*ok boys and girls - sorry it's taken so long but here's a new chapter!*

"You know you can't hide out here forever" Sophie turned to Eliot as he was making dinner

"Are you sick of me already? And I'm not hiding"

"Really? Because I've never known you to ignore your phone as much as you have and you've been doing everything and anything to keep busy – I've never seen my closet so organized."

He whirled on her

"You ever tell ANYONE I organized your shoe collection I'll –"

"Oh save it, you know I wouldn't say anything – especially because I don't want ANYONE to know how messy my closet was" she gave him a knowing look

He nodded his head in agreement

"However I still think you're hiding" she replied

Eliot sighed; he hated it when she was right

"I'm not hiding, I'm just….."

"Giving her space?"

"Yeah, she needs her space, she's rebuilding her business, rebuilding her life"

"dating" Sophie finished

Eliot slammed the knife down that he'd been using to cut vegetables with

"Who did you hear that from?" his eyes filled with anger

"Why should it matter who I heard it from? I thought that you wanted to give her space and that –"

"Who Sophie?" he cut her off

Sophie laughed; she knew when Eliot fell it would be hard – the bigger they are the harder they fall and all that. It was nice to see that someone had finally gotten past all his walls

"Oh relax, I was just trying to guage your reaction and I guessed right – you love her"

Eliot grumbled

"Sophie you can't play with people's – fine I love her ok?" he finally gave up when he saw the look she was giving him and knew that it was futile to fight it

"Then why are you here?"

"Because she doesn't need this; she doesn't need to be constantly looking over her shoulder – she's already done that. She doesn't need to be wondering where I am, or if I'll come back, she doesn't need"

"Someone to love her? To care for her? To show her that not all men are like her dreadful ex fiance?"

"Of course she deserves that but-"

"But what? Damn it Eliot you're as bad as Nate sometimes when it comes to admitting your true feelings. Are you scared? Afraid she'll walk away?"

"Look Sophie I've been there before remember? It doesn't work out"

"Oh God here we go again with poor Amy broke my heart" Sophie began waving her hands in the overdramatic way that was the essence of Sophie

"When are you going to realize that just like she needs to realize that not all men are Steven Westerhoff, YOU need to realize that not every woman is Amy? She's not going to leave you Eliot." She ignored him when he started to interrupt

"Save it – you know that's the REAL reason you're here. You're so damn scared that she'll leave you like Amy did that you never gave her, no you never TRUSTED her enough to believe that she wouldn't leave you. She helped you on a con Eliot – doesn't that count for SOMETHING? I mean God you're more like Nate than I thought…" she rambled on but Eliot was no longer listening.

All he could think about was how right she was; he was so hurt by Amy that he'd never let anyone get close again. Not til Nona and he was so scared that she would break his heart that he never gave her an opportunity to show him otherwise. What a fool he'd been, he had to find her, he had to make her listen, he had to – what was Sophie babbling about now?

"Sophie!" he almost screamed which effectively cut her off

"What?" she said almost startled

"You're right"

"Well of course I'm right I mean you can't just –"

"Sophie! I'm going after her"

"What? Yes yes of course you should go after her" Sophie had as usual gotten off track with what they were talking about and found away to make it about her and Nate.

"You should go and find her and-" just then Eliot's phone started ringing off the hook; thinking it was Nona he immediately began

"Nona honey I'm sorry I just – Hardison?"

"Yes boo it's me…" Hardison mocked him

"What the HELL do you want?"

"Well I see how it is you're all willing to apologize to her, but not to me nevermind the fact that you left me to give her the bad news about how you-"

"DAMN IT HARDISON!"

"We have a job and need you ASAP"

"Can it wait?"

"If it could wait do you think I would have said ASAP?"

"Fine I'll be there" he said ending the call

"Well it looks like she'll have to wait a bit longer – we just caught a client" Eliot said to Sophie as he began to gather his gear

"Well just don't make her wait to long…"