Your Special Day

Eliot's birthday was in his service record, so it was easy for Hardison to find. That first year there had been some grumbling about people being intrusive and nosey. But the grumbling hadn't lasted long since there was steak and beer to go with the announcement. And after the first time Eliot didn't put up much of a fuss when they celebrated his birthday from then on.

Nate's Birthday was even easier, since the man still carried his actual driver's license. So there really hadn't been any snooping required. Nate submitted graciously enough to a birthday dinner and bottle of Glenlivet. Most years after that followed much the same routine.

Sophie didn't wait for Hardison or anyone else to figure out when her birthday was. She loudly announced that it was her birthday and she fully expected everyone to cater to her for the day. Eliot was given instructions on what cake would be best and the rest of them were all told what they could do to contribute. Every year Sophie's birthday was celebrated much the same way as well.

Hardison hadn't made as big a deal out of his birthday as Sophie had, but he certainly hadn't kept it a secret either. Without having to be asked Eliot always had Hardison's favorite cake ready. And since they'd moved to Portland Eliot usually included a special meal as well.

Parker on the other hand didn't seem to understand birthdays and certainly didn't celebrate her own, even privately. There had been many years that she had just plane forgotten it. Hardison had had to work for that one. After the fake psychic job, he'd eventually tracked down Parker's records so that he could gift her with pictures of her family from before she was in foster care. In finding the information he needed to track down the pictures, he'd found her birthday. But Parker was secretive about her past, possibly even more than Eliot was about his. So Hardison didn't feel right announcing her birthday to the team like he had Eliot's and Nate's, but he didn't want her birthday to go unnoticed either.

(Boston, months after Hardison discovers Parker's birthday)

Parker had spent the night hanging in one of her custom rigs in an unused elevator shaft not far from her own warehouse. Last night she felt like she might have been followed to her warehouse, so she'd grabbed her rigging and bunny and left through the ventilation system. Parker woke in the dark with the musty smell of the elevator shaft to remind her where she was. Checking her phone, she could tell it was still early, but she was hungry and ready for company.

It had taken her a while to get used to working with other people but now it was something she enjoyed, mostly. What really surprised her was that she missed the team when she wasn't around them. Other than her brother and maybe her parents she couldn't really remember ever missing anyone before. Archie had made it clear that he was her mentor in all things criminal, but they weren't family and she had never really missed him. Hardison kept saying that they were more than a team and that they were family. Everyone on the team had done things to prove that they valued her and for more than just her skills as a thief, but she still wasn't really sure about the family thing.

Parker arrived on the rooftop of Nate's building, and she thought about using the roof access to gain entrance but that meant that she would have to go through the apartment door. After feeling like someone had followed her the night before she just couldn't make herself go to an expected entry point. Instead, she used a rope from her rigging to drop down to one of the living room windows. The second one over had a loose lock that she could have accessed in her sleep, so it took her no time at all to jimmy it and slide into the apartment.

Eliot noticed Parker slide in through the window. "Good. You're here just in time."

"Just in time for what Sparky?" Parker found it a little uncomfortable that she was 'expected.'

"Breakfast." Eliot set a plate on the table for her. "Hardison should be back any second now."

Parker looked at the plate Eliot had set on the table. There was a bunny shaped pancake with blueberry eyes and a chocolate nose and whiskers. Parker loved bunny shaped pancakes, but she didn't know how Eliot could know that. She was sure she'd never mentioned it. More suspicious than him knowing what she liked was the fact that he'd made them un-asked and had expected her to be there.

Eliot came back with a platter of regular pancakes and a plate of fruit. Next were the little pitchers that he only ever used for syrup. He set a smaller one in front of her plate, and she could see that it was darker and thicker than the syrup in the other little pitchers. She picked it up and was surprised by how warm it was. Taking a sniff, she realized it was some kind of chocolate sauce. It was obvious that she was getting special treatment, but she wasn't sure why and that made her nervous.

Before long everyone had gathered around Nate's table. Sophie fussed over how many calories were probably in Eliot's big breakfast feast and Nate grumbled about everyone making themselves at home in his apartment. Hardison kept asking her if there was anything else she wanted with her breakfast and commented on how cute her bunny pancakes were. Sophie noted the fact that Parker got special pancakes that the rest of them hadn't gotten. Eliot growled at them all that the food would get cold and go to waste if they didn't shut their yaps and get to eating.

After breakfast Sophie announced that there was a fantastic sale on designer shoes, and she would probably be unreachable for the rest of the day. Nate poured a large splash of scotch into his coffee and went upstairs without a word. Eliot started clearing up from breakfast but paused by Parker's chair.

"Didja get enough to eat darlin?"

"Yes." Parker waited until Eliot was almost back to the kitchen sink. "Why did I get special food and no one else did?"

"I just thought you'd like something a little different today. No reason really." Eliot didn't look at her as he finished loading the dishwasher.

"Parker?" Hardison called from the couch. "I got a couple tickets to the aquarium. You wanna go?"

"The aquarium? Like where the fish live?" Parker frowned. "Why?"

"I just thought it might be fun. We don't have a job today. So…" Hardison shrugged.

Parker liked spending time with Hardison. He was always nice to her and being close to him made her feel…well it just made her feel. "Okay, I guess."

"I got somethings to do this morning, but I'll meet you guys for lunch." Eliot pulled his coat on as he headed for the front door.

Hardison and Parker spent the morning wandering from one exhibit to the next. Parker noticed that Hardison let her make all the decisions. Which tank they went to and how long they stayed to look at the fish. He bought her an ice cream and took a picture of her with the seals. It was nice but Parker couldn't quite relax into it. First Eliot's breakfast and now this. It felt like they were up to something.

Just after one in the afternoon they left the aquarium and Hardison took them to restaurant down the street. Eliot was already there at a table near one of the exit doors. Parker always approved of Eliot's seating choices. He was like her in that he always wanted a good exit path and a defensible seat. Eliot had already ordered for them, and the food arrived very shortly after they did. Parker stared at her sandwich for a moment. It was another one of her favorites. She tended not to think too much about food, and it wasn't important to her like it was to Eliot but what she liked, she liked, and the rest didn't really matter to her. But how had Eliot known? And why was he doing this? At the end of the meal the waiter brought them all slices of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Parker eyed Eliot suspiciously.

"The chef here is an acquaintance, and he recommended the cake." Eliot said with a shrug before he took the first bite.

Parker had to admit that the cake was delicious, but she still felt like the boys were up to something.

After lunch Hardison asked if they wanted head back to Nate's place for a movie. He'd 'aquired' a copy of a new movie that was out and he thought it might be something they all could enjoy.

"As long as it ain't a chick-flic I'm in." Eliot started to walk down the street to his charger. "You guys want a ride or did one of you drive?"

Before long they were back at Nate's and Hardison was queueing up the movie. Eliot was making kettle corn and Parker was observing them both from the back of one of the armchairs. "What's going on?"

"What do ya mean Parker?" Eliot asked as he poured popcorn into a huge bowl.

"You're both being weird and …and… nice to me. Why? What's going on?"

Eliot glared at Hardison and that was all the confirmation that Parker needed. They were both in on it, whatever it was. She didn't understand it and she didn't like it. They hadn't done anything wrong, but she'd learned through hard experiences that sometimes people were nice for bad reasons. But she trusted Hardison and Eliot. Really trusted them. She was sure that they wouldn't hurt her or betray her, but they were obviously up to something.

Parker ran from the room. Eliot growled in frustration as he watched her slam the door on her way out. "You better go an explain things." He waited for Hardison to follow after Parker. "Now!"

Hardison found Parker on the little wall that edged the roof. She was hugging one knee and letting the other leg dangle in the air off the edge of the building. "Parker, can I talk to you?" Hardison waited until she looked at him and nodded.

"We really didn't mean to upset you. We just…" Hardison's words trailed off when he saw a tear roll down Parker's cheek. "I'm sorry." Hardison knew that Parker was direct and appreciated that in others. She sometimes seemed to have a hard time following social queues or suggestions, so Hardison decided to be as direct as possible. "What did we do wrong?"

"Why were you being nice?" Parker turned to face Hardison so she could see if he was lying to her. People could twist words around but very few could lie with their bodies too. Sophie had been working with her to teach her how to hear meanings in words that were conveyed through tone and not just the words, but the rest of the team was a lot better at that than Parker was. She'd grown up mostly on the streets and she could tell a lot more about what someone really meant by how they stood and what they did with their hands or shoulders.

"I wanted to make today special for you." Hardison shrugged. For a moment he thought about sitting near Parker on the little wall that made up the top edge of the building but the thought of how high up they were made him decide against it. "We've had some kind of birthday celebration for everyone on the team but you, and I…" Hardison saw the look of understanding cross Parker's face followed by suspicion. "I…" She stood and Hardison had a momentary flash of Parker throwing him from the roof for snooping into her personal details.

"You found my birthday when you found the picture of Mattie?" Parker wrapped her arms around herself.

"Yes." Hardison waited but she didn't make a move to shove him off the ledge. "I didn't tell the others. I asked Eliot to help me with today, but I didn't tell him why."

"He knows." Parker knew how smart Eliot was. She'd seen how he covered up his intelligence with his southern accent and growly attitude, but she wasn't fooled.

"Probably. I knew you didn't…aren't ready to share some things with us yet and that's okay but I wanted you to have a special day."

(Parker's birthday in Portland after the team knows that Eliot is a werewolf.)

The light was streaming through the window, across the nightstand, and right into Parker's face. She blinked and held a hand up to shade her eyes. Hardison usually kept the blinds closed so that they could sleep-in, but there was a hum of excitement in the pack bonds this morning, so she was sure he'd left the blinds open on purpose. As she slid out of bed she noticed the note on the nightstand. There was a three-carat diamond sitting on top of Hardison's chicken-scratch handwriting.

Pretzels

The one word note made her smile and so did the diamond. As she came down the stairs, she could smell pancakes and bacon. "Smells yummy."

"Good. Sit down so we can eat before it gets cold." Eliot was growly but Parker didn't mind since she knew that was just his default setting. She could feel a deep sense of satisfaction and just a little anticipation coming from him through the bonds.

Hardison was waiting for her at the table with a smile and a warm cup of coffee. She knew he'd fixed it up with extra sugar for her and it made her smile to know that he remembered all the little things. When she sat down Eliot slid a plate in front of her that had a bunny pancake on it. "What's going on?" She asked even though she already knew. This had become a regular thing over the years.

"I got no idea what you're talking about." Eliot growled as he set the rest of the food on the table. "Just eat your food. We got a big day today."

"Really?" Parker savored the smell of the chocolate sauce before she drowned her pancake in it.

"Yep. Eliot found some cliff out past his cabin that he thinks would be perfect for you to test out your new gear on and I found a job for us." Hardison said the last around a mouthful of food.

"Swallow before you choke." Eliot glared at Hardison.

"A job?" Parker asked as she took a big bite.

"There's a jewelry store in Toledo that's been dealing in stolen merchandise. I thought you might enjoy a good heist today." Hardison smiled.

Before long they were all dressed and ready to go. Eliot was loading the last of their gear into Lucille. "Thanks for the bunny pancake." Parker leaned into Eliot's side.

"It's your special day." He kissed the top of her head before he turned and headed to the driver seat. "Come on Hardison let's go! What's the hold up here?" He growled as he got behind the wheel.

Parker still hadn't directly told the whole team about her family, or her birthday, or even her real name, but it didn't matter. Hardison knew because he'd found the information and because she'd told him about it later. She was sure that Eliot knew even though he pretended not to. Nate and Sophie knew when her birthday was because the boys made it a special day every year, and she knew they would call her later today, and pretend it was for no reason at all. She was so glad that they had shown her how good it could be to have your own special day even if they didn't know when her birthday was.