Chapter Three: I'm Not in Love ~ 10cc

I'm not in love, so don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)

I keep your picture upon the wall
It hides a nasty stain that's lyin' there
So don't you ask me to give it back
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)

Ooh, you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh, you'll wait a long time

As the early morning sun streamed in through the CBI windows, Patrick Jane decided that there was a reason why beds had been invented. A few hours lying on timber floor with his bunched up jacket as a pillow had not been ideal for his back. To his amazement, he had managed to doze off for a couple of hours, though not so deeply that he wouldn't have heard Maya wake up.

Nor so deeply, it would seem, that he couldn't hear Van Pelt creep in quietly and start up her computer. He stood up slowly, noting that Lisbon was still sleeping soundly beside him, and walked over to stand behind Van Pelt.

"Morning, Grace," he whispered in her ear, careful to stand back. As predicted, and hoped, she jumped a mile into the air, her hand over her heart as she whirled around to face him.

"For goodness sake Jane, did you have to do that?"

"Yes," he answered, genuinely smiling for the first time in three days. Van Pelt's anger disappeared immediately. She could never stay furious at him and he took full advantage of it.

"You're here early," he told her. He was somewhat surprised, though careful not to show it. He knew that she arrived early most days, but not at six in the morning when she'd only left a couple of hours before.

"I figured that you and Lisbon wouldn't get a chance to leave, Maya's statement was obviously going to take a while. At least now you'll get a chance to go home and change before she goes home."

Jane was reminded of exactly why Rigsby was so in love with her. She had a heart of gold, and unlike many agents wasn't afraid to show it.

"I'll wake Lisbon up. The sooner we can get to the Plaskett's the better."

She nodded in agreement, a small smile creeping at the corner of her mouth.

"Better you than me. I had to wake her up once when we were out of town on a case, and almost ended up with a black eye."

Approaching the couch with some trepidation, Jane wondered why he had never discovered before. Maybe Lisbon was better at keeping secrets from him that he had assumed, he mused.

She was curled up on her side, facing him, as he decided on the best, and safest, method. Gently, he ran a fingertip from her shoulder down her exposed arm. She shifted slightly, but there was no other reaction. He bit his lip, planning his next move. Glancing over at Van Pelt, he saw that she was watching avidly, though trying as best she could to look disinterested. To hell with her, he thought. This was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Using the same finger, he brushed one of Lisbon's dark curls off her face and tucked it behind her ear. Once again, she moved, but refused to open her eyes. Van Pelt could see Jane's grin growing wider and almost had to look away. Every other time he had that look on his face, he was planning something that he was going to get into a lot of trouble for.

Jane started at her hairline, drawing a line down the middle of her forehead to the bridge of her nose and across her cheek bone. He became so utterly transfixed with what he was doing that he completely forgot that Van Pelt was present, concentrating only on the woman in front of him. As he reached the end of her cheek, he followed the contour of her ear down to her jaw line, until he reached the point where her chin was pressed into the worn leather of the couch. Hesitating only for a moment, he touched her bottom lip with his thumb, moving it side to side as he whispered, "Teresa."

Suddenly, the spell was broken.

"Go away, Jane," she mumbled as she rolled over away from him. He couldn't help laughing.

"How did you know it was me?"

He realised his mistake as soon as her elbow connected solidly with his ribs and his back became reacquainted with the floor.

"Ow! Anyone would think that you aren't a morning person!"

"Go to hell," was the only reply she could think of as she sat up and threw her blanket at Jane. If she was honest with herself, she would have realised that she was not so much angry with Jane for waking her up, but with herself for enjoying it so much. In the foggy moments when she was still half-asleep, she had almost been able to convince herself that there was something between them, that he hadn't been trying to amuse himself and Van Pelt.

Van Pelt! As her mind clicked into gear, she noticed the junior agent sitting at her desk, watching the whole scene unfold.

"What are you doing here so early," she snapped, blushing even more deeply.

"I thought I could look after Maya while you and Jane go home and change," she said awkwardly, wishing she hadn't observed something so private and intimate between her boss and Jane.

"Fine, thank you," she said, trying not to take out her anger on the undeserving Van Pelt. "I'll be as quick as I can."

Grabbing her bag and phone, Lisbon headed out the door straight away, hoping to avoid an awkward conversation with Jane on the way out. The fates were obviously against her, because he joined her as she repeatedly pressed the button for the elevator. He leaned up against the wall beside her, his eyes not leaving her face.

If she had been angry before, it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. He couldn't ever just leave her alone when she wanted to be alone. He either had to find out what was wrong, whether it was any of his business or not, or make her forgive him for whatever it was he had done wrong.

The elevator doors slid open after what seemed an eternity, and Lisbon stormed in, hitting the button to close the door before Jane had a chance to get in. He refused to take the hint, calmly stopping the door and stepping in next to her.

"I'm sorry," he said as the elevator began its descent. That was the last straw.

"No, you're not, you just want me to think you are! You do this to me all the time, then wonder why the hell I don't trust you!"

The doors opened on the ground floor before Jane had a chance to reply. As he watched Lisbon storm across the lobby to the car park, he realised that he had to decide what he wanted, for both of their sakes.

A/N: Thank you once again to everyone who reviewed. Another chapter shouldn't be too far away, I've planned out what I want to happen, but it's too much to put in one chapter. Please let me know what you think! I'm hoping that no one was too out of character in this chapter, it's hard to keep perspective on it.