Hi! This is just a little Christmas oneshot that I started writing weeks ago and then forgot about, so I've rushed to finish it and get it online in time!

Happy Christmas, to those who celebrate it!

It was Christmas Eve; brightly coloured lights adorned houses, Christmas carols blared out of the church, children danced around in their hats and mittens, chatting excitedly about what they wanted Santa to bring them this year. The air was cold and fresh, as the sky darkened and left the warm glow of the street lamps to light the way for pedestrians. In the midst of this, Teresa Lisbon was feeling the least Christmassy she had done for years. She could remember being one of those children, celebrating when the snow arrived in Chicago and writing out a faultlessly polite letter to Santa, asking, if it wasn't too much of an inconvenience for him, to bring her a new book or some sneakers or whatever else she had wanted. Sadly the childish excitement of the festive season didn't quite have the same tone when it was accompanied by memories of her mother's death.

Lisbon wrapped her coat more tightly around her and marched on. She had actually intended to visit her brothers for the holidays this year, but after her futile attempts to suggest a truce and a family meal she decided that she would probably be better off at home, pretending that her brothers got on and her family wasn't slowly splintering. Like last year, and the year before that, her Christmas would consist of ready meals and a stack of romcoms and crime thrillers. She imagined the shock on her teams' faces if they knew how she really planned to spend the day. Further still, she pictured their reactions that their hard-as-nails team leader actually enjoyed those soppy romantic comedies.

When Lisbon returned to her apartment she stored her food and then changed into sweats, ready to settle down on her couch and enjoy the first of the many films she planned to watch. What she was not expecting, was a sharp knock at the door.

"If this is carol singers…" she muttered under her breath as she went to answer the door.

It swung open, not to reveal a large group of overly cheery and slightly out of tune group, but one single person, dressed entirely in red and sporting a large fake beard.

"Ho ho ho" he greeted her, and she narrowed her eyes at him; she was sure she'd seen those blue eyes somewhere before…

"Jane?"

"Jane? Who's Jane?" the man feigned ignorance "I, as you may have guessed, am Santa"

"Come on Jane; what do you want?" she asked, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"I'm Santa; the real one" he insisted "but whoever this 'Jane' chap is, I'm sure he'd like you to let me in because it's getting a little chilly out here, and this suit is a lot thinner than you'd expect"

She rolled her eyes but stood back to allow him in. He closed the door behind him and looked around the room, apparently unsurprised by the lack of festive decorations.

"Ok" he said, straightening his scarlet jacket "it may surprise you to know, but beneath this amazing disguise I am actually Patrick Jane"

"No" she pretended to look shocked "I don't believe you"

"Prepare to be amazed, Agent Lisbon" he said, tugging the fake beard off and then wincing "da dah!"

"What are you doing here?" she asked, looking unimpressed by his big reveal.

"I'm here so that we can celebrate Christmas together" he explained, taking the hat off as well and running a hand through his dishevelled hair.

"How did you know I would even be here?"

"Dear Lisbon, I know a lot more about you than you let on. So which film did you have lined up first?"

Lisbon blushed slightly and looked away.

"I'm perfectly happy to celebrate Christmas on my own" she protested "now go and do…whatever it is you do when you're not at work"

"Don't be such a Scrooge" he frowned at her "now I need your help bringing the tree up, I forgot how many stairs it was up to here…"

"What tree?"

"The tree in my car" he explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world "I guessed you wouldn't have one"

"Oh no Jane, you haven't actually…oh god, you have, haven't you?" she groaned.

"Come on, it'll be fun" he insisted "I haven't decorated a Christmas tree in years! Not since…"

He fell silent and looked at the ground. It was obvious where that sentence was going, and Lisbon started to wonder if there was a reason besides annoying her for what he was doing.

"Alright" she relented finally "just let me go find a sweater. And please tell me you have something other than that to wear"

When Jane had said 'tree', Lisbon had been expecting a twig with a few pines that stood at about her height, not a massive affair which took up half her living room area. Jane stood back and looked at his purchase proudly, with a wide grin on his face. Lisbon stared at in shock, wondering what she'd just got herself into.

"Where did you even get that on Christmas Eve, Jane?" she asked finally.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he smirked at her "do you want to start putting the lights on whilst I get the other decorations out the car?"

She nodded slowly and then set about arranging the lights on the tree. Jane came back from his car with a few bags, disappeared into her kitchen with one of them and then fiddled around with her CD player. Just as she was standing back to check her light distribution, the sound of Michael Bublé singing 'Santa Baby' filled the room.

"I'm just trying to get some festive spirit in here" he shrugged as she glared at him "the decorations are in that bag"

"What's in the other three?"

"All shall be revealed" he said mysteriously, tapping the side of his nose.

Lisbon rolled her eyes again and then grabbed the decorations bag, emptying them out onto the floor.

As she and Jane hung them all over the tree in a comfortable silence with Michael Bublé's gentle voice filling the room around them, she reflected on quite how long it had been since she had last decorated a Christmas tree. She hadn't bothered buying one when it was just her in her apartment, and when she'd spent Christmas with one of her brothers they had already decorated the tree long before she had arrived. It was actually quite nice, she decided reluctantly, even if Jane had barged in here with a massive tree and a red suit on. Speaking of Jane, he was being uncharacteristically quiet at the moment. He was hanging the decorations with a vacant look on his face, like he was thinking a time far away from them. Of course he is, Lisbon reminded herself, he's thinking about his wife and daughter. She recognised that look. It appeared whenever anyone mentioned his family to him, or he came across certain pages of the Red John file. As he pushed his lips into a firm line, she decided that an unhappy Jane simply wouldn't do, especially not when he'd made such an effort for her.

"Jane" she said suddenly, jerking him out of his reverie "you've just hung three red baubles in a row"

"Oh" he looked down at the baubles in question "why yes I have, does it matter?"

"It looks much nicer if you distribute the colours equally" she shrugged.

"It's a Christmas tree, Lisbon" he pointed out, a smile creeping back onto his face "there is no wrong way about it"

"There is" she insisted, reaching out and taking one of the offending baubles off the tree "here, put that gold one on instead"

Jane hung the new bauble and then stood back.

"Now it looks like we're purposely trying to even out our colours, it should look random"

"You're over thinking it" she told him "and you did just say there was no wrong way about it"

"Maybe I was wrong" he suggested.

"Patrick Jane? Wrong?"

"Who am I kidding? Wrong barely exists in my vocabulary" he decided "here, you put the star on" he held the sparkly object towards her.

"Don't you want to do it?"

"I'll probably do it wrong, and then you'll moan at me and then I'll have to redo it…" he said, looking wistfully into the distance "you do it"

She shrugged and took the star from him, reaching up on tiptoes to try and hang it on the top. She nearly toppled in her attempts, and then huffed and tried again.

"Seriously Jane?" she snapped, when she turned around and found him trying not to laugh at her "you gave me the star because you know I can't reach, really mature"

"I didn't" he protested "look, I can do it if you really want"

"Nope" she said, stomping towards the kitchen with the star in her hand.

To Jane's relief she reappeared a few seconds later, carrying a stool. With a tiny satisfied noise, she stood on top of the stool and hung the star on top of the tree.

"Beautiful" Jane commented.

"Shame about the red bauble distribution" she shrugged, and he knew he was forgiven "go on then, what's in the bags?"

"Presents"

"What's really in the bags?"

"Presents" he maintained, picking up the bag nearest to him and taking an oddly shaped wrapped gift out of it "I got you a few things"

"Oh" Lisbon stared at him "I didn't get you anything. I mean I wasn't expecting to see you, and I could-"

"You don't need to get me anything" he dismissed the thought "just letting me in here was enough of a gift"

"Thanks" she said quietly "hold on, you took a bag into the kitchen"

"Oh yes, that's the ingredients for our Christmas dinner tomorrow"

"Our Christmas dinner?" she repeated "so you did actually mean you were going to spend Christmas with me?"

"Of course" he answered, like it was obvious "I'll cook, so you don't need to worry about that"

"Jane, why are you doing all of this?"

"Because you work hard all year and you deserve a day or two of fun" he said simply "and I acknowledge that a small amount of that hard work may be down to me" he added, looking ever so slightly sheepish "and this is my way of making up for it"

Lisbon raised her eyebrows at him.

"Alright, maybe a moderately sized amount" he amended "stop worrying for once in your life and just enjoy it, woman"

"Ok, a day of fun" she shrugged eventually. Sometimes it was just easier to go along with Jane's plans "so what's next?"

"Well, next we put the presents under the tree – and before you start fretting about not having got me anything, I bought and wrapped some presents for myself that you can give to me"

"Of course you did" she muttered.

"And then" he continued, ignoring her remark "we eat fish pie whilst we watch a Christmas movie"

"And let me guess, you've provided the fish pie and the movie as well?"

"You betcha" he grinned "would you prefer 'The Grinch', 'Love Actually' or 'Elf'? No wait" he added, before she could reply "'Elf' followed by…'Love Actually'?"

Lisbon glared at him slightly but didn't refute his choices.

"I always knew you were a romantic at heart, Lisbon"

"Oh shut up" she muttered "now help me put these presents out"

An hour later, they were settled on Lisbon's couch finishing the last of the fish pie and sipping glasses of wine as Buddy the Elf arrived in Manhattan. They had turned the lights off and the oversized Christmas tree was now illuminating the room.

"What I don't get" Jane began, swilling his wine around in his glass "is why Buddy has to walk all of the way to New York when Santa could have just given him a lift or leant him a reindeer or something?"

"Jane, it's a kid's Christmas movie. Stop overanalysing it"

"It wasn't a criticism" Jane told her "more of a…wondering"

"Well" Lisbon began, actually thinking about his question "the sleigh needs Christmas spirit to run, and it's going to struggle as it is at the end of the movie, plus people might freak if a sleigh actually did land in the middle of New York"

"Maybe" Jane shrugged "and this is so much more than just a 'kid's movie', Lisbon"

"I'm struggling to hear it over your incessant plot hole-picking" she muttered.

"Someone needs some more Christmas spirit" he murmured back, earning himself a glare.

Jane stood up and stretched when the movie finished, and then set about picking up their plates and cutlery to take through to the kitchen.

"I'll get the dessert, you switch the DVDs over" he instructed Lisbon.

He disappeared into the kitchen as Lisbon got up and put the 'Love Actually' DVD in, wondering how on earth he had known that she secretly liked the film. Sometimes it was better just not to ask.

She looked at the handful of presents spread underneath the tree, trying to work out what he could possibly have got her - or himself, for that matter. She was just considering what the bizarrely shaped gift might be when Jane returned, a bowl in each hand.

"Yule Log" he announced, handing her a bowl with a spoon sticking out of it.

"Thanks"

"Jane?" she asked a minute later "Are you sleeping here tonight as well?"

"If you don't mind – your couch is comfy enough. Now shush Mother Teresa, I haven't seen this movie in years" he added, before she could protest.

Lisbon sank into the couch and started to dig into her dessert.

"I don't think I'll be able to get up tomorrow at this rate" she commented after her last mouthful.

"Movie, Lisbon" he reminded her.

"Alright" she grumbled. It was funny how fussy Jane got when he wasn't the one that was talking through the movie.

It was getting late, and as the movie continued Lisbon was feeling increasingly sleepy. She felt her eyelids growing heavier, but she battled on by shuffling around on the couch. She finally dozed off near the end of the movie, curled up at the end of the couch with her head and arms on the armrest. Jane noticed that she had fallen asleep and smiled to himself. There was something very sweet about seeing the tough Agent Lisbon fast asleep with a tiny frown on her face, making the occasional noise that were slightly reminiscent of a small woodland creature.

When 'Love Actually' finished, Jane tidied up again and after a moment of contemplation (and committing the image of a sleeping Lisbon to his memory palace), started to nudge her gently.

"Lisbon, wake up" he whispered loudly as he rubbed her shoulder "Lisbon"

"Huh?"

Her eyes fluttered open and she scrambled to sit up.

"Jane?"

"Shhhh, you need to go to bed" he whispered, taking her arm and helping her to stand up.

"Oh, right" she nodded, remembering where she was "night Jane" she yawned, walking slowly towards the stairs.

Jane made a cup of tea and drank it slowly on the couch; staring at the tree they had spent the evening decorating. He had felt a lot less nostalgic than expected tonight, seeing as it was the first time he had actually celebrated Christmas since the deaths of his wife and daughter. He had found himself confronted by the occasional memory of decorating the tree – him holding Charlotte up to put the star on, Angela, like Lisbon, complaining about his decorating skills – as well watching Christmas movies, and one particularly pleasant memory which had occurred on his and Angela's first Christmas in their house. What surprised him was how he could now look back on such memories and remember how happy they had all been, instead of being overcome with rage at how his actions had taken them away.

Despite her attempts to appear otherwise, he knew that Lisbon had enjoyed her evening, which was what he had intended all along. With that happy thought in mind, Jane lay down on the couch and pulled a blanket over himself.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Jane was already up when Lisbon awoke and wandered downstairs on Christmas morning. To her relief, he had finally changed out of the red Santa outfit into his normal three piece suit, and was sipping a cup of tea on her couch. It was such a normal sight that she almost forgot the fact that he had barged into her apartment with a massive tree and bagfuls of presents and food.

"Happy Christmas Lisbon, there's a coffee ready on the kitchen table"

"How did you know when I'd be up?" she asked, frowning "oh, happy Christmas"

"Magic"

"Or you heard me"

"Or that" he agreed.

"I'm making pancakes, you like them right?" she asked, walking past him on the way to the kitchen.

"Of course, what flavour?"

"I don't have any blueberries, or lemons" she called out, searching around the kitchen "or even Nutella – Cinnamon sugar?"

"Festive pancakes, brilliant" he grinned, standing and following her through "I didn't know you cooked"

"You're the one who said he knew everything about me" she snorted.

"I never said everything" he protested "just more than you realise. Besides, I haven't tasted these pancakes yet – they could be horrible"

She rolled her eyes at him and grabbed a bowl out of a cupboard, and then started filling it with ingredients.

Despite Jane's comment, the pancakes were not horrible. Lisbon even got the pleasure of watching Jane take his first bite and looking pleasantly surprised at the result.

"These are nice, Lisbon" he nodded, swallowing his first bite "maybe you should open a shop"

"Oh what, I'll just slot that in between filling in complaint paperwork and hunting Red John shall I?" she joked, pouring the mixture into the pan for her own pancake.

"It wouldn't hurt" he shrugged.

The mention of Red John had been slightly sobering. In the midst of his efforts to give Lisbon a fun Christmas, he'd almost forgotten about the serial killer that had brought about their meeting. Still, he was determined not to let anything get in the way of their festive celebrations.

After a second pancake they went for a short walk together, before Jane barred Lisbon from the kitchen and started putting together his Christmas meal. Lisbon listened in trepidation as clangs emanated from the room, but Jane refused to let her in to help. Instead, she decided that she might as well get some work done.

oooooooooooooooooooo

"What are you doing?"

Lisbon looked up and spotted Jane watching her from beside her kitchen door. He had a tea towel slung over his shoulder, and he looked bizarrely domestic.

"I…uhh"

"You've got a case file there, haven't you?"

"No" she replied quickly "it's an article"

"On?"

"Fine, so maybe I am doing a little work" she admitted "but it needs doing"

"Lisbon, you're spending Christmas looking at photos of a mangled body at a crime scene"

"And? I look at them every other day"

"It's time for presents now anyway, your mangled body will have to wait"

"I don't think it'll matter to him" she muttered dryly.

Since they only had a few each (and Jane knew exactly what all of them were anyway), the present opening didn't last very long. Jane had got her a handful of little things – socks, tins of her favourite coffee, a bearclaw… - and she couldn't help but laugh at the bizarreness of some of his gifts. Her particular favourite was the oddly shaped package she had been wondering about the previous evening, which turned out to be a whole zoo of carefully crafted origami animals. He'd bought himself similarly random items (half of which seemed to be boxes of tea), and made a great show of pretending to be surprised and delighted by each of her 'gifts'. Still, it had been really nice, especially when the scent of Christmas dinner floated through as it cooked.

"Thanks for all of this, Jane" Lisbon said, motioning to the small pile of presents beside her "you really didn't have to do any of this, I don't mind spending Christmas alone"

"I wanted to"

"I dread to think what horrendous plot you've pre-emptively made up for though" she joked.

"No plots" he insisted "can I do anything nice without it being suspicious?"

"Generally? No"

"Wow, that hurts" he put his hand to his heart in mock pain.

"Go on then, if not to make up for all the work you give me, why do this?"

"Because you're my friend and I want you to be happy" he said quietly, not quite meeting her eyes.

Thankfully the alarm sounded from Lisbon's kitchen before she had to think up a response to that, and Jane disappeared to get on with the next stage of his cooking.

Lisbon followed him through and put the cutlery on the table as he served the food up. It looked and smelt delicious, and she was not surprised in the slightest that it tasted divine as well.

"This is amazing" she told him as she finished her last mouthful "I don't think I've ever had a Christmas Dinner where one or two things weren't burnt before"

"I'm glad you like it, there's a week's worth of leftovers there"

Lisbon glanced over at the sideboard and noted that there was still a huge amount of food left. She wouldn't have to cook for days.

"Don't thank me" he smiled "just remember this next time I piss off someone important"

"You could just not piss them off" she muttered.

"You'd bore of that very soon"

"I'm not so sure, I remember how relaxing it was before you turned up"

"Don't lie to me Lisbon; you were bored stiff before I joined the CBI"

Lisbon glared at him a little but didn't say anything back. As difficult as he could be, he did make her life a whole lot more interesting.

"I could do with another of those Christmas films after my seconds" he said "do you want any more?"

"More?" Lisbons eyes widened "how can you possibly eat more?"

"I have a surprisingly fast metabolism" he shrugged.

oooooooooooooooooooo

"Jane?"

Jane looked away from the TV to the other end of the couch, where Lisbon was seated.

"What will happen after we catch Red John?"

Jane let out a sigh and thought about her question for a moment. Her word choice 'catch' hadn't been missed by him, but it was a question he asked himself on an almost daily basis.

"What do you mean?" he asked eventually, pausing the film they were watching.

"I mean would you stay with the CBI? Or get a different job? Or what?"

"I haven't really thought about it, to be honest" he lied.

He hadn't used to think about it. He'd focussed solely on catching the man, and he hadn't cared what would happen to him after. As he had become closer to Lisbon he had started to wonder if maybe he did have a life after Red John, and the thought of leaving her now was almost painful.

"It's just…" she started slowly, trying to find the words to say what she wanted "if you leave the CBI – the state, even – then I understand, I just…I don't want you to just cut me out with no explanation"

He looked at her carefully for a moment. How on earth could he reply to that? How could he tell her that the only thing he wanted from a life post-Red John was, well, her?

"I'm not going to leave you"

"What are you going to do? What will happen to us...the team?"

He had a feeling that by 'us' she had more meant the two of them.

"I don't know" he answered honestly "I've always wondered if we would…well, you know"

"Me too" she nodded.

Jane suddenly became very aware that this conversation was at a point that their relationship had never reached before. Moreover, he had a feeling that things wouldn't quite be the same after it.

"What if…we pretended that Red John and all of that didn't exist? Just for today"

"What do you mean?" she asked, and he looked up and met her eyes.

"It's Christmas" he shrugged "why can't we just enjoy one day without having a serial killer hanging over our heads"

"We have been" she pointed out "I've had a great day"

"No" he shuffled a little closer to her and Lisbon looked wary "I mean really forget. Just for one day"

"I…" she faltered "I don't know if…I mean we…"

Jane reached out and took her hand, and she stopped talking.

"Jane" she sighed "we really-"

"Shouldn't. I know" he finished for her. And then he kissed her.

Lisbon wished she could have just stopped him there. She should have listed all the reasons why this was such a bad idea, but his lips were pressing against hers and his tongue was swiping across her lower lip so gently…she kissed him back. Fervently. Jane's arms slid around her waist and pulled her closer to him, as she slid her hands into his hair. They were devouring each others' mouths now, as if they just couldn't stop - which in reality, they probably couldn't.

Lisbon was the one to pull away, and for a second Jane thought she was just about to yell at him and kick him out. Then he realised that her arms were still hanging around his neck, her fingers still gently playing with the strands of hair on the nape of his neck. Her eyes looked darker than he had ever seen them, and she was biting on her lip.

"Just one day, you promise?" she asked softly.

"I promise"

He leant forward and kissed her again, and this time she didn't hold back at all. She moved her hands to his chest where she grabbed a handful of vest and pulled him closer to her. Jane attacked her mouth; nibbling, sucking, bruising it with his hungry kisses. She let out a tiny moan of pleasure and he felt the noise rush straight to his crotch. He pushed her back a little, and ended up lying on top of her as he continued to kiss her senseless. Neither of them was even aware that the Christmas movie was still playing in the background.

They made love three times that evening. Once on the couch, and then they moved up to the bedroom where they remained for the rest of the night. They couldn't get enough of each other. This was their only opportunity for a long time – possibly ever – and they weren't going to waste a single second of it. They fell asleep together; Jane's arm was resting over Lisbon's stomach, his face turned towards her and her hair splayed across the pillow.

Jane awoke first the following morning. He looked at the woman beside him for a few minutes, who was still fast asleep. She looked beautiful, and after having spent the night together he had no idea how he was meant to go back to their normal relationship. He didn't want to; he wanted her, badly, but he just couldn't have her. Red John was still out there, they still worked together, he was still mourning Angela…but god she looked so delectable beside him.

He knew that he should leave now. It was going to become even harder when she woke up, and it would be better for both of them if he dressed and let himself out quietly whilst she was still asleep. Sure, she would be a little upset, but she'd understand why he had done it. Just a few more minutes of soaking up the sight of her beside him, and then he'd go.

She moved around a bit, and then her eyes fluttered open. So much for leaving whilst she was asleep.

"Hi" she smiled at him.

She looked ever so slightly shy beside him, and he wanted to bundle her up in his arms in all her cuteness.

"Morning" he couldn't help but grin back at her "did you sleep well?"

"Really well" she nodded.

"I should go"

Her face dropped a little, and then she nodded.

"You should" she agreed.

"I don't want to" he admitted.

"I don't want you to go either…but we agreed. One day"

"We did"

He reached out a hand and rested it on her cheek, stroking his thumb across her soft skin.

"You weren't awake this time yesterday"

"What are you saying?" she frowned a little in confusion.

"Well, if our day started yesterday morning when you got up…"

"Jane" she said softly "we said one day, we can't just keep adding to it"

"I know"

"But" she paused and he raised his eyebrows at her "once more can't hurt, can it?"

That was all the encouragement he needed. He rolled towards her and pushed her onto her back, landing on top of her.

"Agent Lisbon, you are a bad, bad woman" he murmured as he leant down to kiss her "and trust me, this will be the very opposite of hurt"

oooooooooooooooooooo

Jane left later that morning. He wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with Lisbon – for the rest of the week, preferably – but they both knew he couldn't. He collected up his presents from the living room floor, smiling at the couch in memory of the previous night, whilst Lisbon watched him in a dressing gown.

"Do you want me to take the tree now as well?" he offered.

"I'll do it in a few days" she said "it's barely been up for a day, it deserves a chance"

"If you're sure"

He walked to the door in silence, trying to prolong his journey there as much as possible. He knew that the moment he left this had to be over.

"Thank you" Lisbon murmured as he reached for the door handle "I really appreciated all of this"

"It was nothing" he shrugged "but I had a nice time too"

"We can't talk about this again"

"I know" he nodded.

He stood still at the door for a moment, and then he turned back towards her. He kissed her one last time, slowly and gently, trying to put all of his feelings and gratitude into one single kiss.

"Merry Christmas, Lisbon" he whispered as they broke apart.

Now was not the time to point out that Christmas had been the previous day, so Lisbon just smiled at him as left her apartment.

Never had she felt so sad that Christmas was over.