AN: Okay here is the sequel to First Comes Friendship if you haven't read that then this will not make much sense. This is still AU as the other one was and rating may or may not raise ;D Also as you read this there will be elements from season 4 plopped in here without anything about Samaritan because that doesn't happen in mine, nor is there anything with Decima as I hate Greer with a passion. He has worn on my patience with the show, in fact the show has worn out my patience. POI is so lucky I can't give Jim up but so help me if they fuck things up with Reese anymore than already even Jim can't salvage the show for me. I'll have to let it go and not look back because I am not going to watch a show that upsets me. I've done it before because I got invested in characters just as I am with John Reese, and ended up being unhappy. But even if I did decide to stop watching, I can't give these two up they just make me smile thinking about them. John Reese and Joss Carter are two of the best characters ever created so I'll continue to write them as long as I have ideas...or if you are sick of reading my stuff and then I'll fade off to oblivion ;D

Thanks to Elaine again for proofing and reading this for me, I heart you so much!

Disclaimer: I own nothing I just enjoy taking the characters out for a spin.

I hope you guys, enjoy!

John had called, asking her to come by the gym where he taught the self-defense classes because he needed to speak with her. Of course, she had come by. Since that fateful day he agreed to be just friends with her, she hadn't seen him all that much. They saw each other a handful of times at a pub sharing drinks and conversation, nearly every single time she dragged Fusco along as a chaperone. And he called once or twice, and she had done the same but otherwise he had been a ghost. But with the holidays that came and went everyone was sort of busy. Hell, she was. One would think homicides would be on a skid, nope, they went up instead around the Christmas season. Something about the holiday cheer brought out the ugly in some. She wondered how Aubrey handled not getting a new mommy for a present. Poor John, it had to be hard to explain why Santa forgot that gift.

Joss just missed him, though she wouldn't tell him. She wasn't going to send him anymore mixed signals than she already had previously. She asked for friendship and damn it she was going to stick to that. Her heart dictated that, at least for now anyway. She was finally processing everything, finally grieving over Cal, and exorcising some immense guilt she felt over his death.

Joss moved to the room where he taught those self-defense classes, the door was closed meaning he was in session. Should she wait until the class was over or go in now and watch him in action? Her head screamed at her to wait outside because she did not want to go in there to see that sexy body in action. But when did her stupid hormonal body ever listen to her head, because her hand immediately reached for the handle, tugging it open. Her mouth suddenly filled with excess amount of saliva as she got a load of John. He was in workout gear, a white tank was sticking to his sweaty and athletic body, the small room was too small for the full sized class he had. It was a packed room. He was in the middle of teaching and had not seen her come in, so she got an unsupervised viewing of him. Joss fanned her face, telling herself it was because of how hot the room was and she was wearing a leather jacket, not how hot the man was. But even she didn't really buy it.

John was so damned sexy, all sweaty and flushed, that her mind immediately hopped straight into the gutter, thinking he would look very similar after sex just with a look of satisfaction on his face instead one of concentration. His fair skin was slightly red, his hair looked damp, and she could see a fine sheen on that smooth skin of his. She wetted her lips as she got a nice peek at those muscular biceps of his. John still wasn't aware of her. Joss eyed the women around her, wondering if they were just as affected by him. Some didn't seem to be, some definitely were. More than one was looking at him like a tasty treat.

"Hey, aren't you, John's girlfriend?"

Joss blinked, trying to crawl out of the gutter her dirty mind had slid into as her eyes unwillingly slid away from that butt of his.

She eyed the pretty brunette beside her who was smiling. "I'm not his girlfriend, we're just friends."

"You two didn't look like just friends back when you two were fighting in front of us."

Joss kept a smile in place. "We dated once."

"And you let him go? You, girlfriend, are insane. The younger crowd of this class is only here to hit on him. The rest actually value what he is teaching, like me, though he is seriously easy to watch." she said quietly as she watched what John was doing.

They slid into silence as each woman had to take turns doing the move he just taught them and that's when John caught sight of her. He smiled. "My favorite detective, would you like to try to throw me to the mat too?" John teased. Joss uncomfortably shifted as every single pair of eyes slid to her.

She shrugged. "Only if you want your class to see a pro kick your ass." She tried for sass to hide the fact that she was totally smitten with this man. The girls squealed and oohed, John just smirked and that she took as a challenge. She lifted her chin as she removed her leather coat, his eyes raked over her breasts, and lifted back to her face. Desire burned through those blue eyes of his, maybe she should have left that sweaty jacket on.

John stood in the front of the class patiently waiting for her to weave through the crowd of females to reach him. "Turn around, detective." Joss needed to get him to break habit of sounding so sexy when he talked. But she did as requested and realized she really hadn't thought this through because John stepped close. So close that his front was pressed against her ass and it really shouldn't be sexual as he placed his arm around her neck for a choke-hold, but it was. Them touching like this was not good for her body because she was starting to wish they were somewhere a lot more private and with a lot less clothes on. "Um, Joss."

"Huh?"

"You can do the move now," he said softly in her ear, the women in the class chuckled as she realized she was standing there basking in the feeling of him so close. And she felt like a hormonal moron, what the hell was the matter with her? But Joss easily and quickly bent forward using all her might and skill to flip him over her back and he landed on the mat with a soft thud, showing the correct way of getting out of that sort of hold from behind. She mastered all self-defense techniques, so this was just getting some routine practice.

She smirked as she stepped over him, smiling sweetly down at him with her legs on either side of his hips. He rested those sexy hands on her ankles. "I was just letting you get prepared to be on your back under me, John," she teased, hiding the fact that she had been too engrossed in the feeling of him pressing up against her that she had stupidly stood there.

He smirked up at her, she winced at the sexual innuendo, but clearly the other women either didn't hear it or didn't care because they cheered her. "Class dismissed." John called from where he laid beneath her, between her legs as he gently massaged her legs.

Joss heard the groans at that. "You got a little fan club don't you?" she asked before stepping aside to let him sit up, realizing just how suggestive her stance appeared. John got to his feet, eyeing her oddly as the ladies left the room and they were alone.

"Why do you say that?"

"Room is hot." She muttered as she pointed at herself. "So much so I've been here only a matter of minutes and I'm already sweating." Yep, that was the story she was going to stick to no matter what.

He shrugged. "This is the room the manager who runs the gym has me in. The classes weren't expected to be so large but more and more women are signing up for my classes." She eyed him expectantly and he smirked. "And no, it's not to look at me."

"Are you sure, John? The young ones sure seem to giggle at you."

"They giggle at everything," he countered.

"Answer me truthfully, John, how many come ons have you had?" She asked as she walked over where she left her coat, pulling it on.

He eyed her. "Be more specific Joss."

"Aha, I knew it! You've been hit on quite a bit, haven't you?"

He shrugged. "You know I asked you here for a reason, Joss."

She smirked. "You just don't want to admit that I'm right that, your classes are filling up because you're good looking and available." She joked as she moved to stand near him once more.

"I wouldn't be, well not totally, if you would go out with me."

"John…."

"I know, you're not ready to date." He smiled. "I'm willing to wait."

"I don't want you to," she countered. "John, I thought we agreed to be just friends."

He nodded. "We did, I'm going to be your friend until you're ready to date." John reasoned.

She huffed. "John, what happens if I'm never ready to date? I don't want you waiting around for me."

John closed the gap between them so fast that she was startled she didn't see him move. His body heat was raising her already warm body temperature. "So you're saying that this guy you were involved with, that was killed, was someone you are willing to stop living your life for?"

"Excuse me? Aren't you the same man who hasn't dealt with what happened to your near ex-wife?" she demanded as she tried to take a step back but he took one forward. What the hell happened here? She thought she was coming here for something else and he was in her face about wanting to date her?

"Our situations are quite different, Joss. Besides I'm willing to go back to dating."

"But not falling in love with someone," she jabbed.

"So what, you're afraid if we casually date that you'll fall in love with me?" he questioned. She swallowed hard as she found herself backed up into the wall of the room, and caged in by John's sweaty body with his arms on either side of her head. Her arms hung at her sides.

She stared at him, afraid of just that. John was a man that was one in a million and a danger to her heart. "Kind of egotistical, aren't you?" it came out a bit weak.

"No, I'm just trying to figure out why we can't casually date since we're both attracted to one another," he said as his gaze dropped to her mouth before back to her eyes. "I want you, Joss."

"No you don't." She wetted her lips again as her gaze fell to his lips. She knew how soft they were, wondering if he was going to kiss her again.

"Don't tell me what I want or don't want, Joss," he demanded, gently gaining her attention back on his expressive eyes. "But if you aren't ready to date yet, that's fine." He dropped his arms down, and took a step back. She sagged against the wall, breathing again.

She watched him grab his bottle water. "John, just don't wait for me because I'm not sure how long it will take. I don't want to hurt you, you've been hurt enough."

He turned and smiled softly at her. "Okay, I promise I won't wait around for you, but I can't promise that I will find a woman that's even halfway as amazing as you are, or if I can find someone that I'm actually attracted to," John admitted. "But about why I asked you here, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor."

"Sure." She'd talk about anything besides them dating, it was too risky to her heart. Because it was yammering at her to just do it and that she wasn't nearly as hung up on Cal as she was claiming to be.

He hesitated for a moment, seemingly unable to ask for the favor. "Aubrey has been asking a lot about you and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind coming over to my place for a few hours on the weekend so she could see you again."

It was her turn to hesitate. This was the first time he ever asked her to his place, could she handle being around him in an intimate setting without a chaperone? Damn it she was a middle aged woman not some hormonal teenage girl, she could do this. "I would love to see your daughter again, she's a cutie." What would be the point of being this man's friend if she was worried about being around him? None, and she wanted John and Aubrey in her life.

A smile graced his face. "Thanks, Joss, you'll make my princess very happy."

She smiled. "You're welcome, John. So I have to ask how's it going with Finch and your investigation into Peter Arndt?"

His smile died on his face replaced with agitation. "Nothing yet, Finch has been helping me when he can, in between those people he saves. What is it that he and Shaw actually do?"

"Help people that find themselves in bad situations like yourself."

John nodded. "Yeah, that's what he keeps saying but I can't help but wonder where they get their information from." Joss stiffened a bit. Finch said that people who learned the truth about the machine found themselves dead.

"I'm not sure. But it doesn't matter as long as you and your baby girl are safe. And speaking of Aubrey, call me, and we'll set something up,"she said, quickly changing the subject, not wanting him to figure it out. John was an intelligent man, he would surely put two and two together, and that could put him in danger.

John didn't question the abrupt change in subject. "Sounds good, Joss, as my daughter has talked about you nonstop since she met you that one day."

She smiled genuinely at him, before they exited together.

AN: So this sequel is much longer than the 10 chapters of First Comes Friendship. Hopefully you're in for the long haul and along the way you may want to kill me but I promise the story will have a happy and satisfying ending for everything you the readers and poor little Careese had to go through. So hold off throwing all sharp pointy objects, revving of engines to run me over, and keep the shotguns put away until the end and then you may harm me if you feel the need XD

XOXOXOXOXOX Thanks for reading!