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alikatTitle: Rattle Snake Smile (WIP) Chapter Seventeen~ No Good for You
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
alassante/alikatkaniac
Characters: Eliot/OFC, Parker, Nate, Hardison, Sophie, Sterling
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: sex, language, sex, violence, more sex
Disclaimer: Leverage characters belong to TNT.
Summary: A woman shows up from Eliot's past, desperate for help, but the team isn't sure if she a con-artist or the victim.
Let me go
You don't need me baby
Stop holding on the way you are
Don't you know I'm no good for you
And it'll only break your heart
If you don't
Let me go
Let Me Go ~ Christian Kane
A/N: yes I’m aware of the fact I played with the timeline of Sophie leaving but I sneakily did that from the beginning lol That’s the AU part of this story =0) Thanks to Amy and Christina from AKC/Twitter for the beta work. Thanks to Tori for the awesome banner!!!
Katie was more than glad to be moved out of ICU. She was getting irritated with the limited visits from Eliot. Since they had restricted her visits to only a few a day, he was the only one she saw. She wanted to see the team and the few people she’d heard had been really good to her during this time. She had no desire to see her fair weather friends again though.
Her lawyer had gotten her set up in a very nice private room so she hoped Eliot would be able to stay the night with her sometimes. He had been released after a few days but came to see her as much as he was allowed. But she wanted to go to sleep and wake up with him.
“Katie?” Glancing over, she smiled when she saw Brent in the doorway.
“Hey! Glad to see you,” she said as his face lit up with a grin.
“Yeah, well I’ve been back for awhile but I think you were busy making a big production over a few minor injuries,” he teased. “Always such the drama queen.”
“You know it,” she replied. “Don’t just stand there, give me a hug or something.”
Brent came over and she sat up, letting him hug her gently.
“Am I interrupting something?” Eliot stood in the doorway looking less than pleased.
“Of course not. This goofball just came to pick on me for getting hurt,” Katie answered, swatting Brent in the stomach. “Brent, this is Eliot.”
“Eliot? I thought your name was…” Brent started before Eliot glared at him and he trailed off. Katie tilted her head to the side wondering why he seemed so pissed off.
After a strained silence where Eliot watched Brent like he was dying to kick his ass and Brent squirming a little bit under his glower, Eliot said, “I see you two are busy catching up so I won’t interrupt.” Without giving her a chance to respond, he left, leaving Katie and Brent staring after him.
“I didn’t mean to cause you any…”
“I have no idea what that was about,” Katie admitted. “But don’t worry about it. He’s moody sometimes.”
As Brent caught her up on the events since the shooting, Katie’s mind drifted back to Eliot’s reaction over and over again. She wasn’t used to him acting…jealous if that’s what that was. He didn’t come back the whole time that Brent was there and finally after an hour or so, Brent left as well, leaving her to get annoyed by the fact that the man she loved had acted like a jerk and left her alone.
A few hours passed by and she was ready to get out of the bed and find his ass. Luckily for her injuries, Parker and Hardison walked in.
“Hey guys!” she smiled brightly. “I was hoping I’d get to see you soon. I would have asked Eliot if he hadn’t left so suddenly.”
“He’s not here?” Parker asked curiously. “We assumed he was.”
“You mean he hadn’t been back to the cabin since earlier?” Katie asked with a frown.
“Doubtful. We all moved out of the cabin into a hotel and when he got out of the hospital he had everything packed up so he could sell the place. But I think he ended up giving it to his foster parents for his brother or sister to have,” Hardison said, sitting down on the bed. “But how are you feeling?”
“In a lot of pain but I’ll live, thanks to you guys,” she answered, ignoring the nagging doubt about Eliot in the back of her mind. She didn’t ask about his foster parents, already knowing that was a sore subject. The fact that he hadn’t told her about selling the cabin or his foster parents made he even more annoyed with him. He was shutting her out of things obviously. “Are Sophie and Nate still in town too?”
“Yeah, they’re coming in a few minutes,” Parker answered then nudged Hardison excitedly. “Show her.”
“Show me what?” Katie asked.
“We got you a little something to keep you entertained,” Hardison grinned setting a bag on the hospital table. Opening the bag she saw a new Xbox 360 with a few games.
“Cool! I’ve never had one of these,” she laughed.
“You’ve never had a video game system?” Hardison looked at her like she was crazy.
“No, but it’s really cool that I do now,” Katie offered, trying not to offend him. He started opening the box and moving around the room, attaching everything to the TV looking like he was in geek heaven.
Sophie walked in the room carrying the biggest bouquet of yellow and white roses Katie had ever seen, followed by Nate. At one point, Katie got choked up when she was trying to thank them for all they had done for her.
“I’m glad you got the justice you deserved. I hate that you paid such a horrible price for it,” Nate replied, glancing down.
“Please don’t start with the guilt. I already get that with Eliot and I’m really tired of reassuring everyone that it was no one’s fault by my bastard ex. You guys saved me,” Katie wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Now you can rebuild the ranch, buy new horses, and pretty much do anything else you want,” Sophie said with a smile.
“Yeah, I don’t know about that. I’m not sure I want to stick around Kentucky for the rest of my life,” Katie answered.
“Well Alec took some of your money and invested it, including some in your ex’s tobacco company,” Nate smiled.
“Excuse me?” Katie stared at him in shock.
“See if you think you know what the market is going to do you buy stock options,” Hardison explained while hooking up the cables. “And since we knew the prices of his company’s stock would bottom out when the scandal hit, I invested it so you made quite a lot of money when it did.”
“Like how much is a lot?”
“About ten times what I invested. Of course I didn’t invest it all, just the two million John had left with Eliot. The rest of your funds are still untouched. Hope you don’t mind,” Hardison shot her a grin before returning to what he was doing.
“You just doubled my money and you’re worried I might mind?” Katie laughed. “I have to say knowing that I made tons of money off the downfall of their company does make it that much sweeter. So how much do I owe you guys?”
“Nothing,” Nate answered.
“I need to pay you,” Katie argued.
“No seriously…you don’t. Your money is no good to us now. Besides, we let Hardison play with some of our own funds as well so we’ve been paid,” Nate smiled.
After making small talk with the team for awhile and playing a few video games with Hardison and Parker after Sophie and Nate left, Katie was getting royally pissed at Eliot. She tried not to show it but she was getting very short tempered trying to learn the video games so eventually Hardison and Parker offered to leave her so she could get some rest.
“It’s not that…it’s Eliot. He came in here earlier, stayed for less than five minutes, got pissed about something and left. I would have thought he’d be anxious to finally spend some time with me but I guess not,” Katie pouted. She couldn’t help but feel like a whiny kid right now but she was upset and confused.
“What made him mad? You do realize he’s grouchy more than he’s happy anyway right?” Parker pointed out.
“No, this was more than grouchy. He was pissed. He came in and saw Brent hugging me. Said something snippy and then left,” Katie shrugged. “It was like he was jealous or something, which is completely stupid.”
“I’m sure he’ll get over it and come back later,” Hardison replied in a not too certain voice that made her even more paranoid.
“What’s he been doing all this time? Where is he? Maybe I’m the one who should be jealous,” Katie pointed out. She noticed the guilty look on Hardison’s face and asked. “Are you covering for him, Hardison?”
“No! Of course not,” Hardison shook his head. “But we should let you get some rest. You’ve had a lot of visitors today and you want to be well rested for when he comes.”
“For a con man, you’re a crappy liar Alec,” Katie glared.
“Yeah he really is,” Parker admitted. “But we do need to go. We’ll be back tomorrow okay?”
“Parker, is there something I should know?” Katie tried to read the blonde but realized she couldn’t read Parker at all.
“He’s been pretty scarce since he got out of the hospital. Quiet and grumpy when we see him but what’s new?” Parker shrugged. “We’ll be back tomorrow before we leave.”
“Leave? You guys are leaving town already?” Katie exclaimed. “I guess you guys have to get back to your regular lives eventually.”
“But we wanted to make sure you were going to be okay and see you before we left. So tomorrow? We good?” Hardison asked and she nodded.
After they left, Katie was overwhelmed with a sense of loss. She hadn’t realized how close she felt to the whole team until hearing they were leaving, especially Hardison and Parker. In addition to that, Eliot was pissed at her for God knows what and keeping secrets.
Katie knew deep down, whether she was willing to admit it or not, he was leaving her. And her heart felt like it was breaking.
~*~
Eliot threw the last box in the storage building then closed and locked the door. He almost jumped when he turned around to find Aimee leaning against the truck, watching him.
“So I guess this is the part where you skip town again? Are you even going to say goodbye?” she asked.
“Bye Aimee.” He walked past her without looking her in the eyes.
“Not to me, you coward,” she shot back and he stopped at the door to the truck. “You’re really going to leave her, aren’t you? Damn you!”
“What do you care?” he demanded. “Besides you told me I was really good at leaving so why are you surprised?”
“Because I know how much it hurts to be in her position. And I can tell by your eyes that you don’t want to leave her,” she answered before walking to him. “You can’t lie to me. You fucking love her and you’re running scared.” He tried to open the door and she blocked him. “Deny it then. Tell me I’m wrong.”
“It’s none of your business how I feel about her. Besides, I’m not the kind of man that Katie needs in her life. I almost got her killed,” Eliot turned from her. “Just leave it alone, Aimee.”
“Look, I know what it feels like to be loved by you. If you loved me half as much as you obviously love her, I’d fight like hell to keep you by my side, no matter the risk. And I know Katie. She’s a little spitfire that can handle herself with you. You two have a chance and that scares the shit out of you. You didn’t almost get her killed. Katie was in way over her head before you came back. She probably should have died in that fire but she got lucky. She didn’t die when she was shot by her ex. So just maybe that’s fate trying to tell you not to run away from this.” Aimee touched him on the arm. “Why are you doing this?”
“Aimee, please stay out of this. You don’t understand…”
“You’re right, I don’t. You keep running away from love. Now maybe it wasn’t right between us, not that you gave it a chance, but that’s not the point.”
“Do you have a point?” Eliot glared at her.
“Yes I do. Now shut up. You obviously love her and from what I hear, she loves you. Don’t walk away from this. You’ll regret it. How are you going to feel years down the road when you’re all alone and she’s in love with someone else?” she asked pointedly.
“The same way I felt when you got hitched. It was for the best for everyone and obviously we weren’t meant to be together,” he shot back and jerked the truck door open.
“Do yourself a favor – stop being such a chicken shit and running away!” she yelled when he started the engine. “Cause she’s not going to stop loving you just because it’s not smart. You’re going to rip her heart out after all that she’s already been through. If you love her, you won’t do that to her.”
“Dammit Aimmee, don’t you see? I’m doing this for her! My life is too crazy and dangerous. I’m not going to have her get hurt because of me. I’m not being a coward, I’m doing the right thing for Katie,” he yelled back through the open window.
Aimee glared at him for a minute before she took her hands off the truck. “You keep telling yourself that Eliot. See if it’ll keep you warm at night. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. Good luck.” With that she turned around and stormed away.
Eliot sat for a minute before bashing his fist into the dashboard. He knew he had to at least see Katie one last time. He owed her a goodbye.
~*~
Katie woke up to the feeling of someone crawling into the bed beside her. Opening her eyes, she looked into the bluest and saddest eyes watching her. Eliot wrapped his arm around her carefully, resting his head on the pillow beside her. His hand traced the lines of her face as she watched him.
“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he whispered before kissing her. His kiss was hot and urgent and Katie had a hard time focusing on anything but his lips on hers. When he finally released her lips, she felt almost breathless.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she wrapped her arm around him. “But what the hell was that earlier? What is going on with you?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just wasn’t in a good mood,” he waved her off.
“And you didn’t tell me about your foster parents and the cabin. Why are you shutting me out?” she asked, unable to keep the anger out of her voice.
“You were in the ICU. I didn’t think you needed my crap,” he replied, raising an eyebrow. “Besides, none of that really concerns you.”
“It doesn’t concern me?” she asked with a look of surprise. “I thought you and I talked about things at least. I mean…does that street only go one way?”
Eliot looked away, his jaw tightening. “Look, if you want to gossip and shoot the breeze, call your friend…what’s his name…Brent. I had shit to take care of and I did it. I don’t need your approval.”
Katie stared at him for few minutes before he rolled his eyes and started to get up. She grabbed his shirt, pulling him back down. “What is going on with you? I’m not trying to butt into your life but I thought I was part of it…”
“Well…not that part.”
“Oh I see. I’m the ‘in the bedroom’ part? Or the ‘not too personal’ part? What exact part do you intend me to play because I feel like I just woke up with a stranger?” Katie replied, her lip quivering despite her best intention.
“I didn’t come here to fight,” he ran his hand through his hair with a deep sigh but he wouldn’t face her. Suddenly it became clear how far away he was planning to push her.
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” she asked bluntly. He seemed surprised at first but then he glanced at her with guilty eyes.
“The team is going back tomorrow. I’m going to see Chrissie until she has the baby and rejoin the team in a week or two. I can’t stay here, you know that,” he replied taking her hand in his own.
“Umm…no, I don’t know that. I thought you could at stay until I was out of the hospital and then we’d figure things out.”
“I talked to your doctors and they say you’re going to make a complete recovery. And…shit, Katie…look at all we’ve been through in a few weeks. It’s a little intense and it’ll be better for both of us if I just leave now, rather than later,” Eliot sat up, his back to her.
“I can’t believe you’re leaving me. I mean…you said you loved me. And I know you…you don’t say those words without really meaning it,” she whispered, tears spilled over and running down her face. “I know you love me. What I don’t know is why you’re running away. So tell me, am I wrong? Do you love me?”
“I’m no good for you. You need…you deserve so much better than me. And you’ve seen how dangerous my job is. I can’t be responsible for you getting hurt again. I couldn’t live with the guilt if something else happened to you. And the authorities would watch you too…”
“I don’t care about any of that! Just answer my question. Do you love me?” she demanded.
“Katie, we were just caught up in the past, mourning the loss of John and comforting each other. But that’s not enough for you. You need someone who can…”
“You know what? Just go. If you’re going to sit here, avoiding the truth, and tell me that all this means nothing to you, that I mean nothing to you, I’d rather you didn’t put your two cents in about what I need in my life. I need honesty. I need the man who loves me to stop running from the truth and man the fuck up. But hey, if you can’t do that, you’re right, it’s best you just go,” Katie yelled, turning away so he wouldn’t see the tears on her face.
“Katie, please. I don’t want us to end like this. I’ll always care about you and I want us to still be the way we were, still be friends,” he answered before she turned and glared at him.
“Wow, seriously? Why don’t you give me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech so you can cover all the cliché breakup lines? I don’t need a friendship based on lies, got enough of them already. So just walk away if you can’t admit how you feel.” Anger had pushed away the tears and she clung to that anger so that she didn’t beg him not to leave her. She was too hurt and too proud for that.
Eliot got up and started for the door. Halfway there, he turned back and opened his mouth to say something, then shut it just as quickly. While he stood there looking unsure, Katie grabbed the styrofoam water pitcher and threw it at him. It missed him and slammed into the wall with a thud splashing water all over the place.
Still glaring at him, Katie was unable to stop the tears from running down her face. “You’re breaking my heart, but then again, you break everyone’s heart.”
Eliot stood and watched her for a minute before he turned around and walked out. As soon as he was gone, huge sobs wracked Katie’s body. This was worse than being shot, worse than being betrayed by her ex, the only thing comparable to this pain was losing her family. And she had lost him, not to death but to Eliot walking out on her voluntarily. She couldn’t imagine anything worse he could do than to give up on them.
~*~
Eliot almost ran over Parker and Sophie getting off the elevator. He grabbed Sophie’s arm before she lost her balance.
“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Sophie asked, studying him.
“I have things to do,” Eliot said stepping onto the elevator and pushing a button. He was surprised when Parker threw her foot and hand in, stopping the door from shutting.
“You’re going to bail, aren’t you?” she accused.
“I’ll meet up with you guys back in Boston in a few weeks. I have shit to take care of,” Eliot wouldn’t look at her and Parker had the unreasonable urge to punch him. Well, actually it was a very reasonable urge.
“Oh no. No. No. No…” Sophie muttered, watching him in surprise. “You can’t leave her.”
“You know my life is too complicated to…”
“To what? To have a normal relationship that doesn’t involve you running from any commitment? You’re turning into Nate,” Sophie retorted. “You’re making a huge mistake Eliot. At first I didn’t think you and Katie would work out but now I see you need her, to ground you, to give you the stability that you don’t have with what we do. You…”
“Look, it’s nobody’s business what I need or want. I’ll see you guys back in Boston,” Eliot tried to pry Parker’s fingers off the door but she wouldn’t budge.
“You’re a jerk, you know that? I’ve always thought that deep down you’re a good person, someone who does the wrong thing for the right reasons and all that. But you’re just a bad person who does horrible things,” Parker glared at him.
“Yeah I know. I’m an ass and a bad person. Can I go now?” Eliot crossed his arms over his chest. Parker snatched her hand back and shooting a look at Sophie, turned around to go to Katie’s room.
Sophie shook her head as she stepped on the elevator with Eliot. “So there’s nothing I can do to change your mind?”
“What do you think?” Eliot kept his eyes on the door as they rode down.
“Well since you asked, I think you’re going to regret this. And that you’re hardheaded and stubborn enough to make the biggest mistake of your life and still think it’s a good idea,” Sophie exclaimed in frustration. “She gives you so much…you need her. And I just don’t know what leaving her is going to do to you in the long run.”
“It doesn’t matter what it does to me. I’m doing what’s best for her,” Eliot sighed. He was tired of explaining himself to the woman in his life. It was hard enough to go, especially like this. But here he was, having to justify his actions over and over again when he wasn’t even completely sure.
“What about what this will do to her? What you leaving will do? She’s already had her heart ripped out and now this? Eliot, are you sure what you’re doing isn’t worse than if you made allowances in your life for her? You’re going to destroy her spirit, her…”
“No one ever died of a broken heart. A gunshot wound, totally different story,” Eliot interrupted but his doubts grew. He didn’t want this to change her. Even though she swore he couldn’t break her, he knew that he just did. He loved her, that was true but he couldn’t afford to love her, not like this. It’s dangerous to both of them. As long as he’s doing what he’s doing, he cannot have someone else’s life so tangled in his.
The doors opened and Eliot walked out, barely glancing back at Sophie who seemed to be trying to say something to stop him. But he was gone before she could. And he didn’t look back or else he knew he would never have left.
~*~
Sophie walked into the room to find Katie crying and Parker sitting on the end of her bed, watching helplessly. Relief flashed across her face as soon as she saw her. Parker wasn’t exactly equipped to deal with someone else’s broken heart. Sophie walked around to the other side of the bed and pulled up a chair.
“I know it doesn’t feel like it but this pain will end,” she said softly to Katie. She wanted to strangle Eliot right now. She knew he needed Katie in his life. And that she’d rearrange her life so that things worked out for them both, no matter what it took.
“I don’t even want to stay in Kentucky and he acted like I had big plans here. He just doesn’t want me with him…” Katie sobbed.
“No, he thinks he’s protecting you from the dangerous stuff we deal with,” Sophie pointed out, even though she knew it was a lame argument.
“I don’t want to be protected. I’ve been protected all my life and I ended up falling for a man who killed my brother and stole all of my money!” Katie exclaimed. “Jesus, why does everyone insist on treating me like a child who doesn’t have a mind of her own?”
Sophie didn’t answer because she understood why people felt the need to protect Katie. She was feisty, strong-willed, and spirited but also very naïve and sheltered about the world outside her little corner of it. It wasn’t her fault but Sophie could understand why people felt she needed to be protected.
“I’m sorry guys. I shouldn’t involve you. I know you’re his friends, not mine,” Katie muttered, attempting to wipe her eyes.
“We’re your friends too,” Parker pointed out.
“Yeah but its not like you can do anything to make this right. He wouldn’t even listen if you tried,” Katie answered. “I don’t want to get you guys in the middle of things. I just need to suck it up and accept it as fact.”
Sophie felt so bad for her but Katie was right: there was nothing anyone could do. Eliot was too hard-headed to listen. And considering her relationship with Nate, Sophie wasn’t exactly the best person to give Katie advice on her love life. But she hated this. She saw how Eliot was with Katie. Even though the two of them argued a lot, the love they felt for each other was so obvious. And in their lives, honest emotion wasn’t something that easy to come by. Parker and Hardison had been drawn to Katie as well and part of that was the same thing that drew Eliot to her: the fact that she wore her heart on her sleeve and truly gave herself to people, whether they were friends or her lover. She had conned them all at first but since then, she had been open and honest. She genuinely cared for people. And so far, it had done nothing but bite her in the ass.
Parker reached out and cautiously patted Katie’s hand, which started Katie’s tears all over again. She clasped the blonde’s hand tightly and Sophie sighed, feeling totally helpless and angry with Eliot. And Nate. When it was about men and commitment, it always came back to Nate.
~*~
Katie woke the next morning to find Mr. Smithfield sitting by her bed. She’d had a horrible night, crying herself to sleep after Sophie and Parker left. Her eyes were swollen and her nose felt stuffy.
“Good morning Ms…”
“Please call me Katie, Mr. Smithfield. We’ve been through this before,” Katie couldn’t keep the edge out of her voice.
“Yes well, if you insist. How are you feeling?” he asked her, studying her intently.
She shrugged and moved a little cautiously. The pain medicines were usually pretty constant but there were times where it hurt worse than others. Right now, she felt numb except her heart. She felt like that had been ripped out of her chest. “I’m okay,” she finally answered, knowing he just wanted confirmation that she was physically sound.
Mr. Smithfield nodded curtly and then pulled some paperwork out of his briefcase. “I had a visit from Mr. Winchester yesterday. He’s giving back his acres of the property. I’ve quoted him a fair price but he refuses to take anything for it.”
Anger threatened to close her throat and she shook her head. “No. It was a gift from my brother. He cannot give it back, no matter what he wants.”
“Ms…Katie, he has already signed over the land,” he held up a few pieces of paper which she promptly snatched out of his hand.
“Are these on file with the courthouse?” she asked, scanning the documents.
“No, I was on my way there when…”
He stopped when Katie began ripping the documents angrily. “If he left a forwarding address with you, please make sure you send him his copy,” Katie replied as she handed him the shredded paper.
Mr. Smithfield seemed at a loss for words and stared at the ruined documents before he reluctantly took it and put it in a folder. “There is another matter we need to address. He wishes to be removed from your will and I need to know how you’d like that handled.”
Katie laughed bitterly. “Leave it. Do not change one word of my will.”
“But…”
She glared at him which silenced him for a few moments before he shook his head.
“Katie you need to think about what is best for yourself now. As your attorney I recommend you update all your legal documents, especially the Power of Attorney, Living Will, and Healthcare Power of Attorney.”
“There isn’t anyone else,” she whispered staring at the wall. “Leave it. I don’t care anyway.”
“Perhaps changing your healthcare power of attorney to someone local who is able to make these decisions for you would be in your best interest,” Mr. Smithfield insisted. “John would want you to take care of your business in order to protect yourself. And I do not think Mr. Winchester is the right man for this task.”
“What part of don’t change anything don’t you understand?” she snapped. “Do not change anything. There is no one else to make these decisions.” Hearing a noise from the doorway she was surprised to see Alec and Parker standing there.
“Sorry, we didn’t know you had a visitor,” Hardison held his hand up in apology.
“He is just leaving,” she glanced over at Mr. Smithfield. “On second thought, maybe you need to change one thing in the documents. Please add Parker and Alec Hardison as secondary on my Power of Attorney, Living Will, and Healthcare Power of Attorney, if that’s okay with them.”
Alec looked at her surprised and then glanced over at Parker then back at her. “Are you sure? I mean…maybe Nate or Sophie would be a better choice…” Hardison stammered.
“I trust you two to do what needs to be done if Eliot refuses to man up,” she replied.
“Okay we’ll do it,” Parker interjected before Hardison could say another word, ignoring his look of surprise.
“If you’re sure,” Mr. Smithfield glanced over at Katie with disapproving eyes. She nodded and the attorney pulled out his pad of paper. “I will need to know what your legal names are.”
“Alec Hardison and Parker,” Parker answered. When the attorney opened his mouth, she added, “Just Parker.”
Katie couldn’t help but grin. Mr. Smithfield looked so flustered and put out by this turn in events. Alec came in and gave him all the details on how to get in touch with them and Mr. Smithfield promised to have the papers ready before they left this afternoon. After he left, a nurse came in with more pain meds and then the three of them were left alone.
“I’m not sure how I feel about being the decision maker where your health is concerned,” Hardison looked unsure and she smiled.
“Just don’t unplug me too soon,” she shot back.
“What are the Power of Attorney, Living Will, and Healthcare Power of Attorney anyway?” Parker asked and Alec’s mouth dropped open.
“Wait…you just agreed to legal documents to do something that you don’t even know what they are?” he asked and Katie giggled.
“Well…we are only the secondary. And I figure we’ll just have to make Eliot do it anyway,” Parker shrugged, completely unconcerned. “Besides, it seemed to make the lawyer very unhappy that we were going to do it so it was kind of a bonus.”
“Parker…” Hardison shook his head and looked helplessly at Katie. “You don’t just go along with something like this to annoy the lawyer.”
“And, it will probably annoy Eliot when I tell him.” A wicked look crossed the thief’s face and Alec threw his hands in the air, causing the two women to laugh.
When they all got silent, Katie noticed that the two of them seemed awkward. She waited for a few minutes before asking, “What’s wrong?”
“Sophie,” Parker answered and Hardison gave her a look.
“What about her?” Katie asked quickly.
“She uhh…she left last night,” Hardison replied glancing over at her then away.
“Oh so she’s not coming to say goodbye?” Katie asked, a little hurt.
“No, she left last night,” Hardison stressed.
Katie was quiet as she studied the two of them. “You mean she left Kentucky or she left the team?”
“We don’t know anything but she’s gone and Nate said she needed some time,” Parker replied and Katie sensed the sadness in her voice even though she tried to mask it.
“But…why?” Katie sat up a little straighter then winced at the pain in her side. “Did something happen?”
“We really don’t know. Eliot is gone, Sophie is gone, Nate isn’t really talking other than to say that Eliot will be back in a few weeks and Sophie is gone,” Alec looked as distressed as Parker did. “Nate turned in the rental car and flew back to Boston this morning and we’re driving back this afternoon.”
“Wow…what a mess,” Katie whispered. “Do you know…well you just said you didn’t. That’s weird, isn’t it? Has she done this before?”
“No,” Parker shook her head. “I don’t like it. It’s like we’re splitting up and it just doesn’t feel right. It’s not like before where we all agreed to it. It’s different and I don’t like it.”
Katie felt bad for the two of them. Sophie had been the most grounded. She had a strong bond with everyone and was the most likely to show affection for them. Nate was down to earth but kept everyone at arm’s length from what she’d seen. But maybe she was wrong. She’d been a bad judge of character lately.
When it came time to say goodbye, Katie felt like she was losing more people in her life. Alec had agreed to manage her funds until she found an accountant she could trust so she’d still have contact with him. And Parker had made her promise that she would call and maybe even visit. She got Sophie and Nate’s phone numbers too, just in case. Unlikely she’d ever call Nate. He’d kept her at arm’s length as well. Hardison had made sure her laptop was set up with a webcam so they could communicate and he even hugged her tightly before leaving. Parker stared for a moment, unsure, before finally hugging Katie tightly. And then they were gone and she was truly alone.
PS - this is not the end yet
Author:
alassante/alikatkaniac Characters: Eliot/OFC, Parker, Nate, Hardison, Sophie, Sterling
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: sex, language, sex, violence, more sex
Disclaimer: Leverage characters belong to TNT.
Summary: A woman shows up from Eliot's past, desperate for help, but the team isn't sure if she a con-artist or the victim.
Let me go
You don't need me baby
Stop holding on the way you are
Don't you know I'm no good for you
And it'll only break your heart
If you don't
Let me go
Let Me Go ~ Christian Kane
A/N: yes I’m aware of the fact I played with the timeline of Sophie leaving but I sneakily did that from the beginning lol That’s the AU part of this story =0) Thanks to Amy and Christina from AKC/Twitter for the beta work. Thanks to Tori for the awesome banner!!!
Katie was more than glad to be moved out of ICU. She was getting irritated with the limited visits from Eliot. Since they had restricted her visits to only a few a day, he was the only one she saw. She wanted to see the team and the few people she’d heard had been really good to her during this time. She had no desire to see her fair weather friends again though.
Her lawyer had gotten her set up in a very nice private room so she hoped Eliot would be able to stay the night with her sometimes. He had been released after a few days but came to see her as much as he was allowed. But she wanted to go to sleep and wake up with him.
“Katie?” Glancing over, she smiled when she saw Brent in the doorway.
“Hey! Glad to see you,” she said as his face lit up with a grin.
“Yeah, well I’ve been back for awhile but I think you were busy making a big production over a few minor injuries,” he teased. “Always such the drama queen.”
“You know it,” she replied. “Don’t just stand there, give me a hug or something.”
Brent came over and she sat up, letting him hug her gently.
“Am I interrupting something?” Eliot stood in the doorway looking less than pleased.
“Of course not. This goofball just came to pick on me for getting hurt,” Katie answered, swatting Brent in the stomach. “Brent, this is Eliot.”
“Eliot? I thought your name was…” Brent started before Eliot glared at him and he trailed off. Katie tilted her head to the side wondering why he seemed so pissed off.
After a strained silence where Eliot watched Brent like he was dying to kick his ass and Brent squirming a little bit under his glower, Eliot said, “I see you two are busy catching up so I won’t interrupt.” Without giving her a chance to respond, he left, leaving Katie and Brent staring after him.
“I didn’t mean to cause you any…”
“I have no idea what that was about,” Katie admitted. “But don’t worry about it. He’s moody sometimes.”
As Brent caught her up on the events since the shooting, Katie’s mind drifted back to Eliot’s reaction over and over again. She wasn’t used to him acting…jealous if that’s what that was. He didn’t come back the whole time that Brent was there and finally after an hour or so, Brent left as well, leaving her to get annoyed by the fact that the man she loved had acted like a jerk and left her alone.
A few hours passed by and she was ready to get out of the bed and find his ass. Luckily for her injuries, Parker and Hardison walked in.
“Hey guys!” she smiled brightly. “I was hoping I’d get to see you soon. I would have asked Eliot if he hadn’t left so suddenly.”
“He’s not here?” Parker asked curiously. “We assumed he was.”
“You mean he hadn’t been back to the cabin since earlier?” Katie asked with a frown.
“Doubtful. We all moved out of the cabin into a hotel and when he got out of the hospital he had everything packed up so he could sell the place. But I think he ended up giving it to his foster parents for his brother or sister to have,” Hardison said, sitting down on the bed. “But how are you feeling?”
“In a lot of pain but I’ll live, thanks to you guys,” she answered, ignoring the nagging doubt about Eliot in the back of her mind. She didn’t ask about his foster parents, already knowing that was a sore subject. The fact that he hadn’t told her about selling the cabin or his foster parents made he even more annoyed with him. He was shutting her out of things obviously. “Are Sophie and Nate still in town too?”
“Yeah, they’re coming in a few minutes,” Parker answered then nudged Hardison excitedly. “Show her.”
“Show me what?” Katie asked.
“We got you a little something to keep you entertained,” Hardison grinned setting a bag on the hospital table. Opening the bag she saw a new Xbox 360 with a few games.
“Cool! I’ve never had one of these,” she laughed.
“You’ve never had a video game system?” Hardison looked at her like she was crazy.
“No, but it’s really cool that I do now,” Katie offered, trying not to offend him. He started opening the box and moving around the room, attaching everything to the TV looking like he was in geek heaven.
Sophie walked in the room carrying the biggest bouquet of yellow and white roses Katie had ever seen, followed by Nate. At one point, Katie got choked up when she was trying to thank them for all they had done for her.
“I’m glad you got the justice you deserved. I hate that you paid such a horrible price for it,” Nate replied, glancing down.
“Please don’t start with the guilt. I already get that with Eliot and I’m really tired of reassuring everyone that it was no one’s fault by my bastard ex. You guys saved me,” Katie wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Now you can rebuild the ranch, buy new horses, and pretty much do anything else you want,” Sophie said with a smile.
“Yeah, I don’t know about that. I’m not sure I want to stick around Kentucky for the rest of my life,” Katie answered.
“Well Alec took some of your money and invested it, including some in your ex’s tobacco company,” Nate smiled.
“Excuse me?” Katie stared at him in shock.
“See if you think you know what the market is going to do you buy stock options,” Hardison explained while hooking up the cables. “And since we knew the prices of his company’s stock would bottom out when the scandal hit, I invested it so you made quite a lot of money when it did.”
“Like how much is a lot?”
“About ten times what I invested. Of course I didn’t invest it all, just the two million John had left with Eliot. The rest of your funds are still untouched. Hope you don’t mind,” Hardison shot her a grin before returning to what he was doing.
“You just doubled my money and you’re worried I might mind?” Katie laughed. “I have to say knowing that I made tons of money off the downfall of their company does make it that much sweeter. So how much do I owe you guys?”
“Nothing,” Nate answered.
“I need to pay you,” Katie argued.
“No seriously…you don’t. Your money is no good to us now. Besides, we let Hardison play with some of our own funds as well so we’ve been paid,” Nate smiled.
After making small talk with the team for awhile and playing a few video games with Hardison and Parker after Sophie and Nate left, Katie was getting royally pissed at Eliot. She tried not to show it but she was getting very short tempered trying to learn the video games so eventually Hardison and Parker offered to leave her so she could get some rest.
“It’s not that…it’s Eliot. He came in here earlier, stayed for less than five minutes, got pissed about something and left. I would have thought he’d be anxious to finally spend some time with me but I guess not,” Katie pouted. She couldn’t help but feel like a whiny kid right now but she was upset and confused.
“What made him mad? You do realize he’s grouchy more than he’s happy anyway right?” Parker pointed out.
“No, this was more than grouchy. He was pissed. He came in and saw Brent hugging me. Said something snippy and then left,” Katie shrugged. “It was like he was jealous or something, which is completely stupid.”
“I’m sure he’ll get over it and come back later,” Hardison replied in a not too certain voice that made her even more paranoid.
“What’s he been doing all this time? Where is he? Maybe I’m the one who should be jealous,” Katie pointed out. She noticed the guilty look on Hardison’s face and asked. “Are you covering for him, Hardison?”
“No! Of course not,” Hardison shook his head. “But we should let you get some rest. You’ve had a lot of visitors today and you want to be well rested for when he comes.”
“For a con man, you’re a crappy liar Alec,” Katie glared.
“Yeah he really is,” Parker admitted. “But we do need to go. We’ll be back tomorrow okay?”
“Parker, is there something I should know?” Katie tried to read the blonde but realized she couldn’t read Parker at all.
“He’s been pretty scarce since he got out of the hospital. Quiet and grumpy when we see him but what’s new?” Parker shrugged. “We’ll be back tomorrow before we leave.”
“Leave? You guys are leaving town already?” Katie exclaimed. “I guess you guys have to get back to your regular lives eventually.”
“But we wanted to make sure you were going to be okay and see you before we left. So tomorrow? We good?” Hardison asked and she nodded.
After they left, Katie was overwhelmed with a sense of loss. She hadn’t realized how close she felt to the whole team until hearing they were leaving, especially Hardison and Parker. In addition to that, Eliot was pissed at her for God knows what and keeping secrets.
Katie knew deep down, whether she was willing to admit it or not, he was leaving her. And her heart felt like it was breaking.
~*~
Eliot threw the last box in the storage building then closed and locked the door. He almost jumped when he turned around to find Aimee leaning against the truck, watching him.
“So I guess this is the part where you skip town again? Are you even going to say goodbye?” she asked.
“Bye Aimee.” He walked past her without looking her in the eyes.
“Not to me, you coward,” she shot back and he stopped at the door to the truck. “You’re really going to leave her, aren’t you? Damn you!”
“What do you care?” he demanded. “Besides you told me I was really good at leaving so why are you surprised?”
“Because I know how much it hurts to be in her position. And I can tell by your eyes that you don’t want to leave her,” she answered before walking to him. “You can’t lie to me. You fucking love her and you’re running scared.” He tried to open the door and she blocked him. “Deny it then. Tell me I’m wrong.”
“It’s none of your business how I feel about her. Besides, I’m not the kind of man that Katie needs in her life. I almost got her killed,” Eliot turned from her. “Just leave it alone, Aimee.”
“Look, I know what it feels like to be loved by you. If you loved me half as much as you obviously love her, I’d fight like hell to keep you by my side, no matter the risk. And I know Katie. She’s a little spitfire that can handle herself with you. You two have a chance and that scares the shit out of you. You didn’t almost get her killed. Katie was in way over her head before you came back. She probably should have died in that fire but she got lucky. She didn’t die when she was shot by her ex. So just maybe that’s fate trying to tell you not to run away from this.” Aimee touched him on the arm. “Why are you doing this?”
“Aimee, please stay out of this. You don’t understand…”
“You’re right, I don’t. You keep running away from love. Now maybe it wasn’t right between us, not that you gave it a chance, but that’s not the point.”
“Do you have a point?” Eliot glared at her.
“Yes I do. Now shut up. You obviously love her and from what I hear, she loves you. Don’t walk away from this. You’ll regret it. How are you going to feel years down the road when you’re all alone and she’s in love with someone else?” she asked pointedly.
“The same way I felt when you got hitched. It was for the best for everyone and obviously we weren’t meant to be together,” he shot back and jerked the truck door open.
“Do yourself a favor – stop being such a chicken shit and running away!” she yelled when he started the engine. “Cause she’s not going to stop loving you just because it’s not smart. You’re going to rip her heart out after all that she’s already been through. If you love her, you won’t do that to her.”
“Dammit Aimmee, don’t you see? I’m doing this for her! My life is too crazy and dangerous. I’m not going to have her get hurt because of me. I’m not being a coward, I’m doing the right thing for Katie,” he yelled back through the open window.
Aimee glared at him for a minute before she took her hands off the truck. “You keep telling yourself that Eliot. See if it’ll keep you warm at night. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. Good luck.” With that she turned around and stormed away.
Eliot sat for a minute before bashing his fist into the dashboard. He knew he had to at least see Katie one last time. He owed her a goodbye.
~*~
Katie woke up to the feeling of someone crawling into the bed beside her. Opening her eyes, she looked into the bluest and saddest eyes watching her. Eliot wrapped his arm around her carefully, resting his head on the pillow beside her. His hand traced the lines of her face as she watched him.
“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he whispered before kissing her. His kiss was hot and urgent and Katie had a hard time focusing on anything but his lips on hers. When he finally released her lips, she felt almost breathless.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she wrapped her arm around him. “But what the hell was that earlier? What is going on with you?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just wasn’t in a good mood,” he waved her off.
“And you didn’t tell me about your foster parents and the cabin. Why are you shutting me out?” she asked, unable to keep the anger out of her voice.
“You were in the ICU. I didn’t think you needed my crap,” he replied, raising an eyebrow. “Besides, none of that really concerns you.”
“It doesn’t concern me?” she asked with a look of surprise. “I thought you and I talked about things at least. I mean…does that street only go one way?”
Eliot looked away, his jaw tightening. “Look, if you want to gossip and shoot the breeze, call your friend…what’s his name…Brent. I had shit to take care of and I did it. I don’t need your approval.”
Katie stared at him for few minutes before he rolled his eyes and started to get up. She grabbed his shirt, pulling him back down. “What is going on with you? I’m not trying to butt into your life but I thought I was part of it…”
“Well…not that part.”
“Oh I see. I’m the ‘in the bedroom’ part? Or the ‘not too personal’ part? What exact part do you intend me to play because I feel like I just woke up with a stranger?” Katie replied, her lip quivering despite her best intention.
“I didn’t come here to fight,” he ran his hand through his hair with a deep sigh but he wouldn’t face her. Suddenly it became clear how far away he was planning to push her.
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” she asked bluntly. He seemed surprised at first but then he glanced at her with guilty eyes.
“The team is going back tomorrow. I’m going to see Chrissie until she has the baby and rejoin the team in a week or two. I can’t stay here, you know that,” he replied taking her hand in his own.
“Umm…no, I don’t know that. I thought you could at stay until I was out of the hospital and then we’d figure things out.”
“I talked to your doctors and they say you’re going to make a complete recovery. And…shit, Katie…look at all we’ve been through in a few weeks. It’s a little intense and it’ll be better for both of us if I just leave now, rather than later,” Eliot sat up, his back to her.
“I can’t believe you’re leaving me. I mean…you said you loved me. And I know you…you don’t say those words without really meaning it,” she whispered, tears spilled over and running down her face. “I know you love me. What I don’t know is why you’re running away. So tell me, am I wrong? Do you love me?”
“I’m no good for you. You need…you deserve so much better than me. And you’ve seen how dangerous my job is. I can’t be responsible for you getting hurt again. I couldn’t live with the guilt if something else happened to you. And the authorities would watch you too…”
“I don’t care about any of that! Just answer my question. Do you love me?” she demanded.
“Katie, we were just caught up in the past, mourning the loss of John and comforting each other. But that’s not enough for you. You need someone who can…”
“You know what? Just go. If you’re going to sit here, avoiding the truth, and tell me that all this means nothing to you, that I mean nothing to you, I’d rather you didn’t put your two cents in about what I need in my life. I need honesty. I need the man who loves me to stop running from the truth and man the fuck up. But hey, if you can’t do that, you’re right, it’s best you just go,” Katie yelled, turning away so he wouldn’t see the tears on her face.
“Katie, please. I don’t want us to end like this. I’ll always care about you and I want us to still be the way we were, still be friends,” he answered before she turned and glared at him.
“Wow, seriously? Why don’t you give me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech so you can cover all the cliché breakup lines? I don’t need a friendship based on lies, got enough of them already. So just walk away if you can’t admit how you feel.” Anger had pushed away the tears and she clung to that anger so that she didn’t beg him not to leave her. She was too hurt and too proud for that.
Eliot got up and started for the door. Halfway there, he turned back and opened his mouth to say something, then shut it just as quickly. While he stood there looking unsure, Katie grabbed the styrofoam water pitcher and threw it at him. It missed him and slammed into the wall with a thud splashing water all over the place.
Still glaring at him, Katie was unable to stop the tears from running down her face. “You’re breaking my heart, but then again, you break everyone’s heart.”
Eliot stood and watched her for a minute before he turned around and walked out. As soon as he was gone, huge sobs wracked Katie’s body. This was worse than being shot, worse than being betrayed by her ex, the only thing comparable to this pain was losing her family. And she had lost him, not to death but to Eliot walking out on her voluntarily. She couldn’t imagine anything worse he could do than to give up on them.
~*~
Eliot almost ran over Parker and Sophie getting off the elevator. He grabbed Sophie’s arm before she lost her balance.
“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Sophie asked, studying him.
“I have things to do,” Eliot said stepping onto the elevator and pushing a button. He was surprised when Parker threw her foot and hand in, stopping the door from shutting.
“You’re going to bail, aren’t you?” she accused.
“I’ll meet up with you guys back in Boston in a few weeks. I have shit to take care of,” Eliot wouldn’t look at her and Parker had the unreasonable urge to punch him. Well, actually it was a very reasonable urge.
“Oh no. No. No. No…” Sophie muttered, watching him in surprise. “You can’t leave her.”
“You know my life is too complicated to…”
“To what? To have a normal relationship that doesn’t involve you running from any commitment? You’re turning into Nate,” Sophie retorted. “You’re making a huge mistake Eliot. At first I didn’t think you and Katie would work out but now I see you need her, to ground you, to give you the stability that you don’t have with what we do. You…”
“Look, it’s nobody’s business what I need or want. I’ll see you guys back in Boston,” Eliot tried to pry Parker’s fingers off the door but she wouldn’t budge.
“You’re a jerk, you know that? I’ve always thought that deep down you’re a good person, someone who does the wrong thing for the right reasons and all that. But you’re just a bad person who does horrible things,” Parker glared at him.
“Yeah I know. I’m an ass and a bad person. Can I go now?” Eliot crossed his arms over his chest. Parker snatched her hand back and shooting a look at Sophie, turned around to go to Katie’s room.
Sophie shook her head as she stepped on the elevator with Eliot. “So there’s nothing I can do to change your mind?”
“What do you think?” Eliot kept his eyes on the door as they rode down.
“Well since you asked, I think you’re going to regret this. And that you’re hardheaded and stubborn enough to make the biggest mistake of your life and still think it’s a good idea,” Sophie exclaimed in frustration. “She gives you so much…you need her. And I just don’t know what leaving her is going to do to you in the long run.”
“It doesn’t matter what it does to me. I’m doing what’s best for her,” Eliot sighed. He was tired of explaining himself to the woman in his life. It was hard enough to go, especially like this. But here he was, having to justify his actions over and over again when he wasn’t even completely sure.
“What about what this will do to her? What you leaving will do? She’s already had her heart ripped out and now this? Eliot, are you sure what you’re doing isn’t worse than if you made allowances in your life for her? You’re going to destroy her spirit, her…”
“No one ever died of a broken heart. A gunshot wound, totally different story,” Eliot interrupted but his doubts grew. He didn’t want this to change her. Even though she swore he couldn’t break her, he knew that he just did. He loved her, that was true but he couldn’t afford to love her, not like this. It’s dangerous to both of them. As long as he’s doing what he’s doing, he cannot have someone else’s life so tangled in his.
The doors opened and Eliot walked out, barely glancing back at Sophie who seemed to be trying to say something to stop him. But he was gone before she could. And he didn’t look back or else he knew he would never have left.
~*~
Sophie walked into the room to find Katie crying and Parker sitting on the end of her bed, watching helplessly. Relief flashed across her face as soon as she saw her. Parker wasn’t exactly equipped to deal with someone else’s broken heart. Sophie walked around to the other side of the bed and pulled up a chair.
“I know it doesn’t feel like it but this pain will end,” she said softly to Katie. She wanted to strangle Eliot right now. She knew he needed Katie in his life. And that she’d rearrange her life so that things worked out for them both, no matter what it took.
“I don’t even want to stay in Kentucky and he acted like I had big plans here. He just doesn’t want me with him…” Katie sobbed.
“No, he thinks he’s protecting you from the dangerous stuff we deal with,” Sophie pointed out, even though she knew it was a lame argument.
“I don’t want to be protected. I’ve been protected all my life and I ended up falling for a man who killed my brother and stole all of my money!” Katie exclaimed. “Jesus, why does everyone insist on treating me like a child who doesn’t have a mind of her own?”
Sophie didn’t answer because she understood why people felt the need to protect Katie. She was feisty, strong-willed, and spirited but also very naïve and sheltered about the world outside her little corner of it. It wasn’t her fault but Sophie could understand why people felt she needed to be protected.
“I’m sorry guys. I shouldn’t involve you. I know you’re his friends, not mine,” Katie muttered, attempting to wipe her eyes.
“We’re your friends too,” Parker pointed out.
“Yeah but its not like you can do anything to make this right. He wouldn’t even listen if you tried,” Katie answered. “I don’t want to get you guys in the middle of things. I just need to suck it up and accept it as fact.”
Sophie felt so bad for her but Katie was right: there was nothing anyone could do. Eliot was too hard-headed to listen. And considering her relationship with Nate, Sophie wasn’t exactly the best person to give Katie advice on her love life. But she hated this. She saw how Eliot was with Katie. Even though the two of them argued a lot, the love they felt for each other was so obvious. And in their lives, honest emotion wasn’t something that easy to come by. Parker and Hardison had been drawn to Katie as well and part of that was the same thing that drew Eliot to her: the fact that she wore her heart on her sleeve and truly gave herself to people, whether they were friends or her lover. She had conned them all at first but since then, she had been open and honest. She genuinely cared for people. And so far, it had done nothing but bite her in the ass.
Parker reached out and cautiously patted Katie’s hand, which started Katie’s tears all over again. She clasped the blonde’s hand tightly and Sophie sighed, feeling totally helpless and angry with Eliot. And Nate. When it was about men and commitment, it always came back to Nate.
~*~
Katie woke the next morning to find Mr. Smithfield sitting by her bed. She’d had a horrible night, crying herself to sleep after Sophie and Parker left. Her eyes were swollen and her nose felt stuffy.
“Good morning Ms…”
“Please call me Katie, Mr. Smithfield. We’ve been through this before,” Katie couldn’t keep the edge out of her voice.
“Yes well, if you insist. How are you feeling?” he asked her, studying her intently.
She shrugged and moved a little cautiously. The pain medicines were usually pretty constant but there were times where it hurt worse than others. Right now, she felt numb except her heart. She felt like that had been ripped out of her chest. “I’m okay,” she finally answered, knowing he just wanted confirmation that she was physically sound.
Mr. Smithfield nodded curtly and then pulled some paperwork out of his briefcase. “I had a visit from Mr. Winchester yesterday. He’s giving back his acres of the property. I’ve quoted him a fair price but he refuses to take anything for it.”
Anger threatened to close her throat and she shook her head. “No. It was a gift from my brother. He cannot give it back, no matter what he wants.”
“Ms…Katie, he has already signed over the land,” he held up a few pieces of paper which she promptly snatched out of his hand.
“Are these on file with the courthouse?” she asked, scanning the documents.
“No, I was on my way there when…”
He stopped when Katie began ripping the documents angrily. “If he left a forwarding address with you, please make sure you send him his copy,” Katie replied as she handed him the shredded paper.
Mr. Smithfield seemed at a loss for words and stared at the ruined documents before he reluctantly took it and put it in a folder. “There is another matter we need to address. He wishes to be removed from your will and I need to know how you’d like that handled.”
Katie laughed bitterly. “Leave it. Do not change one word of my will.”
“But…”
She glared at him which silenced him for a few moments before he shook his head.
“Katie you need to think about what is best for yourself now. As your attorney I recommend you update all your legal documents, especially the Power of Attorney, Living Will, and Healthcare Power of Attorney.”
“There isn’t anyone else,” she whispered staring at the wall. “Leave it. I don’t care anyway.”
“Perhaps changing your healthcare power of attorney to someone local who is able to make these decisions for you would be in your best interest,” Mr. Smithfield insisted. “John would want you to take care of your business in order to protect yourself. And I do not think Mr. Winchester is the right man for this task.”
“What part of don’t change anything don’t you understand?” she snapped. “Do not change anything. There is no one else to make these decisions.” Hearing a noise from the doorway she was surprised to see Alec and Parker standing there.
“Sorry, we didn’t know you had a visitor,” Hardison held his hand up in apology.
“He is just leaving,” she glanced over at Mr. Smithfield. “On second thought, maybe you need to change one thing in the documents. Please add Parker and Alec Hardison as secondary on my Power of Attorney, Living Will, and Healthcare Power of Attorney, if that’s okay with them.”
Alec looked at her surprised and then glanced over at Parker then back at her. “Are you sure? I mean…maybe Nate or Sophie would be a better choice…” Hardison stammered.
“I trust you two to do what needs to be done if Eliot refuses to man up,” she replied.
“Okay we’ll do it,” Parker interjected before Hardison could say another word, ignoring his look of surprise.
“If you’re sure,” Mr. Smithfield glanced over at Katie with disapproving eyes. She nodded and the attorney pulled out his pad of paper. “I will need to know what your legal names are.”
“Alec Hardison and Parker,” Parker answered. When the attorney opened his mouth, she added, “Just Parker.”
Katie couldn’t help but grin. Mr. Smithfield looked so flustered and put out by this turn in events. Alec came in and gave him all the details on how to get in touch with them and Mr. Smithfield promised to have the papers ready before they left this afternoon. After he left, a nurse came in with more pain meds and then the three of them were left alone.
“I’m not sure how I feel about being the decision maker where your health is concerned,” Hardison looked unsure and she smiled.
“Just don’t unplug me too soon,” she shot back.
“What are the Power of Attorney, Living Will, and Healthcare Power of Attorney anyway?” Parker asked and Alec’s mouth dropped open.
“Wait…you just agreed to legal documents to do something that you don’t even know what they are?” he asked and Katie giggled.
“Well…we are only the secondary. And I figure we’ll just have to make Eliot do it anyway,” Parker shrugged, completely unconcerned. “Besides, it seemed to make the lawyer very unhappy that we were going to do it so it was kind of a bonus.”
“Parker…” Hardison shook his head and looked helplessly at Katie. “You don’t just go along with something like this to annoy the lawyer.”
“And, it will probably annoy Eliot when I tell him.” A wicked look crossed the thief’s face and Alec threw his hands in the air, causing the two women to laugh.
When they all got silent, Katie noticed that the two of them seemed awkward. She waited for a few minutes before asking, “What’s wrong?”
“Sophie,” Parker answered and Hardison gave her a look.
“What about her?” Katie asked quickly.
“She uhh…she left last night,” Hardison replied glancing over at her then away.
“Oh so she’s not coming to say goodbye?” Katie asked, a little hurt.
“No, she left last night,” Hardison stressed.
Katie was quiet as she studied the two of them. “You mean she left Kentucky or she left the team?”
“We don’t know anything but she’s gone and Nate said she needed some time,” Parker replied and Katie sensed the sadness in her voice even though she tried to mask it.
“But…why?” Katie sat up a little straighter then winced at the pain in her side. “Did something happen?”
“We really don’t know. Eliot is gone, Sophie is gone, Nate isn’t really talking other than to say that Eliot will be back in a few weeks and Sophie is gone,” Alec looked as distressed as Parker did. “Nate turned in the rental car and flew back to Boston this morning and we’re driving back this afternoon.”
“Wow…what a mess,” Katie whispered. “Do you know…well you just said you didn’t. That’s weird, isn’t it? Has she done this before?”
“No,” Parker shook her head. “I don’t like it. It’s like we’re splitting up and it just doesn’t feel right. It’s not like before where we all agreed to it. It’s different and I don’t like it.”
Katie felt bad for the two of them. Sophie had been the most grounded. She had a strong bond with everyone and was the most likely to show affection for them. Nate was down to earth but kept everyone at arm’s length from what she’d seen. But maybe she was wrong. She’d been a bad judge of character lately.
When it came time to say goodbye, Katie felt like she was losing more people in her life. Alec had agreed to manage her funds until she found an accountant she could trust so she’d still have contact with him. And Parker had made her promise that she would call and maybe even visit. She got Sophie and Nate’s phone numbers too, just in case. Unlikely she’d ever call Nate. He’d kept her at arm’s length as well. Hardison had made sure her laptop was set up with a webcam so they could communicate and he even hugged her tightly before leaving. Parker stared for a moment, unsure, before finally hugging Katie tightly. And then they were gone and she was truly alone.
PS - this is not the end yet
