Finch sat there, completely numb.

He could do nothing. Not run, not cry, not even blink. He just sat back on his heals on the pavement. There was a humming in his one ear. It sounded like a voice. It was a serious voice. A warning voice. But even this sound couldn't penetrate his catatonic state.

Before he knew what was happening, Reese had squatted down eye-level with him and was trying desperately to get his attention.

But Finch couldn't look away.

Reese put his hand on Finch's shoulder and tried to lift him up under his arm. Finch's legs were wobbling and he couldn't break his gaze with the horrific sight in front of him. Only when Reese turned him around and began walking, or dragging, Finch along with him did the spell seem to break and an entire flood of emotions hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Come on, Finch, you're okay," Reese had been saying.

Finch's initial thought was to vomit, but he held it in and his legs gave out beneath him instead. If it weren't for Reese's quick reflexes, Finch would have collapsed to the ground. Reese kept walking though, pulling Finch along and seating him in the passenger seat of a car. He then walked around to the other side and sat down next to him in the driver's seat.

"Finch. Look at me," Reese said firmly.

Finch tried to look but his mouth was hanging open and his eyes fixed in a permanent look of shock.

"I could have saved her…"

"No, don't do that."

"It…it was my fault…I never thought…"

"Finch!" Reese yelled, making him jump.

"Stop, don't do this to yourself. It wasn't your fault!"

But Finch couldn't be swayed.

"She was twelve years old…" A single tear rolled down Finch's cheek.

"I know…"

"Why couldn't we figure it out sooner…?"

"Finch…"

"I mean…who would have thought that a 25-year-old man was the would-be victim because a 12-year-old was going to kill him in a suicide bomb mission…?"

Reese turned Finch to face him.

"She didn't know what she got herself into…" Finch continued, "We saved a rapist, a murderer and let a little girl pay the price! What kind of justice is that?"

"We didn't know, Finch…we had no way of knowing…James is going to go to prison for a long time for what he did, there was nothing we could have done to save her. She didn't want to—"

"You didn't see her eyes," Finch whispered, "You didn't see the sadness and the hatred. She was confused. She didn't know what she was doing…those mob bosses wanted James dead, she wanted him dead but they gave her a way to make it happen…and she thought she was so low she didn't want to live anymore…but she did, Reese, she did!"

Reese sat back in his seat.

"She played the clarinet…" Finch explained, wiping away a flood of tears, "She wanted a puppy and was going to name her Clara in honor of her late sister…she was just a child! You can't look me in the eyes and say she couldn't be saved. That she didn't want to be saved!"

"It wasn't your fault, you did everything you could…"

"No, I didn't."

Finch saw the images fly by in a blur.

He got to the girl in time, he tried to talk her down, she wanted to listen. He tried to reason with her, her eyes even softened. But she made up her mind. She pushed the button and Reese pushed Finch down. He caught glimpses of Reese running to Elliot James, and finding the monster still alive. Reese pinned a folder of the man's crimes to his shirt and left him there before trying to get Finch away from the scene of the explosion.

"You have to let it go," Reese replied slowly, jerking him back to reality.

"I'm not you, Reese! I can't just forget about innocent little girls that—"

Finch immediately wished he could take his words back.

Even though Reese didn't show it, he knew he had hurt him.

"Just…take me home, Mr. Reese…" he whispered.

Reese didn't try to talk to him again for the rest of the ride or when they entered the library. What Finch felt like doing was going to his room and making Reese leave so he could sob for the poor little girl and not have Reese judge him for his weakness. But what he really wanted was someone's comfort.

He felt angry at the world, ashamed of his betraying emotions, and devastated at his own failure. How he was going to go back out and face another number without having a creeping feeling that would make him second-guess every action he had no idea.

Finch limped his way towards his bedroom and expected Reese to leave. Instead, Reese took a seat at Finch's desk and stayed there. Finch didn't want him sticking around and was prepared to go back and yell at him. Reese spoke first though.

"Finch," he began quietly, "I know this is hard…I'm just as upset as you are, she was a beautiful little girl and this is no justice for what happened to her or her sister, but we can't bring her back, and James is facing the music. You don't think I want nothing more than to break James out of jail just so I can do whatever I want to do to him?"

Finch remained motionless in the doorway.

"Of course I do!" Reese answered for him. "…But sometimes you reach a point where you just have to move on. You can't blame yourself. The only thing you can find comfort in is the idea that maybe those two girls are together somewhere…"

Finch could tell that Reese was genuinely as hurt as he was about the little girl and suddenly felt less capable of holding in all his feelings. Before he knew what was happening, Finch began to sob and fell into a chair, holding his hands over his face and allowed himself to fully cry over the events of that afternoon.

Reese didn't know how to respond.

Awkwardly, he walked over and placed a hand on Finch's shoulder. Reese wasn't good at comforting people, but he just wanted Finch to know he was there. When Finch seemed to have gotten it out of his system, Reese helped him stand up. He swayed a little and Reese could see that his eyes were puffy and bloodshot.

Finch took a deep breath and when he tried to take a step, his legs wobbled, causing Reese to have to spring into action and catch him, their faces less than a foot apart.

"You alright…?" Reese asked, concerned.

Finch nodded and stared sadly into Reese's eyes.

Reese couldn't help but stare back. There was something almost mesmerizing about Finch's eyes that Reese couldn't quite put a finger on. Perhaps it was the man's extensive knowledge of things secret that gave him a mysterious edge. Reese found himself feeling rather curious.

Although, not curious enough to have guessed what would happen next.

Without warning, Finch leaned in and kissed him.

At first, Reese was too stunned to do anything, but when he would have thought his instincts kicking in meant he would pull away, it instead meant he closed his eyes and kissed back. How long they stood like that, Reese would never know, it felt like a long time but it couldn't have been more than a few seconds, because Finch pulled back almost immediately, clearly mortified by what he had just done.

Reese stumbled backwards and leaned against the desk.

Finch, however, bolted for the door, leaving Reese sitting on the hardwood with a puzzled look on his face. Before Reese even thought of running after or even calling after Finch, it was already too late.

He had never seen Finch run so fast.