My Heart

Lindsey-Eliot

Fandom: Leverage, Angel: The Series
Pairings: Eliot Spencer/Lindsey McDonald
Rating: PG-15
Word Count: 688
Summary: Comment fic prompt: C & W songs – You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma – David Frizzell & Shelly West
Author’s Notes: Character Death

The lone figure stood at the top of the gently rolling hill the spring breeze carrying the scent of new life, calling for him to celebrate its rebirth. A cynical smile crossed the rugged face as he tried to let the peace of this place settle him.

After all these years, his voice was still raspy with emotion as he shared his life with the one who still knew him best.

“You’d probably like ’em. The coarse voice was almost a whisper.

He cleared his throat and with a rusty chuckle he ran his hand over the marble stone.

“What I’d give to see you with Hardison and Parker. One scary smart and the other just scary.”

“Love ya. See ya soon, darlin’.”

Eliot walked through the tall prairie grass to his truck.

But remembering is all that I do.

Losing you left a pretty good cowboy,

With nothing to hold on to.

When Hardison had asked if he’d ever come close to getting married, Eliot tried to keep his emotions in check. The apple he’d been enjoying turned to ashes in his mouth.

“No.”

“Aw come on … Not even close?”

“Once. There was this girl I went to high school with …” He took his frustration at Alec’s teasing out on the apple.

“What happened?”

Eliot glared, hoping the hacker would back off, but you didn’t become super geek Alec without persistence. Not wanting to expose himself to these people he barely knew annoyed the hell out of him, he lied.

“She married someone else.”

“Rough. What’d you do?”

“I liberated Croatia.”

Body stiff with anger, he threw the apple in the trash and stalked from the room, ignoring Hardison’s ramblings about fat men and comic book stores.

They were in the middle of a job, so he couldn’t just take off. Sophie and Nate’s bickering in the comms was wearing on his last nerve. He snarled at everyone that dared enter the kitchen.

The icing in the cake was Nate’s flash of panic when he told Eliot that the Butcher of Kiev was in the house.

At that point Eliot wanted to hunt down the Butcher just to get this job finished so he could get out of Los Angeles.

He hated Los Angeles.

Every opportunity he got he hunted the streets for the one that took what was his. The swath he cut through the underground was whispered about in all the dark places.

Here the city lights out shine the moon

I was just now thinking of you.

Sometimes when the wind blows you can

See the mountains,

And all the way to Malibu.

At 37,000 feet there’s not much to look at, but Eliot kept his face turned to the window watching the sunlight play across the mare’s tails.

Finished.

He no longer had to worry about the Butcher of Kiev. He breathed deeply replacing the memories of Kiev with ones from a happier time, a time when he still believed in happily ever after.

He tried to stop the memories there, but they were like a runaway train. They only stopped when they hit the place where he’d found his body slumped against the wall, almost gone.

“Waited for you.”

He gathered the dying body in his arms.

“I’m too late.” Tears ran unchecked down his face.

“You’re right on time.” Breath hitched around the pain. “Love you, always.”

“Always.”

Heedless of the blood, he pulled the other man in tighter and felt his last breath against his neck. He sat until darkness filled the room, cradling his heart in his arms, he took his love home.

There’s a full moon over Tulsa,

I hope that it’s shining on you.

The nights are getting colder,

In Cherokee County.

There’s a Blue Norther passing through.

The lone figure stood at the top of the gently rolling hill, an ancient oak standing sentinel over the marble marker.

“Hello, love.” A calloused hand ran lovingly over the stone.

Lindsey McDonald

Beloved

1974 – 2004

You’re the reason God made Oklahoma,

You’re the reason God made Oklahoma.