A/N: HEE. I am amused by the sheer number of people expressing suspicion about Jane's plan. Do you really mean to say that none of you think it will work out *exactly* as he planned it, with no snags of any kind? In a story with twelve chapters and an epilogue? I am shocked, shocked I tell you. Seriously loving the reviews guys, and I promise I'll get around to answering them today or tomorrow. Until then, enjoy.

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3. Step Three: Implement said Plan

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Jane led Lisbon to a little cafe not too far from the CBI building. They'd been there before, together in fact, though often with the team. Still, the two of them had grabbed coffee on the way to or from work or the courthouse more than once.

Jane thought starting slowly, with something familiar was a good idea, for both of them.

After all, this whole idea was still new to him too. Small steps might be warranted, until he figured out the details of his plan at least.

Plus he knew Lisbon had a secret weakness for their blueberry pie. (He preferred the raspberry, but if she claimed to be too full to order dessert, Jane had no qualms about ordering blueberry and letting her steal half of it instead.)

He kept the conversation light as they got settled for lunch. After all, the idea was to make these little outings enjoyable for both of them.

Lisbon seemed to be in a particularly good mood, one which turned out to be rather contagious. He found himself smiling at her with increasing frequency.

"What?" she asked eventually, with a bit of a laugh.

Jane froze momentarily in surprise. He hadn't expected her to call him on it. "What are you talking about, Lisbon?" he asked.

She shook her head indulgently. "You know what I mean," she told him. "You're staring at me. Do I have something in my teeth? Or on my face?"

Jane's smile widened and he shook his head. "I can assure you that there's nothing wrong with your physical appearance in any way, Lisbon."

"Then out with it," she demanded.

"You seem to be in a good mood," Jane observed. "I take it the meeting with Hightower went well?"

Lisbon narrowed her eyes briefly, but decided to just go with it. It was often easier. She shrugged. "I told you; it was just a routine check-in. And there was nothing in the last few months to cause either of us any headaches."

"What about when I accidentally knocked the mayor into a swimming pool in Lakeport?" Jane asked. The woman had yelled at him (okay, Lisbon) for ten minutes about that. Something about a new, and apparently very expensive, dress...

Lisbon laughed. "That's practically run of the mill now," she explained. "Besides, the mayor calmed down once she realized you'd managed to catch the woman who'd killed two of her employees. Especially when it came out she was the next intended victim."

"Ah," Jane said. "Well that's handy. Always nice to know that I haven't somehow caused you undo difficulty, Lisbon."

"Yes, you've been behaving yourself rather well lately," Lisbon murmured softly. Sometimes that fact worried her. She had no idea what was going on in her consultant's head. He was still unorthodox, but somehow less... fatalistic. Oh well, she didn't want to let it ruin what had so far been a perfectly lovely lunch. She shook off her gravity and added more playfully, "You're still not up to the standards of normal employees of course, but..."

"Where's the fun in that?" Jane asked. "Besides, sometimes catching criminals requires a little out-of-the-box thinking Lisbon; you know that."

She smirked. "I suppose, sometimes," she agreed. "Still, I'm glad you're in a good mood, whatever your reason."

"I told you my reason," Jane insisted.

Lisbon stared at him pointedly before shaking her head.

Jane smirked. Her scepticism should have been irritating. It really should have.

Lisbon shook her head. "Well, anyway, lunch as been lovely Jane..." she started to say.

"You're not getting dessert?" Jane interrupted quickly. He didn't want lunch to be over yet. She hadn't gotten her pie.

Lisbon was startled by the sudden urgency in his tone. "I wasn't really planning on it..." she said slowly.

"Do you have somewhere else to be?" Jane asked trying to sound nonchalant.

"No," Lisbon admitted. "I just didn't realize you wanted dessert. If you do, I'll get a coffee or something."

Jane was immediately all smiles again. "Excellent," he said. "Because I want pie."

Lisbon chuckled. "I should have known. Raspberry right?"

"Not sure," Jane told her. "You getting any?"

Lisbon thought wistfully about the blueberry pie. "I shouldn't," she said slowly. "Besides, I'm already pretty full so you'll have to eat your raspberry pie alone."

"Blueberry," Jane corrected cheerfully.

Lisbon narrowed her eyes.

"I always get raspberry," Jane explained. "Well, almost always. I think it's time to change things up a little."

Lisbon briefly considered the potential double-meaning to that statement. What kind of new experiences was Jane considering? And did that potentially include his professional life? Like for example changing a job he often claimed not to like, now that he no longer needed it. "The blueberry is good," she said finally.

Jane smirked. "I rather gathered that you liked it, since you order it almost every time we come here."

"Shut up," she laughed. "Says the man who always orders the raspberry."

"I've ordered the blueberry before," Jane defended.

Lisbon shrugged. "You have," she said, her tone placating. "That's true."

"And I may as well get dessert today; since neither of us have anything pressing we can have an extra long lunch," Jane added.

Lisbon smirked. "Because we don't see enough of each other during the week already?"

Jane's face fell slightly.

Lisbon frowned. "Seriously Jane, is there something wrong?"

"No," he said too quickly.

"Jane..."

"I'm fine Lisbon," he insisted

"Jane... Patrick, you can tell me."

He sighed. She would play the first name card. She rarely did, even after all these years, so whenever it did come up he felt obliged to indulge her. "I just thought it'd be nice to have lunch is all," he told her. "I remembered that you had this meeting with Madeleine and I didn't have any plans, so I thought it'd be... fun. I don't have that many friends really and..." He trailed off and snuck a glance at her. "Sometimes it's nice to have something to do, is all. I don't have any reason to spend all my evenings up in an attic anymore after all so there's not as much to keep me busy," he explained trying for a joke.

Lisbon's face had turned immediately sympathetic. She leaned forward. "Jane, I know these last few months have been a bit of an adjustment for you."

He shrugged, "That's one way of putting it."

Lisbon ploughed on. "But ever since Red John's death, well, things have changed. You can have a normal life now, go out, make friends."

"I could," Jane admitted slowly.

"But?"

He sighed. "The thing is, what if I'm not sure I even know how to do that anymore? I've been chasing Red John for so long that... I don't know. I'm not sure how to do normal. Can you really see me going to bars, socializing, buying people drinks? Picking up women?"

"Actually..." Lisbon said with a half a smile.

"Faking it for a case aside," Jane qualified. "Besides, that's not my preferred method of meeting people. And anyway, I'd rather have lunch with you," he said with a cheery smile.

It didn't have much effect on his companion. "Jane..." Lisbon whispered in sympathy.

Jane examined her again and realized she looked far too upset, far too worried. He loved her for it, but he still didn't want her upset. He had the urge to tell her she could fix it, that she was really the one he wanted anyway. Unfortunately, Jane also knew that if he did that Lisbon would think he'd gone crazy. He'd been honest on impulse (and because it would help his cause), but he may have gone too far. "I'll be fine Teresa," he said gently. "Like you said, it's an adjustment is all."

She nodded, feeling helpless. "Just give it some more time."

Jane smiled slightly. "And besides, I've always got you to annoy."

She smiled back, genuinely, he was relieved to see. "Oh joy."

"And we had a nice lunch," Jane added with a smirk.

"We did," Lisbon agreed.

"It'll be the start of my social rehabilitation. You'll see," Jane promised her. He wanted to put the idea of spending more time together in her head, not send her into a panic over his mental state.

Lisbon smirked at him as their pie and coffee arrived.

Jane watched her eyes dart to his pie even before the waitress had set it down. "Lisbon?" he asked.

"Yes Jane?" she asked, still eyeing his pie.

"I don't think I'm as hungry as I thought I was," Jane said apologetically. "You may have to help me eat this pie."

Lisbon met his eyes for a moment. "Oh fine," she grumbled with an exaggerated sigh.

Jane smiled as he watched her pick up her fork and steal a bite, sighing at the taste of her favourite treat. Yeah, this spending time with Lisbon was going to be good, he decided, watching her enjoy her little indulgence.

It took a few seconds for him to remember that he was supposed to be eating as well. He should probably at least appear to be eating his pie, even if he'd gotten it for her.

"Jane?" Lisbon said after a minute (and between mouthfuls).

"Yes Lisbon?"

"Thanks for ordering the blueberry pie," she murmured, avoiding his eyes and sneaking her fork around his to steal yet another bite.

His grin got even brighter. "Anytime dear."

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Lisbon dropped her bag onto a chair in her apartment.

She really was slightly over-full now. Shouldn't have had that pie. And it hadn't even been hers really. Jane had ordered it. Which was of absolutely no consequence to her now slightly protesting stomach.

She smiled slightly. Still, it had been sweet of him. She knew he preferred the raspberry, whatever he said. He only ever got the blueberry if she didn't order dessert herself.

Sometimes his irritating ability to read people had slightly sweet side-effects.

Lunch with Jane had been fun. Almost a compensation for having to go in to work on a Saturday really. Although she still shouldn't have eaten that pie (but the blueberries had been so very hard to resist. Jane's fault).

She didn't do enough stuff like that though, go out with friends.

Lisbon frowned. Nor, apparently, did Jane.

She was worried about him. Which, in and of itself wasn't new. She'd been worried about Jane in one way or another for the better part of a decade. But she'd hoped that after Red John (because she'd always had to believe that there would be an 'after Red John') things would get better.

There'd been a few times when she'd almost lost faith in him. When he got particular crazy. When he went all tunnel-visiony and started talking crazy.

Then there was the time he'd shot a man.

Then she actually had lost faith.

For a little while at least. While she'd been recovering in the hospital. She'd been shot, Jane had shot someone. He'd been in jail. She'd been confined to a hospital bed.

That had been their lowest point.

She'd almost given up on him completely. But she hadn't quite. Somehow she couldn't.

Maybe it was because she'd always known how crazy he got where Red John was concerned. Maybe it was because he'd never lied to her about his intentions. Maybe it was because she knew he cared about her in his way, genuinely cared.

She hadn't given up on him in the end.

She'd just worried for his sanity (and her own).

But he'd eventually justified her faith. Though it had taken months for them to get comfortable with each other again. She'd been constantly worried he'd fly off the handle.

He hadn't though. Shooting the wrong man had changed Jane somehow. He was, not better, but more controlled when it came to his need for revenge. It had been a welcome change, though Red John had always lurked in the background, making Lisbon nervous.

Now she was worried about him for a different reason.

He was having trouble adjusting. Well, Lisbon had always figured he would. You tie yourself up in one thing for so long, when that's gone life gets difficult. Even Jane couldn't pretend that well. In a lot of ways he was doing better than she'd ever hoped. She'd always assumed he'd be long gone by now, just disappear after the death of the man who'd killed his family.

He hadn't. But now Jane apparently had no idea how to go back to living normally. No idea how to approach people, reintegrate with society. Oh, he was good at conning people in the short term, or enough for a superficial relationship. But that wasn't what he was talking about, Lisbon knew that.

Jane was a loner. She didn't know if he had a single friend outside the team.

Now he was lonely.

Lisbon could understand that. She got lonely sometimes. It was no great shock that Jane did too.

Lonely enough that he'd come into work on a Saturday just to drag her out to lunch, because she was one of his few true friends. Lisbon smiled slightly at that thought, but it didn't last.

Poor Jane. It had to be tough.

There had to be something she could do to help him. She wasn't necessarily the best person to help someone remember how to put themselves out there though; her own social calendar wasn't exactly packed.

But on the other hand, she wasn't a complete incompetent either. She went out, a bit. She met men, dated from time to time. Okay, she wasn't great at permanent relationships, but she could be social!

She wasn't a recluse up in an attic somewhere with some sort of horrible disfigurement. (Of the two of them, Jane was the one prone to hiding in attics.)

Besides, she was his friend. She cared about him. She wanted to help him. That was all that mattered.

She didn't need to take him to bars and help him pick up women (Lisbon figured he could probably do that perfectly well already); she didn't even need to set him up with her single friends (not that she'd do that anyway. She didn't know a single person she could comfortably foist Patrick Jane on). No, she just needed to be his friend. They could go do social friend-type things together.

Yeah. That would work.

And when he healed a little more he'd see that he could live a normal life... he could have friends, have a girlfriend maybe, have...

Have a normal job.

Lisbon dropped onto her couch, a sinking feeling in her stomach. He wouldn't have to brood up in the attic or on the couch or catch murderers.

What had Jane said once? That at least as a fake psychic he gave people false hope instead of just going around the countryside giving sad people bad news.

He wouldn't have to do that anymore.

Lisbon bit her lip.

Well, there was nothing she could do about that. Jane would figure out his life eventually, whether she got involved or not. And if he decided to leave then that was that (and he very likely would choose to go; he'd already done it twice temporarily after all). She had no claim on him. Either way Jane deserved to be happy.

Besides, maybe he'd decide he wanted to stay.

Lisbon sighed and leaned back into her couch cushions. She'd at least try and make sure they kept in touch.

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