You guys are so awesome, I got such a lovely response to Gold that I decided to write the dates that I vaguely mentioned in what is now the first chapter (steakhouse, opera, hockey game, spa, casual). I'm going to aim for one chapter per week but that might slip a bit based on real life.

Thank you to all the reviews and favorites, they are so, so appreciated!

Chapter 2: The Knockout

For fifteen minutes he'd been sitting in his car, staring at her front door, fingers gripping the steering wheel. It was their first official date.

After kissing her in the TSA office there had been paperwork to deal with, then an annoyed Abbott who needed reassurance that something like this would never happen again. Jane had been appropriately contrite and assured their boss that he had no further plans for subverting TSA or forcing his way onto an airplane. Why would he need to? The reason he did it was sitting across that table, trying very hard to hide a grin.

Then there had been the call she'd been forced to make to Pike while waiting for their flight to Austin – it wasn't ideal but the man was waiting for her to land about the same time she was making the call from another state. Jane had watched the thirty minute conversation from afar, occasionally able to read her lips when she turned in his direction. It wasn't going well based on her body language. When she'd returned and sat next to him in the boarding area wiping tears away, he'd had to resist touching her. Before he could even ask if she was ok, they were called to board. The flight had been equally quiet; neither willing to open any can of worms in the public space especially with their boss in the row in front of them. Though he had held her hand tightly from takeoff to landing.

The next few days had disappeared in a blur, because transfers had been put on hold, it was extra paperwork to cancel hers (plus the conversation with what was supposed to be her new boss in DC had been awkward but he'd understood in the end). The only bright spot was her house hadn't found new renters, so she'd contacted the owners and easily re-upped her lease for another three years – which was convenient since most of her stuff was still there, waiting for movers to come two days later.

While her status with the Austin office was…murky, Abbott had still insisted she report for work the day after they returned. Upon landing Lisbon had accepted his offer of a drive home, but declined when he'd asked if she wanted him to come in. And the next morning at the office had asked him to not come over for a few days, she needed time to sort things through and decompress away from him and work. He'd respected the space she needed, an awful lot had happened in a mere 48 hours, and she'd reassured him she was there to stay for the foreseeable future (not that he doubted that).

But on the sixth day after their return, he had all but cornered her in the breakroom at the FBI and officially asked her out on a date that Saturday. She had looked surprised but agreed.

Which is what brought him to this - sitting in her driveway, thinking of the dozen ways this could go wrong. And the so many ways it could go very, very right.

Taking a deep breath he got out of the car and approached the door, pausing a moment to adjust his suit before knocking.

When she opened the door, Jane sucked in a deep breath before letting out a soft "wow". She looked gorgeous in a black dress that hugged the curves of her small frame and flared out slightly at her hips, stopping just above the knee; strappy high-heeled sandals adorned her feet.

"You look…breath taking," he added, his eyes drawn to her green ones that were accented with a little more eye makeup than she usually wore.

"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself," she said and stepped out, locking the door behind her.

Gently he took her arm and guided her toward the Citroen. But as they got to the driveway she stopped and pulled out the keys to her small SUV. Before he could protest, she handed them to him and grinned at the surprised look on his face.

"There is no chance of getting out of that car of yours in this dress and not exposing things I'd like to keep private," she explained impassively.

He still looked shocked. "But you're letting me drive."

"I am. Let's go, I'm starving."

After a moment's hesitation, he stepped forward and opened the car door, she slipped by and sat delicately in the seat, and as she slipped the dress under her, Jane was granted a glimpse of legs that was tantalizing. Closing the door, Jane grinned as thoughts of touching that skin danced through his head.

The brief drive to Sullivan's Steakhouse was made in companionable silence, though there was an undefinable tension in the air between them. One he didn't choose to examine too much.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Jane used the valet parking and offered his arm to her once he'd walked to her side, pleased when she wrapped her hand around it, gripping his forearm as they walked in.

Their table was in the back of the restaurant, the booth had high backs and opulent leather seats and was lit by a single lamp. As they slipped into their seats Lisbon grinned at him. "Called ahead did you?"

"Yep" he said with a dimpled smile.

Before she could say anything else their server arrived. "Hello, I'm Dan. Can I get you something to drink?"

"I'll have a scotch," Jane started, then continued without looking at her, "And the lady-"

"Will order her own." Lisbon cut him off with a smile and quickly looked at the drink list. Then she turned toward Dan. "I'll have The Knockout Martini."

Without another word he handed them their menus and left.

"Martini, huh?"

She didn't even look up from reading the menu. "Yup."

"Ok, then." The choice had surprised him; Lisbon was generally a beer or wine kind of girl. "I guess you can surprise me."

All he got was an impish grin in return.

When Dan returned with their drinks, they both ordered steaks with salad and the waiter slipped away again. Silence descended as she took a sip of her martini.

"Good?" he asked and nodded at her glass.

"Yep," she replied and took a longer drink, licking her lips when she was done, her eyes never leaving his. The air between them was heavy, thick with desire.

"So…" he started, unsure what they could talk about. Was there anything they didn't know about each other that would be suitable dinner conversation?

"So…" she replied.

And they both broke out into wide smiles, laughing lightly.

Then his expression became more somber. "How are you?"

Confused she replied, "Fine. You?"

"You know what I mean, Teresa. After everything with Marcus…" he took another long drink. "How did...how did he take it? I haven't had a chance to ask."

The martini glass turned in her hands, the liquid swirling in it. "I'm…ok. It's been a confusing week."

His hand reached out and stilled hers, fingers lingering on her wrist. "Tell me about it."

There was silence as she considered her next words carefully, not wanting to upset Jane. "He didn't take it well, not that I can blame him. I mean…I was four hours away from moving to DC, to be with him. To marry him. And…I didn't." She finished off the martini and indicated for the waiter to bring her another when he approached. "I didn't have to tell him why, he knew it was because of you."

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She shook her head and continued staring at the now empty glass. "I didn't mean to hurt him, that wasn't my intent, but I don't think he saw it that way. Marcus had a hard time understanding how we could be…friends, partners for so long and not realize how much we really meant to each other."

"Well, we were busy," he said with a shrug, though the other man had a point. Thirteen years seems like a long time to not acknowledge feelings about someone. But the first ten he had been solely focused on Red John, and painfully aware that acknowledging her meaning in his life in any way would paint a target on her. And at the time that had not been an acceptable outcome, Jane couldn't bare it if something happened to her – even though in the end it didn't matter because Red John had gotten hold of her anyway (which was the moment he really did acknowledge how deep his feelings for her went). And then after McAllister's death he'd disappeared, secure that she was alive and would be for the foreseeable future, if not necessarily as happy as she could be. He had stayed in contact with her as best he could anyway with at least one letter a week, sometimes 2 or 3 if he was feeling especially lonely. When they'd finally reunited Jane had been sure he had all the time in the world with her and had settled back into the close relationship they had shared long ago. And then Pike had shown up and forced Jane's hand.

"That's an interesting way to put it, though accurate," she said as her second drink was placed on the table and the empty glass removed. "It was my choice, Jane. I didn't have to get off that flight. But I did. And it was the right choice."

That beautiful dimpled smile graced his face. "You know it was."

"Full of yourself, much?"

Before he could respond with another smart comment, their food arrived; the smell had her stomach nearly grumbling.

"Fantastic," Jane said and they both dug into their meals.

After that it felt like the air had cleared between them, that the past was now firmly in the past and they were moving forward. With each other.

After her fourth martini, Lisbon was starting to feel a little buzzed and with it…bold. So as they finished dessert, she slipped her shoe off and ran the top of her foot along the outside of his shin. Instantly his head snapped up, surprise on his face.

"Lisbon…" he said slowly.

"Yes, Jane…" she replied equally slowly, but with a seductive edge to it. Then she rotated her foot to the inside of his shin, and slipped it up farther, closer to his knee - all the while licking the last bite of cheesecake off her lips.

Jesus, she was trying to kill him.

"Let's go for a walk," he said. They were two blocks from the Colorado River and a small park that had walking trails.

She nodded, which made the buzzing in her head momentarily worse, and went to the restroom while he settled the bill.

In short order they were walking side by side, her arm wrapped around one of his. The night was warm, his companion even warmer by his side.

"I know what you're doing," she said as they crossed the street and strolled slowly into the park.

"And what's that?" he asked.

"You're trying to sober me up. I'm not drunk Jane."

"How many drinks did you have?" The question was serious but softened by the amused smile he gave her. "Poor form to get drunk in front of a date, Lisbon."

"I'm not…" she started to protest. "Ok, maybe I'm a little buzzed. But not drunk." Then she shrugged. "It's you, Jane. I trust you."

"Sometimes I wonder why."

That had her stopping short and turning to face him. "Because I know deep down you wouldn't do something to intentionally hurt me. To…to hurt me for the sake of doing it. Your deceit came from a place of pain that I can't even imagine, from the need to get vengeance. And I know at least some of the time you were doing it in a misguided attempt to protect me."

His hand came up and cupped her cheek gently. "I never wanted to hurt you Lisbon. I thought…I thought I was doing what was best."

Nuzzling into his hand, Lisbon closed her eyes. The alcohol was still moving through her system, the buzz still present, but now she wasn't sure if that was from the liquor or his nearness.

"I know," she whispered into his palm.

When his hand pulled away she practically pouted, but instead he grabbed one of her hands and started walking again. "Do you hear that?"

She strained to hear what he did. "No."

He tilted his head, confirming what he heard. "It's music."

After a few minutes walking they came across a small pavilion where there was a band set up, it was music in the park night, apparently. At the moment there were only a dozen people milling about, some dancing, others just enjoying the music. Perfect.

Smoothly he pulled her into his arms and started to sway to the music, her head naturally dropping to his shoulder. One of his hands worked up to land between her shoulder blades, the other remained tight around her waist. Her arms wrapped around his neck.

For two songs they stayed that way, wrapped in each other, moving slowly to the music, lost in their own world. She felt wonderful pressed against him, warm and soft and touchable.

At the end of the second song she picked her head up and reached up, kissing him gently. But it didn't take long for one kiss to become two, then three, then several breathless kisses strung together. Thankfully they were at the back of the crowd and no one seemed to be paying them much attention.

But still, Jane pulled away reluctantly before it could get too heated. She let out a moan of displeasure but stepped back from him just a bit.

They stayed another thirty minutes, enjoying the atmosphere and just being with each other before Jane tugged on her hand. "Let's get you home."

"I don't turn into a pumpkin at midnight, Jane."

"That may be but I have a feeling you're going to regret that last martini in a few hours."

She made a face at him but followed nonetheless.

At exactly midnight, he pulled into her driveway and walked her to the door.

"Good night, Teresa," he said and leaned in, kissing her gently. Again, it didn't take long for the kisses to become heated, wanting.

"Come in," she said when they parted.

"Not tonight."

"Not…tonight?" Her tone was incredulous.

"Nope," he replied and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Teresa."

"Night, Jane," she mumbled, somewhat disappointed but gave him a small smile nonetheless before disappearing into the house.

Jane got into his car and had to grip the steering wheel again. But this time to get control of the desire to walk back the way he came and take her up on the offer. He couldn't…not yet. Lisbon deserved far more than one date before falling into bed with him. After all the years they had been together, he owed her more than that.

As he pulled down her driveway, the small gold band on his left and caught his attention.

So much more.

END

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