Solace

Chapter 2

Jane looked up into Grace's tear streaked face and tenderly brushed the back of his hand over her wet cheek.

"Hey," he said, "I know. Grace…what if I cook you dinner tonight, hmm? I do the shopping and all the work and keep you company while you eat."

When she looked doubtfully at him, he chuckled.

"Don't worry, Grace," he said, smiling, "no hidden agenda here- I just want to be a friend. Nothing more, okay?"

She pondered this for a moment, then smiled back.

"Thank you, Jane," she whispered, "that's really nice of you, you know? I've been- pretty lonely lately. And my cooking sucks."

Jane laughed heartily.

"Don't worry", he beamed, "I take care of that. And as I said- I'm just a friend. I don't have anything funny in mind."

xxMentalistxx

Agent Lisbon couldn't help it- she flinched when she saw Patrick Jane stroke Grace's cheek. Involuntarily her hand shot up to her own face, imagining his touch there. She released a shuddering breath.

Hell, what was the matter with her?

It was absolutely none of her business what he did with Grace.

But she couldn't stop looking at his hands- those elegant, masculine, delicate hands. She sighed. Damn. She had noticed the crush she obviously had for most obnoxious Patrick Jane for some time now- but she had always managed to fight the feeling down. She was no teenager anymore- she was a responsible adult who had no problems to put the team first.

The team came first. And poor Grace was visibly suffering. She hoped Jane could lift the sadness from her heart. She really did.

Sighing again she turned back to her dreaded paperwork.

xxMentalistxx

Jane felt almost lighthearted when he did the shopping this evening. It had been a long time since he'd indulged in something so trivial, and it made him feel better, more in synch with the real world. The weeks he'd spent in prison had dulled his mind, and now he felt like slowly coming out of the haze again.

He chose the ingredients for his famous lasagna with great care, taking solace from the process. He looked forward to spending the evening with Grace. He'd had been pretty alone himself since he'd left prison, and felt eager to have company. Which infallibly brought his thoughts back to his dark-haired team-leader…he immediately forbid his mind to wander in that direction. No need to risk losing it. Tonight, he would function, dine and laugh with Grace, just having a good time. Teresa Lisbon was off-limits for him, he couldn't even dare to think about her.

Sighing, he turned his attention back to the tomatoes…

xxMentalistxx

Grace looked at Jane over the brim of her wineglass and found that he looked sad. Beneath his megawatt smile, beneath his jovial joking and the sophisticated conversation she saw a suffering little boy nobody could help.

"Agent Lisbon?", she asked calmly, and watched him startle before he could control the reaction.

"Whoa," he chuckled, "I guess I'm a little bit out of practice with my iceman-attitude, hmm?"

"Don't worry, Jane," she said, patting his arm softly," the whole team has a pretty good idea about your feelings- and believe me, we don't object. But Lisbon herself- she doesn't know about this. So why don't you cook dinner for her sometime soon?"

He smiled. Hell, he would love that.

"I can't tell her," he whispered, raw emotions too close to the surface for his liking, "she still hates me for killing Red John. She has pretty much ignored me since I came back. I think if there had been any chance of avoiding to work with me again, she would've taken it without flinching."

"I think you're wrong, Jane," Grace answered, "I know Lisbon…I believe she can't even see her own feelings for you. But they are there. I'm sure of that."

Jane looked at her, smiling sadly. Sweet, gentle Grace. She tried to console him, but he knew better. He'd shattered agent Lisbon's trust in him when he'd killed Red John- and he knew how hard he had fought to earn it in the first place.

It was his own fault that his chances of getting closer, of being more than her annoying pet-consultant, were ruined. Forever.

And there was one thing he had to prevent at all costs: to hurt Teresa Lisbon even more than he already had.

xxMentalistxx

Teresa Lisbon, still tired after a sleepless night full of brooding thoughts, was about to turn the corner to the bullpen when she stopped dead in her tracks.

Jane and vanPelt stood there, in front of his couch, laughing and joking, his hand casually touching her arm.

"Thank you so much for last night, Jane," vanPelt said, smiling sweetly, "that was very thoughtful of you- and I had a really good time."

"Meh, no problem," he answered, killer smile lighting his face,"I'm glad I could be of assistance. And- it was nice for me, too. I haven't had much occasion for social contact during the last weeks, you know…"

Lisbon felt her face go hot, and the anger flared before rational thought kicked in.

She stormed into the room, startling Jane and vanPelt with her thundering voice.

"Great to know that you two have fun here," she shouted, "but this is not Disneyland- we try to do serious work here. So you, Grace, haul your ass to the next computer, and you, Jane…Uhmm...do what you usually do to SOLVE OUR CASES!"

She turned and raced to her office, slamming the door behind her.

Jane looked at Grace, a stunned expression on his face, and was more than surprised when he saw the young agent smirking.

"Jane," she said, "would you take me out to lunch today?"

"It would be my pleasure," he answered, voice shaking, still shocked to the core.

xxMentalistxx

Patrick Jane could do magic with words.

But when he was around agent Lisbon these days, he never knew what to say.

What could he tell her? I'm sorry, I know I killed the guy and you're not into that killing-thingy, but hey…I love you, you know? Well- care to date me sometime soon?

So he was awfully silent when it came to his beautiful team leader. He guessed he just deserved the distance between them- he had betrayed her trust. And right now, he didn't have a clue about how to win it back.

He lay on his couch, wondering what had caused her to go ballistic with Grace and him in the bullpen…he sure as hell knew what Grace had been thinking and why she had asked him to take her out (for lunch, so it would be almost unavoidable for Lisbon to see them leaving together), but he just couldn't believe it. Possibly just a bad night for Lisbon. Poor baby. Now that he thought about it, she had dark rings beneath her eyes. So just stress, maybe.

He watched her from afar, every glance, every stride, every tiny movement…he was almost obsessed with her, and he knew it. But he kept his distance, not wanting to force her into anything. It was her right to hate him, and he would simply endure the torment as long as she wanted him to suffer.

But he just couldn't stop looking at her.

Yeah…a little bit delusional again, here- obviously not so good at reading minds when his own feelings are involved, I guess. Let's see what Grace does with her new-found knowledge,now… Please review! Pretty please!