After 4 years, I finally have an update for this fic. Thanks so much to SWWoman for being a beta. (If there are any mistakes/typos, they're mine.)

Hope you enjoy. Let me know in the comments/reviews.

Disclaimer - I do not own Person of Interest or any of its characters.

Reese looked at his watch impatiently as he sat at a table in Lyric Diner. It was fifteen minutes past the time that Zoe had asked him to meet her. He had a little time to kill before he went back to his detail, but he didn't want to spend all of it with her.

Joss was at campaign headquarters under the watchful eyes of his team, so he wasn't worried about how she was doing at the moment. He looked up at his server as she came over to ask if he wanted another cup of coffee. She was in her sixties, had pink coloured hair and a ready smile for him. He nodded, and she poured him a refill.

"You just let me know if you need anything else, sugar. You hear?"

She left the table with a wink as Reese smiled after her. He'd just taken his first sip when he saw Zoe moving towards him. Her signature smile was on her lips, as well as a playful look in her eyes. She wore a dark burgundy pants suit, and her long mane hung straight about her shoulders. He got up to greet her.

Her arms went about his waist, and he pulled her in for a brief hug. An air of familiarity swarmed around them, and he remembered nights where they held each other trying to blot out the stress of their lives in pleasurable ways. Sometimes it had been a battle for dominance in the bedroom; an amusing game of control. Reese had been happy to indulge her from time to time, but for the most part he'd taken the reins and bent her to his will. She'd lie beneath him, moaning his name while he brought the both of them to a blinding release.

Afterwards, they'd part ways and see each other whenever they could, whenever the need for intimacy without attachment rose again. It felt like those times had happened ages ago, and a huge part of him was glad that he'd found something more meaningful with Joss. He was a different man, and while their embrace would've quickly elicited desire in his old self, he felt nothing now.

"John, it's good to see you," Zoe said, sitting opposite him. "You look good."

"You are as alluring as ever, Zoe. And a little late."

"I am," she admitted. "But business is the only thing that could keep me away from a meeting like this."

She clasped her hands together on the table and leaned forward. "So tell me; what can I do for you?"

"I need a favour, a huge one in fact. If you're able to come through for me with what I'm asking you, I'll owe you big time."

"Since when am I ever not able to come through? And if I recall, you still owe me from the last time, John."

He chuckled and shrugged.

"I haven't forgotten," she said. "But, your phone call last night has me positively intrigued, and I'm willing to collect at a later date. What's this about?" she asked.

"Nicholas Donnelly."

"The Nicholas Donnelly that just recently quit his presidential bid?"

"The one and only," Reese answered with a nod. "I need you to dig up as much as you can into his past and his present. I want something that will make him go away forever."

"That affair and out of wedlock kid he had with his mistress did a lot to halt his political career from what I can tell."

"It did its fair bit of damage, yes," he nodded. "But I want his presence in the political arena to diminish to absolute obscurity."

Zoe tilted her head as she studied him. Reese held her gaze, watching her as she mulled over the significance of what he was asking her to do.

"That's a hell of a request, John. It's not an easy one, either."

"It's not. But easy doesn't whet your appetite. Admit it."

A smile curved her deep red lips as she sat back in her chair. "I'll have to call in a lot of favours."

"Do what you have to. And quickly. We don't have much time."

"We?" she asked. She sat up straight and folded her arms over her chest. "Who is we?

Joss blinked as Harold listed the news networks Donnelly would possibly use to break his story, but she couldn't help but think how the day seemed to be dragging on forever. Olivia Pope had finally left after what seemed like the longest meeting she'd ever had. She knew she shouldn't complain; the woman was doing her best and her damnedest to make sure they wouldn't go down and not without a fight if they did.

She'd been initially optimistic despite Donnelly's threats last night, but when she woke up, seeds of doubt had taken root. Luckily after a heart to heart with Olivia, she realized that even if she didn't win the nomination, she couldn't let herself be forced out of the race. The significance of her bid was historic in and of itself. It meant too much. She had to finish.

She stifled a yawn and momentarily shut her eyes. She was having trouble focusing and realized she should have slept in like she had planned. She needed to rest, she knew, and she planned to do just that tonight.

What Harold was saying was important right now, but her attention span was fading quickly. She missed everything he'd said in the last five minutes, and he was beginning to notice. She saw John as he rounded the corner to the corridor that led to her office. He was on his phone.

She couldn't control the blush that crept over her cheeks or the memories of the two of them together last night. The day had gone on forever, and the situation she faced was horrifying, but she felt just a little bit better that he was still very much on her side.

"Joss, since it's obvious your mind is elsewhere and not on a word I've been saying, I think it's best that we end this conversation."

"I'm sorry, Harold. I'm exhausted. I wanted to sleep in at the hotel, but you insisted we get back to New York right away. I'm running on empty - as we all are. But I need to go home and get some sleep."

"You do need some rest. Especially after last night." He waved his hand dismissively. "Go on; let your driver take you home. Sameen and I will handle things here."

"Harold."

"Yes?"

"Thank you. I couldn't have done this whole bid alone. Not without you. You're more than just my campaign manager, you know. You're a really good friend."

Harold was not one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, and he looked away at her sudden declaration, cleared his throat.

"Some rest will do you good."

The words were spoken softly, almost like a father to a daughter. The hand that took hers and held it before she left the room spoke volumes.

"You owe me, John - big time." The sexual undertone in Zoe's laugh was as subtle as a bull in a china shop. "And I plan to collect."

The debt she wanted to collect wasn't the financial kind. He knew that like he knew the back of his hand. But he wasn't dealing in that currency any longer.

"You'll get what you're owed, Zoe," Reese answered over the phone. "Same account number in New York?"

The silence on the other end was brief, but the smile hadn't left her voice nonetheless.

"Wow. So it's back to all business."

He took a deep breath before he responded. "Zoe" -"

She cut him off using the same playful tone as she had before. "I figured as much when you told me who you were going to all this trouble for. It was a pretty big risk putting yourself out there like that. You'd only do that for someone you truly cared about. Still, you know I had to try."

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't."

"Does she know?"

"Know what?"

"How much you love her?"

The smirk on his face faded, and suddenly he was overwhelmed with his feelings for Joss. He was momentarily speechless.

"I guess that's my answer," Zoe said, when he didn't immediately reply.

She proceeded to tell him what she'd found, and John felt a mixture of anger and relief. Relief that what Zoe had dug up was enough to use against Donnelly and get Joss in the clear, but anger at how despicable of a human being Donnelly turned out to be.

"I want you to make sure those records are destroyed. I don't care what it takes. I want them buried so that they never see the light of day again, Zoe."

"Careful this doesn't blow up in your face, John. I meant it when I said this is a huge risk," Zoe said. "You take care."

"Hooh-ah."

Reese's eyes crinkled in the front seat of Joss's car as it pulled up in front of her house. It had been a while since he'd heard her utter those words. It reminded him of the first time they'd met and the first conversation they'd had in her home office. Her resilience and strength of heart early on had fostered an immediate admiration in him and had eventually turned into love. Hearing her say it now gave him hope that some of that same spirit had returned.

"Long day, ma'am?" he asked, after he walked round to open the door for her.

"And then some," she replied, looking up at him. "It's nothing a little rest and relaxation won't fix, though. That's what I plan to do as soon as I get upstairs."

They all filed in, flanking her as she walked inside. Joss put her coat up on the rack taking a look around. The house was unusually quiet; Taylor was spending the night at a friend's house, and her mother was still on campus.

"I forgot to tell you I had Sameen order something from Carmine's for you and the guys. Dinner should be here in about an hour. I hope Italian's okay."

"Very generous of you, ma'am. You shouldn't have."

"It's well deserved. Walk me upstairs?" she asked.

"Of course."

He resisted the urge to touch the small of her back as they both climbed the staircase together, but as soon as her bedroom door opened, he pulled her inside to give her a kiss. He quickly disabled his mic as he gently parted her lips, savoring the taste of her as she leaned into him.

"Hmm…" she moaned, and his lips glided slowly over her neck.

"I missed you this morning."

"I missed you too. So, so, much" Reese answered, each word emphasized by tender kisses to her lips, her neck, and the soft shell of her ear.

He nipped softly at it, thinking how he missed her so much he didn't want to stop touching her. He let his hands glide over her hips and thighs, willing his physical reaction to her to settle down even as he pulled her closer. The deep wine colour of her dress complemented the golden hue of her skin and he wanted nothing more than to spend the night painting it with kisses before his deep strokes would have her calling out his name. Images of her lips on his chest and the feel of her hair grazing the side of his face flashed through his mind, but he knew he had no time.

"I know I said I was tired, but…" Her hands moved to unbuckle his belt. He groaned, knowing he couldn't stay tonight.

"What is it?" she asked when his hands held hers in place. "Don't be a tease, John. Don't you want us to finish what you started? Hmm?" Her teeth felt so sweet as they nipped his lips. He loosened his grip on one of her hands, and she slid her palm over his growing hardness.

"Joss." Her name on his lips was more of a plea than anything. It was taking all of his self-control to resist her when he wanted nothing more than to let himself become putty in her hands.

"Yes, baby?"

"I have to take care of something tonight. I have to go."

"Go where?"

He kissed at the adorable pout that formed on her mouth, murmured against her lips. "I'm going to have a conversation with Nicholas Donnelly."

"You're going to do what?" The playful teasing was instantly halted, and the desire that had just been in her voice vanished.

"I'm going to have a talk with him."

"No I heard what you said; I'm just wondering if you're crazy."

"I have stood by and let you handle things your way because it's your campaign and my job so far was to physically protect you, but things are different now. We're together; what happens to you happens to me."

She couldn't deny that she was touched, and she loved him all the more for thinking of them in that way, but they had to be careful. "John, you can't get involved in this."

"I'm asking you to trust me, Joss." He cupped her face and kissed her quickly in an attempt to dispel some of her worry and panic. "You and Ms. Pope have done everything that you can, now let me take it from here. He won't bother you again. Trust me." She was starting to shake her head, and he thumbed her cheeks, kneaded the skin at her nape. "Trust me to take care of you. Of us."

The look in his eyes was so sincere, yet loaded with so many different emotions. His mind was already made up. She could tell not only by the tone of his voice but by the resolute look on his face. Her mind was filled with so many questions. If what he was planning didn't work, the repercussions could be great for both of them.

He'd kept his word in the past. He'd found Taylor when he went missing, he'd stayed by her side when she had been attacked right after her luncheon at the hotel. He'd been more than just a lover to her; he'd been a friend as well. Even though she wasn't quite sure what he was about to do, she nodded her head and decided to trust him one more time.

"Okay, John. Okay."

Reese's gaze moved between Donnelly's look of outrage to Groves who stood at his side. Both of them were clothed in all black from head to toe. Both wore ski masks so that their captive wouldn't be able to identify either one of them.

They'd taken him from his front yard just after he'd gotten home. As soon as his driver sped away, they snuck up to him with ease. A chloroform soaked cloth rendered him unconscious, and they tucked him into the back of an old beater.

Now they were twenty miles across town in an old warehouse that Reese owned. Donnelly was tied to a chair, and he was none too pleased about it.

Behind the two way mirror he couldn't see either of them, but he hadn't stopped demanding to be let out for over an hour. It was an old special forces tactic. Let your prisoner ride out a gamut of emotion, anger, fear, frustration and finally tiredness. By the end of it, they were more pliable, cooperative, and would most likely go along with whatever type of interrogation that followed. It also didn't help that he was blindfolded and didn't know where in the world he was.

"This is a risk, sir," Groves said, keeping his eyes straight ahead. "It could backfire if anything goes wrong."

"It won't," Reese said. "We're not going to kill him. We're not going to lay a hand on him. We're just going to present him with some options that he can't possibly refuse."

Reese got up from his chair and Groves followed silently. As soon as Donnelly heard the door open, he continued his demand to be released. Being kidnapped had done nothing to diminish his sense of self-importance and entitlement, and it made Reese even angrier.

He and his team had been assigned to Joss to protect her from the Aryan Brotherhood Foundation. They picketed her offices, had thrown a brick through her window, and had been responsible for the assault after her luncheon. In the weeks that followed they'd been quiet, and he had been suspicious. He had been caught up in keeping his relationship with Joss a secret, her having to date Ian to help her campaign, but in the back of his mind, the threat of another attack on her still lingered.

Now his worst fears had come to life. Zoe had found out through a hired third party, Donnelly had funded a plot to kidnap Joss in an attempt to get her out of the race. His blood boiled the moment he'd found out. He knew what he wanted to do, and had he not mentioned anything to Joss earlier, he might have gone through with it. It would have weighed on his conscience, especially knowing that she'd never forgive him if he did in fact kill the Senator and she found out. Abducting him and forcing him to stay away from her was the next best thing.

"Do you have any idea who you just kidnapped? I am one of the most powerful people in Washington, and when I find out who you are, I am going to destroy you and everyone that you love."

Reese's mouth twitched, a sardonic smile forming on his lips. He nodded at Groves who cocked a gun at his nape. The feel of steel against his skin helped Donnelly see things in a different light, and he stopped talking.

"I know exactly who you are, Senator, but believe me, you are in no position to destroy anyone, and if you want to make it out of here alive, you'll keep your mouth shut and listen to me."

"If you want money -"

"I'm not interested in your money," Reese interrupted. "You probably find that hard to believe since you're so used to buying whatever and whoever you want and discarding people when they no longer serve your purpose. You cheated on your wife, left your mistress and your kid, and then you hired a bunch of lowlife scum to go after Senator Carter."

"I had nothing to do with that!" Donnelly denied, vehemently. He grew nervous when Groves pressed the barrel of the gun deeper into the back of his neck.

"Don't lie to me."

"Okay, okay, okay…just wait. Please!"

"We know that you have ties to The Brotherhood. We have evidence that links you to them. Photographs of you meeting with key players and bank deposits where you're funding their crusade. We know about their plot to kidnap her this week if she didn't give in to your demands and drop out of the race."

"Please…" Donnelly's voice was high pitched as he began to plead.

"Now tell me Senator, after finding all of that out, why should I let you leave this room?"

"I wasn't going to let them kill her, just…"

Reese moved closer and grabbed him by the throat. Groves watched as he squeezed Donnelly's windpipe while he tried helplessly to get out of Reese' grip. When Reese finally let him go, Donnelly was a wheezing, coughing, blubbering mess.

"I swear to you I wasn't going to let them kill her, just...teach her a lesson. I've been in the political arena longer than she has. I've paid my dues; I deserve this far more than she does. I know that she was the one who broke the story about that bitch and her bastard child. She cost me my shot, my legitimate shot, and she has to pay! She's nothing more than an uppity bitch who doesn't know her place!"

His lack of remorse, entitlement and outright bigotry was what pushed Reese over the edge. He pulled Donnelly out of the chair and punched him so hard that he practically flew across the room. He hit him about the body, blow after blow landing hard and knocking the wind out of him. He took Groves' gun, and though Sam didn't know what Reese planned to do, he stood next to him waiting.

Donnelly's nose and lip were bleeding. He was curled into a ball a corner of the room, begging as he started to cry. His eyes widened as Reese aimed the gun at him. "Please. Please don't kill me."

"I won't kill you," Reese said quietly as he crouched in front of him as he lay on the ground. "But you're going to announce that you want to take some much needed time away from politics and focus on reconnecting with your family. You're going to call off The Brotherhood, tell them that Senator Carter is off limits, and then you're going to take a long trip out of the country with your wife and kids. I promise you Senator, that if you do not do this within the next week, I will find you, and after that, no one else will."

Donnelly was unconscious when Reese and Groves dropped him off a few blocks away from home. His wife might have reported him missing by now, and Reese didn't want to risk running into law enforcement in the area when trying to take Donnelly home. He wasn't blindfolded or tied, so as soon as he woke up, he'd be able to get off the sidewalk and find his way back to his house.

Reese drove for another twenty minutes and pulled into the parking lot of an old strip mall. He and Groves got out, set fire to the beater, got into a rental and drove off.

When he rolled into Sam's driveway, he parked but kept the engine running. The silence between them spoke volumes and conveyed what neither was willing to say. Reese knew that Groves would never speak of this night again. He knew what his accompanying Reese meant to him, and that he would forever be in his debt. A few more minutes passed and Sam cleared his throat.

"I'll see you in the morning, sir," he said.

"See you tomorrow, Sam."

His body was weary when he finally sat down on his bed and took off his shoes. He needed a shower, needed food. He needed to talk to Joss. He looked at the time and wondered if she'd be awake. He reached for his cell phone out of the nightstand and dialed the burner he gave her.

She picked up almost immediately.

"John?"

He smiled. "Why does it sound as if you're wide awake?" he asked.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Why not?"

"I was thinking about you, damn it. I was worried. Are you okay?" she asked. "What happened?"

Reese heard the concern in her voice, and he thought about Donnelly's face when he told him to leave the country. He meant every word he told him tonight. He wasn't the type to make idle threats, and he always kept his word. He realized how much Joss had come to mean to him, and that he'd move heaven and earth for her if he had to. He'd never felt this strongly about someone before, and he was shocked by this realization.

"John? Talk to me."

"Joss, do you know just how much I love you?"