Title: What Happened Next

Author: Evil_Little_Dog

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: This is a derivative work, and, as such, I make absolutely no money writing this. Darn the luck.

Summary: What happens if they wind up doing something other than being thieves for hire?

It's a tough game, being a thief for hire. So when Nate and Sophie got out, at first, Hardison was sure they'd be back. He even made a bet with Eliot on it.

"No, man," Eliot said. "They won't."

Hardison realized Eliot was right when a Christmas card came in the mail, showing off Sophie's babybump. We're going to have a baby, the card said, we're going to be parents and couldn't be happier!

Since they needed some sort of cover while waiting for people who actually needed their services, Hardison found himself a job running another bar/restaurant. That experimental cooking, it was amazing, even if Eliot still rolled his eyes about the infused matcha foam and freeze-dried tomato basil pizza (it turned into something crackery and crisp and people kept raving over it).

Parker actually took a job as a bank teller - because if she couldn't play with her money, she could certainly play with someone else's. And she thwarted two robberies in less than six months. There was talk of a promotion to go with her raises.

And Eliot found a little horse farm run by an ancient woman who rescued just about every animal known to man. He'd seen a horse trotting down the road with a couple of dogs, a cat, a goat, and a goose following behind and figured he ought to stop and try to find out what was going on. Turned out the horse was smart enough to open his gate and took some friends with him on his journey. Eliot had a little barn apartment on the property and Hardison thought he'd never seen the man so happy as when the three of them got together on the farm.

They sent a picture back to Nate and Sophie, the three of them sitting on a bale of hay, Parker holding a baby pig, the goose nibbling at one of the buttons on Eliot's sleeve, Hardison wearing a chef's hat.

Maybe after all this time, they'd found a home.

~ end ~