Thank you again for all the reviews and for everyone who read the first chapter. Just another FYI I made Taylor a little older in order for the story to flow better.

Think of all the things we've shared and seen don't think about the way things might have been

John pulled his coat closer around his neck as he stood outside staring through the frosted glass window into the diner. Taylor Carter sat at a booth hovered over a plate of untouched food, unaware of his presence. John was discouraged at the kid's disheartened look.

He sighed wearily.

He was trying to keep his promise to Joss. The promise he made before she drew her last breath. He was trying to be there for Taylor. He was meeting with the kid as often as possible, trying to be a stable figure in his life especially since Taylor seemed adamant about pushing his father away. John even made sure to see him graduate. But Taylor's depression seemed to only be getting worse.

John was running out of ideas on how to help him. Taylor had put off going to college to instead work part time. But close surveillance allowed John to see that Taylor was often late to work or missing shifts. Even worse he seemed to have developed an extreme interest in the remaining members of HR who were awaiting trial. Worry for where the kid was headed was starting to keep him up at night.

John took one more breath of the frigid wind before going to the door and walking in. He slipped into the booth.

"How are you doing Taylor?"

Taylor looked up briefly before again lowering his eyes. His shoulder lifted in a barely noticeable shrug. "I feel the way you look." He winced. "No offense. I didn't mean anything by that-"

John waved his hand. "Forget it." He rubbed his jaw well aware of his appearance. Unshaven, eyes swollen and red, with lines of fatigue spread across his face. John knew the kid spoke truth. He looked rough.

And even if he didn't, John would never hold Taylor's blunt words again him. He understood that grief had hardened Taylor causing him to be more direct and harsher than John had ever seen him.

"Thanks for ordering coffee." John lifted the mug and took a sip. "So why'd you call me here? Do you need something?"

"I miss my mom," Taylor said without looking up.

John's chest tightened and he instantly felt the weight of his own grief. "I know you do." He forced the words past his lips.

"It just doesn't make sense. Even with all that she did to make the world a better place, it wasn't enough. They still got her," he ground out. "It's not fair. How am I supposed to just go on with life like she wasn't ripped away from me?"

John understood. Facing each day without Joss was torturous agony. Every day remembering what he had lost, thinking of the dreams and hopes that would never be.

If it hadn't been for his promise to Joss, he might've given in and used that bullet the moment he lost her. John stared at the mug. He hated seeing Taylor caught in almost the same level of grief and despair that he felt. He had already failed to protect Joss, could he not at least ease her son's pain? "Tell me what to do Taylor? How can I help you?"

Taylor was quiet for so long, John thought he wouldn't answer. Until finally he spoke. "I want in."

John tilted his head observing the kid with a level of extreme curiosity and growing alarm. "In… on what?"

"On what you do- and don't play dumb. I know you take down guys like those dirty cops my mom took down. And I know my mom helped you. Well I want to take her place and help you. I want to continue taking down people like those dirty cops. Working with you is the only way I can keep my mom's work going. It's the only way I can make every person responsible for her death pay."

John sat his coffee down, trying to hide his shock. The very thought… Taylor working with him and Finch! "Taylor you want revenge, not to take your mother's place. Don't confuse the two," he warned darkly. "Besides your mom destroyed HR. Nothing else is left."

"No," Taylor insisted. "I do want to take her place. She spent her life fighting against criminals. Against people who don't value life. Who don't care about who they hurt when they kill. I want those people. I want to fight to keep anyone else from having this kind of pain." His voice broke.

Frustrated John ran a hand through his hair. He glanced toward the window. It would have been easier if Taylor asked him for a quarter of a million dollars. "I can't help you with this."

Taylor slammed his fist on the table. "What do you mean you can't? I thought you- of all people- would understand!"

"I can't help you get revenge. It will destroy you." John said staring hard into Taylor's eyes. "Take it from someone who knows."

"I told you, I'm not after revenge. I'm empty!" He leaned forward, hands splayed over his chest. "Everything I had planned for my life with school-I-I just can't do it now. All I want is to be close to my mom the only way I know how. I want to take her place. I want to work with you, the way she did. Help some and stop others."

John saw the pain in his face. The kid was lost. The responsible kid he had been when his mother lived seemed to be dying off with each passing day. Something drastic needed to be done to keep the kid from self-destructing. He was willing to do whatever it took to keep that from happening.

His fingers tapped the mug. If… he let Taylor in he could keep an eye on him. Keep him from becoming vengeful and full of hate. Protect him from negative influences. He might with time even be able to persuade him to return to school and pursue his initial plans. John shut his eyes. What was he thinking?

"There's another reason I can't do this," he whispered.

"My mother," Taylor guessed.

"She wanted better for you. She wanted you to be safe. To live a long life. Do you know what she would do to me if she were alive and found out I let you help me?"

"But she's not!" The words were cold and they struck John with their intensity. "That's real John. She's gone and I have to live with that every day. And even if she was here what right would she have to tell me not to endanger my life when I lost her because she was careless with hers? John please! I need your help. I don't know where else to turn."

John swallowed. He stared long and hard at Taylor. If he didn't help him John had a feeling things would not end well for Taylor. Carter's son came to him wanting help. He was on his last stand. If he turned Taylor away, he would go somewhere else to get what he wanted and most likely end up hurt or dead.

John loved Carter. And in loving her, he had come to love her son. He couldn't deny his time with Taylor since Joss's death had been good for him. A part of him needed the kid and the kid obviously needed him. Maybe… this could work. If they were together more, then perhaps they could help each other get through this. And they both could heal.

If he at least took Taylor in for now, he could be assured that he would be safe.

John closed his eyes dreading the moment he would have to talk to Finch about this.

Slowly he nodded. "Fine. I'll let you in. But," he leaned onto the table pointing, "we do this my way. I call all the shots. The second you step out of line the deal is off."

Taylor blinked as if surprised that John was giving in. Then for the first time in months he smiled. A glimmer of his former self. "You got it."