Part one of an undetermined number of a request for wolfprowl. Hope you like it and thanks for your continued support. =)

"Sophie guess what?" Abby quizzed eagerly, bounding into the bar. The grifter, Parker and Hardison were sitting at a table, chatting about their upcoming con in the Caribbean and trying to explain that the emerald wasn't a literal emerald.

"I don't know?" Sophie asked in response.

"Oh, oh, let me guess," Parker said eagerly, raising her hand like a school girl. "You stole a diamond? You crashed your car? You met George Clooney? You and…."

"I got a part in the school play!" Abby interrupted.

"Oooh, exciting!" Sophie exclaimed. "What play?"

"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; I'm playing Doris," the teenager replied as she sat down next to Sophie. "I was hoping you could help me out with my acting and stuff?"

Hardison and Parker exchanged worried glances; apparently Abby wasn't aware at how bad of an actor Sophie was.

"I'd love to!" the grifter exclaimed before the others had a chance to intervene.

"This isn't going to be good is it?" Parker whispered to Hardison, who, with his lips tight shut shook his head.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You have to feel it!" Sophie exclaimed as she flourished her arms about. "Why does Doris not want to marry Benjamin? What deep innermost secret is stopping her from loving him?"

"Well, I would think that it has something to do with the fact that he kidnapped her," Abby stated, as small amount sarcasm in her voice. She walked up to the kitchen where Eliot was cleaning out the fridge.

"Where are you going?" the grifter asked.

"Just getting a drink Sophie," she yelled back and then, as she pulled a glass out of one of the cupboards, turned to her uncle. "I didn't know she was this bad. I don't get it," she said in a hushed tone. "She's a great grifter but this is, this is just painful. Why didn't you warn me?"

"Chop chop," Sophie yelled from down beside the couches.

"Help me please," she pleaded as she finished off the last of her water.

"Sorry darl, you're on your own," Eliot replied, grinning slightly. The teenager walked over to the grifter.

"Look, Sophie, not that this isn't, uh, interesting and uh, well, interesting," she began. "It's a high school play; not Broadway," she said, finally confessing her frustrations, as she lent down on the arm of the couch. When she had asked Sophie for help she hadn't expected such a drawn out tiresome event.

"Not yet!" the grifter said hopefully, pulling the teenager off of the couch and into the space they had created to rehearse. Abby moaned and the grifter raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Sophie I just wanted you to help me memorise my lines and give me some acting tips," the teenager finally confessed.

"That's what I was doing?"

"No, no," Abby stated, shaking her head. "We just spent two hours on the feelings and backstory of my character."

"You don't like my methods?" Sophie asked disappointingly.

"They're just a bit advanced for me Soph," she replied, trying to soften the blow.

"What did you want to work on then?"

"I was hoping you could run through my lines with me and help me with my accent," she suggested alternatively. This caused Sophie to perk up.

"Accents I can help you with," the grifter grinned. "So, Doris from the Southern states, this means you're already halfway there with the accent," Sophie began and the lesson on how to perfect her southern drawl continued, productively while Eliot took the rare lapse in job to catch up on some reading, for half an hour before Nate came traipsing down the stairs and Hardison and Parker walked through the front door, all carrying their luggage.

"You ready to go?" Nate asked the grifter, who confusedly looked down at her watch.

"Is it that time already?" Sophie queried; it was much later than she had thought it would be.

"Yup, we gotta plane to catch," Parker stated. "And an emerald to steal," she added dreamily; the team did not correct her.

"Right," Sophie said, moderately flushed as she gathered her things. Abby did the same then, after Nate's apartment was locked and the alarms set, walked down to the car with the team, although she was not going with them. He hated leaving her alone, as did she, but there was little they could do. Having her tag along could prove more dangerous than leaving her at home, not to mention she had school. The option had also been thrown around about having her stay with Bonnano, but after Eliot had discovered her and his son had crushes on each other, that option was thrown promptly out the nearest window. Instead they had settled on her staying in their apartment alone (as the trip was only for three days) and having Hardison set up extra cameras and security surrounding their place. She had agreed to go straight to and from school, wear her comms and check in with the detective for the duration of the teams' absence. It wasn't a perfect, but, for now, it worked.

"Please be safe," she pleaded as she hugged Eliot goodbye next to the trunk, after everyone's luggage was loaded.

"Always," he hugged back as he kissed her on her head.

"You'll be back in time for my play yeah?" the teenager confirmed, pulling out of the hug.

"Wouldn't miss it," he replied.

"Plane flights put us back a good four hours before you go on," Hardison added as he leant against the car door. "We'll be there."

"Good," Abby stated, brushing her windblown hair back behind her ear. "That's good. I'll see you in three days then."

"Sure thing darlin'," the hitter said, opening the passenger door. "Keep your comms on you okay? And don't do anything stupid."

"I won't," she replied while the rest of the team filed into the car.

"Don't take the same route home, have the house locked up by seven, call me if you're going anywhere, call Bonnano if anything feels off and watch your back," Eliot warned.

"What? No 'don't talk to strangers'," Abby joked.

"That too," Eliot agreed. "Love you."

"Love you too," she smiled as the team drove off to the airport.

Sorry for the delay; I had plans to upload this and more last night but I still haven't finished it, so, rather than make you wait, I decided to give you half of the chapter. It's not extremely eventful but, hey, it's better than nothing.

Umm, I'm still always up for requests, for those of you who already have, its, slowly on its way.

My plan now is to update twice a week, especially while I have 2 stories to update.

Ta :)