Parker finished what should have been about a four hour drive in a little less than three. During which she attempted to keep her mind off of the current situation by taking Angela's suggestion of listening to music. Unfortunately, all listening to music did was divert her thoughts to what Eliot would sound like singing the current song, and what it would feel like to never hear his voice again.

"How fast were you going?" Sophie asked as soon as Parker made it up to the hotel room. The grifter had finished her night time moisturizing technique and was about to try calling it a night when the thief knocked on her door.

Parker shrugged. "About speed limit, you know, if the 6 looked more like a 9."

Sophie shook her head. "As long as you didn't get stopped."

"No, Hardison made me a police scanner. I'm all clear. So, what's the plan?"

"Right now?" Sophie asked looking over at the clock. "The plan is sleep."

"But…"

"I know." Sophie responded sincerely. "But we need to be on the top of our game tomorrow. Booth will call me as soon as he has secured the tail on Chapman."

"As long as I'm the one that gets to bury that bastard 6 feet underground."

"Parker?!" Sophie replied astonished.

"What? I'd save Eliot the honor, but I doubt he'll be up to it." Parker replied calmly.

"As it stands it's you and Booth going in, but if you don't think you can keep a cool head…"

"I'll be fine." Parker responded.

"We're working with the FBI, Parker. Any suspicion of illegal activity…"

"I'll be fine." She repeated.

"Priority is getting Eliot back." Sophie stressed.

"I know."

"Okay." She stated looking into the thief's eyes to be sure they were on the same page. "Get some sleep, I mean it."

"Sophie, it's going to be okay, right?" The thief looked back at the woman; her eyes pleading.

"Of course." Sophie responded, watching as the blonde closed the door behind her. 'Liar', she whispered to herself.

XXXXXX

"Was he angry?" Brennan asked as she watched Booth end his call with the deputy director.

"That I left the district unannounced to go off on an unassigned case without back-up? Yeah, just a little bit." Booth responded knowing that he was going to return to at least a week's worth of desk peddling duty. "But, the tail is set. Murphy was already in town. He's going to stake out Chapman's house tonight and keep me updated of any movement."

"Until then?" She asked as she felt the adrenaline of the night seep out of her system.

"Until then we try to get some sleep." He responded allowing Brennan lay back using his shoulder as a pillow.

"Maybe we shouldn't." She replied looking up at him as her thoughts went to the full size bed on the other side of the room. Their relationship was complicated, both admitting to feelings beyond friendship at one point or another, but the timing was never right, and they were just getting back into the safe zone where their partnership flourished.

"Maybe." He replied. "But right now, I could use the connection."

Brennan smiled at the admission, and draped her arm over his chest. She knew this case was tougher on him that even he could say aloud, and if an evening of physical connection is what he needed she was more than willing to oblige.

XXXXX

Hardison was sacked out on the couch. After a dispute over where the hacker should spend the evening, as much as Nate wanted to sit alone and drown in his own sorrows, he finally conceding that it probably was for the best that they stuck together. They both knew that once things got started they were going to have to act quickly, and the only way for that to happen was to stay close.

Nate sat with the shot glass of bourbon replaying the events of the past two days in his head. He revisited every decision he made, trying to determine if there was anything he could have done different; anything he could be doing at that moment to assure his colleague, his friend, would return home safely. Unfortunately he was stuck on the thought 'I should have known'.

He should have known that there were always consequences to behavior. As a group they had gotten away with too much. They had brought down too many people for Karma not to bite them back in a huge way. After further introspection Nate admitted to himself that he did know that the day would eventually come, he just arrogantly thought that he had enough control of the outcome. He was sure that when it was all said and done it would be him that paid the ultimate price. It was his plans, and his crew. He was captain, and if anyone went down with the ship it was supposed to be him.

Nate could hear Sophie's voice in his head telling him that was a cop-out; telling him that this crew was never about his own self-destruction, but instead about building something. It was about building something good, and that when they were ready both could walk away knowing that the next generation could take over where they left off. It was a dream that deep down he wanted; he needed that innocence back, that belief that the grass was greener on the other side and the hope for a legacy that outlived him. Unfortunately that was all lost after Sam died, and now as he was on the verge in believing that it was within his grasp he was on the brink of losing someone else he cared for.

Nate put the glass down, realizing at that moment he was left with only one option. Folding his hands together he prayed; 'Our father who art in heaven…'