Yes, this is a repost – but, my totally awesome beta Gaben (whoop, whoop!) pointed out some pretty egregious spelling and grammar errors I'd made. So in the interest of accuracy…

A/N: I always seem to start with author's notes; and this can be no exception. So a HUGE thank you to vivi749 who's great fic Parker and the Word 'Why' totally inspired this. And to Gaben for tirelessly being my beta.

Books Books Books Books

You could always tell a person by what they'd read. At least that's what Nate's mother had always said. She'd usually had a copy of the bible in her hand; and often it seemed like she was either going to Mass, or just getting home from church.

Nate looked down at what he was reading and wondered what "Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft" would say about him. He took a sip of his whiskey and pictured in his mind what the rest of the team would say: Sophie would sniff and say "Typical." Parker would probably demand to see more pictures and then point out the errors and items that had actually been stolen by other people (including her). Hardison would pooh pooh the fact he was reading a physical book and try and then try to hand him one of those tablet things. Or something like that. And Eliot probably wouldn't say anything at all. Or if he'd read it he'd say "Good book." Or "Their research was a little spotty." Or "Keeping your hand in?" Something along one of those lines.

Being as it was a really lazy and rainy Boston day everyone had decided to congregate at the offices thus disturbing what Nate had hoped was going to be a quiet day for him and his book. Maybe a little sports in the afternoon and possibly some take-out Chinese for dinner. Or maybe he'd walk to the Vietnamese place down the street and get some Pho. Noodle soup on a rainy day was always a good thing. But, then he'd been invaded: First by Hardison, then Sophie and Eliot, and finally Parker.

Eliot was sitting on the couch, in his normal spot, which Nate defined as where the retrieval specialist could keep an eye on the rest of the team. He'd brought a book and a bag of groceries. The groceries were to make pasta e fagioli. The perfect gloomy day meal. The book was nicely protected in a plastic dust jacket protector and titled "Fading Feast." Honestly, Nate had no clue what it was about until the retrieval specialist had started cooking and he'd read the inside of the dust jacket. It was a rather arcane book about rural American cuisine. It gave the mastermind pause, and had him looking at Eliot in yet another new light.

The layers of the true Eliot were extraordinary. He was someone that at first glance was very easy to overlook: Just a man who hurt people for a living. The second glance showed a competent grifter, a third showed a very well educated Renaissance man. A man who understood the differences between contemporary and traditional ballet; the differences between college ice hockey and the NHL; the difference between brawling and fighting, and blindfolded could tell the differences between white and black truffles. Last week he'd been reading a biography on Albert Einstein, the week before it that had been one of Sophie's novels. Something by Nora Roberts, truly he was an amazing man!

Nate's eyes went from Eliot to the chair where Sophie was curled up with a cup tea. Earl Grey if he remembered what the hitter had said when he'd brought it over to her. She was reading Wuthering Heights, but, there was a stack of books next to her. Breaking Dawn? Nate mentally scratched his head on that one; he thought it was a teenybopper book. "Headed For Trouble," which looked to be a romance novel. And then a couple of scripts: "Around The World In Fifty-Four Days" and something called "Zombie Nightmare." God! The mastermind hoped he didn't have to sit through either of those shows.

Glancing over to where Parker was doing her imitation of a cat, stretched languidly across the couch while flipping through the channels and simultaneously glancing through a comic book. It looked like one of Hardison's comic books; but, with a closer look it was actually: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. Jules Verne's classic book; but, the comic book version?

After a glance at the rest of the team, it kind of made sense. Sophie loved all things Brontë, and romance; hence, Twilight. Which Nate had heard was inspired by Wuthering Heights or something like it. Eliot; well, there weren't a lot of books that he hadn't read. And Alec devoured information, all kinds of information. Then there was Parker, who had never finished school. Nate wasn't really sure how much school she'd actually gotten through. She was amazing at anything that involved thieving; and incredibly intelligent, she just hadn't had the opportunities that the rest of the team had. It wasn't like she couldn't read, just that she hadn't read as extensively as them. So, it made sense, in ways that Nate that wouldn't have thought about before he started working with this team. Start off reading the classics in a very approachable method. At least it wasn't that weird Japanese cartoon stuff that Hardison liked.

Nate's eyes drifted over to Sophie before they went to what the team's hacker was doing. He wasn't reading a book. Hardison was fiddling around on his laptop. Which was pretty normal for him; the ever present bottle of orange soda is next to him. Nate went to take a sip of his whiskey and realized that his glass was empty. He sighed to himself and went to refill his glass. Two fingers before dinner would be nice. As he crossed behind the hacker he looked down at the screens in front of the young man. Some weird gibberish on one, the Wall Street journal was split-screened with some other website: Geekology, at least that's the thing at the top said.

"Parker." Eliot growled and Nate turned his head from Hardison's screens to see the hitter grabbing the remote control.

"Hey I was watching that!"

"No you weren't." The hitter picked one channel showing something about animals and then sat on the remote; one spot where the adroit thief wouldn't easily be able to get it.

Nate sighed, filled his glass, and stared out the window. It had started to rain more heavily in the last half hour or so; which meant that they were all going to stay. Sophie wouldn't leave in the rain; it would make her hair frizzy. Hardison didn't like being cold and wet. Eliot would just mumble something about more sports channels here. And Parker, well if they were all here, she was going to be here too.

Just another rainy day in Boston.

Leverage – Leverage - Leverage

E/N: So you made it this far. You finished reading my little fic. The second baby fic I've written. From here you should read Luxuries and Loss, my totally awesome Eliot Spencer series. Cities, which I think will be a series once I decide where to go next. And maybe take a dip into my CSI: NY fics; but, first finish reading this End Note. I put a fair amount of time and effort into making sure that everyone gets credited. So read on fair reader!

These are all real books, and pretty kick ass books if I do say so myself! Nate's reading Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft by Simon Houpt. Eliot is reading Fading Feast: A Compendium of Disappearing American Regional Foods by Raymond A. Sokolov. The other book he read is Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson.

Sophie's stack has Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, Headed For Trouble by Suzanne Brockmann, both of the scripts were from a theatre group in Billerica which is just north of Boston. And are shows that they've put on.

Parker is reading 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne. Her version is by Pendulum Press was published in 1990. It's the 4th book in their Illustrated Stories line.