A/N: Hey peops! Thanx for the reviews. If you're still there and reading, give me a yell by way of review please! This is where things take another little twisty turn...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 7

It had been a week, a whole seven days, since Parker had left the Leverage base to drive home and never made it. In some ways it seemed much longer since the team's thief landed herself in a coma that didn't want to end, in the ways where her friends that felt like a family willed her day and night to come around, and sat by her bedside willing her to do so. On the other hand, there were times when it seemed ridiculous to think she had been in her deep sleep so long, seeming like only yesterday she was throwing non-sequitars through the earbuds on a con, or rustling around with her hand in a cereal packet when Nate or Hardison was trying to explain a plan.

They all missed her, every single member of the team felt her absence keenly, perhaps in an even worse way than when Sophie had walked away for a while. Sure, her being gone rocked the crew to its core, but they always held onto the hope she was coming home soon, that she could at least do that if she wanted to. It seemed that Parker's fight to get back to them would be decidedly more epic.

Eliot knew better than anyone that the longer this went on, the more the odds of her waking diminished. Parker was strong, no doubt, she wouldn't have survived to this age if she wasn't. After all that she'd been through over the years, she really didn't deserve to suffer anymore. Of course, in her deep sleep, the chances were good she felt no pain herself, that was at least some comfort. Instead it was the team who suffered her loss, that they all prayed would not be permanent.

Gathered here in McRorys, later in the evening, they were all attempting to drown their sorrows. One of them ought to be at the hospital at all times, or so they had originally thought, but sometimes being all together like this was what they really needed, knowing that support network was there.

For four people that had been quite the lone wolves in their work before, they had come to rely on each other so much, even Eliot who had vowed never to work with a team on more than one job, at least until he met these people. Now, he wasn't sure how he would've got through the last week without them, battling pain and guilt still over what had happened. Sophie in particular would keep telling him not to blame himself, and though he stopped talking about it to appease her, Eliot couldn't make the feeling go away completely.

"We have a job to do," said Nate too suddenly in the midst of three of his four thieves who had all been occupied by their own drinks and thoughts until he spoke.

"You picked up a new client? Now?" asked Sophie, understandably astonished as her team-mates were too.

"Nate, I don't think..." began Hardison but Nate waved his words away.

"I don't mean we have a specific job right now, like a specific person asking for help," he confirmed, looking round the table at each of them - grifter, hacker, and hitter, "but we have a job. This team has a purpose, that's what we started working together for, to help people".

"Yeah," nodded Eliot, "but we're not a whole team anymore, in case you forgot," he pointed out coolly.

Nate's hand slamming on the table made Sophie and Hardison jump, but Eliot never even flinched. His eyes remained trained on the mastermind's own, even as they flashed with anger and pain.

"Don't you dare accuse me of not caring about Parker," he told him in a low voice, both filled with anger and meant to be unheard by the other patrons of the bar. "Don't you dare!"

"Nobody would ever say that," Sophie insisted, looking between the two men. "We all care about her, of course we do, and nobody's saying any different".

There was silence a while then as all took in the concept of working without Parker. It seemed wrong on so many levels to even be thinking about such a thing. They barely functioned without Sophie and it taken the arrival of Tara and a few weeks practise to integrate her before things really ran smooth.

"How can we even do this without Parker?" asked Hardison then, whether to the team or just to himself, no-one was really sure.

Either way, nobody seemed willing or able to give an answer. It was almost like their lives before the team, all colliding in the worst way. Nate wanted a drink, pretty much all the time. Sophie wished she could run until she out-ran the pain. Hardison wanted a dark room to hide in, with sugary goodness and coding hacks to scramble his brain. Eliot just needed somebody, anybody to punch, over and over until there was nothing left of anything to hurt anymore. It wouldn't help, none of it would, and it was surprisingly the hitter that came up with the only possible step forward.

"We have to do this," he said, so suddenly in the quiet that he caught everyone else's attention immediately. "We gotta do our jobs, help people, just like we always do," he said, pointing his finger into the bar top as if it made his point more valid.

"Man, you just said..." began Hardison, only to find himself interrupted.

"For Parker," Eliot cut in immediately, with a look much less severe than he would usually cast the hacker's way when he was snapping at him. "She's a good person, Hardison, and you know it," he reminded him. "Crazy as a bucket full of frogs, but good," he added with a ghost of a smile that his brother returned, "and she would hate it if people weren't gettin' helped because of her".

"He's right," nodded Sophie, looking from the younger men and then to Nate. "You're both right, we have to do this," she agreed.

"It's what Parker'd want," Hardison threw in, bobbing his head in agreement too. "And what that woman wants, man, she always get".

With that agreed, Nate ordered a further round of drinks and looked between the faces of his gathered team with a smile that was only partially forced by now.

"So, to moving forward... for Parker's sake," he said, raising his glass in some kind of odd toast.

A beer bottle, a soda glass, a whiskey tumbler, and a wine glass came together in a series of clinks, before the four members of Team Leverage drank. It wasn't going to be the same, it couldn't possibly be, but they did have to try and continue their good works. It was doing nobody any favours if they didn't, including Parker.

It had been a week, a whole seven days, since Parker had left the Leverage base to drive home and never made it. In some ways it seemed much longer since the team's thief landed herself here in a High School world that she didn't want to end, in the ways where her friends that felt like a family helped her enjoy her experience so much, and she had Archie and Frankie to be her real family unit here. On the otherhand, there were times when it seemed ridiculous to think she had been here so long, seeming like only yesterday she was getting comments and growls from the team for throwing non-sequitars through the earbuds on a con, or rustling around with her hand in a cereal packet when Nate or Hardison was trying to explain a plan.

She didn't miss it too much. Parker was sure the team would be something she missed terribly if she had been here in this other world without them, but attending High School with their younger selves pleased her to no end. They were the best parts of themselves, as she was too. She didn't have to live on the street and be so tough or hard. Parker had a home and a family and friends here, she did well in her classes and enjoyed them all from math to art to gym. Then there was her cheerleading. Parker was in her element when she was at practice for the cheerleading squad, showing off her flips and spins, never fearing the landing as she threw herself from the top of the pyramid onto the mats below.

There were times when the nice girls from the squad would offer her to eat lunch with them, but Parker declined. She spent her lunchtimes with her friends, her team that wasn't exactly a crew here as they were in 'reality'. Eliot didn't seem to mind abandoning his Jock friends to sit at the table with Parker and Hardison, and Nate always came with Sophie who left the 'in' crowd to be with her new clique. It was all Parker wanted in a High School experience and she had it right here. She honestly never wanted to leave.

Straight from school, the gang headed to McRorys, not a pub that sold alcohol as it was in the world Parker knew before, but a kind of a cafe for the young people, where only soda and ice cream sundaes and such could be bought from the bar. It looked the same though, minus the booze, and Parker loved to hang out there with her friends, until she had to get home for dinner and homework.

Archie was always pleased to see her when she arrived home, always willing to give her a hug and ask her how her day had been. She and Frankie would share tales of their school day and she even helped him with his homework one night. It was so comfortable, so warm and perfect. Parker had spent so very long wishing for this life she now seemed to have, she couldn't imagine ever wanting to leave.

Of course, there were downsides. Everything had a catch to it and Parker had found two about this new world so far. First was the lack of crime. She didn't mind so much giving up being a thief in the sense of being a bad guy, since working with the Leverage crew meant she still got to rappel and safe-break and all. She never needed any of those skills here, and going through her locks with her pick set was only going to be entertaining for so long without a proper heist to attend.

The second problem with this near-perfect world was the dreams. Every night the most intense dreams filled Parker's head, the faces of her friends and their voices calling out to her. She never could make out what they were saying, not clearly anyway, but none of them seemed happy. They cried, not just Sophie who was prone to such emotional behaviour, but the guys too. Parker wasn't sure whether she wanted to ask why or not, but she never did, she just couldn't. Trapped in the nightmare, all she could do was suffer the pain that eradiated from the friends she cared so much about.

It wasn't as worrying for Parker as it might've been, after all, she was used to bad dreams, she'd suffered with them most of her life. At least when she woke here she was safe, no fear that she had woken up angry foster parents or drawn attention to herself on the dangerous streets. Here she had Archie to fuss over her, Frankie to look up to her, and then friends that were good as family to prove they were not suffering as her subconscious seemed to believe, but happy and enjoying a High School experience with her.

It seemed today was going to be no different as she walked up onto the front steps and found her friends all stood there, as if waiting for her. They smiled and greeted Parker happily as she arrived, though almost immediately Hardison and Eliot went back to bickering over something dumb. That made Parker smile all the wider, just because it was so normal somehow.

"Honestly, boys!" Sophie rolled her eyes as she muttered to her friend. "They're just so childish sometimes".

"Oh yeah," sighed Parker though it was all a bit of an act. "What are they even arguing about?" she checked, her eyes following back and forth as Eliot and Hardison continued in the same vain.

"Homecoming," Nate told her with an amused smirk as he followed the pair yelling back and forth. "Apparently, they both believe they could be Homecoming King if they put their minds to it".

"Oh," said Parker thoughtfully as she looked between them and then burst out in fits of giggles that were loud enough to catch everyone's attention.

"What up, girl?" asked Hardison as the blonde fell into a fit of hysterics.

It took a full five minutes before she seemed capable of speech and the others were all a little concerned. It wasn't entirely normal for a person to find something and nothing this funny. Hell, the girl couldn't breathe by the looks of her, a hand on Sophie's shoulder as she bent double with the force.

"There's something wrong with you," Eliot told the blonde as she attempted to right herself and almost stumbled right into him, though there was no real malice in his tone, just wonderment at her odd behaviour it seemed.

"Seriously?" she said as she got her giggles under control, looking pointedly at Eliot and then Hardison. "Something wrong with me? How about you?" she asked them. "First off, you two are arguing over a crown," she told them as she pointed between them, "which by the way you would both look dumb in, and second," she continued, missing their pissed expressions at that comment, "isn't Homecoming like a month away and so not a big deal?"

"Oh, sweetie!" Sophie practically erupted with shock, so much so anybody passing by might have thought the world was ending or someone was dying. "What kind of school did you go to before you came here?" she asked a baffled Parker who was long since done laughing. "Homecoming is a very big deal, its really second only to the Prom," she explained, with Nate nodding along in agreement. "What you wear, who you go with, it's a bloody minefield!" she declared, at which Parker started.

"Huh," she said with a shake of her head. "I had no idea".

Surely a school dance shouldn't be this big of a deal, and yet apparently that was exactly what it was. She had to admit, when she recalled those movies she'd been watching prior to landing here, the girls in particular had cared an awful lot about that kind of thing. Dresses and limos and dates weren't so much things that teenage Parker had ever considered. Back then she had been too busy worrying about where she would sleep tonight, what the best place to steal food from might be, and what new devices might be put on cars tomorrow making them harder to bust into.

"And I would not look dumb in a crown," Eliot insisted as she tuned back into the people around her, lost for a moment in memories that didn't belong in this world.

"Me either, nuh-uh," agreed Hardison, both boys with their arms folded across their chests when Parker looked their way. "I would rock that bejewelled piece o' headgear, don't even worry 'bout it".

"Oh, we're not worried," the jock beside him said with an annoying smirk of smile, "because you will never win Homecoming King," Eliot insisted. "Not while I'm at this school," he said before walking away.

Hardison started yelling behind him, though wasn't dumb enough to follow Eliot too closely as he strolled away. Sure, the two of them were learning to be cool with each other since this odd group of friends started hanging out together, but Hardison was still all too aware that this new 'friend' of his could beat his ass down with a pinky finger.

Parker sighed and rolled her eyes as the two argued at distance, then turned her attention back to Sophie who was reapplying lipstick in her compact.

"So, who's taking you to Homecoming?" she asked conversationally.

The young wannabe actress continued to practise her pout a few more seconds before putting the mirror away and answering her friend.

"Now that's the big question, isn't it?" she said, turning a moment to watch as Hardison walked behind Eliot, still throwing arguments at each other, and Nate dove in to play peace maker. "I mean, there are plenty of options, of course, but I don't want to decide too early and make a big mistake, y'know?" she shrugged easily.

"So, not Nate?" asked Parker, wondering if she was supposed to but then figuring what the hell?

"Me and Nate?" Sophie held back a chuckle as if the prospect of the two of them were laughable. "Well, that's just..." she began, only to stop short as her eyes went to the boy in question and then returned to Parker's innocent gaze. "Well, if he asked me I might actually say yes," she sighed in defeat, knowing it was true, "but he never bloody does ask me anything, not to a dance or on a date, he just trails after me like a little lost puppy, and what does it say about me if I make the first move?" she said dramatically. "I mean, hello? Desperate much?"

Parker couldn't help but smile. Sophie was just exactly as she was in the 'real world' here, and her and Nate had just as dumb a relationship as they had there too. Both were in love, neither wanted to be the first to admit it. Parker had to wonder if that meant these teenage versions were behaving like adults or if the ones she'd known first were like teens. Since she hadn't a clue what an accurate portrayal of a teenager would be like, she resolved to never really know and let it go.

"You think anyone will ask me?" she asked Sophie then, thinking once again of the upcoming dance.

The smile on Sophie's lips was equal parts kind and devious, just as it always was when she was having a plan.

"Oh, I can think of a couple of candidates for the job," she told Parker as her eyes drifted to the warring boys that still hadn't made it inside, even as the bell rang loud enough to be heard beyond the building. "Oh bugger," Sophie cursed at the sound of it, bolting up the stairs and calling over her shoulder to Parker. "If I'm late for English class again, Professor Stark'll have my backside!"

Parker smiled and waved as her friend hurried away, seeing sense in an instant as she realised she was about to be late for class too and really couldn't afford to be, no matter how much the teachers liked her. She couldn't help the giddy feeling inside at the prospect of attending a High School Dance. If Homecoming was kind of like Prom, that couldn't be a bad thing. In all the movies she watched, Prom was always awesome, and it would mean she got to dress up all girly in a fancy dress and everything - that was fun sometimes, especially when Sophie helped her.

Hurrying down the hallway to her first class, she stopped short of turning the next corner when she heard yelling in the distance. Others may not have heard it, but Parker had good ears for these things and she knew the sound of distress in a voice even when it was trying to remain hidden. Sneaking back the way she'd come, she rounded the corner and peered down an empty stretch of corridor.

"I told you, I can't do it anymore," said a male voice, though it was so high-pitched it might have been mistaken for a female one if Parker couldn't clearly see the figure of a Freshman boy talking to a Senior - that was weird in itself, even she knew that.

"You will do as I tell you to do, unless you want your stay at this school to be a living nightmare, understand?" the unknown Senior replied as Parker ensured she stayed out of sight and listened intently.

"But Damien..." the little kid whined, only to be cut off by the guy he was talking to.

"That's Mr Moreau to you!" he snapped, "And don't you forget it. My Uncle might be the Principal, but I run this school, understand?"

Parker's eyes were wide as saucers as she took in the information she'd just heard. The evil Damien Moraeu existed in this world too, as a student at Leverage High School. His uncle was the Principal which gave him power over the little kids, and clearly he was making them do bad things for him. This was something she was definitely going to have to talk to the team about... Only they weren't quite the team here, just students in school like everybody else.

With the second bell ringing loud in her ears, Parker pelted down the corridor, hoping she could sneak into her seat before anyone noticed she was late. Her mind was busily whirring on the idea that she might just a have a reason to be picking locks and shimmying through air ducts again before long. Those thoughts brought a huge grin to her lips, even bigger than Homecoming could induce. This was going to be so good!

To Be Continued...