A/N: Sorry, I haven't updated this in a while. Too many ideas, work, thought bunnies, The 10 li'l grifter's job, ideas, The Van Gogh Job, and those damn ideas; they really made it difficult to actually sit down and finish this. I hope you don't mind me explaining what actually happened. I think your own imagination will be better served for this one. Please, review so I can work on my endings. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, people would be watching this instead of reading. So I guess not!

Nate stared at the now sleeping grifter in complete shock. He had almost lost again. He had allowed himself to get close to people and create a new family and he almost lost it! He needed to get off of that thought-train before it decided to pull out of the station. He had to focus on the plan. Eliot and Parker were working on it right now. He had to focus on that terrific plan that was going to leave the mark gasping for air. He needed to stop watching the grifter's breathing pattern. He needed to focus on the con and not on the fact that her breathing was still not as steady as it should be after two months of recovery. Yeah, that thinking wasn't stopping anytime soon. The mastermind sighed out in annoyance as his mind decided to run its favorite reel of failures yet again that night alone.

First up: Sam and his cancer and Blackpoole's damn denial. Yeah, that was a fun memory. Watching him die, that was nothing he couldn't handle… again! Then, Maggie's divorce papers came in hopes of saving what was left of her-self from the black hole known as Nathan Ford said hello. Of course, almost getting blown up by Dubenich popped in for a view before being immediately replaced by almost having to watch Sophie blown into little bits and pieces by that damn Chaos punk. Parker and Hardison decided to pop by when they both almost got shot to death on that car job they pulled. Eliot's Moreau incident flashed by like the hitter himself always seemed to do; powerful, graceful and deadly all in one swift movement of perfect menace. Finally Perkins showed up with his stupid taunting and gloating of finally being able to destroy their family! Hardison's blood covered the entire hotel room when they entered it and the thought of Parker being taken away for forever… Drugging Sophie was the only way, Nate thought to himself as the last images of pushing a needle through the grifter's skin popped on in, she was worrying about the others too much instead of focusing on herself. The mastermind didn't even notice that his hand was wiping away some stray hair in the grifter's face until she started to turn into the touch. He smiled at the simple gesture despite himself because she was alive and he really wanted to stop pushing her away all of a sudden even though that was a super bad idea. Then he heard the very distinctive sound of someone behind him.

"Did you do it?" Nate asked as the unmistakable sounds of the hitter finally registered to the rest of his body.

"Parker's Taser has become a new appendage of hers," Eliot commented with only the slightest hint of humor in his voice.

"Hardison was mad that I wouldn't let him play his video game," Parker quipped from the window as she quietly entered on through.

"That's because he would find some way to hack into Perkins' accounts," Nate smiled at the truth written clearly on his thief's face.

"No, I wouldn't Hardison grumbled as he entered the room in anger, "I am shocked that you would even suggest such a thing."

"Seriously?" Eliot growled at the hacker in irritation.

"Just a little," Hardison shrugged in response to the tiny doubtful scowl on the thief's face.

"We would all be very rich," Sophie mused as everybody's ears registered the raspy; unhealthiness was no longer present in it.

"We're already rich," Hardison grumbled affectionately back in mock annoyance at the grifter's choice of words, "Woman, do you still have no idea what I do? That's just ungrateful!"

"Quit whining," Eliot rolled his eyes at the hacker's immediate response.

"I said I would let you play when I got back," Parker added on with amusement in her eyes.

"First thing's first," Nate ordered humbly, "Did he suffer?"

"Yeah," Parker stated in confusion, "I even pulled his pants down for good measure."

"I gave him a wedgie," Eliot added with a smirk, "That's why Parker pulled his pants down."

"I set up the security cameras to show the whole thing so we can all watch it on the big screens," Hardison added enthusiastically with an evil laugh coming from his lips at the news.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be doing anything but resting?" Sophie quirked an amused eyebrow at the hacker's simple statement.

"We searched that room fifteen times for any electronic devices," Eliot yelled at the hacker thoroughly insulted, "How did you hack into his security system?"

"I just hid your phone in my pants during your last round," Hardison replied back with a shrug, "I knew that was the one place you would never look."

"Dammit Hardison!" Eliot hissed at the hacker angrily, "Now I have to buy a new phone!"

"No problem," Hardison answered as he pulled out a phone and handed it to the hitter with a cheesy smile, "I programmed this one with all of those recipes you love and more."

"Sweet," Eliot laughed as he started working with his new phone with tiny giggles of ecstasy.

"You didn't just have Eliot form the plan did you?" Sophie demanded of the mastermind when her mind finally sharpened enough for her to realize exactly what had been going on.

"Of course not," Parker answered for the mastermind happily, "He planned it completely. I got to use explosives!"

"Nate!" Sophie snapped at the mastermind ruefully, "You're not supposed to tell them to kill the mark!"

"They didn't kill the mark," Nate defended with a very evil smile forming on his lips, "Did you guys kill the mark?"

"Nope," Parker shook her head in response.

"He was very much alive when we left," Eliot nodded to the thief's assessment immediately.

"Screams and all," Hardison added with a laugh, "It's all on the video, man."

"As long as you didn't kill him," Sophie agreed with the assessments happily, "You didn't have to physically hurt him though!"

"He tried to kill Hardison and almost killed you!" Nate argued profusely with no humor in his eyes at all at that cold memory, "I think we were quite generous in letting him live!"

"It's more ruthless to make somebody wish they were dead anyways," Parker commented slowly.

"He was crying before I was even warmed up," Eliot snarled at the wimpy mark's reaction to his torture techniques, "It was barely even worth it."

"I made certain he's on suicide watch," Hardison laughed at his little hobby.

"Seriously?" Parker quipped at the hacker.

"What?' Hardison demanded innocently back, "I got very bored during my recovery."

"You're still not fully recovered," Eliot mumbled at the hacker with a roll of his eyes, "What kind of idiot walks on his broken leg after only a month of not walking?"

"Says the idiot who walked on a broken leg for a good five days before getting treatment after vigorously running on immediately after breaking it," Sophie harshly replied back to the hitter's jibe.

"You can't say anything about it either!" Eliot fussed back childishly at the call back to a job a while back.

"We are not getting into the 'you were dumber than I was' war," Nate huffed at his crew affectionately, "Everybody's alive and our mark suffered! That's all we need to care about right now!"

"Tell them what you did, Nate," Parker begged persistently all of a sudden, "Please, please, please!"

"You'll just have to wait and watch," Nate smiled at the thief's enthusiasm happily.

"What did you do?" Sophie snapped at the mastermind with alarm evident in her eyes.

"Let's just say that the guy found out exactly why you don't mess with us," Hardison smiled at the memory, "He was actually beggin' to be returned to Eliot. Now that's messed up right there!"

"Come on," Nate replied as he helped the grifter to her feet, "Let's go watch the bastard fall!"