A/N Carter invites Reese to come inside. She has to make the decision whether or not she can trust him again. Thanks for the wonderful reviews. Hope you enjoy this one!

"Come in." she said and locked the door behind him. She cut on the light in the hallway and was about to take his coat when she noticed his bloody face.

"What the hell happened to you?" She touched his brow lightly, but he didn't even wince. "What happened, John?"

"I got into a little scuffle, it's nothing." He said grabbing her hand, holding onto it. He ran his thumb over her palm slowly, and she yanked her hand away.

"I'll get something to clean you up. I'll be right back."

"Thank you." he said as she went into the bathroom and came back a few moments later with a first aid kit. He took his coat off, resting it on an armchair and sat on the couch.

"Where's Taylor?" He asked.

"He's at my mom's for the weekend." She replied absently.

He sat perfectly still as she cleaned his cut and applied a tiny thin band aid over it. She also tended to his hand where he'd scraped it and then put the kit away. She was very aware of him as she stood so close to him after all this time.

She turned round to find him staring at her, so intently, so piercingly, so tenderly. She almost wanted to cry thinking of the last time he was here, when he was the one taking care of her. He had the same look in his eyes back then too, and she thought things couldn't get more perfect than they were at that moment. But he ended up disappointing her, hurting her so much.

She was angry. Angry that it had taken him this long to show up, to finally talk to her about how badly he treated her.

"I'm sorry." His words were a little more than a whisper, but the weight of them hung in the air between them. "I'm so sorry, Joss, for treating you the way I did." She saw the tears come to his eyes and she didn't want to look at him anymore. How dare he pick right now to show how vulnerable he was again?

"I don't even want to hear this John." She said walking away from the couch.

"Please, just listen to…."

"No. I won't listen to you make excuses for yourself. Do you have any idea how much you hurt me? I sat here day after day waiting for you to come back, to say something, to explain to me just why you abandoned me. Because that's how I felt, as if you abandoned me. I felt like you realized you made a huge mistake and you didn't care at all. I felt like I meant nothing to you. Like it was all an act. Every kindness you ever showed me felt fake, felt like a lie."

"It wasn't…."

"I felt like I was….discarded….forgotten and useless to you."

"I never forgot you. I never stopped thinking about you."

"How could you do it?!"

"I was scared….."

"Of what?"

"Of needing you." He got up off the couch and stood directly in front of her. The emotion on his face was so raw and so real, she was stunned by it. "I didn't know how much I needed you until… I was…too late, until I saw you on the ground, in the alley about to die. I was so scared, I couldn't breathe!"

He put a hand on her face but she went to turn away. "Please…." He pleaded. "I didn't know how much I needed you….and it….it scares me…so much." He closed his eyes then and bent his forehead down to touch hers. She felt his other hand around her waist pulling her closer. She tried to fight, she strained to get out of his grasp, but he wouldn't let her go.

"You're drunk." She protested.

"No I'm not. I mean every word I've said." His lips brushed against hers softly, kissing her, tenderly. But still she wasn't convinced.

"Liar." She whispered with his lips still close to her own. "You'll regret everything you said tomorrow and you'll be gone. Again."

"You're wrong."

"I don't believe you."

"Let me prove it to you."

She searched his eyes looking for the tiniest hint of deceit and she found none there. "How?"

"Tonight, we'll fall asleep together, and tomorrow you'll wake up in my arms. I won't leave you, not this time. Not anymore. Let me stay, Joss."

"I can't."

"Let me stay, Joss. Let me stay."

He was holding her so close, his face so close to hers. She couldn't think straight. All she could think about was how good it felt to have him hold her again. She hated herself for being so weak. She hated herself for wanting him to stay. She couldn't trust him, that's what she screamed at herself. She shouldn't trust him. But God help her, she wanted to.

She closed her eyes, as two tears slid down her face and she nodded her head. He let out a sigh of relief and took her hand leading her into the bedroom. They stood at the edge of the bed, and he took her hands putting them on his chest. She slowly undid the buttons of his shirt as he looked down at her. Her hands fumbled and she took a long time, but he waited patiently while she took his shirt off.

She moved the fabric over his shoulders and arms and gently put it over the arm chair in the room. Her hands moved over his belt and she unbuckled it, pulling it from around his waist. He didn't utter a word as his pants dropped to the floor, he only stepped out of them, and they joined his shirt on the chair. His socks followed as did his undershirt, until he was in nothing except his boxer briefs.

He brought her hands to his chest again, wanting to feel her touch on his skin. Carter felt the warmth of his skin, his heartbeat, as his hand covered hers.

Her breath caught in her throat and she realized she was scared too.

He drew her head up with his thumb under her chin. "We're going to be okay." She heard him say right before he kissed her again. His lips were so soft as they touched hers again. Yet they were passionate and hungry as if he'd waited forever to kiss her. She heard a soft rumble in his throat as his tongue briefly touched hers. She was caught up in a euphoria she couldn't describe.

They got into the bed and he pulled her close, drawing the covers over them. "Go to sleep." He whispered. "I'll be here in the morning. I promise." She kissed him again, his lips and his cheeks, his eyes. His hands trailed over her back and she moaned, hardly believing he was really there.

She fell asleep snuggled against his chest, his arms holding her tight. The even sound of his breathing was the last thing she heard before she drifted off. It was the soundest sleep she'd had in a long while.