A/N: So this is the last chapter. I had so many ideas for this, but the characters took me in a completely different direction. It's not what I had planned, but I really do like it; it feels right. I hope you like it too. Maybe after I finish the sequel to Tactics, I'll revisit this world and see where they are. Thank you so much for the support. I love this fandom!

There's a red fire burning from the sea up to the sky

'cause I don't want to wait until tomorrow

Tell you how I'll feel the rest of my life

You don't want to waste another minute

When you realize

City of Black & White - Mat Kearney

XXXPOIXXX

Chapter 8

Reese drew his fingers slowly up and down Carter's arm absently as he watched the night sky out the windows of the loft. Curled against him in sleep, her arm draped over his stomach, she was still completely, gloriously naked. He could feel her soft skin pressed against him from his ankles to his shoulder. It was a feeling he never wanted to get used to. Getting used to something meant you took it for granted.

He'd tried, but he just couldn't sleep, couldn't get his mind to shut down. So much had happened between them today. When he'd first called, he'd fully expected her to tell him to take a flying leap, to never contact her again. He wouldn't have liked it, but he wouldn't have blamed her either. As she so often did, she surprised him. She'd given him another chance and agreed to meet. Just getting that chance had sharpened his focus and his determination; he wasn't going to lose her again...for any reason.

Although, if anyone had asked him twenty-four hours ago how their conversation would end, the last thing he would have come up with would have been this. Having her in his bed was something he'd thought of often, but rarely did he ever think it might happen. A fantasy, that's all it was. To know that she'd thought of him the same way, that they'd made it to this point, still felt a little surreal.

He grinned to himself in the dark, his mind drifting back a few hours. If he had to, which he didn't, he might have been able to write this off as a one time thing, something they just had to get out of their systems...if it had only happened once.

They'd taken a breather for a while after that first frantic time, their cooling bodies wrapped around each other, enjoying the quiet and the knowledge that they were exactly where they should be. It hadn't been very long before hands and mouths started roaming again. They'd taken their time...exploring, listening, learning...and for him, it had felt different than the first; he'd felt more connected to her, closer. He was afraid to ask if she'd noticed it too; it wasn't the first time today he'd felt it and he hoped his desire for her wasn't playing games with his mind.

He couldn't pin-point the exact moment, but he remembered turning to look at her during the game and seeing his future flash in front of his eyes. He hadn't seen the clichéd white picket fence or children or growing old together, but he'd seen her in every image in his head and he'd felt the warmth of love. He'd seen them spending time together-the three of them-doing mundane things. Normal things. He'd seen her smile and laugh at him. He'd seen them fighting. He'd seen them making love in the early morning before their hectic lives intruded. It had floored him. He'd always been attracted to her, who wouldn't be, but could they make a relationship work? Had she thought about it? He had no idea. They hadn't exactly done a lot of talking in the last few hours. They probably needed to do that. But not right now. Not tonight.

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head softly and pulled his arm out from under her. She shifted in her sleep, reaching for him, as he got out of bed. Watching her snuggle back under the covers and hearing her sigh made him smile against the emotions running through his head. He needed to get a hold of them before he allowed his doubts to surface and take hold.

Reese slid on his boxers and went into the bathroom to splash some cool water on his face and brush his teeth. When he came back into the room, the moon was shining through the window so brightly it illuminated her face and shoulders. He stood transfixed at the beauty of it. She was sprawled out on his bed on her stomach, the comforter having slipped down to her mid-back. He itched to run his hands over her smooth, impossibly soft, skin. He wanted her again. He didn't think he'd ever not want her. Her sounds, taste, scent...they were all ingrained in him now.

He wasn't sure how long he stood watching her, but finally he shook his head, chuckling under his breath. He had to admit it to himself: he was a goner. He padded barefoot over to the overstuffed chair and pulled it to the window, settling in to watch the world below. He had a lot to think about.

He was deep in thought when a pair of soft, warm arms wrapped around his neck. He reached up and covered her arms with his hands just as she leaned down and kissed his neck. "What are you doing over here?" Her voice was quiet in deference to the darkness.

Gently, Reese pulled her around the chair, noting with a pang of disappointment that she'd wrapped a sheet around her body. She slid into his lap and his arms wrapped around her loosely. "Just thinking."

She leaned her head on his shoulder and pulled her legs up. "Regrets?" Her voice trembled just enough for Reese to hear the fear in it.

He tightened an arm around her and lifted her head with his finger, turning her so he could look at her. "Never. I could never regret you."

She leaned in and brushed her lips over his. "Good. So what are you thinking about?"

Reese trailed his fingers down her arm and took her hand in his. "You. Us. This." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"What about me, us, this? You said you didn't regret it." She shifted in his lap, her rear causing him to stir in his boxers. His hand landed on her hip, stilling her. A small smile turned up the corner of her mouth and she brushed her nose over his ear.

His fingers dug into her hip lightly. "I don't regret anything about tonight. I'm just wondering where we go from here. Just some late night musings, that's all." He reached around and wrapped both arms around her.

"Tell me what you see?"

There was no hesitation. "I want this."

She watched his eyes and nodded as she smiled. Of course, she had to mess with him, it was the way they did things. "You're sure that's not just the sex talking?"

She was playing Devil's Advocate, he knew, but he felt an overwhelming urge to reassure her. "I won't confirm or deny that influence..." he bit down on her collarbone, soothing it with a swipe of his tongue. "...but it's much more than that for me. I think maybe we did this whole thing backwards, though. I want to fix that."

She pulled back from him. "What whole thing? What needs fixing?"

"The wooing."

She couldn't help herself, she burst out laughing against his chest. "The...wooing? John...really?"

The moonlight coming through the window bathed them both in shades of black and white so he doubted she could see the blush coloring his cheeks, but she must have seen something because she stopped laughing and took his face in her hands. "You're serious..."

He nodded. "I am. We haven't even gone out to dinner or had a first date and here we are having sex...albeit really amazing sex, but it just seems...backwards. You deserve better."

He watched as her eyes darted back and forth between his, her hands still on his face. She'd pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. He couldn't identify the look on her face, but he knew he wanted it gone. "Joss..."

Her face softened, "Shush." She kissed each of his eyelids, then his cheeks, and then rested her lips softly on his in a gentle kiss. "That is quite possibly the sweetest, most thoughtful thing anyone has ever said to me. You really are an good man, John Reese."

He started to shake his head, but she held him fast. She shifted her body, straddling his lap. "Let me explain something to you before you go pack for your guilt trip. If I thought I deserved better, I wouldn't be here. I don't want better. In fact, there isn't better for me. You've ruined the curve for any other men. As for doing this backwards? What do you call the baseball game? I'd like to call that our first date."

His eyes snapped up to hers.

"Oh yeah, that's what it was, regardless of what you thought it was. So if anyone ever asks me where we went on our first date, I can say we went to Yankee Stadium. You introduced me to the best 2nd baseman in the game; you fed me hotdogs, bought me a foam finger, and you made me feel like I was the only person in that stadium with you. As for the sex? Granted, I don't usually put out on the first date...unless he's just a phenomenal kisser..." she winked and kissed him quickly. "...but think about it...this whole thing...it's been foreplay between us since the day we met...so I'm OK with it. I'm actually more than OK with it. In fact, if we don't do it again soon, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be really irritated."

The warmth rushed through him at lightning speed. He pulled her tight against him, kissing her shoulder and taking a grip of the sheet covering her body.

"Are you sure about this? I'm not exactly the best relationship material." That voice again...he tried to push it back, but it kept fighting it's way through.

"Damn sure. "

"It's not going to be easy for us."

"Nothing worth having ever is."

"We're going to fight, you know."

"Well, if you'd stop being so hard-headed and single-minded..."

"You didn't seem to mind my focus earlier."

"I wouldn't mind your focus right now."

"Yeah?"

"Oh, yeah."

Before he could make good on his promise of earlier, she leaned back and ran her fingers through his hair. "John?"

"Hmmm?" He ran his lips down her neck to the top of her chest.

"Look at me."

His eyes met hers and she took his face between her hands, kissing him softly. "Let's get this settled, shall we? I want this. I want this...with you. No, it won't be easy. Yes, we'll fight; that's a given. But, you know what? We'll make up. A lot. We'll fight for what we want. And we'll have moments that will make all the hard stuff worth it."

He could only nod and lick his suddenly dry lips. He'd just fallen completely. The words wouldn't come, but he didn't think he needed them yet. He could see them in her eyes, just as he was sure she could see them in his. Just like everything else they did, they were perfectly in sync and words were overkill.

But...one day soon...

...he'd surprise her.

fine