Completely OOC for Parker but I love her as a character and I just want a happy ending for her. The cover image is of Parker's house.

It had been twelve years since the team had last seen Parker and, for all their searching and worrying, they had seen no hide nor hair of her. They had carried on, they had to, their client relied on them to help them and even though their blonde thief had deserted the cause, they continued.

They found a new thief, Sabrina, but it was never the same, she hadn't been through with them what Parker had and, although they trusted her grudgingly, she never became part of the family. It probably didn't help that she was constantly and obviously flirting with both Eliot and Hardison all of the time, despite the fact that they showed no interest in her and were clearly both hung up on Parker. While the team would never say it to her face, she had an oversized ego and would throw a mean temper tantrum, she wasn't as good as Parker.

To start with the majority of the team had been resentful and spiteful towards Parker; she had left them a team member down, and had left them with no indication as to why or where she had gone. This resentment faded over time with most but Eliot clung onto his perceived rightful anger. He had been in love with the blonde thief but had never done anything about it and her running off had taken away his opportunity.

It was a regular job in Idaho, or as regular as your job can be when you are a thief, where the team had to infiltrate yet another school, this time a state elementary school where they were targeting the head teacher who had been sabotaging and stealing from another school in the area. With Sophie undercover as a substitute teacher and Eliot as the new janitor and with incriminating papers and items lying everywhere, it looked as though this would be and easy and quick job. Sabrina was huffy, she wanted to go out and show off her skills but, when there was no cover up and the evidence was just sitting there, there was no need for a thief.

Just as they were getting close to wrapping up the job and recovering the stolen items, they heard of another attack on the school. Nate and Sophie, who had the afternoon off as she had no classes to teach then set off, followed by Eliot and Hardison who weren't too keen on staying in an enclosed space alone with Sabrina. They reached the school to find it overrun with people, it appeared that all the parent of the students had caught wind of the new attack and wanted to know what was going on and if their children were safe. The team pushed through the crowds towards the teaching staff only to find the space between themselves and their intended destination overrun with children, most of whom looked petrified and about to cry as they desperately tried to find their parents.

As Nate and Sophie tried to find a path through without upsetting too many more kids, Eliot and Hardison trailed after them. Neither looked particularly comfortable with the children, well not when they looked as though they were going to start bawling their eyes out. Suddenly Nate and Sophie slowed and both of the guys crashed into their backs, not expecting the change in pace.

Eliot was about to ask them rather grumpily why they had stopped when he followed their eyes and stopped dead. Two little girls stood calmly to the side of the group of children playing a clapping game as they ignored the chaos going on around them. One looked to be older than the other and lightly taller but while both were reasonably tall for elementary school age, both were very slim.

The school didn't require uniforms and so the little blonde girls were wearing their own clothes. Both were in black leggings and black sneakers, with the older girl in a maroon flowery top and the smaller and presumably younger one in a pastel striped t-shirt with cute short denim dungarees over top. Both had blonde hair, the younger girl's just passed her shoulders with a pretty ribbon tied in it and the other had longer hair that was half tied up with a lace maroon bow in it.

There was something about both that was undeniably familiar and just miniature versions of one person all of the team knew so well. They were both just so Parker.

That was confirmed when a tall blonde woman emerged from the crowds with a small boy on her hip and a worried look on her face. The woman was wearing dark skinny jeans with a loose white tank top. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a loose ponytail with a sweeping blonde side fringe across her face. Compared to the three females, the boy's hair was several shades darker, more of a mix of brown and blonde, and as he perched on the woman's hip he looked around from his vantage point. His little face lit up when he saw the two blonde girls and he clapped his little hands together and called "Ari, Kenzie, Ari, Kenzie, Ari, Kenzie ..." loud enough that the four, who weren't too far away overall, could hear.

He quietened down when his mother picked up her pace and reached the two girls, Ari and Kenzie. Crouching down, she placed the small boy on the ground and spoke in hushed tones with the older of the two while the little boy toddled up to his sister and hugged her. Any doubts over the identity of the woman were quashed as she stood up and they got a clear view of her face. That was definitely Parker alright. As they watched Parker scan the teachers, Hardison huffed out a laugh to which he got three questioning looks thrown his way.

"It would be Parker's kids that weren't scared by whatever has the others terrified," he explained.

The other three mainly ignored his comment as they were reminded of the reason they were here and realised how odd they had looked, frozen in a sea of children, in between the two groups of adults. By the time they had come to their senses, they noticed that Parker had picked up the little boy again and holding the younger girls hand was making her way to the group of teachers, in particular the head teacher of the school, Mrs Lucia Ellis, a relatively young woman who looked about Parker's age.

The team moved closer, as it was their intended destination anyway and also to try and get closer to Parker. As they neared the group, Parker crouched down to the ground and addressed her kids.

"Ari, Kenzie, Archie, I need you to be good for mommy while I talk to your Auntie Lucy for a minute. Why don't you go and play with your friends and Auntie Lucy's kids over there. And take Archie with you would you. Just look out for him."

"Yes mommy," they replied in unison and with that wandered over to another group of children who also didn't seem to be that affected by what had gone on.

Parker turned to Mrs Ellis and smiled slightly at the sight of their kids playing happily together, then frowned as she remembered why she was here. "What happened today, Luce? No one told me what was going on, only that I should come and pick up Ari and Kenzie as soon as possible. I was running through all the worst case scenarios only to find out they're fine but all the other kids look like they're going to cry. Is there anything I can do Luce, you know I've been looking into it but I have found no evidence that is legally obtainable at the moment and you know I have to get it legally for it to stand up in court."

"Come on, they are your kids Park, They aren't scared of anything! Anyway, someone decided to release truckloads of chickens into the school and scattering chicken feed around the school. It was all fine until the bell rang and the chickens went crazy, they were squawking and flapping their feathers and flying at the children. It scared them all so much but your two over there were with mine three and yours had caught two of the chickens and they were stroking them while the others watched. I know you are trying, everyone is but I'm sorry. I had to call some others in, I was desperate. The governors were going to shut down the school and I called them as a last resort."

Parker felt a sinking feeling but was still about to ask with the hope it wasn't who she thought it was going to be when she heard a voice next to her. "Parker?!" Sophie asked.

Parker screwed her face up and caught Lucia's wince before turning slowly to face her old team. "Oh hey guys, um ... fancy seeing you here. So what are you doing ... I mean how are you doing?" she stuttered out awkwardly, wishing that she was as far away from the spot where she was standing as she could be, wincing again when she saw the glare take shape on Eliot's face.

Eliot opened his mouth but was cut off by Nate who saw the tension rising and moved to intercept before a row could break out in front of everyone. "We're here for a case. Mrs Ellis here called us in to get evidence of who was breaking in and damaging her school. And we're doing ok. Now what about you? What are you doing here and why did you say you've been helping legally?"

Parker grimaced. Just the question she didn't want to answer. After several moments of awkward silence a little voice piped up by their feet. "Mommy lives here with daddy and me and my sisters and she's really cool. She catches bad guys. She's the local shw ...shw, shw, shw, shwe ..."

"Sheriff honey. What are you doing over here? I thought you were playing with our sisters."

"I got bored so I came over to see you and Auntie Lucy. I'm sorry mommy."

"Oh that's ok sweetie."

It was at this point that the little boy seemed to remember the other adults surrounding him and looked up at them tugging on his mom's trouser leg. Parker bend down and scooped him up onto her hip so he could see better. "Who are they mommy?" he asked.

"These are some people that I used to know before I moved here and met daddy."

"And who is this?" Sophie asked realising that they were about to sink into an awkward silence again.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. This is Archie, Archie this is Mr Nate, Mr Eliot, Mr Hardison and Miss Sophie. Can you say hello?" The team noticed the formal titles and the lack of the friendly titles Lucia got and realised they were well and truly out of Parker's life.

"Hello, I'm Archie and I was named after my granddad," Archie said proudly.

The team smiled inadvertently at the cuteness of the little boy before turning to look back at Parker.

"You're the sheriff, yeah right. You work against the law not for it. You hate cops and you managed to convince the whole damn town you don't?! How on earth did you of all people manage that?" Eliot snarled with his perceived rightful anger showing. It would have seemed incredulous at any other point and have been justified given Parker's record with acting, but with his anger, it seemed harsh and cruel.

Archie's eyes shined with unshed tears causing Parker's eyes to harden and a strong glare to form as she looked stonily at Eliot. Covering Archie's ears ad stroking his head to soothe him she harshly replied, "Say whatever he hell you want about me or to me. I don't give a damn, I had my reasons. But if you ever, and I mean ever, insult them again I will kick your worthless no good behind out of this town before you can even think about saying something stupid again. And let me tell you it won't be pretty, I have a gun."

The whole team recoiled in shock from the force and harshness behind her words and there was no misunderstanding her, she meant it. With that she looked down at her son and bounced him slightly before promising him a lolly for hanging on and turning back she glared once again. "I need to get my family home and I have things that I need to do so if you will excuse me."

With that Parker swept off, stopping briefly to pick up her two girls, before strapping them all into a car and peeling off into the traffic. With a signal from Nate, Eliot and Hardison slipped away to follow but not without Lucia noticing and texting a warning to Parker, who replied saying she knew.

Nate and Sophie discussed what they knew and the newest attack before leaving to go back to their rented rooms. When they got there Sabrina was beyond angry and demanded to know where everyone had gone and why the boys hadn't taken her. "Like you don't know," Sophie replied

Sabrina turned around in shock. "Yes, I know. I saw you following them around all day. You don't stalk your own team."

"I deserved to know what you were doing and then I saw you talking with that blonde bimbo bitch who was stealing my property."

Nate stood back knowing not to interfere. "That's where you're wrong. There's one bitch around here and it is definitely not Parker. And the boys are not your property. You need to understand something here, you may be part of the team now but you aren't part of the family. You don't understand and you annoy the boys. Parker was part of the family before she left but once you are part of the family you never leave, no matter how long or how far away you go. We have no attachment to you so don't push it."

It seemed Sophie's talk worked as Sabrina huffed off saying she was going back to Boston and that she would meet the team back there. Nate and Sophie decided to go and meet up with Hardison and Eliot who were watching over Parker's house.

When they got there they were shocked at the image they saw. Parker had a beautiful large house with acres of surrounding grass and a swimming pool. The house was a stunning mix of exposed stone on the lower halves of the house and cream paint on the top halves. The house was long with some parts being two stories and others just one with high ceilings and lots of windows letting it be airy and light. The double doors that were the front door had a large high porch that spanned the height of the house.

While it was a beautiful house, it also looked lived in which added to the charm of the place. 5 sets of wellies were lined up next to the front door going down in size with one pair of traditional green colour but with the rest multi-coloured. Through the window the team could see modern living spaces with a clean, light kitchen and it appeared that at this moment in the evening the whole family was in the kitchen. A man with hair exactly the same shade as the little boys was stood at the stove stirring a pot as Parker was chopping vegetables. Archie had been sat up on the surface to the side near his mother with Ari and Kenzie sat at the breakfast bar opposite the stove playing with some threads which they were weaving into bracelets.

Parker was smiling and chatting with Archie whilst the man watched over his daughters with a grin on his face. Turning the heat down under the pot he was stirring, the man crept up behind Parker, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek before reaching out and tickling one of his son's little feet making him laugh and squirm.

When dinner was ready, they all sat down at the table before digging in. The family shared a nice evening together and when all the kids were in bed, the two parents turned to each other and briefly discussed something that looked to be serious before the man retreated to the lounge before Parker disappeared from view. Suddenly there was a tap on the window of the car in which they all sat. They all jumped and looked up to see a straight faced Parker stood there. Two things were very different from the Parker they knew, there was no smile on her face, even though she had made them all, including Eliot, jump, and the fact that she was actually waiting patiently.

Nate rolled down the window and waited for Parker to speak. "Look I know you have questions," she said. "So Nick and I agreed that you could come in briefly if you agree to stop watching us through the windows of our house like you have been since I go home today and that you don't raise your voice as our children are asleep and we don't want them woken up. If you can't agree to those then you should leave now."

Parker said her piece and then turned back to her home and started walking up the path to the door leaving her old team scrambling to catch up with her. Her words weren't lost on anyone and they realised Parker had really grown up and moved on when she called this place her home. She always said that she had never had a home but it appeared that she had found one now.

The team were asked to take their shoes off as they entered the door as Parker placed hers on an overflowing shoe rack in the closet and took their coats to hang up. They admired the beautiful and tastefully decorated interior and followed a still subdued Parker to the living room where she curled up in the love seat next to the man who stood immediately to greet the newcomers.

"Nicholas Richardson but you can call me Nick," he said as he shook their hands politely. "I hear you know my wife."

Despite knowing she had children, it was still a shock that she had actually married and had a normal life so the team only managed to nod dumbly and sit on the offered sofa and chair. Eliot felt the sinking feeling in his stomach as he realised he had well and truly lost his chance.

"Now here is how this is going to go," Nick told them, his polite attitude dropping as he allowed them to see his disdain for them more. "I heard what you said earlier, how you treated my son and how you treated my wife in the past and I won't take that in my house. You will be polite and respectful or you can walk straight out of the door now."

The team was slightly taken aback at the force with which they were told this but agreed as they wanted information. Once Parker was settled, curled into her husband, she began.

"Since we started working together I was always the one who took the blame for being too reckless and all you ever said was that I was crazy and that I wasn't normal. I could take it to start with because that had been what I had been told my whole life." Nick placed a comforting arm around her shoulder as she burrowed deeper into his side and rubbed her arm.

"It was after several years together that it began to sink in. Most of the crazy was all just a mask and no real purposes in life or hobbies. I thought that the longer we were together you would get to see more of me but you never got it and I continued to take the flak for being reckless. You treated me like I could only do one thing and it started to get boring. I had to do more when I worked on my own but you just didn't seem to understand that I had more talents than you saw. You all seemed to think I had the worst people skills ever but really I acted on instinct. People I could sense weren't right, I reacted to badly but all I got was more talk of being crazy. I just got fed up so I packed up my stuff over a couple of weeks. I thought you might've noticed something was wrong but you didn't notice a thing, even when I had removed all my stuff from the offices."

The team were shocked at this. They hadn't thought it had been that bad but now, when they looked back on it, they could see that their misconceptions and fixed ideas had influenced their judgement.

"I had a car. Bet you didn't know that. So I took it and just drove and drove and I don't know why or how but I ended up here, tired and in need of sleep. Lucia's sister owns a B&B where I stayed for a couple of days and met her one evening. We got talking and she dragged me out for drinks. She asked me where I was going and I told her that I didn't know so she asked me why I didn't just stay. So I did. I met Nick a month later when I was stranded at the side of the road. I had been cycling to try and wear myself out when I got a puncture. Nick pulled his car up next to me and I didn't know him so I hit him. Luckily he wasn't deterred and helped me home. We met up for coffee and things just went from there. He proposed to me a year later and we married six months after that. It's all been a blur since then. I told Nick about my past and he wasn't fazed in the slightest and then along came Arianna Lucia, Kenzie Rose and Archie Dillon, who are 6, 4 and 2 respectively now."

"Do you not steal anymore?" Nate asked.

"No, I needed a job but I got to know the people of the town in the first two months I was here and couldn't steal from them so I did the next best thing with my skills and so I applied to the police department and became the sheriff. I've been working there ever since, apart from the time I was on maternity leave. I have other hobbies now that keep me entertained. I base jump and skydive occasionally and I swim, cycle and run and train for triathlons when I have the time. Family life keeps me pretty busy. Nick has his own architects business so we alternate childcare. When I'm working and Nick is as well he sometimes takes the kids to work with him and the workers love them."

"Mommy?" a small voice interrupted. "I couldn't sleep and ... why are they here? They were mean to you."

Archie emerged in a cute blue, red and white onesie rubbing his eyes tiredly but stopped short when he saw the nasty man who was mean to him and his mommy. He tottered over to her and she scooped him up into her lap. "They're here to find out why I left them, baby. And I'm sure Mr Eliot will apologise to you for what he said, won't he?" she said forcefully.

Eliot was silent for a minute but under the force of five glares he relented and mumbled an apology to which Archie replied "That's ok, Mr Eliot. Just don't do it again." That made his mom laugh and scold him lightly. She then realised something.

"Did you climb out of your crib again mister?" she asked. "We're going to have to get you a proper bed now aren't we?" Archie looked a bit sheepish causing Nick to chuckle and smile at Parker who returned it before popping Archie up on her hip and taking him to the kitchen. Sophie gave a quick glance to Nick and, receiving the nod of approval, got up to follow Parker.

In the kitchen, Parker had Archie sat up on the work surfaces talking gently to him whilst boiling milk on the stove. Sophie walked up and sat at one of the chairs on the breakfast bar and watched. Parker added cocoa and mixed up hot chocolate before adding some cool milk to make it drinkable before adding it to a sippy cup and giving it to Archie. Cradling him gently and gently rocking him, she sat next to Sophie at the breakfast bar with a mug for herself and Sophie as well.

After not long, Archie gently drifted off to sleep and Sophie looked over at Parker who looked relaxed and happy.

"So he's named after his granddad huh?" Sophie started.

""Yeah, you met Archie when I did that job with the steranko job and got caught up and needed your help. Well I stayed in touch with him and he's been like the dad I never had. Nick liked the name so we agreed and his middle name is Dillon which is Nick's dad's name."

"That's nice. Has he met the kids? Are Arianna and Kenzie named after anyone?"

"He has visited many times and the kids just love their granddad. He even brought his family and we all got along so well. Arianna Lucia is named after Nick's grandma and Lucia who you met earlier and Kenzie Rose is named after Nick's sister and then Archie's daughter who is like my sister. We wanted the names to represent our families and those closest to us. I thought of naming them after you guys but it made me sad thinking about the fact that you never saw me for who I was and I didn't want to take that out on my children so we decided against it."

Parker stood up, gently readjusting Archie before exiting the room and walking down the hall. She popped Archie back into his crib before walking through the kitchen, collecting Sophie and leading her back to the lounge.

After a bit more small talk, Parker not so subtly yawned and informed Nick that she would have to go to bed soon. Sophie, the one with the best people skills, thanked the couple for a lovely evening and told the three guys that they really should be going. They walked to the door where they were handed their coats and with one last long, wistful look from Eliot to Parker, although she didn't notice, they left and Nick and Parker went to bed.

The next day was a busy one for Parker as she continued to look into the break ins to the school. She was just about to take a break to grab a cup of coffee when she noticed something about the reports. There had been major differences with the latest break in to the ones before with it being in the day instead of at night and with something being left instead of anything being taken and then it dawned on her. Chickens seemed the key to this. Recently a boy had been turned down for the school as he was out of the catchment area and closer to other schools and the school was already full. As it turned out his father was a chicken farmer and the chickens in the school had identification tags on them.

Comparing the tags to the records she acquired from the sheepish farmer, she confirmed her theory and the farmer confessed. He had been angry and slightly drunk and it had seemed like a good idea at the time but not so much now. He agreed to pay for damages caused and compensation for the damage caused to the children to help them recover. He agreed to help them all become less frightened of chickens by teaching them about them and introducing them to some docile ones.

With that case solved and completely unrelated to the other break ins she headed out to the school to speak with the head teacher once again and inform her of recent events.

Nate, Sophie, Hardison and Eliot were sat in Mrs Ellis's office explaining to her what they were going to do now when there was knock on the door. Mrs Ellis stood up and opened the door, smiling when Parker, dressed in full sheriff uniform, entered the door and took stock of the room.

Deciding that she didn't want to face them again right now, she turned to the head teacher and said "The incident yesterday had no connections with the ones that have been ongoing. It was a disgruntled parent who was slightly intoxicated and thought it would serve revenge. We have a settlement drawn up that just requires your signature to say you are happy with it and then it will be over. There have been measures included to help the children recover from the trauma."

"Thanks Park or should I say Sheriff Richardson seeing as you're dressed in full uniform."

"Yeah, not often you see me in this huh. Anyway I have to get going. I have loads of work to do, god it backs up so much when you have a day off."

"We on for this Saturday?"

"Yeah looking forward to it. I'll text you later about it ok."

"Ok see you Park."

"Yeah later Luce."

Despite the team's half-hearted attempts to stop her, Parker was out of there as soon as possible. Not many days of hard work later and the team managed to get the items and money back for Lucia and Parker had got her evidence, by herself, which had the other head teacher in panic. Luckily for them Lucia was kind hearted and let them off with a warning. That was how it was in this town; you got along because everyone did their best to be friendly and everyone helped each other out.

A knock on her front door one evening after the case had been solved took her by surprise. She hadn't been expecting anyone and had been playing with her kids with paints and glitter. Brushing her hands off as best as she could and hurrying to the door, she opened it only to see her old team. She kind of wanted to slam it in their faces, she had been happy and enjoying herself, but she had good manners and so let them in and apologised for the mess before leading them to the designated play room which was covered in plastic mats and newspaper. As she caught sight of her appearance in the mirror Parker's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she saw streaks of paint in her hair and on her face and her generally dishevelled appearance.

They had come to say goodbye to her. They had to go back and wanted to stay in contact. They really wanted her back but they knew that it wouldn't be fair to ask her that while she was so happy. Parker couldn't promise anything but said they could try.

And try they did. Contact wasn't regular or that friendly to start with, with awkward correspondences but they at least sent a letter each once a year. They did visit once again, and then a couple of times after that, but it was clear that Parker had moved on and, although she was friendly enough with Nate and occasionally Sophie, she was different and hadn't really forgiven them. She was ok with that though, she had her family to worry about and she loved her new life.

Thanks go to A Lyrical Dreamer for beta reading this quickly for me. If you like this please review.