Eliot frowned as he laid back on his bed. After having locked the doors and windows and checking every room carefully, he still felt as if he was being watched, like somebody was hiding in his apartment. With one last glance to the window in his bedroom, the hitter closed his eyes and let exhaustion melt his suspicion away.

Parker watched Eliot as his breathing slowed and she eventually moved to a more comfortable position, convinced that the paranoid retrieval specialist was asleep. She liked to watch him sometimes. Hardison, well, anyone would call it creepy, but she just wanted to make sure he was okay. If he ever set his alarm too early, she snuck in to turn it off because he was less grumpy when he got enough sleep. When he skipped a meal to exercise or read, she barged in the front door and invited herself over for one of his famous home-made meals so he'd eat. He liked to act independent but she thought he knew what she did for him, or at least appreciated the "coincidences". Often, she just sat and watched him sleep for the "90 minutes", which was actually several hours. She knew that he hated to sleep because he couldn't watch his back, so she watched it for him.

The thief heard a noise inside and saw the hitter's deep frown. He was still asleep, but he twitched and twisted slightly. When he began mumbling and then whimpering, she slid the window open and entered smoothly. She was fascinated: this had never happened under her watch. She stood next to his bed only to freeze as he gasped shakily as if he was in awful pain. She didn't like it, had to make him stop. Whatever it was, it was very, very bad. Slowly, the girl laid a hand on his arm. Eliot's eyes squeezed shut tighter. Parker realized that he was having a nightmare and he thought someone was hurting him. Shocked but somber, she grabbed his wrists with a lightning-fast and vice-like grip, huffing as he tried to pull away.

"Eliot, wake up!"

His eyes shot open and he immediately tried to swing, only to find his arms restrained. "No, stop, get off me!" He kicked the light body away and scrambled off the bed to huddle in the corner. He sat, gasping, until he realized that he was unharmed. His shaky gaze scoured the whole room, only briefly straying from the woman.

"You were dreaming, I thought I should wake you up before you had a heart attack."

"Get out Parker, leave me alone. Go!" Eliot growled, running a shaky hand over his face.

She stepped forward slowly. "I know what happened. You remembered something bad, thought they were hurting you again. I remember from the system, I still get bad dreams too."

"Don't know shit," the hitter growled, exhausted and unsteady.

"I know that the last thing you want right now is to be alone. The dark, the pain, it makes being alone a lot scarier. I always call Hardison to come hold me so I can feel safe. Do you want me to call him?"

Eliot sighed. "No, I don't. Just, can you leave? I need to sleep."

Parker sat criss-cross on the opposite side of the bed, leaning against the headboard. "I'm gonna sit right here so you can feel safe. I'll protect you, and I can wake you up if it happens again. You won't get rid of me, because you never leave us when you're protecting the team. It's my turn."

After a heavy pause, he caved. "Fine, just don't move or make noise."

She shrugged, smirking. "As long as you don't, I won't have to."