This ficlet is unbeta'd, so sorry for any mistakes! It jumped into my head and I needed to write it down. I wanted to get it out for the #JossCarterIsEternal week and I had already dumped a lot of work on my beta.
TO: SniperGuy
FROM: TCarter
SUBJECT: Checking in
Hey John,
Don't' know if it's OK for me to email you, if you know what I mean. I hope this is OK.
School's been in session for a couple of weeks and so far everything is going fine. I've made a few friends already and my roommate seems cool. He tries to be a player, but he fails miserably, it's so funny to watch! I joined a study group for my Calculus class and there's this cute gal in my English class that seems to be into me. We're going to the football game this weekend.
How's mom doing? I saw that she was trying to be all brave while you guys were saying good bye, but I can tell when she trying not to cry. Did she cry?
My roommate asked about you guys when he saw you helping me move my stuff into the dorm. I was telling him about you and mom, and I realized that don't know how you and mom met. I asked mom once, right after that "issue" with Elias, but she wouldn't say much. I had always assumed that you guys met on a case.
I gotta get to class, talk to you later!
T
TO: TCarter
FROM: SniperGuy
SUBJECT: RE:Checking in
Hey Tay,
We should be fine emailing as long as you use the laptop Finch gave you. As he explained it, Samaritan looks for certain keywords and as long as you don't use those words, it doesn't trigger. Finch loaded encryption software on all our computers that looks for those keywords and replaces them in emails before it encrypts them using normal email encryption. He tells me we can talk freely.
Glad to hear you are settling in at Howard. Enjoy your college experience, I never got to go and I wish I could have.
Your mother is doing fine, but she does miss you. Don't tell her I told you this because she'll kneecap me, but she did cry the first night after we left you in the dorm.
I'm surprised your mom never told you about how we met. No, it wasn't on a case.
I first meet your mom when I was at my lowest point. I was homeless, I was drunk and I was looking to die. I had failed to save the life of someone I cared about very much and the CIA had just tried to kill me. (Don't tell your mom you know about the CIA, please) I had nowhere to go, no one who cared about me, no reason to live.
I had stupidly gotten into a fight on the subway. All I wanted was to be left alone to drown my pain in a bottle of cheap booze, but some punks had different ideas. Before I really knew what was happening, my training had taken over and I was beating the crap out them. I didn't want to hurt anyone, but they pushed too hard.
So I sat in a room in the 8th precinct waiting for whatever would come. I knew that the police would run my fingerprints, the CIA would be alerted to the fact that I was still alive and they would send a team to eliminate me. Truthfully, I welcomed it; I was tired, and drinking myself to death was moving too slowly for my taste.
Then an angel walked in and suddenly I had a reason to live.
I think you know how beautiful your mom is, but what really drew me in were her eyes. I know that the whole "eyes are the windows to the soul" is a cliché, but with your mom it's true. If you look, and I was trained to look, you can see the intelligence, the compassion and the humor in them. I felt like I had taken a .50 caliber to the chest, in a good way. I realized that this is the person I had waiting my whole life for.
I'm pretty sure she didn't feel that way about me until later though; I looked and smelled like I had been dragged through a barnyard. For the first time since I had taken to the streets, I was ashamed of my appearance. Your mom didn't seem to notice, she didn't look at me with disgust or pity. She was business-like, but kind; concerned without being sappy. She simply gave me a bit of a grin and said, "You know you could have done me a favor and let them land a few more punches." I knew then that I was a goner.
She knew from watching me fight on the security camera footage that I had been Special Forces. I realized that she had to be an Army Vet. I couldn't even look at her; I was so scared by her.
She introduced herself as "Carter" and tried to coax me into giving her my name, but how do you explain to someone you just met that you didn't have a name anymore, all you had was aliases? You don't, so I chose to evade her question. I said, "You know, it's funny, seems like the only time you need a name now is when you are in trouble. So am I in trouble?"
"I don't know, you tell me, you're the one living on the street," she shot back. She won that round. She was smart and beautiful, and I was doomed.
Her eyes met mine and I tried to play it cool, but I was woefully out of practice and she wasn't.
I'll never forget what she said next. "Yeah, making that transition back can be tough, some guys I knew got a little lost. Needed a little help adjusting. Need some help?" She looked at me, waiting for me to say anything, but all I could do was stare at her perfect face. She nodded knowingly when I remained silent, she had expected that. "Of course some other guys I knew, they done so many evil things, they felt like they needed the punishment" She flipped on the recording of me pounding the punks the in the subway. "That sound more your story?"
She knew me. She knew I was the Dark. In just a few minutes of looking some grainy security camera footage, she had figured me out like no one had ever done before. She was perfect, but you knew that.
I wanted to trust her, but old habits die hard, and I kept my mouth shut. I thought it was too late for me anyway. I knew that she would do her best to help but I saw no sense in pulling her into my dark world Of course I figured once she ran those fingerprints and discovered just what she was dealing with; she would stay far away from me on her own. I don't mind telling you that my heart hurt at the thought that that she would hate me once she found out what exactly I had been.
When she walked out of the room I felt bereft. For the first time in a very long time, I had felt something; I had felt a connection. You mom was probably the first person to ever offer me a helping hand with no strings attached; she did because it was the right thing to do. She did it because she's a good person. She changed me that night with her simple act of kindness. I realized there were still good people in the world, people worth fighting for.
It was right after that Finch's lawyer bailed me out. You know the rest.
Anyway, this email is lot longer than I intended it to be and Shaw I and need to get going. A new number just came in, so I'll talk to you later.
John
TO: SniperGuy
FROM: TCarter
SUBJECT: RE: Checking in
Hey John,
Wow, I had no idea about you and mom! It's really hard to imagine you down and out like that, you're usually so cool and in control. Mom had always told me that Finch saved you by offering you that job, she never said she helped you out.
T
TO: TCarter
FROM: SniperGuy
SUBJECT: RE:Checking in
Taylor,
Finch is a big part of the reason I'm here today, but your mom played a big role too. I never would have taken the job with him if I had not met her first. I wish I was more articulate like Finch so I can tell just how special your mom is. Even Shaw thinks she's special and you know how she is.
John
TO: SniperGuy
FROM: TCarter
SUBJECT: RE: Checking in
Hi John,
Yeah, I know how Sam is. It cracks me up how much she likes mom, they are so opposite! It's weird. For the longest time I thought Shaw was only into Bear, but did you see that expensive gun she got mom for Christmas? She was so proud of getting her that! Mom was really happy to get it too.
I do worry about my mom now that I'm not around all the time. I know you, Sam and Lionel have her back, but take good care of her OK? Make sure she doesn't eat too many meals off the hotdog cart in the front of the precinct and that she gets patched up when she's hurt, OK?
I know I can count on you,
T
TO: TCarter
FROM: SniperGuy
SUBJECT: RE:Checking in
Taylor,
That just goes to show how special your mom in that she was able to reach Shaw. Shaw looks up to her like a big sister, and she could not have picked a better one. Your mom is one of the best people I have ever known.
You can count on me, I promise to take good care of her for you. I'll die before I let anything happen to her. She's the reason I get up in the morning.
Take good care of yourself. Enjoy the football game this weekend.
John
TO: SniperGuy
FROM: TCarter
SUBJECT: RE: Checking in
John,
Thanks for everything. You've given me a lot to think about. I knew mom was dope, but I didn't know how cool she was until now.
Thanks man.
T
Thanks to all the awesome writers who participated in this event on FF, Twitter, FB and Tumblr. We are keeping Joss Carter and Careese alive, and having a darn good time doing it. Every time I open up the POI page I smile!