A/N: A little time skip but here's Eliot trying to fulfil the daddy role. There is at least one more chapter after this. Thank you to everyone who has been reading this and keeping up with it.
Eliot stared down in front of him, watching as Catey slowly stabbed at her food. Rocco was on the run; his guys had been picked up thanks to an anonymous tip from a not so anonymous Nate. The missing brother had been found in the back of the restaurant that Rocco had been using. The tip that Hardison had dropped into the Interpol's laps once Rocco started running, had resulted in the man being arrested in Germany.
"What's up?"
Catey's voice brought his attention away from the food she was stabbing and he lifted it to meet the sight of a pretty table waitress. "Nothing." He swung his attention back and offered her a smile. "What's up with you?"
They'd agreed to have a meal out somewhere, and Caitlin had chosen a place that was small and a little cosy. "Nothing." She shrugged her shoulders and fixed her gaze on her food. There was an odd silence between them and Eliot tried to figure out what was going on inside her head. "I don't want to go to Cali."
He sighed. This was one conversation he had been hoping to avoid. "Catey, you gotta go with your mum."
"But I don't want to move," she whined, landing pleading blue eyes on him. "My friends are here and I don't like him."
Eliot hunched over in his seat and leaned forward, his eyes doing a cautionary glance around the small diner they were in. One reason he didn't want Caitlin living with him, he couldn't kick his paranoia, couldn't shake the people out there who had it in for him. Part of him didn't know how to handle this, how to approach. He'd spent her life being on the fringes, staying far enough away to avoid connections but close enough to visit once in a while, just enough to keep him in her mind. "Catey…"
She slouched back into her seat, a glare forming on her face. "I don't have an opinion in this do I?" He offered her a small smile. Somehow, he could see this conversation going downhill. "Can I stay with you?"
That made him raise his brows. "No."
"But I know what you do now!"
"No Caitlin."
"Dad," she whined, slamming her elbows onto the table and settling her chin in her hands. "I don't wanna go back."
He sighed. He was doing a lot of that today. "Look, Catey," he began with trepidation. Settling his arms on the table he offered her a kind smile, "There are others out there like Rocco. I don't want to see you get hurt again."
She glanced up at him and through her hands muttered, "I won't. Cause you'll be there."
The smile that started to grow on his face couldn't be helped. Of course he would never let anything happen to her. "I know," he said. "But I don't want there to any chance at all that something could happen. Our job is dangerous. It gets bad at times."
"But I don't want to."
Eliot sighed, again, and decided to clamp his mouth shut. Her mind was already made up; she wanted to live with him. Deep down, he wanted her to live with him too, didn't want her to go back with her mother. But it was safer. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out to see Hannah's name glaring at him. "Your mother," he told Caitlin as he answered the phone. "Yeah?... Of course she is…" he cast a glance to Catey and tapped the table, "Get your things. Come on." He dropped a ten on the table, passed Caitlin his keys as he stayed on the phone; "Look, Hannah, she really doesn't want to move."
"I know Eliot, but we can't stay."
"Are you coming to pick her up?" When he didn't get a response for a few seconds he sighed, "You're already here aren't you?"
"I'm sorry, I… I should've warned you."
"Yeah you should've," he muttered. He cast a glance towards his car to see Caitlin staring at him with confusion. He held a hand up, signalling he'd be there in a minute. "See you in a few." He hung up, made his way towards the car and grabbed his keys off Catey.
"Mum's already here isn't she?"
"Sorry kid," he said as he climbed into his car. He felt the change in mood from her; uninterested, unhappy, miserable, upset. He repeated the apology in his mind and started the engine. There was an odd silence on the drive back to Eliot's place. By the time they pulled up Caitlin had ducked her head and had her gaze fixed to the road. He patted her shoulder and turned the engine off, "Come on."
Eliot smiled kindly to Hannah, the blonde haired woman smiled back and turned her gaze to Caitlin. "Catey."
"Mum," she said with a small smile of her own. Eliot didn't miss the glare she threw to her mother's new boyfriend.
"Go get your stuff," Eliot said, handing her the keys and folding his arms across his chest. He followed Caitlin inside and left the door open for Hannah. When Caitlin disappeared into the bedroom he turned to the older woman, "Do you really have to move?"
Hannah looked at him with a frown, "I'm sorry. We've already sold the house, bought a new one, talked to a school about transferring her. I just, I'm sorry Eliot."
Eliot levelled a look with the man who lingered by the front door. He seemed like a decent guy, but Eliot knew that looks could be deceiving. He cast a look back, towards the bedroom and felt himself not wanting to let Catey go. "Hannah," he started and nodded his head towards the kitchen. The woman followed and Eliot set his hands on the table top, "If she really hates it are you planning on staying?"
Hannah sighed and rolled her eyes, "Eliot."
"Humour me."
Hannah shrugged her shoulders, "Both me and Connor have good jobs there. This is something big for us. If she doesn't like it? I don't know."
He held a hand up, showing four fingers, "Four months. If she doesn't like Cali after four months, she comes back and stays with me."
The look of shock that crossed her face made him smirk ever so slightly. But he was able to school his features as she spoke, "Eliot."
"Hannah. There's no point forcing her to live somewhere if she really hates it."
"The forms have already been out-"
"I'll fill them out again. Hannah?"
"Mum?" both parents turned to see Caitlin standing in the doorway with her rucksack on her bag. "Please?"
Hannah turned to glare at Eliot, "Thanks for putting me on the spot." She turned back to face their daughter with a smile. "Catey, look, I know you don't like the idea of moving across state, but can you please try to enjoy it? Give it a go?"
"Four months?"
"You'll do your best to have fun," Eliot said with a glare.
Caitlin glared back at her father and sighed. "Okay."
'Thank you' Hannah mouthed towards Eliot and made a start towards the door.
"Come here," Eliot said to Caitlin. He nodded to Hannah, a silent understanding that he'd only be a minute. Hannah left with her man and Eliot wrapped his arms around Caitlin's shoulder's and kissed the top of her head. "You try to have fun kid."
"Four months?"
"Catey," he warned.
"'Kay," she said and wrapped her arms around Eliot's waist. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too darling." No tears were shed, which Eliot was thankful for, but he sure as hell did hate having to let her go with her mother. When the door closed behind her he grabbed a beer from the fridge, gulped it down in a steady stream and put the bottle down with some force. His phone went then and he looked at it to see Nate's name on the screen, "Yeah Nate? I'm on my way."
He shoved thoughts of Caitlin and California out of his mind as he out the half-finished beer in the fridge, grabbed his keys and made a straight line for McRory's.
