Disclaimer: Credit to Jonathan Nolan, Greg Plageman, and the POI writing team. Bolded sections are straight from the episodes.


QUEENSBRIDGE PARK

Chapter 60: during 6,741 (Part 3)


After allowing herself a good cry, and then trying and failing to get Adam to answer her calls, Elena calls Katie Tucker.

"Hey, I don't think I'm going to make it out tonight."

"What?!" Katie exclaims. "But we've been planning to go to Vertigo for weeks. Mac even got bottle service."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I'm just really not up to it tonight."

"Hey." Katie's tone quickly switches from annoyed to concerned. "Is something wrong, Ellie?

Elena almost laughs. Something? Everything.

"Adam and I ... had a fight," she half-lies. "He's not answering my calls. I don't think I'd be a lot of fun tonight anyway."

"You know I only hang out with these losers because of you. Why don't I come over and we can get drunk there, just the two of us? It's not bottle service, but I know Ace keeps your bar well stocked."

It's just the sort of thing Sameen would have suggested. Elena glances over at her bar cart. She's already put a sizable dent in the Hendrick's.

"Sure, why not?"


Reese feels his phone vibrate. After canceling their meeting with Finch via text to avoid any questions, he had finally put in an appearance at the precinct. He'd been railed at by the captain for his weeklong absence, then he proceeded to be in such a bad mood that everyone else had given him an even wider than usual berth for the rest of the afternoon.

"Mr. Reese!" Finch exclaims when he finally answers. "Are you with Miss Cassidy?"

"No, we ... no."

"What happened?"

Reese huffs impatiently. "Don't pretend you weren't listening, Harold."

"I wasn't! I was giving you and Miss Cassidy some privacy," Finch insists. "I thought you canceled our meeting at the park because ... never mind. Where are you now?"

"Back at the precinct." He sighs. Finch is going to find out anyway. "Saunders returned this morning, caught me at Elena's apartment and ... made assumptions."

Not necessarily wrong ones.

"You need to get back to Miss Cassidy now, Mr. Reese," Finch stresses, gathering Bear's leash. "She's not answering my calls. I'm heading to her apartment, but I trust you can get there before me."

Reese's grip on his phone is so tight, he's surprised it doesn't crack. "Finch, what's wrong?"

"The Machine's just given us her Number. Again."


The Hendrick's is almost all gone.

She'd never been particularly close with KT despite growing up together. When they'd formed the Rejects, she'd always thought KT had a thing for Adam. Not that she had a right to be jealous now ...

But now KT is proving the perfect drinking partner. She isn't asking awkward questions. She mixes a mean martini. And she'd even helps Elena rebandage the cut on her hand when she accidentally soaks it in olive juice.

Elena already knows she's going to regret this in the morning. She might already regret it now, she muses, as she tries and fails to get up from the couch.

"Are you okay?" Katie asks as Elena finally gets to her feet and weaves her way in the general direction of her bathroom.

"Yeah, just gotta ..."

Elena crashes into the hallway table and would have fallen flat on her face if Katie didn't grab her in time.

"Just ... need some water ..."

"Hey, let's get you to the bathroom, okay?"

Elena watches her stumbling feet make their way through her bedroom and into her bathroom. It doesn't make any sense. She's not a lightweight. There's been a few nights out with the Rejects when she'd drank more and not been this out of it.

She thinks something is wrong.

She knows it when Katie pushes her into the bathtub so hard she falls in and hits her head on the edge. Everything's so hazy she doesn't even feel the pain.

"Wha ...?"

"Believe me, this is a better way to go than what I originally planned," Katie is saying.

Through eyes that are having trouble focusing, Elena sees Katie tip a white powder into the toilet and flush it. "I was going to use crushed sleeping pills, but your hydrocodone is much more effective."

She rattles the orange bottle that had been in the medicine cabinet. It had been full, but now there's a sizable gap near the top. She wipes it down before tossing the bottle into the tub with Elena.

"W-Why?" Elena manages to get out. "Why are you ...?"

"If only you'd done it properly 15 years ago. But this time, none of your detective friends are going to be around to save you."

There's a weird vibrating in her chest. This can't be it. This can't be how she dies, drugged by Katie Tucker, of all people.

Katie reaches for her, and she tries and fails to block her. Katie grabs the phone she'd stuck in her bra, because of course her clothes didn't have any pockets.

"John?" Katie reads the name flashing across the screen. "Detective Riley? He's calling you this time of the night?" Her eyes light up in interest. "Is he the reason you and Ace fought?"

She drops the still-ringing phone into the toilet.

"He may have saved you last week from a deadly allergic reaction, but I don't think you're going to be lucky again."

"W-Why?" Elena tries again.

A bitter smile twists Katie's lips. "That's so classic Ellie Cassidy. You don't even know why."


Elena swears she closes her eyes only for a second, but when she opens them again, Katie is gone. There's a loud, urgent pounding on her front door. She should go and answer that. In a minute, maybe, she's just so tired.

"Elena? Elena? It's John," Reese calls through the door. He barely has time to regret installing those additional locks on her door before it gives way with a single shove from his shoulder.

He immediately sees the upended hallway table and pulls out his gun.

"Elena?"

He couldn't be too late. Not with her. Why had he left? If Saunders had returned in a jealous rage ...

"Elena?" he calls out again, and there's a waver in his voice.

As if she were underwater, Elena can hear John calling for her. She thinks she should get out of the tub, but her limbs aren't really working. And she's so tired and would really like to just go to sleep now.

Another solid shoulder to the door breaks through the lock of her bathroom door, and he sees Elena, lying in the bathtub like some sort of sleeping fairytale princess.

"Elena!"

His own heart stops in the few moments it takes him to find her pulse, slow and sluggish as it is. He quickly runs his hands over her, trying to find the injury. Her skin feels so cold.

"Mr. Reese, what's happening?" Finch asks frantically.

"She's in the bathtub, she's unconscious. She ..." He catches sight of the almost empty orange prescription bottle in the tub. "Damn it, El!"

Fusco bursts into the room, gun drawn. "Door was wide open. What —? Oh God, Ellie!"

"Get the nalaxone from your car," Reese orders.

"Already got it." Root pushes past Fusco and stabs a needle straight into Elena's arm.

Reese lifts her out of the tub and leans her against the side of it, but has to hold her in place to keep her upright as the drug quickly takes effect. He can feel her heartbeat speeding up, and her slow breathing beginning to pick up as well.

A few minutes later, Elena forces her eyelids open, though she closes them almost immediately against the glare of the lights.

"What the actual fuck ..." she mutters, catching a glimpse of Root and Lionel. She hasn't seen him, but she knows it's John seated next to her on her bathroom floor, holding her. "I am not doing that again," she groans.

"You got that right," Reese growls.

"Oh God, I feel sick," she mutters, one hand going to her head. She misses entirely, though, and nearly pokes Reese in the eye. He grabs her flailing hand and grasps her wrist to monitor her pulse.

Her mind is still a bit slow, so it takes a few moments for her to remember how she got there.

It takes a few moments more to become aware of the silence in the bathroom despite the number of people present.

"I ... it wasn't me!" she exclaims, not very effectively since her speech is still slightly slurred. "I didn't do this to myself," she insists.

"Ellie, it's all right. We'll get you help," Fusco says. "Like last time."

"You know, I spent some time in the funny farm," Root reminisces. "It's not all bad. I actually had a little bit of fun."

"Oh my God, this is not happening," Elena mutters, dropping her head in her hands. She feels like her mind is scattered, but she has to get them to understand. "It was Katie. Katie Tucker. She came over. We were drinking. She spiked my drinks with hydrocodone. Threw me in the tub to make it look like ... Well, apparently it worked."

She feels John's hand lift up her hair and prod the growing bump where she hit her head on the tub.

She turns to look at him, and his gaze locks on hers, searching her eyes for the truth.

"John," she pleads.

"Mr. Reese, Miss Cassidy is telling the truth," Finch's voice speaks up.

They both look up to see Finch standing in Elena's bedroom, peering into the bathroom. Bear yanks his leash free from Finch's hand and runs to Elena.

Elena tries to smile as Bear licks her frantically. "You believe me, don't you, Bear?" She looks up at Finch. "Harold, you believe me?" She wishes she didn't sound so desperate and near tears.

"I do," Harold affirms. "I believe Miss Tucker is why we were alerted you were in trouble so often this past week. She has proven to be rather ... determined in attempting to kill you, though her methods have not been very effective."

"The strawberries at the diner," Elena says, closing her eyes to try to remember what Katie had told her. "She knows I'm allergic."

"Well, that explains the first time the — the first alert we got," Reese says, just remembering not to mention the Machine. "The hydrocodone explains the third. What about the second one?"

"I looked over your texts," Harold says, and Elena is not even surprised. "Miss Tucker attempted to meet up with you several times."

"Yeah, but I kept putting her off because ..." she gestures vaguely in John's direction.

"It's likely she would have tried again to force you into anaphylactic shock," Finch says. There's a hardness to set of his mouth that Elena has never seen before.

"And the ... other alert we got tonight," Root speaks up, "Lionel and I found him skulking around an alley right outside the Vertigo nightclub."

"He was waiting for a pretty brunette with wavy hair," Fusco elaborates.

Root smirks as she tosses her own brown locks over one shoulder. "He found the wrong one."

Elena stares at them in disbelief. A nearly hysterical laugh escapes her. "I'm so confused," she confesses. "Why does she want me dead?"

"That's the million-dollar question," Fusco says. "And I'm gonna go find out."

Elena reaches for the trash can, and Reese grabs it for her, thinking she might be sick. However, she just pushes aside the liner, and pulls out the gun she'd hidden at the bottom of the can.

"I'm going to go get that bitch," she vows, pushing herself to her feet.

It would have been so much more impressive if she hadn't then proceeded to nearly fall flat on her face. Luckily, John's quick reflexes save her from that complete humiliation.

"I don't think you're going anywhere, sweetie," Root observes.

"Except the hospital," Finch says. "Mr. Reese, please escort Miss Cassidy to New York General. Detective Fusco, it seems you have an attempted murderer to catch and interrogate."

"Wait," Elena protests. "Lionel, please take me with you."

"Cocoa Puffs is right, Ellie. You're in no state to be going anywhere. And look, you may want to kill this chick now — hell, I do — but ..."

"I don't really want to kill her. Just, scare her a little? No, I want to scare the shit out of her." She looks around at all of them. "This is what you do, isn't it?"

"That's not quite how I'd describe it," Finch begins.

She turns to Reese for support, looking at him imploringly with big, brown, slightly unfocused eyes. "Please, John."

Fusco and Root share a look, knowing the battle's already been won.

"Mr. Reese," Finch protests.

"Well, she did ask nicely," Reese points out, as he lifts Elena to her feet. "And I always did have a thing for damsels in distress."


They find Katie Tucker in the first place they look: her apartment. She's in the shower when they break in.

Reese settles Elena in the armchair in the corner of Katie's dark bedroom. Root quickly arranges Elena's hair and gives her a touch of lip gloss.

"Just because a girl's nearly died doesn't mean she can't look good when getting revenge," Root explains when Reese and Fusco stare at her. Elena gives her a grateful smile.

Root and Fusco retreat into the hallway, but Reese finds himself reluctant to move far from Elena's side. He hasn't let go of her since he'd found her in her bathroom. Partly because he'd been the only thing holding her up, and partly because he'd needed the physical reminder that she's alive.

"I'll just be here," he promises, before taking two steps into Katie's closet and melting into the shadows.

As if on cue, Katie comes out of the bathroom. Root's hand reaches into the doorway and flips on the light, illuminating Elena.

"Hi, KT."

Katie Tucker lets out the loudest shriek anyone has heard. Even Finch, listening from the subway via Reese's earpiece, winces. Beside him, Bear howls.

Katie presses herself against the wall as she gapes at Elena with wide eyes.

"Ellie! What ...? How ...?"

"You should've killed me better, Kate."

Reese and Root smile. Shaw had said something like that once.

"What ... what are you doing here?" Katie asks. "What do you want?"

"I want to know why," Elena says simply.

Katie looks at her in disbelief. "You mean the sweet, innocent, let's be friends thing isn't all just an act?"

She takes a step forward. Elena sees Lionel move in the hallway. She thinks she hears Reese move behind her, too.

She pulls out her gun and points it at Katie. "That's far enough."

Katie freezes.

John may have confiscated her gun when they were in her apartment, but she'd managed to confiscate it right back when he'd been carrying her.

"I don't want to hurt you," Elena says, more for John and Lionel's benefit than Katie's. "I just want to know why."

"You really don't know? That your father is the reason why my dad killed himself?"

In the hallway, realization dawns on Fusco's face.

Even though she's sitting down, Elena wavers. Reese nearly steps out of hiding then, but manages to hold himself back.

"What are you talking about?" Elena asks in a shaky voice.

"Your father told everyone that my dad was a dirty cop. He couldn't stand it, so he put a bullet in his own head —"

"Right after he put two in Tommy Cassidy's back," Fusco says, stepping into the room. He glances Elena, a guilt-stricken look on his face. "That was all covered up, though. That's how we used to do things at the 51st."

"No! No, he wouldn't have done that!" Katie protests, looking from Elena to Fusco. "My dad was a good cop!"

"He was," Fusco acknowledges. "Until he got in with a bad crowd."

Reese steps out of the closet and places a hand on Elena's shoulder. The world, which had gone a bit swirly at Lionel's revelation, solidifies again.

"Sorry, Ellie," Fusco says. "I should've told you years ago. But it was ... complicated. And dangerous."

"See?" Katie exclaims. "It's always about you, Ellie! Everyone's always so concerned about poor Ellie Cassidy, whose dad died so then she tried to kill herself! My dad died, too, and no one gave a shit because he was dirty and got what he deserved, right?"

Katie is full on sobbing now, so she doesn't see Elena get to her feet, hand Reese the gun, and shakily cross the room.

Reese and Fusco glance at each other, ready to intervene. Elena's looking far from fit, so they're both confident they could stop her before she does (much) damage.

But then Elena shocks everyone.

She hugs Katie.

After a moment of stunned silence, Katie bursts into a renewed set of tears and clings to Elena. She's no match for the extra weight, but Reese is there right behind her, keeping them upright.

"Oh, Katie, I'm so sorry."

Reese allows it for another moment before he pulls Elena back, and Fusco pulls Katie's arms behind her back.

"You," Fusco looks at Elena in admiration, "you're something else, Elliegirl. Your old man would be proud."

Root strolls in, in Detective Ginsburg mode, as Fusco escorts Katie out, though she lets it drop as soon as they're gone.

"Just when I thought you were going to get interesting," Root sighs in disappointment.

Without warning, she stabs Elena in the arm with a needle again. Reese's hand quickly wraps around Root's wrist, but she's already pressing the plunger.

"Naloxone works only for 30 to 90 minutes. Little Miss Normal is about to turn into an overdosing pumpkin," Root explains. "That should give us enough time to get to General. I'll bring the car around," she says before flitting out.

"You know, I think you're growing on her," John says.

Elena looks up at him. "So, this is how you help people?"

"No. Most people would have tried taking a shot or a swing at her. In most cases, I would've let 'em. You're better than most people, El."

"Or just too nice," she sighs, turning for the door.

Her legs give out from under her before she can take a full step, but John catches her before she falls.

"This is how the story always ends, doesn't it?" she sighs in resignation as he lifts her into his arms.

Something in Reese's chest clenches.

"How's that?"

"The textbook damsel in distress being rescued by the knight in suited armor."

"There's nothing textbook about you, Elena Cassidy."

He knows. She's made him break all the rules he's set for himself.

"I bet you say that to all the damsels you save."

"No. Just the one."

They gaze at each other as they wait for the elevator to arrive. When he steps on, she rests her head against his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're here, John," she whispers.

She feels his arms tighten around her, and there's a slight catch in his voice when he replies.

"I'm glad you're here, too, El."


They finally make it to the hospital. She'd only had to ask Root to pull over twice so she could be sick at the curb.

She's beyond embarrassment now, so she just lets John take care of her. The day's emotional rollercoaster has left her completely wrung out. She doesn't think she's ever felt this exhausted in her life. Or cold.

"El." She blinks. She's somehow on a stretcher now. The fluorescent lights of a hospital hallway are beating down on her, blocked partially by John's head.

"We have to let go for now, okay?" he says gently, just like she'd told him in the Catskills.

She realizes she's got a death grip on his hand, so she forces herself to loosen her hold.

He kisses her on the forehead before they wheel her away.

And she wishes it didn't feel like goodbye.

Somewhere between being in the ER, and being treated for an overdose, and being transferred to a private room because she's pretty sure they put her on suicide watch because she can't stop crying, she realizes this is the end.

No more threat to her. No more John.

No more wasting time together in her apartment, or the grocery store, or walking Bear in the park, or sipping beers on the balcony.

No more admiring him in his shirtsleeves, or his freshly showered hair without gel, or teasing him till his cheeks go pink.

She thinks she would gladly live the rest of her life with a violent threat hanging over her head if it meant she got to spend it with him.

But she knows he would never let that happen.


Reese waits until Elena's stable and settled in her own room.

But he waits outside, in the hallway.

He's there when a frantic Saunders arrives. The former Wall Street trader only gives him a passing glance as he rushes into Elena's room.

"Ellie, Ellie, oh my God, are you okay?"

Elena turns to face him. For a wild moment, when she'd heard her door open, she's thought it might be John.

"It's all right, I'm okay," she says. "They're just keeping me overnight for observation."

After she finally gets him to stop apologizing for not being there and for not coming sooner, Adam explains how he'd found out what had happened through the Police Academy Rejects gossip mill (aka Mac).

"I still can't believe it. Katie tried to kill you?"

"She thought it was my dad's fault that her dad killed himself. It makes sense in a twisted sort of way."

"Oh, Ellie," Adam groans. "You're too nice! That bitch tried to kill you."

"I was going to get her back. Not kill her," she adds quickly, seeing his surprised look. "Just, you know, scare her before Lionel slapped the cuffs on. But it didn't quite work out that way. She was just so ... broken."

"Like I said. Too nice." Adam glances toward the door. He can just see the shoulder of a suit in the door's window. "I take it Rooney was there?"

"Riley," she reminds.

"Right."

She meets Adam's eyes. "John's been with me all weekend. Not with ... not like that. He knew I was going to be in trouble, like he knew about you years ago. So he stuck around to make sure I was safe." She's really too tired to have this conversation right now, but he has to know. "Adam, when you came back this morning, that was the first —"

"Obviously he didn't stick close enough to you if Katie was able to try to kill you."

"I told him to leave right after you left." She laughs humorlessly. "And then I invited Katie over so she could kill me."

"Oh, Ellie." He takes her hand out of reflex. "She was our friend. You couldn't have known."

The silence slips by in minutes. They're both staring down at their intertwined fingers.

"So where does that leave us, Elena?" Adam finally asks. "This ... thing between you and ... Riley. What is it?"

"I ... honestly don't know how to answer that." She looks at him in confusion. "You ... still want —?"

"That's the thing. I could love you, Elena Marie Cassidy. If you let me."

"Oh, Adam."

Outside, Reese disconnects his phone from Saunders'.

And leaves.

"So that's how it's going to be, huh?" Fusco's voice stops him as he rounds the corner and sees the detective lying in wait for him.

"What are you talking about, Lionel?" If Reese's tone doesn't tell Fusco that the question is rhetorical, the glare that accompanies it does.

"You ever stop and wonder what's the point of all this, Wonderboy?" Fusco persists. "What's the point of saving all these lives if you don't end up saving the one?"

"The one?"

"The one. The only one that matters."

"I did save her — we saved her, Lionel. Cut it pretty close, but she's alive."

Fusco is silent for so long that Reese thinks he's finally shut him up.

"So. Ellie is the one."

Reese blinks before slowly turning to look at Fusco. Instead of the self-satisfied look he's expecting on his partner's face at tricking him into admitting it, there's only understanding.

"You nearly lost her tonight, partner. But you also nearly lost her three months ago when you let her walk out of your life, and before that when you shut her out after Shaw disappeared. You know, saving someone isn't just about taking bullets and shooting kneecaps and being there when someone's trying to kill them. Sometimes it's just about being there for them, anytime, all the time. Ellie deserves that." He hesitates before adding, "And so do you."


Reese stares at Elena's apartment door.

He's not sure how long he's been there, just that he's standing there, being something he never is.

Indecisive.

He hears her struggling to undo the locks on the other side of the door. And he's not really surprised she knows he's there. Because Elena knows him, better than he knows himself.

"Are you going to stand there all day, John?" she asks when she finally gets the door open.

She steps aside to let him in and closes the door behind him. She feels him reach over her to get the vertical deadbolt.

His hand moves down and easily does the rest of the locks with quick flicks of his wrist and fingers. Showoff.

She turns to face him. She always forgets how much space he takes up. They're standing so close that she has to tilt her head back to look up at him.

She expects him to quickly put some more space between them, but he doesn't. In fact, his hand is now resting gently on her cheek, and Elena has forgotten how to breathe.

"You're here, El," he states. "You're alive." And it sounds like he's trying to convince himself.

Maybe not. Maybe she's died and gone to heaven.

Because now he's holding her to reassure himself that she's there.

Then he's kissing her to convince himself that she's alive, and that he is as well.

When they finally part, it takes a few moments for Elena to realize the entire world hasn't ended.

Somehow, she gathers enough brain cells together to say something.

"You know, CPR usually comes during the dying part, not after."

To Elena's delight, John laughs. It's quick, but louder than his usual amused huffs.

"We always do things a little differently."

She nods in agreement, but the look she's giving him is wary. Which Reese takes a little bit of offense to, considering he'd just spent the last few minutes kissing her senseless.

"So," she says slowly, "what's different this time, John?"

She watches him take a few steps away from her, then a few steps back. And again. He's pacing.

"You almost died," he says finally. "I stayed away to keep you safe, and you still almost died."

"Turns out I can attract a killer without your help," she says lightly, following him farther into her apartment on his next pass. "Your secret side job's not the only dangerous thing out there. Apparently former classmates can be just as deadly."

He stops and turns to look at her. "The job isn't the only reason why I stayed away, Elena. The night we lost Shaw, the look on your face. Countless people have looked at me like that before."

"Like what?" she demands.

"In terror. I stayed away to keep you safe. From me."

This doesn't get the response he expects. He expects a denial at best, that same look again at worst. He doesn't expect her to roll her eyes.

"Oh please, John. Yes, I was scared that night, scared that you were going to get yourself killed. I was scared because you were acting in a way I'd never seen you act before!"

"You saw the real me that night."

"No, I didn't," she says at once. "Maybe it was you, a long time ago in that dark past you keep hinting at. But that's not who you are now. That's not who you've been for a while, I think."

"You don't know what I was."

"You're right, I don't. But I know you, John." She gives him a sad smile. "That's always been our problem, hasn't it? We've always understood each other more than we ever should have, all the way back to when we were just dog owners randomly meeting at the park."

He's silent for so long that she begins to despair. Not that he doesn't feel the same way — because she knows he does — but that he's going to deny it to make it easier for both of them to walk away. Again.

"Safe," she blurts out.

His eyes lock onto hers.

"That's how I always feel when I'm with you, John. Safe." She makes a hopeless gesture. "I know we don't make sense. I'm Little Miss Normal, and you're a superhero savior who looks damn good in a suit —"

"El, you're the only thing that makes sense in my life."

"Then why do you keep pushing me away?" she asks helplessly.

"Because I'm the only thing that doesn't make sense in yours."

His words echo in the silence that follows as she tries to find something to say to that.

He turns and looks out her window, a lone figure against the skyline. "I've been running away for so long, I've forgotten what it's like to even have a home. Been running since I was just a kid, really. Joined the Army, didn't look back. Joined the Agency, couldn't look back. Never had a job that kept me in one place too long. Never wanted to stay in one place too long."

She feels his gaze pierce her. "Then I met you. That's what I feel when I'm with you, El. Like I'm home." He lets out a slow breath. "And that's why I keep running away. It's the only thing I know how to do."

She suddenly feels the urge to cry, not for herself, but for him and the unbearable sadness of what he's just admitted. He looks so vulnerable, all defenses stripped away ... which is saying something for John Reese.

"People like me don't get to live a normal life, El. For a long time, I thought I could have it eventually — home, wife, kids. Thought if I just waited long enough, after the next job, after the next mission, after saving one more person, the perfect chance would come along. I'd put it all behind me, start clean. But this thing Harold and I do, it's never going to end. I realize that now."

"Then what are you waiting for now, John?" she asks, taking a few steps toward him. She swallows hard. "Death?"

"Eventually," he admits. "But first ... for you to find a better life without me."

She takes a shaky breath, but her movement toward him is steady. "Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen." She gives him a rueful smile. "It's like I told Adam last night. It's always going to be you for me, John. I don't want that life if you're not in it."

He closes his eyes. "I'm not worth it, El. You'd only be getting a broken man and a life I can't even begin to explain to you without putting you in danger."

She stops in front of him. Her fingers curl around the edges of his suit. "I'll take it," she whispers. "I'll take this broken man, if you'll take this mediocre woman."

His eyes shoot open. Her heart is pounding so hard in her chest, she wouldn't be surprised if he could hear it, too.

"You're always running? Fine. Ask me to run with you. Even if you can't tell me where we're going or why we're running."

"Could you live like that?" he demands. "Always running? Always looking over your shoulder? Never knowing where the danger's coming from?"

"With you? Yes," she answers steadily.

"Elena ..."

"No, listen, please. You would separate us forever to keep me safe, like what Harold has done with Grace. But that's not the kind of forever I want with you."

He's searching her eyes, looking for some sign of doubt, of hesitation.

And finds none.

He's looking at her in that way again. She's only ever glimpsed it before. Out of the corner of her eye, in the gloom of their fire escape, those very rare occasions when he'd thought she wasn't looking.

He's looking at her like he can't quite believe she exists. Like anything and everything he's ever wanted is standing right before him.

She thought he'd never look at her like that again.

And this time, he's not trying to hide it from her.

"Elena."

Her name comes out almost like a gasp, and he's holding her now, as tightly as she's clutching at him.

"Will you stay with me?" she asks, as he lifts her, because even the difference in their heights seems like too much distance at the moment.

"Always," he vows.

This is him, all of him, nothing held back, everything she's ever wanted.

And John Reese is finally home.


"So, forever then?" he asks, a long while later.

They're lying in her bed. Her pajamas and his suit mark the slow, meandering journey they'd taken to get there. Even thought all she's wearing is his shirt and moonlight, she feels warm and safe tucked against his side.

She can hear her heart pounding in her ears. Or maybe it's his. Maybe both.

"Until death do us part?" she teases, twining the fingers of the hands that had very briefly worn fake wedding bands, once upon a time.

The corner of his mouth twitches upward, and his eyes light up like nothing she's ever seen. Her heart leaps at the hint of the happy, hopeful man he must have been once.

"Well, I'm dead already, El. I only have forever left."

Her fingers dance over the strands of hair near his temple that always stick up, gel or not. She smiles at him brightly as his hand comes to rest alongside her cheek, his thumb wiping away a happy tear that escapes.

"All right, I'll take it."


A/N: I'm so, so happy to finally share this with you!