The door of the hospital room stayed locked for the rest of the day - when Shaw wasn't in it with Root - and during the night. It slightly exasperated the hacker, but she had to admit that if the roles had been inverted, she probably would have done the same and not fully trust her word about the Machine wanting her to stay here.

She worked on her recovery for the next two days, patiently and gradually gaining a bit more of freedom from Shaw. She was now allowed to roam around in the library and could stay up for long periods of time, but was waiting for her doctor's approval to get back to her missions – it had become a habit for her to call the ex-agent her doctor, her tone split between irony and flirtation, and the eye roll she always got as an answer often made her smirk.

For Shaw, these last two days had been quite mentally challenging. She was tired of staying in the library and of Root's constant flirting. The hacker was definitely feeling better and better and unfortunately for the ex-agent, it seemed like the other woman's ability to get on her nerves improved back in parallel with her physical recovery.

All the frustration that had piled up inside Shaw finally came out during the second day's evening. It was late, Harold had left the library not long ago, and Root had been flirting with her non-stop for a few hours. The hacker was well enough to go back out at this point, yet Shaw preferred the other woman took a last good night of sleep in the library, what the latter had agreed with.

The ex-agent had just changed into a tank top and a pair of shorts for what she hoped would be her last night here when she crossed paths with Root in a corridor. The hacker's smirk when she saw her in her outfit for the night let Shaw foresee yet another flirty remark ; it seemed like the taller woman never ran out of those. And it indeed came out.

"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you're teasing me", Root whispered, her eyes openly wandering over the other woman as she brushed past her, much closer than what was required by the wide corridor.

This became the last straw that broke the camel's back. Shaw snapped, grabbing Root's wrist and making her spin on her heels.

"What do you eventually fucking want with me ?" she spat.

They were now facing each other in the corridor. The ex-agent almost had her back to the wall and the hacker took advantage of it, stepping forward to trap the smaller woman against it, their bodies now pressed together. Any pain Root could have felt in her not-so-long-ago-wounded abdomen was apparently either nonexistent or just ignored at that point.

"I have been waiting for you to ask this for so long", the hacker answered with a now full-on flirtatious tone. "Because see, that's simple. I really just want you", she added in a whisper.

The spark that this sentence could have ignited inside Shaw never got to lit up. Right now, the ex-agent was run by tiredness and exasperation, and Root's flirtation just kept adding to it.

"That twisted game you're playing with me ? It's gonna have to end."

The hacker slowly tilted her head to the side, a glint of something that looked like hurt spreading in her eyes.

"Seriously, Shaw ?"

The latter didn't answer and didn't moved an inch either, her eyes locked in Root's and her face still showing the same anger. In a game of cat and mouse, she was definitely not comfortable being the hunted.

Since it became clear Shaw wouldn't be the one to break the silence again, the hacker kept on talking, very aware of how much she was walking a tightrope here ; but she hadn't made her way up until this moment to back away now.

"Why exactly do you have to fight everything that happens in your life, it being good or bad for you ? I mean, you don't ever give people, or situations, or whatever, the benefit of the doubt. I know a lot about you, Shaw, part of it because I've observed you but also because She told me some things. For instance, you fought Harold and the big lug – you even shot him", she noted, slightly smiling, "when they were trying to help you the first time. Why do you always got to assume any change is going to end up being against you ?"

Shaw's jaws clenched even more, something the hacker would yet have considered impossible.

"Don't you dare judge me."

"I'm not. I'm simply making a point."

Root's voice was soft and quiet. The other woman noticed her unnerving flirtatious tone was gone, and she wasn't even being ironical. She was actually not making fun of her or trying to push, Shaw realized. She forced herself to relax her shoulders a bit.

"So… What you're seriously asking me… Is to give you a try ?" the smaller woman asked slowly, an incredulous look on her face.

"What exactly do you have to lose ?"

"What exactly do I have to win ?" Shaw shot back immediately, making Root chuckle lightly.

"Thanks for proving my point."

"It doesn't."

"Actually, I think it does. You're even fighting what you own body tells you right now."

It took this sentence for the ex-agent to become aware of something else than her verbal fight with the hacker. Something else being Root's body pressed against hers.

Seeing Shaw's eyes lose focus for a second, the other woman took a deep breath and allowed herself to play double or quits.

"Tell me you're not attracted to me. And I walk."

Now fully aware of the heat the contact of Root's body was igniting inside her, Shaw couldn't resolve to lie.

"This is a terrible idea", she whispered, her eyes closed and her breathing becoming ragged after a few seconds. In the battle of her mind against her body, the desire that was growing inside her was slowly winning. After all, maybe Root was right. What did she have to lose if she indeed gave the hacker a try ?

The latter wasn't moving, waiting for the smaller woman to make a decision.

Shaw pursed her lips and suddenly opened her eyes, sticking her gaze into Root's. She pushed the hacker back to the opposite wall – if they were going to do this, no way she was the dominated one – and forcefully kissed her. The taller woman put her arms around Shaw's waist, pressing their bodies together again, and answered to her desire immediately. She had been waiting for this for so long. But she made the kiss stay sweet, refusing the harshness the other woman was trying to put into it.

It didn't took long for Shaw to try to back away, but Root's grip around her was powerful and she only managed to move the upper half of her body.

"Don't do this."

"Do what ?"

The hacker looked genuinely puzzled.

"Don't put feelings into this", the other woman answered with a warning tone. "Whatever this is anyway", she added, slightly shaking her head and fleetingly closing her eyes once again.

"Why ? Because you're afraid to realize this could actually make you feel something, no matter how little ?"

This made Shaw think back about how gentle she had been with the hacker all along. Then about the feeling in her stomach when she was redressing Root's wound. Then… She blocked the thoughts off. Right now what she needed was a release for all the frustration that had piled up inside her during the last few days, not some thoughts confirming that, as much as she hated to even envision it, this damn woman could well be right.

"Don't push", Shaw warned once again, her tone a bit less harsh though. What she wanted – needed – right now was for Root to shut up and kiss her, not to try to talk feelings and ruin everything.

"Okay, I won't… At least not tonight", the hacker answered with a huge bright smile.

She didn't let Shaw process what she had just said to avoid another conflict, and leant forward to kiss her again, this time with more intensity.

The smaller woman kissed her back with a few seconds of delay, just to have the last word, even if she had a feeling the conversation was far from over. Root wasn't one to give up, she had proved it quite well.

The hacker moved her hands up and untied Shaw's ponytail, wanting to tangle her fingers in to heat up the kiss ; but quite not pleased by this initiative, the other woman caught Root's arms and pinned them to the wall. At the same time, she pressed her own body even stronger against the hacker's, causing the latter to moan into the kiss. Their tongues met a few seconds later, sending a shiver down both their spines.

They finally broke apart, in need for air. Shaw released the other woman's arms so she could rip her top off. She was now run by desire, and by the way the hacker was panting, she could tell she wasn't the only one in whom heat was growing ever so quickly.

"You know", Root stated with a tone that was way past flirty at this point, "the padded bench actually makes a rather good bed."

Shaw released her pressure on Root's body, muttered something that sounded like "I can't believe I'm actually doing that" in a hushed voice, then turned around and walked towards the Faraday cage without a look back. The hacker followed her, a delighted smile spreading all over her face.

Finch walked into the library early in the morning. They had received a new number and he had already informed Reese that their night was being cut off.

It had become a habit for him to go check on the hacker every morning, but he had the surprise to find an empty hospital room. Shaw wasn't there either. Frowning, Harold made his way back to the main room and started searching for the women.

At some point, something caught his attention when he looked into the corridor leading to the Faraday cage. Moving closer to it, he realized it was a piece of clothing. Intrigued, Finch took a few steps forward and gazed into the cage. The only source of light was from the main room but despite the lack of clear view, he was able to make out two heads jutting out from some covers hastily spread over the padded bench now converted into a bed.

His eyebrows rose almost up to the sky.

"Oh my !" he whispered in a half-embarrassed, half-shocked voice, before turning around and making his way back to the main room as quickly and as discreetly as he could – without much success regarding the discretion part.

Shaw had woken up the moment Harold had opened the door. She had tensed up immediately and cursed herself for not thinking last night about the possibility of him coming back early, since it was now way too late to try and make it look like if nothing had happened. She hadn't moved an inch and hadn't made a sound, hoping he would just sit in his chair and give them some time to, at least, get dressed. But when the ex-agent heard Finch come close to the cage, she knew they were going to be found and groaned internally, mortified.

Root hadn't moved an inch either since Shaw had woken up, so the latter was hoping the hacker was still asleep. It would be one humiliation she would at least not undergo.

Unfortunately for her, she felt Root's breath become irregular in her neck when Finch turned around. A few seconds later, she understood why as she heard the hacker giggle uncontrollably, letting out a few sounds she wasn't able to hold back anymore.

"Do you think… He'll ever… Get over it ?" the hacker whispered between two bursts of hushed laughter.

"I'm so gonna kill you for all of this", Shaw said, her voice low and threatening, even if it failed to have any effect at all.

Some time elapsed before Root became able to breathe enough to answer again.

"No you won't… But I you want to torture me, I won't mind", the hacker playfully murmured in Shaw's ear with a bright grin.

"You never stop, do you ?"

Root tightened her grip around the other woman's body, pulling her ever so closer, and softly kissed the back of her neck.

"Actually… No, I don't !" the hacker smiled, once again whispering into Shaw's ear. The latter let a low grunt escape her mouth, a protest that left Root unmoved. If anything, it only made her grin turn even bigger. The hacker loved that game so much that Shaw already knew she would never stop anyway.

That woman was going to be the death of her.

"How the hell did you make me agree to spoon with you again ?"

"I promised to take you with me on some of my errands. You know, shooting bad guys and eating steaks, that kind of stuff… Basically, your definition of 'a lot of fun'. You seemed to see it like a fair trade at the time."

"And now I think I was only semi-conscious back then to agree to that", Shaw grumbled.

"Well…"

Root's mind seemed to go back in time for a few seconds, delaying her answer.

Even turning her back to the hacker, Shaw knew what expression was spreading on the other woman's face. She could feel her head tilt slightly to the side, so more than likely she was smirking too - probably that cheeky smirk that made the ex-agent want to slap her in the face each and every time she saw it. Root's tone totally confirmed it.

"Since you were barely able to speak coherently again at the time… I don't answer for what your mind looked like."

The growl that escaped the smaller woman's mouth only made the hacker giggle again – if she kept on doing that, Shaw wasn't sure she wouldn't actually slap her in the face. Or more if she felt like it.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to this", Root finally added with a bright smile, whispering playfully to the other woman.

"God, I certainly hope not", Shaw sighed, even if she had a feeling she damn well could… And might even like it at a point.

…

But she didn't want to think about it at the moment.

…

Maybe she would dwell a bit more on that later. Maybe.

…

No, probably, corrected a little voice in the back of her mind.

Note : This is the end folks ! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. (I always appreciate a little review, especially if it's constructive :D)
This was my first fic ever and I'm kinda sad now that it's over... I don't know if I'm going to write another one. I might, I already have an idea, but it needs to be expanded upon and so if I manage to get it out, it won't be before this summer... When I have a bit more time to write ;)
Now let's try to survive the break... ^^