Title: "Father and Mother"
Author: Pirate Turner
Rating: PG
Summary: The date hit him like a ton of bricks.
Warnings: Drabble, Hinted Het
Word Count: 300
Date Written: 26 November, 2011
Challenge: For a challenge posted to the ProvideLeverage LJ comm
Disclaimer: Nate, Sophie, all other characters mentioned within, and Leverage are ﾩ & TM their rightful owners, none of whom are the author. Everything else is ﾩ & TM the author. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Realization of the date hit Nate square in the gut and face. Suddenly, he couldn't breathe. He hurt, body, heart, and soul, and the room spun around him. He clutched his stomach and fought down tears.
"Here." Nate blinked. Slowly, Sophie's understanding, patient, and smiling face appeared out of the fog threatening to engulf him. She placed a mug of frothy beer in his shaking hands and steadied his grip on the tankard.
"It's okay," she spoke soothingly to him. "You've gotten us out of worse scraps than this drunk off of your arse. Go ahead," she coaxed. "It'll be okay."
The world still spun around him, intermingling with flashes of the past and now. He could hear his son calling for him. He remembered watching his baby die on this date so few years ago. He fought against the stinging of the past and focused his watery gaze on Sophie's face. "Drink," she commanded again, still smiling reassuringly.
At last, he did. He almost swallowed the mug whole in a single gulp, but Sophie filled his tankard up again before he could even notice he was empty. It was after his third full tankard that Nate finally spoke. "Thanks."
Sophie nodded. "Any time. You'd do the same for me."
Nate looked around them, vaguely remembering that the team had been fighting when the date'd hit him like a ton of ricks. Sophie stepped in beside him and laid a gentle hand on his. "You know, you're still a father. We still need you."
Nate looked around them at Parker fussing over chocolate and Elliot and Alec slap fighting. He grinned. "I've got my work cut out for me then. Don't think I can do this one alone."
"Don't look at me," Sophie warned, but her wink told him otherwise.
The End