Shadow of a Doubt

Disclaimer: The plot's mine, just borrowing the rest.

A/N:- I didn't want to add to the plethora of post-eps for this episode already out there but if the writers don't show Lisbon to have known about Rigsby/Van Pelt all along then this could be as irritating as when they changed Lisbon's cross pendant for no apparent reason ….

I should have seen it coming
I could have worked it out
Your feminine mentality
Reveals the things I cannot see
I should have seen it coming
I could have worked it out
The danger signs have left my mind,
It's way beyond a
Shadow of a doubt …
Asia – Shadow of a Doubt


Lisbon closed her eyes and let Jane sway them as one to the music. It was nice to stop being the government official, even if it was only for a few moments, and become someone who would actually be caught dancing to 90s music.

She felt strangely relaxed, which was odd considering she'd always imagined (not that she had actually spent a lot of time thinking about it) being this close to him to be full of tension and awkwardness. Then again any weekend that started out with her being kissed by a drunken stranger and ended with her dancing with Patrick Jane deserved to be deemed strange all around. She was pretty sure that this was something her "blowing off boys that wanted to get close" high school self would definitely not have seen coming.

Her mind drifted back to what Jane had said about her earlier. His ability to read people was both a gift and a curse: she couldn't deny that it helped them solve cases quicker but she hated it when he put her under the microscope. His analysing and hypothesising today had left her standing there feeling naked just like it always did. The brunt of the problem was she couldn't deny that most of what Jane had said was true. Yes, she had been an over-achiever in high school and yes, she hadn't exactly had a lot of friends but he had been wrong about there being a mean, cold-hearted guy that she used to worship from afar. Her world had revolved around school, studying and looking after her brothers with no room for such indulgent fantasies. No, apparently that aspect of her high school-self waited until twenty years later to rear its ugly head … not that Patrick Jane was as cold-hearted as he would have her believe and 'worshipping' would definitely be a gross exaggeration of what she felt for him.

She bit her lip as that thought crossed her mind. She hated that he could read her so well, hated that he probably knew every time her mind went to that place, even if it was just for the briefest of milliseconds. She could barely remember what it was like to feel like she was the one in control of their partnership and that frustration was why she finally decided to stop bluffing and to play her card. "You're not to blackmail Rigsby any more," she said breaking the silence.

Jane's hand squeezed hers slightly in surprise and she didn't need to have eyes in the back of her head to know he was looking down at her. "I don't know what you're talking about," he murmured.

Lisbon sighed. She had expected him to lie to her earlier but now she was confronting him directly? She didn't know if she, Jane, Rigsby or Van Pelt were still anything like their teenage-selves she but it sure did seem like they were all acting as if they were still in high school. "If you keep using what's going on between him and Van Pelt as leverage then I'm going to have to deal with it head-on and that's not something anybody wants."

He didn't say anything for awhile and she knew he was debating whether there was any point in continuing to feign ignorance. He finally decided to cut his losses. "How did you know?"

Lisbon pulled away from him and held out her hand as if to introduce herself. "Hello, I'm Agent Lisbon. I work for the CBI, have we met?"

He tipped his head, acknowledging her sarcasm with a small chuckle. "Touché," he said before motioning her back into his arms so they could continue dancing. "I just didn't envisage a scenario in which you knew about what was going on but didn't start quoting rule thirty-three, section two b at them."

"I know you think I'm a stickler for the rules but you should also know I don't go out of my way to ruin people's lives." The song ended and another one started. The few couples that had been on the dance floor with them had now moved away but they continued dancing. "They're good agents. I'll deal with it when I'm forced to."

She could practically hear his mind whirling. "I did not know that you knew," he said after awhile. "It disconcerts me."

His breath tickled the top of her head and she closed her eyes again. "Why?"

"Because it makes me wonder what else you know that I don't know you know when usually I do know."

Lisbon smiled against his shoulder. "Maybe you're not as good at reading me as you think," she teased.

Jane dropped his arms and stepped back a bit so he could look at her. She immediately missed the contact. "Or maybe you've been taking classes."

"Taking classes to learn how to deceive you?" she laughed. She wasn't too proud to admit that she wished she had thought of that three years ago. "It's a bit late in the day for that isn't it?"

Jane shrugged, a smile playing on his lips. "I don't know. Maybe you have something you suddenly want to hide."

"Like what?" she said raising her eyebrows.

His eyes sparkled. "I don't know…… You did seem awfully comfortable dancing with me."

She rolled her eyes and looked away, hoping that was enough to stop her cheeks from reddening. Whatever truth there might be in that was beside the point. She might not be able to read him as well as he could read her but she knew an evasive tactic when she saw one and Jane's way of regaining his footing was to pile all of the sudden vulnerability he was feeling onto her. "You keep telling yourself that Jane," she said, with a laugh.

When she finally found the confidence to meet his gaze again, she saw that Jane had grown serious, as if he was finding it hard to process the fact that he wasn't as omniscient as he thought he was.

She grinned. It was unequivocally satisfying knowing she had managed in unsettling him. He looked like a kid who had just been told that Santa Claus wasn't real.

"What else do you know that I don't know you know then?" he frowned.

She shoved her hands in her jacket pockets. The list was endless. She knew that although he would never admit it, the fact that he was starting to care about the people he worked with conflicted with all the ground rules he had laid down for himself. She knew that sunny mornings and clear blue skies reminded him of his wife and daughter the most. She knew that Bosco had said more to him in the hospital than he was letting on. Then there was the fact that although she acted like she didn't see him and he pretended he was asleep, she knew that ever since Bosco was murdered, he stayed on the sofa in the bullpen until late at night whilst she finished her paperwork just so she wouldn't be alone in the office …….

"Lisbon?" His eyes were searching hers, as if he was actually trying to read her mind.

She smiled. She knew better than to reveal her hand all at once. She reached forward and squeezed his arm consolingly. "If you promise to leave Rigsby and Van Pelt alone, I'll consider letting you drive back," she said before walking away.

And just like that she regained the balance in their relationship.