"I just will, thank you," Kathy said, amused. She was at the sink, filling up a kettle with water. She looked warm and cozy in a fluzzy purple bathrobe and beneath that were flannel pj pants, light blue with black gymnast silhouettes patterned over them. "Tea? I think we still have some of the good stuff I got for you."
You know, Eliot didn't even remember that she was staying here. But of course she was, why wouldn't she? He had plenty of space.
"Sure thing, darlin'." He let Val out to do her business -- pants and all -- then came back over to the kitchen island, where he could watch Kathy go about the business of tea making. "I tell you lately how nice it is havin' you around?"
Neither Parker nor Hardison could appreciate a proper cup of tea.
"Only every time I appreciate vegetables out loud," Kathy teased, getting down two wineglasses from the cupboard with the rest of the tea supplies. "And last Thursday, when I made dinner and the only ingredient that came from a box was the pasta." She grinned at him, dropping tea leaves into the bottoms of the glasses and went back to the kettle which was already starting to make noise. "Though if Hardison keeps replacing the milk with orange soda, I might think about moving out."
"You really been here that long?" He was mostly teasing, but -- that also didn't sound quite right, did it? There was something he was forgetting. "I can handle the milk. Best stuff comes straight from the goat, anyway. It's that he keeps insisting he can replace actual oranges with it." He opened the fridge again, pointing at the rows and rows of bottles. "This stuff ain't even orange."
The bottles of soda sat contentedly in the fridge, a shade of bright blue found in nature only when attached to something poisonous. "Maybe if he were at least drinking Orangina," Kathy mused, pouring the hot water into the wineglasses. "There's pulp in that, so it's at least made contact with a piece of fruit once in its life?"
She handed Eliot's tea over, a curly straw in tucked neatly inside. "What's on the agenda today, Captain?"
Eliot closed the fridge and took the glass, swirling it a little to see the tea's legs. He settled onto the island's bench and nudged Parker's pinata aside with his elbow while he considered her question.
"Well, someone's gonna have to go up and milk the goat," he mused. "And there's always more paperwork to do at the office." Luke's or the school's office, didn't matter. They were both filled to the brim with paperwork. "And you'll have --" He stopped short and frowned harder. She wasn't in school, was she? She'd graduated last spring.
Actually, she hadn't graduated last spring. She really, really hadn't.
Eliot looked down at his tea again, watching it bubble against the glass.
"You gonna start charging me rent, Eliot?" Kathy laughed, hopping up onto the counter and swinging her legs. "I've got a couple of jobs lined up in Baltimore, if that's what you mean. I sent Parker the plans to go over. Shouldn't need a hitter on this one, though. Gonna just ghost in and out, so fast they won't know what hit 'em--or that they have been hit."
"'Ghost'," Eliot said, still feeling a little -- off. "Ha."
Part of him kept half expecting her to go milky-eyed and gray skinned and try to chomp on his neck. He'd had dreams like that before, especially early last summer, right after they got her video and lost contact. He shook his head.
Val started whining and scratching at the back door
"How'd you get back into town? I can't remember --"
Val barked, loud enough to shake the whole kitchen, and started to pound on the door.
"Jesus, Val! I'm tryin' to have a conversation here!"
"She just wants to come in and have breakfast, Eliot, jeez," Kathy chided, hopping down from the counter and then over to the door, hop hop hop. She opened it and smiled down at the puppy. "Hey there, girl. Don't mind Mr. Grumpy. Things are starting to make sense to him. Mostly by not making sense."
She bent over and handed Val her wineglass of tea, then headed back over to her seat on the counter. "What did you say?" she asked. "Sorry, got distracted by the puppy. I've missed her."
"Got me back? For what?" Kathy asked, also confused. "Oh, you mean my little prank?" She waved a hand. "Don't worry, I'm sure Hardison is working on something for that as we speak. He's a sneaky one, don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."
"Back from, not for." He was starting to get very frustrated. The tea wasn't helping. Who the hell had decided that hot drinks went in stemmed glasses?
"Back from where?" Kathy asked, cocking her head to the side. She ignored his other question, it was irrelevant. "Back from what? Do you really want to know the answers, Eliot? Or should I just get you more tea?"
"From LA." That damn pinata was getting in his way again, trying to get a sip of his tea. Eliot swatted it away and it bit him. "Dammit --" He cut himself off when the thing started clacking its teeth at him.
Well, that was just -- disturbing.
He hopped up from the bench and tried to circle around to where Kathy was with Val, but the kitchen island was too big, and he had to dodge around the stairs to the wine cellar. The pinata trotted along behind him, still trying to nibble on his arm.
It was possible he really didn't want those answers.
"I always said I'd come back," Kathy said reproachfully. "Remember? I promised. I always keep my promises or die trying."
She surfed on Val's back over to the stove, getting further away from Eliot as he tried to get by the stairs. "We should just think about breakfast. Wouldn't that be nice?"
There was another clack-clack-clacking sound, and Kathy leaned over to adjust the blinds, pulling the cord away from where it was clattering against the window pane. "Please stop," she said sadly, like it was his fault the blinds were making such a clamor and it was hurting her feelings. "Could you? Just stop?"
For a moment, he did just that, freezing in place while he calculated how to get around the stupid wine cellar.
He hadn't even known he had a wine cellar.
"I ain't mad that you're back, darlin'," he assured her. "It's the 'die trying' that I got the problem with." He finally gave up on the stairs and just scaled the side of the island. Of course, then there was the island's island, and then that island's island's island. Maybe he could grab the pinata and ride it around the thing, or -- ah. There. Right, he just had to crawl through the cabinets.
The other side opened onto the back yard, putting Eliot's sliding glass door between them now. He tugged on the handle and got it just open enough that he could lean through and talk.
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"Sure thing, darlin'." He let Val out to do her business -- pants and all -- then came back over to the kitchen island, where he could watch Kathy go about the business of tea making. "I tell you lately how nice it is havin' you around?"
Neither Parker nor Hardison could appreciate a proper cup of tea.
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She handed Eliot's tea over, a curly straw in tucked neatly inside. "What's on the agenda today, Captain?"
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"Well, someone's gonna have to go up and milk the goat," he mused. "And there's always more paperwork to do at the office." Luke's or the school's office, didn't matter. They were both filled to the brim with paperwork. "And you'll have --" He stopped short and frowned harder. She wasn't in school, was she? She'd graduated last spring.
Actually, she hadn't graduated last spring. She really, really hadn't.
Eliot looked down at his tea again, watching it bubble against the glass.
". . . Do you have a job?"
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Part of him kept half expecting her to go milky-eyed and gray skinned and try to chomp on his neck. He'd had dreams like that before, especially early last summer, right after they got her video and lost contact. He shook his head.
Val started whining and scratching at the back door
"How'd you get back into town? I can't remember --"
Val barked, loud enough to shake the whole kitchen, and started to pound on the door.
"Jesus, Val! I'm tryin' to have a conversation here!"
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She bent over and handed Val her wineglass of tea, then headed back over to her seat on the counter. "What did you say?" she asked. "Sorry, got distracted by the puppy. I've missed her."
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Probably the French.
"Hang on, what prank?"
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Well, that was just -- disturbing.
He hopped up from the bench and tried to circle around to where Kathy was with Val, but the kitchen island was too big, and he had to dodge around the stairs to the wine cellar. The pinata trotted along behind him, still trying to nibble on his arm.
It was possible he really didn't want those answers.
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She surfed on Val's back over to the stove, getting further away from Eliot as he tried to get by the stairs. "We should just think about breakfast. Wouldn't that be nice?"
There was another clack-clack-clacking sound, and Kathy leaned over to adjust the blinds, pulling the cord away from where it was clattering against the window pane. "Please stop," she said sadly, like it was his fault the blinds were making such a clamor and it was hurting her feelings. "Could you? Just stop?"
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He hadn't even known he had a wine cellar.
"I ain't mad that you're back, darlin'," he assured her. "It's the 'die trying' that I got the problem with." He finally gave up on the stairs and just scaled the side of the island. Of course, then there was the island's island, and then that island's island's island. Maybe he could grab the pinata and ride it around the thing, or -- ah. There. Right, he just had to crawl through the cabinets.
The other side opened onto the back yard, putting Eliot's sliding glass door between them now. He tugged on the handle and got it just open enough that he could lean through and talk.
"I'm just tryin' to figure out what's goin' on."
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