On early Tuesday morning Nate and Sophie landed at Heathrow. Sophie had insisted with her sister that her and Nate were going to take a taxi and not to come to pick them up.
"I can't wait to take you all around London" Sophie exclaimed watching the House of Parliament passing by them.
"You know this is not my first time in London, right" Nate looked at her smiling. Her excitement was contagious.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Coming to London for work is not the same." She grabbed his hand closer to her and entwined her fingers with his. "You and I are going to be the perfect tourists."
The taxi stopped in front of a suburb house. It was a typical British detached house with a small lawn in the front and a garden at the back.
The front door suddenly opened and all that Nate saw was a brunette rushing past him.
"Aunt Sophie" Karen shouted as she tackled her aunt.
"Humph" Sophie just managed not to lose her balance as the teenager enfolded her in a big hug. "Hi Karen"
"I've missed you so much" the girl told her still holding her tight.
"Wow, I should leave more often" the grifter chuckled putting her arms around her niece.
"Mom is driving me insane" she whispered. Since her aunt had left, her mother was giving more attention to her and the teenager was feeling suffocating.
Sophie chuckled again giving a small sympathetic look at the girl. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?"
"I've convinced mom to let me stay at home today" she smirked "I've used one of those techniques you've showed me."
"That's my girl!" Sophie told her proudly putting an arm around her shoulder and turning towards Nate.
The man in the meanwhile had paid the taxi driver and had their bags out of the car.
"Hey sister" a medium height dark haired woman was standing by the door entrance.
"Hello Eleanor" Sophie walked towards her still holding her niece and she gave her a small hug with her other arm.
"You must be Nathan" the older sister looked at the man standing awkwardly in the middle of her driveway.
"Nate Ford, nice to meet you" Nate shook her hand giving her one his best charming smiles.
"Also known as the weirdo" Karen muttered earning a pinch on her side from her aunt. "Ouch" she exclaimed.
Nate looked at both of them in confusion, but Sophie just gave him a false innocent smile.
"Well, my dear sister, you did good. He's good looking and a charmer and he has manners" Eleanor eyed Nate who was still looking at Sophie. She saw the sparkle in his eyes. He was definitely a man in love and for a moment there she couldn't help feeling a bit jealous of her younger sister, but then she remembered that Sophie needed this and she slightly shook her head sending the feelings away.
Nate cleared his throat embarrassed. "Hmmm… where can I take these?" he asked nodding towards the bags.
"You'll be staying in Sophie's room. That's upstairs the second door on the right" she invited him inside and pointed at the stairs.
"Okay" he nodded and picked up his bag and Sophie's two.
"I'll help you" Sophie soon volunteered. She knew that Nate still wasn't supposed to carry heavy things.
"No," he waved her off. "Don't you worry, I can manage. You catch up with your family" he smiled at her and gave a small kiss.
Karen grunted and frowned in disgust.
"Okay, we'll be waiting for you in the sitting room" she patted his arm.
The three women went to the sitting room and sat on the couch.
"I'm so glad you're here" Karen exclaimed again. "You're staying, right?"
Sophie knew were the discussion was going "Until Friday, I am"
"Oh," the fourteen years old looked down disappointed "so you're going back to L.A."
"Yes, that's where I live now, where my life is now. Have you been listen to me these past months when we spoke on Skype?"
"So, what have you and Nate got planned to do in these days?" Eleanor tried to divert the conversation to a safe subject.
"Well, I'm planning to take Nate to visit the city, but it's important that he rests too. It has been a little over two weeks since his surgery and he is wondering around working like nothing has happened." She shook her head still shaken by the whole event and Eleanor soon noticed her sister's distress.
"Sophie?" she asked worried.
Sophie gave her a small smile. "It's nothing" she tried to reassure her.
"Hey" Nate walked in and took a seat next to Sophie. He notice the uncomfortable silence. "Everything okay?" he put a hand on her knee.
"Yeah, everything is okay. How about we go upstairs and rest a bit?" she suggested but Nate knew he didn't really have any choice.
"I'm fine. I'm not tired" he tried anyway.
"Nate" she said firmly glaring at him.
He sighed. "Okay, okay." He got up "Just a couple of hours so I then I can take all of you girls out for lunch"
"You don't have to do that" Eleanor smiled at him.
"No, it's the least I can do for you let me stay here." He smiled back and made his way back upstairs.
"Whatever" she muttered going to her room. Karen could see that he had won her mother, but she wasn't going to be so easy.
Eleanor shook her head smirking knowing that her daughter wanted to cause trouble, but she was pretty sure that she was going to go up against a worthy adversary.
"Will Karen ever warm up to him?" Sophie watched her niece walking away. Karen had promised that she was going to try to like Nate, but that hadn't happened yet.
"She is still upset because she thinks that he's going to take you away from her. From us"
The former grifter sighed. "And I guess moving to L.A. didn't really help"
"Sophie," Eleanor laid a hand on her shoulder. "You did the right thing. You two look good together. You look better. You're happier, more relaxed. He is good for you"
Sophie couldn't help but smile, her big grin showing all her happiness. "I am happy. Well, I'd better go upstairs and check that he is actually resting."
Her sister chuckled. "Don't forget: the walls in this house, not so thick" she wiggled her eyebrows.
"Eleanor" Sophie gasped then she started laughing too. "You don't have to worry about that. Doctor's orders."
"Ah" she replied in understanding.
Sophie found Nate surprising laying on the bed with his eyes closed, but she knew from his breathing that he wasn't sleeping.
"I'm surprised you've followed my advice." She sat down on the space next to him and ran a hand up and down his abdomen and chest.
"I'm was not really up for the consequences if I hadn't" he muttered slowly opening one eye to look at her.
That's when Sophie realized that down stairs he had just wanted to look strong and that he was actually tired from the voyage. He knew that she knew, but they were both going to ignore the fact. That's how it worked between them, it wasn't necessary to talk about everything. She sighed and laid down curling herself up against him.
Nate immediately put his arms around her and hold her tight. "I don't know how I'm going to do it" he suddenly exclaimed.
"Do what?" she slightly lifted her head up to look at him curiously.
"Survive in a house with three women"
She giggled. "I'm sure you'll manage. You've already charmed two on your side"
"It's the last one that scares me" he admitted.
This time she fully lifted her head from his chest. "I'm sure you will win her over too" she gave him a encouraging kiss.
After they had lunch together at an Italian restaurant, mother and daughter went groceries shopping, while Sophie dragged Nate to the British Museum since there was a Degas exhibition that she was interested in.
"I don't know why having you in a museum makes me nervous" Nate exclaimed as they walked hand in hand through the art galleries.
"Nate" she lingered his name looking at him with a playful stare. "I'm honestly here just for the exhibition. Remember, we're tourists."
Nate grinned as he enjoyed teasing her. He knew she had left that life behind for him, for them and he still didn't know how to repay her for that.
"Museums have a very important role in our relationship." She added stopping to admire a Degas. "A museum is where we met"
"It's where I've found out you were a thief" he added too as he gave her a small bump with his hip.
She turned her head around glaring at him through her dark locks that had fallen in front of her face. "Anyway, I'm not here to plan a heist but that blonde girl over there is" her eyes stopped on a petite young girl who was discreetly studying the alarm system.
"You what?" Nate quickly turned around. He followed Sophie's gaze and he soon recognized the figure and gasped incredulously. He knew that young girl, he had once chased her, but she had escaped mysteriously. "That's Parker" he hissed.
Sophie's snapped her head around. "The Parker? The one that no one has caught yet?"
"Yep, I was once this close" he told her motioning with his thumb and index finger. "but she ran away. Actually she more vanished in thin air."
"Well, this could be your chance to arrest her" Sophie pointed out turning her back to the thief and giving her full attention to her partner.
He smirked "I'm on holiday" he told her putting his hands on her hips and bringing her closer to him.
She smiled back at him and put her arms around his neck. "That has never stopped you before"
"Yes, but she is keeping Sterling busy and that's good thing. Why should I interfere with that?"
"You are a strange insurance investigator" she leaned up to kiss him. "I want to meet her" she exclaimed once their lips separated. She quickly turned around and scanned the gallery, but the blonde thief had already disappeared.
"That's Parker!" Nate whispered in her ear as he hold her against his chest.
She sighed disappointed. She was really looking forward meeting someone so well-known and good in her former line of business. "Well, it will be for another time"
Later that night, Nate slowly walked down the stairs to go the kitchen. Midnight had just gone past and he had left Sophie sleeping soundly in their bed and went to get a glass of water.
When Sophie and Nate got back from the museum, Eleanor was already preparing dinner. They both helped her in the kitchen while Karen had disappeared in her room. Dinner had been awkward, Eleanor was trying to make Nate feel part of the family while he was trying to connect with Karen. After dinner they put on a movie, then Sophie and Nate retired early for the evening, the jet lag finally catching up on them.
He noticed that the light was already on and he carefully approached the room. He found Karen sitting at the table still working on her homework.
"Isn't it a bit too late for you to still be up?" he asked her as he entered fully the room.
The teenager girl jumped startled and she turned her head towards him.
"Sorry" he looked down sheepishly "didn't mean to scare you"
She glared at him. "You didn't scare me" she rebutted "I was just surprised" She nervously tapped her pen on her exercise book. "And you're not my parent who needs to tell me if I should be up or not"
Nate put his hands up in defense and went to get a glass and he filled it with water. He watched Karen sighed in frustration while she furiously scratching with her pen over last phrase she had written.
"What are you working on?" Nate leaned against the kitchen counter and kept sipping his water.
She lifter her head up. "Not your business" she snapped at him.
He sighed. "Look, I get it that you don't like me and still haven't figure out why not…" he told her firmly.
"You're a cop" she interrupted him.
"Technically I'm an insurance investigator"
"You wanted to arrest my aunt"
"But I didn't"
"You took her away from us!" she nearly shouted at him.
"Sophie can come back here whenever she wants, I'm not keeping her locked up in some dark basement. She voluntary decided to come to live in L.A. and she is staying there because she want to." He signed leaning his head down. "I love your aunt, very much and I'm planning to spend the rest of my life with her"
Karen was taken aback by his sudden confession and honesty in his words.
"And I'd like to think that she feels the same about me. And she loves you very much, you're one of the most important person in her life, so I'm planning to make things between you and me work, as long as it will take. Could you please meet me half way? For Sophie?"
She looking at him intensely, but finally nodded.
"Thank you"
Silence fell between them.
"I'm working on a school project that I need to finished by tomorrow." She suddenly informed him.
"Okay" he took a seat at the table. "You're having trouble writing something" he nodded at her scrap book.
"I don't know what to say. It's about immigration and the teacher said it's better if we use our family as reference. I've spent weeks looking through our family albums and documents, but I've found nothing and mum couldn't help me either." She threw her pen down in frustration.
Nate silently nodded. "You know… my great grandfather immigrated from Ireland to America a long time ago"
"Really?" the fourteen years old girl exclaimed excited.
"If you want I could tell you about him and the story my grandfather told me and you could write about that" he suggested planting the idea in the girl's mind.
Karen was struggling with her decision, but then she thought about the bad mark she would get if she went at school empty handed and of course the punishment her mother would give her after finding out about it.
"Okay" she shrugged acting like she was doing him a favor instead of the other way round.
Nate smiled but hid it behind the rim of his glass. He then started talking about his family and the story behind his great grandfather immigrating for a better chance of life. Karen listened carefully taking notes and asking him for extra information when needed.
That's how Sophie found them when she went looking for Nate after she had found his side of the bed empty. She hid behind the doorway and smiled happily at the scene.
A/N Thanks everyone for reading. Do you think that Nate has finally made a connection with Karen? Will Nate and Sophie see Parker again? More to come! :D Thanks for your reviews, I really appreciate them! :)