I'm sorry it has taken me this long to update this story, I was stuck on it for ages. Not sure if anyone is still reading but I will try to finish it as best as I can. Not long left now...Thanks in advance for reading it!
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR: She found you….
Popped up by several thick pillows, Root lay in her hospital bed feeling a mixture of conflicting emotions. The bed-linen felt a little rough against her bare skin and the whiteness of the sky in the nearby window grazed her eyes, but mentally she felt rested, the most rested she had been since the events at Samaritan HQ.
Root's soft eyes turned to Finch, who sat in the nearby chair. Despite their earlier conversation when Root first woke up, the air between them remained uncomfortably tense.
"Harold, please stop…." she pleaded.
Finch sat up straight and directed a forced tough stare at Root. "I don't know what you're talking about…" he replied flippantly, his voice loaded with concern.
"Harold you don't have to worry about me anymore…."
Finch's suspicious gaze studied Root for a brief moment and the tough exterior he was trying to portray began to subside. "I wish I could believe that Miss Groves…."
Root's eyes dropped to the pasty mushroom soup on the table in front of her. She watched it with a deep frown and sighed vulnerably.
"I couldn't stop dreaming about Sameen…." she spoke suddenly, her voice breaking with each word "Every time I closed my eyes I watched her die over and over again…." she paused, stirred the soup thoughtfully and continued, her eyes meeting Finch confidently. "I just wanted to sleep. I didn't think about the pills. Harold, it was just a mistake…"
"Why didn't you tell me about the nightmares? Why didn't you tell the doctors?..."asked Finch sympathetically. "We wanted to help you, but we didn't know how…" he added with a heavy sigh.
"You're still helping, Harold…" stated Root alongside a generous smile. "But you're right…. I'm sorry I kept you in the dark. I don't know why…..those feelings just took over me…" she added reflectively.
"I'm sorry too…" sighed Finch "for everything…." he added, the unspoken meaning reflecting in his gaze.
Root nodded with a short, sad smile, her eyes filling with tears almost instantaneously. She would have continued to cry if it hadn't been for the loud rumblings of her belly. She glanced at the soup once again and began to eat it one spoonful at a time, despite its lack of visual appeal.
Meanwhile Finch had received a call and was furiously shouting instructions into thin air. Root was too absorbed in her lunch to really understand the one sided conversation, all she gathered was that it was a call from John.
"Is your helper monkey in need of some assistance?" she questioned after Finch had ended his call.
Finch's tentative gaze jumped above his glasses and he eyed Root thoughtfully. "John is out in the field chasing what we believe is a new irrelevant number…" he explained in a strangely cynical tone.
Root paused, holding a spoon dripping with white splodge half way between the plate and her mouth. She grinned "You're kidding…"
Finch shrugged offhandedly, dismissing Root's excitement "Yes, I know, it seems hard to believe…"
"So She made it through the war…." whispered Root in owe "How did you find Her?"
"Actually Ms Groves, She…." he paused to emphasize his choice of words "found you…"
Root scowled in confusion which prompted Finch to explain. "On the night on which you took the sleeping pills, The Machine alerted me. John raced here and arrived in time for the doctors to save you…"
Root finished the remnants of her soup and sat back in bed; her thoughts preoccupied with the mixed emotions she felt for The Machine. Rationally Root understood "The Big Picture" and The Machine's purpose in this world but the emotional connection she once felt with it, was no longer there. The Machine had the power to save Shaw, but instead She sacrificed her; She turned Sameen into just another pawn in "The Big Picture Show…" Root didn't know if she could forgive Her for that.
Root's eyes filled with tears once again and she shook away the painful thoughts, deciding not to dwell on subjects that were yet too raw. She noted that Finch was ending yet another call, which had caused him to rummage through his belongings like a man possessed.
"Everything okay, Harold?..."
"Detective Fusco is still on medical leave, currently receiving physio to enable him to walk again. That femoral wound stuck him in a wheelchair for quite some time…." he rambled hurriedly. "Normally Mr Reese assists Lionel with his physio appointments but given his latest predicament he's unavailable and the appointment begins in half hour…"
Root smiled excitedly. "Give me the laptop and the phone. I'll lookout for helper monkey whilst you take care of Lionel…"
Finch stopped moving abruptly and his eyes assessed Root from beneath his glasses. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea…"
"You don't have much of a choice…" replied Root in her usual playful tone "Besides, I could use the distraction…"
Several hours later, the darkness of the night was looming through the wide hospital windows and the traffic through the sterile corridors was almost no-existent. Root had worked up quite an appetite after spending the day assisting John with his latest number, a task that occupied her attention so much so that she had dismissed her evening meal with a simple wave of the hand, when it was first bought to her some hours ago.
Supposedly Finch was on his way over here and although there is a high chance he would have some delicious treats with him, Root wasn't sure she could wait that long, given that he had to look in on John, Bear and Lionel before coming here.
Root got out of bed, put on a white dressing gown and made a slow and uncomfortable journey into the corridor. She had been here long enough to know that the staff room was mostly empty at this time of day and that it was as good place as any to stumble upon a stray snack or two.
Root counted eight large steps before physical exhaustion consumed her. She stretched her right arm against the wall beside her, causing some of her body weight to lean on it. Her head felt heavy, and she didn't have the energy to hold it up, so she let it drop and it hung low, almost dragging her to the ground. She attempted to fix her gaze at one point on the floor as a way of steadying herself, but the floor began to spin out around her and before she could take a breath; her legs gave way beneath her.
Despite her lack of physical ability, Root was quite aware of what was happening and so she was prepared to feel a nasty thump against her head, right about now. But instead, she felt a strong grip around her waist and the lax landing of her head on someone's flesh.
Root felt the momentum of forward motion and absentmindedly her hand gripped around her hero's petite shoulders. A tinge of feminine perfume, surgical alcohol and sweat filled her nostrils and Root sighed comfortably. She opened her eyes for just a moment to see which one of the medical staff was rescuing her so bravely, but was disappointed to find the woman's face covered by a mask and scrub cap. The ID card on the woman's chest shook about vigorously and all that Root's eyes caught was "Dr" before they quit on her for yet another involuntary rest.
"I'mmmm…..fineee…reeeeeally…" mumbled Root dreamily, enjoying the weightlessness of her body far too much.
Root relaxed some more when her head hit the pillow. She opened her eyes just a little and watched as the kind stranger busied about covering her body with blankets, making sure that each edge was tucked neatly beneath the mattress.
"Thank you…" she said tiredly but with much greater control of her voice, compared with moments earlier. "I guess I just got a little carried away with the exercise…" she added with a half-hearted smile.
The doctor paused suddenly as if surprised by Root's ability to speak. Her gaze held Root's for a quick second and Root was instantly captivated, feeling a strange sense of intrigue and familiarity. As the medic snapped back into action, deciding to focus Root's charts, Root's eyes watched her like a hawk, admiring her figure, her sharp and purposeful movements and her physical strength.
Root sighed at the doctor admiringly when she stopped within reaching distance beside her. She squeezed the saline bag above Root's head and attached a couple of electrodes to Root's arm and chest, without so much as a glance at Root's face, but Root continued to watch her hopelessly, with brightly glistening eyes and a goofy smile.
Suddenly, the doctor's demeanor changed and she made a purposeful step towards the door, causing Root to wake up in alarm.
"Wait!" she shouted and grabbed hold of the doctor's forearm, more forcefully than she intended.
A little startled, the medic swung back and glanced at her forearm, causing Root to do the same. That was when Root saw it; the one and only mark that made Root snap out of her fantasy.
The tattoo covering the doctor's forearm wasn't just any tattoo. It was a set of thick black lines Root had committed to memory a long time ago, having traced them methodically several times when Shaw's arms had been wrapped around her.
Root inhaled a sharp and loud breath as her blood filled with adrenaline. Her desperate, questioning eyes jumped up to the doctor's face, meeting those unmistakable and undeniable brown eyes that she remembered so well.
"Shhhh….aaaw?" she whispered in a shaky tone.
A flash of acknowledgement emerged in the doctor's eyes and Root's stomach did a miniature flip. Suddenly everything she noted about this woman made sense.
As Root ran away with her thoughts, Shaw's arm disappeared from her grasp and she saw the doctor make a sluggish approach for the exit. Thanks to the adrenaline bursting through her veins, Root was out of bed in a flash and racing for the door.
Root placed her hand on the door with a loud thump, coming to a quick and breathless stop, just behind Shaw. As Root took a moment to catch her breath, her eyes studied Shaw's rigid body as if looking for confirmation of what in her heart she knew was true.
Root's other arm came to rest on Shaw's waist pulling her in an inch closer. She inhaled the welcoming sent she missed so greatly and sighed contently. Then, whilst hovering just above Shaw's ear, Root confidently whispered;
"Sam, I know it's you…"