Ok, last chapter! See my AN at the bottom :) (PS if this is confusing, this is where Chapter 1 left off...)

Present time

John coughed as he rushed back to consciousness, trying to clear his lungs of the smoke. Everything he could hear was muffled, but something else was wrong. He tried opening his eyes to take in his surroundings, but he realized his eyes were open, and he couldn't see a thing. "Finch?" he asked quietly, coughing again.

"Oh, thank goodness. I heard the explosion and when you didn't answer, I feared you hadn't gotten far enough away in time. How is Kelsey?" John listened, trying to pick out any sound he could that would tell him where their number was.

"Ms. Borwick? Kelsey?" John asked as he got to his hands and knees, crawling around and trying to feel anything that would help him her. He heard a cough off to his left and his head snapped in that direction. He followed the sound, stopping when his hands hit what he assumed was her leg. "Kelsey?" he asked again.

"Who...who are you?" she whimpered as she observed the man she knew as John Machonis feeling around on his hands and knees.

"Someone who cares about saving people," John answered.

"What's wrong? What happened to you?" she asked as she noticed his unmoving eyes.

"Mr. Reese, what does she mean? Did something happen to you? Are you injured?" Reese could hear genuine concern in Harold's voice. He knew once he told him what was wrong, Harold was not going to be happy.

"I can't see, but I'll be fine."

"What?!" Finch exclaimed.

"I'm so sorry!" Kelsey whispered. She started to cry, and John held out his hand, silently asking for help over to her. She grabbed his hand and led him over. Once he was by her side, they both stood up.

"Mr. Reese, 'fine' is a term one uses when you are in good health, in good physical condition. Blindness does not usually fall under that word's definition!" Finch berated.

"Honestly Harold," John said patiently. "It's not the first time this has happened. I'll be able to see again in a few days, maybe a week," he promised.

"Who are you talking to?" Kelsey asked in confusion as she looked up at him. He was a good head and a half taller than her, so she really had to crane her head to see his face.

"A friend," he replied.

"I'm almost to you, Mr. Reese. I've alerted the detectives as well, and they're currently on their way," Finch informed him.

"Finch, you don't need to come get me," John tried to protest.

"Mr. Reese, we are not having this argument. Stay where you are, I'm almost there." John sighed, and Kelsey looked around as she heard sirens screaming, getting closer and closer.

"You'll need to describe who took you," Reese told her. She nodded, then remembered he couldn't see the action.

"Yes, I know." John heard a car screech to a stop a few meters away and he turned towards the sound.

"Finch?"

"I'm here, Mr. Reese." He felt a pair of hands grab his elbow and forearm, leading him forward towards what John assumed was the car.

"Hey, Professor!" they heard Fusco call out.

"Detective, now is not the best time," Finch replied in a tired voice.

"What happened here?!"

"I believe you have a witness right there," Harold pointed out, motioning to the trembling financial advisor. "I also believe that she's in shock, and more than likely in need of more assistance than us right now."

"Wait, what happened to him?" Fusco pointed to John after noticing that Finch was guiding him.

"John?" Reese heard Carter's voice join the mix. "What happened?"

"Mr. Reese will be fine. I just need to get him out of here," Harold insisted. "Please just take care of Ms. Borwick," he implored. He helped John into the car, then hurried to the driver's side and drove off.

"Who ARE those people?!" Kelsey asked the two detectives as they led her to one of their squad cars and wrapped a blanket around her.

"Just two people trying to make the world a better place, one person at a time," Carter replied as she stared at the retreating Lincoln.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Fusco asked, getting down to business. Kelsey nodded and began describing the events that had taken place that day.

"Finch," Reese stated from the backseat.

"Yes, Mr. Reese?"

"From the parking lot where you picked me up, I'm pretty sure that the direction you're going is not the direction of the library," he pointed out.

"You're right, Mr. Reese. We are not going back to the Library yet. I want to get you checked out more thoroughly before we do anything else."

"The numbers aren't gonna stop, Harold," John commented quietly.

"You're probably right, but there isn't much you can do if you can't actually see who it is you're supposed to be protecting now, is there?"

"Finch, I told you I'm fine!"

"I will believe that when Dr. Madani has given you the 'all clear,' not before," Harold stated, the tone of his voice letting John know that he was leaving no room for argument. "I've already called ahead to him; he's expecting us, and he knows this needs to be kept under the radar," Finch continued. John said nothing as he felt the car roll to a stop, then heard Finch exit the vehicle.

He felt around for the handle and opened the door, unfolding his tall body from the slightly cramped backseat before Finch could get around to help him. He could practically feel Harold's annoyed stare, and he shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm not an invalid, Harold," he said meekly.

"No, you're simply blind!"

"Like I said, it's not the first time it's happened!" John tried telling him again.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? Head wounds are nothing to be trifled with, John." He grabbed John's elbow again and led him towards the door of the hospital.

"I really would like him to stay at least a few more hours for examination," Farouk Madani said as John stood up. The good doctor had given John a pair of darkened sunglasses, which Finch insisted he put on. As soon as he was on his own though, John swore to himself they were coming off.

"I'm afraid that's not an option, Dr. Madani," Finch answered. "But thank you very much for your time and discretion," he added. John simply gave a small smile and put his hand against the wall, feeling his way along until he reached the door. He strode out of the room, still acting like he was able to see. Finch hurried after his friend, all the while insisting that he at least use some sort of walking stick to aid him.

They exited the building and started walking towards Harold's car, still arguing. "I'm fine to get back to work, Finch!" John insisted. "At least let me do some sort of recon!"

"Mr. Reese, you heard what the doctor said! He said your vision could return anytime; from within a few hours up to a week! Until your sight returns, he wants you off your feet!" John sighed, and Finch could tell he was cooking up an argument, but Finch held up his hand as his phone started ringing. "Detective Carter," he said in greeting.

"Hey Finch. We got Kelsey's statement, and Fusco's getting a team ready right now to go bring in the owner of Rose-Gold Development. If he didn't order that hit, I'm a Disney Princess," she added.

"Thank you Detective. Please keep us updated on the situation."

"I will. How's John?" She asked. "What happened to him?"

"Mr. Reese is currently suffering from temporary blindness. He will be under house arrest until he regains his vision."

"Finch, you can't put me under house arrest!" John groused.

"Hey Finch," Carter said. "If he gives you any trouble, let me know. I'll deal with him." Harold chuckled.

"Thank you, Detective. We'll be in touch." He disconnected the call and turned to his visually impaired partner. "Mr. Reese, the detectives have taken Ms. Borwick's testimony, and they're going to bring in the owner of the Development company. Since they seem to have everything under control, will you please consent to go home for at least the rest of the day?" John wanted to argue, but after thinking about it for a minute, he realized he was tired.

"Alright Finch, I'll do it. But just for the rest of the day," he added, holding up his index finger. "I'm going to be back in the Library first thing tomorrow morning."

"I'm sure I couldn't stop you if I tried, Mr. Reese. I'm going to take this small victory and drive you home now," Finch conceded. They walked towards the car and drove off towards Reese's apartment.

A few days later, Finch looked up as John walked through the gate of the Library. "Ah, Mr. Reese. How are you doing today?"

"Fine, Finch," John replied patiently. He knew his employer was simply concerned about him, but the fact that Harold asked him that every day was starting to wear a little thin. His vision had been gone for two days before it finally came back fully. The only thing left bothering John was a bout of vertigo every now and then.

He stopped and leaned against the wall as a wave of dizziness decided right then would be a good time to attack. He leaned against the wall for support, waving off Harold's question of whether he should go home or not. "I'm fine, Harold," he insisted as his friend walked over and helped him to a seat. "Vertigo is just another side effect of the head injury, unfortunately."

"Well please, for my sake just sit there for a little while. Watching you sway on your feet was making me feel nauseous," Finch informed him. John gave a small smile and leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes and waiting for the dizzy spell to pass.

"Do we have any news on Ms. Borwick?" he asked, eyes still closed.

"Actually, we do. When they arrested Tom Kane, the CEO of Rose-Gold, it didn't take long before he admitted to the whole thing and gave up his accomplices who abducted her," Finch explained. "They've all been arrested and will be in jail for at least 10 years, if not more."

"Good," John replied in his quiet voice. A minute later, he got up and walked over to Finch's bookshelf.

"Mr. Reese, what on earth are you doing?" Finch asked in puzzlement.

"A bit of light reading, Harold," John replied, only sounding slightly sarcastic as he pulled out three books and stacked them on top of each other. "We got a new number. You wanna look it up or do I need to?" Finch sighed in resignation.

"Give me just a moment and I'll have the information pulled up," he agreed. Obviously the numbers would never stop coming, and he supposed now that John had his sight back, he was more than ready to get back to work.

That was the thing about John Reese, Finch thought to himself. As long as he was alive and breathing, he knew there were people out there he could be saving. He was never going to let someone down again as long as he could help it.

So there you have it...thoughts? Love it? Hate it? If it's the latter, please feel free to tell me, but make it constructive criticism so I can know how to improve my writing :) I told you guys that it was a lot shorter than my last one...I was going to have a lot more happen, but I couldn't figure out good reasons for what I was going to have happen, so I decided that this was a decent spot to end it. However, I wouldn't be opposed to writing a sequel if you guys want :) Let me know!