Disclaimer: I do not own Leverage or am I associated with the show and its creators - all characters belong to their respective owners.

Author's Note: My first Leverage story, though I've written quite a few other - much longer - stories. I wouldn't call this my best writing, I just had this little idea floating around in my head(a scary place, let me tell you) and sat down and typed it just to see where it would go, and Eliot feels a little out of character to me. I'm a review addict and I would be oh so grateful if you would be so kind as to leave your thoughts/ feedback on the story. Comments, suggestions, etc., welcome!

Shutting up now...

Eliot sat in John McRoy's Place, nursing a beer. The rest of the team was upstairs in Nate's apartment celebrating the end of another successful job. It wasn't that Eliot wasn't happy that the corrupt bank CEO was now behind bars, it was just that he needed to get away from the team for a little while and have some time to think. Annoying as Parker and Hardison could be at times, Eliot still loved them like siblings.

That's where he was when she walked in. Eliot was relaxed but still alert, you had to be in his line of work. Some of his long hair had fallen forward, creating see-through curtain that allowed him to observe the comings and goings without drawing much attention. The door opened and someone entered. They were just out of Eliot's line of sight, but he could tell from the footsteps that it was a woman. She crossed behind him and slid on to the stool to the left of his.

She was gorgeous. Her dark tresses cascaded past her shoulder in waves. Her nose was perfectly sculpted, long and thin; her cheekbones high and chiseled, bee-stung lips and a pair of fiery blue eyes under long lashes. A moderately tight dark olive green halter top brought out the color of her hair and tight fitting jeans hugged her hips and thighs.

"A double Jack, please." She spoke to the bartender in a soft southern accent.

This was his kind of woman, and Eliot hardly registered the fact that she was at least fifteen years younger than he was.

She tipped back the first shot of Jack Daniels and drained it in a single gulp. She took a sip of the second and turned to survey her surroundings.

When she turned, Eliot noticed a small teardrop-shaped birthmark under her right ear. There was something naggingly familiar about it, but Eliot pushed the thought away as her beautiful blue eyes, the same shade as his own, landed on him. She studied him for a few moments.

Eliot was about to introduce himself when she spoke. "Are you Eliot Spencer?" He had to admit that he was surprised that she knew his name.

"Yes ma'am, I am." When he answered, her confident air suddenly faltered and she looked a bit like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car, unsure if she should go forward or stay where she was, like she already knew the answer to the question but hearing it still surprised her. "Are you alright?" Eliot asked, a little concern coloring his words.

"Oh, um, sorry…" She stammered and then recovered a bit. "Um, hi," she said, looking more over Eliot shoulder rather than looking him in the eye. "I'm Evangeline, your daughter."

Eliot almost fell off his barstool. "My…..daughter?" If someone had poked him with a feather right then, he would have toppled like a house of cards.

"Blair Winchcombe?" Evangeline prompted.

At the mention of her name, memories of her suddenly flooded Eliot's mind. Sweet and gorgeous Blair, he could never forget her. Blair, his one and only true love. Her long flowing hair, contagious laughter, gentle, and the exact same birthmark below her ear that Evangeline wore.

Eliot's eyes remained unreadable, but Evangeline thought she saw something flickering in their clear blue depths.

Eliot mentally calculated while silently berating himself for wanting a roll in the hay with this girl, as it were, when she was his own flesh and blood. But that was before she'd introduced herself. Now he felt like the fiercely protective father that he was. He'd been a young kid of nineteen at the time, so that would make her…

"Aren't you a little young to be in here?" Eliot asked, his voice unintentionally taking on a fatherly tone.

"I'm seventeen." She jutted her chin out somewhat defiantly.

"Exactly. Come on, there's a little café across the street, we can talk there."

"Okay…" Evangeline slid off her seat and made for the door. Eliot followed closely behind her, his mind reeling. He could take her eyes off of her. She was a part of him, and he was a part of her. He had help create her.

Eliot didn't know exactly how it was going to work, but Eliot knew without a second thought that he was willing to give everything he had to make sure their relationship worked out and protect her from any dangers that she might face.

Thank's for reading. A review, pretty please with Eliot on top?