Part One: She's Got Issues – The Offspring
Part Two: Happier – Bastille
Part Three: Beautiful Disaster – Jon McGlaughlin
Part Four: Warrior - Kimbra
Part 1: She's Got Issues – The Offspring
Parker's eyes opened into Elliot's. He was leaning above her, staring down into her face. He appeared to be searching for something, though what it was she had no clue. She returned his smile just the same.
Now that she was awake, Elliott satisfied himself that her pupils had returned to their regular size, and the corners of his frown lifted. All of the testing was out of the way and she'd finally given her statement (mostly with nods, grunts, and one word answers). In real time the hitter hadn't left her side for the last 36 hours. But now that it was over, he could finally speak the words they both were so desperate to hear.
"It's time to go home Parker."
The thief blinked, doing a double take and trying to process this new information, yet not quite believing it.
"Does this mean you don't have to keep me from crawling through the vents today?"
Eliot rolled his eyes. Again. He'd been doing that a lot lately. Despite a few close calls, he'd managed to keep her safe in solitary confinement. But she sure as hell hadn't made it easy. He was beginning to think he needed yet another "Parker break". But Sophie was already en route to his apartment to get things set up for her visit.
"Guess I should mention you're coming home with me for a few days so I can keep an eye on you. Lucky for me, the vents in my apartment are too small for you to get your ass into. I've watched you try."
The thief scowled. "I could if I really wanted to…" She mumbled, knowing full well it was a show of pride. She just hated admitting it when other people were right. Especially when others were hitters with big heads and inflated egos.
Before she could get in another retort, however, the door popped opened to the nurse on duty, wheeling a chair into the room. "All the paperwork has been signed and you are free to go Ms. Alice. Why don't you let me help you to your chair?"
"Allow me." Eliot grinned, turning back on the charm. He had indeed signed all the paperwork – complete with his number at the bottom and a promise from Nurse Sarah to call as soon as she got off duty.
Parker glared straight through him the whole time he was helping her. His hands may have been on her, but his eyes were all over Nurse Slutty…a nickname the poor girl had earned as she was always making an excuse to come in the room saying "I know what you need..." to Eliot, rather than her actual patient. So far, he'd gotten free sodas, brand new magazines, extra pillows, and what she could only assume was a snack pile that he'd been rationing out to keep her quiet.
Once the thief's bottom hit the seat, Eliot went over to properly thank his newfound one-night-stand until Parker finally snapped, waving her hand emphatically back and forth in front of their faces. "Hey! Hello!? CAN YOU TWO CAN SUCK FACE LATER?! There's a PATIENT STILL in the ROOM!
Eliot smiled apologetically at his new friend, and turned his head oh-so-slowly towards the bane of his existence. His whole face was saying: Can you just not right now? Though he managed to mutter "Can you just give us a second here?"
Unfortunately for him, the Thief took it as a personal challenge. "Okay! I guess that means you want me to wheel myself…"
Eliot's face fell back into its usual scowl. "Really Alice? That's how you wanna play this?"
"Alice" took one look at Eliot and grinned in a way that made his stomach drop. "Race you to the car!" She squealed. And with that the thief wheeled herself straight out the door and down the hall leaving Eliot and his naughty nurse in a cloud of dust.
The hitter pinched the bridge of his nose before excusing himself from his present company. Knowing she was either headed to break into a snack machine or steal cake from the cafeteria, he wasted no time in following. Both options made his head hurt. But one simply couldn't leave Parker alone to wreak havoc in a crowded hospital – even if it meant cutting his current romantic tryst short.
"DAMMIT PARKER! SLOW DOWN BEFORE YOU HIT SOMETHING!"
Elliot yelled, picking up speed to cut her off at the pass.
They didn't pay him enough for this…
Part 2: I Want You To Be Happier
"We're here." Eliot growled.
"FINALLY!" Parker whined. She was still mad at him for taking her cake away and eating it himself.
Just knowing he'd pissed her off put the hitter in a much better mood. The thief deserved it after making him chase her all over the flipping hospital. Thank God she hadn't injured herself or someone else – although if she were to do so they had definitely been in the right place. He couldn't say he hadn't been tempted, either. But the less time they spent in that godawful place together, the better.
He had to admit though that all of her antics had made them both forget what they were in for, and now sitting in the parking lot, preparing to face the others – made it all come crashing back down.
"You got Bunny?" Eliot offered, making sure her prized possession was still with her. He was halfway prepared to go back to the hospital and retrieve it – to do anything he could think of to make her feel better. But it wasn't necessary. Parker refused to let Bunny out of her sight. Not even to steal a piece of cake. And he only knew that because she'd tried to blame the whole thing on the stuffed rabbit - saying it was her idea to pop a wheelie and grab dessert.
Parker wasted no time in taking the stuffed animal from her hiding spot and clutching it once more to her chest. "See?"
Eliot nodded in the affirmative as he watched Parker's game face slide back on. "Come on. I'll get your stuff."
Parker merely sat there, becoming unusually quiet as she hugged Bunny just a little more tightly. This time, she waited on Eliot to take the lead. Seeing as how he'd actually invited her into his apartment, she saw no reason not to let him use his key.
As soon as the hitter cleared the door, Parker stepped into the apartment only to be ambushed by a familiar hacker-like blur.
"PARKER! OH MY GOD! PARKER! ARE YOU OKAY?!"
Before the thief could even close the door, Hardison had pulled her against him - his hands tangling in her hair, pulling her face ever closer to his own. She could feel the tears streaming down, but she wasn't actually sure which one of them they belonged to. Between the two of them, it was probably Hardison.
No longer having the strength to be angry with him, she relaxed into his embrace – not wanting to let go anymore than he did. It was a full three and a half minutes before she'd had enough and pulled back (much to Hardison's chagrin). For her, though, being held that long was a personal best.
Although Hardison tried reaching back out, he forced himself to stop at the look of exhaustion on her face. He figured it was best not to pull punches with her at this point. So he simply blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "Parker, we need to talk."
"Yeah, we do." She admitted – another personal best. Normally it was Hardison that did all the talking and feeling and deciding things.
This time though, they both spoke their minds at the same time:
"Parker, I broke it off with her."
"Hardison, we need to break up."
"Wait, what?" Hardison stuttered. "Back that last one up for me." He said, widening his eyes just a bit more than usual.
"We have to break up Hardison." She commanded.
"Is there a reason?" He inflected, raising his voice on the last syllable as if whatever reason she was about to give was irrelevant. The girl had just been tortured for God's sake and he aimed to be there for her in any way he could. Only judging from that look she was giving him, comfort seemed to be the last thing she wanted.
"Parker, what just happened made me realize how much I still love you. I want to be there for you. Now more than ever."
"No." She corrected. "It just made think you still love me. If I hadn't gotten hurt, you'd still be going out with her. And we wouldn't be having this discussion. Hardison, I want you to be happy in this relationship. Not guilty."
"Then you're saying we still have a relationship? That's a good thing right?"
"Hardison, no one could ever replace you. But after everything that's happened, I need a break. Not just from you. But from everyone. I need to be left alone so I can get myself together. And I can't do that if everyone is hovering all over me like I'm some kind of wounded animal."
"Fine, Parker. I get it. Take all the time you need. As much as you need. And when you've done what you think you need to do, we'll talk about this some more. But right now…right now please just let me hold you because I cannot lose you like that again. Do you hear me? I couldn't get to you. I couldn't see you. I couldn't defend you. I literally thought you were dead. If Eliot hadn't gotten there when he did…"
Parker threw her arms around his neck again, burying her face in his shoulder. This time because she wanted to. Hardison was right. If Eliot hadn't gotten to her…she didn't even want to think what would have happened.
Still, hugging Hardison made her forget that nagging little voice reminding her that she had not only failed the team on this one, but she had failed herself. And right now, she was the only one that really mattered to her.
They stayed in their embrace for a few minutes longer until Sophie finally poked her head out of the bathroom.
"Parker." Sophie interrupted, knowing instinctively it was the right moment to do so. "I have your bath running. Let's get you cleaned up and into some warm clothes so you can eat. Eliot's almost done cooking. I think he said something about pancakes?"
Parker inwardly smiled at the thought of impending food and extricated herself from Hardison before following Sophie back to the bathroom. Ever the doting mother of the team (which is the one role she'd never actually had to pretend at), she reached out to Parker – pulling her away from Hardison and towards the waiting warm water.
Part 3: Beautiful Disaster
"What was that all about?" Sophie inquired once Parker was safely in the tub.
"Nothing." Parker snapped.
"It didn't look like nothing."
"It's not a big deal Sophie. I just broke up with Hardison. Unofficially."
"Oh, well that makes sense then."
"Wait…you mean you're not gonna try to talk me out of it? Or tell me to use my feeling words?"
"It's your decision Parker. Far be it from me to pry." Sophie answered, even though she knew that's exactly what she was doing.
Oh, who was she kidding? They both knew it.
Parker blew out a breath through her bangs. "Hugging Hardison - it just makes me realize how much he needs me. Only I don't need him. Not in the same way. Is that selfish Soph?"
Taking a deep breath, Sophie plowed forward. "Not at all. In fact, I think you're entitled to be a little selfish. What you've been through takes a huge adjustment. And we all failed you Parker. I'm not going to lie about that. Yet because we failed, you're going to have to revaluate this team and your role on it. I think you know that you've always been a part of us and we a part of you. However, if one of those parts is missing or broken, then you deserve the time to figure out what exactly it is and how to get it back. Especially if the part you're missing is yourself."
"You keep saying you're all to blame, but you're not. It's not the team's fault I failed. I went in without a weapon. I overestimated my own ability to protect myself at the expense of keeping my hands on the merchandise."
"You had no idea they were going to drug you."
"But I should have. Nate may be the King of backup plans, but I invented them. I should have known they would try something shady. And I should have been able to get myself out safely. With or without Eliot's muscle.
"You can hardly blame yourself –"
"But I do."
Realization dawned on Sophie that Parker was upset – not because of the team – but because she wasn't the best at her job anymore. The best thief would have created a way out with item in hand. Instead, she had (quite literally) handed the job to Sophie. Now she had lost the grift – and with it, her pride (among other things).
In fact, she was now sitting naked in a bathtub – full of scratches and bruises with nothing to show for them. And instead of trying to face the problem and work out a solution, she now had something to prove.
As to how she would do it, though, it was anyone's guess.
Part 4: Warrior
"Parker. You wanted to see me?"
Everyone else had left. It was just her and Nate. And Eliot – but he was cleaning up the kitchen to avoid eavesdropping.
Nate motioned to the door of Eliot's office with a cut crystal shot glass full of whisky and Parker dutifully closed it behind her.
"What can I do for you Parker?" Nate knew better than to play dumb or mince words. Parker was on a mission. It was written all over her face.
"I need a favor." She demanded.
"Does this favor have anything to do with taking down Caden's boss?" He pointedly put the drink down and stared at his best thief – eyeball to eyeball.
Parker's face scrunched up just for a moment. "How did you know?"
"It's my job to know." He responded.
The statement made all the sense in the world. Especially since she had a job to do herself. "Look. Whatever your plan is for taking down the King Pin. I want in."
"I don't think that's such a good idea Parker. There are quite a number of things that could go wrong. And the fact that you're personally invested is –"
"Screw personal feelings Nate!. All I need is five minutes alone with him – and my taser."
"Why?" Nate asked, daring her to make her point, and make it quick.
"Because I don't want anyone else to suffer the way that I did. I'm tired of feeling like a victim."
"Parker – if I send you in, that leaves Hardison out. And the last thing I need are two teammates who don't know where they stand with each other. So maybe if you take some time to reevaluate things, I might consider…"
"But you need a girl to get his attention. I'm that girl. You know Sophie won't be able to defend herself if she can't grift her way out."
"Parker – the answer is –"
"No! I have to do something to redeem myself. I need to feel safe again. Besides, if I can't take out this guy on my own, then I have no business going on any other cons. With or without Hardison. Let me do this for you, Nate. Let me prove I'm not the liability you think I am."
Nate searched her face with every last ounce of scrutiny he possessed. Finally he convinced himself that the answer he had decided on was the right one.
"Fine Parker. But only because I need to know I can trust you in the field. And you're not going in alone. Eliot will be your "handler".
"But Nate –"
"You play by my rules this time. No more last minute changes."
Knowing she wouldn't get anywhere by arguing, Parker pointedly kept her mouth shut while Nate laid out the terms and the conditions of the con.
Before Eliot was called in, they both made sure they were on the same page. The confession had already dropped. This guy was an easy mark. All Parker wanted was revenge. Five minutes alone with him in a room. Apart from the team.
And this time?
She would be leaving with his little black book in hand...
And his laptop...
Along with the contents of his safe...
And maybe the souviner paperweight she used to knock him out for good measure...
