A/N: So this is the sequel to my fic 'Something Else You Didn't Know'. Pretty much have to have read that for this to make sense, but it's not very long and I hear it's good so I would suggest looking it up. lol. A very special thanks to my beta: vickyloka for helping me make sure I am all i can be!! lol. 3! But, as always, if any mistakes remain, they are mine and mine alone. Enjoy! -pj

Disclaimer: I only own Savannah, but if Dean Devlin wants her too I wont protest. Oh, and sorry for Parker's language...

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Hardison was finishing up getting ready for their next job briefing, Nate sitting beside him talking quietly. Sophie was up in Nate's loft somewhere doing God knows what, and Eliot had busied himself in the kitchen making brunch.

Parker should be there any moment.

"Okay, don't be mad."

Nate frowned, looking over his shoulder at the thief as she carefully stepped through his door. Her hair was down and she wore her 'I heart Nebraska' shirt, but the look on her face was definitely pained.

Eliot's ears perked at the sound of her voice but he didn't turn, not wanting to burn the eggs and more than willing to let Nate handle whatever the insane young woman had gotten herself into this time.

"I swear I didn't steal it."

"Didn't steal what Park-" Sophie stopped short, halting mid decent on the spiral staircase. When she spotted what Parker was referring to.

Parker looked frantically between her three teammates.

"It was just sitting in the hallway," she explained, "I didn't want to just leave it there."

Eliot froze mid pancake flip and turned around.

"Parker if someone left a bomb for us and you brought it in there I'm gonna-"

They all turned to look at him, some more confused than others.

Eliot's mouth dropped when he realized what they had all been talking about.

A little boy with blue eyes and shocking red hair stood behind and to the right of Parker, looking uncomfortable and uncertain.

Logan.

The boy saw everyone turn and followed their gazes to the kitchen. But, upon seeing Eliot, his face brightened and his every muscle sagged with relief as he shot across the room into Eliot's arms.

Eliot bent down to one knee and set the boy's feet on the floor, but he didn't release his hold on Eliot's neck. He gave up trying to release the child's choke hold when he realized he was shaking and instead wrapped his arms around him tightly, stroking his hair and waiting until his grip loosened.

He could feel the team's curious stares on him but made no move to answer. He couldn't focus on that yet.

Parker leaned over to Hardison, "why is he making those weird noises?"

Hardison shot her a look and Sophie elbowed her in the side, but neither seemed to have an explanation for the boys' strange, loud noises as he cried.

Gently Eliot tried again to get the boy to let go, and this time he did, allowing himself to get pushed back to arm's length.

And then his hands started flying.

Sophie's mouth dropped.

"Is that-" Hardison started.

"Sign language," Nate finished. They looked at him and he pointed at his ear, then at the child. They all looked and, sure enough, hooked behind the boy's right ear was a hearing aid, bright blue, no less.

"I didn't know Eliot spoke sign language," Parker commented quietly.

Meanwhile, Eliot had spotted a bruise on Logan's cheek and the frightened look in his eyes.

What are you doing here? Where's your mom? He signed a little rusty at first but quickly getting back into the rhythm.

She's gone. I was sleeping and then I woke up and someone was there and grabbed me and covered my face, he touched his cheek, and then I was sleeping again.

Eliot's stomach clenched and he forced his face to stay neutral, sure if he let his emotions show he would scare his nephew,

When I woke up I was here and Mom was gone.

Eliot frowned and gathered the little boy to his chest again when he started to sob.

Nate caught the hitter's glare over the boy's shoulder and a shudder ran through him at the cold, clearly murderous look in his eyes.

"Oh hell no," he heard Hardison say and Nate knew his team had not only seen the look, but had interpreted it correctly.

"No. No one would be that cruel. That…stupid," Sophie said quietly, but she knew as well as anybody how cruel the world actually was and, well, the mere fact that the boy was there meant someone had lost their minds and threatened Eliot's family.

And by extension, their family.

"Yup," Parker said, crossing her arms over her chest, "somebody's gonna die."

---000---

Savannah scowled down at her physics homework. She understood it okay but who would actually choose to spend time on such a boring subject.

The house creaked around her and she looked up nervously, glancing quickly at the front door to see it was still bolted and locked. She bit her lip. Every light in the house was on and every window and door shut and locked tight, but her Aunt and Uncle wouldn't be back until tomorrow.

And Savannah hated being home alone.

Just then a shrill ringing from the kitchen made her jump and she shot up from the couch to get it before the second ring.

"Barker residence, Savannah speaking."

"Hey Sav," a soft, deep, undeniably familiar voice responded.

"Colt!" she grinned, bouncing slightly on her toes, "it's so good to hear your voice."

He laughed slightly on his end and she could hear him shifting positions, "you're not busy, are you?"

Savannah glanced over her shoulder at her homework spread out in the living room.

She shook her head, "nope."

He heard the hesitation and narrowed his eyes, "Savannah."

She rolled her eyes at the warning in his tone and sunk back against the side of the refrigerator, sliding to the floor.

"Just some physics homework. No big deal."

"I'll call back later."

"No, don't hang up," Savannah exclaimed desperately.

He frowned, pausing in packing his things into his bag, "Sav, you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said, a bit calmer, "it's just that I'm here alone and you know I hate that and I like the sound of your voice," she finished in a mumble.

"Where's Uncle Gene and Aunt Marie?" he asked and she could hear his frown.

"Away on a business trip. Be back tomorrow, they've got the neighbors looking in on me," she said, wishing to ease the worry she could practically hear coming across the line, "so where've you been? I haven't seen or heard from you in weeks."

He sighed, cradling the phone between his shoulder and ear as he pulled out his knives, settling in at the small desk in his motel room to clean them.

"Been workin'."

"Yeah, I figured that. Where at? Anywhere fun?"

He was tempted to say, 'only if you find mass genocide and torture fun', but didn't. Would never say anything like that to his sister.

"Moldova."

Savannah wrinkled her nose, drawing patterns on the bottom of her shoe with her pen, "I think I know where that is."

He chuckled softly, "I'm not even gonna think about what they're not teachin' you in school."

She laughed slightly and sighed, "school sucks."

He paused in what he was doing, hearing a tone of despair in her voice, "what's wrong?"

She let out a long breath and shrugged, knowing he couldn't see her, "the other kids…they suck." Really it was only a small group of kids, not all of them, but it felt like it sometimes.

"What're they doin'?"

She laughed slightly; there was no hiding the underlying threat in his tone.

"Nothing you can take care of from Europe," she shook her head, "it's no big deal. I guess I just…I just wish I wasn't known as 'the girl who killed her stepfather'."

"Sav-"

"I was asked to Prom," she interrupted, blatantly changing the subject. Ordinarily that would not work with her brother, but she had a feeling this time it might.

There was a long pause and she imagined that look that was somewhere between annoyed and surprised as his mouth hung open while he processed that.

"By who?"

She smiled. Mission accomplished.

"Tommy Vaughn. He's a senior."

"No."

She rolled her eyes, "it's just a dance, 45. Calm down. It's not for like six months anyway. I might not even go."

He sighed deeply and grew quiet, "Okay."

Savannah smiled at his 'not quite a blessing, but not a veto either' response, but knew he would hang up if she didn't find a way to keep him talking.

"Tell me about our dad."

This time the sigh sounded resigned instead of upset. "You know those stories aren't true, Savvy. We were too little when he died."

"Yeah I know," she muttered, a bit embarrassed by the childish request. But she wanted him to stay on the phone. Growing up, her brother's voice was the only thing in the word that ever made her feel safe. It was all she had in the darkness when they would hide. "Please, 45."

The house creaked and settled around her again and she closed her eyes, pressing her knees up to her chest and she waited.

Another sigh, this one relaxed, "alright," he paused and she shifted the phone to her other ear.

"Our dad was tall, like a giant. With blonde hair like yours and blue eyes like mine. And he was strong. He's the one that taught us about horses. He would take us riding when mom was inside baking cookies…"

---000---

Eliot pursed his lips tightly, careful to keep his anger and fear off his face. He took hold of Logan's shoulders and turned him around to face the team.

Staying on his knees behind the boy, he reached around him, using one hand to point to each person, the other to fingerspell each of their names.

N-a-t-e. S-o-p-h-i-e. P-a-r-k-e-r. H-a-r, he stopped, A-l-e-c.

He turned Logan back around to look at him.

They are my friends. They don't sign, but they'll take care of you. Stay here, I'll be back.

He waited and when the boy nodded once, he stood, not expecting it when Logan made a desperate grab for his shirt tail. He held it in tightly in one fist while he signed with the other, the fear on his face almost enough to break Eliot's heart.

Where are you going?

Eliot gave him a reassuring look, I'm going to go get your mom. Don't worry. You're safe here.

He ruffled the boy's hair and moved around him, grabbing his coat and heading for the door.

---

The team watched the entire exchange with fascination. Eliot was never one to allow his emotions to show so plainly on his face, but with this boy he'd been all but an open book.

He turned him around, moving his fingers and pointing at each of them and they quickly caught on that they were being introduced, though Parker was the only one that had the presence of mind to wave.

But when Eliot stood up, signing a few more things to the frightened boy, and then headed for the door, they were all jolted into action.

"Eliot, man, what's going on?" Hardison asked, "Is that your nephew? Savannah's kid?"

Eliot nodded, pausing long enough to shove his boots on his feet and tie them.

"His name's Logan. He's deaf but he can read your lips," he glared up at them, "so watch what you say."

"Logan? But where's Savannah?" Sophie asked, looking confused, "I talk to her all the time and she didn't say anything about being in town."

Eliot didn't even blink at the admission that the grifter was essentially spending quality time with his sister. He knew Sophie craved female interaction and that Parker 'sucked royally' at girl talk. Savannah had even mentioned her conversations with Sophie to him a few times.

"Yeah man, seems like if my only draenei was in town I outta know."

"You're what?" Eliot whirled around, the look on his face made the hacker take a step back.

"What? I needed another Paladin."

If looks could kill Hardison would have been a dead man. As it was, he remained standing, as Eliot had more important things to do than remind him what he'd said he would do to the hacker if he turned his sister into 'a female version' of himself.

Eliot turned and continued toward the door, only to find his exit blocked by a surprisingly solid mass.

"Move Nate."

"What's going on, Eliot?" The older man asked, keeping his voice low and calm, not unlike the way one would talk to a caged, angry animal.

"They've done something to Sav."

"Who's they?"

"I don't know," Eliot almost shouted, then closed his eyes abruptly and took a deep breath, visibly getting himself back under control. "But Logan's hurt and she might be too."

Nate took in the determined look in his hitter's eyes and the tense set of his shoulders and nodded, "I'll come with you."

"No Nate. I-"

"You are too close to this," he interrupted, then softened his stance slightly, "I'll just be there as backup."

Eliot snorted at the idea of him needing backup to retrieve his own sister, but nodded once, reaching around Nate for the door and opening it to leave.

Nate moves to follow, but not before sending the remaining team members a look that clearly said, 'don't teach the young impressionable child to do anything illegal' and 'we'll be back'.

The three stared at the door after it closed and then looked at the boy, who stood just as still, staring right back.

"Well fuck," Parker sighed. Sophie's eyes widened and she slapped a hand over the thief's mouth. But it was too late.

Logan's blue eyes widened to a painful degree and his mouth dropped open, perfectly rendering the classic 'oohhhh I'm telllllin' face all children seemed to instinctively know, regardless of their age or background.

Parker winced and glanced sideways at the grifter. "Oops."

Sophie closed her eyes and Hardison motioned at the three of them and then at the boy.

"Who decided this was a good idea?"

---

TBC- Would love to hear what you all think. You game for another round??

A/N2: I just wanted to mention, I'm learning sign language, training to be a translator, so I'm going to stay as true to the Deaf culture as I can. But this story isn't about being deaf, it's merely a characteristic of one of the characters. That being said, I feel compelled to note that American Sign Language is a language in it's own rite, and not a translation of English. It has it's own grammar and sentence structure, however, for ease of reading and flow of the story, I have written the signed conversations (in italics of the non-flashback elements) as they would be said/translated in English, not ASL. -pj