Eliot navigates the way to Tess' house through the autumn night like he had so many times in their past. Eliot's visits to what became home when he was at odds with this own family flood forward. He would rush to this little town whenever he was not at Uncle Sam's beck and call. He would rush home to see the woman who sits beside him. Tess notices the side long glances from Eliot in her direction. She has to admit to the thoughts circling her head. Today felt right, too right. Tess cannot help but wonder what may have been. Is this what her life should have felt like?
As they arrive at her house, Tess opens the door and turns on the lights before they each remove a child from the back seat. Eliot follows Tess into the boys room as she strips them out of their overalls. Eliot watches Tess tuck the boys into their blankets with great affection from a position in the doorway. Tess has a tenderness about her that is on full display. She gently kisses each of the twin's foreheads before escorting Eliot out of the room.
The pair sneak down the stairs to the living room in silence. Eliot prepares to honor his word and his promise to not overstay Tess' generous welcome. Eliot heads towards Tess to say good night. "Thank you, Tess." Eliot holds her face for a moment in his hands before leaning in to gently brush his lips against Tess' cheek. Eliot takes in the scent of Tess' perfume mixed with the scent of her shampoo. The scent is a Tardis back to his history with this woman and the happiness he gave up to walk in the shadows. Memories flood Eliot's mind as to just how many times this very moment played out in his past.
Tess feels the lingering heat signature left on her skin from the brush of Eliot's lips. He smells like home from the Balsam and cold. Tess has missed him so much over the years. She missed everything about Eliot. Tess looks into his blue eyes again relenting to the devil on her shoulder over the angel on the other telling her to let him go.
Eliot always hated leaving and somethings never change. He hates it now for completely different reasons. This is still so surreal that he feels that if he walks through the front door all of this might all just disappear like Narnia and the wardrobe. Tess' voice pulls him out of his head and back to the reality of this moment as she says the magic words that Eliot longed to hear.
"Stay awhile." Tess gently runs her fingers down Eliot's jacket with a loving glance upward at Eliot. It has been a long time since she spent time with a man... any man let alone one she loved. Tess knows this is not a good idea but damn the consequences, Tess runs with it before her better judgement kicks in. This moment is a selfish moment. This choice is more for her than her children. She needs closure. She needs to see what went wrong. She needs... she needs something and right now Eliot is the man who can give it to her. The invitation stuns Eliot as he accepts without a thought as he removes his cap and coat before Tess changes her mind. How could he resist that look and those eyes. With the biggest warmest smile that Tess has seen in a while, Eliot follows her into the kitchen.
Tess opens a cupboard pulling out a bottle of bourbon followed by two crystal rocks glasses. Tess pours two ample servings handing one to Eliot. "Come on." Tess leads Eliot back to the living room. Tess grabs a blanket offering Eliot half as she takes up a position on the couch. She gives Eliot a smile before raising her glass. "Parenthood." She clinks her glass against Eliot's before taking a big sip to steady her nerves and drown any potential regret as to where this might go.
Eliot is at a rare loss for words as Tess continues. "So spill it, Eliot. just ask." No one knew him better than Tess. Tess knows there are a million questions pinging around his head queuing up but unable to manifest from his lips. After some initial stumbles, Eliot settles into conversation with Tess as he discusses the events of this rather magical day and learns bits and pieces about the last seven years in the form of a history lesson from a proud Mom and the journey back through their own history. Tess offers the stories of resemblance of the boys childhood to Tess' own with the Hannigans. The boys are Tess' favorite subject to discuss and with Eliot Spencer, the safest subject.
They talk well into the night with Tess and Eliot drifting off together on the couch. Eliot wakes up in the morning to the sounds of the boys bounding around the living room wrapped in the warmth of Tess' body draped over his own. This is the first morning that he does not feel an ache or a pain from his injuries. The sleep was sound and it has been a while since he cuddled with anyone. Actually, Eliot cannot remember the last time he found himself wrapped up around another.
"Hi Eliot, Mommy, can we have pancakes?" Tess blinks herself awake at the sound of Jake's voice realizing that she is laying across Eliot and her boys are now awake and witnesses to Eliot's presence. Tess is not quite sure what to do, she takes a deep breath and shakes off the thoughts in her head as she offers to make coffee. The boys are accepting Eliot because she has always had him on the edges of her life and could explain the connection to Paddy but... there is so much more and she has no idea how to navigate that part. Tess is really glad that the boys are young enough to not figure out the one detail that is the dead giveaway to the relevance of Eliot Spencer in their world.
Eliot chats with the boys as he walks into the kitchen behind Tess. The boys do not seem alarmed by Eliot's presence which is something that he finds a little odd but the previous conversation with Paddy told him that there really has not been a lot of men in Tess' life and he knows Tess enough to know that she would never bring a stranger into the boys life.
"Sorry... Awkward." Eliot makes a face as Tess hands him a cup of coffee and the boys take up debating the flavor of strudel that will become their breakfast. The face makes Tess smile as a thought as to what could have been circles through her mind. She knows those are dangerous thoughts indeed. Eliot takes a few sips of coffee before heading to grab his coat. Tess walks into the living room to stop Eliot to tell him to take her Jeep. "It is freezing, take the Jeep." Tess grabs a set of keys off of the hook tossing them at Eliot with a smile. Eliot catches the keys midair at ninja speed. "Thanks, Tessie." Eliot leaves the morning chaos of Tess' house for the interrogation that awaits him back at the inn.
Eliot is greeted by Paddy smiling on the porch, as Eliot walks up the steps in the same clothes as the night before. Not quite a walk of shame but close enough. "Not what you are thinking" Eliot can't wipe the smile from his lips, he pushes on Paddy's shoulder as he walks into the kitchen. "Never is brother... never is." Paddy gives Eliot a wicked wink in hazing.
Eliot expects endless questions from everyone and is quite surprised that everyone is just happy. The collective are going to let him process his thoughts before asking all of the obvious questions. Sophie was the only one to acknowledge the magic of the day before as she pulls Eliot into a private conversation, her advice was to go slow. Eliot smiles, slow is relative. He can't wait to return the Jeep to Tess. It gives him another chance to win her favor and now that he has had a taste of fatherhood, he wants more.
Tess happily works away the morning in her shop as she begins the preparations for the crush of orders. Tess' workshop is buzzing with activity as Eliot stops in later in the morning to drop off the Jeep with Parker and Hardison trailing behind him. Seeing the work that needs to be done, Eliot grabs an apron and offers to help. He picks up some piping bags and begins to decorate. To Tess' surprise, Eliot knows his way around a pastry bag. Eliot notices the eye spy from Tess. "I have skills acquired over a long career, a career that makes me a nightmare for people like you" Eliot finishes with a mock accent as he whips up a proper rose much to Tess' surprise.
To Eliot's surprise, Parker and Hardison join them at the shop on the premise of getting to know Tess. Tess is not sure what is going on but she welcomes all the help she can. There always seems to be more orders than available idle hands. Eliot's friends are far more talented then her usual recruits of Paddy and Connie.
Eliot is quite surprised how Parker has dived into the work. Parker response to Eliot was simple and eloquent. "Eliot, we do stuff like this for total strangers. Tess is the mother of your children. She is family Eliot. You do what you have to do for family." Parker realizes that Eliot is still wrapping his head around Tess' status in his life. Eliot is now forever linked to the women in their midst and that can have consequences in the world that they live in.
Hardison has taken up a role in the shop at the register and as Tess' quasi IT guy as he upgrades her systems. As the crush dies down, Hardison notices something familiar. There is a non-descript sedan parked down the street, Hardison acknowledges that this is a small town but this is obviously not a local. He has seen this sedan several times in the last couple of days. He takes notice of the plate to run later.
The day goes long into the evening, Parker and Hardison head to the inn to get cleaned up before dinner as Tess stays behind to lock up the shop. Eliot lingers to help Tess finish for the evening. Tess resisted Eliot staying behind but her pleas landed on deaf ears. Tess is enjoying this more than she should. It is dangerous territory for her as she acknowledges the age old warning encircling her thoughts. "Be careful what you wish for..."
Tess is not sure if Eliot is being this sweet out of guilt or out of obligation. She wonders if she just triggered the soldier in Eliot and he is acting out of a sense of duty. Tess tempers her thoughts knowing that she has been down this road before with one Eliot Spencer. She is trying to forget the painful thoughts that creep into her consciousness. Tess glances over her shoulder in Eliot's direction as she sets the alarm on her shop. Eliot has started her Jeep as he pushes the passenger door open for her.
Tess is not quite used to being a passenger in her own car which is only making her that much more out of control. As they enter the Inn, Eliot is fully aware that all eyes are upon them. Tess brushes off the attention by walking directly to the dining room where the boys and Paddy's kids are all working on their homework under the watchful gaze of Mrs Hannigan. The boys got off the school bus at the Inn after school. Eliot catches Sophie's eye as he follows Tess into the dining room. To Eliot's surprise, both boys greet him again by name with big smiles and hugs. He could really get used to this. It is at this moment that he glances down at their homework papers and notices something that sucks him in like a vortex. Eliot had assumed that the boys last name matched Tess'. Eliot assumed that they were Jacob and John Baines. He is shocked to see that they each signed their homework as Spencer. With that revelation, a feather could have knocked Eliot from his feet.
Tess can suddenly feel the intensity of Eliot's stare at the back of her head as she walks passed the boys. She realizes, with a glance down at the table, that the final card has been revealed to Eliot. The boys are at the stage where school has taught them to autograph everything. Tess shuts her eyes to conceal the internal eye roll and curse word from Mrs Hannigan's watchful. Tess heads to the kitchen to drown herself in a glass of wine.
Knowing this look about Tess, Paddy laughs before handing a glass of wine to the frazzled mother. Tess props herself against the built in cabinets as she takes a few sips to calm herself. She knows that an Eliot Spencer interrogation is pending a second volley very shortly. Paddy laughs at Tess from his new position at the kitchen table. "that good huh." Tess looks him with a total dead eye butterfly expression. "Patrick Francis Hannigan, I'd kill you now but there are too many witnesses." Paddy smiles a taunting smile like a true sibling at Tess. "This is good for you, Tesla." Tess takes another sip of her wine. "if it doesn't kill me first."
Sophie watches the boys show Eliot their work. The register of shock is something she acknowledges with the curiosity of its origin as Eliot stares down at the papers in his hand. What has captured Eliot's attention is something so much more that the gaze of a father at a homework assignment. Sophie watches Eliot lock eyes with Tess in the kitchen like she was equipped with a homing device.
As Eliot enters the kitchen, Paddy takes note of the look on Eliot's face as Paddy announces his exit. "I am going to be anywhere but here." He taps Eliot on the shoulder as he passes by. Tess knows that her last card has been played and Eliot knows that boys bear his last name. Tess attempts to walk away from Eliot back into the reception area where there enough people that she could dodge Eliot's pending questions. Tess pauses for the briefest of moments in the archway to pick a next move. In that split second of hesitation, Eliot is upon her. Eliot stops Tess by the shoulder, muttering "Ah Hell." In that moment, Eliot turns her, grabs Tess' face and plants the warmest, down to your toes, kiss on her lips. The shock of Eliot's boldness is fully registered across Tess's features as Eliot returns Tess to her original position without spilling a drop of wine from her glass. Eliot lacked the words to tell Tess what the boys names meant to him deciding to punt with the kiss.