***A/N: I always thought Detective Carter was just like Commissioner Gordon, and because of that, I held on to the hope that she wouldn't die. As far as I know, there aren't any Batman comics where Gordon actually dies (but Batman fans, let me know if I'm wrong) so I was counting on her to stay alive. She was the moral center of the show! But now she's...

Rest In Peace, Detective Joss Carter.***

It should have been a happy ending. It should have been. They had finally brought down HR and Alonzo Quinn, the man leading them. It should have been a happy ending, because for once, John Reese dared to believe. He had allowed himself to believe that for everything he had worked for with Mr. Finch, there would be some kind of reward at the end. He had allowed himself to care.

But he forgot that he was cursed.

It was always too late to save the ones he cared about. First it was Jess; if he had just said those words, if he had just told her to wait for him, then she would never have married Peter, she would never have been killed by him. And right here, right now, in the dark empty streets where he wished the phone would stop reminding him that it was too late…

It was Joss.

He had kissed her. Doesn't a kiss solve any curse? He should have known that any time he tried to show people he cared, they would die. His words were a death sentence. He had told her that he was glad she was with him, protecting him. What more could you possibly want? What more could you possibly need?

Before he could register what was going on, Simmons, the only officer from HR who he, Finch, and the rest of the group could not find, had showed up from nowhere, shooting him in the shoulder.

Your time's up. Told you I'd end you.

Dammit. He should have been working overtime to search for Simmons, not celebrating a victory. He should have known that they needed to clean out HR completely first before doing anything else. He should have remembered Simmon's words.

But now he and Joss were both on the ground, and she had been shot right at the heart. With all his energy he forced himself to get closer to her.

Joss?

She was in shock. Joss was gasping for air. "I need to-I need to see my boy. I need to tell him-"

"And you will. And you will. Just stay with me." He forced himself to tell her words that he somehow knew wouldn't be true, but he said it because he needed to hold onto hope. Even though she continued to ask him to look after her son, he insisted she would be okay. Somewhere in his heart, he knew that these were cold, empty words. These were the words he'd told his comrades right before they-

But she interrupted his thoughts and tried to give him one last warning: "John. Don't let this…"

He watched, heartbroken, as her expression changed to one of regret and sadness that her time was up. She gave a wistful sigh and closed her eyes, sinking peacefully into John's arms. He let the angry tears fall; he was completely crushed.

She had deserved this victory, and now she was dead. She was so completely dead.

Forget justice.

This time, it was personal.