[A Year and a Half Later]

Sameen closed the front door behind herself as she carried in the groceries. This really was the highlight of her weekend. After becoming a paramedic once more, the days were long and tiring. She used her time with Bear and Root to distract from the emotional roller coaster that was work.

Bear raced from the bedroom to Shaw in a breath, his tongue falling from the left side of his mouth as he waited patiently for Sameen to react.

"What're you lookin' at buddy?" She asked in a playful tone. Bear yelped in response. "You know what to do. Maak je klaar, Bear."

Bear jumped back from his sitting position and grabbed his leash and harness from their spot in the closet. His brown eyes watched Shaw as she emptied out the bags. Once she placed the bags in their usual spot, Sameen turned back to him and asked;

"Laten we gaan, Bear!" She laughed.

Bear jumped around as she put on his harness and hooked the leash. He followed Shaw as she grabbed her phone and began down to the Fusco's new house. They went to the end of the hall where the elevator was and waited for the doors to open. As Sameen looked down at Bear, she watched his patient and careful movements, waiting for his next command just like he was trained to. Just like he waited for Harold or John's commands. She always loved how much he didn't listen to Fusco, though. He never listened to him, mainly because Lionel never bothered to learn Dutch like the rest of them had. He still needed that stupid Dutch to English book.

The doors opened to reveal Root. She had on her current persona "Vinh Grayce Cerf" which required her to wear a pair of fake glasses. Shaw had to admit that the glasses really suited her and allowed Shaw to last a bit longer with her bad puns and poorly timed lines.

"How's it going, Sweetie?" She asked striding out of the elevator. Root pulled her glasses off and tucked them into her breast pocket.

"Good, just handing Bear off to Lionel."

"You taking my car?"

"No, walking. It'll tire him out enough for Fusco."

"You're just a little ball of energy aren't you?" She asked, kneeling down to play with him. Bear licked her cheek before tugging Shaw into the elevator. "I think he wants to go."

"Yeah. See you in about forty-five minutes."

"Okay. I'll be here, then."

"Good because I have a little surprise for you." She smirked, pecking her cheek before taking the elevator down.

Root turned on her heels and walked to their flat. She was kind of surprised at how easily they were able to acclimate to their new roles in life. Even with Shaw not liking her new job - but what could replace her favorite pastime - they lived a more than comfortable life with Bear in their apartment.

She walked into their home up on the 6th floor and tossed her bag onto their bed. Root swung back out of the room and to the living room where her desk was. She looked at the old cane Harold once relied on when they first met. He always brought it to their Headquarters; maybe it was a nervous tick of his because they all knew he didn't use it for most of their time together. Now he really didn't need it. Root wondered if he was still hobbling around, not that she believed in heaven, but she still wondered how he was doing. She shook herself from the thought; the subject made her too sad.

Root instead got up from her desk and back to their room. She glanced at the abstract gold, brown and teal painting that stared at her when she walked in. On Shaw's nightstand was a framed picture of her on shore leave with her fellow graduates and her ring. They rested there, untouched since they moved in. The dust had settled on the ring, but the photo always looked perfect; even the frame was in pristine condition. She crawled across the cheap sheets and looked at the photograph. Sameen's hat was pulled over her right eye and she was laughing as two other boys had her on their shoulders. The Persian boy was looking at the photographer while the other brown haired boy was looking up at her.

Root picked up the photograph and studied it more, the way Sameen smiled, it was almost genuine, almost. She set it back down and turned to face the ceiling. Root looked over at her bedside table. There wasn't anything on her side except her alarm clock and a card Sameen had given her the anniversary of The End. She reached over for it and reread it for the twenty-third time.

"The Root of My Problems,

I know it seems out of character for me, but Lionel said that I should write down how I feel. It's been a year since we survived, and I honestly thought we would all be dead. Having had this time to see the normal world, I know that we saved it. Well, you saved it. You saved me. I'm in your debt, really. I love you. You're the only person I care about, even if I couldn't really show it while we were fighting, I couldn't bear to see you get hurt. When I thought I had lost you, I actually felt scared.

This was a really shitty card. Sorry.
Happy Anniversary, Sam."

~~~~~~~~~~

Sameen walked back into the apartment, suspicious when the rooms were dark. A flash of panic settled in the pit of her stomach as she grabbed a butcher knife from the cutting block and opened the small rooms, checking for anything off. Once she got to her room, she spotted Root passed out on the bed. Shaw sighed and replaced the knife, turning on a few lights before creeping into the master bedroom and crawling up behind Root to gently wake her. Root turned around to face Shaw and let out a quiet breath.

"So, on the subject of the surprise." Shaw began, getting back up and walking to their closet.

She slid open the door and pulled out a dark blue and silver Asics shoe box. Sam flicked the lid open and walked back to the bed, sliding next to Root. She pulled out a white envelope that had the tongue tucked in rather than sealed and handed it to her girlfriend.

"Open it."

Root took it and slid it open, pulling out two plane tickets. She turned them to the side and read the destination, "ST. BARTS; MAY 22, 2017 1:45 PM". She looked at Shaw, shaking her head.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. Not at all."

"Oh my god!" She laughed, lunging over to hug, Shaw.

Sameen took the tickets from her hand and placed them back into the envelope and then the box as Root clung to her. She pulled out of Root's grasp and pecked her cheek.

"I've already called in my vacation days for next week."

"Oh, yeah, let me get that settled." Root smiled, grabbing her phone to call up their shift manager.

Shaw got up and put the box back in the closet. She walked to the kitchen and began to prepare dinner while Root talked on the phone. She pulled out the ingredients to their meal and started the barberry rice. Sameen glanced as Root continued talking on the phone, standing across her at the counter. She watched as Sameen began mixing the rice in a bowl with a few spices and herbs. She began to prepare the other ingredients, chopping up the onions and slicing open the package for mushrooms and took out a frozen bag of ground beef from the freezer.

Root ended the call and continued to watch her.

"Good thing I'm Jamie's favorite or I might not have gotten time off." She smirked.

Shaw set down the knife and took out a large potato from the glass bowl that also held a few oranges and pears. She cut it into thick slices before setting it in the bottom of the crockpot before setting the seasoned rice in as well.

"Anything I can help with?" Root asked.

"Oh yeah, can you heat up the beef for… a minute?"

"Sure." She nodded, setting the bag in the microwave. "So, what's this gonna be?"

"Some old recipes from my mom."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She nodded, sitting back as she waited for the rice to finish up. "Börek and Zereshk Polow."

"I don't know what those are." Root said as she took the bag out of the microwave and handed it to Sameen.

"Zereshk Polow is basically a Barberry Rice dish."

"What's that?"

"On the counter are barberries, they're common in Iran." She explained, pointing at the bag by the sink. "Börek is a wrap with beef, rice, onions, and spices. Can you beat these eggs?" Shaw asked handing her a bowl with a whisk.

"Yeah. So, how often would she make this?"

"Pretty often, I mean, it's not that expensive to make, so this was pretty normal to have."

Shaw began the saffron rice, waiting for the crockpot to go off before she split up the rice and set aside the rest of the ingredients.

"It's kinda nice to cook."

"Good thing we've been doing this for almost two years. Didn't your parents ever teach you how to cook?"

"Of course. I grew up in a fairly stereotypical southern house. We went to church like every other normal person in town on Sunday and after service, we'd go to my grandma's house and eat with everyone else."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"After you left, did you continue to study the Good Book?" Shaw asked setting up the wraps.

"Well, I stopped when I was in high school. After that, I found other things to be interested in."

"Like what?"

"Like girls and computers."

"Sometimes I forget you're gay."

"Really? We're dating?"

"I know, I just forget that sometimes not everyone's bi."

"Fair enough," Root sighed, "but you're still mine." She growled in her ear as she hooked her arms around Sam's waist.

"Hey, Root… do you ever miss working for the Machine?" Sam warily inquired.

She thought for a moment before pulling away. "I do… and don't. I miss hearing her in my ear, but I would trade that for knowing you'd be safe."

"I just… I was just curious." Sam shrugged, pulling the potatoes out of the pot.

"I know you miss it, Sam, you don't have to pretend, but isn't this better?"

"It's safer, but I feel like we're not doing anything worthwhile anymore."

Root shrugged sitting on the opposite side of the bar, "I think that this is an important step in our lives. I mean, we can't do that forever, all of the running and the fighting. It's a lot of stress."

"I know, but I just-"

"You miss it. I know… so do I." She confessed.

Sam finished the first part of their meal and plated the wraps before turning her focus on the next part of their dinner.

"It's all I know," Sameen told her as she plated the mound of saffron rice, stuck the potato slices against it, finishing with a pile of half of the barberries.

Root took the plate and placed it on the table. "If I ever hear from the machine, I'll tell you."