Somewhere down by the docks

The first thing that registered in the dark recesses of the man's mind was a dull ache in his leg that intensified as he got closer and closer to consciousness. The next thing that registered was the fact that he couldn't move his arms or legs. A panic quickly filled him and made him snap his eyes open. The last thing he had remembered was waiting in a room at the hospital to be treated for the bullet wound in his thigh. His eyes danced around the familiar surroundings of the warehouse before they settled onto another man in a dark suit, who was casually seated just to his right. The dark suit man looked to be relaxed with his legs crossed and his hands, one of which held a gun, rested in his lap. Beside the dark suit man was something else familiar, a table with several tools on top of it. He realized that he was bound up by shackles and that he was naked and gagged. He struggled against the bindings but he knew it was all futile since he himself had secured these very shackles from the overhead beams.

"I really should thank you I mean you really did make this all very easy for me. A quiet, sound proof room with shackles and so many fun toys for us to play with," The dark suit man spoke as he picked up a hand saw and clicked it on. The loud buzzing noise of the saw made the bound man flinch as he dangled helplessly from the. "Tonight you shot up a home with a woman and her children inside…'my' home with 'my' woman and 'my' children inside." The dark suit man clarified as he threw out a menacing look at the shackled man. The dark suit man then closed his eyes which were red with his rage, and took a deep calming breath before he stared up at the frightened shackled man again. "But I know that you're just a small time player in this, a foot soldier just following orders." The dark suit man continued with a smile as he then stood and picked up what looked to be a scalpel with an elongated blade from the table. "What I need to know from you is who ordered the hit on my family." He asked as he moved to stand before the shackled man. The man in the suit reached out the scalpel and traced the sharp tip of its blade across the chest of the bound man. The shackled man stared down at his chest and his eyes locked onto the trail of blood that followed the trek of the blade, and he whimpered pathetically. The shackled man frantically began to mumble around his gag as tears fell from is eyes. The man in the suit acted as if he didn't notice that the shackled man was trying to tell him something, and moved the tip of the blade to the left side of the bound man's chest near the lower part of his rib cage, he then gave it a swift upward thrust and the blade slid through the bones of the ribcage with a crunching sound. The shackled man cried out a loud moan around his gag.

"Sorry were you trying to tell me something?" The dark suit man asked and then reached up and removed the gag. The shackled man gasped and moaned in pain as he struggled to catch his breath. "You were saying?" The dark suit man said as he moved the handle of the blade again.

"Ahhhh…FUCK! Elias…man it was Elias who ordered the hit. He said that that cop bitch….Ahhhh!" The bound man yelp out as the suited man twisted the blade a bit.

"That's the mother of my children show some respect." The suited man suggested in a calm manner.

"Sorry, sorry," The shackled man cried as tears and snot seeped down his face. "Your lady was snooping around the docks and we got her plates and had someone check on her. We found out who she was, that she was a cop. We got all her info and we called Elias and told him about her. Elias said he knew who she was and that she was a loose end and told us to get rid of her. Look man I was just doing what I was told, if I didn't Elias would have killed me. I'm sorry about your family man, hey I've got a wife and kids too." The bound man gasped out before he coughed up blood.

"Well Reggie your family have my condolences because in about," The dark suit man paused long enough to look at the time on his watch. "15 to 20 minutes you'll be dead. You're going to bleed out from your now ruptured spleen. Normally it's a survivable injury, if you have emergency surgery in time. Thank you for your information." The man in the suit said and then turned and headed for the exit.

"Wait…Wait, you can't just leave me here to die, man!" Reggie cried out as the man in the suit kept walking, exiting the building without looking back.

"Finch"

"Yes Mr. Reese," Finch had been awaiting Reese's call all night. Finch had joined Carter and her children at the hospital and after a few hours where the doctors ran test to make sure both mother and daughter were ok, they were released and Finch took them from the hospital to their new secure home. Then Finch headed back to headquarters and waited for Reese's call.

"How's my family?" Reese asked the question most prevalent in his mind.

"They are all tucked safely away in their new apartment awaiting your arrival. I took the liberty of hiring a personal nurse to be there with Det. Carter, to look after Vivian. Carter really looked so exhausted." Finch stated and Reese closed his eyes and silently cursed the fact that he couldn't be there with her.

"Thank you, now I need another favor. I need you to doctor me some new credentials, I'm looking for a new job." Reese said and Finch arched his brows at the news.

"A new job, has the job I've provided you been dissatisfactory in some way John?" Finch asked genuinely. He had considered that Reese would leave their work once his child was born to settle more into the role of family man. "If you need a pay raise I'd gladly…"

"No Finch I'm happy with the job I perform for you and as for my weekly salary, well you'll never hear me complaining about those extra zeros. No, this new job will only be temporary, I need to get inside Riker's as a guard, and I'll also need a way out."

"Riker's…as in Riker's Island, the prison?" Finch asked as his brow bunched in confusion.

"Yes can you get me a way on and off the island tonight?" Reese questioned. "Have me replace a current guard, just for tonight?"

"I'll see what I can do, give me an hour to work on it," Finch replied. "I take it you found a lead to who was behind the attack on Det. Carter."

"Yeah, apparently Jos went snooping around the docks earlier and caught the attention of the wrong guys, guys who work for Elias." Reese's words caused Finch's heart rate to increase. The thought that he had somehow played a role in what had happened sickened Finch and the thought of Reese finding out his role terrified him.

"So Elias put the hit out," Finch asked even though he was somewhat lost in his current turmoil.

"Yeah and now I'm going to do what I should have done when we first met, I'm going to kill him."

Later that night

"Oh I'm sorry," Finch apologized as he turned away slightly. "Nurse Hawthorne didn't tell me you were nursing the baby."

"It's alright Harold," Carter spoke softly as she cradled her daughter to her bosom. "Please come in." She coaxed and Finch slowly turned back to face her. He hesitated by the door for a moment until he realized that he couldn't actually see anything except a head full of dark curls nestled against Carter's chest.

"How is she?" He asked as he stared at the tiny head with a crooked smile.

"Hungry, she's definitely got her daddy's appetite." Carter replied as she returned his smile.

"And Taylor, I didn't see him when I came in?" Finch questioned further.

"He was exhausted he already went to bed. He was fighting sleep trying to wait up for John but I told him that John would probably be very late. Have you heard from him?" Carter asked as she bunched her brow in concern. Finch bowed and nodded his head.

"Yes, we've spoken briefly throughout the night. He was able to track down the last man standing from the shoot-out at your home."

"Oh, is that where he is right now?"

"No, that thug was just a means to an end. John knew that there was a bigger player involved in all of this and…Det…Joss I am so very sorry I got you involved in our cases. John was right and I should have never asked you to look into the Ruiz files." Finch began apologizing.

"Are you saying that Ruiz was the one that put a hit on me?" Carter questioned.

"No, it was Elias. Those were actually his building down by the docks, he was just using Ruiz as a front man. If I hadn't asked you to look into Ruiz's dealings none of this would have happened."

"Hey you asked me to look into some files, which I did right at my desk. I was the one who felt she had to prove something. I had no business going down to those docks. So please don't blame yourself because I don't."

"Thank you but I doubt our Mr. Reese will have those same feelings of forgiveness."

"You're right he won't and that's because he's never going to know that you asked me to look into Ruiz."

"I don't think I can keep it from him." Finch stated.

"Yes you can and you will, I don't want you ruining your friendship with John over something I did to spite him. This was entirely my fault so I want you to promise me that you'll never tell John…please Harold."

"I suppose I owe you that much." Finch conceded.

"Thank you. So where is John right now?"

"I don't think you'd really want to know." Finch replied.

"I told John to do whatever he had to, to make sure whoever did this, attacked my home and endangered my children paid, and I meant it."

"Yes he mentioned that, but that's not why I say you don't want to know. It's the method that he chosen to get the job done that might cause you concern." Finch said with a heavy sigh.

"What do you mean?" Carter asked as she unlatched Vivian from her breast, and made sure to not expose herself to Finch. She then maneuvered the baby up to her shoulders and began to burp her.

"As I said before John discovered that Elias was behind the hit on you, well have you forgotten Detective where Elias is?" Finch asked and Carter's eyes widened as realization dawned on her.

"Are you telling me that John is going to Riker's Island to kill Elias?" She asked and Finch could only avert his eyes to the floor in reply. "That's a suicide mission, why didn't you stop him?" Carter asked as tears sprang to her eyes.

"There was no stopping him, and I fear that if I hadn't helped him he would have done something irrational that would have surely gotten him caught. I was able to get him on the island posing as a guard, and when the shift is over he'll leave the same way."

"Assuming that he's not caught in the act of murdering Elias," Carter added.

"Yes, assuming that."

Elsewhere

Reese had sat at the guard's station for well over two hours which gave him enough time to gauge the system of when the guards did their checks and when the cameras did their interval scans of the main corridors to each cell block. He found the block that Elias was on and wasn't surprised that the entire block was pretty much inhabited by Elias and just a handful of his personal men. It seemed that even in prison the man had pull. Reese only smiled at this knowledge because he knew that Elias secluded himself this way as a means to remain safe, but tonight it would help bring about his downfall. When Reese was finally left alone at the station he set up the looping device that he had brought with him. He checked the camera that watched the block that housed Elias. Reese watched the monitor and a loop of an earlier scene displayed just as the other guard returned to the station.

"Hey Joe you mind if I take a break?" Reese asked as he held up a pack of smokes to the older, bald guard.

"Sure man," Joe answered with a kind smile. "Just don't get caught, the warden only wants us out during our scheduled breaks and the man's got moles everywhere. Mitchell and Fitzgerald will be coming back this way on their rounds in about 20 minutes, just make sure you're back before then."

"Oh I'll only be gone 10 minutes tops." Reese announced as he stood and made his way from the station. Once he rounded the corner he watched the camera move away from him, he then set his watch and quickly moved. When he got to Elias's block he stealthily approached and pressed the knife to the throat of Elias's lookout guard from behind before the man could register what was happening. "You can play the hero and die or you can just walk away and I promise you you'll never have to be Elias's guard dog again."

"If you can kill Elias you'd be doing a lot of people in here a favor, including me, but the question is can you kill him? I have seen so many try and fail." The captured man stated.

"All you have to do is walk away." Reese said again.

"If you don't succeed Elias will blame me for letting you in, then I'm a dead man."

"I guess you do have a point," Reese said as he quickly struck a blow to the back on the man's head with his elbow. He didn't have time for further persuasion or to administer a choke hold that would render the man unconscious. Reese settled the unconscious man's body back at his post against the wall and then moved to Elias's open cell. Reese swiftly shot the other guard just inside the cell door with a stun gun knocking him out cold, which garnered Elias's attention and he quickly sat up from the bunk he had been lying in. If Elias was surprised he didn't let on.

"John, so nice of you to visit me, if I had known you were coming I would have cleaned up." Elias spoke calmly as John moved to stand over him.

"This isn't a social visit." Reese said as he checked the time on his watch.

"No I suppose it isn't," Elias replied as he removed his glasses and then folded their arms and sat then on the table beside his bunk. "I want you to know that Det. Carter wasn't anything personal for me, she was snooping..." Elias's words ended as a loud crunching noise filled the cell. Reese stood for a moment and stared down at the little weasel of a man with the twisted neck.

"It was personal for me." He said and then exited the cell. He made it back to the guard's station in less than ten minutes and he had made sure he was in sync with the turning camera as so he wasn't caught on camera.

"Just in time," Joe greeted him as he stood from his seat, just as Reese took his. "I gotta go to the John." Joe announced just before disappearing around the corner, heading to the staff bathroom. Reese quickly disengaged the hidden looping device and then made sure the camera was showing real-time video once more. Reese then settled back comfortably in his chair and sipped at the still warm coffee he had left on the desk, and waited to finish his shift.

The dull ache between her legs told Carter that the meds that Nurse Hawthorne had given her for pain had nearly worn off. The pain was present enough to make her open her eyes to buzz for the Nurse for more meds, but her movement stilled when her eyes fell upon the man who stood across the room, cradling her newborn daughter while staring out the slightly open curtains. She watched in awe as the sun shone in on the man and child. She continued to watch silently as the man repeatedly kissed the baby's head and whispered to her. Although Carter couldn't make out what he was saying it still brought a smile to her lips.

"Hey you," She called out softly just as he pressed another kiss to the baby's head. He locked his eyes onto the woman lying in bed.

"Hello beautiful," Reese replied as he moved back to the bed.

"Beautiful, huh…I don't know about all that." Carter said with a giggle as she gingerly sat up and against the pillows.

"You're right you're not beautiful," Reese recanted and Carter frowned up at that man and self-consciously raked her fingers through her thick tresses in an attempt to tame her bed hair.

"Gee thanks," She spoke, clearly irritated by his words.

"You're absolutely breathtaking." He continued just as he reached the bed and settled on the edge before he leaned in and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. When he pulled back Carter's face held a dreamy smile as she looked at him. "Look what you did," He nodded down at the baby with a proud smile. He then moved his sleeping daughter from his shoulder down to the security of his strong arms. "She's gorgeous Jos."

"Yeah she is," Carter agreed as they both gazed lovingly at their child. "But hey I can't take all the credit, half of that is all you baby." Reese only nodded his head in agreement as he used his free hand to tenderly stroke Vivian's soft curls. "I take it you took care of business." She broached a subject she knew he wouldn't want to talk about but she felt she had to know.

"Elias is dead, I'm here and I'm never leaving." He said and Carter knew that the last part was a promise he was making to her. "I love you and I love our family."

"We love you too," Carter stated as a single tear slipped down her face. At that moment the bedroom door opened.

"Mom is John back," The teenager's word ended when his eyes fell upon the man he was just asking about. "Hey John," Taylor spoke as he entered the room.

"Hey Taylor," Reese greeted.

"Boy you know better than to just walk into someone's bedroom room without knocking." Carter wiped away her tears and chastised as she glared at her son, even though a smile played on her lips.

"Sorry I figured if John was in here you guys wouldn't be doing anything 'nasty' with Vivian in here too," Taylor defended as he moved to stand just over Reese's shoulder to stare down at his sleeping sister. Carter decided she was too drained to ask what he meant by 'nasty' and so she let the discussion go as Reese quietly chuckled.

"You wanna hold your sister?" Reese asked and a smile quickly shot to Taylor's face.

"Yeah, can I?" He let his eyes fall to his mother who simply smiled and nodded her head.

"Yeah but sit here," Carter patted the empty space right beside her on the bed," Taylor did as told and then reached out for his sister. Reese leaned over and placed the baby into Taylor's awaiting arms. "Just watch her head," Carter instructed.

"Just like that," Reese said as he moved Taylor's arm a bit. "You're a natural." He then settled back into his spot on the bed.

"Man she's tiny, was I this little?" Taylor asked his mother but never took his eyes off of his baby sister.

"You were actually two pounds smaller and an inch shorter." Carter answered with a smile. "Now look at you, you're practically a man." She added with a sad frown as she reached out and stroked his hair.

"A very brave and remarkable young man," Reese said. "I really am proud of you Taylor the way you looked after your mom and baby sister earlier. You stayed calm and did what needed to be done."

"Well I have a dad who's kind of badass, and he taught me some things." Taylor replied with a smile one that Reese matched. "It's ok that I think of you like a dad…right?" Taylor asked nervously.

"That's more than ok and only fair since I think of you as my son." Reese answered and Taylor's smile widened at his words as did Carter's.

"OK this is a beautiful Hallmark moment and all, but will someone please get Nurse Hawthorne to bring me some more Codeine?" Carter interjected with a slight groan.

"Did someone say Codeine?" Finch spoke out from the open door as he held up the bottle of pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

"Oh bless you." Carter said with a sigh as Finch made his way to the side of the bed opposite to where Taylor and Reese sat, and handed Carter her meds.

"I dismissed Nurse Hawthorne for the day but she'll return tomorrow. I figured since both John and Taylor are here with you now you'd have all the help you'll need, and you can have some family time together." Finch stated and then moved to exit again.

"And where are you going?" Carter asked as she popped two pills into her mouth and took a couple of gulps of the water.

"Yeah Finch you're a part of this family too you know," Reese said and his words stunned Finch and made him turn back to face them. He looked from Reese to Carter who simply nodded her head and then to Taylor who was carefully standing from the bed with Vivian still cradled in his arms.

"Yeah Uncle Finch and you're first up on diaper duty, Viv just dropped a major one." Taylor said with a slight frown as he handed Vivian off to Finch and then moved to the exit. "I'll start breakfast, bacon and eggs good for everybody?" He asked as he paused at the door.

"Sounds good to me," Reese responded first.

"Just toast and orange juice for me please," Carter tossed out as she settled back against the pillows and closed her eyes.

"Uncle Finch?" Taylor called out.

"Uhm…yes," Finch turned to regard the teenager while he gently rocked the sleeping baby in his arms.

"Bacon and eggs," Taylor repeated.

"Oh…uhm, yes…thank you Taylor." With a nod and a smile Taylor disappeared around the corner. "I'll just change Vivian then." Finch said as he moved to the adjoining door that opened into the fully decorated nursery.

"You don't have to do that Finch, I need the practice." Reese offered as he stood from the bed.

"That's quite all right Mr. Reese, besides this is the first time I've gotten to hold her since she was born." Finch announced with a smile before walking through to the nursery. Reese smiled after his friend for a moment before he turned to focus back on his lady love, which he found sleeping soundly. He leaned down and kissed her temple and whispered 'I love you' into her ear and then moved back to the open window. As he stared out onto the dawn of a new day he gave thanks to God. He once was so lost in his own despair that he didn't think there was any hope left for him, but then Finch came into his life and brought him friendship and a purpose. Then Carter came and brought him love and a family. Reese didn't feel that he truly deserve all these blessings bestowed upon him but he was still grateful for them, and would always cherish them.

Fin

Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed the end of book 4. Sorry it took so long to finish it and I sincerely hope it was all cohesive and a good ending. Thanks as always for the reviews. Shall I start on Book 5?