A/N: Almost done with this fic, just one more chapter after this and we should have all loose ends tied up. My thanks to everyone who is still reading and reviewing!

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 14

Nate walked into his apartment rather more sedately than he'd left a few hours before. It was strange how a day could start in one mood and take a complete seismic shift in the middle. Sometimes it was a move for the better and other times for the worse. Today had managed to make two such turns, the first in the former sense and the other in the latter.

Sitting down at the table, the mastermind put his face in his hands and let out a long breath. He was slowly getting used to his world being turned upside down on a regular basis, or at least Nate thought he was. He had to be ready for just about anything doing the job he did, pulling the cons his team tried and succeeded in completing. Still he got a few suprises along the way. He really hadn't seen this whole Eliot and Parker thing coming, in fact he had been the one to tell Sophie she was seeing things when she pointed it out to him.

Now it seemed clear his hitter and thief were in deep somehow. Nobody had mentioned love yet, and he couldn't imagine either of them saying such a thing any time soon, but he could see it now, clear as day between them. It seemed crazy on the surface, they bickered so much when the team first got together, now Nate realised that was just the fine line they were walking between love and hate. Sophie saw it, but then Sophie always did. Maybe if she had stayed it wouldn't have taken so long for Eliot and Parker to see sense, but then stubborn as they were it was hard to tell.

It mattered to Nate that his team were happy, making him wonder how each of them had so easily become a family member he hardly knew he needed. Since the death of his son and divorce from his wife, Nate had been completely cut off from any sense of belonging he used to have, until the team, until now. He had a family and their welfare was important. If Eliot and Parker could make each other happy then he wasn't about to ruin it, even if he had to wonder how long it could really last. The fall out could be bad, could lead to a break up of this family he had gotten so used to, but he hoped not.

Right now that was a bridge to jump off when they reached it, hopefully far off into the future, if it ever came at all. He wouldn't presume to try and stop them living their lives as they wanted to. In their line of work, Eliot's in particular, every day was to be lived to the maximum because there was always a chance of it being the last in one way or the other.

Death haunted each and every one of them, but not just those in the Leverage team, every person in the world. Nobody lived forever, even good people had to pass away sometime, such was the truth today. One of Nate's oldest friends had died last night, dear old John McRory who owned the bar downstairs. It was a sobering thought for Nate that the man was not so very much older than him, and yet he was gone forever. So sobering in fact that the idea of being entirely drunk appealed tremendously.

He wouldn't do it, Nate told himself, as he pictured in his mind's eye the disapproving look Sophie would give him if she saw him reach for the scotch bottle now, after spending so very long 'on the wagon' as it were. Still, it was tempting, and perhaps more so in some ways because he knew she wouldn't approve. He didn't much approve of her walking out on the team, on him, and yet she was gone. Nobody seemed to care much what he thought or said or felt of late. Why would it matter if he wanted to drink himself into oblivion? Who would be here to care?

"Nate?"

A voice from the stairs gave him his answer as Eliot and Parker descended one behind the other, tucking in shirts and fixing hair.

Three guesses what they've been doing, he thought to himself, but chose not to dwell on it more than a moment.

"Hello, you two" he said with a clearly forced smile as he got up from his place at the table and headed into the kitchen.

He had decided quite definitely not to drink alcohol but he was at least going to need a caffeine fix if he was going to get through today. There was an awkward silence as Eliot and Parker hovered behind him, both clearly wondering what to say for the best. Make an excuse for why they were upstairs, ask if he was okay because he certainly didn't seem it, or just make a hasty exit to avoid potentially making matters worse. It was the hitter who spoke eventually, if only to avoid his girlfriend (for lack of a better term) from saying something inappropriate as she was want to do.

"You feeling okay, man?" he asked, watching as Nate put on the coffee pot.

"In relative terms... I could be okay" he shrugged as he turned to look between the two of them, leaning back against the counter as they cautiously approached him, as if he were a bomb about to go off, "I just found out John McRory... he, er, he passed away last night" he admitted, avoiding the dreaded 'd' word that would make this all too real.

"I'm sorry" said Eliot, looking genuinely like he was trying to be comforting, something Nate knew didn't come easy for any of his misfit crew.

"Yeah, me too" the mastermind sighed as he showed the couple the coffee pot, silently offering them a cup.

"Ooh, yeah..." Parker began to say, until Eliot tapped her elbow to get her attention and shook his head, "Or no?" she tried.

"Maybe we should go" the hitter said thoughtfully, looking to his friend, "Y'know, you might want to be alone with your thoughts and all" he said waving his hand in a vague gesture.

"Maybe" Nate nodded his reply, glad that Eliot seemed to understand his situation even better than he did, "Actually, yes. If you wouldn't mind"

Parker just nodded and moved to grab her jacket before heading for the door with Eliot right behind her. As they passed by Nate, the thief stopped a moment, looking troubled before she leaned in and patted him awkwardly on the shoulder.

"There, there" she said flatly, before turning to go.

The hitter rolled his eyes, shooting Nate an apologetic look on behalf of his so-called girlfriend and then leaving. The mastermind could hear them in the hall as Parker asked what she did wrong and Eliot tried, rather loudly, to explain it to her. That at least raised a smile on their team-mates face. They were still bickering, even now, even after everything and how much they clearly cared for each other, loved each other even.

Nate looked down into his cup of coffee, staring deep into the dark brown liquid as if he hoped to find the answers to the universe in there. As expected, he found nothing but caffeine that was never going to fill the void, no more than alcohol might if he gave in and tried it. Thinking of Sophie always stilled his shaking hand before it ever reached the one bottle he still had hidden in the apartment. If anything was going to drive him to drink, today might well be the day, and yet he refused to break. In his mind's eye he saw the grifter's face, her expression so full of disappointment at such an action. Of course, he was equally as disappointed in her for having given up on the team, on him, on what they might've had some day.

Sadness turned to anger as Nate thought on it too much and realised that at least in part he was entirely mad at Sophie for walking out the way she did, for not being here when the team needed her, damn it, when he needed her so very badly.

Before he'd really thought it through, Nate had the phone in his hand and Sophie's number dialled, waiting impatiently for her to pick up, pacing the carpet as he did so. Disappointment and frustration flooded his body as there was a click and voicemail kicked in. The phone went sailing across the room, clattering against the wall and breaking into several pieces.

"John McRory? Dead?" Sophie echoed the words Tara had just said to her, never knowing their conversation was blocking another call from coming through.

"Yep, that's what the man said" her fellow grifter confirmed, "Nate didn't take it so well, I thought that was the kinda thing you might want to know about"

"You were right to call me, Tara, thank you" her friend sighed heavily, using the hand not holding the phone to push her hair back off her face, "I just wish there was something I could do. You will keep an eye on him for me, won't you?"

Tara wasn't sure how to respond to that. Doing the job they did, as grifters and thieves, neither she nor Sophie could afford to get too close to anybody, to care too much. There were no straight forward relationships for anyone, not least for people like them. Tara never expected to fall in love or have a happy ending, and yet she knew Sophie was different in that respect. She changed that day she met Nathan Ford so many years ago, and now, Tara knew that her own coming here to keep tabs was less because Sophie needed this team to stay together, and more that she needed someone to make sure Nate held himself together.

"Soph, if you're so worried about him, why not come back here yourself?" she asked out-right, knowing that playing this any other way was never going to get her anywhere fast.

There was silence on the line for several moments, to the point where Tara almost wondered if they had lost the connection. Just when she was about to check, Sophie spoke.

"How are Eliot and Parker doing?" she asked, a complete change of subject that brought on an eye-roll from Tara that of course went unseen.

"They seem fine to me" she told her friend honestly, "Honestly, I was pretty sure Spencer didn't know how to smile until he and Parker 'did the deed'" she chuckled.

"Tara, don't be so crude" Sophie admonished her, "It's not all about sex. I really think they love each other"

"Yeah, well, maybe they do" the blonde considered, "Honestly, I was never much for fairytales, but those two? Kind of adore each other. So much so that I could throw up from how cute they are" she smiled in spite of her own better judgement, "I guess some people are just meant to be, huh?"

"Perhaps" Sophie nodded pointlessly as she stared out of her window at the view of London, wondering not for the first time why she was really here.

This was home, where she came from in the first place, though she had a different name then and a vastly different view of the world. These days, no place in England felt like she belonged. She was never really going to find herself in the mother country, nor Europe, not in any place in the world but one, and that was the very place she had run away from.

It was times like this when Sophie started to wonder about her state of mind, after so many occasions confronting Nate about his own. She had come away to find herself, to figure out who she really was before she dare commit herself to being anything else for anyone else's sake. Now she wondered if she was a far bigger fool than she ever accused the team's mastermind of being.

No matter what he did, how out of control he got, how much he drank or didn't, he always cared for her and she always cared for him. Perhaps that was supposed to be the most important thing. Parker and Eliot had acted on instinct, no games or tricks, and now they were apparently happy enough to even convince the cynical Tara that they were in love and meant to be together forever.

"Soph? Sophie!" the blonde called down the phone, catching the other grifter's attention so suddenly she almost dropped the phone, "Hey, you okay there?"

"No" her friend answered with a shake of her head, "No, I really don't think I am" she admitted, "Tara, I might not need you to cover for me with the team for as long as I thought..."

"I'll be back" said Parker as she slid off her barstool and headed for the ladies room.

Eliot watched her go, unable to keep the smile off his face, at least until he turned back and realised her going had left him alone with Hardison. The two guys hadn't actually had to face each other like this since he and Parker got it together, and though he pretended not to care much, it did bother Eliot that his brother in arms might be hurt by this new relationship. It was obvious to all that Hardison liked Parker a lot, though he had never really acted on it much, and she showed no particular extra affection for him than anybody else. Of course that didn't change the fact that the last thing the team needed was a rift between hacker and hitter,

"Hey, you're cool with this, right?" he asked Hardison, "Y'know me and Parker..." he said vaguely, as uncomfortable as any man forced to talk about relationships and all.

"Yeah, it's cool, man" his friend said awkwardly, looking more into his drink than at Eliot at first, "I mean, yeah, probably woulda liked it better if she picked me" he said with a chuckle, though it was hard to tell if he meant to make a joke or not, "but y'know Parker chose you, and you're makin' her happy, and that's all I really want for the girl" he smiled genuinely, "Doesn't suck that she's puttin' you in a less angry mood either, bro" he added, perhaps the vague allusion to them being brothers still proving to be the most important part of anything he said then.

"Thanks, man" said Eliot, as the two shared their usual high-five / fist-bump combo, though unusually Hardison caught his buddy's hand before he moved away, meeting his eyes with a serious expression.

"Hey, I know you tougher than me, and you could kick my ass with both hands tied behind your back" he said seriously, "but you hurt Parker and I make you pay, you got that?"

"If I hurt her" said Eliot, just as gravely, "I'll let you" he promised, just as the girl in question appeared once again.

"Hey" she said with a slight frown as she came to stand between them a hand on each of their shoulders, "What's with the serious?" she asked, just a little worried something bad was happening.

"It's all good" Hardison assured her as he went back to his drink, "We was just talking about how awesome you are" he said with a smile, "How lucky my man Eliot is to have you"

"Aaw, that's... sweet" Parker smiled, oddly giggly in the wake of such compliments, as she leaned into the embrace of her man.

For so many years, she thought happiness was stealing the biggest diamond, committing the perfect crime. She thought alone was better so she could never be hurt again. This whole thing was such a new experience for Parker, having a family and having a boyfriend. Still, this was the happiest she had been for as long as she could remember, and she only hoped it lasted. She didn't believe in happily ever after, she wasn't so stupid as to let herself be blinded by fairytale magic that wasn't at all real. All she could do was hold onto this thing for as long as she could and hope it lasted a good long while yet.

"You okay?" asked Eliot as he caught her staring at him with a strange smile on her face.

"Yeah" she nodded, planting an unexpected kiss on his lips, "I really am"

To Be Continued...