Note: It took a few months longer than intended but I said I'd finish this up eventually. Warning, fluff ahead.

It's More than I Deserve

Things weren't just, magically, better.

They ate dinner and Eliot, tentatively, agreed to come back to Boston. To give them a second chance.

They went back to Boston, Nate had a job, and after a couple times when giving Eliot an extra glance or asking him a "thoughtful" question resulted in an annoyed growl they started acting like it was buisness as usual.

He'd told them in Chicago he didn't want them to be on thin Ice or treating him like a flight risk. He promised he wouldn't leave for at least five jobs. The sooner things got back to usual the sooner he'd figure out if he would stick around past that.

Well, not usual. That was that point.

But them being oh so careful, putting on a special front of care, and making grand gestures wasn't the point either. It was bullshit and window dressing.

Nate knew that.

But at the tag end of the job he had a moment of sudden realization that they broke rules all the time and the secret team moratorium on trying to give Eliot presents to convince him to stay was one he should break right now.

And really, it wasn't Eliot getting the present.

The pieces were moving, everything was set, and they were waiting in the bar for Hardison to come down stairs in his tux to meet Sophie and head over to the concert hall.

Eliot was sitting at the bar, beer in hand, watching the TV.

Only Nate was pretty sure he wasn't seeing the screen at all. Nate didn't know everything Eliot had done in his lifetime but he'd learned to pick up clues Eliot let slip that something in his history had been brought up by their latest job.

And clear as day Nate could see tonight's brooding was for reasons that had more to do with kids in mines and holding guns than his return to the team.

Nate slid onto the seat next to Eliot at the bar. "Ready for cleanup when this is all over?"

Eliot nodded, turning his attention back to Nate, pulling back to the present.

"Close down the PO boxes, clean and ditch the tax-" Nate continued.

"Taxi and cars, wrap up with the people our aliases contacted and all the rest." Eliot growled back. "I was off the team for a month, Nate. Not out of the game for a decade. I know how to do my job."

Nate gave Eliot his chessmaster smile, the one he knew made Eliot wary an re-examine everything he said and did for an angle. "We also need to figure out what to do with the Violin when this is all over."

Nate watched, pleased, a part of him relishing the fact he had the chance to watch this at all after last month.

Eliot looked like he was concentrating, piecing together Nate's meaning, looking for motive. Understanding dawned on the hitter's face a heartbeat later followed just as quickly by surprise and at last a second moment of understanding then gratitude.

"Think you can figure out what to do with it?" Nate asked.

Eliot looked back down to his drink, growling a rough "yeah, I'll take care of it."

But the hair falling around the hitter's face didn't hide his smile.

oOo

It was so easy, almost too easy, to slip into old routine. To act as if there was nothing out of the ordinary playing behind the scenes. They all acted as if it was business as usual, holding their collective breaths to wait and see as things played out.

They were all trying, Sophie knew that, but they were lone wolf personalities that still were used to looking after themselves first and still learning how to think of others without Nate's guiding hand.

Which made her moment of realization much more odd. It was near the end of their second (third? Does the job with Archie count?) when she realized something she could do for Eliot was directly against Nate.

Once upon a time she would have let it slide. Parker had gotten out. All had ended well.

Nate was learning to deal with having them all as peers but it was important to pick your battles.

Except this wasn't Nate being insufferable or not telling them something or his infurriating "Wait for it" while they all wondered what he'd gotten them into this time.

Nate's orders had put Parker at risk.

And as much as Sophie didn't understand Eliot's desire for violence any more than she understood Parker's desire to jump off tall buildings she did understand (now, and maybe always better than she knew) that he did it to protect his team. She'd thought he'd been tired of being their glorified body guard but really?

She was beginning to understand that that was the job he wanted. Their safety was his job and he liked it that way.

His problem was when they made it needlessly difficult to keep them out of harm's way.

So Sophie decided this was one battle she'd pick, now, and in the future. She'd corral Nate. She'd try to get him to stop putting them all in danger needlessly.

She went charging down to the bar, she went head to head with Nate, calling him out for risking Parker, reminding him how thin ice he walked on even now.

She wasn't sure if she got through to him, if it was the right words, and later there'd be a moment of doubt if Eliot would appreciate the gesture if he ever found out.

But later she caught a look from Eliot, confusion but a hint of understanding, and a brief smile before he turned away.

Whatever the fallout with Nate there were worse battles to pick.

oOo

"Sometimes you don't get a second chance to get it right."
"Why not?"
"Rules of life."

Nate had said they changed the rules, that was what they did, but that conversation kept playing through her head.

Sometimes you don't get a second chance.

What were the chances of getting a third chance?

Parker wasn't used to this feeling, like some small rodent (gerbil maybe) had taken up residence in her torso and was now trying to climb the walls with just it's claws. She didn't get scared or worried.

But apparently she did get jealous so maybe she could get other things? Gerbil related things?

She wanted to scream at Nate and Sophie, maybe even Hardison. Didn't they see? They were taking this away from Eliot. The lady with the hair that smelled like Eliot's, who Eliot was determined to rescue because he was Eliot and liked her and had *sung* her *song* which meant something Parker didn't understand but was pretty sure Eliot thought was important…

And now the song was about to be taken away and the girl wouldn't like Eliot anymore and what if this made Eliot decide to leave again?

"Eliot, I'm sorry. We did everything we can." Sophie's words feel like another gerbil. Or maybe a ferret. They're evil after all.

No. She won't freeze. She doesn't freeze.

An idea, not complete, but since when did she wait for anything?

"Maybe not everything." She told Sophie and headed for the stage.

As she breaks through the crowd there's a moment. She has to be good or they'll cart her off and Kirkwood will get on and Eliot will leave. There's a moment. A half a heart beat. She remembers the job with the iceman and the panic she called Sophie in.

This isn't what she does and if she gets it wrong Eliot will leave.

She climbs onto the stage grasping mentally. This isn't her job but if she can make it her job then she can do this.

Almost on their own, and later she'll poke and bother Nate to make sure it wasn't really him invading her mind, a thought floats through her head.

Parker, Have you ever stolen a show?

She takes a breath and does her job.

When they cart her off stage Eliot is there and she did her job and later, much later, he gives her a smile that finally makes the gerbils and ferrets go away.

oOo

For a moment Hardison's almost angry. Eliot knew the militia were making a bomb. Knew there was going to be an attack soon.

And unless Eliot had been replaced by some unbadass look alike Hardison knew Eliot could probably take the entire militia out on his own.

And here he was, insisting they get on a train and not save the day.

He's almost, no he actually is, angry for about thirty seconds.

Then his common sense and what part of his brain actually has a decent understanding of the rest of the team stops tripping around in the woods and catches up with him and Hardison realizes what's going on.

Eliot probably wants to go back into the woods and take down the Militia.

But Eliot's job is to protect the team and there's nothing Eliot takes more seriously and right now going back would put Hardison in the line of fire.

Eliot's not trying to get away. He's trying to get Hardison away.

"Look man." Hardison says, pulling at their handcuffed hands, gesturing behind them, willing Eliot to *not* look at him like a little brother for once (because dammit he doesn't have time for their more than a family bromance right now). "I say we go back down there and we stop them." There's a moment. A look on Eliot's face. Hardison waits, watching, seeing something he doesn't really understand. "I say we kick some hill-billy ass."

Something shifts and Eliot says, "We're gonna get bloody on this one."

And there's a moment, right there, hesitation, and Hardison knows if he backs down now, if he even hesitates they will get on that train and this whole hunted-in-the-woods fiasco will be mercifully over and Eliot will think no less of him for it.

But…

Hardison nods, giving Eliot consent or permission or whatever the man needs and Eliot nods back and Hardison know whatever happens next Eliot isn't going anywhere.

oOo

He hurt all over.

He'd been hit by a car, shot at, and thrown into a river.

The pace of the jobs they were already at was coming close to killing him and he was pretty sure he had a low level concussion.

And it had been business as usual, more a focus on Parker and her car theft non-protégé than the fact twelve hours ago Eliot had lost a fight with a ton of steel and a small body of water.

But really? It wasn't like Eliot expected any different. He wasn't sure he wanted anything all that different. The job was done. Everyone was safe. And the team swarming around him with hot packs and Tylenol and concern would probably get on his nerves in less than a minute.

The wrap up was almost done and soon Eliot would go home, pop a couple pain pills, and get a solid three hours of sleep for once and be ready to start again in the morning.

Hell, his jacket might even have survived the dip in the river and it looked like Parker might have swung just a little closer to normal and any minute now the client would show up and Josey would get a decent chance at life.

This was what he came back for. The job. The Team. The clients. Doing good, watching their backs, taking the punishment.

Being the one to go limping home, but soaking up *this* when he could.

The threat of Damien Moreau still hung overhead but maybe, somehow…

"We're you going?" Hardison asked, catching Eliot as he gingerly put on his jacket, getting ready to leave once Nate made the hand off, eager to get some rest and check himself out.

"Just ready to head out," Eliot answered, patting his pockets to see if his keys had survived or if he needed to persuade Parker to give him the extra set he'd had made because the team's thief, as routine, stole everyone's keys at some point. "Why?"

Hardison raised an eyebrow. "Cause Nate wants to debrief us all tonight, just as soon as the client's gone."

Eliot resisted the urge to pound his head against the nearest hard surface. Fuck. He was tired. "Right." He hung his jacket back up.

"Want anything from the kitchen before it closes?" Hardison asked, gesturing toward the bar.

Eliot shook his head and made a mental note to be careful about doing that in the future.

Eliot followed Hardison back downstairs, sitting at a table as the bar staff cleaned up around the last few patrons. They'd ignore him and just leave once they were done, Cora had given the team free run of the place.

He didn't zone out or doze, not really. If there had been a threat, or even just the hint of a threat, he would have known it immediately and acted on it.

If pressed he'd say he'd been in a meditative state when Sophie and Hardison came to the table carrying trays of food and drinks. The hum of conversation he'd been only half listening to was Nate wrapping up with the client.

Hardison handed him a beer, already opened, cold.

Parker and Nate settled down with them at the table. The others began to eat and talk and banter started and even if Nate was Nate and the team was, well, the team…

He sat back, drank his beer, and tried not to grin like some cheeky kid and give Hardison fuel for mocking him in the process.

He hurt all over, he'd been hit by a freaking car, and he was somewhat convinced all four of his co-workers intended on killing him.

But they were safe, even happy, and together and it was the end of the day and they were still safe and happy and together. He done his job and he could sit back now and just…

Be there. Be with them. Be this version of himself he never thought would be possible.

Live this life he knew he didn't deserve but somehow…

In a few months, when time ran out with the Italian and they had to confront Damien this would change.

But if he just sat here, listened, watched, was *with* his family?

He almost believed, whatever happened, they'd get through it.

Together.