Fic: Life Unexpected Part 2
Life Unexpected
When they went down the stairs, they noticed the room was empty.
"Where is everyone?" Nate asked looking around.
In that moment the front door opened and Eliot was the first to walk in. "Is it save now?" he asked followed by Hardison, Parker and the little girl that turned their lives upside down.
Sophie gasped when she saw her, bringing her hand to her mouth. She had only held her for less than a minute after she had given birth to her, knowing that if she had stayed more in her arms, she wouldn't have had the courage to give her up. She couldn't believe it that that little girl was now standing in front of her.
"From the tears and the shock I guess you're my real mom" Amy sat down on a chair. She was trying to act brave, putting up a strong appearance.
Sophie quietly nodded.
"So you two know each other and you" she pointed at Nate "never knew about me"
The mastermind sighed "It's a long story." He scratched the back of his head. "I think we all have long stories to tell" He turned towards the three younger members of the team. "Guys, could you…"
"… leave the three of you work things out?" Hardison finished off for him. "Sure"
"But I want to stay and see how it finishes!" Parker complained. "We could make pop-corn!"
"Parker!" Eliot grunted. "It's not a film or a play. Let's leave them alone" he gave a firm nod to the mastermind and a more encouraging look to Sophie. He knew she was going to be considered the bad guy of all this situation, by both of them, and he wanted to let her know that she had friend in him if she needed one. "See you tomorrow morning"
And the three of them walked out leaving the apartment in an awkward silence.
"So…" Nate really needed a drink. Why did he quit drinking?
"Why did you give me up?" was Amy's first question to her birth mother. She was angry now, but tears started filling her eyes too. She had thought of this moment for a long time and she had trained herself not to lose control when she was going to find herself in the situation. But she was just seven years old and there was so much a child could take. "Why didn't you want me?" she was sobbing now.
"Oh baby" Sophie rushed to her and kneeled in front of her chair taking her hands in hers. She was crying too seeing the hurt she has caused her little girl. "It was… it was complicated. I knew I couldn't give you the life you deserved, a secure family, stability… my life was… still is a mess. You deserved better"
"Well, your plan certainly went wrong" she pushed her away and got up angrily. If only they knew. If they knew what she had been through.
Nate saw how Sophie was hurting. It wasn't easy to be rejected by your own child, but he couldn't give her comfort now, not while he was still angry with her.
"Sophie told me you had been adopted by a great family" Nate tried to intervene. "Two lovingly parents. What happened?"
"My parents died in a car accident when I was three years old." Amy looked down "I never knew they weren't my real parents, not until I saw my birth certificate a month ago and saw your name." She looked up locking her eyes with Nate. "So then I tried to find you. I did some research and found out you lived in Boston. So I left L.A. and came looking for you."
"All by yourself?" Sophie exclaimed.
"Not a big deal" She just shrugged. "I had some money and I bought a train ticket. It's funny how nobody asks why you're alone if you pretend you're with other adults."
Nate smirked. Yes, she was definitely Sophie's daughter.
"That was really smart. Hardison always makes sure nobody can find us. It mustn't have been easy to find where I was"
"Why? Are you wanted by the police or something?" she frowned.
Nate laughed. "Or something."
Sophie felt a bit like an intruder. She was happy that Amy was opening up with one of them, but she couldn't help to feel a bit jealous that it was with Nate.
"So," Amy turned to her. "What's your name? You left it blank in the birth certificate."
Of course she had because she didn't know what name to use. Her real name? An alias? A false name? "You can call me Sophie" she simply answered with a small smile.
"But that's not your real name" the little girl commented.
"Don't feel bad about it" Nate laid a hand on her shoulder. "Even I don't know her real name and I've known her for more than ten years now."
"I've noticed how you've kept it vague there" Sophie smirked at him hands on her hips "still can't remember when we met?" she arched her eyebrow.
"I thought we've agreed to disagree"
"Hmm…"
Amy observed their interaction. She could see that they were friends with each other, but she didn't think they were a couple. She wondered what had happened between them and if they were ever going to tell her.
"No one adopted you after the accident?" Nate asked curiously.
The seven years old shook her head. "No one came for me after the accident. No one wants…" she stopped knowing she was saying too much. "Nothing" she hid her face behind her long dark hair.
Sophie and Nate exchanged a concern look. The girl was hiding something from them. Something big.
"So, you've been in the system since then?" Sophie tried to get more information.
"Yeah, I've been in a couple of nice families. I was staying in a foster home, before…"
"… before running away."
She nodded scared. Were they going to take her back to L.A.?
"Don't worry" Sophie smiled like she could read her thoughts. "We're not taking you back." She patted her hand in reassurance and she was glad the girl didn't take her hand away.
"We can talk about what to do in long terms tomorrow." Nate told them. "It's getting late and I'm sure you're tired from all the travelling" he smiled. "I don't have a spare bedroom, but you can sleep in my bed tonight and I'll take the couch."
The girl gave him a small smile and nodded. She picked up her bag and started walking up the stairs.
"There's a bathroom on the right. Shout if you need anything"
"Thanks" she muttered.
Sophie and Nate watched her disappear after she took the top step.
"Shouldn't we help her or something?" Sophie turned towards the mastermind.
"She will tell us if she needs anything, but I'm pretty sure she is very mature for her age" he sighed and went to the fridge to get something to drink.
Sophie kept her eyes on him, she was sure that if he could, he wouldn't have minded a glass of whiskey at the moment. She sat next to him and poured herself a glass of orange juice. "What are we going to do?"
"I'm not going to abandon my child," he told her without hesitation. "not after she went through God knows what to find me. We can work something out. She can start going to school and she could stay with you, couldn't she? You have two bedrooms"
Sophie sighed. "I don't think she's going to agree with that. If you haven't noticed, I'm not her favourite person."
"She will come around"
She popped her head on her hand and turned towards him. "I'm always going to be the one that abandoned her at birth. Her mother that didn't want her"
"Sophie, she will forgive you, give her time"
"And you?" she whispered averting her eyes. "Will you forgive me?" She was afraid of his answer.
He sighed and took his time answering her "I understand why you made that decision, Sophie. I…" he paused. "I wish things would have gone differently."
She tried to keep her tears at bay. "I know" she whispered back. "Me too."
"She's keeping something from us"
"Yeah," she nodded. "And I'm scared to find out what"
The two adult didn't notice the girl curled up on the top of the stairs eavesdropping. What was she going to do if they were to find out the real reason she had run away?
The next morning Nate woke up with a terrible backache after spending the night sleeping on the couch. He groaned as he stretched his arms over his head trying to loosen the aching muscles.
"I'm too old for this" he mumbled and he slowly stood up. If this was going to be something that was going to occur, he might need to consider investing on a new couch or maybe on a new place where Amy could have her own room.
He quietly made his way upstairs to check on his daughter. He still couldn't believe it and the world felt strange in his mind.
Amy was still sound asleep in his big bed. She was curled up, her knees nearly touching her chin, making her seem even smaller that she was. During the night some of the covers had fallen over and Nate picked them up and covered her again and he tucker her in smiling. He quietly made his outside carefully closing the door behind him.
When he got back downstairs he found Sophie in his kitchen making herself some tea.
"Hey," he joined her behind the counter and put on the pot for some coffee.
" 'morning" she greeted him. "How is she?"
"She's still asleep." He answered while opening the cupboards to get the ingredients to make some pancakes for breakfast. He winced when he bent down to get the frying pan from the bottom shelf.
Sophie noticed his grimace. "What's wrong?"
"The couch is not very comfy to sleep on" he massaged the back of his neck "I definitely need to find a new solution" he jumped startled when he suddenly felt Sophie's hand on him.
"Or you're simply getting older." She teased "Remember when we had to sleep in that barn in Ukraine" she kept working on his knotted muscles "That was certainly worse"
He chuckled. "I remember finding hay in all sorts of places for days"
"Well if only you hadn't ruined my plan"
"I still think we should have gone with mine"
She rolled her eyes and stopped massaging him and she leaned against the counter. "Amy would have been two years old" she sighed. "I still can't believe it that nothing happened between us that night. "
He leaned beside her. "I don't know. I told you when I saw you in Tuscany and you never mentioned our night together in Paris, I didn't know where we stood. We both went on like nothing happened."
"It was raining" she remembered "Our clothes were completely drenched . I was practically half-naked" she shouted the last part. "and you didn't make a move, Nate"
"Neither did you" he defended himself.
"I just…" she sighed. "I can't believe it than in 8 years we only had one night"
"Just enough to create a child" he joked. Then he got serious. "What do you want me to say, Sophie? What do you want from me?"
"I've already told you a year ago. Are you willing to fight for us?" she looked into his eyes.
"I'm not the one with a boyfriend." He reminded her. The sore subject between that they never talked about.
"If I knew there was an alternative…"
Before he had the chance to answer the front door opened.
"Hey Mama and Papa" Hardison smirked as he walked in followed by Eliot and Parker.
"Do you three organize getting here? How come you always arrive together?"
The hacker shrugged. "Meet at Nate's place at 8" He opened the fridge and got a bottle of orange juice. "Haven't you ever notice?"
"Is everything okay?" Eliot asked, his eyes landing on the grifter. He could sense that they had inadvertently interrupted another moment between Sophie and the mastermind.
"Sure" she nodded. Her gaze still on Nate, but she noticed that he was doing everything in his power to avoid his eyes. She sighed resigned.
She lost him again.
"Where's the girl?" Parker asked, a bowl of cereals already in her hands. "You didn't send her away, did you?" her voice accusing.
"Of course not, Parker! She's our daughter" Nate exclaimed back. "She's still sleeping upstairs, so all three of you" he pointed a finger at them. "Keep it down!"
"I'm going to make breakfast" Eliot took Nate's place and the mastermind felt like he had been kicked out from in his own kitchen.
"Hardison" he decided he could use the opportunity. "I need you to find everything you can about Amy"
The young man looked confused. "Didn't Sophie tell you everything?"
"I mean what happened to her after her adoptive parents died in the car crash. She's hiding something from us and I'd like to be prepared."
"And of course just asking her would mean dong the normal thing" that comment earned him one of Nate's famous glare. Hardison lifted his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, one detailed research coming up, but it's going to take at least 24 hours"
Just before Eliot was about to put the pancakes on the table, Ay timidly walked down the stairs.
"Good morning" she said to everyone rubbing her eye with her fist.
"Hey!" Nate smiled at her. "Take a place at the table, there's pancakes for everyone" he took a seat a Amy sat next to him. Sophie took the place on her left and they all ate together.
"Hmm… Nate?" Hardison said between bites. "What are we going to do about our client meeting?"
"When's that? Early this evening?"
"Yeah."
"I'll be there" he nodded.
"Client?" Amy asked. "What are lawyers? PIs?" she was curious about them.
"Something like that" Nate kept it vague.
"We're thieves" Parker exclaimed.
"Parker!" Eliot shook his head.
"Thieves? Like you steal things?" Amy eyes grew in size.
"Not really," Nate scratched the back of his head nervously. "We help people. People who have been ripped off and the police can't help or don't care"
"Like Robin Hood!" she exclaimed happily.
Sophie chuckled. "I can't really see Nate in green tights," she eyed the mastermind with a mischief look "but yeah, the idea is that" she laid a hand on her daughter shoulder.
"So, what do you want to do today?" Nate asked the girl.
She shrugged "I don't know" she looked down at her now empty plate. She was afraid to tell them she would love to spend the day with her parents.
"How about you get ready and then we can go to the park" Nate suggested.
Amy nodded and quickly got up to rush to the stairs.
"And we can also go to the mall" Sophie told her before she disappeared. "Go shopping and buy new clothes"
Amy nodded again and ran up the stairs.
"Shopping?" Nate raised an eyebrow at her.
"What?"
-.-.-.
"Are you coming?" Sophie glared over her shoulder. "You two are so slow" she marched ahead when something caught her attention.
"She's like possessed!" Amy whispered to Nate looking at the woman like she were crazy.
Nate had his hands full of carrier bags. Sophie had been dragging from shop to shop for over two hours. After they had spent an hour at the park where Amy had played on a swing and slide, Sophie told him that they should really go shopping because he couldn't have his daughter going around without some proper clothes. "Welcome to my world." He whispered back. "She always makes me go shopping with her when she wants to punish me."
They saw Sophie disappear inside a shoe shop so they sat on the first available bench sighing in relief. Nate's feet were hurting and he his
backache was coming back. "Well, I'm glad you haven't inherited your Mum's shopping gene" he chuckled.
Amy looked down at her feet. "Do I look like any of you?" she suddenly asked.
"Huh…" Nate was a little surprised at her question. "We haven't really got to know each other but I can see you've got Sophie's ability to make people do whatever you want" he smiled knowing that her was going to be in trouble with both his girls playing him. "You're smart. You got that from me" they both laughed. "Okay, from both of us." He paused and his expression changed. "You've got my same blue eyes. It's the first thing I thought when I saw you: She's got Sam's eyes"
She frowned "Who is Sam?"
Nate's head snapped up. "I…"
"I'm back!" Sophie stood in front of them a big grin on her face.
Nate was grateful for the interruption while Amy was curious. Who was Sam?
"I thought the all point was to come and shop for Amy not adding another pair of shoes to your endless collection" he pointed how with a fake glare.
"Have you seen them, Nate?" she opened the box to show him her newest purchase. " 50% off, I just had to buy them"
"And they say I'm the one with an addiction" he muttered under his breath hoping he hadn't heard her.
Sophie gave him a small punch on his arm. "I don't have an addition!"
"Having more than one hundred pair of shoes is called addition"
"Addition means you addicted to it, that you can't stop. I'm able to not buy shoes, if I want"
"Really?" he asked amused, his eyes twinkling.
"Yes" she knew she was sounding like a petulant child, but it didn't matter.
He smirked "Let's bet then. Stay without buying shoe for a month."
"A month? You know sales start in a week!"
"A month without buying shoes then I'll stop complaining about you invading my closet"
She looked doubtful, but she couldn't let him win. "Okay, deal"
"When can we have lunch?" Amy interrupted their glaring contest. "I'm kind of hungry"
Nate and Sophie turned their heads towards Amy. "Of course" Nate coughed nervously embarrassed by being catch by his daughter flirting or whatever they could call it with Sophie. He got up and put an arm around the girl's shoulder. "What would you like?" they walked towards the food area in the mall.
Sophie didn't really look impressed by all the fast food stands. "are you sure there isn't a restaurant nearby? You know, somewhere they make healthy food."
Nate rolled her eyes at her. "A hamburger and French fries every now and again won't kill you, Sophie"
She grunted but followed Nate and Am who were already queuing at one of the fast food stands. They all ordered burgers with fries, Sophie managed to get a salad, and a chocolate milkshakes. Soon they were sitting at a table, munching their food.
"We've bought some clothes and some bed linen for your bedroom, anything else you would like?" Sophie asked the girl while stealing one of Nate's chip from his plate.
Amy shrugged and kept eating her hamburger.
"Have you got any hobbies?" Nate tried to make her talk. "Anything you're interested in?"
"I don't know. I like drawing and playing soccer"
"Soccer?" Nate looked at her interested.
"Some girls played at the park near I lived and would watch them play and I get to join them sometime"
"Well, it's not baseball but I guess I could start learning about soccer" he smiled.
"You know the correct term is football" Sophie intervened.
Nate rolled his eyes and tilted his head towards his daughter. "British!" making the girl giggle. "Ouch!" he winced when Sophie lightly kicked him under the table.
"We've invented it and then you lot had to change it to American Football" she aired quote the last quotes. "And I could teach about soccer if you'd like"
"You? Watching sport?"
She looked offended. "I know my sport: tennis, golf, cricket…"
"Cricket?" he smirked. "You mean the longer and more boring version of baseball?" he liked teasing her, making her squirm. It was this new and more comfortable development they've found between them.
"Oh, you're going to pay for that comment" she playfully glared at him knowing exactly what we was doing.
"Oh, I can't wait Miss Devereaux" his eyes mischievous.
Amy observed them in amusement. She could see that they really liked each other and wondered why they weren't together.
"Well back to us. If you want anything else. Books, videogames, dolls or a soccer ball we can get it." She looked at Nate smiling. "Your father is buying"
"Of course I am" he glared at her.
Another two hours later they were finally at Sophie's apartment. Nate collapsed on Sophie's couch after putting all the carrier bags in Amy's room. "Remind me never to go shopping with you again" he sighed exhausted.
The grifter chuckled and bought him a glass of water.
"Thanks" he took a large sip as she sat next to him.
"Do you think I'll be able to manage tonight?" she suddenly asked pensive.
"It will be fine. I'm just a phone call away if you need help, but she needs to stay here. You two need to connect."
" I know, it's just… " she sighed. "I'm not good with kids, never were."
"She's not just a kid, she's your daughter." He reminded her. "We decided to make this work. I need to start looking for a new place too. Or maybe ask Hardison if I can buy the apartment next to mine and make it bigger"
"A new place might be a better idea. I don't really like the idea of Amy staying above a bar and at our place of work. Too many people could find us"
He smiled. "See, you're already thinking like an apprehensive Mum" he patted her leg and they both looked down at his hand. He coughed and soon retreat him hand, his face blushing.
Amy walked back into the room.
"Do you like the room?" Sophie asked. Her leg still warm where Nate had touched her.
She nodded. "Yeah, but it needs a child touch" she smiled and sat on one of the armchairs.
"You're right" Sophie smiled back.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
"Who can it be?" Sophie asked out loud as she went to open the door. "James!" she exclaimed when she saw who it was.
"Katherine, there you are" the man said back walking inside the apartment. He looked curiously at the man and girl already in the sitting room, but he didn't comment and turned towards his girlfriend. "I haven't heard from you since you've disappeared last night saying you had an emergency. Then you haven't be answering my calls all day, I was worried." He put an arm around her.
Sophie was looking at all the people in the room embarrassed. She could feel Nate's eyes on them and he was making her uncomfortable.
"it's complicated." She really didn't want to have this conversation with an audience.
"Why don't Amy and I go and get dinner?" Nate got up and walked passed them, his arm brushing Sophie's.
"Yeah, I'll see you later" Sophie rushed the mastermind and daughter outside. Once they were gone she closed the door sighing. It was time to end things. "Listen James…" she turned around with a sad expression. He really was a nice guy, but he wasn't the guy for her.
"You're breaking up with me" he soon understood.
"It's… there's a lot going on"
"Who were that man and girl?"
"Oh, I wish I could tell you and give you an explanation. It's just that now I need to focus on other things, on other responsibilities"
"And I'm not included in them" he fished for her. "It's okay, I understand. I've always knew that there was a part of you that you were not comfortable on sharing"
She looked down avoiding his eyes. Sometimes it was hard being a grifter.
"Well, I guess I should leave now"
She nodded. "Take care, James" she sadly smiled at him.
"You too" he gave her one last kiss on the cheek before leaving her alone.
Sophie felt bad about the break up, mostly because she was a good man but her heart belong to somebody else and now she had to work on building her family.
-.-.-.-
The man peaked around the corner and saw a tall brown haired man exiting the building with the girl. They were laughing at something as they walked down the street.
"There you are, you little brat. I've found you!" he put out the cigarette he had been smoking and gave one last glare at the girl that ruined his life. He had some planning to do.-.-.-.-.
"I really need to go now" Nate got up from his chair and put his jacket on.
After they had returned with Chinese takeaway, Nate, Sophie and Amy sat at the kitchen table and for the first time in felt like they were a real family. Nate and Amy had told Sophie about the strange couple who had been queuing at the Chinese place and they all laughed. Nate and Sophie both tried to explain what they did when the girl had started asking questions and Nate had also brought up the school issue which had been me with a complain groan from the seven years old.
"Amy" Sophie nervously looked at the girl. "Why don't you start getting ready for bed and put you pajamas on? We can have a girls only PJ's party"
The girl nodded knowing that the adults wanted to talk in private. She was really tempted to eavesdrop, but Sophie's loft apartment left her with little choice for a good hiding place.
Once the girl had gone to her room, Sophie anxiously looked at Nate. She couldn't stay still as she ran her through her hands.
Nate smirked, recognizing the signs of her nervousness. "It's going to be okay, Sophie" she reassured her.
"I know" she exclaimed a bit too quickly, embarrassed to let him see her so vulnerable. "You're just a phone call away anyway, right?"
He nodded. "But you won't need it. Have Fun! Watch a movie, play something, try to be a friend remembering that you're still her mother. Gain her trust, but also establish your roles in the relationship… you've done this loads of times."
"I don't want to treat her like a mark, Nate" she soon replied defensively. "I…"
He put his hands on her shoulders "I'm not saying that... for the first time in your life I'm asking you to be yourself"
"What if I can't?" she sighed on the verge of crying. "It's been so long that I don't know if I can be me, just me again."
"If we can't be honest with our children, the who else?" he smiled. "I know you can do it" Then he did something that caught them both by surprise. He leaned down and planted a small and comforting kiss on her forehead.
Suddenly realizing what he had done, Nate jumped away from her putting distance between them. "Huh.. well… I'll just say goodnight to…"
"Nate" she stopped him. "I've ended it with James."
He shook his head. "It's not my place…"
"Yes, it is." She paused "I'm done waiting" her words took them back to a conversation they had more than a year before.
Nate heart dropped to his stomach. He felt like she had just punched him in his guts. Does this mean she has given up on him? Did he really take too long?
"I'm not just going to stay here waiting for your move. I want us to be together. I want us to build a family."
"Soph…" how could he tell her that he wanted that too?
"No" she interrupted him going closer to him. "you don't need to answer now" she smiled. "I'm just giving you heads up. You know I can be really persuasive." She teasingly ran a hand down his chest and she felt satisfied when she saw him gulp.
They heard movement coming from the corridor and they both took a step back, acting like nothing had happened.
"I'm ready" Amy exclaimed walking back into the room. "Got washed, brushed my teeth." Her new red Disney pajamas fitted her perfectly.
"That's good" Nate smiled at her. "Well, have fun you two. But not too much, remember we're going to look at some schools tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah" Amy rolled her eyes at him playfully.
Nate didn't know what to do. He wanted to kiss his daughter goodnight, but he didn't know if she was ready for it. Fortunately she solved his dilemma for him when she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a hug. After the initial surprised, Nate smiled and hug her back, his emotions written all over his face. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
"Goodnight and sweet dreams" he whispered.
When she let go of him, he opened the front door. He spared a final glance to Sophie. Her words still lingered in the air, he could see her love in her eyes. As much as he wanted to grab her and kiss her senselessly, he knew he couldn't so he just gave her a timid wave.
"Bye"
"Goodnight, Nate" she smiled.
Mother and daughter were for the first time alone together and they didn't know what to do. Amy still didn't know if she could trust the woman that had abandoned her and that lied to her father.
Sophie could still sense the resentment coming from the girl. She took a deep breath -Be yourself- Nate had told her.
"So, what would you like to do?" she asked the girl. "We've still got a couple of hours before bedtime"
Amy shrugged. "I don't know"
"How about a movie?" Sophie suggested. "Let's see what's on. But first…" she smiled. "… I need to put my pajamas or I won't be dressed properly for our party"
They settled on the couch under a cover with a bowl of popcorn between them. Amy had found the cartoon movie "Brave" which she still hadn't seen. They didn't expected to be centered on a mother/daughter relationship and they both squirmed uncomfortably at the emotional scenes.
"Well" Sophie acclaimed at the end of the film. "That was good. Parker is always trying to make us watch cartoon films on movie night. I think she does it to annoy Eliot." She chuckled "Just like Hardison chooses sci-fi and horror films to annoy everybody else."
"They all seemed nice when they took me for that ice-cream, even though parker is a bit strange, but she's nice and funny"
Sophie nodded "Yeah, she had a difficult childhood. She was in foster care too and she started stealing at a very young age. She is the best, though" she told her with a proud voice. Realizing how it may have sounded she soon trying to correct herself. "Not that stealing is good. It's very bad" she told her not very convinced, but if only Nate knew that she was encouraging their daughter to follow their path, he would kill her. "Your father doesn't need to know about this"
Amy laughed. "Why is he involved with all of you if he's not a thief?"
Sophie sighed. "Long story" which wasn't hers to tell, but she knew that Nate was never going to open up about his past with their girl.
Amy paused, hesitant to ask her next question. "Who is Sam?" she finally found the courage.
"What?" she gasped surprised.
"This morning Nate said that I had Sam's same eyes." She continued.
"He…" Sophie didn't know if she should tell her, but she knew they had to build their relationship from somewhere. "He was Nate's son"
"I have a brother" the girl nearly exclaimed excitedly.
"Not really. Nate was married before. To another woman. Together they had a son: Sam"
Ay noticed she was talking about him in the past and swallowed hard. "What happened?"
"He got sick, really sick" Sophie had trouble talking. She had never met the boy, but she remembered the photos Nate had showed her and that little boy who had been running in the park laughing and screaming delight. " Cancer. He died nearly three years ago. Nate took it really bad. He lost everything and he took him a long time to build his life back."
"That's a sad story" Amy whispered wanting to cry for her brother that she had never got the chance to meet.
"Yeah" Sophie could see that the girl was barely keeping together so she put a comforting hand around her shoulders and after a moment of hesitation, Amy curled up against her side for the first seeking comfort from her mother.
"Your father is a really good man, but sometimes a tragedy like this can you leave broken." She paused. "But I think you coming suddenly in our lives can help him being whole again" she smiled down at her. Sophie noticed that the girl was sleepy. "Well, it's time for bed" They let go of each other and got up.
Amy didn't want to go to sleep, she wanted to learn more about her parents, but her body was betraying her "Okay"
"How about I tell you how your father and I met until you fall asleep?"
Amy nodded eagerly and rushed to her room, quickly getting under the covers.
The next morning Sophie woke up with the sound of her alarm clock going off. She quickly switched off the annoying the beeping. She didn't like getting up early, but she wanted to try and make breakfast for her daughter's first day at her new home.
She slowly got up and took a shower, hoping that the water would wake her up. After drying her hair and getting dressed, she walked to her kitchen. She wasn't a good cook like Eliot or Nate, but she could make some toast and serve cereals. When she was done, she looked at the time and decided it was time to wake Amy up. Nate was going to be there soon.
"Amy" she knocked at her door. When she didn't get an answer, she slowly opened the door. "Amy, it's time to get up."
She frowned when she saw the empty bed. She wondered if the girl had gone to the bathroom without her noticing it.
"Amy" she knocked at the bathroom door. Nothing. The bathroom was empty.
Sophie started panicking. She was gone. Her daughter was gone. She quickly called the only person she wanted to hear.
"Sophie?"
"Nate" he soon heard her distress in her voice "She's gone. Our little girl is gone"
Go Back to Part 1
Continue to Part 3
When they went down the stairs, they noticed the room was empty.
"Where is everyone?" Nate asked looking around.
In that moment the front door opened and Eliot was the first to walk in. "Is it save now?" he asked followed by Hardison, Parker and the little girl that turned their lives upside down.
Sophie gasped when she saw her, bringing her hand to her mouth. She had only held her for less than a minute after she had given birth to her, knowing that if she had stayed more in her arms, she wouldn't have had the courage to give her up. She couldn't believe it that that little girl was now standing in front of her.
"From the tears and the shock I guess you're my real mom" Amy sat down on a chair. She was trying to act brave, putting up a strong appearance.
Sophie quietly nodded.
"So you two know each other and you" she pointed at Nate "never knew about me"
The mastermind sighed "It's a long story." He scratched the back of his head. "I think we all have long stories to tell" He turned towards the three younger members of the team. "Guys, could you…"
"… leave the three of you work things out?" Hardison finished off for him. "Sure"
"But I want to stay and see how it finishes!" Parker complained. "We could make pop-corn!"
"Parker!" Eliot grunted. "It's not a film or a play. Let's leave them alone" he gave a firm nod to the mastermind and a more encouraging look to Sophie. He knew she was going to be considered the bad guy of all this situation, by both of them, and he wanted to let her know that she had friend in him if she needed one. "See you tomorrow morning"
And the three of them walked out leaving the apartment in an awkward silence.
"So…" Nate really needed a drink. Why did he quit drinking?
"Why did you give me up?" was Amy's first question to her birth mother. She was angry now, but tears started filling her eyes too. She had thought of this moment for a long time and she had trained herself not to lose control when she was going to find herself in the situation. But she was just seven years old and there was so much a child could take. "Why didn't you want me?" she was sobbing now.
"Oh baby" Sophie rushed to her and kneeled in front of her chair taking her hands in hers. She was crying too seeing the hurt she has caused her little girl. "It was… it was complicated. I knew I couldn't give you the life you deserved, a secure family, stability… my life was… still is a mess. You deserved better"
"Well, your plan certainly went wrong" she pushed her away and got up angrily. If only they knew. If they knew what she had been through.
Nate saw how Sophie was hurting. It wasn't easy to be rejected by your own child, but he couldn't give her comfort now, not while he was still angry with her.
"Sophie told me you had been adopted by a great family" Nate tried to intervene. "Two lovingly parents. What happened?"
"My parents died in a car accident when I was three years old." Amy looked down "I never knew they weren't my real parents, not until I saw my birth certificate a month ago and saw your name." She looked up locking her eyes with Nate. "So then I tried to find you. I did some research and found out you lived in Boston. So I left L.A. and came looking for you."
"All by yourself?" Sophie exclaimed.
"Not a big deal" She just shrugged. "I had some money and I bought a train ticket. It's funny how nobody asks why you're alone if you pretend you're with other adults."
Nate smirked. Yes, she was definitely Sophie's daughter.
"That was really smart. Hardison always makes sure nobody can find us. It mustn't have been easy to find where I was"
"Why? Are you wanted by the police or something?" she frowned.
Nate laughed. "Or something."
Sophie felt a bit like an intruder. She was happy that Amy was opening up with one of them, but she couldn't help to feel a bit jealous that it was with Nate.
"So," Amy turned to her. "What's your name? You left it blank in the birth certificate."
Of course she had because she didn't know what name to use. Her real name? An alias? A false name? "You can call me Sophie" she simply answered with a small smile.
"But that's not your real name" the little girl commented.
"Don't feel bad about it" Nate laid a hand on her shoulder. "Even I don't know her real name and I've known her for more than ten years now."
"I've noticed how you've kept it vague there" Sophie smirked at him hands on her hips "still can't remember when we met?" she arched her eyebrow.
"I thought we've agreed to disagree"
"Hmm…"
Amy observed their interaction. She could see that they were friends with each other, but she didn't think they were a couple. She wondered what had happened between them and if they were ever going to tell her.
"No one adopted you after the accident?" Nate asked curiously.
The seven years old shook her head. "No one came for me after the accident. No one wants…" she stopped knowing she was saying too much. "Nothing" she hid her face behind her long dark hair.
Sophie and Nate exchanged a concern look. The girl was hiding something from them. Something big.
"So, you've been in the system since then?" Sophie tried to get more information.
"Yeah, I've been in a couple of nice families. I was staying in a foster home, before…"
"… before running away."
She nodded scared. Were they going to take her back to L.A.?
"Don't worry" Sophie smiled like she could read her thoughts. "We're not taking you back." She patted her hand in reassurance and she was glad the girl didn't take her hand away.
"We can talk about what to do in long terms tomorrow." Nate told them. "It's getting late and I'm sure you're tired from all the travelling" he smiled. "I don't have a spare bedroom, but you can sleep in my bed tonight and I'll take the couch."
The girl gave him a small smile and nodded. She picked up her bag and started walking up the stairs.
"There's a bathroom on the right. Shout if you need anything"
"Thanks" she muttered.
Sophie and Nate watched her disappear after she took the top step.
"Shouldn't we help her or something?" Sophie turned towards the mastermind.
"She will tell us if she needs anything, but I'm pretty sure she is very mature for her age" he sighed and went to the fridge to get something to drink.
Sophie kept her eyes on him, she was sure that if he could, he wouldn't have minded a glass of whiskey at the moment. She sat next to him and poured herself a glass of orange juice. "What are we going to do?"
"I'm not going to abandon my child," he told her without hesitation. "not after she went through God knows what to find me. We can work something out. She can start going to school and she could stay with you, couldn't she? You have two bedrooms"
Sophie sighed. "I don't think she's going to agree with that. If you haven't noticed, I'm not her favourite person."
"She will come around"
She popped her head on her hand and turned towards him. "I'm always going to be the one that abandoned her at birth. Her mother that didn't want her"
"Sophie, she will forgive you, give her time"
"And you?" she whispered averting her eyes. "Will you forgive me?" She was afraid of his answer.
He sighed and took his time answering her "I understand why you made that decision, Sophie. I…" he paused. "I wish things would have gone differently."
She tried to keep her tears at bay. "I know" she whispered back. "Me too."
"She's keeping something from us"
"Yeah," she nodded. "And I'm scared to find out what"
The two adult didn't notice the girl curled up on the top of the stairs eavesdropping. What was she going to do if they were to find out the real reason she had run away?
The next morning Nate woke up with a terrible backache after spending the night sleeping on the couch. He groaned as he stretched his arms over his head trying to loosen the aching muscles.
"I'm too old for this" he mumbled and he slowly stood up. If this was going to be something that was going to occur, he might need to consider investing on a new couch or maybe on a new place where Amy could have her own room.
He quietly made his way upstairs to check on his daughter. He still couldn't believe it and the world felt strange in his mind.
Amy was still sound asleep in his big bed. She was curled up, her knees nearly touching her chin, making her seem even smaller that she was. During the night some of the covers had fallen over and Nate picked them up and covered her again and he tucker her in smiling. He quietly made his outside carefully closing the door behind him.
When he got back downstairs he found Sophie in his kitchen making herself some tea.
"Hey," he joined her behind the counter and put on the pot for some coffee.
" 'morning" she greeted him. "How is she?"
"She's still asleep." He answered while opening the cupboards to get the ingredients to make some pancakes for breakfast. He winced when he bent down to get the frying pan from the bottom shelf.
Sophie noticed his grimace. "What's wrong?"
"The couch is not very comfy to sleep on" he massaged the back of his neck "I definitely need to find a new solution" he jumped startled when he suddenly felt Sophie's hand on him.
"Or you're simply getting older." She teased "Remember when we had to sleep in that barn in Ukraine" she kept working on his knotted muscles "That was certainly worse"
He chuckled. "I remember finding hay in all sorts of places for days"
"Well if only you hadn't ruined my plan"
"I still think we should have gone with mine"
She rolled her eyes and stopped massaging him and she leaned against the counter. "Amy would have been two years old" she sighed. "I still can't believe it that nothing happened between us that night. "
He leaned beside her. "I don't know. I told you when I saw you in Tuscany and you never mentioned our night together in Paris, I didn't know where we stood. We both went on like nothing happened."
"It was raining" she remembered "Our clothes were completely drenched . I was practically half-naked" she shouted the last part. "and you didn't make a move, Nate"
"Neither did you" he defended himself.
"I just…" she sighed. "I can't believe it than in 8 years we only had one night"
"Just enough to create a child" he joked. Then he got serious. "What do you want me to say, Sophie? What do you want from me?"
"I've already told you a year ago. Are you willing to fight for us?" she looked into his eyes.
"I'm not the one with a boyfriend." He reminded her. The sore subject between that they never talked about.
"If I knew there was an alternative…"
Before he had the chance to answer the front door opened.
"Hey Mama and Papa" Hardison smirked as he walked in followed by Eliot and Parker.
"Do you three organize getting here? How come you always arrive together?"
The hacker shrugged. "Meet at Nate's place at 8" He opened the fridge and got a bottle of orange juice. "Haven't you ever notice?"
"Is everything okay?" Eliot asked, his eyes landing on the grifter. He could sense that they had inadvertently interrupted another moment between Sophie and the mastermind.
"Sure" she nodded. Her gaze still on Nate, but she noticed that he was doing everything in his power to avoid his eyes. She sighed resigned.
She lost him again.
"Where's the girl?" Parker asked, a bowl of cereals already in her hands. "You didn't send her away, did you?" her voice accusing.
"Of course not, Parker! She's our daughter" Nate exclaimed back. "She's still sleeping upstairs, so all three of you" he pointed a finger at them. "Keep it down!"
"I'm going to make breakfast" Eliot took Nate's place and the mastermind felt like he had been kicked out from in his own kitchen.
"Hardison" he decided he could use the opportunity. "I need you to find everything you can about Amy"
The young man looked confused. "Didn't Sophie tell you everything?"
"I mean what happened to her after her adoptive parents died in the car crash. She's hiding something from us and I'd like to be prepared."
"And of course just asking her would mean dong the normal thing" that comment earned him one of Nate's famous glare. Hardison lifted his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, one detailed research coming up, but it's going to take at least 24 hours"
Just before Eliot was about to put the pancakes on the table, Ay timidly walked down the stairs.
"Good morning" she said to everyone rubbing her eye with her fist.
"Hey!" Nate smiled at her. "Take a place at the table, there's pancakes for everyone" he took a seat a Amy sat next to him. Sophie took the place on her left and they all ate together.
"Hmm… Nate?" Hardison said between bites. "What are we going to do about our client meeting?"
"When's that? Early this evening?"
"Yeah."
"I'll be there" he nodded.
"Client?" Amy asked. "What are lawyers? PIs?" she was curious about them.
"Something like that" Nate kept it vague.
"We're thieves" Parker exclaimed.
"Parker!" Eliot shook his head.
"Thieves? Like you steal things?" Amy eyes grew in size.
"Not really," Nate scratched the back of his head nervously. "We help people. People who have been ripped off and the police can't help or don't care"
"Like Robin Hood!" she exclaimed happily.
Sophie chuckled. "I can't really see Nate in green tights," she eyed the mastermind with a mischief look "but yeah, the idea is that" she laid a hand on her daughter shoulder.
"So, what do you want to do today?" Nate asked the girl.
She shrugged "I don't know" she looked down at her now empty plate. She was afraid to tell them she would love to spend the day with her parents.
"How about you get ready and then we can go to the park" Nate suggested.
Amy nodded and quickly got up to rush to the stairs.
"And we can also go to the mall" Sophie told her before she disappeared. "Go shopping and buy new clothes"
Amy nodded again and ran up the stairs.
"Shopping?" Nate raised an eyebrow at her.
"What?"
-.-.-.
"Are you coming?" Sophie glared over her shoulder. "You two are so slow" she marched ahead when something caught her attention.
"She's like possessed!" Amy whispered to Nate looking at the woman like she were crazy.
Nate had his hands full of carrier bags. Sophie had been dragging from shop to shop for over two hours. After they had spent an hour at the park where Amy had played on a swing and slide, Sophie told him that they should really go shopping because he couldn't have his daughter going around without some proper clothes. "Welcome to my world." He whispered back. "She always makes me go shopping with her when she wants to punish me."
They saw Sophie disappear inside a shoe shop so they sat on the first available bench sighing in relief. Nate's feet were hurting and he his
backache was coming back. "Well, I'm glad you haven't inherited your Mum's shopping gene" he chuckled.
Amy looked down at her feet. "Do I look like any of you?" she suddenly asked.
"Huh…" Nate was a little surprised at her question. "We haven't really got to know each other but I can see you've got Sophie's ability to make people do whatever you want" he smiled knowing that her was going to be in trouble with both his girls playing him. "You're smart. You got that from me" they both laughed. "Okay, from both of us." He paused and his expression changed. "You've got my same blue eyes. It's the first thing I thought when I saw you: She's got Sam's eyes"
She frowned "Who is Sam?"
Nate's head snapped up. "I…"
"I'm back!" Sophie stood in front of them a big grin on her face.
Nate was grateful for the interruption while Amy was curious. Who was Sam?
"I thought the all point was to come and shop for Amy not adding another pair of shoes to your endless collection" he pointed how with a fake glare.
"Have you seen them, Nate?" she opened the box to show him her newest purchase. " 50% off, I just had to buy them"
"And they say I'm the one with an addiction" he muttered under his breath hoping he hadn't heard her.
Sophie gave him a small punch on his arm. "I don't have an addition!"
"Having more than one hundred pair of shoes is called addition"
"Addition means you addicted to it, that you can't stop. I'm able to not buy shoes, if I want"
"Really?" he asked amused, his eyes twinkling.
"Yes" she knew she was sounding like a petulant child, but it didn't matter.
He smirked "Let's bet then. Stay without buying shoe for a month."
"A month? You know sales start in a week!"
"A month without buying shoes then I'll stop complaining about you invading my closet"
She looked doubtful, but she couldn't let him win. "Okay, deal"
"When can we have lunch?" Amy interrupted their glaring contest. "I'm kind of hungry"
Nate and Sophie turned their heads towards Amy. "Of course" Nate coughed nervously embarrassed by being catch by his daughter flirting or whatever they could call it with Sophie. He got up and put an arm around the girl's shoulder. "What would you like?" they walked towards the food area in the mall.
Sophie didn't really look impressed by all the fast food stands. "are you sure there isn't a restaurant nearby? You know, somewhere they make healthy food."
Nate rolled her eyes at her. "A hamburger and French fries every now and again won't kill you, Sophie"
She grunted but followed Nate and Am who were already queuing at one of the fast food stands. They all ordered burgers with fries, Sophie managed to get a salad, and a chocolate milkshakes. Soon they were sitting at a table, munching their food.
"We've bought some clothes and some bed linen for your bedroom, anything else you would like?" Sophie asked the girl while stealing one of Nate's chip from his plate.
Amy shrugged and kept eating her hamburger.
"Have you got any hobbies?" Nate tried to make her talk. "Anything you're interested in?"
"I don't know. I like drawing and playing soccer"
"Soccer?" Nate looked at her interested.
"Some girls played at the park near I lived and would watch them play and I get to join them sometime"
"Well, it's not baseball but I guess I could start learning about soccer" he smiled.
"You know the correct term is football" Sophie intervened.
Nate rolled his eyes and tilted his head towards his daughter. "British!" making the girl giggle. "Ouch!" he winced when Sophie lightly kicked him under the table.
"We've invented it and then you lot had to change it to American Football" she aired quote the last quotes. "And I could teach about soccer if you'd like"
"You? Watching sport?"
She looked offended. "I know my sport: tennis, golf, cricket…"
"Cricket?" he smirked. "You mean the longer and more boring version of baseball?" he liked teasing her, making her squirm. It was this new and more comfortable development they've found between them.
"Oh, you're going to pay for that comment" she playfully glared at him knowing exactly what we was doing.
"Oh, I can't wait Miss Devereaux" his eyes mischievous.
Amy observed them in amusement. She could see that they really liked each other and wondered why they weren't together.
"Well back to us. If you want anything else. Books, videogames, dolls or a soccer ball we can get it." She looked at Nate smiling. "Your father is buying"
"Of course I am" he glared at her.
Another two hours later they were finally at Sophie's apartment. Nate collapsed on Sophie's couch after putting all the carrier bags in Amy's room. "Remind me never to go shopping with you again" he sighed exhausted.
The grifter chuckled and bought him a glass of water.
"Thanks" he took a large sip as she sat next to him.
"Do you think I'll be able to manage tonight?" she suddenly asked pensive.
"It will be fine. I'm just a phone call away if you need help, but she needs to stay here. You two need to connect."
" I know, it's just… " she sighed. "I'm not good with kids, never were."
"She's not just a kid, she's your daughter." He reminded her. "We decided to make this work. I need to start looking for a new place too. Or maybe ask Hardison if I can buy the apartment next to mine and make it bigger"
"A new place might be a better idea. I don't really like the idea of Amy staying above a bar and at our place of work. Too many people could find us"
He smiled. "See, you're already thinking like an apprehensive Mum" he patted her leg and they both looked down at his hand. He coughed and soon retreat him hand, his face blushing.
Amy walked back into the room.
"Do you like the room?" Sophie asked. Her leg still warm where Nate had touched her.
She nodded. "Yeah, but it needs a child touch" she smiled and sat on one of the armchairs.
"You're right" Sophie smiled back.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
"Who can it be?" Sophie asked out loud as she went to open the door. "James!" she exclaimed when she saw who it was.
"Katherine, there you are" the man said back walking inside the apartment. He looked curiously at the man and girl already in the sitting room, but he didn't comment and turned towards his girlfriend. "I haven't heard from you since you've disappeared last night saying you had an emergency. Then you haven't be answering my calls all day, I was worried." He put an arm around her.
Sophie was looking at all the people in the room embarrassed. She could feel Nate's eyes on them and he was making her uncomfortable.
"it's complicated." She really didn't want to have this conversation with an audience.
"Why don't Amy and I go and get dinner?" Nate got up and walked passed them, his arm brushing Sophie's.
"Yeah, I'll see you later" Sophie rushed the mastermind and daughter outside. Once they were gone she closed the door sighing. It was time to end things. "Listen James…" she turned around with a sad expression. He really was a nice guy, but he wasn't the guy for her.
"You're breaking up with me" he soon understood.
"It's… there's a lot going on"
"Who were that man and girl?"
"Oh, I wish I could tell you and give you an explanation. It's just that now I need to focus on other things, on other responsibilities"
"And I'm not included in them" he fished for her. "It's okay, I understand. I've always knew that there was a part of you that you were not comfortable on sharing"
She looked down avoiding his eyes. Sometimes it was hard being a grifter.
"Well, I guess I should leave now"
She nodded. "Take care, James" she sadly smiled at him.
"You too" he gave her one last kiss on the cheek before leaving her alone.
Sophie felt bad about the break up, mostly because she was a good man but her heart belong to somebody else and now she had to work on building her family.
-.-.-.-
The man peaked around the corner and saw a tall brown haired man exiting the building with the girl. They were laughing at something as they walked down the street.
"There you are, you little brat. I've found you!" he put out the cigarette he had been smoking and gave one last glare at the girl that ruined his life. He had some planning to do.-.-.-.-.
"I really need to go now" Nate got up from his chair and put his jacket on.
After they had returned with Chinese takeaway, Nate, Sophie and Amy sat at the kitchen table and for the first time in felt like they were a real family. Nate and Amy had told Sophie about the strange couple who had been queuing at the Chinese place and they all laughed. Nate and Sophie both tried to explain what they did when the girl had started asking questions and Nate had also brought up the school issue which had been me with a complain groan from the seven years old.
"Amy" Sophie nervously looked at the girl. "Why don't you start getting ready for bed and put you pajamas on? We can have a girls only PJ's party"
The girl nodded knowing that the adults wanted to talk in private. She was really tempted to eavesdrop, but Sophie's loft apartment left her with little choice for a good hiding place.
Once the girl had gone to her room, Sophie anxiously looked at Nate. She couldn't stay still as she ran her through her hands.
Nate smirked, recognizing the signs of her nervousness. "It's going to be okay, Sophie" she reassured her.
"I know" she exclaimed a bit too quickly, embarrassed to let him see her so vulnerable. "You're just a phone call away anyway, right?"
He nodded. "But you won't need it. Have Fun! Watch a movie, play something, try to be a friend remembering that you're still her mother. Gain her trust, but also establish your roles in the relationship… you've done this loads of times."
"I don't want to treat her like a mark, Nate" she soon replied defensively. "I…"
He put his hands on her shoulders "I'm not saying that... for the first time in your life I'm asking you to be yourself"
"What if I can't?" she sighed on the verge of crying. "It's been so long that I don't know if I can be me, just me again."
"If we can't be honest with our children, the who else?" he smiled. "I know you can do it" Then he did something that caught them both by surprise. He leaned down and planted a small and comforting kiss on her forehead.
Suddenly realizing what he had done, Nate jumped away from her putting distance between them. "Huh.. well… I'll just say goodnight to…"
"Nate" she stopped him. "I've ended it with James."
He shook his head. "It's not my place…"
"Yes, it is." She paused "I'm done waiting" her words took them back to a conversation they had more than a year before.
Nate heart dropped to his stomach. He felt like she had just punched him in his guts. Does this mean she has given up on him? Did he really take too long?
"I'm not just going to stay here waiting for your move. I want us to be together. I want us to build a family."
"Soph…" how could he tell her that he wanted that too?
"No" she interrupted him going closer to him. "you don't need to answer now" she smiled. "I'm just giving you heads up. You know I can be really persuasive." She teasingly ran a hand down his chest and she felt satisfied when she saw him gulp.
They heard movement coming from the corridor and they both took a step back, acting like nothing had happened.
"I'm ready" Amy exclaimed walking back into the room. "Got washed, brushed my teeth." Her new red Disney pajamas fitted her perfectly.
"That's good" Nate smiled at her. "Well, have fun you two. But not too much, remember we're going to look at some schools tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah" Amy rolled her eyes at him playfully.
Nate didn't know what to do. He wanted to kiss his daughter goodnight, but he didn't know if she was ready for it. Fortunately she solved his dilemma for him when she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a hug. After the initial surprised, Nate smiled and hug her back, his emotions written all over his face. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
"Goodnight and sweet dreams" he whispered.
When she let go of him, he opened the front door. He spared a final glance to Sophie. Her words still lingered in the air, he could see her love in her eyes. As much as he wanted to grab her and kiss her senselessly, he knew he couldn't so he just gave her a timid wave.
"Bye"
"Goodnight, Nate" she smiled.
Mother and daughter were for the first time alone together and they didn't know what to do. Amy still didn't know if she could trust the woman that had abandoned her and that lied to her father.
Sophie could still sense the resentment coming from the girl. She took a deep breath -Be yourself- Nate had told her.
"So, what would you like to do?" she asked the girl. "We've still got a couple of hours before bedtime"
Amy shrugged. "I don't know"
"How about a movie?" Sophie suggested. "Let's see what's on. But first…" she smiled. "… I need to put my pajamas or I won't be dressed properly for our party"
They settled on the couch under a cover with a bowl of popcorn between them. Amy had found the cartoon movie "Brave" which she still hadn't seen. They didn't expected to be centered on a mother/daughter relationship and they both squirmed uncomfortably at the emotional scenes.
"Well" Sophie acclaimed at the end of the film. "That was good. Parker is always trying to make us watch cartoon films on movie night. I think she does it to annoy Eliot." She chuckled "Just like Hardison chooses sci-fi and horror films to annoy everybody else."
"They all seemed nice when they took me for that ice-cream, even though parker is a bit strange, but she's nice and funny"
Sophie nodded "Yeah, she had a difficult childhood. She was in foster care too and she started stealing at a very young age. She is the best, though" she told her with a proud voice. Realizing how it may have sounded she soon trying to correct herself. "Not that stealing is good. It's very bad" she told her not very convinced, but if only Nate knew that she was encouraging their daughter to follow their path, he would kill her. "Your father doesn't need to know about this"
Amy laughed. "Why is he involved with all of you if he's not a thief?"
Sophie sighed. "Long story" which wasn't hers to tell, but she knew that Nate was never going to open up about his past with their girl.
Amy paused, hesitant to ask her next question. "Who is Sam?" she finally found the courage.
"What?" she gasped surprised.
"This morning Nate said that I had Sam's same eyes." She continued.
"He…" Sophie didn't know if she should tell her, but she knew they had to build their relationship from somewhere. "He was Nate's son"
"I have a brother" the girl nearly exclaimed excitedly.
"Not really. Nate was married before. To another woman. Together they had a son: Sam"
Ay noticed she was talking about him in the past and swallowed hard. "What happened?"
"He got sick, really sick" Sophie had trouble talking. She had never met the boy, but she remembered the photos Nate had showed her and that little boy who had been running in the park laughing and screaming delight. " Cancer. He died nearly three years ago. Nate took it really bad. He lost everything and he took him a long time to build his life back."
"That's a sad story" Amy whispered wanting to cry for her brother that she had never got the chance to meet.
"Yeah" Sophie could see that the girl was barely keeping together so she put a comforting hand around her shoulders and after a moment of hesitation, Amy curled up against her side for the first seeking comfort from her mother.
"Your father is a really good man, but sometimes a tragedy like this can you leave broken." She paused. "But I think you coming suddenly in our lives can help him being whole again" she smiled down at her. Sophie noticed that the girl was sleepy. "Well, it's time for bed" They let go of each other and got up.
Amy didn't want to go to sleep, she wanted to learn more about her parents, but her body was betraying her "Okay"
"How about I tell you how your father and I met until you fall asleep?"
Amy nodded eagerly and rushed to her room, quickly getting under the covers.
The next morning Sophie woke up with the sound of her alarm clock going off. She quickly switched off the annoying the beeping. She didn't like getting up early, but she wanted to try and make breakfast for her daughter's first day at her new home.
She slowly got up and took a shower, hoping that the water would wake her up. After drying her hair and getting dressed, she walked to her kitchen. She wasn't a good cook like Eliot or Nate, but she could make some toast and serve cereals. When she was done, she looked at the time and decided it was time to wake Amy up. Nate was going to be there soon.
"Amy" she knocked at her door. When she didn't get an answer, she slowly opened the door. "Amy, it's time to get up."
She frowned when she saw the empty bed. She wondered if the girl had gone to the bathroom without her noticing it.
"Amy" she knocked at the bathroom door. Nothing. The bathroom was empty.
Sophie started panicking. She was gone. Her daughter was gone. She quickly called the only person she wanted to hear.
"Sophie?"
"Nate" he soon heard her distress in her voice "She's gone. Our little girl is gone"
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