A/N: New Year's fic. A bit of angsty romance for my favourite couple. Two-shot. Hope you enjoy. Reviews, as ever, are much appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist, the wonderful Bruno Heller does.

Not Your Average Fairy Tale

Chapter 1 - Cinderella

'Damn it' Lisbon muttered under her breath as she opened each of her desk drawers in turn, slamming them shut when she couldn't find what she was looking for.

Jane was asleep on his couch in the CBI bullpen until the clattering of the aforementioned drawers woke him and he turned his head to see Lisbon's light on in her office and her shadowy figure obviously combing for something at her desk. He checked his watch. Just after seven thirty on New Year's Eve. He was aware she had a date to a New Year's Eve ball that night (a new dress she bought and hid under her desk from an upmarket boutique two days prior and a manicure she had done that lunchtime confirming his suspicions) so his curiosity was piqued at her sudden reappearance at work after leaving at five to get ready and wishing her team a blanket 'Happy New Year' as she swished past them, her pace a little quicker than normal for fear of being enclosed in a hug on her way out. If he hadn't already been prone on his couch he may have chanced it but even he wasn't going to chase her down the hallway for a hug. His embarrassment of her would have only been outdone by his own embarrassment by that gesture so he had stayed where he was. Naturally the thought he may see her in an elegant cerulean coloured ball gown did nothing to dissuade him from taking the few steps to her office. He had of course peeked when he had found the hidden dress, reasoning that he had to make sure it was in a colour that wouldn't wash out her pale skin, good friend that he was.

She hadn't shut the door to her office and was too engrossed in shifting some items around a drawer so he had a few moments to stand in her doorway and steal a glance. He smiled as he saw she did indeed wear the gown, its taffeta fabric rustling as she moved. It was a knee length dress, fitted at the waist but with a skirt that flared out slightly. Its bodice was fitted snugly to her petite frame, a sweetheart neckline emphasising her cleavage and lace sleeves that just covered her shoulders. He had only meant to watch her for a second before announcing his presence but instead he had allowed his eyes to drift over her entire body, his mind filling with inappropriate thoughts before he had time to push them away. Just as he was about to speak she sensed he was there and her eyes darted up to him immediately.

'Jeez, Jane, you scared the life out of me!' she exclaimed, opening another drawer.

Her head back down again, he was pleased to see she was too busy with her own thoughts to catch how he had been looking at her. He breathed a sigh of relief and was glad he didn't have Lisbon's pale complexion or she would have surely noticed the blush on his cheeks at being caught on gawking.

'What are you looking for, Lisbon?' he ventured, walking into her office, back in control of his emotions.

She held up a shoe missing a heel in one hand, the heel from the offending shoe in the other as an explanation, rifling through a drawer. This wasn't the time to mention she really should clear those out sometime soon or she would have found the glue minutes before he told himself. Instead he smirked and said, 'Cinderella broke her heel, huh? And it's not even midnight yet. Not a good start to the evening.'

She finally found the glue she was looking for and glanced up at him, 'If I'm Cinderella, what does that make you, one of the ugly sisters?'

'I'd say Cho and Rigsby would fill those parts better than me' he quipped. 'I'm more your Prince Charming type' he added assuredly.

She rolled her eyes and opened the glue. 'Yeah, you're a real hero' she said under her breath.

'Let me prove it to you and help out a damsel in distress. Hand me the glue. Let me fix your heel, m'lady' he responded with a grin and a little bow.

She shook her head and laughed. 'Go knock yourself out' she replied, handing him over the bottle. Before she handed over her shoe she said, 'You're not going to glue your hand to this and make me take you to the E.R. are you? You do know what you're doing, right?'

'Trust me' Jane replied, realising immediately those were the worst words to use with her as she stalled in handing over her heel. They still had some serious trust issues all these years later but after the number of times he didn't tell her about his plans he could hardly expect them to disappear.

'Teresa, I know what I'm doing.' After she passed over the heel he sat down on the couch and put some glue carefully onto it. He murmured, deep in concentration to ensure no glue got on any of the soft fabric of the shoe, 'Charlotte used to break her toys all the time. I'm a dab hand at this.'

He attached the heel to the shoe and held the two parts together waiting for them to stick to each other and looked up at her to find her standing in front of her desk, looking away from him and biting her lip.

'You don't have to be stunned into silence every time I mention her name' he said softly.

She stared back at him. 'Perhaps I wouldn't be if you mentioned her more often.'

He nodded and shrugged, conceding the point. 'You look beautiful by the way; Hendricks from Robbery is a lucky man.'

She opened her eyes in surprise, ignoring the compliment. 'How did you know I was going out with him tonight? I haven't mentioned it to a soul.'

'He asked you four days ago. I'm guessing Monday just after we got back from the early start that morning at the murder up at that Nature Reserve. He's been wanting to ask you out for a while now, always dropping in unannounced with papers for you to sign that he could easily message over. He obviously had a good talk with himself last weekend and decided to do it first thing Monday. Prime opportunity with a New Year's Eve ball coming up. Less chance you'd refuse him.'

'How'd you know it was Monday and that I wouldn't refuse him?'

'Well Monday because you were flustered when you arrived back to the office after visiting the crime scene. Not overly but...took you a few seconds longer than normal to start barking out your orders. I'm guessing he cornered you in the elevator as soon as you got back. May have been deliberate or just fortuitous for him. You accepted because you were tired and distracted from the early morning, he took you by surprise and you couldn't come up with an excuse quickly enough. Being stuck alone in an elevator with someone you've just turned down for a date is highly embarrassing so you accepted instead. Et voila.'

'Or maybe I accepted because I wanted to go out with a good looking man for the night' she replied.

He shrugged. 'Perhaps. There is, of course, that possibility too' Jane responded, his face not betraying the knot he felt in his stomach at the thought her words were the truth.

Jane got to his feet and placed the newly mended shoe on the ground in front of her, kneeling down and lifting up her bare foot and placing it gently inside, his fingers soft to the touch as he held her foot briefly. Lisbon was so taken by surprise at the gesture it was over before she could object but wasn't entirely sure she would have in any case. Before she knew it Jane was standing facing her again.

'Why was a New Year's Eve ball a prime opportunity?' she asked softly as his eyes penetrated hers.

'No one wants to be alone on New Years' he replied seriously, his gaze never leaving hers. She parted her mouth and then closed it again, her cheeks reddening as they continued to gape at each other. She saw his pupils dilate and become darker than she had ever noticed before. She swallowed, licking her lips involuntarily and her eyes followed his as he briefly glanced at them before drawing his stare back to her, intensity now flooding his whole facial expression. She was transfixed in the moment and her mind was incapable of finding words to break the tension that had suddenly surfaced between them. He watched her expression change from one of curiosity to confusion to fear. For the first time he allowed himself to get lost in her eyes, to think of a future that included her, to wonder what that would be like. His mind flitted to a picture of them lying on a couch, his arms wrapped around her and her head lying on his chest as they bickered over what to watch on TV. He had dreamt of making love to her as the years had passed between them (hastily putting it down to his long term celibacy and she being the most significant person in his life, coming to the conclusion that it would be abnormal not to have those dreams) but this picture with its intimacy and sense of normalness affected him more than any erotic dream he had. He yearned to reach out and touch her face, to cup her cheek and run his thumb across it. To feel the softness of a woman...to feel the softness of this woman.

Suddenly the room felt unbearably hot as they stood mere inches apart. She was aware that neither of them had spoken for what seemed like an eternity. She couldn't read his expression or his intentions. She both wished for and dreaded that he might kiss her, terrified of what that would mean to both of them if he did. Afraid of what she would do if he continued in the ferocity of his gaze she moved back a fraction to get some kind of a bearing back on her emotions that were beginning to spiral out of control. The spell between them seemed to break once she shifted as she saw him drop his gaze and step back from her in turn.

'You better go' he said quietly, his eyes still averted. 'You don't want to be late for the ball, Cinderella.'

She nodded and let out a breath. 'Yeah, you're right' she stuttered, not looking in his direction. She picked up her bag and jacket from her desk. 'Thanks for fixing my shoe, Jane.'

He nodded and glanced back, smiling amiably at her but the electricity between them still crackling in the room. As she went to leave her office she turned back on an impulse and saw him raise a questioning eyebrow, a glimmer of fear now apparent in his expression. Before she lost her nerve she reached up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. 'Happy New Year, Jane' she mumbled quietly before turning away quickly and hastily retreating down the corridor.

He blinked rapidly at her back until it was out of view a few moments later and rubbed the place she had kissed with his thumb, sighing. He shook his head and wished he was in a different time.