Disclaimer: Credit to Jonathan Nolan, Greg Plageman, and the POI writing team. Bolded sections are straight from the episodes.
QUEENSBRIDGE PARK
Chapter 5: end of All In
Reese's tired eyes smart in the harsh light of the afternoon sun. He tries to recall if he still has those sunglasses from the early days of his employment with Finch, before he'd settled into his Man in the Suit ensemble. He yawns, barely wincing as the motion pulls at his bruised and cut left cheek.
Between watching their latest Number, Lou, win $20 million at baccarat in Atlantic City, saving Finch and Leon and Lou from a murderous casino owner, and making sure Leon doesn't fall in love with any more pink-haired prostitutes named Candi, he hasn't yet had a chance to rest, and it doesn't look like he'll be getting some any time soon.
Finch had stayed behind in Atlantic City to make sure Lou was off on the right track, leaving Reese to deal with Bear. The dog is nearly frantic when he sees Tall Man arrive, practically shaking with excess energy after being cooped up in the Library for so long.
So, really, Reese has no choice but to take Bear to the park to run it out of his system.
And it's merely coincidence that it happens to be a Sunday, and that Elena Cassidy and her faithful Bailey are mostly likely at the park, too.
A bark from Bailey heralds their arrival, followed by Bear abandoning his side. Reese doesn't turn, but he can see on the edge of his excellent peripheral vision Elena striding toward him with purpose. The corners of his mouth twitch upward when she stomps to his side.
"How's the car?" he asks innocently, eyes following Bear and Bailey as they alternately nip at and dodge each other.
"I wouldn't know because I haven't driven it," she says stiffly. "It's still parked in front of my house where it was dropped off, and I'd like you to take it back, please." She thrusts the keys, decorative bow still attached, at him.
Reese makes no move to take them. After the storm had passed, Elena's rather ancient Camry was declared totaled and destined for the junkyard. For the next week, her web browser history was dedicated to searches for an affordable car, with frequent checks of her bank account balance. When she'd called Universal Heritage Insurance for information on their auto insurance policies, Harold Wren had taken the call himself, and the next day, a 'gently used company car' was delivered to her house with the compliments of Mr. Wren.
She wasn't even sure if it was the same one John and Harold had been driving the day of the storm. She couldn't find any telltale water stains from the 20 minutes she'd spent soaking the backseat cushions, and it looked far too brand new to be 'gently used'.
"I can't accept that car, John," she says firmly.
"Why not?"
"I …" She falters slightly under his gaze, but resolutely collects herself. "It's not appropriate. I'm very thankful, of course, but we barely know each other, and even if we did, I wouldn't feel comfortable accepting a gift like that from anyone."
"You need a car, don't you?"
Elena bites her lip. Yes, she needs it. Badly. The week she'd done without one had proven that. She hadn't been able to take Bailey anywhere beyond walking distance of her house, and a couple of times she'd had to tell Lionel she couldn't pick up Lee from school or practice, even though she knew he'd asked her as a last resort.
"There's no strings attached, if that's what you're afraid of. Harold's not like that. You won't owe him anything."
"Where is he anyway?" Elena asks, letting the matter rest until she can take it up with Harold personally.
"He's at work," Reese answers truthfully.
Elena blinks. "On a Sunday?" she asks, unconvinced
"Er ..." John smiles — very charmingly, Elena admits — but she continues to look up at him expectantly. "He, uh, sometimes catches up on cases on the weekend."
"So Harold stays at the office while you get to have all the fun?"
"Something like that." Reese can't tell whether she believes him or not, so he turns and looks for a distraction and spots a coffee cart near the entrance of the park. "Would you like —?"
She gasps as the bruise and cut on his cheek is fully revealed to her. "Oh my God, what happened?"
She reaches up, the tips of her fingers ghosting over the tender area before she realizes what she's doing and quickly retracts her hand. Her own cheeks bloom with color, bright enough to rival his bruise.
"Ran into a bit of trouble with a ... client yesterday," he explains.
"I thought you meant doors getting slammed in your face, not fists."
"It happens more often than you think," he says honestly.
"I think insurance guys shouldn't be getting their pretty faces punched at all!"
She flushes deeper at the slip, but her chin juts out defiantly as he raises an eyebrow at her. His partly challenging, partly amused, partly flirtatious smile is doing terrible things to her.
"You should put some ice on that," she advises.
"I'll be fine," he assures her as Bear runs up to them with his latest find.
"Oh no, Bear," Elena says, shaking her head as the Belgian Malinois looks imploringly up at her with a thick branch clamped firmly in his mouth. Her hands had smarted for days after her first fetch session with him. "I'm not falling for that again."
Bear whines softly, trying to wheedle his way past Pretty Lady's defenses. But before he succeeds, Tall Man reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out the Yellow Orb.
"Something more human-friendly for fetch?"
Elena can't quite hide her surprise as he repeats what she'd said weeks ago, when they'd first met. He smiles slightly as he places the tennis ball in her palm, and her hand tingles slightly from the contact.
You're silly and not single, she reminds herself, but it's oh so hard to remember when John's looking at her like that.
She just might combust if he keeps looking at her, so she draws back and hurls the tennis ball as hard and as far as she can.
Bailey and Bear take off, two streaks, one dark and one light, racing across the park. Reese is slightly impressed at the strength behind her throw. He catches her gauging his reaction, and she shrugs with just a little bit of pride. "I played softball in high school."
"I played baseball." Of course he did. "Looks like these two will have their work cut out for them, then."
With Bailey nipping at his hindlegs, Bear brings the Yellow Orb back and drops it at Pretty Lady's and Tall Man's feet. He has to bark to get them to notice his triumphant return. Pretty Lady smiles down at him and bends down to scratch behind his ears. He wants to kiss her, but Tall Man gives him a warning look that hints at no scrumptious treats when they get back home.
Elena and John gravitate toward a quieter section of the park — to avoid hitting any innocent bystanders, of course — John shortening his long strides to accommodate Elena's shorter ones, John stepping slightly in front of Elena to shield her from an oncoming pack of cyclists as they pass.
And it's while she's sharing tips on how to keep Bear still during bathtime that Reese suddenly realizes why he's sought out Elena Cassidy. He doesn't have to play a role with her, not really. To her, he's just John from the park, owner of Bear. And that's the simplest and truest thing about him.
When he and Bear get back to the Library, there's no sign of Finch, so Reese decides to check on him. The billionaire might be the eavesdropper extraordinaire, but Reese has picked up a few things on his own, and he soon has ears on his employer.
He listens unashamedly as Finch calls Lou out on wanting to buy the diner they're sitting in. And he shakes his head when Finch gives the gambler/watch repairman the $2 million timepiece he'd gotten as a gift from Logan Pierce. All the ends are tied up so nicely it's as if Finch had planned it all along.
But even he, miles away, can feel the atmosphere change when Lou brings up Finch's lost love. Finch doesn't say anything, but either Lou is a great reader of people or Finch has let his guard slip because the next moment, Lou practically is yelling at Finch to stop being an idiot and go to her. It's an unfair accusation, but Reese is the only one who knows that.
Though he's been up for nearly 48 hours now, Reese has no intention of calling it a night just yet, so he pulls out the tennis ball and indulges Bear in a game of fetch inside the hallowed halls of the Library while he waits for Finch to return.
"You all right?" he asks Finch as soon as he arrives. "I heard what Lou said to you," he admits.
Finch pauses on his way to his desk. "Oh. You were listening?"
"Always."
Finch takes off his coat and hangs it up on the coat rack, carefully not looking at Reese.
"You did what you had to do to keep her safe, Harold." Finch finally looks at him. "Lou doesn't know that. But I do."
Finch nods. "And if I were to return to my old life, it would eventually cost Grace hers."
"Some of us don't get to grow old with the one we love," Reese points out, just a slight waver in his voice. "You ask me, Lou's the luckiest guy I know."
"I'll grow old with her, Mr. Reese, just from afar. And beyond that, it's best not to think about it."
Reese starts to say something, but finds there's nothing he can say to make Finch's situation seem any better, and when Finch sits down at his computer and pretends to start typing, it's clear that the conversation is over.
