Nate wishes Sam could have met Sophie. He's positive his boy would have loved her just as much as he does, if not more. And he knows that Sophie adores his son without ever having met him, because she knows him. She knows Sam through the memories that Nate lets slip from time to time, the few items that he keeps around their home that once belonged to the boy.

The stories that Maggie sometimes shares over the phone or on those rare occasions where they're all together and still for once.

Sophie may never have got the chance to meet his son, but she loves him all the same. In turn Nate loves her more, if that's even possible. He never goes to visit Sam's grave alone, hasn't had to since Sophie showed back up in his life. She always accompanies him, kneeling in front of the tiny gravestone to trace her fingers along the letters of Samuel Ford engraved in the stone as she talks to him.

She used to talk to him about their cons, the this and that of being a grifter. Sam was the first person to know they were an official couple, the fourth to know that he'd proposed. Now that they're married and living out a relatively quiet life, Sophie tells him about her work at the theater and whatever production she happens to be directing that month. She gestures with one hand while she reenacts a certain part of the script, her eyes crinkling in delight as she laughs softly at how horrid she sounds. Sophie promises him that her lead sounds much, much better.

She talks to him about the mundane things, trips to the grocery store, dinners she's cooked (or he's attempted to cook), trips out on the boat or walks down the pier. She gives him updates about Maggie and Sterling and sometimes she mentions the latest con that Leverage International has managed to pull off in their absence.

Nate stands just behind her, close enough to hear her but far enough away he isn't liable to distract or disturb her. He just listens to her talk to his son and feels his heart swell with how much he loves her... how much he loves them both.

"And don't worry about your Dad, darling," she whispers, her voice dipping an octave lower as she leans in. "I'm taking good care of him, I promise."

Her fingers brush against the edge of the D in Ford, finding a smooth patch of stone. "Two years sober and counting. I think you would be proud of him, Sam," Sophie turns to look at him then. "I know I am."

Her smile is gentle and loving and when he catches her eye he can see the slightest trace of tears. Nate goes to her then, couching down unsteadily at her side. He finds her hand and their fingers twist together without thought as Sophie leans into his side, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

And he knows that the old version of himself, the one that had too much to drink and became reckless and hard to the world would rage at being here, at having someone else be here, but this version of him, the one that he actually likes, only finds peace in sharing a bit of his son with the woman he loves. And vice versa.

So he stands with a soft groan and helps Sophie up, squeezing her fingers in his as he offers her a smile.

"Did I ever tell you about the time…"