Fic: His
Title: His
author: scout_lover
Fandom: Leverage
Character/Pairing: Archie Leach
Rating: PG
Spoilers: S3 and S4, especially “The Inside Job” (S3) and “The Last Dam Job” (S4)
Warnings: None
Word Count: 896
Summary: She may not be his daughter, but she’ll always be his
Author’s Note: Written for leverage-bingo for the prompt “Archie Leach.” Also, I gave his daughter a name.
He knew he didn’t really have any right.
After all, she wasn’t really his daughter, despite what he’d told Anne, and he’d relinquished any right to have a place in her life when he’d let her slip out of his all those years ago.
But.
In her own unique way, Parker was as much his child as those born to him and Marilyn. He had taken her in, raised her (even if only for a short while), trained her … and, in his own unique way, loved her.
After all, he’d shared freely and openly with her all those parts of himself he’d had to keep hidden from his “true” family - the pure beauty of a well drawn and perfectly executed plan, the thrill of the heist, the exhilaration of a clean getaway. And, of course, the joy of the take.
He loved his real children and grandchildren fiercely. They were his pride and his his joy. But Parker-
Parker had been his delight.
And even after she’d left him he’d kept up with her, through old contacts and news reports. Oh, the news reports never mentioned her by name, of course; she was far too good for that. But he recognized her in the details, knew which heists were hers through some indefinable something, and felt a strangely fatherly swell of pride at the knowledge that her skills had surpassed even his own.
Parker had become a thief’s thief.
Which was why he’d contacted her for that Wakefield job. He’d hesitated, not at all certain how she’d react after so long with no word from him, but in the end the threat to his family had decided the issue for him. He’d needed her and the skills she alone possessed.
And she’d come through for him, though in a way that had done his heart and blood pressure little good. He’d merely wanted her help with the planning, but, to his horror - and terror - she’d gone in without him, taking his place and risking her life in a display of recklessness that went against everything he’d ever taught her.
Of course, he blamed that on the company she was keeping these days. Nate Ford and his band of “merry men.” He’d been appalled at first by the thought of her wasting herself with these … people. She was a thief, of the kind that only comes along once in a generation, and she was squandering her talent on Ford’s ridiculous Robin Hood crusade. But they didn’t seem to realize that, didn’t seem to appreciate the wonder in their midst, seemed to have no understanding of the rare and unique treasure that was his Parker-
Except that they did. They had been every bit as frantic to save her as he had. To save her, not just their thief. They had charged almost blindly into that building and taken on that monster of a security system, had put their lives on the line for her.
She’d slipped away again after that job, but he’d still kept up with her. He began reading the financial news with a new attention to detail … and with the same flush of pride. Apparently taking down CEOs was as much an art as stealing paintings and jewels. And Parker’s new “crew” wasn’t quite as slipshod and undisciplined as he’d first thought.
Something in him had relaxed at that. His little bird might be in good hands after all.
Then, out of the blue, she’d contacted him again, as only she could (and, to his pride, her lifts were better than ever). This time, they needed him. After so long out of the game, he was back in, if only for this one job. And while the thrill of the heist had been as alluring as ever, it had been the chance to work with Parker and watch her with her new crew that had truly appealed.
He needed to see how she was doing. He needed to know they were taking care of her.
He didn’t really have that right, he knew that. He wasn’t really her father.
But she would always be his Parker.
Only now she was theirs as well.
He could see it in the way they treated her as they worked to take down that Dubenich fellow. They might not always understand her - she was Parker, after all - but they did truly care about her. And that young man Hardison loved her.
More to the point, she cared about - no, she loved - them. She really had found a family of her own.
He still wasn’t entirely at ease about what she was doing with them - if Dubenich had come back to seek revenge against them, what was to stop others from trying? - but he no longer doubted them. He had studied them with the same close scrutiny he’d given countless security systems, and had decided his treasure, his Parker, was safe with them. More importantly, she was happy with them.
And he was happy for her.
Maybe he didn’t really have that right. But, hell, he was a thief. He was Archie Leach. He’d been stealing things that weren’t his for decades. And if he had to steal a father’s right to love and care about this girl-
That just might be the greatest heist of his life.
The End
author: scout_lover
Fandom: Leverage
Character/Pairing: Archie Leach
Rating: PG
Spoilers: S3 and S4, especially “The Inside Job” (S3) and “The Last Dam Job” (S4)
Warnings: None
Word Count: 896
Summary: She may not be his daughter, but she’ll always be his
Author’s Note: Written for leverage-bingo for the prompt “Archie Leach.” Also, I gave his daughter a name.
He knew he didn’t really have any right.
After all, she wasn’t really his daughter, despite what he’d told Anne, and he’d relinquished any right to have a place in her life when he’d let her slip out of his all those years ago.
But.
In her own unique way, Parker was as much his child as those born to him and Marilyn. He had taken her in, raised her (even if only for a short while), trained her … and, in his own unique way, loved her.
After all, he’d shared freely and openly with her all those parts of himself he’d had to keep hidden from his “true” family - the pure beauty of a well drawn and perfectly executed plan, the thrill of the heist, the exhilaration of a clean getaway. And, of course, the joy of the take.
He loved his real children and grandchildren fiercely. They were his pride and his his joy. But Parker-
Parker had been his delight.
And even after she’d left him he’d kept up with her, through old contacts and news reports. Oh, the news reports never mentioned her by name, of course; she was far too good for that. But he recognized her in the details, knew which heists were hers through some indefinable something, and felt a strangely fatherly swell of pride at the knowledge that her skills had surpassed even his own.
Parker had become a thief’s thief.
Which was why he’d contacted her for that Wakefield job. He’d hesitated, not at all certain how she’d react after so long with no word from him, but in the end the threat to his family had decided the issue for him. He’d needed her and the skills she alone possessed.
And she’d come through for him, though in a way that had done his heart and blood pressure little good. He’d merely wanted her help with the planning, but, to his horror - and terror - she’d gone in without him, taking his place and risking her life in a display of recklessness that went against everything he’d ever taught her.
Of course, he blamed that on the company she was keeping these days. Nate Ford and his band of “merry men.” He’d been appalled at first by the thought of her wasting herself with these … people. She was a thief, of the kind that only comes along once in a generation, and she was squandering her talent on Ford’s ridiculous Robin Hood crusade. But they didn’t seem to realize that, didn’t seem to appreciate the wonder in their midst, seemed to have no understanding of the rare and unique treasure that was his Parker-
Except that they did. They had been every bit as frantic to save her as he had. To save her, not just their thief. They had charged almost blindly into that building and taken on that monster of a security system, had put their lives on the line for her.
She’d slipped away again after that job, but he’d still kept up with her. He began reading the financial news with a new attention to detail … and with the same flush of pride. Apparently taking down CEOs was as much an art as stealing paintings and jewels. And Parker’s new “crew” wasn’t quite as slipshod and undisciplined as he’d first thought.
Something in him had relaxed at that. His little bird might be in good hands after all.
Then, out of the blue, she’d contacted him again, as only she could (and, to his pride, her lifts were better than ever). This time, they needed him. After so long out of the game, he was back in, if only for this one job. And while the thrill of the heist had been as alluring as ever, it had been the chance to work with Parker and watch her with her new crew that had truly appealed.
He needed to see how she was doing. He needed to know they were taking care of her.
He didn’t really have that right, he knew that. He wasn’t really her father.
But she would always be his Parker.
Only now she was theirs as well.
He could see it in the way they treated her as they worked to take down that Dubenich fellow. They might not always understand her - she was Parker, after all - but they did truly care about her. And that young man Hardison loved her.
More to the point, she cared about - no, she loved - them. She really had found a family of her own.
He still wasn’t entirely at ease about what she was doing with them - if Dubenich had come back to seek revenge against them, what was to stop others from trying? - but he no longer doubted them. He had studied them with the same close scrutiny he’d given countless security systems, and had decided his treasure, his Parker, was safe with them. More importantly, she was happy with them.
And he was happy for her.
Maybe he didn’t really have that right. But, hell, he was a thief. He was Archie Leach. He’d been stealing things that weren’t his for decades. And if he had to steal a father’s right to love and care about this girl-
That just might be the greatest heist of his life.
The End