Title: A Life in Constant Flux
Genre: Angst, hurt/comfort
Complete Story Word Count: ~6,500 words
Rating: PG-13 (language)
Pairings: Eliot/Parker
Warnings: None
Summary: Parker's life has always been one of constant changes, but along the way she's tried to preserve the things that are most special to her. One catastrophic event takes all that away. Eliot's there to show Parker that out of the ashes, great things can be spawned.

Author's Note: A huge shout out to my new Leverage fandom beta vivrebarefoot for her invaluable suggestions. They made this fic that much better.

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A Life in Constant Flux

Chapter 1

Parker sat reclined on the couch, eyes alert and her head slightly cocked to the side as she watched the boys play their video game, some first person shooter that had become their latest obsession. Hardison would cuss when Eliot shot his character in the head. Eliot would laugh as Hardison's half of the screen was washed out in red and the words "GAME OVER" flashed in bold black lettering.

Something started vibrating in Parker's pocket, causing her to jump a bit. She twisted to the side and dug into her back pocket for the thing, flipping it over and answering the phone. Very few people had her number, and all of the people who did wouldn't call without a very good reason. She slid off the couch and hustled out of the room to take the call without interrupting the boys. Eliot always yelled at her for distracting him, she'd gotten the blame for a few of the times Hardison had actually managed to beat Eliot.

Eliot shot her a glance, raising his eyebrows as she disappeared into the hallway. She ignored that as she listened to the person on the other end of the line. As the conversation continued her breath quickened and sweat started to bead on her back. When she finally shoved the phone back into her pocket she was almost running back through the living room and toward the door.

She paused in the living room just long enough to mutter one statement. "I-I have to go. Tell Nate I'll be back for the briefing later." And with that she disappeared through the door, slamming it behind her before she was off at a dead sprint.

Eliot paused the game at that point and set his controller aside. Hardison's expression mirrored his own, one of pure confusion. "What was that?"

Hardison shrugged. "No idea, man. I didn't even know she had a cell phone. And I'm the one who should know stuff like that. She looked upset though, you see the way she tore out of here?"

Eliot nodded. "She was spooked. It takes a lot to spook Parker. Somethin's not right here. Can you track her phone?"

Hardison pulled his laptop off the end table and onto his lap. "Now that I know she has one, yeah. Shouldn't be that hard."

Hardison spent all of three minutes honing in on her phone signal, then another few moments tracing her position through the cell phone company's satellite. He finally looked up at Eliot who was on his feet by that time, pacing by the door. "She looks like she's heading home."

"To that warehouse we visited a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah."

"What about evasive maneuvers? I know Parker. We spent two weeks following her every night trying to find out where she lived earlier this year. It didn't work; she led us in circles every time before giving us the slip."

Hardison gave the data another look before responding. "No circles this time. She's going straight home."

Eliot shook his head again. "This ain't right. Put a call into Nate and Sophie to meet us there. Something's up."

Eliot started shoving his feet into his shoes and tying the laces tightly in the double knots he preferred. Hardison took a run to the kitchen to fetch his keys off the counter where he'd discarded them. They met at the door, Eliot already in the hallway as Hardison jogged to catch up to him. Together they went in search of one of their own and whatever had dragged her out into the night.

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Even in the city, with so many buildings radiating florescent light from offices where employees were working another late night, it was still dark in some places. In the place Parker had picked to live, it was often very dark. Street lights were busted by vandals or went inoperable with the decay that accompanied time and the city officials never cared enough to fix them back up in this run down area. All the better cover for the criminals that liked to prowl around during the twilight hours.

Yeah, that was how it normally was. Dark as pitch with only the car's headlights to illuminate their path. But that wasn't the case tonight. Red and orange and yellow light washed over the surrounding buildings. Grey plumes climbed into the sky, higher than any of the warehouses in this district until the billowing grey clouds overtook the sky. Sirens wailed in the distance, growing only louder as they approached.

"Fire," Eliot growled.

"That's Parker's building," Hardison replied, failing to hide the concern in his voice.

"So where's Parker?" Eliot asked, hopping out of the car before Hardison had even pulled it to a full stop. Before he shut the door he paused to level a serious stare at Hardison. "Stay here. I'll find out what's going on and start looking for Parker. Wait for Nate and Sophie and stay back from the warehouse. A fire this big isn't something to play around with."

Hardison frowned. "It's not playing; we're looking for Parker. You could use the help."

Eliot narrowed his eyes. "The time we waste arguing is time not spent searching for her. There's already one of us missing. And that's one too many. I don't need to be worrying about keeping track of you when I need to focus on finding her."

Hardison gripped the steering wheel tightly as he mulled it over. "Fine. I'll wait. Keep your comm unit with you so we can stay updated."

Eliot nodded, digging for the small device in his pocket and sliding it in his ear. "Ok."

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Parker crouched on the edge of the building that flanked hers toward the river. Down here in the shipping district the buildings were crammed up against one another shoulder to shoulder. It was one of the reasons she'd picked this area to live in. There were lots of routes of escape: roof exits, air vents, hell, she'd even found an underground route that fed through an old sewer system.

It also meant that the fire that had started next door had bled over into her own building. The right side of the building was already a lost cause. She could see that from the firefighter's efforts. When she'd first arrived they had already been on site. They had been scattered around the building, aiming hoses at any blaze within their reach. They weren't trying to put out the areas that were on fire any more, though, they were working around the edges trying to contain it, to stop it from spreading.

Parker knew fires. She knew that they marched outward with the steady pace of time until they greedily consumed all of the resources available to them. The firefighters could fight it all they want, but it was inevitable as trying to hold back a floodgate that was already cracked open, they'd lose in the end. And this fire was devouring the closest thing she had to a home.

The building she didn't care about. She changed her living location often enough just to stay off the radar, it was four walls and a concrete floor and a leaky roof. But the touches of home that she brought into each one of her ever-changing domains, they were special. Things had never been constant for her, even back when she was a kid: her possessions were stolen by other foster kids; she was thrust from one family who didn't want her to the next. There were few static things in Parker's life; including some of the things she had taken into that building to surround herself with during the long nights. And she'd be damned if she would sacrifice those to the rage and greed of a fire.

She'd tried a ground approach once already, but a firefighter saw her and pulled her back and stuck her behind the police line. He'd told her that curiosity was fine and good but if she wanted to gawk she could do it from a safe distance.

Parker wasn't here to gawk. She was here to pull the few important possessions in her life out of the jaws of a destructive force of nature. She took a deep breath, sprung forward into a running start, and bounded from the roof of this building to the next, ignoring the flames that flared upward from the alley below.

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