Here it is, the last chapter. Thanks to all the lovely readers who followed me on this journey, with a special shout-out to all of you have left me reviews. Once again I am reminded how uniquely supportive the Careese community is.


Confrontation and Reunion

The next day John and Sh'Linda entered Roger's office building while Shaw and the Barrett sniper rifle took a position on the roof next door with a good view through the office windows. The team hoped that John's imposing presence would be enough to intimidate Roger into behaving, but if they were wrong, Shaw and the Barrett would be the back-up. In addition, Joss and Fusco "just happened" to be loitering at a coffee shop just around the corner in case an official presence became necessary.

It was Saturday evening and the building where Roger had his office was eerily quiet. There was something oppressive about the silence. The hairs on the back of John's neck stood up and his CIA-trained senses were on high alert. He couldn't put his finger on it. but something felt very wrong.

He laid a hand on Sh'Linda's arm. "I think we should leave," he said, his eyes darting about, looking for the source of his foreboding feelings. "Something doesn't feel right."

Sh'Linda shook her head. "John, I've come too far, I can't just turn around and leave now. Please, don't make me stop now." She looked up at him, her large, dark eyes pleading with him.

John looked down into her pleading eyes and nodded. He understood her need to finish her ordeal after ten long and lonely years. After everything she had been through, she deserved it and he would do what he could to help her.

They climbed the stairs to the second floor and entered the tiny waiting area for the accounting office. They pressed the buzzer to enter the inner office and Roger immediately opened the door to usher them in.

"Who's this?" Roger jerked his thumb in Reese's direction.

Reese smirked at Roger. "A concerned third party."

"He's a friend. Where's my son?" Sh'Linda snapped.

"I thought we would talk before we involved Henry," Jimenez said calmly, while staring at Reese. The operative's presence clearly had thrown him for a loop.

"Rog, I don't want to talk, I don't want revenge, I just want to see my son." Sh'Linda sounded weary.

Roger finally pulled his eyes from Reese. "We really should talk before you see Henry…"

Sh'Linda interrupted, angry now. "Talk? What's there to talk about? You fucked my sister, framed me for murder, stole my son, then killed my sister. Done talking now, where's my boy?"

Jimenez stared angrily at Sh'Linda. "I didn't kill Shanika! I loved her!"

Sh'Linda snorted in contempt. "Yeah, right Rog. Who else would want her dead?"

Sh'Linda's question triggered something in Reese's mind and in one sickening instant everything became crystal clear. In a flash of insight, he put all the pieces together and he knew what the team had been missing all along.

"He's telling the truth," John said softly to Sh'Linda. She looked at him in confusion. "We were so focused on Roger we forgot there was another person who had been in on the plan from the beginning."

Another door opened and Cecilia Jimenez stepped through holding a gun. "Very smart Mr. Concerned Third Party, but too late."

"I should have known," Sh'Linda glared at her former mother-in-law with a look at that could kill.

Cecilia glared right back. "I won't let you take my son from me!" she hissed.

"Bitch, you took my son and my sister from me!" Sh'Linda snarled back. "I don't want to hurt Roger or take your precious son from you, you crazy old bat. All I want is MY son."

"See, Mom, there's no reason to kill again! We can work this out!" Roger pleaded.

Cecilia laughed. "I don't believe her." Then she glanced at her son with a tender expression on her face. "We've come too far, done too much, to stop now. I won't let this bitch destroy your life. Our lives."

During those crucial few minutes Roger spent pleading with his mother, John's mind went into overdrive. He calculated the angle from Cecilia to the window and concluded that Shaw did not have a clean shot at her. He could hear Shaw calling for Joss and Lionel over his earpiece, but they wouldn't be there in time. That left him on his own as he used all his training and experience to consider his options. He knew Cecilia would shoot as soon as he acted, so he had to choose his first move carefully; she was too far away from him for him to grab and disarm her before she pulled the trigger. If he reached for the gun that was tucked in his waistband snuggled against the small of his back, Cecilia might have time to get a shot off at Sh'Linda before he could draw his weapon.

Making his decision, John moved swiftly. He grabbed Roger and threw him in front of Sh'Linda as a human shield just as Cecilia pulled the trigger.

Roger slumped to the floor, a red stain spreading over his chest and a surprised look on his face. Reese's gun was in his hand and aimed at Cecilia, but it was no longer needed. With a piercing wail of grief, Cecilia dropped her weapon and threw herself at her dying son. Screaming in anguish, she held his head to her breast, rocking back and forth as Roger breathed his last.

John tapped his earpiece. "Joss, Fusco, we need you here. Shaw stand down, it's over."

"We're almost there!" Joss replied.

John looked over to see Sh'Linda slumped against Roger's massive oak desk with her face in her hands. He knelt down next to her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Sh'Linda looked up and nodded. "I will be, someday, I guess. I just never thought it would end like this. I didn't want it to end like this."

"I'm sorry, I had no choice," John said hoping that Sh'Linda would understand.

Sh'Linda shook her head. "I wasn't your fault. It was Cecilia. It was always Cecilia." She gazed at her mother in law as she cradled the body of her son and cried out her grief. "I just wanted to see my son. None of this had to happen if Roger had just been happy when we had it all."

"Never take what you have for granted," John replied, thinking of Joss and Taylor.

"I never will again," Sh'Linda sighed sadly, as Joss and Fuso burst through the door.


The next day was sunny and bright as a car carrying Joss and Sh'Linda left the city and turned towards the Bradley School in Connecticut.

Sh'Linda shifted nervously in her seat. And then sighed deeply. "Look at me. All I've thought about for the last ten years is seeing my boy. Now I'm finally going to see him and I'm a wreck."

"That's only natural," Joss said, as she negotiated a turn.

"What if he hates me?" Sh'Linda said. "Lord only knows what his Grammy said about me."

"Girl, relax," Joss chided gently. "You read the records Finch downloaded for you. You know the school counselor considered Cecilia a 'toxic presence' in your son's life and she was barred from visiting. I doubt he took anything she said seriously."

Sh'Linda nodded, but couldn't stop fidgeting until the car pulled up to the school.

They climbed out of the car and walked up the front door. Sh'Linda placed her hand the door handle, paused, took a deep breath, then wrenched the door open. She marched down the hall to the office like a woman on a mission. Joss followed her with a smile.

They entered the office to be greeted by the headmaster and the counselor. The headmaster was a man of average height, olive skin, and a ready smile, who introduced himself as Mr. Spano. Ms. Daalman, the counselor, was a slight blonde woman with a motherly air about her. Both of them were as warm and welcoming as they could be under the unusual circumstances.

Joss had already called ahead after she had finished booking Cecilia the previous day, so they were fully aware of Sh'Linda's story. Ms. Daalman explained that she had taken the time to carefully prepare Henry as best as she could for the loss of his father and the reentry of his mother into his life.

Ms. Daalman escorted Joss and Sh'Linda to her office while Spano went to fetch Henry. The counselor's office was fairly large with a desk in one corner and a conversation area consisting of several comfortable chairs and an overstuffed sofa. Joss and Sh'Linda took seats on the sofa while Ms. Daalman took a seat in one the chairs.

After a few tense minutes, the door opened to admit Henry and Spano. Henry froze, staring at Sh'Linda with wide brown eyes that were exactly the same as Sh'Linda's own. Joss held her breath as she watched mother and son look at each other for the first time in ten years.

Sh'Linda stood up. "Hello, Henry, I'm your mother."

Without a word, Henry threw himself across the room and into Sh'Linda's arms. It took everything Joss had to not jump up and down and cheer. Instead, she gently herded the counselor and the headmaster out of the room to give mother and son their privacy.


Two days later, Marty Feldberg was in his small office typing up a report when there was a tap on his door. He looked up to see Joss standing in the doorway with a smile on her face. Marty answered her smile with one of his own. "Come in, come in! I've been thinking about you."

Joss stepped into the office and for the first time Marty saw another woman behind her. His grin got wider and he stood up and held out his hand to the woman. "I take it this is the vic from the Bronx fire?"

"Marty Feldberg, Sh'Linda Moore," Joss introduced the arson investigator to the unjustly accused woman. Joss shut the door and the women seated themselves across the desk from Marty.

"So, Joss, do you have a story for me?" Marty looked so eager Joss almost laughed.

"The story is Sh'Linda's. I'll let her tell it." Joss leaned back in her chair and relaxed while Sh'Linda told Marty her tale from the beginning.

It turned out to be one of the best stories Marty had ever heard.


Thursday morning. John slipped an envelope containing two twenty dollar bills and a note that said, "Good Luck" under Taylor's bedroom door.


Sh'Linda stood on the tarmac watching intently as the crate containing Shanika's casket was loaded into the belly of the airplane. Her arm was wrapped around Henry's shoulder as his head leaned against her side. Since they had been reunited, they had been inseparable.

Joss, John, and Finch walked up and stood next to them as the forklift operator carefully slid the crate into the cargo hold. Sh'Linda didn't move or acknowledge their presence until the cargo door was shut and secured. Then she ruffled Henry's hair. "Why don't you wait on the plane for me, honey? I need to talk to these people for a minute. I'll bet if you ask nicely, the steward will give you a soda."

"OK." Henry gave his mother a hug and scurried up the steps into the plane. Just before he vanished into the aircraft, he paused, grinned, and waved. Then he ducked inside.

"Looks like he missed you every bit as much as you missed him," Joss remarked, with small smile.

"Yeah," Sh'Linda smiled back. "I'll never get those years in prison back, but we're solid. Henry misses his dad, but he's glad to be free of his grandmother. She controlled him and his father, not in a good way.

"Speaking of the Hispanic Maleficent, how is my monster-in-law handling jail?"

Joss shook her head, "She's been under suicide watch since we booked her. Losing Roger has destroyed her. Framing you, killing Shanika, all attempts on your life, all for nothing."

Sh'Linda looked grim. "I'm not surprised. She won't survive the year. She'll die of a broken heart."

"Oh, her heart is fine," Joss replied. "The doctors at Riker's ran some tests when she complained about her 'bad heart' and they discovered she's as healthy as you or I, and probably healthier than Fusco."

Sh'Linda couldn't help but laugh. "She's been faking that bad heart for decades now. Too bad Roger isn't around to hear the truth."

"That reminds me," Finch broke in. "You are technically Roger's next of kin since you never divorced. What would you like done with his body? I can arrange for a modest burial if you like, or we can let the city of New York bury him on Hart Island like Shanika."

Sh'Linda stared off into the distance for a few minutes and finally she shook her head. "I hate to ask you to do anything else for us, Mr. Finch, you've done so much for us already." With a wave of her hand she indicated the plane. "Thanks to you I can bury my sister next to my mama. But if you don't mind, I would prefer to give Roger a decent burial. I know he wouldn't do the same for me, but I need forgive and move on." Tears pooled in her eyes. "There's been so much bitterness, so much wasted time…" her voice trailed off, unable to find the words to describe how she was feeling.

But she didn't need to. "I understand. I'll see to it," Finch nodded. Joss could tell he approved.

"Thank you."

"What are your plans?" John asked. "Are you going home?"

Sh'Linda shrugged. "First give Shanika a Christian burial in LA next to our mama. Then clear my name. Mr. Finch has retained some pretty sick lawyers who are working to get me declared innocent and my conviction vacated. That will probably take a few months. Once my record is cleared, I can get my CPA certification back, then who knows?" She paused. "Thanks to you I have a lot of possibilities open to me."

They were approached by a uniformed steward. "Ms. Moore? The pilot says to tell you that we're ready to leave."

Finch smiled at her. "Your future awaits, Ms. Moore."

"Make it a good one," Joss said.

Sh'Linda embraced each one of them with tearful "Thank yous." Then she turned to the steward. "Let's go."

The Team watched as Sh'Linda followed the steward up the steps and into the plane. The door was shut and locked, while the stairs were moved back. The engines roared to life and the plane smoothly taxied away.

"A most satisfying conclusion," Finch remarked, as the plane turned towards the runway.

John's phone buzzed. He looked down at it to see the text message, Score! She's a Knicks fan! With a smirk he said, "Yes it was."

The three climbed into the big Lincoln waiting patiently for them a few yards away. The car exited the airport and vanished into city traffic.

The End (for now)


There you go, I hope you enjoyed it and you found the resolution satisfying. I have more stories in the hopper, the next one is a Wolf fic. I'll be back soon!