A/N: Hello, everyone! Brand spanking Careese fanfic virgin here, after falling head over fist for the pairing on POI, and checking out some superb reads here from all of you. Here is the first chapter of what probably should have probably just been an extended one-shot, but stuff kept popping into my head as I went along, so here goes. Will probably only go for another couple chapters for that reason, but I wanted to get this out to whet the appetite, at least? Hope y'all like this start, and I look forward to submitting more soon! Please review if you can. Thanks!
** Rating: A little more than T, not quite M. And that will come as we go.
*** Disclaimer: I own not a whit of Person of Interest, the lovely John Reese, nor the equally lovely Joss Carter. If I did, their amazing love story would never have ended before it really got started! Grrr!
It had been a long day. And it was only being made longer. After working the four to midnight shift at the 8th, Joss had allowed herself to get talked into working surveillance with John on a new number, the case of a Mr. Joe Ramone, a comics dealer from Queens, who had come under the radar when it was discovered that a few of the first-edition Spidermans he possessed were more valuable than some mid-sized drug shipments. And since comic books, unlike drugs were all well and legal, they would be much easier to sell on the open market, even if Mr. Ramone had had them insured. The break-in and general mayhem was supposed to go down that night, according to Finch's trusted source—a source she still knew very little about, though not through lack of trying.
John told her that Shaw was already on another job, and she knew that Lionel was out of town for some much needed father-son time, so that left her. At first, she balked, the idea of sitting in a vehicle for God knew how long, waiting to protect some nerdy guy and his juvenile book collection not at all appealing after the shifts she'd been pulling all week, but John was good. Damn good. He and she both knew that, by now, she couldn't resist anything he asked of her when it came to the numbers, pout and gently protest as she might. So she didn't try. Besides, the man could be in real trouble, and she couldn't live with that on her conscience. And so, in the tricked out spy van Finch had recently acquired, she sat, near exhausted, definitely tense.
John noticed keenly how quiet she had been after the first half hour or so of the stakeout. Joss only got quiet when she was tired or something was bothering her, something she was trying to work out in her own head before broaching the subject. He thought back to her long hours at the precinct, and gave her a sympathetic gaze before passing her a cup of heavily caffeinated tea from the driver's seat cup holder.
"Sorry. The barista gave us both hot tea instead of coffee. It's good, though. Try some," he said.
Joss took the cup from him, opened the lid, and put the hot liquid to her lips. "Thanks, John," she whispered. She stared straight ahead, trying to focus on what they were there for. So far, no movement on Ramone's place.
While he understood the reason for Joss' low-key demeanor, frankly, the long gaps in conversation were starting to get to him. They'd been in the van for about forty-five minutes now, and the only thing to distract his own attention at this hour had been the street lamps, the rumble of trains, and his cup of tea. He would press on for conversation. Weather, sports, Fusco's donut fetish, Bear's sleeping habits, anything to get her to talk more.
"You okay, Carter?" John's husky voice was heavy with concern.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just been a long week, John, I told you. A stressful week. But I'm here. It's okay. We can both save the guy with the comic books." The warm tea was actually good for calming her nerves just a little, and she welcomed the warmth it brought her. Taking a deep breath and releasing, she then absentmindedly moved her free hand to her neck, just under her loosened hair, and bent slightly, trying to reach the knot of muscles near her shoulder blades. Wherever she pressed, however, brought little relief, and she winced in discomfort, sucking in a light, ragged breath.
John turned his head slowly at the sound after sipping his own tea. His eyes focused on what it was she was trying to do and he smirked, his gaze fixed on her movement for several seconds before speaking. "Hmm, you seem tense, Joss. Want to talk about it? Can't help but think you're the one that needs a little bit of saving."
"Whatever gave you that idea, John?" she grumbled. "Oooww…ah, it's just all this damn business with HR on top of everything else that goes on in policing. And with Fusco gone, I've got my backlog of casework and his to get done. On top of that, I found out this morning that Taylor flunked his math test yesterday, the second one in a row. He tried to hide it from me, but I knew something was up when he ran out of the house without eating breakfast. His teacher wants to schedule a conference with both of us. I tell you, John, some days it just gets to be too much."
She had given up the ghost and simply put her head back to close her eyes for a few moments. She just wanted to sink into a hot bath and fall asleep for two weeks.
John nodded. But at least she was talking more. "I'm sorry it's been such a tough time for you this week. And I know this isn't ideal right now, but if we hadn't thought it warranted, I wouldn't have pulled you into this, per the intel we got. Comic books aren't kid stuff anymore. Frankly, if I were in the market, I'd have stolen the Batman first editions. Those would have been worth the pain of a visit from someone like me."
Joss looked over him with a light smile. "You know your comics, John?"
"Oh, yeah," he said, softly, reflectively. "Every chance I got as a kid. I was more partial to DC and The Justice League, though I read the Marvel stuff too. I think I identified more with the DC characters. I learned quite a bit growing up about life and how to go about it from The Caped Crusader."
Joss grinned knowingly. "Ahh, now all it makes sense. The Man in the Suit had a role model, didn't just spring out of nowhere, after all. Nice one, John." She sipped more tea.
"Mmmhmm, that's right. The John Reese you see before you, modeled through and through on Bruce Wayne and his alter ego. But I think I may have him beat on the alter egos. So many years I've lived with names that were never truly mine. A strange way to live, it is. Not always recommended" he said pensively.
"What about you, Joss? What was your favorite reading as a little girl?"
She took a deep breath. She knew what he was doing, trying to keep her from falling asleep by making small talk, but she'd indulge him, having honestly enjoyed hearing him recollect about his childhood. A faint image of a dark-haired boy sprawled on his bed with a stack of Batman and Robin comics made her heart skip a little.
"Oh, I was more of a chapter books girl myself. Judy Blume, Louisa May Alcott, later on, Toni Morrison. Though I do admit to a fetish for Encyclopedia Brown back in elementary school. My favorite junior detective. Used to solve his cases without looking at the solution at the back of the book, and I always got em right. I guess he would've been my Bruce Wayne."
At the finish of her thought, Joss winced again in discomfort. Helplessly, she ran her hands through her hair at the temples, as the basic ingredients of a migraine were faintly beginning to make themselves known. "I really hope this doesn't take all night," she moaned quietly.
"I don't think so, but we can take shifts if need be. In the meantime, can I offer you some help, Joss?"
Joss kept her eyes closed, only half listening to him. "Hmm, what kind of help? There some sort of magic wand in that bag of weapons you got that I should've arrested you for having a long time ago?"
"Well, no, but even if I did, a magic wand wasn't what I was referring to. Actually had something else in mind, something much less…immediate."
"Oh, really? Well, I'm all ears, John. Whatever else you got, beyond this tea, I'll try."
John smirked at her. Pausing for just a beat beforehand, he revealed to her just what it was he did have in mind. "Hmm, well, I give a pretty good massage for a hardened killer. And I don't charge."
Joss was jolted by the suggestion. A massage? From John? The two of them had barely exchanged more than a handshake, and now he was offering to knead and soothe her aching muscles? To...touch her? The proposition made her pause. Suddenly, her heart began to beat a little faster, and that wasn't the hopped up tea talking.
"Um, no, no that's okay, John. I'm fine, really."
"Come on, Joss. My treat. It's the least I can do for dragging you out here with me after such a long stretch. It'll help you focus better to get the kinks out." "And," he added with another smirk, "I don't bite, either. Promise."
They stared at one another for a few rather long seconds, Joss mulling over his offer, him waiting for her reply. Hell, they were supposed to be on a damn stakeout, not at the spa. Did he expect that nothing would happen with the number, and that this would be the best way to pass the time? In that case, she could've just gone home.
But on the other hand, she was tense, and short of getting that hot bath, a massage would be the next best thing for making it through this stakeout. Besides, if he sucked at it, she'd never let him live it down. She turned to him. "All right, then. What the hell. Since you don't charge, I'll take you up on it." You only live once, she figured. And besides, something told her that receiving a massage from John Reese would be one of those things worth experiencing in that once-lived life.
A/N: So, John's gonna get his hands on Joss without having to stop a bullet first. Yay! Next up, what goes down after he rubs his hands together and gets busy! Thanks for reading, and cheerio for all the great Careese fiction on this forum. Glad to be here with you!