Disclaimer: I do not own The Mentalist or any of its characters. If I did, more stuff like this would happen!
A/N: The little dialogue in the beginning of 5x20, Red Velvet Cupcakes, gave me such warm fuzzies, so of course I had to write something! And, this is the result. A few minor spoilers, mostly non plot related. If you haven't seen the episode, they won't make sense, so you won't really be spoiling yourself. That being said, enjoy :)
It's Nice to Be Needed
Jane smiled to himself and then sipped his tea as Lisbon hurried out of the CBI kitchen. Of course he had been right. Turtlenecks were her thing. Lisbon would never admit that, though. Nope. His Lisbon was too proud to ever openly acknowledge her soft spot for that type of sweater. That didn't surprise him.
What did surprise him, however, was what Lisbon said to him earlier:
"Jane, I need you."
Jane's heart fluttered at those four little words. And the best part was that she had been sincere when she said it. Even if Lisbon had planned to say it as part of a ploy to get Jane out of the attic to help with the case, the way she said it was genuine. That, in turn, made Jane genuinely happy. And he told her as much:
"It's nice to be needed." He told Lisbon in all honesty. "Anything for you, Lisbon."
Jane then frowned. This also complicated things. Lisbon's care and concern for him put a kink in his "I'll-do-anything-and-use-anyone-to-get-to-Red-Joh n" plan. Years ago, Jane believed his sole purpose was to vanquish Red John and then fade into oblivion because he had nothing and no one. But now, he wasn't so sure. He had Lisbon. She needed him. And Jane, being completely honest with himself, knew he needed her too.
Jane placed his now empty teacup and accompanying saucer into the sink. Although his epiphany scared him, it also gave him the long he longed for after he lost his family: a reason to go on. Someone to care about him. Some to love him. Jane couldn't deny the warmth flowing into his heart when he thought about Lisbon. His Lisbon. Maybe he should tell her the truth about how important she was to him. His honesty would surely be a nice change of pace, at least, to let Lisbon know how much he loved and appreciated her.
After running out to a few local stores to pick up a gift for Lisbon (he hated how disappointed she looked when he gave Van Pelt a gift as part of his plan to catch the killer), Jane returned to the now practically empty CBI. He made his way back to the SCU floor, en route to the office of his favorite person. Jane smiled to himself when he spied the light creeping out from the closed office, illuminating the darkened hallway; his light in all the darkness.
Jane gently tapped on Lisbon's door, a courtesy he usually ignored. A moment or two later, the door opened to reveal a surprised Lisbon.
"Jane?" She asked. "Since when do you know how to knock?"
"I've always known how to knock," Jane replied. "I just choose not to."
"That makes perfect sense." Lisbon rolled her eyes and then stepped aside for Jane to enter. "So what's up?"
Jane turned around and handed Lisbon the gift bag he had been carrying.
"I saw how sad you were when I bought a present for Van Pelt, so I went out and bought something special just for you." Jane explained.
Lisbon seemed happily surprised. She put the green gift bag on her desk and then pulled out the colored tissue paper to retrieve the prize inside. It was a teddy bear that had "World's Best CBI Agent" written on its turtleneck. Lisbon smiled when she read it.
"You should have seen me trying to explain to the embroidery lady that I wanted 'World's Best CBI Agent' embroidered into a turtleneck on a teddy bear." Jane remarked.
"Did she think you'd gone mental?" Lisbon asked with a slight chuckle.
"To put it nicely."
Lisbon just smiled and shook her head.
"Thank you, Jane. This is very cute. I appreciate this." She said.
"Actually, I'm the one who should be thanking you."
"Why's that?"
Jane wasn't sure how to proceed. He hadn't done this heartfelt, touchy-feely stuff in years.
"Because of what you said to me earlier." He finally managed to say. "You told me that you needed me. Not the team. Not some victim I hardly know, but you, Teresa Lisbon, needed me. That meant the world to me; you mean the world to me."
Before Lisbon could respond, Jane pulled her to him and hugged her. "Thank you for being my saving grace, Lisbon. I truly don't know what I would do without you."
Lisbon finally relaxed, having been surprised by sudden interaction and Jane's words, and hugged him back.
"You're welcome," She whispered.
It was Jane's turn to be taken aback when Lisbon lightly kissed his cheek. He was sure he was blushing when he finally released Lisbon from his embrace.
"Are you blushing?" Lisbon questioned with a sly smile, obviously enjoying getting the upper hand on Jane.
Jane smiled at Lisbon.
"Maybe a little," He admitted.
He paused. "I have one other thing to say to you-a confession, really."
Lisbon folded her arms across her chest, hugging her teddy bear in the process. "I lied when I told you I didn't remember what I said to you a few months ago." Jane stated. "I love you, Lisbon, and I need you just as much as you need me, probably even more so."
Lisbon stayed silent for a moment.
"You…love me?" She finally asked.
Jane nodded.
"As fantastical as it seems, yes. I never thought I would be able to love again and yet here I am." Jane confessed. "Thank you, Lisbon."
Jane reached out and held one of Lisbon's hands. "Do what you will with what I've just told you. I just wanted to you to know-"
Lisbon cut off Jane's statement by blurting out:
"I love you too, Jane." She said. "Heaven help me, I love you too."
"So what do we do now?" Jane asked. "Can we make something work?"
"If I haven't shot you yet," Lisbon began to say. "I think we have a pretty good chance of having some sort of relationship."
Jane beamed. It was nice to be needed.
It was so nice to see how far Jane and Lisbon's relationship has come over the past five seasons. I can't wait for next season (and this finale too! It looks amazing!) Reviews also give me warm fuzzies :)