CHAPTER 8

Iris talked to Sameen and Lionel and they both agreed that Harold would do better out of the hospital. Lionel was chomping at the bit to get out too. He said he would handle the 'details' about how he and Harold were injured. He explained that they'd come upon looters right after the explosion and had been injured trying to stop the stealing. That explained the gunshot wound and the knife wound. There was still so much being investigated about the explosion that their little story passed muster with no problem.

Fusco had a place to go home to his ex-wife said he could stay with her and Lee for a little while til he was back on his feet. But the main concern for everyone was where would Harold go when he left the hospital? Sameen and Lionel talked about the limited places Harold could go. As far as they knew, he lived in the subway, but now the subway sanctuary was gone, the library too was long gone and the only safe house they knew about had been compromised during that last foray with the SAM agents.

All of this was quite surprising to Iris. She knew nothing about a 'subway' hideout. And why was it destroyed? She sat back and watched and listened to them talk. The relationship between the two of them seemed strong but she also got the feeling that their was a 'newness' to it also. There was a whole other world that John lived in that she had not known about. There was so much that she having to learn on the fly.

Shaw finally offered to put Harold up at Root's place, where she'd been staying. It had been difficult for her to make that offer because she enjoyed being alone in Root's home. Root's personal things gave her comfort when she didn't even realize she needed it. But Harold needed a place immediately.

Iris wondered where Zoe had disappeared to. She was surprised that she had not come in to speak to Harold at all. She felt strongly that Harold needed to see all of them, in person so that he would know that not all of them were lost, that not all were gone, that there were still people in his life, important people, who loved and cared for him. That was essential to getting through to Harold. She decided that even when he was out of the hospital, she would check on Harold twice a day, before work and after work.

Talking to the doctor that was in charge of Harold and Lionel's care the doctor agreed to their discharge since they both had a place to go. Sameen made sure the doctor understood she was more than capable of taking care of their wounds, changing dressings, etc. One or two more days under observation and they could both be released.

Iris's days were quite full. Going in every morning to see patients at the precinct helped her feel like at least part of her life was back to normal. Walking by John's empty desk had been difficult. Once they'd assigned another detective to use the desk it became both easier and harder.

Each afternoon she visited Harold and Lionel in the hospital. She felt she was making some headway with Harold. He responded when she asked him a direct question but hadn't initiated any conversation with her. She had been pleasantly surprised at Harold's wide range of knowledge from art, to literature to couture. It was his interest in books that got the most reaction. But she always brought their conversation around to John's death. Harold still resisted going there but she persisted, slowly and carefully.

She found that if she made a statement that was incorrect or false about John, Harold was quick to correct her. That was when she finally felt she was making progress, was finally getting him to talk about John. Some of the stories he related made her smile because even though the story was new to her, she could very easily see the John that Harold described.

Lionel proved to be a little more difficult to get to talk. Fusco had a man's natural resistance to showing any weakness. Discussing things going on at the precinct and some of the friends he had there, Lionel slowly loosened up. He talked about working with John and how he spent as much time trying to "explain Riley" to others as he did 'covering up' for Riley…...but John always seemed to get the job done. His admiration of John was quite evident. He seemed to think that John was invincible. Even his nickname for him, Wonder Boy, showed he viewed John as 'more than human'. It was the underlying pain that Iris noticed when Lionel was telling a story about how John handled a dangerous job or the gentle manner he used on someone in pain or scared. She knew she would eventually get him to talk about how he felt losing John…...just not yet.

Finally the day came when the doctor agreed to release Harold and Lionel. Both Iris and Sameen couldn't have been happier. They had become regular 'nodding acquaintances' when they'd pass each other in the hall going from one room to the other. Comparing notes seemed to help their relationship also.

There was something sad about Sameen that Iris felt was due to more than simply losing John but she couldn't put her finger on it. Sameen was not one to talk about herself so Iris knew she'd have to figure it out herself, likely by asking Harold and/or Lionel. But not yet. Her plate was pretty full at the moment.

Zoe had been by to visit both men. She was like a force of nature all by herself. She walked into Harold's room unannounced, bringing donuts and, of all things, sencha green tea. Iris had been pleasantly surprised at Harold's reaction to the tea and donuts. Watching him closely, Harold sipped his tea with eyes closed. A slow smile appeared on his face. Looking up at Zoe, he smiled for the first time since that day on the roof.

Looking back down at the box of donuts Harold looked surprised. "Bear" he whispered. "Bear….dear heavens where is Bear?" His frantic gaze returned to Zoe.

Zoe smiled calmly back and said "Bear is fine. He's with Leon." Finch visibly relaxed and reached for a donut.

Sameen came in and announced that Harold and Lionel had been released and could go home today. That news was met with strong approval all around. Sameen grabbed some donuts and went to go spread the good news with Lionel. Zoe offered to drive Harold to Sameen/Root's place. She left to go get the car.

Wheeling Lionel down the hall, Sameen was greeted with a teenager running down the hall yelling "Dad!" at the top of his lungs. He was a young man but seeing his dad after almost losing him turned him into a little boy who loved his dad. Backing away, Sameen let them enjoy their family moment. Hugging Lee, Lionel's eyes filled with tears. He once again realized how close he came to never being able to hug his son again.

Looking over his dad's shoulder, Lee looked up and saw Sameen. A huge grin broke out on his face. He remembered her when she'd rescued him from some very bad men. She was totally badass in his eyes.

Lionel's ex-wife introduced herself and took over the wheelchair and headed out to the car and home. Before they left, Sameen leaned over with a 'barely there' hug. Lionel looked up at Sameen, "You keep me in the loop with how Glasses is doing and how you're doing too."

She gave him a mini-salute and nodded.

Walking over to Harold's door, she tapped lightly. She heard Iris call for her to come in. Opening the door further and peering inside she was glad to see that Harold was up and dressed and in the wheelchair, ready to go. Raising one eyebrow as she looked at Iris, she was pleased to see an answering smile from Iris. Nodding her head, Iris said "Harold got himself up and dressed today. I think he's ready to go home as much as Lionel was".

At the mention of Lionel's name, Harold looked at Sameen but said nothing. "Yes Harold, his EX picked him up with Lee and he's staying there for a couple of days."

Watching his reaction to that, she continued, "and you are going to go home with me….to Root's place. I've been staying there since….." Making a face, she tried again. "We're going to be roommates for awhile. The subway kinda got blown up so you can't go back there."

Iris gave her a wide-eyed look when Shaw just blurted out that the subway, Harold's former "home" had been destroyed. Iris couldn't believe Shaw would just throw that out there with the fragile state that Harold was in! Giving her head a light shake side to side she caught Sameen's eye.

Shaw looked her with a look of innocence, 'What?' look on her face, truly puzzled. She was just giving Finch the facts about why he was going to have to come stay with her. She was totally oblivious to the reaction her words had on Harold.

Finch had bowed his head and broke eye contact as soon as she'd said Root's name. Looking worriedly at Sameen over Harold's bowed head, Iris gave a slight shrug and patted Harold on the shoulder to reassure him that it was ok.

Once Iris helped get Harold into Zoe's car with Sameen, she was at a loss of what to do next or even where to go next. Going to the hospital twice a day and putting in a full day at work had helped keep her mind and body occupied this last week. But her personal breaking point was near the surface.