I'm not much of a writer, but something about POI compels me to try this. Appreciative of any and all critiques. Don't know how long this will end up- just know there will be several chapters.

(Roots voice)

"Ten o'clock- now!"

Shaw fires without appearing to look… a figure falls without a sound.

"Six o'clock- now!"

She does a 180 firing with blazing speed and a second figure drops.

"Nine o'clock- (slight pause) now!"

One more shot, one muffled thud… silence.

Shaw quickly checks the area for hostiles, then approaches her carnage one at a time. These bodies differ from the Samaritan agents of the past. Soldiers from the cartel dressed in muted colors, some with camouflage jackets, all armed way too heavily for efficiency. The AK's and AR's, great for fighting at distance, took just a little too long in closer quarters.

Shaw gathered the weapons, opened up her carryall and put them in. Hoisting the bag over her shoulder, she adjusted to the weight and put the handguns the bandits were carrying into her coat pockets.

"Amateurs. This was fish in a barrel."

(Root again) "Sweetie, if you're going to stay on the border, you might as well accept that you're not fighting pros anymore. These guys have no training, only street fighting for experience. You, on the other hand, are like using a nuke to take out an outhouse."

Shaw responded, "You know, I'm getting sick of you using her voice when I've told you over and over I liked it better when you were just a collection of background noise."

(Root's voice again) "But you physically respond quicker and more efficiently when I use this voice. For example, that last encounter wouldn't have gone as well if I'd sounded like the old days."

Shaw again, "Who says I want to be quick and efficient?"

(Root's voice again) "Sameen, killing yourself whether you do it like you did in the simulations or by failing to survive a situation you can easily overcome would destroy everything she sacrificed herself for. The war, you, the team…."

"The team's dead! In case you don't remember, which I know is impossible, Lionel and I are the only two left."

"But Harold's still….."

"He doesn't count," Shaw interrupted, "hiding in Europe with Grace. Don't get me wrong, I get it. But there's no team anymore. Fusco's riding out his 20 and I'm…."

"Listen sweetie, the numbers are still coming. You just choose to ignore them and play Don Quixote chasing drug kingpins instead of windmills. John and Root risked all for a better world for themselves and their teammates and what you're doing is a disservice to their (hesitation).. memory."

Shaw shrugged her shoulders, knowing no one could see it and stalked off into the darkness.

(Two weeks later)

Shaw sat up, eyes wide, the scream caught in her throat. Damn dream just won't quit. Her head felt as if it was split in two and she could still taste the whiskey from last night. She became aware of the presence next to her slowly and as she was reaching for a weapon she saw the long brunette hair spilling over the sheet.

Oh shit! I haven't done this in… well in a long time.

"Hey, wake up- you've got to go."

The tall, slim figure stretched as she opened her eyes. Looking over her shoulder, she laughed softly, then replied.

"It's my apartment. You came home with me, remember?"

Double shit! I've got to get out of here.

"I've got to go…" Shaw's voice trailed off as she gathered her clothes and began dressing.

"It's three in the morning, you can stay"

Shaw didn't answer, just finished and rose, heading for the door.

"Will I see you again?" The woman's voice had just enough anxiety to anger Shaw, but she kept going without comment. As she reached the apartment door and turned the handle the figure in the bed shrugged.

"Screw you lady."

Swallowing a sarcastic retort, Shaw slipped into the hall and gently closed the door. As she finished descending the three flights of stairs and exited the building Root's voice broke into her brooding.

"Come on Sameen, you could have been nicer. She seemed to like you, maybe she could have been good for you."

"Shut up machine, I told you about using that voice."

There was a pause, then through hissing background noise a hodgepodge of voices.

"All right Ms. Shaw, if that's what you want I will oblige." Oh God, now she (no- IT) reminds me of Finch. Maybe I'm being a little hasty. "You still were rude and you've been extremely erratic since the war ended. Not optimal attitude for pursuit of numbers."

"Look, my life ended for all intent and purpose when she died- the only reason I keep going is to honor her memory. Don't talk to me about attitude, and who gives a damn about your numbers? Hell, I was better off before her- at least then I still had no feelings."

"Your feelings were always there Ms. Shaw. Your friend Genrika Zhirova was correct when she told you you had them, only the volume was turned way down. Root simply allowed the volume to rise. If she were here for the last few months, you might even be feeling more than you ever thought possible."

"Machine, the hole in me is never going to close. The only thing I can't figure out is which is worse: before having no feelings, or now that I know what it's like to love, then grieve."

"As I just said Ms. Shaw, you have feelings, they were just on mute. Feelings are what make you what you are, human. They are also what differentiates you from me, My only understanding of feelings came from the analog interface."

"She had a name, dammit! Root! Don't you dare dishonor her by falling back on that 'analog interface' shit!"

"She also had a voice that you no longer wish to hear."

"Oh I want to hear it again. Just not your reproduction- real as it sounds. I'd give my own life for one more five minute conversation with her. I could tell her…." Shaw's voice trailed off as she felt her throat thicken and her eyes began to mist. "I could tell her how much I loved her and that she was the only one who could fix me." The tears were flowing now as she released all the grief and despair, almost sobbing- "Root, oh God I miss you!"

"Ms. Shaw, she knew. She knew enough to realize that you cared for her in your way. That you cared enough to allow her to love you with abandon when you both realized it was mostly one-sided. Cared enough to kill yourself 7000 times rather than bring harm to her. She knew Ms. Shaw, she knew."

Silent now though tears still streamed down her cheeks, Shaw headed toward the subway.

I'm done talking to it- at least until I get some sleep and some food in me. Oh, and to shower the last few hours off. I really have to stop doing that. It just makes things damn machine- uses her voice then gives me more comfort than I've gotten from any human since it happened.

But I'll be damned if I'll thank it!

(One week later)

Shaw awakens with another hangover from hell to the annoying buzzing in her ear that had gone silent since the night outside some unnamed female's apartment.

"What do you want?"

"Ms. Shaw you need to get to JFK by four this afternoon. There's a flight leaving for Albuquerque at 5:15 and you have a reservation. Once you've arrived you'll get further instructions."

"I don't work for you anymore, machine. Our relationship ended for all intent and purpose after John died on that rooftop. I've let you help on occasion, had conversations, unwanted conversations in many cases with you but I'm done taking orders from you."

The machine's reply made Shaw's blood run cold.

"Two men picked up Ms. Zhirova last night at the school and took her to New Mexico. You have time to find her but you need to get moving and get your head back in the game now!"

Shaw sprang out of bed and headed for the shower. Checking her watch she saw she had less than an hour to be on the way. Gen! 20 minutes later, hair still damp and headache still roaring, Shaw grabbed her bug out bag, removed and stored her weapons and headed out the door.

On the way to the airport she dry-swallowed four aspirin and tried to clear her head. Who do I know in Albuquerque that can be trusted? Where do I go? Gen! Still fighting the effects of the last night and last several months she began to shake. Get it together Shaw, you don't have time to go all weak and blubbery. The machine (probably reading her vitals) chose this time to resume communication.

"Ms. Shaw, there will be a car waiting for you at the airport- the driver is instructed to take you to a secure facility. Everything you need plus all the information available will be provided."

"Can't you give me something? It's Gen!"

"Pardon me ma'am?" The taxi driver was looking in the mirror at her, confusion on his face.

"Sorry, talking to myself." They rode in silence the rest of the way.

"Ladies and gentleman, we're beginning our descent into Albuquerque so I will ask you to turn off any electronics, stow your tray and place your seat in the upright position. The weather this evening….."

Shaw tuned out the flight attendant and ran through her mental checklist. It was short, since the machine had gone silent after the brief moment in the cab. She had breezed through airport security and never even gave conscious thought to the machine's prep for this trip. When she arrived at the ticket kiosk and swiped her card, the boarding pass in Savana Grimes name briefly interrupted her brooding over Gen.

It still has our back even though it can be so annoying.

The plane trip had been uneventful- the only problem being Shaw's struggle to maintain calm when the situation had her insides churning. I'm coming Gen, hang in there. She spent most of it brooding over the last few months and trying to figure out how to handle these… well these feelings that were threatening to overwhelm her. Love, loss, grief, anxiety… if this is what it means to be "normal", I'm not sure it's worth it.

As Shaw left the secure area of the airport, she spotted a half-dozen men in different uniforms holding small signs. Approaching one, she nodded and said, "I'm Grimes. Let's get a move on."

Nodding, the uniformed man led her to a black SUV with no markings. If I didn't know better, I'd think this was a government vehicle. It better not be. As the driver settled into his seat, Shaw leaned forward and asked, "So where are we going?"

"Secure facility, 15 miles north of here ma'am. They asked me to tell you they'd brief you when you arrived."

Shaw wanted to probe, but the man's demeanor suggested it would take more than her verbal skills to extract any more information. She lowered her voice and barely above a whisper said-

"Can you hear me?"

"Of course Ms. Shaw, I've been with you the whole way. It's imperative that we stay on task- all your questions will be addressed when you arrive."

It didn't say I'd be satisfied, just addressed. Gen!

Less than 20 minutes later a white complex appeared in the distance. The SUV approached a guarded entrance point, slowed and pressed a button on the console. "Sameen Shaw is here. Please let Dr. Tillman know."

Shaw started at the mention of her real name. What the hell was going on anyway?

"Listen buddy, I'm about ten seconds from ending you if you don't start explaining yourself-"

The machine interrupted in her ear, "Please Ms. Shaw, there's no danger and these people can be trusted."

"Fine dammit, but I better get some answers and get them quick."

A few minutes later the SUV rolled to a stop under a white pillared canopy. Looks like one of several hospitals I've been at in the past. Oh well, remember the mission- Gen!

The driver came around, opened the door for Shaw and reached for her bag.

"Hands off buddy- I don't know you that well." He shrugged, turned and walked up to a large set of automatic doors. "This way please. Dr. Tillman is expecting you."

With a slight shake of her head, Shaw followed. Under other circumstances, she might have been impressed with the state of the art facilities, but the thought of Gen blocked out everything else. As they walked through the automatic doors, a lady in her early 40's wearing a white lab coat approached.

"Ms. Shaw, I'm Dr. Megan Tillman. Please come with me."

"Lady, can you please just tell me where Gen is? I don't have time for niceties."

"Two minutes, please." She turned and headed down the hall, stopping at a secure door. Swiping a badge through a reader, Dr. Tillman proceeded to place her face over a device, obviously a Retinal Scanner and waited. Five seconds and they heard an audible click. The doctor pushed open the solid steel door and Shaw followed. Fifteen feet down a well lit corridor, Dr. Tillman turned into a spacious office with no door. Just a desk, computer and three office chairs.

"Please sit down Ms. Shaw."

"I'll stand, just tell me where I need to go to get Gen!"

"Ms. Shaw, please, please sit down! I will bring you up to speed but this is complicated and you really need to sit down. It may take a few minutes to totally brief you."

"Fine." Shaw took one of the chairs and the doctor walked around the desk and sat down.

"Ms. Shaw, I have to tell you first that you've been brought here under somewhat false pretenses. Ms. Zhirova is here and not in danger. However, before I take you to see her I need to bring you up to speed on why she's here and why you're here."

Shaw was on her feet- "Bullshit, doc- I want to see her now!"

"Ms. Shaw, there's a reason for this which I'll tell you if you can just relax for a moment and let me do it with the best interests of all as my priority. Look at this- it's real time."

The monitor on the computer was rotated so Shaw could see. On it was Gen, sitting at another desk, working on a laptop. She looked fine, normal and Shaw felt relief wash over her followed immediately by a flash of anger.

"So what the hell is going on doc? You didn't bring me here to find Gen, why am I here?"

Dr. Tillman paused, took a breath and looked at Shaw with a fair amount of anxiety.

"I have a story for you. Please give me just a few minutes to tell it my way. Several years ago, I was prevented from committing murder by a mysterious stranger I later learned became an associate of yours, John Reese."

At Reese's name Shaw's head snapped around to lock eyes with the doctor. She had been listening but watching the video feed of Gen as her mind considered the possibilities. Is this a set-up? Is this lady even a doctor? Can we figure out…. When Dr. Tillman said Reese's name Shaw snapped out of her reverie.

"Mr. Reese stopped me from destroying my life, then disappeared. I went back to my practice and tried to get on with my life. It took time but I had moved on when I received a mysterious message about a year ago. It came in the form of an email that I dismissed at first as nonsense, but over a few days was convinced of it's authenticity and sincerity.

"A foundation connected with Mr. Reese was asking me to relocate to this area and take over a secure medical facility ostensibly to help the Native American population in the area. While true, there was to be a second purpose to the facility- treatment and rehab of victims of your war with Samaritan."

Shaw interrupted- "What do you know about Samaritan?"

"Then, almost nothing but I've pieced together a little more, enough to know that your little group seems to have almost miraculously saved the world from a man who had a computer system that could have destroyed our humanity."

Shaw rolled her eyes, then shrugged. "Close enough."

"Anyway" the doctor continued, "I accepted their offer in part because of my debt to Mr. Reese and in part due to the challenge of working on the frontiers of emergency medicine. The idea presented to me indicated there would be some cases that would take me to the limits of my capabilities as a physician."

Shaw, interested now, nodded at the Dr. "OK, so why is Gen here and why am I talking to you?"

"Ms. Shaw, I'm not really sure how to say this, so I am just going to- I don't think there's any way I can prepare you for this…"

"Jeez, doc, just spit it out will ya?"

"For the past six months, I've been engaged in the critical treatment of a patient named Samantha Groves, I believe you prefer to call her Root."

Shaw rocked back as if someone had punched her. Feeling like she had been shocked (tased maybe?) with vision blurring she shot out of the chair stuttering, "Wh…wh… what?" before her legs gave out and she collapsed to the floor.

Dr. Tillman pressed a button under her desk. "Miss Francis, I need your assistance NOW!"