A/N: Loved the Series Finale. I don't think there's any question the show ended the way I wanted.

While I think Heller handled that whole ring issue in a way that almost made Lisbon's suffering worthwhile, I still think Jane was a selfish you-know-what for not realizing that ring on his finger was hurting his lover. At the very least, he should have explained his reasoning long before he did. As for Lisbon, she should have yanked his chain from the start. Not necessarily made him lose the ring; just talked about it and how it made her feel.

As I've said before, that ring bugged the crap out of me almost as much as Pike did so I pulled the same trick I did when I wrote Insanity. I vented in a mindless OS a couple of episodes before Vegas death and never posted it. I'm happy I got at least a little bit of Jane's reasoning behind wearing that ring right. As nuts as that might sound, being able to read that character even a little bit makes me feel like I've accomplished something.

I'm hoping posting stupid little things will get my Muse to crawl out from under her rock and back to writing the AU stories I've seemingly abandoned. Not the case. I just found it too difficult to write things totally contradictory to what was happening on the show for some crazy reason. Now that the series is over, I'm hoping that's changed. ~Calla

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Watching Cho holding his own against Jane across the pool table, Lisbon ignored the quizzical looks her Boss kept shooting her way. He noticed far too much. Like something was off since their last case…obviously nothing big since she and Jane were still working well together. However, in spite of that, they weren't quite right. All she could say was Dennis needed to get his nose out of her business and back on his own. While Jane's machinations were holding the wolves at bay for the moment, there were no guarantees it was smooth sailing from now until his wife's Confirmation. Or even after for that matter. A man like Abbott made a lot of frenemies along the way and that wasn't counting the honest to goodness enemies hiding in the wings.

Taking a sip of beer, Lisbon moved her attention to the heated dart game well underway between Wylie and Vega. Watching those two was like watching a couple of wriggling puppies wrangling to be top dog and it was about as cute. So far, she thought Vega was winning. Wylie was too far gone to realize he was totally whipped. Vega was too oblivious to realize she was whipping anyone. They were having a blast playing together.

They were also reminding her too much of Rigsby and Van Pelt in the early days.

Damn, she missed the rest of her team.

She even missed Fischer. They'd become pretty good friends. Close enough she might have discussed some of her issues with Jane in a roundabout way. Not admitted to their changed relationship, just groused as partners were wont to do. Not that she was stupid enough to believe that everyone that was anyone in their lives didn't know she and Jane were an item even if she tried to pretend otherwise. Who was she fooling? The whole bloody FBI knew. So what? As long as nobody came right out and said it, she didn't have to admit it.

"You okay?" Lisbon turned at the sound of Abbott's voice to see him taking the seat beside her. "You're usually out there showing the boys how it's done."

"Just tired." Lisbon responded turning her attention back to the "boys" in time to see Cho get that upper hand he wouldn't have for long given the predatory gleam in Jane's eye. "That last case was a wringer."

It didn't help she hadn't slept well the two nights since. A lonely bed tended to do that do her.

"Yes, it was; but, everything worked out in the end." Abbott agreed rising to his feet. "Largely thanks to Jane. He's a good man and he cares about you. Don't be too hard on him for wanting to keep you safe."

Lisbon rolled her eyes as Abbott headed towards the pool tables. Damn it, not Abbott, too. Did everyone see through Jane's little trick? She hoped not. If they did, they needed to keep it to themselves. She didn't need to hear their two cents right now. Not when she'd told a certain someone they needed a night or two to sort things through…both of them. She needed some down time to get over being pissed and he needed to rethink his actions. It didn't matter they were meeting up for dinner at her place tomorrow night. Seeing Jane at work was hard enough without advice from the Peanut Gallery. She knew she shouldn't have come tonight; but, it wasn't like she had much of a choice. She'd never bailed on a case closed celebration and she wouldn't start now even if she wanted to. It would raise too many questions she didn't want asked.

As much as she hated to admit it, Abbott was right. Jane did care about her. Perhaps too much and that was the problem. How he'd gone about showing the depth of his affections made her livid. Shaking her head, Lisbon admitted what angered her the most wasn't even his stupidity at the hotel. It was something entirely different like the fact Jane loved her enough to interfere with her work; but, not enough to remove the visible mark of another woman's ownership from around his finger. It bothered her more than it probably should since she'd never expected him to remove it anyway.

She'd also never expected to share his bed or come to realize having her body filled with his changed everything.

However, just because she was having certain issues didn't mean she didn't get it. She did. The same way she got most everything to do with Jane. But, "getting it" didn't mean it was right. Admitting Jane was still tangled up with his late wife this far into their relationship was more painful than she'd expected. It couldn't be any other way. That they'd ever exchanged "I love you's" and acknowledge their relationship to "family" was nothing short of a miracle considering Angela still haunted the periphery.

Sometimes she thought she was stupid to have let things go so far under the circumstances. Most of the time she just thought she was happier than she'd ever been so, while things were far from perfect, she was letting sleeping dogs lie. It seemed everyone in the know felt the same. They'd both been told not to mess this up. That other people could clearly see what they felt for each other didn't hurt in the reassurance department.

Besides, she was doing a fairly good job of sweeping her feelings under the rug for now thanks to that "reasonable" part of her that always "understood" no matter the Jane challenge. Snorting softly, Lisbon admitted she was getting fed up with that part of her. The one that always had a litany of viable excuses to handle situations uniquely Jane like the fact he'd worn that ring long enough for it to be a part of him. Yeah, whatever, that didn't silence the other part of her whispering there were times when she felt like the other woman in their bed. There was also no denying Jane frequently used that ring as an emotional barrier to hold others at bay including her. She suspected he was still doing that to a certain degree in spite of their intimacies. She couldn't really be angry at him when there were times when she did the same.

Not when she was holding out hope that band would disappear when they passed some magical milestone lurking in Jane's head.

Deciding now wasn't the best time for hopping down unpleasant bunny trails; Lisbon calmed herself by recalling her last conversation with Jimmy and Stan. She'd made them a promise that day. A promise keeping her from reacting in the knee jerk way she wanted to. It wasn't every day one of her lovers got a Lisbon Brother seal of approval much less all three. If Jimmy and Stan weren't enough, Tommy had called soon after to remind her he felt the same. His call couldn't have come at a more expedient time since she'd been seriously contemplating ending it all. Now, she didn't feel the same.

While she wasn't willing to deal with Jane manipulating her work, she wasn't ready to throw in the towel yet either. However, that didn't mean her lover could continually pull the kind of stunts he just had. She was an FBI Agent. Putting her life on the line came with the territory. Jane didn't have the right to protect her at the risk of another Agent. While he hadn't done that yet, if she allowed him to continue as he'd started, that time would come. He needed to stop the stupidity before he did something they'd both regret.

If Jane couldn't deal with that…Well, as hard as the idea was to get her mind around…Maybe they needed some down time until he rethought his stance. Not that she seriously expected that to happen. Maybe for a day or two as they'd just done; but, any longer, probably not. Now that she had him, she wasn't letting go and Jane felt the same.

However, that didn't mean she wouldn't verbally kick his ass if he persisted in his foolishness. She'd done it before. She could do it again.

Setting her empty bottle aside, Lisbon glanced at Jane busily purchasing a second round of drinks. Watching him stuff a few bills in his pocket, she hoped Cho hadn't lost too much. Knowing him, she seriously doubted it. Kimball knew Jane too well to get taken to the cleaners. He wouldn't have bet more than he was comfortable losing. Settling back in her chair, she smirked as the Agent tossed a few bills on the table before starting a new game with Abbott. Though Dennis was a passable player, her money was on Cho.

Turning her attention back to where Jane was leaning on the bar, she knew he'd make a beeline in her direction with their beers in hand once the order was ready. Their server could see to getting the beers to the rest of the party. He was more interested in seeing to her. Not sure how she felt about giving up her quiet time, Lisbon knew she didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter.

When Jane decided she was done, she was done.