Breathe Me by persnikitty5

The next morning Joss awoke feeling rested. She’d taken John’s advice and quickly fell into a deep sleep. She showered, dressed and even had time to enjoy her coffee. The hot liquid filled her with warmth and she let her mind wander to the man in the suit.

John’s touch left a lingering sensation on her skin. The kiss stilled weighed on her mind, the same man that could kill and maim, possessed such gentleness and control in a situation that the average person would have taken advantage of. But that was John, always surprising her. A crash followed by a loud yelp broke Joss from her musings.

Joss hurried to the origin of the noise to find Taylor with a death grip on the sink as he tried to balance on his uninjured leg. Toiletries littered the bathroom floor around him.
Joss looked at him incredulously. “You okay?” she asked.

“Yea,” he replied, attempting to right himself.

“Do I even want to know what you were doing?” Joss fought to suppress a laugh.
Taylor smiled sheepishly. He pointed to the small clippers in the sink and Joss nodded. Since the accident his curly mane was making a comeback. His hair had grown in. It was not long enough to curl but given more time it would start.

Joss grabbed the chair from his desk easing him into it. Taylor covered his shoulders with a towel and handed her the clippers.

“I don't have to tell you how much of a bad idea that was.”

“I almost had it. Just lost my footing.”

Taking hold of the clippers she asked, “All gone or just cleaning it up?”

He thought for a moment. “Clean it up. You do know what you’re doing, right?”

“Hush,” she said, swatting his shoulder. “Who do you think cut your hair before you started going to the shop? First time I took you to the barbershop you screamed bloody murder before they even turned the clippers on.”

With his head tilted forward Joss carefully traced his hairline.

The buzzing noise filled the small space as the detective concentrated on her task.

“We ever going to have that talk?”

“What talk?” Asked Joss. As she maneuvered towards his right ear, Taylor brought his fingers up folding the cartilage to give her better access.

“About John.”

“What about John?” She replied, repeating the same process over his left ear. An eye roll accompanied the sigh that escaped his mouth. Teenagers.

“He said you guys were friends. That means he’ll be coming over again, right?” The teenager attempted to turn his head to get a better look. Moving around his left side Joss crouched down on her haunches tilting his chin at an angle.

“The decision is not just mine Taylor. We both live here so you have a say as well.” Her tone was diplomatic and her face neutral. They both knew he had a say up to a certain extent. Joss was still the parent in this situation, but she always considered her son’s point of view. They were more important now since he had interacted with John on more than one occasion. She wanted her son’s honest opinion; one not influenced by the way she felt. Her movements stilled as she waited for Taylor to speak. His brow furrowed as he thought over his reply.

“John’s cool. I guess it’s okay if he comes by sometimes.” He replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

Joss smiled and continued her work. “There,” she said. Handing him the small mirror.

“How’d I do?”

“Not bad,” said the teenager, turning his head from side to side. He grabbed the brush from the sink and started smoothing his hair into place.

“If John is going to come over you have to keep it to yourself.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“I’m serious Taylor, you can't tell your friends, not even Grandma.”

He stopped brushing his hair giving Joss a puzzled look.

“Why do we have to keep it a secret?”

Joss remained silent as she placed the clippers in the cabinet and began to pick up the spilled items from the floor.

“The type of work he does is...complicated. It’s better for everyone if we just keep it to ourselves okay?” She gave him a look, hoping to convey the seriousness of this decision. Letting John into their lives could bring equal amounts of joy and misery. Taylor was growing into a young adult and ‘because I said so’ would no longer appease him.

He nodded his head. “John said you guys work together sometimes. Has he ever helped you out of a complicated situation?”

The detective lowered her gaze and said nothing. Taylor nodded his head in understanding. The pair remained silent while she finished straightening his bathroom.

When she finished, the detective headed to the kitchen to make breakfast while Taylor got dressed. There was still time to spare before they headed to his follow up appointment.

Joss was treading a fine line having this talk with Taylor. John would come back to their home and he would speak with her son. Taylor was keen on picking up certain things about the situations around him, especially when they concerned his mother, but he was a teenager and teenagers told their friends everything. A few text messages about his mother’s suspected new boyfriend and the who’s who of government agencies following John may focus more energy on her and her son.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John held the camera up snapping photos of the latest number. So far everything was pretty anticlimactic. The young man, David Harris, recently left the doctor’s office and was currently sleeping off the drugs from his oral surgery. In other words he was safe unless the dentist or his girlfriend were planning to knock him off. Finch ran background checks on both parties and they turned out clean. He was safe for now. Placing his camera on the back seat, he was getting ready to leave when he noticed a group of teenagers sitting on the bleachers near the basketball court. What caught his attention was the cobalt colored cast that was resting on the bleachers. A few of the boys blocked his view, but John was sure it was Taylor. During his last visit Joss mentioned a follow up appointment scheduled for the previous day. He wasn’t too surprised that he was out and about. From what Joss said his ribs were healing nicely and Taylor took to his crutches quickly. After his initial meeting with the teenager, John stopped by once more to drop off a poster and have a brief chat with Joss. That was before his birthday, before Joss found out about New Rochelle.

Another set of bleachers formed a right angle with Taylor’s location. John took a seat seemingly watching the pick up game but his position gave him a great view into the circle of teenagers. Sitting next to Taylor was a girl sporting a black pixie haircut, dressed in jeans and a shirt that encompassed every color known to man. On the other side was a boy about the same build as Taylor, with shaggy auburn hair. He was wearing a Marbury high school debate t-shirt and cargo shorts. John concluded they must be Britney and Sam, Taylor’s two closest friends after Ryan. They chatted and laughed for a few more minutes before they were joined by two obviously older boys, a blonde who was the same height as John and the one with a buzz cut who was a few inches shorter. The trio’s demeanor shifted with the new presence. The duo zeroed in on Taylor’s buddy obviously antagonizing the boy.

John moved closer to hear the exchange.

“What up Ginger?” said the blonde.

“What do you want Kyle?”

“Aww Ginger,” said Kyle placing his hand over his heart pretending to be wounded, “That hurt man. I thought we were cool.”

The redhead rolled his eyes letting out an exasperated sigh before turning to Taylor. It was apparent that his fight or flight response was telling him to bolt.

The five teenagers did not notice the tall man in the dark suit moving closer to them. He watched as Kyle and his lackey did their best to block Taylor and his friends from leaving.

“Give it a rest,” said Taylor.

“You want some too Carter?” Said the boy moving closer to Taylor. Kyle towered over the teenager, fixing him with a menacing stare.

“You and your gang of losers don't belong here. Or did I not make myself clear earlier.”

“Do whatever you want man. I’m not afraid of you,” replied Taylor standing up taller in defiance. Despite his friends pleas to just leave him alone the pair stood there staring each other down.

“Well, I see you grew a pair now that Ryan isn’t here to protect you.”
Kyle backed up some. “I told him he was too good to hang around with you, but he didn’t listen. Now look where he is six feet under.”

Taylor’s jaw flexed and he held a white-knuckle grip on his crutches. “Shut up Kyle!”

“Make me” challenged the older boy, giving Taylor a light push. He wavered some but maintained his balance. Taylor remained silent but his eyes blazed with newfound range. Looking him up and down with a satisfied smirk the boy continued. "That’s what I thought Carter.”

A new emotion awakened within John. The need to protect was stronger than any he'd felt before. If the person harassing Taylor were an adult John would be more than equipped to fix the situation. However, he was a child and no matter how much of a jerk he was, John did not hurt children. He refrained from stepping in, not sure of what he would say or do.

“Seems you're something of a jinx.”

“Leave him alone Kyle,” said the girl.

“Shut up Britney!” Exclaimed the teenager, turning towards her.

“I’m talking to the jinx. You got your girlfriend sticking up for you jinx?” He asked with a smug laugh. Both boys continued as Taylor’s anger seethed and simmered. Kyle and his sidekick were too busy laughing to notice Taylor who dropped his crutch and took a wild swing. He managed to land a blow to Kyle’s face making contact with his nose. The blonde was momentarily stunned as blood streamed from his nose.

Britney, Sam, and the lackey all wore expressions of shock. Even John was a tiny bit surprised. John felt a strange sense of pride at that moment.

John approached them holding up the badge he acquired from Det. Stills. Flashing it quickly he took advantage of the shocked state of the teenagers.

“What’s going on here?”

“Uh nothing officer.” Stammered Sam.

“Doesn’t look like nothing to me.” He replied.

“He punched me in the nose! ” Shouted Kyle, pointing at Taylor with his bloodied hand. ”Do something!”

“Calm down, let me have a look.” The older man surveyed Kyle’s nose. It wasn’t broken and the bleeding had slowed. “I suggest you run home and take care of that."

“But-”

“Now.” Replied John in a firm tone. Kyle and his friend left the park but not before fixing Taylor with a death glare.

“You know this guy T?” Asked Britney, giving John a once over.

The teenager gave john a puzzled look before turning to his friends. “He’s a family friend. I guess I better go.” He said, turning to his friends.

“You sure man?”

Taylor nodded his head. “Yea I’ll see you guys later.”

“Thanks man. You know, for sticking up for me. Those guys can be real assho- uh jerks.” Said Sam, looking up at John.

“Don’t mention it.”

When his friends left, John and the teenager walked towards his car. They rode in silence the entire time as they headed towards his grandmother’s place. John parked the car. A majority of his anger subsided as they made their way up the stairs.

“Taylor, does your mother know about those boys?”

“I’m not a kid, I can handle it. Anyway, today was a fluke.”

“How so?”

Taylor sighed. "Kyle and his friends don’t hang at that park. Some kids from school got together to help Ryan’s grandma. I guess they decided to help. But I said I was handling it.”

John nodded, “Maybe, but guys like that don’t let up. And with your leg you’re more vulnerable.”

“ You think I don’t know that?” Frustration and anger colored his statement. “They rag on me and Sam, give us a hard time about being on scholarship but they usually laid off when Ryan was around. "John listened patiently as the boy continued.

Taylor shook his head before continuing. “Mom doesn’t like fighting and I’m not going to risk getting kicked out of school for some jerks. I just got so mad.” The boy’s fists were balled and his brow knitted. “You’re not going to tell her are you?” He asked, facing John. Taylor’s eyes were pleading for his discretion.

John hated the idea of lying to Joss especially when it concerned her son. He shook his head. “I won’t for now, but I will tell her if you don’t talk to her. Got it?”

“Deal. I better go. I told grandma I was on the way.”

“I’ll walk you up.” Offered John.

“It’s cool, mom explained everything.”

The statement was met with raised eyebrows, but John remained silent. Eventually Joss would have to talk with Taylor about John. Although at the moment, the greatest risk to Taylor were his classmates. Maybe he could teach the boy a few moves when he healed. He doubted Joss would appreciate it, but every boy needs to know a few defense moves.

“Thanks for the ride.” Said Taylor, exiting the car.

A beep from his phone turned his attention. He read the text and headed towards the address given.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There were a lot more factors to consider in the relationship that was forming between them. After that night on the road back from New Rochelle, Joss had not seen or spoken to John in any form. In a way she was relieved. It gave her time to sort through her feelings and the new information she learned about him. When last they spoke she mentioned the events of New Rochelle, but she didn't offer what details she knew and John barely acknowledged her comment. He was focused, determined to do the right thing when it came to Jennings. That was what worried Joss on more than one occasion she and John had opposing definitions of just what the right thing entailed. Thanks to her friend Gene she was given a peek into John’s past. She knew that possibly one or two other people had access to this information about John’s past. The feeling of hypocrisy weighed on her mind as she thought about how she came to know intimate details of John’s past. Curiosity got the better of her and she couldn’t help but feel that this was Finch’s way of saying he trusted her. Joss dutifully followed the breadcrumbs he laid, then dug deeper. It seemed almost anti climactic to shred the file after hunting the “man in the suit” for so long, but the dynamics of her hunt had changed. Joss found an ally and maybe something else and she was not going to betray John.

The sound of an approaching vehicle brought Joss from her musings. Right on time she thought, looking down at her watch. Carter put on her game face.

“Detective.” Said John, entering the passenger side of the vehicle.

“Our mutual friend asked me to look into some suspicious acquaintances for our guy.” She handed him the file. He flipped through the file listening to Joss.

“I didn’t find much so I widened the search. The receptionist who works for David’s dentist went on maternity leave. The temp they hired has a sketchy past. Most of her buddies are locked up or dead, all except Gregory Harris.”

“David’s cousin. Good work Carter. I’ll start looking into Harris." Said John, before turning to leave.

“John,” she said, lightly touching his forearm. “There’s a good chance Harris is still running drugs with a new set of people.” Her touch lingered.

He covered her hand with his giving it a quick squeeze before taking his leave.

“Be careful,” whispered Joss, as she watched him drive away.