Eliot took a shorter run than usual, using the fire escape to get up to the balcony. He wanted to have a nice stretch after his run, but he didn't want to leave Ale alone any longer than he had to.

When he got up to the balcony he looked into the living room, surprised to see Ale dancing in the living room. She wasn't just dancing around, though. She was dancing like a real dancer. She seemed to be classically trained and she was breath taking. Her movement was so…free.

Eliot climbed back down the fire escape, sending a message to Ale that he was on his way home. Once he circled the block a few times, Eliot went back up to the apartment, Ale sitting on the couch, watching a movie.

"Hey how was your run?" she asked absently, turning of the TV.

"Good. What did you do while I was gone?" Eliot asked, hoping Ale would explain what he saw.

"Just watched TV," Ale shrugged, standing. "I was thinking I could make breakfast this morning," Ale said, smiling at Eliot.

He was a little surprised. He wanted to know where she learned to dance the way she did, and now that she had lied about it he wanted to know why she wasn't telling the truth. She was amazing, and there was no need to hide the fact that she could dance.

"Eliot?" Ale said, snapping him back to attention.

"What?"

"Can I make breakfast?"

"Oh yeah. Sure, no problem. I'm gonna go rinse off," Eliot smiled, going up to his room.

Eliot was acting weird, Ale noticed. He didn't seem as…calm as he usually did when he finished his run. Ale, on the other hand, felt great. She took her time alone in great stride, clearing space in the living room and just dancing.

She used to be in dance classes, going to competitions, her Mama making her costumes. She did all kinds of dance, and she was pretty good, too. She and her partner did a lot of competitions and they almost always won. She liked lyrical and contemporary the best, and, even though she hadn't danced in a while, she the movement came back to her easily.

Ale's phone rang, Ale answering as she mixed some eggs with milk in order to make omelets.

"Hey Parker," Ale smiled, Parker immediately launching into a sales pitch for Ale to come over today and rappel.

"We could even do it at Nate's. I don't really care where we do it, we just HAVE to do it," Parker finished, Ale laughing.

"Well, I'm going to have to ask Eliot. He doesn't let me go anywhere by myself."

"You wouldn't be by yourself. You'd be with me!" Parker sighed, exasperated.

"We'll ask him today, okay?" Ale promised, Parker agreeing. Ale hung up, finishing with breakfast. When Eliot came back downstairs he asked who she was talking to, Ale explaining how much Parker wanted today to be the day.

"You know, you don't have to do that stuff with her," Eliot said, Ale shrugging.

"It sounds fun. Plus, I like Parker. I get the hint that she doesn't make friends easily, and if she wants to be friends with me, that's pretty special. I'm not going to just blow her off. Is everything okay, Eliot? You seem a little…grumpy. And you usually aren't like that until you get to work," Ale said carefully, not wanting to upset Eliot further.

Eliot knew Ale was right…he was being more standoff-ish than usual. He was just upset that Ale wouldn't be honest about what she was doing while he was gone. He hated that Ale wouldn't tell him the truth about something…he thought that they had a better relationship than that.

The again, she had been through a lot, and she had a lot of stuff to work through. After Eliot got through his work with Monroe, anything he did reminded him of his time there, whether it was throwing a punch or playing his guitar. He didn't reveal anything about his life for a long, long time.

"It's fine. I just didn't get as long of a run as I usually do," Eliot shrugged.

"Because of me?" Ale sighed, looking guilty.

"No, darlin'. Not because of you. I just had a lot on my mind."

"Well if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm here, you know. It's the least I can do. And don't think that I scare easily or I will be surprised with what you do. I did a lot of research about this team before I came to Ford for help," Ale said, looking straight into Eliot's eyes.

It was that moment that Eliot knew she knew a lot about his past. And it finally made sense about why she had gotten him the book she did.

She didn't see him as a monster, like he saw himself. And that…that was the real gift she gave him.