This is my first The Mentalist fic. I just discovered the show this summer and watched all 6 seasons in a few weeks. I always seem to find shows just as they are starting their last season (sigh). Anyway, here's a small post 'Blue Bird' fic (like the hundreds of others). I couldn't help myself. I hope you enjoy and please review if you'd like more chapters. Thanks,

Oh - and of course I don't own anything ... only original characters are mine.

After their kiss neither seemed sure of what to say or do. Jane looked unusually sober and uncharacteristically unsure. Teresa felt a strange mixture of happiness and relief and pure panic. Things had just changed, - drastically – and she felt completely out of control of the situation.

Not that being out of control was unusual around Jane. In fact, if she were honest – which she usually was – she would admit that the norm was feeling out of control, of him and of whatever situation they were in. This, however, was different. This time she could tell that Jane too felt the same – and he didn't know quite how to handle that.

Hah! The master of control – Patrick Jane – looking adorably confused and unsure of himself. Suddenly Lisbon felt better. She realized that if he had looked his usual cocky, confident self she might have begun to doubt his words. But this – no – he had been honest with her and it clearly frightened him, even though the smile he'd given, and the kiss, had been ones of pure joy.

"So." she said softly, keenly aware of the guard in the other room.

"So?" he looked at her, the twinkle still there, even through the look of hesitation on his face.

"Any idea when you can get out of here?" she asked calmly, bringing them both back to the present situation.

He shrugged. "No, although I don't think they're very happy with me."

"You think?" she raised her brows. "Jane, you jumped over a security fence and forced your way onto a passenger plane. Of course they're not happy with you. It's a good thing they didn't shoot you."

Suddenly, his smile – his beautiful, heart-wrenching – conniving – smile blossomed. "Nah, they wouldn't do that. And anyway, it was worth it."

"It was?" she smiled in return.

"Absolutely." They grinned at one another for a few more seconds, both caught up in the strongly felt, but newly admitted feelings for one another. "Forcing my way onto a plane is small price to pay for the woman I love."

"I can't believe I'm hearing that from you", she told him softly, gratefully. "But please, don't do something like that again."

"No? Not even on our anniversary?"

She looked startled at that and he looked slightly embarrassed. "I mean the anniversary of this – today – not – " he grinned again and shrugged, knowing it was pointless to try and dig his way out of this one.

"Oh – no, not even then. You know", she said after a few seconds, "it would have been easier to tell me all this a few days ago and spare yourself this", she looked around the sparse room.

"Yeah", he glanced down, his hands moving restlessly. "I just – I couldn't." He looked at her sheepishly. "I'm sorry", he said softly.

"No, it's okay. I mean, I'd rather you didn't get into trouble, but the fact is, it wouldn't have been you if you'd done it the normal, low-key way. Just telling me over dinner wouldn't have been -"

"What?"

"The Patrick Jane way", she reached out and touched his hand. She drew it back when the guard glared.

"Well, I planned to tell you over dinner, but first Abbott and Cho decided to join us and then you threw a glass of water in my face."

"You deserved it."

"Yeah", he sighed. "I did. I'm sorry Teresa. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just – I was – it was - hard." He looked uncomfortable at that admission and she recognized how difficult it was for him to be so honest about his feelings.

She opened her mouth to ask him about what frightened him. She thought she understood, but knew she needed to be sure. They'd known each other for a lot of years, but this was new territory and if it was going to work they'd both have to open up and be honest with one another.

Unfortunately, before she had a chance to speak, the door opened. A man wearing a TSA uniform entered, and from his expression things didn't look good.

"Patrick Jane", he announced in a deep and forboding voice.

"Uh, that's me", Jane looked up at him and then awkwardly pushed himself to his feet – or actually to his good foot. He turned and faced the officer.

"I'm Supervisory Officer Moretti, from the TSA. Special Agent Abbott explained the circumstances and asked that we let you go with a warning. I agreed – this time, because I value our relationship with the FBI. But if you ever do anything like this again, I will make sure that you will be charged. What you did was incredibly thoughtless and stupid Mr. Jane, and could have resulted in someone, yourself included, getting hurt."

Teresa looked nervously at Jane, praying that for once he'd say the smart thing. With a small glance of reassurance to her he turned to the TSA agent.

"Officer, I truly am sorry and promise I will never do that again. And please, convey my apologies to the flight crew. I – uh – wasn't thinking straight."

Lisbon raised her eyebrow at that but didn't say a word, relieved at Jane's response. Now, if only Moretti would leave quickly, before Patrick's sense of humor and cutting wit could escape.

"No, you obviously weren't. I'll have Hanson come in with the paperwork for you to sign and once that's done you can leave. You are, however, on a thirty-day no fly list. You won't be able to fly into or out of any commercial airline for the next month. That's just to remind you that what you did was both illegal and irresponsible."

"I know – and thank you for being so understanding."

Moretti stared at him for a moment and then his face relaxed slightly. "I hope that things work out for the both of you." He turned to Lisbon. "He certainly took some risks to tell you how he feels."

"I know", she smiled, although her cheeks grew warm.

"Well, I hope you can keep him under control. Although somehow I think that'll be a challenge!'

"Oh, it is", she agreed. With a huge grin she turned to Jane. "But he's worth it."

"So, I'm worth it am I?" Jane asked her after the TSA agent had left, his confidence returning.

"Mmm", she replied. "Maybe. Although you'd better be on your best behavior from now on." She rolled her eyes at his quick agreement, knowing it wasn't going to happen.

It only took a few more minutes and they were ready to leave. The problem was, of course, that Jane couldn't really walk. His ankle had swelled up and was beginning to hurt. Teresa turned to Agent Hanson, the one who had told them to stop kissing and who was still looking pissed off. "Uh, is there anyway to get him some crutches?"

The agent sighed, looking completely disgruntled at the whole situation. "Maybe, but it'll most likely be a wheelchair. Wait here."

In the end he found a pair of crutches that had been unclaimed in the Lost and Found and gave them to Jane, clearly hoping to rid himself of this bothersome troublemaker as quickly as possible.

Abbott was waiting for them outside the security area. "Jane, Lisbon", he said, looking completely poker-faced. "Everything get sorted out?"

"Yes. Thank you Sir", Lisbon said, giving him a smile. "The Agent told us you pulled some strings."

"No real string-pulling – I just explained the situation and he agreed to let Jane go."

Jane looked at him speculatively. "Uh – what was the explanation?"

Abbott just grinned and held out his hand, pointing to the door. "Let's get out of here. I'll take you back to the hotel and then I have to be back here to catch a flight to Austin after lunch." He glanced over at Jane. "You're gonna stay here today and rest that foot. I'm afraid you'll have to take the bus or train back. No flying for you for 30 days."

Jane grimaced but nodded. "Thank you, by the way – for getting me out of here and for the car." He frowned. "Uh, how did you get here?"

"Since you took my car? I took a cab but I got the keys back from Moretti. Come on, let's go."

"Uh Sir – what about me?" Lisbon suddenly realized that officially she no longer worked for Abbott. Crap, she was going to have to ask for her job back. And then she had to call DC and tell them she wasn't going to take the job there after all. That was going to be embarrassing, although not as painful as the call to Pike was going to be.

"You should stay here too – look after Jane, keep him out of trouble." He frowned, "If that's even possible. You can either fly back tomorrow, or if you're feeling particularly long-suffering, you can come back with him on the bus or train."

"Thank you Sir. Uh, about my job -"

"I haven't sent in the paperwork Teresa, so if you want it back just say the word. You will have to call DC and let them know though. I'm afraid they're not going to be happy."

"No, I'm sure they won't. Still – thank you Sir. I would like to stay."

By this time they'd reached the car and Abbott helped Jane get in the back. It was only when they were on the road that Abbott broached the elephant in the room. "So, everything work out?" He glanced in the rear view mirror to see Jane looking out the window, a small smile on his face.

"Yes", Lisbon answered quietly, also glancing back. "Yes, everything worked out just fine."

"Good. Took him long enough."

She glanced at her boss, startled, and suddenly realized that he'd known how they felt all along. She didn't know whether to feel relieved, pleased or embarrassed. Probably all three if she was being honest.

"Cho was surprised", Abbott told her with a grin. "He thought you were like 'brother and sister'. I can't believe that he didn't figure it out."

"Well, to be fair, Jane is a master at hiding his true feelings."

"Not where you're concerned", Abbott disagreed. "I figured it out months ago. I'm just glad you both finally figured it out." He glanced again in the rear view mirror and then spoke softly. "He deserves happiness."

Jane was practically asleep in the back seat. He'd spent the night in a small room at the airport, after a very emotional few days and the scene he'd created on the plane. Still, as tired as he was, he couldn't help but feel the warm glow that was slowly spreading through him. He still couldn't believe that she'd stayed – that she'd told him she loved him (or at least that she felt the same as him, which was what she meant). He was pretty sure the warm feeling was happiness, although it had been so long he wasn't quite sure. Not sure and absolutely terrified. He could so easily mess this up and if he did – he didn't know if he'd survive. He had to make sure that Teresa never regretted her decision, that he deserved her love, that he would do everything in his power to make her happy.

God – he was terrified.

"We're here", Lisbon's soft voice woke him up and he blinked and licked his lips.

His room was now a crime scene so the hotel assigned him another one. He was so tired it didn't dawn on him that Teresa no longer had a room as she'd checked out yesterday. They said goodbye to Abbott and then made their way slowly to Jane's new room, the hotel clerk promising his things would be moved as soon as the police said it was okay.

As soon as Jane arrived he hopped over to the bed and collapsed. He watched Lisbon out of bleary eyes. "You must be tired too", he said softly.

"Mmm hmm", she yawned. "But I don't have a bed."

"Share mine", he told her, scooting over and patting the bed. At her surprised look he suddenly woke up. "Uh – I just meant – just to sleep. We're both tired and I promise I won't try anything." His eyes drifted shut. "Really", he said, his voice almost disappearing.

It was only after he felt her lie down next to him that he spoke again. "At least not now."

She giggled and closed her eyes. She was tired too and talking – and anything else – could wait. But that didn't mean they had to act like nothing more than friends. With a decisive gleam in her eye, she sidled over until she was right next to Jane.

He blinked a couple of times and then grinned. Turning on his side he reached out and pulled Teresa right up against him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and burrowed his head in her neck. "Go to sleep", he told her softly. "Love you."

"Love you too."