AN: I'm sorry about the update being a bit late. I was going to post before but I had to tweak the bottom half of the chapter, which has not been reproofed so I apologize in advance for the errors, and then had a funeral to go to. So I thank you for the patience.

The sun was coming up when John stirred. Shaw had made some breakfast for Joss before leaving for her job at the morgue, promising to come back at lunch to check on her patient. Joss busied herself with checking her e-mails, feeding and changing her son, and calling in to work sick with the flu. She needed to stay with John but also to try to dry out her car. While Shaw was home before heading out to work Joss had gone downstairs, hid her car in the back alleyway, and scrubbed the backseat as much as she could. Bleach had been her friend and it was still airing out. Maybe when Shaw was home from work she could head to her place and pack a bag to get some clothes and toiletries.

When she looked up she saw he was watching her. Joss felt a wave of relief wash over her as tears pricked the backs of her eyes as she made a beeline for him. "Oh thank god," she rasped, voice thick with emotion.

"Where am I?" he croaked and his throat felt drier than a desert. He tried to shift his weight and stifled a groan as every single part of his body hurt.

"Shaw's, she's a pathologist with an ER background." Joss explained quietly unsure of what he remembered from yesterday. She got down to the floor and stroked her fingers across his face.

"I feel like I've been shot a few times." he muttered trying to smile for Joss's sake but couldn't quite manage it. He frowned at the look on her face. "Don't cry Joss, it makes me want to beat the hell out of whoever made you and I can't seem to even make my finger lift at the moment."

She gave him a wan smile. "It's just…I've been so scared. There was countless times last night that I debated about just taking you to the hospital against your wishes because you had such a rough night from having a bad reaction to the blood. You started hallucinating and having a fever, and were so upset that I didn't know what to do to calm you down until Shaw appeared and sedated you." she admitted. John shifted only his eyes away and blinked in surprise when he saw Taylor's play pen and the baby in it sleeping soundly. He shifted his eyes back on Joss, whose smile grew. "Though Taylor slept through it all."

"You brought him here?" he asked after he tried and failed to clear his throat.

"I wasn't leaving your side when you needed me so I brought him with me. Do you remember what happened last night?" she asked changing it to what happened.

John stayed still because moving took too much effort and hurt way too damn much. What happened?—and how did he find her? John thought and thought and things came back to him slowly. He had to be on drugs, he hated medication they made him feel loopy and slow. "Some, I had gone to the encampment to meet with Joan," he said barely above a whisper.

"Who's Joan?" Joss inquired softly.

He closed his eyes. "She's someone that took care of me while I was homeless," he admitted feeling lethargic and achy, and hating it. He grew restless as he shifted even as it caused pain to erupt everywhere. "Then Zoe called and it was just to lure me to Martine."

Joss nodded. "Yea, Martine shot you before Root and I got there. Root provided you some backup and I provided you cover to get into my car and I brought you to Shaw." she said still stroking his face, noticing him moving a lot which she frowned at.

"Root was there?" he questioned.

"She was the brunette shooting at Martine to keep her from shooting you anymore," Joss explained.

He tried to nod but failed. "Is she and Zoe okay?" he asked, giving up on trying to speak louder.

"Yes, Root is fine, and Zoe ran and got to safety. Her driver, Bill, is also okay, more shaken up then anything. Zoe lied and told him that it was a client that tried to hurt her so your name didn't come up," Joss murmured, wondering if she needed to apologize for being mad at Zoe.

He was squirming now, his bladder was full and his back was starting to hurt from the floor. "I should get out of here for your safety and your friend's. No telling if Snow hired another assassin or not," John stated and cursed his wounds. He hated getting shot! They took forever to heal.

"You're not going anywhere, at least, not yet. You can't even lift your head, I bet," Joss countered. He tried to prove her wrong and failed miserably and let out an expletive in irritation. Joss realized that he probably had to pee which was really causing his restlessness. She got up and took the plastic container over to him. "I think you need to use this," she said meekly, handing it to him.

He looked everywhere but at her. She had to be kidding but he knew she wasn't. This wasn't the first time he was sidelined from getting a gut shot. But usually he was in the hospital. This wasn't one of those times he was granted such luxuries. John reached for the container, which was difficult enough since his arms felt like they were lead, but his hands felt like they were in mittens and it slipped from his hands.

"John, let me help you," she whispered.

"No!" He tried to brush her hand away from the blanket she was pulling back from his waist. "I can do it myself," he insisted weakly.

Joss stared into John's eyes knowing he was a prideful man. "Let me," she said softly. "You were there for me when I had Taylor. I was weak and helpless and so damn petrified I was going to lose my son. It's my turn to be there for you…to be your strength when you're weak." she added, twisting his arm into submission. His eyes softened a bit but he didn't relax any and he looked in so much pain too. "Besides, this isn't my first time handling what you've got." she teased knowing that perhaps humor might make this less embarrassing and easier for him to accept her help.

"Yea, well, I like when you're handling me in bed and we're both aroused," he grumbled.

"Me too…."

John surrendered and let her help him relieve his bladder because the alternative was worse. She wasn't sure if it was because he had to urinate so badly that he gave in or that her words resonated with him. Joss suspected it was a combination of both. John wasn't happy with the arrangement but he survived and so had she. Once she cleaned the container and washed her hands she rejoined him in Shaw's living room and brought with her some ice chips.

"Figured your throat had to feel dry," she admitted.

He greedily accepted her offer. "Thank you," he whispered, grateful for the ice chips because he was parched.

Joss watched him closely seeing he was clearly tiring quickly. She listened to him chew the ice for a couple minutes and then he grew quiet, asleep again. She fiddled with the blanket on his belly and wished she could help him to the spare bedroom so he could be a little more comfortable. She yawned heavily as the fact that she got very little sleep last night was catching up with her. Taylor began fussing wanting her and sleep would just have to wait a while longer.

Joss bent to pick her son up and cuddled him close. "What do you need baby boy?" she whispered to her Taylor as he fussed and she gently soothed him. "When John is feeling up to it he'll love to hold you just as I'm sure you loved to be held by him. Come on, Tay, let's go change that diaper and play while we watch over John." she murmured as she pressed little kisses against his cheek and peered down at John with love and then carried Taylor to the little makeshift changing table.

Shaw returned to her townhouse just before noon. It was quiet, except for the heart monitor which was beeping at a rate that satisfied Shaw, around ninety beats a minute; a little high which was to be expected with the guy's injuries who was sleeping on the floor in the middle of her living room. Carter's little ankle biter was having a ball in his playpen as a toy was playing some godawful music but, at least, he was keeping himself entertained because his mother was sound asleep on the couch with a baby book beside her. Shaw softly draped a blanket over her before making sure the baby was okay. Just because holding babies made her want to wet herself didn't mean she wanted the baby hurt.

Once satisfied Taylor was fine she checked John's IVs and then checked his wounds. He woke up with a start when she pulled the blanket back to look at the wound near his hip. She hissed at him. "Don't move or say a word. Joss is sleeping a few feet away. If you wake her up I'll be really pissed and you don't want me pissed," she vowed and John nodded, though she didn't appear to be all that physically opposing. But then Joss said her attitude made up for it.

"I never got to thank you for saving me," John said quietly.

Shaw shrugged. "Carter wanted it." she stated nonchalantly. But her next words belied her previous sentiment; "I came by to check on you for a quick second before I headed back to work. Seems as though you'll be on the road to recovery, we'll try to move you to my guest room tonight and hope like hell you can make it. If you haven't noticed you're like twice the size of Carter and me."

John had all the intentions of leaving this place tonight even though the room spun and even his teeth hurt. He knew Shaw was pumping in medicine as he had two IVs in him. Licking his wounds at home was more preferable than having a nursemaid from hell which he suspected Shaw was going to be. But he didn't say a word as she disappeared and reappeared with ice chips in tow for him, before checking on Taylor, and then left as quickly as she had come. And John fell back into a fitful sleep.

Zoe opened the door to her penthouse after checking who it was and arched a brow at Root. "I didn't think we did house visits." Zoe remarked before stepping aside to let the tall brunette indoors.

Root grinned as she stalked inside. "Not usually, but today is a rare exception." Root admitted before turning around once Zoe closed the door. "Are you alright, Zoe?" genuine concern flickered in her usual expressionless eyes.

"I'm fine." Zoe reassured. "But tell me something, Root, what happened to the blond?" she asked. She knew that John was recuperating thanks to the detective calling her and she knew Bill was alright but she hadn't a clue what happened to the blond bitch after she ran away.

Root made a face. "You needn't worry about her, Zoe, she isn't a threat to you anymore. I need you to tell me everything you know about John though."

Zoe arched a brow."Why?"

She shrugged."I like knowing who and what I'm dealing with, and finding information on him has been terribly difficult. Everything is redacted and I can't hack in, which makes him very interesting." Root explained. Her interest was piqued. No one's information was unobtainable from her before. But this man's was shrouded in mystery. And what made it all the more interesting is that it wasn't the CIA's doing that was protecting his identity. It was an unidentified marker, which meant someone else hacked into the CIA's database and effectively made John invisible to everyone. Zoe didn't respond so she decided to add an incentive to get her sexy fixer to speak. "I did provide you with beneficial information on Carl Elias and Alonzo Quinn, didn't I?" Root inquired.

"You did, and I paid you in favors for it." Zoe agreed."I kept you abreast of Sameen Shaw's love life or rather lacking of one, remember."

"I do remember. It makes my heart feel good to know she didn't date anyone since me." Root said with a sigh. Zoe smiled at the look on her face. "But if you'd like any other information I can find out for you on other less scruples men or women I want a payment up front and that comes in the form of telling me everything you know about John. Sameen will be mine soon enough so keeping tabs on her love life isn't going to cover it anymore."

Zoe kept her face neutral."I only know he's phenomenal in bed and was a CIA agent." she replied smoothly."We met a few years prior to his retirement by the CIA and we had a very easy arrangement; I give him information on people he asked about and he fucked my brains out." she recited with little embarrassment.

"I see."

Zoe shrugged."Our arrangement lasted like that even after his retirement when he came seeking information on Carl Elias to help Joss Carter. He ended our arrangement though once he fell for the lovely detective and sought information on you to stop your investigation into Mark Snow."

"And what did you tell him?"

"Nothing," Zoe answered honestly.

"So he doesn't know anything about me anymore than I know anything about him." Root said feeling smug, at least, for that.

Zoe nodded."If he knows anything about you it didn't come from me." she replied simply.

Root nodded, believing her. "I'm glad you're alright, Zoe. I'd hate to find myself a new fixer in New York." Root replied as she turned to head for the door. She needed to go visit Sameen and putting it off any longer was feeling physically impossible. She loved the stubborn angry little brunette and couldn't wait to see her again. Her insides had turned to mush when Sameen had called to make sure she was alright. Sameen cared and hated that she did, while Root reveled in it.

"Hey Root," Zoe called out stopping her retreat. Root turned to look at the exotic beauty and eyed her impatiently. "Care to be more specific as to why I don't have to worry about the blond?"

Root grinned. "Let's just say she's tied up with something." she answered, tongue in cheek. With that she turned and left without another word.

AN: Thank you for reading. I wanted authentic with John being cared for even though he despises it. It will be carried over for the next several chapters as Shaw and Joss take care of him :)