A Month of Careese Sundays

A/N: A month of Sundays is a very long time, and it seems like it's been ten times that long that I've been searching for and collecting all of the drabbles that I've dashed off without saving over the years - 143 so far and counting - on the Reese-Carter Shippers page and other sites.

So for the next 31 Sundays, I'll be posting one of those drabbles here in this initial collection - some will be as is, while others have been revised, expanded and/or updated with notes regarding what inspired them, etc.

Many, many thanks to wolfmusic218 for her suggestion that I finally start putting them in one place - you're the best!

To kick things off, here's a new drabble inspired by an e-card. I'll explain more at the end of this tale.

1 – The Most Beautiful City in the World

"Hello, Detective."

A bone tired Jocelyn Carter instantly felt her weariness disappear at the sight of the tall silhouette outside her precinct.

She hid her happiness at seeing him with an arched eyebrow as she descended the steps. "It's New Year's Eve, John. Shouldn't you be off somewhere…" her lips quirked as she recalled the Word of the Day calendar on Fusco's desk, "reveling?"

The burly detective had decided for the 100th time to improve himself and had tried using the word for what seemed like 100 times today, until their captain had tossed the calendar in the trash, telling Fusco that it's hard to revel when you're on a slab in the morgue.

Joss and LaBlanca had consoled the dejected Fusco, then Joss had dug the calendar out of the trash and slipped it to Kane, who with a nod, headed to the men's locker room where she knew that he would place it into Fusco's locker.

Reese gave her his patented dead eyed stare. "This is my revel face, Carter. Can't you tell?"

Joss gave him her own patented look as her eyes ran over his lean frame. She knew that he'd been up even longer than she had, yet somehow John Reese still looked clean and crisp, and there was not a hair out of place on his handsome head. "Yeah, I can see that you're a real party animal."

"Takes one to know one, Detective."

They shared a wry smile, then Reese tilted his head at her. "Buy you a cup of coffee, Joss?"

Joss nodded slowly. "Yeah. I could use a real cup after drinkin' the precinct swill for the last twelve hours."

"I know just the place."

They walked companionably down the street together.

There was a hush, a sense of anticipation in the air, as people waited for the clock to strike midnight. The streets were empty, as folks gathered in bars, nightclubs, their homes and of course, in Times Square, waiting for the ball to drop.

Once the New Year had begun, crowds would spill out into the streets, but for now they were almost deserted as the two headed towards the Lyric Diner.

Normally only open for breakfast and lunch, the wily Lyric opened the place only for tonight, making a killing on the gallons of coffee and mounds of doughnuts she would sell to post-celebration patrons, all desperate for some caffeine and fuel before they straggled on subways and buses for the long ride home.

But for now, as Reese and Joss entered the diner, they were the only customers.

As always, even before Reese had opened the front door and ushered Joss in, the proprietress had placed a carafe of coffee and a plate of donuts on the table at their favorite booth.

With a soft smile at Joss and a wink at Reese, Lyric slipped back behind the counter and busied herself with filling the napkin dispensers.

No one knew exactly how old Lyric was or how she had obtained the diner – there were many rumors, but the most prevalent one was that she had won the place in a high stakes poker game fifty years ago.

While other independent diners like hers had been squeezed out by the chains, Lyric's thrived, primarily because, as she told her staff – 'Know when your customers need you, and when they want you to stay the hell away.'

And as Reese and Joss settled into their booth, she did just that, somehow managing to disappear, even though she was only a few feet away from them.

It was as if Reese and Joss were the only two people in the world.

Reese poured them both a cup, trying and failing to keep his eyes from lingering on Joss' gorgeously full lips as she sipped her coffee.

She sighed. "Mmmmm…this is good."

"Lyric's special blend," Reese noted as he sipped from his own cup.

Joss' eyes flickered towards the framed Food Network magazine article on the wall – they had tried – and failed - to reproduce her secret blend several years ago. "No one's ever been able to figure out what she puts in her coffee that makes it so good."

"You never tried to find out what was in it, Carter?"

"Well, I am a Detective, John, so I admit to being tempted, but…I'm learnin'…" she kept her eyes on her cup, "that some things should be left a mystery."

Reese placed a doughnut on a plate and slid it towards her. "Finch will be happy to hear that," he smirked.

Joss raised her head and smirked back at him as she took a huge bite of the sugary treat. "I said some things, John. But, I figure…" Reese stifled a groan as her tongue darted out and slowly licked off a bit of jelly filling on her lips, "when you're ready, or rather, when he's ready, you'll tell me."

"You know I would, Joss," Reese said softly, "if I could, but I made a promise."

"I know. You keep your promises, John." Her smirk turned into a soft smile, as her big eyes shone with gratitude, as they both remembered how Reese had returned Taylor to her in what seemed like a lifetime ago. "I'll never forget that."

Their eyes met and held for a long moment, then Reese forced his eyes away and took a bite of his own doughnut. "So…is that your Christmas present to me, Carter? Since you didn't get me anything."

"You didn't get me anything either, John," Joss shot back.

Reese shook his head. "A dozen perps tied up in a bow on Christmas Eve, Detective."

"That 'bow' was a chain link fence that you tied them to, John. And let's not forget the mountain of paperwork I had to fill out."

"Just think of that paperwork as an instruction manual for a bunch of 'factory rejects', Carter. I'm sure the DA appreciated all the ways that they could put those perps away."

"Yeah, he did," Joss grumbled, but her eyes were twinkling. "150 counts and climbing, John. Those crooks will never see the light again."

Reese tilted his head at her. "So…"

"So o…kay, you got me somethin'"

"And now you got me something, too."

They smiled at each other again, as a monitor on the wall suddenly came to life.

The sound was turned down low, as a stream of images showed how people were celebrating the new year around the globe.

They gazed at the compilation of cities that had already celebrated the New Year, while a banner across the bottom of the screen noted that New York City, symbolized by the Statue of Liberty in the video, would be next.

"Sydney, Moscow, Paris, London..." Joss noted, as those cities, and many others, popped up on the screen, "you been to all them places, John?"

"Just about," Reese noted.

"You spent time in some truly beautiful cities."

Reese nodded again slowly, then his smile faded as he gazed out the diner window into the darkness. "I did a lot of ugly things in those beautiful cities, Joss."

"I know," Joss said softly. "And I know that you try to make up for those things every day."

"I don't know, Joss," Reese's voice was barely a whisper, "if it will ever be enough."

Her slender hand reached across the table, hesitating for a moment, then she gently touched his. "But you'll keep trying, John. And that's all that matters."

After a long moment, Reese's fingers slowly intertwined with hers, as he turned his face away from the darkness. "Yeah. I will, Joss."

Their eyes met and held again, but then with bright smiles, they pulled their hands away.

Joss finished her cup. "You have a purpose, friends like Finch, Sam, Fusco, Bear and… me."

Reese frowned. "Do I have to include Lionel?"

"John."

Reese sighed. "Okay," then he frowned again. "And Shaw?"

Joss' lips quirked. "I'll give you that one."

They gave each other another wry smile, then Reese's smile softened. "You're right, Carter. I do have a purpose, and friends…good friends…like you."

The sound ratcheted up on the monitor. The countdown was about to begin.

"10…9…8…"

"Come on."

Grabbing her hand, Reese pulled Joss out of the diner and into the street.

"This is the most beautiful city in the world, Joss, because of…you."

As fireworks boomed overhead, Reese swept her into his arms and kissed her.

When they finally came up for air, Joss smiled at him.

"Yeah, this is the most beautiful city in the world, John."

"I'm glad you think so, too, Joss," Reese smiled back, as they began kissing again.

XXX

Finally.

The owner of the Lyric Café sighed happily as she watched the embracing couple.

She had told so many stories about how she'd gotten the old diner, that sometimes she'd forgotten how herself.

Even though, her lips quirked, as she watched them kiss again and again, those two could have found out, if they really wanted to.

She knew the beautiful, petite woman was a police officer – even without the gold shield, there was something about her that told you she was a cop – and a damn good one.

And the tall, handsome man – Lyric wasn't sure what he was – he definitely wasn't a cop – but she knew that he helped people in trouble. And that was all that mattered.

Lyric knew they were special, from the moment she first saw them in the diner, all those months ago.

She had never seen two people so determined to save everybody else, except themselves.

And now, finally, they were going to save each other.

That's why she loved owning the diner, Lyric thought, as she watched them walk off hand in hand.

It was going to be, she knew, as her staffers arrived for the post-celebration rush, a very good year.

A/N: The e-card had the five cities that Joss mentioned celebrating the New Year with iconic landmarks – The Sydney Opera House, Moscow's St. Basil, Paris' Eiffel Tower, London's Big Ben, and lastly, New York City's Statue of Liberty.

The next drabble, Tell, will be posted on January 9th.