A/N: It's one-shot time again! I know that I should focus on 'Child's Play', 'The Devoted Way' and 'Patrick and the magic lamp', but I'm stuck for a while. I don't know, everything in these stories seem to become rubbish as I write.
This story was just to get my focus back a bit. For as much that was possible. I'm leaving on Thursday, I will go on a vacation to England for almost three weeks so you have to do without me. What a shame :'(.
This story is FULL OF FLUFF! FOF.
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.
Looking at him got more difficult with the day.
Lisbon swallowed back tears of joy as she watched her son sleep, here in her arms. He was so beautiful. His blonde little curls hugged his little face so perfectly.
She shifted a bit, making the big white couch comfortable to her back. She bowed down a bit, and kissed the peaceful little boy on his forehead.
Arthur Thomas Jane.
Arthur, from his grandfather, whom he would never meet. Honestly, Lisbon was glad for that. Before her mother died, her father was a nice man, but all the nice things he did and said were because of her mother. She told him to be sweet and gentle with their children, especially for the boys since they would take example of what he did. Without his wife, he couldn't stay sweet anymore. He had always been a cruel man at heart, but he just never showed it.
And Thomas, from his godfather and uncle. Honored wasn't the right way to explain how Thomas had reacted when she and Jane had asked him. Blissful, so happy that tears sprang to his eyes. Annabeth had been happy too, especially since that meant that Lisbon and Jane were together. She had always told Lisbon that they needed to get together. They were 'a match made in heaven', as the teen put it.
And Jane of course. It had been quite a difficult thing to think about. Which last name to choose, since she and Jane were only together and not married? Lisbon had finally gave the man his wish, and their son was called Jane.
Lisbon sighed, and cuddled the baby against her chest. The little boy stirred a bit, before he placed his tiny hands on her chest too and smiled faintly in his sleep.
Lisbon was never the woman to cry. Had never done so many times in her life – except for maybe the funeral of her mother – but apart from that one moment, she always kept her façade carefully in place. Nobody could see through it, and fairly, nobody wanted to. She wasn't fancied by many men – of course, she had the looks nobody could ever deny. But nobody dared to start something as big as a serious relationship with Teresa Lisbon.
Except for Patrick Jane of course. He was never one to listen.
Yet now, with her beautiful son in her arms, a tear escaped her eye. Not a sad tear, though. She had never imagined herself to get children. Yet here she was.
Warm, familiar hands suddenly started a gentle massage on her shoulders, and she rolled her eyes.
"Patrick, don't-"
"Shh, Teresa. Here, give me Arthur. You go get some ice cream or whatever it is that you want," he said, and already moved to get the boy out of her arms. She shook her head.
"No, it's fine, he-"
Jane's face got serious as he kneeled down in front of her. "I mean it, Teresa. You're not the only one who can take care of him. I'm here too."
Lisbon sighed, and reluctantly gave Arthur to Jane. She could never get enough of that adorable sight though, Jane with children. He loved children, and she was glad she could give him one after all he'd been through.
She got up, and walked towards the fridge to fetch her favorite ice cream – sure, it made her fat, but that was why she worked out on a daily basis.
After over thirty minutes, the bowl was unfortunately empty, and she went to throw it away. Jane re-entered the room, Arthur in his arms – it was a desperate measure he had to take: every time he told Lisbon to do something relaxing, he had to go to another room with Arthur, because on that manner Lisbon could not concentrate at all.
She smiled at Jane, and then placed a small kiss on the little boy's forehead.
"Did you change his diaper-"
"Yes, I did."
"With the powder for-"
"His bottom, yes. So much for trust, Teresa," Jane teased, and she rolled her eyes.
"After last time you tried to change his diaper-"
"And that was a mistake, honestly. It won't happen again."
Lisbon sighed, but shrugged it off.
She took over Arthur from Jane, who was now fully awake.
"Hey Little One," she smiled, and the boy's smile beamed back at her.
"I'm going to prepare dinner," Jane said, and Lisbon nodded. She walked over to the couch, to take her usual position on the couch again, when something caught her eye.
She frowned, sat down on the couch and placed Arthur on it, putting on display what'd caught her eye: on a new shirt that Lisbon had never seen before were the words 'Mummy, will you marry daddy?'.
Lisbon gasped slightly.
"Jane?" she asked, and in a few seconds, Jane was standing in the living room, an innocent smile on his face.
"Yes?"
"What is this?" Lisbon asked as she pointed at the shirt.
"Why, did you forget to read?" Jane asked, again innocently, and Lisbon rolled her eyes. When she looked at him though, he could clearly see they were full of threatening tears.
Jane reached out, and wiped them away. Lisbon looked at Arthur quickly – who was chuckling and wasn't at all feeling the heaviness of this moment.
She moved around the couch, and came to stand in front of him.
"I mean it, Teresa," Jane whispered, and went down on one knee, grabbing one of her hands.
"Will you marry me, Teresa Lisbon?"
Lisbon swallowed.
"I... I..."
Lisbon was silent for a lot of minutes, and it was breaking Jane apart. With Angela, he had been sure she would say yes. She had asked about it many times, so it was no surprise to both of them.
But with Lisbon, Jane didn't have the slightest idea if she would say yes. Not that he thought that she didn't love him, because she did, and he knew it. It was more that he didn't know for sure if she thought marrying was necessary. Being together like they had been the past few weeks, especially after Arthur was born seemed to be enough for Lisbon. But not for Jane.
He got up on his feet again, and looked into her eyes.
"It's... It's not that I don't love you. Because trust me, I do. But... But it looks too fast to me. I... don't think I'm ready yet to get married. And besides, we don't need to get married. We have Arthur now, we can't break up."
Lisbon's face was serious as she said this. Her eyes spoke that her heart didn't exactly agree with what she was saying, so did the fact that she was stammering. But for now, he accepted her decision.
She leaned in and kissed him tenderly.
When she pulled back – from a much more passionate kiss than she intended, without a doubt – she brushed his cheek.
"But maybe if you come up with some Jane-like proposal, I might change my mind," she whispered, and he smiled.
Yes, that sounded like an excellent plan. He would make her change her mind. Definitely.
-YulianaHenderson-
Lisbon slowly opened her eyes, to find Jane pressed against her back.
A small smile appeared on her face, yet her heart melted. That happened every time she found them in this position in the morning. Not that what they did the night before wasn't any less... promising, to say the least.
She was lost in the memories of last night when she felt Jane's hands going from her legs to just beneath her breasts. She sighed contently when he turned her around, only to kiss her senseless for a minute.
He pulled away, and brushed her cheek.
"Sorry," she whispered. Jane shook his head.
"No, it's okay. I wouldn't want to marry such a selfish, arrogant bast-"
"Hush," Lisbon replied, and she gently hit his chest.
Jane sighed, but pulled her tightly against him again.
Next thing they knew, Arthur started crying. Lisbon sighed, but Jane shook his head frantically.
"I'll go, you rest for a bit more," he whispered, and jumped up to get to Arthur.
"Coming!" he exclaimed, and Lisbon rolled her eyes. Like Arthur could understand that.
She got up with a heavy sigh, exhaustion washing over her quickly. She didn't want to get up, but she needed to go to the bathroom.
She sat on the edge of her side of the bed, again sighing, until something caught her eye. She immediately groaned as she saw a red-velvet box carefully placed on her night table.
"Jane!" she exclaimed, and picked it up. She walked out of the bedroom and into the nursery. She found Jane whispering soothing words to Arthur, who was calming down just a bit.
"What did I tell you, Jane? I'm not-"
Jane looked up at her, and she immediately stopped talking. Why was it that every time she was just a bit angry at Jane, looking at him would just unintentionally calm down the raging storms inside her?
She sighed, and raised her hand which held the box. Jane now sighed too.
"I thought I'd try."
"Try what?"
"Make up your mind?"
Lisbon lowered her hand again, and walked out of the room.
She fell on their bed again, borrowing her face in her pillow.
She couldn't think of much reasons not to marry Jane.
But the main reason was that if she were to wed him, it needed to feel right. From the beginning. And both his proposals didn't feel right. Not at all. She couldn't exactly explain why, but it just was true.
So it was a no, again, even though it hurt for her too.
Arthur quieted down again, and Lisbon quickly put the box on his night table.
He returned to their bedroom, got into bed and gathered her in his arms again.
He kissed her forehead, before closing his eyes again.
"I do love you, Jane," Lisbon mumbled into his chest. Jane kept silent though, and she looked up. She saw that Jane's eyes were open, and he was staring in front of him.
She sighed, and moved up to meet his eyes.
"Why not?" Jane asked. Lisbon shrugged.
"I... I want it to be right, from the beginning. Marrying you is a new chapter in our relationship, and I don't want to start that with a few doubts. I want your proposal to be perfect."
"Weren't they perfect?" Lisbon smiled sweetly.
"Almost. But not quite."
Jane sighed, but pulled her closer, her head comfortably pressed against his chest.
"I'll find the perfect way. But you need to remember that every time you will reject my proposal, it will hurt deep down in my heart," he whispered in her hair. She chuckled softly.
"You've got a big ego, I'm sure you'll get through it."
Jane huffed.
"You can still hurt it."
"Yeah, whatever," she said, and snuggled impossibly closer.
Just when Lisbon was about to drift into sleep, Jane quickly took her out of it.
"What do you think about flowers?"
-YulianaHenderson-
"Boss, you need to see this," Van Pelt said as she almost ran into Lisbon's office.
Lisbon looked up and frowned. Van Pelt's face was always easily readable, and not only to Jane. You could effortlessly see if the woman was either scared or excited when she ran into Lisbon's office. And right now, the tell-tale signs of enthusiasm were printed on the younger agent's face.
Lisbon got up, not rushing though as she already had a feeling what this was about, and followed Van Pelt.
The woman grabbed Lisbon's wrist – not the hand, everybody knew never to reach for the hand if they wanted to live – and pulled her with her to the tall windows. She pointed outside, and soon enough, Lisbon saw the reason behind Van Pelt's enthusiasm: on the outdoor parking lot, big, beautiful green flowers were placed into a gentle heart. Right next to it where all different kind of flowers placed into the predictable words 'Teresa, will you marry me?' – the question mark in the same green flowers as the heart. Yet no sign of Jane.
Lisbon sighed, but next to her, Van Pelt was nearly losing it. She clapped in her hands, yet when she found Lisbon not as enthusiastic as herself, she stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Lisbon shrugged, and Van Pelt sighed.
"I'll call him," came the muffled words of Van Pelt, as she rushed to her desk.
Lisbon again focused on the flowers. They were beautiful, she had to admit, but she now knew what the problem was: Jane had thought about it, sure he did. But he wasn't there when she saw it. She didn't know why that was the problem, maybe because it was his proposal. If he was going to marry her, he needed to be with her too.
-YulianaHenderson-
As Jane walked into the bullpen of the SCU – he had immediately looked over at her office, but found her not there – he was greeted by applause.
"Even though she didn't say yes, I still have to give you credit Jane. That was really beautiful," Van Pelt said. Jane just answered with a nod, and went to lay on his couch, when he turned to Van Pelt who was just about to sit down at her desk.
"What did I do wrong?"
Van Pelt shrugged.
"Honestly, I don't know. I've always known the Boss was a bit... stubborn, to say the least. But I think she's just waiting for you to propose like they do in movies or something. She doesn't want to admit it, but she's still a woman."
"Lisbon, a woman? I-"
"Jane. You might not see this really serious, but Lisbon does. All I'm trying to ask you is a bit respect for her. She may not have told you, but when she got 'accidently' – though I'm sure it wasn't accidently in your eyes – pregnant of Arthur she told me that it was way too fast for her. And she doesn't like to be put to boundaries. So if she keeps saying no, you might just have to accept that no and let it be."
Jane thought about this for a moment, before admitting defeat.
"You know what: you're right," he said, and rushed off. Van Pelt sighed, shared some frustrated looks with the rest of the team, before sitting down at her desk and continuing her work.
-YulianaHenderson-
Lisbon walked into her apartment, only to see from outside that the lights were off. That was odd, Jane had left early that day – though he didn't tell her why, but he did tell her that he would get Arthur from their babysitter.
She opened the front door, to immediately find a velvet ribbon hanging from one spot of her living room to the other, little notes on it.
She quickly took of her jacket and threw it on the nearest chair.
She walked over to the first note, and a small smile appeared on her lips. The paper frog.
She stopped for a second, recalling the for outsiders innocent gesture, but for her it was much more. She continued her way.
The trust fall.
Bosco and Mashburn. She smiled at this. Jane was such the jealous type, unbelievable. Even if he didn't want to admit it. He would never admit his weaknesses.
Go to hell, take a toothbrush.
Pepper. Lisbon huffed. She didn't like that nickname at all.
We're family.
Pupil dilation.
The apple.
Speeding ticket.
An angry little princess.
Prison x2.
Ice cream.
Sleeping together?
Visualize.
Lisbon noticed the notes becoming more and more emotional, or at least less humorous.
Greg.
Las Vegas.
Lorelei.
Love you.
Our first night.
Red John's almost death.
Arthur.
Attempt #1.
Attempt #2 and #3.
The notes stopped. Instead, a serious looking Jane was standing under the ribbon. She stood in front of him, and he immediately took her hands in his.
"I accept it if you don't want to marry me, but I won't go down without a fight. I love you, Teresa, more than words can ever describe. You made me a better person, always. You brought the light back in my life, even if I denied that light the first eight years of working with you. But now I realize that I need to stop being stuck in the past, and start living in the present. If you say no now, I'll accept it, but know that I tried. Will you marry me, Teresa?" Jane asked, his voice small. Lisbon stared at him for a while, before swinging her arms around him. He immediately complied, and noticed after a few moments that Lisbon started sobbing quietly.
He pulled back, and looked into her beautiful emerald eyes that were now filled with tears.
"I love you too, Patrick. This is all that I want. You. I told you I didn't know what the problem was with your proposals. But I know it now. You weren't there. You are all I ever wanted, and you know that. You were just a little stupid not to see it. But this was perfect, this... Yes, I want to marry you, Patrick Jane," she whispered, and tears filled his eyes too. He bowed down and kissed her, kissed her senseless like he always did, but now she had a new title: fiancée. And soon his wife.
After a passionate kiss that both literally as metaphorically took their breaths away, they heard Arthur crying from their bedroom – wait what? Their bedroom? – and they pulled away.
Lisbon looked down at Jane's hands: there was no velvet box in them. She looked around to look for one, but nowhere was there a box.
She looked at him, questioningly, and he lowered his head as if he was ashamed or something.
"I didn't expect you to say yes. I had found peace with you as my girlfriend until we are both old and grey. Guess I was wrong about that."
Lisbon chuckled softly. She brushed a curl out of his face. "I'll go check on Arthur, you get this mess cleaned up."
"Mess? Why Lisbon, I'm feeling-"
"Hurt, yeah, whatever. I said yes, didn't I? Don't push your luck."
"Whatever you want, milady," Jane teased, and Lisbon rolled her eyes.
She couldn't help but whistle gently as she got up the stairs.
He had done it. He had made the proposal she had dreamed of. Just them, their separate pasts and their combined future.
A/N: OMIGOD I THINK I'M GONNA PUKE!
Anyways, let me know what you think in a REVIEW, thank you! Oh, and this story will stay a one-shot. Forever. :D
