Children Lost and Found
Title: Children Lost and Found
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Nate and Eliot, gen
Verse: Steal The Sky
Fandoms: Leverage, Firefly, Supernatural
Summary: They lost everything but found this. They arn't sure what would happen if they lost this.
Notes: For the caught in a bank robbery square on my H/c bingo card.
Takes place during the Bank Shot Job (suprise).
Really, they should all just know and assume by now that there were certain laws of the verse.
The alliance only paid attention when it was really inconvenient, the things Dean and Sam hunted would pop out of the woodwork as soon as the decision was made that the brothers should hold down the fort on Leverage while they ran a con, and while fortune may favor the bold it liked to kick them in the ass first.
“What was that?” Eliot’s voice sounded over the com. Hardison made a mental note to adjust the com’s sensors again because the roar of the mule Eliot was driving must have been mucking with things because he did *not* hear Nate say what he thought he said before that.
“The bank’s being robbed.” Nate repeated at a whisper. “Hardison, Parker, get out of here.”
Yeah, two off worlders standing across the street from a bank robbery… they turned to try to walk casually down the road to the nearest side alley.
“Why doesn’t it ever go smooth?” He asked the air, trying to suppress his panic. Nate and Sophie were in a bank that was being robbed and Eliot was an hour away clearing up the last of the con and oh yeah.
He and Parker would have to do something to rescue Nate and Sophie only this went way beyond…
“Hardison, deep breaths.” Sophie said quietly. “We’re still on coms. You can do this. You’ve been doing this for months.”
Hardison took in a deep breath and let it out. Of course Sophie knew he was panicing and of course she could guess why.
He was a HTO. He might be coming up on six months free but he hacked and did the tech work. He didn’t do all of… this. This? Out here with the run down towns and the heat and the dust and the tech that makes Earth That Was look like a core world science lab?
So not his world.
And yeah they were still on coms with Sophie and Nate but what happened if they went off com?
What would happen to them if Sophie and Nate got killed?
He wasn’t ready to jump back into the mess that was life with jobs and bills and taxes and all the shit Nate was teaching him how to do and he was figuring out for himself and Parker would probably end up stabbing someone and getting sent to a psyche ward and Eliot…
Okay, Eliot would be fine until he died anyway.
Suddenly there were horses riding down the main road, the town’s sheriff riding in and
AH hell, they were all gonna die.
~*~
The good news was the adrenalin.
She was scared. That got her adrenalin going which helped her to focus.
The bad news was she wasn’t about to jump off a building or break into one or anything.
“I need to what?” She asked, horror and refusal to understand coloring her voice.
“Steal a shuttle then join Hardison. Pretend to be Feds. Head off the local police. Buy us time and make sure no one gets shot.” Sophie was using her soft tone which Parker was pretty sure was supposed to be soothing but she didn’t feel at all soothed.
She could steal a shuttle. She could steal a shuttle in her sleep but…
“You’ll do fine.” Sophie reassured again. “Ju-“
“Parker.” Nate interrupted. “Have you ever robbed a bank that was being robbed?”
She thought. Considered.
Then smiled.
She wasn’t grifting. She was just robbing a bank. One that was being robbed. Which was so cool.
She stole a shuttle and headed to meet up with Hardison and it was somewhere between the meet up and breaking down the time to rob the bank that she wondered what would happen if something happened.
Sophie hadn’t managed to calm her down before Nate cut in but something about Sophie was calming when the woman was actually there and even over the comms. Sometimes Sophie made Parker believe that someday she might be able to do things like not stab the mark or smile and laugh at the right times to get the mark to give her money.
And Nate knew how to redirect her and put things in her perspective. Sophie made people make sense but Nate made everything else make sense and he made it so she could do what she loved to do but never made her feel like her rigging was really a leash and there were no whispering silences on Leverage.
Leverage was actually Home. Like she hadn’t had since.
What would happen if they lost this?
~*~
Eliot waited. He stayed silent, still, whole attention split between watching the suitcase at the end of the road and listening over the coms for some sign of something to tell him things weren’t as bad as they seemed.
That Nate and Sophie weren’t hostage and wounded and maybe dying for all he knew.
But they were and damnit why didn’t anything ever go smooth?
Eliot listened to the silence ringing after the feedback of a com being destroyed, for the first time in years feeling almost like praying, wishing he’d taken the chance to tell Nate and Sophie exactly why they weren’t allowed to get themselves killed in some bank on this back water hell-hole.
It had started out as something he said to soothe a skittish Parker months ago but Parker and Hardison were all the clan he had left. He’d look after them because they needed looking after and it was Eliot’s job.
But he couldn’t look after them for much longer. Sophie and Nate had to take care of them and teach them how to take care of themselves and Eliot was trusting Nate and Sophie to be alive long enough to do it.
Damit.
The judge demanded his money back just as the dealers arrived for the drop and Eliot ran down the road and this whole mess was spiraling out too fast and he just hoped they could pull together enough to see it through.
~*~
The job was wrapped and Eliot had stitched up Nate and everyone was safe back aboard Leverage.
It was the night after a job and Eliot had cooked a celebratory dinner made out of actual food and Nate had made it up to eat with them and Sam was already putting in the coordinates for their next job.
Everything was winding down and Sophie could see Parker, Hardison, and Eliot finishing up the activities they’d gotten up to in the lounge area. They’d be heading off to bed soon but the nightly reading didn’t happen the night after a job.
But… They seemed on edge and it occurred to Sophie that it was odd for them to be lingering like this. Eliot would normally have disappeared into the engine room for some quality time with Dean (a thing that amused her nearly as much as it gave a odd warm feeling in her stomach) Hardison would hang out with Sam on the bridge and Parker would do whatever it was Parker did when she disappeared.
Sophie sipped her tea and watched as they filed out. Something was amiss. They were all much more on edge tonight than they usually were after a job, no matter how far south it had gone.
A realization struck her and she smiled, finishing her tea, and casually following them down to the dorms. She slipped into her room to retrieve the present she’d been saving for a special time before slipping back across the hall to where they were all settling in for the night.
Three sets of eyes found her as she ambled in, book under her arm, settling down on a chair. “You all bedded down?” If she added a slight lull to her voice they probably wouldn’t notice.
Parker sat up on her bunk and raised her hand. “Can I get some water?”
Sophie smiled and went over to the sink in the corner, retrieving a glass of water and handing it to the girl. She had never gone through these motions herself but she knew them. Knew the lull of the dim light, little gestures. A smile to Hardison as he watched her. A brush of her fingers against Eliot’s shoulder as she passed trying to send the calm of her presence through the Reader.
They’d never admit it but the three of them were anxious because they’d almost lost Nate and Sophie today.
She was a companion. This wasn’t a role she’d been called to fill before but… somehow when she handed these three their futures in a small briefcase she’d known this was what she’d signed up for. She could play this role when they needed reassurances. She’d played roles far worse for those she cared far less about.
Parker smiled at Sophie over the top of her glass, retreating into the nest of blankets and pulling a much loved if ragged stuffed animal to sit on her lap.
Sophie sat back down on her chair, glancing between Hardison laying on his side watching and Eliot flat on his back with his eyes closed and some of the lines eased out of his face making him look younger than he was for once…
She smiled and picked up the book in her hand. “A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away…”
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Nate and Eliot, gen
Verse: Steal The Sky
Fandoms: Leverage, Firefly, Supernatural
Summary: They lost everything but found this. They arn't sure what would happen if they lost this.
Notes: For the caught in a bank robbery square on my H/c bingo card.
Takes place during the Bank Shot Job (suprise).
Really, they should all just know and assume by now that there were certain laws of the verse.
The alliance only paid attention when it was really inconvenient, the things Dean and Sam hunted would pop out of the woodwork as soon as the decision was made that the brothers should hold down the fort on Leverage while they ran a con, and while fortune may favor the bold it liked to kick them in the ass first.
“What was that?” Eliot’s voice sounded over the com. Hardison made a mental note to adjust the com’s sensors again because the roar of the mule Eliot was driving must have been mucking with things because he did *not* hear Nate say what he thought he said before that.
“The bank’s being robbed.” Nate repeated at a whisper. “Hardison, Parker, get out of here.”
Yeah, two off worlders standing across the street from a bank robbery… they turned to try to walk casually down the road to the nearest side alley.
“Why doesn’t it ever go smooth?” He asked the air, trying to suppress his panic. Nate and Sophie were in a bank that was being robbed and Eliot was an hour away clearing up the last of the con and oh yeah.
He and Parker would have to do something to rescue Nate and Sophie only this went way beyond…
“Hardison, deep breaths.” Sophie said quietly. “We’re still on coms. You can do this. You’ve been doing this for months.”
Hardison took in a deep breath and let it out. Of course Sophie knew he was panicing and of course she could guess why.
He was a HTO. He might be coming up on six months free but he hacked and did the tech work. He didn’t do all of… this. This? Out here with the run down towns and the heat and the dust and the tech that makes Earth That Was look like a core world science lab?
So not his world.
And yeah they were still on coms with Sophie and Nate but what happened if they went off com?
What would happen to them if Sophie and Nate got killed?
He wasn’t ready to jump back into the mess that was life with jobs and bills and taxes and all the shit Nate was teaching him how to do and he was figuring out for himself and Parker would probably end up stabbing someone and getting sent to a psyche ward and Eliot…
Okay, Eliot would be fine until he died anyway.
Suddenly there were horses riding down the main road, the town’s sheriff riding in and
AH hell, they were all gonna die.
~*~
The good news was the adrenalin.
She was scared. That got her adrenalin going which helped her to focus.
The bad news was she wasn’t about to jump off a building or break into one or anything.
“I need to what?” She asked, horror and refusal to understand coloring her voice.
“Steal a shuttle then join Hardison. Pretend to be Feds. Head off the local police. Buy us time and make sure no one gets shot.” Sophie was using her soft tone which Parker was pretty sure was supposed to be soothing but she didn’t feel at all soothed.
She could steal a shuttle. She could steal a shuttle in her sleep but…
“You’ll do fine.” Sophie reassured again. “Ju-“
“Parker.” Nate interrupted. “Have you ever robbed a bank that was being robbed?”
She thought. Considered.
Then smiled.
She wasn’t grifting. She was just robbing a bank. One that was being robbed. Which was so cool.
She stole a shuttle and headed to meet up with Hardison and it was somewhere between the meet up and breaking down the time to rob the bank that she wondered what would happen if something happened.
Sophie hadn’t managed to calm her down before Nate cut in but something about Sophie was calming when the woman was actually there and even over the comms. Sometimes Sophie made Parker believe that someday she might be able to do things like not stab the mark or smile and laugh at the right times to get the mark to give her money.
And Nate knew how to redirect her and put things in her perspective. Sophie made people make sense but Nate made everything else make sense and he made it so she could do what she loved to do but never made her feel like her rigging was really a leash and there were no whispering silences on Leverage.
Leverage was actually Home. Like she hadn’t had since.
What would happen if they lost this?
~*~
Eliot waited. He stayed silent, still, whole attention split between watching the suitcase at the end of the road and listening over the coms for some sign of something to tell him things weren’t as bad as they seemed.
That Nate and Sophie weren’t hostage and wounded and maybe dying for all he knew.
But they were and damnit why didn’t anything ever go smooth?
Eliot listened to the silence ringing after the feedback of a com being destroyed, for the first time in years feeling almost like praying, wishing he’d taken the chance to tell Nate and Sophie exactly why they weren’t allowed to get themselves killed in some bank on this back water hell-hole.
It had started out as something he said to soothe a skittish Parker months ago but Parker and Hardison were all the clan he had left. He’d look after them because they needed looking after and it was Eliot’s job.
But he couldn’t look after them for much longer. Sophie and Nate had to take care of them and teach them how to take care of themselves and Eliot was trusting Nate and Sophie to be alive long enough to do it.
Damit.
The judge demanded his money back just as the dealers arrived for the drop and Eliot ran down the road and this whole mess was spiraling out too fast and he just hoped they could pull together enough to see it through.
~*~
The job was wrapped and Eliot had stitched up Nate and everyone was safe back aboard Leverage.
It was the night after a job and Eliot had cooked a celebratory dinner made out of actual food and Nate had made it up to eat with them and Sam was already putting in the coordinates for their next job.
Everything was winding down and Sophie could see Parker, Hardison, and Eliot finishing up the activities they’d gotten up to in the lounge area. They’d be heading off to bed soon but the nightly reading didn’t happen the night after a job.
But… They seemed on edge and it occurred to Sophie that it was odd for them to be lingering like this. Eliot would normally have disappeared into the engine room for some quality time with Dean (a thing that amused her nearly as much as it gave a odd warm feeling in her stomach) Hardison would hang out with Sam on the bridge and Parker would do whatever it was Parker did when she disappeared.
Sophie sipped her tea and watched as they filed out. Something was amiss. They were all much more on edge tonight than they usually were after a job, no matter how far south it had gone.
A realization struck her and she smiled, finishing her tea, and casually following them down to the dorms. She slipped into her room to retrieve the present she’d been saving for a special time before slipping back across the hall to where they were all settling in for the night.
Three sets of eyes found her as she ambled in, book under her arm, settling down on a chair. “You all bedded down?” If she added a slight lull to her voice they probably wouldn’t notice.
Parker sat up on her bunk and raised her hand. “Can I get some water?”
Sophie smiled and went over to the sink in the corner, retrieving a glass of water and handing it to the girl. She had never gone through these motions herself but she knew them. Knew the lull of the dim light, little gestures. A smile to Hardison as he watched her. A brush of her fingers against Eliot’s shoulder as she passed trying to send the calm of her presence through the Reader.
They’d never admit it but the three of them were anxious because they’d almost lost Nate and Sophie today.
She was a companion. This wasn’t a role she’d been called to fill before but… somehow when she handed these three their futures in a small briefcase she’d known this was what she’d signed up for. She could play this role when they needed reassurances. She’d played roles far worse for those she cared far less about.
Parker smiled at Sophie over the top of her glass, retreating into the nest of blankets and pulling a much loved if ragged stuffed animal to sit on her lap.
Sophie sat back down on her chair, glancing between Hardison laying on his side watching and Eliot flat on his back with his eyes closed and some of the lines eased out of his face making him look younger than he was for once…
She smiled and picked up the book in her hand. “A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away…”