AN: Finally, here's the sequel to 'Beauty and the Beast'. This would have been posted sooner had me and my muse been on the same page. But we weren't and I reworked it so poor Elaine had to reproof chapters over again. So she deserves a huge shoutout for being such a good friend and ignoring my spastic tendencies because this story would be nothing without her.

There is a 3 month time jump. And you'll be seeing more of the other characters in this story than the previous one but they have A/U occupations.

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.

Three months later…

Joss exited the precinct on her first day of work after her maternity leave and her extended personal leave to deal with the mess thanks to Paul and Elias. It was actually good to be back even though she missed her little man desperately. But he was with his grandmother. Getting back to work was also a nice distraction from her personal investigation into John's whereabouts.

Lionel, Szymanski, along with FBI Agent Donnelly was working on the murders of Carl Elias, Anthony Marconi, and Paul Carter. Joss's captain gave her a chilly warning that if she even caught wind that Joss was assisting with the investigation in any way that she'd be terminated on the spot. Captain Moreno was a fair but a tough woman, and, that's why Joss respected her so. And she knew that Moreno didn't want any means for the guilty party to get a 'get out of jail free' card by using a technicality. Thanks to the information that she received from Zoe about Alonzo Quinn being the head of HR; the criminal organization was in tatters with high ranking detectives being accused of being a member. Joss shook her head as she thought about Terney who she had never trusted but never figured him to be that crooked.

But the Captain needn't worry because she was far more interested in finding John than helping steer Donnelly into investigating Mark Snow. Not that it seemed to matter; Donnelly was a smart guy and had already deduced the murders to be done professionally, he figured the Russians would have made it theatrical to send a message to anyone else that tried to go up against them again. But there was no way to point them in the direction of Mark Snow without bringing up John's existence and he needed to remain a non-entity. She much preferred the murders going unsolved than John being found out to be alive by Donnelly. With the things John had done for their country, no doubt, he would be a wanted man.

During these last three months Mark Snow had been a general nuisance but his appearances had waned as days turned into weeks and then into months of absolutely no sightings of John. She recalled Snow's favorite tactic of using a blatant green work truck sitting in the residential community while he was surveilling her which was about as subtle as a nudist walking down Broadway Street. Joss didn't give Snow the time of day and went on pretending to be blissfully unaware of the scrutiny. After a while the obvious truck was gone and she breathed a sigh of relief. Not that she believed for a second that she was off his radar but she would bet her pension Mark Snow was looking for another lead to find John that was a tad bit warmer.

But as the time rolled on the more she missed John. After that phone call they shared she hadn't heard from or seen him since. It felt like the Grand Canyon had opened up in her heart, which made her suspect her feelings for John were far deeper than she wanted to admit. She had played them off at first, trying to lie to herself that she didn't know what she felt, that she was confusing pregnancy hormones with desire. But now, as all this time had passed, Joss had grown sick of the lies. She wanted John badly, dreamt of what his lovemaking would be like, but she also wanted something else from him that she wasn't sure he could give: him. She wanted him, all of him, including the pieces that he hid and didn't like.

She eyed her watch seeing that she had a few hours until she needed to go pick up her son, leaving her enough time to do things that needed to get done. Joss put the car in drive and drove to the martini bar. Shaw had been surprised by the request to meet up at a bar in the middle of the day but gladly agreed, though Joss had known she would as Shaw never said no to free drinks. Pulling into the parking lot and entering the bar quickly she moved to a table in the corner and waited for her tiny friend to arrive. Shaw loved to be fashionably late, just to make people wait around for her.

Ten minutes later and finally Shaw entered with a sour look on her face which wasn't any different from any other day. She slid into the chair across from her and immediately snapped her fingers for a waitress.

"Get the whole bottle of Grey Goose," she ordered with bite to her voice.

Joss merely arched a brow up once they were alone. "Bad day?" she asked Shaw.

"I had a stiff brought in and I was on hand when his wife came in to verify the body was indeed her husband, and she cried all over me," Shaw grumbled as she eyed her black short sleeve shirt with disgust. "I was afraid she got snot all over me. Fucking gold-digging cry baby, what did she expect was going to happen when he was ninety and she's in her mid-twenties?!"

Shaw was a pathologist with a lousy disposition and the charm of a wet-nap but she was the greatest friend a girl could have. Shaw snatched the bottle of Grey Goose from the waitress's tray. The woman harrumphed and walked away.

Shaw unsnapped the cap and gulped some down before slamming the bottle down with a look. "So what's up?—I never took you as a day drinker."

"I'm not. You are; that's why I asked to meet here," said Joss with a wry smile.

"You know me so well," Shaw responded with a smirk. "But its five o'clock somewhere right?"

Joss smiled a little. "Just don't drink too much you do have to drive home," she admonished.

Shaw rolled her eyes. "Yes, mom…" Shaw sniped.

Joss ignored her. "As to why I asked you here; I need a favor."

"What kind?"

"I need Root's number so I can hire her services." Joss admitted. Shaw's face never really changed as she had a perpetually pissed look residing on her pretty face. But this time she looked surprised.

"Hire…Root, for what?"

Joss pulled her blazer back and tugged out a photo and slid it on the table. "I need her to find dirt on this man, his name is Mark Snow. He's a CIA agent and believed to be the murderer of Paul Carter, Carl Elias, and Anthony Marconi."

Shaw eyed the photo and then looked at her. "You told me about him. I thought your fat partner was investigating him with the FBI," she murmured as she chugged back more of her Grey Goose.

"Fusco is, and while Donnelly agrees that their deaths were done by a professional, there is no way to prove it was Mark Snow. I also know that he is selling American classified secrets to the Chinese and that's where Root comes in; I need her to dig up dirt on him with any means necessary. I need her to get me something to get this guy and nothing flimsy either, I need it airtight because Snow is slippery." she said.

Shaw leaned forward. "All this for that guy you want to nail every which way to the sun?" she questioned. She smirked as Carter glared her way. "Hey, you were the one that told me you got horny just from his kisses," Shaw reminded, letting her voice get husky sounding, like she ran a marathon and an evil grin lit her usually stale face.

"I did not tell you any such thing."

"Your eyes told the real story," Shaw assured, making Joss's eyes roll in response. "Carter, everybody has someone that makes us into savage animals, helpless to the carnal lust coursing through our veins. Yours is your frog prince that saved your ass from shit scum; mine was Root. Fucking cunt just upped and left too, like your frog prince."

"You're changing the subject Shaw. Look, I'm not asking you to call her all I'm asking for is her number so I can hire her."

Shaw scoffed. "Root doesn't do pro-bono work Carter and you can't afford her prices on a cop's salary and you got a pooping machine back at home to support."

Joss knew this was going to be difficult. Shaw had a passionate two-week affair with the geeky hacker P.I. that used a computer term as her moniker. It was the only time in the five plus years of knowing Shaw that Shaw had the same woman or man, for more than a weekend. Joss hasn't pointed out how mopey Shaw seemed now that Root left or the fact that she hasn't found a man or woman to have meaningless sex with since. And Shaw abstaining from sex was new. If she ventured a guess Shaw fell hard but wasn't willing to admit it.

"I'll figure something out to get enough money to pay for Root's services. It's important to me, Shaw, so please give me the number." Joss muttered. It would have been much easier to ask Harold's help than for this elusive Root's but Root was a non-entity and had no ties whatsoever to John.

Shaw snarled her lips and then shook her head. "No, because I'll call the damn nerd I've been avoiding and give her Mark Snow's name and what you want done. I'm sure we can work out an agreement that doesn't require you mortgaging your house away. But you owe me big time for this!" Shaw stated sourly.

Joss frowned. Shaw claimed Root had upped and left like John, making it sound as though Root was through with their affair, but now it sounded more as though that wasn't the case as she was led to believe. Now it sounded as though Root left because she wanted more and wasn't going to settle for less.

"Thank you, Shaw, for being a good friend." Joss said softly deciding to not prod Shaw about her relationship with Root. Whenever her friend was ready to talk she would be there. Shaw shifted uncomfortably with the compliment. "Is a steak dinner and some free drinks payment enough?" Joss asked, knowing food was always a good distraction.

Shaw grinned. "Fuck yea it is, I'll call Root tonight after work and she'll get everything you need to know about Snow and then some you didn't."

"Thanks Shaw, I have to go now." she said as she stood.

"Where are you going?"

"To meet with someone that might know exactly where my frog prince is," Joss answered and with that left.

Joss carefully drove to their apartment complex, the same one John and she used to hide out from Elias and the bounty over her head, and made sure Snow hadn't tailed her. If there was anyone that John would have told where he was she was sure it would be Harold Finch. And Grace had texted her the other day that they were in town and perhaps they could meet up and see Taylor. Next time she'd bring her little man so they could meet who they helped protect but not on this occasion. Once satisfied that she saw no suit sticking out like a sore thumb she headed in smiling at the doorman who recognized her.

"Miss Joss, looking good!—Mr. Wren told me that you had the baby and it was a boy." the doorman, Eddie, said opening up the door for her.

She smiled at him. "Yep, he's an angel. I'll bring him by sometime so you can meet him," she offered the big teddy bear of a man.

"I'd like that!" he agreed with a warm smile as he held the door for her. Joss entered and walked to the elevator.

Once out she headed to the apartment she knew like the back of her hand and knocked. It took only a few moments before the door opened and Grace stood there along with her dog at her feet. Grace's pretty face lit up. "Joss!" she exclaimed as she pulled her into a warm hug.

"Hey, long time, no see," Joss murmured as she hugged the cheerful red head back before breaking apart to move into the apartment. Grace led her to the living room where Harold was seated, who smiled, and worked to move to stand for her. Joss waved him off and merely bent to give him a small hug too. "I wish I was here for pleasure but I'm actually here on business," she admitted.

Grace frowned as she sat down on the couch and the dog hopped up onto her lap. "Business?" she inquired.

Joss nodded but noticed that Harold didn't seem surprised at all. She turned her attention on him. "You know where he is, don't you? I need to find him," she stated as she stood towering over Harold.

Harold looked up and sighed. "I do know where he is but I promised that I wouldn't tell you, Jocelyn," he conceded.

Grace's look darkened as she looked between Joss and then Harold. "Wait a minute. Are we talking about John?—what's going on, Harold? The last time I asked about John you merely said he was fine. From the way Joss is speaking that he's missing again?"

Joss winced. Uh-oh, she might have gotten Harold in trouble with his wife but that wasn't her problem. She wasn't leaving until Harold spilled on his whereabouts. "I don't care about whatever promise you gave him, Harold, I need to find him. The only reason I haven't asked earlier is that I was still on maternity leave and needed to focus on my newborn. Now, I'm ready regardless if John is," she demanded as she folded her arms across her chest.

"I'm sorry, detective, I do not take my promises lightly and John saved my life."

"He saved mine too," she pointed out as she felt her patience waning. That had to count for something. And the more that John remained in the dark and out of the world, the more likely that darkness that loomed in him could overtake him. The fact that he hadn't yet let it was a victory for a battle, not the war.

Grace looked between her husband and Joss, knowing that if Harold didn't want to tell Joss then he wasn't going to. "I'm sorry, Joss, our loyalty is with John," she said softly, siding with her husband even though she didn't want to.

Joss eyed them both as anger bubbled up. "I'm trying to help him. He thinks hiding out is going to protect me from Snow. I can handle myself but John is just going to sink into that same dark place he was before I found him and I am not letting that happen," she blurted out bluntly, hoping the direct approach would work in this instance.

"I'm sorry I cannot help you," Harold whispered.

Joss angrily glared at the people she thought were John's friends. "Fine, I'll find him myself. But a word of advice: when your friends' make you promise to do something that hurts them…you're not really being a friend. Sometimes you have to stand up and know what's right and keeping quiet about his whereabouts isn't right. If I'm too late….it's on you." she stated angrily before turning and stormed for the door feeling the pressure of their stares.

Grace watched as Joss stormed out of their apartment fiery and explosive. She smiled in spite of being told she was a terrible friend and probably gained a new enemy. It seemed to her that the detective cared deeply for John, something that he needed.

Grace fixed her husband with a look. "Tell me where John is, Harold, and I won't be mad that you've kept it from me all this time," she requested.

"Grace…"

"I'm your wife. I love John too. He wouldn't be upset with you for telling your wife where he is now would he?" she pointed out, oh so sweetly. There were ways of circumventing promises.

Harold frowned. "But you will instantly tell the detective where he is. John was adamant about Joss not finding him because he's afraid of her being near him. He's trying to protect Joss."

"I don't care. Sometimes that man needs a good smack upside the head. And sometimes others need to think of what he needs. Now, Harold, tell me where he is," she repeated gently. "You know it's the right thing to do. I will take John's anger. It's obvious he cares about Joss. And she cares about him too."

Harold debated over whether admitting this or not was a good idea. "I think John has fallen in love with the detective even if he doesn't realize it himself."

Grace's eyes widened at the admission. "Harold, now you have to tell me where he is. John needs love! He's gone so long without it."

"He won't just welcome Joss with open arms, he'll push her away," Harold reasoned. "Joss will get upset."

"Do you think that woman will let him push her away? I don't think Joss does anything unless she wants to," Grace argued. "Please Harold; you're not breaking a promise if you tell me. He can't be mad at you if I tell Joss. Let him be mad at me, I don't really care if it works out in the long run."

Harold sat staring at his impassioned wife and smiled gently. He could never tell her 'no' to anything.

Joss stormed out of the apartment complex barely pasting on a smile for Eddie as she walked dejectedly to her car. Harold could help her find John but was refusing to out of loyalty. She was back to square one but she wasn't going to give up. Maybe she'd need to stake out Harold and Grace, and see if they lead her straight to John. Joss had taken the stairs to help burn off some anger but stopped dead in her tracks as she heard her name being called out. She turned and saw Grace rushing towards her. Joss stiffened.

"Look, I don't want to…" Joss began but Grace cut her off.

"Here," Grace said simply handing her a slip of paper. "I convinced Harold to tell me so I could give it to you. Harold still keeps his promise that he didn't tell you and John can't be mad that he told his wife. And I didn't make any such promise to John about not telling you so if he wants to be mad at anyone he can be mad at me. But I trust you with him," she explained with a smile.

Joss took the folded slip of paper and stared at Grace before hugging her. "Thank you," she whispered gratefully, her instincts on these people weren't wrong.

"He won't be happy to see you," she murmured in her ear. "In fact, I'm pretty sure he'll try to run you off."

"That's okay; I'll make him happy to see me," Joss reassured.

Grace laughed as she pulled out of the hug. "I knew you were perfect for John," she admitted. Joss's eyes widened. "Next time, bring that beautiful baby of yours," she requested, before turning to head back inside.

Joss watched the red head go, deciding to not focus on what she had said and opened up the folded slip of paper to eye the address and smirked. She turned to head for her car with renewed energy. She had a frog prince to go see.

Joss found the apartment complex on Baxter Street easily as it was right behind Columbus Park. She couldn't believe John was living so close to her! He was only ten to fifteen minutes away and the fact that he could so easily watch her from the shadows without her knowledge irritated her. As long as he could see her, it was fine, in his book. Well to hell with that. John was apartment 5A which was on the fifth floor of the high-rise apartment building. The doorman opened the door for her without greeting so it wasn't quite as upscale as Harold's place.

She took the elevator to the fifth floor and when the doors opened she scanned the hallway. The floor only had two apartments; John's and another one towards the end of the hall. Knowing that Harold had gotten John this apartment to hide out in she'd bet her pension that no one else was living on this floor. The name John was living under was John Warren. She headed for 5A and knocked as her heart rate sped up a bit. When no answer came she knocked again, this time, harder. Joss frowned when once again she received no answer.

"John," she called out as she pounded on the door. "If you think you can just ignore this door and I'll go away you better think again."

But when she received nothing but silence she had to seriously contemplate the fact that he might not be here. Joss swallowed the nerves that John had grown the urge to bolt and just left, or let the darkness that seemed to be etched in him consume him. Neither option sat well with her but especially the latter. Thinking she failed to save John from himself just wasn't an option; so either he left because he was antsy too, or he left but was coming back. It was that hope that made her look up and down the length of the hall making sure there weren't any cameras before tugging out her lock-pick.

It took all of five minutes to pick the lock of the apartment and let herself in. Evening was beginning to set and she had called to ask her mom to watch Taylor for a little while longer that a work issue came up. Her mama was ecstatic to dote on Taylor some more. She had been asking for a sleep-over since her son was practically born but she refused. Maybe sooner than later she might take her mother up on the offer. Joss closed the door and locked up after her. She whistled as she took a look around. There was a little sunlight drifting in through the many windows on the wall so she didn't need a light on just yet.

It was a studio apartment; it was huge, modern, and furnished, but empty of personal belongings. On the left side there was a king-sized bed that sat unmade, with a closet to the right of the bed, and to the left looked like a bathroom. Nearby was a desk that overlooked the windows, then a closet sat nearly in the middle that had what appeared to be a loft above it. Towards her right there was a dining room set up, the living room, another bathroom, and a gourmet kitchen. Joss walked around taking a mini tour of the place while she waited for him to come back. She headed straight for the closets and noted the one in the middle of the studio apartment held all the guns he stole from Anton. The other held his jeans and other clothes he had. If he left this stuff that might mean he planned on coming back.

She softly closed the door to the closet near the king-sized bed and turned to it. The pillow was laying haphazard and the comforter was near the foot of the bed. Before she could get blindsided by fantasies of John and her tearing the sheets up, there was a rattle near the door. Joss stepped away from the bed and rushed away, so not to let him think she was some creep that was sniffing his pillows or something. A key was inserted in the lock and she heard the tumbler go before the door opened.

John stopped dead in the threshold as he stood gaping at her that she felt a small amount of satisfaction that she just stunned him. "Hi John, missed me?"

AN: As far as how my updates will be on this story I am going to try (really hard) to have one or two updates a week. Sometimes I fail miserably, so I am going to thank you guys for bearing with me in advance. This story is kind of long.

Anyways, thank you for reading and deciding to come with me on this journey.