Eileen: Again, thanks for the review! Your comments were greatly appreciated.

I seriously doubt there will be anything intense about this story as I'm not in the mood to go there at the moment. More likely it's just a silly romance.~Calla

#

Lisbon squeezed the water out of her hair as Cho cuffed their ex-beauty queen turned jewelry store robber. If Samantha hadn't attempted power walking her way out of a murder rap in five inch heels they wouldn't look like a couple of drowned rats. Lisbon still wouldn't if she'd let Rigsby or Cho handle the disastrous escape attempt. One, or both, of them would. But no, she had to be the one noticing Sammie's sneak for freedom when her accomplices made a break for it out the front door.

Sending the guys in one direction and Van Pelt in the other, she'd taken off after their blonde haired she-devil. Unfortunately, she'd caught her and they'd both landed in the pool when Samantha lost her teetering balance dragging Lisbon with her. If only she'd let go when the woman started flailing; but, the accompanying tumble happened much too fast for that. Now she was sitting on a chaise sopping wet with mascara rivulets running down her cheeks.

"Here, Lisbon, catch." Reflex caught the towel tossed her way by a certain wonder boy who'd disappeared at the height of the action only to reappear after all the excitement was over. Classic Jane if she said so herself.

"Thanks, Jane, I think." Lisbon's degree of gratitude depended a lot on where he'd found the towel she was currently using to scrub her face. On second thought, she really didn't want to know. Culpable deniability was the safest course of action when Jane was involved.

"Why don't you let the gang haul the beauty queen and her cohorts in while we do something about all of this? Cho and the team are fully capable of questioning them. It's not like we didn't find the murder weapon zipped in that pouch with the poufy, feathery pageant dress. No wonder she didn't win that last contest and hit the big time. That thing was a nightmare walking." Lisbon's eyes widened slightly at his words.

So that was where her consultant had disappeared. He was off giving the house the infamous Jane treatment poking into all those places he shouldn't. No wonder he'd found that gun or was it the butcher knife? Maybe he'd found both. Their victim had suffered the indignity of being shot then stabbed in his workplace after hours. It seemed the beautiful Samantha had enjoyed getting up close and personal with her ex-boyfriend. He hadn't enjoyed the experience nearly as much.

Lisbon had no doubts she'd offed him with her pretty little hands. Someone should have reminded the woman the ex-girlfriend usually topped the suspect list when the ex-boyfriend ended up dead soon after an acrimonious breakup. Especially when the robbery was so badly botched it was obvious from the start theft was never the real intent. How Samantha ever convinced her now boyfriend and her cousin to go along with her half-baked plan was beyond her. They'd probably intended fencing the diamonds they'd made off with and splitting the money. How stupid can you get? No one in Sacramento or the surrounding counties would have touched those stones. Edward Grainger was a well known diamond wholesaler. He was a dead diamond wholesaler who hadn't survived to regret his penchant for dating much younger women.

"What are you suggesting, Jane?" Lisbon wasn't sure she really wanted to know.

"Nothing much, just swinging by my place so you can get cleaned up. You've got your emergency case in the SUV and my place is much closer than yours. We'll be back at the station before Cho finishes questioning those three." Jane just shook his head as he hoped their suspects never procreated. They were honestly too stupid to live. "Lisbon, you know how you feel about the communal showers. You might run into Lawrence and Kopenski down there again." Lisbon visibly cringed at the thought.

"You have a point there." She really, really didn't want to get cleaned up at the station. "Let's go. The sooner I get changed the quicker we'll be back at the office." Lisbon rose from the chaise and walked over to have a few words with Cho.

After a few minutes she headed for her SUV with Jane in tow. That he'd ridden with her for once made the whole transaction easier. They'd be at his place in a matter of minutes. With any luck they'd be back at the office in an hour, hour and a half tops. She could live with that. Watching Jane slide onto the seat beside her, Lisbon turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot. As much as she still wanted to punch Samantha in the nose in appreciation for the unnecessary aggravation, she didn't think the gesture would go over too well with the higher ups.

#

Following Jane into the condo, Lisbon made for the guest bedroom. While they'd yet to go on that first date, she'd checked the place out when Jane was looking at it. She'd even been there a time or two since so she was intimately familiar with the layout.

Watching Lisbon disappear into the bathroom, Jane took a few things out of the closet and laid them across the bed before heading for the kitchen to take leftovers from the fridge. She was going to give him a swift kick when she saw his offering; but, that was a chance he was willing to take.

Stripping out of her clothes, Lisbon draped the ruined suit across the hamper. She'd drop the mess by her dry cleaners on the way home tonight; but, she doubted anything could be done to salvage the jacket and pants. She was open to pleasant surprises as it was one of her favorite outfits. Turning the knobs, she stepped into the steaming shower. Looking at the bath wash, shampoo, and condition in the holder she decided Jane had been entirely too busy on his visits to her house. They were going to have a serious talk about that. He'd been poking around where he had no business.

Stepping out of the shower a few minutes later, Lisbon reached for the oversized bath towel hanging on the rack. At some point after his trial, Jane had started thinking like a human being rather than an animal content to curl up in any safe hole. He'd asked her to take a look at a few places he was considering, this one among them. She'd given her two cents worth and Jane had eventually made his decision from the three or four making the most practical sense. So, perhaps something good had come from his incarceration after all.

He'd decided on some level that maybe it was time to get a real life starting with a more permanent place. No more temporary dives or camping out in the attic. Or staying at that other place he didn't visit nearly as often. Lisbon was thankful for small blessings. He suddenly found living so haphazardly wasn't as comfortable as it had once been. It really wasn't much of a life at all when he thought about it. Lisbon had done everything in her power to encourage the strides he was making. He'd done penance long enough. No one could fault his actions.

Not that Jane didn't still occasionally spend a night on his couch in the attic, or on her couch if the mood struck; but, not nearly as regularly as he used to. He might even still go there for all she knew. More importantly, the man had procured a really nice two bedroom condo for regular use. Nicer than her place which had actually surprised her. She'd always believed he wasn't that interested in money; but, that couldn't be entirely true.

Jane had to have some stashed some place and quite a bit of it. Or, he was running cons she didn't know about…the bad kind getting everyone in serious trouble. She sent a silent prayer to Heaven he was doing no such thing. She was reasonably sure he wasn't. For the most part, Jane was smarter than that…except when it came to Red John.

Besides, he was well paid for his services. However, he wasn't compensated enough to afford this place on a consultant's salary. She couldn't afford it on her pay scale. That being said, Lisbon liked everything about Jane's lair from location to layout. For one thing, he was surprisingly close to the office. Not within walking distance; but, a lot closer than she was. Then there was the killer floor plan spaciously open yet private. It also didn't hurt that Jane had good taste in furnishings, too. There was something cozy, yet masculine, about every piece. Not necessarily two words she thought in conjunction with each other; but, they worked well together when applied to Jane and his home.

Exiting the bathroom, Lisbon glanced at the bed, stopped, and said a few choice words. She should have figured this one out a long time ago. Yeah, there had been hoodlums breaking into cars at her complex a few weeks ago. About the time she'd first had that interesting conversation with Jane. She hadn't thought much about it as no-one was hurt and nothing really important was ever taken, just meaningless odds and ends. It was also apparent the culprits were most likely adolescent mischief makers and not dangerous criminals.

She'd been content to let Security and the local PD handle things until she had reason to do otherwise. A couple of bored fourteen year olds were finally caught with their hands in a bright red coupe not belonging to them about three days after Lisbon's SUV was hit and her emergency overnight bag stolen. While inconvenient, her vehicle hadn't been damaged. Not even a scratch. She'd simply crammed another bag in her trunk and kept going. Now, she was doing the thinking she should have done the first time around.

Though the kids had denied touching her vehicle as they'd known she was a cop, Lisbon hadn't believed them and written the suitcase and its contents off as lost. The black suit and emerald shell draped across Jane's comforter said otherwise. Lisbon wanted to smack herself for her stupidity. Then she wanted to smack Jane. She'd conveniently forgotten he had dropped by her apartment that night as well.

It was about a week after they'd made the tentative "dating contract" they'd yet to act upon. She'd thought the bouquet of multi-colored Gerberas and the witty conversation was her suitor urging her to speed things along. Now, she knew differently. From the evidence before her, she'd been robbed all right. Just not by the party everyone suspected.

What Jane was hoping to accomplish by all of this, she had no idea. He better not have any kooky ideas at this stage of the game. What was she saying? He was Patrick Jane. His ideas were usually kooky and she was loopy enough to go along with them. But, not this time. Jane was a dead man if she found the rest of what she expected.

Opening the dresser drawer, Lisbon wasn't surprised to see the undergarments from her suitcase placed neatly inside. She didn't need to look to know she'd find her sleep clothes, jeans, and workout wear in another drawer or two down. She'd put money on the fact her other suit and shirts were hanging on the rod and her shoes were sitting on the floor of the closet behind her. Slipping into her bra and panties before pulling her tank over head and stepping into her pants, Lisbon walked back into the bathroom. Picking up a familiar bottle of foundation she began applying the cosmetics she hadn't noticed mysteriously laying on the counter in her haste to get out of her wet clothes and into that nice hot shower. Gazing at her reflection in the mirror and deciding she looked presentable, Lisbon meandered out towards the kitchen.

"Jane, you are so dead." Her words were faintly strident.

"For what? Seeing that you have a spare set of clothes should the need arise as it so clearly has. I should think you would be grateful." Jane continued arranging homemade lasagna on two plates.

"For breaking into my trunk and stealing things. You know I always have an overnight bag in there in case we have to unexpectedly spend the night out of town. We all do." An overnight bag he'd obviously stolen.

"Lisbon, be real. First off, since I had your spare set of keys, I didn't break into anything. Secondly, if you use your emergency stash, you won't have any clothes to wear if we're unexpectedly called out of town." Jane reminded her as he scooped salad into two bowls.

"I could have refilled my overnight bag." Lisbon reminded him.

"Where's the fun in that? You'd eventually run out of clothes." Jane made a cup of tea and handed Lisbon a can of her favorite soda from the refrigerator.

"Right." Lisbon rolled her eyes. She wouldn't put it past the jackass to keep stealing the clothes in her suitcase to make whatever psychotic point he was trying to make. She wasn't even going to try to figure it out. "So you were simply being considerate?" Somehow she doubted that. Jane never did anything without ulterior motive.

"Yes, Lisbon, I was." Jane pulled out a chair for her. Getting a whiff of the lasagna, Lisbon suddenly realized how hungry she was as they'd yet to eat lunch and breakfast was a long time ago.

"You could have just asked if I wanted to leave a change of clothes here." Lisbon pointed out as she took a bite of pasta deciding it was really very good.

"You would have said no, Lisbon, and where would you be? Taking a shower in the dungeon and wearing clothes you don't really like from that back up suit case you stuck your trunk. Now isn't this much nicer?" Jane reminded her.

"Yeah, Jane, I guess it is and I guess all that stuff can stay. But don't get any crazy ideas." It wasn't a secret Lisbon wasn't overly fond of using the CBI showers unless she had to.

She never knew who was down there or what they were doing. She'd seen quite a few things she hadn't wanted to see over the years. Nothing explicit, more along the lines of just enough to know things were going on that shouldn't be. She didn't particularly care to be part of keeping secrets not hers to keep.

"If I can't even get you out on that date, why would I have any crazy ideas?" Jane pointed out.

"Because you're Patrick Jane?' Lisbon said as though that should be obvious.

"Lisbon, shush, and stop grousing. You need to eat your lunch so we can get back to the office. Cho should be almost through interrogating those three ghouls about now." Jane took his own bite of lasagna and decided it was delicious. He'd have to give his compliments to the chef even if the chef was him. "Oh, by the way, Lisbon, since I can't get you out to a restaurant, consider this our first date. Now, you have no reason to dodge when I pick you up on Saturday night for our second." Jane informed her.

"I'm still not kissing you, Jane. We're on duty and this isn't a date. I don't care what you say. However, I'll be ready about seven. Don't be late like you are for most of our cases. Nothing turns me off more than that." Lisbon grabbed a glass from the cabinet before resuming her seat.

"Well, I certainly don't want to turn you off, Lisbon. That really won't do at all." Jane watched her pour her soda in the glass before tucking into her plate again.

"You're still not getting in my pants, Jane, so get your mind out of the gutter. It's just a date." Lisbon kicked him under the table for general principles.

Though his face was rather placid, she knew he was smirking somewhere deep inside.