Parker & Parker

a/n So, I've had this idea for a while, and then found someone else had already written on similar. I was totally jealous and told her and she told me to write it, that she would be excited to see it. Thanks, jojo140!

They were in D.C. for a job, and Parker was bored. She had finished her initial part of the con, and the next part wasn't going to happen until tomorrow.

Normally, Parker would practice fighting with Eliot, or get Hardison to teach her to TiVo stuff, or let Sophie take her shopping. Or just watch Nate pretending the world was a puppet show he could control.

But Eliot had to pretend to be Sophie's bodyguard, and she was at a fancy brunch. And Hardison was at the conference center, hacking into the mainframe from inside the building, 'cause their security system was all in house and "incredibly complicated, man!". And Nate was outside the brunch, waiting for the moment he needed to walk in acting drunk.

And that left Parker at a dead end.

Since Eliot was at the brunch, he hadn't made breakfast. And Parker was hungry. But she didn't want any of the soda and candy Hardison had stashed everywhere. And Nate only ever brought coffee. There wasn't even any cereal.

Sitting, and pouting, Parker stared at the tv. She considered flipping through channels, seeing if any Disney movies were on, or cartoons. But she was bored, and wanted to go outside.

She knew Nate would be mad that she didn't stay in the hotel suite. And Eliot would be mad she didn't call and let him know. But Parker wanted to go to the park.

Grabbing her hoodie, Parker stuffed her earpiece in long enough to say, "I'm going to the park," and ignored the immediate protests, then took back out the earpiece and put it in her pocket. Then she headed out the door, carrying only her phone and earpiece.

She didn't need a key to get back in.

...

Parker was bored. His dad had said they could hang out today. But, as usual, Dad and Bones had had a case. Dad wouldn't tell him anything about it, even though Parker thought the job his dad and Bones did was the coolest thing ever.

Sighing, he peered around for his sitter for the day. But the lady was nowhere in sight. Parker was okay with that. She had scared him, and she said ice cream was bad for him.

But Dad didn't like Parker to be by himself. Parker was 10-years-old now, but his dad still treated him like he was four. And he knew that part of it was his dad's job, and seeing what could happen to people and kids. But Parker was old enough that it wasn't as neat anymore to have an overprotective FBI agent for a dad.

As he was looking around, trying to decide whether he should find the babysitter, or go ask if he could play baseball with some of the other kids in the park, he saw her.

...

Parker peered around the park, and saw a dog coming toward her. Parker didn't like dogs. They were loud and they liked to bite her. When the horse had killed the clown, Parker stopped trusting animals.

Birds didn't count.

But dogs did. And so she darted behind a bench, keeping it between her and the dog. When she looked up, a little boy was watching her and laughing.

She frowned and walked over. "What are you laughing at?"

...

Parker knew the woman looked like she was old. Like, Angela old. But the way she acted, the way she watched the poodle, like it was going to attack her, and the way she pouted when she saw how he was chuckling, made her seem a lot younger.

When she came over and asked what he was laughing at, he just smiled and shook his head. He knew that she was too old to be a kid, but she was talking like she was his age.

"Why were you scared of the dog?"

The woman shook her head, and her ponytail whipped around behind her. "I don't trust dogs. They like to bite people. Animals are scary."

Parker laughed. "Poodles aren't scary. They're just weird."

She tilted her head. "What's a poodle?"

That got Parker to laugh again. "The dog. The white one with the fluffy balls on its tail and head. It's a poodle."

The woman giggled. "That's a funny name. How does its hair grow like that?"

"It doesn't grow that way!" Parker declared, smiling. "Someone cuts it that way."

"Oh!" she nodded. "Like when you go and get your hair cut and they put it up in a funny way with lots of pins and stuff.""

"Yeah, like that."

They stood smiling at each other. But it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, like it would be with adults. Instead they were just happy that they understood each other, and that they were outside in the sun.

Parker held out his hand, remembering how his mom always told him to be polite. "My name's Parker."

...

Parker's eyes went wide, and she got excited. She shook his hand. "I'm Parker too!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Do you wanna play with me?"

Parker nodded and grinned. "Can we go on the swings?"

The little boy Parker giggled. "Yeah! I love the swings!"

Together, they ran over and each claimed a swing.

"I bet I can swing higher then you!" the boy Parker challenged.

Parker shook her head. "That's not fair! You're lighter then me. Of course you would go higher." Then she got a competitive gleam in her eyes. "But I bet I can jump farther."

The other Parker protested, "You're a grown up. You've got long legs."

Parker shrugged. And the boy Parker shrugged back. And then they both started snickering, and swung as high as they could.

...

Parker was still keeping an eye out for his babysitter, but he was having so much fun that it didn't matter.

After they finished swinging, they got ice cream. The woman Parker paid for them both, but Parker remembered what his dad had told him, and she never touched the cone so she couldn't put anything in or on it.

He could tell that Parker wouldn't do anything to him or hurt him, but he made sure he did what his dad told him. Just so Dad wouldn't be mad.

When the ice cream was just a memory and a bunch of stickiness on their hands, they cleaned up and then started talking.

Parker was really interested in what his dad did, being part of the FBI. Then she told him what she and her friends did, that they tricked people to get money. But, she assured him, they only did that to bad people now.

Nodding, Parker said he understood. He wouldn't tell his dad, he promised, but in exchange, he wanted the girl Parker to teach him some tricks.

She found a padlock and pulled out a little pouch full of thin, pointy metal sticks, and started showing Parker how to pick a lock.

It was right after he finally got it open, all on his own, that the babysitter found him. She ran over and started yelling at the older Parker.

"You leave this child alone! You kidnapper! Pervert!"

Parker stood up to defend her, then he started laughing when she just tilted her head and told the babysitter, "You have a mustache."

The babysitter blinked a few times, then grabbed Parker's arm and started dragging him away. He turned, as best he could, and waved over his shoulder. "Bye, Parker! It was fun to meet you!"

She smiled and waved back. "Buh-bye, Parker!"

...

As Parker wandered back towards the hotel, a happy smile on her face, she couldn't wait to tell Eliot about the other Parker she had met, and that his dad was a real FBI agent. And, from what Parker had said, he was a lot better at it then those agents Taggert and McSweeten.

Maybe she'd get to see him again tomorrow, if they finished up the con fast.

That's when she remembered to put back in her earpiece.

"Hi, guys! What's going on?"

"Parker!"

"Where've you been?"

"Are you alright, Parker?"

"Parker, next time please ask for permission. We needed a cat burglar, and I would prefer never to have Hardison attempt it again."

Parker laughed. "That's silly. Hardison shouldn't try to steal stuff. He plays on the computer. And guess what? I met another Parker! It was really cool. Guess what else? His dad's an FBI guy. A good one. Isn't that neat, Eliot?"

There was a series of groans, and then Eliot's voice came over loud and clear. "FBI, Parker? Next time, I am tying you to something."

She giggled. "That's silly, Eliot."

"Yeah. I mean, this is Parker we're talkin' about here, man. She'd be outta there in minutes, no matter how good your knots are."

Nate broke in, "Hey, guys, you remember that job we're supposed to be doing? Parker, are we compromised? Did you say anything to this other Parker?"

"Yeah, but just that we're the good guys. He's nice. He promised he won't tell his dad."

"And how sure are you that he's being honest, Parker?" Sophie asked.

"Really sure. He was nice."

There was another heavy sigh, then Nate spoke, resigned. "We'll just have to trust your judgement, Parker."

"So, basically, we're screwed."

Parker frowned. "That's not nice, Eliot."

"Sorry, darlin'. You just make friends too damn easy."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothin'. It's just... Never mind, Parker. But we are going to talk later. Got it?"

Parker shrugged. She knew Eliot was her friend, so he didn't want to hurt her feelings. He was Eliot. And she liked him, so she didn't get offended. And she knew he would give her a lecture about not running off, but he would only do it 'cause he worried about her. "So, what are you guys doing now?"

"Headed back to the hotel. The target's on the hook. Will you be there when we get back?"

She nodded. "Yup. I'll see you there!"

And Parker skipped happily back towards the hotel, content in the knowledge of her new friend.

a/n This might expand. If you like it, you gotta let me know, folks. *wink*