AN: ¿Hay algo mal? = Is there something wrong?

Sí = yes

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CHAPTER 3

Grief

Eliot's laugh cut off as he opened the door to the loft. He and Gemma had been out all morning. He'd taken her to see some of the sights and had shown her all the places he and his pack frequented. But as they'd come into the loft he was hit with the scent of sadness and hard liquor.

He checked his pack bonds and realized that Parker had cut him off somehow. He could feel their presence, he would have noticed if the entire pack had suddenly gone missing, but he couldn't feel anything that they were feeling.

Gemma picked up on his unease and gripped his hand tighter.

Sophie stood up from the kitchen table and went to Eliot pulling him into a hug. "I'm so sorry Eliot."

Eliot felt the skin on his neck prickle. "What's happened?"

"Sarah died this morning." She gripped his shoulders and watched his face.

He felt her words hit him in the chest like a fist. He heard Parker whimper and guessed that she'd just felt what he had. He intentionally straightened up and got a grip on himself. "How long ago did you find out?"

"About an hour ago." Sophie's smile was soft, comforting. She looked over her shoulder with a little frown. "I am a bit worried about Parker. She's refusing to come out of the vents."

"And the others?"

"They're dealing in their own way."

Eliot patted Sophie's hand before he turned to Gemma. "Remember the little girl I told you about from our last job?"

Gemma nodded.

"That's Sarah." His wolf whined. "Apparently we didn't get her the treatments in time."

Gemma hugged Eliot hard, trying to press how much she cared, and how sorry she was into the embrace. He held her gently and kissed the top of her head when she let him go.

"I need to check on the others." He kissed her forehead.

Sophie and Gemma watched as Eliot leapt easily up into the rafter's above the kitchen. He slid along the beams toward the nearest vent cover and rapped a knuckle lightly against it.

"Parker, darlin', would you come out please?" Eliot's tone was soothing and solicitous.

There was no answer.

"Parker, if you don't come out of there I'll have to come in. Remember what happened last time?"

"You broke the door and bent up the vent." She sounded sad and annoyed.

A smirk crossed Eliot's face. "Yep."

"Don't break the latch on the vent cover."

"What's it gonna take to get you outta there? Sophie is worried about you and I'm sure Hardison could use your company."

"It's my fault."

"What happened to Sarah is not your fault."

"It is."

"Parker, come outta there so we can talk. Please."

"Did Quinn tell you to say please? He says he has nice manners."

Eliot huffed. "No, he didn't tell me to, but I figured it couldn't hurt."

Parker crawled forward enough that Eliot could see her through the fins of the vent cover. "It is my fault."

"No, sweetheart, it's not your fault." Eliot tapped lightly against the vent cover. "If it's anyone's fault, it's the shitty insurance company."

The vent cover swung open. Parker was still laying on her belly and the tear tracks down her cheeks were obvious.

"Why didn't you call me when you found out?"

"You were with Gemma and you were happy. Ruining your date wouldn't have made Sarah less dead." She sniffled.

Eliot reached into the vent and hooked his hands under Parkers arms. He slid her almost all the way out of the vent and pulled her to his chest.

Her toes were still in the vent, but she didn't seem to care. She rested her head on Eliot's shoulder. "I waited a week before we started that job. If I had started it right away maybe she would have lived."

"We couldn't have started that job any earlier. You made the right call. Sarah was so sick before we even started the job that I'm not sure a week would have made a difference." Eliot rubbed comforting circles on her back and pretended not to notice the warm tears leaking onto his shoulder.

After a moment, when he thought that his back couldn't stand to watch hers bend the way it was another second, he patted her back. "Come on. You need to give me back the bonds, and Hardison, I'm sure, needs you."

Swinging from his arm like a miniature Tarzan she dangled and seemed content to remain there. Eventually Parker let go and landed lightly. She stepped to the side and waited. Eliot dropped from the beam. He didn't land as silently as Parker had but he did a creditable job. When he stood Parker leaned against his chest and he rocked her there for a moment.

"Alright. Now the bonds." He kissed her hair again.

Gemma saw the flash of pain on Eliot's face before he locked away what he was feeling.

Parker walked slowly up to the room that she and Hardison shared.

Eliot glanced at Sophie and Gemma before he headed for the gym. As he rounded the kitchen island he could see Nate, sitting at Hardison's desk and tossing back a shot from a half empty bottle of Glenlivet that he was sure had been full when Nate had started.

In the gym Eliot found Quinn sitting on the floor next to his wooden Wing-Chun dummy. Quinn's knuckles were smeared with blood and there were several fist sized pock marks in the wooden pole. Eliot crouched down next to Quinn and put a hand on his shoulder.

"What's the point in bein' the good guys when it doesn't change anything?" Quinn looked at the blood on his hands.

"We win some and we lose some. We win more than most but there's somethings even we can't change." Eliot could feel anger flare in Quinn and the restlessness of Quinn's wolf. He let the power that made him Alpha roll into his words as he gave Quinn an order. "Quinn, I need you to get cleaned up and run to Treyson's. Find out if Charlie will be helping us tomorrow. Then run to Julio's and invite them both to dinner tonight."

"Yes Alpha." Quinn stood and Eliot stood with him.

Eliot pulled Quinn into a firm hug. "You'll be fine and so will the rest of the pack."

Quinn nodded and moved off to get cleaned up and carry out his order.

Eliot followed Quinn out and was about to head upstairs to check on Hardison and Parker but he felt a shift in the bonds that told him that they needed their privacy. Instead he headed to the kitchen and started pulling out the things he'd need to make pumpkin pie. He and Gemma had come back because he still had ten pies to make for the soup kitchen for Thanksgiving.

Gemma watched as Eliot started moving through the kitchen. She could tell that while he was very efficient in his actions his mind wasn't involved in what he was doing. It made her so sad to think that he'd dealt with enough bad things that he had a routine, a way to handle it, that was obviously familiar and well used.

Gemma couldn't stand to watch him like that, so she went to him and smiled when he hugged her.

Feeling what his pack did made what he was feeling seem heavier but it felt better than knowing that they were dealing with it without him. But Gemma's arms around his waist and her warm soft weight against his chest suddenly made the burden lighter.

He kissed her hair as he let her go. "I gotta get those pies done and get dinner started."

She wiped a finger under one eye and gave him a soft smile. "Teach me to make pie?" She didn't actually care about making pie, but she wanted to be near him.

He slid his hand into hers and laced their fingers together. "Alright."

Just like when he'd taught her to make eggs, he leaned her back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. He gave her directions on what spices to use and how much.

As she leaned against him, he couldn't help the purr that rumbled in his chest. His wolf knew that Gemma liked it and if she was content, so was the wolf. She shivered when she felt it start and hummed with a little smile. Eliot couldn't help his smile and he kissed her cheek.

Quinn had changed into sweats and a windbreaker and was hurrying down the stairs.

"Quinn?" Eliot waited until he knew that he had Quinn's attention.

"Make sure to keep it under eight. You don't want to attract extra attention. And you don't need to rush there's no hurry to deliver the messages."

"Yes Alpha." Quinn went to the stairs and they could all hear his heavy footfalls as he hurried down the stairs and out to the loading dock.

"Keep what under eight?" Gemma looked up at Eliot.

"His speed. If he runs faster than eight miles an hour it will attract attention." He kissed her forehead and gave her a nudge to get her back to measuring ingredients.

"Isn't that a long way for him to run?" Sophie asked as she moved from the kitchen table to the kitchen island.

"It's only fifteen miles round trip and he needs to be moving at least." Eliot looked at the door to the stairs. "He'd feel better after a good fight but I just don't have time for it right now. Maybe later."

"And how about you? Do you need a good fight?" Sophie asked. She remembered a few times when a job had gone badly and Eliot had gone out and provoked a bar fight or beaten a mugger.

Eliot shook his head with a small smile. He gave Gemma a gentle squeeze. "No. Besides there's just too much food to make right now."

. ͽϿ Ѻ Ͼͼ .

Quinn could feel his pulse pounding in his neck and the cold bite of the wind on his face and he tried to focus on those things to the exclusion of all else. He let his whole world become his pulse and his heel strike on the pavement, and the pumping of his arms.

His Alpha had ordered him to stay under eight miles an hour and that was the only thing holding him back from running until his heart burst.

He knew that his pack did their best to be the good guys, to help people. And while he found some of Eliot's rules to be ridiculous, he'd been enjoying playing at being the good guy. He'd never expected it to hurt. When he'd killed people, he didn't consider whether they deserved it or not. He didn't consider who else would be hurt by it. And it certainly didn't keep him up at night. He'd found the good-guy-work to be more fulfilling, but he'd never before considered what it would be like if they didn't win.

It seemed like he'd barely left the pub, but he could make out Treyson's as he rounded the corner. As he slowed a little, he finally started to think about what Eliot had told him to do. He was supposed to ask Charlie if she was still planning on helping them serve food at the soup kitchen. Quinn shook his head when he realized what Eliot had done. They all knew that Charlie was looking forward to helping there was no question about if she was coming. Eliot was just giving him the chance to move and see a friendly face.

Eliot was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for and even Quinn fell into that trap now and again. He smiled a little as he opened the front door to the gym.

"I like the new door." Quinn commented as he went to the desk.

"You say that every time." Charlie rolled her eyes in feigned exasperation.

"Doesn't make it less true." Quinn put on a bright smile.

Charlie looked him over and wasn't buying the smile. "What's up?"

"Eliot sent me to check on you. Make sure you're coming to the soup kitchen tomorrow."

"You guys know I'm looking forward to it." She waited a beat. "Why are you really here?"

Quinn huffed. Even Charlie had figured it out faster than he had. "We had a job go bad and I think Eliot just wanted me to go for a run so I could work through things. I actually didn't put that together until about a block ago."

"Go bad?" Charlie frowned.

"Our client's daughter died." Quinn felt his wolf's urge to whine and closed his eyes for a second.

"This was a customer of the consulting business?"

Quinn nodded. "We tried to help a family but we couldn't help in time to save their little girl."

Charlie walked around the desk and pulled Quinn into a hug. "I'm sorry. That really sucks."

He held her for a moment before he stepped away. "Thanks."

. ͽϿ Ѻ Ͼͼ .

Eliot was unsurprised to see Julio and Chrissa come through the door before Quinn made it back.

"Knock, knock." Julio announced their presence as they came through the door.

"Come on in." Eliot called from his place in front of the oven.

"Quinn said we should come for dinner tonight?" Julio looked around, picking up on the somber tone of the room.

"Thanks for coming." Eliot wiped his finger on his apron before untying the strings.

"¿Hay algo mal?" Chrissa asked as she set a bowl of mashed potatoes on the counter.

"Sí." Eliot gave her a quick hug. "A job ended badly. Just so you know I think most of us here speak Spanish."

"Not me." Gemma grimaced.

"Me either." Hardison chimed in from the living room couch.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude." Chrissa held her hand out. "I'm Chrissa Mendoza."

"Gemma." Gemma held her hand out across the counter.

"Gemma?!" Chrissa smiled and hurried around the counter. "I hope you're good with hugs because I think I just have to hug you!"

Gemma smiled and slid off her stool to accept the hug.

"Me too." Julio smiled and gave Gemma a quick firm hug.

Eliot stepped up next to Gemma. "This is Julio and Chrissa. My old army buddy and his wife."

"The pastor?" Gemma glanced at Eliot.

He nodded.

"The very same." Julio smiled as he slid his hands into his pockets.

The door from the stairs opened again as Quinn came in. He wiped his face on the inside of his shirt as he closed the door behind him.

"Feeling any better."

"Yes Alpha." Quinn nodded.

"Catch a shower and get ready for dinner." Eliot made sure that there was no power behind his words.

Quinn hurried up the stairs to his room.

"Wow, must have been bad if he's back to calling you Alpha." Chrissa observed.

"It was the first job he's been on with us that ended badly and I think it caught him a little sideways." Eliot was still looking at the top of the stairs. "Caught us all a little off guard."

Chrissa pulled Eliot into a hug. "I'm so glad you called us so we could help carry the burden."

Eliot patted her back. "I appreciate you guys coming over."

Julio had rounded the end of the couch but when he caught sight of Nate he went back to the kitchen. He leaned against the counter near Eliot with his back to the living room. In low tones he asked, "Nate doing okay?"

Eliot shook his head and replied quietly "No, today hit pretty close to home. His son died when he was denied treatment and that's pretty much what happened to Sarah today."

Julio nodded. "Got an extra glass?" He motioned like he was taking a shot.

"Cupboard over the coffee maker. Don't try going shot for shot with him." Eliot advised.

"Don't worry. Not my first rodeo." Julio clapped Eliot on the shoulder as he headed for the cupboard.

Gemma watched as Julio took a shot glass and headed into the living room. She looked at Chrissa with a little frown. "Your husband drinks?"

Chrissa chuckled. "Yes. He's found that it opens a lot of doors. He's never been drunk in all the years I've known him, so I won't complain. Some of the vets that he works with wouldn't talk to him at all until he had a beer or a shot with them. I'm sure he just wants to talk with Nate and he just wants to put him at ease."

"You'll find that it's hard to shake Chrissa and Julio. They've even managed to take a bunch of werewolves in stride." Eliot smiled fondly at Chrissa.

"And you guys keep us praying all the time. It's been very good for our faith." She gave him a wink.

Quinn came back downstairs in a fresh suit but hadn't bothered with a tie.

Gemma held an arm out to him and he took her hand. She pulled him close and slid her arm around him in a sideways hug. He rubbed a hand up and down her other arm.

"Thanks." He gave her a small smile and sat next to her.

Eliot got everyone that was willing rounded up for dinner. Nate excused himself and headed upstairs but the rest gathered around the kitchen.

Julio gave Eliot's shoulder a squeeze. "You mind if I…?"

"Go ahead." Eliot grasped Gemma's hand and bowed his head. The others followed suit.

"Father God, I just want to thank you for Eliot and his people. They bring a lot of good into this world and that is often unnoticed. Please bless them and comfort them as they deal with the loss of this child they were working to help. Please bless this food to our bodies. In your Son's precious name. Amen." Julio patted Eliot's shoulder before he and Chrissa stepped to the side.

Parker leaned in toward Eliot. "I still don't think the food tastes any different after he prays."

"That's not the point of praying." Eliot rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say Sparky." Parker skipped ahead and started filling her plate.