Here is the sequel to "Questions & Comfort". I hope you enjoy this as well.
Disclaimer - I still don't own it.
The dim light of the early dawn filtered through the curtains in the bedroom, bathing the interior with a soft glow. Teresa woke to a possessive arm thrown around her waist and soft breath tickling her ear. She grinned knowing that blue eyes would be her greeting this morning. She stretched languidly and turned to face the man that the arm belonged to.
"Morning, sleepyhead."
"Just because I don't suffer insomnia it's no reason to call me 'sleepyhead'," she casually responded without much bite to her words. She felt too good to be snippy.
Teresa placed a chaste kiss on his bare chest as Patrick placed one on her head.
When they had returned from Carmel the day before, neither was really sure what to expect. How they should act or what recourse they would take. Would they go their separate ways for the night or spend it together? If they did spend it together, would it be at her place, his hotel room, or some other hotel room? When they arrived at her home, it all became so clear.
She invited him in.
The two of them being so domestic and normal, it seemed surreal. Patrick Jane wandering around her kitchen in bare feet but still in his dress pants and light blue linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Teresa Lisbon doing dishes in leggings and an oversized football jersey, hair in a messy pony tail. Just two people that already were comfortable with each other, now they had the knowledge that they were on the same page.
Their coupling that night wasn't the fevered touch that they had experienced in Carmel. It was about comfort and reassurance that they were together. That is what mattered to them now. Just being together. For that, they would fight the devil himself.
"What time is it anyway, Jane? It can't be 6:30 already."
"Actually it's 6:00. Coffee is in the carafe waiting for you and I'm going to go shower. I have to stop and get a change of clothes."
"Get an extra change so I can at least sleep to 6:30 tomorrow."
Teresa suddenly realized what she had said. How it sounded even to her ears. A level of expectation that he would be there again tonight. He just laid there with a lazy lopsided grin on his face.
"Oh I'm spending the night again, am I? I feel so kept," Jane dramatically retorted with a twinkle in his eye.
"Bite me."
"Love to," came his cool rejoinder as he left the bedroom to take a shower, stopping at the doorway and giving her a wink and a crinkly eyed smile.
Teresa just rolled her eyes at him. Glad her comment hadn't thrown him, glad that they could still banter with each other. Glad that they were still "them".
Jane towelled himself off in her steamy bathroom. The humidity making the cinnamon he associated with her even stronger. He looked in the mirror and decided the pale stubble could wait another day. He'd bring a razor tonight to take care of it. He would have to remember deodorant too, as it wouldn't do to smell "powder fresh" just like Lisbon. Then he stopped to think about it. These little connections, the day to day with each other were the big things. It insinuated permanence. Where sex could be anywhere and without strings, your whiskers in her sink were a constant reminder, the razor next to the toothbrush a definite sign that it was more than short term. Personal hygiene habits that were shared, definitely a step to a future together.
And he was OK with it.
Lisbon sat at the kitchen table with a large mug of strong coffee in front of her. Running her fingers through her sleep mussed hair, Jane walked in buttoning his shirt and looking for his shoes. They looked at each other and just grinned, the importance of this simple mundane moment not lost on them. A moment that they never thought they would have.
"I have to run and change and I'm going to stop and get some goodies for the kiddies," Jane stated as he laced up his shoes.
"You just don't want them to kill you and hide the body."
"I have a feeling that Cho wouldn't even break a sweat ripping out my throat with his bare hands."
Lisbon chuckled. "He wouldn't want to get them dirty. He'd just shoot you."
"I better make sure his hands are full then."
Jane leant down and kissed her softly, running his thumb over her cheek.
"I'll see you at the CBI, Lisbon."
"See you then."
Lisbon pulled up in front of headquarters and noticed that the powder blue Citroen was already parked. She imagined that Jane already had the SCU on a sugar high and filled with feel good endorphins from his treats. She entered the elevator to her floor wondering how the day would play out after the team heard the news of the latest couple.
Jane was sprawled across his couch, waiting for Lisbon to arrive. He had handed out the goodies that Van Pelt and Rigsby gratefully appreciated and Cho accepted but was wary. He had a feeling that Jane had done something very bad to start the bribery so early in the week.
When Lisbon exited the elevator, Jane and her locked eyes and smiled. Cho caught the look but didn't read too much into it. They always smiled at each other. But in the next moment, he was as stunned as the rest.
When Jane strode across the room and kissed Lisbon, the entire floor fell silent. The only sound heard was Rigsby dropping his muffin with a soft "plunk".
