Leverage Fic: The Apple, Epilogue (Eliot, Aimee, Hardison, Parker, OFC) PG
Title: The Apple, Epilogue
Characters: Eliot, Aimee, team, OFCs
Word Count: ~980
Rating: PG
Summary: Time to go home.
Spoilers: For “The Two-Horse Job” (1x3).
Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of Leverage. Wish I were.
Notes: This is the epilogue to “The Apple” (which was originally intended to be a one-shot ficlet, heh). Feedback is appreciated! Previous parts can be found here:
Prologue
Chapter One: Spencer
Chapter Two: Eliot
Chapter Three: Dad
Chapter Four: Family
~*~*~*~
Justice moved quickly in the rural Kentucky county, since they didn’t see many criminal cases, so it was less than a week before the kidnappers stood trial. Kidnapping wasn’t one of the charges they were facing, however; their pro bono attorney, "Jimmy Papadakolis," wisely suggested that they not tell how they’d really gotten beaten up, because it would mean confessing to a much greater crime than drug dealing.
Eliot wanted to attend the trial, but had to settle for listening to Nate-as-Jimmy skirt a contempt-of-court charge over comms. It ended up being fun-Parker made popcorn and they all gathered in the living room to listen together while Spencer was at school. Hardison had even thought to bring extra earbuds so that Aimee and Willie could hear the proceedings too.
Thanks to a long list of priors, only some of which had been made up by Hardison, as well as the obnoxious courtroom antics of Mr. Papadakolis, Spencer’s kidnappers were quickly found guilty and given the maximum sentence.
After staying a few more days so the team could dote on their “adopted” niece, it was time to return to Boston for the next job they’d lined up. As the sun rose over the stables, Eliot loaded luggage into the cars, while Parker and Spencer danced to some horrifically high-pitched, perky pop music. Hardison limped out of the house carrying the hard-shell cases that contained his computer equipment.
“Come on, Hardison, dance with us!” Parker shouted.
“First of all, this black man does not dance to Justin Bieber,” Hardison explained. “Secondly, my back is killing me from sleeping on the floor.”
“I told you I’d take the floor,” Parker said as she grabbed his hand and tried to twirl him. “I can sleep anywhere.”
“One of you should just stay in my dad’s room,” Spencer said, waving her arms in the air. “He usually sleeps in my mom’s room anyway.”
As Spencer continued to dance, oblivious, Hardison and Parker both froze in place and then turned to look at Eliot. A smirk slowly spread across Parker’s face.
“Ooooooo…” Hardison began.
“None a’ your business,” Eliot snarled. “Keep twirlin’.”
At that moment, Aimee emerged from the front door. “Eliot, can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Please,” Eliot said, ignoring his teammates’ teasing expressions as he jogged to catch up with Aimee, who was heading for the stables.
The building was quiet except for the occasional shifting of horses’ feet, but Aimee still glanced around to make sure they were alone.
“So… um…” she began. “You know Spencer misses you… a lot… when you leave.”
“I miss her too,” he said, knowing that they weren’t only talking about their daughter.
“So have you ever thought, you know, about… not leaving?” Aimee asked as she crossed her arms in front of her body.
“Yeah!” Eliot replied. “Yeah, of course I have. I wish I could, but… I can’t right now.”
Her face fell but she recovered quickly. “Is this about the team? I know, they’re like your family now…”
Eliot reached for her and held her shoulders in his hands. “You and Spence are my family too. Don’t ever think otherwise. It’s just… the jobs. It’s something I have to do.”
“It’s more important to help total strangers than to be here for your daughter?” she asked, more hurt than angry.
“No, that’s not it.” He dropped his hands and took a few steps back, not wanting to look her in the eye. “When I was gone, all those years, I did some things… There’s a lot I need to make up for.”
Aimee nodded. “I knew you seemed different before. But I thought maybe things had changed.”
“They have,” he said, kicking at a small pile of straw with his boot. “”But I need to do more.. before I can be the person I want to be for her. And for you.”
She walked over to him and pushed a strand of hair away from his face. “OK,” she said softly. “I don’t want to push you if you think you’re not ready. But we’ll be here when you are.”
He tilted his head down and kissed her lightly. “Thank you.”
“Eliot!” Nate bellowed from the driveway. “Let’s go!”
Eliot took Aimee’s hand and left the stable to join the others. “Oh, and Spencer knows about… us,” he added.
Aimee slapped her other hand against her forehead. “Oh, God. What did you tell her?”
“I didn’t say anything. I thought this was one of those mom-daughter type of conversations,” he said with a smirk.
“Eliot…”
“Whoa-it’s getting late! We’d better get to the airport!” he said loudly, dropping her hand as they came into view of their families.
As usual, Spencer said goodbye to everyone else first, saving her dad for last. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her off the ground.
“I’ll be back in a couple of weeks,” he said. “You and I have to make those cakes for the bake sale at school.”
“I know,” Spencer said. “But I wish you didn’t have to go until then. I wish you could be here all the time.”
“So do I, darlin’. And I’m workin’ on it,” he said. He put her down and cupped her face in his hands to make sure she was listening. “Someday soon, but not yet.”
The team piled into their cars and rolled down the drive. Eliot watched out the back window as Spencer waved, jumping up and down, in the distance.
Real soon, he said to himself.
~ FIN ~
Characters: Eliot, Aimee, team, OFCs
Word Count: ~980
Rating: PG
Summary: Time to go home.
Spoilers: For “The Two-Horse Job” (1x3).
Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of Leverage. Wish I were.
Notes: This is the epilogue to “The Apple” (which was originally intended to be a one-shot ficlet, heh). Feedback is appreciated! Previous parts can be found here:
Prologue
Chapter One: Spencer
Chapter Two: Eliot
Chapter Three: Dad
Chapter Four: Family
~*~*~*~
Justice moved quickly in the rural Kentucky county, since they didn’t see many criminal cases, so it was less than a week before the kidnappers stood trial. Kidnapping wasn’t one of the charges they were facing, however; their pro bono attorney, "Jimmy Papadakolis," wisely suggested that they not tell how they’d really gotten beaten up, because it would mean confessing to a much greater crime than drug dealing.
Eliot wanted to attend the trial, but had to settle for listening to Nate-as-Jimmy skirt a contempt-of-court charge over comms. It ended up being fun-Parker made popcorn and they all gathered in the living room to listen together while Spencer was at school. Hardison had even thought to bring extra earbuds so that Aimee and Willie could hear the proceedings too.
Thanks to a long list of priors, only some of which had been made up by Hardison, as well as the obnoxious courtroom antics of Mr. Papadakolis, Spencer’s kidnappers were quickly found guilty and given the maximum sentence.
After staying a few more days so the team could dote on their “adopted” niece, it was time to return to Boston for the next job they’d lined up. As the sun rose over the stables, Eliot loaded luggage into the cars, while Parker and Spencer danced to some horrifically high-pitched, perky pop music. Hardison limped out of the house carrying the hard-shell cases that contained his computer equipment.
“Come on, Hardison, dance with us!” Parker shouted.
“First of all, this black man does not dance to Justin Bieber,” Hardison explained. “Secondly, my back is killing me from sleeping on the floor.”
“I told you I’d take the floor,” Parker said as she grabbed his hand and tried to twirl him. “I can sleep anywhere.”
“One of you should just stay in my dad’s room,” Spencer said, waving her arms in the air. “He usually sleeps in my mom’s room anyway.”
As Spencer continued to dance, oblivious, Hardison and Parker both froze in place and then turned to look at Eliot. A smirk slowly spread across Parker’s face.
“Ooooooo…” Hardison began.
“None a’ your business,” Eliot snarled. “Keep twirlin’.”
At that moment, Aimee emerged from the front door. “Eliot, can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Please,” Eliot said, ignoring his teammates’ teasing expressions as he jogged to catch up with Aimee, who was heading for the stables.
The building was quiet except for the occasional shifting of horses’ feet, but Aimee still glanced around to make sure they were alone.
“So… um…” she began. “You know Spencer misses you… a lot… when you leave.”
“I miss her too,” he said, knowing that they weren’t only talking about their daughter.
“So have you ever thought, you know, about… not leaving?” Aimee asked as she crossed her arms in front of her body.
“Yeah!” Eliot replied. “Yeah, of course I have. I wish I could, but… I can’t right now.”
Her face fell but she recovered quickly. “Is this about the team? I know, they’re like your family now…”
Eliot reached for her and held her shoulders in his hands. “You and Spence are my family too. Don’t ever think otherwise. It’s just… the jobs. It’s something I have to do.”
“It’s more important to help total strangers than to be here for your daughter?” she asked, more hurt than angry.
“No, that’s not it.” He dropped his hands and took a few steps back, not wanting to look her in the eye. “When I was gone, all those years, I did some things… There’s a lot I need to make up for.”
Aimee nodded. “I knew you seemed different before. But I thought maybe things had changed.”
“They have,” he said, kicking at a small pile of straw with his boot. “”But I need to do more.. before I can be the person I want to be for her. And for you.”
She walked over to him and pushed a strand of hair away from his face. “OK,” she said softly. “I don’t want to push you if you think you’re not ready. But we’ll be here when you are.”
He tilted his head down and kissed her lightly. “Thank you.”
“Eliot!” Nate bellowed from the driveway. “Let’s go!”
Eliot took Aimee’s hand and left the stable to join the others. “Oh, and Spencer knows about… us,” he added.
Aimee slapped her other hand against her forehead. “Oh, God. What did you tell her?”
“I didn’t say anything. I thought this was one of those mom-daughter type of conversations,” he said with a smirk.
“Eliot…”
“Whoa-it’s getting late! We’d better get to the airport!” he said loudly, dropping her hand as they came into view of their families.
As usual, Spencer said goodbye to everyone else first, saving her dad for last. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her off the ground.
“I’ll be back in a couple of weeks,” he said. “You and I have to make those cakes for the bake sale at school.”
“I know,” Spencer said. “But I wish you didn’t have to go until then. I wish you could be here all the time.”
“So do I, darlin’. And I’m workin’ on it,” he said. He put her down and cupped her face in his hands to make sure she was listening. “Someday soon, but not yet.”
The team piled into their cars and rolled down the drive. Eliot watched out the back window as Spencer waved, jumping up and down, in the distance.
Real soon, he said to himself.
~ FIN ~