CHAPTER 6
Finding…Things
"What?" Paige could tell that Quinn was upset but she had no idea what was going on. "What are you talking about?"
"How do you apologize for something you aren't sorry for?" Quinn wasn't exactly sure why he'd called Paige, of all people, but it just felt like something she could help with.
"Uhm." She tried to think of a scenario that she could relate to. "I guess it kind of depends on what you're apologizing for. I mean if you really aren't sorry about whatever it is or you don't think you were wrong, you could say something like; 'I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, and I'll try not to do it again.' And if they press then you can explain why you aren't wrong or… something."
"Okay…" Quinn leaned back against the brick wall of the gym and let the bite and grit of the rough brick help ground him.
"Can you tell me what you did?"
"No." He'd never told his little sister exactly what he used to do for a living and there was no way he'd start with this story. "It's just that everyone else thinks that I should be sorry and I'm not. I know if I apologized it would probably help but, I'm not sorry."
Paige couldn't help her huff of amusement. "Then I'll tell you what I usually tell Ralph. Maybe you just need to think about it until you are sorry or until you can explain it better."
"You're a good mom." Quinn smiled.
"Thanks." Paige hesitated for a second. "Quinn, don't get into anymore trouble that you aren't sorry for."
Now it was Quinn's turn to huff. "I can't promise that."
After a little more talk Quinn hung up and checked in on his pack bonds. Nothing much had changed in the time he'd been gone from the pub.
Paige's last bit of advice about thinking on things until he was sorry didn't sound in anyway comfortable but maybe that would help, because he was sure he couldn't explain his way out of this one.
He pushed away from the wall and started to run back to the pub.
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"Quinn, is everything okay?" Chrissa held the door to their apartment open and beckoned him in.
Quinn wiped his face on the inside of his shirt. Not that it did him much good. "Yah, everyone is fine." He worked on slowing his breathing. "Is Julio here?"
Chrissa handed Quinn a hand towel from the stack she'd been folding on the kitchen table. "Downstairs working on his sermon." She smiled as she watched Quinn try to decide if he really did want to talk to Julio or not. This newest member of Eliot's pack had been polite and respectful but overall, a little standoffish. She wasn't sure if it was just because she and Julio were outside the pack, but she would guess it had more to do with Julio's occupation.
Chrissa went to the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water. "Would you mind taking one down to Julio before you leave?"
"Sure." Quinn folded the sweaty towel and hung it over the back of a kitchen chair before he took the bottles and headed out the kitchen door.
He went down the stairs and instead of heading back out the door he'd first come in, he stepped past it, and knocked on the door that led into the storefront turned church.
"Come in." Julio called from the other side.
Quinn stepped through and looked around until he spotted Julio sitting on the edge of the stage.
"Padre." Quinn held a bottle of water out to Julio.
Julio arched an eyebrow but took the bottle. "You know I'm not catholic right?"
Quinn Shrugged.
Julio nodded at a spot next to him. "Why don't you sit for a bit."
Quinn sat but Julio didn't say anything. After a moment Quinn cracked the seal on the water bottle and twisted the top off. He took a long swallow and let the bottle dangle from his hands between his knees. He'd kind of expected Julio to jump in with a question or comment. The silence was a good tactic. Quinn had used the silence to get targets to talk. Usually after they'd been tortured but still…
"What can you tell me about apologizing?" Quinn took another sip of water.
"All kinds of things." Julio smiled and set his Bible to the side. "What do you want to know?"
"There's this thing that I… I guess I need to apologize for, but I don't want to."
"Thing?" Julio asked. "Eliot tells me you were a hitman for a long time. This thing have something to do with that?"
Quinn scowled. "Yah." He let the bottle swing a little in his fingers. "Eliot told you about me?"
Julio smiled. "Eliot and I have walked some strange roads in the last couple of years. He was worried about you after you first joined the pack." Julio gave Quinn a crooked smile. "Makes no difference to me by the way, what you were I mean. Just gives me perspective."
Quinn nodded.
"So tell me about this thing."
"Do you know Eliot's friend Nati?" Quinn thought it was likely and it would make the explanation easier if Julio knew all the players.
"We've met."
"A long time ago I was hired to kill her sister and deliver the body to Natali's door."
Julio arched an eyebrow. "That's definitely a thing. So you said you don't want to apologize." Julio watched Quinn's head bob somewhere between a nod and a shake. "Who are you meant to be apologizing to, Eliot or Nati?"
Quinn shrugged and drummed his fingers on his belly. "I can feel that Eliot is frustrated with me, and Parker seems to think if I apologized it would help."
"And Nati?"
"She doesn't know… yet." Quinn's shoulders hunched a little. "I guess I should apologize to her but…"
"But?"
"But I'm not sorry." Quinn looked at Julio defiantly.
Julio sipped at his water.
Quinn scented the air, but Julio's scent hadn't changed much since Quinn had entered the room. He was expecting to pick up a change in Julio's scent when the man judged him, but Julio just sat there sipping his water.
"You know, the whole silence thing, is really annoying on this side of things." Quinn grumbled.
Julio chuckled. "Sorry. I'm not actually trying to make you uncomfortable. I'm just waiting."
"For what?"
"For you to decide what you're going to do."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you say you're not sorry for killing this girl but Eliot is upset about it and Nati will obviously be upset about it. So what are you going to do?"
"Apologize I guess." Quinn drummed his fingers against his belly again.
"But you aren't sorry." Julio quirked a smile when he saw Quinn's look of annoyance. "Why aren't you sorry?"
"Because I was doing my job. It wasn't personal. I didn't get up one morning and say 'Gee, how can I piss off the Black Lady today? Why I think I'll kill her sister and see if that does it.'" The sarcasm Quinn delivered that last bit with could have taken on a life of its own.
"Black Lady?"
"Evil assassin that can melt your throat out with magic. That's her reputation anyway." Quinn smirked when he thought about how that must sound.
"I would never have guessed." Julio smiled and finished off his water. "So you don't feel bad about murdering this woman but…"
"But murder is wrong and I'm gonna burn in hell for it." Quinn started to get up.
Julio put a hand on Quinn's arm and nodded his thanks when Quinn sat back down. "Let's set aside the whole murder is a sin thing for just a moment. And where you spend eternity is between you and God. So, while I'd love to talk with you about that, lets save it for later."
Quinn's face went through several expressive changes as he tried to process Julio.
"So putting aside the act. What about the effects?"
Quinn frowned.
"Eliot tells me that the bond you all feel towards each other ties you together like family." Julio waited for Quinn to nod. "What if someone killed Parker or Hardison?"
Quinn couldn't help it as a growl rumbled in his chest for just a second.
"Right." Julio patted Quinn's shoulder. "Think about things from Nati's side. The hurt, the loss, all the questions."
Quinn turned a look on Julio.
"Don't tell me anything. Just think about it and then maybe you'll be able to decide what to do." Julio stood and held a hand out to Quinn.
Quinn accepted the hand and followed Julio to the door.
"You should come again sometime." Julio smiled and held the door for Quinn.
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"Guys! You are never gonna believe this!" Hardison spun around in his chair.
Everyone's attention focused in on Hardison.
"What?" Eliot growled from the kitchen.
"I found Zamora's fence!" Hardison laughed. "Guy wasn't too cautious. You know the four diamonds he palmed from our necklace? He called Steve Pritchett and asked if he wanted them."
"Steve Pritchett?" Nate sat up from his place on the couch. "The IYS rep that was handling Talbert's case?"
"The very same." Hardison smiled and held his hands up toward the vent and waited as Parker dropped down from the vent onto his lap.
Parker smiled and pecked a quick kiss to the tip of Hardison's nose. "We get to take down Zamora and a crooked IYS guy!" Her eyes lit up. "I knew this was the perfect job for Christmas!"
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Hardison was deep into some database or other and Parker was hanging over his shoulder with a look of fascination to match Hardison's own. From what Quinn could tell, those two wouldn't be coming up for air for a while.
Sophie, Nate, and Gemma were all chatting animatedly in the living room. Quinn smiled at his good luck.
He could hear the rattle of chain and the thump of impact in the gym that told him were to find his Alpha. Between Paige and the preacher Quinn felt like he had his head on straight and he was finally ready to talk with Eliot.
After a quick change of clothes Quinn joined Eliot in the gym. Eliot was still working out against the heavy bag, so Quinn pulled on the thick punching mitts for sparring.
Eliot stepped back from the bag with a grunt and a flash of yellow eyes. He tossed a sweaty strand of hair away from his face. "What's up?"
Quinn stepped into the open space that they used for practice and dropped into a ready stance. "I don't know what to do about the Black Lady, but I'm ready to talk about it."
Eliot gave a spinning round house kick followed by two fast light jabs. "What do you want to talk about?"
Quinn could tell from Eliot's showy almost playful moves that his Alpha was at the very least not mad at him. "I'm not sorry about killing Caroline." He made a swipe at Eliot's head that was meant to be a distraction for the leg sweep that he sent Eliot's way.
Eliot ducked Quinn's hand and hopped the leg that was aiming for his ankles. "I never said you should be."
Quinn cocked his head. "You've been annoyed with me."
Eliot moved quickly through a combination of strikes. "I'm frustrated with the complication. I want all the help I can get to bring Parker through the change." He grunted as he moved into a combination of knees and elbows. "But I'm not willing to risk you, just to use the amulets Nati sent."
"What are you gonna do then?" Quinn shoved Eliot back hard and worked to get in a knee strike and a left cross.
Eliot stepped into the knee, robbing the strike of most of its force, and blocked the cross. "Up to you." Eliot grunted and swept Quinn's feet. "We don't use the amulets, or we talk it out with Nati first."
Quinn's breath was knocked out of him when his back hit the floor. He shot a leg out catching Eliot in the thigh, giving Quinn time to regain his feet. "What do you want to do?"
Eliot's eyes flashed yellow, and fur sprang up across the tops of his shoulders. "I think a secret like this will blow up later. I would talk it out but…" Eliot rolled his head in a way that looked like he was fighting to hold himself back. He blinked and when he looked at Quinn again his eyes were blue. "I won't do something you're not ready for."
Quinn waited a moment, but Eliot stepped back working his gloves loose.
"Just don't wait too long to decide."
Quinn felt the push in the bonds. It wasn't an order but close. "I'll talk to the Black Lady. For Parker, I'll talk."
Eliot pulled Quinn into a fast sweaty hug, pounding him on the back with a fist as he let him go. "Better call her Natali to her face. Don't know how she'd take the Black Lady thing."
Quinn nodded and tried to stop the shiver of fear he felt at talking to Nati.
"Hey." Eliot cuffed Quinn's shoulder. "You're one of mine. You won't face Nati alone."
"Thanks." Quinn nodded.
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Tomorrow they'd wrap up the job for Talbert and sic the dogs of law on Zamora and Pritchett. For now…
"Guess what?!" Parker shrilled as she leapt onto Eliot's back.
With a grunt Eliot caught his balance and looked over his shoulder at Parker. "What?"
"You're supposed to guess." Parker tried to pout for a split second but couldn't make it convincing since she was just too excited to contain herself.
"I did." Eliot smiled. "You said to guess what so I did. I guessed what." He teased.
"Hardison said that I get to steal all of Zamora's jewels and all of Pritchett's stash too!"
"Really?" He looked at Hardison. "And how many do we get to keep?"
"Parker and I will try to match any laser inscribed serial numbers on the gems with botched insurance claims. After that well…" Hardison smiled with a shrug that asked 'what else can we do?'
"Ooooh, I love untraceable jewels." Sophie sighed as she hugged a decorative couch pillow to her chest.
"I want to celebrate!" Parker hopped off of Eliot and with a bounce threw herself at Hardison.
"Celebrate by doin' what momma?" Hardison pulled her into his side.
"This feels like Christmas again. Can we watch movies, and have popcorn and hot cocoa, and Christmas tree lights, and everything?"
Hardison laughed. "I got the movie angle covered." He looked at Eliot.
"I'll get the cocoa and popcorn going after I catch a shower." Eliot shook his head fondly as he headed for the stairs.
~~o0o~~
Gemma and Sophie got everyone to change into their matching pajamas and Eliot had already brought two massive bowls of popcorn to the living room.
"You look cute in your p-jays." Gemma smiled at Eliot over the counter of the kitchen island.
Eliot snorted.
"Big bad Alpha doesn't look cute. He looks…" Quinn scoffed as he came back for another set of mugs full of cocoa. "Well, I don't know what you call it but…"
Gemma had made her way around the counter and pressed a kiss to Eliot's cheek. "Cute."
Quinn rolled his eyes and took the mugs to the living room.
Finally everyone had popcorn and cocoa and a place in front of the TV.
"What are we watching?" Eliot asked as he settled in on the couch between Gemma and Parker.
"Die Hard." Hardison smiled and accepted a fist bump from Quinn, who was sitting on the floor in front of him.
"Hardison!" Sophie groaned. "That is not a Christmas movie."
"No, it's the ultimate Christmas movie." Eliot smiled and, reaching over Parker's head, went through the hand-slapping fist bumping routine with Hardison.
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Eliot had Gemma curled warm in his arms. The place was quiet, and it made him think of that Christmas story about Santa Clause when 'nothing was stirring not even a mouse.'
Except something twisted in the bonds. "Nothing was stirring but the werewolves I guess." Eliot muttered and kissed the top of Gemma's head as he slid out of bed.
She blinked up at him.
"Sshh. Everything's fine. Go back to sleep."
With a groan, she pulled the covers tight as she rolled to the side.
Eliot padded quietly down the hall. He could feel the tension in the bonds that said someone was having a nightmare. It hadn't gotten bad enough to wake anyone yet but since he'd already been awake, he couldn't miss it.
He paused by Parker and Hardison's door but after a moment he realized it was Quinn. He moved further down the hall to Quinn's door. Quinn had been having fewer nightmares over the last couple of months but now and again some phantom would raise its ugly head.
Eliot reached to the side as he stepped through the door and switched the light on.
Quinn sat up with a gasp. Eyes wide, pupils blown. He looked wildly around the room for a moment before he settled on Eliot.
"Did I…" Quinn panted. "Did I wake anyone?"
"Nah." Eliot gestured for Quinn to follow. "I was already up so I think I caught it early."
Quinn followed Eliot down the stairs and helped with the routine of getting tea with a shot of whiskey into two mugs. As he put the whiskey back on the top shelf, he noticed that Eliot was still in his Christmas pajamas.
"Is Christmas usually like that?"
"Huh?" Eliot turned with the kettle.
"You know, presents, and p-jays, and the tree and all." Quinn waved one of the mugs in a bit of a circle to take in the Christmassy atmosphere of the living room.
"Yah I guess." Eliot shrugged. "Parker's always had a real thing about Christmas. I think 'cause she never really had any good ones as a kid ya know? And the rest of us just sorta got sucked into it eventually."
Quinn took his mug of tea to the couch. "It's nice." He sat looking at the tree. "Did you have Christmas as a kid?"
"Yah, my mama went out of her way to make 'em special. Weren't anything fancy but they were good." Eliot smiled as he settled in on the couch next to Quinn. "You?"
"Not so much." Quinn shrugged. "They weren't anything horrible or anything. I just always felt like an outsider. Like none of it was for me."
Eliot nodded.
A soft sound drew their attention to the top of the stairs. Gemma had wrapped the blanket from Eliot's bed around her and was making her way down the stairs in an uncoordinated and slightly grumpy fashion.
She flopped onto the couch next to Eliot. "Got tired of waiting."
"Sorry darlin'." Eliot kissed the top of her head and pulled her close as she snuggled into his side.
Quinn smiled at the sight of Gemma already drifting to sleep. "Wish it was that easy."
"Someday maybe." Eliot smiled and rested a hand on the back of Quinn's neck.
In no time, all three of them were asleep on the couch. Parker looked down from the top of the stairs and a line from a movie drifted to mind. She could picture the little green frog with a crutch, in her mind, and she echoed him. "God bless us, everyone."
~~The End~~