With Paddy following behind in his truck with Tess' Christmas tree, Eliot navigates the way to Tess' house through the winter's night like he had so many times in their past. Eliot's visits to what became home when he was at odds with this own family flood forward. He would rush to this little town whenever he was not at Uncle Sam's beck and call. He would rush home to see the woman who sits beside him. Tess notices the side long glances from Eliot in her direction. She has to admit to the thoughts circling her head. Today felt right, too right. Tess cannot help but wonder what may have been.
As they arrive at her house, Paddy pulls into the driveway to unload Tess' tree and wait for Eliot. Tess opens the door to turn on the lights before she and Eliot each remove a child from the back seat. Eliot follows Tess into the boys room, after depositing the boys on their beds, Eliot watches as Tess skillfully replaces clothes with PJs without waking them. Eliot watches Tess tuck the boys into their blankets with great affection from a position in the doorway. Tess has a tenderness about her that is on full display. She gently kisses each of the twin's foreheads before escorting Eliot out of the room.
The pair sneak down the stairs to the living room in silence as Eliot prepares to honor his word and his promise to not overstay Tess' generous welcome. Eliot heads towards Tess to say good night. "Thank you, Tess." Eliot holds her face for a moment in his hands before leaning in to gently brush his lips against Tess' cheek. Eliot takes in the scent of Tess' perfume mixed with the scent of her shampoo. The scent is a Tardis back to his history with this woman and the happiness he gave up to walk in the shadows. Memories flood Eliot's mind as to just how many times this very moment played out in his past. Tess feels the lingering heat signature left on her skin from the brush of Eliot's lips. He smells like home from the Balsam and cold. Tess has missed him so much over the years. She missed everything about Eliot. Tess looks into his blue eyes again relenting to the devil on her shoulder over the angel on the other telling her to let him go.
Eliot always hated leaving and somethings never change. He hates it now for completely different reasons. This is still so surreal that he feels that if he walks through the front door all of this might all just disappear like Narnia and the wardrobe. Tess' voice pulls him out of his head and back to the reality of this moment as she says the magic words that Eliot longed to hear. "Stay awhile." Tess gently runs her fingers down Eliot's jacket with a loving glance upward at Eliot.
It has been a long time since she spent time with a man... any man let alone one she loved. Tess knows this is not a good idea but damn the consequences, Tess runs with it before her better judgement kicks in. This moment is a selfish moment. This choice is more for her than her children. She needs closure. She needs to see what went wrong. She needs... she needs something and right now Eliot is the man who can give it to her. The invitation stuns Eliot as he accepts without a thought as he removes his cap and coat before Tess changes her mind. How could he resist that look and those eyes. With the biggest warmest smile that Tess has seen in a while, Eliot follows her into the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Tess finds Paddy waiting for Eliot. In the ritual of getting her children into bed, she had forgotten that Paddy had followed them to her house. In a way, Paddy just became the voice of the angel on her shoulder. Tess offer's coffee to Paddy and Eliot to save face for the thoughts that had just run rampant in her head. Paddy strips off his jacket as they gather around the table in Tess' kitchen. The irony nor the look on the faces of both Eliot and Tess is not lost on Paddy. Some waters are best navigated slowly, like waters with Titanic sized icebergs floating about. The coffee and conversation drag on for a long while with shared stories and trips down memory lane of shared adventures of their past. As the time to part falls upon them, Tess retrieves Eliot's coat and cap from the living room since Paddy's truck is parked near the rear entry. Both Paddy and Eliot exchange a quick kiss goodnight with Tess as they head to Paddy's truck in the driveway.
As they had done so many times in the past, Paddy offers up a night cap at the local pub. Eliot has missed the pace of this life in Maine and accepts the offer of time in a familiar ritual. The town pub is as rustic as the town, it is an old sea captain's bar down near the docks. Along the route, they pass the old town boat works in all of its restored glory which fully captures Eliot's attention. Noticing Eliot's reaction, Paddy offers. "She worked on that for nearly five years, her old man would have been proud."
Eliot has to smile. Tess restored her father's shop. Her father was a man of the sea, owning a small fleet of Lobster boats. "She still own the boats?" Eliot is wondering how the hell Tess pulled it off. "Yeah, she managed to find a way to make it work." Paddy knows the next question from the look in Eliot's eyes. "She still has the Chris Craft too."
Paddy's reveal brings back some of the sweetest memories that Eliot has of Tess. The dusty hair tied up with a red bandana and painter's overalls, the white paint smeared on her face. The image of their first meeting was a fond one. Eliot is pulled out of the memory by their arrival at the pub. Their entry finds Paddy greeted as the regular that he is and Eliot greeted as a long lost son. Few things change in this town. The arrival of Connie, Mickey and the Gunny just make the night for Eliot has they play darts and share stories with the local lobstermen that frequent this old bar.
Tess happily works away the morning in her shop as she begins the preparations for the crush of holiday orders with Christmas just a week away. Tess' workshop is buzzing with activity as Eliot, Parker and Hardison stop in after breakfast in town. Seeing the work that needs to be done, Eliot grabs an apron and offers to help. He picks up some piping bags and begins to decorate the seemingly endless trays of cookies for the holiday orders. To Tess' surprise, Eliot knows his way around a pastry bag. Eliot notices the eye spy from Tess. "I have skills acquired over a long career, a career that makes me a nightmare for people like you" Eliot finishes with a mock accent as he whips up a proper royal icing snowflake much to Tess' surprise.
To Eliot's surprise, Parker and Hardison join them at the shop on the premise of getting to know Tess. Tess is not sure what is going on but she welcomes all the help she can. There always seems to be more orders than available idle hands this time of the year. Eliot's friends are far more talented then her usual recruits of Paddy and Connie. Eliot is quite surprised how Parker has dived into the work. Parker response to Eliot was simple and eloquent. "Eliot, we do stuff like this for total strangers. Tess is the mother of your children. She is family Eliot. You do what you have to do for family." Parker realizes that Eliot is still wrapping his head around Tess' status in his life. Eliot is now forever linked to the women in their midst and that can have consequences in the world that they live in.
Hardison has taken up a role in the shop at the register and as Tess' quasi IT guy as he upgrades her systems. As the crush dies down, Hardison notices something familiar. There is a non-descript sedan parked down the street, Hardison acknowledges that this is a small town but this is obviously not a local. He has seen this sedan several times in the last couple of days. He takes notice of the plate to run later.
The day goes long into the evening, Parker and Hardison head to the inn to get cleaned up before dinner as Tess stays behind to clean up and lock up the shop. Eliot lingers to help Tess finish for the evening. Tess resisted Eliot staying behind but her pleas landed on deaf ears. Tess is enjoying this more than she should. It is dangerous territory for her as she acknowledges the age old warning encircling her thoughts. "Be careful what you wish for..."
Tess is not sure if Eliot is being this sweet out of guilt or out of obligation. She wonders if she just triggered the soldier in Eliot and he is acting out of a sense of duty. Tess tempers her thoughts knowing that she has been down this road before with one Eliot Spencer. She is trying to forget the painful thoughts that creep into her consciousness. Tess glances over her shoulder in Eliot's direction as she sets the alarm on her shop. Eliot has started her Jeep as he pushes the passenger door open for her.
Tess is not quite used to being a passenger in her own car which is only making her that much more out of control. As they enter the Inn, Eliot is fully aware that all eyes are upon them. Tess brushes off the attention by walking directly to the dining room where the boys and Paddy's kids are all working on their letters to Santa under the watchful gaze of Mrs Hannigan.
This time of the year, Mrs Hannigan often watches the boys so that Tess can get orders done in time for holiday expectations. Eliot catches Sophie's eye as he follows Tess into the dining room. To Eliot's surprise, both boys greet him again by name with big smiles and hugs. He could really get used to this. It is at this moment that he glances down at their hopeful lists and notices something that sucks him in like a vortex. Eliot had assumed that the boy's last name matched Tess'. Eliot assumed that they were Jacob and John Baines. He is shocked to see that they each signed their drawings as Spencer. With that revelation, a feather could have knocked Eliot from his feet.
Tess can suddenly feel the intensity of Eliot's stare at the back of her head as she walks past the boys. She realizes, with a glance down at the table, that the final card has been revealed to Eliot. The boys are at the stage where school has taught them to autograph everything. Tess shuts her eyes to conceal the internal eye roll and curse word from Mrs Hannigan's watchful. Tess heads to the kitchen to drown herself in a glass of wine.
Knowing this look about Tess, Paddy laughs before handing a glass of wine to the frazzled mother. Tess props herself against the built-in cabinets as she takes a few sips to calm herself. She knows that an Eliot Spencer interrogation is pending a second volley very shortly. Paddy laughs at Tess from his new position at the kitchen table. "that good huh." Tess looks him with a total dead eye butterfly expression. "Patrick Francis Hannigan, I'd kill you now but there are too many witnesses." Paddy smiles a taunting smile like a true sibling at Tess. "This is good for you, Tesla." Tess takes another sip of her wine. "if it doesn't kill me first."
Sophie watches the boys show Eliot their work. The register of shock is something she acknowledges with the curiosity of its origin as Eliot stares down at the papers in his hand. What has captured Eliot's attention is something so much more than the gaze of a father at a letter to Santa. Sophie watches Eliot lock eyes with Tess in the kitchen like she was equipped with a homing device.
As Eliot enters the kitchen, Paddy takes note of the look on Eliot's face as Paddy announces his exit. "I am going to be anywhere but here." He taps Eliot on the shoulder as he passes by. Tess knows that her last card has been played and Eliot knows that boys bear his last name. Tess attempts to walk away from Eliot back into the reception area where there are enough people that she could dodge Eliot's pending questions. Tess pauses for the briefest of moments in the archway to pick the next move. In that split second of hesitation, Eliot is upon her. Eliot stops Tess by the shoulder, muttering "Ah Hell." At that moment, Eliot turns her, grabs Tess' face, and plants the warmest, down to your toes, kiss on her lips. The shock of Eliot's boldness is fully registered across Tess's features as Eliot returns Tess to her original position without spilling a drop of wine from her glass. Eliot lacked the words to tell Tess what the boys' names meant to him deciding to punt with the kiss.