AN: There is a bigger time jump here because as much as I love baby!CaReese I adore the adult versions of them that much more :) Just for reference, John and Joss are 28 and 26 respectively :)

WE MEET AGAIN

"Some people arrive and make such a beautiful impact on your life you can barely remember what life was like without them."- Anna Taylor

March 1998

Joss was excited. Nearly twenty years was a long time coming to be finally reunited in-person with her childhood best friend! They kept in touch throughout the years mainly via mail. Phone calls overtime had waned but their letters never stopped. Since turning eighteen John had joined the Army and was clearly going to be a lifer. From his most recent letters he was now Special Forces Weapons Sergeant, which was just amazing. He had been deployed when she got married to Paul. She herself joined the Army. It was how she met her husband. Joss was considering furthering her own military career as she debated about becoming a Warrant Officer. Paul and her colleagues all thought she'd be great especially if she specialized in a technical area like intelligence. Maybe she'd see how John felt about it being that he was Army too.

But finally after too much time had gone by they were both able to sit down and visit with each other. John was in town and Joss couldn't hardly wait.

A waitress stopped to place her beer in front of her before walking away. Joss was fashionably, or rather unfashionably, early. They had agreed to meet up at seven and she arrived here at six-thirty so she could be seated first. She glanced at her watch and saw it was five minutes to seven and she felt giddy. Five more minutes and finally she'd see John again. They had a lot to catch up on. Besides, she wanted to see how he looked. Being in the military she envisioned the skinny boy she played with. He probably filled out some. She wondered if he was still cute or had age not been as kind on him. Well, even if he was pug ugly she'd still adore him.

She felt a presence beside her and saw her waitress coming back but followed by a man; a very tall, nicely built, and exceedingly handsome man. Joss gaped at him because she realized it was John, her John! It was his eyes that she recognized. His eyes were unforgettable. They were like aquamarines but now were framed with impossibly long lashes. She slowly stood, like moving in slow motion, and couldn't seem to stop staring at him. He had been cute as just a kid but cute couldn't begin to describe him now. Sexy sure did though. Yes, heart-stopping, mouth-watering sexy described John fully. He had strong cheekbones, a masculine jawline and a nice set of lips. His hair was dark as it was as a boy but brutally cut short for the life he led in the military but the cowlick was alive and untamed. He morphed from boy to man and was so damned appealing. He was in great physical shape and all in all she was blown away by the man standing before her.

"Joss," his voice was low but deep and very manly and she didn't like the way her stomach fluttered in response to him. She was a married woman.

She flung her arms around him determined to set aside this weird reaction. It was probably just from not seeing him in so long. "John!" she murmured as they hugged and after a short while they parted slowly.

"You look amazing, Joss," he said as he looked her over. "Not at all like the girl that I remember with her braids or pigtails."

She snorted. "I've long outgrown pigtails," she assured with a laugh. They took their seats. "I'm so happy to finally see you again."

"You don't even know how happy I was to be able to come to New York to see you. How's Taylor?"

"Getting so big!" she murmured, excited to talk about her perfect son. Taylor made her world better.

"And your husband, Paul was it?"

"Good, he's deployed right now."

John nodded as his beer was set in front of him. They ordered their meals quickly so they could catch up. It was nice to finally chat and not have to wait until his next letter to hear his response to her questions. They'd have to try to make time for monthly phone calls again. But they talked about everything and a little of nothing. It was just like old times and Joss felt nostalgic. She couldn't even believe how quickly the night wore on as they had both eaten their meals slowly and had dessert, and still it was already past nine-thirty at night.

Now they were merely sitting in their booth and languidly finishing their beer. "I'm really sorry about missing your wedding, Joss," he murmured regretfully. "I wanted to be there for you."

She waved off his apology. "It wasn't your fault. You were deployed," she reminded. He nodded though still looked a little guilty. "So…have you met anyone that you'll be putting a ring on her finger?" she asked coyly.

John laughed. "I'm still single. No one can compete with my first wife," he teased.

She groaned in response. "I was hoping you have forgotten that," she admitted. At the time she had been so sure her plan would work so he wouldn't have to move away. "Did you like living in Washington?"

"At first, no, because I missed you," he answered truthfully. Joss smiled warmly. "But when I realized mom wasn't going to move us back to New York I adjusted. I realize now that my mom needed family to lean on."

"Yea, your father's death was sudden. I still remember that day. Newspapers had articles on your dad's heroism for like weeks after it happened," she recalled. John's father had died a hero saving lives just after getting out of the Army. It had shattered John and now as an adult she knew that John's mom had been just as devastated. It was why she packed John up and raced to the safe confines of her sister's farm. She glanced at him with sadness. "I wish I could have been there for you when you lost your mom," she said somberly. He waved her off. "It had to be hard."

"It was," he agreed though it was all he said on the matter. Joss sighed. John had never been one to talk about his feelings. Talk about other things, sure, but never about his feelings. But seeing the look in his eyes she knew that his mother's passing still pained him maybe more so than his father's sudden death. "I'm sure you took it hard when your father passed," he commented, trying to move the topic of conversation off him and his feelings.

"I did. Mama was devastated. But somehow I got through it. And I know he's looking down on us right now," she murmured. Then wanting to lighten the mood she asked, "How is Mrs. Winslow?" she asked suddenly, remembering the sweet family friend of John's parents that was always nearby. When John and his mother had moved to Washington Mrs. Winslow had gone with them.

He smiled. "Still Mrs. Winslow, you'd think she's my mom the way she dotes on me," he said with soft laughter. Joss glanced at her watch and groaned at the time. John looked at his and his eyes widened. "Wow, it's getting late," he muttered, honest disappointment in his voice.

She glanced up and met his gaze. "Time flies by when you're having fun," she repeated the adage her mother loved to say.

They stood together and John insisted on picking up the check over Joss's objections before they walked together out of the restaurant. This was the part of the night she was dreading…the goodbye. She knew they wouldn't see each other again for a while, not with what they did.

"I hate this part," she mumbled as he walked her to her car.

"You always did, but then so do I," he whispered as he bent down to embrace her and she hugged him hard.

It had been so nice to see him again. She didn't want the night to end. "Hopefully it won't take us another twenty years to see each other again," she said wistfully. She took in a deep inhalation because he smelled really good. It was something spicy, male, and uniquely John. It felt familiar yet different.

He rubbed her back. "We won't let it," he replied softly.

Joss drew back and John rested his hands on her hips softly. They stood staring at each other and she acted on instinct by drawing his head down as she lifted up on her tiptoes to press her lips to his. It was meant to be just a playful kiss between friends. But the moment their lips met it felt unlike anything she'd known before. For a full second their lips just touched warmly before wildfire caught and engulfed them both. She crushed her lips against his, John stiffened before kissing her back and her brain was sending signals to stop kissing him but it short circuited. And then thoughts were lost because all she could feel were sensations; heady, intoxicating sensations that made her step closer to him rather than stop. Her hands skated over his muscled forearms up his nice biceps to rest on his strong shoulders as she kissed him hungrily.

John's large palms cupped her cheeks as the kiss deepened and their tongues met before she explored his entire mouth with her tongue. Her arms wound around his neck as their bodies pushed against each other's and John's hands slid down to cup her butt. The kiss was so hot and she wanted more. Never in her life did a kiss turn her on like this. John's hands drew her closer and the evidence of his growing arousal pressed against her stomach which was like a hot poker iron slicing through her hazy mind. She was kissing and getting turned on by a man that wasn't her husband outside of a damned restaurant.

Joss pushed away and staggered back in horror as she pressed the back of her hand over her warm and wet lips. John stood there with his arms at his sides looking about as shocked as she felt. That kiss was so inappropriate and wrong but yet it had felt so damned right. She felt sick inside. What was the matter with her?

He worked his throat and finally he managed to clear it before he whispered, "I'm sorry."

Sorry? She couldn't formulate a response to that yet. How were you to speak when your world was rocked off its center? This was John. Her best friend since they were just kids. Kids that aged into adults that found a way to keep their friendship going strong even with long distance, adolescence, and careers that pushed and pulled them in different directions. Joss knew one constant in her ever changing life and it was her friendship to John Reese. But foolishly all these years he had been just been that memory of him at eleven years old. Now she couldn't think of him as just that lanky boy. Not when he was all man that appealed to her intellectually, mentally, and most definitely sexually. There was no denying that she was attracted to John, her best friend.

Her mind tried to conjure up the pleasant feel of his hard ridged penis pressing against her stomach as he was just as attracted to her as she was to him, but she refused to allow it. She was married. And of course John was going to get a hard on, any man would with the way she plastered herself up against him and had her tongue in his mouth. Humiliation, guilt, and stark anger at herself all warred for dominance within her. If she ruined their friendship she'd never forgive herself.

Finally, she pointed out, "Why are you sorry? I kissed you…."

"I kissed you back. I should have stopped it at just a little peck on the lips between friends," he reasoned, trying to shift the blame on him rather than her.

It didn't work. "Yea, well, I am still the one that kissed you in the first place," she said, guiltily.

"It was the alcohol," John said, then sounding as desperate as she felt. She shook her head, feeling shaky inside. She might have been able to convince herself of that had they drank more than one beer and could easily drive home. "It didn't mean anything, Joss. You're happily married and we're friends." he went on to add.

"Right," she said, then cleared her throat when it sounded more like she was asking a question than agreeing with him. "Right," she said again this time louder. No one had to know that her marriage to Paul wasn't perfect. Everyone had problems. She did love Paul. Paul was the man she chose to spend her life with and was the father to her son. They would make it work. They would have the marriage like her parents had. They just had to work on it more than other couples. And so what if John was the world's best kisser? They were friends and always would be.

Her eyes strayed to his and found her heart starting to pound. It didn't mean anything, she told herself. John was a friend and nothing more. This attraction they'd felt would fade with time. That kiss was just an anomaly in their friendship. From now on they were going to keep their lips to themselves.

"Are we good?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yea, why wouldn't we be? We both agree that kiss meant nothing. Maybe, its best if we forgot it even took place," Joss murmured, feeling more in control.

"I couldn't agree more."

"Good," she said with a firm nod of her head and then she grinned as she held her pinky finger up. John smiled in return and Joss swallowed hard as her stomach did that weird flutter that it did earlier. "Friends forever," she said finally.

He hooked his finger with hers. "Friends forever," he replied simply, resolutely.

AN: Kissy kissy ;D

Thank you for reading!