To be honest, her life hadn't been the best. Her childhood was certainly dysfunctional, in fact, she herself was dysfunctional. She had blown her house up when she was ten while her father was still inside and hadn't felt remorse. She still didn't and she knew that was wrong.

Creepy.

Sadistic.

Psychopathic.

She was nuts and she knew it. She didn't want to be that way, but it was all she had ever known. And who could love her? She was a thief. A good one. She was rich, illegally, and that was okay with her. And even though she seemed tough and strong, she was still a scared little girl inside. Afraid of horses and clowns... And lots of things, and no matter how often she did stuff that was fearless, she was still full of fears that she couldn't escape from. Tears welled up in her eyes while Alec Hardison tried to comfort her.

"I know growing up was tough, I-I know that you-you grew up in the system and that it was, it was bad, I know it-it was worse than bad, but that doesn't mean that all foster parents are monsters. Mine wasn't."

Parker looked him in the eyes. "You grew up with your grandmother."

"We called her Nana, but she was our foster mom. She, uh, she-she would cuss like a sailor an' old girl would tan your ass just as soon as look at you, but, but she-she fed us, she bathed us, she put a roof over our heads, and, oh, she would raise hell if you so much as looked at us crooked."

He was lucky, thought Parker. But the kids they had just rescued, what would happen to them? She was angry. Hardison had no right, none of them did to subject any of the kids to the kind of life she had. The thought frightened her.

"Yeah?" She replied, "well, you were lucky. No. We put these kids in the system and odds are, they're gonna...they're gonna..." She couldn't keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks as she said, "they're gonna turn out like me." She cried, knowing her eyes were red and her face blotchy. She didn't want anyone to see her this way; weak and defenseless. Especially Hardison. But he didn't laugh at her, or shuffle awkwardly. Instead, he looked at her with kind eyes and said sincerely, "I like how you turned out."

She desperately wanted to believe him.