Jane heard the patter of bare feet on the hard floor. He relaxed his breathing and closed his eyes instinctively. The footsteps stopped just behind his couch and he could feel her presence behind him. She paused for a moment before covering him gently with a blanket. Warmth rushed through him as he thought of what a caring soul Lisbon was. He listened for the sound of her footsteps walking away before opening his eyes a crack. There was her retreating back; covered in a red silk red pajama top. Actually all she was wearing was a red silk pajama top. That stopped mid-thighs. He snapped them shut a moment later; wondering what might have happened if he had remained "awake" when she came down.
She headed back up the stairs and he let out the breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. A few seconds later he sat up, rubbing his eyes. Jane could already tell that this was going to be another restless night. He groaned and stretched before peeking out the window. There was a small light winking at him from the trees out front. Hmmmm. Must be one of Mckaye's men out there. Hopefully Lisbon didn't see it. Patrick paced the floor in front of the window for a few minutes before extending his wanderings to the rest of the main floor, thinking about the ruse they would be pulling tomorrow. He chuckled, contemplating the elaborate plan he had formulated. This would be very entertaining, indeed. The plan had gone unbelievably well thus far. He had known it would.
"Hey, you woke up." came Lisbon's voice from just behind him. He spun around swiftly, not expecting her back downstairs again.
"Yeah." He sighed "I think I've gotten all the sleep I'm going to get for tonight."
Jane took in her full apparel now that Lisbon was facing him; the dark hair still straightened from this evening, the sleepy way she yawned, the exceedingly short night shirt. He raised an eyebrow, wondering at her comfort with the current situation. It seemed so uncharacteristic of the modest, self-conscious Teresa Lisbon.
"I just came back down to see if there's any food in the kitchen. I'm starving."
"I'll join you" he replied with a grin."I could go for some food right now."
They ambled towards the kitchen, turning on lights as they went. He grabbed a bottle of wine left over from the party and got down two glasses from a high cupboard. She rummaged through the fridge and came back with a picked-over cheese tray and a plate of canapés. Scanning the pantry, he found a few half-eaten bag of chips and an assortment of chocolate.
"Well…" Lisbon said with a light chuckle, looking around at the selection spread out across the counter. "Dig in!" he smirked, pouring the wine. They chatted as they ate; analyzing the con they had pulled and going over the details for tomorrow. Jane sat on the counter and she leaned against it, both enjoying the comfortable companionship.
"It wasn't quite chocolate chip pancakes, but it worked." Lisbon laughed as they cleaned up.
"What about pancakes?" he asked, wondering where that had come from.
"Oh," she replied "I was checking in with Marcus earlier, and I mentioned there was probably nothing to eat around here. He was mercilessly teasing me about going to this great diner he knows for pancakes."
Marcus? Jane questioned silently. "Oh. Agent Pike." He said aloud.
"Yeah. Pike." She responded, not looking up at him.
Pike wants to take her to a diner? He grimaced. Diners are my thing! He had seen the way Marcus Pike had been looking at Lisbon and he had heard the way she flirted with him in the FBI vault, but he hadn't thought they had escalated to a first name basis already. What would it take to get her to refer to him as Patrick?
Jane was still lost in his musings as he reached up to put a wine glass in the cupboard. He looked down to find Lisbon trapped between him and the counter. Their eyes met, his arm still extended in the air, her face inches from his own. Everything froze. Jane could feel her warm breath on his neck. The faintly earthy smell of the wine on her breath tickled his nose. His skin suddenly felt as though it were on fire and could see the tell-tale blush creeping across Lisbon's face. He waited a moment more, set the glass down, closed the cupboard, and brought his arm back to his side, never breaking the gaze. Their fingers brushed, and they both looked down. He quickly took a step back. "Sorry" he murmured, as she self-consciously pulled on her pajama top for the first time.
"I'm gonna head up to bed." she said, leaving the kitchen.
"Ok. I'll follow you up. I have to use the bathroom," he quickly added as she saw her almost imperceptible pause. In a house like this, you would think they'd have a bathroom on the main floor, maybe more than one. But no; there were two in the basement and one upstairs. And one out in the pool house, he remembered. He followed her up the stairs, trying not to think too much about how right this felt. Him and Teresa, just the two of them getting ready for bed, in their own home. He tried to shut the images out of his mind but it was hard to do with the reality that surrounded him.
xxxxx
Jane sighed as he looked into the bathroom mirror. There were lines on his face he hadn't noticed a day before, and a dullness to his eyes. He turned off the water and scrutinized the face in the mirror. Yes, there was definitely something going on there. A weariness he hadn't noticed before. He passed a hand over his face and closed his eyes. Images of the home he had built with Angela rushed back to him in rapid succession. He hadn't thought one night in a house with Teresa Lisbon would bring back so many memories; arouse so many emotions. He hadn't thought that the hopes of a normal life he still clung to would surface so easily.
"Jane, you still in there?" came a light rap at the door.
"Yeah, just a minute." He dried his hands and opened the door, leaning against the frame. "What's up?"
"Oh, I just. um. Need to brush my teeth." Lisbon said, nervously.
He didn't move.
She took a step forward looked up at him questioningly. "Jane?"
He gently rested his hands on her forearms. "I've just been thinking."
There was a pause.
"About what?"
"About you." He said with a small smile.
She could see the sadness in his eyes and wondered what he meant. She remained silent, waiting for the rest of the words she knew would come when he was ready. But they never came. The next thing she knew, his arms encircled her, and his mouth was gently pressed against hers, leaning in. She stiffened and put her hands on his chest. Is she going to push me away? his breath hitched. But then she leaned against him, kissing him back. He breathed in the scent of vanilla and cinnamon and pulled her closer, closing his eyes. He felt her hands snake around his shoulder and clasp behind his neck, pulling his head down.
A warmth spread through him that filled his very soul. He slowly pulled back, and stepped away. Jane looked down into Lisbon's eyes and he could see all the uncertainty that swirled deep within them. He took her hand in his and gestured to their surroundings.
"This is what I want." He said softly. "A home. Normality. Waking up each morning next to someone who knows me better than anyone else. A life. With you. "
Her eyes widened as she looked up at him.
"Not that this is some sort of proposal or anything." He glanced around, uncharacteristically nervous. "I'm just saying that I...I want to try at a normal life again. and I can't imagine any kind of a normal life without you. All I know is I can't bear the thought of you being with a man who isn't me."
Her face was flushed and she wore a look of pure surprise. "Jane"... she whispered softly, taking a step back. "I don't... I mean. This is so..."
Jane interrupted her quickly "I know. In a way, I guess this is sudden. It's something we've both danced around for over ten years. I think we've known it was always there, lurking in the shadows, but we couldn't admit it. It's always been an unspoken truth. Until now."
Her eyes were locked on his, but she didn't say anything.
"You don't need to give me any kind of a response. I just... I just needed to know you understand what i truly feel for you."
He gave her hand one last squeeze, broke off the piercing gaze, and jogged down the stairs, never looking back.