AN: This story is definitely AU for a few reasons though I won't get into them all as you find out a couple right in chapter one, but, the ones I want to tell everyone about is that Joss Carter is obviously alive as well as John never joined the CIA which is the biggy. And with John not joining the CIA he's a little lighter not weighed down with his traumatic past, but I promise he'll be John Reese we know just with minor differences. Most of my AUs I try to keep the characters true to their personalities as the show dictates just with minor tweaks to fit my story.

And if you guys are eyeballing the title wondering what it's all about, I promise it will make sense eventually. And it's Careese-y so if you aren't a fan of Carter and Reese ship, you may want to pass by this XD

Thanks Elaine for reading this story, and enjoying it I was so happy. I hope everyone else does too.

Story is rated T for language and some suggestive dialogue.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Harold turned when he heard footsteps in the library. He smiled. "Good morning, Ms. Shaw," he greeted warmly. She had her hands shoved in her pockets with her hair tied back in her standard ponytail and had the same bland look on her face.

"Morning, Finch, any new numbers?"

"In fact we do and from the looks of things we have two numbers to deal with simultaneously. I was just in the process of learning exactly who they were," he said as he finished grabbing the necessary books to find out the social security numbers before sitting down before his computer to hack the government database.

She smirked. "Good because I'm bored."

Finch was glad he had found a better suited replacement for Mr. Dillinger in Ms. Shaw, who had been going through rigorous and intensive military training to become an ISA agent before sustaining a life altering injury in a near fatal car accident. She suffered nerve damage in her back that with extensive physical therapy had been repaired. She suffered from spasms quite often but were manageable, however with that permanent injury she became 'damaged goods' and was dropped and forced out of the military. He had met her during rehab and had offered her the job of working the numbers, she had been skeptical at first much the same as Mr. Dillinger had been, but came around once she realized he was speaking the truth. He had to constantly remind her to shoot for kneecaps and not for center mass at first, but as time went on the easier it became for her with that one stipulation he had. Ms. Shaw was a hard woman to befriend with her personality disorder, however their mistrust faded over the near three years' time of working together and she was now a valued friend.

Harold blinked in shock as he realized the two numbers were related. "Oh dear," he muttered. Harold printed out the photographs before grabbing some tape and taping the photos to the broken glass pane. One photo was of the man in military garb, the other was the same man in more casual clothes.

Shaw looked at the photographs. "He's hot, who is he?" she asked.

Harold nodded his head toward the military photograph. "That man on the left is John H. Davis, age 43."

Shaw furrowed her brows, looking between the two photos. "It's the same guy." She pointed out.

Harold nodded before he pointed to the photo on the right. "They are but this man on the right is named John Reese, age 43 with a different social security number and date of birth." Finch said as he hobbled back to his computer to find out more information on the two men. There was only one explanation; one of the names was a fake.

Ms. Shaw rounded the table to watch him over his shoulder as he dragged up information on the two men. "So one has to be an alias of some kind?—I bet it's John Reese that's the fake. Those medals on that military jacket are authentic."

If he was a betting man, he'd put all his chips there too, which was why he was drawing up all the information there was to be had on John H. Davis first. Harold opened the house deed in the name of John Davis in New Rochelle New York, which had been foreclosed on a little over two years ago. There was also a marriage certificate with his wife Jessica Davis from 2007. Harold furthered his search finding a death certificate for Jessica Davis in December 2010, before finding an autopsy report, her death was ruled a suicide.

"Looks like not all was well in the Davis household." Shaw muttered, as he drew up legal papers. "Davis filed for separation from his wife two months prior to her death, then he served the wifey with divorce papers the day she took her own life; he was asking for full custody of their daughter Aubrey Rose Davis," Shaw said reading out loud the same thing that he was reading quietly.

Harold minimized what they were reading to find out if there was anything on an Aubrey Rose Reese. "Mr. Davis is quite intelligent, Ms. Shaw," he murmured. Shaw leaned closer.

"I'll be damned," she muttered.

"No one would ever think this wasn't a real birth certificate for his daughter, it's a well done forgery." He was sure no one would ever notice the difference, but, since he was looking for them he saw the very subtle differences. Harold hacked the database for Aubrey Rose Davis and Aubrey Rose Reese's social security numbers, and what he uncovered shocked him. "Mr. Davis is no ordinary man, Ms. Shaw," Harold whispered. She furrowed her brows.

"Why do you say that?"

"Look at his daughter's social security number."

Ms. Shaw leaned over him, looking it over. "Yeah, what of it?"

"This is the only one available for his daughter." Harold said. Shaw eyed him, then shrugged. "Ms. Shaw, it states Aubrey Rose Reese." Harold further explained and waited for her to put two and two together.

Her eyes widened, finally realizing what he meant. "Shit, this guy is good." Shaw sounded impressed with Mr. Davis's illegal activity.

"Indeed, Mr. Davis hacked the database and changed his daughter's name logged on her real social security to Aubrey Rose Reese, effectively erasing Aubrey Rose Davis altogether," Harold said looking up at his friend as she straightened.

"Judging by the fact that Davis has a different social for his alias that means he assumed a dead guy's life or he purchased a deceased person's social security number off the black market. But why would he hack the database for his daughter's?" Shaw wondered.

"Quite possibly to not raise suspicion, not many deceased children's social security numbers come up on the black market, Ms. Shaw. I don't believe he assumed anyone's life, not with the meticulous care he has taken for his daughter. No, Mr. Davis went into hiding for some reason and whatever that reason might be is what's catching up with him. I'm not sure if he's the perpetrator or the victim at this point. But whoever Mr. Davis is, he is extremely intelligent and gifted individual. He quit the military permanently in 2005, when he went back to school and got a BA in business."

Shaw eyed the computer. "Black belts in krav maga and jujitsu at a young age, several brushes with the law, forced into boot camp, and then later joined the military. Seems like he found his niche with the military and rose up to Special Forces. I wonder why Langley didn't come knocking?" she muttered. Langley always wanted those types of boys.

Finch searched a bit further into Mr. Davis's past, combing through everything. "They did."

"CIA came knocking?"

He nodded. "He declined their offer, instead he worked quietly at an advertising firm, a nice job and was rising up in the company until he suddenly quit," Harold explained as he sifted through John Davis' information. "He quit about a month after his daughter was born, before working part-time at a coffee shop as a barista." Shaw frowned. Why would he quit a cushy little job where he was rising up the ranks, for a job at a coffee shop, effectively throwing away all that schooling he had?

"What about his alias Reese? Let's dig up some dirt on who he is now."

Harold pulled up information on John Reese. Harold noticed that much was the same for John Reese as John Davis, but with understated differences. "John Reese works as a weapons instructor with the police academy while on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday nights he teaches women self-defense classes at a local gym." Shaw pulled out her cell phone. "Who are you going to call, Ms. Shaw?"

"Carter, so she can go have a little chat with John Reese."

Joss climbed out of her car, yawning. Two weeks ago she took down HR with the help of Shaw and Finch. Simmons was in jail while Quinn was in protective custody after turning state evidence against the Russians. Everyone wanted the guy dead now, not that she cared. She was just happy to have gotten justice for Cal, got her job back, and now could focus on healing. She had pushed aside her emotions trying to gather enough evidence on HR to use to bring them down. Now that it was over with, she needed to finally deal with what happened to Cal.

Joss still couldn't believe that Shaw and Finch got their numbers from a super-computer. It was unnerving as hell, but Finch and Shaw explained it to her as best as they could when she had flippantly ousted she figured it out. It didn't take a rocket scientist, but, while she figured it out that it was a super computer of some sort she hadn't realized exactly what it was. Harold called it The Machine, which was an A.I., and it gave numbers, not names. But the social security numbers it gave were from the irrelevant list which they got, while the numbers from the relevant list went to the government agencies that dealt with terrorists and massacres.

And John Davis aka John Reese was the next number on that irrelevant list.

She entered the police academy, finding the office before asking where Instructor John Reese was. The woman was extremely helpful once she flashed her badge and that she needed to ask him just a couple questions to help with an investigation. Joss exited the office, walking down the long hallway towards the classroom he was in. The class was to end in a few minutes which helped her out, because he had a simulation to perform afterwards.

The door opened and cadets exited, complaining about something. Once the amount of men and women started to dwindle she entered. She blinked as she eyed the lone man inside the room, collecting things on a desk. He was drop dead gorgeous. He smiled. "May I help you?" she nearly closed her eyes. His voice was like a soft croon, so damned sexy.

"John Reese?"

"Yes."

"I'm Detective Joss Carter."

"Detective? What precinct?" he asked with that smile still residing on his face.

"Eighth, I was hoping to just ask you a quick question," she said with a quick smile as he walked towards her. Suddenly she felt tiny in his presence as she realized he was quite tall. He had a full set of lashes that framed a heart-stopping pair of blue eyes, not to mention high cheekbones that a model would kill for. He had gray sprinkling through his hair, but most of it sat at his temples, with a cowlick standing tall and untamed. His hair was free of any hair care products, just cut brutally short like he was trying to hide curls that wanted to make their way out if he didn't. Joss felt desire wallop her in the face as she eyed the man.

She tried to ignore the instant attraction as she held out her hand which he gladly took. "Ask away, detective." He said quietly. When she realized he was trying to drop her hand, she hastily let go, feeling heat warm her face in embarrassment.

Joss had his students list, thanks to Harold, so the lie was going to be easy. This meet and greet was to get ears on him. "It's nothing official, I'm friends with Cadet Stafford's mom who is driving me crazy with wanting to know how her daughter is doing in the academy and asked me to find out for her. I gave in, it's just easier," she said with a quick but innocent smile.

He laughed and it was a sexy sound. Joss was quickly learning that everything about John Davis or Reese was sexy. "You're a wonderful friend."

She shrugged. "I took my lunch break early to head down here, so I can call her right away once I hear the devastating news." Joss continued the breezy talk to keep him from knowing it was a fib.

"Well Cadet Stafford is doing a wonderful job in weapons training. She'll do well in the simulation, so you can tell her mother, at least for my class, she is doing alright."

"Have you been an instructor long?" Joss asked gently, as she walked beside him when he motioned for her to walk with him.

"A couple years now. I swear I'll have Stafford ready for being a police officer," he promised with a quick wink, and Joss felt herself floundering under his intense sex appeal. How did female cadets even pay attention in his class?

"I wasn't implying you wouldn't." she assured him.

"It's okay, you're protective for your friend, I understand, and I'd probably be just like that if my daughter decides to be a cop one day."

She pounced on the chance to further their conversation. "You have a daughter, what's her name?" She asked as she blue-jacked his phone. His eyes furrowed when his phone beeped. He pulled it out, watching as it shut off.

"That's odd, I just charged this thing." he murmured as he turned it back on, before looking at her. "Uh, my daughter's name is Aubrey."

"Pretty name."

"Yeah." His eyes lit up when he thought or spoke about his daughter.

"How old is she?"

"She's five, you have any kids?" he asked as they walked down the hall.

She was detecting a hint that he was trying to steer the conversation off of him. "Yeah, a teenage son who is 17, going on 30." He laughed again. This man had a dazzling and ready smile, sexy but easy laugh, and not at all acting as somebody with something to hide.

"You don't look old enough to have a teenage son, detective."

A smile of her own pulled at her lips. "I take that as a compliment, Instructor." She said softly.

He paused in the middle of the hall. "John, please, and it wasn't a compliment, just stating a fact," he said and Joss swallowed hard as his eyes dipped down her body giving her a very slow once-over. She felt her body heat up as his eyes skimmed over her breasts and back up to her face. She stared into his eyes and saw attraction for her swimming in them. Uh-oh, not good, not good at all, she was attracted to him as much as he was to her.

"Well, uh, I guess, um I should let you go." She wished the floor would open up and eat her whole as she stuttered like a buffoon.

"Yes it was nice meeting you, detective, but I have a simulation to perform."

"Joss," she hastened to correct him. "And it was very nice to meet you too, and thanks for the info, now I only have a few more instructors to find and harass." John laughed softly again before turning away, moving down the hall slowly. He had some serious swagger, walked like he owned the damn world. Her eyes dipped down, watching the way his dress slacks curved to his butt. She sighed, hitting her earwig connecting with Shaw. "I met him."

"And what's your take on him?" Shaw wondered.

John Davis or Reese was sexy, had a nice butt, beautiful sparkling blue eyes, smelled delicious, and was a soft-spoken man, but all of which wasn't what Shaw was asking for. "I don't think he's the perpetrator, my gut instinct tells me he's the victim and we need to protect him."

"That's what I was figuring you were going to say."

Joss turned to walk to the exit of the academy, trying to put the man she just met out of her mind. "Call me if you need an assist, Shaw."

"Will do," she assured her and disconnected. She needed to head back to the precinct, get back to work, and do a little research of her own on John H. Davis and John Reese.

AN: I promise John won't be so different that you can't recognize him. The idea of having John NOT in the CIA living a different life but still meeting the team is a fun Alternate Universe for me to delve in. In this AU I finally managed to get to write something that I have always wanted into a story but you won't get to see that until chapter 2.

Anyways, thanks for reading I hope you guys enjoy this XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX