Time Is Ticking Out
Teresa Lisbon wasn't happy with her life, though she had stubbornly refused to acknowledge it so far. Now that Red John was out of picture, the fact that she wasn't getting any younger was staring her in the face; she knew she had to do something about it before it was too late.
She just didn't know how to address the issue.
xxx
It took him a couple of weeks to figure out what was the matter with Lisbon. When the truth dawned on him he was left at loss for words, and that was definitely not a common occurrence for a man like Patrick Jane.
Then he walked straight into her office and offered his help. Teresa blushed crimson; however, much to his surprise, she didn't have the heart to say no.
xxx
"This is so wrong," she murmured as they walked into her bedroom. Jane was her best friend; his heart still belonged to a dead woman, and she shouldn't take advantage of his kindness in such a way.
He placed a soothing finger on her lips, then began to strip her of her clothes. His movements were slow, methodical. Lisbon closed her eyes and did her best to shut off her mind.
xxx
She was beautiful and vulnerable as she stared back at him in the half-light of the room. He brushed his lips tentatively at the corner of her mouth, and her eyes fluttered shut.
It didn't matter that Lisbon didn't reciprocate his feelings; she had stuck to him through thick and thin, now it was time he did something for her.
He would save heartbreak for later on.
xxx
Her heart was pounding in her chest as she stared at the lines on that white stick. She couldn't believe she was going to be a mother at long last, as tears of joy trickled down her cheeks.
It was nothing like her childhood dreams, she wasn't married and probably never would be. However, the father of her child was her best friend, and she was sure they'd manage to work it out somehow. In a way it was a relief that he wasn't some random stranger she'd picked at a bar.
xxx
He was happy for Lisbon. She was his best friend, and surely deserved her chance at happiness.
It didn't matter that he would miss the nights he'd spent in the safe shelter of her bed. He'd promised he would always be there for her and their child, and he was going to stick to it.
It was nothing like being a real family, but after a decade of loneliness any surrogate would probably do.
xxx
She met Josh at a fundraiser ball. In spite of her being obviously pregnant, he shamelessly flirted with her for half of the evening.
When she started looking for Jane he was nowhere to be found. In the end it was Rigsby who drove her back home, and her apartment had never felt lonelier before.
xxx
He'd been an idiot when he'd thought he was going to raise his child with Lisbon. Teresa was a beautiful woman, and that guy at the ball hadn't missed the fact; now he was inviting her for lunch too.
It broke his heart to think of never seeing her again, but he had to let her go for her own sake. That was why he packed his things and booked a ticket for the next flight to the East Coast.
xxx
It had been a tiring day for Lisbon, she'd had lunch with Josh and had had a hard time convincing him she wasn't interested in anything but friendship. When she was back at the office Jane had disappeared again, and she had to chase him to his motel room.
As she saw the suitcase open on the bed with his suits piled neatly inside she almost burst into tears.
"You said we would raise our kid together."
"I was wrong," he told her without meeting her gaze. "Tell your friend to take care of him in my stead."
She blinked a couple of times as she realized what Jane was trying to do; then laughter bubbled up in her chest, and she all but crashed her lips against his own.
xxx
In the morning he woke up with Teresa's petite frame curled around him, her arms clutching at him as if she never wanted to let him go. He brushed a strand of dark hair that was shadowing her face and placed a loving kiss on the tip of her nose.