Watching "Dead Reckoning" last night got me thinking about what happened after all was said and done. There was no denying that any feelings Joss had hidden for Reese were forever exposed when she grabbed his arm and decided to lay her life down for him. And though Reese wasn't surprised, Fusco definitely was thrown for a loop! But none of that explains why six eps passed before Reese and Joss spoke again. But what if Fusco decided to have a heart to heart with his partner and give her advice to better not only her life, but their mutual friend's, too? Just my humble take.
A/N2: I know that requests are being made for me to continue this story, but I won't. You see, it's a post-ep chapter and is suppose to follow the show's time-line. Joss will NOT be calling Reese because she had nothing to do with him for SIX EPISODES! On the other hand, if you want an alternate take on a post-ep for "Dead Reckoning", I invite you to check out my AU story: "With You I'm Born Again". Thank you.
Post ep for "Dead Reckoning.
Song prompt: "Tell Him" by Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand.
Tell Him
Sitting at the bar in the quaint little tavern, Joss Carter stirred the dark liquid in the tall glass with the straw, but she didn't drink. There was too much on her mind. Between the three days at Rikers interrogating suspects, then nearly being killed by a mad woman bent on revenge, and watching as her friend walked away with a bomb strapped to his chest… She was brain-fried.
Stirring the drink again, she tried to concentrate on the spinning ice cubes and not the way her heart was still beating wildly in her chest. Was she ever going to be able to get John's look of calm acceptance mixed with defeat out of her mind?
"I thought I might find you here," Lionel Fusco's voice came from behind. Joss didn't bother to turn around. Neither did she respond. "Mind if I sit down?" he asked. Not waiting for an invite, he planted himself on the stool beside his partner.
"What are you having?" He looked at the contents with a wary eye.
"Rum and Coke."
Lionel motioned for the bartender. "One club soda," he ordered.
"Don't you want something stronger?" Joss asked tonelessly.
"I don't think my nerves could handle anything stronger," Lionel replied with a sarcastic snort. A moment later his drink arrived. Taking a sip, he set the glass on the counter and turned to face Joss. "You disappeared on me."
Joss knew it had been wrong to leave without saying anything, but she wasn't going to make any apologies. "I had to get some air." Which was partially true, she reasoned. There was no way she going to get the stench of burning plastic and human flesh out of her nostrils any time soon.
Lionel shrugged as if agreeing with the statement. "I know how you feel." He sipped his cold drink as the minutes passed. The last 24 hours had been the definition of crazy, and they both needed to wind down. "Hell of a day," he quipped. Another sip. "Hell of a night," he amended.
"I'm not even sure if my report made any sense when I submitted it," Joss confessed. Truthfully, she didn't know what made sense anymore. Three people were dead and nearly a hundred times that number had almost met the same fate. She tried not to think of the worst case scenario.
"I'm sure it's not any worse than what I wrote," Fusco remarked with a shake of his head. And it was the truth. He had put his fingers on the keyboard and just let them do the work. He wasn't sure if it was what the higher ups were looking for, but he had signed it quickly before he could change his mind.
"Yeah." Joss continued to stir the drink, but she didn't sip. The music over the speakers mixed with the distant sound of the TV at the end of the bar. Any other night it would have driven her crazy, but tonight she welcomed it to help clear her mind.
"So, how long have you known?" Lionel asked without hesitation.
Joss appeared flummoxed by the question. Shaking her head, she tried to make sense of the statement. "How long have I known, what?"
"That you're in love with our mutual friend."
"I…" She tried to come up with an intelligent response, but the words failed her. Focusing on the glass, she tried to regain her composure. "I don't know what you mean."
"The hell you don't. I saw it, Joss. It was plain as day there in the hallway that you love him. So, how long have you known?" he pressed for an answer.
"It's not what you…" Joss stumbled to deny what her partner thought he had seen. "I don't..."
Lionel gave a snort and turned to face her. "Bullshit. We've been working together for almost two years, and I am pretty sure that I can read you like a book. That look you were giving him was the look every condemned man wishes he could get. And considering over a year ago you were ready to arrest him and throw his ass in jail…I would say that things have changed. Maybe for the better. I don't know."
He had her cornered. There was no other option but to give in. Closing her eyes, she let out her breath as her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Okay," she admitted in tone somewhere between reluctant and accepting. "I do. I love him."
"How long?"
Joss forced a tight smile. "I don't know." Sipping the now warm liquid, she tried not to blanch. With nervous fingers, she tore at the edges of the thin paper coaster. "Maybe the first day I met him. I can't remember." But she did. It was the night he looked up at her from the backseat of the car as he lay dying. He could have hated her for betraying him, but he had used his last bit of energy to smile at her.
"Are you going to tell him?"
Shocked, Joss nearly choked at the question. "Uh…no."
"Why not?" It was Lionel's turn to be confused.
"I don't think I have to answer that," she returned evenly, but her heart picked up speed at the thought of John knowing how she felt. Concentrate on the coaster, Joss, she told herself. Concentrate and don't lose your cool.
"I think you should tell him. What do you have to lose?" Lionel reasoned.
"Heh. Everything."
"You love him, Joss. And you nearly lost him tonight. Maybe he needs to know that you care for him." Lionel pondered his statement. "Though I'm pretty sure that he's aware that you have some kind of feelings for him."
Joss rolled her eyes. "Right. Sure he does." Her fingertip caught the droplet of condensation running down the side of the glass and pushed it back up the path it had taken.
"You were holding on to him and willing to lay your life down for him, Joss. It took everything I had to pull you out of that corridor and back downstairs. Maybe you don't remember, but the look in your eyes told me that you were willing to shoot me if I didn't let you do what you wanted."
"It's still an option I'm considering, though," she muttered under her breath.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't." Lionel smiled and sipped from the straw.
"You got lucky," she answered, but there was a hint of teasing in her tone.
"You know, he loves you too."
Joss shook her head in denial. "No. No, he doesn't." She didn't even want to entertain the thought.
"Well, considering he's just as private with his feelings as you are, I'm guessing that he hasn't advertised it to many people. But he does." Lionel fished the lemon slice out and bit into it. He savored the tart, fruity taste as it cleared his senses. "You know, he threatened to shoot me if I let anything happen to you when Elias put the hit out on you. And when you escaped tragedy, he wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Oh, come on." Joss waved him off. She wanted to believe that what her partner was saying was true, but had been let down too many times in the past to embrace the chance that someone cared.
"If I'm lying, I'm dying." Lionel reached out and touched Joss's arm. "You were willing to sacrifice yourself and a lifetime with your son to save our mutual friend's life. If I remember correctly, he was willing, once, to sacrifice his life to save your son's. I think you need to talk and find out where you're both coming from."
Joss looked down at the counter of the bar and swallowed hard.
"Have you slept with Cal Beecher yet?" Lionel wondered wistfully.
Joss's head snapped up sharply. "What?"
"You and Cal Beecher. Have you slept together?"
"I'm not answering that," she answered angrily. If she hadn't thought about shooting Lionel Fusco before, the option looked very appealing now. And the paperwork would be so easy to write.
"I'm going to guess the answer is no. And do you want to know why?"
"I'm sure you're going to tell me," she groused. "Regardless."
"Your heart belongs to someone else. I know how you feel. I've been there. Hell, I'm still there. And that is all the more reason you need to tell Wonder Boy how you feel."
"What if he…?" Joss let the question trail off. She didn't want to think the worst, but it was a legitimate fear. She was in love with an ex-CIA man for hire. There really was only one way their relationship could end, and that was in disaster.
"Reciprocates it? Denies it?" Lionel supplied random possibilities. "You won't know until you try." He turned serious. "Look, Joss, all I know is that I was standing there looking at a heartbroken woman who was trying to keep alive a man who was resigned to his fate. Now you've both been given a second chance. Trust me, don't let it go. Tell him. Tonight."
Joss blinked back hot tears that flooded her vision. The man she didn't think she could ever trust was lecturing her on taking a chance. Maybe the world had tilted off its axis when the car bomb detonated.
"I'll think about it," she conceded finally.
"Okay." Pleased that he had somehow made a difference, Lionel slid off the stool and reached for his wallet. Pulling out a few bills, he threw them on the bar. "No," he stopped Joss's protest, "this one is on me."
"Thanks." Joss's smile was small, but it was there.
"See you in the morning," Lionel gave her a comforting pat on the back before heading for the door. Joss watched him leave. As soon as she was sure he was out of sight, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number from memory. She counted the rings before the line was answered.
"Joss?" the man's voice asked from the other end.
"Hey, Cal," she greeted with fake cheer. "If you're not busy, is it alright if I come over?"
The End.