Chapter 1

Can You Hear Me?

Present, 2016:

"Can you hear me?" Enquires Root, standing over Shaw.

Dry tears fall on an otherwise unflinching face, eyes betraying her. Enveloped in darkness and smothered by the street sounds echoing below, Shaw only curls her knees higher into her chest. Reality, dream or simulation, it's all a blur, what is real? She whispers, "you're not here", followed by the not so audible, "I can't do this"...

"I'm right here", concerning eyes now falling on her beloved Sameen.

"You're not real", as Shaw drops her head onto her knees.

"Sweetie what is real? You and I both know the mind has no capacity to separate it."

"I'm just a shape, is that it? And then we're gone?"

Smiling, "Just because you can't see an object, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist." Root pauses before continuing, "I'm here because you're here".

"Root! I'm not in the mind set for this!?"

Amused, "then who are you talking to?"

Shaw lifts her head and the world with it's sounds come flooding back into focus with Shaw, feeling now the full force of the cold concrete creeping into her body, and the cold night air washing over her, she shivers.

"Hey, Looney Tunes!" Snapping Shaw out of her daze as she looks over at that all too abrasively familiar figure willing her to move, "we got a number, so if you're finished brooding we have work to do!" 'Like, any time, now',as his stare bears down on her.

"I'm not in the mood!"

"You two are really getting on my nerves you know!? My son is waiting for me at home and I have to babysit tall dark broody, and tiny dark moody!"

Shaw shoots Fusco a glare at this, rolls her eyes and lifts her hands in resignation before getting up to help Fusco chase down this latest number.

Rewinding 2015:

"30 seconds", warns The Machine as Harold heads for the rooftop exit. Heavily armed Samaritan agents were now shooting at Reese as The Machine remains standing over him in this his last stand off with Samaritan...

Rewind 60 seconds...

"Where the hell are you Smith, it's not looking so hot up there!" Enquires Reed, standing watch over a rooftop about a mile away, looking over at the Man in the Suit through his scope.

Panting... "Don't see you doing the running!" As Smith continues running up the stairwell.

Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang, as the muzzle of the rifle lights up, sounds muffled by the silencer, and the fact that Reed was several hundred feet in the air... Reed shoots, not in time as he watches the Man get shot once, twice, bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang, Reed continues to fire, taking down a couple and placing cover for Reed.

"30 seconds", warns The Machine.

"Time to go Suit!", as Smith gets to Reese and quickly pulls a harness over his body and clipping it onto his own. With a heave, Smith pushes both himself and Reese off the rooftop just as he hears an explosion. Then the feel of the thundering blast from the explosion.

The payphone is ringing as Shaw walks past it with Bear. Surprise hits Shaw and she can't help but pick up the phone.

"Hey Sweetie, did you miss me?" Asks Machine Root. Shaw turns and looks straight up at the street camera above her right shoulder, a glimmer of a smile forming as Bear stands guard. "If you go to the subway I'll make it worth your while", she teases. Shaw can't help but be relieved that The Machine was alive, and the familiarity of that voice, Root's voice. Shaw would always be drawn to that voice, but not without the conflict of comfort and the stark reminder of what has gone.

Present, 2016

Like an echo in the background, "I love it when you play Doctor", the familiar sound of Root's innuendo returns.

"Dr Turing... Doctor", as Shaw snaps back into the present. Seeing a surgical doctor staring back at her expectantly, 'oh yeah, running through the surgical procedure'...

Walking out of the ER doors and standing in the unusually quiet courtyard, free of the noise of flashing lights, Shaw sighs into her coffee cup as she tries to catch a brief respite. It was the crisp early hours of the morning, and after a freak accident causing a chain reaction of events, it accumulated into a very chaotic night shift for her.

"I think the brunette likes you", flirts Root.

"Not my type", Shaw spits back.

"Saaaameen" Root drawls, "I didn't know you had a type?"

"No, I had you", as she smirks in reply.

With the tilt of her head in adoration, "you still have."

Back at the entrance of the ER door stands the brunette, "Dr Turing..." And with that Shaw's break is over.

Later that day

Ausman runs across the open warehouse, quickly ducking for cover behind a stack of loading crates, but not before being hit, two splats of paint across his chest. His partner now left without cover, Jenna is quickly taken out by Danny and Mill as the cracking of gun shots and commotion continues...

"Behind you Sweetie", warns Root, and with one swift move Shaw spins and punches hard into the victim behind her, he drops like a lead brick suddenly being introduced to gravity. Unable to register where she was, the dazed void is filled with laughter and gasps of horror in equal measure, followed by the increasing view of a tall, taller, much taller figure now leaning over her. With his gentle and concerned eyes, "Shaw?" The furry within Shaw cranks up as she realises what she just did. Before more sparks in her fire are set off, Shaw turns and walks out to grab some air, Bear running alongside her.

"Take a break guys", Reese instructs as his vision follows Shaw out of the converted warehouse. Grabbing a couple of bottles of beer on his way out, he scans Shaw in the horizon, sitting with her legs hanging over the harbour looking out into the vast blue, a ghost of the partner he once knew. They both were.

Reese sits next to Shaw, and hands her one of the bottles, and they sit and drink in silence. The splashing of the fresh salty water communicates for them, the sun reflecting the mood that they both wanted to be in, and the cold gusts bringing them back to the bitterness. Is this what it's like to win? Neither of them felt like winners, just... Everything continues as if nothing has changed, but they both knew far too much better.

As Reese sighs and finishes the last of his beer, he stands, "you know, knocking a recruit out cold is not an excuse to leave" he teases, and a slight smirk. Bear is still sitting, head shifting between the two of them, not sure of the mood of the exchange. Shaw sighs and shakes her head, resolved in following Reese back to continue on with the training of the new recruits.

As they finish that evening, everyone walks two blocks down the now quiet streets of what is usually a buzzing office block in daylight, and into an unassuming building. Each member splits up and forms into smaller groups. Each group then waits, and enters via different entrances at different times, careful not to draw attention to the fact that a large crowd of people were entering an office block in the middle of the night.

The guards downstairs at security acknowledge them with a slight nod of their head. Their own were also guarding the entire building, as the recruits all headed for the third floor from the top level. Even the office floor in which The Team are now occupying is to be unassuming, not special, just there.

Following Danny into the building with Goose, they walk past the two administrators at the front desk. They were The Machine's operators, and continue through some double glass doors. Walking down the side of the open office, the open space is filled with desks and monitors. Set up to look like a normal white collar office. Onwards, and through some now heavier double locked security doors, The Machine scans Danny and Goose, before unlocking the security and letting them through.

Danny walks on ahead as Goose grimaces, his gut now bruising heavily. They head down and past some rooms and into a much larger space filled with agents, techs, meeting areas, training rooms and strategy boards all scattered around, all busy. In one corner, taking up one of the meeting areas, stands Reese. Spotting him, Danny and Goose head towards him, and join the rest of the team of new recruits, eight of them in total. John begins to run a debrief on the training before they are dismissed for the evening.

Shaw doesn't go back to the office, but instead walks into the subway, where a hauntingly familiar but foreign voice washes over her.

"Welcome home Sweetie. I think the new recruits are doing well, though a couple of them are not very bright", she teases, followed by a smirk.

Shaw ignores it and finishes unhooking Bear from his leash, she goes into the lockers to drop off her weapons, and unload the take out that she had grabbed on the way back. Bear was already eating his lot from his dish.

She walks to the train cab, which was now back at it's rightful station, and checks the wires and Play stations, making sure The Machine is running smoothly.

…..

As she towels her now wet hair she sits by the Machine's monitors and desk and eats.

"How's the Texan wrap, Darling?" Roots drawls. Shaw closes her eyes and relishes in the taste of her food, and the comfort of Root's voice. After a while she walks with her whisky, neat, in hand to the room, Root's room, and sits, picking up a book, any book, and starts to read through it.

…..

"Hey Sweetie, time to get up", as Root coaxes.

Buzz... Buzz...

Shaw groans, dazed.

Buzz... Buzz...

Grabbing for her phone she looks down at the screen, it was 2am, "911. C-T Memorial. ASAP"

Immediately Shaw jolts upright to clamber out of bed, only allowing herself a few more seconds of breath to assess where the hell she was. Reorientating herself, Shaw grabs and throws on her clothes before bursting out the room and the subway.

Reaching the hospital, Shaw blazes into the building and past the huge sign indicating the Carter-Turing Memorial Hospital, across the hallway and up onto the fifth floor, the research facilities. Pushing past a random lot of people doting about, she scanned for a more familiar face.

"Hey Looney Tunes, over here!"

Whipping her eyes round with her now infamous glare, she spots Fusco standing waiting for her. As she approaches she shouts at him with her expression, 'what?!'

"It's Gen"... And Shaw's world tunnels in on her, 'no, not again! Not after Root'...

Seeing the slight twitch of a reaction, Fusco quickly adds to defuse her alarm, "the tests are now out, it's her appendix, but caught it just in time!"

'WHAT?!' Shaw turns and sends her fury through her eyes at Fusco, it's her appendix!'... Calming herself... 'It's onlyher appendix!' As relief washes over her.

"What?!" Fusco inquires, genuinely confused, unaware of the alarm he was brewing up...

...

With her head in her hands, and elbows resting on her hugged up knees, Shaw slumps further into the hard plastic seats in the waiting room. She feels a black overcoat drape over her, making her suddenly realise just how cold her body was feeling.

Shaw lifts her head to see a styrofoam cup and head staring back at her, obstructing her otherwise view of the doors leading to the surgery theatres. As she takes the cup, Reese straightens himself up again and plops himself on a seat opposite her and stretches his legs out, letting out a sigh of relief. A slight smile follows as he comforts himself, 'everything is going to be OK..'

...

Sometime during the middle of the night, Gen was wheeled out of surgery and into a private room. Shaw jolts awake again, before realising that she was sleeping in a chair beside Gen's bed. The sunlight was peaking through the gap in the blinds, and it had disturbed her.

Gently, and as quietly as possible she leaves the room and heads to the roof. When she gets there the sun is nearing it's peak, 11.30am. Settling into her usual spot, Shaw stretches and yawns loudly, relief as her muscles relax. Now just sitting and watching the world go by...

"She'll be OK," she whispers. "Her surgery went well, and they'll keep her here for a few extra days to observe the bump on her head.' A giggle."Only Gen would fall and hurt her head from abdomen pain!"

Shaw imagines a smile from Root. It was not as if Shaw had just arrived at the hospital, she was well aware of Gen's condition, but Root's voice is still comforting as it fills the empty silence. Even when she's gone she's still annoying. Shaw closes her eyes and leans her head against the wall. "I had a dream before I got here."

"That you would be a great Doctor?! I know, and I still think you're the best one around," smiles Root proudly at her Sameen.

Sighing, "No." It was said so softly Shaw wasn't even sure if she actually said it aloud. "This morning, before I came here, it felt like you were holding me."

Bemused Root teases,"baby, you don't like being held."

With realisation follows sadness, "you never called me Baby either" as the line between dream and reality disappears. Root isn't here, but simultaneously pushing the thought away as Shaw imagines Root sitting behind, Root's head resting on her shoulder and leaning into her, smelling her scent, smiling into her back. After a moment she reaches out to hold Shaw's hand.

"I'm always here with you, for as long as you need me," Root whispers into Shaw's ear.

Present day, 2016: Rewinding three weeks back

Another explosion in a seemingly empty office block marked for renovation and covered with scaffolding and sheeting, is felt, but barely heard. The sounds of bullets popping in the background, the guns lighting up the otherwise pitch black night, then chaos ensues.

"Ausman, Mill, Reina, Vespa, get into position... On my mark two, one.." Reese instructs from his command post.

Four people dressed in black combat gear wielding heavy machinery guns storm into the warehouse, joining the already ongoing gun fire.

Ausman and Mill enters the warehouse from the East, while Reina from the north, and Vespa from the West.

With a third, uninvited party in the mix, the weapons smuggling trade was turning into a free for all as everyone shoots at anyone amidst the confusion.

The sound of a body hitting the ground hard is heard behind Mill, as he spins round to the noise. "Thanks Ves," he mumbles into his comms. It was the least he could say seeing he nearly just got shot.

As the four continue to move into the warehouse, picking off the gun smugglers, Vespa himself is hit three times in the chest. Too busy watching his team mate's back, he forgot to check his own.

A couple of smugglers manage to run out the building in the confusion, and abandon their crates of weapons.

Shaw creeps out from a hidden dark corner, breaking her cover and makes a grab for Vespa and pulling him behind a pillar to safety. She looks down when she hears him groaning. Though he had on a bulletproof vest, man do bullets still sting!

As the few remaining smugglers continue to fight back, The Team watches on as they work surprisingly efficiently together. Two smugglers ran out into the middle of the warehouse while the other four lay down cover. Ducking behind their covers, The Team watch on as the two grab two crates and pull it back towards their SUV. Satisfied that the crates were now loaded into the trunks, the remaining four smugglers then retreat into two cars while still laying down gun fire, and driving off.

Team Machine give chase, but as they were on foot, they inevitably watch as the SUVs move further into the distance, mowing down anything in their way as they sped down the alleyway before joining the main road, and they were gone.

As things calm, groans and rolls of bodies are heard within the warehouse and alleyway.

Shaw sends a text message to Fusco as she walks down the alleyway, "bodies to collect, Downtown" before putting her phone back in her pocket and looking down at a smuggler lying on the ground in pain.

Ausman stands watch as Shaw pushes her foot down on the smuggler's bleeding knee, "who are you working for?"

With a scream and the grit of his teeth, the agent held his tongue.

Trying again, "I said..."

Swish... A sharp pain passes through Shaw, then she blacks out.

...

Back at office HQ:

"Why is it that even blacked out that woman looks scary?!" Danny confesses, amused, as they are all sitting around one of the meeting areas looking across the room to the small medical bay where Shaw was lying, still unconscious.

"I dunno, looks can be deceiving, just look at Gen! She's what, twelve going on Grandma! Dazio, thoughts?" Jenna enquires as he spots Daizo walking towards them with his tablet.

Daizo shrugs, and their attention is diverted to the low commanding voice of Reese marching towards them, "what happened?!" He demands, having hurriedly made his way back to the office after receiving The Machine's message.

After Ausman, Mill, Reina and Vespa finish relaying the events from the warehouse to Reese, "who do you think the mystery Shooter is, and what does he want?" Asks Ausman.

"More importantly, look at these arrows", and Mill breathes out a whistle in admiration, "full metal jacket, redesigned in compact form. Carbon graphite, reconstructed to rupture on impact to cause max damage. Siiiiiiiick!" As he finishes, clearly impressed and a grin usurping his face.

Clearly disturbed, Reese glances at Mill disapprovingly before finishing the debrief and dismissing the recruits for the night. Shaw was stable, and he needed to chat with The Machine about who those efficient smugglers were. Lifting the broken arrow, 'a mystery Shooter, interesting choice of weapon' as Reese puts the arrow back down and walks over to the nerds and The Machine.

...

In the park waiting for her to come... Waiting...

She finally spots a figure gliding towards her, another dream? As the blur clears she spots her, "Root!"

Shaw wants to run to her, but she finds she can't move, her legs heavy and pinned to the spot on the merry go round. So close, almost within reach, watching in horror as Root is tackled to the ground, so helpless. In a panic, heart beating out of her chest, Shaw shouts, "don't give up Root, fight!" And watches in despair as Root is carried off. So close, almost within reach...

Thrashing and then jolting up to alarms ringing off all around her, Shaw screams in pain and panic. 'Root?!... Is this another simulation?'

She looks around to an oddly familiar room, before "nice of you to finally join the party Short Stuff," and a small smile from Fusco as he kindly ignores Shaw's rare display of vulnerability.

Shaw stops her internal tremors, it's not everyday Fusco gets to be that reassuring guy, but tonight he is as Shaw realises it's not a simulation, Samaritan didn't know about Fusco. As Shaw's heart beat slows back to normal, the alarms from the heart rate monitor also stops alarming.

As Bear also stops barking and settles, Shaw finds herself staring at Fusco, fixating on nothing as she drifts off into a daze

Reading her thoughts, "you're back in the office, relax." He pauses as Shaw snaps back to reality, letting Shaw reorientate herself. Seeing her lie back down onto the bed, he continues, "you were shot in the stomach, out for a few hours, and looks like you ripped your stitches", as Fusco nods at the blood pooling into the white bandage on her torso. He moves to grab the first aid kit, and Shaw drifts back out of consciousness.

...

The next time Shaw opens her eyes, she feels the blazing sun heating her back. A cool breeze blows through lifting the soft light drapery, and the fresh air into her lungs, giving her a slight burst of energy as she breaths out a heavy sigh and lies on her back.

Letting the warmth touch the side of her face, "I'm take you to a safe house" echoes back to her. Though her training would tell her to assess her new situation and environment, the ache and strain of her body rejects the strategy, and continues to lie in the soft soft mattress, refusing to move.

After finding that she hadn't drifted back to sleep again, Shaw heaves herself up onto her elbow. Taking a moment, she inhales deeply and holds her breath as she swings her legs off to the side of the bed, wincing in pain. As her feet hit the floor, they were welcomed with the soothing temperature of not too cold and not too warm.

Shaw grabs at her abdomen, forgetting there were stitches there, and instantly checks that she didn't rip them, again. Or at least she thinks it's again. Even without the crazy mind it's hard to think when your body is so exhausted. And so with the double whammy, Shaw closes her sleepy eyes momentarily to regain composure, and control, of herself.

Having rested long enough to regain her strength, Shaw stands, slowly... Straightening her legs, she takes one step at a time, grabbing with her hands any support she could find. First it was the bed, then it was the wall as her hands trailed along it in the hallway.

Reaching an archway, Shaw stops to look through it. Living room. A single floor building, white walls, a large open living and kitchen area with a bookshelf neatly tucked under the ceiling and extending to the length of the side wall. Books going two storeys high, with a ladder and balcony to match. On the opposite side of the vast bookshelf is a sofa seating arrangement, and a TV. To the right of that are six glass by folding window doors, four of which are currently open, letting in the cool breeze which tickles Shaw's skin.

Shaw smiles as she sees Root standing smiling at her by the doors before turning around and stretching and looking out in contentment... As the drapes flutter up from the sudden force of wind and flick into Root, Shaw's imaginary of her disappears, and instead, Shaw is left looking at the green lawn just beyond the windows. And just beyond the lawn, along the horizon, was water. 'It's the sea', Shaw assumes. 'Reese, where did you take me?' Clearly she was no longer in NYC.

Though the screaming and sharp pains that were shooting up and down her body were subsiding, Shaw's head began to feel like a gigantic bowling ball about to take down the pins which are fast becoming her limbs, as she feels the strength in her legs disappearing quickly. Wobbling, she catches a glimpse of a shadow swaying towards her by the patio doors. Blinking again, Shaw finds the familiar face now standing beside her, arm having already reached out to help hold her up. As he smiles at her, Shaw is guided to the futon just in front of her, and yet so far away.

Softly helping her sit down, "Ms Shaw", he greets, with affection.

A wave of fatherly protection washes over her, and Shaw croaks, "Wher.." Stopping to clear her throat, Shaw tries again, "Finch. Where are we?"

Smiling a wider smile, "we're in Maine, Ms Shaw," he replies a short distance away. Finch was now standing behind the kitchen counter and taking a bottle of water from the fridge. "You will no doubt have a lot of questions. When you are ready, I will fill you in. But for now, just rest," as he hands her the cold bottle.

A scurry and a bark, and Bear is standing in between Shaw's legs still barking for her attention. Behind him Shaw hears a further excited scream, "Shaw!... Shaw!"

Awkwardly positioned behind Bear, Gen leans over Bear and reaches out, circling her arms around Shaw's neck, "I missed you!"