak and Eliot tries to get up. “That's what you do when someone can't breathe anymore, isn't it?” she asks sheepishly.
“Eliot. Back on the sofa. You look awful. Sophie? Where is the list?"
“One moment!” Sophie replies from the kitchen.
With an annoyed growl Eliot lies back down but immediatelyhe lifts his head again and stares at his chest. Red spots decorate his skin. It is a nasty rash and obviously itchy, too. He starts scratching again.
Sophie comes around the corner to the kitchen counter with a wet towel, pushing his hands away and draping it over the irritated skin.
“Don't scratch, Eliot.”
“List, Sophie.” Nate raises his voice. This time it is Sophie getting up and looking at him with an angry glare.
“He can go over the ingredients once he's better. Right now, we need to take care of this. So that's what we do. And instead of bossing everyone around and not doing anything yourself how about you go to the drugstore and get some allergy pills.”
For a brief moment, there is silence. Nate looks like he will rip someone apart in a second, but then he turns and walks towards the door. Satisfied Sophie turns back to Eliot.
“I am really sorry, Eliot. You have no idea, how sorry I am.”
“Yeah, I know.” Eliot sighs and rubs his forehead. “Not like you planned on that - I hope.”
“I hope? Eliot ...”
“Sophie?” Eliot interrupts her quietly. “No more cooking for you, agreed?”
She quietly nods. After this she doubts she wants to cook ever again.