A/N - Morgan is reference to Morgan Freeman, not the actual actor. Just borrowing the name, you know, like Denzel.

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"Because I'm, because I'm thinking."

"'Bout what?" She ceased pacing.

Parker went and sat next to him. He held her a tall coffee paper cup. It had a peppermint bark milk chocolate bar melted into it. He thought it might be a good idea to help her nerves to get her something sweet since her cereal stash was back at his place above the brew pub.

"I can talk to you right," she spoke to him and looked upon him with narrowed eyes; he nodded.

She acted as if others around them were listening, though she and Nate were the only people in the room. Visiting hours had ended two hours ago and the surgeon had left instructions to let them stay. Parker took a sip of the coffee and smiled at the surprise Nate had inside the cup. She'd never really explained to the others her need for sugar… It helped bring forth the serotonin to help communicate the feeling of calm all over her body while stabilizing her moods. Then the endorphins would hit and it sent high levels of energy to the brain. Parker would suddenly feel the rush of euphoria descend all over her body. It was the same kind of euphoria she felt when she dived off of the rooftops of buildings, or when she successfully broke into a safe she didn't think she could crack.

"Why is it that men treat women like property?"

Nate looked at her funny; that wasn't helping.

"Because they don't want to lose us once they've knocked us over the head... It's a Neanderthal thing, I think," Sophie spoke, "Isn't that right, Nate?"

"I'll go see how our nephew is doing," he nervously avoided the question and handed Sophie her coffee.

Sophie took up the seat that Nate had vacated. She sighed as she relaxed into the seat. Someday, just maybe she'd get him to propose to her… Now, on to dealing with Parker. The thief had seemingly lost her somewhere in thought. Sophie wondered where a question like that had come from. She believed things were good between the nimble pickpocket and the hacker. Maybe Nathan Ford was right… Maybe the relationship wasn't on stable ground.

"Bethany, how are you feeling," she asked and kept up their cover in case hospital staff overheard them.

"Nate got me chocolate, I'm fine," she avoided the question.

"Asking about property doesn't sound like you're fine, tell your Auntie Ophelia."

"You know Ophelia killed herself, right?"

"Yes, Bethany, I know Shakespeare. Things all right between you and um…"

"No… I don't think so. I don't want to talk about it now, 'kay?"

"All right, when you're ready… You know where to find me."

"How did he look?"

Sophie considered her responsibility in the conversation. Should she tell Parker that Eliot looked bad? The surgeon had been right; tubes and wires were everywhere. His face looked a little on the paler side, but she saw the bag of blood hanging on the IV Pole by the bed. The nurse said he was scheduled for a transfusion of blood twice a day now that he was out of surgery. They had his beautiful hair tucked into a cap instead of cutting it. Sophie knew that Nate was going to have a rough go of it when he saw Eliot. It would surely pull out memories of his son in the hospital.

"Don't sugar coat it, I wanna know," Parker said when she noticed Sophie's hesitation.

"He doesn't look good… He looks bloody hell terrible. The surgeon wasn't kidding; there are wires and tubes everywhere. I touched his uninjured arm and his skin was cold. If you touch him long enough you can feel the warm start to radiate from your hand to his flesh. I couldn't help but think he was suddenly going to sit up and start pulling things out."

Parker began to slowly process what Sophie had said; her thought skills seemed a bit off, slower somehow. It didn't seem possible since Nate had brought her leaded coffee instead of the decaffeinated kind. She felt like the energizer bunny. Eliot might not make it… That's what she heard from Sophie; she'd tuned most of the rest of what she'd said out. She couldn't deal with that part right then. She would need a major stockpile of sugary foods before she dealt with that reality. So, for now, she'd focus on the healing power of the blood transfusions. She wouldn't pray because ever since she'd been on her own, she didn't believe in God. What kind of God wanted her to be abused and abandoned in the foster care system? She stood when she noticed her paper coffee cup was empty and moved to the trash can by the door.

"Walk with me."

Sophie followed Parker out into the hall, unsure of where her friend was headed. Parker walked with her harms behind her back, fingers interlaced. She didn't talk as she walked down the hall; thoughts seemed all over the place. A few minutes into their walk she finally opened up.

"Earlier, did Hardison tell you or Nate that he was worried about me?"

"Not exactly."

"I read him, Sophie, like you taught me to spot a mark. He seemed more concerned with the job than Eliot or I. Aren't boyfriends supposed to worry about their girlfriends in a crisis?" Parker paused a few moments in her speech for dramatic effect. "I think I'm done trying to be his girlfriend."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah. I think I am. He's been kind of… Um… Controlling."

"How so?"

"He wants me to answer his calls and emails right away. He gets upset when I don't and turns on that GPS thing. Sometimes I can't get back to him because I'm busy. I usually answer them later, but he

"He wants me to answer his calls and emails right away. He gets upset when I don't. Sometimes I can't get back to him because I'm busy. I usually answer them later, but he sounds upset when I get back to him. He doesn't trust me; especially not when it comes to getting him down safely from a building. I am good at what I do. I've conceded that he's just not into jumping like I am. He keeps trying to pull me in to that video game stuff, I get bored, and I'm just not into it. Just like I can't pull him into my continual adrenaline rush or my, 'death wish,' as he calls it. I noticed the other day after we destroyed the Value More's location, he was more possessive around me, put his arm around me and all, especially in front of Eliot. When I felt that arm around me, it felt wrong somehow…

"And…"

"And, and, I value his friendship. Always have, since the beginning. He's like a brother. And after I lost one, he's the closest thing I have to a new one."

"Have you talked to him about all this?"

"No. I'm not sure I want to break up with him right now, with Eliot's condition and all. But I don't want to wait too long. Eliot is going to need help. I don't want Alec to get all mad at me if we're still together while I help him."

"But Parker, we're all going to be here to help him. It's not just going to be you. I don't know if any of us could handle taking care of our friend without needing help," Sophie wouldn't dream of leaving the two alone with all of the injuries the hitter faced recovery from.

"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…" Parker thought of that little train. "Wooo, Wooo."

"Be serious a minute here, you need to talk with Hardison. He deserves that much."

"I don't want to rip our family apart…"

Sophie was not so sure that possibility was not going to happen. Hardison would be hurt, but would he leave the team? And what about Eliot? He wouldn't go for Parker if he knew she was still Alec's. She knew he wouldn't want any of the team there to help him; it would be seen as an act of humiliating weakness. His training wouldn't allow for weakness or emotion. But Nate seemed so sure that changes were coming…

"How do you feel about Eliot?"

"I… I don't know. I don't want to talk about that yet."

Parker really wasn't ready to discuss Eliot and her yet. Somehow she felt she needed privacy still and so the jury on that kind of thinking was out for a recess.

"Okay, when you're ready. You know where I will be."

"Aren't you going home with Uncle Pat?"

"I'm staying. Morgan is at Pat's place and Pat will be going there when he's done with our nephew."

They completed the circle around the hallways of the PACU quietly and ended back up at the small waiting room. Parker sat down on a double seat without the arm rest in the center and curled into a ball. Sophie as went to a small cabinet in the corner under the television that a nurse inside the PACU ward had told her about on the way out from her visit with Lazarus. She pulled out a couple blankets and two pillows before she came back to Parker. She gave her a blanket and tucked her in on the double seat before she put a pillow under the thief's head. Then she curled up on another elongated seat and went to sleep. Neither woman noticed when Nate slipped out about an hour later.

Nate went back home to the Bridgeport from Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center. The brew pub was dark as he went through the back door in the alley. He locked it behind him for good measure before he went upstairs to his apartment. Hardison was already there and working on closing up the job for Nate's approval. Nate came in and went to his room where he kept his private stash of alcohol. He didn't care about the others at that point. His body was on a one track mind schedule… And the mind craved alcohol like the desert needed rain. He had been through so much in one day that he needed to drown out his pain; not even Hardison could stop him from his little pity party. Looking at Eliot in that bed made memories project in hallucinatory visions; as if it were Sam in that bed. Several times he'd had to close his eyes and shake his head like the memory would erase out like an Etch-A-Sketch. He took the chair that Sophie had been in and took a couple deep breaths. He had to breathe or fall down a rabbit hole of emotion. His backside slid into the chair and he sat facing Eliot's right ear. Nate couldn't touch the man's arm but he knew that he could talk to him and try to reassure him that things would be okay.

"I don't know where to begin… Well, not exactly. We need you to come back to us, especially for Sophie and Parker. Hardison's finishing up the last details of the job. He'll be contacting the client in the morning. Clifford Dobrofsky is in jail as we speak. So, you didn't fight in vain."

Nate heard Eliot's pulse jump a little higher before it settled back down.

"I hate to admit it, but Parker saved your ass… You owe her now, man. You heal first, and then we talk. Got it? You're gonna need time off and nothing will be booked until you get out of here in one piece."