Title: Five Times
Disclaimer: I do not own any person, place or thing you may recognize.
Rating: M
Warnings: language; female Dean; canon style violence
Fandoms: Leverage and Supernatural; minor Angel crossover in one part
Spoilers: potential spoilers for the first 3 seasons of Leverage and the first 5 seasons of Supernatural
Pairing: Eliot Spencer/Deana Winchester
Summary: Five times Eliot's team met his wife, one time they didn't and possibly one time they didn't have to.
Author's Note: So, this was originally just going to be a story about how Eliot's team met his wife. Unfortunately, I had way too many ideas on how to go about writing the story. So, instead, I decided to make this one of those five times stories. It's entirely possible that it may turn into more than that, depending on how many different ideas I come up with as I'm writing.

The first, second and third pieces take place somewhere between On the Head of a Pin and Lucifer Rising. The fourth takes place sometime after season five, but disregards Swan Song and assumes that the Winchesters and Castiel found some other way to stop the Apocalypse.
Edit: So, I originally posted this over on my other account, Gu4rd14n-Kn1ghts, but two years ago, I decided that I wanted to condense both of my accounts into one, so I've been in the process of deleting, editing and reposting all of my works from that account.

Overall, the first four chapters should be mostly the same. For the most part, I just cleaned them up a bit and fixed a couple of things that I didn't really like the first time around.

Anyway, let me know what y'all think.

Fae

Title: The Hustle Job
Spoilers: specific spoilers for The Stork Job, The 12 Step Job, The First David Job, The Second David Job, The Beantown Bailout Job and The Tap Out Job, and vague spoilers for the rest of the first season of Leverage; specific spoilers for Skin, The Usual Suspects, and Nightshifter and, and vague spoilers for the rest of seasons 1-4 of Supernatural
Word Count: 4,287

Eliot walked into the bar with the rest of his team. Normally, they celebrated a successful job by going out to a fancy restaurant. He never felt entirely comfortable in those situations, and this job had been harder on him than normal. He hadn't been in a situation like that for a very long time.

Being in that ring, letting that guy pound on him, had gone against every survival instinct he had cultivated over the years. Letting that rage go so he could sell the fact that he had lost control, but pulling it back just enough to keep from actually killing the guy had been one of the hardest things he had ever done.

The rest of the team had recognized that he was struggling and needed to wind down in his own way, so they had let him pick the place tonight. He hadn't really known where he'd pick. He had just been driving, knowing he'd know what he was looking for when he found it.

It was odd driving Nate's car with Sophie in the front while Nate rode in the van with Hardison and Parker.

He had to admit, he kinda liked it. He didn't have Hardison blabbering on about the tech marvels he had pulled off during the con (regardless of the fact that he hadn't actually been able to do much on this one; hack a hick indeed), nor did he have Parker staring at him and the bruises he knew were blooming on his face.

He and Sophie had had a moment last night and the Grifter was giving him the silent support that he needed right now. He had never been more appreciative of the woman than he was right now.

He really hoped no one asked why he ended up choosing this particular place. He had no idea what he'd say. He couldn't tell them the real reason. Hardison would laugh at him and Parker would follow suit (if only because she didn't understand and was only laughing because Hardison was). Nate would stare at him with that inscrutable look that he wore when puzzling over a particularly difficult problem. Sophie would-

Well, he wasn't sure what Sophie would do. She could go either way.

Regardless, he had seen a car he thought he recognized as he drove past and pulled in. He had gotten a look at the black car as the team made their way into the building. It looked exactly like the one he thought it was. Same make, same model. Hell, same year, even.

But the license plate wasn't the same and he knew there was no way she would have traded in her Kansas plates. In spite of it all, she was proud of her Midwest roots.

He sighed dejectedly and collected drinks for everyone, nodding to the man waiting next to him as he left.

"Now, why am I so not surprised that the rough and rowdy biker club is your scene?" Hardison asked as Eliot approached the table the team had chosen.

He ignored the Hacker, sitting with his back to the wall and a good view of most of the bar. His instincts had been riding him hard all week and he wasn't going to ignore them again.

He sat in silence, nursing his beer.

He knew it had been stupid to get his hopes up about the car. Rumor was that she was dead, but he had hoped that-

He shook his head.

She was good, sure. But there was always someone better in their line of work. Plus, she was tiny. Good, but tiny. It was possible to overwhelm her and turn her size into a liability instead of an asset. It happened far more often than she liked and he was comfortable with, even though she always managed to worm her way out of trouble in the end.

Parker's voice suddenly cut into his musings. "She's not bad."

"Hm?" he asked, glancing over at the Thief.

"The girl with the darts. She's hustling them. Doing pretty good, too. Pretending she doesn't know how to play. She's got them completely hooked."

The whole team looked towards the dartboard. They never passed up the opportunity to observe other thieves. Even if they thought hustling in bars was for amateurs.

The rest of them, at any rate.

Eliot used to hustle in bars all the time. Usually as part of a bigger con. Him and-

His eyes widened fractionally when he spotted the girl Parker was talking about. He hadn't been imagining things. That really had been the car. He just couldn't believe she had finally gotten rid of the hick plates.

He took a swig of his beer to hide his grin from the team as he observed her.

He recognized this game. It had been one of their favorites. He wondered if she had a new partner helping her out. That made his grin dim slightly. He didn't see anyone around the bar who seemed a likely candidate, but that didn't mean she didn't have one.

He watched as she threw a dart, getting the wall, about a foot from the board.

"She's brilliant," Sophie said as the next throw hit the outer ring. "They have no clue she's playing them."

Eliot hid a smirk behind his bear this time. She had been decent enough before they had met, but he had taught her everything he knew, making them an unbeatable team.

"She's not bad," Parker said again. "But if I were her, I'd just lift the whole wallet. More money that way. Less risk."

She threw the last dart and hit the bullseye with the perfect amount of surprise and excitement. She bounced on her toes and latched onto the man who had been teaching her, laughing excitedly.

Eliot shook his head slightly. "It ain't about the money, Parker," he said, draining his beer. "It's about the game." He set the bottle on the table and headed towards the game, watching as she went over to the board and collected the darts, returning to the guy.

"What are- Eliot, what the hell are you doing?" Nate demanded.

Eliot rolled his eyes and ignored him. He wished Nate hadn't insisted on them wearing the coms everywhere when they were on a job- which technically they still were, since they hadn't left town yet. He didn't want the team in his ear right now.

"I can't believe I hit it!" she gushed, latching back onto the man's arm. "You're an incredible teacher."

"I'll give you three K if you can do that with your next three throws," Eliot said, cutting into the conversation.

"Eliot!" Sophie hissed in his ear.

"Stay out of this," he hissed back, not moving his lips.

He waited. Her response would tell him what was going on.

She turned her head to look at him, taking in his face and the yellowing bruises before meeting his gaze and taking a step in his direction. He could feel four pairs of eyes on his back from his table and half a dozen other pairs from various places around the room.

He reckoned those were the rest of the thugs, which brought the total up to an even baker's dozen. Terrific. When they got out of this, he was so kicking her ass.

"That's impossible. She only just learned how to play. That last shot was just a lucky throw," the man said.

Both of them ignored him, maintain eye contact with each other as she took another step closer to him. She suddenly threw the darts at the board, one right after another, without looking away from him.

Eliot smirked. His favorite version. But he was definitely kicking her ass after this.

"Cough it up, Cowboy," she said, stepping closer and holding her hand out for the cash.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of hundreds. He put it in her hand, ignoring the sputtering in his ear from his team.

"Th- that's impossible," the man sputtered.

She turned and slipped the money into her jacket pocket. When she removed her hand, she slid it behind her back, letting the close proximity of their bodies hide the transfer of a round, palm sized object.

At the same time, Eliot brought up a webpage on his phone.

"Not when you're this good," he said. He held up the phone, showing off the news story of her winning the local dart competition back in Kentucky thirteen years ago.

"You were hustling me? For a hundred bucks?" the man demanded, half outraged and half shocked.

She let out a chuckle. "It wasn't about the money, Sweetheart," she said, mimicking Eliot's southern accent.

The guy frowned, trying to figure out what she was talking about. Eliot decided to help him out. He held up the stone she had slipped him.

"I just needed ya distracted fer a little bit."

"You little-"

"Now, now. Didn't yer mama ever tell ya not ta cuss when there's a lady present?"

"She's no lady." The man nodded and his goons attacked.

They fell into an easy rhythm, as if they had never parted ways, guarding each others' back as they eliminated the men. The rest of the patrons cleared out, leaving just Eliot's friends, although they- thankfully- stayed out of the way.

The goons finally managed to separate them, sending them rolling in opposite directions of the bar. Eliot rolled to his feet, but froze when he saw that the five remaining men had guns aimed at her. She giggled and Eliot couldn't hold back his smirk.

"What's so funny?" the man demanded.

"Oh, nothing. I just really don't like guns," Eliot said.

"Give me the stone, or she gets a chest full of lead."

Eliot shrugged. "I'd like ta help ya fellas. I really would. But I seem ta have misplaced it in the fight." He turned out his pockets.

"Search him."

One of the goons approached and he stood still, letting himself be searched.

"He doesn't have it."

"Then where-"

The man cut himself off, noticing that she had been inching towards the door.

"Lookin' for this, Sweetheart?" she asked with a smirk, holding up the stone. She ducked out the door as the men opened fire.

"Damn. She is good," Parker muttered. "I didn't even see her lift it. And in the middle of a fight, too."

Eliot took advantage of the distraction to take out the man who had searched him, using him as a shield against the bullets. Three of the men managed to get out the door after her, but he took out the last one, snapping his neck.

"Like I said, I really don't like guns," he said, letting the man drop to the ground. He ignored the others and took off out the door.

They followed him and all five of them caught up to her in time to watch her gut the last man, letting him drop to the ground at her feet.

She met Eliot's eyes. "I'll get the car."

Unfortunately, this time he couldn't stay and guard the bodies. "Two more back at the bar," he said.

She raised an eyebrow and he shrugged.

"Told 'em I didn't like guns. They fired anyway."

She shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Stay here. We'll be back," Eliot said, looking at his team. Fortunately, it appeared that they were all still in shock at the casual way the two of them had killed those men and no one protested.

She and Eliot walked back to the bar in silence. She grabbed a tarp out of the trunk of the Impala and followed him into the bar. They wrapped the two bodies in the tarp and loaded them into the back of the van before driving both vehicles back to the others.

She grabbed another tarp and they loaded the other three bodies in with the first two.

"Where we takin' 'em?"

"I know a place. Try to keep up."

"Try to lose me, Darlin'."

She grinned as she took off in the Impala.

"Eliot?" Sophie asked as he tore off after her.

"Not now, Sophie."

They drove about twenty minutes outside of town, pulling into a field. She opened the trunk while Eliot began unloading the bodies.

"You two. Start digging." She tossed two shovels at Nate and Hardison. "You two, search their pockets. Take anything useful," she said, pointing at Sophie and Parker.

Hardison, Sophie and Parker looked at Nate, who looked at Eliot.

"Just go with it. I promise, I'll explain once we deal with the bodies and can get the hell out of here."

Nate nodded at the other three and they got to work.

"What are you doing?" Eliot asked after a moment, pausing in lifting one of the bodies.

"Making sure the wrong person doesn't get her hands on this stone."

Parker pouted and Eliot laughed. "Good luck with that one, Darlin'. Parker is one damn good thief. I don't even trust my own wallet around her."

"You don't deserve it. Handing out money like that," Parker mumbled.

Eliot ignored her and jumped down out of the van. "Give me that," he said, taking the shovel from Hardison and shoving the Hacker out of the way when he noticed that the younger man wasn't making much progress.

"Yeah, sure. Just muscle people around. That's all you're good for."

"Hardison, if you don't shut up, you'll be joinin' these five. Alive," Eliot growled, finally getting sick of the muttered comments the man had been making over the coms since he had wandered over to the dart game.

She laughed and took the second shovel from Nate. "Thanks. I'll take it from here."

Once again, they fell into an easy rhythm, digging a large square, about a foot deep.

"That's not going to be enough to bury five bodies," Nate said.

"Oh, we ain't buryin' no bodies," Eliot said, dropping the shovel when they were finished.

"Then what- are we doin'? 'cause, ya know, I don't feel like havin' a murder count on my rap sheet," Hardison said.

She dug something out of the trunk and turned towards him. "I got the salt," she said.

"I got the matches," Eliot replied, holding up a pack.

"And I got the marshmallows," she finished with a grin.

Eliot matched it and they got back to work. She doused the bodies with lighter fluid and dumped salt on them. They stood around the hole and Eliot lit the matches, dropping the whole pack in, watching the whole thing light up.

They stood in silence while the bodies burned. Hardison and Sophie had moved upwind of the smoke so they wouldn't have to smell the burning flesh. Parker seemed fascinated by the flames and Nate stood there with an unreadable expression on his face.

When the flames were almost out, the two of them picked up the shovels and began shoveling the dirt back into the square. That served the purpose of smothering the smoldering flames as well as hiding the ashes.

"Okay, what's going on, Eliot?" Nate demanded when everything was packed up and loaded back into the trunk of the Impala.

"In a minute, Nate. First. You," Eliot growled, stalking towards her, a glare on his face.

She backed away a few paces before turning to run.

"Oh, no, you don't."

Eliot picked up his pace and grabbed her wrist before she could go too far. He spun her around, gripping her upper arms as she collided with his chest.

"What the hell d'ya think yer doin'?" he demanded. "You were in way over yer head. What would ya have done if I hadn't decided to come to this bar tonight? Huh?"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't going to go that far. I just- needed to distract him long enough for the phantom burglary to take place. I wasn't actually going to take them on. I was just going to make enough money for a room tonight. That's it. I promise."

He stared down at her, searching her face. She had never been able to lie to him, so he knew that she was telling the truth.

"If you ever do somethin' that stupid again, I'll-"

"You'll what? Spank me?"

She smirked up at him and he couldn't take it any longer. He released one of her arms and brought his hand up to fist in her hair, kissing her harshly. Her free arm came up to wrap around his neck, pressing closer to him. They ignored everything around them, focused on each other.

"El. Eliot!"

Nate's shout finally broke through and they reluctantly separated, although just barely enough for them to look at the others.

"Nate, I haven't seen Deana in over five years. Could you just- go away so we can reconnect?"

"No, I will not just go away. What the hell was that all about back in that bar? And who the hell is Deana?"

"Deana Winchester. My boss, Nate Ford. Nate. Deana."

"Dude. I- I know you," Hardison said, pointing at Deana with wide eyes. "You're on the FBI's most wanted list. Eliot, she's a wanted felon."

She blinked. "Pot. Kettle. Although, unlike you guys, I'm on that list for shit I didn't actually do."

"You mean the murders in Baltimore and St. Louis. An- and the bank robbery in Milwaukee."

"Yeah, those weren't me," she said, shaking her head slightly.

"Oh- oh right. St. Louis was a shapeshifter creature who only looked like you."

"You- saw my confession tape." She blew out a breath. "I knew I should have had Ash make that damn thing disappear."

"So, Eliot," Nate said, cutting off whatever Hardison was going to say in response. "What happened to 'I don't work with a team'?"

"Deana ain't my team," Eliot replied, tightening his arm around Deana's shoulders. "She's my wife."

The others stared at them. "Your what?" Parker asked.

"My wife."

"Eliot?"

He shrugged. "We got married in Vegas on her eighteenth birthday."

"You're married," Nate said flatly.

"Yup."

"How did we miss that?" Hardison asked.

"I didn't want you to know."

"You mean you lied to us," Sophie began, accusingly.

"Oh, no, Darlin'," Eliot said. "Don't you dare. You were the one who conned the team, not me. And I never lied. I just left out some information."

"You said you worked together before?" Nate cut in before Sophie could blow up. "I know your file, Eliot. I chased you. How did that not end up getting out?"

"We never got caught," Deana said. "None of our marks could ever agree what we looked like, much less be able to track us."

"Wait. Danny and Cate?" Parker asked.

Deana leaned back against Eliot's chest with a grin.

"You're Danny and Cate?" Sophie asked.

"Naw, Man. Th- that's impossible. Danny and Cate are legendary. Like- like a modern day Bonnie and Clyde. Bank robberies, home invasions, museum heists. You name it, they did it. There is no way the two of you could be Danny and Cate. Th- they were- were- brilliant. They hacked some of the most secure systems in the country. Yo- you can't even check your email, man."

Deana tilted her head back to look up at him. "Let me guess, they think all you're good for is flirting with women and busting heads."

He shrugged. "Sounds about right."

She laughed. "Yeah, same with my brother."

"You flirt with women?" he asked with a leer.

She shrugged. "Men. Women. Whatever gets the job done."

"Fair enough. Hardison used that once. Pretended to be my partner so we could get into this rehab center to see Nate. Family only policy."

She laughed again. "Nice."

"So, wait. Can we get back to the part where Eliot lied to us?" Sophie said.

"I told ya, Soph. I didn't lie. I withheld information. There's a difference."

"You bloody hypocrite!" She slapped him across the face.

"Listen, Sweetheart. Eliot doesn't hit women, but I do. Touch my husband again and I will rearrange your face."

"Dee, relax. It's okay."

"Why did she call you a hypocrite?"

"About a year ago, we were working this job that Sophie suggested. She withheld important information that caused the job to go way south."

"Eliot took the double cross the hardest and still doesn't fully trust her," Parker added, getting surprised looks from Sophie and Hardison.

"And it turns out he's been keeping information from us, which I find hypocritical, considering his reaction to what I did," Sophie said, glaring at Eliot.

"There's a difference between me withholding information and you attempting to con the team. I'm the Hitter. It's my job to be underestimated by the Mark, giving me- and as a result, all of us- an advantage. I withheld information about my skill level. If those skills ever became necessary on a job, I told you. But no one has ever gotten hurt by not knowing everything that I'm capable of."

He shifted his weight slightly, pointing at Sophie. "But you- You withheld information because you were trying to con us in addition to Blackpoole. That withheld information had consequences."

"Yes, yes, I know. Hardison had to blow up the office and we all had to scatter. I know all of that."

"No, Sophie. You don't. What did you do in the three months between the Blackpoole jobs?"

"Auditioned for a few roles and worked a couple small scale jobs. Why?"

"Nate? What about you?"

"Got drunk and planned the second job."

"Hardison?"

"The usual. Hacked NASA, Langley, et cetera."

"I robbed the Smithsonian," Parker said before Eliot could ask.

"And the six month break?"

"What does-"

"Answer. The damn question, Sophie," Eliot growled.

Deana turned towards him, placing her hand on his chest, trying to calm him.

"More jobs and auditions."

"I stole the Hope Diamond. Then I put it back."

"Hacked the White House."

"I sobered up and moved to Boston."

"Okay, yeah. So business as usual for the four of you. How are those consequences? Huh? That day at the museum? That was my first time out since the first con had gone south. I spent those three months recovering from six broken ribs, a concussion and temporary vision loss- all of which, by the way, I was dealing with when I went to the office to bail Nate and Hardison out- and fought off over half a dozen old enemies because Sterling let it slip that I was playing wounded."

"I thought you said three ribs," Nate said, but Eliot ignored him, keeping his eyes narrowed at Sophie.

"A disaster like that job? It hurts a Hitter's reputation and mine took a big dip. I spent those six months we were separate fixing the mess your double cross created with my reputation. And when my reputation took a dive, so did your protection."

"Wha- what protection?" Sophie asked, her face pale and her eyes wide.

"The protection my reputation provided. The protection that caused other Hitters to think twice about coming after you four. In the six months we were apart, I stopped a minimum of three hits on all of you. Seven on Parker, five on Nate and three each on you and Hardison."

"What?" Nate asked.

"The various mobsters we took down? Most of them still had contacts. Parker had four hits from the Serbians alone."

"The Serbians went after Parker?"

"You saved me?"

"Now how in the hell did you find Parker and I couldn't?"

"You have no idea how lucky you are, do you, Sophie?" Deana asked, taking a step towards the Grifter.

"What do you mean?"

"You burn a Thief, a Hacker or even a Grifter and they'll ruin you. They'll take your money, your good name, your reputation. The hacker will spread embarrassing, photoshopped pictures of you on the internet. You'll probably end up in prison."

She paused for a moment and Eliot could see Parker and Hardison nodding in agreement out of the corner of his eye. "You burn a Hitter?" Deana continued. "And it's the last thing you ever do. The fact that you're still alive says a lot about your former friendship. Honestly, it probably says more about El's relationship with Nate than his relationship with you. If a teammate ever double crossed me like you did Eliot, I don't think I would have been as generous."

There was an awkward silence for a while as the team processed that information. Finally, Nate spoke up.

"All right. We should probably get out of the area before those other men wake up and decide to come after you. Deana, will you be coming with us?"

"I can't, really. My brother's back at the motel. I can't just run off on-" She trailed off, narrowing her eyes in consideration. "No, I think I will come. I'll just go back to the motel and tell him I'm taking off for a little while."

"Want me to come with?" Eliot asked.

She shook her head. "No, I'd really rather he not find out about you."

"Tell you what. We'll follow you in the van. We have to get the car anyway. I'll park around the corner. You can leave the Impala with Sam and get a ride to the airport with us."

"Airport?"

"We're based out of Boston."

"Oh. Long way from home, huh?"

"We were on a job."

"And that's the reason you look like you went ten rounds with Ali?"

He shrugged and gave a sheepish grin. "Job went south."

"They usually do. I really should get back. I told Sam I wouldn't be long."

Eliot pulled her into a kiss before letting her get into her car.