A/N: Hi guys, I'm having a travel break soon so here's a triple dose - John/Paul Joss/Zoe and Taylor/Zahra *cabbage patch dances*
Thanks for reading!
As always, enjoy x
Chapter 70: Mature
Tuesday 11thApril 2017, 5.40pm, Tom's Diner, New York
John tried. He really tried. At least, that's what he told himself when he deleted the voicemail, texted back a date and time, and deleted the records from his wife's phone. He even told Finch how hard he tried, triggering the Machine to calculate the likelihood of premeditated violence and produce Paul Leroy Carter as a number. The tussle between leaving Paul alone, telling Joss about it, and driving to Queens to knock him out, was too much. The temptation to end it all was too strong. Even the chubby, friendly waitress with a run in her tights who looked like Julia Stiles, noticed he was on edge. "Can I get you something to drink?" She asked, because in all the years he came in he never ate.
"Two cappuccinos, please."
It became clearer why he was being short with her when the 'muscle man', as she nicknamed him, came in through the side entrance. She'd seen both men with the same woman, but never at the same time, and since they were glaring at each other, she assumed conflict was inevitable. "We have a special-"
"I'm not hungry." Paul replied. "John,"
"Paul." He greeted through his teeth.
"Two cappuccinos coming up." She said, forcing a smile as she moved to another table – fast
"So, is Joss coming or just you?" Paul asked, thinking he should've known better. Joss was the "don't text, just call" type.
John smiled, in his borderline homicidal fashion. "Just me."
"Great." Paul still didn't know what she saw in this guy who wouldn't last 10 minutes after sundown in Norfolk and had a corny suit for everyday of the week. "Why are you here?"
"Because I'm curious." John stated, wondering how many back muscles she grew carrying this guy around. "What'd you want with Joss?"
Paul considered being elusive but figured she'd tell him anyway. "I wanna know what happened to the house."
"What's that got to do with Joss?"
"Local PD's a joke. The property developer called it an 'unfortunate incident' and a 'nail house' in the same conversation."
John repeated himself. "What's that got to do with Joss?"
Paul felt his anger rising and breathed deeply through his nose. "I thought she could help."
John saw vermillion because this was the cycle tried to break by cutting him off before the holidays. "You've had enough help. About 30 years' worth."
"You don't get it." Paul dismissed him because that was the last thing he wanted to hear.
"What's not to get? You suck the life out of her. Used to. The only one who makes my wife pull her hair out is me…So hire a PI, get an Arson specialist on it but leave Joss out of it."
Paul wanted nothing more than to drag this blue-eyed bastard over the table by the lapels and beat him into the very fabric of the booth. With a low blow in mind, it was his turn to smile. "You'll never get it 'cause you've got no-one to leave anything to. No legacy. Taylor's a Carter, always will be. Don't forget that."
"That's rich since all the hard work was done without you. I'm gonna say this once, Paul; leave Joss alone. Don't call, don't text, don't leave any more pathetic voicemails."
"Or what?"
John thought of the most succinct phrasing. "Or we can shoot a fair one, and they'll hate us both. Cappuccino?"
7.06pm, Heartland General Hospital, Manhattan Island
Joss hated hospitals because they reminded her of the worst times in her life; Taylor's traumatic birth, her father's death, the life-saving surgery in Iraq, the D&C after miscarriage not even Evelyn knew about, and every time John needed more than a routine patch-up. The only reason she was there was at Finch's humble request because he couldn't face Zoe after his freak-out. A long peek at the visitor records let her know he was Zoe's last and only visitor. "How did you get here?" Zoe asked, as she folded a yellow smaller-than-newborn babygro.
Joss flashed her badge. "Kinda gets me in anywhere."
Zoe smiled faintly but it soon disappeared. "Haven't seen you since…it's been a long time."
She nodded in agreement. "Where is she?"
"Sleeping down the hall."
"Congratulations."
It felt odd not coming from a friend, nice but odd. "Thanks. Joss, if you're here about John-"
"I'm not."
"Okay, so it's about Finch."
Joss leaned against the wall. "He's hurt. He's still hurting."
"Because of me?"
"Because of Grace." She explained. "The woman he loved, he still loves and can't have."
Zoe realised she'd been in a triangle for some time. "So that's what set him off."
"I just thought you should know. That name does something to him, and it's not pretty." She changed subject because there was nothing else to say. "Names are hard, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm running out of time." There was a not-so-awkward silence. "D'you know why I wanted to have a baby in the first place? It's the one thing I didn't have. Now I have her, and I hardly know what to do with her when Doreen's not around."
Joss remembered the early days, but Evelyn was always around back then. Still was. "Protect her like danger's all around and you're her only hope. 'Cause it is. And you are."
Zoe blinked at the concept. Danger wasn't at the forefront of her mind most days, but then again she wasn't a cop. "What if I can't?"
"You have to. You're her mother."
Zoe wasn't used to hearing those words out loud. The NICU was an unusual place to be; the parents of babies clinging on to life didn't make conversation, mothers who were more prepared anxiously waited to take theirs home to ready-made nurseries, couples consoled each other daily, family members came to visit with teddy bears and prayers. And then there was Zoe, whose mother was 3000 miles away and whose only friend was slowly dying from unrequited love. She thought aloud. "It could've been different." The question was how, and there wasn't enough time for that answer. "How'd you do it?"
Joss thought about it. "With help."
"I mean how,"
"Ma used to say; a mother's love is medicine. She also said a baby's not gonna feed themselves. I guess that's how. I think I'm done here. Be gentle with Finch. He's fragile. And Greek names are nice."
Thursday 13th April 2017, 1.01pm, Turner Hall, Emory University
Despite Mr Gregory's advice not to distance himself from his problems, Taylor's recent happiness was linked to avoiding various sources of stress in his life. Since Spring Break, he'd dodged Paul's calls and called him instead in small pockets of time when he had to be somewhere else; that was to avoid hearing about Jeremy. He'd developed a routine of shoving R.U.M.M. letters into a stuffed envelope so Brock didn't cross his mind for too long. And more importantly and perhaps cowardly, he stayed out of Zahra's way as much as he could. He was even playing soccer again, albeit poorly, trying to be friends with Bella, and blasting Kendrick or Kung Fu Kenny like he used to. His daily mantra was 'sit down, be humble' or so he thought until running time was over and Zahra was at his door. "Just break up with me" was her greeting as he let her in.
Taylor was less confused by Linear Algebra. "Huh?"
"Break up with me. Stop trying to nice guy your way out of it."
"But…I don't wanna…"
"Hurt my feelings?"
"Well…yeah. I guess."
She asked a question that was a long time coming. "Do you feel sorry for me?"
"I don't know…sometimes? But not like that."
"You know, I just wanna be normal. So, treat me like you'd treat another girl."
Taylor swallowed because he didn't want to do what he had to. "It's not fun anymore…and…I don't wanna be…together anymore."