Despite the sounds of small aircraft on the tarmac outside, the large hanger was fairly quiet, small sounds catching the gentle breeze and traveling well. As they turned to scatter once again, Eliot listened to the now familiar sounds of his colleagues footsteps and the muffled thud of his own sturdy, rubber soled boots, which stopped, seemingly of their own volition. To his left, there was a soft sigh. Parker, silent as ever in her black Converse low tops, no longer moving away. Beyond her, the low squeaks of Hardison's sneakers dropped away. Louder than the others, Sophie's heels beat a staccato on the concrete to Eliot's right, but they too fell to silence mere moments before the low rasp of Nathan's Oxfords halted.

As they stood there, silent and still, Eliot closed his eyes and dropped his head. I was just getting used to it…Being part of a team. He'd said those very words to Sophie when the grifter had made her non-apology apology. He'd been on his own for so long he'd never even contemplated what it would be like to have so me sort of quasi-stable, reliable group of colleagues and friends in his life. Sure they were an odd bunch that included a con artist, an alcoholic, a geek and a mildly crazy woman, but he fit with them in a way he never could have predicted.

Ruefully he acknowledged that Aimee had been right when she had observed that he had found a family.

Heaving a sigh of his own Eliot turned on his heel and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't going to be the one to walk away. Not this time.