Before Eliot could even ask Abby what she wanted to do for their time away she immediately requested that they return to the house on the other side of the state and continue its repairs.

They had returned there several times following their first trip, all over free weekends where the final, but careful, demolitions had been done and basic repair work started. However, they'd never had enough time to start decent work and, considering how much she was enjoying the renovations, it was only natural that she asked to work on the house.

Eliot obliged and, while Sophie flew to Paris, Nate went to the marina to finally test out his boat, and Parker and Hardison planned exciting adventures to goodness knows where, Eliot and Abby made their way across state to the house in Ohio.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Your move," Sterling declared, lifting his finger off the pale coloured pawn.

Olivia, without looking up from her copy of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, lifted up one of her ebony knights and shifted it next to her father's pawn.

"Check," she declared, her phone buzzing next to the board.

She lifted her fingers up as Sterling cursed under his breath; that had been a good move. He took a few moments to think through his next one, buying time under the guise of going to stir the packet pasta sauce which was quietly simmering away on the stove.

"Bugger," he swore under his breath; the sauce had been burnt past return. "Pizza or Chinese?" he asked over his shoulder as he tipped the sauce down the sink.

"Chinese," Olivia declared without the slightest hint of surprise in her voice; she had never known her father to be a good cook and, honestly, had expected tonight's meal (just like 98% of the meals he'd attempted) to fail. "There's a menu in the top draw," she declared, having already researched the best local restaurants.

"Thanks," Sterling replied, taking the notion as a complement to his consistency, rather as an insult to his cooking.

He pulled the menu out of the draw while simultaneously moving the rook on the board. Olivia placed down her book and squinted her eyes.

"Hey dad," she began slowly.

"Yeah," he replied, carefully perusing the menu.

"Can Abby come over for a week or so?" she asked, without hesitating.

"Spencer?" he asked in horror. "Why? What trouble's Spencer got himself into now?"

"None," she replied. "It's just, I don't really know anyone here yet, she can't go back to Boston, she's my friend, it'd be fun."

"Sorry, no." There was little apology in his voice. She looked sternly at him as, out of the corner of his eye, he saw his computer light up in his study, which sat adjacent to the large kitchen. He made his way to check it as Olivia began to protest.

"Why not?" She asked, spinning around on the bar stool, following her father.

"Because," he began, shouting back over his shoulder. "It's Spencer!" he yelled, as though it meant something.

"No, this is Abby. They're different people, dad."

"No, just no," he stated, opening up the email which had caused his computer to ping. He squinted his eyes at the file and sighed. This wasn't good. At all. There was no way he could pull this off.

"Well that's just not fair is it?" Olivia continued to protest.

"Life's not fair, Olivia." He unplugged the device and walked it out into the kitchen, placing on the bench opposite the chess board.

"Please dad?"

"No," he said once more, his eyes perusing the email. Ideas started clicking over in his brain. Olivia, like her father, stared at the chess board, lucrative ideas forming in the back of her mind.

"Your move," she declared spitefully, shifting her rook to take her father's bishop and doing her best to hide the smile creeping onto her face.

Sterling looked down at the board, and back up to his computer, and back down to the board, realising that this might just work to his advantage. It might just work.

Keeping a straight face, he shifted his queen to take Olivia's rook. "Check mate," he stated proudly. "And Abby is welcome to come and stay for one week."

Olivia finally let out the smile she had been hiding in. "Thanks dad."

Sterling nodded and pulled the menu for dinner back out. "What would you like?"

"Sweet and sour pork," she said decidedly. In silent victory, she poised her hands on the kitchen bench and smirked quietly to herself.

"Right," he replied and fished the phone out of his pocket to order. "You let me win, didn't you?" he asked after he had dialled and the phone was ringing.

"And you only let Abby come over because of that file you got, didn't you?" she replied.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They'd been there for a week, and were putting the floor boards down in the last room on the ground floor when Abby received a text. She stared sheepishly at Eliot, her cell phone in hand for several moments before Eliot spoke up.

"What?" he asked, without looking up as he hammered down a floor board. His intuition still scared her sometimes.

"Hey… um…"

"What?" he asked again.

"Can I go over to Livy's for a week?" she asked cautiously.

"Olivia Sterling?" he confirmed, almost in horror, as he put down the hammer and pivoted on the balls of his feet to face her.

"Yeah," Abby nodded. "She's on holidays, bored, and still doesn't have any friends in LA and seeing as we're not working-"

"You want to go over to Olivia Sterling's house?" he asked again.

"Yes," Abby laughed.

"No, absolutely no," he reiterated. "No way, you're going to stay with Olivia for a week you wanna know why?" Eliot's tone was one of disbelief rather than anger.

"I can guess," Abby stated sarcastically.

"Because we're meant to be laying low and Sterling will find some way to screw that up," the hitter continued.

"I get that his personality is just… irritating but what did he actually do?" She shifted her weight and sat cross legged on the dusty floor. After settling herself down, she leant on the hilt of her hammer, doing her best to ignore the stares from Eliot which were so obviously hinting at her to keep working.

"You remember Quinn?"

"Harley? Sure," she nodded.

"Back when we'd first started, Sterling hired him to take me down, arrested Hardison and Parker, had us blow up our office and," Eliot paused and Abby waited in anticipation for the worst to come, "he keeps getting career boosts off our hard work!" Eliot tapped, almost punched, his chest forcefully with his index finger, trying to reaffirm his point.

Abby shrugged. "Okay, that's fair," she agreed. Anyone trying to arrest any of the team was easily "But it doesn't mean his daughter's the same. She's really cool and seeing as we can't go back to Boston…" she trailed off, waiting for his inevitable cave in.

"Where are they living?" He asked and Abby grinned. "That doesn't mean yes," he added quickly.

"LA," she stated as her fingers tapped excitedly and nervously; that totally meant yes

"What are you planning on doing?"

"Dunno, shop, see the sights, hang out."

"And what am I meant to do? 'Cause I sure as hell ain't spending any time with Sterling."

"It's LA! You managed entertain yourself without me before, I'm sure you'll find something to do."

Eliot put down the hammer he was holding in his hand and rubbed his face. This wasn't what he had in mind for his time off.

"Please."

"Go book some tickets," he finally stated, gesturing out to nowhere. Abby excitedly jumped up, kissed him on the cheek and ran out the door to go book some tickets to LA.

XXXXXXXXX

Have a few medium-large plans for the season break, so stay tuned!

Need some inspiration for two things though

-Eliot/Abby, Father/Daughter, Uncle/Neice bonding overseas story ideas

-How to smush Abby into the First Contact Job (because it was recommended by a few of you but I'm drawing a blank)

Reviews were amazing guys! I'm glad I'm back too!

to the wonderful anon leaving reviews on all my stories, you're gorgeous. You should make an account so I can thank you directly!

XX A Lyrical Dreamer