Title: Departure

Disclaimer: It's seriously not mine.

Thanks to Loes-chan, tromana, loveconquersallxxx, and watchyouwalk for the lovely reviews!

2-

Lisbon awoke to the feel of something soft brushing across her forehead with a slight grimace; her head, even with her eyes closed, still pounded but at least the nauseated feeling had somewhat faded away. She groggily opened her eyes to see Ross leaning over her with a smile on his sun-kissed face, which caused a warm and tingly feeling to spread throughout her entire body.

His smile, she noticed, was slightly blurry—even though she could still pinpoint his chocolate brown eyes.

"Good evening, my love." She felt his lips press against hers softly and she sighed into the comfort of his lips. Even though they had kissed that morning (if it was the same day), she still missed his lips against hers and his touch against her skin. She watched him pull away. "If I had known you were going to sleep this much, I wouldn't have tried lacing your coffee this morning." She threw him a glare, which only made him laugh harder; it hadn't been her fault that her head had been slammed into the concrete floor. "Glaring doesn't get you anywhere with me, Teresa." She closed her eyes and ignored him. "How are you feeling?" Lisbon nearly groaned; she knew he meant well, but she didn't exactly want him knowing about her headache. If he finds out how I got it, she thought, he's going to get angry. Ross, as much as Lisbon loved and cared about him, had always had quite the temper on him. "We weren't supposed to stop tonight, but the driver said you were ill."

"I'm fine." Lisbon brushed his concern aside, as she opened her eyes again. "I could use some aspirin though." Ross eyed her in concern. "I have a minor headache." Nothing about her headache was minor, but he didn't need to know that. Ross nodded and she watched him disappear from her line of sight, before he returned with a bottle of water and two white pills in his hand. She accepted them quietly.

"Is the headache work related?" Ross asked and Lisbon nodded, while she pulled herself up to rest her back and head against the headboard. "The lights aren't too bright, are they?" It was then, she chose to glance around the room—it was dimly lit, well-decorated for a small bedroom with its single bed, dark bathroom and small television.

"No." Lisbon answered, before she glanced back at him. "How long have you been here?" Ross glanced down at his watch, a birthday gift that she had purchased for him last year. She couldn't help the small smile at his slightly messy brunette hair, when he finally glanced at her again.

"I met you past the state line," Ross stated, "so…four or five hours." Lisbon inclined her head. "We're in Nevada right now, but we'll be leaving again soon."

"Are we staying here all night?" Lisbon questioned. Ross nodded with a smile.

"It's not recommended to fly when one of your party is ill, Teresa." Ross explained, gently. "We'll stay here for the night and leave tomorrow morning. One night isn't going to change our plans." Lisbon shifted slightly, when she suddenly winced. Her headache apparently was going to stop anytime soon, even with the aspirin in her system. "Do you need a doctor?" Ross glanced at her in concern and she silently groaned; she had wished that he hadn't seen that, but the man was watching closely.

"A doctor wouldn't help." Lisbon said. "It's just a headache; I've dealt with worst before. Trust me." And she had, especially with being a senior agent of the Serious Crimes Unit.

"I know you have," Ross agreed and she grimaced; she knew what was coming next, "but, I would feel much better if a doctor checked you out."

Lisbon stared at him. She didn't want to see a doctor and he knew she wasn't a fan of them either, yet he still wanted her to be checked out? "Ross, I'm fine. It's just a headache, which will go away with sleep."

"You've slept a lot, dear." Ross stated and she continued to grimace. "If you won't let me find a doctor, let me take a look at you then."

"You're not a doctor." Lisbon pointed out. Fair compromise or not, her answer was still going to be no. "What if I need a tetanus shot?" Ross chuckled. "What? It's a fair question!"

"Did you cut yourself?" Ross asked. Lisbon shook her head. "Then, I think you'll live without getting a tetanus shot." Lisbon eyed him. "Teresa, I'm a you-know-what. I can heal wounds, I know which vital veins to cut," she pulled a face. She wished he wouldn't say that, "and I can certainly tell the signs of a small concussion, which is what you have." How did he know that? Her disorientation wasn't that bad, was it? Lisbon frowned. "Why don't you tell me what happened, hm?" She felt his hand on her leg.

"I fell," she lied, "the kidnapping startled me." Which it had, but she hadn't fallen because of that—completely.

"You're lying," he said after a moment of staring at her in silence, "tell me what happened?"

Lisbon sighed. "Ross, it's not important…"

"You're my girlfriend, Teresa." Ross gave, as he crossed his arms against his chest. "It is important, because you are important to me. If one of my men hurt you, they deserve to be punished." Lisbon said nothing, although she wanted to. She didn't want Ross to kill anybody, especially as they were supposed to be on vacation from everything and everyone. "Teresa, did they hurt you?" She shot a quick glance down at her hands in her lap. Lisbon knew she couldn't lie again to him. Ross knew her too well and he would read through her lie, which would cause an even larger fight.

"It was an accident, Ross." Lisbon stated, softly and she watched him shoot up from the bed, his hand already on his cellphone. "Don't do this, we're on vaca…"

"He hurt you!" Ross exclaimed. "I told them not to hurt you or Mr. Jane and they disobeyed my orders." Ross held his phone to his ear. "…I want the two who kidnapped Agent Lisbon on the phone, now!"

Lisbon threw her covers aside. "Don't do this." He ignored her. "Ross! It was a mistake."

Ross yanked the phone from his ear. "My men gave you a concussion, Teresa. I told them specifically not to hurt you and they did." Lisbon opened her mouth to argue with him, when he continued on. "In my line of work, silly mistakes will get you get killed or worse." She shivered slightly at his intense gaze. "And we both know we can't risk the alternatives of those silly little mistakes."

She did. As much as she tried not to think about "the alternatives", she had always realized that if anybody caught Ross—the CBI, the FBI, or even Jane—not only would her and Ross's relationship end, but her career would come to a screeching halt also.

"…which one of you gave her a concussion?" Ross asked, before he went silent. Lisbon continued to frown.

"Ross, please." Lisbon tried to reason again. "Listen to me."

He pulled his phone down from his ear again. "You don't listen to me about your job, Teresa. So, leave me alone to do mine, all right?" Lisbon narrowed her eyes; he had absolutely no right to say she didn't listen, especially after she had listened to his plans for her spontaneous kidnapping. "…nothing happened? What about to Mr. Jane?" He was back on the phone and Lisbon found herself listening in. If Ross's men had apparently disobeyed the orders to hurt her, had they disobeyed the orders to hurt Jane? "…he better be fine! I know I'm going to kill you both, you…" She couldn't take it anymore, even though she felt relieved that Jane had gotten off better than she had.

Lisbon stood from the bed and grabbed his phone from him. "I'm not letting you do this, Ross." Lisbon stated softly. She closed his flip phone shut. "We're on vacation. Defend my honor elsewhere, okay?" If her boyfriend hadn't been a serial killer, the notion of "defending her honor" with a death threat, probably would have been seen as more of a "sweet" than a serious gesture.

"Give me my phone." Ross said. Lisbon shook her head; she wasn't going to give him his phone back. "They need to be…"

"Accidents happen." Lisbon repeated in annoyance. She understood his fear about silly little mistakes, but things happened. "Don't do this." Ross stepped closer to her, until they were mere inches apart from one another. Lisbon tensed, as he brushed his fingers across her cheek. She absolutely hated fighting with Ross, mainly because neither of them liked to play fair and his fingers upon her skin just wasn't fair.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with…"

"Using the Red John threat wore off after the first five times, Ross." Lisbon told him, as she crossed her arms against her chest. "Serial killer or not; don't kill them. They do have families."

"So do you." Ross stated. He briefly touched her wrist and she stepped backwards. She didn't want him seducing her for the phone; she didn't want him getting his way again.

"A concussion isn't going to kill me."

"It could have." Ross pointed out. "If you had fallen on one of the machines, or had gotten shot…"

"A concussion is nothing," Lisbon answered mildly, "especially compared to everything else that you've done over the years."

"I've done?" Ross fired back. "I've done absolutely nothing to you!"

"You've killed multiple individuals!" Lisbon threw in anger. Ross frowned. "You had me shot!" She turned her back on him in anger. "Why not just kill me now, Ross? This 'kidnapping' would help you along so much, wouldn't it?" She clenched her fists together in anger. Ross said nothing, as she heard him move behind her. The man was probably going for his phone, which angered her even more. "I've got my back turned for you, would you like me on my knees? I'm sure it'll make your job much easier."

"I'll be back later." She heard him say.

Lisbon narrowed her eyes, although he couldn't see it. "Can't say I'm surprised, Ross. You never could finish what you start." Fights occurred so often enough within their relationship, to where they always concluded with somebody leaving; whether it was her (she would avoid him for days after, until she decided to swallow her pride and make up) or him (she'd find a dead body—or two—in his wake), and neither one of them ever stayed long enough to come to a doable solution.

"And you, Teresa," Ross replied quietly, "have no idea how much the implication of me murdering you angers me." Lisbon heard the door open and slam shut again, before she turned around to stare at his vacant space. She had hit low, yes, but Ross wasn't entirely blameless either. He knew how she felt about his "organization", and yet he continued to kill without listening or thinking about the consequences for them both. Hadn't he realized yet that he wasn't the only one playing the game?

Lisbon collapsed on top of the bed in a huff. She didn't see him again for the rest of the night.

The next morning, the loud buzzing of an alarm clock woke her from her disjointed sleep. Lisbon groaned, as she reached out with one of her hands and tried to hit the alarm clock snooze button. Without even glancing at the clock, she knew it was early and all she wanted to do was go back to sleep. However, the day (and Ross) apparently had other ideas.

"You've got to get up, Teresa." She heard Ross's soft voice in her ear, which irritated her. How he could even try and think that she'd be any less angry after last night's argument was honestly beyond her. "We have a long day ahead of us." She felt him move his touch across her bare arm, which made her half smile into her pillow. "Come on."

"Leave me alone." Lisbon muttered, the words muted by the pillow. "I'm trying to sleep." She lazily reached out and batted his hand away, even though she had been secretly enjoying it.

"You don't look like you got any sleep."

Lisbon opened her eyes and twisted herself around in the bed to stare up at him. Ross looked completely refreshed and well rested, which made her wonder how she had slept through his shower. "I would have gotten plenty of sleep, if somebody hadn't decided avoiding conflict was the best idea." Ross stared down at her with a frown. "I would have also gotten plenty of sleep, if I hadn't worried that you were out there…"

"My job is none of your concern, Teresa." Ross stated. "Get up and get dressed." She hoped he didn't think that she could take a tone with her and get away with it, because they would be utterly ridiculous.

"To hell it isn't." Lisbon answered him in a snarl. "We're supposed to be on vacation, Ross. We're supposed to be getting to know each other better. We're supposed to be dealing with all of these issues we've got between us, and yet you're going out and killing people?" She slowly sat up in the bed to stare at him. "This vacation shouldn't include a dead body or a death threat on my behalf; it should involve us both and only us both." Lisbon sighed at his expressionless face. "I could be with my unit right now, Ross. I could be solving a case and soothing my agents' fears that I'm not dead or worse, but instead, you've got me for two weeks."

"Unless you want to stay here," Ross continued on, "you need to get up now." Lisbon said nothing. "I'm trying here, Teresa. I really am. You're not making this easy for me, though."

"I'm supposed to make this easy for you?" Lisbon asked, incredulously. "You got me out of the state of California and we're together. You've accomplished the impossible, yet you're still challenging me?" She rolled her eyes. Besides not exactly being cheerful at seven in the morning, she just wasn't going to take any of his crap. "I think I'll move when I feel like it, okay?"

"Don't make me carry you."

"I still have my gun." She warned and he grinned. "It's not funny!"

"You're unarmed, my dear." Ross answered with a grin. "Now, go get dressed or I'll dress you myself." She made no movement to move and he swept his gaze across her body—yes, she had somehow managed to find her luggage and slip into a pair of short shorts and an old sports jersey—"or I'll undress you myself."

Lisbon scoffed. "I'd like to see you try." If the man was smart, he wouldn't try it (or her).

Ross's bright grin became a sly one, as he moved over to her and somehow managed to slip his hand up her shirt; his palm—warm—against her flat stomach. "Don't tempt me, Teresa." He pushed her backwards and she glared up at him and the ceiling, as her back hit the bed again. "You should know I always win."

"Is that so?" She questioned. Ross nodded. "You're getting nowhere with me, Ross. I'm still angry with you."

Ross lost his smile. "I let it go; maybe you should do the same."

"I can't just walk outside and kill someone to forget, Ross." Lisbon responded. "You should know it doesn't work that way." He said nothing, while she moved off the bed. "I'll go get dressed now, okay?"

Twenty minutes and a fresh change of clothes later had her in a much better mood, as she accepted the cup of coffee from Ross, who sat on the edge of the bed. Lisbon took a testing sip, before she grabbed his hand and joined him on the bed.

"I'm sorry, Teresa." Ross said, after a few moments of silence. "I shouldn't have lost my temper last night. If you want to call off this vacation, I would completely understand."

"It's okay." Lisbon stated. "And I'm still here, aren't I?" She gave him a small smile while he squeezed her hand, lightly. "If you're apologizing to me, I should apologize to you also. I shouldn't have said what I did, and I'm sorry." She stared at him. "I got carried away, and I realize that throwing past mistakes in our faces does absolutely nothing." Ross nodded.

"Regardless of what career path I'm in; I want you to know that I would never hurt you." Ross softly responded. She knew that and her words had been said at the heat of the moment. "I love you so much, hurting you would destroy me." She felt him rub circles into her hand.

"I know," was all she said, "I love you too." And she truly did. Fights or not fights, she had stuck with him for five years and their relationship, while challenging and complicated, was something definitely worth fighting for.

"We should get going then." Ross replied to her with a smile. "We have a bit of a drive and a fight ahead of us, especially if we want to get to our mystery location before three." Lisbon hated surprises, but she trusted him not to bring them anywhere too crazy. Ross stood from the bed and pulled her along with him. "Are you still angry with me?"

"I don't know," Lisbon answered in a playful sigh, "ask me after you've kissed me good morning?" She gave him a slight grin and he pressed his lips against hers.

"Angry now?" He asked, after he had pulled away from her.

"I'm suddenly becoming less and less angry," she replied coyly, "but I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to make up later?"

"That's the best part of our little fights; the aftermath," Ross reassured her in a laugh and she couldn't help but agree. "Let's go." And without hesitation, she took his hand in her own again before they continued out the door and into the dim sunlight.