
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/10235264.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage, Rape/Non-Con
  Category:
      F/M, Multi
  Fandom:
      Leverage
  Relationship:
      Eliot_Spencer/_Original_Female_Character, Eliot_Spencer_&_Original_Female
      Character(s), Eliot_Spencer_&_Original_Character(s), Alec_Hardison/
      Parker, Alec_Hardison_&_Eliot_Spencer, Eliot_Spencer_&_Team_Leverage
  Character:
      Eliot_Spencer, Original_Female_Character(s), Original_Child_Character(s),
      Alec_Hardison, Parker_(Leverage), Nathan_Ford, Sophie_Devereaux_
      (Leverage), Jim_Sterling, Team_Leverage, Victor_Dubenich, Damien_Moreau
  Additional Tags:
      Fatherhood, Dysfunctional_Family, Kidnapping, Secret_Relationship, Secret
      Children, Injury_Recovery, fractured_timeline, Flashbacks
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-03-12 Updated: 2017-05-21 Chapters: 4/? Words: 16773
****** The Family Job ******
by ellievengeance
Summary
     Eliot Spencer is a private man with many secrets. One day, one of
     those secrets shows up in his brew pub telling him another one of his
     secrets is missing, and Eliot is the only one who can get it back.
Notes
     My best friend got me hooked on Leverage and Eliot crawled his way
     into my brain and won't get out. So here's a story that's totally
     self-indulgent, slightly based off of real people, and gives Eliot
     some of the focus I think he deserves. I'll update warnings and tags
     as I go. So enjoy my exploration of the Secret Life Of Eliot Spencer.
***** A New Client *****
“Uh, Mr. Spencer,” Amy peeked her head around the corner of the wall separating
the Brew Pub’s dining area from the kitchen, “There’s, uh, there’s someone here
to see you.”
 
“A’ight,” Eliot put down the knife he was holding and passed the prep work off
to one of the sous chefs, “And Amy?”
 
“Yes?”
 
“It’s Eliot,” he smirked at Amy and wiped off his hands, causing the girl to go
wide eyed, nod and scurry away. He chuckled and walked out into the dining
area, making a quick sweep of the room, checking his exits and scanning for any
possible threats. When he was satisfied with his assessment of no immediate
threats, he looked back over the crowd for someone familiar enough to ask for
him by name. There were a few regulars, people in enough for him to have met,
but not people who would ask after him by name. There was one man who sat in
the booth Parker normally used to greet clients, but Parker hadn’t mentioned
anything about meeting a new client today, and they’d normally ask after her,
not him. About halfway through his second scan of the room, one of the diner’s
put down her hood and his eyes caught on a distinctive mass of red curls that
should never,  ever  be here.
 
He stormed over to the table and slapped his palm on the polished wood surface,
“Dammit Eleanor, what are you doing here?”
 
The woman jumped and squeaked before looking up at him, her icy blue eyes wide,
“Full name, huh? I  must  be in trouble.”
 
Eliot narrowed his eyes at her, “I asked you a question,  Ellie .”
 
She looked around the room nervously, “Is this the best place to do this?
People are staring.”
 
Eliot glanced up to see that he had, in fact, drawn a bit of attention. He
sighed and motioned for her to follow him. She scrambled to grab her purse and
out of habit Eliot grabbed the duffle at her feet, “Planning on being here a
while, are ya?”
 
Ellie just shoved at his shoulder, “Just lead the way, jackass.”
 
Eliot rolled his eyes, placed a hand at the small of her back and led her back
to the offices. He opened the door for her and thanked God for small favors
when he found the briefing room still empty. He steered his guest toward the
couch and directed her to sit. He dropped the duffel and stood in front of her,
his arms crossed, taking a stance he knew from experience to be intimidating,
praying that for once it would work on the woman before him.
 
“Talk.”
 
Ellie opened her mouth, then closed it. Her brow furrowed and she bit her lip.
Eliot knew that look. He knew she was trying to figure out the best way to say
whatever was on her mind, something that also let him know he wasn’t going to
like whatever came next. It was a look he’d seen on her twice before, and
filled his gut with a sense of dread that he had to make sure didn’t show on
his face.
 
“Scarlett’s been kidnapped,” She blurted, shaking her head, her eyes tearing
up, “They haven’t asked for a ransom or anything… I got a call a six hours ago,
but all they told me is that they would only deal with Eliot Spencer… And that
he had 48 hours to contact them.”
 
Eliot’s nostrils flared and he took a deep breath. He counted to ten, clenching
and unclenching his fists in an attempt to keep a lid on his anger, “And…” his
voice had dropped an octave and suddenly felt thick and rusty, “What about…”
 
“She’s safe,” Ellie sniffed and gave him a small half smile, “She’s uh…” Ellie
bit her lip again, “Well, she’s hiding by the Dumpster, waiting for me to give
her the all clear.”
 
“Dammit, Ellie,” Eliot growled and stormed off towards the door that led into
the back alley, Ellie hot on his tail.
 
“I made sure she was in full view of a camera. I’m doing the best I can,” the
sound of desperation in Ellie’s voice brought back memories he didn’t want to
surface right now, “I had to bring her, I don’t know who I can trust anymore.”
 
Eliot froze with his hand on the doorknob, already having used the pin pad to
unlock the door, “But you still trust me, huh?”
 
Ellie gave him that sad little half smile that he swore was reserved solely for
him, “You’re the only one who’s never let me down. I had to see you before I
brought her in… Had to make sure you were really here.”
 
Eliot closed his eyes for a second, taking another breath before throwing the
door open and rushing into the alley. The ground was still wet from that day’s
earlier rain, causing his boots to make a very loud and sharp thud with every
determined footstep he took. He made quick work of rounding the corner and
couldn’t help but break out into a run when he eyed the top of a mass of curly,
chestnut brown hair wedged between a pole and the Dumpster, hidden from view in
the street, but in clear view of the back door and two cameras in the alley.
 
The little girl heard him coming and whipped her head around, going wide eyed
and smiling when she saw who was running towards her. She stood up and began
rushing towards him in turn, her arms held wide, a pale blue comfort blanket in
one hand and a well-loved stuffed wolf in the other. He easily scooped the
toddler into his arms and held her tight to his chest.
 
“Hey there, lil’ angel, Daddy’s gotcha now,” he murmured into her hair as he
held her close, closing his eyes and kissing her forehead as the girl snuggled
right into his shoulder,wrapping her tiny arms as far around his neck as she
could.
 
“I know I shouldn’t have brought her,” Ellie said from behind him as she caught
up, “But everyone I could have left her with…”
 
“Woulda had a connection back to me anyway,” Eliot turned to take a good look
at the mother of the child in his arms. Her curly red hair was frizzing up from
the wet air, her eyeliner was smudged from crying and obviously a day old, her
clothes wrinkled and unmatched. He held his daughter in one arm and pulled
Ellie in for a one armed hug as she let her tears silently fall, “I know. I’ve
got you, darlin’.”
 
Ellie nodded into his chest, “I need her back, Eliot.”
 
This time Eliot kissed a mop of red curls instead of his daughter’s brown,
“We’ll get her, but we ain’t doing any good out here. Let’s get back inside.”
 
Ellie nodded and stepped back, wiping the tears from her eyes, allowing him to
lead them back into the brew pub’s back offices.
 
“Hey Eliot, Amy told me there was somebody lookin’ for ya,” Hardison’s voice
called out to Eliot as he led his little group inside, “You find us another
client?”
 
Eliot let the door close, looking down at Ellie and his daughter, taking a
moment before he went in to face his crew, the other half of his family,
steeling himself for their reactions. Ellie just nodded at him and gently
squeezed his arm, silently giving her approval for him to reveal their
presence. Eliot took a deep breath, using the moment to think of the best way
to approach dropping this secret on his best friends. He looked down at his
little girl, watching him with eyes that matched his own, but full of trust and
innocence, and decided to just rip off the proverbial bandaid, walking into the
main area as if nothing was different from any other job briefing.
 
As he walked in, Hardison was leaning against the counter, waiting for his
answer, and Parker was sitting on the counter next to him, eating a bowl of
what looked to be cocoa puffs. Hardison wore his signature smirk, his arms
crossed against his chest, until he saw Eliot and his grin fell into a confused
frown.
 
“Uh…” Hardison began, “Eliot… Do you know you holding a baby?”
 
Eliot just walked up and pulled out the chair next to Parker and offered it to
Ellie, who gladly took it, “Yeah. This is Ellie,” he placed his hand on her
shoulder, then motioned to the girl in his arms, “And this little lady is
Ellie’s daughter, Mika. They’ve got a job for us, if you’re willing,” he looked
at Ellie for a second, “I’m takin’ it regardless, but your backup would be
appreciated.”
 
Parker quirked her head to the side, but Hardison was the one who answered,
“Man, you know we got your back,” He held his hand out to Ellie, “My name’s
Hardison, this is my girl Parker, nice to meet ya’ll,” she shook his hand, and
Parker just ignored them to stare at Eliot, so Hardison continued, “What’s the
job?”
 
Ellie cleared her throat, “My daughter, uh, my first born, Scarlett Inara
Wallace,” at her words Hardison grabbed his keyboard and began typing, pulling
up a photo of the redheaded girl eerily quick, “She was kidnapped yesterday
while she was shopping with her aunt,” when Eliot raised an eyebrow she
elaborated, “Her aunt is fine, Scarlett had run to the bathroom and just never
came back.”
 
Hardison nodded, “Okay. Scarlett Wallace. Age nine. Granddaughter of
billionaire Milo Wallace,” a pictures began popping up as Hardison rattled off
the missing girl’s backstory, “Sole child of his son Alexander...” Hardison
grimaced and looked at Ellie when an image of a man with dark hair and bright
blue eyes with his arm around a younger Ellie popped up on the screen.
 
“Who passed on two years ago,” she finished for him, “It’s okay, you can say
it. I won’t get offended, go on.”
 
Hardison nodded solemnly and continued, “Right. And she gets half of his
inheritance when she turns twenty-one, the other half went to her mother…
Eleanor Marie Warren, which I’m guessing is your full name?” he looked at Ellie
and she nodded in confirmation, “Right, so it could be a money thing,” Hardison
was tapping away and scanning through articles, barely even paying attention to
them at this point, “Or it could be a play at some of the companies, tech, and
patents Grandpa Wallace owns. Have the kidnappers made contact yet?”
 
“Well,” Ellie cut a side glance to Eliot, “That's why I'm here…”
 
Eliot chose to cut in, “I’m Scarlett’s godfather and it seems the kidnappers
figured this out and will only communicate with me.”
 
“Well,” Ellie cut in, “All we know, is that they know, that you know us,” she
made a face at her own statement, “If that makes any sense. They never
mentioned anything about you being her godfather.”
 
Eliot raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged, “What? We are connected by
more than just that, Eliot. I just don’t think we should jump to any
assumptions.”
 
“Like?” Hardison asked. When Eliot glared at him he added, “What? We need all
the information, man, you know how it goes. Devil’s in the details, baby.”
 
“Like the fact that Mika is Eliot’s daughter?” Parker finally cut in, staring
at Eliot.
 
“Whoa… wait… what?” Hardison looked back and forth between Parker and Eliot,
“How do you know that and I don’t?”
 
It was actually Ellie who answered, ”Oh please, she’s like his clone,” she said
with a snort, “It’s partly why none of you have ever met us.”
 
Hardison was now intently looking at Eliot and Mika, making the little girl
squirm uncomfortably and hide her face in her father’s shoulder. Eliot placed
his hand on the back of her head, gently kissing on her forehead to settle her.
He sighed.
 
“Ellie, Scarlett’s father, Alex, and I all go way back,” he explained, “Alex’s
older brother, Adam, was into some bad stuff when he was younger, messed with
the wrong people and Alex got kidnapped because of it,” Eliot sighed, “I was
sent in to retrieve him... It was my first retrieval and, well... Me and the
kid got out… by the seat of our pants, but we made it. After that, Adam ended
up joining the Army and followed in my footsteps. Even ended up workin’
together for a while.”
 
Eliot paused, so Ellie cut in, “Alex and I have been best friends since we were
ankle biters, so that’s how Eliot and I first met,” she smiled at the hitter,
“He was just kinda always there, this big badass we looked up to, so when Alex
and I were stupid teenagers and I got knocked up, we couldn’t imagine anyone
else better to protect our daughter if anything ever happened to us.”
 
“So…” Hardison raised and eyebrow, “How do you go from that to…” He motioned to
Mika, “ That .”
 
Ellie turned a shade of red almost as bright as her hair, “Well, Alex and I
learned early on we were just better as friends. Alex was a certified  genius ,
but he was never really good with people. He would get lost in his work or
projects for days…” she waved her hand, “That’s irrelevant. Alex had degrees in
biochem and biology, so in between jobs, Eliot would come to us and Alex would
stitch him up,” Ellie shrugged, “And then Alex would then disappear and leave
me to take care of Eliot, so as time went on, we got to know each other better.
I had always had a crush on him and well… Stuff happened.”
 
Hardison raised an eyebrow, “Stuff, huh?”
 
Ellie blushed again and Eliot glared, “Yeah, Hardison, stuff. We ain't talkin’
about it… well, ever. 'Specially not when I'm holding my kid. Just know after
Pakistan I'd taken a hit and went to ground like I always do and,” he ruffled
the little girl’s hair, “Little Mika here came into our lives.”
 
Mika smiled and leaned up to to kiss Eliot’s cheek before settling right back
down with her head on his shoulder, seemingly content to stay in her father’s
arms for the foreseeable future. Eliot smiled, a full, genuine smile, something
rare for the hitter, “Now back to my missing goddaughter…”
 
“Right,” Ellie cleared her throat, “Scarlett has my hair, but just about
everything else comes from her father. She’s a genius, Like qualified for Mensa
at seven smart. Speaks six languages, understands math and physics far beyond
me. She excels athletically as well. She’s a competitive dancer and gymnast.
Pretty much anything she sets her mind to, she can do. I do my best to keep her
grounded, but,” she shrugged, “She’s… special.”
 
Hardison nodded along, pictures of Scarlett performing at various dance and
gymnastics competitions popping up on the big screens.
 
“There’s a subdermal gps tracker in her,” she pointed to Mika, then herself,
“All of us have them, actually. Alex’s design. Sadly, something seems to be
blocking the signal,” she pulled out a tablet and handed it to Hardison, “That
had the frequencies for all of us, maybe you can boost it,” she then handed him
a low-end smartphone, “This was on my porch this morning. It’s what the
kidnappers called me on. They gave Eliot 48 hours to call them back… Now seven
hours ago.”
 
“Whoa, whoa,” Hardison cut in as he looked through the tablet she’d given him,
“Ya’ll have GPS on  Eliot ?” Eliot looked at her with narrowed eyes and Ellie
blushed, “Damn this is some mighty fine tech. Where’d yall get this?”
 
“Alex,” Eliot and Ellie said at the same time.
 
“He was paranoid to high heaven, invented and implanted the trackers into us
just in case,” Ellie looked at Eliot, “I planted the one on you after you came
to see me last year with two bullet wounds. Kinda wanted to be able to find the
father of my child if he got himself killed.”
 
“You and I will talk about  that  later,” Eliot gave her a look that told her
he meant business, “Alex was a wiz with tech of all kinds. One of his pet
projects was to use technology to enhance the human condition. He invented a
new way of grafting prosthetics to nerves when he was sixteen. We may have to
consider his projects are what they’re after,” He looked at Ellie, who was
chewing on her lip, “What I tell you next, it doesn’t leave this room,
alright?”
 
Both Hardison and Parker nodded so he continued, “A few years back, Adam was in
deep cover and someone found out that his baby brother could build them a dirty
bomb. They took Alex, and blew Adam’s cover. I was able to get ‘em both out,
but Alex…”
 
“Alex was exposed to some high level radiation,” Ellie finished for him, “It
poisoned him.”
 
“Damn Eliot,” Hardison looked up from his screen, “Ya’ll like a spy drama come
to life.”
 
Eliot glared at him, “Shut up.”
 
“So...” Ellie cut in, “What’s next?”
 
Hardison looked away from them and back down at the tablet in front of him,
“Right. Well from what I can tell, the tracker is still transmitting, just the
transmission’s being blocked. Maybe if we could get closer I could boost the
signal…”
 
“Where was she taken from exactly?” Parker had finished her cereal and began
looking over Hardison’s shoulder as he looked through web files on Scarlett.
 
“Hollywood & Highland,” Ellie answered, “Scar likes the candy store there. Her
aunt said she left the candy store, Sweet, at around six and noticed she was
gone and notified security at about six thirty. I filed a report with the
police, but I haven’t told them about the demands,” she side-eyed Eliot,
“‘Cause there is no way  that  could ever go well.”
 
Hardison nodded and narrated his actions on the computer, “A’ight, for a mall,
they got pretty good security, I’ll pull the security feeds, see what I can
get, try and find faces and all that, but,” he shook his head, “It’s a big
mall. It could take me a minute. It might be a good idea to call them and try
to triangulate the call,” Hardison shrugged, “I mean, if they know who Eliot
Spencer is, they probably know we’d trace the call, but it could give us a bit
more to go on.”
 
Eliot nodded and walked over to the screen, “Pull up a map of the greater Los
Angeles area,” Hardison complied and Eliot used one arm to point and the other
to hold the child, “This right here is the mall she was taken from,” he pointed
to a spot in Hollywood, “And this over here is where Ellie lives,” He pointed
to a location in Huntington Beach, “It’s about an hour to an hour-and-a-half
drive, depending on traffic. Now Scarlett, ain’t your everyday nine year old,”
he winked at Ellie, “She grew up with me as her godfather. She ain’t just
smart, she’s a scrapper too. She wouldn’t go easy, and even if they drugged
her, when she woke up she’d make sure to cause a ruckus,” He adjusted his grip
on Mika a bit, noticing that she’d fallen asleep on him, “I doubt they would’ve
gotten her on a plane. If they were smart, they woulda taken her up north where
things are less populated or out of state, but that would bring the feds in…
Either that or somewhere without nosy neighbors. Abandoned warehouses or
possibly a foreclosure in one of the nicer neighborhoods. I'd set up a radius
of about a two to three hour drive from this point,” Eliot pointed to a spot in
between Ellie's house and the mall, “And start looking for possible locations
from there. There's probably a lot, but it's a better start than none.”
 
“Right. So,” Ellie clapped her hands and rubbed them together, “What are we
gonna do?”

Parker grinned, “Let’s go steal back a nine year old.”
***** After Pakistan *****
Chapter Summary
     Ellie takes care of Eliot after his hinky business in Pakistan.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Eliot woke with a start, sitting up and instantly regretting it when pain shot
through just about every part of his body. He fell back against the pillows
under his head with a groan and opened his eyes slowly this time to take in his
surroundings. He was in some kind of bed, his head surrounded by fluffy
pillows. The ceiling was a pale blue and what he could see of the walls were
painted a dark navy. There was a window to the right that had a warm light he
associated with the sun either rising or setting, and he could hear someone
moving and breathing to his left.
“Careful, you’ve got two cracked ribs and one’s actually broken, you move too
much you’re likely to puncture a lung, too,” A familiar feminine voice
chastised him, “And since I know you’re gonna do something else stupid, I feel
the need to warn you you also have a broken ankle and a fractured wrist, not to
mention two bullet wounds. You’re not going anywhere for a hot minute, so
settle in.”
“I don’t remember gettin’ out,” he groaned, throwing a hand over his eyes, his
throat dry and his voice gruffer than usual, “How’d I get here, Elle? Where is
here?”
“We’re at my house in Florida,” Ellie said as she sat on the bed next to him,
“All I know about you escaping is about a day ago I got a call from Vance
asking us to come get you. Alex patched you up and now it’s just you and me
here,” she tapped him on the shoulder and held a cup of tea in front of his
face, offering it to him, “We didn’t want Scarlett to see you looking like
hamburger meat so Alex took off with her. No one else knows you’re here, not
even your new team.”
Eliot sat up slowly this time, avoiding jarring his ribs and wrist. He took the
tea Ellie offered, the warmth of the mug comforting. He took a slow sip, taking
in Ellie. She sat before him in a pair of short pajama shorts, cross legged,
her red hair thrown up into a messy bun and wearing a worn out shirt from his
high school wrestling team he’d misplaced years ago. She wore no makeup and her
glasses had blue frames that brought out the color of her eyes.
He’d never seen a woman look more beautiful than her at this moment.
“Thanks for gettin’ me out,” he took another sip and sighed happily, the warm
fluid soothing his angry throat, “And takin’ care of me.”
Ellie shrugged and stole the cup back from him for a sip, “Always. Besides, you
know no one else can deal with your surly ass when you’re bedridden,” she
shrugged and handed him back the mug, “I think you just behave for me because
you like my ass.”
Eliot laughed and instantly regretted it as it sent shooting pain up his sides,
“Nah, it’s your modesty… and your rack.”
Ellie smiled and leaned forward to kiss his cheek, “Good to know you’re still
the same old Eliot,” she slid out of the bed, “You hungry? I got chicken noodle
soup for ya. It ain’t the canned kind, don’t worry. The ingredients are all
store bought though, you’ll just have to suffer through.”
Eliot made a pouty face at her, “Aw, damn. I guess it’ll do.”
Ellie looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes narrow, but still smiling, “Be
good or I’ll spank you, injured or not.”
Eliot smiled at her and took another sip of the tea as she walked out of the
room, walking in a way that let him know she was purposely swaying her hips to
show off her shapely ass and tease him. She was a spitfire, that one, but there
was no one else he trusted while he was incapacitated. It wasn’t that he didn’t
trust his new team, necessarily, but they had never seen him this injured and
he honestly intended to keep it that way. Ellie had seen him through a couple
of low moments and somehow kept him from going stir crazy.
He closed his eyes and apparently drifted, because before he knew it, Ellie was
walking back into the room with two mugs of soup. He placed the now lukewarm
tea on the nightstand and took the offered mug of soup and watched as she sat
cross-legged on the bed again.
“So I thought you hated Florida, Why we here?” he asked, sipping the hot soup
slowly, afraid of giving himself stomach cramps by eating too fast. There was
no telling how long it’d been since his last real meal.
“Because I hate it. People aren’t likely to come looking for either of us here.
The house is under a false name and is really only used when Krista and I come
back home to visit family, who don't know I'm in town,” she looked down at her
phone when it buzzed and sighed.
“What is it?” Eliot asked, “Anything I should know?”
“No, it’s stupid,” she dropped the phone face down between them, “It’s just
that Alex said he was gonna take Scarlett for some alone time, but I just got a
text from her telling me that he dumped her on Vance and his boys,” she shook
her head, “It’s petty, but I hate when he pulls stuff like this.”
“Naw, it ain’t petty,” Eliot squeezed her hand, “He should want to be around
his girl. Both of ya.”
Ellie gave him a sad, half smile, “Yeah well, I haven’t been his girl for a
long time,” she squeezed his hand back, “Scarlett does want to see you when
you’re better though. She mentioned something about you promising to teach her
how to punch?”
Eliot smiled, “Girl’s getting too pretty and smart for her own good. She’s
gotta know how to protect herself.”
Ellie chuckled and let go of his hand to take another sip of her soup, using a
spoon instead of drinking straight from the mug like he did, “I’m not arguing
with you. So, Mr. Spencer, what would you like to do today that doesn’t involve
leaving this bed?”
Eliot raised an eyebrow at her.
“You have three cracked ribs, you perv,” she playfully shoved at his shoulder.
It hurt a bit, but not enough to bother him, so he made sure not to let her
know it, “Anything other than sex?”
He grinned, “Well since you won’t let me up and it’s just the two of us, I
could teach you some more Russian?”
“Nah, Scarlett’s been teaching me,” she said, following with what loosely
translated to, “You are a bullheaded man-child.”
Eliot chuckled, “Yeah that sounds like her,” he chugged the rest of his soup
and placed the mug on the nightstand, then patted the bed next to him, “We
could watch a movie or something?”
Ellie scooted over to sit next to him, shoulder to shoulder, “Wow. You sitting
still long enough to willingly watch tv?” She placed her palm on his forehead,
pretending to check his temperature, “Lemme call Alex back, I think you might
have been poisoned.”
Eliot glared at her and gently shoved her shoulder with his, “Shut up. I'm
trying here.”
Ellie just grinned at him before leaning up to kiss his cheek again, “I know,
sugar pie. I could bring you a book to read.”
“Oh? And what would you do then?”
She shrugged, “I dunno. I'm not the one who has to stay in bed.”
He put his uninjured hand over his heart, “Ouch, you wound me. I can't believe
you would abandon me in my time of need.”
She just smiled at him, yawned and rested her head on his shoulder.
“You stayed up all night watching me, huh?”
She nodded against his shoulder, her eyes beginning to droop, “Yeah. I know
you're paranoid, 'sides, I worry about you. One day you're just not gonna wake
up. I wanna prolong that for as long as possible… make sure it doesn't come
now.”
He jostled her a bit, just enough to knock her off his shoulder. She glared up
at him and he just ignored the look, “Get me a book and you can nap.”
Ellie grinned at him and hopped up to run out of the room before pivoting and
turning back to ask him, “Classic or smutty?”
Eliot grinned. Ellie was the only one who knew about his secret love of romance
novels. It was a holdover tradition from when she was still in school. He'd
once caught her reading a smutty novel and took it from her intending to
embarrass her but ended up getting hooked on the genre himself, “Smutty… Next
book in that series you love?”
Ellie nodded and skipped out of the room, so Eliot took a moment to catalogue
his aches and pains. He was pretty beaten, but he’d had worse. He was wearing
just a pair of boxers and a black tank, with a walking boot on his right foot
and a brace on his left wrist. He could feel that his ribs were wrapped up and
there were some bandages on his back, covering what he assumed were the bullet
wounds. His hair was slightly damp and french braided out of his face, most
likely cleaned and plaited by Ellie. He shifted slowly, settling himself in and
taking stock of what ached. Over all, it could’ve been worse.
“Okay, so I’m pretty sure this is where you left off,” Ellie skipped back in
the room, carrying one of her fluffy blankets and a paperback she then promptly
tossed to him. He caught it and chuckled at her as she excitedly climbed into
the bed with him. She started to snuggle into his side before pausing and
looking up at him, biting her lip.
“Lap’s good,” he told her, opening the book as she curled up like a cat, using
his right leg as a pillow. He chuckled at her and gently began stroking her
hair, something he knew she loved and put her to sleep almost instantly.
“Mmm. I miss you, Eliot,” she all but purred, wrapping herself up in the
blanket and throwing one arm over his legs.
“I miss you too, kitten.”
And with that, she was asleep.
It was a testament to how tired she must have really been. Ellie was a severe
insomniac, almost as bad as he was himself. She had always been like that
though, going and going until she was utterly exhausted and couldn't stay awake
any longer. It was even worse with anyone but those she'd known and trusted the
longest around her when she tried to sleep. Strangely enough, she'd always been
comfortable enough to sleep around him, as if her subconscious had always known
he'd protect her with everything he had.
Eliot continued to toy with her hair with one hand, holding the unopened book
in the other. She'd truly changed a lot in the thirteen years he'd known her.
She went from the cute kid who had more street smarts at nine than many adults
he'd known to the passionate, loving woman and mother she was today. Somewhere
along the line he'd stopped seeing her as a kid. He didn't know if it was when
she consoled him after he got back from being detained and tortured only to
find out Amy had married another man. Or when she'd fought her parents tooth
and nail to bring her daughter into the world when she was still barely more
than a child herself. It was likely that his shift in feelings had already
started when she kept him from making a final decision out of guilt when he'd
finally gotten out from under Moreau.
But he was damn sure he had feelings for her now that were not at all what they
used to be.
He gently pulled her glasses from her face and set them on the nightstand
before opening the book and starting to read.
 
**********
Eliot soon learned the sun had been rising and the room he was in was facing
west. He had been in the house before, this was the place Ellie owned out in
the middle of nowhere, but close to a wildlife refuge she liked to volunteer
at. He could hear the trees in the wind just outside the second story window,
and at one point, her German Shepherd, Snuffles, had come into the room,
sniffed him and walked off. He’d also read halfway through the book and really
had to pee by the time Ellie even remotely began to stir.
She rolled off his leg and startled herself awake, “Mmm. What time is it? How
long’d I sleep?”
Eliot looked over at the digital clock on the nightstand, “It's early
afternoon, 2:34,” he started sliding his body to the other side of the bed when
she looked up and glared at him, “What? I have to pee.”
She grumbled, waved him off and buried her face in a pillow, “It’s the door on
the right. Don't break anything else.”
Eliot shook his head at her and slid from the bed without her help. It was slow
going, but he managed to make it out of the bed and hobble his way into the
bathroom. In all honestly, he wasn’t even angry, he thought it was kind of cute
how grumpy she was when she first woke up. Granted she could be downright
vicious if provoked, but he mostly knew how to avoid her wrath and she attacked
with words, not fists, like he did.
Eliot took care of his business, slow as molasses, but he got it handled
without further injury to his body or his ego before hobbling his way back into
the room. He hated being off balance, but he was glad Alex had the forethought
to put him a boot and not a cast, as having to use a crutch would’ve really
driven him insane.
Eliot waddled back into the room to find Ellie sitting up with a video game
controller in her hands and her glasses sitting crookedly on her face as she
focused on whatever game she was playing, her mouth hanging open slightly. He
leaned against the door frame, crossed his arms and chuckled at her. Hardison
reminded him a lot of her sometimes, only she was much more subtle about her
geekiness than he was.
“Having fun?” he asked, his voice teasing.
“Hold on,” She mashed a few buttons, her tongue sticking out for a moment, then
she hit a few more and put the controller down to look up at him, “Sorry, can’t
save in battle.”
Eliot shook his head at her and made his way to the bed, “Makes sense. So am I
gonna be stuck watching you play all evening?”
Ellie bit her lip and blushed, “Yeah, no. Sorry about that again.”
Eliot grinned at her, climbing into the bed, remembering what they called the
“Fable Incident.” When her friend had first introduced her to gaming, Ellie had
played the game Fable for fourteen hours straight and he’d had to physically
remove her from her friend’s house to get her to stop.
“It’s alright, darlin’,” he patted the bed next to him and Ellie crawled over
to sit next to him, bringing the controller over with her. She used it to turn
off the console, then rested her head on his shoulder.
“You bored yet?” she asked, wrapping both of her arms around one of his.
Eliot kissed the top of her hair, “Nah. I might fight ya for access to a
kitchen soon though.”
Ellie rolled her eyes, “You’re supposed to stay in bed to heal, crazy. At least
give it a day before you invade my kitchen.”
Eliot pursed his lips, “I dunno. I’m not sure if I see what’s in it for me.”
Ellie jabbed him in the hip with her finger, “Not dying.”
He shook his head, “Nah, there’s gotta be something else.”
“My eternal love and gratitude?”
“Mmm, I already got that.”
Ellie smacked his shoulder, “Quit being an ass and tell me what you want from
me.”
Eliot smirked down at her, enjoying their playful banter, “I dunno Elle, go get
us some lunch and I'll think about it.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, “I'm pretty sure there should've been a please in
there somewhere…”
He leaned down and kissed her nose, “Pretty please?”
She squeezed his arm, “Much better.”
***********
Ellie and Eliot spent the rest of the evening together, not really doing much
of anything, just enjoying each other’s company. The next afternoon, Eliot
ended up strumming on an old guitar he found lying around while Ellie tried to
get some hand-sewing done. Mostly she listened to his singing or sang right
along with him. He knew he shouldn't distract her and let her do things other
than hang around with him, but he resigned himself to being selfish, just for
now. Her presence was too warm and his thoughts were too cold for him to
willingly let her go just yet.
After about an hour of attempting to embroider, Ellie grunted and tossed the
embroidery hoop she was working on aside, “I give up. You're too sexy and
distracting when you sing.”
“Shucks, darlin’, you keep on with that flattery, I might actually start to
think you like me,” he drawled, playing up his Oklahoma accent as he started
strumming a country song he had stuck in his head.
Ellie rolled her eyes, “Oh we both know I'd ride you into the sunset given the
opportunity.”
Eliot coughed and missed a note, “Naw, that's a new one.”
Ellie just raised an eyebrow at him, “Come on, Eliot, we play, we tease, we
flirt and we dance around each other, but we both know you'd never go farther
than that.”
“Oh and how do we know that?” he’d stopped playing at this point and put the
guitar down, crossing his arms.
Ellie raised and eyebrow and crossed her arms in turn, “Okay… you’re serious?”
Eliot shrugged, “Maybe, so what if I am?”
Ellie’s brow furrowed and she stared at him with her mouth hanging open for a
moment. She then let out a chuckle and shook her head, “Eliot...I don’t think
now is the best time for us to be having this conversation.”
“I don’t see why not. I’m stuck here for at least another few days,” He
uncrossed his arms to pat the bed next to him, “Come ’ere.”
Ellie crossed her arms and stayed in her arm chair defiantly, “No.”
Eliot raised his hand in defeat, “Fine, but I still wanna know why you think I
wouldn't be interested in you.”
“Oh please, I’ve seen the women you sleep with,” she rubbed her neck nervously,
“I know I don’t measure up, okay?”
Eliot’s face went stoic, “Ellie, Imma need you to pay attention here,” He
leaned forward, making sure he had eye contact with her before continuing, “Now
I don’t ever want to hear you say anything like that again,” when she scoffed
and looked away, he shifted, intending to get up and go to her if he had to.
“Damn it, Eliot,” she cursed at him, jumping out of her chair and holding out
her hands to stop him from getting up, “Stay put.”
He took her hands in his, “I need you to hear me and I’m gonna do what I have
to to make sure you do,” He lifted one of her hands to her lips, “Sure, I sleep
around, but do you really think any of those women mean anything to me? That
any of them know me like you do?”
“You know you’re really not helping your case by reminding me you sleep
around,” she narrowed her eyes at him.
He ignored her and continued, “Elle, you’re my best friend,” He used her hands
to pull her closer and put his hands on her hips, “Sex is one thing, but you
and me, what we got? That trust? That’s special, something I ain’t got with
anyone else.”
Ellie chewed on her lip and placed her hands on his shoulders, but didn’t say
anything, so he continued.
“You’re beautiful, a’ight?” she opened her mouth, to interrupt, but he shook
his head and kept going, “I mean it,” He tucked a piece of loose hair behind
her ear, “And if you don’t believe that I’m attracted to you, I’ve got a very
uncomfortable situation going on between my legs that’ll prove you wrong,” He
gave her a lopsided grin, “If you need proof, be my guest.”
Ellie rolled her eyes and playfully shoved at his shoulder, “Perv.” She sighed
and cupped his face in one hand, her thumb running over the scar on his upper
lip, “I hear what you have to say, and I get it. Not sure if I believe it, but…
I just… I don’t wanna lose what we have.”
Eliot turned and kissed the palm of her hand, “I ain’t going anywhere,
darlin’,” he chuckled, “At least not right now.”
Ellie sighed and pressed her forehead to his, “Do you know how long I’ve wanted
to hear you say something like that, Eliot?”
He chuckled, “Probably too long, which, yeah… Is my fault.”
Ellie smiled, “I kinda wanna kiss you, you big idiot.”
“What’s stopping you, kitten?”
She shook her head and pulled back, “Still not convinced it’s a good idea.”
Eliot narrowed his eyes and pulled her close again, moving his uninjured hand
to her hair, cupping her head and gently holding her close, “Tell me to stop
and I will.”
She just stared into his eyes and licked her bottom lip. Eliot leaned in
slowly, giving her one last chance to back out. Ellie seemed to have something
else in mind though, when she reached up, grabbed him by the hair and yanked
him closer to press their lips together. He growled and tightened his hand in
her hair, holding her to him, kissing her back with just as much passion as she
put out. She made a small noise and he took the opportunity to nibble on her
lip and pull her into his lap.
She gasped and pulled back, putting her hands on his shoulders to hold him
back, “Eliot! Be careful, your ribs!”
Eliot chuckled, holding her by her ass, “Trust me, that’s the last thing on my
mind right now sweetheart.”
“Yeah well it’s on my mind,” she chastised him, “I don’t want you hurt anymore
than you already are.”
Eliot rested his forehead against her shoulder and groaned, “You’re killing me
here.”
Ellie stroked his hair and kissed his temple, “Don’t be such a baby.”
Eliot sat up and kissed her again, gentler this time. He ran one hand up her
spine and around to cup her cheek, taking his time with his kisses. Ellie
followed his lead, gripping his hair in her fist. She made a little mewling
sound and leaned into him, deepening the kiss. He nibbled on her lip a bit and
this time she didn’t jump when he pulled her close. She seemed to melt right in
his arms and opened her mouth enough for him to slip his tongue into her mouth.
She met his tongue with hers, matching his rhythm until she shifted her hips
against him and somehow managed to jar his ribs, sending a shot of pain up his
side.
He pulled back with a hiss and Ellie gasped and jumped off his lap as if she’d
been the one hurt, “Damn it!”
“Ellie, sweetheart, come back, I’m alright,” he held one hand out to her and
cupped his rib with the other.
She shook her head, “Uh uh. Nope. You are trouble, Eliot,” she brought her hand
up and touched her lips that were bright pink from his kisses, “Too much. I
wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if you got hurt worse because I get caught
up in the moment.”
Eliot sighed and dropped his hand, dropping back onto the pillows and running
his hand over his face, “A’ight,” he let out a humorless chuckle, “I can wait.”
Ellie chewed on her lip and shifted her feet, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Eliot nodded, “I’m fine sweetheart, do you wanna come lay with me?”
She nodded and climbed into the bed, stretching out on her side close to him,
but not close enough to touch. He held out his arm and let her use it as a
pillow before kissing the top of her hair, “We’re okay, Ellie, promise.”
She traced absent-minded patterns along his chest with her finger, “We’re a hot
mess, that’s what we are, Eliot.”
Eliot laughed, “Yeah, I'll give you that, sweetheart.”
She smiled and sighed, “What happens next? I mean, between us.”
He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, “Well. I don't know. I guess it depends
on what we want to happen,” he toyed with her hair, “I don't have a damn thing
planned for now, so we've got some time to figure it out.”
Ellie shifted so she was laying on her elbows and looking down at him, “What
about your new super team?”
He smiled, “We all agreed to go our separate ways after the last job. It’s how
I ended up workin’ a job for Vance,” He shrugged, “We’re still friendly and
all, just... Not together.”
Ellie quirked her head to the side, “So does that mean you’ll actually take the
full three weeks to heal up?”
“I ain’t lyin’ in a bed for three weeks if that’s what you mean,” he held her
hand in his, “But I might be convinced to stick around here for a while, you
know, if you’ll have me.”
Ellie rolled her eyes, “Of course I want you here…” she paused, “Even though
honestly I’d rather not be in Florida myself, but we’ll make due until you’re
clear to travel.”
He nodded, “Sounds good to me,” he ran his hand along her cheek, his thumb over
her plump bottom lip, “I want this, Elle, I do. You and me, it’s a good thing.”
She bit his thumb and smiled at him, “So you’re staying?”
He smiled, “Yeah I’m staying.”
Chapter End Notes
     So this story will have a fractured timeline because I can't seem to
     write any other way anymore. So one chapter will be in the "present"
     and the one after will be a flashback.
     This current flashback takes place in the six months after season 1
     and the present is in 2013 a year after Nate and Sophie "retire."
***** A New Mark *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
After Hardison was able to backrace the call Ellie had received to the greater
Los Angeles area, but unable to narrow his search much more, the team decided
it would be better to set up a base of operations in LA and return the
kidnapper’s call from there. The team began rushing about, working like a well
oiled machine as they packed what they needed and Ellie stood by and watched,
Mika napping on her mother’s shoulder while Eliot helped his team pack. The
group moved almost as if in sync, one person asking where something was and
another producing it, packing far faster together than if they had tried to
alone. It was actually rather impressive.
“Aiight, now I gotta book us a flight,” Hardison looked at Ellie over his
shoulder as he packed some electronics into padded cases, “Is the little one
gonna need her own seat?”
At that Ellie blushed, “Oh well. About that.”
Hardison raised an eyebrow at her and Eliot stopped what he was doing and
laughed, “You brought the jet didn’t you?”
Ellie nodded, “Yeah,” she shrugged as she explained, “Alex’s father owns a jet.
He said we can have it for whatever we need until his grandbaby is safe.”
Eliot walked over and kissed Ellie on the top of her head, “That’s my girl!” He
turned to his crew and clapped his hands, “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Ironically, the crew was a lot less efficient getting to the airport than they
were packing. Eliot and Hardison bickered about who would drive, but both
agreed Parker was not allowed to drive under any circumstance. Eventually Ellie
convinced Eliot to ride with her, since her rental had Mika’s car seat in it,
and Hardison and Parker said they’d ride in something called “Lucille.” Then
Hardison and Eliot argued about the best way to pack the cars, so Parker and
Ellie just snuck behind them and did it themselves, then all but forced the men
into the cars so they could leave. They all made it to Hillsboro airport
without incident and boarded the small jet. Parker and Hardison took up a row,
looking at something on Hardison’s laptop, Ellie had Mika buckled in her car
seat, occupying herself with a tablet towards the back of the cabin and Eliot
sat in a window seat, reading to himself. Once they reached altitude, Ellie
stood up and walked over to plop down next to Eliot.
“Hey stranger,” she said as she sat in the chair, tucking her feet underneath
her.
Out of habit, Eliot wrapped his arm around her shoulders and smiled down at
her, “Hey yourself, sweetheart,” he rubbed her shoulder, knowing it was a small
comfort, but unable to do anything else for her at the moment, “How, you
holding up?”
She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, placing one hand on his chest,
“I… I don’t really know, honestly. I’m… numb at the moment. I’m scared and I
want her in my arms, but at the same time crying or freaking out won’t
accomplish anything, so I'm in the space between sadness and anger. I'm ready
to do what it takes to get her back.”
“We are gonna get her back,” he hugged her close, “I promise you that,
darlin’.”
“Ooh a promise from Eliot Spencer they must be shaking in their boots,” Ellie’s
voice oozed with sarcasm.
Eliot swatted her shoulder, “You really can’t control the sarcasm, huh?”
Ellie raised an eyebrow at him, “Look who’s talking.”
He rolled his eyes and sighed, “You’re impossible.”
“I learned it from you,” Ellie looked up at him, “What about you, Eliot?”
“What about me?” he looked to the back of the plane, “I'm not the one with the
missing daughter. My kid's right where she needs to be.”
“Oh come on, Scarlett might as well be your child, I know you're blaming
yourself and your past for this.”
“It's kinda hard not to when they demand me by name.”
“Did you hire them to take her?” Eliot looked away and she swatted his chest to
get his attention,” I mean it Eliot, it’s not your fault bad people choose to
do bad things. Just because you did bad things in the past doesn’t mean the
world’s trying to smack you down everytime you make a run at happiness.”
He just sighed and stared out the window, not wanting to argue with her. She
was right though, he was blaming himself and he did love Scarlett as if she
were his own. It was hard not to, the kid was a special kind of something and
he'd known her since she was a zygote. She was sharp as a whip, able to speak
almost as many languages as he could and do math and science he couldn't. He'd
tried to keep his distance but the kid wouldn't have it and wrapped herself
around his once cold heart before Mika was even a twinkle in his eye… or a
tickle in his cock. Whichever way you looked at it, he needed Scarlett back,
just as much as he needed Mika and Ellie safe.
Ellie took another breath and rubbed his chest a bit before pulling away from
him, “Just keep in mind that you don’t hold the market share on bad decisions
in this relationship, okay?”
With that she stood up and walked back over to sit with Mika. Eliot just
sighed.
This was going to be a tough job.
**********
About halfway through the flight, Hardison found some new information. He
called the adults over and they all huddled around his laptop, leaving Mika
asleep in her carseat.
“Aiight, so I was able to find the security footage of the guys takin’ your
girl, which was not easy, might I add. I had to create an algorithm and combine
it with facial recog and have it look-”
“Damn it Hardison, geek spiral,” Eliot growled, sitting across from them with
Ellie next to him, “The point?”
“Rudeness,” Hardison grumbled under his breath, “Imma give you a pass since I
know this sucks for you,” he then added under his breath, “Kinda like finding
out your brotha has a daughter you didn't know about.”
“Hardison!”
“Right, right. So I ran their faces through all the usual databases and they’re
your average garden variety hired goons, been off the grid for a few years
after their ID’s were burned by, get this,” Hardison paused, “Damien Moreau.”
Eliot cursed, Parker’s eyes went wide and Ellie just stared at him with her
mouth hanging open.
“How is Moreau still coming after us from prison?” Parker asked.
“Damn it,” Eliot cursed and stood up, startling Ellie, and began pacing the
small width of the plane, “He’s gotta have help, someone loyal to him someone-”
“Now hold up,” Hardison cut him off, “They been burned by Moreau. He gave up
names of a bunch of his underlings after we left in an attempt to get his
sentence reduced, which our boy Vittori denied. Now these boys went underground
for a while, but the word is they've moved on to work for Marcia Moreau,
Damien’s now ex-wife.”
Eliot cursed, Parker just looked confused and Ellie’s only reaction was a quick
intake of breath.
“By your reaction, Eliot, I’m guessing you know her?” Hardison asked, pulling
up an image of the tall brunette for everyone to look at.
“Yeah. And she's a real piece of work,” Eliot answered, standing next to Ellie
and putting a hand on her shoulder in what seemed and subconscious motion, “She
and Moreau married mostly for convenience. He had money and she had looks,
citizenship in a country with no extradition treaty and didn't ask too many
questions. I think he may have actually loved her at some point, but they
already lived apart and rarely spoke when I worked for him.”
Hardison nodded, “Well. I’m not sure why exactly she came after Ellie, but it
gives me a start. Now she had to have known y'all know each other… Any idea
how?”
Eliot nodded, “Moreau knew Ellie and I were friends. Knew about Scarlett, too.”
Hardison stared at Eliot as if he was expecting him to continue. When he didn’t
Hardison piped up, “Ookay. Well. You gonna tell us how?”
Eliot shrugged, “Not my story to tell. If it becomes relevant, I’ll
reconsider.”
Hardison just gaped at him for a moment, “Did you just-” he cut off and made a
squaking noise, “Are you for real? I never-”
Ellie looked up at Eliot as Hardison continued to flounder over his words, “Did
you break him?”
The corner of Eliot’s mouth quirked up, “He does that.”
Ellie looked at an indignant Hardison and sighed, “I had a run in with Moreau
and Eliot back when they worked together and things went pear shaped for all
parties involved,” she looked up at Eliot, who seemed angrily lost in his own
mind, “But Eliot and I made it out and cut a deal. We leave Moreau alone, he
leaves us alone.”
Hardison’s eyebrows shot to his hairline, “Oookay. So us going after him in San
Lorenzo…”
“Pretty much is the exact opposite of what we agreed,” Ellie finished for him,
“But nothing really came of it. We had another hitter stay with us and there
was only one attempt on our lives before ya’ll had him locked up so,” she
shrugged.
“Only one attempt. That’s… good?” Hardison looked at her with wide eyes and a
slightly disbelieving look.
She shrugged, but didn’t say anything.
“Ookay. So. Good to know…” Hardison nodded, and looked back down at his tablet,
“It’s possible he coulda set up some kind of redundancy… you know, he gets sent
away, his wifey gets all his intel.”
“More likely his revenge,” Eliot rejoined the conversation, his brows furrowed
together and his arms folded across his chest, “But it does sound like
something he’d do. The asshole had backup plans for his backup plans.”
“Like Nate?”Parker piped up, looking worried at the thought, “That could be
bad. We don’t need another evil Nate.”
Ellie raised an eyebrow, “Do I want to know what an Evil Nate is?’
Eliot ignored her, “He was more of a Plan M kind of guy,” he gave a Hardison a
look that Ellie didn’t understand, “His plans tended to involve much more
killing and maiming if he didn’t get his way, but he had a lot of them.”
Parker nodded, “So the mark possibly already has a plan in place. Hmm...”
Hardison smiled at her, “Are those wheels turnin’, mama?”
She grinned at him and nodded, “What else you got?”
Hardison nodded and continued his run down, “Marcia got pretty much screwed
when we took down Moreau. She had some money, but she burnt through it pretty
quick and lately it seems she’s followed into her ex’s footsteps, working as a
middleman… well, middlewoman… anyway. She’s been using her husband’s old
contacts and some of his tricks to hook people up with guns, smuggling art,
stuff like that, but she’s not as careful or scary as Moreau and has gotten
herself noticed by INTERPOL… Guess who’s lead on her case?”
“Sterling?” surprisingly it was Ellie who answered.
When everybody stared at her she shrugged, “What? He tried to get me to flip on
Eliot a few years back. Idiot didn’t realise we’re actually… well…” she looked
over at Eliot, “Whatever we are. I fed him some nonsense that sent him after a
different hitter who was going after people’s families. He took him out instead
and was off ya’ll’s trail for a few months. So we called it even and he left me
alone after that.”
“That actually makes sense,” Hardison nodded, “And we thank you for that,” He
tipped an imaginary hat to her, “So Marcie has been lying low lately. And from
her accounts, it looks like it’s costing her. I’d give her maybe six months at
the rate she’s going.”
“Well the price on Eliot’s head is… exponential,” Ellie bit her lip, “Money
like that… If I weren’t already rich…”
Eliot glared at her, “You’re lucky I know you’re not serious… and that I have
enough dirt on you that if you gave me up I’d take you with me.”
Ellie grinned and waggled her eyebrows at him.
Eliot sighed, “There is something not right with you.”
“Hey! He says that to me too!” Parker cut in excitedly.
Ellie smiled at her, “Really? Huh. I always remind him after that there maybe
something wrong with me but he’s the one who keeps sleepin’ with me.”
Parker barked out a laugh and Eliot hid his face in his hands, “Dammit Ellie,
don’t say shit like that!”
“I like her, can we keep her?” Parker asked Hardison.
Hardison just gave her an incredulous look, “Sure, mama, sure.”
Parker smiled and leaned over to give Ellie a hug that could only be described
as awkward, but the other woman returned it regardless, “We’re keeping you,
okay?”
Ellie chuckled and patted Parker on the back, “Sure thing… I think.”
Eliot just rubbed his temples, “God now there’s two of them.”
Chapter End Notes
     Ugh. I'm not happy with this chapter, but this is what it is. The
     next one is already double this length, but almost done. It's
     slightly killing me, but alas. Like the plot lines and backstory to
     this fic has quadrupled since I started writing it and it's become so
     convoluted it's ridiculous. Anyway, I'd love to hear what y'all
     think, comments and kudos much appreciated!
***** After Pakistan Part 2 *****
Chapter Summary
     Eliot and Ellie explore their new feelings for each other. Eliot has
     a moment alone with Scarlett.
Chapter Notes
     Sorry if there's any typos. This chapter was such a beast I'm done
     with it lol. If y'all catch any, please let me know.
     Also updated the rating on this and added a warning for future
     references to underage and non-con (they'll be referenced, but not
     actually depicted). I'll keep them updated as I go :D
See the end of the chapter for more notes
It took three days for Ellie to finally let Eliot into the kitchen, and even
then she hovered over him, watching his every move as if he’d break if she
looked away. Heck, he had to physically move her to get farther than the
bathroom until this morning and she still wouldn’t let him leave the house. As
much as he acted annoyed, it was actually refreshing to have someone worry over
him for once. It wasn’t something he was used to, but he was finding that the
liked it.
 
He was trying to cook her her favorite dish while she sat cross legged on the
counter angrily texting on her phone.
 
“You know, you’re about to type right through that screen,” he said as he
deveined some shrimp, “What’d the phone ever do to you?”
 
She grunted and put the phone down on the counter, face down so she didn’t have
to see the screen, “Sorry. Alex is being impossible,” she sighed and ran her
hand through her loose bangs, pushing them back from her face, “He got called
in for another consultation job, so Scarlett will be here later today.”
 
Eliot got rid of the shells and rinsed off his hands before pouring premeasured
cream into already cooking trinity, “I’m trying to figure out why exactly
that’s a bad thing, help me out here?”
 
Ellie dumped the spices he’d mixed in the pan, “It’s supposed to be his week
with her. This is becoming a recurring thing,” she leaned back and crossed her
arms, “He’ll take her for a day or so and then find a reason to cancel. It’s
starting to give her a complex. She thinks her dad doesn't want her anymore and
I am the one trying to explain to her that he's just selfish without calling
him selfish,” she banged her head on the cabinet behind her in frustration,
“Add to that, everytime you two are together, you both end up wrestling or
conducting some weird MacGyver experiment and you are  not  healed enough for
that.”
 
Eliot stirred the dish, “I’ll be on my best behavior, promise,” he added milk
and cheese, “I can’t help you with the Alex thing, but if he doesn’t want to be
around his daughter, his loss. Let him be an idiot. I'm more than happy to have
her with us.”
 
Ellie chuckled and grinned at him, “You know she’s gonna flip when she sees
you. She is always telling us you’re her best friend, you know.”
 
He chuckled and checked on the pasta, “There’s something not right with y'all,
you know that?”
 
“And yet you’re the one who keeps hanging around us,” she stole a piece of
shrimp with a fork and he slapped her hand away.
 
“Well my daddy did always say I was stubborn masochist,” he drawled, looking
over at her and smirking. She chuckled and leaned over, pulling him in for a
quick and sweet kiss.
 
He smiled against her lips, thoroughly enjoying the fact that he could do this.
Sure, it would be nice if she would let him take things further, but something
about the sweet little kisses and touches she kept stealing made him just as
happy. It was like she had to keep making sure she could, and honestly he still
got a little thrill each time himself. He’d known for a while his feelings for
Ellie had progressed past friendship, but he hadn’t really expected to ever
admit that.
 
Over all, he was glad he had.
 
Eliot pulled back and didn’t even try to hide the shit eating grin on his face,
“Now quit distracting me or the food’s gonna burn,” He waved a spoon at her,
“And food burns, I’m takin’ it outta your hide.”
 
“Ooh I’m shakin’ in my fuzzy socks,” she wiggled her feet to display the
aforementioned socks, imitating his accent, “You gonna take me out behind
woodshed?”
 
He laughed and shook his head at her, “You don’t have a woodshed.”
 
She shrugged, “I’m sure you’d build one if it meant you got to spank me behind
it.”
 
He choked on his laughter, “Go stand in the corner, I’m done with you.”
 
She jumped off the counter and stood behind him, resting her head between his
shoulder blades and her hands on his hips. He patted her hand and continued
stirring the food, enjoying the feeling of her leaning against him.
 
“How are your ribs doing?” she asked, the vibrations of her voice against his
back tickling him a bit.
 
“Nothin’ I can’t handle, darlin’,” he tested the pasta and decided it was
ready, “Pasta’s done, let me drain it.”
 
“No, mine,” she wrapped her arms around his hips and squeezed, not enough to
hurt him, but tight enough he would have to use force to move.
 
He patted her arms, “I know, darlin’, but if you don’t let me move, the noodles
are gonna get all soggy.”
 
She let go of him and he looked over his shoulder to see her pouting, “Fine,
but only to prevent soggy noodles.”
 
He shook his head at her again, smiling, and drained the noodles before tossing
them into the sauce he’d already finished, stirring the whole thing together.
Meanwhile, Ellie had resumed her position on the counter after pulling out two
bowls and silverware for them. He scooped up a serving for each of them and
tossed some Monterrey Jack cheese on top and handed her a bowl, putting his to
the side while he turned off the stove and covered the pan so he could put the
food away later.
 
He grabbed his bowl and leaned against the counter next to Ellie, facing her.
He took a bite and noticed she was already halfway through hers, “I’m guessing
you like it, huh?”
 
She nodded at him and continued eating, happily humming as she did so, “Yes,
thank you.”
 
“My pleasure, darlin’,” he began eating his serving at a much more leisurely
pace, “So what do you wanna do with the rest of the day? ‘Cause I ain’t gettin’
back into bed.”
 
She glared at him for a moment, “Eliot…” she sighed and shrugged, “Alright. I
know there’s no use arguing with you. I don’t really have anything that
urgently needs doing. We could watch a movie, cuddle, maybe do something crafty
around the house. Whatever,” she slid a pill bottle over to him, “Don’t forget
to take one, stubborn. I ain’t arguing with you one this one.”
 
Eliot sighed and picked up the bottle. They’d already had this argument last
night, she wanted him steadily taking pain killers and he really only wanted to
take them if he couldn’t stand the pain. Normally he was an unstoppable force,
but with her, he’d met his unmovable object. After she’d threatened to drug his
food and not speak to him unless she got her way, he chose not to argue with
her anymore. As much as he wanted to argue on principle, it really wasn’t a
hardship and he was still functioning enough to protect her if he needed to,
“Yes mom.”
 
She raised an eyebrow and gave him her actual “mom” look that made her daughter
cower and immediately fall in line. It only made him give her an unrepentant
grin before leaning over and kissing her cheek. She rolled her eyes at him and
patted his cheek.
 
“Eat your food, old man,” she waved a fork at him, “And behave.”
 
Eliot raised an eyebrow at her and had an overwhelming and childish urge to do
the exact opposite of what she commanded, just to be contradictory.
 
“Respect your elders, little girl,” he settled for glaring at her before going
back to eating his food anyway, but leaving the pain medication on the counter
in silent defiance.
 
Ellie raised an eyebrow and slowly  pushed the bottle towards him, not saying a
word. She just gave him a look that said she meant business and finished off
her food. Eliot watched her, as she systematically hopped off the counter,
rinsed off her bowl and placed it in the washer, all while blatantly ignoring
his presence. He kept his silence, deciding he could play her game as well.
 
After she closed the dishwasher, she turned to him and crossed her arms, “Take
your medicine, Eliot. I’m going to take Snuffles for a walk, maybe stop by the
store, don't break anything else while I'm gone.”
 
“Alright, gimme a second and I'll join you.”
 
“No Eliot, I'm going by myself,” she grabbed a leash off the wall, “Snuffles
gets too excited on walks and I don’t want him jumping up on you.”
 
Eliot shook his head, “I don't like the idea of you going anywhere alone,
especially if I don't know where you’re going. I'll be fine.”
 
Ellie let out an unamused chuckle, “You’re not getting it, are you? I don’t
want  you with me. You don't seem to care if you get hurt, but I do. You don’t
want to take painkillers? Fine, I can't force you. But that doesn't mean I want
to be around to watch you struggle with the pain,” her voice was steadily
getting louder, “And soon my six year old is going to be here and I have to
figure out some excuse as to why her father ditched her,  again , and why her
godfather looks like he went through a meat grinder. So, yeah, I'm going to
take my damn dog for a walk  alone  so I can figure out the best way to handle
this shit show.”
 
Eliot stared at her, speechless. He wasn’t sure what happened, but his brain
was just not processing how they went from what seemed to be zero to sixty in
the span of a few moments.  Ellie stared back for a moment before clipping the
leash on the dog’s collar and pulling him towards the front door.
 
At least the dog had the decency to look afraid of her outburst, too.
 
“Wait.. you're  actually  mad at me?” he asked, dumbfounded.
 
“No shit, Sherlock,” she snapped, storming out the door and slamming it behind
her.  
 
Eliot stared at the door, gobsmacked. It was obvious he did something wrong,
but he still wasn’t exactly sure what. He sighed. There wasn’t much use
dwelling on it until she got back, so he turned around and started cleaning up
the kitchen, putting the extra food away in a tupperware container and placing
it in the fridge. After that he began to clean the pots and pans, scrubbing
them a bit more than was entirely necessary to get out some of his anger. He
noticed the pain medicine on the counter and sighed to himself, grabbing the
bottle and pulling one of the little pills out. He took the pill with a sip of
water then leaned back against the counter, looking around the kitchen, trying
to decide how to occupy his time.
 
He drummed his fingers against the counter, taking as deep of a breath as he
could when the land line began to ring. He planned to ignore it when he saw the
caller ID read  Wallace, Alex . He stretched over and grabbed the handset,
hitting the talk button and holding it up to his ear, “Hello? Ellie’s… house?”
 
Alex’s snort came through the phone, “Eliot! My man! I shoulda known you’d be
up and kickin’. How you feeling, bro?”
 
Eliot’s brow furrowed, “Better, but I doubt you called just to ask after me.
What’s up?”
 
Alex took his statement in stride, “There’s that southern charm I adore about
you,” he teased, “Always straight to the point. Anyway, Ellie wasn’t answering
her cell. I was trying to let her know I’m about to pull up to drop Scarlett
off.”
 
Elot looked over at the clock, “Okay. Sorry. She just gave me the impression
you’d be by later rather than sooner.”
 
“Yeah… We were gonna stop for lunch, but Scarlett said she’s not hungry so…” he
trailed off, “So Ellie around?”
 
“She took Snuffles for a walk. She was in a…” he paused thinking of the best
way to word this, “Mood.”
 
“Oh shit,” Eliot could hear his car switch from pavement to the dirt of the
driveway, “Uh… well… Scarlett’s asleep. I was gonna try and keep her that way
and just put her to bed so she shouldn’t bug you too much before Ellie gets
back. Anyway, I’m here, so I’ll see you in a sec.”
 
The line disconnected, cutting of Eliot’s response. He sighed and put it back
on the receiver. He could hear Alex shut off the car, so he walked over to the
front door and opened it to see Alex unbuckling his six year old from her car
seat. Alex saw him and waved, leaving a now awake Scarlett to hop out of the
seat herself and walking over to greet Eliot.
 
“Hey man, you’re looking better,” Alex clapped Eliot’s uninjured shoulder,
“Sorry, she woke up when I turned off the car.”
 
Eliot clasped the younger man’s arm in greeting, “It’s okay, man. Thanks for
patching me up,” he looked over to where the six year old was grabbing her baby
blanket and a stuffed animal out of the car, “You gonna help her?”
 
Alex turned back, “Shit, Scar, I told you to wait,” he ran back over and
grabbed the bag she was trying to pull from the back seat and lifted her up,
resting her on his hip before walking back over to Eliot, “I swear she gets her
stubbornness from her mom.”
 
Eliot coughed, “Right. Her mom. Not her father at all.”
 
Alex glared at him, but didn’t say anything when Eliot raised an eyebrow,
almost daring the younger man to correct him. Scarlett seemed content to be
carried until she noticed who was waiting for her on the porch, “Eliot!”  she
squealed, worming her way out of her father’s hold and attempting to run up to
him.
 
Thankfully, Alex caught the back of her shirt before she got very far, “Slow
your roll, Speedy Gonzalez, Eliot’s got some boo boos. None of your normal hug-
tackling allowed.”
 
Scarlett’s head quirked to the side, “What about normal people hugs?”
 
Eliot smiled and ignored the pain it caused him to squat down and hold his arms
out to her, “Always, darlin’.”
 
She squealed and ran up to him, stopping short of throwing all of her weight
against him, but still throwing her arms around his neck and holding him tight.
He smiled and hugged her back, placing a quick kiss in her red curly hair, just
holding her for a moment. There was always something about hugging this little
girl that soothed a bit of his soul; reminded him of why he’d started on the
path his life took. Reminded him of why he’d done so many of the things he’d
done. Sure, many of them had been for selfish reasons, but it’d all started
from wanting to protect and defend. He started out with the desire to do what
he had to so little girls like Scarlett could stay little girls longer.
 
Sometimes it was just nice to be reminded of that notion.
 
“Hey there, angel,” he patted her back and pulled away after one last squeeze,
“You been good for your momma and dad? Been keeping up your studies?”
 
She nodded vigorously, “Uh huh. I’ve been good. Just like I promised.”
 
He smiled and stood up, biting his lip against the pain, “Alright well, come on
inside and you can tell me all about it while we wait for your mom.”
 
Scarlett nodded and ran inside ahead of him, disappearing somewhere in the
house as Alex approached Eliot.
 
“Let me look over you one last time, then I’ve gotta hit the road.”
 
********
After Alex looked him over and demanded Eliot take it easy before he left,
Eliot decided it was too nice a day to be inside, so he grabbed his book,
dragged Scarlett out into the back yard and plopped his happy ass down in the
hammock. Scarlett began practicing her gymnastics on the trampoline and dancing
about the grassy yard, occasionally stopping to talk to Eliot for a few moments
about whatever caught her attention. It was very… domestic, but for once Eliot
didn't mind in the least. He felt a bit of peace, not enough to completely
overshadow his normal inner turmoil, but enough that he felt okay to relax and
enjoy the happiness he felt.
 
After about an hour, Scarlett came skipping up to him, a bit short of breath.
 
“Hey Eliot,” she sing songed.
 
He put his book down and turned his attention to her, “Hey, sugar, what’s up?”
 
She grinned and batted her eyelashes at him, “Can I pretty please lay in the
hammock with you?”
 
He chuckled and nodded, holding out his arm to her, “Of course, sweetheart,
come on up.”
 
Scarlett grinned and climbed in the hammock with his help, gently laying
against his side with a blanket between them to give his ribs some cushion,
using his shoulder as a pillow.
 
She sighed happily and closed her eyes, “I'm really happy you're here, Eliot,
and that you're okay.”
 
“Well thank you, darlin’”
 
She nuzzled her face into his shoulder and laid her arm across his chest, “I
don't think my dad wants me anymore,” she murmured against his shoulder, hiding
her face.
 
Eliot rubbed her back, “Why would you say that, darlin? Your daddy loves you.”
 
She made a face, “I know that, but he never wants me around anymore. Even when
I  am there we barely do anything together and I always end up coming back to
mom early,” she shrugged and he felt a wet spot forming against his shoulder.
 
“Oh, darlin’, don't cry,” he put his book down and wrapped both of his arms
around her, holding her close, “I don't know what’s going on in your dad’s
head, but I know he loves you more than anything.”
 
Scarlett hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck, “I don't want you to
leave, Eliot.”
 
He pulled back and looked down at her, “Okay, now you're confusing me. Who told
you I'm going anywhere? Is that what this is about, or your daddy being
stupid?”
 
Scarlett chuckled and leaned back to look at him, her eyes still glistening
with tears, “But you always leave, Eliot. And now my daddy keeps leaving me,
too.”
 
“Oh, angel, come ‘ere,” he pulled her back to his chest, “I know I'm not around
a lot. That's got nothin’ to do with you or your mom and everything to do with
me and my job. I stay away to keep you and the people I care about safe. I
can't promise you I'll stay forever, but I can promise you that I do love you
and I want you and your momma to be happy. I do plan on being around for a bit
longer, at least until I'm all healed up. So you and me got a little time,” he
leaned down and kissed the top of her head, “As far as your daddy, I think you
best tell him how you're feeling. A problem can't be fixed if you don't know
about it.”
 
Scarlett harrumphed, “Can't you talk to him for me? He's scared of you.”
 
Eliot chuckled and gently ran a hand over her hair, “I dunno, sweetheart, I
think your mom's the scary one.”
 
The little girl giggled and he continued, smiling at her, “I'll let him know we
had this talk, but you really do gotta talk to him, okay?”
 
Scarlett nodded and laid her head on his shoulder and her hand on his heart, “I
love you, Eliot.”
 
He smiled and hugged her, “I love you too, Scarface.”
 
Scarlett snuggled back down, so he picked up his book, intending to read, but
the more he tried, the heavier his eyelids got. When Scarlett’s breathing
evened out, he lost his battle and succumbed to sleep himself.



“Eliot!”
 
A harsh cry and a bark cut into Eliot’s slumber, waking him with a start. I
took him a second to realize he was still in the hammock with Scarlett still
fast asleep against his shoulder.
 
“ELIOT! THIS ISN’T FUNNY!” Ellie’s voice called out again from somewhere inside
the house.
 
“Back here!” He answered, his yell startling Scarlett awake.
 
Footsteps thundered towards them and the back door was thrown open, releasing a
dog and revealing a frazzled looking Ellie.
 
“Oh thank heavens!” she ran over and grabbed a drowsy (And somewhat confused)
Scarlett in a hug, “I had my phone off and only got the messages when I got
back. When I didn’t hear you two in the house…”
 
Eliot stretched as she lifted her grumbling child from the hammock, “Sorry
darlin’. Didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
 
Scarlett harrumphed, “I did. And I’m still tired,” she squirmed her way out of
her mother’s grasp and blew a kiss to Eliot before turning towards the house,
“I’m going back to sleep in my bed.”
 
Ellie shook her head and sighed, watching her daughter take the dog with her
and shut the back door behind them, “I swear that girl…”
 
Eliot chuckled and grabbed Ellie’s hand, “She’s something alright,” He kissed
her fingers, “You still mad at me?”
 
Ellie sighed and motioned for him to make room for her. It was a tight squeeze,
but Eliot made it work without causing himself too much discomfort, “No. Yes.
Kinda,” she laid her head on his shoulder and her hand over his heart, much
like her daughter had just done, “I worry about you. You spend all this time
protecting everyone, but no one ever protects you and you’re not invincible and
it scares me. Especially when I’m reminded. When I’m scared I lash out with
anger and sarcasm and that’s not fair to you…” She propped herself up so she
could look at him, “I’m sorry, I’m working on it.”
 
Eliot gave her a small smile and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, “That’s
okay, Elle. I could stand to be less of an ass myself. I understand where
you’re coming from,” he chuckled, “I guess I’m just not used to being the one
looked after. You’ll have to let me know when I’m doing it wrong.”
 
She smiled at him and kissed his nose, “I love you, you idiot.”
 
He smiled and captured her lips, holding her close. He intended for the kiss to
be simple and sweet, but Ellie once again had other plans, pressing her lips
firmly against his, almost desperate, her mouth opening just slightly, as if
she was trying to convey a message to him through kiss alone.
 
And somehow he understood loud and clear.
 
He pulled her close with one arm, his other hand tangling in her hair, holding
her close as he returned her passion. His grip tightened and she let out a soft
moan. Eliot smiled, his tongue teasing her bottom lip. Her lips parted, her
tongue poking out to meet his tentatively.
 
He slid his arm down her back and rested his hand on the curve of her spine,
pulling her just a bit closer. She squealed and pulled her head back a bit,
“Careful, hot stuff.”
 
Eliot groaned and put an arm over his face, “You're killing me here.”
 
She giggled and him and leaned over to nibble on his jaw, “Likely story. The
great Eliot Spencer taken out by blue balls. That’ll be the day.”
 
He moved his arm to glare at her and she just grinned unrepentantly at him, so
he reached down and slapped her round bottom with a resounding  smack .
 
She squeaked in surprise, then unexpectedly moaned in pleasure. After she
realized what sound she made her face flushed bright red and she hid her face
in Eliot's shoulder in embarrassment.
 
A slow grin spread across Eliot's face, “Oh you like that, huh?”
 
She groaned and buried her face farther against him, “Shut up.”
 
He chuckled and gently ran his hand over the spot he just smacked, earning a
squeal and causing her to squirm, “Hmm… I don't think so.”
 
She lifted her head to glare at him and he just laughed at her again, “Not fun
being on the receiving end, is it?”
 
She narrowed her eyes at him, “You're an ass.”
 
He shrugged, nonplussed, “Tell me something new.”
 
She rolled her eyes at him and he responded with another little smack, causing
her to squeal again. She growled and pushed herself up away from him, “Dammit
Eliot!” She rolled out of the hammock and stood glaring at him with her arms
crossed, “Fine! You win! Get your horny ass upstairs, asshole.”
 
Eliot raised an eyebrow at her and crossed his arms as well, “Hmm. I dunno.”
 
She raised an eyebrow at him.
 
He shrugged and put his hands behind his head, “You know, there is still a
child in the house.”
 
She shrugged, “I figure we got an hour.”
 
Eliot snorted, “Probably more like twenty minutes.”
 
She waggled her eyebrows at him, “Better than nothing, right?”
 
Eliot laughed at her and sat up in the hammock, “You're crazy, you know that?”
 
She walked forward and pecked his lips, “You love it.”
 
He reached out and pulled her in for another quick kiss, “I love  you .”
 
She grinned, “I know.”
 
She turned away from him, took a few steps then looked back, smirking at him
over her shoulder and crooked her finger at him before sauntering towards the
house. He chuckled and shook his head at her Star Wars reference, sliding his
feet down out of the hammock and following behind her. She kept a few steps
ahead of him until they reached the porch and she turned and wrapped her arms
around his shoulders, standing on her toes to kiss his nose. He smiled, kissing
her lips before grabbing her ass and pulling her close.
 
She squealed and giggled, pulling back to kiss his his nose again, “Come on,
cowboy. Upstairs.”
 
He squeezed her bottom one last time then let her lead the way, wishing he
could just pick her up and carry her to her bedroom. His one consolation,
though, was getting to watch her ass, her hips swaying seductively, as she led
him up the stairs to her bedroom. She was obviously playing it up for him, but
he wasn’t about to stop her.
 
She led him to her bedroom, opening the door and motioning him in before she
moved across the hall to crack open the door and check on her daughter.
Seemingly satisfied, she closed the door and came back over to him, placing her
hand on his chest and pushing him backwards into her bed.
 
He smirked down at her, somehow managing to maintain his balance and dignity as
he let himself be pushed into the room. Ellie gave him one last little push
towards her bed and used her foot to deftly close the door behind her without
turning away from him. He backed up until his knees hit the bed, then sat down
on the soft surface, waiting to see what Ellie would do next.
 
She reached behind her to lock the door and gave him a coy smirk, “You sure
about this, cowboy?”
 
Eliot narrowed his eyes at her and crooked a finger at her, “Ellie, so help me
God, if you don't get your ass over here, I'm going to take your ass right
there against the door… injuries be damned.”
 
Ellie grinned at him and skipped over to the bed, straddling his lap and
pulling him in for a fiery kiss. He grabbed her bottom with both hands, pulling
her firmly into his lap and eliciting a small squeak from her. For the first
time, she didn’t jerk away, just melted into him, tangling her hands in his
long hair. He couldn’t help but smile against her lips, letting one hand slowly
trail up her spine while the other stayed on her shapely ass, keeping her
firmly in place.
 
She let out a shiver and ground her hips down against his, eliciting a moan
from him as well. He placed his hands firmly on her waist and pulled her back
from him, just a bit, “Clothes, off. Now.”
 
She playfully pouted and shook her head at him before nibbling her way along
his jaw to suck on his earlobe and breathe gently in his ear, “So needy and
demanding.”
 
His hands tightened, not enough to hurt, but enough so she could really feel
the strength of his grip, “Take ‘em off, or I’ll rip ‘em off.”
 
She bit her lip to hold back a giggle, “Add impatient to that list.”
 
Eliot let go over her waist with his uninjured hand and used it to smack her
firmly on the butt. She moaned out, burying her face against his shoulder, her
lower body convulsing against him, “Wanna run that by me again?”
 
She whimpered a little and dropped her hands from his hair, letting her arms
rest on his shoulders, “Fine, you win… you asshole.”
 
He couldn’t help but chuckle at her indignation before running his hands under
her shirt and up her sides, his thumbs catching the fabric and pulling it up as
he went. He could feel chills spreading along her skin as he pulled her shirt
over her head. She dutifully held her arms up, allowing him to pull the fabric
over her head and toss it somewhere in the room. He leaned back a bit to take
her in. Her bra was a lacy blue number that looked amazing against her smooth
pale skin. A small barbell pierced her belly button, a black rose dangling from
the bottom. He ran his hands down the her sides, letting his fingers trace over
the very faint stretch marks just above her hips.
 
He smiled at her and trailed his fingertips around to her back and up her
spine, “So beautiful.”
 
Ellie smiled at him her cheeks flushed, “Suck up.”
 
Eliot chuckled and deftly unhooked her bra, pulling the the straps down her
arms and throwing the material aside.
 
“I’m choosing to ignore that,” he murmured, cupping her shapely breasts and
toying with the soft flesh of her nipples, “Now do you really really wanna talk
right now?”
 
She shook her head, her breath coming in shorter breaths, her hands clenching
in the fabric on his shoulders. He smiled and leaned in, taking one of her
nipples into his mouth, gently sucking on the soft flesh. She moaned, holding
his head close as he continued his exploration of her soft skin. After a moment
he switched attention from one breast to the other, using his hand to knead the
flesh his mouth wasn’t on.
 
Ellie ran her hands down his chest, clenching her hands in the fabric at the
hem, the fabric bunching up in her fists as she started tugging the fabric up
his torso. He broke away from her just long enough to allow her to pull the
fabric off of his body before pulling her body back, this time nibbling his way
along her collarbone and up her neck. One of her hands tightened in his hair,
holding his head close to her, the other gripping his back, her nails digging
into the skin beneath his healing injuries.
 
Eliot ran his hand down her sides, down to her hips which were now almost
steadily grinding against him. He thanked whatever had possessed Ellie when she
was getting dressed this morning; she was wearing  only  a pair of black
workout leggings. He hadn’t brought it up, but it’d been pretty obvious to him
all day that she wasn’t wearing any underwear. Not that he cared at this
moment, it actually worked in his favor.
 
Eliot grabbed her ass again and quickly flipped her over so she was laying on
her back and he stood above her. She let out a squeal and sprawled out on the
bed. Eliot leaned down and kissed a trail from her neck down the center of her
torso all the way down to her pant line. He hooked his hands in her leggings
began tugging them down her legs, continuing his trail of kisses down the newly
exposed skin. He stopped just above the patch of curls  at the junction between
her legs and leaned back to pull her leggings all the way off.
 
Once she was completely nude, he stood back and admired her naked form. Sure,
he’d seen her nude before, Ellie wasn’t exactly shy about nudity, but there was
something to be said about seeing her naked in this context. She lay with her
weight on her forearms and her legs bent and opened just so.
 
“Like what you see, pretty boy?” she grinned, tracing her finger along the
underside of one breast, “I’m feeling awful underdressed.”
 
He shook his head at her and untied the drawstring on his loose sweatpants. He
stuck his thumbs in the elastic of his waistband, catching Ellie staring at the
very obvious tent in the loose material, “It seems you like what you see… I
guess I should catch up.”
 
He pulled the material over his aching cock and shoved the fabric down his legs
as Ellie rolled over onto her stomach and reached down to help him pull the leg
off over his boot. He managed to get out of the offending material without
falling over. Thankfully, he had foregone underwear as well.
 
 As soon as he was free, Ellie sat back on her haunches and looked him over,
biting her lip and growling. He chuckled and climbed into the bed, laying flat
and pulling her over him so she was straddling his hips.
 
“Eliot, you should just walk around like this,” she said, leaning down and
licking one of the old scars he had along his hip from a knife fight . She
moved on from that one to kiss her way down to another scar on his thigh he’d
gotten from a stray bullet when he was still in the service, “Yup. I’ve
decided, you should be naked more often.”
 
He chuckled, his uninjured hand cupping her head as she explored his body,
taking time to examine each of the numerous scars he carried. He just watched
her, leaving her to her exploration, enjoying the feeling of her gentle nips,
licks, and kisses against the rougher parts of his skin. After a moment, she
made it back up to his hips, lingering on a particularly nasty scar on his
lower left side.
 
She ran her fingers over the raised skin gently and looked up at him through
her lashes, “I remember when you got this one.”
 
He chuckled and ran his hand through her hair, “Rome. When you got made by that
smuggler,” he bit his lip and ran a finger over hers, “Good fight. Shoulda
known he’d have a knife. Totally worth it.”
 
She shook her head, “Of course what you remember is the fight.”
 
Eliot chuckled, tilting her chin up so he could look into her icy blue eyes, “I
also remember playing your jealous boyfriend… and how jealous Moreau  actually
was…” he smirked and tugged her up so he could kiss her, “That was also the
first time you kissed me.”
 
She snorted and settled so she was flush against him, “Uhm, no. You started it.
I finished. Besides, it was a con, con kisses don’t count,” she laced her hands
back into his hair, nibbling on his jaw again.
 
He raised and eyebrow at her and ran his hands along her spine , “Really? You
wanna argue about who kissed who right now?”
 
She sat up, placing her hands on his chest, smirking down at him, “Not really.
What I really want is to ride you into the sunset.”
 
He shook his head at her and put his hands on her hips, “What’s stopping you
sweetheart?”
 
She wiggled her hips against his lower stomach, “Just making sure you can keep
up, old man.”
 
He spanked her,  hard .
 
She squealed and fell forward against him, her hips grinding down against him.
He could feel just how wet she was against him, absolutely dripping with her
arousal at this point.
 
“Ellie, Imma need you to shut up and behave for once in your life,” he ran his
hand gently over the red area on her ass, “And do what I tell you, okay?”
 
She nodded and turned her head to lick she shell of his ear, “Mmm, I like it
when you get all commanding in bed.”
 
He smiled at her and ran his hand up her spine then back down to her hips,
“Good. Now I want to be inside of you. You gonna argue or help me out with
that?”
 
She bit his earlobe, “So impatient,” she pushed herself up and sat back on her
haunches, scooting down and hovering so her entrance was just above his
painfully hard cock, “But I guess I’ll help you out.”
 
He grabbed her hips, trying to hold back his smile as he gripped her flesh,
guiding her as she led his cock inside her, slowly lowering her hips and taking
him all the way to the hilt. When her hips were flush against his, she planted
her hands firmly on his chest, moaning out in pleasure. His grip tightened and
he couldn’t help a small upward thrust of his hips, biting his lip. She made
eye contact with him, her eyes smouldering as she began moving her hips up and
down, riding his cock.
 
Eliot watched her, letting her set the rhythm, letting pleasure wash over him
and watching her expressive features as she rode him. After a few strokes, she
leaned back, placing her hands on his calves, giving herself better leverage
and making her inner muscles clench tighter around him. He moaned out, taking
her hips in his hands and pulsing his hips up in time with her.
 
“Oh gods, Eliot,” she moaned out, “Yes. That feels amazing.”
 
He smiled and ran his hands along her sides, “Mmhmm. Shit, sweetheart. You feel
amazing.”
 
She smirked down at him, clenching her inner muscles, speeding up her thrusts a
little. He groaned and decided that two could play that game. He moved his hand
so he could rub her clit with his thumb. She squeaked again and he could feel
her inner muscles clench around him.
 
“Fuuccckkk,” her grip on his calves tightened to an almost painful level. She
bit her lip and threw her head back, her hair tickling his legs as her whole
lower body tensed up. Her thrusts were starting to get sloppy and more erratic.
Eliot could tell she was getting close, and honestly, so was he.
 
He licked his lips and pressed harder on her clit, his hips thrusting up to
meet her strokes. She squealed and leaned forward again, planting her hands on
his shoulders. He smiled up at her, using his free hand to pull her down for a
quick, sloppy kiss.
 
“God, Eliot, you feel so good,” She moaned against his mouth.
 
“Dammit Ellie,” He nibbled on her jaw, “You always talk this much in bed?”
 
She laughed, “Only when I’m not on the grift.”
 
He snorted and let go of her head, instead reaching down to grab her ass and
help move her hips, “That’s reassuring”
 
She grinned down at him, “I love you Eliot, I mean it.”
 
He smiled up at her, “Love you too, darlin’.”
 
She smiled down at him, leaning down to kiss him again as she continued to ride
his cock. It took only a few more strokes before her body seized up around him
and she squealed out his name as an orgasm overtook her. Two more thrusts and
he joined her, one hand clenched tightly around her hip, his head thrown back
against the pillows.
 
After a moment, Ellie draped herself over him, letting out a happy sigh, her
torso flush against his as they both panted, trying to catch their breath as
they came back down to earth. Eliot ran a lazy hand up and down her spine,
using the other to shove her hair out of his face. She just rubbed against him,
humming like a contented kitten.
 
After a moment she tensed and rolled off of him, sitting upright, “Shit Eliot,
I’m sorry, I forgot, are you okay?”
 
He rolled his eyes at her and laughed, “Ellie, I am more than okay,” he held
his arm out to her, “Get back down here and cuddle, dammit.”
 
She bit her lip, hiding her mouth behind her hand for a moment, “As long as I
didn’t hurt you.”
 
He just shook his head, “I’m fine, worrywort.”

She smiled and laid back down against his side, using his shoulder as a pillow,
draping one of her legs over both of his.
Chapter End Notes
     I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS CHAPTER WAS SO LONG WINDED AND HARD TO
     GET OUT.
     Thank you to everyone who's bearing with me and everyone who's
     commented lol
     I'm posting this now 'cause my internet could go out at any minute,
     so sorry if there's any heinous errors.
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