"So, what's the next job?" Everyone at the table turns to stare at Parker. "What?"
The team starts speaking at once but they all say basically the same thing. "Parker, are you crazy? You almost died yesterday! You need take it easy!" is the collective message.
She drops the half eaten piece of asiago ciabatta bread that Eliot had baked to go with the chipotle chicken with rosemary cream sauce on a bed of angel hair pasta. Even though it is delicious, she pushes the plate away, ignoring the last few bites.
"We'll just take a week off, Parker," Nate says noticing her change in demeanor. "No big deal."
"The doctor doesn't want you doing anything strenuous for at least three days," Hardison reminds her.
"All he said was no cardio or heavy lifting."
"That includes scaling buildings and diving down elevator shafts," Eliot informs her.
"Uh! So I m being punished now?"
"No, darling. You're not being punished," soothes Sophie. "You just need to rest up. We all do."
"Are you going to do a job without me?"
"Of course not!" Nate exclaims, not sure where this is coming from.
"That's fine if you do," Parker states, not convincing anyone. "I'll get out of your way." Without another word she shoves away from the table leaving the team stunned in her wake.
"Eliot, why don't you make sure she gets home ok," Nate suggests, heading toward the staircase.
"But, keep your distance," Sophie adds.
"What the hell just happened?" Hardison asks now that he and Sophie are the only ones left.
"She's scared."
"Really? Because she seemed pretty mad to me."
"She's mad because she's scared," she explains. "Parker really needed us yesterday, you especially.
"And, we came through for her. What's the problem?" He really isn't getting it.
"In her whole life, the only person she could really depend on was herself," Sophie says patiently. "The more she allows herself to rely on us, the more it will hurt if she loses us. That terrifies her. Every other person she's let in has either hurt her or abandoned her."
"But, I would never-"
"I know that," she pats his hand in a comforting gesture. "But she doesn't. Not for sure."
"So what do I do?"
"You just have to prove it to her. A little bit each day."