Disclaimer: I don't own Leverage…If I did, my life would be completed!
A/N: Alright guys, this is it for this story. The Epilogue. I hope that you enjoyed the journey with me and I hope you forgive me for not updating as often as you would have liked. Things, like life, happen though. I hope to have the sequel, which will be on the light hearted side, up in a more timely fashion. Dedications for this chapter go out to Jason, Macie, Tenae, Meg, Joe, Chris and the always lovely kausingkayn. And for Rahyne and Nvrmore, I threw in a little Sterling because you showed me he doesn't have to be a piece of crap all the time. All of you rock! Don't know what I'd do without you!
Epilogue: For Better or For Worse
"Why am I doing this? Am I freaking crazy?"
"Hold still! If you don't, I'm gonna screw this up!"
"I can't believe I agreed to do this! I mean…Oh my gosh!"
"Nate!" Hardison shouted, walking forward and slapping him across the face. "Pull it together man!" Nate looked at his hacker, completely shocked that he had just been slapped. Eliot took advantage of the moment and finished doing Nate's tie before standing back.
"There," he said, turning around to grab his jacket from the chair it was draped over. "Honestly Nate, I don't know why you're freaking out so much. This has been coming for years."
"But we'll be living together! Sophie and me, living together!" he exclaimed, emphasizing each word. "What if I drive her insane and she changes her mind?"
"She's been waiting for this for ten years, I really don't think she's going to run at the first sign of trouble man," Hardison said. "Now come on, we have to beat the girls out there."
*****
"This is insane! I was crazy to agree to this! I mean…come on! We're going to drive each other crazy and then we're going to get hurt and-!"
"Sophie! Snap out of it!" Parker exclaimed, slapping the grifter. "Honestly! You two are the perfect couple! I don't see why you're freaking out! Think about it, Nate's not freaking out this bad. Deep breaths Sophie."
Sophie did as told while Theresa finished fixing up her dress. "Really Sophie, just be happy. This is your day," her friend said.
"Oh my gosh," Sophie said, walking over to the mirror and standing there, staring at herself. Her dress was a body fitting dress with one strap. There was a flower at the waist that was the top of a slit in the dress, allowing for more fabric to flow and make the dress very elegant. She had a very long veil that flowed down, covering her hair. "This is it…ten years of waiting and finally…we're here."
"Yes, you are, now we need to get you there…to the altar," Parker said, grabbing Sophie's one arm and steering her towards the door.
"I've got the bouquet!" Theresa called as the three left and headed for the sanctuary.
*****
Nate was standing next to Eliot, Hardison on the other side of the hitter. They were just standing there in front of the very small group that had gathered in St. Nicholas' church. Looking around, Nate could see Sterling in the very back of the church and when the two met each other's gaze there was a silent nod of the head. Then Sterling grinned and Nate knew that this might be the one time that the man didn't try to cause trouble.
Continuing to look around, Nate spotted Maggie, sitting in the middle of the church. She smiled at him and he tried to suppress the surprise he was feeling. Sophie must have invited her, Nate sure as heck hadn't.
The music started suddenly and he looked to the back of the sanctuary in time to see Theresa's little girl walking up the aisle slowly, tossing flower petals all over the place. He had to grin at that. And then came Sophie, being followed by Parker and Theresa, making sure that the train didn't drag on the ground. Nate felt himself smile as the grifter headed towards him. He heard the hitter's breath hitch next to him and glanced over at him, only to see Eliot's eyes locked on Parker. He raised his eyebrows and Eliot noticed the movement out of the corner of his eye, looking to Nate quickly before turning his gaze back to the three women walking up to the altar.
Sophie, Parker and Theresa made it up the steps and Sophie stood in front of Nate while the others stood at her side. Nate turned to her and reached up to stroke her cheek gently before pulling back and the two of them turned to Father Paul.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…"
*****
The reception was being held at Theresa's husband's restaurant, being as it was so small. The center of the floor had been cleared of tables and chairs, creating a dance floor large enough for the party. They were going to get a DJ, but then Hardison had insisted on doing it.
Nate had Sophie and was dancing with her, not letting her out of his sight. "You are beautiful Mrs. Ford," he whispered to her, smiling widely.
"And you are incredibly handsome, as always Mr. Ford," she whispered back, matching his smile.
Not far away from them, Eliot was dancing with Parker. She was extremely distracted, as always, and he couldn't help but grin at all the random observations she was making. "I just can't believe it," burst out of her mouth at one point.
"What? That Nate and Sophie finally tied the knot?" the hitter asked, looking at her.
"No, that Sterling is over there dancing with Maggie!" she exclaimed, nodding off to their right. And sure enough, when Eliot looked over, he saw the man who had tried to take them down on more than one occasion dancing with Nate's ex-wife. Of course, it was extremely tense and Maggie looked like she would love nothing more than for the gods to smite her on the spot. Eliot snorted with laughter at the sight and Parker giggled after a second.
"You dance really well," she said after a few minutes.
"You thought I was only good for cooking and beating the crap out of stuff? I've danced before Parker. I do know how to dance."
"I can see that now," she said bluntly and Eliot could only sigh and roll his eyes. They were silent for another stretch and the music changed to something faster. "And I didn't think that about you. You're good for a lot of different things," Parker continued.
"Oh really?" Eliot asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Uh huh. You're good at planning stuff, and you're good at grifting and…" she trailed off, suddenly looking slightly embarrassed and pulling away from him a little bit. But Eliot had other plans and reached out to grab her hand.
"And what Parker?"
"And you're good at saving us," she said, shocking him so much that she was able to pull away and go over to pull Maggie away from Sterling and start dancing with her. Eliot just watched the free spirited thief and grinned.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned to see Sophie standing there. "Mind if I cut in?" she asked, smiling at him. Eliot took her hand and started spinning with her in time with the music.
"Any particular reason why you wanted to dance with me instead of your husband?" Eliot asked as they danced.
"I wanted to thank you Eliot. You watched after them while I was gone and I really appreciate that. Plus, without you, we never would have been able to save them in the first place," Sophie said, meeting the hitter's gaze. "So, thank you."
"Not a problem Sophie," Eliot replied, nodding slightly.
*****
Hardison watched everyone from where he stood at the DJ's table and just grinned. "Yeah, we're back baby."
They had been through a lot in the time that they had been together, but the team was back, the team was together, and the team was closer than ever.
The End?
A/N: Okay my friends, that is the end of Let Me Be Your Hero. But…this is not the end. I have one sequel that will be up in a few days and I'm already planning a third story, that none of you, except for one person, is going to see coming. Oh yes my friends. I'm about to let loose and see what I can do. But yeah, keep your eyes open, you never know when the next bit will get here.
I would like to thank all of my readers and all of my reviewers. And hey, maybe next story, those of you who read, but don't review, come on up and tell me what you think! Even if you hate it! I welcome all opinions. And don' forget to keep watching Leverage!
