This takes place post-canon and within my own story timeline/universe that leads off with And, Reawakening. As I have no concrete timeline set, consider it just as "sometime several weeks after".
This is a one shot, but foreshadows another piece that I'm working on currently and will appear during the Tropes Gone Wild Ficathon sometime during the first week in March. There should be a lot of excellent work coming out during that time period, so be on the watch for all of it.
Sending out an extra special thank you for the last minute beta to idelthoughts. Your help is greatly appreciated and your comments never fail to make me smile. Thanks for being such a wonderful asset to the Forever fanfic community.
Also, many thanks to everyone who commented on And, Reawakening. Your words were awesome!
Henry's first thought when his head cleared the water was that he had unintentionally broken his promise to Jo.
Abe had left town to spend the week with his twice ex-wife just twenty four hours before Jo was unexpectedly scheduled for an FBI training seminar. The NYPD detective that was supposed to attend had canceled at the last minute due to a family emergency, and since Jo was next on the list, she had been tapped for the assignment.
Jo had worried about the possibility of Henry being out on cases without her and with no Abe to call. It wasn't that she didn't trust Mike Hanson to keep Henry safe, just that she didn't trust Henry to keep himself safe. He had told her he would be fine; after all, he had been looking after himself for over a century before Abigail and Abraham has come into his life. Jo had just given him a look before making him promise to "stow his lack of self-preservation" as she put it, and not get himself killed. He had given his word and was fully intent on staying true to it, yet here he was out in the middle of the East River. It wasn't exactly his fault however. The speeding car had been nowhere in sight when he started across the street. It had suddenly fishtailed around the corner and slid directly into Henry before jumping the divider and taking off.
Sometimes it vaguely crossed his mind that, although he couldn't stay dead, the concept at least seemed to be attracted to him; irony at it's finest.
Sighing, Henry set out for dry land, glad that it was almost sunset. Although pleasant during the day this time of year, it got cold quickly after twilight, which meant the park just past the river bank would be mostly deserted. Still, he was wondering how he'd make it home with no clothes and no one to call when a strange reflection up ahead caught his eye. Out of curiosity, he changed direction and headed toward it. As he got nearer, it appeared to be a small, silver flag sticking up out of the river, sporadically waving back and forth as the water swirled around it. By the time he reached the right spot, his feet could touch bottom and the water was just above his waist.
Upon closer inspection, Henry realized that the flag was made of mylar, with the letters H.M. printed on both sides in what looked to be indelible ink. It was attached to a rigid wire threaded through a plastic float the size of a tennis ball. Following the thin piece of aluminum from the bottom side of the float with his fingers, he found that it was also attached to a plastic coated, metal cable. The cable itself was wound a number of times around a large rock and then continued back out toward the river channel. By now his curiosity was even greater, and the flag did have his initials on it, so he grabbed the cable and pulled.
The other end of the line came up easily, though Henry could tell there was some kind of weight to it. Five feet later, he was holding the looped end with a plastic bag approximately two feet square and six or so inches in thickness attached to it via a carabiner. Unclipping the bag and tucking it under his arm, he coiled the cable around the rock it was hooked to before wading to the riverbank.
In the faint light of the setting sun, Henry could see what looked to be clothing and the soles of shoes inside the clear plastic. Peeling open the resealable top and reaching inside, he pulled out a microfiber towel, a pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt, a lightweight jacket and a pair of neoprene shoes with rubber soles, all in his size or close to it. Everything was also dry, which he greatly appreciated. At the bottom of the bag sat a deep sea fishing weight and another, smaller bag which also contained items. Opening the second pouch produced a twenty dollar bill, a roll of quarters and a key. There was also a piece of white paper, folded several times and wrapped around the coin sleeve.
Henry stared at the items in confusion for several seconds. A blast of chill wind got his attention however, and he quickly decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. After a furtive glance around, he waded to dry land and placed everything except the towel on the bank beside him. Toweling off as fast as possible, he picked up the clothing and tugged each article on. Only after working his feet into the shoes did he unwrap the paper from the quarters and open it. There was a single sentence as well as some other information typed across the front, and he chuckled upon reading it.
You really are an intelligent man, but why not make things easier on yourself? It said, closing with, a friend.
Below that was the brand of the bags, with an addendum stating that they were waterproof to 200 feet, as well as a list of everything that had been in them. There was also the name and address of an outdoor adventure store located less than a mile from the antiques shop, and where most of the objects had been purchased he assumed.
"Well I'll have to hand it to Jo, she's nothing if not resourceful," Henry said to himself while still going over the list.
Refolding the paper, he put it in the pocket of his new jacket along with the money. An examination of the key and it's bitting lead him to believe that it was to the shop. It seemed to be identical to those he and Abe had made in the past, but he couldn't be sure. He put it in his pocket as well before picking up the bag. Dropping the towel and smaller bag inside with the fishing weight, he headed toward the street to hail a cab.
Back at the antiques shop, Henry had just unlocked the door with the provided key when Jo's unmarked police car pulled up. Leaning against the doorframe with a smile, he watched her step out and walk toward him. She was dressed one step above her normal work clothes, in a teal silk blouse under a black wool coat, a pair of black slacks and high heeled boots. As always, Henry found it hard to quit staring.
"Hello Jo, I didn't expect you back until tomorrow night," he said once she had reached him.
"Yeah well, the seminar was over by lunch today, but most of the other detectives aren't planning on leaving til tomorrow. And if you were ever planning on hanging out with a bunch of cops from different police departments, all letting off steam away from home? Just don't," Jo replied and rolled her eyes before dropping a quick kiss on his cheek.
Taking a step back, she raised an eyebrow at him. "Henry, you smell like the river, what the hell happened this time?" she asked, before sighing and dropping her head to pinch the bridge of her nose. That was when his footwear caught her attention and pushed any thoughts of his latest death to the back of her mind. She had to ask, it was just too weird. "And water shoes? Since when do you own water shoes?"
What started out as a mixture of embarrassment and placation on Henry's face was quickly replaced by a look of worry. Glancing around the street, he beckoned Jo inside and locked the door behind them. Turning, he asked, "Do I understand you correctly? You have never seen these before?"
Jo stared at Henry in confusion. "What in the world are you talking about? I think I'd remember if I'd ever seen you in water shoes."
Holding up the plastic bag still in his hand, Henry explained. "Through no fault of my own, I did die today. It was a hit and run, and before you ask, no I didn't get the license plate. When I neared the river bank I found a small mylar flag staked a few feet out into the water, and with my initials written on it no less. To make a long story short, it lead me to this." Letting the weighted plastic drop to the floor with a thunk, he reached into his jacket pocket to retrieve the folded paper and handed to Jo. "Inside was this note, along with everything I'm currently wearing. Also, there was more than enough currency to either pay for a cab or use a payphone, and a key to this front door; the same key I used to let us both in. I just assumed that you had found an inventive way to keep me out of the law enforcement spotlight. Obviously by your reaction, I was wrong."
Out of long habit, Jo took the paper by its edges and teased it open before slowly reading the typed words. "You don't think Abe left it?" She asked, still studying the note.
"I don't imagine so. Abraham is spry for his age, but not enough to wade several feet out into the East River. His hiring someone to accomplish it is also moot, as it would raise too many questions for either of our tastes." Looking troubled, Henry shook his head. "No Jo, it's obvious that someone else is privy to my secret."
"Adam?" Jo asked, already sure she knew the answer. It was in her job description to cover all possible leads though, and cover them she would.
"Still tucked away in the care facility. I was halfway home from there when I was struck."
Jo looked up at Henry and narrowed her eyes. "You don't happen to have that old fingerprint kit of yours down in the dungeon do you?"
Snorting, Henry managed a small grin. "If you mean my laboratory, yes I do. Typically I would say that paper is usually not a good medium for enhancing latent prints with a powder. However, that particular sheet was sealed in watertight plastic, possibly since it was produced. It is also of a heavy bond, so that just might work. We shall hope anyway, since I don't currently have a vapor chamber available. Hold on and I'll retrieve my kit," he said, already starting toward the trap door leading to the basement.
Jo just shook her head with a bemused smile as she watched him walk away. She was beginning to realize that facts and falling back into antiquated speech patterns were Henry's own peculiar form of self-comfort.
Ten minutes later they were standing next to a Chippendale dining room table in the shop while Henry sprinkled fingerprint powder over the entirety of the note. Picking the paper up by its edges, he tilted it every which way and finally flipped it over and back several times before laying it back down.
Taking her cell phone out of her pocket, Jo took several pictures of the fingerprints that had appeared and then made a call. "Hey Emily, this is Jo. Yeah, I'm doing alright, you? Look, I need a favor and I'd appreciate it if you could keep it off the books." Jo paused, listening to the slightly longer reply. "How about lunch, my treat, anywhere you want to go? Great, I'm sending you some print photos, could you run them for me and flag it to exclude city personnel? Thanks, just send me a text when the results come back, and say hi to Matt for me." After taking the phone from her ear, she tapped the screen several times before looking back up at Henry. "Now, we wait."
"Thank you Jo, I very much appreciate you calling in a favor," he said, taking her hand.
Jo smirked at him. "Well now I owe Emily, so you owe me. How about dinner?"
"The Latin bistro over on Houston?"
"Oh, the paella; nice choice, Doctor Morgan."
"Let me get my scarf," Henry said before his current outfit occurred to him. "Hm, and maybe a change of clothing would be in order."
Pressing her lips together to stifle a laugh, Jo just nodded.
Since Jo hadn't relished the thought of climbing back in the car so soon after the trip from Virginia, they decided to walk over to the bistro. After lingering over dinner and drinks, they were on their way home hand in hand when Jo's cell phone buzzed. Taking it out of her pocket, she read the message and then turned it so Henry could see.
Only one set of prints, and those were excluded. See you on Wednesday.
Henry blew out a frustrated breath and was about to speak, but glancing at Jo told him that she was deep in thought. He waited instead, letting her come to whatever conclusion she was working on.
Sliding the phone back in her pocket, Jo looked at Henry, trusting that he would lead her safely down the lightly populated sidewalk. "No prints on the note besides yours, which probably means there won't be any on the other items. We could ask around the sporting goods store. That place is huge and stays pretty busy though, so I'm betting it won't yield anything. I'm willing to keep digging, but I'm not sure we're going to find out the identity of your mysterious benefactor. And that's another thing; it seems like they were trying to be helpful. Besides the fact that providing you with a key to your own place does carry a serious ick factor, there hasn't been any threat involved. If you were a civilian, I'd tell you to change your locks and see if they make further contact."
"You're right Jo," Henry said, staring ahead as he mulled it over. "When I first ran across the cache, I thought of it as something you would do, and wondered why I didn't think of it sooner." Chuckling, he added, "You know, this doesn't necessarily even have to be about that particular condition. Plenty of people at the station know about what I told Lieutenant Reece. The key is still worrying, but the contact was nothing like when Adam first appeared. Let's wait and see what happens, if anything. I'll call in the morning and schedule the locksmith to come around; have him put in a new deadbolt. With this new system at the river, maybe we'll have fewer spare keys to keep up with."
Reaching the door of the shop, Jo turned to face Henry as he unlocked it. "Sounds like a plan, and no more naked sleepwalking? Whatever will Lieu think?" She teased.
Henry opened the door and motioned her in with a small bow of his head. "Possibly that I've given up public exhibitionism and settled on being naked in front of only one person? She does know everything that goes on in her precinct, remember?"
"Henry!" Jo's shocked exclamation could be heard all the way out to the sidewalk.
Grinning at her reaction, Henry stepped inside and locked the door behind him.