Joss walked with Grace and fell into easy conversation as she was like a breath of fresh air and had a razor sharp sense of humor. Grace took her on a tour of the home rather than just her art studio, however, the artwork she created was breathtaking. After a little bit, as if sensing Joss was tiring, Grace led them outdoors to a secluded and beautiful gazebo. They had an in-ground pool that was still covered. She bet during summer it was a beautiful aquamarine color, much like John's eyes were. She sighed at the thought.

"So how do you know John?" Joss asked, shifting focus on what she wanted to talk about.

Grace smiled knowingly. "He hasn't said much, has he?" she replied. Joss snorted in response. "He doesn't mean to be anti-social but I think it came with his job. Years of privacy it becomes a habit."

"And what job was that?"

Grace leaned back on the wooden swing and set it into motion making them drift back and forth gently. Joss liked the fresh air even though it was still cool out. It was nice to not have to look over her shoulder every second so she could enjoy it a little. "What do you know about John, Joss?" she asked instead of answering her.

"Not much, I actually ran into him at the right time," Joss admitted, though wanting to keep to herself where John was emotionally. She didn't think these people knew John was suicidal. And besides that, she had leverage to force Grace to spill some details on John if she held information that the other woman wanted in return.

Grace looked at her. "How was he? John disappeared for months and we were worried." she asked. Joss simply remained silent and waited. The pretty red head sat forward. "I'll tell you what, Joss, you tell me everything you know and I'll reciprocate. Anything you want to know about John and I'll tell you," she bartered. Joss knew something but was staying quiet. She liked Joss; the woman was smart, didn't let John bully her, beautiful, and was having a child which made her a ready-made family. She was absolutely perfect for him. Only problem was if there was the father or boyfriend in the picture.

Joss smiled. "Deal," she agreed instantly, before the smile faded. "Although I'm not sure if you want to know the state I met him in."

"I do," Grace insisted.

She swallowed hard as she looked at Grace. "He was homeless, drunk, and on his way to kill himself," she said bluntly, not cushioning the short tale whatsoever.

Grace gasped as tears filled her eyes, and her hand settled over her mouth in horror. Joss felt bad as she watched the woman close her eyes as if trying to will away that unpleasant image she just painted. But Grace wanted to know and there was no way Joss could sugarcoat it.

When her eyes reopened they focused but sadness was palpable in them. "What stopped him?" she asked, sounding choked.

"Yours truly, I suppose. I was running away from people trying to find me because my ex decided to double cross a criminal mastermind. John and I met on the subway train, and I guess I piqued his interest, as he talked to me a little, but I recognized the signs. I saw men like John before…men that went through with suicide and he was there, Grace," Joss explained softly. "I tried talking him out of it but didn't think I actually registered so when he got up to leave I decided that I'd follow him to keep it from happening. But we never got to that point because men found me and John protected me from them. Since then we've been on the run together and I don't think he's given himself enough time to think about the darkness looming in him," she admitted. "I'll try my hardest to keep it from overtaking him. I made a promise to myself that if John saves me that I'll save him from himself."

Grace flung her arms around her in a spontaneous hug and Joss stiffened before relaxing in the embrace. Joss hugged her back. "Thank you, oh god, thank you so much, Joss," Grace whispered in her ear.

Joss rubbed the woman's back. "No need to thank me. I like John. He's a bit crusty on the outside but he's got a generous heart underneath," she reassured.

Grace sat back and gave a watery smile, her gaze thoughtful. "How long ago was this?" she asked.

"Just yesterday, though it feels like ten years ago," Joss muttered.

"And you understand John so well, already. Maybe you are exactly what he needs,' she murmured thoughtfully.

"Hold up, if you are matchmaking I think you're barking up the wrong tree. We're definitely not interested; I'm nearly nine months pregnant, waiting for my little man to come. And John…John doesn't have feelings for me, not for a pregnant lady, who has a mess for a life. In fact I don't think he even likes me but rather views me as a nuisance," she said quickly.

Grace didn't believe her. But they were both coming out of terrible situations so she doubted anything would actually happen, which saddened her. Joss really was perfect for John.

"Well you held up your end of the bargain I should do the same," Grace murmured. And as expected, Joss lit up at the prospect of finding out some info on John. Oh yea, not interested eh?—she thought with an inward laugh. "Where to begin?" she wondered.

"From the beginning would be preferable," Joss requested.

"I don't even know the beginning." Grace admitted wryly. "But I know where Harold and I came into John's life."

"Then begin there." Joss said, rather than asked.

"John was a CIA agent sent to murder Harold." she started her story and it was Joss's turn to gasp. "John's not a bad man, Joss, please don't believe otherwise," Grace pleaded earnestly.

Joss sat and didn't respond for a moment. "I don't. I figured that he was CIA from some things I've seen him do but wasn't certain," Joss muttered. "But please, continue, I want to understand."

Grace looked away. "Harold is a very intelligent man of a lot of things but he is absolutely brilliant with computers. He and a friend were working on software that the government decided needed to be ended."

"What kind of software?" Joss asked.

"Honestly, I'm not really too sure. Harold would never speak about it to me. But John and his partner were fed a bogus story that Harold and Nathan were terrorist sympathizers and a threat to national security so they were to be eliminated." The anger was evident in Grace's usual soft voice. "Harold is the sweetest man on the planet and would never betray his country that he loves!"

"He seems very genuine," Joss agreed, though she had only just met the man.

"Harold was shot in the back when he tried to run away from John's partner, Agent Kara Stanton. She shot an unarmed man in the back! Kara Stanton is a monster…but not John." Grace's hard voice turned soft the moment she brought the story back to John. "He saved Harold when Nathan and Harold had decided to split up, hoping one or both made it, and when they did John followed Harold, but not to kill him but to save him. John had begun questioning the information he was told about his assignments which included Harold and Nathan. So when John caught up to Harold, he saved him because John said that he knew what traitors looked like and Harold wasn't one of them," Grace explained.

Joss nodded. "What happened to this man, Nathan?" she asked, though having a guess.

The look on Grace's face said it all. "Gunned down, and left to rot. Kara Stanton didn't care that things didn't add up. Orders were orders. John had a heart. Had a working brain and figured it out! Thankfully too, or I wouldn't have Harold in my life. But John, loaded with some of Harold's molars for his superiors, faked my husband's death and no one ever looked for him again, in the eyes of the world he was dead. Now Harold is left with terrible pain, a bullet lying against his spine, and survivor's guilt," she said sounding still very angry.

"Good thing he has you, survivor's guilt is not something easy to live with," Joss murmured.

"Sounds like you know…."

Joss looked Grace in the eyes. "I do," she agreed steadily.

Grace wanted to know more there but didn't have the nerve to ask this woman. Instead she focused on what else Joss mentioned. "I'd move to Mongolia and live in a hut to be with Harold if I had to. He is the love of my life," she responded heartfelt.

Joss felt a cut to her heart. She had thought she had love like that but it turned out to be fool's gold. Pushing her pain aside since it did nothing anyways she said; "Thank you for sharing with me that painful tale." Though it still didn't explain how they became so close. The way Grace hugged John it looked like she loved him like a brother of sorts.

Grace smiled gently. "But you're wondering how did we manage to become so close after that, aren't you?"

Joss returned the smile. "Kind of, not many would befriend the man that was sent to murder them or their loved one even if he let him go," she admitted.

"It was a long journey to friendship from both sides. John's a hard man to get to know because he doesn't let anyone close. And in John's mind everyone he meets has an angle; no one does anything out of the goodness of their heart. I'm sure you know how agents in the CIA collect information."

Joss nodded. "They manipulate, coerce, and bribe people," she murmured. "I'm sure John used people's pasts against them to force their compliance as much as he paid them off in money, drugs, materials, or whatever else they desired for the information they had to get to a target."

Grace smiled wanly. "Yes. And to John my husband was an important new informant. None of his informants were hackers, which could prove useful to John," she murmured.

"Let me guess he used the fact that he faked Harold's death as a means to force compliance." Joss guessed, though it wasn't really all that hard to figure out.

Grace nodded. "Yes. He kept it very cold. John reminded Harold of their roles and the power that he wielded over him. And that made it very hard for me to trust John to keep his word that Harold was alive to himself," she explained.

"So what changed?" Joss asked.

"Harold proved to John that he had no angle," she said softly. "Harold began hacking into the CIA's database to learn what new case John would be working on and call him up before John would, and offer some information that could prove useful to him without being asked. John was unhappy at first and told him to stop."

"Ah, John didn't want Harold to tip the scales in his favor and make them more on an equal footing," Joss correctly theorized.

"That and I think John wanted to protect Harold too. But my husband didn't heed his request and continued to help without being asked for it. Before long Harold was doing more and more, and John thawed a little and stopped reminding him of their roles. And with that I thawed to John." Grace admitted.

"So what happened to make you three close?"

"During a mission John was kidnapped and tortured for information but John would never break. They would have to kill him before he ever gave up information which just proved to me that he'd never give up Harold's existence. My husband had been petrified when he hacked into John's comm that he used to communicate with Kara and his handler to learn the conditions he was under. I think it was during that time that Harold showed John that he was helping him because he wanted to not because he had too."

"What happened?" Joss asked impatient now.

"John always wore a watch that had a GPS chip in it for the CIA to track him and the men holding him never removed it so Harold had a means to find John. So when he pinpointed John's location he hacked into the CIA and learned their plans of extracting John, but they needed to get someone on the inside to help John escape which would have taken too long, and John would have been dead before rescue. So Harold ladened with information on the compound that John was being held at, hacked back into the comm again and offered John useful information on how to escape the compound. I don't even want to know how John got out of his restraints or what happened to the man overseeing his door but John listened to where Harold told him where there was a hidden passage underground and escaped that way with his life," Grace said and stuttered to a stop.

"Wow!" Joss replied, impressed.

"And the rest you could say is history as we navigated through our mistrust of each other and found real friendship."

Joss sat there and digested what she said. It was a very unique way to friendship but not all roads were easy. And it made their bond strong. It also made her understand John a little better. But she wanted to steer the conversation onto this 'Jessica' that Grace mentioned earlier that had a powerful effect on John. She suspected it was that 'Jessica' who was the one he lost and was ready to throw his life away for.

"Tell me about this Jessica you mentioned. John is suicidal and told me he lost his connection to the world so I am assuming it's this woman," Joss commanded gently as she could. If she stood any chance at helping John she needed to understand his prior relationship with this woman.

Judging from Grace's look she didn't seem to hold the woman in the same esteem as John did. "Jessica was the woman that John had a relationship with for about six months before he ended things with her. They were together and had broken up long before we ever met John. We only learned anything about her after John made the mistake of mentioning her and Harold dug up everything he could on her. Jessica moved on and married, had what appeared to be a picturesque life."

Joss blinked her eyes in surprise. John carried a torch for a woman who moved on with ease? That suggested that the feelings weren't nearly as mutual as she originally anticipated.

"By then we were good friends so I wanted to go see this woman that made John so sad. I went to New Rochelle and conveniently ran into her. I was engaged to Harold and worked our conversation to be about past loves and Jessica dismissed John. Said all her past relationships didn't last long and weren't meaningful." Grace stated.

"She could have lied…"

Grace shook her head. "No. My father was a drunk and lied so many times that I learned to detect a lie. Jessica didn't love John. And that's why it makes me mad to think that he still uses her as a way to keep from moving on because she didn't love him even a little. I never told John what she said because I couldn't bear to further break his already broken heart."

"What happened to Jessica?" Joss asked.

She sighed. "Apparently her husband wasn't a very good man because a couple months ago she was murdered by him. John was gone for some assignment for the CIA and we lost contact with him after that. We were worried about him."

Joss sat on the wooden swing with Grace falling into silence. So John was mourning a dead ex-girlfriend who he never got over because he had been away on assignment when she got murdered. "Thank you for telling me what you know. The rest I'll extract from him." she assured.

Grace returned the smile. "I suspect you will, Joss," she agreed before standing. "Perhaps it's time we made our way back to John and Harold. The men folk have been left alone long enough and now it's time to show them who really is in charge."

They did just that and when they entered the sitting room John was pacing the room looking like a caged animal, and Harold was content sitting. He smiled upon seeing his wife and Joss entering the room. "Grace, and Miss Joss," he spoke warmly.

"Just Joss please," she retorted, wanting him to drop the 'Miss' forever.

John stopped his restless pacing and looked at her. She grinned at him, and her grin grew as his expression turned wary. He knew now asking her to leave with Grace was a mistake. "You two have been gone awhile," John accused.

"Oh, you know John, girl talk," Grace answered wryly.

He didn't look convinced but Joss didn't give him a chance to question further. "So what plan did the two big strong men make for the little woman?" Joss demanded scathingly.

Harold's lips twitched up into a smile. "We did not make any plan, Joss, but rather John and I were catching up before he merely explained your situation to me. And then you and Grace came back," he assured her honestly.

Joss cocked a brow up in disbelief. John made a face. "No plan, Joss. I don't ever leave out a partner in a plan," he muttered. "Your gender makes no difference to me. You are my equal and we are in this together, that is until the threat to you is over, and I can go on with my life," he stated roughly, as if she was taking him away from something pressing. But the more Joss understood John the more she knew he had a big loud bark meant to scare people off before they got too close.

"Then why did you…"

"Because I needed a break from you; you lied, you snore! It kept me up all night," he stated angrily, as if she attacked his integrity, and so he wanted to say something to anger her in turn. But she just felt relieved because not many alpha males like John would ever consider her an equal. He was truly a modern marvel.

"Thank you, John," she said sincerely. "I thought you were making all the decisions for me and I appreciate that we are sharing in it."

He grunted in response. "Now that you ladies adorned us with your presence how about we get on with a plan?" John suggested gruffly as he simmered down. "I suggested we should come here because I knew we could take our time to figure out where to take you."

"Why not stay here?" Grace offered. John and Joss both instantly declined. "And why not?—it's not as if we don't have the room to put you both up."

"No offense but I feel out of place. Also, and more importantly, I couldn't live with myself on bringing danger to your sanctuary," Joss murmured. "We probably shouldn't have even come. No one has been able to put a face to the name of Carl Elias, so we could have run across him in the street and didn't know it."

Harold looked between John and Joss, it appeared both were equally stubborn, and he sensed pushing them would serve only to make both dig their heels in more. And he had a better idea. Forcing John to spend alone time with Joss would surely have the effect on John that he was after.

"Actually, sweetheart, I think Mr. Reese and Joss are correct." Harold said slowly. Anger flared in his wife's eyes before she tilted her chin up, turned, and left the room. He sighed, knowing Grace was just worried, and he was in for the very lengthy discussion later.

Joss perked up at the first time of hearing John's last name and filed the name away in her personal memory bank for further exploration at a later time.

"But I do have a suggestion, if you both would like to hear it," he continued.

"Suggest away," Joss said.

Harold smiled. "I have an apartment in Manhattan that I use from time to time just whenever Grace and I take in a Broadway show and do not wish to travel home. It's fully stocked and has security detail so no one unsavory should be allowed in. Perhaps, hiding in plain sight would work wonders as I'm sure Carl Elias is having people searching for you in the surrounding states," he said in a pleasant tone.

"I don't think…" John began the denial.

"It's two bedrooms and two bathrooms with plenty of enough room for two co-inhabitants. And it's being rented under another name that's not associated with this one. I've been extremely careful, John, and I wouldn't offer it as a possible solution if I was worried it could be in any way traced back to me," Harold replied patiently.

Joss eyed Harold. "Just how many identities do you have?" she asked, she understood the need for the secrecy with what Grace explained happened to him, but it sounded past simple paranoia.

"Many," Harold answered vaguely. "I can set everything up now if you just give me the okay that you'll stay there."

John looked to Joss. It beat out roaming from one motel to another, and saved him from stealing enough money to foot motel bills, and it also limited her outside exposure. They shared a look and when she seemed to sense he was on board she curtly nodded. John looked back to Harold. "Alright, staying there would give us a chance to hide in plain sight while they are searching in other states until we can figure something else out."

"I could even spoof a credit card transaction by Joss in Connecticut to lure Elias away for a little while if you'd like," Harold added. Joss nearly spoke up but Harold continued; "Stay for lunch. I'll get to work on some cover identities and other necessities for the both of you. I assume you stole the car you drove here in."

"I did." John answered with a shrug. "We'll dispose of it after we wipe it clean of our prints."

"Yes, dead men can't drive." Harold agreed and that caught Joss's attention.

"Excuse me," she demanded.

Harold appeared startled as if he thought she knew something she didn't and John just looked angered. "I-I just meant that John is an invisible entity helping you, so if we don't wipe your prints down Elias will know who John is and he loses his anonymity," Harold said hurriedly.

Joss cocked a brow up. Did either man really think she would believe that pile of garbage? Harold was an even worse liar than John was. Yes, John was an invisible entity helping her and in all intents and purposes just a mere homeless man. But Harold said 'dead men' that implied to the world John was dead and she damned well wanted to know what the hell that meant. But there was no way she was going to be able to extract the truth from Harold with John looming around. Besides she wanted it from the man himself.

"Lunch sounds good," Joss said, letting it drop though reluctantly. As they followed Harold out of the sitting room she sidled up beside John. Her eyes were on the peculiar man in front of them but thoughts strictly on the one beside her. "John," she whispered. He bent his head down a little so she could speak quietly to keep it between them. "Just so you know I don't believe a damn word that Harold said. You're going to explain that 'dead man' comment sooner rather than later," she promised.

John didn't say a word but as he straightened she noticed a smirk on his face.

AN: Well, Harold is sleeping on the couch tonight ;D I wanted to keep Harold still a peculiar and paranoid man as he was on the show because it was a part of his endearing self.

Thank you for reading!