A/N: Hey there! I'm am sooooooo sorry the sequel took this long…I was just trying to figure out how to do it without going OOC. Finally, I decided on how to do it. :-)
Anyway, this is the sequel. Obviously.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist, my friend. I wish I did, but you would know if that wish came true. You see, I wouldn't make everyone wait so long between Jisbon moments.
It was all anyone at the CBI could talk about. After the Closed-Case Pizza and Ice Cream Party for the closing of the Red John case, Jane had announced he would be leaving the CBI at the end of the month. Several people had asked him to stay, but he had just smiled at each one, shaken his head, and walked away.
The Special Crimes Unit was taking it harder than most, of course.
Rigsby, Cho, Grace and Lisbon had each asked him if he was sure, but sadly, he had simply replied 'Yes' to each of them, though with Lisbon, he had hesitated slightly.
Finally, it was the night before he was going to leave. They were having a party for him at the CBI, but he had snuck out about thirty minutes before Lisbon walked into the attic and found him staring out the window.
"Hey," She said softly.
He glanced up and smiled slightly. "Hey."
"They're missing you at the party."
He shrugged. "Meh, before long, they'll be too distracted by the outfits the women from Organized Crime wore to care."
The two women were admirers of his, and had worn stunning outfits to the party.
"Who do you think is missing you?" She teased. "Not the guys."
He smirked, but then his eyes were drawn back to the wall.
She waited a moment before asking, "Jane, are you ok?"
He hesitated before replying, "I guess, yeah, it's just…" He hesitated a moment more before looking at her seriously and continuing, "There's something you've been hiding from me for a long time. Something you've been afraid to say out loud, for fear of what I'll say. Now, I'm leaving…And you still haven't told me what that is. And if you don't…I'll never know"
She stared at him for a moment. She was ready to protest, but saw the serious, pleading look in his eyes and paused. Finally, she decided to try for something a little more honest.
She met his eyes and whispered, "If you're right, and I'm not saying you are, why would this be any different? If I was keeping a secret like that from you, I'd probably get flustered and start stuttering and blushing if I tried to tell you…If it were true, maybe it wouldn't be because I didn't want to tell you. Maybe it would be because I couldn't."
He nodded thoughtfully, before suddenly asking, "Why don't you let me hypnotize you into telling me?" Seeing her about to protest, he quickly continued, "Sometimes hypnotism can give you courage to say things you've been wanting to for a long time."
She responded sharply, "And sometimes it can make you say things that you've worked hard to keep hidden for a long time."
He chuckled and shook his head. "You can't hypnotize someone to do something against their true will, remember?"
She huffed. "Then what about getting Grace to admit that she still loved Rigsby? She really didn't look like she had wanted to do that, at least not after she woke up."
He shrugged. "She wanted him to know, she just didn't think she had the courage to tell him. I gave her the courage. That's all."
He saw her hesitate. He could practically see her debating, just like when her asked her to dance. (Asked…Begged…Allowed… Fine lines there, he thought.)
Just when he knew she was about to say 'no,' he pulled out his last tactic.
He reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Do you trust me?"
He had asked her that many times over the years, and he couldn't help but flash back, suddenly slightly worried, though he'd never admit it. The fruit market… the car ride toward Timothy Carter's house. Both times she'd said no. What if she did the same here?
She watched the worry fill his face. His eyes were pleading with her to say yes, even more than the past times he'd asked that.
She hesitated. Did she trust him? To be honest, she did, she realized. He was the one she turned to when she had a problem. He's the one she turned to if she just needed to vent. He's the one she trusted, she admitted.
She nodded to him simply.
His face lit up. "Good. If you trust me, you have no reason to worry about me hypnotizing you."
She sighed and nodded again. "Fine."
"Thank you." He took her other wrist and began. "Now, I just want you to relax…Relax, and think of freedom. What is freedom to you? Is it a bird? A bird, flying higher and higher, unrestricted, unburdened, unchained? Wouldn't you like to be like that bird? Free from everything holding you back?"
"Mhmm," She replied softly.
He smiled. "Good. Now, there's something you've been wanting to tell me for a long time, isn't there?"
"Yeah…"
"Do you want to tell me now?" He asked.
She nodded, a smile filling her face.
He grinned. "Then just tell me. Don't tell me anything you don't want me to know. Just tell me what you want to tell me."
"I love you," she murmured.
He had known where this was going, or at least had a pretty good idea. After all, the signs were all there: The way her face would light up when he walked in the room, but she would quickly try to hide it; the way she would help him, no matter the sacrifice; the way she would blush when he did a mind reading trick…The big things and the little things were all there. But hearing her say the words was very different. It made it very real.
No going back now…
"Do you," he asked, a smile on his face.
"Yep," she responded cheerfully.
He wanted to ask so many more questions: For how long? How do you think I feel? And Why me? You could have anyone, hundreds of men that weren't so broken, why me? Came to mind. But then, he glanced at his watch. Not too much longer before people started leaving the party, and he wanted everyone there for what he had planned…
"Ok, I'm going to count backwards from five, and then I want you to wake up, ok?"
She nodded.
"Ok, five. Four. Three. Two. One."
Her eyes fluttered open, and confusion filled her eyes for a second, and then fear mixed with hope as they settled on his.
He smiled. "There, now. Don't you feel better?'
She felt a wave of confusion wash over her. "Um-well, I-um…Yeah, I guess…I-"
Say something, her mind begged. I love you too…I'm sorry but no… Are you insane…I heard you…
He grinned. "Ok, why don't you go on down to the party? I'll be there in a minute, ok?"
Her face fell. So this is it, huh? I made a fool of myself for nothing.
"Ok." She answered, an edge in her voice.
He watched her walk out the door, and sighed. This had sounded like such a good idea…He hadn't thought this part through.
Time to rejoin the party.
He went back downstairs, and glanced around. Pretty much everyone was still there.
He carefully climbed up on a desk, and said, "Everyone. Everyone, excuse me."
All eyes turned to him. When he spotted Lisbon, he sighed. She had obviously been crying…
"Everyone, most of you have been asking me why I'm leaving. Some people think it's because Red John's gone, but no one really knows. You see, I've been thinking,"
"Always a scary thing," he heard someone, probably Rigsby, say.
He chuckled and continued, "I started thinking about what I was going to do after Red John was out of the picture. Then, I realized something: Through everything, someone has been there." His eyes rested on Lisbon. "Someone has been holding my hand, believing in me, and dragging me…" He hesitated, before continuing, "Dragging me out of the Red John case whenever I needed it. Dragging me back to the light."
Whispers filled the room. He never talked about Red John so openly. Why now?
"Anyway, the thought occurred to me, and that's when I realized that she was in love with me."
All eyes turned to Lisbon, who glared at him, anger and hurt filling her. First that stunt in the attic, and now this?
He sighed and continued, "And, even more surprising, I realized that I loved her, too."
Several 'awwwwes' went through the room, mostly from the romantics, though the women from Organized Crimes' was of the disappointed variety.
Lisbon's eyes widened in shock, and her mouth dropped open. No way…
He let the shock settle in, then continued, "But she's such a stickler for the rules…At least usually…I knew that I wouldn't have much of a chance with her if we worked together."
Understanding began to dawn on people.
He grinned sadly and continued, "I realized I would have to leave to have a chance with her. But I wanted to be sure. Less than ten minutes ago, I was up in the attic with her. She told me that she loved me. If she hadn't, I would have called this whole thing off. I would have stayed, because I would have no reason to leave. I am going to start a private investigator's business. I know we'll run into each other from time to time, and I look forward to working with you all. Assuming, of course, that Teresa can forgive me for…Scaring her like I did."
She eyed him suspiciously. A trick? It didn't seem like one. A way to make his guilt go away for before? He looked too genuine. That only left one option…He was telling the truth. His lack of wedding ring confirmed it. She walked up to him, and with a little help, joined him on the desk. "Don't ever do that to me again," she hissed in his ear.
He nodded. "I won't," he replied softly.
"Ok then." And she leaned forward hesitantly. He smiled and leaned toward her. Their lips met…And then she slipped.
She nearly fell off the desk, but he caught her and pulled her back up. "I didn't think we needed another trust fall," He whispered.
She couldn't help but be glad that most of them probably had to much of the 'punch' in their system to remember this tomorrow…
A/N: Ok…So, did that at all make up for the long wait? I'm not sure about it, and would really appreciate some feedback. I apologize again for the wait.