Disclamer: I do not own Person of Interest or its characters.

Chapter 12:

"So the rumors are true," Lionel Fusco called to his former partner as she precariously balanced a cardboard box on the stoop of her brownstone.

"It looks like it, Fusco. I'm home," Joss Carter responded with a smile.

Fusco grabbed the box from her hands, just before it toppled to the ground. "I don't think you should be hauling boxes with your hand still in a cast, Carter."

"It's not as bad as it looks."

Before Lionel could respond, Taylor Carter appeared hefting a floor lamp. "Hey, Detective Fusco. Long time no see," Taylor said good-naturedly as he placed the lamp on the ground and shook Fusco's hand. "Seems like there has been a lot going on in the past few days. Mom's leaving the FBI and getting a new job back here at home." Taylor grabbed the lamp and continued on his journey as Fusco eyed Carter suspiciously.

"New job?" Carter reached into her pocket and handed Fusco a business card. Fusco read the card: Jocelyn Carter, Head of Security, Osprey Enterprises. "So you're going to be working for Glasses. I'll be damned. I bet the pay is pretty good. And let me guess," Fusco gestured towards her brownstone, "he is responsible for this. Good real estate like your brownstone doesn't wait for anyone, Carter."

"I guess Finch knew that I'd eventually come home before I did. Said he wanted me to have a home to come back to," Joss said with a soft smile, thinking of the eccentric man who had become one of her most trusted friends.

"Well, don't get too used to whatever cushy job Glasses has you doing. I'm gunning for you to be back in homicide ASAP. Ryerson is moving to Texas with his fiancée at the first of the year and The Brass are desperate for experienced detectives after the HR cleanup. Experienced people are hard to come by. You know that you're NYPD homicide in your blood, Carter."

"I'll definitely keep it in mind," Joss responded noncommittally, even though her heart did flip-flops at the thought of returning to her old job. If she was honest, she had missed it more than she had admitted. While the FBI had presented a new challenge, she missed the nitty-gritty, down and dirty work of being a homicide detective. She missed being in the trenches. "Fusco, do you have plans tomorrow?"

"Just me and Lee doing Christmas at the apartment. I wasn't going to be able to make it up to see my parents and the ex has Lee tonight."

"Why don't you guys come over for Christmas lunch tomorrow? Around one? Finch is coming and of course Taylor will be there."

"What about Tall, Dark and Deranged?"

"Oh look at the time, I better get going. I have some errands to run."

"Uh huh," Fusco said shaking his head. "Sure you do."

"I do, Fusco. I'll see you and Lee tomorrow."

"Wouldn't miss it. It's good to have you home, Partner."

"Thanks, Fusco," she said as she went inside the house.

John Reese burst through the Library doors, startling Harold as he sat at his laptop. Hurriedly, John approached and stopped in front of Harold's desk, dripping water as the snowflakes melted on his black wool overcoat.

"Mr. Reese, I did not expect to see you today," Harold said as he stood to greet his partner. "After all, it is Christmas Eve and surprisingly we do not have a number."

"I'm not here for long, Finch," John responded breathlessly. He absentmindedly tapped Bear on the head and made his way across the main room to the safe. He pushed aside a stack of books, placing them neatly on the floor. Wordlessly, he opened the vault and retrieved several drivers' licenses bearing his likeness. Quickly, he thumbed through them, retrieving the one that best suited his current needs, and deposited the rest back in the safe.

Harold silently looked on as John placed the driver's license of "John Riley" in his pocket and turned towards the door. "Since you are here, John, there is something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Can it wait, Harold? I'm in a bit of a hurry?" John reached for the doorknob.

"Actually, Mr. Reese, it is rather pressing. With Ms. Shaw out of commission for the time being and Detective Fusco quite swamped at the precinct, I think we may need to recruit someone to help you with the numbers."

"Whatever you think is best, Finch. I'll be back in a few days. Maybe sooner." John opened the door leading to the stairs as Harold called to him.

"John, did you hear what I just said?"

With an exasperated sigh, John stopped and faced his friend. "Honestly. Harold, I didn't hear a word you said. I have a plane to catch that leaves in just over an hour from LaGuardia, and I can't think about much else." As Harold faced John, he noticed that the ex-CIA operative seemed more agitated than he had ever seen him.

"I do hope you are not abandoning ship, John," Harold said wryly. "May I inquire as to where you are going? Not Nairobi, I hope."

"No, Finch. I'm flying into D.C." That pronouncement made Harold freeze and arch his eyebrows almost to his hairline in surprise.

"And what takes you to D.C., Mr. Reese?" Harold questioned barely able to hide his amusement. By this time, John had begun pacing the Library while Bear sat up in his bed and watched his master.

"As if you don't know. Do you want me to say you were right, Harold?" John paused. "You were right, Harold. I want her. I shouldn't but I do. I've been a complete ass and she has every right not to ever speak to me again. I wanted to protect her and I thought that pushing her away would ultimately give her the life I wanted for her. But I've decided to be selfish. I don't want to let her go."

Harold knew he was rolling the dice by asking the next question since this was the most John had ever said about his feelings to him, but Harold felt like lady luck was on his side. "And why is that, John? I thought that Detective Carter was merely an asset."

"I love her, Finch. She may slam the door in my face and never speak to me again, but I have to try." John paused, his face in his hands. "God, Finch. How am I going to tell her?"

"You just did," Joss Carter replied as she walked into the room from the back hallway. John stood aghast as the object of his affections stood before him, a slight smile gracing her face. For what seemed like eons, the two silently stared at one another, not knowing where to begin and forgetting that they weren't alone.

Harold cleared his throat, breaking the trance of both of his friends. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. I have an errand to run." As Finch walked past Carter, he stopped, "One o'clock tomorrow, Joss?"

"One o'clock sharp, Harold. Fusco and Lee will be coming too. And of course Taylor . . . and John," she said making eye contact with the silent John Reese.

"Until then," Harold said with a slight wave. As he walked to the door, he turned to John, "Have a good night, Mr. Reese." John barely heard the door shut behind Harold, still in shock that she was here. Neither had moved.

John slowly approached until he was standing before her. "Joss, can you ever forgive me? I can't begin to make up for how I've acted towards you, but I'd like to try." Before he could continue, she placed her fingers over his lips.

"John, there's been enough hurt to go around, that's all come to the forefront in the last few days. I have a lot better understanding of what's been going on with you, thanks to a little birdie," she said smiling.

"How much of an understanding?" John asked warily.

"Looks like I'm a full fledged member of Team Machine," she replied handing John one of the business cards from her pocket.

John couldn't hold back and started laughing. "So Harold has you on the payroll now? You know, Detective, that we don't exactly follow the letter of the law." John gave her his trademark smirk.

"I haven't been following the letter of the law since some suit-wearing, gun toting, kneecapping vigilante showed up in my life."

"I know Harold. I take it that he didn't hold back how dangerous it is to you even knowing about where we get our information and what we do."

"He did and he gave me an out, but I told him I wanted to know. John, we can't go back. I hope you realize that now. I'm in this thing, whatever this is. I think the whole Kara disaster proved that. I'm not someone you have to shield and protect. I do a pretty good job at protecting myself, Kara's kidnapping aside. And I blame our drama on that. I know that if we had been working together she would have never gotten to me." She took a deep breath eyeing him cautiously, not wanting to press too hard but knowing that she needed to say it. "I'm not Jessica."

John had suspected that Joss knew the entire sordid tale of his relationship with Jessica, but out of her loyalty to him, she had never said a word until now. After talking with Charlie at Jessica's grave, he realized that he was putting Jessica and Joss on the same playing field because he loved or had loved both women and wanted to protect them. Joss was right, however, she could take care of herself. She was an accomplished soldier and police officer. She didn't need a protector, but she did need a partner watching her back. "I know, Joss," he said softly, as he trailed his hand down her cheek, angling her chin upwards.

"You know there is no going back now," she said in a barely audible whisper as their lips inched closer.

"It's going to take me time, Joss. I want to let you in completely, but I've spent a long time locking down my feelings, not letting anyone in. That wall I hid behind started crumbling the day an officer brought me into a police precinct after I got into a fight with some punks on a subway. There in that interrogation room, I met a beautiful detective and knew I was in trouble. I wasn't going to be able to walk away."

"Promise me you aren't going to walk away."

"Not unless you tell me to." All of their resolve crumbled as their lips came together softly at first and then slowly intensified as John pulled her closer. When they finally broke apart, both gasped for air. John continued to cup her face, running his thumb over her swollen lips. She wrapped her arms tighter around him and buried her face in his chest, content to stand there in the warmth of his arms.

When she pulled back, she looked into his ice blue eyes and saw a light there that she had only seen flicker on occasion. "We're going to have to take this slow, John. I'm not without my own baggage when it comes to relationships."

"I think we're in total agreement on that, Detective. And it looks like we'll have plenty of quality time to do just that, Partner," he said nudging her with his elbow as he held her business card between his fingers.

Joss laughed. "Don't get too excited. This is temporary. You always talk about my moral compass, well, you and I both know I can only color outside of the lines so far. Fusco's already trying to grease the wheels to get me back in homicide."

"We'll see about that, Detective. I think I like the idea of you being my partner. That way I can keep you out of trouble. I may have to talk to Lionel about his plan." Joss smiled, feeling warmed by their easy banter when she glanced at her watch.

"We have to go," she said as she walked towards the stairs. John looked at her questioningly. "You and I have to go get a Christmas tree and unpack boxes. After all, we are hosting Christmas."

"Joss, what are you talking about?"

"We're hosting Christmas at my place for our friends tomorrow," she said smirking at his surprised expression. "Taylor is spending tonight with his dad so, we'll be spending Christmas Eve, just the two of us unless you have a problem with that."

"No ma'am," he stated, slinging an arm around her waist as they exited the Library. "I think this is going to be a very merry Christmas indeed."

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading. I think there will probably be a short, fluffy epilogue but this is the last official chapter. Thanks again for sticking with me on this one and I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great week!