The silence in the courtroom was deafening, and it took a full minute of Jane and Lisbon continuing to stare at one another for all the world like two star crossed lovers while the rest of the courtroom watched them before finally the judge recovered herself enough to clear her throat and say, "Mr. Peterson? Your witness."

Peterson smiled and leaned back in his chair. "No further questions, Your Honor."

The judge exhaled. "Let's take a short recess. You may step down, Agent Lisbon."

Lisbon came down from the witness stand and the spell was broken. The room erupted into a cacophony of excited chatter as every person in the gallery immediately started discussing what had just happened. The most distinct memory Jane had of this moment was one particularly carrying whisper that sounded both scandalized and wistful saying, "Did you see the way she was looking at him?" He cared nothing for this, however. As Lisbon crossed in front of the bailiff and moved to go through the gate separating the gallery from the rest of the courtroom, he called her name. "Lisbon."

She ignored him and would have brushed past him, but he was desperate to see her eyes. He caught her by the arm before she could make her escape.

She stopped unwillingly and looked at his hand on her arm before raising her eyes to his.

Yup. Still angry.

But he didn't care about that. He had more important things to concern himself with. He opened his mouth to speak, but for once, words failed him. He stood there, holding her arm, and having absolutely no clue how to proceed.

"What do you want, Jane?" Oh, yeah. She was pissed as hell.

And realization dawned. "You did that on purpose," he breathed.

She cut her gaze away from his. "Did what on purpose?"

He was regaining his equilibrium now. He smiled. "The blouse, for one thing."

Her eyes snapped back to his. "What does my shirt have to do with anything?" she demanded.

"It matches your eyes perfectly." He stared into them. "The effect is quite breathtaking. And it has ruffles."

She wrenched her arm away and glared at him. "So?"

"Don't get me wrong, it looks quite fetching on you, but you're not exactly the ruffle type."

"Van Pelt picked it out," she said defensively.

"Yes, she would be a bit bolder about selecting something that emphasizes your best features," Jane said, nodding. "You tend to choose clothing that downplays your attractiveness. You seem to think if you wear the plainest clothing you can find, you can somehow disguise the fact that you're a beautiful woman. It never works, of course, but nobody can say you haven't tried." He shook his head. "I can't believe you let Van Pelt take you shopping. She must have been tiresomely excited about it."

A flicker in her eyes indicated that he'd hit home. It must have been very trying for Lisbon to have subjected herself to Van Pelt's girlish exuberance in a shopping mall. But that was his Lisbon. Ever willing to sacrifice her own inclinations for others. In this case, him.

Lisbon crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Is there a point to this critique of my wardrobe, or can I go back to my seat now?"

"My point, Lisbon, is that I'm impressed. Seriously. I didn't know you had it in you."

"Had what in me?"

"Don't be so modest. You played the jury like a fiddle."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on! The blouse, the speech about what a good man I am, that look across the courtroom—it was all part of an elaborate plan. Honestly, I don't think I could have come up with a better one myself. So delightfully manipulative- and the complexity! Amazing. You executed it beautifully, my dear."

Her eyes narrowed. "A plan to do what, exactly?"

Jane blinked. "To convince the jury you're in love with me, of course."

She bared her teeth at him in an expression he assumed was meant to be a sarcastic smile. It missed the mark, however, and ended up looking more like the expression she wore when she was seriously considering doing him bodily harm. "And why would I do that?"

"So they'd feel more sympathetic towards me, naturally. I mean, let's face it, I need all the help I can get."

"That part's true enough," Lisbon muttered.

"I must say, you made quite the romantic figure up on that witness stand. Utterly irresistible. You calculated every move didn't you? Of course they would see immediately that you're the strong, honest cop everyone was saying you are, but you contrasted it so nicely with that trace of vulnerability, that doe-eyed look that made every one of them want to protect you. And by extension, what you cared about." He gestured to himself.

"You egotistical, self-centered son of a bitch," she seethed. "If we weren't in a court of law, I'd shoot you myself."

His blue eyes looked into hers searchingly. "Why'd you do it? You believe I deserve to go to jail, I know you do. So why would you purposefully make a room full of strangers believe you feel that way about me in order to make them more sympathetic to my situation?"

She looked at him with a familiar expression halfway between annoyance and flat out rage. "You're an idiot."

She walked away from him and out through the courtroom doors without a backward glance, the door swinging violently closed in her wake.

xxx