Eliot muttered to himself as he drove. Why couldn't his cousin keep himself out of trouble? He sighed. It probably wasn't fair to blame Shawn. Sure, sometimes Shawn did go looking for trouble, but sometimes, trouble came looking for him. And honestly, Shawn probably didn't get into trouble too much more than Eliot himself did. Of course, when Eliot got into trouble, he could get himself out.

He was a little annoyed that his niece had called him. He was ready to get back to Portland. He was pretty worn out from the team's last job. It hadn't helped that they had needed Eliot to bring his car, which in turn resulted in him having to drive back. Not only did he want to rest, but he wasn't entirely comfortable in leaving the brew pub in Hardison's hands, even for just a day. Still, his niece and nephew never failed to make him smile, which was a feat in and of itself, even more so since they were both so much like their father, and all Shawn usually managed to do was annoy him.

He turned onto Shawn's street. Even if he hadn't been looking for signs of trouble, Eliot still would have noticed it. A black van, similar to Hardison's, was parked in front of an empty house. Eliot tensed slightly at the wheel, suddenly very glad that Andi had called him. He quickly made note of the van's license plate number, though he knew it might not lead anywhere.

Eliot pulled his car into the driveway, taking his time as he made his way to the door. He counted three guys hiding in the yard. There was possibly another guy in the van. He could take three guys.

Eliot pulled out his key to the house and unlocked it, remembering now that if the kids were home alone, the dead-bolt was probably set. He reached out towards the door knob, as if he was going to open it, but at the last second, he spun around, his fist connecting with a man's jaw. The man reeled backwards before another well placed punch landed him unconscious on the ground.

The next man came up behind Eliot and grabbed him around the throat. Eliot bent over, jabbing his elbow into the man's stomach, and flipped the man over his head onto the ground. He punched the man in the face, knocking him out as well. The third man, however, upon seeing his companions disposed of so easily, ran off in the direction of the black van. Shortly after Eliot heard a car engine start and the squeal of tires.

Eliot walked to the front door. Though he knew that Juliet would probably kill him for it later, Eliot threw himself against the door, breaking the dead-bolt easily. He made a mental note to tell Shawn to install a stronger bolt. He hurried up the stairs to the master bedroom. Shawn had informed Eliot of where the secret room was as soon as they had it built. He quickly got it opened and ushered Andi and Xavier out, "Come on, we need to leave."

They all hurried down the stairs out to Eliot's car. Andi and Xavier's eyes widened at the sight of the front door, but they followed Eliot out to the car. Once they were out of the neighborhood, Eliot said to Andi, "I need you to call your mom and tell her what happened."

"But I don't know what happened," Andi stated.

Eliot gripped the wheel a little bit tighter, managing to keep his annoyance in check, "Three guys tried to break into the house."

Andi's eyes widened, but she complied and pulled her phone out. Almost immediately, Juliet picked up, "Mom? It's Andi. Three guys tried to break into the house. I called Uncle Eliot before that. Xavier and I are with him right now." Andi nodded a few times before saying, "Ok," and handing the phone to Eliot. "She wants to talk to you."

Eliot grumbled to himself; he had been trying to avoid this. He took the phone from Andi, "Yeah?"

"Eliot, what the heck is going on!?" Juliet practically shouted in his ear.

Eliot smirked, "Nice to hear from you, Jules. It's been a while."

Eliot could almost hear Juliet fuming and rolling her eyes, "Eliot, tell me what happened. Where are you?"

"Look, Andi called me because she and Xavier were freaked out-"

"I wasn't freaked out!" Xavier objected from the back seat. His objection earned him a shushing from Andi.

Eliot ignored him, "When I got to the house, I saw a black van parked down the street and three guys in the front yard. I took care of two of them but the other got away with the van. We just left."

"Ok. I'll send a car to the house," she paused. "Can I send a car to the house?" she asked cautiously.

Eliot mused this for a minute before saying, "Your call. I had to bust the front door open and I pulled open the panel up stairs. The guys may or may not be there when the car shows up. I'm not sure how long they'll be out. I don't think they touched anything at the house."

Juliet sighed, "I'll send a car to look for the guys and keep the house closed up, but I'll tell them not to dust for prints."

Eliot smiled slightly, ignoring the strange looks Andi and Xavier were giving him based on his side of the conversation, "Thanks. Where do you want me to take the kids?"

"Um, I'm not sure, other than the station, and you can't take them there..." Juliet trailed off.

"I'll figure something out," Eliot said. "I'll call you when we get somewhere."

"Alright." Juliet paused before saying, "Keep them safe."

"That's what I do," Eliot replied softly.

"Thank you. Call me soon."

The call ended and Eliot handed the phone back to Andi. She slipped it into her pocket.

"Where are we going?" Xavier called from the back seat.

"I don't know. We'll have to see what's open right now." Eliot headed into the town. He would have to keep an eye on them. They both had their dad's talent of getting into trouble.

I hope y'all are still enjoying the story. Please leave me reviews with your opinion or any questions you have. Thank y'all so much for reading this story. Y'all are fantastic!