AN: Well this was going to be posted on Friday but since this website wanted to be a glitch filled mess I couldn't. So I guess today it is since it's not too busy for me.

Joss reached a hand out from under the covers and smacked the button on her alarm clock to end the shrilling and obnoxious noise it was making. Her arm snaked back under her comforter not at all ready to get going. She had a lousy night all thanks to John. First the blasted man upset her mind and then upset her body because after he left her high and un-dry; she was frustrated and unfulfilled. Talk about self-restraint because she knew that John had been as ready as she was to have sex after their mutual passion ignited. And Joss had no doubt that sex with John would have been an otherworldly experience if the sensations he caused with doing very little were to go by. All he did was kiss her and she had been submerged in exquisite pleasure she never felt before.

But what the hell was she thinking by kissing him? It was supposed to be just a simple peck on the lips. But no…the moment their lips touched, all rational thought fled, and all she was left to do was feel. And it felt amazing. She should have figured that one kiss was going to lead to wanting more, especially with the undeniable chemistry that was between them.

Joss flipped the comforter from over her head and sat up looking around blurrily. How was she going to face him after last night after he had more common sense than she did? She tugged on a robe and exited her bedroom. Her eyes drifted to the guest bedroom and noted the door was open. Great, he was up already and she had no idea how to proceed. She trudged down the stairs quietly. He wasn't in the living room. Joss rounded the banister and sniffed the air. It smelled like coffee.

She smiled as she found him in the kitchen, dressed, and frowning at her toaster. "Hey," she greeted softly.

He turned to look at her and he smiled. "Morning," he responded. Joss released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She had thought this would have been awkward and weird but it was far from it. It felt, oddly enough, welcoming. "I was trying to make you toast but I keep burning it."

She chuckled as she eyed the four slices of toast that were charred to a crisp. "It's okay; I'll take the coffee." she assured.

John frowned. "I'm not so sure you want to."

"Why?"

His shoulders slumped. "I didn't make it right." he muttered. Joss eyed him trying to gauge whether or not he was trying to be cute to make up for last night. She moved to the coffee pot and looked it over, everything looked right. She flipped the top open and sighed.

"Yea, I see your point." she said with a small laugh. "You just forgot the coffee filter John." she explained as she switched the coffee pot off and proceeded to clean it out.

Once it was clean and making coffee Joss turned and saw he was standing so damn close to watch how she did it. She folded her arms across her chest and pretended her nipples weren't hardening at his nearness. Good god she needed to get her body under control as it responded to even the subtlest look he gave her.

"I guess I found something wonder-boy isn't good at," she teased because he certainly was good at cards, kissing, and arousing her to the point of no return but who was counting. "Is this a cute but pathetic attempt to make breakfast your way of apologizing for leaving me so abruptly last night?"

He stared at her.

She shook her head. "Say something, John; remaining silent isn't going to work this time. You were worked up as much as I was last night," she pointed out. And as much as she appreciated the fact that he was trying to pretend last night never happened for both their sakes, she preferred the more direct approach. Ignoring what happened last night was going to let it fester.

"It's an apology for me forgetting why I'm here," he answered vaguely.

Her eyes narrowed on him. His expression was shuddered and veiled. It was a dead giveaway that he was hiding something. John's eyes always sparkled with something in them and he was deliberately trying to mask them.

"And what is your reason for being here?" she asked, going into detective mode.

"Because Lionel's couch is so small and you were kind enough to take me in," he responded. He couldn't very well tell her he was her guardian angel who fell to Earth to protect her.

Joss cocked a brow up. "So this…" she swept her hand out to motion at the charred slices of toast and almost fully brewed coffee. "…wasn't because of last night and the fact that we both got carried away?"

"No," he agreed.

"Uh-huh,"

John felt a small smile crinkle his lips up at the unbelieving tone to her voice. He couldn't say that he really blamed her because he wasn't being fully truthful with her but not for the reason she thought.

She was sorely annoyed at the moment. But more than that she was confused; she was confused by his situation, confused by the strong feelings that he aroused in her, and confused by him. "It's for the best that last night never happened and I apologize for letting myself get caught up in the moment," she said, though not too apologetic since that had been the best kisses she ever experienced. She couldn't be too sorry for that.

John tried to not feel the slice to his heart but he did. His love for Joss was unrequited and how it had to be. "So did I," he whispered. "It won't happen again."

"At least not until we know who you are and get your life back. Then maybe we can try to figure out what's going on between us," Joss replied. It had felt oh so right being in his arms and being kissed like that by him. Joss realized during the night that ignoring this and her feelings for him wasn't working. But for now it was how it had to be until she was sure of who he was and how to help him.

His heart felt like it was cracked in two. "Maybe," he tried before his throat threatened to close on him. There was no future for her to find out possibly if she could love him because he would be gone by then.

Joss frowned at the look on his face. It looked like someone had reached inside and crushed his heart in their hand. "John…"

He turned away and grabbed the slices of toast. "I'll get better at cooking. I just need more practice." he said softly, changing the subject on her.

"Knowing how quick you pick things up you'll be a master chef by the time I get home from work," she muttered allowing the conversation about them to slip away.

He smiled. "My mother would be upset if I was a terrible cook," he said warmly.

Joss's eyes widened as John froze. "You remembered your mother?" she asked.

John berated himself internally for slipping. He risked a glance at Joss and saw that she was waiting for an answer. And he knew that she wasn't going to let this go. He spent sixteen years watching her and knew she was a bull dog when need be.

"A little," he lied.

"What do you remember about her?" Joss asked, not deterred. If he remembered his mother than there was hope he'd remember who he was.

He swallowed hard. "Just little things like her letting me lick the spoon as she baked cookies," he answered with a tight smile. "I remember her kissing me goodnight every night even when I was a teenager. I remember her love," he whispered.

"Oh John, I'm so happy for you," Joss said warmly. "Do you remember anything else, more specifically about yourself?"

"Not really…."

"It's yes you did remember something or no you haven't," she dug for more.

He needed to throw her off this scent for a bit. John looked at her. "Actually I mean 'not really' I feel like the memories are there but just…out of reach," he said quietly, hoping she couldn't tell he was lying.

Joss sighed. Darn. She had been hoping he had remembered something about himself that could help her know who he was. "Okay, your mother; do you remember if you were adopted or not?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered truthfully. It would give her something without her knowing for sure that he and John Reese were the same man.

"Yes you remember or yes you were adopted?" she asked.

"Yes to both."

Joss grinned. So her hunch could be correct. It wasn't for sure since there were tons of kids that get adopted but it was coincidental that her John Doe that looked like John Reese and matched prints to him, both were adopted.

"This is really good news, John. You're on your way to remembering. But I have got to get ready for work or I'm going to be late for breakfast with my kid," she said, disappointed she had to go. She wanted to help him remember more but she had breakfast with her son to get to and then work.

"I'll make you your coffee when it finishes brewing." he offered.

"Thanks, I take it…"

He waved her off. "One cream, no sugar, I know."

She frowned. "When had you heard my coffee order?" she wondered aloud.

John heard it every morning but he couldn't say that. "Just a lucky guess…."

That was the second lucky guess he had done in less than twenty four hours. Joss shrugged it off and just nodded before turning and hurrying out of the kitchen. She definitely needed that coffee and definitely needed to get her ass in gear.

"Good news, Carter." Joss looked up at Fusco's jovial tone. He made a beeline for her desk with a triumphant smirk on his face while holding up official papers.

"Please tell me that is what I think it is," she murmured with a hint of excitement.

"If you're hoping this is our search warrant of Alvarez's garage, then yes, and if Hector is as dumb as we think he is than I'd say we'll be getting an arrest warrant lickety-split."

Joss hid a giggle. "Geez, what decade did you get transported from?" she teased as she got to her feet. For having not gotten much sleep last night for obvious reasons she had figured that today would turn out to be crummy; figuring nothing at work would go right and John was going to give her the silent treatment after the night they had, but she had been sorely mistaken.

She had breakfast with her favorite person in the world: her son, before taking him to school and also John seemed to have been slowly regaining memories. It would be no time at all before he got them back and she could finally solve the mystery of his disappearance and then startling reappearance. And once that mystery was solved then maybe they could solve what exactly was going on between them. The sensations and feelings he evoked within her didn't just happen to her.

"It's called broaden your vocabulary, Carter," replied Fusco, drawing her back to the present.

"Are some uniforms going to meet us there?" she asked, getting back to business, which was nailing Alvarez for the murder of Ronnie.

"Yup, already on their way," he responded dryly as they headed for the exit of the precinct before he side-eyed her. "So how did your first night with wonder-boy go?"

"Missing him already, eh?" Joss joked to divert the question.

Lionel chuckled. "A little," he acknowledged.

"Really?—from all the bitching you did when I stashed him there I figured you would have been happy to have your closet back to yourself."

"Hey! My apartment is bigger than a closet." he retorted good-naturedly. She snorted. "Alright, maybe not that much bigger than a closet, but wonder-boy was a good listener and didn't complain once when I ragged about the ex. It felt good to have a sounding board."

"Speaking of John, I finally got him to have a look at the file on John Reese which rang familiar to him and then this morning when he was trying to make me breakfast he made a comment about his mother. His memories are slowly coming back which means we'll have some answers sooner rather than later, so we can take the next step in getting him his life back," she replied, changing the subject.

"Oh, he was making you breakfast?" Fusco said. He'd do anything to know the details.

She exhaled. "I tell you he remembers something from his past and the only takeaway you have is the fact that he tried to make me breakfast."

"Oh I heard everything else and I'm glad for the guy but he didn't try to cook for me. Kind of hurts, you know. I thought we had a nice bromance forming; thought he was the Ethel to my Lucy, Thelma to my Louise," Fusco said, not hurt in the slightest.

She let out a small laugh. "You know those are both sets of women, right?" she teased.

Lionel rolled his eyes. "Fine, I thought he was the Bert to my Ernie. Man enough for you?"

"Those are puppets but that's beside the point; point is if you call four charred pieces of toast and coffee grounds breakfast, than yes, he made me breakfast," she replied with a smile. "But it's the thought that counts."

Lionel debated a bit about saying anything else but he couldn't help it. He liked the amnesiac guy. "All jokes aside Carter, just be careful.…"

"For the last time, John won't hurt me!" she snapped, now angry at the overprotectiveness. She didn't need or want his protectiveness. John was harmless except for setting her body on fire with his gentle touch.

"I'm not so worried about you anymore," Lionel murmured making her stare at him in surprise. "Carter, he isn't exactly hiding the fact that he's got a thing for you; the big guy has excellent tastes, but I like him, so just go easy on him. Every guy that ever was into you; you treated him like he was a suspect or a non-entity."

"I did not!" she exclaimed, following Fusco out of the precinct, but she nearly plowed into his back because he stopped dead in his tracks just outside the door. "Fusco…"

"Don't look now but I think your overprotective lover-boy has taken his desire to connect you two at the hip to a new level."

Joss frowned as she looked away from Fusco's profile to where he was staring and gaped in astonishment as she watched John climb out of a taxi looking sexy and a little unsure of himself. "JOHN!" she shouted and he turned after closing the door.

She stormed down the steps of the precinct and over to him. "What are you doing here?" she demanded incredulously. Joss tried to ignore the fact that John looked ridiculously good in the sunlight. Men and women were walking around him as he stood still like a pillar as she stopped directly in front of him waiting for an answer.

"Well?" she snapped, pinning him with her best glare she had in her repertoire.

"You're here," he answered which was vague at best.

Joss cocked a brow up. "Yea, because I work here, John, but that still doesn't answer why you're here."

"I wanted to be near you so I could protect you."

Joss looked at him startled and saw nothing but honesty radiating in those expressive eyes of his. He came here because he wanted to protect her. "Protect me?" she repeated, trying to understand. What did John want to protect her from? Was he suffering from some sort of trauma that was making him remember something bad that happened to him but was projecting it onto her? If so then that could mean his memories of what had happened to him these last sixteen years were coming back to him slowly and she needed to be there for him when it did.

He nodded. "Yes, that's my purpose…to protect you."

"I do the protecting, John," she assured him before looking at Fusco and motioned at John. "I'll handle the search warrant myself, so you can take him back to my place."

"No!" John cried and she glanced at him at how upset he sounded. "Please, I came here for a reason and that reason is to protect you which I can't do if I'm stuck at your place."

"I don't need protection," Joss snapped, her irritation rising.

"Yes you do," John argued.

Fusco looked between Carter and wonder-boy before siding with Carter. "Come along wonder-boy. Carter can handle herself," he said as he motioned for John to come with him. He was going to have to explain some things about Carter to lover-boy.

John wanted to argue but stopped himself. If he pushed too much then she would get suspicious and he'd lose all hope of protecting her from harm. So he said, "Alright, I'll go. But I can get back to your place without Fusco."

"No." she stated, automatically refusing. "Unless something has changed with your memories.…"

John shook his head.

"Then Fusco is taking you back to my place. I don't need you ending up naked on some other woman's car. I can handle the search warrant myself," she stated tersely. She was going to have to get to the bottom of this protective instinct John had towards her. Joss looked to Fusco. "Use my spare key. It's.…"

"Under the potted plant near your door," John said for her. Joss eyed him questioningly. "Lucky guess," he said weakly.

"Yea, you've been making quite a few of those," she murmured softly. With one last long glance at John she turned and walked to her car without another word but deep in thought.

AN: Poor John. He really wants to protect her but things are going sideways for him.

Thanks for reading!