A/N: So I'm a very new Leverage fan, but I'm totally loving it. Especially Eliot. God, that man is sex on legs. The hair, the eyes, the voice...sigh. Need I go on? But I was extremely intrigued by Eliot and Nate's interaction (or lack therof) in The Bottle Job when Nate decides to drink (I can't believe he did that, btw! and then Eliot and Tara's short exchange on the subject of Nate's drinking in the beginning of The Zanzibar Marketplace Job, so i wanted to expound on it a bit. Not my best work, I apologize, but it's the best I could do with this so I hope you can enjoy it. Thanks for reading and please review to tell me what you think. Enjoy! -pj

Eliot didn't like it when Nate drank. There were many reasons that he could pick from. He had bad memories of what a man could be when he was drunk. Knew that it made things you usually would never consider seem okay, maybe even seem like a good idea.

He didn't like seeing Nate tired and hung over. Didn't like seeing him hurt and desperate.

But more than anything, Nate was their leader. Their 'Boss'. And trust didn't come easy to any of them, but without it, they were nowhere.

Trust that the plans he made out were possible, if not plausible.

Trust that their needs would be met.

Parker needed guidance, Hardison needed someone to make him focus, Sophie needed a reason.

And Eliot needed Nate to be sober. Because a drunk Nate was a reckless Nate, and it was Eliot's job to keep them safe. Drunk Nate made his job harder than it needed to be.

Eliot took his job seriously. But it was hard to keep someone safe from themselves.

But it was still his job.

If Nate was safe in the van with Harrison it was him and Sophie and Parker out there putting their necks on the line and it was Eliot's job to make sure they all made it back to that van in one piece.

And he wasn't too proud to admit that his part of the cons had been a little bit easier since Nate quit drinking. Because instead of worrying about Nate keeping things straight, keeping to the plan, he was only worrying about making sure the plan went down without a hitch.

When he stood there in McRory's pub, distracting Mark's muscle with a dart game and beer, he wasn't surprised to hear his wasn't the only breath that hitched just slightly when Nate agreed to take that first drink in nearly ten months.

But he was surprised when Nate lifted that glass and knocked back the scotch, and it wasn't only irritation that Eliot felt welling up inside. It was there of course, but he hadn't been expecting the regret and disappointment and maybe a little bit of sadness he felt there too.

Because Nate was more than his boss.

As Parker was so fond of saying 'they were more than a team'.

And he wasn't anxious for a repeat of the months spent splitting his attention between the natural uncertainties that came with a job, and the worry that Nate was too drunk to realize he was stretching them too thin and pushing them in over their heads.

Because luck could only last so long.

Eliot watched with a careful eye as Nate continued to refill his glass, going for broke. And he tried to breathe deep and remind himself that Nate cares about this team as much as he does. And that, sober or not, he wouldn't knowingly endanger them more than they could handle. And when that doesn't work, he throws a dart at the bull's-eye with a little more force than is necessary and rakes the hair out of his eyes

And promises himself that if his thinking is distorted by too much Irish Whiskey in his Coffee, then Eliot is going to call him on it.

Period. Every time.

Because protecting this team is what he does. Even when it's from themselves.

END - thanks for reading and review if you feel so inclined