Reese pushes away from the desk and allows himself a leisurely stretch. He's reviewed this private file on Root for the umpteenth time, and still no revelation as to where he might find her. He hoped by now to have been able to turn up at least one viable clue to her whereabouts, but so far…nothing.

But not for lack of trying. If he ever finds Root…Reese grinds his teeth, his vicious train of thought triggering a jump in heart rate as his jaws clench.

I'll find you! However long it takes…

Unfortunately, his researching tends to be sporadic, timed around their Number resolutions and whenever Finch is out of the library. Not that he thinks Harold can't handle the exposure to the reports. Or photos. But still…he's not been able to break through Finch's emotional barrier, nor gotten his employer to verbalize the horrific events surrounding captivity at the hands of that sociopath.

"Mr. Reese! ….John!" Finch's uneven tread sounds in the hallway.

Reese springs from the chair, pausing only to clear the monitor and shove the photos and file in a drawer. Normally with one ear tuned to Finch's return he has some advanced warning, but yet again, his boss has slipped under his radar!

Almost got caught…

He grinds his teeth. At this rate he's going to end up in a dentist chair. For which he will also fault that crazy woman.

Successfully having cleared the desk, he turns to meet his employer, now lurching into the library chamber. The older man is obviously distraught…and the empty leash dangling from one hand gives Reese an instant clue as to the source of that agitation.

"You lose something, Finch?" he asks, instinctively matching Finch's tension with calm.

"He's gone! Bear's gone!" And Finch stares at the leash as though the animal is still attached but has somehow ghosted on him. "Oh, God…oh, my God!"

"Well, I won't ask the obvious question 'where'. So how did he get loose?"

Finch glances around, seemingly hopeful the animal will magically materialize somewhere in the chamber. His whole body swivels back and forth in a manner that reminds Reese a bit of his boss's namesake. A bird, an agitated bird…

He can see the leash held in that death grip ends with the clip still intact, an indication that Bear hadn't broken away or simply slipped out of his collar. Which means Finch had either not attached the leash properly, or...

"Talk to me Finch. What happened?"

Reese uses as soothing a tone as possible. Whatever occurred, his boss is visibly shaken. Could it be that Root…? He immediately pulls the cord on that train of thought as his jaw muscles tighten. Again.

"We were coming back and I thought…I thought…since he always runs up the stairs…I thought I'd just let him loose." Finch stammers, again showing the ex-op the dog-less leash. "So he could run up the stairs..." he finishes lamely.

"Can I assume then that he didn't run upstairs?" Reese asks calmly.

The 'well…duh' expression bestowed upon Reese clearly conveys Finch's frustration with his employee's obtuseness.

"He ran back out …!" He gestures with the leash toward the doorway, and continues in anguished tones as another thought occurs to him. "What if he gets hit by a car?"

"I'll go look for him." Reese says gently, putting a hand on Finch's shoulder. "You stay here, in case he comes home."

"All right…"

"And Finch…don't worry. That dog is smarter than your average bear. He's going to be just fine."

"Oh, God…I hope so!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Finch moves to the chair Reese previously vacated. He pushes the mouse around, straightens papers, drums a pencil on the desk top. It doesn't do any good. He knows he's being entirely irrational worrying this much about a mere dog.

"For heaven's sake, I'm not even a dog person! " he says out loud, listing on his mental board all the reasons there for: dogs drool, shed hair, leave filthy paw prints everywhere…and don't even get him started on that slobbery tennis ball or the half chewed rawhide roll left lying around!

And those malodorous little green mists that occasionally escape Bear after he finishes off his kibble? Even the dog can't stand the toxic fumes and gets up and vacates the area! Of course John thinks that last trait in particular is a great joke, though the ex-op has learned to hide his amusement from his fastidious boss.

"A mere dog!" Finch says again, mentally writing the words in bold letters.

But not quite…

If he is honest with himself, Bear is much, much more. Aside from gifting him with some company and the occasional welcome distraction from computer work, the military trained animal awards him a sense of safety, the ability to walk down the city sidewalk and know that Root will not, cannot, simply approach him or threaten him…take him off the street.

"No. Don't think about that!"

But memories override the command and he does think about that. About how easily she'd been able to control him with just a wave of her weapon. And then later, she'd not even needed the gun, only the threat to use it. Finch cringes at the memory.

John Reese would never have let it get that far…even if Root had been a male and outweighed the ex-op, Reese would have reacted immediately with enough resistance to prevent any such kidnapping.

If only he could been more like John…more… courageous. If only….

If only his current fears had washed away with the proverbial waters under the bridge! But they haven't…

At least for now he has Bear…and John has assured him the dog will eat Root alive before anything like that could happen again. That thought gives him great satisfaction. Because somehow, sometime, the animal has stopped being a "mere dog", and he has began to rely on Bear much as he relies on Reese. Now, when he doesn't have his wolf around for protection, he has his dog!

Finch glances at the doorway and hopes fervently that John will find the wayward canine…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In less than thirty minutes Reese is back…and with Bear.

Finch is elated. Between lecturing the fawning animal on the myriad of dangers that could befall a wandering canine in the city, he feeds Bear doggie treats until Reese finally calls a halt to it.

"That's enough Finch! He's going to pop at this rate," the ex-op says fondly. His boss has definitely bonded with the pooch, something he had hoped for, but of which in the beginning he was very unsure. Especially after the dog shredded one of Finch's beloved first editions.

"So where was he?" Finch asks, offering his hands to Bear for crumb inspection. The dog dutifully licks every inch of offered skin.

"Not far. I noticed yesterday he showed a great deal interest in the doorway of the bodega a couple of blocks down."

Reese reaches out and rubs the dog's ears as Bear gazes adoringly at his Alpha, leaning his whole body into the caress.
"I thought he was just checking for p-mail, but then I saw the owner keeps his dog in the shop. A female as it turns out…"

"What…?" Finch says, his voice laced with indignation. "He ran off to visit some…some…female dog?"

"Bitch. I think 'bitch' is the word you're looking for…" Reese smiles, waving Bear toward the dog bed.

With Bear happily engaged with the now squeak-less toy, he joins his employer at the computer station, stretches out his legs and concentrates on hiding his amusement at Finch's annoyed expression. But Reese's smirk is self evident, and quite enough to irritate the reclusive geek.

"Yeah, Finch. He stood you up for some bitch…" Reese goads.

Finch glares at him, then snorts…and to show his total disregard for the whole affair, clacks away on the keyboard, pointedly ignoring the ex-op. Reese turns to glance at the source of today's ruckus, but Bear has drifted off to sleep, the furry toy firmly trapped under his neck. The dog's occasionally twitching feet has him wondering if Bear is dreaming; if so he hopes it is a nice dream. Maybe starring that pretty golden retriever at the bodega…

Not like his dreams, which of late have become more and more disturbing with variations on just one theme: Root threatens Harold and Reese is too late to the rescue. The ex-op glances at his boss…his friend, who is now totally absorbed in some computer task. Reese grits his teeth.

He's got to find her..!