A/N: Taylor's trying to have a conversation with his mom about her experiences in war is drawn from conversations that I use to try to have with my dad about his time in Italy during WWII and Korea during the Korean War. He finally told me about one of his experiences where he had engaged the enemy and killed the person. He never told me anything else again about the war. He was awarded the Purple Heart in WWII.

CHAPTER 2

Sounds of his dad moving around in the kitchen and shortly after, the scent of bacon, eggs and toast slipped down the hall and into the guest room. No, it was no longer the guest room. As of about 2 months ago it had become his room -permanently. His room, his hall, his home…..home. Taylor wasn't too sure what that really meant these days. Living with his dad was turning out to be ok. He loved his dad and they had started building a good relationship about a year ago when his dad had suddenly reappeared in his and his Mom's life. Getting to know each other had been full of fits and starts but the bumps had started to smooth out. They were working through things and he was getting to know him as his Dad and as a person. That this was now his only home was not a good thing. Not because he was living with his dad full time now but the reason why he now had to live with his dad was unreal. Packing up the previous home he had shared with his mom for most of his life and coming to live with his dad for good had been the second hardest thing he had ever done.

Like his mom, his dad was also a vet. Taylor had asked his mom what it was like being a soldier and being in the war but she didn't talk about it unless he asked and even then she would tell him as little as possible. She said she saw and experienced some very bad and sad things but that was about the extent of their discussions. He had often seen her Purple Heart medal and knew what it stood for; she had been injured in the war. He even asked her once to show him the scar, she wouldn't. He knew it was because she didn't think he was ready to see how badly his mom had been hurt and when he was a little kid she was right, he wasn't ready. But as he got older and she still wouldn't talk with him about her experience, Taylor knew then that it was because she wasn't ready to share that horrible part of her life with him…her baby boy. The last time he'd asked her about it he wasn't a baby anymore and had expected her to be as honest with him about this as she was about most everything else he needed to discuss with her. But she brushed it off saying it was in the past, she'd dealt with it, he didn't need to worry about it 'cause she was fine.

"I'm fine baby, I'm ok, I'll be alright Tay", and "Don't worry about me honey." Her stock answers for Taylor whenever he let her know he was worried about her. Sometimes he really hated it when she did her supermom slash super cop thing. She was a great mother and an awesome detective but he could see the frustration, aggravation and lately fear and uncertainty weighing heavy in her eyes and effecting her with many sleepless nights. So Taylor did what he could to help remove some of the weight from her shoulders. He was spending a lot more time at his dad's but when he was home he made sure that as soon as he got home from school he would complete all of his homework. He didn't leave a mess in the kitchen or living room and even occasionally would have dinner ready for her when she got home. His mom didn't know but he'd wake sometimes in the middle of the night when he'd hear her get up and start roaming around the house cleaning, because she couldn't sleep again. The thought of his mom sneaking around on tiptoe so as not to wake him while trying to clean the house made a small chuckle bubble out of him.

She hadn't known that Taylor would wake up frequently in the middle of the night whenever she did. Or about the other times either; when he'd wake to her muffled cries of names he couldn't quite make out and then her quiet footsteps would tiptoe into his room to check on him. She didn't know about those nights he heard her crying quietly in the living room because she didn't think he could hear her from there. The first time Taylor had heard his mom cry he was still a little boy. It was a couple of days after the night she had made Dad leave and told him to not come back until he got help. Dad had stormed in the house demanding to see him. Taylor remembers smelling, what he later found out was alcohol, on Dad's breath. About 20 minutes later his mom had rushed through the front door and had him go upstairs with the baby sitter. His dad had scared him and frightened him badly that night and when his Dad reappeared in his life just about a year ago that fear was still there. That fight between his parents had scared that little boy, but not as much as hearing his mom cry a few nights later did. Taylor remembered thinking that even though he saw no cuts or scrapes, his mom must be hurt bad because Mom never cried.

The last time he had laughed was the day before his mom was killed. He was at his dad's house and they were playing some video game. Dad wasn't too bad but Taylor was soundly beating him and laughing at how bad his Dad was at the game they were playing. Mr. BA was very good at MPSG's just like Taylor thought he would be after seeing him in action when he rescued Taylor from that gangster. Taylor liked John. He got to call him by his first name which was unusual. But mom wouldn't tell Taylor John's last name either so he couldn't call him Mr. whatever. Shortly after John had rescued him, Taylor's curiosity had gotten the better of him and one day. Before his mom barely got in the door, he started firing endless questions at her about John.

"OK, Mom we need to talk about Mr. Badass. Where'd you meet him? What's his real name? Is he a cop too? How come I never met him before? Can I invite him over for dinner?"

The questions tumbled out of Taylor's mouth practically tripping over one another before the next one tried to pop out.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there!" Joss shot at Taylor with her hands up in front of her. "Hello to you too son. So glad to see you mom and how was your day?" Joss stated as she gave him the 'don't be so rude, and slow you roll' look.

While she was taking off her coat and depositing her things on the table by the door, by way of an apology Taylor ducked his head twice, and walked over to his mom and gave her a tight squeeze and a peck on the cheek. Just as he took a deep breath to start the questions again his mom put her hands on his arm and lead him to the couch where they sat while his mom held both his hands in hers.

"Taylor I know that you have a lot of questions about him, John. And Yes I think it's time we talked too. So to answer some of your questions, I met him through work, no, he is not a police officer, yes, he does help me from time to time and his name is not Badass. He's an adult and I don't want you addressing him that way. His name is John."

Taylor lets out a small scoff of exasperation.

"I know his first name is John mom but what's his last name. And I know his boss is Mr. Finch; he's a pretty cool dude too. We did talk some th, th, that night." he says as he drops his eyes from his mom's and looks at his hands wrapped in hers.

He didn't mean to stutter but sometimes the effects of his being kidnapped at gun point would show up out of nowhere and just slam into him. He tried not to let his mom see that but, he wasn't always fast enough to hide it. He knew she had noticed a couple of times when things were off, just like she noticed the stutter now. He was sure she knew why he'd stuttered because she squeezed his hands gently. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and worried it a bit before answering his question. Taylor could see her make the decision not to tell him John's full name before she gave him the answer to the question.

"For now baby, you can just call him John, ok."

So John it was. They sat on the couch and talked about John, Mr. Finch, John's boss, the guy with the scare on his face that had kidnapped him and why Taylor had been dragged into her work. After about an hour or so his mom had gotten tired of the interrogation, her words, and finally put an end to the questions by telling Taylor he could invite John over for dinner so he could get some of his answers straight from the horse's mouth. Then she said the conversation was over by way of dismissing him to finish his school work.

"Mom", Taylor called over his shoulder on his way to his room. "It feels weird to call him John so can I call him Mr. BA? He kinda reminds me of that character on that old TV show you liked, ummmm Team…, Team…"

His mom laughed as the name of the show sprang from her lips. "You mean the A Team?"

She gave a serious belly laugh that made Taylor smile as he watched her. But then her laughter sputtered off when she said with a smirk.

"No wait. He is kinda like B.A. Baracus. Ok, Mr. BA is good." she said starting to chuckle to herself quietly.

On her way to the kitchen he thought he heard his mom say that John certainly belonged on the A list of… but the last of her remark was lost as she walked out of the room laughing to herself. He could tell his mom liked John too.

She hadn't raised a nosy or impolite child but Taylor had inherited his mom's curiosity, intelligence, stubbornness and dogged determination. So he noticed how she would talk to Mr. BA when he called. Even though Taylor only heard one side of the conversation he knew when she was talking to John. John used to call every now and then but after his mom had sent John to rescue him, Taylor knew that it was John who now called her almost every night. Some times when she said it was just work or when she would scowl at her phone and not answer it, he knew it was John calling. When her tone would be soft and tired but a little lighter at the end of a call it was John. Usually when he overheard their conversations she seemed to be mad or exasperated with John and fussed at him until she hung up. Taylor knew that his mom was using her, 'have you lost your ever loving mind' scowl on John even though John couldn't see it through the phone. He also realized that a lot of the times when she would get a phone call late at night or on the weekends, say it was work and then rush out of the house, it was really John calling.

John was the only person Taylor knew of that could make his mom so angry, concerned and happy to talk to all within the same conversation. He was also the only person that he knew of besides Mr. Fusco that his mom would fly out of the house to go help if he called and needed her. If he saw her before she charged out of the house she would have this look on her face that was a cross between worry, determination, concern, fear and sometimes anger. Taylor knew it was all because of and for John. He had found out the truth about John's and his mom's unusual relationship by accident about a year and half ago.

On that night Taylor was spending the night at his friend Steve's house and they were working on their English project that was due in two days. Taylor thought he had brought the thumb drive that had his part of the project information on it with him but had left it at home. His laptop was at home too but he remembered he hadn't shut it down because he was running late for Steve's. He had just grabbed what he need most and rushed out the door. Since it was a simple thing and his laptop was set up for remote log in, he was going to access his computer from Steve's house and transfer the info to Steve's computer.

Taylor knew that his Mom should be home right about then so when he remotely logged in to his computer he turned on the mike and camera to see what she was up to. Really he just wanted to see how she was, if she was alright. He hadn't seen her since this morning. Even though she always told him she was ok and not to worry about her, how could he not worry about her. Her job was dangerous at times and he now knew firsthand how easy it was for the danger to follow her and reach out to touch them anywhere. When the camera turned on he saw that the house was dark. The mic however was picking up sounds of someone moving around in the house. Through the back camera on the laptop Taylor could just make out the image of someone, a man, by the doors to the balcony. Taylor's mouth went dry and he started to tremble when he realized someone had broken into their home and was probably waiting to hurt his mom.

Just as he had started to fumble his phone out of his pocket to call Det. Fusco he heard the front door open and knew it was his mom. She was home. He heard her call his name a couple of times before she noticed there was someone in the apartment. Taylor was half way between standing and pulling his phone from his pocket but became frozen to the spot as he heard the man tell his mom that Taylor wasn't there, he was at a friend's house studying. That this man knew his schedule made a new fear spring to life in Taylor's heart. His mom must have turned the lights on then because he could now see that she had her service weapon out and pointed at the man. But just as quickly as she had drawn it she lowered it and started talking to the man. Taylor was so frightened for his mom that it took him a couple of seconds longer than his mom to recognize the man in his home.

When he saw who it was he sat back down hard in the chair he hadn't quite finished getting out of. With a small groan Taylor let out a shaky breath and tried to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth which, in the last few seconds, had become as dry as the Mojave. He couldn't get his phone back in his pocket because his hands were shaking so badly so he dropped it on the desk where he was sitting. He almost screamed then from the tension and fear when he realized he had thought he was going to see his mother be injured or even killed right in front of him and he was powerless to stop it. It was Mr. BA in their apartment and mom was using that exasperated tone on him and saying something about John coming over and making his self at home. John was speaking low so Taylor was having a hard time understanding him.

All sorts of thoughts started running through Taylor's head. How did John get in their home? Did mom give him a key? If mom gave John a key he must be very important to her and she must trust him, a lot! Why didn't she tell him she had given John a key? John was still talking to Taylor's mom when he heard his mom say….

"Who's gone, John?"

Her tone had changed and she was no longer ticked off at John. Her voice said she was concerned and what he could still see of her face did too.

John turned to look at his mom and Taylor could see the stress on his face. Then John said,

"Finch. She took him."