A/N: thank you all so much! I know it's been a bit of a wait but I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 5: Door Dash

Staying in New York probably isn't a good idea. Not when they're out for his blood. Still, it's home. At least the one place he's lived the longest. He has memories here and he knows the ground well. He doesn't want to be driven out.

John goes to Aurelio. He doesn't really have anyone else he can trust anymore. He shouldn't even be here but he's known Aurelio for years and the man told him that if he needed help, to ask. So John's asking.

The place isn't very busy, just enough to allow John to slip in, but people he doesn't know leaves him on edge and there are a few here. Including a Black woman talking to Aurelio over a car. She looks like she came straight from an office, but John hasn't survived as long as he has by making assumptions.

There's a box on Aurelio's desk in the same pink as Toni's shop. He stares at it for a moment. The bakery isn't close to this place. It reminds him of the coffee though. He hasn't been there in weeks and none of the coffee he has had since has even come close to it.

Aurelio sees him first. He motions for the woman to wait before he strides toward him. "Heard you were dead. Didn't think I'd see you around."

"It wasn't my first choice."

"You know I'd be offended if I didn't know you," Aurelio says quietly. "The High Table already popped around looking for some sign you're alive."

"What did you tell them?"

"That I hadn't seen you," he says. "Not a lie. What do you need?"

"A place to lie low."

"Get some breathing room," Aurelio nods. He looks around for a moment. "I got nothing but…I might have an idea." He motions for John to hold on. He walks back to the woman he had been talking to when John showed up. He brings her back to John. "This is Marietta. Marietta, John. She knows a place."

He looks at Aurelio, unimpressed. He doesn't know this woman.

"I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think it was safe," Aurelio tells him. "She knows a place and owes me a favour."

"It's not really a favour," the woman says. "You said I wouldn't have to pay for the repairs. It's more like a trade."

"I'll owe you a favour," Aurelio stresses, almost playfully. John has known Aurelio a long time. He can tell when the man is flirting, but it's odd to see it in action, especially at a woman he's never heard of before.

The woman turns to face John. "I know a place. It's empty. There's rumours that it's haunted but that's only because the people who own it don't want anyone around. You'll be protected."

"Why?" John asks. "You don't know me."

Marietta shrugs. "No, but I know Aurelio. Besides, sometimes everyone needs a safe place to stay. No questions asked. I just need to inform them that someone will be using it. You won't see them, they won't see you. It's just so that the...security measures are lowered for you."

There's something about the way she says it. It reminds him of Toni and her explanation of sanctuary. "You brought the box." He nods towards the pink pastry box.

"I did," she says. "You ever been? They have great stuff."

"Yeah."

"Marietta brings something every time she comes by."

She smiles at Aurelio. "I find it's best to bribe my mechanic. You keep them sweet and they don't extort you."

"When have I ever extorted you, mi tesoro?"

"Never, that's why I keep coming back." She looks back at John. "What do you say?"

He thinks about it. He needs a place to rest. At least for a couple of days. "Okay, fine. Where is it?"

Marietta seems to think for a moment before she holds up a finger. "Let me find out what's available. Hold on." She pulls out a phone from her purse and steps away from them.

"How well do you know her?" John asks.

"Marietta? Years now. Met her not long after you left. Car broke down on the street and I stopped to help. She works at City Hall."

John watches the woman as she talks to someone. He can't make out the words but she's smiling and nodding before she hangs up.

"It's all good. You got something I can write the address down on?" she asks.

"Sure, hold on," Aurelio moves over to his desk, coming back quickly with a paper and pen. "Here."

She jots down the address and hands it to John. "They know you're coming. You'll be safe there. The key will be under the mat."

He takes the address and looks at it. It's over in Long Island. It won't take long to get there. "Thanks."

"You can thank Aurelio, not me," she says with a grin. "He owes me now."

"I can think of a few ways to pay," Aurelio smiles at her. "If you let me."

He takes that as his cue to leave.

The house looks inconspicuous, the vinyl siding matching every other house in the area. The key is under the mat just as Marietta said it would be. It's almost amusing the way the mat proclaims a Welcome in cheerful yellow script. If only they knew who they were welcoming.

He locks the door behind him. The house is dark but he can make out enough from the light coming in from the windows. He's never been here before but it feels familiar. Something eases in him the longer he stands there looking around. It's fully furnished. Even empty, the place looks like a home, as if some family just stepped out and he's intruding on a space that's not meant for him. Still, no one should expect to look for him here. He should at least have a night.

The fridge is fully stocked. It reinforces the idea that he shouldn't be here but there's a note on the fridge in feminine writing that says "help yourself". So he does.

He sleeps with a peace he hadn't expected. He wakes up as fast as usual but the way he feels is different. He's rested. John can't remember the last time he's actually felt rested, as if he had a good night's sleep. His body doesn't ache when he moves and once he showers, he notices that the injuries he's obtained so far are somehow less. They've healed faster than they should have. He's not sure why or how but his mind instantly thinks of Toni. Her wide smile as she offers him coffee and the resignation and determination in her eyes after she killed a man.

He's not upset that he watched her murder someone. It's the idea that there are aspects of the world that are unknown to him that he does not like. John prides himself on being prepared, on being able to survive anything - that he has survived everything - but this was something else. How do you prepare yourself or protect yourself from something you cannot sense or control? Toni told him he would not be able to tell if someone was a witch. So what happens if he pisses one off? What if the High Table has one on their side? Could he survive that? He needs more information.

He contemplates it as he makes coffee, trying to think back on anything that might give him answers. The coffee isn't as good as Toni's but it makes something click in the back of his mind. He knows why the place feels familiar. It feels like the bakery.