A/N: Hi!... So I've finally gotten around to the process of converting one of my prompt based ficlets to a full length story under drjones' orders... :P

So this one goes out to drjones, for giving me such an awesome prompt and situation to work with... and also for convincing me that this fic deserved to get a better finish... so here goes... it's going to be a long, rocky journey, but i hope you're all gonna be completely satisfied with the final product once we're done with the process... (fingers crossed)

If you want to read the rest of the fics in the prompt drabble list, plz visit 'His thief Her hitter'... and don't forget to review your thoughts and ideas for more prompts

So here goes...

Chapter 01

Eliot Spencer was a man of few words. He preferred to let his actions do the talking for him instead of using words to convey his opinions. Words, he'd found were often empty sounds, devoid of any meaning because most of the time, people who spoke them never really meant what they were saying.

Words could be used to hurt but they could also be used to heal... to fix things. Something he'd almost never tried. Or rather, been successful at... his debacle with Aimee was all the proof he needed of that. But right now, the hitter really really wanted to use certain words, with a focused intent... to hurt. He wanted to hurt the crazy thief as much as she'd hurt him. He wanted to take away that feeling of safety that she said she got around them. He wanted her to feel something... for once.

They all knew that Parker was... how should I say it, different. The things that affected most people, most normal people, didn't seem to have any effect on the crazy blonde. In fact, there had been very few times she seemed affected by anything and Eliot wanted one of those times to be now.

Eliot Spencer never hit girls... not even when they hit him. Okay, Mikel was an exception but come on, she wasn't a girl... not in the frail, damsel in distress sense of the word. Well, neither was Parker, but she wasn't an amazon like the female hitter had been. Even then, Eliot wanted to make sure that she knew his sentiments on her actions.

It almost never happened that Eliot lost his temper with someone on the team and most of the times it was Hardison that found himself as the focus of the hitter's ire. But even he knew that Eliot could never just lose it and hurt any of them and any remaining vestiges of anger always gave way when the due apologies came his way. Of that the team was sure of... like rock solid sure. But right now, the idea of hurting the thief for treating him the way she was, was quite tempting to the retrieval specialist.

It hadn't even been the crowbar thing or the running him over with a car, what had gotten to Eliot the most was the fact that she had acted so nonchalant afterwards, so dismissive of his injuries and his anger towards her... as if it didn't matter, as if he didn't matter. As if his position as the team's hitter was just that... a job. That any of them could do. Worse, when he'd asked her about the way she'd acted, she told him to 'get over it'. Get Over It.

Eliot had barely controlled himself from lunging out at the small thief and laying a right hook on the smooth, unblemished skin of her face. But he knew that he wasn't a man who used violence to solve all his problems.

Sure, he was a hitter by profession and could take down the best of them without batting an eyelid when the situation called for it, but no way was he going to let a crazy blonde squirt reduce him to being a neanderthal over this. Had it been Hardison or even Nate who had commented that way, they would've probably needed an ambulance after he was done with them.

He busted his ass everyday so that the rest of the team could be safe and all he wanted was to be given enough respect for the job he did. Eliot had forgotten how many times he'd had to take men down to keep his team safe, how many times he'd had to take a hit that was meant for one of his team members... or how many times he'd had to let himself be hurt so that he could buy them some time to get away.

He'd never complained about it or expected anything to be done for him in return. Eliot knew that as the hitter, it was his job to give as well as take hits for the team and he was okay with it. Till Parker had, with one sentence in essence, taken away all the importance his job held for the team. She'd acted as if it was a matter of almost no consequence and that he was the one who was making a mountain out of a molehill.

The straw that had broken the camel's back was when she'd turned from her hunt for fortune cookies to look at him with an expression that he knew very well. He knew this because it was the one he'd almost always had on his face when she ended up doing something crazy... the one that said 'There's something wrong with you'.

For a second when she turned, he thought he'd seen concern in her eyes but a mere second later it had melted into her usual uncomprehending blank stare and Eliot knew that it had been just wishful thinking on his part. Why he was even wishing for her concern about his well being he didn't know. What he did know was that somewhere along the way since they'd all met due to Dubenich, these four people had made their own little spaces in Spencer's life and descended enmasse around the region of his heart.

Nate had always been a friend in Eliot's opinion. Even though it had taken the mastermind quite some time before he reconciled himself with the idea of being a thief himself and acknowledged the strong bond of friendship and camaraderie that had grown between them by then.

Sophie... she was the female version of Nate. Eliot had never thought he would be so close to a woman without having taken her to bed or being related to her. But Sophie had proved to be in a league of her own and Eliot had come to treasure the moments he'd spent with the talented grifter, even though the period of her leaving the team had caused a sizable rift in their relationship.

Hardison, whether the hitter liked to acknowledge it or not, had firmly encroached the position of the geeky younger brother that Eliot had always wanted but never had. Alec Hardison might be the single most irritating excuse for a human being on the planet but Eliot wouldn't change a thing about the man or their relationship... except maybe his unhealthy obsession with Orange soda, junk food, computer games and a certain blonde thief... maybe if he might add in something about a liking for fishing, some concept of what good music was and just the idea of what a man's personal space was, Hardison could possibly make the ideal Spencer younger brother.

And then there was Parker. The exasperating blonde thief was what kept Eliot up most days... dreaming of her seemed to be dominating his night nowadays... not that he would admit that even under torture. The dreams had started after the thing with the Faberge egg... the Zanzibar Marketplace thingamajig... That dress... The hitter'd had a hard time maintaining his concentration during that job.

A blonde in a pink dress had always been his weakness... I know, quite cliche but who cares. But this blonde in that pink dress had just summarily blown him away. He'd never thought he'd ever think about Parker that way. I mean he liked women... more than liked them, but he worked with Sophie and Parker. So while they were women and quite beautiful at that, they'd never registered on Eliot's radar. Rather, he made sure they did not, under any circumstances. Work and pleasure never mixed and Eliot knew this fact very, very well.

But that night in the museum, Parker's itty bitty pink dress and that fact that he knew she was hiding that priceless Faberge egg somewhere underneath that skin tight sheath had blown all of his notions about work ethics away. The world's best retrieval specialist brought down by a handful of pink fabric masquerading as a dress... shameful he knew, but man! what a way to go. Or rather, what a way it would've been to go had he done anything about the major revelation he'd had that night.

Eliot knew that there was no way he'd ever do anything about his... feelings. First of all, it was Parker... 'nuffsaid. Secondly, there was the team... he wouldn't do anything to damage the delicate balance that they'd managed to strike between their professional and private lives. Third and maybe most important personally, there was Hardison to think about. So yeah, there was no way he would do anything about it.

But try telling that to his brain that seemed bent on exploring every bit of his Parker revelation in his dreams. He'd somehow managed to bring both his body and his mind under control and function his way through the office and the various cases they dealt with.

But now, Parker seemed to be acting in this bizarre apathetic fashion and he'd just let it get under his skin. As it is, the iron control he'd held on his emotions was already shot due to the effort it took to act normally around her, he couldn't just let it slide when, after beaning him with a crowbar once and running him down with a car the other time, she started to act as if none of it mattered.

Now this was it. Thus far and no further. Eliot knew that he had a responsibility to the team and that he couldn't just cut and run at the first niggle of a problem but he now had no qualms against cutting himself off from the crazy blonde. He would of course still have to work with her... It wasn't gonna be that tough. He wasn't much of a conversationalist so most of the time he could get away with not opening his mouth at all. All he had to do now was make sure that the rest of his simultaneously perceptive and emotionally empty crew didn't get pulled into the drama. He'd decided his plan of action, now all that remained was to put it into practice.

The team had just gotten back from running a con on that slimy car salesman... what she privately liked to call The Boost Job, and Parker for one, was exhausted. It wasn't so much the boosting cars rather than the subterfuge and hiding that got to her. Parker could always hide, ever since she was a child, she was extremely adept at making herself as small as possible and fitting her body into places that would've been deemed too small by others. She liked hiding in small, dark places where no one would search for her, and watch other people quietly.

But this kind of hiding was new to her. She'd never learnt to hide her feelings and emotions before. Whatever Parker felt, Parker said. But this time, somehow, something was making her hesitate and clam up. It was almost as if she couldn't talk about it and that made her feel very uncomfortable... very un-Parkerly.

It had all started when Sophie had commented offhandedly one day while they were all at Nate's loft for lack of anything else to do. The grifter had just said something about how she and Eliot were both uncomfortable being touched by anyone but each other. Parker knew very well about the first part. She never liked being touched... neither did Eliot.

They both needed to be given adequate advance notice even by their team members before being touched, even then they both stiffened and squirmed uncomfortably during the period of contact. If not, Parker probably would stiffen and move away and Eliot might end up breaking your fingers before they landed on his person. Hardison's disturbing preference for 'hugging it out' had almost gotten him killed atleast a couple of dozen times till now. It spoke volumes about Eliot's self control that the hacker was still alive, functioning and without a single scratch on his lanky form.

But she'd never noticed that she and Eliot never seemed to have any sort of problems with touching each other, or being in each other's personal space. Small touches, nothing else... a tap on the shoulder to get the other person's attention, a guiding hand on her arm, a slight poke to his side to make him do what she wanted, a soft touch on the small of her back to guide her when she wasn't a 100% fine. With Eliot, Parker was able to take liberties that she took with no one else and to everyone's surprise, the hitter let her.

There were very few times in her life that Parker had felt truly safe. And most of the times she felt it recently, was in the company of the retrieval specialist. Sitting next to his solid presence during meetings, touching him absently and helping out in the kitchen were some ways in which the thief had unconsciously started enjoying his presence.

And she might've never noticed, never reacted if it hadn't been for Sophie's offhand comment. The grifter seemed to think of it as something quite amusing rather than the life changing revelation it was for the younger blonde. It made her reevaluate whatever she thought she knew about the relationship between her and Eliot. Even though she stopped herself from reacting too much to the comment, at least outwardly, inside she was almost screaming to herself at the conclusion she came to.

Somehow, somewhere along the way, entirely without her permission, she'd started to feel comfortable around him, she'd done the worst thing and started to have feelings for the hitter. And they weren't the normal kind of warm fuzzies that she had when she thought about her team, her family. These feelings made her feel hot and cold at the same time, made her stomach clench uncomfortably and made her feel itchy, like she was trying to climb out of her own skin or something. In short, they had her going crazy and she didn't know what it was or what to do about it.

She found herself spending all of her spare time either watching the hitter as discreetly as possible or thinking about him. It was highly distracting and not something she needed in her life right now... or ever. She'd thought she was comfortable with the nameless, faceless one night stands she'd had till now, but of late, she found herself thinking about what it would be like if she had a proper relationship... a boyfriend. And that role was always filled by the hitter in her dreams.

As uncomfortable as her feelings made her, they couldn't be ignored. But neither could they be expressed. Parker wasn't as clueless as she made herself out to be. It had been a survival tactic she'd learned when she was small. Make people think you don't know much and they usually made the mistake of underestimating you. Parker might not understand her own emotions but she understood what other people were like and what they felt.

And she knew that if Eliot came to know about her feelings for him and he didn't reciprocate them, as most probably he wouldn't, the delicate balance that the team functioned on would be destroyed. That was the last thing she wanted to do. After so many years she had found a place where she fit, a family for herself, where she could be herself around people who liked her for who she was and didn't judge her for what she did or had done previously.

This new family was the most important thing to Parker now and there was no way she was going to do anything that might upset the situation in any way. She needed this platform to fall back on and she wasn't going to destroy this safe little haven of hers at any cost, even if it meant not exploring the tantalizing possibility of normality... of being with someone in every sense of the word.

She was going to have to make sure that this miasma of feelings roiling inside her never got out. Whatever it took to save her family from any sort of trouble, she would do it. They had given her so much, now it was her turn to do something for them. If only to stop herself from upsetting the balance by expressing her emotions, Parker would make sure that nothing hurt them... Eliot kept them safe, she would keep him safe. If it meant pushing him away, making sure that she couldn't break under pressure, she would do it. It didn't matter if something in the region of her chest hurt at that thought, she had to keep her family safe and she would do anything to make sure it stayed that way.

It had been a day since they'd gotten back and the team was waiting on background checks for their next job. Parker had distanced herself as much as she could from the hitter, both physically and emotionally, going as far as to coldly tell him to 'get over it' when he questioned her about her mistakes in the previous jobs. She'd felt something inside her hurt some more when she saw the ever present warmth in the hitter's cerulean eyes fade out to be replaced by a chill... something so cold and remote that instinctively the thief knew that she might've done irreparable damage to their relationship.

That had just been the start. Eliot had distanced himself from her, choosing a seat as far from her as possible whenever a team meeting was called or when they all hung out at Nate's loft to just relax. He didn't look at her, didn't talk to her unless completely necessary and even then, his voice lacked the customary warmth that she'd never noticed till it was gone. It was almost as if she was a stranger and not one he particularly wanted to get to know.

As much as that hurt, it hurt even more when he categorically refused to so much as acknowledge her presence during their next con. Oh he was there alright, right beside her, protecting her and the rest of the team, but it was almost as if he was a ghost... only making his presence known when it was utterly necessary.

Even when he'd had to go up against fifteen security guards who'd showed up suddenly, he hadn't made a sound. Only the various noises associated with a fight had alerted the rest of the team to Eliot's preoccupation when Parker had left the building and Eliot hadn't. Normally, she would've stayed with him, maybe used her taser on a couple of the guys and taken a couple of them down by herself, helping him with it, but now, they were both intent on ignoring each other's presence and that had resulted in their getting separated and Eliot having to face all of the guards alone.

They'd all watched in morbid fascination as the hitter had turned into a veritable fighting machine, taking down all fifteen men with precise, economical moves that somehow only served to magnify the extent of his controlled anger. Parker saw a glimpse of the beast inside of the retrieval specialist before it was expertly restrained and covered up as if it had never existed.

He'd stepped out of the building and into the waiting van as if he'd just stepped in from a casual stroll but Parker's sharp eyes had caught on to the various injuries the hitter was sporting from the confrontation. No one could fight fifteen armed guards and get away unscathed. It was obvious to her that he at least had a mild to moderate concussion by the way he was trying to focus on something but finding it difficult, a couple of cracked ribs, a broken wrist and a strained knee.

Eliot made nothing about his injuries known to his team, opting to take care of them himself when he got to his apartment. After they'd all gotten to the offices and sat through a post job meeting, the team had dispersed for the night and Eliot was thankful for the early dismissal. Wobbling just a little bit because of his concussion and cradling his left wrist that was swollen underneath his wide leather bracelet, Eliot managed to make it to the parking lot and was about to get into his truck when he found the keys snatched from his hands.

The thief, who'd snatched the keys from him slid easily through the open door of the truck into the driver's seat and patiently waited for him to get in via the passenger door, which she opened, indicating that he should get in. Eliot was almost growling in frustration and deciding that communicating with the crazy blonde was the last thing he needed with a concussion, he slammed the door and started walking in the direction of his house, a good dozen miles away.

Huffing in frustration and a little bit of concern at his slow, careful gait, Parker put the car in gear and slowly trundled after him, keeping pace with the injured hitter so that he knew she wasn't gonna just leave him to walk all the way.

"Look Eliot... I am not doing this for you... or me. I am doing this for the team. You're injured, probably have a moderate concussion and you shouldn't be driving under the circumstances okay?... So stop acting like a baby and just get in the car."

Eventually, half a mile down the road, exhaustion and pain drove the hitter to get into the car and the two of them resumed their journey towards his house, in complete silence. Once at the house, Eliot quietly held the door open for Parker, clearly indicating that she had done her duty by getting him to his home and that she should leave now.

"Look... You have a concussion and shouldn't be left alone for at least another couple of hours. I am not going anywhere and you're just going to have to deal with it."

"Parker don't make me kick you out... get out of my house... now."

Those were the first words Eliot had spoken to her in three days. His low, gravelly voice sent a frisson of pleasure down her spine at the same time his sharp words and cold tone pricked her like a needle to the heart.

"Eliot let's just get you taken care of first okay?... Then we can talk about this stupid fight or whatever it is..."

The second it escaped her mouth, Parker knew she shouldn't have said that. Had it been a normal Eliot it might not have mattered as much but this Eliot was hurt and angry... angry at her.

"Stupid?... Oh so this is stupid now is it?"

The hitter was thoroughly incensed now. His blue eyes were sparking dangerously and even though he's had trouble keeping himself upright due to the concussion and broken bones, the anger seemed to straighten him up, bring things into focus. He took a couple of dangerous steps closer as he spoke, his voice oddly calm and low in contrast to his aggressive demeanor

"What next Parker?... huh? What next... Am I stupid too?... Is that why I keep bustin' my ass everyday trying to keep all of you safe?... tryin' to keep you safe?..."

He was almost in her face now and Parker was, for the first time feeling real fear. The kind that roots you to a spot, captures and paralyses you. She felt like a small animal in front of a hungry lion. She was going to be lunch and there was nothing she could do.

"Is that what you think Parker?... That I am too stupid to do anything else? Or that anyone else can do what I do?... Maybe I should stop doing it from now on... Maybe I'll get myself out when something bad happens in the next job and leave you to take care of things. Wouldn't you like that?"

There was no way she could've opened her mouth to say anything even if she'd wanted to but as it was there was nothing she could say. She'd overstepped the line by asking the hitter to 'get over it' that day, her panic at her emotions making her say the one thing she shouldn't have. She knew how much Eliot did for the team and also knew that rarely did he expect anything in return. The only thing he did expect from the rest of them was the respect that they gave each other and she'd taken it away from him that day. Now she had to suffer the consequences. So she closed her eyes and prepared herself for the storm she knew was coming.

Oddly, that seemed to spark his temper even more and she suddenly felt Eliot move away.

"You know what Parker... I am done. I am hurt, I am exhausted and I am just... tired of all this. I am tired of being treated like an automaton. So you can leave now and keep away. okay?"

She heard him walk to the door slowly, pull it open and stand next to it, waiting for her to leave. Swallowing hard, Parker tried to get the courage to say something.

"Eliot... I-"

"Leave Parker... I am tired of playing these games with you. If you want to be entertained, go play with Hardison and just leave me alone okay? I will continue working with the team... working with you. I am a professional and I am not about to let my feelings affect my job. But you have to promise me one thing... Stay out of my life. Is that clear?"

"El-"

"Go Parker... Please"

It was the 'please' that did it. She could see that he meant what he was saying and hanging her head, the thief stepped out of Eliot's house, turning once only to see the door click shut with a finality behind her. She'd played her part and now she had to live with the consequences of her actions.

She'd made a mistake in her panic and while it might not seem a big one at all, it was the one thing that could hurt and alienate the hitter. She'd succeeded in hurting the one person who'd looked beyond her crazy personality to see the real person beneath. She'd pushed away the one guy who could've given her the normality and safety she craved and she'd done it so well that he didn't even want to see her now.

Maybe one day they might be able to get over this, she might be able to explain her actions and they might even end up being closer friends or more, but today wasn't that day. It wasn't time yet to explain and maybe it wouldn't that day for quite some time.

But Parker was sure that one day, she would make sure Eliot knew of her feelings no matter what he felt or didn't feel. Until then, she just hoped that the small family that they'd created for themselves would remain intact.

She'd set out to protect herself from them and discovered that there was no need for that. Then she'd tried to protect them from her and had ended up hurting one of them in the process. She would make up for her mistakes in due time and in every way, but today, she had to live with her decisions no matter what they cost her.

A/N: So there it is... I am gonna be posting the next chapter very soon, so stay tuned...

Please don't forget to review your thoughts and ideas... they are almost better than getting hugs from Eliot ;P

So keep reading and reviewing

Lotsa luv

Macybear