Planning

Sophie brushed back some of Riley's hair and pursed her lips. "Your hair is more tangled then usual," she finally stated, grabbing a brush.

"Was at the gym earlier," she supplied. "I didn't brush my hair after I showered seeing as I was already late."

Sophie started to brush Riley's hair, tsking under her breath.

"So, you and Eliot?" Sophie asked.

Riley blushed. "Um y...yeah."

"Is it just a casual thing or-"

"Just casual," she interrupted.

Sophie nodded. "And you're both fine with that?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Riley asked turning to look at Sophie. "I mean...this way, we can relieve tension, we don't have to worry about going on dates with people just to get them into bed, and it's fine for if we're in a con. We still work perfectly fine together and it works well for quick thinking if we get stuck in a con."

"You've really worked out all the kinks, haven't you?" she asked.

Riley nodded as Sophie finished brushing her hair. "And no one gets hurt. It's a perfect deal."

Sophie inwardly sighed and set the brush down. "Well, you never know. Someone could get hurt either way."

"Everything's fine Soph. Trust me," Riley assured her with a smile.

"Eliot's probably waiting for us downstairs, mustn't keep the man waiting," Sophie said, ushering Riley out the door.

Riley snorted and rolled her eyes. "I think he'll be just fine waiting," she said, tucking a stray curl behind her ear as she followed Sophie downstairs.

Sophie watched the couple before her interact. She stood with her glass of champagne, provided by the wedding planner, as they moved clearly in sync. When Riley moved one way, Eliot followed, and vice versa. He kept a firm hold on her waist, tensing when he spotted one of the male waiters glance over in Riley's direction with a flirtatious smile, and he nearly growled when a waiter almost spilled water on her.

"So what do you think?" Riley asked, giving Sophie a smile.

"Well, Darling," Sophie started, fitting right into the role of mother of the bride. "I think the fountain is a bit much, to be honest. I mean after all, it's a fall wedding, is it not?"

Riley's smile turned into a pout. "Well I like it…what do you think,?" she asked, turning that puppy dog look to the fake fiancé.

He looked between the two and scratched the back of his head, his other arm still firmly around her waist.

"Your mother has a point...a fall wedding with a fountain? It might be too cold." he answered finally with just a hint of a wince.

Riley pouted more.

"Why not a chocolate fountain at the reception instead?" he offered.

Riley sighed. "Okay...a chocolate fountain couldn't hurt."

Sophie hid her knowing smile, her suspicions further confirmed. Riley beamed, and desperately refrained from sticking her tongue out at her.

Sophie sighed and shook her head. "Don't listen to your mother, then. The fountain is tacky, but I guess my opinion doesn't matter to my only daughter, even though I may only see her married once after all." She turned away from them.

Rosemary turned away from the lovely, and equally wealthy, couple in front of her to face her assistant. He handed her an envelope containing the couple's personal info. She smiled and thanked him, slipping the envelope into her planning book casting a glance at the couple before her.

"Chocolate fountain it is," Rosemary smiled. "Now, for the flowers. Have you decided on what kinds you'd like to decorate the center pieces?"

"Peruvian Lilies," Riley grinned.

"They are her favorite," Eliot added, keeping his arm around her waist and smiling down at her.

Rosemary wrote it down in her notebook and led them around the garden.

"Rebecca, Dear, could you please come here a moment?" Sophie called.

"You two go on ahead. I'll catch up to you," Riley excused herself before going over to Sophie.

Eliot watched Riley go and saw the two start to speak in hushed tones.

"How long have you been in the wine business, Mr. Reed?" Rosemary asked as they continued walking.

"A few years...I took it over after my father passed away," he answered. "Family business."

"I hope you can forgive me for what I'm about to say, but I couldn't help but look into your background - I like to check out all my clients before hand - and well, you two seem quite unmatched, to be honest," Rosemary mused.

"Alright Eliot, just uh, just say something sappy or-" Nate started over the com.

"She makes me feel something I haven't felt in years," Eliot interrupted Nate as he smiled over to where Riley and Sophie were immersed in conversation.

"Care to explain?" Rosemary asked, taking a seat on a marble bench.

"I'm gonna be honest here: I'm not the most stable of men, can't keep a relationship for more than a week, give or take. But she makes me happy. Granted, she's not the easiest woman to live with and we fight like maniacs, but at the end of the day, it's her that I always want to come home to. I know it seems a bit cliché, a wealthy winery owner marries the town florist, but what can I say, I'm a sucker for cliché," he answered with a simple shrug.

It was silent for a bit. Back at the office, Nate, Hardison and Parker sat in silence while Sophie and Riley looked over at Eliot in a bit of shock.

"You have a way with words, my man," Hardison said, breaking the silence.

"Shall we continue with the set up?" Eliot asked Rosemary.

"Of course," she answered while standing up.

"I gotta hand it to you man, that was some quick thinking earlier," Hardison said as he helped Eliot put away the dishes. "I don't think I could even come up with something like that on the spot."

Eliot shrugged. "It was nothing. Just told her what she wanted to hear."

Hardison clapped him on the back. "Well, I tip my hat off to you."

He left Eliot in the kitchen and sat on the couch next to Riley. "Up for kicking some alien butt?" he asked, picking up his laptop.

"You're on," she answered.

Sophie rolled her eyes at the two siblings on the couch and took a seat at the table next to Parker. She set her mug of tea down and sighed.

"You think Eliot was telling the truth?" Parker asked. "When he was telling Rosemary those things. You think he was talking about Riley?"

"It seemed honest enough...but Eliot is a very skilled liar," Sophie answered. "But, let's say he was. That would mean he does like Riley enough to say those things and be honest about it."

"So...what kind of plan are we looking at here? I mean, to get them together?" Parker asked.

"We have to put them in a setting where they have to be absolutely truthful with each other. It's the only way," Sophie answered.

"But how can we do that?" Parker asked.

"Just leave that to me," Sophie answered as she got up.

She tossed Eliot a smile as she went past him to the kitchen. He took Sophie's vacant seat and propped his feet up on the table.

"Do you like Riley?" Parker asked. "Don't worry. They can't hear us. They're playing a video game."

"It's just casual, Parker. A relationship would not work out. We're too different," he shrugged.

"But what if you weren't? Too different I mean," Parker replied.

"I don't know. Maybe, but Hardison would not go for that. She's his little sister, I honestly think he would kick my ass if I even went near her in that way," he said with a chuckle.

Parker nodded and got up. "It'll all work out in the end," she said, patting his head.

He looked at her, slightly annoyed and confused as she walked off and sat on the couch next to Hardison, peeking over his shoulder.

Eliot shook his head and got up, grabbing his coat off the coat rack by the door. "I'm off," he said. "Anyone want a ride?" he asked.

"Me. I gotta get back and take Sparky for his walk," Riley said.

"Seriously? We were just about to kick some alien butt," Hardison replied.

"Sorry. But dogs need exercise," she shrugged. "We'll kick alien butt later."

"Let's go," Eliot said holding open the front door.

Hardison shook his head as the door closed and put his laptop away. "We should get going too," he told Parker. "Night, guys," he called as they left.

Sophie settled into bed next to Nate and smiled contently.

"Shoe for your thoughts?" he asked.

"Too soon to share," she answered, picking up the book on her nightstand.

"Better hope Eliot doesn't find out. He doesn't like people meddling in his life," Nate mused as he lay down.

"We're not meddling...just...giving them a push in the right direction," Sophie replied.

Nate snorted and opened his eyes. "You're meddling, Hon. And I don't think he'd appreciate it."

"You're only saying that because he got mad at you when you got into his business," she pointed out.

"Let's just discuss this in the morning," he said, changing he subject. "When I'm sober," he added.

"Alright, alright," she sighed "Goodnight."

She leaned down and kissed his cheek before turning out the light.

"Pull a stunt in the car like that again and next time I might crash it," Eliot said as they walked to the front door.

Riley grinned at him over her shoulder before punching in the code. "From the way things were going, you weren't complaining," she said, pushing the door open.

He rolled his eyes and followed her inside.

"Sparky? Here boy." Riley whistled but no dog. She frowned and tossed her coat onto the chair and started looking around the warehouse.

Eliot took the stairs to the second floor and looked through all the doors.

"Eliot?!"

His head turned at the panic in her voice and he ran back downstairs, finding her on her knees checking Sparky's pulse.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know. I…I…I just came into the kitchen f…f…found him lying on the floor like this," she stammered.

Eliot knelt down next to her and placed his fingers over the dog's neck. "Let's get him to the vet," he told her. "But grab some blankets first, keep him warm."

She nodded and left the kitchen, returning moments later with a large blanket, which Eliot promptly wrapped him up in before picking him up.

"You drive," he told her.

"We got here as soon as we could, what happened?" Hardison asked Eliot as he and Parker ran up to him.

"The vet hasn't told us anything and Riley's just freaking out," he answered.

Hardison nodded and went to the waiting room. Parker started to follow but Eliot held her back. "Why don't we leave them be for now," he offered.

She nodded. "I'll go get some coffee."

Eliot walked back over to the waiting room and saw Hardison comforting Riley. She was crying quietly while he was trying to calm her down.

"Riley?"

Riley automatically wiped her eyes and got up as the veterinarian approached. He gave her a small smile. "It's a good thing you got him here when you did. We managed to figure out what the problem was but..." he trailed off.

"But what?" she asked. "Joey, what's wrong?"

He sighed, the smile leaving his face.

"His kidney's are getting worse," he answered. "I'm so sorry, Riley."

"It's not your fault. He's an old dog," she said, trying to blink back tears.

"What about dialysis?" Eliot asked.

"Eliot, he's an old-"

"Old dog, I know, but it could work," he interrupted. "Right?"

Joey nodded. "He's right, Riley. If we start dialysis now there is a chance that he'll beat it."

She chewed her lower lip before nodding. "Okay. How much?" she asked.

"Couple thousand," Joey answered.

She nodded and pulled out her wallet.

"I can honestly say I'm not surprised you walk around with hundred dollars bills in that wallet of yours," Joey said as she handed him the money. "We'll keep him over the next few days and start dialysis. You go home and get some sleep. You look like the walking dead."

She nodded. "Take care of my dog, Joey."

"Anything for you," he smiled. "Nice see you again, Alec."

Hardison nodded and the four of them left.

"You okay?" Hardison asked her.

"Yeah...Joey's good at what he does, I trust him," she answered.

"You want a ride?" he asked.

"I…I think I'll ride with Eliot," she answered. "If that's okay."

"Sure," he said. Hardison pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry. Sparky will be fine. After all, he's a Hardison."

She smiled a little at that. "Get some sleep, Broham. You don't think right when you're tired," she teased lightly.

He kissed her cheek. "See you Monday."

Hardison wrapped his arm around Parker as they made their way back to the car.

"You don't think it's weird that Riley wants to ride to her place with Eliot?" Parker asked.

"Nah. I trust him not to do anything. He's a good guy," he answered, unlocking the door to the car.

Eliot looked back at Riley after watching Hardison and Parker leave.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Let's just go," she answered, heading to the truck.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug. Riley stood there in shock before she started crying again, burying her face into his chest.

"Shhh, it's okay," he whispered. "Sparky will be fine, okay? He's a fighter."

"Y...you th..think so?" she stammered.

"I do," he answered. "Now come on. I'll take you home and make us something to eat."

She nodded and wiped her eyes before following him to the truck. "Thanks," she murmured, buckling her seat belt.

"Everyone needs a hug now and then," he replied with a shrug.