CHAPTER THIRTY SIX: It kinda just happened…

Root stood up and walked away from Shaw's bed, whilst exhaling a tired sigh. She raked a hand through her hair and watched the men and dog shuffle out of the room in the fleeting reflections of the window in front of her.

"I know what you're going to say…." stated Root as soon as they were alone. She closed her eyes and in a voice that shook with every word she added "You don't want me to come with you…."

Shaw swung her legs over the edge of the hospital bed and sat staring into the window, hoping to catch a glimmer of Root's expression somewhere in its blank, sky blue canvass. "It's not that simple…" replied Shaw, her tone much harsher than she intended.

Root laughed mockingly "It is for me. It always has been, but then I guess that's part of the problem…." she sighed heavily and her gaze dropped to the floor. "The way I feel for you has always been….an issue for you…"

Shaw wasn't sure if it were the words that left Root's mouth, or the defeated manner in which her head hang, but something in that moment had fueled a knee-jerk response. Shaw jumped out of bed and aggressively grabbed hold of Root's arm, spinning her around, forcing their eyes to meet. She inhaled a quick breath and spoke passionately and quickly, as if afraid of losing her trail of thought. "Every deal I made with Hall involved searching for you. I came here for you. I lived this long because of you…because I god-damn love you and because you're the only one I can't stop thinking about…."

Shaw recoiled in surprise, her chest heaving, her piercing brown stare desperately searching Root's face.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that…." replied Root through a wavering smile, still unsure if the moment that happened was just a fragment of her imagination.

"Yeah well…." mumbled Shaw timidly as her cheeks flushed with mild embarrassment. "I wasn't planning anything…..it kinda just happened…"

"Shhhhh…" whispered Root as she closed the distance between them and cupped Shaw's face between her hands. "Don't ruin it…" Then, Root pulled Shaw into a sweet and long overdue kiss.

When they broke for air, Root rested her forehead against Shaw's and sighed dreamily "I love you too Sameen…." she whispered.

Shaw's arms tightened around Root's waist and they came together for yet another passionate kiss.

A moment later, which was much too soon for Root's liking, there was a brisk knock on the door. Root groaned aloud as Shaw broke all physical contact between them. "Yeah…" answered Shaw hurriedly.

Finch burst through the door, his expression apologetic "I'm sorry to interrupt but we have something urgent to discuss…."

Shaw and Root exchanged worried glances. "Is everything alright?" asked Root.

Finch and John walked into the room and John closed the door behind them. Finch sighed heavily and announced. "Agent Hall reached out to us moments ago, offering help of the kind we need…"

Shaw frowned "Why would she do that?"

"Maybe she's a sucker for a damsel in distress…" teased John with a wink.

Shaw's unimpressed pout of the lips caused John to grin, which she ignored by turning to Harold. "Are you sure you want to make deals with the government? That hasn't really worked out for us in the past, Harold…"

John shrugged. "Making deals with Hall hasn't worked out too bad for you, Shaw…"

Shaw rolled her eyes but did not bother to look at John. "I still don't know the other end of that deal John…" she replied through clenched teeth

"Maybe there isn't one…" said Root, her dreamy far-away look focused at the ceiling "maybe Hall is one of the good guys, maybe she's just trying to help…."

"I accept your point Miss Shaw…" explained Finch who still appeared rather perplexed "however Agent Hall offers us an interesting proposition; operational basis from Control HQ, an irrelevant list, completely autonomous department with all the capabilities of their equipment and finances…"

Shaw raised a skeptical brow. "What does she want in exchange for all that?"

"Our help with the AI-controlled heart implant experiments and some initial help with the relevant list…"

"Oh yay! We're all going to DC…" chimed Root excitedly.

"Ignore her...she's all gooey and weird…" said Shaw when she saw the distracted expression on Finch's face. Shaw crossed her arms and added. "I don't like it. Sounds too good to be true…."

"Perhaps it is….." agreed Finch philosophically "but we cannot recover from this alone. We have to make a deal with someone at some point…."

Shaw directed a serious nod at John. "Are you really considering this?"

"There is nothing holding me back here Shaw. As for the deal, yeah it may backfire, but right now we're not in a position to turn anything down…"

At the corner of her eye, Shaw noted Root's approach towards her. A soft arm came to rest on the small of Shaw's back before a gentle but pleading voice said. "Come on Shaw, you know this makes sense…"

Shaw ignored everyone and remained sulking with her arms firmly crossed. "And what about Lionel? Are you just gonna leave him here alone to learn to walk on one leg?"

"Actually, Lee is starting School in Georgetown next fall. So Lionel isn't against the idea and is gonna put in a request for a transfer to Washington PD…" explained John.

Root squalled with delight and embraced Shaw's rigid frame excitedly. Although Shaw was still distracted, she didn't pull away from Root's over enthusiastic hugs and so Root pushed further. With a gentle touch, Root turned Shaw's head to meet her glistening gaze. "Come on Sam, you, me, the boys and The Machine, doing what we do best…" she placed a quick and eager kiss on Shaw's lips and then added "you know you can't resist us…"

"Alright! Fine!" exclaimed Shaw and stole another kiss from Root before pulling away from her grasp. Turning towards everyone else whilst waving a menacing finger, Shaw added "But when all this goes pear-shaped, don't expect me to hold back on the I-told-you-so's…."

THE END

This story really got away from me, I never intended it to be this long (or this slow) and I am glad that I finally found some kind of ending for it. I really hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. I thank you for taking the time to read this and for your comments - they help me improve my writing and give me the confidence to write more. And as for Team Machine, I reckon they will be up to their old tricks in their new home in no time at all and I will leave it up to your imagination to decide what those might be - hence the ending!

Thanks again!