AN: A story that I typed up over on Tumblr. Thought I would share it here. :) Enjoy!
The emergency weather radio droned on about statistics of the approaching super storm. Gusts reaching 85 mph, rain between eight inches to a foot, flooding in all coastal regions and a ocean surge up to eleven feet of water to come inland. Major transportation had been shut down the previous day, parts of the city evacuated and even more people leaving.
New York never experience a hurricane before and neither had Harold Finch. When the first reports of Hurricane Sandy had been published, Finch followed each story and every report. As the storm approached, he had a hard time concealing his concern about the impending weather. Reese had noticed a change in Finch's behavior every time he mentioned how windy it was becoming. Occasionally the gusts picked up to the point where all Finch could hear over Reese's microphone was the wind.
The true panic set in when the mayor issued mandatory evacuations for New York. Reese came back to the library to find Finch packing things to leave. "Are you serious? You are going to leave town?" He asked as he watched Finch gather some books of greater sentimental value.
"Mister Reese, there is a category one hurricane headed this direction. Expected to make land fall Monday. I do not plan on being here for that." He said as he placed the books into a bag. "Hurricanes are for Louisiana and Mississippi. If I wanted to chance fate against the weather I would live there." He replied as he turned to his computer to refresh the radar that the National Weather Service had been updating.
Reese nodded, Finch had a point. "The mayor only said that the coastal regions had to be evacuated. Our location isn't even in an advisory area." He said looking at one of the maps that Finch had on his computer screen. "It would be more of a headache to leave the city, than to just wait here and tough it out." Reese took a seat in the chair and Bear came to his side, resting his head on his knee. "Bear isn't worried." He commented as he scratched the dog behind the ears. "Now, if Bear was concerned, I'd leave. You know animals can sense things humans can't."
Finch turned to Reese with a deadpan expression. "If you don't mind, Mister Reese, I'd rather form my opinions on the scientific data offered," He motioned to the radar and charts on the computer. "Than from the temperament of a canine." He continued to pack his belongings.
Reese stood up and grabbed his arm, preventing him from continuing. Finch looked up at the younger. "Maybe you should check your computer, Finch. The mayor just updated. If you haven't evacuated now, then it's too late." Finch wrenched his arm free and hurried to his computer. He clacked the keys and then had a defeated expression on his face.
The next day came and Finch stared out the window, as the storm approached and the clouds grew darker, so did his optimism about the severity of the storm. Reese had convinced him for a while that they would have been fine. But as the wind whipped through the city and the ocean surged closer, he regretted not trying to leave earlier. If Reese had hurried up and finished the recent case, he probably could have evacuated with everyone else.
Finch turned when he heard Reese enter the library, he was soaked. "How is it out there?" He asked immediately as Reese stripped of his wet jacket. Reese hung his coat up and pointed out the window.
"It's just like it looks." He said as he placed a bag on the table. "I don't see why we need three extra flashlights, on top of the three we already have." He said unpacking the things he had bought. "Do you know how many places I had to go to get these? How many officers I had to avoid? There is a hurricane out there, Finch."
"Super storm." Finch corrected him as he inspected the other items that Reese had purchased. Reese shook his head and rubbed his cold hands together.
"Super storm sounds way worse than hurricane, by the way." He commented as he took a drink from a water bottle. Reese went to the window and watched the rain pelt against the glass. The streets below weren't draining water very well and standing water started to form. Reese felt a twinge of concern, but knew that things would be okay.
Finch walked to stand next to him and looked at what Reese was looking at. "Is the street starting to flood?" He said in alarm. "We have to go get all the books from the lower floors and bring them up here." He said turning to go start the task. Reese blinked slowly and turned.
"There has to be a few thousand books down there. It would take hours." Reese said, holding his ground by the window. "It's pointless, Finch." The bespectacled man was shaking his head and staring at his computer screens.
"We should have left, Mister Reese." Finch said as he returned to he window and watched how it seemed that water was rushing farther inland. "Ohhh," He moaned a bit. "We should have left long time ago."
"Finch, it is just rain." Reese said, getting annoyed with how panicked Finch was becoming. "We are fine where we are. The mayor said we didn't have to evacuate."
"I don't care what the mayor said. People two blocks east of us evacuated. I personally think they should have made the range much larger. Weather is unpredictable. You really only know how it is going to behave in the exact moment that it is happening. They should have told all the islands to leave." Finch pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He could feel the tension building in his shoulders.
Reese noticed and relaxed. "Finch, I have dealt with things way worse than hurricanes," Finch corrected him again. "Sorry, super storms. This is nothing but rain!" He said gesturing outside once again.
Finch raised his eyebrows and looked out side. "Just rain, Mister Reese? There is more than just rain. There is rain, gale force winds, snow, flooding, power outages, no heat, the transportation has been shut down. Schools closed, people evacuated." He had raised his voice. "Death." He added at the end.
Reese clamped his hands over the man's shoulders. "Harold!" He said getting Finch's attention. "I promise you, nothing bad is going to happen." Reese said in the calmest voice that he could manage.
At that moment, the power flickered and died. Plunging them and the library into total darkness. Finch whimpered again. "Oh, we should have left."