A/N: My muse is off enjoying the Olympics right now (GO CANADA GO!) and has taken Jane with her, hence why no updates on my on-going projects. But, I did manage to put together an entry for the Jello Forever Feb 2010 Challenge - Love Songs. It's just a short fluffy piece that I'm dedicating to Tracie, my buddy from across the pond for encouraging me to write. Enjoy!

Spoilers: 2x12 Bleeding Heart and 2x13 Redline

Disclaimers: Nope, I don't own Jane and Lisbon or anything Mentalist related, that honour belongs to a man by the name of Bruno Heller and the title of this fic is borrowed from the song of the same name by A Fine Frenzy and the lyrics belong to its rightful owners.

Near to You

Near to you, I am healing but it's taking so long…

She watched him through the partially open blinds. He had been staring at the television screen for the past half hour, replaying the same clip, over and over again on an endless loop. Cho had told her what went down during Mike Brewster's arrest. She knew the tape she had watched was edited before Jane submitted it into the log as evidence. Not that she needed to see what was cut, everything was clearly etched on Jane's face. She has known him long enough to know when to leave him be, but seeing the pained look in his eyes was just too much. She pulled open the door, strode towards the television set to shut it off. She had expected her actions to irk some kind of response from him, any response, but he remained perched on the edge of the interrogation room table, gaze still fixed on the now black screen.

"You need to stop."

"Stop what?" he questioned, rather innocently.

"This, your self-pity party."

"You're invited if you'd like."

She glared at him, clearly unimpressed.

"Look, I know you've had a rough day…"

"Oh I don't know, between being kidnapped by gun point and having a murderer following me around with his camera lackey, I'd say it's been rather exciting."

She threw her hands in the air in defeat. She wasn't going to waste anymore of her time on him. She was about to walk out when he grabbed her by the elbow. For a long time, he didn't say anything, her back facing him as she stared at the door. His voice was barely audible when he finally broke the silence.

"I'm sorry. You're just trying to help and I," he hesitated, his hand slipping from her arm. "I'm sorry, Lisbon."

Reluctantly, she turned back around. The grief radiating from his eyes affected her more than she was willing to admit. She wanted to offer him some comforting words, but she wasn't able to think of anything appropriate to say. Instead, she gave him a gentle squeeze on his shoulder, which earned her a small smile in return.

And though she's gone and you are wonderful, it's hard to move on…

He observed her over the rim of his wineglass. She had eaten her meal slowly, obviously savoring each and every bite. When she finished, she leaned back in her chair, a satisfied moan escaping her lips as she took another sip of her merlot.

"I take it you enjoyed the food?" he asked.

Her eyes slipped shut as a wide grin spread across her face.

"It was very good."

"Blow your mind good?"

"Yes," she giggled, very un-Lisbon-like. "It blew my mind."

"Good, I'm glad."

When she reopened her eyes, the pair sat in a comfortable silence, soaking in the gorgeous view. Rolling hills, a quiet, still creek and picturesque blue sky that stretched on for miles. He took a deep breath, his lungs filling with the crisp clean air of the valley. She followed suit, the light wind pulling at the loose strands of her hair. Eventually, she became aware of his careful gaze on her as she turned towards him.

"What?"

"It's nice to see you so relaxed."

He could tell from the annoyed expression on her face that she didn't buy his compliment.

"It's true," he continued. "You work too hard."

"And whose fault is that exactly?"

He smirked, finishing off his own drink.

"C'mon, you and I both know, I'm the reason why you enjoy coming into work everyday."

"Quit flattering yourself."

"But you admit it's true."

"Please," she snorted.

"Without me, your life would be boring."

"Hey, I know how to have fun."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, yes I do."

To prove her point, she pushed herself out of her seat and made a beeline towards the edge of the creek bed. Jane watched her in mild amusement as she carefully removed her shoes and socks before dipping her feet into the stream. She stretched her arms out as far as they could go, her face lighting up under the warmth of the sun and Jane couldn't help but grin at her. Her seemingly out of character behavior was most likely a result of the wine she had just consumed but he couldn't complain. He had never quite seen her this uninhibited and carefree before. The pure joy radiating from Lisbon filled his heart with something he had not felt in a long time. Something he thought had died within him when his family was brutally taken away as he unconsciously played with the wedding band around his finger.

"Are you just going to sit there all day?" she called out, breaking him from his trance-like state.

His eyes met with hers once more as he rose to join her. He noticed the immediate change in her demeanor when he stood beside her.

"Everything okay?" she asked, concern knitted on her brow.

He didn't reply. Instead, he simply beamed down at her as he kicked off his loafers and grabbed her hand. She didn't have time to protest as he took off, splashing through the shallow water, dragging her beside him. She didn't tell him to stop, not that she wanted to. Both of them ran breathless, their laughter melding perfectly in sync.

Yes, I'm better near to you…

Fin for now, Jello forever