A/N I've taken some creative licence with this fic. There are no female Navy SEALS, but in this story, Carter starts out as one. I've also taken licence with the way someone is recruited into the CIA and changed the process around a little bit. The first two chapters of this fic is basically to set up the whole story and introduce the characters as they are in this interpretation of Carter and Reese. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks to Fanu for beta services and encouraging me to actually post this. And now on to the story.

It was 2am.

There was noise – mostly celebratory shouts and cries – all around her. Joss Carter smiled on the inside, and though she kept her face cool, impassive, there was a gleam in her eye. Her platoon was jubilant. Their latest mission was complete, their target destroyed, and the two American citizens being held captive by extremists had been rescued. Their execution was to take place within the next few hours. If it had gone through, their deaths would surely have caused an international incident of epic proportions. So she and her men were sent in. She sat in the back of the helicopter with her assault rifle in her right hand and leaned back as she looked at everyone's faces.

The teacher and her husband who had been taken together, held onto each other while shedding silent tears. The wife's head lay cradled against her husband's chest, and the expression on her face was one of shock and relief. They hadn't eaten in days. Their clothing was torn in a few spots, but besides fatigue and minor cuts and bruises they were in surprisingly good health. Physically, at least. As Carter stared at her, she kept repeating over and over that she just wanted to go home. They all did, and the chopper they were in was transporting them to a plane where they would do just that.

Home. She hadn't seen home for a while. She missed it most days, but she loved what she did. She was a Lieutenant, a SEAL, and now as the Officer-in-Charge of her platoon, she'd seen a lot of action in the past year alone. She lived for this, lived for the action and the threat of imminent danger around every corner. She'd garnered the respect of those in her squad, in addition to her Commander. As one of the few women there, this was no small feat. The Navy SEALS were an all male club. But over the last few years, three women were finally able to chip away at the glass ceiling. She was fortunate to be one of them, but it had been far from easy. She had been pushed to her limits, physically, emotionally and most of all mentally. Nevertheless she'd prevailed, she was here and she was determined to give it her all every single time. She was made for this, that's what everyone told her. They recognized her skill, admired her talent. Still, a part of her deep down inside wanted more, needed more than this.

"Hey, Carter!" She looked up as she heard her name called. McCain was giving her a two fingered salute, his toothy grin bright, and she smiled in return. "Congratulations, Lieutenant."

Reese sat next to Snow in the darkened room of the safe house. They'd been looking at footage for the last hour of a few missions carried out by a platoon led by Lt. Jocelyn Carter. He watched her moves and listened to her instructions to her men. She was quick, thought well on her feet. She was calculated, never doing anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. She was…impressive, he thought. It took him back to his days as an army ranger, dressed in fatigues, moving in the shadows. Glory days, he thought. As she flashed her smile at her team's success, as her bellow sounded at their triumphant retreat, he reluctantly admitted to himself that he liked the sound.

Snow wanted her to be his new partner. He'd been watching her for a while. Her move up the ranks had garnered his attention. Snow thought she was the perfect replacement for Tom Wilson, his most recent partner who had died on assignment two weeks ago. They'd worked together for a mere six months. He'd lasted three months longer than his predecessor. It was a running joke that his partners seemed to come with a very short expiration date. He told Snow that he didn't necessarily need or want a new partner; he was more than capable of working on his own. While Mark knew that to be true, there was a new assignment coming up. Something was brewing that he wanted Reese to be a part of, and to complete it, he'd need a partner - a female one. It looked like Jocelyn Carter was the female he had in mind.

"This is recent?" he asked, tilting his head in the direction of the screen.

Snow nodded, and picked up the unopened bottle of water in front of him. He screwed the cap off and lifted it to his mouth for a long drink.

"Retrieval of personnel," he confirmed. "Last night she and her platoon rescued...these two." Reese took the photographs in his hand as Snow slid them across the table. The portraits showed a middle aged white couple in one photo. In another, there was a screen shot of them bound and gagged, lying on the ground as their captors stood above them.

"Teachers," Snow said. "They were hostages for a week."

"I imagine they're more than ready to get back on American soil."

"They left first thing this morning."

"When is Carter heading back?"

"In the next two days. She'll be hanging around the base till then. Why don't you watch her close up? See what she's like, figure out if you two will get along." Mark got up, stretching his arms and legs.

"Does her Commander know you're looking to recruit her?"

"He knows we're looking. We haven't confirmed anything, but I'm pretty sure he knows why."

"When do you plan on telling her?" Reese's voice was low, and he idly rubbed the stubble on his chin before folding his arms to his chest.

"When we go back to New York. She's due for a bit of leave, and we can talk more in the city."

"Alright," Reese said, getting up. He moved out of his chair and switched the footage off. They'd seen enough for now. "In the meantime, I'll see what she does in her down time."

"Good idea. I'm going to disappear for a few hours."

Reese moved to the back of the building, and to his living quarters. The cot didn't look too inviting tonight and he was tempted to stay at a local hotel. He had the money, and the lure of a luxurious mattress was enticing right now. Maybe later, he thought, but he got dressed in work-out clothes, sneakers, gloves, and grabbed a towel. He had a feeling he'd see her at the gym on base.

And he was right. Though the place was packed with a good amount of *The Green Faces, he spotted her among them right away. She was on a mat doing floor exercises; lunges, hamstring curls, squats, and pushups. Her reps were intense, her work out hard, and by the way her body moved in the racer-backed tee and work out pants, it paid off. Her body was a thing of beauty. Curved but firm thighs, her deltoids, pectorals and abs were cut and chiseled in all the right places. She was perfectly toned, but still perfectly feminine. Her hair was pulled back from her face, caught in a ponytail in the back. Without the mark of camo paint on her face, and sans her head gear, he was taken aback by her delicate features and how striking she was.

She got up from the mat and reached for a jump rope. Within seconds she was jumping, the rope alternating from being swung over her head to under her feet. Beads of sweat formed on her shoulders and stomach, and a thin line of perspiration formed about her upper lip. Her full mouth was open, and she was breathing through it. She increased her speed. Once again, he was impressed. She didn't seem to do anything half way, not even exercise.

"Jason," Carter called out to Miller beside her. "Who's the guy over there?"

"Who, Carter?" he asked, looking around.

"The guy who just walked in. About 6' 2", slight salt and pepper hair at his temples, a bit of scruff going on, intense stare. Who is he?"

She thought that he looked familiar, and she gazed at him as he walked over to the weights on the other side of the room. She hadn't missed him watching her earlier. Hadn't missed it in the least. He wasn't a SEAL, but he sure as hell wasn't a civilian. She was willing to put money on him being some sort of military. She wondered which one. She continued her work out, and checked him out while he did a few bench presses.

Jason looked at him for a while, but didn't recognize him either. "I honestly don't know, Carter. Want me to go ask?"

She smirked at his weak attempt of finding out if she was attracted to or interested in the guy. Though she was sure she recognized his face, though she was sure she had seen him around before, she wouldn't go so far as to say she was in fact interested.

"Nah, I'm good. But why don't you go spar with him."

He scoffed at her request, but as his Lieutenant (O-3), he didn't want to deny her.

"Go on J, show him what you got."

She crossed her arms, while Jason approached him. She cocked her head as she saw him nod in agreement and the two of them entered the ring, gloves on. A few people gathered round to watch.

Her mystery man had Jason by a few good inches. His reach was longer and it was stronger. But Jason was a SEAL, and not to be outdone, he got in quite a few shots himself. She was proud of him for holding his own.

Who was this guy? she wondered again. His moves were sleek and controlled, his face and eyes were focused. He seemed to plot out every move like he'd done this a hundred times before. Even his breathing seemed perfectly timed.

But who was he and why was he watching her? Almost as if he had been privy to her thoughts, he turned then and cast his gaze on her. Even though she'd briefly caught his attention, he didn't miss the punch that Jason threw at him just then and quickly deflected it.

She was sure there was a smirk on his lips, even though it appeared for the briefest of moments. He knew she'd been aware of him, just as she'd known he'd been watching her. His next barrage of punches was swift and he succeeded in knocking Jason to the ground. He reached down to help him up, and his eyes met with hers. An eyebrow shot up almost as if he was asking if she'd seen enough.

She gave him a brief nod in return, but turned her head so he wouldn't see her smile. She had to admit that now even if she wasn't interested, she was at least mildly curious about who he was. The match was still going strong; a second round so Jason could have the chance of knocking his opponent on his ass in return. Carter picked up her water bottle and towel and left the gym.

She didn't see Reese's eyes watching her retreating back. His gaze remained on her until she disappeared from the room.

"So she made you." Reese wanted to knock the smug look off Snow's face.

"I wouldn't say she made me. It was more of….an acknowledgement. She knew that I was watching, and she wanted me to know that she wasn't ignorant of it."

She also didn't seem to mind either, Reese thought to himself.

"You've got years of training on how to blend in, and she noticed you were following her."

Reese shrugged as Snow shook his head. "She knew I was there, but she didn't know why. She was….curious. She sent one of her men to spar with me."

Her interest was piqued. Reese knew it the moment Jason Miller had walked over and asked him to spar. She wanted to know who he was. She probably assumed he was military, but she didn't know what branch. Jason Miller was simply a means to satisfy her curiosity about him.

She stood watching them with her arms folded, and he could almost feel her eyes on him every time he threw a punch. She wanted to see what he could take, what he could give. She wanted to see what he was capable of. Of course with his combat training in the CIA, if he'd wanted to he could have laid Miller flat on his back in a matter of seconds. But a part of him wanted to show her what he could do, wanted her to see his abilities even though they were restrained in the gym. She hadn't stayed till the end, but the brief look they exchanged and her curt nod before she left was satisfaction enough for him to know that she liked what she saw.

"She's very intuitive. She's got good instincts. She's proven that time and time again," Snow said.

"So?"

"So….I think it's time we made contact," Snow replied, rubbing his fingers along his face.

Reese took a deep breath, nodding in agreement. Carter had been in New York for a few days and they'd just arrived. He hated the safe house they were in. He hated the location, hated the setup, but most of all he hated the smell. It reeked of sanitizing chemicals, the kind used to cover up just what they did here; retrieval of information by any and all means necessary.

For a few days, he just wanted to forget this place. He wanted to get out and see the city. It'd been a while since he'd been back on American soil. There wasn't anywhere he could sincerely call home now, but whenever he came back here to New York, he could pretend this place was it. If only for a short while.

He listened as Snow questioned her on the phone. After it was done, she'd agreed to meet with him in Midtown and Reese fought to contain a smile that came unbidden to his lips. He couldn't explain why, but he was looking forward to seeing her again.

A/N *The Green Faces ~ one of the nicknames of the SEALS.