Problems to be solved
Hightower had finally left.
While Jane just gave a slight smile towards his boss, Lisbon gave a tired but relieved sigh.
"She's not that bad, you know. ", Jane said. Propping himself up on his elbow.
Lisbon, who had already returned to her paperwork, looked up at him with an unbelieving stare. "No, of course she isn't. She's not my problem: You are!" she said with a half sarcastic, half sincere expression.
Jane swallowed trying to decipher Lisbon's intentions and answered "Well, that was a bit harsh, don't you think?" Jane sat up straight looking crestfallen. Lisbon only gave him a slightly irritated look, shook her head and returned to her paperwork once again.
Jane, however, didn't want to let this one go so easily and walked over to her, standing right behind his boss. He was standing so close she could even feel his warmth on her back. It made her feel…nervous and disturbed.
"Can't you just…"she turned her chair around and was surprised at how close he was actually standing. She had to roll backwards in her chair to get some space between them, but she just bumped into her desk. Not able to follow her intentions, she turned back around again and leaned back over her work, her head a bit lower and her expression more concentrated than necessary.
Jane got the hint but didn't want to give in just yet. He took a small step backwards and whispered in a very soft voice "Lisbon", which made her turn around while not looking at him.
"I know you're not comfortable with the situation. Neither am I."This caught her attention and she looked up at him but didn't say anything. "I have no intention of jeopardizing your career and also know that I do have problems following the rules. But I will try. I promise."
Lisbon averted her eyes once again and replied quietly "I know Jane."
"But?" he asked with a truthful expression on his face.
"But…" she sighed. "But I still don't think that will be enough…I mean, I know that won't be enough." She got up from her chair now and moved towards the window. Looking outside at the dark empty street she continued "It's not that you wouldn't try to do things right, I know you will. It's just…"She turned to look at him then, lost for words. However, she couldn't stand to see his hurt and looked towards the floor once again.
He knew what she meant and he also knew she was right. "Well, what if I resigned then?" he said, while taking a few steps closer to her.
Her eyes shot up immediately "No! Are you crazy?! We need you!"
"What about you?"
That question caught her a bit off guard so she just answered openly "So do I." Only now thinking about how her words could have been understood she blushed slightly and began to rephrase, when Jane cut in "No. Don't!" She looked up at him quizzically. "Don't take it back." he murmured softly. "I need you, too. And that's exactly why I want to resign."
"Wha-…What? What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I need you, too. And if you weren't part of this team anymore, I wouldn't want to be either. And I also know that I couldn't manage following protocol longer than...maybe two weeks…" He took a few steps closer to her now until he was standing right in front of her, tilting his head slightly in order to look directly into her eyes. Lisbon had a hard time returning his soft stare, not wanting to understand the meaning of his words. "But if I resigned …"
The sound of her cell phone startled them both. But while Jane would have just ignored it, the beeping sound fully brought Lisbon back to reality and she knew she couldn't go along this path with Jane. She took one last close look at him and then turned on her heels leaving him standing in her lonely office while she talked into her phone.
Jane sighed heavily and walked back towards the window, looking outside at the dark empty street. He saw the front door open and the light from inside shine onto the pavement. He saw Lisbon hurrying towards her car, still talking on her cell phone and then driving off.
Six days later Jane had managed to keep out of any serious trouble, which also meant that Lisbon didn't have any new arguments with Hightower, which meant that she was in a rather cheerful mood. Until…
"We have to do what?!" Lisbon read and reread the report several times. This got Jane curious and he stood behind her, reading their assignment over her shoulder. Suddenly she stiffened and turned a light shade of pink. She turned her head towards Jane very slightly and watched him out of the corner of her eyes. She saw exactly when he got to the point she had just been shocked over. A smug grin crept onto his face and it just made her anger rise.
"Do you think this is funny?! We have to go undercover. This is very serious! This is not just some idiot, we're supposed to observe. This guy murdered six couples so far! And I don't think he'll stop just like that!"
"Oh yes, he will. We will make him. He will try it with us, as we are so happily married. But we will be prepared, honey. He doesn't have a chance!"
Lisbon didn't even bother answering and stormed into her office. Jane just kept grinning and showed the assignment to Rigsby who chuckled and offered "Cool, dude. Go get her!"
Another three days later Lisbon and Jane were sitting in a fancy restaurant, Jane wearing a handsome dark grey suit and Lisbon a beautiful dark green dress. Jane couldn't keep his eyes off her what she pretended not to notice while she was observing their suspect.
After dinner, however, their suspect still didn't make the impression of leaving anytime soon and Jane was starting to get bored. He got up and walked over to his "wife" and asked in a soft voice "Care to dance, honey?" Lisbon narrowed her eyes at him and was about to say no, when she saw their suspect watching them.
"No funny stuff" she whispered and put on a gorgeous smile, got up and let him take her hand in his and lead her to the dance floor.
They had barely started dancing, when a very slow romantic song began to play and Jane looked at her intently, waiting for some sign of permission, which Lisbon granted by shyly stepping a bit closer. Jane smiled gaily and pulled her in even more until their bodies were touching and she laid her head on his shoulder.
They continued dancing like this for a while until Jane registered something strange in their suspect's eyes. He leaned back a tiny bit and looked into Lisbon's eyes intently. "Don't worry, but I think our suspect is suspicious…" And while Lisbon was still pondering over his stupid remark she had almost missed Jane's face coming closer.
When she realized what he was up to she panicked and wanted to run off, but Jane sensed her trouble and gently pulled her towards him. He looked her deeply in the eyes to reinforce his reassurance and slowly closed his eyes. Lisbon, who didn't know what else to do, followed his lead and then felt his lips softly pushing against hers. Jane could feel her shiver softly under his touch and started to stroke her back tenderly while gently nibbling on her lower lip, encouraging her to participate.
Lisbon had lost any train of thought and just relished the feel of his soft lips on hers. So when he pulled back she immediately missed the feel and taste of him. She opened her eyes slowly and looked him deeply in the eyes.
She was about to say something when he indicated her to take a look at their suspect and she turned around to see Rigsby and Cho holding the man to the floor and handcuffing him.
When Lisbon turned back to Jane he was smiling softly at her and whispered "Do you still not know why exactly I want to resign?"
"I do, "she answered "but I think we will find a way to combine all our interests…"
He smiled at her then and took her back into his arms kissing her lovingly.