Second Chances Chapter Five
Harold Takes John Home
Eight years ago
Now two years later John Reese was even more in love with Harold Finch then he ever thought possible. John never dreamed or hoped Harold would ever return those feelings.
If Reese harbored any secret hopes that they would ever be more than friends, those were dashed when he had found out about Grace Hendricks. Harold had given up his former fiance to keep her safe from those that may harm her because of TM. There was no doubt that Finch still loved her. Harold watched over her, secretly protecting her, John seeing how it pained the man even being reminded of her.
Those words John thought he had heard Harold admit as he drove them away after Snow’s last attempt to kill the former agent were now dismissed as pain and blood loss induced delusions.
It didn’t matter, Reese continued loving Harold in secret, accepting that Finch would never love him in return. His partner and their mission had become the John’s entire life, something the mysterious machine itself found out when Reese refused to continue on when its creator was taken by the mysterious hacker Root.
Then the virus happened, The Machine was free. Harold admitted that events he had set in motion three years ago; getting a laptop, the laptop, containing code embedded with a virus into the hands of those who wished to control The Machine thereby tricking them; were in some ways the catalyst to the bad things that happened in John’s life.
Reese admitted to himself and to Harold that his life had changed because of a choice John made in an airport seven years before, what happened after wasn’t Harold’s fault. In retrospect John forgave himself because although he had made that decision seven years ago, what happened later wasn’t his fault either.
And when both men were wondering if another number would ever come, the phone rang. It was The Machine, they had a new number. Seemed some things were back to as normal as they could be.
The computer genius had worked his magic; the agents saved the number with some difficulty. It was when John came limping back to the library with Shaw’s help that things took a dramatic turn for the better. Harold gruffly dismissed his newest operative telling Shaw in no uncertain terms her help was appreciated but no longer necessary, he would take over now.
When the newest mission member was gone, Harold started unbuttoning John’s shirt with trembling hands.
“It’s okay Harold, just some bruised ribs; my knee’s kind of messed up where someone clipped me from behind; this is nothing, I’ve had worse; I’ll be fine.”
Harold broke down; he pulled the op into his arms, almost sobbing how sorry he was Reese had been hurt, he didn’t know what he would do if he lost John now.
The former CIA assassin could not believe what he was hearing or feeling being pulled into Harold’s trembling arms. Taken completely by surprise John had to ask Harold what it meant. His friend shakily admitted he had cared for the stronger younger man for so long now, but he had kept his true feelings from John.
Finch admitted he had hidden his feelings not because he didn’t think Reese cared for him; he knew John cared. Harold professed he had hidden his love to protect his own heart. He believed John would hate him, leave him or both when the other man eventually found out about the things Finch had done, though unintentionally, had led to what happened in Ordos. “I still can’t believe you forgive me.”
Harold’s eyes filled with tears when he told John he couldn’t live if he lost him now. Reese had been his life since that day Harold had risked his own to rescue John after the ex-CIA agent was ambushed by Snow on a hospital parking garage rooftop.
“I knew that day I loved you John. The entire drive there all I could think about was that my life wouldn’t matter without you as my partner.”
John’s memories though brought up a different rooftop, Harold refusing to leave, either diffusing the bomb vest John wore, or being blown away with him, ‘Why didn’t I see then?’ Those words spoken after he was shot were not delusions, Harold loves me too, his heart rejoiced. “I never knew, never believed…but there’s Grace?”
“I love Grace dearly, I always will, I’m just not in love with her anymore. I was falling out of love with her and in love with you. I was confused, about my feelings for you, another man, I never thought I would ever…, I felt guilt over not being in love her anymore and turmoil loving you. Worst of all was the heart wrenching awareness that I could lose you when you found out about what I had done. So I tried to protect myself, being secretive, keeping you at arm’s length. I can’t do that anymore. I love you John.” Harold smiled hopefully then.
“You will never lose me, I’m yours, since we sat on that bench overlooking the river that day two years ago; I have belonged to you.
“Good John, can we go home now? I mean home, my real home”.
“I thought you’d never ask”.
Harold drove them to an older two story home in the suburbs. It had light blue siding over a red brick foundation. The house had chain link fencing around a small front yard of green grass surrounded by borders and beds of flowers just beginning to bloom. A privacy fence surrounded what looked to be a huge back yard.
And it fit in with the rows of housing belonging to hard working middle-class owners, seemingly not a house whose owner could buy the whole block for cash and not put a dent in his pocket.
Harold pulled into the driveway, waited on the automatic door of the garage to open, pulled into the garage, and turned off the engine. Turning to John then, “I know you know the place”, both men thinking of the tracking device Harold had in his glasses for months after John rescued him from Root.
“Yeah, but I didn’t know you ‘lived’ here.”
“Yes this is my home, my real home; I bought it a few years after IFT got off the ground. Let’s go in, I’ll treat those ribs and your knee properly. And then we’ll talk.” Harold then gave the John the smile with the slightly up-turned lip that had the younger man’s heart skipping a beat. Oh it’s want more than talk we’ll do Reese hoped.
They entered the house through a door in the garage, right, up three steps and through another door into a mid-sized kitchen. It had slate colored marble counter tops, black appliances, and a floor of white with grey flecked tiling, off white walls, a small table seat-able for four, a fax marble top and chairs to match the entire kitchen itself.
Harold led him through the kitchen, left down a hallway extending off a spacious living room, with dove gray plush carpeting and stairway ascending to the second floor alongside the room’s right wall.
John followed the older man down the short hallway into a spacious bathroom on the left side, to the right inside the bath was an open door leading into what was probably the master bedroom, and the place the real Harold slept. Reese just made a cursory glance, I’ll see it in better detail later he was sure.
For now Harold had John sit on the wide edge of a bath/whirlpool combo, the silver jets extending from the tub’s sides, steps wide enough to sit on and lower oneself to the tubs bottom. “I had installed, when I first came home after months of rehab. It helps with the pain sometimes.”
Harold pulled a small gray leather stool from under the vanity like portion of the bathroom counter and sat down. Dual sinks, a vanity. John banished thoughts Finch had remodeled the bathroom at one time thinking of Grace coming to live there.
Finch pulled some bandages from a drawer that rivaled any emergency room supply cabinet. He chose some kind of pills from the many bottles, satisfied with his choice and offered them to John with a glass of water from the water purifier equipped faucet. “For the pain, John” he told him.
After Reese had taken the pills Finch asked him to remove his shirt. John heard the hitch in Harold’s breathing when John was bare from the belt up.
“You’ve seen me before … Harold.”
”Not like this John, I haven’t, not under these circumstances.” Finch started wrapping Reese’s bruised ribs. He let out a shaky breath and sighed.
~*~
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen