Chapter 14

"What in the world was I thinking? How did I decide this was a good idea?" The panic in her voice hit him over the phone like a physical thing.

"It's for the kids."

"That's low Eliot." When the Children's Hospital she was a major benefactor to, called her up for help raising money for the Cancer ward, there was no way she could say no. "It's only been a month since I broke up with Josh. I'm not ready to date again."

The hitter chuckled. "You're goin' on a date, not startin' a relationship."

"He could be a psychopath."

"I'll get Hardison to run his name and make sure he isn't. Remember the moves I've been teaching you, and make sure your date is in a public place. If you're still not comfortable, hit him with the taser Parker gave you, and leave quickly."

"You are not filling me with confidence right now. You're supposed to be agreeing with me while I talk myself out of this. Do you not know how this friend thing works?" she chuffed softly.

"If you don't want to do it, don't. I'm not gonna tell you what to do darlin'. You're a big girl."

"Do I have to be?" she almost whined, earning a low chuckle over the phone. She mumbled something in Gaelic that did not sound like anything other than the frustrated cussing it was.

She took a deep breath. "You're right...of course. I can do this." An older woman in a pencil skirt called to her from the other side of the room. "Shite, I'm up next. I lied. I can't do this." Eliot could practically feel her panic over the phone.

"Yes you can. You're going to go out there, give them that stunning smile of yours, and earn some money for your kids."

She smiled at his use of the word 'your' and sighed. "When are you lot going to be back?"

"We should be done with this job in the next couple of days, why?"

"No reason, I just…just be safe. We still have to try that Banh Mi place I told you about."

"Stop stallin', get out there. I'll see you in three days."

Making their goodbyes, she hung up, and straightened her back. "It's for the kids Ally," she reminded herself softly, making her way to where the administrator waited for her.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Whoever started the idea of date auctions, needed to be punched, Ally thought, as she sat nervously next to Olivia on the park bench.

"Thank you for coming with me Olive," she murmured, "I promise you can leave once he arrives. I just…."

Her friend took her hand. "Sweetie, this is no hardship for me. I have no problem kicking a pervert in the balls if that's what you need."

She got the reaction she was going for when Ally chuckled. "I don't think it will come to that. At least I hope it won't. But seriously, who sets up a blind date at eight in the morning?"

"A morning person?" Olivia tried.

"I don't even know his name! Eliot told me we could get Alec to do a background check, but how can I do that if all they told me was that the 'phone bidder' wanted to stay anonymous until we met."

"Do you think he's famous?"

Ally scoffed, "Why would a famous person call in to a Children's Hospital and bid on a date with a blind woman?"

Her friend growled softly. "Ally, I love you, but what have I told you about talking that way about yourself?"

The red head's face scrunched up. "That you would slap sense into me, and then make me be your dress up doll until I begged you to stop?"

"Exactly. You are beautiful. Full stop, end of story. Now what did Eliot say when you told him?"

"Nothing, I haven't been able to reach him since I talked to him at the auction. But they're out of town on a job, so I know he can't talk sometimes."

"Well you have me to vet the guy, so no worries. How do we know it's him?" she asked, glancing around the park.

"I was told to say, I think I'd miss you, even if we'd never met," a familiar drawl answered from behind them.

Ally stood up so fast, she nearly tripped, and would have if Eliot hadn't reached out and gently grabbed her elbow.

"You're my date?!"

Olivia just smiled. "I think it's safe for me to leave now." She leaned over and kissed Ally on the cheek. "Have fun, I'll see you on Tuesday for lunch."

Eliot started walking, nudging her to follow with a gentle touch on her elbow. "Why didn't you tell me you won the auction? What would make you spend that much money to take your friend out? Why are we starting this early in the morning? Do you have any idea how nervous I've been for the last few days? I don't think it would have been that difficult to take two minutes to text me with a 'by the way, it was me that won the date with you'."

"Are you done?"

She huffed. "Maybe."

"To answer your questions, I wanted it to be a surprise, it was for a good cause, you'll find out in a minute, yes, I can imagine, and again, surprise. You didn't eat breakfast, right?"

"I had a pear, but my 'anonymous date's' request was not to, so I didn't. Why?"

She could hear a bell jingle as he opened a door and led her through. "You can't have breakfast on a full stomach."

All at once her sense of smell was bombarded by the scents of frying pork, tea, and soda bread. Familiar aromas that she hadn't experienced since she moved away from Ireland over a year ago.

She was still taking it all in, when a heavily Irish accented voice spoke. "What can I get for you?"

"We'll take two full breakfasts with your Irish Blend."

"Eliot, what is this place? It smells like…"

"Home?" He finished with a smirk. "That was the idea. You mentioned you were missin' food from home, and O'Malley's Diner is the only place left in Boston for authentic Irish dishes. The owners' parents came over from Galway in the fifties and now their kids and grandkids run it."

After she said nothing for a moment, the hitter began to question his decision to bring her here.

"Thank you Eliot. No one…this was so thoughtful," she finally said quietly.

Over what? That someone paid attention and gave her something they knew she would appreciate? Hadn't the people in her life been doing things like this for her up until now? With everything she did for everyone else, she deserved…

The waitress sat down their plates, and he could practically hear Ally's stomach growl from across the table, which made him smirk.

"We have to go boxes if you don't finish, love. I know it's a lot of food."

Ally smiled as she inhaled the smells coming from her large plate. "I intend to finish everything on this plate."

"Dublin?"

Ally smiled up at the waitress. "Sea. Deir mo chara liom gur as Gaillimh do theaghlach." (1)

The woman's eyes lit up. "Cá fhad a bhí tú i mBostún? Ar rugadh tú i mBaile Átha Cliath?" (2)

Eliot began eating his food while the women talked for a couple of more minutes, before Hannah had to get back to work. Ally looked a little sheepish as she began eating.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to ignore you," she murmured cautiously.

He did not like the tone of her voice. She sounded like thought she had done something wrong.

"Did you enjoy talkin' to her?"

She looked up, surprised. "Very much. It's not often I get to speak with anyone from home."

"Then there's no need to apologize. My feelins' aren't hurt because you didn't talk to me for a couple of minutes. How's the food?"

"It's delicious. Hannah was telling me that everything made here is based on her grandmother's and mother's recipes. You're going to have to roll me out of here," she chuckled.

"You can rest on the plane."

She froze mid bite and looked up at him. "What plane?"

"The plane we need to be on in the next…" he looked at his watch, "…hour."

Her eyes widened. "We'll never make it through airport security in time!"

"Relax, it's a private plane, we have time."

"A private…" she trailed off, looking at him as if she was trying to figure something out. "I know you told me you were wealthy…but you didn't need to rent a private plane for an auction date with me. The breakfast would have been more than sufficient."

"I bid on a date with you, and I plan to give you a date. There's a reason I asked you to clear your day."

When she didn't reply, he looked up to see her frozen in thought.

"Ally," his voice was gentle, but it was enough to get her attention. "Just enjoy the day."

After a moment, she nodded, and gave him a tentative smile, before going back to her food.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"I can't believe you brought me to New York."

"It was on your list."

She scoffed. "Many things are on my list Eliot. I don't expect you to make all of them happen."

"Well I made this one happen, so deal with it."

Forty five minutes later, Eliot was watching as Ally eagerly ran her fingers over the leaves of the Lamb's Ear plant. Her eyes were closed, and a soft smile was etched on her face, as her fingers gently caressed the fuzzy surface of the large, silvery green, flat leaves.

"Are these hard to grow? Do you know how much sun they require? I would love to have it on my balcony."

The Brooklyn Botanical Garden was known for its Fragrance Garden. A circular area set aside with textural and scented flowers and foliage that guests were invited to touch. He already had a small mental list going in his head of the citrus and sweet scented flowers she had already smelled and noted as favorites. It looked as if several soft plants would be added to it as well, as it seemed she preferred those over the prickly or sticky feeling ones.

"Well, it doesn't take up as much room as the Pink Muhly Grass, it's easy to care for and likes the direct sunlight your balcony gets."

She sighed. The Muhly Grass was lovely. It felt like I was surrounded by Cotton Candy."

"You're balcony isn't large enough."

"I know, I know. But I should have room for this, the Chenille, and several of those scented Geraniums, correct?"

"If you're just talkin' about the Apricot and the Cinnamon…"

She bit her lip. "And the Chocolate Mint one?"

"It's not enough that you eat chocolate," he teased.

"Shush you. If I could, I'd add the Pussy Willow, and the Apple and Lemon scented Geraniums as well. I didn't realize there were so many plants that felt and smelt so lovely. Thank you for bringing me here Eliot."

"I'm glad you're enjoyin' yourself," he told her, mentally adding the extra ones she had just mentioned. He'd make them fit.

For lunch, he took her to Liebman's Deli in the Bronx. It was her first time in New York, and as any New Yorker you asked knew, Liebman's was a must have experience. He had discovered early on in their friendship that Ally had a love for food that went beyond cooking. She wanted to try everything there was to try, and she didn't shy away from things that sounded strange, even if she ended up not liking it. Which didn't seem to be the issue if listening to her moan through a bite of her pastrami sandwich was anything to go by.

He still hadn't told her where they were when he stepped up to the check in desk in the building they arrived at an hour later.

"There should be two guest badges under Spencer."

He gently took her elbow and led her to a set of elevators, pushing the button for the tenth floor.

"Eliot, I feel like you take too much advantage of the fact that I'm blind. When are you going to tell me where we are?"

He didn't even bother to hold in the smile. "Trust me, you'll know very soon."

A woman met them when the elevators opened, and Eliot spoke with her briefly, introducing her as Diana, whom Eliot seemed to know. She led them into another room, explaining that it would be another few minutes, and to make themselves comfortable.

"Did you bring me to a private movie showing?"

"No."

"Is one of us auditioning for something?" she tried again after a few seconds.

"Not even close."

"Well if it's to test this furniture, while this couch is very comfortable, my apartment is already furnished."

"You're hilarious."

She smiled innocently back at him.

The sound of people talking got louder outside the room, as they approached.

"I'm curious. If you could meet any of the actors from The Princess Bride, what would you say to them?"

He tried not to chuckle at the adorably confused expression on her face. "That's a very random question."

"Humor me," he pressed, as the door to the room opened.

"I guess it would depend on which of them I was meeting. But if I had to choose one thing, it would be to tell them how important the movie is to me. That it's the one thing I have left that still connects me to my mum, even though she's gone. And that even though I can't look at pictures of her, to remember her face, every time I watch that movie, I can see her face with crystal clarity. I would tell them how grateful I am for that gift, because I will never forget her face, and I will always have her here beside me, every time I watch it."

"Oh sweetie, that is beautiful." A very familiar female voice stated.

"I don't think I've had someone say that to me before."

"That is certainly the loveliest compliment I've heard about the movie."

Ally recognized all the voices.

She reached out and managed to grip Eliot's arm as her eyes widened and she froze. "What….is that…I don't…Eliot?"

"Do you know what this year marks the twenty fifth anniversary of?" Eliot asked her.

Ally didn't even hesitate. "The Princess Bride," she whispered.

"I came across an article that Entertainment Weekly would be doing a photoshoot for one of their covers, to commemorate the anniversary. Diana is an old friend, so when I asked if it was possible for a super fan to get a meeting with the cast…"

A string of nervous babble in Irish flew from her mouth softly.

"I must say, I've never had anyone react to meeting me as such. It's lovely to meet you Ally, I'm Cary Elwes," he gently takes her hand in both of his squeezing it.

In a daze, she was greeted by Robin Wright, Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Chris Sarandon, and Christopher Guest. Afterwards, they took seats on the couches and chairs, and over the next few minutes, Ally warmed up out of her stupor, and began very animatedly talking with them about the making of the movie, behind the scenes funny incidents, the actors' favorite memories from it, as well as them asking her what her favorite parts were.

At one point, they began reciting a few of her favorite lines, to her utter delight, and Eliot just sat back and completely immersed himself in her obvious joy of the experience. She mouthed along to Mrs. Wright's bonds of love speech and Patinkin's you killed my father phrase. Billy and Carol had her laughing aloud at their 'I'm not a witch, I'm your wife' banter, she was all but bouncing in her seat as Mr. Shawn and Mr. Elwes acted out the iocaine powder scene, and a blush Eliot had never witnessed before rose from her neck to her cheeks, when Mr. Elwes took her hand, kissed her knuckles and spoke his famous line, 'As you wish'.

At the hour mark, Diana came in again to inform them that they were needed on set again for the interviews, which meant it was time to say their goodbyes.

"Thank you so very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me. I don't think there are proper words to express how much this experience has meant to me. Everything I said before, about my mum was true. Thank you so much for that." Tears were falling from her eyes as she finished.

"I think that was a pretty good way of expressing it," Billy quipped.

After receiving hugs from the group, she and Eliot were left alone in the room once more.

"We still have a bit of time before dinner. We could walk around Central Park if you…"

"Eliot?"

He turned from the door to look at her, only to find her looking in his direction with a surprisingly indecipherable expression on her face. "Yeah?"

She walked over to him and reached out to find his arm, rising upwards until her hand cupped his cheek.

The hitter froze.

She raised up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek softly. "Thank you so very much. I can't…there are no words…I'm so lucky to have you as a…" she paused, and he could feel a brief stiffening in her countenance as her hand fell away from his face. "I would very much like to walk through central park," she said instead, gently taking his elbow.

Eliot had no idea what had just happened, but he figured if she wanted him to know, she'd tell him eventually.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

It was nearing ten in the evening by the time Ally was unlocking her front door.

Central Park had been a hit. The numerous sounds kept Ally entranced as she walked at Eliot's side. Several of the musicians had her stopping to listen, swaying or bouncing in place with a smile, while the numerous statues had her pausing to touch, having Eliot read what the plaques said.

For dinner he had taken her to Xi'an Famous Foods for their Spicy Cumin Lamb Noodles, which she obviously loved, as she spent the entire time trying to identify the ingredients so she could copy it at home. The waitress told the chef, who came out with a smile to greet them, and the comment that he would be very impressed if she guessed the thirty different spices that went into it.

"Oh, I have a surprise for you. I know it's late, and you probably want to go home for some peace and quiet after spending all day with me, but…"

"Stop it. I don't spend time with people I don't want to. I've told you that." She bit her lip and nodded. "What's this surprise?"

Her face brightened. "Okay. Go sit at the island in the kitchen, and close your eyes." She had already turned down the hallway toward her bedroom.

"How do you know I won't look?"

He was sitting with his eyes closed when she came back. "I mean, I realize I wouldn't know if you did or not, but would you really take advantage of your blind friend like that?" she teased.

He smirked, as he listened to her place something on the surface in front of him, and then continued to move around the kitchen, opening a drawer, and then unwrapping something that sounded like tin foil.

"Alright, I know it's not nearly as big of a surprise as the one you gave me today, but I hope you like it. You can open your eyes now."

He did, and immediately froze at the sight of an exquisitely crafted Mambele* and a whiskey apple tart sitting in front of him.

"Happy Birthday."

All she was met with was silence.

"Eliot?"

"What is this?"

Her brows furrowed. "Part of the reason I was so surprised it was you who showed up this morning, was because I knew it was your birthday. Then I remembered you telling me that you didn't like to make a big deal of it, so I didn't say anything. It made today more special to me, because you spent it with me. And then after what you did for me today… But I still wanted to do something small, to show how happy I am that this day brought you into my life."

"How did you find out?" She noticed that his voice seemed calm, controlled.

"I asked Alec a couple of months ago," she was worried now.

"I told you that I didn't celebrate my birthday. There's a reason I didn't tell you when it was."

"I know," she replied a bit unsure. "That's why this isn't a present, not wrapped at all," she explained with a tentative smile, "And your favorite desert, which is not cake if you'll notice, and something I'd make for you any day. I usually throw a birthday party for my friends, but when you said that you…"

"I don't acknowledge my birthday at all!" he barked out, standing so suddenly that the barstool clattered to the floor behind him.

She stumbled backwards, hitting the kitchen counter with her hip. Her eyes were wide and confused, as he stood there, trying to control his breathing.

"Eliot? I don't understand. What's …"

"What's wrong?" he finished for her. "What's wrong is that once again, you pushed, like you always do. I told you I don't celebrate this day, but you couldn't handle that. So you went behind my back and….." He didn't even finish the sentence, he just walked away.

Seconds later, Ally heard the front door close forcefully, and she was left standing there, eyes watering in confusion.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Three days.

That's how long it had been since anyone had seen or heard from Eliot..

Ally blamed herself. It was obvious the whole situation could have been avoided if she had just listened to one of her friends for once, and not assume that her idea would negate any feelings they had previously on the matter. And now she was left wondering if she had just ruined one of the best friendships she had ever had.

After not hearing from him for two days, and being unsuccessful reaching him on his phone, she contacted Alec and asked if he was alright, but they hadn't heard from him either. Which led to the discovery that he was untraceable, having turned off his phone and not leaving a paper trail. She was left with a promise to let her know if he checked in, and hoping that he hadn't gotten in to trouble he couldn't handle in his distracted state.

It felt like just a few minutes had passed since the hot chocolate and Bailey's had thankfully done its job of helping to shut down her worried mind, when her phone rang, the ringtone alerting her it was the front desk.

"Jim?"

"I'm sorry to bother you so late Ms. Hayes, but I wanted to let you know that I just let your friend Mr. Spencer up. If I may say so, he didn't look to be in the best of shape."

She was instantly more awake. "Is he hurt?"

"No….it seems like he's been…drinking."

Ally was already getting out of bed. "Thank you for letting him up."

"Will you be alright?" he asked cautiously. "Should I….call someone?"

It took her a moment to realize that he was worried about her safety. "That won't be necessary. I'll be fine." After she hung up, she made her way to the entryway, turned off the alarm, and waited.

A couple of minutes later, Eliot stumbled through the door, after having apparently had an argument with the door lock, promptly bumping into the side table next to the door.

"Damn it…wha the fu…"

He was definitely drunk. Ally was conflicted between being immensely amused, and very worried.

She listened as he obviously tried to shut the door quietly, failing miserably as he slammed shut.

"Fuck," he hissed out.

"Hey there," she greeted, deciding to make her presence known.

The hitter stumbled back a little in surprise, righting himself quickly. Or as quickly as was possible in his current state.

"Ally? you're here…o' course you're here…that's why I'm here. I needed to…wait, what did I..

She could now hear the exhaustion in his voice as well. Had he not slept in three days?

"Come to the guest room. You sound like you need some rest."

He lurched forward, grabbing her shoulders. "No…I mean…yeah, 'm tired. Bu I need to...I came here ta…ta…apologize…that's why 'm here. It's late…this is…this is weird. I shouldna... but I needed...

She had already shifted to wrap her arm around his waist, using her other hand to guide her down the hall. "We can talk in the morning Eliot. I'll be here."

"Course ya…you're always…when I need... too good ta me sweetheart...I don't... came here to…you did somethin' nice 'n I was… messed it up. My probl…no' yours. I'm fucked up…gotta lot 'a…bad stuff inside.

She guided him to sit on the bed after having pulled the blankets back. "You don't need to apologize Eliot. The blame is entirely mine. You should lie down and rest. I promise we'll talk in the morning."

His arms snaked around her waist suddenly, pulling her closer to rest his forehead on her stomach.

"'m sorry….sorry….so fuckin'…'m so sorry,' he murmured brokenly.

He kept repeating that and it took her longer than she's like to realize it wasn't just her he was apologizing to.

His arms gripped around her as he continued to mumble his apologies, and her chest tightened for her friend who was in so much pain. Her hand rose up and hesitated briefly, before she gave in and ran her hand through his hair in a comforting gesture.

A quiet sob racked his body, and he began trembling around her as he began crying silently.

"It's alright Eliot. Whatever it was…"

"Never be alright…killed them….didn't know. Was ordered…the bomb….they …..na' supposed ta be there…he wanted…he didn't tell….they were so little…too late, couldn't stop...damn it…there were…fuckin' Moreau..

Her eyes watered up with unshed tears as she listen to him stumble vaguely through the event in his life that made him hate his birthday. She knew that her friend had a dark past; knew that he had done things he wasn't proud of. His words were too broken to get the full story, but what she could make out was enough, and her heart broke.

Children….a bomb…an order carried out without all the details.

She wasn't going to let him continue to spill the story of what sounded like the worst day of his life while he was drunk and had no control in the matter.

"Eliot…you don't have to talk about this right now. You don't have to talk about this ever, but definitely not now. Everyone makes mistakes. I don't know everything you did in your past, and like I said before, I don't need to. I know who you are right now. And I like that person very much."

"shouldn't…say tha…you…better off…withou me."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm very lucky to have you in my life."

His shuddering had stopped and his breathing had slowed. She could feel him going slack against her.

"Lay down Eliot. Please get some rest."

He didn't protest as she laid him down, and reached down to unlace his boots and take them off.

She went to leave, with a softly spoken good night, having believed he was already asleep, only for him to reach out suddenly and gently grab her hand.

"Don't…"

She froze briefly, before taking a moment to gauge the situation. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, she did. It was just a known fact that people did things in inebriated states that they normally wouldn't do.

But all she could hear in his voice was the need for a friend. To not be alone at that moment.

So before she could talk herself out of it, she gently slipped her hand out of his and went to turn the light off, before returning to the bed and slipping in behind him and wrapping her arm over his waist. He might have tried to say something, but she stopped him with a quiet shushing noise.

"Sleep Eliot. I'm here."

The only response she got was him taking her hand and cradling it to his chest.

She sucked in a silent breath before relaxing into his warmth, and drifting off to sleep.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

As soon as Eliot realized he was waking up in Ally's guest room, he knew without a doubt that he hadn't handled the previous night well.

In the next few moments, as he sat up and ran his hands over his face and through his hair, the memories returned. One thing he always hated. Most people had the blissful experience of not remembering how asinine they acted when drunk. Eliot couldn't claim that. It didn't keep the headache away though. Which was when he saw the side table, holding a glass of murky, white liquid and what looked like Aleve.

She was too good to him.

He didn't even know what to say to her. He knew he hadn't told her everything, that most of the details were still his to take to his grave, but he had said enough for anyone to get the gist of the situation.

Why the hell had he even came to her house last night? He had gone off the grid for a couple of days to get himself back in the right frame of mind, only to drink himself into oblivion. He hadn't even gone home the first couple of nights, opting instead for his safe house. So why hadn't he gone back there last night?

And then if that hadn't been bad enough, he had broken down in front of her and asked her to stay. Which if he was being honest with himself, was….he didn't even know how to quantify how it felt to just be comforted like that. The feel of her wrapping her arm around him just to show she was there for him….he hadn't felt that is so damn long. He hadn't allowed himself that. He couldn't in his line of work. But last night had been a low point.

If he didn't know she was a morning person, he might have thought she wasn't there now to save him the awkward wakeup. Knowing Ally, she went about her usual morning routine of greeting the sun, just to give him the gift of a moment alone to gather himself. Discovering the liquid was coconut water, he downed it and the pills before putting on his shoes and heading to the kitchen, where he was greeted by a domed plate waiting on the kitchen island with a note telling him there was fresh coffee and more coconut water in fridge to boost his electrolytes.

Grabbing the said coconut water from the fridge, he noticed a few bottles of his favorite beer, plus a bottle of orange soda that he knew Hardison favored. He paused, then opened the freezer on instinct, he found a beer mug nicely chilled in the door, plus a couple of boxes of hot pockets. He loved his beer in a chilled mug. Curiosity pushed him to the pantry, where he found boxes of Sophie's favorite tea, a large supply of chocolate that he just knew she shared with Parker. He began taking a good look around the apartment, and began discovering things that he had never really paid attention to before. A scarf on the coat hook that he knew Sophie had purchased in Paris, as well as a few magazines he knew she read on the coffee table. A couple of bottles of Nate's favorite Whiskey at the Wet Bar, a chessboard that was usually found at Nate's, and dozens of movies that he knew Hardison and Parker were responsible for. He also knew that several of the books on the shelf were his personally.

She didn't just let her friends into her life, he realized in that moment. She integrated them into it. Her space and her life reflected the addition of the people she let into it.

He had shown up at her house last night, drunker than he had been in a long while, instead of going home. And now he knew why. He knew Ally would let him in. He knew that she would forgive him for the way he had lashed out. He knew that she would take care of him and look after him. He couldn't remember the last time he had let anyone get this close to him, let them see him at his most vulnerable. The realization creeped up on him slowly. She had somehow clicked into a space in his life that he hadn't even realized was missing a piece, and brought him a measure of contentment and happiness he hadn't had for a very long time. She wasn't just a friend, she was a permanent fixture in his life now. Somehow, she had slid into his chaotic and violent world, as smooth and easy and perfect as a nicely run con.

He sat down, still in thought, and opened the lid of the plate, to find an avocado and spinach omelet, and a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and drizzled honey.

All perfect for helping someone through a hangover.

"Hey you," she greeted, as she walked up to the counter, to pour herself a cup of tea. "Did you sleep well?"

He was still staring at the plate of food.

"Eliot? Are you alright?"

Her worried tone finally got his attention. "Yeah. I'm….I'm good. Slept as well as could be expected. I shouldn't have…"

"None of that. I'm happy that you came here last night. I was so worried that I had…" She stopped herself and took a breath. "I can't tell you how many times I've taken care of Kieran through a hangover. I was happy to do that…for you. I messed up, I know that. I shouldn't have pushed. You got angry, which is understandable now. I'm extremely lucky to have you in my life Eliot. I hope that I haven't…that you coming here last night means…that I haven't ruined that," she finished softly, with a bit of worry.

Something twitched inside him at her words. He didn't know why, she had told him she was lucky to have him as a friend before. There was something… He realized she was still standing there looking worried. "You'll find that it takes more than that to get rid of me."

She breathed a visible sigh of relief. "So, I have an appointment at the school to keep. You're welcome to stay as long as you like of course, but I really can't reschedule."

He smiled. "You're good. Go do your thing. I'll lock up when I leave."

A smile lit her face. "We're still meeting at Uncle Nate's on Wednesday for movie night, right?"

"As far as I know."

"Alright then." She started to reach out, but stopped, gave him another smile, and then made her way to the front door to grab her purse and cane before leaving.

Eliot just sat there trying to decipher the strange feeling in his gut.

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AN: I am so sorry it's taken so long to get this out. 2020 gave me a shitty bday present called Breast Cancer, so I've been very distracted w/that, plus the chemo is kicking me in the ass in the energy & concentration dept. So this is NOT beta read, I did go over it like 10x, but if there are mistakes, I apologize. This story WILL be finished. I have rough drafts of all the chapters. I promise. Just be patient w/me. =)

"Yes. My friend tells me that your family is from Galway."

"How long have you been in Boston? Were you born in Dublin?"

(*) Mambele - a form of hybrid knife/axe in mid- to southern Africa. Also known as a Hunga Munga. Buffy used one in the Season 3 Premiere episode 'Anne'.