A/N: Hey there guys! My feelings about last weeks episode are a bit mixed. There has been not much Lisbon in the latest episodes, but I think the writers are doing it on purpose. It feels a little like Lisbon is avoiding Jane, because she doesn't wanna ride his airstream, she didn't go with Cho and Rigsby once then announced they should ask Jane to join them… Well, I hope this Tag helps to bring a little light in the dark! I hope you enjoy!

Thanks to Idan for betaing 3

Disclaimer: If TM belonged to me, this is what would definitely have happened in the last scene! Sadly, it's not.

"Avoiding"

For the second time, an energetic knock sounded on her front door. Whoever was standing outside her new apartment in Austin, Texas, didn't seem like he wanted to leave any time soon.

Sighing, Lisbon got up from the couch where she'd been resting , reading the letters Jane sent her from Venezuela during the two years of his absence, like she had done a thousand times before. She especially liked the last one that arrived two weeks after he was back in the US and in a an FBI detention suite. It was the one where he apologized to her for leaving her on the beach that day.

The memories of what happened two years ago were still so close, like it happened yesterday. With Patrick Jane everything could change in a blink. First he was your best friend, then he suddenly starts flirting with you and tells you he loves you, then he takes it back, sleeps with Red John's mistress and vanishes after he accomplishes his goal of getting revenge for his family, leaving you with a mess that once upon a time had been your life.

There was so much more… much, much more, she could fill books with her stories, but in the end it all came back to…

A third knock sounded from the door, followed by the weird noise of something scratching the lock.

Dammit! Quickly, she got up, grabbing her gun. She unlocked her gun, knowing she'd have to be ready to shoot any time with the unknown someone targeting the old CBI team.

Lisbon got to her feet, waiting for the unwelcome someone to finally enter her house, her gun aimed at the door. This was a nice way to check if her newly installed alarm system did what it promised.

The door opened slowly, and she could see a hand going for the keypad, typing in the six numbers without any complication.

Shit, she thought. "Police! Hands in the air and step back so I can see you," she demanded, her gun ready to shoot the intruder.

"I really like that you got an extra alarm system, Lisbon, but you should at least be a bit creative with your security code," a well known voice said. Finally, Jane stepped inside, a big grin on his face, not caring that Lisbon was still pointing her gun at him.

"What the hell, Jane?! I could have shot you!" she hissed, lowering her gun.

"Meh, you had a thousand opportunities to do that and you didn't, so why now?" He closed the door behind him and turned the alarm system back on. "I knocked and you didn't open, I had to get inside somehow."

"There is a reason when people are not opening the door in the middle of the night! I could have been sleeping."

"If I'd seen you lying in bed, I wouldn't have disturbed you, Lisbon. I'd have made sure you were okay, had a tea cup of tea and gone home. Anyway, I knew you weren't asleep;, I could see the dimmed light of your lamp through the blinds."

Sighing, Lisbon shook her head and walked back over to the couch. She didn't want him here right now, she wanted to be alone. That was why she didn't offer him tea.

"Nice apartment, by the way. You unpacked everything already, I see…"

"What do you want, Jane? It's late. I thought you were with Cho and Rigsby."

"I was, but I felt like there's something I have to take care of. They'll get along fine without me." He sat down next to her on the couch, frowning when she got up and walked towards the kitchen to put away the empty cartons of some takeout she must have had for dinner tonight. So his hunch had been right… She was trying to avoid him. He didn't miss the box in the corner half hidden behind the armchair. It must have been put there recently. Now there were only a few things he could imagine Lisbon would be hiding in a box like this.

"Tell me, why did you not want to ride with me in my Airstream, Lisbon?"

She turned around, trying to look annoyed with him, but to be honest, she couldn't manage to shake the deer-in-the-headlights- look.

"I'm sorry, Jane, but as opposed to you I actually care about the fact that someone is walking around and wants to kill the members of our team. I don't have time for your stupid games and actually I'm glad I don't have the responsibility for your crap anymore. Let Kim deal with it, I'm fine with not filling out your paperwork for once." Oops, that last thing had been a bit over the top, but she was right, wasn't she?

Jane set up the perfect poker face, so she couldn't tell if he was actually angry, annoyed with her or something else. "I do care about the team, Lisbon. They are my family."

"Oh what a fine way to treat your family by running off to Venezuela for two years and leaving us with this mess. It's the same thing you're doing now, Jane! You leave us completely alone with the investigation into who's behind the killings of Ardiles, LaRoche and the attempted murder on Wayne and Maddie. Instead you play mind games with the big bosses of some oil company."

She turned around again, washing her hands in the sink. She wanted him to leave. Now. "Is that why you've been avoiding me, Teresa?" he asked. Lisbon cringed when she sensed his presence right behind her.

"I haven't been avoiding you, I've been working, I've been trying to do my job to show them I deserve it because of my skills, not just because I'm one of your demands."

Ahh, we're getting closer, Jane thought. He tried to not sound too sad when he finally said,: "I miss working with you, Teresa. And I was trying to help you with the case, but I can't do anything until you have something against the suspects. In spite of what you think, I do care. I care a lot."

"Yeah, right," she mumbled, turning around only to find herself locked between Jane and the counter. Her breath caught in her throat, when his blue-greenish eyes stared directly into hers.

"Why are you avoiding me, Teresa?" he asked again.

"I am not avoiding you, Jane. Now can you please leave?! I'm tired and want to go to bed."

"I will leave once you tell me what's going on with you. You know that I can tell when you're lying. Now please tell me what's wrong. I want to work with you, Teresa, I want us to be partners."

"Of course everything's about what you want Jane. It's never been anything else. Have you ever, for one moment, considered what I want?" she shouted, pushing him backwards with a rude shove against his shoulders. "Everything's about you, Jane. You, you and only you. I'm avoiding you? How about you've been avoiding me for a change."

"I haven't been avoiding you, Lisbon. I asked you to come and visit me in my tin can or however you call my new Airstream, I asked you to accompany me for a ride, but no, you always have something else to do. Is it because I didn't get you a present last week?"

"I don't care about stupid presents, Jane! I know better than to be impressed by your guessing skills. You don't even know what I want."

"You want this to be about what you want? Fine, what do you want, Teresa?"

"Just leave me alone, Jane."

"No, I won't leave you until you tell me what the hell is going on."

"You're the psychic, go figure it out." He hated the cold look she was giving him, but he knew it was only a way to try and hide her real feelings. What could she want? She had everything, didn't she? A good job at the FBI that challenged her, a shiny new apartment, finally some kind of social life – he knew she joined some of the FBI women for a weekly yoga lesson somewhere and also has had drinks with them occasionally – she was working with him again and… oh. Oh. Could it be that simple?

Had he really been so blind all this time? Of course there was one more thing she wanted but never thought she could have. Well that probably was, because it was the same with him.

"Teresa…"

"No, Jane. I've been trying really hard to build up a new life, for the second time now. Please don't make it more difficult than it already is. I have to figure out who's after my team, I have to protect them, I…"

In less than a second she was once again locked between him and the kitchen counter, but this time, his lips were pressed against hers in a way that made her shiver. When she tried to protest, Jane slipped his tongue inside her mouth, making the words turn into a long moan. He tasted a little like beer and something she couldn't define. It was probably his very own special Jane taste.

Teresa had always imagined how it would be like to be kissed by Patrick Jane, but she'd given up her hopes this would ever happen, so instead of doing the right thing like pushing him away, she threw her arms around his neck and drew him closer to her.

Their kiss was rough and heated. It felt like all their built-up emotion, all their tension was finally released in something wonderful that was this kiss.

They gasped for air, only to melt into each other again, their tongues engaging in a hot duel. He pushed her up against the counter, so she was on the same height and he had better access to her.

It would have turned into more, if her phone hadn't rung just when he was slipping his warm hands under the tank top at her back.

She tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her. "Don't, this is more important."

"I have to, Jane…" He felt her stiffening and soon the spell between them was broken. "Let me go, it might be a break through in the case!"

Jane stepped aside, more than unhappy because he'd finally figured out what she wanted. He heard her gasp in shock and tried to focus on what was happening.

"I'm on my way. Take care of Wayne and don't let him go anywhere, you understand me, Cho? I'll contact Abbott and Fisher." She hung up, rushing toward the stairs.

"What's going on, Lisbon? What happened?"

"He kidnapped Grace, Jane. It must be Haibach, anything else makes no sense! That son of a bitch took her and Rigsby's on the edge! We have to go. I'll go and change, I'll be back in two minutes." Lisbon rushed up the stairs, while he stood stock still in the living room, waiting for her to return.

Damn, he really should have helped with this, instead of that stupid case with the oil company! They could have figured it out and arrested Haibach, but now it was too late.

Lisbon was back down in less than a minute, wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt, holstering her gun. "Come on, Jane, we have to go."

"This argument is not over yet, Lisbon," he mumbled and she nodded, biting her lip. He was right, they would have to talk about it some time in the future, but not now… They had to find Grace first.