When they finally got a chance to pull their latest con, Sophie opted to wait for them at Leverage headquarters. She was still talking to Parker almost every day, and Hardison's dropping by had pleased her more than she'd let him know. Things with Nate were still a little awkward, but Sophie was proud of him for pulling himself back together. Nate walked on a thin edge, and, since Sam's death, he was easily broken.

"Hey, Sophie," Hardison said as she came in the door on Eliot's arm.

The sour smell of old alcohol was gone, and it had been replaced with...

"Is that pizza?"

"Yeah. Want a slice?"

Sophie couldn't remember the last time she'd had pizza.

"It's works," Parker announced, "but I picked my green peppers off."

"She doesn't care, Parker," Eliot growled.

"Works is fine," Sophie replied, suppressing a smile.

"Do you need help getting to the table or something?" Hardison asked.

"No. I'm fine, thanks."

She let Eliot go and, using her cane and her memory, made her way across the room.

"Careful," Nate said, the first indication he was in the room.

She paused. "What is it?"

"I left something...I really should clean this place up."

"You think?" Eliot still sounded annoyed.

There was some rustling and Nate said, "Okay."

Sophie continued to the table and took the first seat she felt. Suddenly, Parker was pushing a paper plate into her hands and asking, "Did you want some soda?"

"No, thank you, Parker."

"So, the mark has finally made it home to the hotel. He had the case with him when he went up to his room," Nate commented. There was the clink of glass against the table as he sat across from Sophie.

"I checked out his security while he was gone," Parker mumbled with her mouth full. "A two year old with a blindfold would be able to crack it."

"Hardison's set up a meeting with him under his Mark Clark persona..."

"That's the man who's interested in his collection?" Sophie asked, taking a bite of her pizza and feeling the sauce graze her cheek.

"That's right."

"You've got some sauce, Soph," Eliot said from beside her and gently ran his napkin over it.

She chewed and swallowed before murmuring, "Thanks."

"Parker will be upstairs stealing the stone while Hardison is downstairs finding out where the collection is hidden."

"And you'll use the collection to pay back the victims," she concluded.

"That's the plan."

Sophie was happy to be included in the latest con; she just wished she were going to be out there pulling it with them.

"You'll be on the com?" he asked.

"If that's all right."

"Yeah. It's fine."

They chatted a little more about how they would be approaching things, and Sophie listened as she delicately chewed her pizza. The excitement was high as it always was before a con. Sophie soaked up the energy and, by the time they were leaving and she was putting in the earbud, she felt as hyped as they were. Then, suddenly, they were gone and the place was quiet. Sophie felt cold and alone in the silence. Biting her lip, she made her way to the couch, wondering if she'd ever really feel like a part of Leverage again.

XXX

Sophie walked next to Eliot as they made their way down the sidewalk. The day was bright, and she was enjoying both the company and the sunshine. Walking the neighborhood together had become an almost daily thing. Even though Sophie didn't have to take his arm anymore, she still sometimes did. When she didn't, Eliot easily matched her pace and took the time to tell her when something could trip her up.

She had come to love their walks. They often stopped places now—street vendors, little markets, once even a pet store. Though she had yet to venture out alone, she'd become more comfortable being outside than she thought she ever would again.

Sophie was musing on this when Eliot said, "Wait."

She paused, taking in the heavy, pleasant scent of different types of fruit. Citrus was the strongest, but she also caught hints of apple, peach, and pear. It smelled so good that she took a deep breath.

"I want to pick up some oranges and white nectarines," he continued.

"Are there any gala apples?"

"Yes."

"Pick up some of those, too."

"Did you want to pay?" It was good practice.

"I didn't bring any money."

"That's what they all say."

"Eliot!" The unfamiliar voice made Sophie frown. "Hi!"

He cleared his throat before answering gruffly, "Hi."

The scent of vanilla surrounded Sophie, mingling with the other smells.

"I just wanted to say again how good a time I had on our date. You must be Sophie."

A soft but strong hand grabbed Sophie's. She had to stop herself from jerking away in surprise.

"And you must be Sloan." She smiled politely. Apparently, Eliot's boring question asker had different memories of the date than he did.

"It's so nice to meet you." Sloan was standing close and spoke extra loudly into Sophie's face.

"You, too." Sophie's smile started to feel a little strained at the edges. She was relieved when Sloan dropped her hand.

"I was hoping we could get together again." Sophie assumed this was directed at Eliot.

"Uh..."

"Call me. I've got to go. Bye. See you later, Sophie."

Sophie waited until her steps retreated until she said, "So, that was Sloan."

"Yep."

"She smells nice."

"Didn't notice."

"How could you not notice?"

"I didn't. Anything else you need?"

"She seemed to have a good time the other night."

"She was the one talking."

Sophie laughed.

"Can we go now?"

"Did you get my apples?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm ready." She held out her hand and felt Eliot move to place his forearm under her palm. His skin was warm from the sun and soft from the moisturizing body wash he used.

She slid her fingers along his arm until she got to his elbow, and then she wrapped her arm around his. He moved in closer, and together they went to pay for their fruit.

XXX

It was annoying that Eliot was picking up Braille faster than she was. The simple form-letters, numbers, and even punctuation-hadn't been too bad, but the contracted version was difficult. She was used to picking things up easily, and she often found herself frustrated when she tried to read anything more complicated than a children's book.

Eliot's ease with it had her wanting to smack him upside the head, violent thoughts for someone who had never considered herself a violent person. He hadn't rubbed it in her face. In fact, he'd been helpful and encouraging. Somehow, that made it worse.

She knew it would become easier with practice. He'd even bought the most current Braille writer to help her figure it out, but sometimes she just wanted to scream and throw the thing out of the window.

Trudy actually said Sophie was coming along well, and so had her counselor when Sophie had voiced her frustrations to her. It was hard to express that she wanted everything to be perfect now, not in time. She wanted to get on with living, stuck in the dark or not.

Sophie was sitting on the couch, struggling through the beginning of what promised to be a steamy romance novel when Eliot came in after his run, banging the door and kicking off his sneakers.

"You're up," he said, not even out of breath.

"I thought I'd get some practice in." She grimaced. "Not even the promise of a bodice ripper is tempting me this morning."

"Bodice ripper?"

"Never mind." She put down the book. "What are you up to today?"

"A friend's asked me to help with his cooking class. More signed up than he expected, and most of them are beginners. You?"

"I'm walking around the block by myself for the first time."

"Does Trudy know this?"

"She's supervising."

"Good." He sat beside her and tapped her leg.

"Don't think I've forgotten your promise," she told him, catching his hand.

"What promise is that?"

"Your car."

Eliot stiffened and then groaned. "I'd forgotten about that."

"Have you changed your mind?"

He paused before unexpectedly squeezing her hand. "No. I meant it."

"You're serious."

"Will you enjoy it?"

Sophie thought about it. "Yes."

"Then I'm serious."

"Hmn." She settled against the back of the couch, her hand still in Eliot's. "Maybe I need a similar incentive to help me learn Braille."

He laughed. "I'll see what I can do."

XXX

"Hardison," Parker whispered. "Hardison!"

He glanced over from where he was playing a video game on the screens. "Parker, why are you whispering? We're the only ones here."

She shifted closer to him, which he didn't mind at all.

"Hardison." She poked him. "Pay attention."

He sighed and put his game on pause. "What?"

"Eliot keeps touching Sophie."

"Huh?"

"He touches her. Why?" She looked both puzzled and concerned.

"You mean, like, he leads her around, right?"

Parker shook her head, blond hair falling over her eyes. "I don't think so."

"Parker?"

"When I was over visiting Sophie and Cinnamon..."

"Cinna-who?" Had Sophie gotten a guide dog?

"The plant, Hardison. Keep up."

"Oh. Yeah. I knew that." He really hadn't.

"When I was visiting, Eliot touched Sophie's arm. Nicely. Like he liked it."

Hardison hadn't noticed anything the last time he'd seen them. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She pulled her knees up and hugged them. "Do you think he likes her?"

"I don't know, Parker. Does that bother you?"

"Do you think that would make her happy again?"

"I don..." He stopped before he repeated himself. "She looked happy when I saw her the last time."

"She's not. Not all the way like she used to be. Well, like she used to be when Nate wasn't super drunk."

"You think she's still sad?"

"It's getting better. Her smiles are real again."

Usually nuances went over Parker's head, so Hardison was impressed with her observation. "She just needs a little more time."

"I don't like when Sophie's sad. When Sophie's sad, we're all sad."

Parker was right. After the explosion, they'd all been broken, but as Sophie healed, they all healed.

"I hope Eliot makes her happy," Parker added.

"We all want her to be happy."

She nodded, her eyes downcast.

"Hey, you want to play with me? I'll let you be the thief."

"Will I get to jump off of buildings?"

"Yup."

"Sure." She held out her hand for the controller, and they were soon lost in the game.

XXX

Instead of one day, Eliot ended up helping Rick for the whole week. He got up every morning, ran, showered, made breakfast, and went to the local community centre. He liked teaching for the most part, though one of the older students had grabby hands, and there were two sisters he doubted had a brain cell between them.

He was demonstrating to the sisters for what felt like the fiftieth time how to crack an egg without either losing the egg or getting shells in your bowl when he noticed something was poking into his side from his pocket.

"We'll try harder this time," Trisha promised a little timidly, and Eliot realized he was scowling.

"Just practice."

She and Tina nodded together like bobbleheads. He had to refrain from either growling or rolling his eyes as he stepped away from them.

All week, he'd been wearing a chef's uniform because Rick wanted him to play the part. It was Eliot's own suit; he'd owned it for years, and it lived in the back of his closet. It was well cared for and neater even than Rick's slightly rumpled version.

Eliot didn't usually carry anything in his pockets, so he was puzzled. He wondered if he'd jammed something in there when he was helping Marcus earlier. If something had fallen in, he hoped it wasn't anything too messy. Frowning, he fished inside the pocket and came out with a piece of cardstock paper. It was folded and, at first glance, he thought it was blank. Then he saw the dots. Curious, he unfolded the paper to discover a note from Sophie.

'Eliot,

I think I might finally be getting the hang of this. Watch as I perform amazing feats of contraction. I just wanted to say have a good day today. Don't let Mrs. Armstrong pinch your bottom. Be patient with those girls; not everyone picks things up as easily as you do. Bring some Chinese food home for dinner. I'm dying for some Chinese. I don't care how messy it is. That's what napkins are for. If you are making any kind of cake today, don't forget me. I'd also kill for some cake. Think of your poor, blind friend, starving away to nothing.

If there are any mistakes in this, please don't point them out,

Sophie'

Eliot felt a wide smile come to his face and read the whole note again. Sophie was definitely getting her sense of humour back.

"What's that?" Rick asked, walking by with another bowl full of eggs.

"Note from Sophie."

"I haven't seen you smile like that in...Well, I've never seen you smile like that."

"Shut up."

Rick grinned. "I've got to meet Sophie."

"You stay away from Sophie," he growled.

"Oh, the stories I could tell."

Eliot pointed his finger at him and repeated, "Stay away from Sophie."

Rick just winked and continued on with the eggs. Eliot shook his head and refolded the note. Carefully, he put it back in his pocket to read again later when he was alone.

XXX

Henry Cho looked up as the woman entered his store. She was about his age, with long dark hair and a white cane in her hand. Her face showed that she was concentrating. She felt tentatively with her cane and seemed just a little unsure.

"May I help you, ma'am?" he asked.

She turned towards him and smiled a very pretty smile. "Where can I find the bananas and the milk?"

He came from behind the counter and said, "We have some bunches here. How many were you looking for?"

"Five, I think."

"What kind of milk would you like?"

"A gallon of skim, please."

"You wait here. I'll go get it."

"Thank you." Her smile got warmer, and Henry felt rewarded.

When he got back with the milk, the woman had made it to the counter and was playing with the joined stem of the bananas.

"Here you go, ma'am. Is that everything?"

"Yes, I believe so."

He rang up her purchases, watching her take out her wallet. As she did, she was mumbling to herself.

"That comes to seven dollars."

She nodded, put her wallet in the same hand as her cane, and started searching through her pockets. Henry wondered what she was looking for. He understood when he saw her pull out a sleek cell phone. Taking a bill out of her wallet, she took a picture of it with the phone.

"Ten dollars," her phone chirped.

The woman put the phone away and handed Henry the ten dollar bill. As he gave her the change, she asked, "Could you do me a favour?"

Her voice was soft, and he stopped bagging up her things to listen. Without hesitation, he said, "Yes."

"Please write a note on the back of the receipt."

"A note?"

"Yes. Address it to Eliot and let him know I was here."

"Okay." He had no idea why but something about this woman made him want to do whatever she asked.

"My name is Sophie," she added as he started to write, so he wrote,

'Hello, Eliot,

Sophie was at Cho's Market and bought some milk and bananas.

Henry Cho'

"Would you like the receipt in the bag?" he asked.

"No." She reached out her hand. "I'll put that right in my wallet."

She looked very pleased with herself, and he was pleased that she was pleased. He placed the receipt in her hand, very careful not to touch her inappropriately.

"Thank you," she said again. "You've been very helpful."

Henry nodded and watched her walk out of the store, hoping he'd see her again.