A/N: Fear not, dear readers, this is but a small transitional chapter, hardly a chapter at all. If I'd put the meat of this segment of the story into this chapter, it would have felt choppy. Expect an update soon; I'm having one brainchild after another. Still, feel welcome to review or message me with ANY ideas or opinions of your own! I appreciate every little follow and favorite, but I must say that reviews are the most exciting to me. Thank you for your patience and consideration!
Weeks passed with times of fun and times of pain. Some days the team would watch a movie or debate the pros and cons of every con that came to mind. These days, the apartment was filled with laughter and banter, not to mention some well-placed grunts and growls. But when Eliot hadn't slept the night before and his aches grew to piercing agony and his nightmares blurred the line between reality and Hell, it was too easy to forget the good times.
Sophie saw this more clearly than Nate's struggle to walk away from a drink.
Eliot wasn't ever chipper, but he was a pro at saying what needed to be said to keep it light. The grifter loved to see his playful smirk and the little wink he granted the ladies when he was being sly. His signature "Damnit, Hardison!" left the hacker chuckling instead of grumbling. Nate wouldn't dare to suggest that Eliot couldn't handle stress as he usually did when drunk; in fact, Nate hadn't been drunk since he'd decided to sober up for the team. Sometimes Eliot's brows would furrow when the mastermind didn't duck out to sulk in the bar downstairs. Parker was just as zany as ever, but she constantly found things to ask about and consider, searching for the least inconsiderate thing to do. The team was tuned in to each other, and no one let a weary sigh or clenched fist go unchecked. It was annoying at times, but they were more of a family than ever before. That was priceless.
They'd found a routine, a ghost of normality that grew more and more certain and comforting each day. Eliot was healing well and could do most of what he used to, including exercising and cooking for the team. Every Sunday the boys watched football while the girls went shopping - in reality, it was Sophie dragging Parker along to the mall, because only a grifter would need an ever-growing collection of heels and cocktail dresses.
It was a Sunday night, then, with the lights low and cheers booming throughout the apartment, that Eliot's worst nightmare came to life.