AN: one-shot rewrite of The Carnival Job. song by Tyler Ward
Tell me why do you fall
So far that you cant contain it?
Tell me why cant you see that your searching all the wrong places
Baby, You dont know
But i will try to explain it
Baby, why cant you see that your searching
All the wrong places
I dont wanna play these games anymore
Tired of watching you walk out the door
Hiding here still, scared to reveal
How we really feel
Baby this is so real
This con was not going well. First Hardison tried to replace Parker with a robot, which everyone told him was a bad idea. Even if he said that's not what it was, Eliot knew that's what his thief thought. She hated the idea that someone may replace her skills. From foster care, never belonging anywhere, to always going from place to place, she needed to feel like the team needed her. That she wasn't going to be tossed aside. Which is why the hitter was grumpy and growled when she wasn't beside him in the briefing and she was stuck with the hacker.
And then, there was Molly. The 13 year old girl that Eliot was sent in to protect. He always got so tense when a child was involved because he'd been there. He'd seen how it could turn from so simple to really bad in an instant. And yet, as he sat crouched next to the tree she was sitting at, he saw something. Under the sarcasm and cutting words, behind the attitude was a child still grieving; feeling lost in something she couldn't control. They'd all been through it, losing someone you love. And in those innocent but brave-fronted eyes, he knew who he saw. Parker.
Parker always put on a happy face and she always had that innocent gleam. But beneath the child part of her she still was, was a pain of loss and what she could no longer fill. He didn't want someone as young as Molly to go through what he and his thief had in childhood. It was horrible enough already losing her mother. But just like he saw in Parker, Molly was quick-witted and smart and had a sneaky way about her. A part that loved to read and solve mysteries.
Which is why he let her drag him to the carnival; to show her that not everything in her young life was cheated. And if he smirked as he heard Parker giggling over the coms quietly at him, he didn't mention it.
"Is Parker a codename or something?" Molly asked.
"We're Security," he answered. He slipped her a small earpiece using a slight of hand trick the thief had taught him. What, it got the girl to smile! "Promise not to use it 'til I tell ya."
"Ok, just call me Botasky." Eliot gave the young girl a weird look. He knew what she meant was from something kids her age read but he couldn't investigate that right now. Parker was a thread away from being caught and the hacker was just making things harder on her by arguing.
He tried to keep one ear on her and one on his charge, but somehow the Russians managed to nab Molly.
When Rover had his arm across the little girl's neck, Eliot growled. The guy looked tough but also nervous; he had to have a weak spot. The mirrors combined with the severe concussion though caused Eliot to sway a bit as his vision double. His body tensed and hardened into fight mode as another thug charged him and Molly's captor disappeared behind the shadows.
Just as the hitter found himself on the wrong side of a punch, a soft thud landed behind the big thug. Eliot looked up as Parker landed a kick to the side of the guy's head, effectively taking him out with moves he had taught her through the years. He wanted to tell her to run and get out - these guys were bad news and he didn't need another person he cared for at risk - but the small thief only extended a hand and helped him up.
"Let's see the robot do that," she stated.
But when they turned around the curly haired fighter was on top of them. Almost in slow motion, she saw as her favorite hitter, her protector closed his eyes and breathed deep. Centering himself to focus, she realized, recognizing the move. And as Rover lashed out, Eliot struck with a hard punch to the gut. Parker spun Molly out of the way and as her partner slammed the man's head into the mirror, she fired her taser and Rover was unconscious. With Molly on one side and Parker on the other, Eliot accepted the help to limp slowly out of the theme park. Without it he was sure he'd collapse again.
That was how the Leverage team found themselves in the bar after the con. Bruised and battered but mostly alive. Nate and Sophie wrapped up the loose ends of the con as Eliot and Parker sat across from Hardison. The geek was babbling on again, trying to fix a wrong he couldn't really make right about the green Parker robot. If the hitter didn't feel so utterly horrible from his injuries, he'd wring the guy's neck every time he saw a flash of hurt in the blonde's eyes. Is he really the only one who saw why?
Heck, they was lucky Parker didn't tase the hacker with the device he knew was safely hidden on her. Though if the endless talking while they're trying to work keeps putting them in danger, he may just let her...
Parker looked at her teammate seated next to her, bundled in a hoodie and his leather jacket. How'd he steal those back from her? Didn't she take them two months ago?She shrugged off the thought, more concerned with his concussion, multiple lacerations and bruising to his handsome face, a fractured arm, and 2 cracked ribs. He wouldn't be able to fight for awhile, and luckily Nate gave him some time off.
As Eliot bit back a groan and stood, he held an elbow out, tired blue eyes looking into her own. "Ready, nurse?"
Parker beamed as she lightly hugged him. "Ready! I'll make you soup, and fortune cookies, and that plain cereal you like. And next week we can start exercising again and you can come jumping with me since we have time off..." Normally he'd shut the thief up but he was just glad they were all safe and she was with him.
Nate smirked and Sophie smiled as the hitter and thief's eyes lit up at 3 weeks time off. Yeah, they'd survive, injuries and all. And Hardison, well he was left there with his small robot shocked yet again that Parker had chosen the southern gentleman.
Tell me have you ever noticed when we're all alone
How you get so nervous
Baby why cant you see that your searching
All the wrong places
You say you've been through it all
And you don't know how your gonna change it
Baby why cant you see that your searching
All the wrong places
I dont wanna play these games anymore
Tired of watching you walk out the door
Hiding here still,Too scared to reveal how we really feel
Baby this is so real
AN: I know the ending was slightly evil of me, lol, but I couldn't help it. I felt bad for our Hitter and Thief. btw, I hope I got Molly's nickname right. enjoy!