AN: I am SO very sorry it's taken so long. My laptop died & my backup files were corrupted, so I had to rewrite EVERYTHING from scratch from this story & three others I'm working on. Add a few holidays, bdays, my kid off for summer, a Texas Flood, everyone in my house being sick off & on, lots of car trouble & a death in the family. But I hope now I can get back & not leave you guys hanging so long. =)

Chapter 9

He was going to murder Sterling.

It didn't matter where he hid, or how long it took, Eliot would make sure that the man knew what true pain felt like.

Dubai had almost been a complete disaster. If not for how busy they had been with cons since then, he would have already found the little weasel. Nate's promise be damned.

His day had been crap. Hell, he hadn't hit anything in the three weeks they had been back, and it was beginning to affect his mood. Maybe he was just in need of Ally's comforting presence. The last time he spent time with her was right before the whole debacle with Sterling. He had seen her a few times here and there, but nothing that could be considered actual time together.

Nah, he just needed to hit someone he concluded.

But instead of heading to the gym where he'd normally work off his anger, he found himself heading up the elevator to see her. Apparently his subconscious knew what he needed even if his head said otherwise. He decided he'd show her the new recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Cheese Puffs he had discovered, since cooking always took his mind off everything else. And spending time with her was becoming a pastime he actually enjoyed as well.

Which was why a wave of disappointment went through him when he heard a lot of talking coming through the door as he rang the bell.

Deciding immediately that he was not in the right frame of mind to be around a lot of people, he turned to leave, just as the door was opened.

"Hey you," she greeted, a wide smile on her face. He remained silent, unsure if he should make his presence known. Instead, he took a moment to take in her appearance, finding that she looked…tired and worn thin. Since taking over as the head of her father's financial division not long after their day together, he, as well as the others had barely seen her. Now that he thought about it, the few minutes he had seen her here and there wasn't entirely due to the constant stream of short cons Nate had them doing.

"Eliot?" When he still didn't say anything, a look of confusion made its way on to her face. "You do realize that I know you're standing there right? I just don't understand why you're being so quiet."

"Sorry…I didn't know you had company. I'll just…"

"Oh, so you didn't get my message then," her brows furrowed. "Well you're here now. Come in, I'll bring you a beer," she told him, turning and walking away, leaving him standing in front of her open door.

Sighing, he walked in and closed the door behind him, heading toward the voices.

"I don't care what you say…Johnny Depp is hot," an unfamiliar female voice stated.

"I'll have to disagree with you sweetie. Channing Tatum beats Depp hands down in the looks department," another feminine voice argued.

"You're both crazy. Have you seen Ryan Reynolds shirtless?" a bass filled voice retorted incredulously.

Eliot came around the corner into the living room to see eight pairs of eyes staring at a dark haired man. "What?" he exclaimed. "Just because I'm straight doesn't mean I can't acknowledge a handsome man when I see one."

"Well I'm more of a Tom Hiddleston fan myself," the woman next to him said with a grin.

Olivia was the first to notice him, followed by the others, whose conversation stopped upon doing so.

"Hey man, you finally made it!" Hardison exclaimed with a smile.

"You're late," Parker said, "You still pouting about Sterling? You look all…grrr."

"I do not pout."

Ally made her way toward him, but her balance got the best of her as she stumbled. Josh lurched forward, but it was Eliot that saved her from meeting the floor as his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Those are some quick reflexes you have Spencer," Olive commented with a raised brow.

"It's nothin'," he insisted, missing the narrowed expression Josh threw his way.

"Thank you for the save Eliot, I was lucky you were nearby," she smiled, as she handed him his beer and turned to the others. "Everyone, this is my friend Eliot. Eliot, you of course know Olive, Kieran and Josh. Claire is the beautiful blonde next to Olive…or as we like to call her, Olive's better half," she grinned. Olive just seemed to shrug in agreement. "The lovely lady next to Kieran is his…'friend' Andrea."

"Ally…." Kieran warned.

"What? You seem to be the only one in denial," she grinned in reply, a blush appearing on Andrea's tanned cheeks. Eliot concluded that the brunette's reaction confirmed Ally's statement.

"Allyson, there's no need to embarrass your brother or his friend. It's not polite," Josh reprimanded.

"That wasn't my intention Josh, I was only teasing. And last but not least, Chris and his girlfriend Mia," she concluded, less enthusiastically, gesturing to the Hispanic couple nearest him. "There's a variety of finger foods and snacks on the kitchen island if you're hungry."

"Ally makes the best snack foods!" Chris announced happily, munching away on what looked like a spring roll.

Ally made herself comfortable in the empty spot next to Josh, as he made his way to the large assortment of food available, and found himself impressed with what she had created for the evening. Most people would have done chips, dips, finger sandwiches…maybe chicken fingers. But Ally was not most people, as proven by the seafood stuffed mushrooms, crackers topped with smoked salmon, cream cheese and dill, skewers of melon and prosciutto, bacon wrapped dates stuffed with blue cheese, roasted red pepper tapenade, and spring rolls that he discovered were stuffed with teriyaki chicken.

If he hadn't already been hungry, he definitely would be now, he thought as he began loading his plate.

"You made the food?" Josh asked, surprised.

"Yes…why? Do you not like it?" the red head replied.

"That's not what I meant. Of course I like it. You know I support your hobbies," he replied. "But you have someone that can do that for you."

"Felicia has tonight off."

"Isn't she on call for you?" he countered.

"For emergencies, but I would hardly call this evening an emergency."

"What's the point of having help if you don't utilize them?"

"She's not just 'help', she's like family," Ally smiled.

"You don't pay family to clean & cook for you," Kieran argued.

The strained expression on her face did not go unnoticed by Eliot. "I enjoy cooking Josh, so it wasn't a problem."

"So what's the occasion?" the hitter asked, subtly changing the subject.

"It's game night!" Chris's bass voice supplied excitedly.

"Ally's been so busy working for her dad lately that we haven't seen her much," Olive added. "We usually do this twice a month."

"It was in the text message you must not have received," Ally explained.

"My phone died," he replied quickly. In reality, his phone had just been destroyed in the con they had just finished.

Nothing was getting that slimy substance from the inside of it.

"Well you're here now," she smiled, snuggling comfortably into her boyfriend's side as his arm wrapped possessively around her shoulder. "We were just getting ready for Name that Movie."

"What movie are we naming?" Parker asked confused.

Chris supplied the rules. "Someone says a line from a movie, whoever guesses the movie, gets a point. If no one guesses right, then the point goes to whoever's turn it was. The first person to get five points wins."

"Just five? Doesn't sound that hard," Hardison commented.

"You would think that, but we're all movie buffs, so we do our damnedest to make it as difficult as possible for everyone else," Kieran explained.

"All of you may be movie addicts, but some of us have adult responsibilities," Josh remarked.

Olivia narrowed her eyes at him. "It's called having a life outside of work. You should try it sometimes."

"What do we win?" the thief asked excitedly, interrupting the tense moment.

"Parker!" Hardison hissed. "It's a game…it's just for…"

"Ally tailors the prizes to the winner," Chris answered with a grin.

Hardison jerked his head up. "Really? Ah it's on now," he crowed.

"How do we know who goes first?" Parker wanted to know.

"I'll start, and whoever guesses correctly will," Ally answered.

"Don't you think this is a bit juvenile Allyson?" Josh murmured.

"If you don't want to…"

"He doesn't have to play if he doesn't want to, but I want to win," Chris stated.

"It's adorable how you think you're going to beat me," Kieran ribbed with a grin. "Who's won the last two times?"

"That's beside the point," Chris argued. "It's my time now." He declared in a determined voice. "Start us off Ally."

The red head smiled. "Good afternoon. We're gonna have a great jump today. Okay, first crank a hard cutback as you hit the wall. There's a screaming bottom curve, so watch out. Remember: rip it, roll it, and punch it."

Claire shook her head and tskd playfully. "Now Ally, you know I love that movie just as much as you do. Squirt from Finding Nemo," she answered confidently.

And so the game began.

"Sky people cannot learn, they do not see."

Kieran's eyes lit up, but it was Christ that spoke, "That's easy, Neytiri from Avatar." He smirked at Kieran's irritated expression. "It's not easy being a cast-iron bitch. It takes discipline, and years of training….A lot of people don't appreciate that."

"The Abyss, Lindsey Brigman," Olive stated after a brief moment of silence.

Josh guessed Olive's quote from Mad Max, but then was met with silence when his line from the movie Wall Street went unanswered for a few minutes before Ally correctly guessed it.

"I'm surprised you've seen that movie Ally," Andrea stated softly.

"It's Josh's favorite," she answered with a smile, turning to press a soft kiss to her boyfriend's cheek.

Of course it was, Eliot thought. Why did that not surprise him?

Hardison gleefully guessed Ally's quote from some animated movie called Howl's Moving Castle, and countered with, "If you are good at something, don't do it for free."

"Oh! We just watched that the other night!" Parker exclaimed. "It was that crazy guy with the bad face paint from that Dark Knight movie!" she answered proudly. Hardison beamed proudly, and pulled her to him for a quick side hug. "So it's my turn? Uhm…."

Eliot had kept mostly quiet, content to watch the others compete with each other, eagerly yelling out the answers. He didn't expect to be able to guess any of the quotes anyway, as he didn't watch a lot of movies. Until Mia stated, "I guess it comes down to a simple choice really. Get busy living or get busy dying."

"Andy from Shawshank Redemption," he answered easily. The movie was surprisingly one of his favorites. Wanting to make it a bit difficult for them, just for the sake of his own amusement really, he thought for a good minute before choosing. "I just know that every man I kill, the farther away from home I feel."

After a good three minutes, a wide grin appeared on Kieran's face, "Good choice. Captain Miller from Saving Private Ryan."

Forty five minutes later, Kieran and Chris were tied for first with four points each, trailed by Hardison and Ally at three, with Josh trailing with one. Olive was obviously trying to think of a very hard one, not wanting to make it easy on the two men, and trying to get herself a point in the process.

An evil grin spread across her full lips. "I felt like putting a bullet between the eyes of every panda that wouldn't screw to save its species. I wanted to open the dump valves on oil tankers and smother all the French beaches I'd never see. I wanted to breathe smoke," she concluded, confident in her choice.

Eliot had no clue. It was clear that Josh, Ally or Parker didn't either. The hitter knew the look on the hacker's face, it was the one he used when the answer he was looking for was on the tip of his tongue, but couldn't quite place it. As for Chris and Kieran, Eliot imagined that if it was a cartoon, there would be steam coming from their ears from the amount of concentration they were showing, trying to determinedly defeat the other.

"The Na…"

"The Narrator from Fight Club!" Chris all but screamed, interrupting Kieran as he jumped up and whooped in victory, doing a dance of his own making in front of the Irish man like a proud rooster. "HA! I TOLD you I would beat you!" he crowed, pointing at the dark haired man.

"Go ahead; enjoy your brief moment of victory," Kieran replied a bit glumly, "there's always next time."

"And I'll beat you then to!" he announced confidently, falling to the couch and taking a swig from his beer. "Ally….

"I know, you want store credit at Micro Center," she smiled indulgently.

"You know me so well. Josh, you know the rules, loser gets the next round of drinks, I'll take another beer."

The blonde grudgingly stood up, picking up his beer bottle and Ally's empty glass. "Yes, I'm aware. I'll get you a water Ally."

"She's only had one drink Josh, I think she'll be fine," Olive said, trying to play it off lightly, but giving away her annoyance by the tightening of her mouth.

"Unlike some, she doesn't need alcohol to have a good time," the blonde retorted, a smug grin adorning his face.

"Another Bailey's would be nice to loosen up," Ally added with a soft smile. "It's been a very rough couple of weeks."

"That wouldn't be an issue if you would focus on your career that could actually build you a future instead of expending your energy doing free work for all those charities. You could easily donate money to show your support," he concluded, making his way into the kitchen.

A tense silence filled the living room momentarily, those in attendance unsure of what to say or if they should say anything at all.

Kieran did. "I know how much you love doing work for the children Firefly, but maybe cutting back a little on how much you do for them wouldn't hurt. You would be able to get more rest. With the work you're now doing at the children's home, you hardly have time for yourself," he gently suggested with a concerned expression marring his handsome face.

The smile that appeared on her lips didn't seem right to Eliot, the tightening around her eyes seemed familiar to him, and told him something was off. It took a moment for the hitter to realize why it looked wrong….this was what a fake smile looked like on Ally.

"I'm fine Kieran, I promise. I plan on catching up on my rest this weekend," she assured him.

"We're going to Maine this weekend," Josh stated, handing Chris his beer before taking his seat. "I reserved us a room at that B&B," he reminded her, placing the promised water in her hand.

"Oh, that's right. I'm so sorry, it must have slipped my mind," she murmured apologetically.

"If you don't want to go, just tell me. But it was your idea if you recall, so…"

"No, no…it's fine. I'm looking forward to it," she reassured him, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll just get some rest between now and then."

And that was what a lie sounded like when she told one, Eliot thought.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Three steps to the right baby," Olive called out to Claire.

The blindfolded blonde did as instructed, putting her in front of the mantle.

"Now just reached out and pick it up," Olive told her confidently, clapping excitedly when her girlfriend took the small cat figure in hand. "Perfect baby!" she cheered.

The game was called Blind Man's Treasure Hunt. The object of which was for one person to lead their partner blindfolded to a specific object. Before the game started, everyone wrote down several objects in the apartment on small pieces of paper that were then placed in a bowl. The person blindfolded didn't know what they were being led to, and whether or not they grabbed the correct object determined if they were eliminated or not. The last team standing won.

Kieran and his friend Andrea had already been eliminated.

Kieran took a slip of paper from the bowl with about as much enthusiasm as someone getting a doctor's checkup, before crumbling it.

"Allyson, take two steps to your left."

"Side steps or turn and step?" she tried to clarify.

"Turn and step of course," he replied a little irritably as she did so. "Now go a couple of feet forward."

She bumped into the side of one of the couches.

"No Allyson, I said a couple of feet, you've gone too far," Josh chided.

"You have to be a bit more descriptive for me," she returned softly.

"Turn back to where you were and then do as I said the first time." She turned back around, turning a bit too far and began walking off to the left of where she had been. "Stop," he commanded. "You're going the wrong way again."

"Maybe if you gave better instructions," Olive mumbled. Josh snapped a glare in her direction.

"Turn right, and then take two, maybe three steps…"

"Two or three?" Ally tried to confirm.

Josh sighed, "Three, take three steps, then…" His phone rang, interrupting any further directions. "Hello…Why are you calling at this hour?" Eliot watched his gaze inadvertently flit sideways to Ally. "Is this important?...Alright, I supposed I can come. No, it's not a problem. I'll see you in twenty."

He now had Ally's attention. "Is everything alright?"

"My friend Allen from work apparently had a falling out with his wife, and decided the best course of action was going out and getting drunk. He needs a ride and a place to stay, so I'm afraid I can't stay tonight."

"Alright…I understand. Let me walk you out," she replied, making her way over to him.

Once she was out of the room, the hitter couldn't help but notice the glances her friends were giving each other.

"This happen a lot?"

"It's been happening more lately," Chris admitted with a frown.

"I still think all of you are jumping to conclu…" Kieran started, only to be interrupted by Olive as Ally walked back into the living room.

"Now that the stiff is gone, how about I get you another drink," Olive announced, standing up.

"Olive, don't speak about him like that," the red head admonished.

"He acts like an old man and you know it," Chris added with a smirk. "Now it looks like you're out of the game. No partner, no play," he teased.

"Eliot can be her partner!" Parker exclaimed happily.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Olive agreed, placing the glass of Bailey's on the coffee table. "He's been getting off easy tonight. It's about time you joined in muscle man," she smiled mischievously.

"Oh, you don't have to…" Ally began.

"It's not a problem," he assured her, reaching into the bowl for a slip of paper.

He led her to the salt shaker with three instructions.

Chris and Mya were the next to be eliminated followed by Hardison and Parker. For the next thirty minutes, Olive and Eliot did exceptional jobs at directing their partners, but in the end, the hitter won with his minimalistic, yet detailed approach.

"I think this is the first time Ally's won this game," Kieran commented lazily.

"Well it helps when you have someone who gives phenomenal instructions," Mya added.

"Seems you two make a good team," Olive remarked, "in the game that is," she smiled, taking a sip of her wine.

Eliot glanced at her briefly, before pushing her statement aside.

"What does Ally win?" Parker asked curiously.

"We usually chip in and get her some Teuscher Champagne Truffles," Claire answered.

Ally's eyes widened. "Ooooh, I can't wait! It's been too long since I've had them," she sighed, taking a seat and reaching for her drink.

"I'd hardly call a month a long time Firefly," Kieran chuckled.

"A non-chocolate lover cannot possibly understand," she chided with a grin.

"They're that good?" Parker asked, her interest peaked.

"You've never had them?" Ally asked unbelievingly. "I'll have to order you some so you can try them. I know you will appreciate them as much as I do," she smiled.

"So Eliot, Kieran and Ally tell us you're private detectives?" Claire asked.

"Yeah," he replied after a pause, his guard going up. Ally's brow furrowed as she turned toward his voice.

"Is it as exciting as it is in the movies?" Chris asked with a grin. "Is there shooting involved?"

"Eliot doesn't like guns," Parker answered quickly, receiving a nudge from the hacker.

"Occasionally," Eliot answered, refusing to go into detail. "Don't believe everything you see in the movies."

"Has to be more exciting than building computers all day," Chris stated, peaking Hardison's interest.

"Have you had a chance to work with the P9X79yet?"

Chris smiled. "Oh yeah, beautiful piece of electronics I tell you," he beamed.

"And we've lost him," Mia commented affectionately, smiling at her boyfriend who was now talking animatedly with the hacker. "What's your specialty Parker?"

"Oh, I uh, well, what I do is…"

"She's in charge of retrieving information," Eliot interjected. This time he caught how Ally's mouth tilted down ever so slightly, not quite frowning. Olive noticed the exchange with a sharp eye. "What do you do?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"I'm a vet," she answered easily.

"Have you ever had to stick your finger up a dog's butt?" Parker asked. Eliot's eye closed briefly as he sighed exasperatedly.

Mia chuckled. "Yes, actually I have."

"It must be nice being able to work with your friends on a daily basis," Andrea commented softly.

The hacker, hitter and thief shared a quick glance at one another. "It's been interesting, that's for damn sure," Hardison added.

"What are we playing next?" Parker asked, effectively changing the subject.

Ally's brow furrowed once again as Kieran answered. "I was thinking Trivia pursuit."

"Teams? Or everyone for themselves?" Olive asked.

"Teams," Chris answered. "It took us three hours last time we played singles. And unfortunately, I have to work tomorrow."

"Random or couples?" Mya asked.

"Random sounds fun," Parker offered excitedly.

Hardison looked stricken, "You don't wanna kick their but with me mama? I feel so betrayed."

"You'll survive. I want to be Ally's partner," she declared.

"It's not exactly random if you choose," Eliot answered.

"Oh…" the thief looked like someone had kicked her dog.

"I guess we could choose this time around," Ally offered with a smile.

The blonde barreled over the hacker and literally appeared in the seat next to Ally.

"I choose Eliot," Olive stated, making her way over to the empty spot on the loveseat next to him.

The hitter raised a brow at her choice, but only received an amused smirk from her in return.

The others chose their partners as Chris organized the cards and handed out the pie pieces to everyone.

Eliot soon found out that each of her friends had at one time or another added expansion cards to the version that Ally originally had, everything from Sports, the silver screen, Disney and the 80s, making the quantity of cards so large, that they had been organized in two long card boxes. And whereas in normal trivial pursuit, each person chose their own category, in this group, each person's question category was chosen from a bowl, which is why the board wasn't used apparently.

It was quickly clear which subjects some of the players excelled in. Chris and Hardison had pop culture and technology dominated. Andrea was exceptionally knowledgeable on anything that had to do with literature, while Kieran was well versed with sports related questions. Surprisingly, he found Olivia, his impromptu partner, was almost as good at answering the history questions as he was. He still wasn't sure why she had chosen him as her partner, but he just wrote it off for the time being as her wanting to get to know him a bit better since he spent so much time with Ally. Women tended to be very protective of their friends.

Two hours later, Mia and Kieran were declared the winners, earning lunches, Ally's treat. And after a VERY competitive game of Phase Ten, a card game that revolved around completing 'phases', in which Mia obliterated all her competitors, the party began winding down, everyone packing up leftover treats to take home.

Olive and Claire were the last to leave after making plans for a girl's day. Ally had tried to tell them that she was too busy at the moment, but the women weren't having it. And then she and Eliot were finally left alone, a comfortable silence settling around them as trash was picked up and dishes were moved into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry about tonight," she said, as she dried the last of the plates.

"Why's that?" he wondered, moving the coffee table to its rightful place.

"Your demeanor the last couple of hours suggests that you were looking for a…quieter atmosphere tonight."

"It's no big deal. Might not have been quiet, but it was a distraction."

Ally chuckled. "That's one way to describe them. Did you need to talk?" she asked in a softer, hopeful tone.

"Not really…just needed to…unwind."

"There's still time…it's still early," she offered.

"It's one in the mornin'."

"You know I don't sleep," she smiled, already filling the kettle with water for tea.

He made a sound of acknowledgement, knowing firsthand about her nightmares.

"Chamomile okay?"

The corner of his mouth lifted. "You should buy stock in that Tea Company with how much we drink."

"What makes you think I haven't?" she countered, a tiny smirk adorning her face.

"So what's this about you donating time at a children's home now?"

"It's nothing really. I've been helping them find the resources they need to acquire new beds and toys for the children."

It wasn't his place to push the issue, so he settled for silence, allowing the tea to do its job. He could already feel his body releasing its tension from the past three weeks. But after ten minutes, he noticed that Ally seemed…fidgety.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Her head jerked up, and she bit her lower lip as if unsure she should tell him. "I'm not sure if I should say anything."

"Just say it," he encouraged, now curious.

She sighed and seemed to steel herself. "Why did you lie about what you do for a living?"

"I've told you what I do."

"That you are a private detective."

"Yeah," he replied.

"And a bodyguard…"

An uneasy feeling seeped into his bones wiping away any contentment the last fifteen minutes had brought.

"I'm your friend Eliot. You know you don't have to lie to me…right? I know we've only known each other for a few months…"

"What are you talkin' about?"

"You know, one of the more positive things that came from my loss of sight was the ability to actually 'hear' what people were saying….to read between the lines."

He waited for her to continue, now on edge.

"Something I have noticed with you, Uncle Nate and the others…..is that when you talk about your business…your tone changes. There is a….hesitation…a tensing."

Now he understood.

"There's no investigative license for any of you on file," she added, a little cautiously.

"How would you know that?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Well Josh, he…"

"Of course it was Josh," he scoffed.

"He's just worried about me and…"

"No, he doesn't like other men poachin' around what's his," he retorted.

"It's not like that at all," she defended. "And I already told him that he has nothing to worry about."

"He's still a man and it's a blow to his ego that you spend so much time with me."

"That's not even the issue here Eliot. Why are you so secretive about what you do? About who you are? We've had so many late night talks, but I feel I still don't really know you."

"You know me as well as anyone else."

A sad expression crossed her face.

"What do you want from me Ally?"

"It's just…whenever we talk, I'm mostly the one sharing stories from my childhood or past…I still don't know if you have siblings, about your mother and father, what you did after high school…did you go to college? What were you doing before you met Uncle Nate?"

And just like that, the anger he had shown up with earlier slammed back into him full force. "I didn't come over here to be interrogated."

"I'm not trying to," she assured him in a frustrated tone. "You're my friend and I want to get to know you…"

"Just drop it okay."

"What is so bad about your past that you don't want to share it? It won't make me think any less of you."

"Ally I don't want…"

"Is it true that you and Uncle Nate don't have an investigative license?"

He felt cornered by all the questions. One of the mistakes he was now coming to realize from making friends outside of his line of work….curiosity. "I don't see why that's an…"

"And if you don't have a license… why do you lie about what you do? You could have said it was classified, or that you'd rather not say."

A dry chuckle left his lips.

"What's so amusing?"

"You pepperin' me with questions about if I'm lyin' about who I am."

"Why is that humorous?"

"Isn't that what you're doin' with Josh, Kieran and your dad?"

"That's completely different," she immediately replied.

"How so? You have a whole side of you that the men in your life know nothin' about."

"That's not true," she defended, seemingly curling into herself.

"You play the docile daughter act on a daily basis, but around me you're completely different."

"Eliot…" the expression on her face morphed into something…sadder.

"You constantly let your brother, father and boyfriend push you around. You let them talk you into doing things, and you don't even stand up for yourself."

"I don't…"

He couldn't stop now if he tried…she wanted answers from him? Well he wanted answers as well.

"You told me once that you don't like lies between friends, yet you still withhold things," he continued, taking a step toward her. "Like how you own the clinic as well as the school."

She looked up surprised, "How did you…"

"You're bein' a hypocrite Allyson. You want me to tell you all about me, but you can't even be honest about yourself."

"Just forget about it okay?" she began, a fake smile spreading across her face. "You don't have to tell me anything," she tried to assure him, as she stood up and made her way into the kitchen with her empty teacup.

"I think we're past that, don't you? I've been tryin' to figure out why you force yourself to be somethin' you're not. Why the personality that I see when I spend time with you gets neutered in front of your dad. From what you've told me, you were different before your accident," he pushed, following behind her.

"Eliot stop…" she all but begged.

"And it seems it has something to do with your mother's death, but I don't know why."

She was shaking her head in denial. "No, it's not…"

"Why would you let your mother's death make you pretend to be somthin' you're not Ally? Why do you feel you don't deserve to be happy?"

"I can't Eliot…please…"

"No, you don't want lies remember?" he didn't know why he couldn't let it go, he knew he should. It was obviously causing her distress. But as much as he didn't like seeing her in pain, his anger…the frustration and trapped feeling from her pushing him for answers, released an aggression in him, and now there was no going back. "And now you're workin' at a children's home as well as your dad's company, on top of the clinic and the school."

"I'm sorting it out," she answered softly, her voice cracking.

He snorted, "I can see that," he replied sarcastically. "You have circles under your eyes from lack of sleep, and none of your friends have hardly seen you in the last three weeks. "Why didn't you just tell him that you didn't want to? Why didn't you tell your father how successful you already are?" he pushed. "You don't get why I'm not truthful about what I do, I don't get why you…"

"BECAUSE I'M THE REASON MY MOTHER IS DEAD!" she screamed out brokenly.

Eliot was officially shocked speechless.

"We would have never been in the car that day if it had not been for my stubborn selfishness!"

Oh shit…

"I had a fight with a car when I was nine..."

"Gwen died when Ally was young..."

"Her death was the preventable result of a selfish person's actions."

"The car accident took more than just my sight."

Her vehemence at the idea of him driving in a snowstorm...

"My driver lost control on an icy road."

The pause and the look of pain on hers and her dad's face whenever her accident was mentioned...

"The driver?"

"They died…"

…the pieces finally fell into place and he now understood. He had always assumed that her accident and her mother's death were separate events, it had never occurred to him…

"We were arguing. The weather caster warned drivers off the road, but I just had to go to my dance class. Our normal driver called in due to the terrible conditions, so my mother took me. Halfway there…the snow was coming down so hard…she could barely see. She said we had to turn around and go home, but I had to have my way. I argued with her, I whined and yelled that she didn't love me. She…" Eliot felt a strong urge to comfort her, but at the barest touch against her arm, she jerked back and wrapped her arms around herself. "The car hit an ice patch, and because I was being a spoiled brat, she was distracted. She lost control, there was spinning…she was trying to calm me down…'Be my brave girl Ally, you'll be alright,'" she murmured, lost in the memory. "We slid off the road and the car flipped before hitting a tree. When I woke, I found out that I had not only lost my sight, but my mother as well."

He could only imagine what that knowledge would do to a nine year old. "What does that have to do with how you act around your dad?"

"Because of my childish behavior, my father lost the woman he loved. And after Kieran broke down my wall of silence, I vowed to never do anything selfish like that again. So I did what was asked of me, stayed with my father after Kieran moved out so he wouldn't be alone, I made him proud by majoring in Business, I help him with the company that he's worked so hard to build, and I keep my businesses hidden so he doesn't think he's losing me…because all of it is but a pittance in comparison to what I took from him."

"So you sacrifice your own happiness? You were nine Ally…a kid. Even if you hadn't been arguing, she still would have most likely hit that ice patch. It wasn't your fault."

A humorless laugh escaped her. "If I hadn't been so insistent on going to my class, we would have never been out in that weather in the first place."

A thought came to him. "You think he blames you for her death?"

"He doesn't know about the argument, but he does know that I pushed her to take me to that dance class. So how could he not?"

"Maybe you should talk to him then…make sure you're on the same page with that assumption."

She got up with a sigh and made her way to the door. "It wouldn't change anything," she whispered sadly. "If you had ever felt responsible for someone's death, you would understand."

"I have, so I do," he admitted without thinking.

She looked surprised for a moment. "Someone you loved?" At his silence, her sad expression returned, as his wall slid obviously slid back into place. "I think you should go now."

"Ally…"

"You wanted to know the reasons behind my actions, now you do. I'd like to be alone now."

Knowing that his persistence had partially led to this situation, and not being able to think of anything else he could say to alleviate it, he left without another word.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

AN2: Okay, I need your thoughts. I don't feel as if I did a good enough job of A) showing how docile, submissive she is to the guys in her life, & B) how closed off he & the team are around her about their jobs. I know this version isn't as good as the original b4 the crash, so if you have a moment, let me know your thoughts. =)