A/N: Dear readers, reviewers, followers and favouriters – thank you for staying with this story for so long. This is the final chapter. Yes, it has come as a surprise for me, too. When I started to outline the story finale, I realised that I would either have to write a two-or-three-chapter ending, or wrap it up very concisely. As you see, it turned out to be the latter.

I am planning a (much shorter) Part II of sorts, seeing as season 5 is coming up (Yeah!), but I have a very busy spring and summer ahead of me, so I don't know when I'll be able to fit in a longer stretch of creative writing. Re-watching the last episodes of season 3, however, sparked another idea that I might be able to put into a one-shot soon-ish (I hope).

So here it is, my lovely readers: the final chapter of "Unbreakable Bond". The chapter heading is borrowed from 3x23 "Deus Ex Machina".

Warnings: none. The original episodes are much, much darker. Spoilers for episodes 3x20 "Death Benefit" and 3x23 "Deus Ex Machina". And, in case there is still doubt: I own nothing except for my original characters.

Oh, btw: since this is the end, feel free to review!

Chapter 29: The Only Thing That's Left Is Hope

The world was coming to an end.

If her brother, a man who had fought, bled, and survived in wars foreign and domestic, was standing before her, looking the way he did, distraught like his eighteen-year-old self in family court all these years ago, saying good-bye to her like he was not going to return from the battle he was headed into, the world was coming to an end.

The world was coming to an end, and she was going to be left behind.

*POI*POI*POI*POI*POI*

A few weeks earlier

"'lo?" was the most articulate answer Ben managed at one-thirty in the morning when he finally, on his third or fourth attempt, hit the Accept field on his phone.

"Are you at home and is Hannah with you?"

Ben rolled over, only to see his wife pull her pillow over her head. "Yeah. One sec, I'll put you on speaker."

Hannah groaned and lifted her head, minus pillow. "What have you done now?"

"Shaw caught a bullet in the thigh. No large vessels hit, but the bullet needs to come out. Off the record."

"Yeah, no kidding", Hannah grumbled. "Where are you?"

"We'll be at the therapy centre in half an hour."

"Okay", Ben said, dragging both hands down his face. "Pull up at our front door. You can use my office. Who else is with you?"

"Just Harold."

"All right then. Seey'inabit", Hannah slurred around a yawn, and Ben hit End Call.

"I swear, they're as bad as a bunch of teenage kids."

"And we're enablers. Coffee?"

*POI*POI*POI*POI*POI*

Same night, an hour later

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for a nap, Harold?" Ben asked, taking in the other man's pale complexion and exhausted air with some concern. Finch had already declined a snack, turning a decidedly sickly shade of green when offered one.

"No, thank you. I'll better get going. – I trust you and Miss Shaw will make your own ways back?" Harold asked John without looking at him. In fact, he'd been avoiding eye contact with the tall man the whole time they'd been here. Ben made a mental note to ask John about it, though he doubted he'd get a straight answer.

"Sure, Finch. Just ... try to take back roads and stay out of sight." John sounded concerned, too. So it wasn't just Ben's imagination.

"Thank you for your help, Dr Al-Khalil. Again. And please give my regards to your wife," Harold said without acknowledging John's words. That was really odd. Harold never ignored John. Not like that.

"Will do. Stay safe."

Without a further word, or a look back, Finch made his way to the car and drove off, leaving the two friends standing at the door staring after him.

"Okay, spill."

John raised an eyebrow at the borderline demanding tone. "Why do you just naturally assume it was something I did?" he asked defensively, closing the door with a little more force than strictly necessary.

His brother-in-law studied him long and hard. "You're more than just in the doghouse," he finally stated, sounding a little surprised at the realisation. "And you don't know why."

"Oh, I know the why all right," John scoffed bitterly. "I just thought he understood. After all that happened. After all we've been through."

Ben narrowed his eyes. "You made an executive decision he didn't agree with?"

The other man winced a little at this choice of words but caught himself a split second later. "I think ultimately it's not even about what I did. He started something that took on a life of its own, and he's only beginning to realise the extremes his actions have been leading to. I was just providing a visual. Again."

It took just a moment for Ben to put two and two together. "Are you saying that what happened to Joss was actually caused by something Harold did?" he asked quietly.

John shook his head, a resigned look flitting over his face before it was replaced by frustration again. "No. Yes. Possibly. I don't know. All I'm saying is, he needs to stop thinking that there is a correct solution to everything, because there isn't. And he needs to realise that correct doesn't always equal right." He turned away and braced himself on the doorframe, staring out into the night.

Ben put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Do you think you made the right choice in what you did today?" His voice was gentle but firm.

The other man seemed to mull that over for a while; then he took a deep breath and stood a little straighter. "Yes. Yes, I think I did."

*POI*POI*POI*POI*POI*

And now ...

"I have to leave." John could hardly make his voice work, but his family deserved a proper good-bye. "I don't know when, or if, I'll be able to come back. I'm sorry."

Hannah stared at him, speechless, unable to wrap her head around what her brother was saying. "But why?" she finally managed in a small voice.

John swallowed hard, took a breath, then another, clenching and unclenching his hands. "I ... we ..." He stopped, trying to think of something to say, something that actually made sense, that explained why the world as they knew it was so suddenly coming apart at its seams.

There was nothing.

He slumped down on the couch, burying his head in his hands, and burst into tears.

Overwhelmed with the shock of it all, Hannah fell down to her knees in front of him and wrapped him in a desperate embrace. "No, please ... don't cry ... tell us what's going on ... we can work it out ... please!" she stammered in between sobs, clinging to her brother like it was the only thing holding him, and her, together.

Benjamin, who had been watching silently, sat down beside John, putting one hand on his best friend's back and the other on his wife's head. The gentle touch seemed to ground them a little, and after a few minutes the siblings both started to calm down. John managed to pull himself together enough to sit up and get his breath back. After wiping his own face on the sleeve of his shirt, he pulled Hannah off the floor and onto the couch, placing her between himself and Ben.

Finally he explained: "It's bad. Worse than anything I've ever seen. I can't tell you any details, but your association with me could put you in potentially lethal danger. That's why I can't come back anytime soon. I don't even know if I'll ever be able to come back. I may still be in New York City, but if you see me, or any of the team, really, you don't know us. We can't be in touch. It's too dangerous."

A look into Ben's eyes told John that his brother-in-law understood very well what this was all about, but the same couldn't be said about Hannah. "I don't get it. I mean, I get that you might have to go undercover, but why so suddenly? And if being associated with you could put us in danger, what about the danger you're in?"

"I can handle myself," John replied without thinking, which, of course, was exactly the wrong thing to say.

"So that's it? You just decide for all of us that you're going to disappear from our lives forever without even trying to find a different solution?" Hannah's voice rose dangerously.

"There is no different solution!"

And just like that, the whole thing had escalated into a shouting match.

"I'm a danger to you, and me leaving is the only way to keep you safe!" Shocked at the volume of his own voice, John reined himself in. "Don't you understand, Hannie?" he pleaded. "I need to know you're safe!"

"So do I!" his sister yelled. "But what makes your need more important than mine?"

Both siblings had jumped up from their seats and stood facing each other, mere inches between them. As a passing thought it crossed Ben's mind how very much alike the two were, turning pain into anger lest it killed them inside.

"Please listen to me, Hannah," John begged in an almost desperate tone. "This is not just about what you and I need. Don't you think if there was a way to avoid this, I wouldn't choose it? But it's not just about your safety. It's about ensuring the safety and freedom of thousands of people."

"And you can do that because suddenly you're God?"

John winced at the harsh sarcasm but opted for a sincere reply. "No. But for some inexplicable reason I've been put in a position of that much influence and responsibility. I can't just turn my back and walk away from that. And I know for a fact that you wouldn't, either."

"Oh really? How do you figure?" Still with the sarcasm.

"You're a doctor."

"Yes, I am. But one of the first rules you learn as a doctor is that you're no use to your patients sick or dead!" Hannah argued.

"Believe me, I'll try to stay alive."

"Why should I believe you?" There a distrust in his sister's eyes that John hadn't seen for years, and it hurt him to think they might part like that.

"Because, Hannah, I'm giving you my promise." John closed the distance and gently took her face into his large, gun-and-fight-calloused hands. He waited until she met his gaze, pressed a tender kiss to her forehead and, never breaking eye contact, told her: "Getting you back was the best thing that ever happened to me, and more than I could ever have hoped for. I haven't got the words to say how grateful I am for that. I love you, Hannah, and I thank you for the love you've given me. That's why I promise you I'll try to stay alive and safe. And I promise you something else: wherever life takes me, I'll always try to come back to you."