Love on a tightrope
It's only when the dust settles that he finally comes to terms with what he said.
"Good luck, Teresa. Love you."
Truer words have never been spoken, and yet – he's not in a position to acknowledge as much.
With Red John breathing down their neck, he'd better keep his own feelings at bay.
No matter how much he craves her.
(How would it feel to hold her in his arms? He would bury his head on her shoulder and listen to her soft moans – just like he's done with Lorelei.)
The image of his wife's butchered body is still haunting him day and night. He has no wish for Lisbon to end the same way.
That's why he never brings up those words again.
He teases her, annoys her, maybe even flirts with her from time to time. They talk, they banter, she yells at him whenever he goes too far in his crazy hunt for a serial killer.
When all of this is over – if ever – he will take her far away from this city. Make love to her on a warm beach at sunset and spend the rest of his life making her happy.
Marriage. Children.
Just maybe.