Author's Note: Hello again! I'm back with another request. I'm trying to update this story as much as possible. So, just a note, if you requested Christmas drabbles, I will do them! I'm planning on doing them for Christmas in July! So, please be patient and know that I will get back to them soon. I'm also going to be going back to the main plot again soon so stay tuned! Anyways, this is a great request from AllOverTheWorld who asked for "Parker has nightmare, about her past or summen, and Elliot is quite sure what to do (at first)." I had a lot of fun with this one! I hope you enjoy!

He notices it at midnight as he's walking in the door to the office. He's been out trailing their latest target, trying to gather some information and when his target finally got home, Eliot decided that he should just crash at their headquarters.

He hadn't realized that someone else was there with him.

The sound of someone sobbing pulls him from his the fog that has taken up residence in his mind. It's been a late night and he would love nothing more than to just fall asleep right where he stood. But the sobbing increases and he knows that he has to find the source of it before sleep can be even considered an option.

It takes all of five minutes to find who is sobbing—Parker, who's bundled up on the couch in layers of blankets that she's curled around her so it appears that she's almost in a cocoon of sorts. Eliot walks into the living room cautiously, so as not to startle her.

"Parker?" He forces his voice to come off as soft and soothing. The last thing he wants is for her to shut down and run away from him. The figure in the blankets stiffens before finally allowing herself to meet his gaze.

"Eliot?" Her voice sounds raw, as if she had been sobbing for months at the top of her lungs. It takes a few seconds for the realization to flash in her eyes and when it does, she quickly rubs the tears away and plasters a fake smile on her face. "Hi!"

It pains him to see how she's faking being happy, but he decides—for now anyways—not to comment on it and to simply let her decide how she wanted this to go. He takes another step into the room and Parker practically throws herself off the couch and begins to laugh.

"Parker, what's—?"

"Nothing!" Parker exclaims. "I'm hungry! Are you? Do you want some cereal?" She moves towards the kitchen without even waiting for his response and he follows her, bewildered, but concerned for her. Parker hums to herself as doles out the Lucky Charms and then pretends to be perfectly fine while she forces herself to eat the cereal. Eliot plays along, but he knows that there has to be something he could do for her—anything—but what that something is, he isn't sure.

They go along with this charade for a bit, but when Parker starts crying into her bowl of milk, Eliot decides that enough is enough. He gently pulls her into his arms and holds her. She clutches at his shirt and sobs, a stain of tears tying his shirt a darker grey, but he doesn't care.

This is what she needs and he's more than willing to comfort her.

"What happened?" He asks quietly and Parker continues to sob. After a few minutes, he hears her crying out a phrase but the only word he can catch is "nightmare". That explains it then.

Everyone in the Leverage Team had dark pasts—there wasn't one among them that hadn't been plagued by nightmares of past sins during one night or another. Each member had a way of dealing with these nightmares—Eliot, for example, would run twice as hard for twice as long. He's not sure how Parker has dealt with her nightmares before.

But for now, he holds her in his arms and lets her cry because this is what she needs right now.

She needs him right now and he's willing to be there for her.

Always.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed! Next time, we'll catch up with the main plot some more. Please review and request!