The Wild - Chapter Three
Master Post is here
Chapter 3
Sophie yawned widely as she walked into the kitchen. Eliot smiled and handed her her cup of coffee.
"Thank you, Eliot, how are you this morning?"
"About as well as before. still having strange dreams but they are not so bad, mostly just confusing, but for some reason I wake up wanting lots of raw meat..."
"That good, one person with nightmares is enough."
"This night too?"
"Yeah, three times... I just wish she would get a full nights sleep sometime soon. It would do her good." She started to pull a bowl and spoon from the cupboards.
"Yeah, it'd be easier if she'd talk to someone."
"She needs time, it'll come. Can you hand me the cereal?"
"Yeah, sure. She's not coming down?"
"No, she refuses to leave the room."
Eliot nodded. "I'll come visit later. I'm gonna go do some more tests with Nate and see if we can find out more about these... modifications."
Sophie yawned again and refilled her coffee. "Let me know if you find something interesting, ok?"
"Of course. You take care of Parker."
Sophie nodded and left the room, bowl of cereal and cup of coffee in hand. Eliot watched her leave and returned her smile when she used her hip to push the door open and smiled back at him. His heart twinged a little with longing but he pushed the feelings aside. Later. There'd be time for feelings later. He put a bottle of orange soda on the tray he'd prepared and left the room himself.
Neither of them were proper scientists but they didn't dare subject Eliot and Parker to someone else so they took every form of test they could think of and sent them off to a laboratory under an assumed identity. It meant the whole thing took longer but they'd all gotten a serious case of paranoia lately.
While they waited for the test results to arrive they were doing other kinds of examinations. Eliot already knew some of the things that had changed. His nose was infinitely more sensitive now and his hearing had improved as well. He could hear exactly what music was playing in Hardison's headphones as he entered the room despite the computer fans almost downing it out. They'd set up the testing area in what used to be the ballroom in the abandoned hotel they had turned into a safe house. Hardison kept claiming it gave him the shivers and muttered about crazy people with axes and Jack Nicholson but all in all it was perfect, remote, large and with it's own power generator.
"Eliot, excellent! And you bring offerings as well... have you sharpened those ears for today? I found some great info on the range of hearing in animals and Nate helped me put together a test." Eliot smiled at the enthusiasm in the younger mans voice. Wanting to know how things worked was a big reason as to why Hardison had started learning about computers and programming and eventually hacking. That old need to know was shining through now. He walked over and set his tray down on a clear surface before he handed Nate his coffee and tossed the soda to Hardison.
"OK, where do you want me?" His nose told him that Nate had taken a shower recently but not bothered to put on any after shave. He was looking a bit scruffy so he'd probably foregone shaving all together. It wasn't a bad look on him and Eliot would like nothing more than to bury his hands in those tangled curls and why was Nate giving him a pair of headphones? Remembering where he was and what he was supposed to be doing he shook his head to get rid of any remaining thoughts and accepted the offered equipment.
If Nate had noticed Eliot's daydreaming he didn't show it. Instead he started explaining the test.
"It's basically your ordinary hearing test but I've added a bunch of frequencies that humans normally shouldn't hear. Just press this button when you hear a noise." Eliot nodded and took his seat.
Forty-five minutes later he got up again - he had sweaty ears and they had a wide range of results.
"It seems like, from just looking at this mind you, that you don't really have as good hearing as a dog or a wolf but still way better than a normal human has. You need to be careful, sounds you might not have noticed before can distract you now, maybe even be used against you." Eliot remembered the horribly piercing sound that had immobilised him during his escape attempt and nodded.
"Yeah, they used something like that one time... not pleasant. Any luck in finding out who "them" are yet?" He directed the last to Hardison who shook his head.
"I am trying to unravel who exactly took over that facility when the government left it but I've never seen such a tangled mess. There are more shell companies and fake businesses than even I can shake a stick at."
"I'm sure you'll get it. Do you need me for anything else right now? I was thinking about going for a run..."
"No, we need to process this, but could you wear the heart rate monitor when you go? Any information is good you know." Despite his different background Nate was as captured by the mystery surrounding Eliot's and Parker's new genes as Hardison and Eliot just grinned at him and nodded before leaving the room again. He went up to his room and changed into sweats before walking past Sophie's and Parker's room. He knocked softly and entered, Sophie lifted her head from her book and smiled at him while Parker continued to stare out of the window.
The treatment he'd gotten at the facility had changed Eliot on a very basic level but next to nothing showed in his physical appearance. Parker had not been so lucky. The biggest change was her hands and feet, bones and sinew had moved and joints worked differently. Her palms and soles were covered with the same satae that a gecko had and the skin had changed to resemble the scales of a lizard. The scales became more skin-like midway to the elbow and knee. The rest of her body was mostly unchanged although if one looked closer you could see that her pupils were slitted and that her skin color seemed to change to reflect her surroundings. Right now she was curled up in a navy wing chair and her skin and hair had taken on a faint blue tint.
"Hey Parker." Eliot tried to keep his voice neutral and friendly without sounding like he talked to a spooked horse. "How are you today?"
Her only response was a quick glance his way and a minute shrug of a shoulder.
"I'm going out for a run. Need to get my endurance back... Nate has me wearing a heart monitor though. I think he would have made a great scientist if he hadn't gone into chasing people..." he continued, telling her about his day so far and the hearing test. She didn't answer but her posture relaxed just a tiny bit and he could smell her mood changing. When he finally got up to leave Parker's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist and she looked up at him.
"Be careful. Don't let them take you again."
"Oh, sweetheart you know I will. And I'll smell them before they find me now too...Don't worry, I'm not so easy to catch anymore." He squeezed her wrist reassuringly before releasing it and walking out of the room with a nod to Sophie.
Autumn was coming and the air was high and clear when he ran. Some trees had already started turning their leaves but most were still green. It had only been a few days since they arrived here but it felt like forever. This place was so far from the dark silent cell and putting unpleasant memories behind him had always been one of the things that made Eliot so good at what he did. As he followed the trail running around the little nearby lake he let his thoughts flow freely, tumbling like the swallows that had their nests under the edge of the roof. His new senses made the run even more interesting with smells and sounds he hadn't noticed before making themselves known.
The last few weeks had been hell but as he listened to the sounds of the forest he almost felt thankful towards his assailants. Of course, if the others hadn't found him and gotten him out he probably never would have escaped and the thought of spending the rest of his life in that dark cell chilled him to the bone. Somehow they had to pay, somehow he would make them pay.
***
It was almost two weeks before Parker slowly started to emerge from her shell. She began coming down to have meals with the rest of them and sometimes there was even the shade of a smile on her lips, often in response to something Hardison said or did. They all started to relax and believe that maybe they would be able to back to working cases soon. That's why it was so surprising when Parker suddenly disappeared. Sophie came rushing into Eliot's room in the middle of the night and he nearly lashed out at her before realizing who it was.
"She's gone, Parker's gone!" That woke him up completely.
"Did she leave on her own? Did someone take her?" He realized when he said it that it sounded silly. No one knew they were here and Hardison had rigged the place with some heavy duty security measures, anyone who'd managed to get in would have to be at least as good as Parker herself and he only knew of one person even remotely close to that skill-level.
"Did she say anything?"
"No, nothin... oh wait. She did seem to go back to her even more silent self after dinner."
"Something must have happened... " Eliot pulled on clothing as they talked and soon he was out the door. He stopped outside Sophie's and Parker's room and sniffed the air, finding nothing but traces of Sophie's scent interlaced with sharp spikes of fear he continued on. At the front door he ran into Hardison who was checking the security system.
"Only place showing any sign of tampering is the window to their room." Eliot nodded and exited, heading around the building. Below the girl's window he finally picked up Parker's characteristic scent, it didn't smell like she was panicking but there was something odd about it. He crouched near the ground trying to find any footsteps but it was still too dark and Parker was too light footed to leave many anyway. As he moved around Eliot realized that he could actually smell which direction Parker had gone off in and he wasted no more time following the trail.
He found her by the lake. She was perched on a rock near the edge of the water and as soon as he saw her Eliot realized what the odd part of her scent was. Sadness. Her whole being radiated it and she didn't move as he walked up to stand beside her.
"This here nose makes hide and seek rather boring."
"I wasn't hiding. Not from you."
"I can see that... wanna tell me why you ran?"
"They keep looking at me. When they think I don't see."
"I don't think they mean anything by it, sweetheart."
"They didn't use to stare."
"Well, we are changed. Those evil bastards did change us..."
"I'm still the same on the inside though."
"I'm not. I'm... it wasn't the first time for me. I've been locked up before. I don't like it but I know how to deal with it. Still, this time..." Eliot trailed off. He hadn't looked too hard at his own feelings. Not really.
"I didn't know you were there."
"I heard you once... or I thought I did... I wasn't sure"
"I would have left without looking for you"
"It doesn't matter." He said the words and meant them but the thought chilled him.
"It wasn't my first time either..."
"Someone locked you up before?"
"Yes, and that was much smaller. And I didn't have these eyes then."
"You can see in the dark?"
"It's like night vision goggles. I think I see the heat... I wonder if I would see all kinds of lasers now..." She finished thoughtfully.
"You know Nate and Hardison could help you try that out. They've been helping me make some sense out of what I can do..." Eliot was interrupted by his phone beeping.
"Yeah. She's with me. We'll be back in a while. Don' worry. Sure. Bye" He hung up and slid the phone back into his pocket. "Nate - he was worried." Parker nodded.
"I know they want to help, but it's hard. I don't... I never... I was." She stopped to take a breath and started again. "I was just beginning to feel right when they picked me up. I was gonna ask Hardison to have dinner with me, for real, like on a date kind of."
"You still can..."
"But I look all freaky. Boys don't like freaky."
"He ain't most boys ya know."
"But why does he keep staring? And Sophie too and sometimes Nate..."
"I don't think they can help it. This was hard on them too... they couldn't find us at first. They thought they'd lost us."
"But we're back now..."
"Yeah, but sometimes they might have to make sure. Sophie was really afraid tonight when you disappeared and so was Hardison. He was trying to make sure they hadn't taken you again."
"I just had to get out"
"It's ok... maybe next time leave a note or tell someone though...."
"I will. So... you think they don't mind me looking like this?" Parker lifted her hand and looked at it in the faint pre-dawn light. It shimmered and she flexed her new joints back and forth.
"I think they are curious, probably want to touch you to see what it feels like but no, I don't think they mind." As he said it Eliot realized it was true for himself as well. Not only had the others come for him but they didn't mind him coming out changed either.
"Will we be alright?"
"I don't think we can get rid of whatever they did to us, but we can learn to live with it, make it our own..."
"Can we get revenge?"
"Oh definitely. We will find them and we will make them pay. It's what we do after all..."
"Good!" Parker's fierceness shone through in her reply and after a brief pause she continued. "We can go back now... I'm not sad anymore." Eliot smiled at her as she jumped down.
"Hey, we should call ahead and have Nate make us hot chocolate..."
"He likes you, you know..."
"Who? Nate?"
"Yeah, he looks at you like he looks at Sophie." Parker sounded very sure.
"Nah... really?"
"Yes, ask him - you'll see."
Eliot made a non-committal sound as he picked up his phone again and called Nate. He didn't dare hope Parker was right. Heartache was something he could do without.
When they got back to the house Sophie hugged them both and told Parker to never worry her like that again, Hardison was close behind and he held her just a little bit longer. When he finally let go Parker glanced back at Eliot and he could see a faint little blush on her cheeks.
***
"Parker, that is amazing!" Hardison called up to Parker where she was perched high on the wall, near the ceiling of the old ballroom. She tilted her head backwards and smiled brightly back at him, ponytail swinging like a pendulum.
"Can you get me some rope soon? I want to make a harness so I can try climbing across to that chandelier..."
"I'll go into the city tomorrow and find some. Seriously, there won't be a security system around you can't beat..." He sounded almost awed.
"I know, isn't it great!" She moved back down the wall head first and when she was close enough to the floor she loosened her grip with her feet by flexing her toes and bent backwards to land on the floor in a fluid motion. Hardison swallowed hard as he watched then he suddenly stretched his back and set his jaw like he'd made a decision.
"Parker... I.. uhm.... Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, what do you want to ask?"
"I was... well... if you like you could come with me to the city. We could go get rope for your harness and then... uhm maybe goseeamovieandhavesomedinner..."
"Alec, are you asking me out on a date?"
"Uhm... yeah..."
"Sure! But can we have sex tonight even if we don't have the date until tomorrow?"
"Sex... with.. and the... Hells yeah!" Parker's smile was wider and more brilliant that Hardison had ever seen it and it warmed his soul.
"Hmmm... do we have to wait until tonight? I am kind of horny now..."
"No! Uhm... no. We don't have to wait... I have a room. It's over ther..." Parker silenced him with a kiss before pulling him with her out of the room. In the door they ran into Eliot.
"We're going to go have sex! See you later!" Eliot couldn't help but chuckle at Hardison's shell-shocked expression. He imagined he would see that quite a lot in the next days.
Still in a good mood Eliot looked around the ballroom and realized he was alone, he didn't feel like keeping himself company at the moment so he moved right along and went to find Nate and Sophie. He found them in the small common area near the kitchen, Nate was on his computer while Sophie was reading a book on the sofa.
"Hello Eliot, you look happy?" Sophie lowered her book and looked at him questioningly.
"I just met Parker and a very shocked and pleased Hardison..." Eliot chuckled again.
"So he finally asked! Good for him... Oh! This means I get my own room back! I don't mind sharing with Parker but believe it or not, she snores. Even with the fewer nightmares I still haven't gotten enough sleep..." Sophie ended with a dramatic hand wave and flopped backwards on the sofa and Eliot felt that now familiar twinge of attraction again. He sat down on the other end of the sofa and looked over at Nate. Maybe it was the inspiration from Parker and Hardison or maybe it was something else but suddenly he had to ask.
"So when are you two going to follow Hardison's example and do something before it's too late? I mean you don't even need my newly excellent nose to smell the tension between you two..."
Nate and Sophie looked at each other and something Eliot didn't catch passed between them. It was Sophie who spoke first.
"We already tried, a long time ago... and sometimes it takes more than just desire and respect to make something work." She looked up at him. "Me and Nate we're just a bit too broken, a bit too colored by our past"
There was a sadness in her eyes but also something else. Then Nate spoke up. "We do really care for each other, a lot, it might even be love, but when we get closer than friends we become like... two glass balls dangling together, every time we knock together we threaten to fracture and break." And there was that same look in Nate's eyes. Eliot couldn't really figure out what it was...
"There is one thing that could save us though." Sophie's voice came from close by, somehow she'd manage to scoot closer to him on the sofa without him noticing. "We need someone to balance us, to keep us from breaking." Sophie's voice was soft and honest, far from the one she used on a mark, and it sparked something in Eliot's chest, something he hadn't dared hope for. He turned his head and looked into her eyes. "We need you." The words came out closer to a whisper than anything else.
"Are you offering what I think you're offering?"
"If you'll have us." Nate's voice came from behind him and now Eliot could smell the arousal in the air. He reached out a hand and stroked Sophie's hair behind her ear.
"I dreamed of you, both of you, when I was in there. I tried to remember everything about you. I... I think it kept me sane. Thinking of you, hoping you were out there, safe, and maybe even looking for me." He let his hand fall down, stroking along her bare arm.
"Is that a yes?" He could feel the goosebumps rising on her skin as she asked.
"Yes." He breathed out softly.
"That's all we needed..." Sophie captured his lips and swallowed his moan as Nate leaned forward and nuzzled his neck.
They shifted and moved and somehow Eliot ended up sandwiched between the other two on the sofa. His hands were busy mapping out Sophie's body as they kissed while Nate as doing the same to him. He gasped as a hand slid along the top of his jeans and felt Sophie smile against his lips.
"Been wanting to do this for so long...all of this" Eliot growled in agreement and turned his head to kiss Nate for the first time as well. Their kiss was more of a battle, a fight for dominance and Nate's fingers tightened in his hair making the growl change into a moan.
"Like that, don't you?" Eliot moaned deep in his chest again when Nate pulled lightly at the hair in his hand. Sophie took advantage of his distraction and unbuttoned his shirt, following her hands with her lips and tongue lapping little kitten licks all the way down his chest.
Eliot let the scent of them wash over him, the earthy muskiness of Nate mixed with the sweet almost floral of Sophie and created a new scent, one that was uniquely them, and it went straight from his nose to his dick. He growled low in his throat and pulled them closer, letting his hands roam and mouth taste that which he thought he would never have.
Somehow his pants disappeared and as he helped Sophie out of her shirt Nate did the same with her skirt. Sophie kissed him hotly again before sliding down his body and letting Nate take her place. Distracted by kisses and trying to get Nate to an equal state of undress as the two of them the sudden warm heat around his cock surprised him and when he looked down to see Sophie looking back at him with wicked smiling eyes and her lips stretched around his length he couldn't help but moan.
"She looks beautiful like that, don't she." Nate whispered into his ear as his fingers pinched a nipple and drew another moan out of Eliot. "We are going to make you feel so good." Nate's hands were warm against his skin, painting broad swipes of heat while his lips kissed and nipped along Eliot's throat. The hands traveled down, taking a detour to stroke Sophie's slowly bobbing head and Eliot felt the heat of Nate's body behind him shift a little to reach for something. The first tentative touch of coldness near his entrance made him tense a bit but then Sophie slid up to suck softly at the head of his cock while letting her tongue swirl against the slick skin and he had to fight to not snap his hips forward. She released the head with a faint plop and looked up at him again.
"Relax and let us take care of you. Trust us" With a start Eliot realized that he did, he did trust them with all that he was and all that he had become. Then Nate's finger slid inside him and brushed against his prostate and he stopped thinking all together. Sophie came up for another kiss as Nate worked a second finger into him and the sensations carried Eliot higher and higher. He let his hands rest on Sophie's hips as he lost himself in the kiss. It had been a long time since he was last touched like this and when she ended the kiss with a nip on his lowers lip and slid back down to swallow him in one swift movement he barely has time to growl a warning before coming down her throat and arching his back.
Nate didn't give him time to relax, taking advantage of his post orgasm bliss to slide a third finger in. Dazed Eliot fumbled and pulled Sophie close to him as he pressed backwards to get Nate to hit that spot again. He let his own fingers find Sophie's wetness and his enhanced hearing gave him a new appreciation of her breathless little moan as he let his thumb slide along the side of her clitoris.
"Floor." Came Nate's rough whisper before he tilted them over, getting Eliot on all fours over Sophie and himself behind and over the both of them. Pleased with the better access Eliot captured one of Sophie's nipples and graced it softly with his teeth in counterpoint with his hand still moving between her legs causing a series of little moans to tumble from her lips. Nate withdrew his fingers, making Eliot rock backwards at the loss of sensation. He released the nipple in his mouth and worked his way downwards Sophie's body until his mouth took over what his hand had started. As his tongue painted intricate patterns among her folds she arched her back and let her own hands come up to caress her breasts.
"So beautiful..." Nate let his hands slide along Eliot's strong back before he settled them on the other man's hips. He reveled in the feel of hard muscle against his skin as he lined up and thrust into the welcoming heat. His action pulled a muffled moan from where Eliot had his face buried between Sophie's legs. The vibration from the moan caused Sophie to breathe in sharply and let one hand drop to Eliot's head where it tangled in the silky strands. Nate set the pace, slow and steady as he wanted this to last for as long as possible. He let one hand travel over Eliot's hip to his cock and found it hard again - it seemed his new-found stamina had some other affects too. He caressed the hard flesh under his hands a few times before leaning over to whisper in Eliot's ear.
"I want you in her, want to see you take her" Judging by the shiver going through Eliot's body he wasn't opposed to the idea. He trailed kisses upwards Sophie's body, detouring to swirl his tongue around each nipple, until he reached her mouth again. As their lips met again she raised her hips and let him slide into her with Nate's next thrust.
The sounds and smells enveloped Eliot completely. The three of them moved in a disjointed primal rhythm, carrying them towards release and it didn't take long before they tumbled down together in a sticky tangle. Cradled between Sophie and Nate Eliot finally felt like he'd come home.
In a bed not far away Parker felt the same way. As Hardison mapped her skin with his hands and tongue, reveling in every change of texture and new feeling she let go of the final traces of fear and doubt. When she looked into his enraptured face as she rode him hard with his hands on her hips and the texture of her own finger sliding over her clit making her shiver she finally felt safe enough to let go.
Chapter Four
Chapter 3
Sophie yawned widely as she walked into the kitchen. Eliot smiled and handed her her cup of coffee.
"Thank you, Eliot, how are you this morning?"
"About as well as before. still having strange dreams but they are not so bad, mostly just confusing, but for some reason I wake up wanting lots of raw meat..."
"That good, one person with nightmares is enough."
"This night too?"
"Yeah, three times... I just wish she would get a full nights sleep sometime soon. It would do her good." She started to pull a bowl and spoon from the cupboards.
"Yeah, it'd be easier if she'd talk to someone."
"She needs time, it'll come. Can you hand me the cereal?"
"Yeah, sure. She's not coming down?"
"No, she refuses to leave the room."
Eliot nodded. "I'll come visit later. I'm gonna go do some more tests with Nate and see if we can find out more about these... modifications."
Sophie yawned again and refilled her coffee. "Let me know if you find something interesting, ok?"
"Of course. You take care of Parker."
Sophie nodded and left the room, bowl of cereal and cup of coffee in hand. Eliot watched her leave and returned her smile when she used her hip to push the door open and smiled back at him. His heart twinged a little with longing but he pushed the feelings aside. Later. There'd be time for feelings later. He put a bottle of orange soda on the tray he'd prepared and left the room himself.
Neither of them were proper scientists but they didn't dare subject Eliot and Parker to someone else so they took every form of test they could think of and sent them off to a laboratory under an assumed identity. It meant the whole thing took longer but they'd all gotten a serious case of paranoia lately.
While they waited for the test results to arrive they were doing other kinds of examinations. Eliot already knew some of the things that had changed. His nose was infinitely more sensitive now and his hearing had improved as well. He could hear exactly what music was playing in Hardison's headphones as he entered the room despite the computer fans almost downing it out. They'd set up the testing area in what used to be the ballroom in the abandoned hotel they had turned into a safe house. Hardison kept claiming it gave him the shivers and muttered about crazy people with axes and Jack Nicholson but all in all it was perfect, remote, large and with it's own power generator.
"Eliot, excellent! And you bring offerings as well... have you sharpened those ears for today? I found some great info on the range of hearing in animals and Nate helped me put together a test." Eliot smiled at the enthusiasm in the younger mans voice. Wanting to know how things worked was a big reason as to why Hardison had started learning about computers and programming and eventually hacking. That old need to know was shining through now. He walked over and set his tray down on a clear surface before he handed Nate his coffee and tossed the soda to Hardison.
"OK, where do you want me?" His nose told him that Nate had taken a shower recently but not bothered to put on any after shave. He was looking a bit scruffy so he'd probably foregone shaving all together. It wasn't a bad look on him and Eliot would like nothing more than to bury his hands in those tangled curls and why was Nate giving him a pair of headphones? Remembering where he was and what he was supposed to be doing he shook his head to get rid of any remaining thoughts and accepted the offered equipment.
If Nate had noticed Eliot's daydreaming he didn't show it. Instead he started explaining the test.
"It's basically your ordinary hearing test but I've added a bunch of frequencies that humans normally shouldn't hear. Just press this button when you hear a noise." Eliot nodded and took his seat.
Forty-five minutes later he got up again - he had sweaty ears and they had a wide range of results.
"It seems like, from just looking at this mind you, that you don't really have as good hearing as a dog or a wolf but still way better than a normal human has. You need to be careful, sounds you might not have noticed before can distract you now, maybe even be used against you." Eliot remembered the horribly piercing sound that had immobilised him during his escape attempt and nodded.
"Yeah, they used something like that one time... not pleasant. Any luck in finding out who "them" are yet?" He directed the last to Hardison who shook his head.
"I am trying to unravel who exactly took over that facility when the government left it but I've never seen such a tangled mess. There are more shell companies and fake businesses than even I can shake a stick at."
"I'm sure you'll get it. Do you need me for anything else right now? I was thinking about going for a run..."
"No, we need to process this, but could you wear the heart rate monitor when you go? Any information is good you know." Despite his different background Nate was as captured by the mystery surrounding Eliot's and Parker's new genes as Hardison and Eliot just grinned at him and nodded before leaving the room again. He went up to his room and changed into sweats before walking past Sophie's and Parker's room. He knocked softly and entered, Sophie lifted her head from her book and smiled at him while Parker continued to stare out of the window.
The treatment he'd gotten at the facility had changed Eliot on a very basic level but next to nothing showed in his physical appearance. Parker had not been so lucky. The biggest change was her hands and feet, bones and sinew had moved and joints worked differently. Her palms and soles were covered with the same satae that a gecko had and the skin had changed to resemble the scales of a lizard. The scales became more skin-like midway to the elbow and knee. The rest of her body was mostly unchanged although if one looked closer you could see that her pupils were slitted and that her skin color seemed to change to reflect her surroundings. Right now she was curled up in a navy wing chair and her skin and hair had taken on a faint blue tint.
"Hey Parker." Eliot tried to keep his voice neutral and friendly without sounding like he talked to a spooked horse. "How are you today?"
Her only response was a quick glance his way and a minute shrug of a shoulder.
"I'm going out for a run. Need to get my endurance back... Nate has me wearing a heart monitor though. I think he would have made a great scientist if he hadn't gone into chasing people..." he continued, telling her about his day so far and the hearing test. She didn't answer but her posture relaxed just a tiny bit and he could smell her mood changing. When he finally got up to leave Parker's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist and she looked up at him.
"Be careful. Don't let them take you again."
"Oh, sweetheart you know I will. And I'll smell them before they find me now too...Don't worry, I'm not so easy to catch anymore." He squeezed her wrist reassuringly before releasing it and walking out of the room with a nod to Sophie.
Autumn was coming and the air was high and clear when he ran. Some trees had already started turning their leaves but most were still green. It had only been a few days since they arrived here but it felt like forever. This place was so far from the dark silent cell and putting unpleasant memories behind him had always been one of the things that made Eliot so good at what he did. As he followed the trail running around the little nearby lake he let his thoughts flow freely, tumbling like the swallows that had their nests under the edge of the roof. His new senses made the run even more interesting with smells and sounds he hadn't noticed before making themselves known.
The last few weeks had been hell but as he listened to the sounds of the forest he almost felt thankful towards his assailants. Of course, if the others hadn't found him and gotten him out he probably never would have escaped and the thought of spending the rest of his life in that dark cell chilled him to the bone. Somehow they had to pay, somehow he would make them pay.
***
It was almost two weeks before Parker slowly started to emerge from her shell. She began coming down to have meals with the rest of them and sometimes there was even the shade of a smile on her lips, often in response to something Hardison said or did. They all started to relax and believe that maybe they would be able to back to working cases soon. That's why it was so surprising when Parker suddenly disappeared. Sophie came rushing into Eliot's room in the middle of the night and he nearly lashed out at her before realizing who it was.
"She's gone, Parker's gone!" That woke him up completely.
"Did she leave on her own? Did someone take her?" He realized when he said it that it sounded silly. No one knew they were here and Hardison had rigged the place with some heavy duty security measures, anyone who'd managed to get in would have to be at least as good as Parker herself and he only knew of one person even remotely close to that skill-level.
"Did she say anything?"
"No, nothin... oh wait. She did seem to go back to her even more silent self after dinner."
"Something must have happened... " Eliot pulled on clothing as they talked and soon he was out the door. He stopped outside Sophie's and Parker's room and sniffed the air, finding nothing but traces of Sophie's scent interlaced with sharp spikes of fear he continued on. At the front door he ran into Hardison who was checking the security system.
"Only place showing any sign of tampering is the window to their room." Eliot nodded and exited, heading around the building. Below the girl's window he finally picked up Parker's characteristic scent, it didn't smell like she was panicking but there was something odd about it. He crouched near the ground trying to find any footsteps but it was still too dark and Parker was too light footed to leave many anyway. As he moved around Eliot realized that he could actually smell which direction Parker had gone off in and he wasted no more time following the trail.
He found her by the lake. She was perched on a rock near the edge of the water and as soon as he saw her Eliot realized what the odd part of her scent was. Sadness. Her whole being radiated it and she didn't move as he walked up to stand beside her.
"This here nose makes hide and seek rather boring."
"I wasn't hiding. Not from you."
"I can see that... wanna tell me why you ran?"
"They keep looking at me. When they think I don't see."
"I don't think they mean anything by it, sweetheart."
"They didn't use to stare."
"Well, we are changed. Those evil bastards did change us..."
"I'm still the same on the inside though."
"I'm not. I'm... it wasn't the first time for me. I've been locked up before. I don't like it but I know how to deal with it. Still, this time..." Eliot trailed off. He hadn't looked too hard at his own feelings. Not really.
"I didn't know you were there."
"I heard you once... or I thought I did... I wasn't sure"
"I would have left without looking for you"
"It doesn't matter." He said the words and meant them but the thought chilled him.
"It wasn't my first time either..."
"Someone locked you up before?"
"Yes, and that was much smaller. And I didn't have these eyes then."
"You can see in the dark?"
"It's like night vision goggles. I think I see the heat... I wonder if I would see all kinds of lasers now..." She finished thoughtfully.
"You know Nate and Hardison could help you try that out. They've been helping me make some sense out of what I can do..." Eliot was interrupted by his phone beeping.
"Yeah. She's with me. We'll be back in a while. Don' worry. Sure. Bye" He hung up and slid the phone back into his pocket. "Nate - he was worried." Parker nodded.
"I know they want to help, but it's hard. I don't... I never... I was." She stopped to take a breath and started again. "I was just beginning to feel right when they picked me up. I was gonna ask Hardison to have dinner with me, for real, like on a date kind of."
"You still can..."
"But I look all freaky. Boys don't like freaky."
"He ain't most boys ya know."
"But why does he keep staring? And Sophie too and sometimes Nate..."
"I don't think they can help it. This was hard on them too... they couldn't find us at first. They thought they'd lost us."
"But we're back now..."
"Yeah, but sometimes they might have to make sure. Sophie was really afraid tonight when you disappeared and so was Hardison. He was trying to make sure they hadn't taken you again."
"I just had to get out"
"It's ok... maybe next time leave a note or tell someone though...."
"I will. So... you think they don't mind me looking like this?" Parker lifted her hand and looked at it in the faint pre-dawn light. It shimmered and she flexed her new joints back and forth.
"I think they are curious, probably want to touch you to see what it feels like but no, I don't think they mind." As he said it Eliot realized it was true for himself as well. Not only had the others come for him but they didn't mind him coming out changed either.
"Will we be alright?"
"I don't think we can get rid of whatever they did to us, but we can learn to live with it, make it our own..."
"Can we get revenge?"
"Oh definitely. We will find them and we will make them pay. It's what we do after all..."
"Good!" Parker's fierceness shone through in her reply and after a brief pause she continued. "We can go back now... I'm not sad anymore." Eliot smiled at her as she jumped down.
"Hey, we should call ahead and have Nate make us hot chocolate..."
"He likes you, you know..."
"Who? Nate?"
"Yeah, he looks at you like he looks at Sophie." Parker sounded very sure.
"Nah... really?"
"Yes, ask him - you'll see."
Eliot made a non-committal sound as he picked up his phone again and called Nate. He didn't dare hope Parker was right. Heartache was something he could do without.
When they got back to the house Sophie hugged them both and told Parker to never worry her like that again, Hardison was close behind and he held her just a little bit longer. When he finally let go Parker glanced back at Eliot and he could see a faint little blush on her cheeks.
***
"Parker, that is amazing!" Hardison called up to Parker where she was perched high on the wall, near the ceiling of the old ballroom. She tilted her head backwards and smiled brightly back at him, ponytail swinging like a pendulum.
"Can you get me some rope soon? I want to make a harness so I can try climbing across to that chandelier..."
"I'll go into the city tomorrow and find some. Seriously, there won't be a security system around you can't beat..." He sounded almost awed.
"I know, isn't it great!" She moved back down the wall head first and when she was close enough to the floor she loosened her grip with her feet by flexing her toes and bent backwards to land on the floor in a fluid motion. Hardison swallowed hard as he watched then he suddenly stretched his back and set his jaw like he'd made a decision.
"Parker... I.. uhm.... Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, what do you want to ask?"
"I was... well... if you like you could come with me to the city. We could go get rope for your harness and then... uhm maybe goseeamovieandhavesomedinner..."
"Alec, are you asking me out on a date?"
"Uhm... yeah..."
"Sure! But can we have sex tonight even if we don't have the date until tomorrow?"
"Sex... with.. and the... Hells yeah!" Parker's smile was wider and more brilliant that Hardison had ever seen it and it warmed his soul.
"Hmmm... do we have to wait until tonight? I am kind of horny now..."
"No! Uhm... no. We don't have to wait... I have a room. It's over ther..." Parker silenced him with a kiss before pulling him with her out of the room. In the door they ran into Eliot.
"We're going to go have sex! See you later!" Eliot couldn't help but chuckle at Hardison's shell-shocked expression. He imagined he would see that quite a lot in the next days.
Still in a good mood Eliot looked around the ballroom and realized he was alone, he didn't feel like keeping himself company at the moment so he moved right along and went to find Nate and Sophie. He found them in the small common area near the kitchen, Nate was on his computer while Sophie was reading a book on the sofa.
"Hello Eliot, you look happy?" Sophie lowered her book and looked at him questioningly.
"I just met Parker and a very shocked and pleased Hardison..." Eliot chuckled again.
"So he finally asked! Good for him... Oh! This means I get my own room back! I don't mind sharing with Parker but believe it or not, she snores. Even with the fewer nightmares I still haven't gotten enough sleep..." Sophie ended with a dramatic hand wave and flopped backwards on the sofa and Eliot felt that now familiar twinge of attraction again. He sat down on the other end of the sofa and looked over at Nate. Maybe it was the inspiration from Parker and Hardison or maybe it was something else but suddenly he had to ask.
"So when are you two going to follow Hardison's example and do something before it's too late? I mean you don't even need my newly excellent nose to smell the tension between you two..."
Nate and Sophie looked at each other and something Eliot didn't catch passed between them. It was Sophie who spoke first.
"We already tried, a long time ago... and sometimes it takes more than just desire and respect to make something work." She looked up at him. "Me and Nate we're just a bit too broken, a bit too colored by our past"
There was a sadness in her eyes but also something else. Then Nate spoke up. "We do really care for each other, a lot, it might even be love, but when we get closer than friends we become like... two glass balls dangling together, every time we knock together we threaten to fracture and break." And there was that same look in Nate's eyes. Eliot couldn't really figure out what it was...
"There is one thing that could save us though." Sophie's voice came from close by, somehow she'd manage to scoot closer to him on the sofa without him noticing. "We need someone to balance us, to keep us from breaking." Sophie's voice was soft and honest, far from the one she used on a mark, and it sparked something in Eliot's chest, something he hadn't dared hope for. He turned his head and looked into her eyes. "We need you." The words came out closer to a whisper than anything else.
"Are you offering what I think you're offering?"
"If you'll have us." Nate's voice came from behind him and now Eliot could smell the arousal in the air. He reached out a hand and stroked Sophie's hair behind her ear.
"I dreamed of you, both of you, when I was in there. I tried to remember everything about you. I... I think it kept me sane. Thinking of you, hoping you were out there, safe, and maybe even looking for me." He let his hand fall down, stroking along her bare arm.
"Is that a yes?" He could feel the goosebumps rising on her skin as she asked.
"Yes." He breathed out softly.
"That's all we needed..." Sophie captured his lips and swallowed his moan as Nate leaned forward and nuzzled his neck.
They shifted and moved and somehow Eliot ended up sandwiched between the other two on the sofa. His hands were busy mapping out Sophie's body as they kissed while Nate as doing the same to him. He gasped as a hand slid along the top of his jeans and felt Sophie smile against his lips.
"Been wanting to do this for so long...all of this" Eliot growled in agreement and turned his head to kiss Nate for the first time as well. Their kiss was more of a battle, a fight for dominance and Nate's fingers tightened in his hair making the growl change into a moan.
"Like that, don't you?" Eliot moaned deep in his chest again when Nate pulled lightly at the hair in his hand. Sophie took advantage of his distraction and unbuttoned his shirt, following her hands with her lips and tongue lapping little kitten licks all the way down his chest.
Eliot let the scent of them wash over him, the earthy muskiness of Nate mixed with the sweet almost floral of Sophie and created a new scent, one that was uniquely them, and it went straight from his nose to his dick. He growled low in his throat and pulled them closer, letting his hands roam and mouth taste that which he thought he would never have.
Somehow his pants disappeared and as he helped Sophie out of her shirt Nate did the same with her skirt. Sophie kissed him hotly again before sliding down his body and letting Nate take her place. Distracted by kisses and trying to get Nate to an equal state of undress as the two of them the sudden warm heat around his cock surprised him and when he looked down to see Sophie looking back at him with wicked smiling eyes and her lips stretched around his length he couldn't help but moan.
"She looks beautiful like that, don't she." Nate whispered into his ear as his fingers pinched a nipple and drew another moan out of Eliot. "We are going to make you feel so good." Nate's hands were warm against his skin, painting broad swipes of heat while his lips kissed and nipped along Eliot's throat. The hands traveled down, taking a detour to stroke Sophie's slowly bobbing head and Eliot felt the heat of Nate's body behind him shift a little to reach for something. The first tentative touch of coldness near his entrance made him tense a bit but then Sophie slid up to suck softly at the head of his cock while letting her tongue swirl against the slick skin and he had to fight to not snap his hips forward. She released the head with a faint plop and looked up at him again.
"Relax and let us take care of you. Trust us" With a start Eliot realized that he did, he did trust them with all that he was and all that he had become. Then Nate's finger slid inside him and brushed against his prostate and he stopped thinking all together. Sophie came up for another kiss as Nate worked a second finger into him and the sensations carried Eliot higher and higher. He let his hands rest on Sophie's hips as he lost himself in the kiss. It had been a long time since he was last touched like this and when she ended the kiss with a nip on his lowers lip and slid back down to swallow him in one swift movement he barely has time to growl a warning before coming down her throat and arching his back.
Nate didn't give him time to relax, taking advantage of his post orgasm bliss to slide a third finger in. Dazed Eliot fumbled and pulled Sophie close to him as he pressed backwards to get Nate to hit that spot again. He let his own fingers find Sophie's wetness and his enhanced hearing gave him a new appreciation of her breathless little moan as he let his thumb slide along the side of her clitoris.
"Floor." Came Nate's rough whisper before he tilted them over, getting Eliot on all fours over Sophie and himself behind and over the both of them. Pleased with the better access Eliot captured one of Sophie's nipples and graced it softly with his teeth in counterpoint with his hand still moving between her legs causing a series of little moans to tumble from her lips. Nate withdrew his fingers, making Eliot rock backwards at the loss of sensation. He released the nipple in his mouth and worked his way downwards Sophie's body until his mouth took over what his hand had started. As his tongue painted intricate patterns among her folds she arched her back and let her own hands come up to caress her breasts.
"So beautiful..." Nate let his hands slide along Eliot's strong back before he settled them on the other man's hips. He reveled in the feel of hard muscle against his skin as he lined up and thrust into the welcoming heat. His action pulled a muffled moan from where Eliot had his face buried between Sophie's legs. The vibration from the moan caused Sophie to breathe in sharply and let one hand drop to Eliot's head where it tangled in the silky strands. Nate set the pace, slow and steady as he wanted this to last for as long as possible. He let one hand travel over Eliot's hip to his cock and found it hard again - it seemed his new-found stamina had some other affects too. He caressed the hard flesh under his hands a few times before leaning over to whisper in Eliot's ear.
"I want you in her, want to see you take her" Judging by the shiver going through Eliot's body he wasn't opposed to the idea. He trailed kisses upwards Sophie's body, detouring to swirl his tongue around each nipple, until he reached her mouth again. As their lips met again she raised her hips and let him slide into her with Nate's next thrust.
The sounds and smells enveloped Eliot completely. The three of them moved in a disjointed primal rhythm, carrying them towards release and it didn't take long before they tumbled down together in a sticky tangle. Cradled between Sophie and Nate Eliot finally felt like he'd come home.
In a bed not far away Parker felt the same way. As Hardison mapped her skin with his hands and tongue, reveling in every change of texture and new feeling she let go of the final traces of fear and doubt. When she looked into his enraptured face as she rode him hard with his hands on her hips and the texture of her own finger sliding over her clit making her shiver she finally felt safe enough to let go.
Chapter Four