As always, I do not own them, make no money from this. Please read, if you like it let me know, if you don't let me know. It is how I learn. Thank you.

John made the distance to the hall leading to the door to the outside in about five strides. He heard Carter coming up behind him. And then the real problem erupted, the overhead sprinkles came on. John figured who ever had used the W. P. incendiary bomb had counted on the water to further the explosion. He could feel the heat coming down the hallway he had just exited. With his right hand he opened the door to the outside and with his left hand, as he tried to flatted himself and Jerrod against the wall, he grabbed Carter by the shoulder as she hesitated at his move, and pulled her to him. Shoving her out into the early morning light, he lunged through the door after her, trying to close the door. He did not look back at the rolling bright white and yellow ball of fire that followed him.

The heat was intense enough to catch the back of Jerrod's jacket on fire…the back of John's pants legs ignited.

John staggered into the early morning air and heard Carter screaming at him. She hurriedly pulled her jacket off, quickly extinguishing the flame starting up the back of John's left leg. Then she started covering Jerrod's back and John's head with the jacket. Shouting at John she steered him and Jerrod away from the flames that were rolling out the half closed door. When she thought they were safely far enough from the building she yelled at him again over the roar of the fire. "Get him down…lay him down…"

John crouched down. He rolled Jerrod to the right side, cradling Jerrod's upper body against chest. The smoke was still curling up from Jerrod's back as Carter's jacket smothered the flames. Reese put his hand to the back of his head, feeling singed hair and put his hand to his nose. He saw the panic in Carter's eyes.

She was as animated as he had ever seen her. "That was a Willy Pete incendiary bomb…" Her brown eyes were wide and she was still looking both Reese and Jerrod over for Phosphorous burn.

He looked up at her as she hovered over them. "It was just flames…just flames…" He drew in a ragged breath, looking down at Jerrod. He held his hand up that he had drug across the back of his scorched hair. "It just smells like singed hair…" He knew that if it had contained any White Phosphorous in the flame it would smell like it, not like burnt hair, and he knew Carter would know. He saw her turn the panic down a notch.

"Just burnt hair?" Her eyes studied his head and face.

Reese nodded; he knew that had any of the phosphorous powder actually hit them they would still be burning. Phosphorus was an oxide and would continue to burn or eat anything it landed on. They had lucked out; it was just the rolling flame from the explosion and not the powder that had come around the hall corner.

He carefully laid Jerrod all the way onto the asphalt, using Carter's jacket to cushion the young man's head. John hunkered down next to the injured man, seeing the fear in his dark eyes. "You are safe now…You're going to make it…Carter will take care of you." John's voice was low and soft. His green eyes studied the frightened eyes for a moment.

Carter's head swiveled toward the front gate. "John, they're rolling in silent." She had seen the red and blue flash of police lights coming between the buildings a block away, there were no sirens blaring. She gestured with her head in the direction of the now visible flashing lights. "You need to get away from here…"

She squatted down on the other side of Jerrod, across from John. Her dark eyes searched John's face. "You need to go…" She looked down at Jerrod's pale face in the early morning light. She saw his large brown eyes blink at her; there was blood at the corner of his mouth.

Jerrod reached a hand out to her. "You are pretty." His voice was very soft and child like.

The far end of the warehouse suddenly shook, the ground beneath their feet trembled and a brick blowing eruption followed. Whole bricks were shot hundreds of feet into the air. A sound like a rocket taking off blasted across the parking lot, the ground actually rumbled from the explosion.

Reese reacted. He reached out and pulled Carter to him, protectively shielding her with his body. Moving in a crouch to cover her and Jerrod with his body, he half hunkered/stood over them as flames, bricks and metal shot up into the morning sky. It looked like the fourth of July with red dust, orange white flames and red bricks trailing out in streamers. John tried desperately to cover as much of Carter and Jerrod as his body would allow.

A few wayward chips and small silver dollar sized chunks of red brick landed around them. Most of the blast seemed directed to the back end of the warehouse. Fifty yards closer to the explosion, several whole and half sized bricks landed, sounding like mortars hitting the asphalt. Closer to the end of the building, larger pieces came down, sounding like missiles or rockets sailing through the air. Some bricks hit the pavement with such force they either turned to instant dust or left craters where they hit. The sound was deafening.

John could feel Carter under him. Small chunks pelted his bent back as he hunkered over them as best he could.

Carter turned her head. Her face was close to the left side of John's head and shoulder. "I hate this…reminds me of Ghaniz…" She spoke as she too, tried to protect Jerrod.

Reese felt several little hits across his back and shoulders but nothing hit his head. He took a chance and looked back over his shoulder. Most of what was coming down now was dust. A few pieces of smaller debris were still coming back to earth, but it looked like most of the heavy stuff had landed. He used his vantage point to lean in closer to Carter. "You all right?" His voice was soft.

"Yeah, I'm fine. She looked down into Jerrod's face, which was a just inches from her. "Hang in there pal, were going to get you out of here and fixed up."

Jerrod looked between the jumble of legs and arms toward the back of the warehouse. He swallowed, tears forming in his eyes. "They…they blew up my home…" his voice was soft and still child like. He clutched the bandage made from his shirt.

John straightened up, glancing around through the red dust that was settling over everything. He helped Carter straighten up and stand. He glanced over her shoulder. His eyes settled back looking at her, he gave her a half smile raised his left eye brow. "Got 'ta go…" Abruptly he turned and started walking away in the opposite direction from the ring of cop cars parked at the entrance with their lights on. He calmly turned and walked away.

Carter looked over her shoulder at the ring of cars; safely parked a good distance from them and where the explosion had happened. She saw that everyone's attention was still on the far end of the building and the strange yellowish flames that was still burning away. She knew a phosphorus fire when she saw it…She had seen enough in Afghanistan.

She glanced back at the direction John was walking, saw where he was heading and then looked back at the crowd of cops and now fire trucks showing up. She saw an officer she knew. "Tealson!" She waved a hand to get his attention off the fire. "Over here, bring the Para-medics with you…now!"

POI

Carter looked at Jerrod and smiled. "I'll be back to see you in the morning…" She reached out and touched his hand that was folded over his chest. "That nice officer standing just inside the door is going to stay with you, so you don't have to worry."

She saw his brown eyes watching her. She wasn't totally sure how much he understood. She stepped away from the side of the hospital bed where she had spent the last hour trying to get information out of him, and gotten very little.

"You are a pretty lady." He smiled at her. Suddenly he frowned, his face full of worry. "Pretty lady, number 786955."

Carter stepped back toward the bedside. "Jerrod are you alright, are you in pain?"

His eyes unfocused, he looked blankly at his hands. "Number…786955…" Then his frown suddenly changed to a beaming smile. "I have something for you." He reached under the hospital sheets and pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to her. "786954, the man in the jacket told me to give this to you…"

Carter glanced over her shoulder at the guard at the door but saw he wasn't paying attention to them. She turned slightly and opened the folder piece of white paper.

'Dear 786955, Jerrod names everyone with a number. Finch had to dig back twenty-five years to when Jerrod was 3. He was tested and is a high functioning Autistic Savant. His gift is numbers. You, according to Jerrod are 786955 and I am 786954. The detective that interviewed him a couple years ago was 66954…which I found was his badge number. The reason 66954 didn't find anything stolen two years ago was because Jerrod was there to memorize the company's books, both sets. Which he did apparently by glancing at them…Anderson who's number is 81, thought they were double skimming and Jerrod proved it, when he brought the numbers back in his head. Get a tape recorder in there and ask him to tell you anything about 81's bank accounts...it's very interesting…Finch found several off shore accounts connected to both Anderson and Phillips…Jerrod does not do well with the written word…but he is a marvel at the numbers. Finch found that that very interesting…John'

She smiled a tired smile. Looking back at Jerrod he was staring back at his hands again. She touched the back of her hand to her nose. "Jerrod did…" She held the paper so she could read the number, "786954 give this to you?" She saw him smile and nod.

He reached a hand under the sheet again and produced a hand held electronic device, turning it toward her. "He gave me this too…I like it, it is numbers."

She saw it was some kind of numbers game. "That's great…when did he give you this?"

She watched as the frown reappeared and he put the device back under the covers, he went back to looking at his hands.

POI

John sat across the table from Carter. It was an Italian restaurant. The table had a red and white checkerboard tablecloth. A candle stuck in an old short fat wine bottle flickered between them, it was early evening. The smell of pizza bread rising, sauces cooking with garlic, oregano and special spices filled the room. It was a quiet little restaurant that took reservations only. Each table was set in its own little area sectioned off from each other for a quiet, intimate dinner.

Carter had been surprised as the Owner of the restaurant Louie, had greeted John by his first name and taken him back to their table. She was doubly surprised when Louie had asked John if he wanted his usual wine, which turned out to be a very expensive red wine.

John reached out, took his wine glass and sipped from it, hiding the smile that wanted to betray his mood. His black eye was mostly yellow now. There were two small band aids over his right eye and the eye was back to normal size. He set the glass back down but didn't remove his hand. John gazed across the candle at Carter. "Finch found out that our Jerrod, even though he is very simple, he is actually very rich, besides the life insurance policy that Anderson had taken out on him." His voice was very soft.

He shifted in his chair slightly. "Anderson was his executor. That was the connection, a very well hidden connection. Jerrod's family is quite wealthy…They made their money in warehousing…Jerrod…Or his family, must own a thousand of them up and down the east coast." John used a finger to turn his wine glass a little on the table, watching the candle light flicker in Carter's dark eyes. "Anderson was appointed as Jerrod's handler from the age of eight…" John shifted in his chair and leaned an elbow in. "He has been using Jerrod as a walking numbers calculator. Jerrod's mother passed away five years ago and Jerrod's father who is still alive and kicking seems to care less about Jerrod. He has two other sons to carry on the family name."

John's eyes shifted from Carter's face to the curtain that parted as Louie stepped inside, John looked back at Carter. "Do you know what you want to order?"

Carter had looked the menu over as the wine had arrived. She smiled at John. "You seem to know this place, you can order for me…" She saw a smile move into his green eyes. She saw his eyes shift to focus past her right shoulder.

"Louie, li sorprese stasera …" Just a touch of a smile went to his lips as he nodded.

Carter saw Louie disappear with a smile. "Just how many languages do you speak?" She saw his eyes move back to her

"Fluently only a few, bits and pieces of several…" He shifted again in his chair. "I told him to surprise us…"

Carter was beginning to wonder what he was nervous about. "What is going to happen to Jerrod…He obviously needs someone to watch over him, another guardian?" Carter took her wine glass and took a sip, setting it back down.

"Jerrod's brother Michael is taking control." John shifted in his chair again, his eyes intense on Carter. "He thought that "Uncle" Anderson was taking care of his brother's affairs, now that Anderson and Phillips have been arrested on attempted murder, fraud and racketeering charges, Michael is stepping up to help."

Louie reappeared through the red, yellow and green flowered curtain. Stepping forward, he put a basket of linen wrapped bread down. "Italian Marsala bread…to start…" He quickly stepped back out.

John looked a little surprised. "We are special tonight…His wife, Lucy makes this bread on rare occasions…" He pulled the linen covering back and a sweet yeast aroma filled the little room." He picked the basket up and offered Carter a bun. "They have raisins in them."

Carter selected one and waited until John had set the basket down and selected one for himself and them she tasted it. It was heavenly with a rich taste of wine from the raisins.

She nodded her approval as she saw John take a bite of his. "This is delicious…"

Louie dashed in again, this time with two small plates. "Home made sausage…in tomato sauce with fresh Basil and Oregano and a hint of home made goat cheese…" He smiled at Carter. He set the plates down and disappeared again.

Louie kept slowly moving in and out, He refilled their wine glasses, took the empty sausage plates and returned with two large plates. "Sautéed Italian vegetables and our specialty, spicy Italian Roast with spaghetti, slow roasted for eight hours." He set the plate down in front of Carter and then stepped to John and set his plate down.

Carter saw something pass between them; Louie winked at John and slid out of the room.

She saw the tension in John's shoulders disappear. "Something I should know about?" She was suddenly suspicious. He had been shuffling around in his chair like a two year old that had done something wrong and was about to get caught. Her warm brown eyes suddenly went darker, she saw him look up from his plate.

"No…nothing at all." His face went to that un-telling mask he sometimes wore.

She looked around the little room and then back at him. "It's just that normally when we meet like this…You are working a case or a bad guy is about to show up, or you are about to break the law…" She kept her eyes on his.

He smiled. "It's good that you've gotten paranoid around me…But tonight…it is just dinner…I promise…" He raised his eyebrows slightly, giving a slight nod of his head. He picked his fork up and the extra spoon and took a small amount of spaghetti and swirled it around the fork using the spoon as a base. When the pasta was sufficiently wound around the fork, he then stabbed a small piece of the roast and popped it into his mouth…

They finished the main course and Louie popped in and took the plates away and returned with two small dishes with pastry strips on them. "And for you" He set the plate down in front of Carter. "Lucy made these just moments ago…They are called Haman's Ears…We use the basic recipe but have changed it slightly from the original." He then set John's plate down. He stood next to John, looking at Carter. "We use the lemon zest, and almond flour and flash fry them…Please…try one…"

Carter took one of the four inch long, ½ inch thick strips, she could smell the almond and lemon, and she saw it was lightly coated with powdered sugar. She placed it in her mouth and it melted. She smiled around the flavoring. "That's the most wonderful pastry I have ever tasted." She saw Louie smile and clap his hands.

"Excellent…" He disappeared again through the curtain that separated them from the rest of the restaurant.

John picked up one of the strips and popped it into his mouth. "I do have a little something that we need to do." John stood up and reached a hand out to Carter.

Carters shoulders dropped, her face took on a look of 'I knew it'. She ignored his hand and pushed her chair back. "Ok John, what are you up to?" She got to her feet and stared up at him, a little anger touching her voice.

John put his extended hand to his chest. "You wound me…Joss."

Her eyes narrowed at his gesture. "That is a possibility…John." She watched as he stepped toward the curtain and pulled it open.

"SURPRISE! Happy Birthday!"

Her son Taylor was the first person she saw standing in front of their little booth. Fusco was standing next to Finch and they were flanked by Louie and she assumed his wife Lucy. Tears started to well up in her eyes; she thought everyone had forgotten about it, she almost had.

"Happy birthday Joss…" John gave her a rare, full smile. He had remebered her birthday.

POI

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