"You okay, Carter?" Joss knew she must look like hell. She hadn't seen John in weeks now; whenever she got a call it was from Finch or Shaw. She would ask Shaw how John was doing on his physical training and she would answer with a short, clipped, and curt 'fine' and then be all business. He was doing as she asked, giving her space, and it was making her need to see him more.

"Yeah, fine," she answered, quietly sipping her coffee.

"Still not sleeping, huh?"

"I said I'm fine Fusco," she snapped. He held up his hands.

"Yeah, I can see and hear that. Sorry I asked." He stood up walking to the pot of coffee, pouring himself some. She felt terrible. She just snapped at her friend for asking if she was alright. She moved over to where he stood.

"I'm sorry, Fusco."

"Hey, its okay, but maybe, I don't know, you should go kick his ass or something. It's been weeks since you two split or whatever you two did, and its getting out of hand now."

"It wasn't John's doing, Fusco. We both needed to be alone to figure a few things out," she whispered. She looked around making sure they were alone. "I'm the one that asked for time."

"Why? Clearly you're unhappy without wonder boy."

"Because."

"Yep, that clears everything up, Carter."

"It doesn't even matter," she sighed.

"Why? Wonder boy is in love with you, he looks even worse than you do at the moment. Which is saying something because I never thought I'd ever say this to you Carter, but you look bad." Fusco cringed as he eyed her. She didn't care about anything anymore. Nothing seemed to matter when her heart was separated from her body. John had it, owned it forever and ever.

"He's alright, right?"

"Besides being heartsick, you neuter him or something, Carter? But anyways, yeah, he's fine besides missing you. I thought it was his doing, so I was happy he was hurting, but now I feel kind of bad for ribbing the guy."

"You didn't."

"Well Carter, usually when it comes to things of a personal nature, wonder boy screws up. He's not exactly Mr. Emotional or anything."

"What did you say to him?"

Fusco squirmed. "Nothing, I just ribbed wonder boy. Relax, you make it sound like I shot and killed the guy."

"Have you seen him lately?"

"Yeah, like last night on a stakeout with Shaw."

"Should he be doing a stakeout; what about his leg, he's letting it go isn't he?" she snarled.

"Whoa, Carter relax, Shaw is taking good care of his leg. He's without the crutch now, he's healing, though he looks like Einstein now limping around town. Wonder boy is back on the road to recovery, he even looks like wonder boy again. Kneecapping the bad guys and everything. He's gained all the weight back, he's got his muscles coming back, you'd be proud of him. He allows Shaw and I to do the heavy lifting while he drives for now. He still gripes about that, but otherwise he knows of his limitations and is taking his time to heal. He listened to you." Fusco smiled. "I don't know how you got him to listen to you but you did." She nodded her head. "Look, you haven't seen him since what?- when the shit hit the fan with Cunningham, right?"

"Right."

"Well it's been a few weeks since then. Why don't you talk to him, put him out of his misery? Wonder boy is otherwise known now as lovesick boy, he's got it bad for you." Fusco chuckled. "Real bad. If you winked at him he'd be on top of you, alright," Fusco said as he walked with a donut and his coffee back to his desk. "Call him, talk to him; if it will put you and him in a better mood the better it is for the rest of us."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Lady Rambo, and glasses are ready to super glue wonder boy's mouth shut because he's got an attitude problem, which is your fault come to think of it, so fix it, Carter." She opened her mouth to argue with him some more, when her cell rang. She walked around and saw it was Shaw.

"Meet me in fifteen minutes at Columbia Park, Carter." She opened her mouth to say she couldn't when the woman hung up on her. She scowled. The nerve. She grabbed her coat angrily.

"Where you going, please say making up with wonder boy?"

"No, I'm being summoned by Lady Rambo!"

"Oh good, better you than me, have fun." He waved and she glared at him as she exited the precinct. She arrived at Columbia Park about ten minutes later, stomping her way into the middle, wondering where the annoying Ms. Shaw would be.

"Oh good you made it, detective." She turned and saw Shaw and Finch making their way towards her. She had been half hoping John would be with them. She wanted to see him so much, keen disappointment knifed through her. He was really, truly listening to her, and it was angering her.

"Looking for someone?" Shaw asked.

"No."

"Oh god, you are going to be just as annoying as Reese aren't you?" Shaw whined leaning her head back. "You two are so pigheaded, its beyond annoying. I should have done my idea first."

"What?"

"My idea was to kidnap you both, force you into a god damn hotel room and allow you two to screw each other's brains out. Relief for everyone." Shaw sighed. "But no, I had to listen to Finch here." Shaw poked Finch's arm. She smiled slightly, glad to see the easiness between these two. She remembered when Shaw had been a loose cannon.

"Look, this isn't any of your business anyway," She replied, not about to let them have a say in her relationship or lack of one with John.

"Well we are making it our business, since its affecting all of us."

"All of who?"

"Fusco, Finch, and I! Do you think we can handle much more of this?"

"Ms. Shaw, please relax." Finch stated calmly with a smile on his face.

"Of what?" She demanded the smaller woman.

"Of you two not getting back together. Whatever is holding you two back, figure it out, because Reese is even more grouchy than I am. I'm ready to buy the man a muzzle. I was thinking about a hooker, but I knew he wouldn't use one"

"Mr. Reese hasn't been in the best of moods since whatever transpired between the two of you," Finch supplied and she sighed. She knew that he was hurt and angry by her asking for space that they both needed. He wouldn't ever admit to needing the distance himself, but she was sure he needed it as well. "Mr. Reese hasn't said a word about why you two parted ways, my first instinct is that it was Mr. Reese who had upset you."

"Why is everyone so quick to jump to it being John's fault?" she demanded.

"He isn't exactly good with women, Carter."

She sighed. She supposed not; she felt bad for him and he was letting everyone think it was him, which wasn't fair to him. "It wasn't John, it was me."

"What happened, Jocelyn?" Finch asked gently.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Well if its nothing, that settles everything. Go screw him so we can all get back on with our purpose." Shaw retorted.

"Shaw!" both Finch and Carter exclaimed causing the other woman to sigh, appearing to reign in her impatience.

"Come on Carter, you love the guy he loves you, what is the problem?"

"The problem, Shaw, is that John needed time to figure out how he truly felt for me and I needed time to figure out if I could handle what life would be like with him."

"So he lives a dangerous life, I still don't hear why it lead to you breaking it off with him. You knew what he was before you two fuc- ugh, got together; you didn't seem to care then." Shaw gentled her voice. She glared at this woman. Was she being purposely dense?

"I lost two men in my life already, I love John more than life itself and I don't know if I can handle losing him too!" she shouted in frustration, deciding her first assessment that Shaw was intelligent was a miscue.

"And now there is the real root of the problem." Shaw grinned as she bumped shoulders with Finch. "See I told you, I could get her to tell us, Finch." Shaw's smile faded as she turned her gaze back onto her. Shaw wasn't one to be the warmest people out in the world, the woman was good at grating on people's nerves which was happening to her right now. "So let me get this straight, you are throwing away your loving relationship because he might die?" she cocked a brow up. She clenched her teeth together.

"Its not that simple."

"It's what I heard Carter, everyone dies. It's a fact of life, we pay taxes and die. But really you should have thought of this before you asked him to choose you, Carter."

Her eyes widened as she eyed Finch and Shaw. Finch looked sheepish while Shaw seemed to care less about revealing this.

"You heard that?!"

"Yes, Jocelyn, we overheard your entire conversation with Mr. Reese in that moment. We didn't intend to listen, but we did, and I'm sorry for the intrusion." Harold gently touched her forearm as he took a step towards her. His eyes warm, his expression soft and compassionate. "There is no easy answer for you or John on how to proceed. You have every right to want him to do a little soul searching to make sure his feelings are genuine. It is actually quite admirable you are willing to allow him a chance to figure things out, he doesn't see it quite in that way, but I do. John is in love with you. I hope you know deep down inside you that you didn't need to give him time, space, distance or any of that for him to know he loves you."

"I just wanted him to be sure," she said quietly.

"I know, Jocelyn, which I'm sure he knows deep down inside as well. Which is why he hasn't come barreling down, pressuring you to take him back. He wants you ready as much as he is."

"We all know how ready you two are for one another." Shaw sniped and she let out a half chuckle, half sigh at the woman. Finch shot Shaw a look. "What? Come on, they already said they love each other, they picked one another to move on with, this was just an annoying blip in the road for them. They figured out what we all already knew, now they can get back together so the grouch is happy again and I don't have to shoot him." She looked at Shaw. That was actually a spot-on observation about her relationship with him, which surprised her, coming from the woman that claimed relationships were useless. "What, just because I think love is a waste of time doesn't mean I can't recognize when people are in it?" She nodded her head. Wait until this woman found a man that changed her mind about love.

"You think he would want to speak with me after making him wait for so long to figure some stuff out?"

"I know he would, he misses you Jocelyn. Just go speak with him."

"How, just call him up and say 'hey John, its me Joss I'm ready now, take me back,'" she groaned at even the idea of calling him up, trying to get back together with him over the phone.

"I have a better idea, leave everything to me. Just show up to Giovanni's for dinner tonight at eight." she smiled gratefully.

"Thank you Finch."

"No need to thank me dear, you two are my dearest friends, I wish for you two to be happy again." She nodded her head, feeling happy for the first time since she asked John for some time. She was ready, and from what her friends said, so was he, and nothing was going to get in their way this time.

"You know, John, its impolite to not listen to a woman when she's talking to you." he blinked as he softly tapped his fingers against the wooden table he and Zoe were sitting at. He lifted his gaze from the floor he was staring holes into to gaze at her.

"What?"

"Wow, so John, how's things going with you and the detective?" he felt everything in him tighten at the mention of Joss. It was taking everything in him from not going to her apartment, picking her lock, and forcing her to be with him. Time, she needed time. But he wasn't a very patient man, so waiting for her was taking all his willpower, but he didn't want to lose her, not when he finally found her. "I take it not so good, did you tell her your feelings yet?"

"New subject, Zoe." he responded quietly.

"I take that as a 'no.'"

"Zoe, not that it's any of your business but she knows how I feel." Zoe's beautiful face showed her surprise before a delightful smile filled it. She leaned forward, pressing a hand on his.

"Well one woman's mistake is another woman's treasure," she breathed, taking it that Joss didn't want him. Their lunch was placed in front of them. He removed his hand from hers when he felt her foot climbing its way up his leg.

"I'm not a damned treasure." he snapped stabbing angrily at his Chicken Lo Mein. She eyed him quietly while she delicately used her fork as she tasted her Szechuan chicken. He took a sip of water before eyeing her, angry with himself for snapping at her. "I'm sorry, Zoe; where's Fusco at?" he griped looking around the Chinese restaurant.

"It's okay John, I won't quit trying." she winked at him. He sighed. "Yes, well, since the detective is a no show, which has never happened to me before, how about I just tell you what I learned about your Mr. Joshua Helvey."

"Please," he sighed grateful to think of something other than about Joss, how much he missed her and wanted her. Zoe however didn't speak, he looked up at her seeing her eyes looking out the window, before they landed on him. She smiled as she leaned forward. Her hand going for his again, her foot climbed up his calf again.

"John, Zoe." he nearly spat out of his food when he realized it was Joss. He looked up when she and Fusco appeared beside their table.

"Started without me, huh." Fusco said taking a seat between him and Zoe. He removed his leg from anywhere near Zoe's foot, and with Lionel between them Zoe couldn't play footsie with him anymore thankfully.

"Carter, what are you doing here?" He kept his gaze off of her. If he looked at her, he'd beg her to make him hers, make it so he could see her everyday again. He missed her so much, but he couldn't make the decision for her. She asked for time to figure things out, so he was giving it to her even if it made his entire heart ache.

"Fusco asked me to lunch; I said 'yes.'" she snapped, walking irritably around to the other side of the table. Her eyes blazed at Zoe, who just stared innocently at the detective while she sat down between him and Zoe on the other side of the table. He shot an angry look at Fusco who shrugged.

"What? You invited this lady, I figured you have been missing Carter," Fusco explained, nodding to Zoe.

"I need to go use the little girl's room, I'll be back." Zoe touched his hand and he looked up at her wondering what she was doing? He shifted a sidelong gaze to Joss as she shoved her seat back.

"Me too," she said sugary sweet. "Fusco can you be a doll, and order Chicken Lo Mein like John's for me. Thanks." She stalked behind Zoe towards the restrooms while he eyed her butt until she disappeared from his view.

"What the hell are you doing, wonder boy? You love Carter and here you are playing footsie with that lady? She doesn't hold a candle to Carter!"

"First off, Lionel, I wasn't playing footsie with anyone; secondly you don't have a say in my life anymore than anyone else does," he said deceptively quietly, his eyes stormy as he looked up at Fusco. "Why is she here?" he demanded while wanting to throw Zoe out of the bathroom and then take Joss in the bathroom stall in the damned Chinese restaurant. Why would Fusco bring her? It was taking all his strength not to go to her, now seeing her, hearing her voice was making it that much harder on him.

"She was hungry."

"Lionel," he growled.

"Because you need to see her, maybe you'll fight for her." he shook inside. Fight for her? Didn't Lionel know how much he wanted to fight for her? He looked back down, poking at his food, his appetite gone. He shoved his seat back throwing money that should cover the bill, he needed to leave before he made a pathetic attempt at making her take him back. Time, time, time-she needed time. "Where you going?"

"I'm not hungry, Lionel, find out what Zoe knows about Mr. Helvey and call me. Next time, come alone." he turned and stalked his way out of Leong's.

Zoe entered the bathroom, waiting for the detective, and when she finally entered, she smiled.

"Hello detective, lovely day isn't it?"

"Just back off okay, John is mine." she eyed the detective in the reflection of the mirror. There was no jealousy, no anger, no cattiness to her voice, the detective was just speaking the truth. John was indeed the detective's, completely and utterly.

"He is, isn't he?" she smiled, applying lipstick to her lips with the use of the mirror.

"Damn right he is! The only reason we aren't together right now is because I asked for time for the both of us to sort some stuff out. I love him and I know he loves me. He can't stop loving me anymore than I can stop loving him."

"So have you figured it out, detective? Because he's is a very desirable man. Other women wouldn't let him go."

"Like you?"

"Like me, I never hid the fact that I found John attractive, he knows how I feel. So I'm letting you know, if you screw up, I'm going to make you wish you hadn't." She smiled as she turned away from the mirror to eye the woman, face to face. "I don't like relationships, they're too messy, but I have a feeling a relationship with John would be worth the mess it would create."

"Well sorry, Zoe, to burst your bubble but I'm not letting him get away," she smiled softly.

"Good, because he is as miserable without you as you appear to be without him. How about we go make the man happy, he's missing you desperately." She nodded her head as they both exited the bathroom. She followed Carter out, seeing only Detective Fusco sitting at their table.

"Where's John, Fusco?"

"He left."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I'm not his keeper, Carter! He just said he had to go, he misses you though, that was clear." she nodded her head, any one with eyes could see how much the man missed the detective.

"I guess I'll have to wait til tonight to tell him everything."

"So does that mean you and wonder boy are gonna get together again?" Zoe saw the sudden happy expression the heavyset detective had on his face.

"Yes."

"Halle-freaking-lujah!"

Author's note: Only one last chapter to go...no hints since you guys probably will figure out the end then if I tell you lol. But its cutesy after all the angst they have gone through. More is on the way with the sequel coming but, I figured a little happiness should make everyone happy :)

Thanks for reading, the last chapter will be posted sometime soon not too sure when though. Well for sure it won't be tomorrow, that I do know lol.