OK, I know I called this story complete at Chapter 1, but I was asked to add onto it. Once I started writing, the story came pretty easily. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 2

John Reese walked into the computer room of the library and handed Finch the box of doughnuts and his tea like he did every morning, except this morning Reese was smiling.

Finch eyed him with a smug smile on his own lips. "I take it things went well last night?"

Reese actually blushed a bit and looked down. "Could not have gone better. The restaurant was perfect, Finch. Thanks for the assist."

"You're welcome, Mr Reese. I know Detective Carter doesn't get out much, and she deserved a nice evening after Elias's lackey lied to her. Whatever happened to him? You didn't hurt him did you?"

"Didn't have to, Carter took care of it. I just choked him a bit, Carter gave him a knee to the groin that was a thing of beauty."

Finch's eyes opened wide and he cringed at the thought. He knew Carter was in excellent physical condition and skilled in personal defense; any blow she could deliver to the groin would hurt very, very much indeed.

"Do we have a new number?" Reese asked.

"Not today, you can take the day off. We won't have a new number until tomorrow morning at the earliest. "

John was sipping his coffee, "Things have been pretty quiet lately."

"It happens sometimes. You should enjoy the quiet while you can."

"I'm sure I'll think of something to do," John replied.

"Like a second date with Carter?"

John smiled at Finch. "Maybe."

"Just be careful. Look, Snow's van is outside her apartment again. They showed up this morning."

John walked over and looked at Finch's monitor. He recognized Carter's street and the van parked across the street from her front door. He stared at the scene for a few minutes, then lowered his head and turned away. He looked defeated, and Finch had never seen John look defeated before. Harold was unsettled, he had only wanted John to know that Carter was being followed again, but it appeared he had opened a nasty can of worms.

"John?" He asked tentatively.

John turned slowly to look at Finch, his eyes were so sad that Finch wished he had not shown John the surveillance footage.

"I'm going to have to let her go, Finch," Reese said in a low, rough voice.

"What? After everything went so well last night? I don't think that's good idea…" Finch started to say.

"Finch, there is a fucking CIA van outside her house, because of me! Do you have any idea what Snow is capable of? He will hurt her or Taylor to get to me if he ever figures out how important she is to me, I've seen him do it before."

"John, Elias still wants to kill her. You can't just walk away from her. Not now."

"Elias would be dead if I hadn't saved his miserable hide. I'll still protect her, but I won't involve her in the numbers anymore. I should never have dragged her into my world, she's too good, too normal. She can handle the criminals, but the CIA, Snow, is another ball game. God, Finch, if she gets hurt because of me…." John didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to; Finch knew if anything happened to the detective, John simply would not survive the loss.

"Why not let her make that choice herself? She's a police officer and a former soldier; I think she will choose to help us."

"That why it's up to me to make the tough choice. She has a job and Taylor to consider, both of which I have placed in danger by placing them squarely in the CIA's crosshairs. I took this job to protect people, not screw up their lives, and I'll be damned if I destroy hers. I was an idiot to think we could…" John's voice choked and he didn't finish the sentence, but Finch knew what he meant.

John reached into his pocket and put his phone on the desk, "That app, the one that warns you if Grace gets too close, put it on my phone, only have it track Carter instead."

"John, please, don't do this to her…"

"What am I supposed to do? Let her get hurt? Let the CIA dog her forever? Expose her to all my enemies? She lived without me for a long time, she'll be just fine without me. She'll be better off without me. You made the same choice for Grace, you should understand."

John looked Finch straight in the eye, "You know what I am, what I've done, how much blood is on my hands. I am a monster, and you can't tell me that I'm good for her. I'm giving her her life back." His voice choked up and John turned and left the room.

Finch looked sadly at the phone John had left sitting on his desk. Despite the fact that he did know what John had done, he knew John wasn't a monster. Reese was probably the most unselfish person Finch had ever met. He never forgot that he was working to protect those who could not protect themselves, even when it came at great cost to himself. Everything John had done, he did believing that he was protecting the greater good, but the CIA had twisted his desire to their own ends. John may have been led astray for a time, but he never completely surrendered his humanity. As the people around him, like Stanton and Snow, had surrendered to the dark, leaving their souls behind, and forgotten the reasons why they were doing what they were doing in the first place, Reese had never forgotten; he'd held on to the last scrap of himself.

Finch had slowly been doing what he could to help John recapture more of his soul and bring him back into the light. He had hopes that a loving relationship with Carter would go a long way towards healing the wounds left on his friend's psyche. Carter was a good woman who brought Reese happiness, and Finch firmly believed that Reese deserved to be happy. She brought out the best in him, and John wanted to be a better person since she had come into his life.

And, by some miracle, Carter returned John's feelings. He had seen the way Carter would look at Reese; she cared for him, and he knew that if Reese walked away from her it would hurt her deeply. She had seen that same good man in John that Harold had seen, and Finch was positive that she loved that man. She shared a military background with him and this allowed her to understand him in ways that Finch couldn't. She 'got' John.

Romantic relationships and the healing of John Reese aside, Finch had his doubts that Carter would be OK without Reese in her life. Elias was still very active despite being in jail, and he wanted Carter dead. Finch was afraid this was going to end very badly.

Finch pushed the phone away. He was not going to load the app, he was not going to be a part of this disaster.

John returned later and picked up his phone. "You didn't load the app", he snarled at Finch.

"No, I didn't and I won't. I disagree very strongly with your course of action Mr Reese. I think you are placing Detective Carter in grave danger by withdrawing your support. I won't be a party to it."

"You let Grace go!" John snapped.

"Carter is not defenseless like Grace. I couldn't protect Grace, you can protect Carter. Grace didn't have a mob boss and a cabal of corrupt cops looking for a way to kill her, Carter does. The situation is very different."

John turned on his heal and started to walk away. "You could at least call her and tell her why you are cutting off contact!" Finch called after him.

John knew he could not do that. He would lose his resolve if he talked to her again; he wanted her in his life too much. But he had to do the right thing for her. Because he loved her.