You all waited for a very long time and finally it's here! The long awaited sequel to When It Rains! I am terribly sorry for making you all wait, but I had many internet problems and was busy being a college student. XD

I hope you all enjoy this, and oh yes, there is a third installment in the works (it's currently in the gestation phase).

Disclaimer: I do not own Person of Interest. If I did, Creese would have happened by now. ;)

When It's Complicated

It had occupied her brain for four days; images from that night flashing through her mind like a never-ending movie reel. She couldn't get it out of her head: the kiss that almost happened and the one that did. For a while, she knew there was something between them, an attraction, but she had always left it alone. She and Reese's relationship was just professional. However, since that night, it was becoming clear that it wasn't. A professional didn't spend hours daydreaming about their partner while they were at work—a problem Carter was dealing with today.

Sitting at her desk with her pen poised against her paperwork, Carter stared off into space, barely noticing the excitement erupting in the station as police officers began packing their gear and heading for the doors.

"Carter…Carter? CARTER!"

Jerking back to reality via a violent pen scratch to her paper, Carter cursed and looked across her desk at Fusco, "What?"

"Don't tell me all this doesn't have your attention, Carter," Fusco pointed out and gestured toward the policemen rushing past.

"What's going on," asked Carter.

"No idea," Fusco said, getting to his feet, "but it won't take me long to find out."

Carter chuckled and watched him leave; looking to return back to work, but a familiar phone began to ring. An uneasy feeling then churned inside her stomach, her hand gripping her pen as the phone continued to ring. Cursing once more under her breath, she retrieved the phone from the drawer and answered it, "Please tell me you're not the cause of this."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Detective, but I need your help," the voice of Reese's friend, Finch, replied from the other line. "Mr. Reese has gotten himself into a very difficult situation and is in need of someone to get him out of it."

"And let me guess…that someone is me," Carter asked, her tone weary as she rested her forehead on her free hand. "Was I your first choice?"

"Detective Carter, you are our only choice," Finch replied.

"Where is he?"

"Not too far from the station," Finch explained, "and if you leave now you might be able to beat your fellow officers from getting there first."

"What the hell did he do?" Carter yelled into the phone, and jumped to her feet, grabbing her coat as she shoved her badge into the inside pocket of her suit jacket. She then placed her gun in its holster around her shoulders, and quickly left out the station's doors.

It was pouring rain when Carter walked outside, the wet drops beating down on her as she travelled toward the parking lot, "Well?"

"I'm afraid it's a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time," Finch finally replied. "I'm sure you understand that much, Detective."

Climbing into her patrol car, Carter revved up its engine, "Where is he?"

"The last signal I picked up was near Holiday Ave at Greendale Apartments—third floor. Good luck, Detective," Finch answered, and hung up.

"Close to the station my ass. That's at least six blocks away from here," Carter replied, slightly frustrated.

Tossing the phone into the back of her car, she pulled rapidly out of the parking lot and sped down the street. She was nervous, worried, and angry all at once. This wasn't how she pictured her return.

"He's injured," Carter said slowly, and without hesitation flipped on her car's siren.

She found Greendale Apartments near the corner of the street; it looking to be a rundown apartment complex marked to be condemned. Turning off her siren, Carter eased her car into a well hidden back street. She was thinking ahead; even hurriedly pulling on her bulletproof vest as an extra precaution. Climbing out of her car, Carter rounded the large building to its front, seeing several parked patrol cars. Flashing her badge to one of the officers, and hoping he was a rookie, she asked, "What's the situation?"

"We're executing a takedown and recovery. Some of our under covers got trapped when a third party unexpectedly got involved," the officer explained, gesturing toward the building. "Are you part of the backup?"

"All hands were called in," Carter lied, taking out her gun. "The remaining officers outside are to secure the area."

The officer leveled Carter with a gaze, a glimmer of doubt in his eyes as he contemplated letting her through. Carter didn't blame him. Her lie wasn't good. But she was betting on the happenchance that he would overlook it, and stood her ground as she took the safety off her gun.

"They're all on the third floor; a group just went in minutes ago," the officer said, and allowed Carter to pass.

Relieved that the lie worked, Carter entered the apartment building quietly, pressing herself against a nearby wall to get to the stairwell. Two officers stood near the elevators, but none of them thought of securing the stairs. Slipping into the stairway, she climbed the metal steps as fast as she could, reaching the third floor in a matter of minutes. Using the heavy door as coverage, Carter walked onto the floor and aimed her gun.

"Well isn't this familiar..."

Pointing her gun toward the voice, Carter's face fell at what she saw. The floor was littered with fallen bodies and at the center of them sat Reese holding his left shoulder and sporting a bloodied forehead. He was sweaty and breathing heavily, resting his tired gaze on her as she made her way toward him.

"What happened," Carter whispered harshly as she tilted his head back to examine the wound on his forehead.

"Just a little case of mistaken identity," Reese told, his tone light in spite of the state he was in. "And don't worry, your fellow officers are only wounded and unconscious."

"You should be so lucky," Carter said, frowning. "Where are the dealers?"

"Taken care of," he said, but then smiled. "It's nice to see you again, Carter."

She rolled her eyes, "I wish I could say the same to you."

"Oh, that really hurts," he continued to tease, but winced when Carter pressed her fingers into one of his ankles.

"Come on. We can't stay here," Carter told, and with his uninjured arm draped over her shoulder, she guided them toward the stairway.

The descent down was difficult, but after some careful maneuvering, Carter managed to reach the ground floor again. Taking a deep breath, Carter called out to the two officers still by the elevator, "We need more backup! We have injured officers on the third floor!"

"What happened?"

"Who's this guy?"

"One of the under covers," Carter lied once again. "But the others need emergency assistance! Now!"

Following her orders, the two officers disappeared into the stairwell, signaling to the officers outside that the situation had gotten worse. Finding an emergency exit on the far right, Carter shoved them through the metal door, triggering the alarm. Pumping on pure adrenaline alone, she hobbled through the pouring rain with Reese until they reached the back street to her car.

Opening the car's passenger side door, Carter made quick work of getting Reese situated in his seat, being mindful of his injuries as she buckled him in. She then jumped into the driver's seat and sped off, not knowing where she could go, but wanting to get as far away from Greendale as possible.

"Finch called you," Reese said suddenly, and out of the corner of her eye, Carter saw him staring out the window.

"He's the one that led me here," Carter said. "But let's not drift off topic here. How are you going to get fixed?"

"You can take me to my place," he said, exhaling. "I have provisions there, but I'll need a hand. I tried digging the bullet out of my shoulder while I was waiting for you, but it's in pretty deep."

"Lucky me," Carter joked, but gripped the stirring wheel. "Where do you live?"

"At Wesson Apartments, near Bullitt Street," Reese explained and lifted his right hand to the left. "You'll make a left here and—"

"You're fine, I know where it is," Carter said and turned left down the street. "It's not far from the station…not that I'm surprised."

He chuckled, "What better way to hide than in plain sight?"

"Even though you may have a point, please be careful," Carter replied, not being able to hide the concern in her voice.

"Didn't know you cared, Carter," he teased, but something told Carter he was genuinely surprised that she did.

"Well I—how did you get an apartment," she asked, changing the subject. "Last time I checked you weren't holding any payable jobs."

"Though what I do doesn't require payment, and I'm usually just fine squatting, Finch thought it necessary to give me a place to stay," Reese explained, shifting in his seat. "It isn't much, but—Hello Finch."

Without needing to ask, Carter knew somehow Reese's friend had made contact with them again. She sat there in silence, trying to keep herself from overhearing the conversation. However, curiosity got the best of her and she listened in anyway.

"Yes it's done—the police can handle it for now—yes—I'm well aware of that Finch," Reese went on, and by the tone of his voice, he was irritated. "It won't happen—I'm glad you have so much faith in me, but I know what I'm doing—suit yourself."

Sensing the conversation was over, Carter jokingly asked, "Anything I need to worry about?"

"Everything is fine," he answered, but even though she wasn't looking at him, something told her he was frustrated. With what, she couldn't tell, but it was certainly something to take note of.

Finally pulling into the small parking lot of Wesson Apartments, Carter was surprise to see how conservative the complex was. It was a single tall light brown brownstone building, stained with aged but gentle in wear.

Itching to know, Carter asked, "Do you live in a flat?"

"Not by choice," Reese told, and through pain, he shrugged his shoulders. "I could have dealt with one much smaller. I actually prefer it."

"Well aren't we modest," Carter teased and quickly climbed out the car.

Jogging through the rain to get to the other side, she pulled the passenger side door open and helped Reese get out. She expected to help him to the building as she did at Greendale, but was waved off when she tried to grab his hand. Frowning, she asked, "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine. I've been through worst," Reese told, opening the door to the apartment building for Carter. "Ladies first."

"Do you ever stop charming?"

"Not if I can help it."

Carter smiled, and entered the building. The floors were laid with stone and polished to a reflective shine with the walls painted a light soft brown. A beautiful light fixture hung from the ceiling while one wall was devoted to a very large oil painting. Silvered elevators stood on the opposite wall, giving Carter a full view of how messy she looked since leaving the station. Her clothes were soaked from the rain, hanging heavily on her body while her hair stuck unattractively to her face.

"Are you there, Carter," Reese's voice rang out.

Snapping out of it, Carter turned around with a questioning look. Smirking, Reese nodded his head toward the elevator, "The elevator…"

"Oh yeah…that," she spoke, feeling an inch of embarrassment creep onto her face. She had spaced out again, and this time her mind was occupied with how she looked. Out of all the things to think about, why was her appearance the most important?

"Get it together, Joss," she huffed to herself and pushed the up button to the elevator.

Instantly, an elevator was made free, Carter following behind Reese as they climbed onto the confine yet bright space.

"It's the tenth floor," Reese told.

"The top floor," Carter asked raising an eyebrow.

"Don't sound so surprised. The top floor holds its advantages."

"Not to mention its expenses…"

Hitting the tenth floor button, Carter pulled back and rested against the wall. The effort of carrying Reese around had finally caught up with her. She was panting from the exertion, bracing her hands against the banister around the elevator as she tried to calm herself down.

"You okay, Carter?" Reese questioned his voice so near she visibly shivered.

"I'm fine…just getting tired and cold," she admitted with a laugh. "But like you, I've been through worst."

"In Iraq," Reese asked gently, and once again Carter shivered, but not from the cold.

She gulped, not entirely sure how she felt about him knowing, "I…"

"You don't have to tell me," he assured, his voice returning to its normal tone. "I was just curious."

The elevator slowed then, coming to a complete stop and sliding its doors open. Following Reese off the elevator, Carter entered a hallway holding three doors. They walked to the last door to the right, Reese digging through his coat pocket for his set of keys. Once found, he opened the apartment's door and guided Carter inside. She wasn't surprise to find the lights off inside the apartment, knowing full well a man like Reese hardly took a day of rest. However, she was amazed to see how roomy it was.

"You know, you can see it better with the lights on," Reese told, and suddenly the apartment was lit.

For a place so large, it was hardly lived in, with very few furniture sitting in what should be the living room. Nothing was personalized; the walls were white washed and bare of any framed photos while a single brown couch sat in the living room area before a coffee table, covered in what Carter noticed were tools to clean a gun. The floors were still clean, and the kitchen seemingly untouched. A small, dark hallway nearby might lead to a bathroom while a framing wall on the opposite end shielded his bedroom: a single large bed sitting next to a large wooden nightstand. It all faced a wall dedicated to window space, giving Carter a view of the city's glittering outside. It was everything she imagined an ex-military man's apartment to be, minus how expensive it was.

Turning to him, she asked, "Are you okay to stand on your own?"

"I'm fine," he grunted, shrugging out of both his soaked coat and suit jacket. The wound to his shoulder was made more visible then, a nasty gunshot to his shoulder staining his once white dress shirt red.

"How deep is it in there," Carter questioned as she herself pulled off her wet coat and bullet proof vest.

"It's in there," Reese answered nonchalantly, and began to unbutton is dress shirt. "Are you squeamish?"

"No," she said, rolling up her sleeves.

He chuckled and pointed to the kitchen, "You'll find what you'll need in there."

Entering the small kitchen, Carter searched through several drawers until she found one full of medical supplies. Taking out what she needed, she put them onto a table in the kitchen and called Reese over. He came into the kitchen bare-chested; revealing an expansion of skin she truly wasn't prepared to see. Swallowing down her silly nerves, she brought him to the small table and sat him in the single chair beside it.

With careful concentration and gentle direction from Reese, Carter pulled the slug from his shoulder and dressed his wound, finding his willingness to allow her to do so somewhat courageous. He barely pulled a face when the bullet was pulled out, grunting in slight discomfort but nothing more. The old scars on and around his chest proved how much he's endured; Carter briefly spotted the injury Snow's partner had given him as she finished taping his shoulder.

"They're just old wounds, Joss," he replied suddenly, pulling Carter's attention back. "I'm still here."

"Barely," Carter said with a small laugh and began cleaning the cut on his forehead.

For a brief moment, she had cared more than she ought to, the feeling sending her into a panic as she pressed her fingers hard into Reese's forehead. He hissed loudly in response, and grabbed her waist, his hold so strong it took Carter all she had not to yell out in pain herself.

"Sorry," she replied, retracting her hands from his face when he released her. "I didn't mean—."

"It's okay," he chuckled, staring at her playfully. "It's been a long day for both of us. You're tired. It's okay."

"Actually, it's not," Carter said rather softly before adding stubbornly. "I'm going to regret this…"

Leaning forward, she kissed him; the kiss firm but brief as she allowed herself one moment of recklessness. However, when she began to pull away, hands were moved around her waist with Reese capturing her lips for another kiss. There was no option to stop now, and if there was, Carter doubted she would have taken it. Pulling her down into his lap, Reese coaxed her mouth open, his tongue sliding inside her mouth to meet her own.

She wanted more—needed more, but like a bad itch that wouldn't go away, Carter was pestered into recalling where she was. So, with some reluctance, Carter broke the kiss between them. Unfortunately, it only seemed to entice Reese even more. He followed her lips as she moved back, and kissed her again; his fingers teasing the hem of her damp shirt and grazing the skin his found underneath.

"John," she said between kisses, trying to regain some focus. "John…John…John!"

Grabbing his face, she forced him away from her lips. He stared at her with a dazed look in his eyes, fighting to return to reality as she climbed off him. He appeared confused, almost agitated, and that worried Carter.

"I…I have to go," she said, straightening herself up. "Don't take this—if I stay any longer I'm going to get into even more trouble than I'm already in. What I did was risky, and…if you—I mean, if you two want me on board, I have to at least maintain my job."

She knew she was rambling, but there was no other way to explain it. In truth, Carter desperately wanted this to continue, but the timing was off. He was injured and she was stripped for time. However, wanting to let him know that he did nothing wrong, she boldly leaned forward and kissed him one last time, lingering for a brief moment before whispering, "I have to go."

"Leaving a man like this—what a cruel punishment," Reese finally spoke, his voice thick but laced with humor. Carter watched him grin lazily at her, but quickly turned away when he licked his lips. The gesture was ridiculous, yet it made her heart beat rapidly inside her chest.

"Well…that's for three days ago," she said and made her way out of the kitchen.

Grabbing her coat and throwing it on, Carter couldn't help the smile that spread over her lips as she left Reese's apartment. In spite of how complicated their relationship just got, she frighteningly liked it. So much tension was let loose in one kiss, she briefly wondered what would have happened if she had stayed.

So there it is! I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Reviews are welcomed and very much appreciated!

PS: Thanks for Liz (from Tumblr) for beta-ing this! She's so good to me!