AN: Okay, so I feel guilty and decided to post. I knew that the last chapter was gonna be tough but it was easy for me because I wrote it and know what will happen. So, here is this chapter and I might still do another one tomorrow.

Also there is a running theme of them in stakeouts. Mainly, I did it because I didn't really want to focus on any one case, so most of this is based during early working of numbers where they are watching and collecting information or just after finishing a number. Sorry I just wanted to point that out to you guys, carry on :)

-UNSECURE LOCATION- GREENPOINT AVE

DATE: 8/03/2013

TIME: 23:57:01

John sat with Lionel during the stakeout. It was decidedly different from his stakeouts with Carter. Fusco didn't complain about the classic rock station, he didn't push to talk about anything deep, and a lot less distracting. He didn't smell of lavender and wasn't so beautiful that John forgot to breathe. Yes, Lionel Fusco was a far safer companion for stakeouts over Joss Carter.

He hadn't spoken to Carter since she asked for a break from working with them. Not because he was angry, far from it. John understood it; it was a lot to ask of her to lie to her boyfriend. The fact that it took her this long to ask for a break was somewhat surprising with everything she tried to juggle. She was a mom, a detective, a girlfriend, and tried to help them. Something was bound to go, but it didn't make it any easier.

"How is Carter?" he asked, while keeping his gaze on the storefront.

"Doing fine as you well know, I still have that little doll on my desk facing her. You can't convince me that you and Glasses have turned off the camera that's surveilling her," Fusco replied with a huff. "You nearly went nuclear the one time I turned it on accident."

Of course he did. Joss Carter had a penchant of chasing justice which placed her squarely on a lot of hit lists and knowing her whereabouts was paramount. John still had her phone bugged so he could track her. It was how he had known where she was when she met up with her sister. At some point Joss Carter had gone from someone the world couldn't afford to lose to someone he couldn't lose, and he would use any means to keep her safe.

John felt Fusco's gaze on him. "So, wonder boy, want to tell me what is going on with my partner? It seems she isn't working with us anymore."

"She's not. Carter asked for some time off from helping and we are giving her that," John murmured quietly. It hurt but he had always known that Cal Beecher was the right man for her. Now Carter was learning that too. "She wants to focus on her private life."

"Ha, funny one," Lionel said in the middle of his laughter. "Who has a private life with you lurking in the shadows?"

He hadn't lurked, not recently. He knew that Finch watched and would have told him if something was wrong. John didn't want to see or hear how happy her life was without him. He already knew she was better off. Instead of saying anything more John cranked up the music which seemed to only make Lionel happy too.

-UNSECURE LOCATION- 8TH PRECINCT

DATE: 8/9/2013

TIME: 14:39:10

Joss sat tapping her pencil on the paper watching her partner on the phone. It was nearly two weeks since she spoke to John about taking a break from the numbers. Her friends respected her wishes and didn't involve her. More than one occasion she had to take over a case so that Fusco could go help them out. It was no hardship, really. The problem was that she hadn't heard from John. When she told John she needed a break from the numbers, she hadn't meant a break from him. They didn't have drinks anymore. They didn't have breakfast anymore. He didn't call or randomly show up at her place to let himself in and she didn't know what to do.

Her eyes sharpened when she saw Lionel hang up the phone. Joss got up and headed over to his desk. Fusco was immediately looking up something on his computer after the call, which meant that call was from their friends.

She leaned a hip against his desk and stared down at her partner who hadn't looked her way. "So, was that John?" she asked, trying to sound innocent.

Lionel glanced up. "Yea, Mr. Wonderful being his cheery sunny self! Since you quit, I've been gifted more time with the bane of my existence. But hey, take your time and enjoy yourself."

"How are they?" she asked ignoring most of what he said. Fusco liked to grumble and complain but he liked John, and viewed the man as the one that saved him from himself.

He shrugged as he went back to looking at his computer. "As annoying as ever."

She exhaled with irritation. "Come on, Fusco, that's it?" she demanded with a slight bite to her tone. Fusco glanced up and his eyes turned questioning. "When I told John that I needed some time off I didn't think I'd never hear from him."

"I think having a vacation from tall, dark, and stormy sounds great to me."

It was awful. "I thought he'd keep in contact."

Fusco laughed. "Wonder Boy doesn't do normal, Carter. Although, for a while Reese was getting a little weird, I guess he took Shaw's 'get a life' to heart. He almost seemed…friendlier, it was freaking me out. But he's back to his moody and brooding self."

"What happened?" she asked, but had a bad feeling she knew.

He shrugged. "I dunno, what am I?—the big guy's keeper?" Fusco muttered as he went back to work on his computer. "But if you want to talk to him then I suggest you just call him yourself."

Joss was annoyed that Fusco had mostly useless information for her. She walked back to her desk and sat disgruntled. These last few days Joss had been trying to figure out what was wrong with her life. She had a wonderful family with a beautiful son who was flourishing into a handsome young man. Her career was stable and fulfilling. Her partner was trustworthy and someone she viewed as a friend. She had a great guy who was in love with her, and she was putting that relationship first to see if she could return that love. Everything was coming together but yet, it felt like she was missing a component to her life that was eluding her. It took a while to narrow down why she felt in such a way and realized that feeling had begun when she noticed the abrupt lack of a certain man in her life. She was unhappy because John had all but disappeared from her life.

She hadn't called him because of fear he'd ask if she was ready to come back. Joss didn't want to tell him no, once having to do that was hard enough. But she had to do this: make it clear to him that when she asked for a break from the numbers it was just from working the numbers, not from their friendship.

Joss hesitated only a moment before calling John. It took a few rings before he answered. "Carter, what's wrong?"

Her heart dropped into her stomach. That same feeling she had that something was wrong was back but now she had confirmation. John had used his Batman voice. Yes, he had two voices. One he used as John Reese, badass in the suit. The other was John, the man. No one really got the second one but she did. She always did. It was soft and warm, gentle and caring. Right now, she got the distant one and she hated it. Now, she knew. John hadn't showed any reaction that day but he had pushed her away.

"Carter, what's wrong?" he repeated. Of course, he first thought something was wrong because John was the glass-half-empty type. He couldn't fathom her wanting to talk to him just because she missed him, because who would miss him? Not for the first time, she hated his demons that he struggled with.

She swallowed hard. "I want back in the game," she blurted out instead of telling him what she should have, and then closed her eyes. Why was she doing this? Why was she choosing her relationship with John over hers with Cal? Especially with how much turmoil she was feeling over Cal.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Cal and I are fine now, and I'm ready." Joss opened her eyes, appalled by the lies spewing from her mouth.

"Welcome back, Carter. I'll let Finch and Shaw know." And with that he hung up.

Joss slowly set her cellphone down. This would be okay. She could balance her relationship with Cal, being a mom, working at the precinct, and working with her friends. It could work, because it had to, she couldn't lose the progress that she made with John. She just couldn't.

-UNSECURE LOCATION- LEXINGTON AVE

DATE: 8/10/2013

TIME: 17:22:41

Shaw glanced at Carter. The woman was pissed. She didn't hide it. But what Shaw couldn't seem to piece together was why. Carter's anger had been there since they were paired up to work their newest number together, so it couldn't be because of something she did.

"Want to talk about it?" Shaw offered as she opened a can of Pringles.

Carter cocked her head and met her gaze. "Talk about what, Shaw?"

"Whatever crawled up your ass, Carter," she stated, before popping a Pringle into her mouth. Joss arched a brow. Shaw shrugged. "I'm concerned," she said in between bites.

"Clearly," Carter deadpanned, before wiping the chip bits off her sleeve. Shaw smirked and just waited for Carter to speak again. The hot cop sighed. "No offense to you Shaw, but when I told John I wanted to be back in the game I thought it would be John and I sitting here together, not you and I."

"What is your deal with Reese? Are you two banging each other but with feelings? I thought you were dating someone," Shaw asked bluntly.

"I am dating someone. John's my friend, someone I care and worry about."

Shaw thought that sounded awfully defensive. Reese and Carter sure seemed to get defensive a lot when you questioned them about their relationship. Reese almost had an aneurysm the other week when she asked him about Carter. It was all so very interesting. Reese was repressed but what was Carter's deal? Or did she not want to have a thing for him, which could be. Reese was the definition of hot mess.

"Seems more to it than that."

"Are you trying to piss me off?" Carter demanded tersely.

Shaw shrugged. "You were pissed already, figured I could find out what is going on between you two. I've pegged everyone else but you guys."

"Peg us as friends then because that's what we are."

Yea, but they didn't seem to be only friends. "Okay, so why are you worried about Reese, he's fine." Shaw asked.

Carter looked away. "You wouldn't understand, Shaw. It's between us."

That was code for 'I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it' which was fine by Shaw. She didn't really do emotional conversations or pep talks. The best you could get from her was dirty jokes and silence. Shaw let the conversation fall away. She preferred needling Reese about it anyways, and they focused on their number.

AN: John ducking Joss didn't go over so well, and now Carter is pissed. But perhaps the drought of them not talking is over soon, like next chapter soon :)

Thank you for reading!