A/N: I can't believe the huge and positive response I've had to this fic! It really amazes me, and I want to thank everyone who has sent me a review - you all rock! :-)

This chapter kind of just grew and grew... I'm sure no-one will mind that its longer though, right? All the more EP goodness for all! ;-)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 3

Parker had a plan, or rather she had Sophie's plan, which was strange in that the whole thing involved doing nothing at all. The problem was, Parker wasn't good at acting natural and normal, because her own version of natural was far removed from everybody elses. Add to that the fact that every time she went anywhere near Eliot lately she lost her grip on even the small sense of normalcy she usually held onto, it only made things worse.

Still, the latest con had gone off without a hitch, or rather with no problem that they couldn't solve. So here they were at Nate's getting the de-brief, sat around in the living area of his apartment, just like they usually did. Only Parker wasn't listening, wasn't even looking at the leader of their team. Her eyes kept straying to the left where Eliot was sat a little closer to her than usual.

It wasn't a deliberate act. Nate had dumped half his costume in the far armchair, Sophie had sat down in the other and before Parker had a chance to consider her options she suddenly found herself squashed between Hardison and Eliot on the couch. A week ago or more, she wouldn't even have thought about it, but now it felt strange and awkward and...

"Parker?" said Nate suddenly catching her attention, making her realise just how tuned out of the conversation she was, and how her eyes were still on Eliot.

"Hmm, yeah, what?" she said, very deliberately looking to their leader.

"You okay?" he checked, "You didn't seem like you were listening"

"I was" she smiled, an abject lie, but hopefully Nate wouldn't notice or maybe just wouldn't care.

"Then what did I say?" he asked her, head tilted slightly as he studied her, and all other eyes in the room turned to stare as well.

"Um..." she looked to Sophie for help and though she would have liked to have done so, Nate was somehow capable of watching all of them at once, so there really wasn't an opportunity, "I... I don't know" Parker admitted at length, shrugging her shoulders heavily.

"It been a looong day, Nate" Hardison pointed out, always the first to jump to the thief's defence somehow, "Hell, I barely got my eyes open, my ears ain't even tryin' anymore"

Nate sighed at that but was apparently willing to let it go and give in.

"Fine, I guess we can talk this out tomorrow" he conceded, waving a hand that signalled they should all leave.

The four of them were up in a second and out of the door before anything else could happen that might mean they needed to stay. Hardison was practically in his car before anybody else so much as cleared the doors downstairs and Sophie, Parker, and Eliot all looked to each other rather than immediately parting ways.

"Er, either of you need a ride home or anything?" Eliot offered.

Perhaps some would think such an offer out of character for a guy not exactly pre-disposed to kindness, but his team knew different. He played the hardman because he was one, but underneath it all he did care. He wouldn't have Sophie or Parker wandering around the dark streets on Boston alone, even if they were a little smarter and tougher than the average woman in town.

"Um, y'know, actually I think I should head back up" said Sophie, glancing from Eliot to Parker then very deliberately up at the apartment block they had just exited, "Yeah, I mean, Nate's had a rough day, might be tempted to... slip back into old habits" she mimed what was clearly supposed to be drinking and yet looked more like thumb-sucking the way she did it, as she said her goodnights and headed back inside.

"And then there were two" said Parker softly to herself, pushing her hands into the pockets of her pants.

"So, we gonna stand here in the cold all night or you want that ride home?" asked Eliot, though Parker didn't seem to hear him at all at first, just continued to stare after Sophie.

The truth was the little blonde was confused... again! Surely the grifter had told her to act normally and naturally around Eliot and she would watch for 'signs', whatever the hell that meant, Parker still didn't get it. Now she was rushing off and leaving her alone with the hitter she was pretty sure she liked too much. How was Sophie supposed to watch for signs if she wasn't even there? It did not make sense.

"Parker?" Eliot tried to get her attention, just about to reach out a hand to her shoulder when she spun around so fast he actually almost jumped with surprise, but managed to hide it well.

"You wanna get a drink?" she asked stiffly, almost as if she was a ventriloquists dummy with the words being put into her mouth by someone else.

It would make sense if she were being operated from another place, Eliot sometimes wondered if it was another planet actually, but the less said about that the better. Considering her question, he had to admit a drink sounded good. He had no wish or need to go home and sleep right now, and since Hardison, Nate, and Sophie were gone, his hanging out options landed squarely with Parker. She was weird at times, but that was okay, he was getting used to it. Besides, if he was going to be drinking, he suspected she'd stop seeming so strange a few beers in.

"Sure, why not?" he shrugged, following her as they headed into McRorys.

Parker had a smile on her face that thankfully Eliot couldn't see as they headed inside and went up to the bar. Her eyes slipped heavenward as she whispered a thank you for the help gratefully received. Anyone who saw her or heard her might have assumed some divine power was at work, but that wasn't quite true.

"I really don't need a baby-sitter, Sophie" sighed Nate tiredly as he ran a hand over his face, "You could've gone home. The only bottle I was planning on opening was milk for my cocoa" he assured her, only to turn and find she wasn't even listening anyway, "Soph?"

"Hmm?" she said, eyes not lifting from the screen of her cell for another few moments, "Sorry, what?" she said, pocketing her phone at last and moving to take off her coat.

"What was that all about?" asked Nate curiously leaning on the back of the couch to look at her, "Are you up to something?"

"Really, Nate, what would I be up to?" she replied as she placed her coat carefully on the back of a chair and walked around the couch to sit down beside him.

The smile pulling at her lips told her friend he was right, that she was indeed up to no good. All he had to do was keep up with the disbelieving stare a minute longer and she'd crack, he was certain of it. Once again, Nate was proved right as Sophie grinned wider and turned in her seat to better face him.

"Okay, so I am up to something, but something good" she promised, "I'm helping Parker with Eliot"

Immediately the interest and smile visible on Nate's features was gone, replaced with concern and almost fear.

"Helping her to do what with Eliot?" he asked warily.

"Well, she likes him" explained Sophie, "Not that I really expected you to notice, being male as you are. Honestly, do you blokes walk around with your eyes closed?" she asked, and since Nate could feel one of her rambling rants coming on, he cut in fast.

"Okay, okay" he said, pinching the bridge if his nose - apparently he was due a headache right about now, whether she continued talking or not - "So Parker likes Eliot, which is strange and unnatural in and of itself" he decided, "but what exactly are you doing getting involved in that?"

"Oh, come on, Nate" Sophie rolled her eyes, "You know Parker hasn't a clue about interaction with other people, much less men she likes" she explained, "She asked me for help and that's what I'm doing. So far we're just testing the water but..."

"But this is never going to work, Sophie" Nate warned her, watching her expression shift from happy to sad in an instant and unable to stand it right now, "You can't just go matchmaking members of our team" he told her seriously, getting up from the couch and heading for the kitchen to make that hot drink he'd been contemplating when she first came back in, "All you're gonna achieve is tearing this group apart, not least because Eliot doesn't even like Parker!" he called over his shoulder to her as he set about hunting down the things he needed from the cupboards.

"Is that what he told you?" asked Sophie, laughing into her words as she peered over the back of the couch at him.

The look of Nate's face as he glanced back at her answered the question without him ever having to speak.

"Honestly" she sighed heavily, getting up to help with the making of cocoa, "Men are so naive!"

This was awkward, every possible kind of awkward, and Eliot hated that. When he went for a drink it was a rare moment to relax, to just hang out, have a laugh and all. Here with Parker, well, even four beers in, he was struggling. They spent very little time alone together, and when they were on a job they at least had that to talk about. Here and now there was little or nothing he could find to say to her, and less she could find to say to him apparently. So here they sat, side by side, drinks in their hands, just barely smiling at each other once in a while, not sure what else they were supposed to do.

The major problem for Eliot was that his mind was still wandering, back to that kiss he and Parker had shared a few days ago. He'd kissed a lot of women in his time, a lot, probably far more than his fair share, but as far as he could recall, he'd never once thought about kissing Parker. It wasn't that she was in any way unattractive to look at. She had a pretty face and a well-kept figure that was perfect for the job she did. If he saw her in a bar, dressed nice and all, chances were good he'd make a move. As it was, he knew better, and he'd never thought about her in that way, not until she made him.

Kissing him had been the means to an end, so she said, to prove a point to Hardison that sometimes when you're acting you can just kiss someone and it not mean a thing. He'd played the part well but the truth of it was he had felt something when her lips were on his, her arms around his neck, and body pushed up against his own. He hadn't wanted to, but there were some things a man just couldn't help. If he didn't know better Eliot would say that Parker was as into that kiss as he was, after all, it was Sophie who was the actress, she was just a thief and had proven to be less than convincing as a grifter in the past.

When he talked to Nate about all this, he had meant what he said. Eliot did not want Parker having a crush on him. It would make life far too complicated for the team, and for him, for all of them truth be told. Of course, a major reason for not wanting her to feel that way about him was because she might just succeed in tempting him to feel the same. No, that was the beer clouding his judgement, or so Eliot told himself as the thought occurred that maybe this was all a set up...

For Parker, this night was perhaps the strangest she had spent in a while. She didn't go out on dates. As far as she could recall she'd never done anything with a guy that could be construed as an actual date, and this was maybe as close as she'd ever gotten to one. She wanted to talk, she really did, but nothing that came into her head seemed right to actually let out of her mouth. Besides, Eliot didn't talk either, so maybe they just weren't supposed to. Honestly, Parker hadn't a clue, and since this wasn't a job she didn't have Sophie in her ear to help her out like in other situations when she was panicking over what to say or do.

Glancing sideways, she found Eliot was looking at her again. He'd been staring on and off this whole time, and each time she caught him she wondered what she was supposed to do. She'd tried smiling, and then he would kind of smile back and look away. One time she checked if she'd got something on her face but apparently she hadn't. This time she didn't get a chance to do anything as Eliot slid down off his stool and muttered something about the bathroom.

Parker watched him go and then immediately rifled in her pocket for her cell phone. Sophie had gotten her into this and she could get her out, surely. She started texting, concentrating on doing so quickly before Eliot came back, but was convinced she hadn't managed it when she felt a presence on the stool beside her. She got a bigger shock when she turned her head to find herself face to face with a far larger and uglier man than expected, breathing too much booze all over her.

"Hey there, honey" he slurred some as his hand landed on her shoulder, "What's a pretty thing like you doin' sat all on your lonesome?" he asked, a terrible pick up line for a decent, sober guy, neither of which this particular person was.

"I'm not alone" the thief shook her head, pulling herself away from the stranger, hating the fact he had dared to touch her like that, "I was..."

"No, you don't have to be alone now" he leered, leaning over as much as she did, keeping himself in her personal space, "Daddy's here" he winked, making Parker want to vomit on the spot.

"Go away" she shooed him as if he were a troublesome fly she'd like to swat.

Of course that wasn't going to work and Parker was just starting to panic a little on the inside, when her saviour appeared.

"The lady asked you to leave" said Eliot, tapping the great hulking mass of drunken flesh in the back of the shoulder, "Why don't you try doin' that" he suggested, taking up a battle-ready stance even now, ever wary of this turning out badly.

"What's it to you, pretty boy?" said the drunk as he dropped down off the stool and faced the hitter.

Parker very deliberately backed up into the corner clear of the action. There was a good chance there was about to be a fight, and though she trusted Eliot to win, she really didn't want to get caught in the cross fire.

"Pretty boy, huh?" Eliot echoed with an unamused chuckle, then in a second had the idiot who would start with him pinned over the bar in a crash of glassware, "She's my girlfriend, asshole!" he yelled in the drunk's face.

Though the guy didn't go down without a fight, Eliot would've beaten him easily even if the jerk was sober. Drunk as he was just made things easier as the hitter did what he did best, literally kicking his butt out of the front door of McRory's a moment later.

Parker was always in awe of the kind of display Eliot put on when he fought, but this evening he had really knocked the wind out of her sails, and that was before he'd even landed a punch.

"You okay?" he asked her as he turned around, pushing his hair back out of his face.

"I'm... I'm your girlfriend?" said Parker uncertainly as she moved away from the wall now, gingerly coming back to the stool she'd been sat on before.

"Oh" said Eliot, recalling what he'd said when he was beating on the guy and seriously wondering himself why he'd bothered to say such a thing, "Yeah, well, he doesn't know better, so..." he shrugged, quick to change the subject it seemed, "Are you okay?" he checked again as he sat down beside her, trying to meet her eyes.

He doubted the guy had a chance to physically harm her, and there was no evidence he could see that she'd been hit by the breaking glass or debris. Still, she had to have been startled, afraid maybe. He knew how much she hated touching at the best of times...

"Yeah" she nodded, a smile coming to her lips then as she seemed to relax, the ordeal over, "You really beat that guy up... for me" she added the last two words with a kind of astonishment as she realised the real truth of them.

Eliot shifted uncomfortably as she gazed at him like some kind of hero. She wasn't the first woman to do it and he doubted she'd be the last, but with her it wasn't fun. He'd meant what he said before, Parker liking him that way would make life way to complicated and he could do without it.

"It's what I do" he said looking away and to the bartender to offer a little cash for the breakages caused before, "Y'know, for the team" he added quickly, before the thief got any ideas he'd rather she didn't have.

"Uh-huh, yeah" Parker nodded her understanding though she was still wearing that smile that showed wonderment and gratitude both.

The thought crossed Eliot's mind that if she'd been any other girl in a bar, this night could've ended very differently. Women loved a bad boy, he knew that, and the fact he could be both that guy and a hero all at the same time, oh he could've got some real gratitude from a woman for something like that. The way Parker was looking right now was starting to make him wonder a little too much on how things might go if he let her work on the ideas she seemed to be getting about him. Of course, Nate had told him he was crazy to even think it, but with Parker, anything was possible.

The memory of that kiss they shared was forever burnt into his mind and it just wouldn't shift no matter what he did to try and make it leave. Spending time alone with Parker clearly wasn't helping, that was for sure.

"C'mon" he said, encouraging her up onto her feet, "We should get outta here" he told her, gesturing for her to follow him, presumably out to his truck so he could drive her home.

Tonight had been a weird night, Eliot thought to himself, and it needed to be over, before it could get any weirder.

To Be Continued...