I really hope that you have liked the story. And without further ado...the final chapter

Chapter Ten: And Here We Part

Considering the chaos of the night before, Henry was surprised that any of them were still standing. The rush of panic and adrenaline when they thought that the team might not make it out alive was more than Henry thought he could stand. But he had never died of fear himself. Jo called him when they were safely away. It was fortunate that they had planned for this eventuality before Team Machine went in. He could still hardly believe that there was some artificial intelligence that tracked everyone wherever they went and saw whatever they did.

"I suppose this would be goodbye then," he said to Finch, who had sat down in the corner after they returned to try and cool down after their daring and dangerous escape.

"Most likely," he replied, his breathing finally back to normal. "I don't know if this is a sustainable relationship. We're already a candle burning at both end; this would be like adding a blowtorch to the middle. And we need to disappear for a few days until they stop searching as hard for us. It won't take them very long to realize that we never made it as far as the precinct."

"I see." And I just got Adam to the fringe of my life; I don't need some morally corrupt company chasing after me.

"However…" Finch trailed off.

"Yes?"

"We recently lost the person who patched us up if we got caught in a fight. Well, she was more than that, but she was our doctor, too. And we don't know if we're ever going to find her again." Finch paused, but only for a moment. "We need a doctor, someone we can trust."

Perhaps that was the person John would have called. "I would be quite willing to help you in any of your medical needs. Speaking of which, I have been wondering about your limp."

"It's an old wound. And it's never going to heal properly."

Henry stepped closer. "Are you in pain?"

"Every single day. But I can deal with the pain. It's a constant reminder."

"Of what?"

"Of why I started helping people in the first place." Henry wished that Finch would go on, but he left it there.

It didn't seem quite right to Henry, to have that knowledge and to do nothing with it. While he could risk his own life, he couldn't risk the lives of the people around him, like Abe and Jo.

"What are you going to do about all this?" Henry asked. "How are you supposed to combat all of that?"

"The only way we know how: we save people. That's all that we have done. That's all we can do. Every single one of us has accepted the fact that one way or another, we will die at the end of this story."

"Perhaps that was why your Machine gave you my number. I cannot stay dead."

"But you're not a fighter," Finch pointed out. "You're a doctor, and that is a far better thing than what we do."

"We've got to go, Henry," Jo called, cutting off anything he might have said. "If I hear anymore from Root, I won't have plausible deniability with Cybercrimes. And Abe, I'm going to drive, if that's okay with you."

"Wait, now?" Abe asked. "I was swapping war stories with John."

"Yes, now. It's already pretty late and I have work in the morning," she said. "I don't know about either of you, but I actually plan to get some sleep tonight."

"I don't know how you expect to do that," Abe said. "I haven't had this much excitement since—I'm not entirely sure. It's a toss-up between a few things."

"Was that before or after the Renaissance?" Root asked.

"Ms. Groves!"

"I'm not that old," Henry pointed out, "So my son couldn't possibly be."

"You never know," she smiled.

"No, actually I do. I know quite well. I raised him."

"If you're going to keep antagonizing them, Root," John said, "we could always find another mental hospital for you."

"Wait, another one?" Abe asked.

"I believe we need to go now, Abe." Henry ushered them towards the door. Then he looked back at Team Machine. "I hope that you all stay safe for the time being. I suppose I shall see you or your work a little more in the future."

"Possibly," Finch agreed, "now that you know what it is. Until then, stay small and safe, and hopefully you can avoid the worst of this war."

Henry nodded and left the safe house, unsure if he would see any of them alive again.