A/N: Last chapter folks. Thanks so much! It's been so much fun.

I don't own Leverage or the characters, and I make no profit. I write for fun. I don't write slash.

Thanks so much for all the reads, follows, favorites, and especially reviews. Those have made my day. Enjoy.

Chapter 26

Parker had climbed to the top of one of the tallest trees on Doc's place. When she was sure there was no one else around, she allowed herself to think about Eliot, and she was shaking hard as she started to cry.

"Parker?" She heard the voice below her, and glanced down to see Nate and Sophie standing there.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Sophie asked.

Parker didn't want to tell her. She didn't want the rest of the team to hate Eliot, but she knew Sophie wouldn't let it go until she told her.

"Eliot…I surprised him while he was working with Doc. She said something and he started toward her, and he looked like he was going to hurt her. I yelled for him to stop, and he started choking me." She was breathing hard, almost panicked, but trying to force herself to calm down.

"Parker, Eliot has something inside him that makes him dangerous to us. That's why he's been reluctant to touch any of us. He came here so Doc could help him get it out. That's why he choked you—it isn't out yet, and they were probably trying to get it out—so it was on the surface. You know he would never, ever hurt you if he could help it, don't you? He'll be really upset when he finds out that he hurt you."

"You think so?"

"I know so. I know Eliot. He's always protected you and everyone else on this team, and I think if you give him a chance, you'll see that this was an accident."

(0o0)

Eliot's eyes snapped open. He started to sit up, and found himself bound to the cot. "I've kept you bound because we have to be sure that the trigger words won't be a problem, now that you are awake. Are you ready?"

Eliot nodded once, without speaking.

"Potato," she said.

Nothing happened. They waited, and then she said it again. Again, nothing.

She released the bonds on his hands and helped him sit up. She handed him a beer.

"Congratulations, Mister Spencer. We did it. Drink up. We need to get back to my place. You have some unfinished business to attend."

At that remark, he grew quiet again. Parker. What he had done to her was unspeakable, and he didn't know how he'd ever get her to forgive him. He wasn't sure he deserved her forgiveness.

(0o0)

When Doc, Vance, and Eliot arrived back at her place, Parker was nowhere to be found, but Nate and Sophie were waiting for Eliot in the treatment room.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Sophie asked. "Parker doesn't trust anyone easily, but she trusted you, and you repay that trust by choking her?"

"Dammit Sophie—when are you going to learn to stay out of things that don't concern you?"

With that, he left her with her mouth standing open, stormed out of Doc's treatment room, and took off through the trees, looking for Parker. He finally found her because he heard her sobbing. He climbed the tree she was in as quietly as possible, not wanting to spook her again, and when he reached the same level she was in in the tree, he sat with a zen-like stillness, watching her. A second later, he quietly said, "Parker?"

She saw him then, and looked like she wasn't sure whether to bolt and run or to stay. She flinched away, and his heart broke. She had never been afraid of him. One of his hands shot out and closed around her wrist. Her eyes widened, and she started to panic.

"Parker," he said softly, "Settle down. I'm not gonna hurt ya. I just wanted to apologize." He let go of her wrist. If she was going to leave now, it would be her choice.

"You choked me."

"I know, darlin'. I'm sorry. I would never hurt you if I could help it. I hope you know that."

"Why did you hurt me?"

"It's a little hard to explain. When I was in that cell on the college job, the people in charge of the experiments left some words in my mind that could make me dangerous to you. When you walked up on Doc and me, we were working on making that word go away, and Doc says I focused on you because you were closest, and you spoke to me. The command made me do things I would never normally do."

"You're Sparky. You hurt other people. You protect us."

"I know. I'll understand if you're a little bit afraid of me for a while, but I promise, you can trust me to protect you, and I will do whatever I have to do to prove that, and to make up for what I did."

She smiled. "It's okay, Sparky. Let's go home." He knew there was more to it than this, but he also knew Parker was tired of talking about it, and just wanted to move on. He would have to prove to her for a long time to come that he wouldn't hurt her, and would always be there to protect her, but that was something he would gladly do, for as long as it took. She was worth it. They all were.

(0o0)

As they moved toward the cars to go back to Nate's apartment, Eliot said, "Sophie, you're with me." He had no idea if she'd actually consent to ride with him or not, as she was almost always with Nate, but to his surprise, she agreed, and climbed into the passenger seat next to him.

Vance, Doc, Mitch, and Shelley said their goodbyes, and Doc made it clear to Eliot that she was stopping by in a week to check on him. He backed out, and there was silence until he reached the main road.

Finally, she broke the silence. "Eliot, I wanted to apologize for what I said about Parker. I should have trusted that you planned to make it right with her."

"Yes, you should," he paused, then flashed her a quick smile and said, "but I understand why you did it. It's all right."

"Is that the reason you wanted me to ride with you?"

"No. I think it's time we talk about another issue."

"What's that?"

"You don't like seeing me use a gun." It wasn't a question, and the way he said it made her uncomfortable, like he felt it was an insult to him, but she knew she couldn't lie.

"No. I don't."

"Sophie, you do know I killed a lot of people in my past, don't you?"

"I know that. But you aren't that man anymore."

"And that man scares you, doesn't he?"

"A little bit, yes."

"I guess I can understand that, but I need you to understand that I will kill again, if needed. If it comes down to your life, or the lives of any of the team, as opposed to someone else's, I will take that other life, and I won't think twice about it. I won't take any joy from it, but I also won't hesitate to do it. If that's a problem for you, it's something I'd rather work through now, before it becomes an issue down the line."

"I know you may have to kill again in the future, and I'm grateful that you're always around to protect us, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy thinking about you killing people."

"No, it doesn't, Soph. You don't have to enjoy it. Hell, I don't enjoy it, and I appreciate you being my voice of reason when it isn't necessary to kill. When it is, I want you to promise me that you won't step in and try to stop it. If I hesitate at a time like that, I could get us all killed."

"I'll do my best. That's all I can promise. That, and the fact that I will support whatever decision you make when the time comes."

"Fair enough."

They arrived back at Nate's apartment a few minutes later, and everyone went their separate ways. They wouldn't take a new job for another few days, as everyone needed time to complete their recovery. Doc would check on them all in a week, and Eliot would use the time in between to make repairs to his burned safe house. He wouldn't be surprised if some of the others showed up to help, but whether they did or didn't, he was happier than he could say that things were getting back to normal. For now, he would stay at the apartment he rented in the city, the one he used when they were working and he didn't want to drive all the way out to the country house.

As he stepped up on his doorstep, he reached down and got the newspaper he had delivered each day in the name of one of his aliases, poked it under his arm, and unlocked his door. He put his keys in the bowl on the foyer table as he walked in, and after the normal sweep he made upon returning to any place he hadn't visited in awhile, he sat in his favorite chair to read a bit before bed. One of the simple pleasures of life, as far as Eliot was concerned, was reading, and newspapers helped him stay on top of what was going on in the community. As he unfolded the paper, a single headline caught his eye. Six CIA Operatives Die in Explosion. He scanned the article with a sense of dread, which he couldn't explain, until a moment later, it hit him. Withdrawing his phone from his pants pocket, he dialed a number and put the phone to his ear.

"Vance, did you see the article in today's issue of the Tribune?" He listened for a moment and then continued, "My question is this: was it just my concussion or did we have eight men tied up in that building when we set the explosives?" He paused again, listening, and then said, "the article said there were six bodies found. Yeah. Let me know what you find out. Thanks Vance."

He hung up, hoping it was only a typo or that the FBI was withholding the true number for some reason. Vance should be able to ask around discreetly tomorrow and find out. He wouldn't worry until he knew there was something to worry about, and with a yawn, he folded the paper neatly, so he could finish reading it over breakfast, and padded off to bed. Man, but It would be nice to sleep in his own bed for a change.