Chapter 14. Well this is the next to last chapter. It is pretty much wrapping up the character conflicts…I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I ownith not thy characters nor thy show

Spoilers: Two Live Crew Jobs, Bottle Job…ish,

They drove all night and well into the morning. Tara and Hardison switched back and forth at the wheel so the other could sleep for a few hours. The others had all fallen asleep in the back of the truck. Nate still had his head in Sophie's lap but she had long since fallen asleep leaning against the wall of the truck. At the other side of truck Parker and Eliot had both tried to stay away but they had both lost out to sleep in the wee hours of the morning. The two were currently sprawled on the floor next to each other on the floor.

In the cab of the truck Tara looked over at Hardison. She had taken the wheel from him about two hundred miles ago and he was fast asleep. They had not talked to each other the entire trip. Neither on knew where they were going. They were just driving to get away. Finally at about ten o'clock Tara picked an exit on the interstate and took it.

The sharp turn off the interstate awoke Hardison, who looked over at Tara groggily. "Where are we?" he asked her.

"I'm not really sure," she replied shrugging, "Does it matter?"

"As long as it's not Boston or Los Angeles or Vegas," Eliot's voice chimed in via the earpieces they were all still wearing, "We can be any where you like."

"Why not Vegas?" Tara asked, "Did you work there before LA?"

"No," Eliot replied, "I just don't really want to be the one responsible for letting Sophie and Nate lose in Vegas together."

"Excellent point," Tara replied, "I think we are in the great city of Atlanta."

"Any particular reason," Sophie asked sleepily.

"It is a big city with lots of people," Tara said. She paused before adding, "I was tired of driving and this was a nice looking exit."

"Both excellent reasons," Eliot told her.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Several hours later they had all made themselves at home in the house that Tara had conveniently remembered she owned in Atlanta. Tara had gone upstairs and crashed almost as soon as they got there because she had been driving almost all night. Hardison had called dibbs on one of the guest bedrooms for much the same reason and was also passed out up stairs.

Eliot and Parker had helped move the still sleeping Nate from the van into the house and then they had both disappeared upstairs to see what movies Tara had. After a little arguing they agreed on 'Speed.' Eliot popped it into the DVD player and they both settled back to watch it on the upstairs TV.

Down in the living room Nate was laid out on the couch, still asleep. Sophie was sitting next to him in the large comfy chair that Tara had won off her years ago in a game of poker. She had always wondered where it had gone.

Sophie had got her brush out of her bag and started to try and pull through the knots in her hair, just for something to do. She had brushed it through several times before Nate started to stir. She put her brush away and looked at him. He did not look at her. In fact he pointedly looked the other way as he got up and walked towards the kitchen. She stood up and followed him.

He walked into the kitchen looking for one thing and one thing only. It did not take him long to find where Tara kept her liquor and he pulled out a bottle and a glass. He poured himself a generous severing and was about to take a step when Sophie stopped him.

"Don't do this," she told him putting her hand on top of the glass, "not again."

"Why not?" he asked her annoyed, "Why not?"

"Because you have already been there once and you hurt people you care," Sophie was going to continue but Nate cut her off.

"I hurt people I care about?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied with a sinking feeling that she knew exactly where he was going.

"What about you?" he asked, "You hurt people you care about too. You just left. You walked out on us. We needed you and you left us." He paused. "You left me. That's why I started drinking again because I didn't have anyone to stop me."

"Nate I left because I needed to figure out who I really was," Sophie reminded him gently but firmly, "But I was there for the team when they called and I came back. I came back for you."

"You came back for me?" he asked looking at her.

Sophie could not figure out what they were doing at the moment. It was the strangest mix of argument and heartfelt conversation. They were both angry at each other and on the other hand they were too worried and cared too much about each other to have a full blown fight at the moment. Sophie nodded in response to his question.

Nate looked at her for a long moment and then he looked down at the glass of liquor. He drank because she had walked away from him. If she had come back to him the there was no reason for him to drink. He also knew that doing what he was about to do would make her very happy and he liked that thought. He picked up the liquor glass and poured it down the sink. Then he put away the bottle.

"Thank you," she told him. They both walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch. Neither one of them spoke for a long time, but Nate watched Sophie carefully. She was chewing on her lower lip, which was something she did when and only when she was considering doing something and it had come down to whether to follow her head or her heart.

"What is on you mind?" he asked her.

"Nothing," she replied automatically before remembering that lying to him was pointless. His glare confirmed this recollection. "You said some stuff while you were on painkillers," she mumbled.

Nate froze. He hated taking painkillers because they reduced his judgment. "Sophie," he asked very slowly, "What did I say?"

His hesitation confirmed her worst suspicions. "Just some stuff about me being beautiful and," Sophie stopped. Nate let out a sigh. That was defiantly not a lie or something he was ashamed to have told her. She was absolutely gorgeous…even with a black eye.

"What was the and?" he asked.

"You said that you loved me," she said very quietly then quickly added in a single breath, "but I know that was just the painkillers talking and not you."

Nate looked at her for a long moment. That was not the way he would have preferred to tell that he loved her but he all knew that now he had to confirm it or she would get the wrong impression.

"It was the painkillers talking but only because I was never brave enough to say it out loud," he admitted to her.

She had not seen this side of Nate in a very long time because it was the soft side he kept hidden from everyone. "You meant it?" she asked.

He looked her straight in the eyes. "Every single word of it," he confirmed, "you are beautiful and I love you."

Did you like this last bit? I was kind of fond of not wanting to let Nate and Sophie lose in Vegas...One more chapter after this and it will be up a week from today, which is the day before the leverage season opener. Before that happens review this chapter. Please.