A/N: The character, Eliza, is mentioned in two other stories. While it's not necessary to read them to follow this story, they do offer some background.
– Night on the Town
– A Different Sort of Case

Friday Evening

It had been a long week. Lisbon had been all over him all week, it seemed. Ok, CBI had received a notice that they were being sued, and there was an official complaint, and both named Patrick Jane, but the cases had been solved! He never would understand why some people sweat the small stuff. He sighed. Guess they are all over Lisbon and "stuff" does flow downhill.

The late afternoon weather was pleasant, and he was happy to be facing a relaxing weekend.

He almost enjoyed the three flight walk up to his apartment. There was an elevator, but while he was not claustrophobic, he'd rather not be closed in a tin box that could open or could fail to open at its mechanical whim. Besides, the walk was healthy and provided some modicum of wind-down time from traffic. Walking the length of the hallway was a chance to focus in on his surroundings, easing him into a new reality.

He had a corner apartment giving him a nice view and the third floor was not too high and not too low for his tastes. It was barely above efficiency, but he no longer needed a lot of room. Many of the things he thought necessary to life, suddenly, were no longer necessary and were even painful reminders of times that had passed and mistakes that had been made. Every since that time, approaching his door was an uncomfortable experience. Never had it returned to the unthinking experience that it was for normal people.

Putting the key into the lock on his door, he hesitated. The "tell" was in place, but something wasn't right. He let go of the key and stepped back. He briefly considered calling Lisbon, but he could find nothing really out of place. Every instinct was telling him that something was wrong, but he had no clue as to why. Not for the first time, he wished he was licensed to carry a firearm. He shook his head. Lisbon would never let me! He carefully turned the key, hesitated and cautiously stepped into the dimness of his apartment.

To anyone else, it would have been almost invisible, but in his hypersensitive state, it was like a beacon. The white plum blossom on the telephone stand, near the door, was like a blinking neon sign. His first emotion was alarm, followed by curiosity, then realization. He felt a sensation of relief and a brief flash of anger, then anticipation. "Eliza?" He paused. "Are you here and did you bring Palinca?"

A soft feminine giggle met his query. "You are good! And yes, I did bring a bottle of the really good stuff." She stepped out of his bed room, where she'd been concealing herself, looking even tinier and sexier than he remembered. "When did you realize I was here?"

"Something spooked me when I put the key in the door. I still don't know what, but it was really weird."

Eliza giggled again. "You must be psychic!"

"There's no such....." Jane started. Then he laughed. "Ok, you got me! I'm really glad you left your calling card. I was really not very happy."

"And yet you came in, didn't you? I'm not sure that shows good judgment, are you?"

Jane grinned again. "You do keep trying to get into my head, don't you? That's my gig."

"Yes but getting into your head is so much fun," Eliza retorted. "First your head, then your pants...."

"Now you're getting personal!

She closed the distance between them and put her arms around his waist and gazed up into his eyes. "Oh, I can get so very personal."

Her mischievous grin was a definite clue that she was up to something he wasn't prepared for. Gazing into her eyes, this close, he realized he'd never seen eyes of such a color. Briefly, he felt like he could fall into them and maybe even lose himself and forget. Briefly. "I never did get to thank you for saving our lives, did I?" He said, breaking that mood.

Eliza stepped back and shrugged. "I figured that was a given, considering. Besides, since I'm here, now, you can consider ways that you could repay me." She smiled. "I could suggest food....."

Jane nodded. "Food sounds good. What do you say to the idea of having a shot of that fine Palinca you brought ,and then I'll introduce you to fine dining in Sacramento?"

Walking to the restaurant, Jane felt the warm glow of the Palinca and the warm glow of having Eliza next to him. She was tiny, 5'4" or less and no more than 112 pounds. Her hair was almost jet black and long, her complexion very pale, her dress was white silk blouse, leather skirt, and she used a cape as a wrap. Her almost knee high leather boots finished her ensemble. "I see you're still sporting the Goth look," Jane said.

"Yes," she replied, "But its more than a look. As you can see, I have very little pigment in my skin so I avoid sunlight as much as possible. I guess you can say that I'm a creature of the night, but in a very real sense. Sunlight does horrible things to me. The cape is an effective wind break and is easy to carry when I don't need it, and I like it. It's also loose fitting and allows concealment of that which need concealing."

Jane glanced skyward. "I am a low officer, you remember!"

Eliza squeezed him arm. "No you're not. You're a consultant. Besides, I'd never do anything to make you compromise your values." She hesitated. "At least not when you are with me."

"OK," Jane said. "New subject. How did you get into my apartment?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yes, I really would."

"If I told you, that would take all of the fun out of it."

Jane stopped and stared at her. "You ARE going to tell me, you know."

Eliza grinned, looking like an evil pixie. "Are you telling me you're not smart enough to figure it out?"

Jane grunted. "There's the restaurant," he said, indicating a Chinese restaurant towards the middle of the block. "That Palinca really started my appetite."

Eliza grinned as she followed him, rushing to keep up.

oOOOo