Parker was having a great dream. She was sitting at the island in Eliot's kitchen, contently watching him make dinner. It smelled heavenly and she was getting hungrier by the minute, and not only for chili. She loved watching Eliot cook. His movements were effortless and his face was at peace. As he finished chopping the cilantro, he looked up to find her staring. He smirked.

"See something you like?" he asked with a wink.

"Yeah. Can I have a taste?"

Eliot laid down the knife and leaned across the island towards her. She leaned in, closed her eyes, and…

"What the hell, Parker?"

She opened her eyes to find Eliot standing over her with his arms crossed, glaring. But that couldn't be right. Eliot was in Oklahoma. Wasn't he?

"Eliot? What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? This is my bedroom in my apartment. What are you doing here?"

Ok, thought Parker, fair question. What was she doing there? The truth was that she'd been sleeping there for the past 4 nights. The first night she told herself she was just making sure no one tried to break in. She knew thieves better than any security ever could. The second night she decided she was "house sitting," if house sitting meant watering his plants, eating his leftovers, watching his big screen tv, and sleeping in his bed. The third night she was supposed to meet Hardison. She had cancelled. That was when she was forced to admit to herself that she just liked being there. It made her feel closer to Eliot. Even though he wasn't there, she could see him making the meals that were now her microwaved dinners and she could smell him on the sheets. All snuggled in at night, surrounded by that scent, was the safest she'd ever felt. She slept like a baby there. She never wanted to leave. She'd thought that she'd have a couple more days to figure all of this out, but here he was, waiting for an answer. What in the world was she doing? She sat up, swinging her feet to the floor, and put her face in her hands.

"I…I don't know, Eliot. You weren't here and I watered your plants and it's warm and smells like you and I was tired and…"

"Whoa, ok Parker, slow down." Eliot sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It's ok. I'm not mad at you. It's just been a long day and I'm tired."

Parker took a moment to really look at Eliot. He did not look good. He looked exhausted and…sad. Sadder than he'd looked since she asked him what he did when he worked for Moreau.

"Eliot, is everything ok?"

She looked at him just like she had that day and like then, like always, he couldn't lie to her. But he was so tired. It could wait a few hours.

"Parker… This is my side."

"I can stay?"

She tried not to sound too excited, but she couldn't help it. What was wrong with her?

Eliot nodded.

"Now scoot over.

Parker practically somersaulted over to the far side of the bed and then held up the blanket for Eliot to slide under. He toed off his shoes and slipped in beside her. She smiled at him and rolled over to face the window.

"Oh and Parker? No squirming."

Her smile widened and as she drifted back to sleep she felt Eliot's strong arm fall across her stomach, holding her close, better than any dream.