Chapter 3

Two weeks later they were on their way to a house tucked away in the mountains, the estate was situated on a large property and boarded by natural forests. The house was enormous with eight suites one for each of them with some to spare, it also had a games room with both snooker and pool tables, a large swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi and a small screening room, as well as many other features. The kitchen as a chef's dream and Eliot had been well pleased when Hardison had shown him pictures of the place.

Eliot sat staring out of the window of the helicopter that was taking them up to their mountain hideaway, it had been decided not to drive, that way there was no way for Nate to run away from anything. This getaway was not only for Nate he thought, but it was also for all of them, even if the main aim of the trip was to try and help the man deal with his demons. The truth was they all had demons that lurked stemming from the events that had taken place on that island just over a year ago and none of them had really talked about it or dealt with it, they were too worried about Nate to realise that they too needed to let it all out. They had to talk about the guilt they felt, the feelings of shame, the emotional pain they had gone though knowing that Nate was out there suffering for their sakes and not being able to find him, not having been able to prevent the whole thing from happening. Then there had been Nate leaving shortly after getting him back and everything that had happened with the son of the man who had taken him. Eliot sighed as he wondered if they would ever really recover, any of them.

Finally they arrived at their destination and they all climbed out of the helicopter, their luggage for the month had been brought up earlier by road, Hardison had organised everything so that all would be in place when they arrived.

"Can I or can't I…." He asked as he stood in front of them a wide smile on his face as he spread his arms indicating the property behind him nodding and doing a slight bounce as was his way of showing how pleased he was with himself.

"You can." Nate smiled at him.

"Shall we go inside." Sophie asked taking Nate's arm and smiling at him. Nate nodded and started walking up the little path from the helipad to the house.

As they walked Hardison told them all what they could expect inside from the individual suites to the games room and outside entertainment. He told them he had the placed stocked with everything they may want or need for the duration of their stay and that he had organised that cleaning staff that would come in and take care of everything on a daily basis, and if they wanted anything else it was just a phone call away as the manager of the estate would ensure that whatever they wanted or needed would be delivered. Nate noted that they had flown in and there was no mention of any vehicles being available if they wanted to leave, with the manager brining what they needed in. Was that so that he could not leave when they started to do whatever they were planning to do he wondered. He knew they were here for more than just a holiday, but he decided not to dwell on it for too long and just deal with whatever happened when and if it did.

"You have really outdone yourself this time Hardison." Sophie breathed as they entered the house. It was large airy and everything that a luxurious haven should be.

"Did you doubt me…did you?" Hardison said smiling at her. "Now all your luggage has been put in your suites." He said then told them all where their rooms were.

The living room they had walked into was large and brightly lit from the sunlight streaming through the large glass doors that opened onto a large balcony overlooking the valley below, it was furnished with overstuffed chairs and a sofa. The living room itself had a well-stocked fully fledged bar to the one side and chairs and sofa's scattered around. There appeared to be a reading nook on the far side with a library of books on a bookshelf behind the two large chairs that had a table between it with a large set up chess set displayed on it.

"What a gorgeous view." Sophie called out as she walked out onto the balcony which overlooked a deep valley, there was a small dam a short distance away and the grounds were bordered by a large overgrown forest.

Eliot looked around and nodded his approval at the place. It was perfect, large, and airy so it would not give any of them the feeling that they were cramped up or in each other's faces, that was good. There was plenty to do here which was also a good thing, Hardison had thought of everything and he was impressed, although he would never tell the man that.

Nate looked around then headed to the bar and poured himself a whiskey and a wine for Sophie before joining her on the balcony. He handed her the wine and then looked out over the view that she was staring out at.

"Beautiful isn't it?" She said as she took her wine.

"I thought you were more of a city girl?" He smiled at her as he took a sip of his whiskey.

"Doesn't mean I can't appreciate beauty when I see it." She said turning back to look out at the forest below.

Nate smiled and raked his eyes over her body taking in every inch of her, she turned to look at him and blushed slightly at the need in his eyes.

"You are right, and I do, I appreciate every inch of it." He said slyly making her blush even more as he smiled at her.

"You are a terrible man Nate." She said softly leaning in for a kiss which he deepened.

"Hey guys we here too…" Hardison said playfully as they all trooped onto the balcony after retrieving some snacks and drinks for themselves.

"This is really great Hardison." Nate said pulling away from Sophie.

"Thanks man…I thought maybe being out here would be good for us."

"There are lots of places for us to practice." Parker said as she plopped herself down on one of the comfortable chairs.

"Practice?" Hardison asked looking at her quizzically.

"Repelling silly, this balcony is what about four stories up." She said happily.

"Nah ah girl, I ain't repelling, this is a holiday man." Hardison said suddenly getting a scared look on his face as he watched her smile and munch away on the chips she had brought out with her. "Look we have a pool, a games room a screening room…there ain't no reason to go repelling man."

"It looks like there should be some good hiking and fishing here." Eliot said ignoring the banter that continued between the two as he looked out at the dam below and the forest behind it.

"Well I am going to enjoy some sunbathing and generally doing nothing for a whole month…" Sophie said then turned to Nate and raised her eyes in a question.

"Oh I have lot of reading to catch up on and doing nothing sounds great." Nate smiled at her.

"I'm going to check out the kitchen." Eliot said then turned and left them making his way to the kitchen to see what Hardison had stocked it with and to plan out their meal for that night.

"Well he is going to be in his element." Sophie said watching him go.

"I think…" Nate said as he turned around taking her hand. "We should go and see what our rooms look like, I could do with a shower and change of clothes it was a long trip to get here."

Sophie nodded and put her arm though his as they walked back inside towards the steps that led up to the rooms on the second floor. It had been a long trip, they were up early and took a taxi to their airport, then the flight, then the chopper flight and it was now late afternoon.

"It's the perfect place Hardison." Parker said after they left. "Thank you."

"Hey girl." He said smiling at her. "We all need this, I want him back, really back, I want this family back…I mean really back."

"We all do." Parker said. "We will get him back and our family, we will…" She said softly.