(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 10

The Leverage crew were built for helping people. As a team it was what they did, and they did it well. Get your money back, your reputation maybe. Bring down the bad guy in the best way they could, fix all the financials and such in the meantime. Unfortunately, not everything was so easy to mend. You couldn't steal back the pieces of a broken heart; no amount of money could buy a genuine smile from a person in floods of tears.

Nate did his best to be of comfort to Marissa but words failed him in such a situation. In the back of the van on the way home to the apartment, he put his arm around her shoulders and just let her cry. Hardison kept his head down for the most part, concentrating on his laptop, but offering a couple of Firefly jokes eventually in the hopes of raising a smile. It didn't really work, and he hadn't exactly expected it to.

By the time Eliot had driven them home, Marissa had few tears left to cry, but she was still clearly hurting. You didn't get over such a betrayal in a matter of moments, it took days, weeks, months even. Sophie offered to be a sounding board, a fellow female in solidarity to talk to about her pain, but she politely declined. She needed to be alone a little while, if that was okay.

Whilst Uncle Nate assured her she could have whatever she wanted, including space, time, and silence, he did insist Marissa let them get a proper look at her injured hand first. Eliot winced for her as he made her wiggle her fingers and ran expert hands over her own. Satisfied she really hadn't broken anything, he gave her an ice pack for the swelling and let her go do her own thing.

It had been hours, the team had headed to their respective homes a while, but were due back soon for dinner. Nate had stayed down in the bar and suggested Eliot cook in the kitchen down there too. The gang could eat out of the way of the apartment, leaving Marissa to her contemplation until she was ready to face the world again.

"You really think we should leave her up there all alone?" asked Sophie, when she arrived in time to eat.

"It's how she deals," shrugged Nate, downing his drink. "I have this," he gestured to the now empty glass. "She likes the quiet alone time," he recalled, moving to fetch the bottle of scotch for a refill.

Today had been a little too much to bear. Crying clients were bad enough, but his niece in floods of tears almost completely broke his heart. He was only glad they exposed her fiancé for what he really was and ensured she was free of him. The only thing worse than Marissa getting her heart broken now was it happening later when she was in so much deeper.

Of course, Nate would have preferred to see this Bryan guy suffer far more than embarrassment and a broken nose. Marissa was clearly a much better person that he was, insisting that as much as she wanted this situation dealt with, she could not so easily condemn a man she had loved so much to the same punishment as Erica Lumley. She didn't have it in her to hate that much, she thought she did at first, but she really didn't. Nate was equal parts frustrated by and proud of her for that, he realised, as he offered drinks to the rest of the team.

In the kitchen, Eliot adjusted the bandanna that held his hair back, as he checked the pans on the stove.

"Table's set," Parker told him as she appeared behind him, despite the fact he hadn't heard the door at all. "You need help in here?"

"Not really," he told her, shaking his head. "But somebody should probably go check on Marissa," he said without really thinking about who he was talking to.

Looking back at the blonde, he watched for her reaction. She was supposed to be jealous about what happened between himself and Nate's niece, at least if Marissa's theory was true. Eliot couldn't deny that Parker had been acting extra crazy since the brunette arrived in town, but the idea of her being green with envy over him seemed strange, a little flattering maybe, but still strange.

"I can go," she shrugged easily as she turned away. "You think she needs more ice for her hand?" she checked from half way to the door, as if she had the thought almost too late.

Honestly, Eliot was stunned it occurred to her at all. Parker was sweet in her way, but not always very thoughtful where the feelings of others were concerned. When considering that she really hadn't seemed to care for Marissa much up to now, her behaviour right now was even more odd.

"I thought you didn't like her," he said, going to the freezer, then turning around and fixing her with a look as he tossed the ice pack into her waiting hands.

"I didn't," shrugged Parker, kicking her legs back and forth from her place sat on the counter top now, "but her boyfriend was a real a-hole and she's crying over him a whole lot, so maybe she did love him," she decided as she hopped down from the counter. "You only cry over a person when you love them, right?" she asked, and somehow Eliot couldn't help but wonder if there was more to that question that there seemed on the surface.

"I guess," he answered simply, feeling it was safer than delving any deeper right now.

Parker seemed to accept that as response enough, taking the ice pack and skipping away to the stairs.

Up in the apartment, she wasn't surprised to find the living area empty, assuming Marissa was in the spare room she'd been sleeping in or maybe even the bathroom. As Parker understood it, women cried in bathrooms a lot, at least they always seemed to on TV and in movies.

Sniffling from upstairs made Parker stop short of exploring the rest of the apartment for signs of life.

"Hey," she called up to Marissa who was now visible sat on the upper floor, with her legs dangling down through the gaps in the rail. "You're not gonna throw yourself off there, right?" the thief checked. "'Cause Eliot's way better at catching people than I am," she told her.

Parker wasn't sure if it was a laugh or a sob that came from her friend's niece then, and didn't like to ask. She chose to just climb on up the stairs to where Marissa sat, without another word until she got there.

"I brought you another ice pack for your hand," she explained, holding out said item.

"Thank you, Parker," Marissa sniffed, wiping her face with the back of her uninjured hand before accepting the ice pack and placing it gently on her bruised knuckles.

The blonde turned to go but didn't quite make it. She shouldn't care about Nate's niece all that much, it wasn't like she was really part of the team. Still, being related to one of the 'family', it made them strangely connected. Parker couldn't quite fathom if they ought to be like distant cousins or something like that. It was a little too much for her head to unscramble since families were hardly her strong point, at least not nice families that truly cared for each other. Still, something in her said she shouldn't just walk away from Marissa when she was upset, a voice in her head that might have been Sophie's or even Eliot's said she ought to stay, or at least ask how Marissa was doing.

Turning back, she sat herself down next to the other woman, threading her legs through the rail to take up a similar position to the brunette. Putting an awkward arm around her shoulders, she patted Marissa's arm lightly.

"There, there," she said, in what she hoped was the right way.

Marissa fought an odd smile that came to her lips then. Parker was the most curious mixture of sweet and strange, but that was okay. She was making an effort when Marissa needed a friend and that was a huge deal, especially when she knew from what Uncle Nate had said that this kind of thing didn't come easy to the emotionally-stunted thief.

"I'll survive," she said bravely, "but thank you, Parker, for the ice and for being so kind to me," she smiled. "Y'know, you guys have been so great, helping me deal with Bryan and all."

"It's kinda what we do," she shrugged, retracting her arm as soon as possible and putting her hands in her lap. "So, you loved Bryan, right?" she asked, straight out, like Parker asked everything.

"Yup, I really did," sniffed Marissa. "I just can't believe how blind I was about him," she added thoughtfully.

"But you made out with Eliot," the thief stated then, a fact that couldn't be denied given that it had already been confessed, and two other members of the team had borne witness to the event!

"I did," Marissa nodded. "And, well, that was poor judgement," she shrugged. "I mean, I'm not saying Eliot isn't totally hot or that it didn't feel good to be close to him, because it really did," she admitted, "but I almost made myself as bad as Bryan, and that was not smart," she shook her head, making a sweeping motion with her hand to hammer home her point.

Parker was more aware of Marissa's description of Eliot and the kissing that had gone on, she wasn't really paying attention to anything else that was said. She had often wondered herself what would happen if she just up and kissed the team's hitter. He was entirely attractive in a physical sense, and very sweet to her sometimes, though she doubted the rest of the crew paid much mind to it.

It wasn't as if Parker was the type to go ensnaring men, prowling for partners either sexual or romantic, but she liked Eliot a lot and thoughts had crossed her mind that she just couldn't help. Such ideas had only intensified, along with a bubbling angry kind of feeling, whenever she saw him getting close with Marissa.

"It's weird," she said aloud without even thinking about it. "Eliot has had a lot of women, and I mean a lot," she emphasised. "I never thought I cared much, 'cause y'know why would I, but..."

"But I was different," said Marissa with a knowing look. "Think about it, Parker," she urged her. "From what Uncle Nate told me, the other women Eliot has dated or whatever, they come and go. They never last long, and you never expect them to, right?"

"Uh-huh," the blonde agreed with a nod of her head.

"Well, with me having a connection to the team, understanding what you do and all, and not being freaked out by it," Marissa went on, "maybe it occurred to you that I might stick around?"

Parker was frowning by now but wasn't really aware of it. If what Marissa said was true then that meant she didn't want Eliot to have a girlfriend, like a real one that stayed and was there all the time. Truth be known, Parker wasn't much for any kind of interloper trespassing into her little family she had built up around her. Sure, things had been weird when Nate was in jail, but now he was back and it was all on a relatively even keel. When Marissa showed up, Parker realised the dynamic was shifting again, not least because Nate's attention was diverted. She really hadn't expected Eliot to lose his focus on her and the team, specifically her. It made Parker's stomach tie up in uncomfortable knots at the thought of Eliot taking his attention away from her too much. She really didn't like it at all.

"Parker?" Marissa interrupted her deep thought, putting a careful hand to her arm, mindful of being thrown over the barrier if she startled her. "I never would've made a move on Eliot if I knew how you felt," she told her, with an honesty Parker had rarely seen in anyone, except maybe Nate.

"Yeah," she seemed to agree or understand, though she was frowning still. "I'm not even sure I knew I felt anything," she admitted, as Marissa tried her best not to laugh.

It seemed quite ridiculous, to not realise you were in love or close to it, until somebody told you. Still, it could happen, and Parker was not the first and doubtless would not be the last that it happened to.

"Don't worry about it," Marissa told her new found friend with a smile. "Hell, Uncle Nate and Sophie do know how they feel about each other, and they still can't figure things out," she rolled her eyes.

"Oh my God, I know!" the blonde gasped, finding it incredible.

After all, Parker was well aware she was the least observant when it came to people's feelings. Even she was more than clear on the fact Nate and Sophie loved each other and yet never quite managed to solve the situation between them. She wondered if it would be easier or harder to figure out what might exist between herself and Eliot. As if on cue, he walked in through the door.

"Parker? Marissa?" he called both their names as he entered, glancing up in a split second, despite the fact they made no sound - he was just that aware.

It was a relief to the hitter to realise both women were actually smiling at this point, a sight he really hadn't expected to see when he came up here. Honestly, he half wondered if there would be blood by now.

"I swear, Parker, you can have the guy," Marissa whispered to the thief, "but don't hate me if I really, really enjoy the view."

"Nah, you can do that," the blonde allowed her. "Pretty sure you'd have to be blind not to," she sighed as she got to her feet then.

Marissa followed suit, up to a point, since she fully expected to be following the blonde down the stairs. Perhaps she ought to have known better, given the stories she had heard about Parker before now, and the evidence she had seen recently of how wacky she could be.

One minute they were stood side by side, with Eliot peering up at them, asking if anybody was hungry. The next moment, Parker had climbed over the rail and was throwing herself down to the ground, landing safely in Eliot's arms.

"Dammit, Parker!" he complained, despite the fact he had seen the move coming and caught her with ease.

"Geez, you must have some faith in him," Marissa said, one hand to her chest and breathing unevenly from the panic that rose up in her when she saw a person she knew bodily throw herself from a balcony!

"Always," was Parker's quiet response that only Eliot possibly could have heard.

It brought a smile to the hitter's lips that was completely unintentional, but she'd caught him off guard, like she so often did. Parker was just about the only person left in the world that was able to surprise him, and the weirdest thing was, Eliot kind of liked that about her.

He had set her back on her feet and recovered from the strangest moment by the time Marissa reached the bottom of the stairs to meet them.

"What's the look for?" he asked as she gazed at them in such a way as he couldn't quite fathom.

"Nothing," she shrugged, taking the ice pack off her hand and peering at the multi-coloured bruises on her knuckles. "Just nice to know my faith in people to care about each other isn't completely misplaced," she sighed, her smile faltering more than she was comfortable with since she had just now managed to stop crying.

"C'mon, that's enough of that," Eliot snapped at her then, but by no means in a cruel way. "You're not sittin' here moping all day over a guy that you can floor with one punch," he told her with a smirk that made her smile too.

"That was cool," agreed Parker. "For that you should get like double dessert or something," she grinned. "But only so long as there's enough for me too," she added seriously.

"There's dessert?" Marissa visibly brightened at the idea of drowning her sorrows in sugar and cream.

"There's a whole meal downstairs, that I have spent hours cooking," Eliot told her.

"He is the best at cooking," agreed Parker, gesturing for Marissa to follow as she headed for the door, "and I am starving!" she added, practically running down the stairs when the door was opened and the smell of delicious treats wafted up to meet her nose.

"What d'ya say, Kennedy?" Eliot smiled at her, offering her his hand, "You good enough to eat with a table full of thieves?"

Marissa smiled her first genuine smile of the day then, not because what he said was funny, or because technically a hot guy was offering to take her to dinner. Nope, it wasn't even the promise of a good meal after a hard and trying day. What had her grinning, and taking his offered hand to be led down to eat, was the fact she was going to do so with a family, one that she felt a part of in the strangest way, despite only being blood-related to one member. This team loved each other more than some members of her real family cared about her, and they had accepted her in, for however long she wanted to stay. It was all kind of amazing to Marissa.

"Hey, mama," Hardison smiled warmly as she appeared through the door. "Nice to have you come join us."

"Absolutely," agreed Sophie as she moved from the bar where she had been talking to Nate to take her seat at the dinner table.

"How're you doing, Missy?" asked her uncle, as he poured her a glass of wine, and she gratefully accepted Hardison's help with her chair.

"I'll survive," she told him with a smile. "Takes a lot more than a couple of idiots like them to bring a member of our family down for long, right?"

When Nate looked across at her then, he honestly wasn't sure if she was talking about their blood family, or this group of misfits around the table. In the end, he realised it didn't really matter as he raised his glass to clink against her own.

"To family," he said. "In all its forms."

"To family," she agreed, as Eliot and Parker appeared from the kitchen with plates full of delicious looking food, "by blood or bond."

To Be Continued...