Healing Process
A/N: A short episode tag for 1x12 "Legacy." Direct quotes from the episode are in italics as usual. Just a fluffy filler chapter because I felt it was needed.
"Mr Reese ... Mr Reese, are you all right?"
"Wi- ... wishing gunshot wounds'd heal faster right about now."
John was still watching Andrea Gutierrez' retreating form as she walked into her new life when he felt his cell phone buzzing. No rest for the wicked, he thought while tapping his earpiece. "Don't tell me we've already got a new number."
The weary tone had Harold frowning, at the same time convincing him he had made the right decision in doing what he had. "No, but I need you to go back to the safe house for me. There's some business I need you to take care of. You'll see when you get there."
John sighed. "All right, Finch. On my way." What was it he had told Andrea about his employer the other day? "... The kind you'd call strange if he didn't have so much cash, so instead he's ... eccentric." Eccentric indeed.
*POI*POI*POI*POI*POI*
The court house was only a few blocks from the safe house*, and normally John would have walked, but not today. Today he felt bruised and battered. Exhausted. Maybe that was the downside of being treated like an actual human being – it led to experiencing human feelings. Feelings like pain and fatigue ... but also feelings like love, belonging, and protectiveness. His life was no longer just about getting a job done, but about actually living, unconventional though this life might be. Go figure.
John hailed a cab and enjoyed the luxury of the ride, getting off a few hundred feet from his intended destination. Hoping that whatever Finch wanted done wouldn't take too long, or require an excessive amount of heavy lifting, he walked the rest of the way to the safe house and let himself in.
The sight that greeted him, however, was the very last thing he had expected on this never-ending day. There was delicious-smelling food on the beautifully decorated dinner table, and Hannah was just coming in from the small kitchen with a steaming pot of fresh coffee. John was so surprised, he didn't even move from where he had come to stand.
Spotting him, his sister sat down the coffee pot and came over to greet him with a warm smile and a gentle hug – the second one today. It still took some getting used to. "What's all this?" he finally managed, his voice slightly rough with unwelcome emotion.
Before Hannah could explain, Harold's voice piped up from a mobile phone on the table that was apparently on speaker: "I felt that a little R&R was in order for you, considering your recent significant injuries and the unforeseen violent nature of your latest assignment."
"So this business you needed taken care of ...?" John started to ask.
"Just a little project for the improvement of management-staff-relations." Did he hear Harold actually smirking on the other end?! "Oh, and for your information: I expect Dr Silverstein to deliver a thorough report on the matter, so I count on your full cooperation. – Enjoy your evening, Mr Reese."
*POI*
*Obviously I have no idea how far the safe house would be from the court house, so I'm invoking creative licence here.