Thanksgiving

Summary: Teresa Lisbon gets a surprise visitor on Thanksgiving. Jisbon implied. Oneshot.

This is my first try at Mentalist fanfiction so comments would really be appreciated. This idea hit me when I first saw the episode where Patrick tells Teresa that he knew what she did last Thanksgiving but I've onlt recently been brave enough to try to actually write it down. Also, I'm from England so my grasp of Thanksgiving isn't great!

Teresa Lisbon had sent her colleagues home for the holiday weekend, back to their homes and their loved ones. When asked she had trotted out the age-old excuse that she was visiting family and they all accepted this with a smile, except for Patrick Jane who looked at her quizzically. Lisbon had quickly left the room after this to return to the sanctity of her office, unable to face his questions. It wasn't that she didn't feel sorry for him; she did. The holidays must be the hardest times for him now that his wife and child were dead, and she ached for his loss. Still, she knew that he'd suss she was lying in a second about her Thanksgiving plans.

Now she was ensconced in her modest but comfortable home, curled up in bed with the remote and enough snacks to feed an army nearby. This was as perfect as things got. She had bypassed the Thanksgiving parade and the game that were showing on the various channels and had turned the DVD player on instead. Working for the CBI meant that Teresa had very little time to herself, to do the things she really enjoyed and Thanksgiving was the perfect opportunity to catch up on all of her favourite old movies.

A while later she had slipped out of bed for a bottle of wine and to put some popcorn in the microwave but her calm was suddenly shattered by the sound of a car door slamming outside. Teresa sighed, wondering who would possibly be taking the time to turn up at her house on Thanksgiving. If they'd been assigned a new case, someone would have called her rather than stopping by. She checked her cell phone and her answering for messages, but as she excepted there were none. Teresa sneaked into the living room and peered out through the curtains, feeling her heart lift and drop in a split second when she saw an extremely familiar handsome blond man walking up the pathway to her front door.

Teresa suddenly panicked, looking down at her attire that consisted of baggy sweat pants and an old t-shirt that had belonged to one of her ex boyfriends. She chided herself for doing so, it was only Patrick after all. She almost laughed at herself as the thought crossed her mind, of course she didn't want him to see her like this. Maybe with the curtains closed and her car parked in the garage, he would give up and head home. No such luck, Teresa thought as her doorbell was thoroughly abused. Knowing that Jane wouldn't give up, she went to the door and opened it a crack.

"What do you want?" She asked, a little more sharply than she had intended. She instantly regretted it when she saw a look of hurt flash in Patrick's blue eyes.

He recovered quickly, manoeuvring through the small gap in the door and looking around Teresa's house. "Interesting," He said, turning to look at her instead. "You look nice."

Teresa scanned his face, trying to read his sparkling eyes but failing to tell whether he was joking or if he was serious.

"What are you doing here, Jane?" Her voice was more exasperated now, something Patrick was far more used to.

"I came to check up on you," He said earnestly. "I didn't like to think of you spending the holiday alone."

Teresa stared at him. "But I told you I was visiting my relatives."

Patrick rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on Lisbon, you're crap at lying and you know it." As if to prove it, Teresa's cheeks began to glow a deep pink. "I'm interested to know though, why did you tell everyone you were spending Thanksgiving with family?"

"You mean I should have told them I was shacking up with a pile of black and white movies, eating the equivalent of my weight in junk food and spending the entire holiday in my pyjamas?" She couldn't help it, the corners of her mouth were twitching into a smile.

Patrick shrugged. "Sounds better than my holiday plans." He said, sticking his hands into his pockets and looking anywhere but at Teresa.

Teresa felt almost physical pain for him and the fact that he had interrupted her holiday plans slipped her mind.

"Come on in," She invited, although he was already inside her hallway. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll, uh, just go and get changed."

Patrick reached out, taking her by the hand in a vice like grip. "Don't change your plans just because I'm here." She started to protest, but Patrick pressed the index finger of his free hand against her lips. "What were you doing before I got here?"

Teresa blushed, now that she was past being angry, she felt a little embarrassed. "I was," She cleared her throat. "I was getting some snacks and about to open a bottle to wine before watching Breakfast at Tiffany's." She paused again. "In bed."

Patrick nodded, looking away and then back at her. "Is it okay if I join you?" The way he looked at her out of those stunning blue eyes meant she never would have been able to say no.

"The wine glasses are in that cupboard over there." She said by way of confirmation, leading him to the kitchen and pointing upwards.

While Teresa finished preparing the popcorn, Patrick uncorked the wine bottle and poured two generous glasses of the deep red liquid. When they were ready, Teresa swallowed and led Patrick down the hallway to her bedroom door. Of all the idle moments she'd spent fantasising about Patrick Jane being in her bedroom, she had never imagined anything like this.

"I like it," Patrick said as he followed behind her, a glass in each hand. "It's very you."

Teresa looked around her room as if seeing it for the first time. "Thanks," She replied, stifling the urge to laugh. "I think."

"Double bed," He continued, but it was more like he was talking to himself. "Means you're open to commitment, interesting."

Usually Teresa could ignore him when he spoke like this at work, where she felt safe and in control. Here in her own home she felt exposed and still was unsure of the real reason Patrick was here. Swallowing again, Teresa set the tub of popcorn down on her nightstand and climbed back into bed, looking up at Patrick with a challenge in her eyes. He stared right back at her, before climbing into the empty side of her bed, pausing only to remove his shoes.

For the first time Teresa noticed that Patrick wasn't wearing his usual work attire, which of course made sense. How could she not have noticed he was wearing jeans? She chastised herself for thinking thoughts such of these while Patrick was in her bed, even if they were both fully dressed.

"Do you want to watch something else?" Teresa asked, waving the remote control vaguely at the screen which showed the opening menu for Breakfast at Tiffany's.

"This is fine," He said, a little too quickly and sharply to be convincing.

"We can watch something else," She pressed. "I know it's probably not your taste, it's not usually mine really, but I do love classic movies."

Patrick was caught between smiling at how different Teresa sounded when she talked about something she was really passionate about and the churning grief in his gut. Before he could speak, Teresa seemed to sense that something wasn't right with him. It was a strange reversal of roles that Patrick wasn't sure he liked so much.

"Are you alright, Patrick?" She assumed it was okay to call him by his first name now they were out of bed. Calling him by his surname when they were in bed together didn't seem right at all.

He cleared his throat and looked across at her, his eyes slightly clouded with uncried tears.

"My wife, uh, my wife loved this movie too." He finally said.

"Oh god, I'm sorry Patrick, I didn't realise." Teresa quickly flicked the off switch and reached for his hand before she even really knew what she was doing.

Patrick was as surprised as Teresa when he felt her surprisingly strong fingers curl around his hand. He squeezed her hand back, feeling some of his demons beginning to recede back into the recesses of his mind. Teresa looked at him again, trying to read him with a look of concern in her dark eyes. She gingerly moved nearer him, wrapping her arms around his body and leaning her head on his chest so she could hear his heartbeat.

Patrick sighed, holding her close to him. He knew it would be a long time before he could share a bed with another woman, in the true sense of the word but for now this felt good; it felt right.

Hope you liked it! Reviews are loved! Xx