Ch. 1 Tangle Harnesses

"Drive!" Eliot saw Savannah take a running start, and he complied and hit the gas. The truck shook roughly as Savannah landed in the back of the truck, chocolate curls swinging with the impact.

Parker's voice rang through the coms. "Everybody clear?" Four affirmations answered back. A few miles down the road, the back window of the cab opened and Savannah started pulling herself through.

Eliot growled, "You know, I hate when you do that."

"Yeah, well," Savannah grunted, pulling herself to the passenger side, "I hate waiting for you to pull over, so I can get in."

"Why don't you just get in the cab in the first place when we have to do getaways?"

She pulled her feet through the window and snapped it closed. "Because you always complained about me headbutting you when I jumped in."

"Buckle up." He glanced at her to make sure she was complying and noticed a darkening stain on her jeans. "Are you bleeding?!"

She gave herself a once over. "Oh. Yeah. Whoops."

He sucked his teeth. "You alright?"

She tugged at the fabric, doing her best at an examination. "Probably."

"Did you get blood anywhere in the truck?" His voice was pierced with irritation.

Her tone matched his. "I don't know."

"Dammit, Savannah," he mumbled.

She got defensive. "You know I'll clean it. I always do. Geez. Like you've never bled in this truck."

He rolled his eyes. He couldn't argue with her. "How do you keep doing that?"

She slapped her hands onto her thighs in frustration. "Because I don't register low pain levels! Remember, I was a lab experiment for a fake private school. You know this!"

He did. It had been almost two years since they took down the Academy and Savannah had become part of the team. Not too much had changed, though. She did expand the gym, added an Olympic-sized swimming pool with an under-water obstacle course, and moved her bedroom next to her expansions, but it was mostly for her benefit. No, not a lot had changed, and it bothered Eliot. He had thought he and Savannah had a connection; they did, but nothing was coming of it. He was almost sure, right after the Academy was finished, that they were dating in the way that Parker and Hardison dated before they actually went public about dating right before Nate and Sophie went on sabbatical. There had been moments where they'd be together, and he was sure there was about to be a kiss or something, but then she'd break away.

Eliot glanced over at her again in the silence. She was dozing off. It was a routine for her to nap right after they finished a job. They still shared a bed, and that made it more frustrating. He hated himself for being so frustrated. He hadn't felt this way since...For years, he had been able to just enjoy a woman's company for a night or so, and then move on. But Savannah made him feel connected to someone, like in the way he felt connected to the team, but deeper; like he could imagine retirement with Savannah. She was like Parker, however. She couldn't retire; she was too used to life outside the norm and too attached. He liked that about her. His life didn't get in the way; she was part of it.

The last couple of months, she had been more distant. She'd been spending most of her time in the gym, the pool, or Parker's jungle gym. She was spending a lot of time with Parker in general. It could be worse, of course. He could always just confront her, say something, but-

"They made it out!" Savannah shrieked. Eliot habitually reached out and took her arm as she caught her breath. Nightmares. They were still pretty frequent, after all this time. She got a peaceful night's sleep at least few times a month. They would never go away, unfortunately.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"I'm sorry." He put his hand over hers, but after a few minutes, she pulled away. He looked at her, silently asking why, but she just stared out the window.

"Hardison, dinner's going to be ready in like ten minutes," Eliot said, checking the oven and laying a dish towel over his shoulder.

"Awesome, what are we having?" The screens around Hardison started fading to black. Eliot had a rule about non-emergency electronics being on during meals. Hardison and Parker always got distracted and left the table, and it got on Eliot's nerves.

"Chicken casserole."

Hardison clapped his hands together. "The one I like with the mushrooms?!"

"Yes, the one you like with the mushrooms. Have you seen the girls?"

Hardison though for a moment as he got up from behind his desk. "Not since breakfast."

"That was like nine hours ago. I'm going to go check on them, make sure they come down to eat since I guess they haven't eaten since this morning."

"I'll come with you." Hardison and Eliot headed upstairs. They weren't in the gym or the pool. Eliot knocked on Savannah's door. He didn't want to open since they still kept the fact that they shared a bed under wraps. She didn't answer. Hardison checked Parker's room and the roof. They weren't there either. Hardison snapped his fingers and pointed. "Parker's jungle gym." Eliot nodded and they headed that way.

Hardison opened the door to the room in which the ceiling was laced with repelling rigs and harnesses that all connected and disconnected through carabiners that the girls swung through like monkey bars. Shock and horror drenched the boys' faces. They had found the girls in Parker's jungle gym entwined, not by harnesses, but by their lips. Hardison let out a nauseated groan.

The sound broke the girls apart. "Hardison," Parker whispered miserably.

Savannah locked eyes with Eliot as the blood drained from her face. She croaked, "Oh."