A/N - Hello all!

Here's a light treat this week.

With Thanksgiving coming up, don't know what will happen next week.

A/N - Parker has a dream from Eliot's mother. Eliot has an interesting dream of his own... And Jake arrives.

Hope you like it and PLEASE REVIEW when you can, or Parker might get a Snoopy Thanksgiving instead of a Turkey and trimmings!

Enjoy!


Parker was sleeping and she'd entered into a dream. It was in full Technicolor and with sound; almost like a movie playing in her head. She saw her and Eliot at their simple wedding, her in a beautiful white dress and Eliot in a uniform she didn't recognize. She was hoping that he would have decided on a fantastic tuxedo like the ones Hardison and Michael Westen had on. Vance was there in his uniform for special events. There was a table off to the right of where she stood… On it were two eight inch high candles inside a glass vase and both were lit. After both had been lit, the flames flickered and Parker knew that it was a sign from Eliot's parents that they were there. Later on in the ceremony, she and Eliot each pulled on a piece of white paper out of a plastic box. Suddenly, Monarch butterflies were released into the air… Some landed on her dress, others on her head, chest, and her back; and some landed on Eliot as well; butterflies were Eliot's mother's favorite insect. And when Nate, the officiant, pronounced the wedding ceremony was over, all the butterflies flew away. The scene was so lovely and yet so sad that his parents weren't physically there with them. Parker rolled over and tried to change her dream landscape… She thought she had and then a new dream started… This one just as clearly in color and with sound as the last one. However, this one had a totally different feel to it. It felt like it was familiar to her though she'd never seen the scenery in her dream before… At least she couldn't quickly identify it if she had seen it before.

What she saw was young Eliot learning how to ride a horse… She watched as a lady, she assumed was his mother was showing him how to saddle a horse. The future hitter couldn't have been more than six or seven years old. His hair was short like his father's, because no male long-haired pansy-assed hippy was going to be in his family. The thief watched as the woman told him about bringing the strap under the belly and through the rabbit hole… And so on and so forth until she had the horse saddled. Then she undid it all and had Eliot copy what she had done. He watched her so well that he did everything in one try; he was a quick learner. Parker almost felt like she was intruding on a scene she should never have seen. She didn't say a word, but she watched from the hay loft down to the ground in front of the doors of the barn. As she watched, the woman suddenly looked up, right at her and winked… What a shock! How had the mother known she was there? Had that really just happened? Was she imagining what she saw? And then the she just looked back at the young man she'd just lifted and put on the horse. Then she watched as the brown haired lady took the reins of the horse and led it off around the barn. Parker moved to the other window at the other end of the hay loft that was open. She found herself a hiding spot and watched as the female led the horse into a corral where the wood had been white-washed. She watched as Eliot held on and the woman led the horse into a slow trot as she held onto the rope attached to the lead.

They went around several times at that slow pace and then Eliot exclaimed that he wanted to go faster. Parker smiled in her dream… He was so adorable. The, 'Mama,' told him to hold on and that they couldn't go too fast as he was still a young boy. He whined a little but he did as she told him. The horse began to gallop slowly and she heard Eliot giggle and laugh. Both women smiled and then the thief came down from the hay loft and went into a small room where she saw pictures on the wall of Eliot's mother on a horse racing around a couple of barrels. Next to those pictures were awards… Belt buckle, trophies, and ribbons for a Jessica Anne-Marie Taylor; Taylor was her maiden name before she became a Spencer. She was clearly a champion barrel racer in her younger years. Parker thought it would have been cool to have met her one day. The thief rolled back to her other side and settled on dreaming about something else… She ended up dreaming of being in a meadow, with Eliot and those two children she once saw dressed as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, but they were dressed more like normal kids. She wasn't alarmed when the little ones cried out that daddy was home, nor was she when he asked who the children were. It was the perfect scene and she just walked him up to the farm house. And she stopped him at the front door and gave him a warm kiss…


Jessica then floated on down to visit her son. She moved close to him in his bed and formed another one of those energy marbles. And then down his right ear it went… It was another favorite memory of hers… It was of the day she taught him how to saddle and ride a horse. She showed him how to saddle her favorite horse, Butterscotch. And she was so proud when he copied her to the letter. However, she didn't show him the moment she looked up at the blond sticking her head up in the barn; but instead, she took him to the corral to teach him the ways he could ride a horse…


Eliot saw the barn at his family's home before they split up, and his mother… And there was a boy with her that he recognized as the younger him. This time, he was just watching… He didn't feel like he was actually in the dream. The hitter felt good emotions running through this scene; he began to remember that day from so long ago. He almost thought he'd forgotten it because of what various governments had done to his mind and body before what Damien Moreau made him do… He held such love in his heart for his mother. Her kindness, patience, and love as she watched her boy do everything she did with such accuracy. When she took him to the corral and he wanted to go faster, he assumed that was probably what started his love of fast things like muscle cars and horses. She taught him a few more things while on the horse, like how to stop and how to make them go. He was so excited to ride on his own… But she told him not to ride without her until he was sold enough. The young boy tried to pull an, 'Awww Mom,' but she wasn't having it. Eliot smiled at his younger self, though the kid and his mother couldn't see him. She looked up at the young boy in the saddle and placed her hand on his left thigh, like she had something important to say.

"Eliot, your father wanted to tell you that you need to let your past with him go. It's only going to rob you of a future. I agree with him, but I think there's more you need to let go of more than just that… Son, I know Aimee broke your heart, but you can't put all that hurt on Parker, she doesn't deserve that."

He listened to his mother and didn't remember what she just told him in the memory; obviously it wasn't. How was she able to be talking to him?

"She didn't break my heart, mama, I broke hers," Eliot, the elder's voice came through the little boy. "I made her promises I couldn't keep. After she told me she was gettin' married when I came back the time before last, I thought Scott was gonna stay with her… I should've come back."

The hitter recalled that he was on a job and getting tortured, so he couldn't have come back if he wanted to. The guilt still planned to eat him alive anyway… His self-esteem wouldn't allow him to let that guilt go.

"That's part of what I think you need to let go. You saved the day and helped Aimee's father. You've fulfilled your last obligation to that family. Don't keep punishing yourself for not being there for her or keeping those promises you spoke when you gave her that ring. Yes, I know all about it. Aimee's mother told me all about it a few days after the event."

"Woman never could keep a secret," he said as he thought of Aimee's mother, Lynnette.

"Now, I know you have your special reasons for keeping that girl at a distance, but the only problem I can see is that you two are so much alike; look at Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy fought like cats and dogs, until one day, he asked for her hand in marriage. True, she declined at first, but he changed so much for her, that he changed her opinions of him. And as the story goes, even though society was against them, they were happily married. You need to stop fighting to keep her away from letting her into your heart, Eliot."

"But mama, that's a story. I can't live in a fairytale. I'm not the perfect knight to sweep her off her feet. I'm a different kind of knight. I don't need more crazy in my life; the crazy I have in my life now is almost manageable, add Parker and there's no hope of trying to control it. Mama, you don't understand… Parker isn't normal…"

"I understand more than you think. Yes, she may be broken, Eliot, and you can't fix her any more than if she tried to fix you. But that's one of the ways you two are similar; you're broken too."

"Mom, two wrongs don't make a right."

"I approve of Parker; she reminds me a little bit of me. She's a survivor and she's strong when she has to be. You can't read a book by its cover, son. I taught you at least that much… Look beyond the crazy. The crazy is just a defensive survival mechanism. Even you have a little crazy in you; it helps keep you alive."

Eliot couldn't believe he was having this conversation with his mother as his adult voice went through the child he once was. He hated to admit it, but he did have crazy in him… He took risks that put his life in danger… He let people beat up on him so that he then turned around and let some of his pent up emotions out by beating up on them before he got his teammates to safety.

"I know you son; you with a normal girl would bore you to death. You like the challenge… You like the excitement and spontaneity."

"Mama, she's just not my type…"

"All right, I won't speak more on her, but you know how I feel. I also want you to know that someday, that bad man you worked for; he's going to pay for what he did to you and for what he made you do. I hate what he turned you into, but I thank the Lord, that he sent you a family… Dysfunctional as they may be, I'm glad they're helping to bring back the boy I once knew," how did she know about Moreau and the Leverage team? "Maybe one day that boy will find God again…"

His dream felt so surreal… She took her horse out of the corral back to the barn, so he got to ride a little more. While in the barn, she took a hold of his waist between her hands, and Eliot, the younger put his arms around her neck. She lifted him off the horse and then spun him around in a circle before she set him on the ground. Eliot didn't let go… He remembered that part of the memory where they went back to the barn and how he didn't let go of his mother's neck. God, he missed her.

"I love you, mommy."

"I love you more, Eliot. Forgive yourself and if you need me, just think on me, and I will find you in your dreams," the hitter had a lot to think about… Whenever he woke up…


In the morning, Parker was up early. She was up before sunrise at 6:57 to make cinnamon rolls from scratch… Not to mention the other breakfast trappings like, eggs, bacon, sausage links, biscuits and gravy, and stuff like that. They were expecting Jake Barrett sometime after sunrise. She got to work making the dough while standing in her overalls and an ivory colored turtleneck sweater. Her feet were covered in those sock booties she had on the day before. Once the rolls made it into the oven, she started making biscuits from scratch for that gravy to go all over. As she kneaded the dough by hand instead of in the mixer, she thought of her special surprise for after dinner… She mentally reminded herself that she was going to have to tell Jake not to disturb them at the house for dinner and she was going to take him a plate of food before she dressed for dinner. Parker sighed at the mental picture of getting to see Eliot all dressed up. Her red notebook was on the counter already, so she started to plan her meals for lunch and dinner… She had to remember she wasn't just cooking for two anymore; she had to cook for three. True, one day, the thief would have to cook for an army in her farm house, and she smiled…

There would be her and Eliot, and their two kids. Nate and Sophie, Alec and Alfie, and then Beretta and Colt, and their two kids, and maybe Colt's parents. And Jake too. Then she was inspired… What if she was able to set up Cosette with Jake? Well, it all depended on what he looked like… And she hoped Cosette would be amiable… Or what about Anisette? Parker caught sight of the ring on Josette's left hand… After the biscuits went in to the second oven, she went to work on the stuff getting made on the stove. By the time the cinnamon rolls came out, she had the eggs fluffy and scrambled, the bacon crisp, and the gravy just perfect but on low so it stayed warm. While the cinnamon rolls cooled on the baker's rack on the counter, she tackled the sausage links… The coffee machine chimed that it was ready and she smiled. She didn't like coffee that much… Only if she needed a boost of energy for a job. The team tried not to let her drink it much because she turned into a motor-mouth when she had the dark brewed liquid. Eliot even made her drink decaffeinated tea, before he got hurt. She put a pitcher of orange juice on the dining room table. Then she suddenly heard knocking on the front door…


Eliot slowly opened his eyes and saw the sun was starting to brighten the sky. He smelled something good coming from under the door… That meant Parker was up. He stayed under the covers a little longer; he wasn't ready to get up yet. Then he heard an engine… The hitter threw back the linens that kept him warm and grabbed the cane leaning up against his night stand. He hobbled to the window and there was a black Ford F150 truck parked. He didn't make it in time to see who got out of the truck, but he assumed it must have been the man that Parker hired to come take care of the animals in the barn. Well, since he was here, it was time to get up. His stomach started to growl as he made his way to the dresser. He still couldn't believe his mother told him in his sleep that she approved of Parker… She wanted him to look beyond her crazy and not to read the thief by her cover… No, he just wasn't up for it; she was too crazy!