I want to thank everyone that has given me so much support and being so kind to send such wonderful reviews. It is very much appreciated!! Thanks again for all the support and please keep the comments coming it helps fuel the muse!

Thanks to Paula for the read through and being such a supportive sis and she keeps corrupting my muse which can be a dangerous ;-) ... Thanks to Insomniac-Angel, MSevenj and Cheryl for all the great support and encouragement... will get a hard beta once it's finished... All remaining mistakes belong to me… so on with the story…

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Eliot opened up his eyes only to slam them shut. His head felt like someone was using it for a football. God, he should have paid closer attention to the pills Sophie gave him. She must have found the ones he saved for the others when they got hurt. He never took anything stronger than aspirin for this very reason. He got a ten day drunk in two little tablets and the hangover to go with it. Usually a shot or two of the strong stuff was enough when he need something stronger than aspirin.

He slowly rolled over testing his responses as he went. Okay, he was sore. Ribs wrapped. That would explain the heavy drugs Sophie gave him. She and Nate always mother henned him when they thought he was more hurt than he let on. Which was 99% of the time. He didn't like the smothering but he was getting use to it. Okay, so maybe he liked it a little, but he'd never admit to it.

Holding his ribs with his right hand and pushed himself up with the left. Eyes tightly closed against the dizziness. Once it passed he opened them slowly taking in his surroundings. Last thing he remembered was Parker's revelation and feeling safe, then nothing. Huh, safe, that was a new concept he hadn't really thought about that in a long time. And he had to keep his family safe and that meant getting rid of Angel. But how? He had invited him into his home and he did agree to hear Angel out. So, his only option was to hear the man out and then get him to leave.

God, he was confused and conflicted about Angel. He wanted the man, hell, he loved the man but he wasn't going to admit that either, he knew better. Angel wasn't for the likes of him. Angel fought for the good of mankind and in the scheme of things a lowly thief wasn't good enough for a man destined for great things. Besides that curse of total happiness was something he wasn't going to be responsible for unleashing.

He also had to make sure Parker wasn't alone with Angel, ever. He'd also need to see if he couldn't get her some more information on Angel. Show her he wasn't as bad as she thought. He'd ask Angel if he had someone Parker could talk to. No matter how he felt about Angel, the vampire had to leave whether he wanted him to go or not.

Holding tight to his ribs he slowly stood up and noticed Parker sleeping in front of his door. Somehow this wasn't that big of a surprise as it once might have been. He knelt down next to his friend and was very surprised she hadn't woken up yet. They all woke up when anyone came within ten feet of them while they were sleeping. Self defense mechanism. Guess that showed exactly how much they trusted each other. He gently shook the blond thief's shoulder barely catching the arm that came flying towards his direction.

"Easy Parker it's just me." He was going to have to put in extra time in the gym to work out the soreness. He held her arm until he was sure she was awake.

"Are you okay? Do you need something?" Parker slowly sat up. She looked Eliot over. He didn't look any worse for wear. His face had darker bruises now. Another day and they would be gone. It was as a good thing he was a fast healer as many times he got the crap beat out of him. He may win most of the fights but he still managed to get more than his share of injuries.

"A little sore and have a major headache but I'll live. How about you?" He stood slowly, pulling Parker up with him. He led her over to the bed and sat down. Parker sat beside him, with her hands in her lap, gazing into space.

"I never talked to anyone about my first family. I knew no one would believe me about the vampire. I was too young and they wouldn't have taken me seriously. Also I was afraid for years that if I say anything it would come back. I didn't realize what Angel was at first. Just knew something wasn't right with him and in our business you learn not to ignore those feelings." She looked him in eye. Wanting to make her point. "You have to promise you'll be careful and that one of us is with you at all times."

"Parker I promise you can be here at all times. Angel and I have a long and sometimes very hostile past but I'm absolutely sure he isn't here to hurt anyone. If I believed he was going to hurt any of the team I would have found a way to get rid of him to begin with. Look I'm confused and conflicted about how I feel about him. Hell I'm confused as to why he even bothered to track me down after so long. I need to resolve this so I can move on. I can't have you worried or afraid for the whole time he's here because if I'm worrying about you then I won't be able to get this done. I need you to feel safe around him so I will find you some people to talk to that will help you understand who Angel is. He really has a soul and he is the Champion for Good. He doesn't hurt people unless their bad."

"We're considered bad. Doesn't that mean we have to worry about him hurting us?" Parker insisted.

"We're not bad Parker." Eliot shrugged and winced. "Not even on our worst days do we come close to the truly evil that Angel fights against. We break the law for our clients all the time but we all still have a code we live by. We have nothing to fear from Angel. Like Nate's always telling us we're the good guys now." He smirked and held out his hand to her. "Let's go see what's for breakfast."

"Still don't trust him." Parker said as she took his hand allowing him to pull her up.

"I know just keep an open mind for now. That's all I'm asking for." He led her out of the room and down the hall. "Oh, and no trying to kill him please."

"I make no promises." Was all she said as they came to a stop in the kitchen to see Angel cooking in Eliot's kitchen. As far as she was concerned Angel had just crossed a big line in her book. The kitchen was Eliot's haven. He used it as another meditation, one that was more relaxing than when he went thru his Thai Chi workout. This was sacred space to them. Eliot cooked as they either helped him or sat and talked keeping him company. This had become their haven too. Now the monster was contaminating it.

Eliot squeezed Parker's hand as leaned in towards her. "Stop it. He's one of the good guys remember?" Eliot let go of her hand in favor of supporting his ribs.

Angel looked up as they came in. He had put coffee on an hour ago and started breakfast when heard Eliot groan as he woke up. He looked Eliot over as he was cracking eggs into a bowl. His boy looked rough around the edges but better. He grabbed the aspirin bottle from on top of the fridge and tossed it to Eliot. He wasn't surprised that Parker caught the bottle for the hurting man, as his reflexes were a little stiff and slow. Parker shook out two tablets and handed them over to Eliot and went to put them back. But she seemed to change her mind because she didn't want to get anywhere near him. Parker was still in protective mode and he was picking up a little more emotion from her. Mostly anger and hostility towards him, worry and concern for the mercenary. Eliot on the other hand was calm and that was about it.

"Hope you don't mind, I woke up and couldn't go backed to sleep." Angel shrugged. "Needed something to do."

"It's fine just don't make a mess and leave it." Eliot went to get a glass for something to drink. He had no problem dry swallowing but preferred not to. Damn things tasted horrible. He took the aspirin and put the glass in the sink. He'd make sure the kitchen was clean after breakfast and everything was back the way he kept it. He picked up an apple as he went to stand next to Parker who was standing at the corner of his butcher block cook-top island where Angel was pouring the scrambled eggs into a skillet.

"Vampires don't need sleep. Did you go out and kill someone last night?" Parker asked.

Eliot had just taken a bite out of an apple and started choking on it. He spit it out into the trash. Good thing he was getting use to her blurting out whatever she was thinking. Not sure he'd ever be able to eat anything otherwise. He decided to let Parker have little bit of an interrogation. He could see it was coming. Besides he was here and didn't have to worry much about her killing him for now. At least he hoped not. He hopped up on to his counter facing Angel. He took another bite of apple as he waited for the vampire to answer.

"No, I don't kill people. I kill demons if they're bad, if not, it's live and let live, as long as no one's getting hurt that I can prevent, anyway." Angel looked Parker in the eye wanting to make sure she didn't think he was lying to her about this.

"You need blood to survive, so if you don't kill people. What do you do?" Parker persisted. She moved over to Eliot and sat up next to him.

"I go to slaughter houses or butcher shops for fresh blood. The owners make extra money by supplying it and we get what we need. Without hurting anyone." Angel shrugged as he looked down and stirred the potatoes, onions and several different colors of peppers he had chopped up earlier for hash browns. The vampire could smell the nervous anxiety coming off his boy and not liking it all.

Angel looked at Eliot seeing his eyes crinkled at the edges, probably from pain but the eyes were unreadable. Good thing his emotions weren't. "I came here for Eliot. I want to get to know the real Eliot not who I thought he was as Lindsey."

Eliot met Angel's gaze head-on for a moment before he jumped downed and went down the hallway. Time to wake the rest of the family. He knocked on the boys' door to wake them up before he poked his head into the room. After getting a pillow thrown in his direction and an affirmation that at least Nate was awake. He went to knock on Sophie's door. It would only take the knocking to wake Sophie. She was more like Parker and himself then the other two.

He walked back into the kitchen and noticed that Parker had moved to a chair at the table. Parker had a knife in her hand and she was playing with it. It was the one he kept in a secret compartment he had built into the table himself. He grabbed it from her as he went by.

"Hey!" Parker sounded indignant.

"I thought I told you no killing the guest. And don't scratch up my table." Eliot walked into his pantry and put the knife in what he hoped was a safe place for now.

"Wouldn't have killed him. It would just hurt for a bit and I know how to handle a knife. Your prized cherry walnut table from your great grandparents is still unscratched." Parker was unapologetic. Though she used her sleeve to rub the table just to be sure. They all knew how much Eliot loved the furniture he got from his Mother when she passed away. He had kept it in storage until he got this apartment. It all matched the dining room, living room and even the bedroom. Eliot prized it because it was passed down in his family so that meant that she would treasure it.

Eliot walked back into the kitchen with a loaf of bread for toast. Maybe he'd make French toast too. It was Parker and Hardison's favorite. He started slicing the bread. Not the right way to prepare French toast but it would do in a pinch. He and Angel had a strange dance going on in the kitchen. Seemed they were in sync as they moved around the kitchen each working on their own version of breakfast.

"Toss me the..." Eliot didn't even have to finish his request before the cinnamon was tossed to him. He almost missed it because of the pain in his side from trying to catch it. He sucked in his breath at the twinge of pain.

Angel turned towards him and moved to his side at the same time Parker got to him. Angel had to admire the girl, she was fast and silent. And she was very protective of his boy. They all were which made him, grudgingly, like them even more.

Parker glared at the man in black as she gently pulled Eliot away from the vampire and led him to a chair at the table. Didn't the monster have any other color besides black? Maybe it just matched his true nature. Another reason to keep him away from Eliot and the team.

"I'm fine Parker. Just moved wrong and too fast." Eliot grabbed her wrists and held them. He made sure he looked her right in the eye. "I'm fine. You can relax and let me finish making breakfast, okay?"

Parker nodded and sat back down. She hated this feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Not feeling as secure and safe as she had become use to since they became a family. Maybe if she accidentally threw a wooden stake at the vampire? Aim for the heart. She would have to make sure Eliot was out doing something. Maybe when he went to work out?

"Stop plotting his death Parker." Eliot had been watching the blond thief as he worked on the French toast and knew she was trying to think of a way to get rid of Angel.

Parker huffed at him. "Fine." She got up and went to see if Sophie was up and dressed yet. She met Nate and Hardison in the hall and Sophie was coming out of her room behind them.

"*HE* is fixing breakfast." Parker announced to the group as she came to a stop in front of them. They all heard the disdain in her tone and her sneer just made it sound even worse.

"But Eliot's making French toast." Parker smiled her demented happy smile, turned and skipped back down the hall.

Nate sighed as he watched Parker turn around and walked backed into the kitchen with Alec following. "I had hoped she would have eased up on her dislike for Angel."

"That's not dislike Nate, that hatred. I'd like to know why she hates a man she's never meet before." Sophie looped her arm though Nate's as they stood in the hallway. She studied his profile for a moment as she watched the expressions play across his face. "We'll need to run interference for Eliot and Angel sometime today so they can have that talk."

Sophie thought about it for a second. "Maybe we can have Hardison take Parker out and scout some of the newest museums?"

Nate started to walk towards the kitchen. "No way, I want to keep all of us under the radar for as long as possible." He gave her a meaningful look. They were all trying to get back to the full level of trust that had existed before the Two Davids job. "We should send Parker to scope out the zoo."

"Whatever for?" Sophie came to a dead stop right out of sight of the kitchen pulling Nate around to face her.

"Well, minimal surveillance cameras, nothing she can steal, not to mention, nothing that would be worth stealing." Nate shrugged. "Nobody to con and finally, and something I think is much more important, Alec will be there, making sure that she is entertained, out of the way and behaves therefore staying out of trouble. Hopefully they'll relax and have some fun." Nate walks away since he was through the conversation. Leaving a confused and somewhat contemplative Sophie in his wake.

Sophie walked into the kitchen setting in her chair beside Nate on her right and Eliot on her left, at the head of the table, and Parker was on his left then Hardison and that left Angel at the end facing Eliot. They had just started passing the food around. Parker not touching anything that Angel had made. Sophie noticed Angel cock his head in a listening pose right before the knock at the door.

Eliot scraped his chair back as he pushed away from the table. He motioned Parker back into her seat. "Y'all just eat. I'll be right back."

Sophie was still watching the man in black. Angel looked like he was trying to listen to what was going on at the front door with Eliot and who was at the door. Then she noticed his nostrils flair and he started to rise but Nate already a hand on his shoulder holding him in place.

"He's fine. He needs us, he'll let us know." Was all Nate said. Sophie could tell Angel was still tense and his jaw was ticking. She wasn't sure what the problem was. Whatever Angel was picking up on but it made her nervous. And she didn't get nervous.

Angel sat and listened to the conversation going on in the front hallway. Worse he could smell the pheromones coming off both men and the lust, for his boy, coming from the cop at the door had him wanting to rip the man apart. He wanted to get up but Nate was right and his boy wouldn't appreciate the interference, from him no less.

Parker watched the vampire and got one of her little grins on her face. "Vinny is an old boyfriend of Eliot's."

"Parker! That's not something he needs to know right now." Hardison whispered fiercely at the blond thief. "You and me are gonna have a talk. You're going to tell me what's going on with you." That's was all he said before going back to his breakfast.

He wasn't sure he could keep Parker from provoking Angel but he had to try for everyone's sake. Sure, he wasn't happy about having Angel here because he seemed to be causing both Eliot and Parker grief with just his presence. But he also saw how much Angel loved Eliot. He didn't like seeing his family upset and that's what they were. So he was going to do what he needed to for both Eliot and Parker. And, maybe, just maybe, Eliot and Angel would find some peace and talked with Vinny for a few minutes and with the possibility of a job he was happy when finally walked back into the dining room. He noticed Parker's demented happy smile and knew that she had been up to something. Angel looked tense and a ticking jaw was never a good sign. Not to mention that Angel was staring at his plate and pushing the food around. He didn't eat unless for appearance sake but the combination made him want to hit something or maybe put Parker back on the happy pills until he could figure out what to do about Angel. He chose to ignore everyone for the moment and eat since he was really hungry. He'd deal with the fallout later. He was more interested in what job Vinny could have for him since as a rule he didn't do work for law enforcement unless it was another country or Vinny's family. It would be too easy for the US law enforcement to find and possibly catch him. As many times as he had been with Vinny and his family he was amazed they had never tried to catch him. He wasn't about to bring it to their attention. He may like, even love, Vinny and his family but he wasn't completely stupid. Maybe he'd take Parker might make her a little more relaxed for a while.

He'd talk to Nate about finding away to get their 'talk' over with after breakfast.

tbc