A/N: Thanx so much to everyone reviewing this fic. I'm loving writing it, though I know some people aren't sold on the idea. Ah well, not everybody gets me and my wackiness! lol

(For disclaimer, etc. see chapter 1)

Chapter 4

Parker stared into the mirror, not exactly loving the view. She didn't care much about her appearance as a rule, not all into make up and hair products like most women, despite many an attempt by Sophie to get her interested. Still, she always believed she was pretty enough. Put her in a dress and heels, most guys paid attention. The wink and shimmy was always useful, when it didn't go wrong...

Unfortunately, Parker wasn't exactly looking like much of a catch in this particular moment. She always heard it said that pregnant ladies glowed somehow, and yet right now, she looked decidedly pale, drawn, sick, and every kind of non-glowy. To be fair, she had just thrown up what seemed to be everything she'd eaten for a week, and felt like she'd do it all over again if there was anything left to do it with. If this was what having a kid was like, she really wasn't enjoying it so far.

It had been bad enough when she and Eliot told the team about their future child. Instantly there was a list as long as a persons leg of all the activities Parker was now banned from taking part in. No more rappelling because the harness might cause damage. No more crawling through air vents on her stomach because that really would be a problem. No contact with anyone in the least bit dangerous, and a whole lot of staying in the van with Hardison was prescribed for her so-called condition. Parker was not amused.

With a sigh, she backed up some from the bathroom mirror and stared at her own frowning features. So far she didn't like this whole pregnant thing much. Glancing down, she pulled her top and pants away from each other and gazed at the flesh in between. Her stomach was almost as flat as ever it was, no real sign of any change that she could see. She did feel different, in a weird way, but she certainly didn't look pregnant as far as she could tell. She didn't have a huge amount of experience with this kind of thing, so honestly, Parker wasn't overly sure she knew what she was supposed to feel or look like.

A tap on the door broke her train of thought and she spun around as a voice called to her.

"Hey, Parker?" said Eliot, "You okay in there?" he checked.

The thief opened her mouth to answer and quickly closed it again. To say she was fine would be a lie as nausea rose in her throat just the moment she moved. Of course if she admitted she felt bad the others would make a fuss, and besides, no matter how much she trusted her team-mates, she still didn't much like looking weak and frail in front of anybody.

"Parker?" Eliot called again, a hint of worry in his voice by now because she hadn't answered.

"You can come in" she said, instead of either confirming or denying her state of health, as she sat down carefully on the edge of the bath-tub, her head in her hands.

At least this way only the hitter would see her suffering, not the rest of the team. She heard the door open and close again as Eliot came in, and then realised he was now crouched in front of her, trying to see her face that she was hiding.

"I'll be fine" she insisted, though she knew she appeared no better than she had a moment before from the way he was looking at her.

"Well, that's why we're gonna go see a doctor" he reminded her of the appointment they needed to keep, hence his chasing her out of the bathroom apparently.

Of course he was concerned for her welfare as well, but he'd been talking about this trip to the doctor's office for two days straight and seemed determined that no matter how much Parker argued, she was going to go.

"I still don't see why I need a doctor to tell me anything" she sighed, "I'm puking, I skipped a period, and the test from the drug store had the little blue line that means pregnant" she reeled off, counting each of the three points on her fingers, "I don't see what else he's gonna say, except telling me I'm not allowed to do anything fun, and hey, you and Nate already did that" she said with an unamused look.

Eliot didn't know what to say to her. He did feel bad for Parker that she was suffering, both with the side-effects of her pregnancy and also with having to give up so many things she loved to do for the foreseeable future. Still, that didn't change the fact that she did need to have a doctor confirm both her pregnancy and the state of her health. Things went wrong too often when women were carrying kids, and Eliot didn't want that happening, not to Parker, and not to any child of his.

"Look, darlin'" he said with a sigh of his own as he met her eyes, "I know this all seems pretty huge right now, and honestly, that's 'cause it is" he admitted, "but we can handle this, right? You're not alone, I'm right here" he promised.

A strange feeling went through Parker then as she gazed down at Eliot crouched before her. She had come to trust him over their years spent together on the team, and to like him a whole lot more than she ever expected to. Hardison always said they were a little more than a family and he was right, because he and Nate and Sophie had so easily become her brother and parent figures. Eliot was always different, he did older brother pretty well as a rule, but she could never really put him in that role because all too often her eyes wandered to his form when he had to change clothes in front of her and such. She got stirrings inside in ways that a brother never ought to make a sister feel, that was for sure. It was so strange to Parker that she couldn't put Eliot in a pigeon-hole like she did with other people, couldn't assign him a role in her life all that easily. All she knew for sure was that he was always there were she needed him, and for a guy who could be so tough and violent, he could be the sweetest gentlest person she ever knew her whole life.

Still, nothing prepared her for this moment, for the wave of warmth that passed through her as he promised to always be here for her no matter what happened. Parker knew that men up and left women when they got pregnant. She knew how some guys would bolt at the very idea of kids, but not Eliot. They weren't even dating, they just had one night of fun and the consequences had been major, but he was still here, and it seemed like he had no plans to go anywhere for a good long while. The realisation of it brought tears to Parker's eyes that she didn't understand, and so she made light of them.

"God, this emotional thing is gonna get real old, real fast" she forced out a chuckle at her own dumb behaviour as she wiped her eyes with her back of her hand, "but y'know... thanks, for being here" she said feeling stupid somehow as she put an awkward hand on Eliot's shoulder and patted it in some sort of friendly gesture, he assumed.

"You're welcome" he replied, not sure what else to say as he stood up and held out a hand to her, "You ready to go now?" he asked, glad when she nodded and put her hand into his after just a few seconds pondering.

It was strange to think that just over a month ago the two of them had been as close as two people could get and had made this baby she was apparently carrying. Now Parker looked as if she felt odd just taking his hand, but Eliot didn't wonder on it too much. As far as he could tell, the little thief understood sex, the physicalities of it, the release and all. It was the little gestures, kisses and hand holding and hugs, that were so foreign to her, things she had never had and really never expected to be offered. All that was going to change, he suspected, over the next few months, though now didn't seem like a sensible time to talk about it or even ponder on it as he led Parker down the stairs to where Nate and Sophie waited on the couch.

"How're you doing, sweetie?" asked the grifter kindly as she looked to her friend.

"I threw up, a lot" the blonde admitted, pushing hair that had fallen out of her ponytail back off her face, "but I'm fine" she forced a smile, feeling better somehow for Eliot's hand holding onto her own still.

"Well, we'll be here when you're done at the doctor's office" said Nate, trying his best to look genuine and happy even though it wasn't exactly what he felt, "You come back, tell us how it all went, okay?"

Parker nodded without really paying much mind to what had been said as she and Eliot headed for the door, only to have it open just as soon as they reached it. Hardison stood on the other side, staring a moment as his eyes went from Eliot to Parker to their adjoined hands and away. Nobody was sure who ought to speak first or what they ought to say. The hacker had thrown in the odd comment during their discussion two days ago about how Parker's pregnancy would effect the team, but he had been remarkably quiet and nobody had seen him since. They certainly hadn't expected him to show up at Nate's today, and yet here he was.

"Hey" he said after the longest pause ever, "I figured I should be here, y'know, for when y'all get back from your appointment" he shrugged, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot, "Gotta know if you and the bun in your oven are doing okay, mama" he told Parker with a smile that Eliot knew was forced, even if the blonde beside him had no idea.

She seemed pleased enough and let her hand slip from Eliot's own as she reached to hug Hardison, however briefly. Over her shoulder, the hitter saw his brother's pained expression and hated himself just a little bit more for what had happened here. It was sweet torture for the guy to get this close to Parker and know she would probably never be his now. The woman just had no idea what she was doing to him.

"We should go" said Eliot, reaching for her hand again just the moment she let go of Hardison.

She nodded, finding a little wave for her team before they left. The door closed behind them with a thud and Parker never even realised that the hacker had his eyes closed again, willing away the pain that was still very much real inside of him.

Eliot knew without seeing just what the guy was going through. Okay, so maybe the last thing Parker needed right now was emotional distress but there was no way they could carry on in this situation, he decided, without her being told of Hardison's feelings and how she was hurting them, however inadvertent it was.

It was when they'd got into his truck and started the drive to the doctor's office that Eliot brought up the subject he knew needed to be broached.

"Parker... Uh, y'know, babe, we need to talk about Hardison" he said awkwardly, keeping his eyes on the road, not only because any responsible driver should but because looking at her right now was only going to hamper his attempts at talking about this.

"What about him?" she asked innocently as she leant over to mess with the radio, trying to find a song she liked, "I'm glad he's not still mad at me for the whole pregnant thing. I don't think I really get why he was in the first place..." she mused, at which Eliot cut in.

"He was never mad at you, Parker" he pointed out, "He was mad at me, because... well, because he likes you" he said awkwardly, hoping more than believing that she would understand what he was getting at.

After all, this was Parker and being subtle never did work. She liked things straight up, black and white, like she would say it, and maybe Eliot should have remembered that, since it might've saved the frown on her face right now.

"I like him too" she shrugged, straightening herself in the seat now she was satisfied with the music she had found on the radio, "He's part of the team, part of the family" she went on, "Maybe the best foster brother I ever had actually... one of them anyway"

Eliot winced at that on behalf of the guy he too saw as a brother. It didn't matter if the two guys saw each other as siblings, but it was clear at this point that neither saw Parker as a sister. It seemed she was quite happy to assign Hardison the brother role, just as easily as she put Sophie and Nate into the Mom and Dad boxes on her pseudo-family tree. Eliot was the one that didn't fit, that she must like in a different way to the point where they had slept together. Now he was forced to explain to her that her 'brother' liked her just that way - she was going to freak out! Still, as he'd already established, she had to be told, and straight out was the best way to save any further confusion.

"Okay, here goes nothin'" he said more to himself than her, as he pulled into a parking space outside the doctor's office, shut off the engine and turned to face her, "Parker, you might see Hardison like a brother, but he always saw you as... as girlfriend material" he said, for lack of a better phrase.

Hell, Eliot had never seen the woman's eyes go that wide in the whole time he'd known her, and he'd seen her shocked and surprised plenty of times over. She really had no idea that Hardison liked her, not even an inkling of it. She saw brother when she looked at him and always figured he felt similar about her apparently. The poor girl was in an over-riding state of shock right now, and he felt a little bad for doing that to her, but it had to be done.

"Huh" she said after a long pause, "Wow. I mean, he hit on me a couple of times, kind of, I think..." she thought on it before continuing, "I mean, he's not like a real brother, 'cause hello, I made out with him for cons and stuff, but mostly, yeah, like family, not like... Wow" she repeated, not really sure what else to say, "He was always the brother type, y'know, in my head?" she said, almost sadly as if her whole dream family illusion had just been shattered somehow, "I thought maybe you would be too, but that didn't work out so good, I mean, you're way too hot for that!" she declared, like it was just another thing to say.

Eliot wasn't sure whether to be amused or flattered by the sentiment and fast realised he was both, though he tried not to laugh in case she was offended.

"Yeah, well, truth be told" he said, looking sideways at her, "Crazy little sister might've worked for you if you weren't so hot yourself" he admitted, not willing to turn his head enough to see if she was blushing.

The silence turned uncomfortable then, neither sure what to say. It was dumb, they'd slept together for God sakes, it ought to be obvious they found each other physically attractive, and yet the words had never been said til now. Of course this was not where the conversation had started or anything like where Eliot had intended it to go. His plan was to talk about Hardison and ensure that Parker handled herself better around the hacker. For a long time the pair had danced around each other, and Eliot had been almost amused by the way Hardison took every possible mixed signal Parker threw his way as a come on, when the truth was she was kind of oblivious to the fact that every bag of pretzels she ate, or smile she shared was being taken as a sign of attraction she probably didn't feel.

"So yeah, go easy on Hardison" Eliot said eventually, glancing over at Parker who still looked a little shocked by this car journey's revelations, "Maybe don't push the pregnancy stuff at him too much, okay?"

"Okay" she nodded, determined to try her best to be all thoughtful and considerate of other peoples feelings, even if only this once, because Hardison did matter a lot to her, just maybe not in the way he had thought.

"Okay then, Doctor's appointment" said Eliot too suddenly, getting out of the car and encouraging Parker to do the same.

She huffed as she complied, a little disappointed to realise this hadn't been forgotten amongst everything else. A further thought hit her then that made her both frown and wince.

"Wait a second" she said worriedly, "What does Nate see me as?"

To Be Continued...