Takes place after 4x11

9 weeks after the kiss Shaw planted on her

Root is angry. Angry at herself, at the world, at the Machine, and yes, at Shaw. This anger won't go away, no matter how much Root wants it to. She's tired of living in anger and sometimes when her eyes close as she's in bed and she's in-between wakefulness and sleep, she thinks how much easier life would have been without Her.

It's only at night, though, when Root is tired and her natural defenses lower, that she admits she doesn't want to be angry. In the morning, when her eyes open and she is hit with the realization that once again she is facing a world without Sameen Shaw, her anger bursts forth, renewed.

How dare they take Shaw from her.

How dare The Machine send Shaw into danger knowingly.

How dare Sameen kiss her like that and leave her all at once.

Root only knows she must find Shaw, wherever she is. She knows Finch, deep down, thinks Shaw is dead. She doesn't know what Reese thinks and she honestly doesn't care. If Shaw were dead, she'd know it, wouldn't she? The world would somehow tell her.

Root swings her legs off the bed, ready to undertake another day of searching, of revenge against the people who had a hand in hurting Shaw. She smiles coldly.

Guns blazing, Root shoots her way down into the heart of the warehouse. She listens obediently as She whispers in her ear, telling her where to turn, where to shoot, who's coming. She kneels behind a shipping container, awaiting further instructions.

Beep.

"Bad time, Harold." whispers Root as she shoots the man running towards her. Finch clears his voice and replies "Ms. Groves…"

Root hears the wavering in his voice. She knows.

"Harold. What is it? Have you found her?"

More clearing of his throat. "Ms. Groves… I have news. You should come to the subway to hear this. I will expect you shortly after you extricate yourself from present company."

Before Root can ask questions, his voice is gone.

Impatient to hear what Finch has to say, Root stands up and leaves the safety of the shipping container, guns popping like crazy. She wants this mission over with now. She can't, won't be able to stand waiting any longer. What if it's confirmation that Shaw is gone? She wouldn't be able to bear that but she must know.

Bear's ears perk up and Finch knows Root has arrived. He is not looking forward to sharing the information he has with her, but it must be done. He takes his glasses off to wipe his face, and hears Root's voice behind him "Yes, Harold?"

Swiveling around slowly to face Root, Finch pauses, not knowing how to begin. "Out with it, Harry."

"Ms. Groves… The Machine contacted me this morning." Root inwardly braced herself. "Miss Shaw has been located. Alive."

Hope flashed in Root's eyes until she heard Finch continue, "However, the Machine has decided not to divulge Miss Shaw's location."

"What?" snapped Root. "Come on! This is the first we've heard of her since she disappeared! Why wouldn't She say where Shaw is?" Realization hit her and hope turned to anger. "This is because of your damn fail-safes that you installed within Her, isn't it?" Finch stared at her gravely, remaining silent. "Having Her 'respect the wishes' of humans is ludicrous! You should've left Her code pure!"

Finch sighed and wiped his brow once again. "Ms. Groves… the world as we know it almost ended with Samaratian. We were incredibly fortunate to have stopped Samaratian before it did a complete takeover of the world. Now, as the creator of The Machine, I felt it was my duty to remedy the all-seeing power it had. Of the highest priority: protecting and respecting human will. I am sorry that you find it inconvenient but we know very well how necessary this restriction is."

Root could not listen to reason. She wanted to flee to Sameen now, this very moment, but she couldn't because The Machine wanted to "respect" Shaw and not disclose her location. Root almost laughed aloud at how incredibly absurd this was.

"Ms. Groves… I implore you to take this as good news, as we now know Miss Shaw is apparently alive and breathing."

Root stared coldly at Harold. "I'm not alive and breathing yet." With that, she turned and walked out, leaving Finch staring sadly after her. He knew how that felt, yes he did. Oh, Grace.

With the sunlight bright on her face, Root walked aimlessly. Finding herself in a park, she sat on the nearest bench and continued her struggle with Her.

Please tell me where Sameen is. Former Asset Shaw Location Unavailable beeped at her incessantly.

Root wanted to kick something, hit someone, anything. She screamed in frustration instead.

-One week after The Machine reveals Shaw is alive-

Its been a week. Fucking Shaw thought Root. By now, she was nearly certain that the silence was entirely Shaw's choice. Her anger had evolved; in the beginning, it was anger and terror at the thought that Shaw was gone; taken from her before they ever had a chance. Now the terror was gone; replaced by ice-cold rage that Shaw would, could do this to her. Fucking Axis II personality disorder.

Despite this, not a day passes without Root attempting to gather more intel on Shaw's whereabouts. If nothing more, she'd like to get her hands on Shaw's throat and squeeze the life away from her, just like she felt the life was being squeezed from her now.

Root even, one of those evenings, sits down and writes out a few line of code on paper. This is the beginning of an idea for some code that would help her hack Her, get Her to bypass the newly implanted parameters that Harold had coded. Before she could write the sixth line, she hears a warning beep in her ear.

Analogue Interface will be deactivated if further work is attempted on this code

Root crumples up the paper and tosses it in the wastebasket. She knows she cannot bear life without Her. Sitting there with her head in her hands, she wonders how she can let this all go. It feels impossible at this point, and with confirmation that Shaw is alive, it somehow feels worse for not being able to see for herself.

Wait. Confirmation. Root jerks her head up. Why didn't she think of this earlier?

Shaw… I believe you about her being alive, but how do I know for certain she's not being held against her will or too injured to reach out? I need visual confirmation, or some kind of credible proof.

…

As the Machine's voice whirred in her ear, Root waited. She hopes her rational request may just skirt the parameters set in place.

Request accepted. Searching for Former Asset Shaw…

Root's heart skips a beat. It worked! She wants to crow that she has found a way around Harold, but more important matters await.

Video incoming

Finally, the Machine displays live video from a phone She has taken over, and the jerky motion makes Root feel a bit nauseous. She stares intently at the video and THERE! She spots Shaw sitting in a chair outside a cafe, sipping coffee. Root for a second thinks that the Machine may have tried to fool her by showing video from Her archives, but as Shaw turns her head, Root's breath catches. There is a hugomonous scar lining Shaw's right cheek, from her sideburn area down to her throat. That definitely was new. Root also notices Shaw's eyes catch onto the phone and narrow. Root knows that Shaw can't possibly know she's "there" but… she gasps as Shaw angrily mouths the word 'no' and the video is cut off.

Former Asset Shaw requested disconnection

I know, snaps Root. Her elation at having seen Shaw, actually seen her, is extremely short-lived as reality crashes down on her.

Shaw. Does. Not. Want. Contact.

She is alive.

She doesn't want to see or talk to me.

Root feels her heart break in a million little pieces.

Hope to have the next chapter up by the weekend!