Eliot: 11

Alec: 7

Parker: 6

Parker didn't cry very often. Not even when she'd been three and she'd first come into their home from a series of less than desirable foster homes. Not when she fell off Alec's skateboard and scraped up her hands and knees as a four-year-old, not last year when she'd taken a flying leap from the top of the stairs and broken her wrist.

So when the "fortune teller" at the fair told her that "anything found could be lost" and she'd let out a little gasp and ran across the grounds with a sob in her throat, Nate was both confused and terrified. They all ran after her, him, Sophie, and the boys. But Parker was small and good at disappearing and they couldn't find her anywhere. Just a few minutes short of calling the cops, Nate volunteered to head home and see if she'd made it back since the fairgrounds weren't far from the apartment.

He opened the door and almost immediately spotted the top of her blond head over the couch, his knees feeling unsteady with relief. He called Sophie, saying quietly that he'd found her, and headed over to his little girl.

"Parker," he said gently, sinking into the closest chair. She was slumped against the couch, staring at the far wall with a little pout, tears still sliding down her cheeks. Nate knew from past experience that lecturing her about running away would only make things worse. No, he would have to get at the heart of the problem. "You know that fortune teller was a fake, right?"

She shook her head, lip trembling. "Brianna Sykes said he told her she was gonna get money an' then she found ten bucks on the sidewalk."

Nate leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. "Parker, that's just coincidence. I promise."

She shook her head again, biting her lip to keep it from trembling.

The door opened and the rest of the family hurried in. Sophie sat on the arm of Nate's chair and the boys huddled around Parker, identical concern on their faces.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Sophie said quietly. Nate could tell she was itching to gather the little girl up in a hug but they also knew from past experience that it was better to let Parker come to them.

Parker sniffed. "The fortune teller. He was right. Things … things go away."

Nate exchanged a glance with Sophie. "What things, Parker?" he asked.

"Everything!" she said, and Nate felt Sophie wince at the anger and pain in her voice. "Everything good always goes away. I found you but he said I'm going to lose you! He said it and he knows."

Nate watched her, his heart breaking at the way she was trying so hard to keep all her fear in. She still wouldn't look at him.

"That guy was stupid," Alec assured her. "He's a dumb buttface."

"Yeah," Eliot agreed. "Want me to go punch 'im, Parker? I can if you want."

Nate shot him a look, though he himself felt a bit like punching the man. He turned his attention back to Parker. "We're not going away," he told her. "I know that you've lost things before. I know that. But, Parker, you're not going to lose us."

She looked up at him then, swallowing hard. "Promise?"

"Promise," he said.

"We won't go away," Sophie reiterated.

"Don't listen to that guy, Parker," Eliot told her.

"Yeah, Parker. Don't listen to him," Alec echoed.

Parker wiped the tears from her face and sat up a little. "Can Eliot still punch him?"

Nate shook his head, watching as Alec and Eliot each grabbed one of Parker's hands and helped her up, offering to get her a bowl of cereal and let her play with their toys. But she pulled away from them and raced over to Nate, throwing her arms around him for a moment before following her brothers.

"I think that's the first time she ran home," Sophie said quietly.

Nate nodded. He'd realized the same thing. She used to run away, and when she stopped doing that she hid when she was upset. "This time she let us find her." Sophie leaned into him and he put his arm around her waist. "She came home."

I don't usually base these off of particular scenes from the show, but I was watching The Future Job the other night and the moment when they're all comforting Parker was just so sweet I had to use it. Thanks for reading! And thank you for your reviews! I love getting to know you guys a little bit through them. :)