The always present hum of New York woke Shaw up. It wasn't startling, quite the opposite - she had spent so much time locked up hearing nothing of the outside world except the occasional conversation outside the door of her room, that the all familiar sound of cars, metro and people rushing to their destinations was soothing.

Yes, the simulations provided her with all these noises, but knowing it wasn't real took the magic from it. She still wasn't quite sure if this is real, but it felt like it was. The single ray of sunshine on her face barely hitting her eyes, the New York buzz, the soft pillow and mattress under her, the sheets covering her body, they all felt real. Samaritan was good, but it could never recreate the feeling of these simple things.

Of course it couldn't. It wasn't human. Samaritan has never experienced these things or felt anything in general. It didn't have nerve endings which sent the information to the brain and trigger the various emotions. Not that Shaw had many of those either. But the physical contact? She had that.

Samaritan was looking for her. It wasn't safe for her before she got shot and taken and it wasn't safe for her now, her place is being watched, probably trashed already, not that she liked it in the first place. The one she lived in before Samaritan was okay, she liked it. But the one belonging to her cover? Not so much. But it was better than nothing and that's what she had now.

But Root didn't hesitate to offer her place, her guest room. Actually now that she thinks about it, it wasn't an offer. Root just took Shaw to her place, showed her the room and told her she can stay for however long she wanted. Shaw didn't argue because it didn't look like Root was going to let her out of her sight anytime soon.

So here she is, laying in the bed at 9am, in Root's guest room.

Root's place is nothing like in the simulations. It's smaller, but it's so very... Root. Everything about it, from the layout to the tiny knick-knacks all around the apartment. It also smelled like her, which was a plus because Root always smelled nice. Which is when Shaw realized that there's something different about the smell now. The usual sweet scent with a pinch of musk was joined by distinctive smell of coffee. That made Shaw get out of bed.

She was walking towards the kitchen in her black tank top and grey shorts, barefoot. Upon reaching it, she stopped dead in her tracks.

The sight that greeted her - Root in a loose blue t-shirt with her hair pulled up in a messy bun sliding through the kitchen with her bare feet, making pancakes. She reached up to grab the chocolate chips from the cabinet above and in doing so, her shirt rode up her hips revealing purple panties and Shaw couldn't help but trace her eyes over her slender form. Rays of sun from the window illuminating her face and giving her hair a godly glow - Shaw could only describe it as breathless.

In that moment she realized that she didn't have nothing. She had friends now even though she never felt the need to have any, she is grateful for them now, she shared a dog with these friends and worked with them. But most importantly, she had Root. She didn't know what exactly was this thing that they had or where it led, but one thing she knew for sure - she wanted Root. She had never wanted anything more than this, her, in her life. Sameen Shaw didn't do relationships. But spending 9 months away from Root made her realize she never wanted to be apart from her again. Daily stuff, yes she wasn't clingy, but never this uncertain 'will I ever see you again and if I do what are we' away. It was weird, this feeling of being so closely tied to someone but she found she didn't mind. She could spend the rest of her days watching Root cook breakfast in the rays of sun, and be happy.

With that thought in mind and a light smile on her face she went into the kitchen to get some coffee.