After they'd won/stole/conned/acquired the money from Latimer's account, there'd been a brief celebration. It was a rare collaboration that had, for just a moment, brought an unlikely group of people together. For one very small moment.

"Hey Quinn," Abby stated, jogging up the stairs to meet Quinn before he left.

"Yeah," he acknowledged, without turning around, fiddling in his pocket for his keys with one hand, while the other held his duffle bag.

"I wanted to say thankyou, for you know, what you said earlier," she confessed. It seemed, this week, she was giving a lot of thanks to those who didn't think they deserved it. First Shelley, now Quinn.

He pulled out his keys and turned around to face her. "Just doin' what I can to help, that's all."

"Still," Abby shrugged. "I appreciate it."

"Well then it was my pleasure," he offered her a sweet smile. "And sorry for attacking you as well, it was probably kind of unwarranted."

Abby shrugged again and let out breathy laugh. "I think I did pretty well… up, you know, until the end."

"You'll get better," he declared and placed his bag at his feet. He fished inside his breast pocket and pulled out a card.

He handed it to her and she stared at it a moment; Quinn's name and number were typed onto thick, expensive stationary. "What's-"

"In case you ever need it," he offered.

She flicked the card around between her fingers. "Why would you-"

"Because I can," he explained.

"You know what Harlequin," she said as she smiled in thanks. "I think there's more to you than meets the eye."

"Ma'am," he declared in response as he picked up his bag and turned to walk away.

"And so, he walked out of our lives forever," she stated theatrically.

Quinn, still walking towards the exit, spun around gave an equally theatrical bow and continued on his way.

She looked at the card one last time before slipping it into her back pocket and then turned to make her way back down to the others. To her surprise, Nate was walking up the stairs.

"Nate," Sophie shouted as she made it to the bottom of the stair case. "Don't," she pleaded and Nate looked back at her.

"I'm gonna do this one alone," he declared; there was a dark intensity in his voice.

"We either have each other's backs or we don't," Parker yelled, the rest of the team now standing as a group.

"My choice, my responsibility," the mastermind dismissed, stuffing the gun into his pocket. Sophie shook her head in adamant disbelief while the others stared blankly as Nate continued up to the surface.

"Nate," Abby pleaded softly as he walked past her, only daring to look her briefly in the eye.

The second the door slammed behind him, the others began to move. "Where's he headed?" Eliot asked as Abby jogged down the stairs.

Hardison was now on his computer with Eliot hovering over him. Parker was packing up anything they'd likely need and Sophie was pacing in nervousness and frustration.

"My guess?" Hardison began. He typed a few things on his laptop then sent the image to the projector. "Haverford Water Control Plant."

"Let's go," Eliot declared as Hardison shut down and unplugged his laptop.

They made quickly for the car, an unspoken yet unanimous decision having been made that Parker would be the driver. Nate had a few minutes head start, time was of the essence and Parker would surely make up that time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eliot was sure they'd only arrived a minute or so after Nate but already they could hear gunshots. Looking out the front of the van Eliot counted the vehicles. There were three cars which likely meant ten or so guys.

The ratio wasn't favourable, but Eliot would make do.

"Abby, stay in the car," he instructed, pointing his finger at her as the others quickly exited the vehicle. "Get the cameras up, tell us what you see."

"Yes sir," she nodded and made herself comfortable in the back. The second they left, she brought up the cameras which Hardison had hacked into a few days earlier.

Watching the team work, even in this unorthodox situation, was spectacular. They were like a well-oiled, albeit slightly dysfunctional, machine. Hardison, Sophie and Parker each took out their men with coordination and ease while Eliot took out three men inside the plant.

"Eliot, there's two more guys headed out to the bridge," Abby informed him, watching eagerly. "Next left then straight outside."

Eliot jogged out quickly with uncanny speed and discipline, took out the younger man with a swift punch to the face. The man moaned as Eliot and the boss stood at opposite sides of the bridge, staring each other down.

"You know," the hitter began, directing his speech to the suit clad man in front of him. He was well aware of the gun he was carrying, he just didn't care. From this distance, he calculated, he could easily reach him before he had a chance to draw his gun and fire. "Somebody locked Jimmy Ford in that warehouse." The man had to restrain himself from letting a contented grin cover his face. "Wasn't you, was it?" The man remained silent and sombre, not letting any more emotion slip out onto his face. "Right," Eliot said then slipped out his earbud and placed it in his pocket.

"Dammit," Abby cursed; she didn't like being left out of conversations like this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well then," Eliot continued back on the bridge, "it musn't have been you who called for the kidnapping of Abby and her friend. Must have been someone else right?" he confirmed sarcastically as the other man shifted his weight preparing for a fight. "You see, the thing is, I know that this was all you and the problem I have with this is, you messed with my family. That probably wasn't a good idea." Eliot clenched his fists then loosened them again, allowing the blood to flow faster around his body.

"You know I have a gun right?" he asked, shifting his jacket and allowing the hitter to see the sidearm he had strapped to his chest; Eliot could also see the nervousness in his eyes.

"Yeah, that what makes it fair," Eliot smiled and, in an instant, his face dropped and he bolted forward. As he did he pulled the man pulled the gun out only managing to fire a shot as Eliot grabbed his arm and forced it upwards. He twisted the gun out of his hand and tossed over the bridge and into the raging waters below. "Don't ever mess with me or my family again," he hissed and as the thug tried to free himself from his grip. Eliot rolled his eyes and, as he twisted the man's arm around kneed him in the chest. Still conscious he crumpled to the ground and Eliot threw one final, satisfying hit to his face sending him into darkness.

Stepping back over the man and huffing deeply he pulled the com out of his pocket and manoeuvred it back into his ear.

"What's going on Abby?"

Back in the van, just at that instant, Abby spied Nate, you had managed to evade the cameras so far, exciting the plant. He ran with determination and Dubenich in tow.

"Nate's at the uh, south of the plant," she explained. The others looked around at their location to gather their bearings and then, without a word being spoken, ran to the south side of the plant.

"Oh my goodness!" she gasped as she saw Nate collapse over the barrier, having been shot by Victor.

"Abby, what's going on?" Eliot asked, jogging as fast as he could.

"Uh," she murmured as she tried to make a decision.

Finally, she managed to calm herself enough to make a decision. Quickly, she jumped out her seat, out of the van and slammed the door behind her.

"Abby?" Eliot questioned but, in her own little world and blocking out everything that was not pertinent, she ignored him, and ran as fast as she could down towards Nate.

She however, like the others, didn't make it to Nate. Instead, she rounded the corner on the upper level where the rest of the team were waiting, and staring down as Nate threatened the two men on the lower level near the falls. The place was like a maze and it wasn't surprising that she got the directions wrong, just irritating as anything.

"I told you to stay in the damn car," Eliot cursed, mostly out of fear as Abby drew close.

"I couldn't," she explained. Eliot wrapped his arm around her shoulder, protecting her from whatever was to come, and she leant into him as Nate stared up at them.

He looked at Hardison who, in spite of never being asked always made sure that everything was safe; that kept them working.

He looked at Parker who, despite being emotionally awkward and unaware, had grown more than anyone he'd ever met.

He looked at Sophie, the woman he loved, who cared for the others, and for him, in a way he never could.

He looked at Eliot, who had, day in day out kept them safe without regard for his own safety. Who had always stood by Nate.

He looked at Abby, young and innocent with a big heart and who had somehow drawn them all even closer as a team. As a family.

God, he had a family. A real family. After all his years of torture and self-loathing, he finally had something he cared about.

He looked back at Latimer and Dubenich and made a decision. As much as he wanted to hurt them, he wasn't prepared to pay the price of losing his family.

He couldn't just throw them away. That wouldn't be fair, not for him or them.

"Of course," he declared to the two men standing in front of him. "Nobody has to pull the trigger today." He walked past them to the edge of the slab and took a deep breath while both men stared at him intently. "We could just all walk away and accept the consequences of what we've done." With that, he lent forward and placed the gun on the edge of the cliff and turned to walk away, ready to take up life's offer to no longer be tortured.

I've only just realised what a massive turning point this episode was for Nate's character, hope I did it justice.

And because I'm uncreative, I stole the title from a song by Typhoon.

Oh, anyone here on tumblr? I'd love to give you a follow

XX A Lyrical Dreamer