Person of Interest: "The Later Years": Chapter 1
FYI, there are minor spoilers for Judgment (S01E05), Foe (S01E08), RAM (S03E16), and B.S.O.D. (S05E02).
It's important to know that memory issues affect everyone differently. Harold's memories come and go, and this is a wibbly wobbly decent rather than a direct one, mostly because I wanted to be kind to both men as much as one can be with serious issues like this.
This was originally written for National Novel Writing Month 2019 as part of a POI Alternate Universe collection.
"I'm working on something that will help you." - Harold
"You're still working on that memory thing." - Harold's father
"Not just memory, it's more of a... friend. Maybe one day this guy will watch over you, learn from you, protect you." - Harold
"Well, if anyone can do it, it's you. The world spins on dreamers like you, Harold." - Harold's father
-Altheia (S03E12)
Chapter 1
Year: 2027
Harold had always felt his most comfortable in the library and John had to admit he'd missed the book lined hallways while they'd been tucked away inside the abandoned subway station. Once he'd gotten back on his feet after his dramatic rescue from the rooftop, John had looked forward to getting back out there to save the numbers.
These days, however, he let Shaw do most of the heavy lifting whenever possible while he kept an eye on Harold.
Since returning to the library, they had outfitted the original staff break room with a full kitchen where John brought library cook books and learned to make elaborate dishes he could fill the freezer with. The food was for everyone, but most importantly, it was for Harold, who'd become notorious for not remembering to eat.
Beside the kitchen, John and Shaw had also transformed one of the multi stall bathrooms into a single bathroom with a large shower stall in it. Several nooks and crannies had been converted into sleeping areas. While everyone had a home to go to, it was helpful during stressful cases to be able to crash locally, at any point in time, or for John to convince Harold he needed to take a break from research or coding and lay down for a nap.
John was doing his best to ensure Harold didn't pull all nighters any more in order to keep him on an even keel, and often did nothing more than sit beside Harold in an arm chair with a good book.
When Harold stopped typing to stare into the middle distance for an extended period of time, John would ask what he was doing.
"I... don't remember."
"You were hacking into the Anderson's email," John prompted.
"Oh right. Thank you." Harold began typing again, his wedding ring glinting in the shaft of sunlight coming through the tall window behind them.
John reached over to run his fingers through Harold's hair, still amazed that he shared his last name and wore his wedding ring ten years later. When Harold glanced over at him John asked, "Do you need to take a break? You've been at the computer for a long time."
"No, I'm fine." Harold turned enough to kiss John's palm. "But thank you."
Harold's forgetfulness had been bothering John for a long time. Enough for him to realize that they'd stayed in this job longer than either of them had ever anticipated and maybe... maybe it was time to think about finding replacements and retiring.
The idea jarred him. Retire? What would they do all day if they didn't have the numbers to keep them busy? Who would they get to replace them? Someone would have to take over for Harold, right? He doubted that would be easy.
Her name was Serenity and she proved to be just about as good with computers as Harold. He was impressed with her work, telling John over and over again throughout the day how amazed he was with how difficult she was to track down and how she managed to evade him at every step.
John was impressed with her motivations and while Harold assumed she had only intended to rescue her elderly neighbor from a major scam artist, John wasn't so sure. He'd seen the light in her eyes, had heard the fire in her voice when she'd talked about helping those who couldn't help themselves. She knew her neighbor was only one of thousands of people who could use her help, she just lacked direction. She was just like them.
When the case was over and both Serenity and her elderly neighbor had been returned home safe and sound, John found Harold on the 3rd floor of the library where they'd moved bookcases around to make the sleeping areas. He was standing at a window, staring out at the city and John moved to stand beside him.
"I think she's the one," John said.
"She's the one, what?" Harold asked, continuing to stare out at the city skyline.
"She's good, Harold. You know that and I know that."
"Good? For what? Who are you talking about?"
But he couldn't say it. Not out loud. "She gets along with Shaw really well."
Harold finally turned to face John. "Would you please tell me what you're talking about?"
"I just... I've been thinking about this for awhile now. You and I, we're not getting any younger. We certainly didn't plan for this. You always said we'd wind up dead someday. But we're not." This was not the conversation John had ever thought he'd need to have with Harold. It was not as easy as he'd thought it might be.
"John, I love you, but would you just spit it out already? What on earth are you trying to say?"
"I think we should bring Serenity on board. Tell her about The Machine."
"You want to do what?"
"I... I think it's time you and I retire."
"Retire..."
John tried to make himself sound more assured than he felt, though it was hard to keep the slight wobble from his voice. "We don't have to move or anything, but I think it's best. Yes."
"Retire..."
John took a deep breath. "Harold, you've been having a lot of memory issues lately and it only seems to be getting worse. You forget to eat unless I put food in front of you. You forget what you're doing while you're doing it."
"I know, John. You don't have to remind me." Rarely one to get angry, Harold stopped and sighed. "I'm doing the best I can." He reached out and took hold of John's hand.
"I know you are, and I appreciate that, but I think it's time we let someone else take over."
"My father had Alzheimers," Harold said. John gave Harold's hand a squeeze. "By the time I left him, he didn't know who I was. I don't want..." Harold took a trembling breath. "John, I'm terrified that will happen to me if I slow down or quit. I don't want to forget you or the work that we've been doing."
John wanted nothing more than to promise Harold that wouldn't happen, that he wouldn't let Harold forget anything. But the truth of the matter was, he had no control over what would happen. Neither of them did.
He pulled Harold into his arms for a tight hug. "I've got you, Harold. I'm here for you, no matter what happens."
Harold hugged him back, fine tremors flitting through his body. "Thank you."
They stood like that for awhile and John didn't bother keeping track of the time. It felt good just to have Harold in his arms, somehow affirming.
"What would we do?" Harold asked, seemingly out of the blue.
"What do you mean what would we do? What would we do when?"
"If we retire. What would we do with ourselves?"
John thought about it a moment before he said, "We could always build a train set in the basement."
"I'm being serious."
"Well, what do you want to do?"
"Are we talking about dinner?" Shaw's voice was loud in the quiet of the library as she came up to the third floor. "Cause I'm starving."
Harold looked sheepish and kept his mouth shut.
"We weren't talking about dinner, no," John said. "We were talking about retirement."
"Retire-what now? Who? You?"
"Both of us. Yes."
Her eyes grew wide as saucers. "Oh my God, I never thought I'd see the day... wow."
Harold turned back toward the window, away from Shaw. "It's not-well, I'm not..."
"We're not ready just yet," John clarified. "Just discussing the possibilities."
Shaw nodded. "Gosh. What would you do with yourselves, if you didn't have the numbers to keep you busy?"
"That's what we were trying to figure out."
Shaw snorted. "I'm sorry, but I just can't see you in retirement, John."
"I know. I can't exactly see me in retirement either. But-" he nodded in Harold's direction. "I think it's time."
She considered it for a moment, with a tilt of her head as she studied Harold. "Yeah, you're right. It is time."
From where he stood, not facing either of them, Harold leaned into John.
Shaw reached out and placed a hand on Harold's other shoulder. "There's time. We can set up a meeting to figure out how everything will work out. But we don't need to do it tonight."
"What about Aurora?" Harold asked, still facing the window.
"Don't worry, we'll talk to her first, before we make any plans," John said.