step by step
An NCIS fic collection
by mew-tsubaki
- ^-^3
imagine: miscellany 25—s20e15 (this post on the sideblog: 716710678986194944/ parknight-imagines-miscellany-25-s20e15)
tags: pre?Parknight, s20e15
- ^-^3
"Hey, uh. Would you mind coming with me? When I move my dad in."
Knight replays Parker's request from last night just a few times (…all right, maybe a dozen times…) in her head, and she compares the Parker of then to the Parker of this morning. The difference leaves her scratching her head.
Parker last night was a mix: relief, for solving the case and locking up master art thief Marilyn Davis; resignation, that he might have a solution for his father; and the odd bit of…trepidation, Knight supposes, when he asked her join him today.
But Knight catches herself here and shakes off the funny thought, because Parker came to her since he finds it easiest to ask Knight for help, obviously. In reality, she knew then he'd been looking for the support of the whole team. That was why she'd told him no problem, because she knew McGee and Torres would happily agree, and it feels good this morning to walk around Sunshine Pines and catch up Roman's new friends on the status of their home.
So…yeah. The Parker of last night was a mix, but Parker right now, in the sitting room where the others set up to play cards, catches her eye and purses his lips. Then he fixes his eyes on Roman's back while the Parker patriarch insists on heading up to his new room at that precise moment.
The interaction gives Knight pause. She's the last to sit down when the guys form teams with Nancy, Leora, and Bud, and, while she has fun playing cards with them, her mind definitely wanders upstairs, wondering how things fair between father and son. After all, the Parker men aren't known for their communication skills—
Oh.
Knight's laughter over Bud's terrible hand stops almost cold when it hits her: Parker hadn't asked the team to come along. Parker had asked her, Knight, to be with him this morning. Maybe that trepidation had been shyness. Maybe it's not only the Parker men who aren't swell at communicating, given how badly she misread him last night.
Instead of teams for the next round, Knight excuses herself from the table (fine by Bud—he vows revenge on everyone, regardless) and ventures back towards the elevators. She bites her lower lip, though, and hesitates to call an elevator down. Because what if she's misread him this morning, too? What if things are going well between him and Roman? What if—
As if summoned by her thoughts, Parker and Roman emerge from the elevator to Knight's left. Parker locks eyes with her and raises his eyebrows, curious, no trace of that earlier sulkiness lingering. Roman, too, beams at her and asks if they've started a new hand yet.
Knight's flabbergasted and mumbles that yes…but maybe Roman can worm his way into the game while cards are still being dealt. So Roman hustles ahead of them to the sitting room, leaving Knight utterly bewildered beside Parker by the elevators.
Parker cocks his head in Roman's direction, rolls his eyes, and shrugs—signs of a son a little worn but able to handle it. Then he smiles at Knight, a gentle, barely there expression, but genuine nevertheless. "Thank you, for being here," he murmurs.
And maybe it's her or maybe it's how close he stands that make his words sound like "Thank you," but Knight thinks she gets it now, what he meant before. Now she's having funny thoughts for real and she's the one pursing her lips, but that's more so to keep herself from blurting something embarrassing in the heat of the moment. So she nods and hopes he understands.
If her being there makes it easier for Parker…then there's no question for her, at all. She'll have a "yes" for him, in a heartbeat, every single time.
- ^-^3
Catch me still thinking about episode 15 all these weeks later, *LOL*. This totally happened in canon and you can't convince me Parker didn't ask Knight to come along for emotional support~
-mew! XP