Angels
Title: Angels
Author:
litlover12
Rating: PG
Fandom: Person of Interest
Characters: John Reese, Harold Finch, Claudia Cruz, Leila Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Cruz
Word Count: 500
Summary: John and Harold didn't know it, but they were the answer to a prayer. The events of "Baby Blue" from three points of view. For challenge 103. (Note: I have one more challenge 103 story coming -- midnight meant midnight Saturday morning, not midnight Friday morning, right?? :-) )
John
One last wide, toothless grin up into his face, one last grip from tiny fingers, and Leila was gone. John watched, stone-faced, as Harold carried her carefully across the street to her eager grandparents.
It was just as well. Obviously. He had been almost the worst possible guardian for a baby (those goons of Elias’s being the very worst)-a lion tasked to care for a lamb. That innocent fragility had brought out all his protective instincts, and unnerved him at the same time. A bad combination.
His job had been tough enough when he was shielding older kids like Teresa and Darren. With Leila, it had been all but impossible. He had made moves out of desperation, driven from blunder to blunder by that very helplessness that made her so utterly dependent on him.
He saw Leila’s grandparents taking the car seat from Harold, saw the joy shining in their faces. She was safer with this gentle couple who had never even heard of Elias, and would be totally incapable of defending themselves against him if they had. Ironic.
But for the best. Obviously.
John watched them until unaccustomed tears burned his eyes, and he had to look away.
Harold
Strange, the amount that can pass through a man’s mind during one short walk across the street. Particularly the amount of self-recrimination.
Carrying his small though heavy burden one last time, Harold reflected on the utter mess he had made of things. From the first moment with Leila in that clinic room, he had acted on impulse, wholly unlike his usual careful, rational self. And as that rational self could have warned him, mistakes and failure had dogged him every step of the way, culminating in the ignominy of having Leila snatched almost literally from his grasp.
Harold’s face still burned when he thought of it. John would have given the kidnappers the fight of their lives, but John hadn’t been there. It had been Harold in the car with her-Harold, so easily knocked out with a single blow.
Well, she was safe now-safe with this kind couple, though he could claim exceedingly little credit for the successful outcome. She would be better off in every way. But handing her over, seeing the happy tears on her grandmother’s face, Harold felt something catch in his own throat.
“You be a good girl,” he murmured hoarsely, and turned away.
Claudia
(A few months earlier)
Claudia barely made it across the street from the clinic before her knees gave way and she sank down, heaving with sobs.
It was the only way-she knew that. The only way to keep her little one safe from the Petrosians’ threats and pressures was to leave her. Some nice family would adopt her; Adnan had promised to send the clinic financial support until that happened.
It’s not enough . . .
Claudia stumbled to her feet and ran blindly, a prayer forming in her mind.
God, please, send Your angels to protect my baby.
Author:
litlover12
Rating: PG
Fandom: Person of Interest
Characters: John Reese, Harold Finch, Claudia Cruz, Leila Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Cruz
Word Count: 500
Summary: John and Harold didn't know it, but they were the answer to a prayer. The events of "Baby Blue" from three points of view. For challenge 103. (Note: I have one more challenge 103 story coming -- midnight meant midnight Saturday morning, not midnight Friday morning, right?? :-) )
John
One last wide, toothless grin up into his face, one last grip from tiny fingers, and Leila was gone. John watched, stone-faced, as Harold carried her carefully across the street to her eager grandparents.
It was just as well. Obviously. He had been almost the worst possible guardian for a baby (those goons of Elias’s being the very worst)-a lion tasked to care for a lamb. That innocent fragility had brought out all his protective instincts, and unnerved him at the same time. A bad combination.
His job had been tough enough when he was shielding older kids like Teresa and Darren. With Leila, it had been all but impossible. He had made moves out of desperation, driven from blunder to blunder by that very helplessness that made her so utterly dependent on him.
He saw Leila’s grandparents taking the car seat from Harold, saw the joy shining in their faces. She was safer with this gentle couple who had never even heard of Elias, and would be totally incapable of defending themselves against him if they had. Ironic.
But for the best. Obviously.
John watched them until unaccustomed tears burned his eyes, and he had to look away.
Harold
Strange, the amount that can pass through a man’s mind during one short walk across the street. Particularly the amount of self-recrimination.
Carrying his small though heavy burden one last time, Harold reflected on the utter mess he had made of things. From the first moment with Leila in that clinic room, he had acted on impulse, wholly unlike his usual careful, rational self. And as that rational self could have warned him, mistakes and failure had dogged him every step of the way, culminating in the ignominy of having Leila snatched almost literally from his grasp.
Harold’s face still burned when he thought of it. John would have given the kidnappers the fight of their lives, but John hadn’t been there. It had been Harold in the car with her-Harold, so easily knocked out with a single blow.
Well, she was safe now-safe with this kind couple, though he could claim exceedingly little credit for the successful outcome. She would be better off in every way. But handing her over, seeing the happy tears on her grandmother’s face, Harold felt something catch in his own throat.
“You be a good girl,” he murmured hoarsely, and turned away.
Claudia
(A few months earlier)
Claudia barely made it across the street from the clinic before her knees gave way and she sank down, heaving with sobs.
It was the only way-she knew that. The only way to keep her little one safe from the Petrosians’ threats and pressures was to leave her. Some nice family would adopt her; Adnan had promised to send the clinic financial support until that happened.
It’s not enough . . .
Claudia stumbled to her feet and ran blindly, a prayer forming in her mind.
God, please, send Your angels to protect my baby.