A/N:

Hi all, It's me, Maddsgirl75.

Sorry for the repost.

I wanted to let everyone know that I needed to change my pen name for personal reasons.

Any stories you were following before you'll need to refollow if you still like them :-)

Hopefully I'll get to update them soon :-)

Chapter 15

Kat came to, cradled in John's arms in the back of the moving car.

"Welcome back." He smiled and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Care to tell me what that was all about?"

Kat attempted to sit up and move off his lap but he pulled her back gently.

"Wait...tell me, please?"

"I'm sorry," she said softly, settling in under his neck and resting her head on his chest. "It was the rats. I... I'm deathly afraid of them. It's all because of what happened when I was five." Kat told him about that one terrifying night where she was woken abruptly when a rat had bitten her repeatedly. "Ever since then, I've been afraid of them."

"Well, with good reason. Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, concern evident in his tone. "I never would have made you go down there with me if I had known. Is that why you screamed?"

"You didn't make me go down there if you recall. I sort of insisted." She shrugged. "I thought I could...you know...that I could do it for you. I thought I could deal with my fear because you needed me. And I would have been ok, actually, if it hadn't been for stepping on that rat that bit me." Kat shuddered at the thought, but John sat upright immediately.

"You were bitten? Where? Are you ok?" He started looking her over.

"I'm ok John. It bit me on the ankle above my shoe. And before you ask, I'm always careful to keep my tetanus shot up to date both because of that incident and because of my job."

He stroked the back of his fingers down her cheek and tilted his head to the side. "OK, but, I'd like to check it out when we get to the library, OK?" He lay back against the seat cushions and pulled her back into his enveloping embrace. "And I wish you would have told me about your fear. I would..."

"You would have what John?" She interrupted. "Left me at home? I don't think so, and would that have been safe anyway? You said yourself there are people out there trying to kill me. No, I belong with you, wherever you are."

Her words brought a thrill to his heart. He was hoping that she meant those words sincerely, that she belonged with him, to him. He was touched beyond all reason that she'd come with him simply because she thought he needed her and that she'd gone despite her fear. If only she knew how much he did need her! He leaned down and tenderly moved his lips against hers, trying to convey just how much he cared for her and needed her. Kat sighed and settled closer against his body, returning his kiss and running her hands softly through his hair and over the skin on the back of his neck. Neither seemed to want to break away from the other and the kiss went on and on for several minutes.

Finally, the driver up front cleared his throat and John realized that they had stopped moving. "Did you want help sir, taking Mr. Finch inside?

"No thank you, we can manage."

Kat reluctantly slid off his lap and opened the door. They had pulled up in front of an old, granite building in the Palladian style that was surrounded by scaffolding.

"Where did you say we are?" Kat asked John as he scooped up the sleeping form of Harold from the front seat.

"This is HQ, our headquarters of sorts." He said quietly so that the driver wouldn't overhear him.

"Oh! So I get to see the inside of the Batcave?" Kat laughed. "Shouldn't I be blindfolded or something?"

"Hmm, maybe later." He said, his eyes full of promise and mischief. "For now, I'd settle on having you unlock the door."

As they entered the building, Kat was immediately struck by the smell of old books. Looking around her, she saw shelf after shelf of books, most of them haphazardly placed on the shelves. The floor was littered with paper and torn books. At heart, Kat was a bibliophile and she gave a small moan, looking at the poor condition of all those lovely books.

"What's wrong Kat?" John asked, seeing her dismayed expression.

"All these books!" She said in a forlorn voice. "Look at the way that all these books have been destroyed and no one's done anything about it!"

John smiled at her concern over a bunch of old, moldy books. "It's necessary Kat, to maintain the illusion that this place is abandoned. Though frankly, knowing Harold, I have to wonder how he puts up with this either. He collects..."

"I collect rare books, Ms. Greyson." Harold interrupted, looking at her as John gingerly set him down at the top of the stairs. He'd obviously woken and overheard their conversation. "And all those books are carefully stored upstairs. These books are outdated encyclopedias, novels of the tawdry, romantic kind, and ones that were ruined at the time that I purchased the library. Still, I agree that it's a disgrace that someone would allow books to get so damaged."

As Harold tried to limp down the hall, Kat inserted herself under his arm for support and the two of them made their way slowly toward the end of the hall. John knew Harold maintained a bedroom in case he needed to remain in the library overnight. He shook his head and watched as Kat and Harold chatted like old friends about their favorite books. Leave it to Kat to charm her way into Harold's good graces right from the get-go.

'"In here." Harold steered Kat towards the bedroom. Once inside, Harold sank gratefully onto the mattress. "Are we sure we're safe here Mr. Reese? She hasn't found this location?"

"No one has been in here except me, Harold. Now, let me take a look at those injuries. Kat, could you go down the hall and to the left, there's a bathroom with medical supplies in the cabinet. Can you bring them here please?" Kat nodded and left.

Once he was sure Kat was out of earshot, John spoke. "Harold. I haven't told Kat any details about the Machine. I'll leave it up to you to decide what to tell her. But you need to know, even though she was originally just a number, she's come to mean a lot more to me. A lot more and I'm hoping she'll stick around once we've found out, and stopped, whoever is trying to kill her."

Harold winced as John touched a large cut on his face but looked him in the eye. "Nothing would give me more pleasure than to see you happy with someone. You deserve some peace and normalcy after what's gone on in your life and I hope that you can find it with Ms. Greyson. You have been asked to do some horrendous things and seen too much of the dark side of human nature. I know that you don't believe you are a good person but I see it and it's obvious that Ms. Greyson does as well. While I do have concerns about her safety should she 'stick around', I'm confident that you and I will do our best to keep her safe, yes?"

Frankly astounded by the level of openness and emotion Harold was displaying, John was touched by the older man's kind words. He found all he could do was swallow around the lump in his throat and nod. He finished checking Harold over and told him that while the combination of his injuries were painful, none were serious enough to require stitches. His leg though was another matter.

Kat walked in just as John was telling Harold that his leg was broken with a simple complete fracture. "I can set it for you here Harold or we can take you to a hospital."

"You already know the answer to that Mr. Reese. Go ahead and do it."

"Wait!" Kat exclaimed. "You're going to set his leg HERE? Why wouldn't you take him to the hospital?"

"Because Ms. Greyson, only the paranoid survive. At the hospital, there will be all sorts of paperwork and personal records involved..."

Kat pursed her lips but said nothing more. She thought it was a bit dangerous, all in the name of remaining anonymous.

"I need you to take some pain pills and when you're out, I'll reset the leg. It'll go much smoother if your muscles are relaxed." Harold agreed and took the pills that John offered.

"Why don't I stay and clean up these cuts for you Harold while John goes and makes you some tea?"

Harold winced. "Maybe you could down to the local coffee shop and buy some tea instead, Mr. Reese?"

"You don't think he can make it properly?"

"Have you ever eaten anything he's cooked Ms. Greyson?"

Kat blushed before replying. "Actually yes and it was... fantastic." She looked up at John as she said that and blushed further at the gleam in his eye. "But perhaps he SHOULD go get you some tea."

"Alright. I'll be back in just a few." John said reluctantly and headed downstairs. For the next several minutes, Kat spoke quietly to Harold as she cleaned the cuts on his hands and face. She explained how she and John had met and how John was convinced that someone was trying to kill her. In fact they had almost succeed the other night when they shot up her trailer at the job site and she'd been grazed in the bullet exchange.

"I'm so upset about that!"

"Yes, getting shot does tend to be annoying, Ms. Greyson." Harold gave her a small smile. "Good thing you weren't seriously hurt."

"No, I'm not mad about that, it's going to be hard for me to replace the darn trailer! And you'd think I'd been shot several times at least by the way that John carries on about it."

"Ms. Greyson, may I speak frankly?"

"Of course Harold. I value honesty in a person and please, call me Kat."

"Well Kat, I won't go into detail here, but John once lost someone he cared about because he failed to act quickly enough and let his job get in the way. He's never quite forgiven himself for that. I believe that is why he might be reacting the way he is, to you being injured. It's quite obvious to me that he cares about you quite a bit and doesn't want the same thing happening to you."

Kat colored a little at Harold's assessment of John's feelings for her. "Thank you for telling me that, Harold. I care about him quite a bit as well."

"I'm glad to hear that Ms. Greyson," Harold reverted once more to the formality of her last name, she noticed. "I'd hate to think that John would end up with feelings for a person who didn't return them to the same degree. He deserves better than the hand he's been dealt so far. In the meantime, I'll look into who's targeting you right away." Harold reassured her. "I know John is very good at what he does, but his computer expertise is a bit...limited."

When John returned with Harold's tea, they all sat and drank in peaceful silence until eventually, Harold fell asleep.

John looked over at Kat with a tenuous look. "I'm going to need your help with this."

"With what?"

"I need you to sit on Harold's thigh and keep the rest of his leg steady with your hands as I pull the bone back into place. Can you do that?"

"But... I'm afraid of hurting him worse though."

"You won't. All you have to do is hold him immobile."

"OK, I trust you to know what's best." Kat crawled onto the bed and sat on Harold's thigh. She reached down, wrapping her hands around his leg, just above the knee. John grabbed on to Harold's ankle with both hands and quickly pulled the leg which snapped the bone back in place. When Harold's body spasmed underneath her as John moved the leg, she felt tears gathering in her eyes and they began to fall as Harold moaned.

"You can get up now Kat."

As soon as she was standing on her own, he gathered her in his arms and wiped away the tears. "He'll be alright. Once he wakes up, I'll go and get an air cast to immobilize the leg while it heals and perhaps a wheelchair and... " He chuckled to himself.. "a cushion." At Kat's puzzled look, he just shook his head. "Never mind." He chuckled again before turning serious. "Now, I want to check out that bite and your gunshot wound."

"My gunshot graze, you mean, and I'm fine." She shook her head as he took her hand and led her out of the room and into some nearby book stacks.

"Uh huh. Like you were fine earlier... when we were..."

"Oh for the love of...! John, I'm fine." She was getting exasperated until she remembered what Harold had told her. She took a deep breath and smiled up at him. "See... I'm ok." She slipped off her shirt so that he could see that there was no blood on the bandage.

John's hands skated across her stomach and came to rest on her side, sending shivers throughout her body. After all that they had been through tonight, Kat felt that her nerves were raw and her body seemed extra sensitive to his touch. He lifted up the bandage, replacing it when he saw that there was no active bleeding. Once he was sure her side was ok, he told her he wanted to see her rat bite. Kat sighed to herself and started removing her shoe and sock.

"Let me." John said softly before kissing her lips and then kneeling down to untie her shoe. Once he had her foot exposed, he tried to raise the pant leg on her jeans to look at her ankle and calf but found it was too snug around the ankle for him to push it up far enough. "No, this isn't going to work, I'll need to remove your jeans."

"John!" Kat said, shocked at his suggestion and the fact that she'd then be stripped down to her lingerie, here, where he worked and where Harold could... ok, maybe Harold couldn't, but still! "John, I'm fine. Really."

"Let me be the judge of that. Kat, please. I just need to see that you're alright."

Again, thinking back to what Harold had told her, Kat gave in and started removing her jeans.

"I'd like to do that." John whispered as a familiar gleam appeared in his eyes. A smirk then appeared on his lips as he peeled her jeans slowly over her hips and down her legs. Seeing that smile, Kat felt the butterflies in her stomach come to life as his soft hands slid down her legs starting a deep ache even lower.

John must have felt something, some small shiver or tremor because his smile increased and he began kissing his way down her leg as he exposed her skin. Kat sucked in her breath as she felt his soft lips nibbling and kissing her legs. Finally he had her legs exposed. He picked up her ankle and leg that had been bitten. Very gently, he touched the area and saw that, indeed, there wasn't much blood.

He set her leg back down and stood up. "I'll be right back." He told her. True to his word, he was back in an instant with an antiseptic and some antibiotic ointment. He applied both and then kissed her leg just above the bite.

"What am I going to do with you Kat? You're always making light of your injuries and causing me endless worry."

"Um... learn to live with it?" She gasped out as his lips and tongue began to work their way back up her legs.

"No, I don't think so. Don't you remember...if you're injured..."

By this time, his mouth was on her upper thigh and she sucked in her breath as his teeth grazed across her bare skin towards her sex. "Hmm?" She responded as best she could with the sensation that her entire lower half was on fire.

She felt his fingers reach up and grab the waistband of her panties and pull them down her legs. As soon as they were completely off, John reached up and placed one of her thighs over his shoulder, so that her leg dangled down his back and she was now exposed to his mouth.
John lost no time in burying his mouth between her thighs. He used his tongue to part her folds and licked up from her heated sex all the way to her clit. Kat moaned in response as John repeated the action again and again.

When she felt his teeth graze against her hard and swollen clit, she called out his name and reached up to grip the shelves above her head.

John shifted and pushed her leg further away, exposing even more of her to his talented tongue. As he continued to lick her in long, firm strokes, he would occasionally nip her clit, causing her to moan or gasp out his name. The more he nipped her, the more she began to writhe as his tongue danced over and around her clit. She threw her head back and had a death grip on the shelves as he unexpectedly thrust two fingers up inside her.

"Oh! John! I... have to... I need... to...please!" She panted out between the moans as he withdrew his fingers and thrust in again in time with what his tongue was doing to her clit. He just gave a little shake of the head and continued to tease and torture her with his tongue and those incredibly talented fingers of his. In seconds, she was a moaning, writhing mess and she wasn't sure how much longer her leg could hold her up.

Just when she was sure she couldn't take any more of what he was doing to her, he sucked her clit into his mouth and rolled it slightly between his teeth and tongue. Kat let out a strangled cry and began to shudder around his fingers and mouth. Quickly standing up and pulling his pants down, John freed himself from his boxer briefs and lifted Kat up, almost immediately bringing her back down on his hard, throbbing cock.

"John!" She almost screamed out his name as she felt herself suddenly full to bursting. He began to thrust up into her wildly, her arms coming to rest over his shoulders as he pounded into her.

"Oh! Kat! Yes..."

"Please John, don't stop...ever...I need this...I need you!" She gasped out and before either one of them knew it, they were calling out to each other as the tremors took over their bodies.

Kat's arms increased their hold on John's neck and shoulders holding on as if her life depended on it. Strangely enough, she felt in a way that it did. In the short time she'd known him, John had become more dear to her than she would have imagined possible. Not too long ago, she'd been expecting long, lonely nights filled with nothing more than the drivel on TV and the drivel in her microwave. Now, she was able to envision her nights filled with love and companionship. She couldn't even imagine going back to the way things used to be. She didn't want to go sleep-walking through her life anymore. Hugging John closer, Kat inhaled the scent of him and sighed in contentment.

"John, I've… I've never felt this good, this close to someone in my entire life. Thank you for bringing this light into my life."

John leaned back and looked at her though he didn't release his hold on her. "Oh Kat, if you only knew what I am, what I've done…. YOU are the one bringing the light into my life. I'll only bring you darkness."

Suddenly he felt guilty. Guilty for all the pain and suffering he would bring into her life, for the lies he would be forced to tell…she deserved someone better. But God help him, he didn't think he could bring himself to give her up, unless…. Maybe if he told her about his former life, maybe then she'd be smart enough to walk away and maybe then he'd be strong enough to let her.

Kat was not privy to what was going on his mind, but she could see John slowly pulling back from her and she castigated herself for telling him how she felt so soon. Thank goodness she hadn't told him the entire truth… that she loved him beyond measure. She quickly ran over her options in her mind and decided that now would not be the time to show him what he meant to her. Once he opened up to her and she could show him that his demons no longer had power over him OR her, then she could do something about her feelings for him. Until then, she'd wait.

"John, I totally disagree with you, but I'm willing to wait and show you that I'm right and you're wrong." She took a deep breath and disengaged herself from his body. "For now, let's check on Harold and then see if there isn't someplace we can lie down….together."

Nodding as if he agreed with her when all he wanted to do was lose himself in her and forget the rest of the world existed, he leaned down and put his pants back on. Kat also got herself dressed and together. They walked over to Harold's room where they found him still sleeping. John took her hand and led Kat to a room down the hall where there was a large bed and wardrobe. In the next room there was an attached bathroom.

"Is this your home away from home?" Kat asked, noticing the suits all neatly arranged in the wardrobe and the bed made with precise military corners.

"Yes, I seldom stay here, but Harold likes to be prepared. Especially since the time I was shot and he had to help me out a bit while I healed. Come, it's been a long night or should I say a long morning and you still need your sleep if you're going to heal yourself." He removed his pants and shirt and crawled into bed and Kat did the same. As soon as she was in bed, John reached over and pulled her up against his body and settled her within his arms. Kat murmured in contentment and it wasn't long before she was fast asleep.

John on the other hand found his mind in turmoil. He wanted the woman sleeping in his arms like he'd wanted no other since Jessica. He was drawn to her like a man in the desert is drawn to water. His body and heart needed her like he needed air to breathe. It was his mind though that wouldn't allow him any peace. It was screaming at him to let her go once this was over. That every minute he was with her, he was a danger to her.

Harold's words about being 'patient zero' took on a more personal meaning for him. Harold had been able to give up Grace just to keep her safe, so why couldn't he even contemplate such a thing when it came to Kat. Was he really that selfish? The thought bothered him immensely and he mulled over the implications of that for several minutes. It was a Damoclean sword that brought fear with either decision. Either way he was bound to make a wrong choice.

He could stay with Kat and have her in danger every minute of every day or he could end it with her and go back to the automaton he'd been before, not to mention hurting Kat in the process of rejecting her. He knew it would have been easier if he'd never gotten involved with her, but he couldn't bring himself to regret it because she had brought to life a part of him that he'd thought long dead and buried. He also was reluctant to end things himself as a result of what had happened with Jessica. He realized now that making a choice for her had been wrong, but he also couldn't picture Kat ending up with someone like Peter.

The incredible rage he normally felt when he thought of that piece of garbage was tempered now and it was all thanks to Kat. She made him want to be a better person. So while he couldn't picture Kat with an abuser, neither did he want to picture her with anyone else besides himself.

Mulling things over and over in his mind, John finally decided that there was only one thing he could do, something he'd never done before... tell her everything. Tell her about Jessica, about the CIA and the horrendous things he'd done, and would probably have to do again, about the danger that stalked him at every turn, and about his past failures in keeping those he cared about safe. Then let her make the choice. The idea filled him with trepidation. Would he be able to take her likely rejection? Considering the only other options would be to lie to her every day or hurt her by breaking it off, he felt that the pain of her rejection would be worth it if it meant he didn't have to cause her pain, something that would surely result from the other two options.

Sighing and holding her tighter, John lay in bed for the next several hours enjoying the feel of her sleeping next to him, realizing it might be the last time, as he contemplated how he would tell her all the things she needed to hear before making her own decision.

The sound of someone yelling woke Kat up out of a sound sleep. Bolting up in bed, she realized that the space next to her was empty and she felt a small sense of panic at John's absence. For a brief second, she thought perhaps he had decided that they were getting too involved and had left, but in the next breath, she realized how ridiculous that would be considering he'd left her here at his HQ when he'd obviously have to return at some point. Throwing on her clothes, she left to investigate the yelling she could hear from the direction of Harold's room. Just as she was leaving, a note taped to the door caught her eye.

Left to get an X-ray machine and air cast.

Will be back soon. Please don't go anywhere.
Miss you already.

John

Kat smiled at the last line and hurried out the door, not even thinking about it when she opened the door to Harold's room, since that's where the yelling was coming from. She could see Harold thrashing around on the bed and yelling 'leave me alone!'. She quickly realized that he was having a nightmare about his ordeal but when she approached his bed to wake him, his eyes popped open and he yelled even louder. "Get away from me! I won't tell you anything!"

Realizing that he had mistaken her for the woman who'd kidnapped him, Kat quickly started talking soothingly to him. "Harold, it's me, Kat. John's friend. It's ok. You were just having a nightmare. Please don't move around so much until John gets back and puts the cast on your leg." She tried to reassure him without moving any closer.

Gradually, the wildness left Harold's eyes and he took several deep, calming breaths. "I apologize, Ms. Greyson, for disturbing you. I can assure you it won't happen again." He spoke with more of his cool reserve.

"What's to apologize for Harold? You've just been through a hell of a lot. In fact, if you wanted to talk about it, it might be easier to talk to a stranger than someone you're close to, like John?"

Harold looked thoughtful and opened his mouth to say, "Well, actually Ms. Greyson, you might be..." But whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the appearance of John wheeling a large machine into Harold's room.

"I picked up an X-ray machine Harold so we could check on your leg before I immobilize it."

"Do I dare to ask where you picked up something like that from?" Harold was raising his eyebrows at John and it was all that Kat could do to keep from laughing.

"I acquired this legally Harold. Dr. Tillman can be quite resourceful." John was also grinning, glad to have Harold back in the library where he belonged and poking fun at him whenever he could. He'd missed his friend and the concern for his well-being had been like a weight dragging him down at every turn. Now that the weight was lifted, John almost felt giddy, until he looked at Kat smiling at the two of them. He suddenly remembered his resolve from last night and immediately, the weight returned to him. Moving over to Harold's bedside, John removed the instructions Dr. Tillman had given him on how to operate the machine and began to set it up. "Don't worry Harold, I promise not to make your toes fall off with this thing." He said cheerfully.

"I'm not worried about that eventuality Mr. Reese as it's not possible for X-rays to make ANY body part fall off. I would however, appreciate it if you'd be quick about this so that I can get out to my computers and see what type of damage has been done in my absence."

John just smirked and continued working over Harold, occasionally asking Kat to lend an extra hand. Within an hour, John had verified that Harold's bones were properly set and had put an air-cast on Harold's broken leg.

"And, one more thing I picked up for you Harold..." John stepped outside Harold's room and returned with a wheelchair. "Now, it's your turn to be wheeled around in this thing. Oh, and I got you a welcome home present." He said presenting Harold with a large box. Kat gave John a puzzled look as she saw him trying to hide a smirk but he just shook his head at her.

"Mr. Reese, you needn't have gone to the trouble," Harold started to say, but stopped when he pulled out a donut cushion from the box. Harold's face had a very serious look to it, but upon pulling the cushion out of the box, he broke into a wide grin and John chuckled a bit at his expression. "Touche, John."

Still chuckling, John helped Harold into the wheelchair and then wheeled him out to a bank of computer screens that Kat had noticed last night. Starting the systems up, Harold said in a dismissive tone, "Feel free to get out and about today Mr. Reese. I'll let you know when I have something on our mutual friend."

"Actually, Kat and I are going to go to the park today after freshening up. We'll bring something for lunch after that."

"Of course." Harold literally waved them away, staring intently at the screens as they came on-line.

Taking Kat's hand, John led them back to his room and into the bathroom. "I have something I wanted to tell you Kat but, I thought we could take a shower first."

"I do believe that is wonderful idea, John." Kat smiled at him and began removing her clothes.