Chapter 1
“C’mon, Sameen. It’ll be fun.” Root pleaded.
Shaw rolled her eyes. She didn’t like the idea of her and Root living in one house with the rest of the team. It took her a while to get used to one person living in her apartment with her, let alone living in a house with two more people. Three if you count the dog.
“Fine,” she sighed. “But you and I get our own room”. Root smiled.
“Of course, sweetie.” she said, kissing Sameen on the cheek.
~
The team spent the next day packing their belongings and moving into the sizeable safe house that had never been used before. Harold was the first to arrive at the house, Root and Shaw soon after. Harold helped them move their stuff into their large bedroom and unpack.
“What might these be used for?” Harold asked, eyebrows raised as he slowly pulled a pair of handcuffs from Shaw’s luggage. Shaw’s eyes widened and Root giggled. Harold sighed, tossing the handcuffs to Shaw. She quickly stuffed them in the nightstand drawer. It was a good thing Harold didn’t have the bedroom next to them, she thought, smirking.
~
Once they were all settled in, Harold ordered dinner from their favorite Indian place. Once the food arrived, they sat together at the dining room table. They discussed decorating, dinner ideas, and house rules.
“We should get an arsenal.” said John.
“Agreed,” said Sameen. “I’m not storing my guns in the bedroom.”
They all looked at Harold, waiting for an okay. Harold didn’t seem too thrilled over the idea of a room full of dangerous weapons in his house. He looked at Root, who gave him a playful pouty lip.
“Please?” she asked. Harold put his hands up in defeat.
“Fine, fine,” he said, “As long as it’s nowhere near my bedroom.” John and Shaw high-fived.
“We can get a computer room, Harry!” said Root excitedly. Harold perked up at the idea, and smiled.
“A fine idea, Ms. Groves.” He looked at John. “Now that room can go right next to my bedroom.”. John smiled and rolled his eyes.
They continued eating and laughing as they all came up with fun ideas for the house. After dinner, they started the fireplace in the living room and got into their pajamas. Harold sat in his chair, reading, while John cleaned his favorite handgun on the couch, that being one of his only hobbies. Sameen sat wrapped in a blanket on the soft rug in front of the fireplace. Root came out of the kitchen holding a tray of three mugs of hot cocoa and one of sencha green tea. She set a mug down on the coffee table next to John and handed the tea to Harold, smiling.
“Here, Harry.” she said.
“Ah, sencha green. Thank you very much Ms. Groves.”. He smiled at her and she walked over to Sameen and sat down next to her, handing her a mug. Shaw wrapped the other half of her blanket around Root and pulled her close. Root rested her head on Sameen’s shoulder, closing her eyes. Harold looked up from his book and smiled at the view of the two ladies, happy and peaceful. A sight he saw so very rarely. He glanced at John who was smiling at them too.
Maybe this won’t be so bad after all, thought Sameen.
Root and Shaw were woken by Harold several hours later, having fallen asleep by the fire. They both lay on the floor, Root’s head on Sameen’s chest.
Shaw sat up and yawned.
“What time is it?” She asked.
“Midnight.” Said Harold. They both looked down at Root, who had fallen back asleep on the rug.
“Ms. Groves, wake up.” said Harold, resting a hand on her shoulder.
“Root.” said Shaw. Root didn’t budge. Sameen sighed, scooping Root off the rug and carrying her to their bedroom. She stopped before the door, turned to say goodnight to Harold, and walked into their bedroom, rested Root on the bed and covered her with blankets. Shaw slipped under the covers and kissed Root on the cheek. She fell asleep with her arm wrapped around Root’s waist.
~
Root woke up the next morning to the smell of pancakes from the kitchen. She stretched and walked to the kitchen where Sameen stood in front of the stove cooking pancakes and Harold sat at the small, circular kitchen table reading the newspaper.
“Good morning, Ms. Groves.” said Harold, looking up from his newspaper. The creator of one of the most complex pieces of technology, and he still reads the news from the paper, Root thought.
“Good morning, Harry.” she said, and kissed him on the cheek.
“Did you sleep well?” He asked.
“I did.” She replied, distracted by the sight of Shaw cooking. She snuck up behind Sameen and wrapped her arms around her waist. Sameen leaned into Root and closed her eyes in bliss.
“Good morning, chef.” said Root. Shaw laughed and rolled her eyes. Root rested her chin on Sameen’s shoulder.
“Did you carry me to bed last night?” asked Root, smiling.
“I didn’t want to wake you up.” Shaw said. Root kissed her on the cheek and spun around.
“Where’s the big lug?” she asked. Even though she now liked John and had a friendship with him, she still liked calling him by nicknames when he wasn’t around.
“Still asleep.” said Harold. Shaw walked to the table and handed out plates. She set a big plate of pancakes in the middle of the table with a pitcher of syrup.
“JOHN, GET YOUR ASS OUT OF BED.” She shouted. Harold closed his eyes and sighed.
“Was that necessary?”
“I made this breakfast and he’s eating it” said Shaw.
John shuffled out of his bedroom with bed head and a big yawn.
“He lives!” Said Shaw, shoveling pancakes into her mouth.
“Who made breakfast?” he asked.
“Sameen did” said Root. John raised an eyebrow at Shaw, who rolled her eyes and ate another forkful of pancake.
John sat down at the table and served himself a plate of pancakes.
“Any new numbers?” John asked Harold.
“Actually, one. Jeff Brosley, 33 year old school teacher, lives in Queens. I’m sure you and Detective Fusco can handle it it while I stay at the subway to handle the technology.”
“You don’t want Sam and I to help?” asked Root.
“I thought maybe you’d want to take some time to settle in.” Harold replied.
“Oooh Sam, we could paint our room!” Root suggested excitedly.
“What’s wrong with the color it is now?” asked Shaw.
“Beige is boring. I thought we could spice it up a bit.”
“Fine. But we have to agree on the color.”
“Of course, sweetie” Root turned to Harold.
“Are you sure you can handle the number on your own?” She asked him.
“What do you think we did before you two came along, Ms.Groves?”
He had a point. Root always wondered what it was like before her and Sameen came. It must have been so different.
“Sounds like we have a whole day to ourselves, sweetie.” Root told Shaw.
“Oh dear.” said Harold.