AN: Hello again! I'm baaaaack! Well, The Pledge went off to a rousing start. I had 12 reviews (9 or 10 more than I usually get for a chapter in one of my longer fics). Most of the reviews saying, please don't quit, we read you all the time; and that if I did stop they would hunt me down, drag me by my hair and handcuff me to my computer and make me write more (exaggerate much? Moi? Nah).

And even a couple that said they wanted to try their hand at writing for the POI fandom (EnjoySeries and LeaLiu). EnjoySeries pulled through and posted Never Become Attached the very next day! Good for you EnjoySeries. You all need to check it out if you haven't done so already. LeaLiu also posted a story called the Cure. Awesome first tries girls! Especially since english isn't their native language.

Thanks to everyone that left a review telling me to pull my thumb out and quit being a baby. You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit. . . Let's try to aim for at least the same amount of reviews and writers? Maybe one or two more?

And, I'd love to shout out to the j/j shippers that did leave reviews. As always, your kindness humbles me. (this is where you all go, KS-keep this syrupy crap up and we'll beat you to a pulp). And there were even several who normally don't read my fics pop in and say, don't quit. You write well and it would hurt a small ship more if a writer quits than it would hurt a popular ship. So again, J/J shippers, thank you very much.

AN2: Without further ado, here is the second installment of my Pledge. I'm building off of "It is what it is" in that J/Z already have an established relationship, if you will. This picks up during S2E5 and does contain spoilers for Bury the Lede. Enjoy!

The Pledge: Standby

She'd been at the bar for about fifteen minutes, long enough for the pleasure of having a drink and not really working to have seeped into her muscles, when the outside door to the restaurant opened, letting in the street noise. A woman's voice could be heard clearly ridiculing her date.

"Nice car, let's hope you're not compensating for something." Zoe had to laugh and shake her head when she heard that; men and their toys.

As a matter of habit, she had automatically glanced over to check out the new arrivals. It was reflex, an unconscious threat assessment or potential client radar. A warm jolt hit her midsection. No doubt about it, it was the man she had spent the last year forging a relationship with; a relationship based on trust, respect, and a mutual caring. Was it love? Who knew for sure? Love to her was just a four letter word. Love didn't explain the genuine excitement when she knew she was going to see him. Love didn't explain her knowing his passion for basketball. Love didn't explain lazing around all weekend doing practically nothing of importance yet still enjoying each other's presence. Love didn't explain the nights she spent worrying about whether or not she would see him again. Or did it?

Sighing, she waited and watched. The couple made their way to their table and he did the gentlemanly thing and held her chair out for her. They talked then she gave him a funny look right before she asked the waiter to bring her wine. She asked him a question as she shook out her napkin and as soon as Zoe saw the look of confusion on his face and the dumbass smile, she knew he was in trouble. And as predicted, she received a text.

Help him.

Smiling as she read it, she made her move and approached their table.

"John? How are you?"

She laughed as he startled at the sound of her voice. He turned around in his seat and stood up. "Zoe," he replied.

She threw her arms around his neck, leaned in and softly whispered, "You trying to make me jealous?" The jolt of familiarity struck them both as their bodies were perfectly aligned.

"Finch have you on standby?"

They both turned around and looked at his date. "Uh, Maxine, this is, uh, Zoe. She's a friend."

His date looked curious. Curious enough to ask, "So, how do you two know each other?"

John let Zoe answer given that she probably knew better what was going on than he. "Oh, we spent two very long nights together last year," she said in the low husky voice he knew so well and a look that said Maxine Angelis was not a threat.

As she accomplished her mission for the night, Zoe said, "It was nice seeing you again John." Flashing him another all knowing smile, she turned, patted his rear and walked back towards the bar.

The evening was cool as she left the restaurant. She decided to walk to clear her head.

No matter what she did to push him aside, John Reese remained lodge front and center in her thoughts and had done so for the past year. It was everything about him: the timbre of voice, the unusual hue of his eyes, and to be honest with herself, his body. She liked his height, the breadth of his shoulders, and, well, all of it. But aside from the physical, there were other things about John that made what they had work.

A year ago, the very last thing she needed was a relationship of any kind, whether it was sexual, romantic, friendly, or unfriendly. She had been more than willing at the time to just have a fling with John. But John, he had other ideas. It wasn't that he wooed her with flowers and romantic dinners. Given what they both did, their lives really weren't conducive to public appearances together. It was in the little things he did for her and with her. He had convinced her to take things as they came. One day at a time.

A year later, they were still enjoying their time together whether it was watching a basketball game on TV even if she fell asleep on the couch with two minutes left or going to the ballet and he fell asleep two minutes into the dance of the sugar plum fairy. A year later, they were still learning things about each other, his need to clean his weapons at least once a week to her needing to have hangers exactly an inch apart in her closet. A year later, they were still talking to each other about anything and nothing. A year later, they were still able to comfort each other when the pain of failure cost someone their lives or their livelihood.

They had both come with such emotional baggage that no one would have given them a chance of lasting more than a few months. But they proved the skeptics wrong. Their relationship was what it was; a partnership, a give and take, an understanding of what each other needed and wanted.

Two days later, thanks to John and Harold's intervention, Maxine Angelis lived to have her by-line and a front cover newsworthy article about the demise of HR. Zoe folded up the paper she was reading and set it aside. In the past year, she has had way too many of these nights with not much to do. If she wasn't working and if their schedules allowed it, she and John would be together, but it was hit or miss.

It was one of those miss nights; John had a "date" with Maxine. Which is why, she went into her kitchen and steeped a mug of tea. She was in her pajamas already, her favorite pair and it was all of eight o'clock in the evening. When the tea was ready, she tossed the bag into the trash then turned to leave the kitchen. She had barely made it past the doorway when she let out a squeak of surprise and dropped her mug of tea, barely registering the sound of ceramic splintering into a million pieces.

"John! God damn it! You made me squeak!" She said holding her hand to her chest.

"Watch your step," he said standing casually by the couch in his usual dark suit.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had a date with that reporter," Zoe remarked, squatting down by the broken mug to pick up the pieces.

"It ended early, I got the 'it's me not you' speech," John sighed with a small smile as he took a seat on the couch, watching as she disposed of the broken pieces and came back to mop up the tea.

With a chuff, Zoe commented wryly, "Seriously?"

"Yeah," he said with a slight shrug. "That and that she was married to her job and that was all she had time for."

"Awww, poor baby, was that a blow to your fragile ego?" she said playfully moving back towards the kitchen to dispose of the rag she used to mop up the tea.

"Oh, it was," he replied with a self-deprecating smile, ignoring her tone. "I'm not sure I'll ever recover from that."

"You're so full of it," Zoe said sarcastically. "You're ego is not fragile. It doesn't know the meaning of the word."

"She also seems to think that I am still hung up on you," he replied with a heavy sigh, "that I am incomplete without you."

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Oh, please!"

He chuckled softly then explained, "In a way, she's right."

"I swear to God John, if you go all Jerry McGuire on me and say 'I complete you,' I will kick your sorry ass," She said stalking towards where he sat on the couch and stared down at him.

"I'm talking about what lies beneath the surface. And, I suppose it's utterly obvious - well it was to Maxine, anyway - that we have a connection, you and I," he said with a smirk, giving away the fact that he was just playing with her.

Zoe gave him a look that clearly said, "Duh!"

John smiled. Though they never really talked about their relationship, he knew, as she did that this thing they had between them was real. It felt like forever. It felt like the very definition of "lasting". They knew each other better than anyone else in their lifetimes because they made it their business to know each other. Neither one of them had met anyone else that had held their interest for very long; that they even wanted to make the effort to get to know.

They may not know the specifics of what each do, but the trust was there, and that was all they needed. John felt, that when they talked, even when they fought, they didn't hide anything from each other. It was intimacy at its finest and John knew she felt the same way. They cared for each other, deeply, though they never said it out loud, they didn't need to. It was clear in what they did for each other and with each other. He was here to stay and she knew and accepted it.

"Come here you," he said, tugging her down to sit on his lap, surprising her into squeaking again since he had moved so fast she hadn't seen it coming.

"Damn it," she said, disgusted, "you made me squeak again."

"I know all the right moves to make you squeak," he said playfully as he adjusted her to straddle his lap, her arms automatically going around his neck. He wrapped one arm around her waist to pull her more tightly against him as the other slid into her hair. "And I'm going to start right here," he whispered then guided her face to his and placed a delicate kiss just on the edge of her lips. He pulled away from her, grinning mischievously, not surprised to see hunger blazing in her brown orbs.

Mere inches apart, Zoe could feel her lips itching to touch him once more. Seconds ticked by with the two of them looking at each other, taking each other in. When Zoe leaned in to kiss him, his hands found her waist and pulled her even closer. As they nibbled and tasted each other's lips, Zoe's arms wrapped tighter around John's neck. Their kiss deepened to a mind numbing intensity.

Zoe's entire body felt like jello. She whimpered helplessly as she felt his fingers working at the buttons of her pajama top. With a barely detectable hush of air, John divested her of her top and continued to render her senseless. She sagged against him as his supple lips caressed hers and his tongue assaulted and seductively explored her mouth, his hands gently kneaded her freed mounds of flesh, his fingers paying particular attention to their tips. She quickly pushed his hands away and pulled him to sit up as she swiftly unbuttoned his shirt then slid it and his jacket over his shoulders, down his arms and away off his body, tossing it aside without a care in the world. Clawing at this undershirt, she pulled it over his head and gasped as their bare torsos met and melded together.

"No," she complained when he pulled away but was soon placated and writhing with pleasure as his lips, tongue, and teeth worked their way down her neck.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said as made his way further down her body towards her breasts, pulling her to a kneeling position so that he could dip his head to nuzzle her and latch on to one of her tips. Enjoying her ample mounds, he hummed his pleasure. His hands slid lower on her body, taking her pants along and eventually adjusted her so that it came completely off.

Realizing she was completely naked she laughed, "How did you just do that?"

"Practice makes perfect," he replied nuzzling the back of her ear at the same time he was working on his own pants. Working the zipper down, shifting, and pulling it completely off. "I'm a multi-tasking fool," he said smiling against her breasts as he licked at them. After a few seconds of maneuvering, she sighed as she felt him ready and brushing the sensitive skin of her thighs.

"Uhm-hm!" she cried out in response to the sensation of his tongue and teeth savoring her breasts. She heard a smothered huff and couldn't help but smile as she rested her cheek lovingly on the top of his head, cradling his head tightly as he suckled hungrily, moving from one breast to the other so as to neglect either.

"I'm glad you came over," she whispered against the top of John's head and felt him nod slowly against her.

"Couldn't stay away," he panted against her.

"Hmm, yeah?" she asked her voice husky as he consumed her.

"Uhm-hm, you smell good," he responded, his breath tantalizing her skin and increasing her arousal ten-fold.

"All for you, lover," she teased with a seductive snicker as he worked his way back up to her lips.

He leaned back for a moment and teased, "Just for little ole me?"

"Nothing little about you, John," she said against his lips as she reached down and caressed him.

John growled predatorily as he sensed her eagerness. Taking her mouth again, he slipped his hand lower to survey her hot, slick folds. "You feel incredible," he whispered against her lips as he played with the sweet little bundle ministering tender, circular motions prior to squeezing it gently. Her body twitched in response and her breath hitched, unable to say anything that made sense. Her only recourse was to reach down and fist him in her hand.

"Zoe!" he gasped stilling her hand and hoping to relax it. "I take it you're ready?"

"Always," she panted. "I'm always ready."

Pressing his lips gently against hers, he eased inside her. He reached up with both hands to stroke her face and run his hands over her body, lingering on her breasts as he gently pulled and rolled her nipples before moving down towards her belly.

Zoe braced herself with her palms on his chest and started to move, back and forth. She felt him, heard the hitches in his breath and the soft sounds of pleasure he made deep in his throat. His skin sliding against hers felt wonderful, and natural, and right. She felt an eerie calm cloak her and she smiled at him. Biting her lip, she stopped to his chagrin. Wiggling her hips against him, she then stopped once more and clenched him tightly.

John dug his fingers into her hips, demanding, "Zoe . . . what are you doing?"

She sat up straighter and wiggled against him some more, delicately moving in small yet delightful circles, she said in a straightforward manner but with a playful tone, "Welcome to my torture chamber, John."

"W...what?" he asked with desperation.

"Doesn't it feel good, John?" she asked, looking down at him with a coy smile.

"Yes!" he growled as he reached up and pulled her roughly to him. She emitted a small squeak and a giggle and he groaned at the sensation of being deep inside her as she laughed. He rolled them both over so that he was on top, he pressed his lips to her ear, nipped it with his teeth, and said, "My turn, Zoe."

She forced her hips against his, prompting him to reach down and pull her legs farther up his body to bring him closer and deeper. They both emitted sounds of pleasure as he began to move inside her. Zoe whimpered as his cadence increased. She felt him all over and around her; the warmth of his body, her soft skin against his hard muscles, his strong arms around her. His lips, teeth, and tongue felt glorious on her face, neck and breasts, nipping, licking, biting and occasionally reaching back to her lips for a brief kiss. They both could feel the wonderful pressure building as his pelvis moved frantically against hers.

John's movements became even more frantic as the promise of release loomed in the horizon. Zoe could feel her pleasure approaching as well as she gasped and pleaded for him to hurry. He responded by moving his body in a furious frenzy against hers. With a gasp and a small scream escaping her lips, her body tightened around his as pleasure overcame her, beginning in her groin and quickly spreading through her entire body sending tremors through her legs to the tips of her toes, through her arms to the tips of her fingers curved into John's back.

Her powerful orgasm caused her body to grip him like a vice, sending him over the edge and driving him to insanity. It was as if time stood still for John as his body felt as if it were being torn apart. Zoe pulled John tightly to her, her arms wrapping around him as he trembled brutally through his fiery release as she felt the warmth spread through her. In time, he stilled and all was silent but for their sated breathing.

They lay there, wrapped around each other for what could have been minutes or hours, without a care in the world as if time was on their side. And in those few hours that they were able to steal from their lives to be together, regardless of what they did, time WAS on their side.

The End