The Waitress

16 - Sandwiches and Sparks

"Kaely!"

Eliot, Kaely imagined, would have run up to Kaely and hugged her tightly, had he been in a stable position to do so. She slipped past the brothers having a stare-off in the doorway and into Oliver's house, spotting Eliot trying to wheel his way over to her.

"Hold on, I'm coming," she laughed, dropping her bag on the floor before she helped Eliot to stand. To keep himself steady, he hugged Kaely tightly and he laughed as he did so.

"I'm so glad you're okay," he murmured into her hair, and Kaely helped him into his wheelchair again.

"How are you?" she asked. "I can't believe you were shot; and you broke out of the hospital before you were healed."

"You've done it all before too," Eliot warned, and Kaely frowned.

"That's irrelevant," she shot back. "I'm worried about you; are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, Kaely," he told her reassuringly. He smiled to top it off, then glanced over her shoulder. "How is he taking the whole... Oliver thing?"

Kaely shrugged. "Don't know," she admitted, "don't really care. They'll sort it out; they're brothers. Isn't that what family does? They sort things out, right?"

Eliot looked at her with a gentle smile. "Yeah," he murmured. "Yeah, they do."

Leo came out of the hallway and greeted Kaely without words; he simply embraced her and held her as if she were his own sister.

"I am so glad you're still alive," he told her happily. "Lexus is getting some stuff for sandwiches; you hungry?"

Kaely scoffed. "Do bears–"

"Whoa, okay!" Dex interrupted as he glided into the room, hands in the air. "That's quite enough."

"Dexter," Kaely said amusedly, and Dex's dark eyes sparkled as he also embraced her.

"It's good to have you back," he told her as they pulled back. "I'm glad you didn't die. You make a good addition to the team." Kaely beamed.

"I do?" she asked, and he grinned.

"You wash out Lexus' ability to stick to the rules by breaking them yourself," he explained. "Anyone who can wash out Lexus is a welcome addition."

Leo pranced into the kitchen and Kaely followed him happily. She hadn't eaten since... well, since about a day ago. She had been so distracted between sleeping and gun fights that she didn't even realise how hungry she was until Leo mentioned the word 'sandwiches'. So she happily joined him in the kitchen as they eagerly awaited Lexus' return from Woolworths down the street. Meanwhile, Jared and Oliver had their own things to focus on. Like themselves.

"You've got to be shitting me right now."

Jared was having a full on argument with his brother while Eliot and Dex were back against the wall of the living room, watching and making comments to each other.

"Pass the tomatoes," Kaely called across the bench to Leo, who tossed the bag of tomatoes over to her. She pulled one out and began slicing it as Jared and Oliver raised their voices.

"I cannot believe you!" Jared shouted, raking his hands through his hair in frustration. "You've been here this whole time?!"

"If it weren't for me, you would've been dead months ago, Jared," Oliver shot back. "You can quit acting like you're in charge any time you like."