This is more of a sequel to my 5x15 tag than an actual tag to 5x17, although it does have some spoilers from that episode, as well as from 5x16. Confused? You might want to go back and read my tag for 5x15 before embarking on this story, so you'll get the full idea. If not, all you really need to know before reading this is that Lisbon and Jane shared a kiss in my version of what happened after 5x15. Some readers requested a sequel, so here it is. Enjoy!

5x17 Episode Tag: Step Five

He'd tricked Lisbon into singing. Of course he'd known the song, "Kansas City." It was amazing how little prodding it had taken to get her to forget her self-consciousness and belt out a few bars. Sure, he'd heard her sing along to the radio in the car, and that time she sang "Amazing Grace" with the team after Sam Bosco died. This was the way it was supposed to be between them. Light. Comfortable. Fun.

She must have gotten over the pain of his confession about Lorelei, must have accepted that he'd really just been using the girl to get to Red John. They had settled back into their usual habits, working together seamlessly to solve a crime. This particular resolution was especially uplifting, and Jane had actually gotten a good feeling from helping young Pete with his memory problems. How often did that happen? Usually he hid when the grateful came calling. There was a change in the air in the old CBI bullpen, that's for sure, and for that he felt extremely relieved.

To top that off, Lisbon had also stopped avoiding him. Since their kiss in the attic a couple of weeks ago, then the debacle leading up to Lorelei's death, she'd been staying out of his way. He didn't blame her-their kiss had been such a shock to both of them. Then he'd so obviously hurt her with his…omissions in his pursuit of Lorelei's information, that he wondered if they'd ever get back to kissing in the attic. Something must have caused her to turn a corner, and he was suddenly anxious to know if she'd really forgiven him.

He lounged on the couch that Pete had recently vacated, looking up at the ceiling and remembering how good it had felt to smile with her again, to bask in the sunshine of her good humor.

"Jane," said his little ray of sunshine, partly obstructed now by dark, angry clouds, if her tone was any indication. When he didn't respond right away, she kicked the couch (which she knew irritated him).

"All right, all right! I'm awake. Sheesh. Would you calm down, Mr. Miyagi?" He sat up and planted his brown shoes on the floor.

She frowned at him.

"You need to get up and get moving. We've got that thing tonight."

"What thing?"
She lowered her voice and looked around. Rigsby and Cho had already left. Likely to get ready for whatever this thing was tonight.

"Little Benjamin's first birthday party, remember? We agreed two weeks ago to drive there together after work. You forgot, didn't you?"

Of course he had, and he certainly hadn't expected Lisbon to want to go anywhere with him as of a week ago, so he'd totally vacated it from his mental to-do list.

"Now how could I forget that?" Then the thought occurred to him that a baby's birthday party would be an excellent opportunity to do some fishing for Lisbon's true state of mind.

"So, what did you get him, then?" she asked, hands skeptically on hips.

"The toy store is holding it for me. I thought we'd drop by on the way to the party to pick it up."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure you did. Well if we need to make a stop, we'd better leave now; I hate to be late. You, uh, still want to go with me, right?"

He grinned at her hesitation. She'd keenly felt their mutual tension as well.

"Of course I want to go with you, Lisbon. That was the plan, right?"

She shook her head at his attempted con job. "Right. Well, let's go then."

He took his time rising and stretching—just to annoy her. With a sigh of frustration, she headed for the elevator without him. Jane grinned and quickly caught up.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You know," said Jane as he pushed the shopping cart aimlessly around the toy store. "You would have a better idea than I of what little boys like."

She'd grown up with younger brothers, after all.

She looked in annoyance at the time on her cell phone.

"Trucks. My brothers always loved trucks. Just get something, will ya?"

Jane slowed the cart by an age-appropriate plastic dump truck and looked at it critically.

"This doesn't seem very sturdy."

"Get the metal one, then."

"Won't he get hurt if he falls on it?"

"He's a boy, Jane. If there's a way to get hurt from that plastic one, he'll find it."

"Hmm. When I was a boy, I wasn't very into toys, not when I was literally surrounded by a carnival twenty-four-seven. Toy elephants are no match for the real thing."

He moved on from the trucks until he found the most elaborate ride-on miniature truck either of them had ever seen.

"Now this is a truck," he said gleefully.

"He's not old enough for that," cautioned Lisbon.

"He will be soon enough."

She knew there would be no stopping him, and besides, if they shopped much longer they'd definitely be late.

"Fine," she sighed in defeat. "But Rigsby's gonna kill you when he sees what he has to put together."

Jane waved to a sales associate for assistance, and, $500 later, they were driving toward Rigsby's apartment, the large box taking up most of the space in the backseat of her Mustang.

"That really was too much, Jane. You tend to go over-the-top with your gift-giving."

He shrugged. "What price can you put on the smile of a child, Lisbon?"

She reached over to the passenger's seat and touched his arm.

"You can be really nice when you want to be."

"So you're taking back all the mean things you've thought of me this past week?" To her surprise, he caught her hand and held it warmly in his.

"No," she said, but her lips quirked a little. "But I'm a Christian, Jane. I'm trying to forgive."

Eureka!

He brought her hand to his lips. "Well, I suppose that's one good thing that came out of organized religion."

He felt her pulse jump beneath his hand at the touch of his mouth on her skin.

"Jane—"

"You looked up step five, didn't you?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" Her eyes remained steadfast on the road ahead. He took a quick breath and recited it from memory:

"'Tell her you love her every day-not just with words, but in the way you look at her, touch her, do things for her, protect her, laugh with her, buy her gifts- even in the way you argue…'"

She swallowed. "You're bringing this up in the car? While I'm driving?"

"You haven't been able to get our kiss out of your mind, have you? And since that step drove you wild, you were inordinately curious about the next one."

"Jane, please—"

"You've been angry with me. Doubting that the kiss really meant anything to me in light of what happened with Lorelei. So you went to your priest for advice. He said to forgive me. And because you're in love with me, you did. And then you looked up step five and realized the truth about me."

Lisbon suddenly jerked her hand from his and turned into the parking lot of a grocery store. She put the car into park and turned off the engine.

"Where the hell is this coming from all of a sudden? And why the hell are you declaring yourself in my car, at rush hour?"

"Well, the last time I said it, I was about to shoot you, so I'd say this is a step up."

"Jesus, Jane." She closed her eyes and dropped her forehead to the steering wheel.

His words came out in a rush of long-withheld feelings.

"Look, I hated hurting you again; it about killed me thinking we couldn't get back to where we were before. But I had to know for sure that you'd forgiven me, Teresa. When this Army case came up, and I could tell that you had, it was such a relief—you don't even know. And I've found suddenly that I didn't want to ever hurt you like that again. I want you to have no doubts about how I feel about you every day, so that the next time I do something stupid, you'll be able to forgive me much faster."

She lifted her head to stare at him, completely flabbergasted.

"I don't believe you."

"I'm not lying about this, Lisbon."

"No, I believe you're telling me the truth, but only you would—" She paused, her hands going to her face. "For a mentalist, you really know nothing about women, do you?"

"Oh, I know a few things," he said suggestively.

"Our first kiss was in a dusty old attic, Jane. No romance, no ambiance…"

"I for one thought it was pretty damn romantic. And like you, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I still remember how your mouth trembled beneath mine, how it really felt like I was tasting a summer peach. The thought of losing you made me realize that I'm totally ready for step five. Hell, if you read it, you already know we've been living it for nigh on a decade."

She gave him a little smile, her face rosy now from his passionate words. "I read it all right—I found the article on the internet the very night you kissed me."

His eyes grew warm with sudden desire. "So, does that mean you've been suitably driven wild by now?"

Her own gaze grew smoky, and Jane felt a tightening in his groin.

"I don't know," she replied. "We should probably repeat step four to be sure."

She leaned closer to him over the armrest, and he reached up to touch her cheek.

"But Lisbon, we're in a car," he said in mock horror.

"Kiss me, you idiot, before I change my mind."

She felt his smile against her lips before he immediately slipped his tongue inside her hot mouth, and soon their heavy breathing and excited moans filled the Mustang. Seatbelts came unbuckled as if by magic. But it was difficult to properly kiss in the front bucket seats of a Mustang, and the gear shift was definitely an impediment. The backseat, however, was currently occupied by a toddler's birthday present. Not that they would have actually made out back there in a public parking lot. No, not them.

"Jane," she said, as he began softly nibbling at her neck.

"Hmm?" He kissed her beneath her chin and she shivered.

"We're going to be late for the party."

He didn't stop his sensual exploration, and his hands had pulled her blouse out of her jeans, making dizzying caresses on her bare stomach. He couldn't wait to find out if step three was true, about finding Lisbon's erogenous zones.

"The kid won't miss us, Lisbon. He's one, for crying out loud."

"But we promised Rigsby and Sarah—"She gasped as his hands rose higher to rest tantalizingly beneath her breasts.

"But Lisbon, don't you want to know about step six?" He breathed the words into her ear and she fairly melted.

"There-there was no step…six."

"Only the most ardently in love men have full access to step six."

His lips returned to her ear, and he whispered something so hot and exciting that she actually felt a little faint.

Jane suddenly found himself thrown unceremoniously back against his seat, the Mustang's engine roaring to life as Lisbon re-buckled her seatbelt and pulled back into traffic—in the opposite direction of Rigsby's place.

"But what about the party, Lisbon?" he said with a laugh, his heart accelerating even more in sharp anticipation.

"The kid's only one, for God's sake. He'll understand when he's older."

He grinned. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

She spared a glance from the road and gave him a look so full of her own emotions that Jane caught his breath.

"No," she replied, "but I'm definitely holding you to step five, buster."

"Wow," he said,"those steps really work. You've become wilder than I could have possibly imagined."

"If what you say about step six is true, you ain't seen nothing yet."

END

A/N: Okay, so this was fluffy and silly and definitely AU, but I had fun. I hope you did too. And, I know technically Rigsby's baby turns one in April, but I hope you'll forgive me for fudging it by a couple of weeks.

P.S.: For a wonderful, more traditional tag for 5x17, check out starry19's "Pasts and Palaces." It's amazing!