It was morning. They got up about an hour ago after a whole night of lovemaking.

Carter walked out of the kitchen with two plates in her hand and saw that Reese was in the spot he was in when she started making breakfast ten minutes ago. He didn't turn around when she sat on the couch and put the plates down; he didn't make a move to indicate that she joined him in the living room area.

She walked over to him and put her arms around his waist and he put his hands up resting them over hers.

She planted a soft kiss to his bare back and rested her cheek against it.

"You've been standing at this window for the last few minutes, you planning on moving anytime soon?"

"It's about to rain." He said and pulled her around to stand next to him. He slid an arm around her shoulder.

She gazed outside the window and sure enough as soon as he said it, a heavy downpour started to fall.

"Gee, now that came outta nowhere really."

"I know. I had the whole day planned. I wanted to take you out, spend a day in the city with you." He said looking down at her finally.

"Awww….that's sweet. But I can think of worse things than being stuck inside here with you. Come on; get something to eat before your breakfast gets cold." She held his hand leading him over to the couch.

They sat together for a bit and she smiled as she watched him eat. They were comfortable again, falling into the same patterns as before. She missed being here with him, being in his space, spending time with him. It was such a contrast to her place, the old and new one.

At her place there was always activity, whether it was the TV, the three of them playing video games or having dinner. When she was here, they could be quiet together. They could relax, sleep, sit and eat like nothing else in the world existed.

Sometimes they could get loud when he decided that he wanted to do certain things to her body, like he did last night. She felt a tremor flow through her remembering his lips and his hands and where they were. She missed their lovemaking. She missed the connection they had when they were together.

She was happy to have reveled it in just hours ago. Her body was still feeling the effects of his expert touch, his kisses and they way he moved inside her. Her limbs were tired, she was a little sore when she walked, but she felt utterly satisfied.

This was her man. She was his woman. Things had been different this time. She felt it. She felt that there had been a shift. There had been a change and it was for the better.

"What're you thinking about over there?" He asked seeing the little smile on her face.

"You." She said raising the cup of coffee to her mouth, finishing it.

Empty plates were on the coffee table, her feet were in his lap, its usual spot when they were on the couch together and his hands were idly running up and down her calves and feet.

"I'm so happy you're here Joss, with me, starting over."

"I'm happy to be here."

"I know that I may not be the best choice for you, I know Thompson might be the better man, he's stable, he's got a normal job, you'd never be in danger with him. I hope you're not feeling like you made the wrong choice."

She shook her head still surprised that he didn't get it.

"I never needed you to be perfect. I knew who you were a long time ago. Martin is a good man. But this isn't about what's the better choice, John. It's about who's right for me. If I was with him and still thinking about you the whole time, I don't think he was the better choice."

She sat up and crawled into his lap putting her arms around his neck.

"But you know, if you want me to change my mind, I can give him a call." She shrugged.

"Don't you dare."

"You know, just be sure, cause I still got him on speed dial."

"Don't make me confiscate your phone. I'll do it."

"No you won't."

"Or I'll have to pay old Martin a visit at his place in the Upper West Side. Convince him that he needs to keep his distance."

"You know where he lives?! John please don't tell me you followed that man home."

"Okay, Joss. I won't tell you."

"I don't believe you. For a highly intelligent man, you can be so foolish sometimes."

"It's because, I'm just crazy about you Joss Carter." He said closing his eyes as her hands moved through his hair and over his scalp.

"You know Martin would never have been a problem. You could've just come to me. Instead of looking for Zoe."

His eyes opened abruptly then and she knew their playful mood was temporarily interrupted.

"I'm sorry." She said. But truly she was still a little upset and maybe minutely insecure about the woman. She knew Reese worked with her from time to time. There was the nagging fear that one time or the next they'd end up sleeping together again.

"I'm sorry I hurt you. You have to believe if I could take it all back, I would."

She shrugged. "I know. I know you regret it. I mean technically we were broken up at the time, but….the thought of you with someone else…I felt like it was just me that you didn't want."

"I want you more than anyone, Joss." He said cupping her face in his hands. "Believe that, please."

"I do."

"Zoe's not here. She's not anywhere in our relationship. It's just you and me."

She nodded.

"Although I must say when you sat in that diner and told me you were going away with Thompson I felt gutted. It felt like you wanted to get revenge on me for Zoe."

She winced. "A part of me did. I won't lie. I wanted you to hurt like I was. I wanted you to know how I felt seeing you two together, her touching you. It was all I could see in my head over and over, the two of you together."

"I felt the same." He said sighing. "Watching you kiss Thompson…..seeing him hold you. It was like a knife twisting inside me."

"You watched us?"

He didn't respond, but looked her dead in the eye.

"You have some serious stalker issues, John. If I didn't know you, I'd be really afraid. You didn't follow us to Philadelphia did you?" She asked looking at him sideways.

"I didn't." He said shaking his head. "But enough talk about Thompson. I don't want to hear his name again." His hands moved to touch her waist and then further up under his shirt that she wore.

"Unh uh." She said as his hands cupped her breasts. "Not so fast."

"What? Are you tired already?" He said nipping at her neck.

"You're not?"

"I never get tired of you. And I never will. Ever. And we have to make up for lost time." Her lips met his and she felt his hand sliding in the back of her neck.

"But you said you had the whole day planned." She murmured against his mouth, touching his face. "Did that happen to include us not having sex?" She smiled.

"As a matter of fact it did." He said smiling back at her. "We were supposed to have lunch, go to the park with Bear and then have dinner later on."

"Well this looks like it's going to last all day." She said looking out the window. "What can we do in here?" She saw him raise his eyebrows and shook her head. "Besides that."

She watched a slow smile spread across his face.

"Let me show you something."

0o0o

Carter got off his lap and he led her down to the closet that held his arsenal. He just realized and couldn't believe that he'd never shown it to her. He held her hand and opened the doors, switching the light on so she could fully appreciate the extensive collection of weapons he had.

He watched her eyes widen as she looked around. Her hand flew to her mouth as she kept uttering his name in disbelief.

"No wonder you could lend me a whole bag of toys. You got plenty to spare." He smiled as she ran her fingers over the KRISS-Vector. Besides the SIG-Sauer he regularly kept at the small of his back, it was one of his favourites.

"I guess I shouldn't ask how you got these either." She said turning to him.

"Still probably best if you didn't." He said.

"Grenades, launchers, assault rifles, and even a sniper rifle. An M82A1…hmmm…" She said and he could hardly contain his excitement when she stood in front of it. A woman who knew her weaponry? What more could he ask for?

She turned slightly looking over her shoulder. "Can I?" She asked with her hand on it.

"Please." He answered, nodding and she picked it up.

"Hmm…" she said looking through the scope.

Woman after my own heart, he thought.

"Light Fifty." She said sarcastically.

"They call it that because…"

"…..because of the chambering I know. But there's nothing light about this baby. She's a little heavy for me, but I guess it's just right for you." She handed it to him and he put it back in its place on the wall.

"If you have that, I guess you were in Desert Storm. Had to be. Right?" She asked and her eyes lit up.

"Spent some time in Kuwait, yeah." He said and she smiled turning around to look at the rest of his collection.

"Very impressive John. Even though I cringe thinking about you using some of these here in New York. I'm going to have to develop amnesia about a few of them."

He planted a kiss to the side of her face.

"Well come on, show me the rest. Which one's your favourite?"

He spent another hour or so showing her his arsenal and she handled a few more pieces. Later, they started to talk about her tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, why she enlisted and how she became an interrogator. It was good to have someone to talk to about what it was like over there. Not many people outside of the military could truly understand or empathize. Still she hadn't seen what he had working with the CIA. She hadn't done the things he'd done.

If she'd ever seen combat, it was nothing like the intimate killing of someone you looked in the eye when you took their last breath, whether quickly or slowly. It took away a piece of your soul, bit by bit.

They were sitting on the couch. It was mid afternoon now and the constant downpour outside was turning into a slow drizzle. They were side by side, both quiet, pensive and she seemed to sense his thoughts. She reached in between them to hold his hand, linking her fingers with his. Almost like she was prepping him for what she was about to ask.

"Tell me about the CIA, John." He took a deep breath and he decided to just let the words flow. He told her how he was recruited, his training, missions and eventually how he'd been assigned to work with Kara. As soon as he started to talk about her, he felt her grip on his hand tighten, and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

She asked him about their work together and though he was scared he would frighten her with the tales of some of the things he'd done, she simply sat and listened. She didn't cringe or shrink away from him, but whenever he spoke about something he felt ashamed of doing she would rub his arm, touch his face and he felt more and more comfortable opening up to her.

She was quiet afterwards, and he sat up to look down at her after a while.

"Does this change what you think of me?"

"Yes it does." She said after a minute.

He knew it. He'd hoped against it, but he knew she'd view him as a monster.

"I think I understand you more." Her voice was soft, whispery and he could hear a hint of sadness in it. "It takes me back to the first time we met at the precinct. Now I know why you'd sunk so low after losing Jessica. You thought you were some monster because of the things you had to do and she was…you felt like your connection to her was the last good thing about you. After she was gone, you felt like there was nothing left."

"Joss…"

"But you were wrong. They didn't break you; they didn't destroy your soul. They couldn't. And neither could Jessica's death. The goodness inside you is what kept you all along."

He stopped thinking he was good a long time ago, but the look in her eyes as she stared up at him told him that he was wrong. She saw something in him, something that was still worth loving, despite everything that he'd done.

He bent down to kiss her, so overcome with her words and her fierce belief in him. He pulled her closer, placing her on his lap so she could straddle him. She leaned onto his chest and put her arms around his neck. She felt so good in his arms and his hands circled her waist.

She pulled back a little resting her hands on his shoulders.

"I love you."

He pulled her close again, kissing her hard, running his fingers over the flesh at the back of her neck.

"I love you, Joss."

He devoured her lips again, mashing his mouth against hers. He nipped at her bottom lip with his teeth, sucking on it and plunging his tongue into her mouth. He reached under the shirt, skirting his fingers over her back and stomach then cupping her breasts in his hands.

He heard her moan in his ear and she planted kisses on his neck.

She was his and he was hers, long before they ever attempted a relationship, there had been something between them. His personal demons hadn't been able to change that, nor their time apart after he let her go. They were back together and this time he wasn't letting her go.

She unbuttoned the shirt, then let it drop to the floor and he leaned forward taking one of her breasts into his mouth, circling his tongue over her nipple. Her head fell back and he turned his attention to the other giving it equal attention. Her hands moved down over his torso and he drew in a sharp breath as she took him out of his boxer briefs and into her hands, stroking him over and over.

"John…." She breathed his name before she bent down to kiss him again and then he lifted her slowly ever so slowly onto him.

She hissed as she took him, deeper and deeper, and she started to ride him slowly, deeply. He felt every inch of her, every part, every secret place.

"Joss…Joss…Joss…" he pulled her closer with every stroke and her name kept rolling off his tongue.

She put her hands around his neck, her moans coming deep in her throat. She ground on him; her movements over him were like electric currents travelling through his skin. He felt as if she was folding herself over him, drawing him into her, pulling him closer than ever before. He bit into the flesh of her arm, gripping it, digging his fingers into the small of her back.

She quickened her pace and her moans were deeper now. The look on her face was pure ecstasy and he held onto her thrusting up to push himself further.

"Joss you're so damn soft. So damn soft." He got up from the couch with her still in his arms and carried her over to the bed. He raised her legs over his back, digging into her, grounding into her, throwing all of his weight behind his thrusts.

"John you're so deep….." She cried out biting her bottom lip and whimpered in pleasure.

He pounded into her over and over and her head thrashed from side to side. He could feel her walls start to vibrate, hear her groan building in her throat. He felt her fingers dig into the skin of his back and he felt his seed start to shoot from his body.

Another thrust, he sank in deep.

And another. He tensed up as he found his release. He heard her mewling in his ear softly, felt her squeezing him as pleasure rocked her body. She held onto him tightly and collapsed against her chest.

"That was good." She murmured and he laughed.

"Yes it was." He agreed and kissed her neck.

0o0o0o0o

It's 7:15, John. I'm hungry." They'd fallen asleep and now it was evening. It was getting dark outside and it seemed like it was her turn to look broodingly out the window.

"Let's get something to eat then." He was sitting at the edge of the bed, rubbing the back of his neck. The sheet lay haphazardly around his waist and on his lap. "It's not raining anymore. Let's go out."

She walked over to him, stood between his legs and ran her hand over the top of his head.

"What do you feel like eating?" She asked and he looked up at her as his hands ran up and down her thighs.

"I can tell you what I want to eat, but it's not food."

"John…" she said blushing.

"Go on, get in the shower and get dressed. I know where I want to take you."

"Get something out of my bag for me." She said over her shoulder as scampered off to the bathroom. She spent a while under the hot water, loving the feel of it over her skin. She leaned against the tile wall and closed her eyes for a minute.

"These dark slacks are ok?"

She heard his voice at the bathroom door. She smiled and said yes and her eyes focused on a clear bottle in front of her. She sighed, picking up the bottle of jasmine. He'd obviously bought it in anticipation of her coming there again.

She couldn't help thinking how ironic it was that her things in his place had been what had finally pushed him to drive her way. And now she realized that pieces of her had never left him. He carried her with him all the time.

When she got out of the shower her clothes were laid across the bed and he was loading some of his clothes into the bag she brought with her.

"What are you doing?"

"Just packing a few things to take over to your place like you suggested." He zipped it up as she started to dry off. He stared at her for a minute, his eyes roaming her body.

"Nope." She said. "You better get into the shower before we both get into trouble."

He smirked and did as she asked and forty five minutes later they were leaving the apartment and stepping out into the New York night.

"Where are we going?" She asked looking up at him and they picked up a comfortable stride together.

"There's a new small family owned Italian place near Murray's. I got some lunch from there the other day. I think we should check it out. It's really cozy, the service was good. A nice couple owns it."

"Sounds good." She said and they walked down the block before hailing a cab. She was confused as he gave the driver her home address once they got in the back seat.

"What about dinner?" She asked quietly.

"Going to pick up Taylor. I called while you were in the shower. I want him to come along." He said so matter of factly, like it was the most natural thing in the world for him. She squeezed his hand as he put his arm around her.

Later, the three of them sat together at Rosalie's, and he was right. The food was amazing. The owners remembered him from his first visit for lunch and they stood at their table chatting with them for a few minutes. The couple regaled them with a story of how they met and fell in love, how they loved to cook together after they got married and how they fought over whom to name the restaurant after.

Carter laughed at how Reese was told that after his first visit he was a newcomer, his second visit made him a repeat customer, but a third time would make him their special guest. And they treated special guests like family.

Family. That's what she felt like they were this evening. Taylor seemed to idolize John. He hung on his every word at the table. They seemed to be getting along well again and she was glad. Not just for Taylor, but the both of them. Taylor needed a father figure in his life and John needed someone to pour his love into. Despite him not thinking he was good enough, Taylor's affection for him proved otherwise.

The conversation flowed, the food was good and she felt like things were finally turning around.

They got home later and she got undressed and slipped into bed with him. She was glad to be in her new home with the man she loved laying next to her.

She knew they had a long road ahead of them, but this time the path would be a little easier to navigate, she thought.

"You smell so good." He said sniffing the back of her neck, his arm pulling her close.

"John….."

"Hmm?"

"Baby, you're holding me too tight." She said. "Let me go." She said laughing.

"Never. I'm never letting you go again. Come here." She turned round in his arms and lifted her lips to his waiting mouth. His kiss was soft and sweet and everything she wanted right now.

"Then don't." She said pulling his arms around her once more. "Don't ever let me go, John."