Epilogue
He pulled his phone from his pocket and punched the preset for Joss's number.
"Carter", came Joss's impatient voice over his earpiece. John closed his eyes for a second then looked up at the sky and mouthed the words, "Thank you". A tear trickled down his cheek.
"John is that you?" Joss snapped impatiently. "I have work to do!"
"Sorry, yes, it's me. I was wondering if I could buy you a drink after work?"
"Not another case, John! I haven't finished writing up the report from the last one!" Joss knew she sounded whiny, but she couldn't help it. Between her job, helping John with his cases, raising her son, and getting ready for Christmas, she had not had time to relax for weeks. She was feeling more than little frazzled at this point.
"No, no new case. I just wanted to do something nice for you. It is Christmas after all."
"No strings attached?" Joss asked suspiciously.
John smiled. "No, none," he said softly.
"Alright, I guess I can do that. Where?"
"Gaiser's at six."
"Um, gee, I don't know John. Gaiser's is a pretty fancy place; I don't think I'm dressed for that."
"You're wearing a pants suit right? They get a business crowd right after work, so you'll be fine." John didn't tell her that as far as he was concerned she could wear jeans and a t-shirt and she would be the prettiest woman in the place.
"Alright, John, I'll see you then."
John hung up with what could only be described as a huge shit-eating grin on his face. He felt so light for the first time in years and he was finally going to spend some quality time with his beloved Joss. He glanced at his watch, it was a little bit after two, so he had some time to pick out an appropriate present. He was not going to go this "date" empty handed, he was going to do this right.
He spied a small family jeweler down the street. Perfect. He hastily entered the shop before it occurred to him he had no idea what he was doing. He stopped just inside the door, wishing he had consulted Finch first. Finch had more experience with this kind of thing, he had been with Grace for four years after all, and John was terrified of messing this up. It was far too important to him.
Before he could execute a strategic retreat, he was approached by a middle aged woman with classic Persian features, a matronly figure, and an accent that placed her origins as from the area around Bagdad.
"Can I help you?" she asked with a smile.
"Um, I'm looking for gift, f…for a friend", John stumbled a bit over the words, then he shot her a sheepish grin. "I really don't know what I'm doing."
Mrs. Sharif smiled a reassuring smile at the handsome, well dressed stranger. She and her husband had owned this shop for thirty years, and she was used to this situation. She would handle it like the pro she was.
"This friend of yours, is she a close friend? Is she your girlfriend?"
"She's not my girlfriend, yet. I hope to change that."
Mrs. Sharif beamed at the handsome stranger, "Do you love her?"
John thought about it for a brief minute and then finally admitted to Mrs. Sharif something he had hidden from himself for a long time, "Yes I do. She's tough and brave and smart." John paused, "And she's beautiful." He blushed a bit.
Mrs. Sharif was delighted, she was a full-on romantic, and one of the perks of her job was getting to see lots of happy people in love. She smiled a knowing smile, "So nothing too big or expensive, but big enough to let her know you that you care. What is she like? Does she like fancy things? Or does she prefer more simple things?"
"She's not one for a lot of fuss."
"Hmm, so more simple than fancy. Does she wear a lot of jewelry?"
"She's a cop. She wears earrings all the time and necklaces once in a while."
Mrs. Sharif nodded sagely, "So earrings, simple, tasteful, elegant. Nothing ostentatious, something a cop can wear on the job." She moved briskly to a counter display case the contained a dazzling array of sparkling jewels. "What color does she look best in?"
John followed her over to the display case, "Um, all of them, really. But she looks amazing in red."
"Rubies then," and Mrs. Sharif began pulling boxes of earrings out and placing them on the counter for John to examine. It was a tough choice; everything Mrs. Sharif showed him was perfect. He finally settled on a pair that looked like small gold nuggets that had just been pulled from the river, with a couple of tastefully sized rubies embedded in each one. He paid for his purchase and left, thanking Mrs. Sharif for her help.
Mrs. Sharif watched the handsome stranger leave with an indulgent smile. She didn't think that once he revealed his feelings to this "friend" of his, that the woman would be able to resist a man like him. She had a feeling he would be back to buy many more gifts for the lucky woman. Maybe even a diamond ring someday? She was looking forward to watching the story of this relationship play out.
Joss stood in front of the mirror in the ladies room of the 8th precinct, running a comb through her thick black hair. She frowned at her reflection, she wished she'd had enough warning that she was going to place like Gaiser's so that she could dress properly. No matter what John said, she was going to be the worst dressed person in the place. Gaiser's would be full of lawyers and stockbrokers whose shoes cost more than that she made in a week. She was going to be the little brown sparrow in the room full of peacocks.
Great, her first chance to be alone with John in a social setting, and she was going as the ugly stepsister.
Joss had been fighting her feelings for John Reese for months. Joss rarely let people in since she had been hurt so many times in the past, starting with Taylor's father. He had walked out on her when Taylor was small and had never tried to contact them since. She had tried to date, but once men got a taste of her insane life, they bolted. She had a few close friends and some family and she had learned to content herself with that small circle of trusted people. She had pretty much given up on love and now here she was, falling for the one person whose life was even more insane than hers. Somehow, John Reese had wormed his way in. She wasn't really sure how or when, but there he was, smiling that smirk at her with an amused twinkle in his sexy blue eyes from inside her heart.
She was pretty sure he didn't feel the same way about her. He didn't even call her by her first name, she was Carter to him. She was an asset to him, nothing more. He probably hadn't even noticed that she was female.
She had a terrible feeling that this was all going to end badly for her battered heart.
She seriously considered calling and begging off with some excuse like she had to work late, but she knew Reese would know it was a lie. She was stuck, all she could was march in there with her head held high and hope it was dark enough in the bar that John didn't notice he wasn't with the Belle of the Ball. She could only hope he wouldn't laugh at her.
John was sitting in a back booth of the bar at Gaiser's, nursing a beer, checking his watch every few seconds as he waited for Carter. He checked his pocket for the box with the earrings for what was probably the fiftieth time since he'd sat down. He was nervous for the first time in a very, very long time. Between the CIA and the Army, John had been trained to handle many difficult and dangerous situations, but nothing had prepared him to be meeting the woman he loved with the intention of starting to court her. He was so rusty, he barely knew how to begin. He could only hope the Carter wouldn't laugh at him.
He glanced at the door again and was finally rewarded seeing Carter step through it and pause to look around while her eyes adjusted to the light. She looked gorgeous to him, she had her hair down instead of wearing it in her usual ponytail, and the soft light in the bar was incredibly flattering to her. She carried herself with confidence and pride, and her coat, belted at the waist, did not hide her trim figure.
John could not help but smile a very genuine and very big smile. His heart was dancing at seeing her, he'd held his emotions in check around her for so long and he was happy to finally let them go. It felt good.
Joss spotted him and moved towards the booth. John's smile grew wider as he caught several men discreetly turning their heads so they could get a good look at her as she moved past them. He was quite proud to be the one who she was meeting. "Go ahead and look boys, because after tonight, she's MINE," he thought to himself.
He stood as she approached the booth, still wearing the big smile. Joss shot him a puzzled look, she wasn't used to seeing anything other than a smirk plastered on his face. She did notice that the big smile made him even more handsome, if that was even possible, and she silently cursed as her body reacted to his smiling, handsome presence with a rush of warmth between her legs. She just knew this was going to be one frustrating night, ending with a cold shower.
John only added to her discomfort by putting his arms around her and giving her a very firm hug. Had anyone been looking over John's shoulder at her, they would have seen her eyes open wide in surprise and shock. She feebly tried to return the hug, but her arms had been trapped at her sides by John's arms and she could only reach his hips. Her attempt at hugging him back had the unfortunate effect of pressing his hips and groin into her body and she hastily abandoned the idea before she embarrassed herself in front of the whole bar.
John finally released her. "Who are you and what did you do with John?" Joss joked weakly as he took her coat and hung it on the hook on the wall separating their booth from the next one.
John only turned on the devastating smile brighter, "Can't a guy just be glad to see you, Carter?"
Joss arched an eyebrow at him as she settled into the booth, "John, I don't think I have ever seen you smile like that before, much less gotten a hug from you."
"Well, Carter, things change, often for the better."
"OK, so what changed?"
"I had an epiphany today. I had a long talk with a good friend, and I feel good for the first time in a long time."
"Well, you certainly seem cheerful enough for once."
The waitress appeared and took Joss's order.
Joss looked over at John, "So why did you call me here?"
John looked almost shy, "Because I wanted to spend some time with you when no one was shooting at us."
Joss laughed. John happily watched her laugh. He thought she was beautiful when she laughed; actually he thought she was beautiful all the time.
Joss saw the way he was looking at her. "What?" she asked, completely confused by this new, happy John.
John, remembering what Mildred had said, decided it was time to just be honest, "You're beautiful when you laugh, do you know that?"
Joss stared. John Reese thought she was beautiful? And he wanted to spend time with her? Had the world gone insane?
The waitress brought her drink and Joss seized her wine glass a little too quickly and took a large gulp. John watched her with amusement. There was another rush of heat between her legs when she saw the way he was watching her.
Tentatively, John reached across the table and held her hand, "Do you remember the first day in the precinct, the day we first saw each other?"
Joss smiled, ducked her head and looked at him from underneath her eyelashes, "Yes, and I must say, I prefer you all cleaned up and in a suit."
John chuckled. Joss did not think she'd ever heard him laugh before. She decided she liked it, and wanted to hear it again.
John grew serious and his amazing blue eyes locked onto her soft brown ones. "I felt a connection, almost from the second you walked into the room. It made me uncomfortable."
"Uncomfortable, why?"
"Because I wasn't ready for it. I wasn't ready to move on, to move beyond Jessica." He paused and looked away. "You mentioned New Rochelle when you pulled me over as I was taking Marshall Jennings down to Mexico, so I assume you know that story."
Joss took a deep breath, "I know you loved her, I know you left her because she couldn't handle the military life and you weren't ready to leave that life after 9/11. I know she married Peter Arndt and he killed her." Joss stopped and looked John straight in the eye, "I know you killed Peter for what he did to her. And then you nearly drank yourself to death over her."
John bowed his head and started to withdraw his hand from hers. He should have known this was not going to work. Of course Joss would know he was killer, know what he had done. How could a cop care for a murderer?
But Joss held on tight as soon as she realized he was trying to withdraw. He looked up in surprise.
"Carter… Joss…You know what I am, what I've done…."
"I know you saved my life, I know you saved my son's life. I've lost count of all the people you have saved John. Yes, I know do what you are, what you've done."
John stared into his beer for a few minutes, but he did not try to withdraw his hand again. Mildred had been right; Joss was not repulsed by him and his bloody past, she seemed to care for him too. Time to go for broke.
"Do remember when we were staking out the Drakes, how we talked about moving on?" She nodded. John looked up from his beer and his intense blue eye meet Joss's soft brown ones once again, "Are you ready to move on?" he asked softly.
Carter hesitated. She hardly dared to hope John was asking what she thought he was asking. This was new territory for her as well, but she decided that it was time to explore this undiscovered country. She looked John straight in the eye. "Yes."
John took a deep breath, "I'm ready to move to move on, too. And I would like to move on with you." Pause. "If you will have me."
Joss stared at him while she absorbed what he'd just said. His eyes met hers, open and hopeful. He watched carefully as she went from shock to amazement to happiness.
"Oh, John…"
Joss got up and moved over so she was sitting next to him. She reached up, cupped her hand behind his head and pulled him down for a kiss. John pulled her close to his body and held her tight as he returned her kiss.
They finally had to break apart, but John did not relinquish his hold on her. His lips hovered right over hers, so close she felt them brush when he spoke.
"Is that a yes? Would you like to try this with me?"
"There is nothing I want more, John". And they kissed again.
John reached into his pocket and pulled out the velvet box.
"Merry Christmas, Joss."
Joss opened the box, and almost cried. "John, they're beautiful!" She removed her ever present silver hoops and put the ruby earrings on. She tucked her hair behind ears and turned her head so they sparkled in the low light of the bar.
"They look good on you," John smiled. And he kissed her again.
Harold Finch, watching from the security camera in the corner grumbled, "About time, Mr. Reese," and cut the connection. It was time to give them their privacy.
OK, I promise that this time, I really am done! However Mildred will be making a return appearance in another story I'm planning on posting on New Year's Eve. This time she will be visiting with Joss.