A/N: Wow! I got loads of feedback about my first chapter; I was amazed by the reception! You guys are amazing, and to those of you who alerted, favourited or reviewed, or did all three, THANK YOU SO MUCH! :D Not sure yet, but there might be some language in here too… Don't say I didn't warn ya!

Disclaimer: My stocking's still empty… Oh wait, it isn't even Christmas yet is it? Duh! But my point is it isn't mine. I know. Sad isn't it? :(

The Plan, the Witness and the Warzone

Jane had perched himself on the countertop, swinging his legs absent-mindedly whilst Van Pelt stood apprehensively in the middle of the room. She watched him expectantly. But still, after several moments he made no attempt to start talking.

"Sooo…What's your 'great and almighty plan', then Jane?" she finally sighed impatiently.

"My plan is…" He launched himself from the worktop and stood before her, straightening out his clothes. "…that we make Rigsby jealous!" he finished with a radiant smile. But she didn't return it.

Man, this woman is boring! I prefer Lisbon… he thought morosely.

"Make him jealous? How the—"

"—what we do is we pretend to be a couple." He caught her look of horror. "Yes, don't look at me like that, Grace. You heard me! You and I, we announce that we're together, et voila! We watch the magic do its work. Rigsby will be immensely jealous, therefore revealing his true feelings for you in the heat of the moment. When he does, you say 'Me and Jane aren't working out anyway.' And there you have it! Happily ever after." He grinned nonchalantly, awaiting her response.

Her mouth finally decided to co-operate, and let out audible words. "But we can't do that! He has a girlfriend now! That…Sarah, was it? That's not fair on her! It'll ruin their relationship!" She said loudly, disgusted at his proposition.

Jane slapped his hand on his forehead in annoyance. "That's the whole point, Grace!"

"But you're eleven years older than me!" She was clutching at straws now. Oh man, why was nothing ever easy?

He frowned. "That's not too bad!"

"Not too bad?" Her face was flushing red again. But Jane wasn't fazed.

"There are plenty of other couples who have a much bigger age difference, Grace." he tutted. He was not impressed. "Are you calling me old?"

"No…"

He put his hands on his hips. "Oh, come on. Get over it. You want him, don't you?"

"Well…yes."

"And you wanna be able to speak to him normally, right?"

"Yes!"

"Well then, give it a shot! If it doesn't work out, I'll apologise and explain to Rigsby myself what's been going on. OK?" He watched as her face flickered from one emotion to another. It was such a simple solution! Some people just weren't adventurous in the slightest. It annoyed him to no end seeing how many pessimists there were in the world. Looking back, maybe he had been subject to the curse himself a few times. Now, however, he was one of the most optimistic people you could ever meet!

Wasn't he?

Grace sighed in defeat and tutted in annoyance. "OK, fine! But I swear to God, if you do anything to—"

"—Hey Cho!" Jane cut in, effectively halting her flow of words. He glanced nervously at Van Pelt who swivelled around, catching Jane's eye with the end of her hair. He stumbled back, clutching his face whilst crying out. His foot caught on the chair leg, making him stumble to the floor. He lay there, whining in 'agony'.

Their colleague was watching them expressionless from his place by the door. His broad arms were crossed over his chest, making him appear somewhat intimidating. The stoic mask was in place, naturally, and his eyes searched mercilessly for an explanation. Inside, his brain was whirring. They stared back, looking rather sheepish like two little kids who had just been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

There had been some serious debating going on here. He'd caught the end of it. It must have been pretty heated up for Van Pelt to look so…flustered. And why was Jane on the floor? His eyes narrowed further, making Grace practically cower in fear. Then, all the gears in Cho's fast-working mind fell into perfect alignment, and he knew what they were up to.

"Really? You think that's gonna work?" he deadpanned. Grace glanced down at Jane for help, but he feebly waved a hand in her direction.

"Think what's gonna work?" she muttered. The only thing she got was a raised eyebrow. "What?" Her fists were clenched at her sides.

"Nothing. I'm just saying. Rigsby isn't that stupid, guys. And before you do this, think about the consequences that could come out of it. And that's not just aimed at you, Grace." With a final glance at the man on the floor, he was gone. She stared after him with an open mouth.

"He is actually quite creepy." She murmured. When there wasn't an answer she looked down to see him silently chuckling, eye now miraculously recovered. "What are you laughing at? We were nearly busted in the first few seconds of my agreeing!" she screeched, stamping her foot within an inch of his head. Jane put his hands up in surrender.

"OK, OK. Calm down. It's just…you're face. You're not that good at lying, are you?" he grinned.

"Hey!"

He shrugged. "Meh, the truth hurts. Now you've got to get it together, because we need to tell everyone the 'big news'." Her face paled.

"I'm not sure I can do this…"

"Sure you can! I'll be right with you the whole way, yeah? You just smile and act natural, and I'll do the talking. How's about we set the ball rolling with a kiss, eh?"

"Hell no! What do you take me for, Jane?" She could've slapped him right then and there.

"Jeez, calm down! I was joking!" He heaved himself up off of the floor. "But the time may come when we have to, if we really want it to work." Grace swallowed nervously. If we want it to work… Did she want it to work? Of course she did. But there were so many ways it could go wrong. So many possible outcomes…

She felt an arm wrap around her waist and pull her closer. She almost punched him on impulse, but that wouldn't make the whole thing very believable now, would it? So instead, she settled for a small jab with her elbow, and allowed him to walk her towards the bullpen, where the show was soon to begin…

Meanwhile…

So that was it then. No more 'Dynamic Duo'. No more friendly banter or origami frogs to look forward to. All of it had been washed away by the few silent tears she had inadvertently shed in the privacy of her office. A ball of paper sat in her hand, well and truly crushed, just like her.

Lisbon didn't normally get like this; it wasn't in her nature. In fact, it felt so alien to her, it made the want to collapse and cry even stronger. She was well out of her comfort zone. Sure, there had been the times when the boy she had a crush on at school declared he was with someone else, but she always got over it within the hour, telling herself she was well out of their league anyway. But this was a different story.

It hurt. Physically. Never again would she look at a man the same way again, as there was no one who could ever be the same as Patrick Jane. He was just so different to other people she'd met. He was… special. He would always be at the very heart of her memory palace.

She watched on now, as though they were on a large TV screen. It was like a cruel reality show, where no matter how much she shouted at the picture, it never made a difference to the outcome. Patrick and Grace were entering the bullpen. His arm was draped around her waist, her head leaning on his shoulder. So it was true then. They were together. Man, she wanted to scream right about now!

What did that song say? 'Love is a battlefield'? Yeah, it sure was. Inside, she was a warzone of dreadful emotions. Pat Benatar… Boy, she was lucky! She had everything going for her, didn't she? Did she ever have problems like this? Probably not.

Once again, Lisbon brought her head down onto the desk, over and over again. The banging was so loud; she didn't hear the knock at the door. Cho walked in and froze. Now this was different.

"Err…I won't ask. Case files on the Fitzpatrick case." He placed them gingerly on the desk and then went to leave. But her voice stopped him.

"Thanks Cho. Hey, can you…"

He turned to look at her. Through all the many years he had worked with his boss, he had never seen her look so lost. Absently, he gazed through the pane of glass, and then did a double take.

From her office, she had the most perfect view of the bullpen. And in said bullpen were Patrick Jane and Grace Van Pelt, looking all loved up and unable to keep their hands off each other.

Oh my God… I told them! I told them to think of the consequences! Especially Jane! Why can't he see what everyone else can see?

"Can I what, Boss?"

She continued to stare wistfully into the distance. Then she looked up, forcing a smile onto her face and replied. "Ah, nothing. I'm sorry. Thank you for that, Cho."

He nodded and left, still unable to get that image out of his head.

Ok, come on. It was obvious that Lisbon and Jane were meant for each other. At least in his eyes. And surely Jane must feel something if Lisbon does! She was the most down to Earth person he knew, so if he saw something like what he'd just witnessed, then sure as hell, it was real. There was nothing fake or fantastical about her.

Oh God…

Back inside her office, Lisbon had dropped the act again and her eyes began to take on a dull, grey colour. Her shoulders sagged, as though a heavy weight had just been dropped on top of her, the paperwork now seeming insignificant. Like a broken record, she kept replaying the same words in her mind.

I'll get over it. I'll get over it. I'll get over it.

But like the scars that were caused by war itself, she knew that the pain would never really go away.

Not sure on this one. Thoughts? Opinions? I'm all ears. I'm still, what I call a writer-in-training, so any constructive criticism is accepted with open arms! Thank you all for giving me the confidence I needed to continue. Love to y'all! Xx

Next one should be up soon, I hope! ;D