Joss and Fusco sped to the medical examiner's office immediately to speak to Kevin about Benjamin Perry about how long he had been working there and the general deets about the man. Their friend had been appalled to learn what Benjamin was doing to her. But he had nothing of use. He had checked his log, seeing Ben hadn't come in to work the last two days, he had been scheduled off. His next day scheduled was tomorrow. She didn't want to wait that long she wanted this over with today, asking Kevy for a current address, where they were currently heading to.

"You sure you want to be the one that confronts him about stalking you? He's clearly operating without a full deck of cards, so no telling what he might do and Mr. Sunshine would dismember me if something happens to you. I happen to like my body being in one piece, Carter."

"Yes, I need to know why he thinks we are destined to be together, Fusco. He's sending me creepy ass notes, he's been stalking me, he went to see John, he's angry about my relationship with the man I love, and I just want answers. Besides, you don't have to worry so much, John won't dismember you, he already promised me he'd just shoot you," she said with a mischievous smile. Gee that made him feel better, Fusco though irritably.

"Wait, you already called the big guy? How did that go over?" Fusco asked with a rueful chuckle. He should have known Carter would tell Mr. Happy she was going right into the lion's den.

She snorted. "Not well, but I did promise you'd be by my side and I was going to have several officers there with us, and that seemed to settle him down a little."

"Damn straight I'll be by your side, Carter, always have and always will." This woman saved him; he wasn't going to let anything happen to her, he valued her friendship and her partnership. She taught him that he was still a good guy underneath it all, and he owed her everything.

"Thanks Fusco," she smiled. They arrived near a modest apartment complex. It was growing late, it was past dinner, and she had wanted to go to the safe-house and eat dinner with John for once. She missed that. But she had been wanting to catch this son of a bitch because once she did she wouldn't have to make sure she spent as little time with her son Taylor, John, and Simon anymore. She could be back in their lives, back to living her life again. And for that, sacrificing one more dinner she was willing to do.

They exited her car, entering the building just as the cavalry was arriving, climbing the stairs to the second floor quickly, and found Benjamin Perry's apartment number. Joss hesitated only a brief moment before she knocked. The door opened and she stared. There stood the man from the speed-dating event. She remembered him immediately because he had been nice but kind of dull, she more remembered him because he had been the man who took the seat after John had gotten up to leave, and she had longed for John to come back for another mini-date. She gulped a little realizing now when it all began. His eyes widened. "JOCELYN!" he sounded extremely happy to see her. He took a step forward and Fusco's hand immediately went towards his holster, but she touched his arm, relaxing her friend. Fusco did, but had a mistrusting and dark look on his face as he eyed her stalker.

"Hi, Ben, me and Fusco need to talk to you." She motioned between her and Fusco.

"Come on in!" He opened the door wide and seemed to not care she had brought Fusco with her. She entered and Fusco looked ready to pop him one. Joss took in the small apartment he lived in, as he shut the door. She saw the red envelopes, saw more photos of her on his desk too. "Are you here because you finally figured it out?" he asked so hopeful and she turned to look at him. He was short, had wire rimmed glasses on his face, and he was so average looking. He wasn't ugly but he wasn't gorgeous either, but he was so ordinary she would never had been able to remember him until she saw him face to face.

"Yes, I figured it out Ben. It's over, no more hiding your identity from me. You've been the one sending me the notes."

"And you chose me, oh you chose me Jocelyn?!" Ben was grinning ear to ear, his eyes looked dazed, like he stars in his eyes, and he just didn't seem all there. When she met him at the speed-dating event he hadn't seemed so out there, but then again she hadn't been paying that much attention to him. John had occupied her thoughts the entire mini-date with this guy. She looked him up and down deciding he needed to be checked out in a psych ward, her anger that he took over her life vanished, instead replaced with pity. He needed help.

"Ben, why did you stalk me?"She asked as gently as possible. But Ben's starstruck gaze darkened immediately and she could tell it was the wrong thing to say.

"I never stalked you! He lied to you about me!" he growled angrily. Joss's hand immediately went towards her gun, maybe her first assessment was off, but then he relaxed nearly as quickly as his anger exploded. "I'm not like that, I would never stalk you. I was courting you the way you wanted." Fusco looked at her and widened his eyes.

"Who are you talking about Ben, who lied to me?" Joss asked confused.

"You're sex partner, what's his name…Jack, Jim or something."

"John,"She supplied.

"Yes him, John, he's the good looking one, the one I know you would never have given the time of day had it not been for that son of his! You aren't like other women, Jocelyn, you fell in love with me even though I'm not the most gorgeous man, you talked with me and you even laughed with me. No woman laughed with me, they never understood me, but you did. In those five minutes, our souls connected, and I know you felt it too."

"Wow, you belong in a padded cell," Fusco said and she leveled him with a look that quieted Fusco. She didn't want this unstable man agitated, because if he was agitated he might do something stupid.

Joss looked back at the man in front of her, staring at her in a definite way that made her skin crawl before she pushed the feeling away. "John didn't do anything, neither did Simon."

"Yes, yes they did, you were enjoying the notes and the flowers I sent you because you love me, but then that man swooped in with his good looks and his son and made you a whore for him!"

"I am not a whore!" she snapped as fury built inside her. She had been trying to keep calm but his irrational thoughts were now angering her.

"You are for him. He's turned you against me, I can feel it. He hates it that he can't hold onto you with his looks or his son, so he had to lie about me to you. Can't you see you belong to me, not to him?" Ben took another step forward and Fusco stepped forward blocking her from him with his body.

"Ben, I don't belong to anyone and what you did is not okay. You were stalking me," she said firmly.

"No, no I wasn't." he cried, tears welling up in his eyes. "I was courting you because you were shy, like I was before I met you. But we don't have to worry anymore, it won't matter soon anyway. You'll finally be free of him, and we can be together." Joss froze.

"What does that mean, 'I'll be free of John,' what did you do?" she hissed, sidestepping Fusco against his obvious misgivings and moved closer to Ben. This guy was harmless and puny; she could snap him in two if he tried anything.

"I had to get rid of him and his son, he left me no choice, and you left me no choice. You just kept screwing him and you kept letting him fill your head with lies!" Ben cried as tears fell from his eyes. "He's trying to steal you from me!"

"I love John."

"NO, NO, NO! You love me!" Ben wailed. Joss grabbed his shirt in her fists, yanking the small man towards her.

"What did you do?" she commanded.

"You love me," he sobbed, not listening to her. "He has to go, him and his son, they have to go!"

"Ben!" she shook him, feeling her calm snapping. "What. Did. You. Do?" she demanded again, trying to get his attention.

"He wouldn't have listened to me if I'd asked him to leave you alone, he is too into himself to listen that you love me and not him. I hired a man to take care of him and his son, permanently, so you can be free of him." Joss shoved him back and before she could think better of it she smashed her fist into the small man's face sending him crashing to the floor. "JOCELYN YOU LOVE ME!" He screamed in agony as he grabbed his jaw, sobs escaping him while tears fell down his cheeks, spewing hateful words about John, and how he would save her from herself.

"Arrest him, Fusco, I have to go!" she said, trying to calm her panicking nerves. John and Simon were fine. Fusco yanked Ben's arms behind his back as Ben screamed for her and read him his Miranda Rights, while she pulled her cell phone out to call John weaving around the officers rushing the scene and got no answer.

John had Simon in his long sleeve pajamas, sitting in his lap on the bed with his stuffed turtle ever present but forgotten as it lounged beside him on the pillows, while he played with the new LeapFrog LeapPad thing. While the boy played and learned, John looked at his own laptop, searching through the feeds on Joss's desk, watching for her stalker. Finch called about two hours ago to let him know he'd be by around eight tonight, that they needed to discuss something. His phone was practically dead and needed to be charged. John pulled his gaze from the laptop to look down at Simon who was sitting sweetly on top of him, sounding out the letters, and finally learned that there was a letter U. His little index finger tapped the tablet, already learning the thing. Simon was such an intelligent little boy.

"Ty again!"

"A," it rang out.

"A." Simon mimicked.

"B,"

"B," Simon chirped.

John heard a noise, putting him immediately on alert. Since this afternoon, with the woman that tried to place a bug on him and when Finch told him about Simon's number coming up, every little noise was bothering him. "Simon, be very quiet for me." He whispered and Simon nodded. He quieted down and John heard the distinct sound of the lock trying to be picked. His ears were highly trained for that sort of noise; even as minute and faint as it was, he could still hear it. He knew of the all safety features designed into the safe-house, whoever was trying to break in would never get in, but he was going to take every precaution which namely was beat the everlasting hell out of whoever thought they were going to hurt Simon. "Simon, do me a favor and play with your new tablet in here, while I go get us some ice cream. But I need you to stay real quiet, and stay put for me, or you won't get the ice cream," he said, hoping Simon's love for ice cream outweighed his natural curiosity as he lifted the boy to put him on the large bed by himself and stood up.

"Ass Cream!" he bounced on the bed happily and John put a finger to his lips. "Ass cream," he whispered.

"Good, and its ice cream," he chuckled as he touched Simon's cheek affectionately. "Now stay here and be very quiet, I'll be right back," he promised as he left the bedroom, shutting the door fully, not leaving it ajar like normal, knowing Simon's curiosity would win out sooner rather than later.

John moved quickly and silently, grabbing his gun that he hid up top of the refrigerator so no little hands could get to it, placing it securely at the back of his pants. He moved to the door, unlocking it for whoever was trying to get in, needing to do away with this threat before one of his friends arrived and got hurt. John opened the door and was greeted with a man in a leather coat, a cigarette in his mouth and a semi-automatic handgun with a silencer on it in his right hand. "May I help you?" John grinned.

"You shouldn't have let me in," the man that was clearly a hired gunman seemed surprised that John had opened the door. He didn't let the man recover any before he knocked the gun out of the man's hand. John let out a sound as he charged him, shoulders slamming into his gut.

He lifted his knee harshly jamming it into the man's midsection which made his opponent take a few steps back. John put a finger to his lips when the man made an irritated sound. "We need to be quiet, Simon is working on learning his letters," he tsked the man, blocking a blow to the face and dodged a sweep of the man's meaty leg.

"You and your son will be dead soon enough!" the man assured Reese as he stepped back. John ducked as he went to punch him in the face again, connecting with a quick jab then an upper cut, sending the apparent assassin back a little, however he didn't go down. The man recovered from the blow, John went into a defensive stance as the man charged him again.

"I said be quiet for Simon." John sidestepped him, jabbing him in the stomach, and reaching for his gun, grabbed it and then smashed the butt of his gun into the back of his attacker's head. The man fell into a heap on the floor, out. "You'll never win, fighting like that," he stated with a roll of his eyes. He walked to the open door, picking up the semi-automatic that he knocked out the man's hand earlier and then shut the door, placing the man's gun along with his back on top of the fridge. John moved to the drawer in the kitchen island, opening it and pulling out a zip-tie, yanked the man's arms behind his back and tied them together. Satisfied he would not be a threat, nor awaken anytime soon, John moved back to the kitchen grabbed a bowl out of the cabinet next to the refrigerator, and opened the freezer for the ice cream he promised Simon.

John heard the bedroom doorknob rattle a bit; apparently Simon's curiosity was getting the better of him as he struggled to get the doorknob that was high up, opened. After a few minutes the door managed to be finally opened. "Can, me come out?" Simon called. John shifted his gaze to the man who was still out cold.

"Sure, Simon, you can come out now." John agreed as he began scooping ice cream into the bowl for them. He heard little footsteps moving a mile a minute then paused. He turned to see Simon staring at the man lying on the ground, a little hand cupped over his mouth, and his stuffed turtle clutched to his chest before his eyes lifted to John's. "He's sleeping, we need to be quiet for him," John said and the boy nodded before he tip toed by the man, making John struggle with a smile.

Joss couldn't breathe! She rushed to get to the safe-house, John wasn't answering his phone, and she was running every possible horrible scenario through her mind. She parked curbside, flung her door open, and ran to the complex. She took the stairs two at a time. She didn't even think she touched the stairs as she flew up them. She ran down the corridor to the apartment, tried the knob, and when it didn't open she pounded on the door.

"JOHN!" it sounded to even her own ears like a strangled sob. "You and Simon better be okay, you open this damn door this instant!" she snarled banging the hell out of it.

The door opened and he stood there. "Joss, are you…" she didn't care; she didn't care about anything he said at this moment, because he was fine. She slammed herself into him, hands on his cheeks taking his mouth with hers, and poured every emotion she was feeling at this very moment into it. When she let his lips go, he stepped back. "Are you alright?" he managed to ask while she breathed heavily.

"I'm fine, he…" but she trailed off when she looked past John. She sidestepped him seeing a man lying on the floor, with his hands zip-tied behind his back, looked to be out cold, and Simon was sitting on the couch with cartoons on. Simon turned to look at her, his little lips had ice cream caked on them, and he put a tiny finger to his lips.

"Shhhhhhh, man sweeping!" Simon said quietly, peeking over the armrest to the man who was still out cold.

"How…?" Joss asked in wonder, her eyes sliding from Simon to John.

"Simon was a good boy and listened when I asked for him to remain in the bedroom, so he got ice cream as a reward for listening." John said out loud and Simon giggled at the praise. Then he lowered his voice for her. "He was no threat Joss, he couldn't even break in here, but I couldn't run the risk of him hurting you or Finch if you so happened to come upon him trying to pick the lock."

"You let him in?" she hissed quietly. "This guy is a hired assassin! John, he was paid to kill you and Simon!"

"I know, I could tell he was a hired gunman, not a very good fighter though." She could see the amusement in John's eyes.

"This isn't funny, you-you," John took her mouth shushing her up. Oh good lord, she couldn't hold onto her anger, because all she wanted to do was kiss him. It was over, her stupid stalker following her around was over, and she could be with him and Simon. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back passionately, as she slipped her tongue into his mouth tasting the ice cream on his tongue.

Joss heard Simon giggling. "You faces gonna stuck?" he wondered, clearly unsure of the right words to ask his question, but she understood the general gist. She sighed as she released John's mouth softly, before tugging herself from his arms.

"No, cutie-pie our faces aren't going to stick together," she assured Simon. "See," she pointed at her mouth then John's before taking John's lips again, but this time noisily and briefly to make Simon giggle at the sound. She turned giving him a big grin. "Not sticking."

"I wish," John whispered and she chuckled softly.

"I'm here," Fusco said, winded as he entered after a few moments.

"Unkle Fucko!" Simon squealed as he scampered off the couch, to run to Fusco. Joss, John, and Fusco all winced at the name.

"Hey, kiddo, call me Uncle Lionel." Fusco said, bending to scoop the little boy up.

"Ok Unkle L'nel," the adults laughed and then Lionel was bombarded with a tale about the TMNT from the cartoon he just watched. Fusco obviously had no idea what he was talking about, but pretended like he did.

"Wow, Simon they did?" he said when it was needed.

"Yea," Simon agreed, then turned to look at Joss and lunged for her. Joss happily took him into her arms, spraying him with kisses. God, she couldn't believe her stalker hired a man to kill this boy and John because he had conceived in his mind that John used the boy to get her into his bed. She squeezed Simon harder.

"Take that trash away, Fusco." She pointed with her shoe to the man who was still not totally with it, he was groaning in pain as he was slowly coming to.

"Unkle 'nel, take tash away." Simon pointed as he repeated what she said. Joss hid her laughter as she carried Simon back to the couch, to eat ice cream with him, and watch his favorite cartoon. She wasn't leaving this safe-house for no one tonight!

Finch was worried that tonight wasn't going to go the way he wanted it. He was worried he was going to lose John's friendship and he didn't want to, but Jocelyn was correct. John needed to know, especially if he was a target from Decima. They would twist the truth to fit their needs. John needed to know the truth about what happened with that laptop, about his role in the fact that John couldn't go save Jessica. "Don't look at me like that, Bear," he chided the dog to calm his nerves as he realized the dog was looking up at him because he hadn't opened the door yet.

He entered the safe house, blinking at the full house there. Jocelyn were sitting on the floor playing with Simon, helping him build some sort of Lego thing. Cartoons were blaring though no one was actually watching them. John was deep in a conversation with Detective Fusco on the couch. He smiled. Shaw was the only one missing due to trying to find Ms. Stanton.

He released Bear off the leash and the excited dog made a beeline for the little boy. "Doggie!" he squealed, hugging Bear's neck, and kissing the dog on the nose. It happened the same every time Bear arrived, the dog would receive a neck hug and a kiss on the nose. Bear soaked it up. Simon abandoned Jocelyn, running to Finch who he smiled at the boy. When they had first taken Simon out of the Reed home he didn't want anything to do with any of them besides John, now it seemed the young boy had taken a shine to them all. "Unkle Hay'old!" He grinned as the boy was doing better at saying his name.

"Hello, young Simon," he greeted as Simon smacked into his leg full force hugging it tightly. Finch rubbed a hand through his short cropped soft sandy-blonde hair before the boy tore off running once more, back to Joss who was playing with him. Simon slid himself into Joss's lap and Bear trudged after the boy, determined to be beside the young boy at all times.

"Hey 'glasses,' good of you to finally join us," Fusco greeted as he stood up from his seat on the couch beside John. "But I must beat a hasty retreat because I have a hot date tonight."

"Have fun!" Joss grinned, Fusco left without another word, but did have a smile on his face.

John eyed him a little. "You look worried, Finch."

"I'm not, John," he assured him as he sat down beside him on the couch. "But what we need to talk about something that needs to be discussed in private, so would you please accompany me into the dining room." John nodded, looking back at where Simon was with Jocelyn. Simon was deep in play but Jocelyn's eyes were on them.

"Sure, Simon seems to be preoccupied; I should be able to make an escape for a little while," he agreed as they stood up to head for the dining room. "Is this about Simon?"

"No, why would you assume that?"

"Because Joss and I think his number came up because of Joss's stalker hiring that hitman, but we aren't ready to give up entertaining the idea that Brandon Reed could be a possible threat too."

"What we need to discuss has nothing to do with the young Simon," Finch assured him and John nodded. But Finch saw an opportunity to procrastinate and he pounced on it. "What are you going to do about young Simon anyway, Mr. Reese?"

"What do you mean?"

"John, surely you know the young boy loves you, and quite attached, he calls you 'Daddy.'"

"He didn't mean it, Finch; he'll get a good home, the right home for him," John said firmly.

"I think he already has a home," Finch admitted slowly and he watched the younger man's face. His remark landed because John flinched as if he was smacked, then his face hardened to stone right before his eyes.

"We're not talking about Simon, what is it you really want to discuss, Finch?" Harold realized that John wasn't ready to discuss the possibility of adopting the boy himself. John had wanted a family for so long, it probably scared him to even hope to keep the child, and Finch did not wish to push him too hard. Jocelyn could push him far better than he could, though once he knew that they decided to adopt Simon themselves, he would make sure everything was legal and right for them.

"Decima thinks you'll be the key to end me and probably our purpose, John," Finch said simply.

"Excuse me?" Finch could hear the confusion in John's voice. Out of everything he could have said he was sure John hadn't been expecting that. He felt a little better at knowing he wasn't the only one surprised by Decima's thinking.

"They think that they can get you to work for them."

"So that must have been them watching me earlier at the bookstore," John sounded thoughtful, but it was news to Finch.

"You were being watched, Mr. Reese?"

"A woman struck up a conversation with me, tried putting a tracking device in my pocket, I threw it away outside," he shrugged, before continuing. "I wouldn't ever be a traitor for them. Wait, do you think I would? Is that why you want to talk to me?" Finch blinked at the fury in John's eyes that erupted in milliseconds. "You think I'd do that to you, to Joss, or to anyone?"

"No, of course not, John, that isn't the concern. The concern is what they'll tell you to try to get you to turncoat against us that worries me. Because they will try to twist what really happened to their advantage."

"What are you talking about?"

"Something I should have told you before. Something you deserved to know since it directly affected you, the path you were lead down, and what ultimately happened to you, John."

"And what exactly is that, Finch?"

"That I was somewhat responsible for your trip to Ordos China, therefore not being able to save Jessica," Finch said and waited for the anger. But there was none. John's expression was unreadable, he gave nothing away, and that made it worse. Anger he could handle, uncertainty he couldn't.

"What was on the laptop, Finch?" Even his tone gave nothing away.

"Information about the machine, the person you were targeting; Casey wasn't a traitor to our country, but you already figured that out didn't you, Mr. Reese, when you let him live."

"How do you know about that?" John's eyes narrowed.

"I watched you let him go, after he yanked out his molars, per your request," Finch answered. This time there was anger in John's blue eyes.

"Damn it, Finch, how long have you been watching me?"

"You came onto my radar on and off for a while before that," he admitted slowly and judging by the intense look on John's face his answer did not appear to make him feel any better. "I was working with another person by that time, his name was Mr. Dillinger. He was before Mr. Fisher and he wasn't anything like you or Mr. Fisher. He was mainly working the numbers for the paycheck, not to help people like you and Dean. Casey was asked to try to hack into the machine by the government because they wanted to control it, and Mr. Casey took some of the machine's codes and encryptions, placing them on the laptop, the very laptop you were to retrieve. However Mr. Dillinger and I received Mr. Casey's number, so were trying to save Mr. Casey from you and Ms. Stanton."

"You were the security detail he had, " John said suddenly as he thought about the case Finch brought up.

"Yes, Mr. Dillinger was my employee."

"He wasn't very smart."

"No, he wasn't John, he was money hungry. He took the laptop and was going to sell it to the Chinese government, but the ISA tracked him down. But the agent arrived too late, one of the Chinese operatives got away with the laptop while Mr. Dillinger perished. The laptop was found in Ordos. You and Ms. Stanton were sent there to clean up the mess you supposedly made with Casey's case for not retrieving the laptop in the first place. So you see, Mr. Reese, I indirectly am to blame for the reason why you could not save Jessica. Decima knew about the laptop because they got their hands on it, before you blew it up with the missile."

"Kara and I both thought there was something off with our instructions there; people were already dead when we arrived. So Decima must have been the ones who killed those Chinese men and women that Kara and I found," John said quietly, trying to put pieces together of his past. "We were given the instructions to make sure the laptop was there and to blow it up. There was a laptop so I assume that means that Decima switched laptops before we got there since we weren't allowed to have any access to it before we blew it up."

"The government were trying to protect their system they call Northern Lights."

"And that is the machine," he said and Finch nodded his head. Heavy silence filled the dining room before John finally broke it. "You know that you have nothing to feel guilty for about what happened with the Casey case, Finch; you didn't try to sell the laptop to the Chinese government like your associate."

"Yes, yes I do. I caused you to not be able to save Jessica, and for that I sincerely apologize. I have felt so much guilt over what had happened to you, to what happened to you afterwards, John," Finch said, swallowing the pain he felt. John had spiraled out of control, drinking more and more, the CIA tried to use his pain and grief to their advantage, and then John was close to committing suicide until he met Jocelyn.

"I kept my mouth shut in an airport 8 years ago when Jessica told me to ask her to wait for me and I couldn't, so she married Peter. You didn't make me not open my mouth that day, Finch, so stop blaming yourself." Had he not met Joss he might have been more angry with Finch, but, with her love and with his ability to think of Jessica without the pain it was easier to see reason. It wasn't Finch's fault, he was blaming himself for no reason.

"Mr. Reese," he began, but paused when John held up a hand for him to stop speaking.

"Thank you." Finch eyed him quizzically. "For telling me what happened, for being truthful with me about the laptop, about why I went sent there, it has always haunted me."

"I told you John I would never lie to you," he said and John just nodded. He decided they had enough of this heavy conversation, he was sure it gave John some answers but left him new ones. "Come on, let's get back out there with them, before Simon realizes you're gone," he said quietly. John did not comment as they both exited the dining room to rejoin Joss and Simon. The boy squealed for them to 'pway' with him and Finch noticed the smile on John's face as he eyed Simon and Joss. Finch hoped that the longer Simon was in John's life the more John would love the boy, the easier the fight would be to get him to keep the child.

AN: Yep, now Finch is on the adoption train :D And stalker boy is taken down by Joss while assassin was taken down by John, those two are badass, man do I wish I had them working together in this story somewhere. Darn. But here's the teaser for the next chapter:

"Taylor and Hayley aren't here yet and they are babysitting Simon for us, Simon hasn't finished eating, and John isn't fully dressed."

"Oh come on, Brandon Reed RSVP'd to this crap fest we have to go to tonight! Tell Captain America to get his spandex on, and let's go!"

"I'm hanging up on you," Joss said as the mere image of John in spandex was enough to make her drool and feel uncomfortably warm between the legs.

I gave a little bigger teaser since it's a somewhat lengthy chapter. Taylor finally makes an appearance :D Thanks everyone I appreciate your patience! XOXOXOXOX