4
As everybody settled around the table; Teddy sitting at one end, Nate on her right side with Sophie next to him and Eliot at the other end, directly across from her, next to Hardison with Parker completing the circle between Hardison and Teddy.
No one mention the discussion between Eliot and Teddy, but every couple of minutes, if you were quick enough, you could catch a small smile passing between the two as they all sat around trading stories; Nate and Sophie telling tales from their holidays and Hardison and Eliot telling Nate about some of the jobs they'd been doing recently. Parker however had been sitting quietly looking around her unorthodox family and then to Teddy.
"So you guys gonna have sex now?" Parker blurted out.
"PARKER!" Eliot spluttered "That…I don't…that ain't…you don't ask that…" he glared at Parker before softening his gaze to glance at Teddy "It ain't about that…sometimes things can be about more than sex Parker."
"Oh, ok. Got it, more than sex…like me and Hardison. So does that mean you're his girlfriend now?" she asked titling her head towards Teddy as she spoke.
"Jesus Parker!" Eliot growled out through his gritted teeth.
"What?" Parker turned towards Eliot, "I'm just wondering, Sparky. Cause that would give you two and you always said you don't do cheatin'." she said mimicking Eliot's drawl for the last part.
[Eliot] "PARKER! WHAT THE HELL!"
[Nate] "Parker, I don't think that's really…"
[Hardison] "Aaaah Mama, I wouldn't…."
[Sophie] "Sweetie, it's not really any of our….."
Everybody talking at her at once made her confused. What did I say wrong? Eliot always says that, says it's not what a real man does, cause they're supposed to respect women.
Teddy listened to them all spluttering and started to laugh, which stopped them all mid sentence. "Lay off her guys." she said stretching out her hand to touch the young thief's arm gently, "No harm meant, right P?" she winked and then grinned at Parker which caused the younger woman to smile back.
"So Eliot…" Teddy poured another drink and grinned at Eliot, "You got a girlfriend? I got competition huh?" she asked turning everyone's attention onto Eliot and away from Parker, enjoying the way Eliot was starting to squirm under everyone's gaze.
"Girlfriend?" Nate asked.
Eliot returned Teddy's mischievous grin, "Well Teddy, I've kinda been seeing this girl for about a month."
"A month!" Nate exclaimed.
"Yeah he's been much less grumpy." Parker added nodding.
"Well you kept that bloody quiet, what's she like Eliot?" Sophie asked, I could have sworn there was something between him and Teddy, my reading's not usually that off, I must be out of practice, she was really curious, in all the years she's known Eliot he'd never met a girl more than a couple of times, and definitely not for a month without someone knowing about it.
"Um… well Soph." he stammered running his hand through his hair trying not to look at anyone, instead staring intently at his bottle on the table, absent-mindedly picking at the label. "She's beautiful, funny, smart, ya can't help but smile around her, independent with a stubborn streak….. 'n' did I mention beautiful?" he grinned lopsidedly as he looked at Sophie. Sophie nodded back. "Oh and she's got the most gorgeous blue eyes."
"And does this wonder woman have a name?" Sophie asked.
"Sarah." he said quietly, and then he looked up at her smiling face, holding her eyes with his and said "Sorry Darlin', never asked. Do you prefer Sarah or Teddy?" he grinned.
She beamed back at him, her eyes sparkling as she smiled. Damn, she really does have beautiful eyes.
Sophie's jaw dropped open.
Hardison's eyes nearly popped out of his head with an excited squeal escaping from beneath the hand that covered his mouth. "Eeeeeee. You're 'coffee girl!'"
Nate reached for the bottle murmuring something about not drunk enough for this.
Parker sat quietly with a strange look on her face, one that Eliot had come to dread because it usually meant she was about to do something he wasn't going to like.
"So you can tell me then, is there something wrong with him?" she asked Teddy.
"Something wrong with who, P?"
"Eliot."
Where the hell is she going with this? "I'm not following you."
"He might get mad." Looking over to Eliot Parker made a small motion with her hand "Well more than he already is anyway."
Teddy stood up and took Parker's hand "Why don't we just move over here then and you can ask me without him hearing. Ok?"
The thief nodded and as they walked over away from the table Teddy turned and said "Talk amongst yourselves, no snooping Eliot."
"He doesn't snoop, he lurks…" Parker informed her "he's a lurker."
As Eliot pinched the bridge of his nose, Teddy grinned "Ok, so no lurking Eliot."
Parker walked over to another table with the shorter woman, and whispered her question into her ear.
Teddy couldn't help it she started giggling uncontrollably, shrugging her shoulders at Parker, in an 'I don't know' way struggling to breathe from the giggle fit, her tears now running down her face. While walking back to the table to join everyone else, Parker asked if she would tell her the answer eventually. Still giggling and crying Teddy nodded in the blonde's direction.
Eliot studied the two of them for a moment this is not good, what the hell did she ask? He saw Hardison typing on his cell then Parker's beeped, she typed a reply and Hardison ran out of the bar to the office in roughly the same state as Teddy, quickly followed by Parker.
What the hell…..? "Darlin what did she want?" He asked a slightly more composed Teddy.
As soon as she looked up at Eliot she started again, but managed through the bursts of hysterics to answer him "Noth…..ing….Just…girl…stuff." she looked over to Sophie and winked, "tell….you…..later…Soph." the brunette nodded to her and poured another drink which she held out to the giggling wreck beside her.
Later that night, or rather in the early hours of the next day, the group having broke up and drifted to their respective homes, Nate and Sophie were settling into each others arms to sleep when a sudden thought jerked Nate awake.
"Soph?" Nate asked quietly to make sure she wasn't asleep.
"Mmmmmmmm?"
"What did Parker ask Teddy earlier?"
Sophie sat up slightly, leaning on his chest, so that she was looking Nate in the face. "You can't tell Eliot. You have to promise, he might get a little mad, but she's just being Parker."
Oh god this must be bad, she's defending her before she tells me. And Eliot'll be mad? He's never managed to stay mad at Parker, she's poked him when he's hurt, irritated him for fun and she's worried about one question? Maybe I shouldn't have asked.
"Ok Soph, I won't tell him, I promise." he thought for a moment, "Unless it's something he really has to know."
"Well….she wanted to know if only went out with a woman once because he didn't work properly."
"When you say work…."
"Yes, Nate I mean sex."
He nodded, groaning slightly, Oh god. Yep he'd be pissed if he heard that. "You know there are times when I think Eliot might be right…" he whispered to Sophie, "…there's something wrong with that girl." pulling Sophie closer and placing a tender kiss on her lips. "But I wouldn't change her for the world." He smiled closing his eyes and giving in to the sleep that he needed, he'd fix it tomorrow, if he had to.
It was around 3am when Teddy got out of the cab that Nate and Eliot had made her take (she wanted to walk but it had been easier to give in than listen to them lecture) at the back of her building and walked around to the front climbing, almost dancing, up the stairs to the 4th floor rather than take the elevator, she was a little buzzed. He really likes me. He told his friends, so he must. she smiled to herself Oh God this is like being back at school. Grow the hell up you idiot, you're a bloody adult!
She unlocked the door to the apartment and headed straight for a shower, enjoying the rush of water that cleared her head, the buzz from the mix of whiskey and Eliot (mostly Eliot) needing to be calmed before she went to bed.
She came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, humming as she rubbed her hair dry, when she felt a familiar prickling on the back of her neck, the one you associate with being wandered on through the room heading for the bedroom, acting normal, heading for the gun she kept there.
She was waiting on them showing their hand and making a move as she reached for the gun hidden under the nightstand, freezing when she caught a familiar scent of jasmine and vanilla. Parker?! What the hell is she doing here? How the hell does she know where I live? Oh well, best not to spook her.
Teddy got dressed and started walking towards the kitchen, placing two glasses on the counter, while lifting out a bowl and pan.
"You can come out Parker, you don't have to hide. I'm having apple juice, want one?" she said while busying about in the kitchen.
"How'd you know I was there?" No-one ever knows I there, apart from Eliot.
"I'm psychic." Teddy joked.
Parker's eyes went wide and she looked almost scared.
"Relax Parker, I'm joking. I smelled jasmine and vanilla, it's very you." Parker seemed to relax a little with that comment "Are you hungry? I am."
"Can I have milk instead of apple juice?" she asked.
"Of course you can. Help yourself; it would probably go better with the pancakes anyway. You do like chocolate chip pancakes, don't you?" Parker's ear splitting grin was all the answer she needed.
Parker sat and watched Teddy's every move while she made the batter and cooked, it was a little unnerving. They'd never spent masses of time together, it was usually Alec that Teddy went to see, but she liked the blonde, so the small talk while the pancakes were being made was brief because Parker didn't really do small talk. The silences weren't uncomfortable though, they just were.
As they sat eating their pancakes Teddy asked her why she'd come.
"It's about Sparky." the thief began while piling the last remnant of pancake into her mouth.
"I thought it might be."
"I don't always get how people react to each other and I'm fine with that….but Eliot…..he's been hurt before, and I don't want him to leave. After Aimee he left and liberated Croatia; whatever that means; and I don't want him to leave because he got hurt again."
She looked at Teddy with such intensity in her eyes. "I like you Teddy. You don't mind that I don't talk much or that I'm weird, so I really don't want to hurt you…but if you hurt Eliot…" Parker let her actions finish her sentence as she pulled her right hand into a fist and smacked it into her left palm.
Teddy smiled at her, knowing that she would follow through if she had too, and admiring her for it. "Parker, it's really sweet that you're looking out for him, but I don't know that much about relationships either. I've deliberately avoided them. I can't promise anything Parker but I don't want to hurt him either. Things can go wrong…yes, but I won't intentionally hurt him. And I think you understand more than you let on…oh and by the way, there's nothing wrong with being weird, it makes things interesting." she said with a crooked grin "so don't worry about it anymore Ok?" the thief nodded.
By the time they had eaten, cleaned up and talked over everything they wanted to, it was around 6am, Teddy looked at Parker with a mischievous grin "It's still early; I don't have to be at the centre for a couple of hours…" she motioned to the motorcycle helmets by the door "…wanna go for a ride?" Parker grinned back nodding enthusiastically.
"Then maybe we can get Eliot to make us some more breakfast." Parker said as her grin grew even wider and took on a more maniacal element as she skipped over to pick up a helmet, waiting by the door for Teddy to join her. Picking up her keys Teddy followed her out the door shaking her head at the young thief's antics. It was going to be an interesting morning.
AN Thank you very much for reading this, I hope you enjoyed. Your time and patience is greatly appreciated.
I would like to say thank you to those of you who reviewed this, I didn't realise how much of an impact seeing reviews would have. Good or bad, they have been the fuel that has kept me going on the days when I start to wonder why I started doing this. Thank you all so very, very much.
This was originally going to be the start of a larger story, but I got stuck and left it for a while. When the 'muse' hit me again, I went back to it & read it over only to wonder where I had been going in the first place, & scrapped most of it (trust me you couldn't have followed it with a road map. I had the road map & I was lost). So there will be more of Teddy & Eliot eventually, stay tuned for further adventures.
ShMac x
