Shout-outs: phoenixx87, Guest, Nerwen Aldarion, Guest, Dempeo4ever81, Jane Doe51, Marcia Santos, and Ilovetea

Rated: T

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Chapter 3

"We need to get you fitted for your bridesmaid's dress," Violet said the next day as she burst into Lisbon's room and threw the curtains open, letting the early morning light stream through the windows.

Lisbon groaned as she rolled on her back, she had spent most of the night tossing and turning. Trying not to think about Jane, trying to fight off the old attraction that was threatening to burst on the scene again. Because of that, she hadn't gotten to sleep until the wee small hours of the morning.

"Don't worry, I have coffee!" Violet told her, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Coffee would be great," Lisbon answered as she sat up and took the mug of steaming liquid from her future sister-in-law's hands.

"You don't look so hot," Violet said, taking in Lisbon's pale face. "Rough night?"

"You have no idea."

Violet looked at her apologetically. "I wish we could put off the dress fitting, but we're pressed for time with the wedding being so close and you haven't been able to make any of the other fittings."

"It's okay, really!" Lisbon assured her as she stumbled out of bed and to her suitcase. "I'll just jump in the shower first and then we can get going."

Violet looked at her sheepishly. "You don't really have time to shower, Annie needs to come with us and she has an all-day class at the community college in an hour."

Lisbon sighed. "I guess I'll just shower when we get back then."

"Okay!" Violet said cheerfully as she jumped up from the bed. "I'll just leave you to get dressed!"

In a matter of seconds, Lisbon had gotten dressed and quickly braided her hair. Before she knew what was happening, Violet had whisked her and Annie into Ray's pickup truck and they were headed to the dress shop in the heart of town.

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"I remember when I was fitting you for your prom dress," Evelyn Pritchett said to Lisbon through a mouthful of common pins. "You and that Patrick Jane made such a lovely couple; everybody around her was so disappointed when you two were the ones that didn't make it."

"Yeah," Lisbon replied, shifting uncomfortably. "I'm sure it was a hot topic of gossip for months after we broke up."

Evelyn laughed. "Why my dear, whatever do you mean?"

Lisbon was saved from answering her by Violet calling out from Annie's dressing room to ask if the seamstress was ready for them.

"Hold on a second dearie, I'm still hemming up Teresa's dress! She's shorter than I remembered!" Evelyn hollered. A few moments later, she was standing up and looking at her with a critical eye. Then she smiled and nodded. "Lovely, just like always. I'll be darned if he isn't able to take his eyes off of you at the wedding."

Lisbon frowned. "Who?"

Evelyn laughed again and helped Lisbon down from the stool she was standing on. "Careful that you don't trip over the hem, lovey. I would hate for you to have to walk down the aisle with crutches."

Lisbon hiked up the skirt and gave Evelyn her best cop look. "Who's not going to be able to take his eyes off of me, Mrs. Pritchett?"

"Patrick! Everybody around town knows that he's been looking forward to seeing you again," Evelyn replied.

Lisbon blushed inspite of herself. "Oh Mrs. Pritchett, I'm sure that it isn't like that at all—"

"And why shouldn't it be?"

"It's been twenty years," Lisbon answered. "I'm sure whatever he felt for me isn't there anymore—"

"Mrs. Pritchett, Annie really needs to get going!" Violet called. "She has a class in less than an hour!"

"Bring her out then!" Evelyn called back; she smiled at Lisbon and lowered her voice. "Maybe you're right, but don't write it off. Anything can happen, you know. He loved you once, who's to say that he won't love you again?"

Lisbon wanted to protest some more, but Annie was coming out of her dressing room, a vision in linen the color of pink lemonade.

"She looks so pretty, doesn't she?" Violet asked, her eyes shining brightly.

"Yes," Lisbon agreed, lifting her own dress a little bit higher. "She looks beautiful."

"It's not too much?" Annie asked anxiously, meeting her aunt's gaze. "I mean, I don't look too girly?"

"You can never look too girly!" Evelyn proclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"Thanks Mrs. Pritchett," Annie said, smiling at Lisbon and Violet.

"Teresa, darling why don't you go and get changed?" Evelyn suggested. "I just need to make a couple more nips and tucks on Annabeth's dress and then you girls are free to go and do whatever it is that you need to do today."

"Thank you Mrs. Pritchett," Violet said as Lisbon disappeared behind a navy blue curtain that doubled as a dressing room. "You've been amazing."

"It's my pleasure darling," Evelyn answered.

Lisbon slipped out of her dress and hung it up carefully before putting her street clothes on.

"The dress is on the hook in the dressing room," she told Evelyn as she came back into the storefront. She turned to Violet. "I'm going to get some more coffee and walk around town for a little bit. I'll see you later."

"Okay." Violet nodded. "Enjoy yourself."

Lisbon nodded too and then quickly made her escape from the dress shop. She stood and looked around the streets, trying to get her bearings before she decided to just go to Sam and Pete's to get her coffee.

Yes, she knew that she would have to see Patrick Jane again if she went there, but it didn't really matter. Now that she was home again she felt drawn to her old haunt and to her old love again and she couldn't pin-point why. All she really knew was that it was driving her crazy!

She wasn't this kind of girl. The girl who couldn't figure things out, she always knew. She was always so sure of herself and of her feelings. She'd been in her old stomping grounds for less than 24 hours and she was a teenaged girl in braces again. Back in the day, she had gone to Sam and Pete's to order root beer floats and stare at Jane from across the counter while she hoped that maybe, just maybe he would notice her as more than a customer and his smart-aleck lab partner in chemistry.

Snap out of it Agent, she told herself as she crossed the street. This is not healthy! You're only here for a few days, don't go and start something you can't finish.

But as she opened the diner door and saw him standing at the counter with his sleeves pushed up to his elbows while he chatted with an early middle-school aged girl, who was drinking a vanilla milkshake and eating French fries, her resolve started to disappear like air slowly leaving a balloon.

He smiled at her when he saw her standing in the threshold and her heart gave a familiar thud. She swallowed hard.

"Hey P.J," she said as she came up to the counter and casually leaned against it. "Could I get a coffee to go?"

"Of course," he answered. "Would you excuse me while I get my friend some coffee, Lainie?"

"Okay Mr. Jane," she replied smiling at him brightly.

When Jane had turned his back to them, Lainie turned and studied Lisbon with a quizzical brow. "Are you Annie's auntie?" she finally asked.

"I am," Lisbon answered. "And who are you?"

"Lainie Banks," Lainie said, picking up her drink and sipping it with her straw. "Annie babysits me sometimes."

Lisbon took a stool. "Oh. I think she's told me about you."

Lainie looked pleased. "Annie had a class today though, so mom asked Mr. Jane if I could keep him company while she ran some errands," she continued. "I like coming here, Mr. Jane can do magic tricks and sometimes he helps me with my homework. But school's out for the summer now, so I don't really have any homework. I am doing the summer reading program at the library. Whoever reads the most books gets a month's worth of free movie theater tickets."

"How many books have you read so far?" Lisbon asked.

Lainie shook her head and sighed. "Not enough. I guess Julie's going to win again this year."

"I see you ladies are getting acquainted," Jane said as he brought Lisbon's coffee to her. "What do you think?"

"I like her," Lainie answered.

"I do too," Jane replied before turning to Lisbon. "Here's your coffee Reese, can I do anything else for you today?"

Lisbon took a sip of her coffee and shook her head as she reached for her wallet. "No, I just wanted the coffee. How much do I owe you?"

"Just a little conversation," Jane said. "I mean, if it isn't too expensive."

It isn't like he's proposing marriage or propositioning me, she tried and rationalized with herself. A little conversation never hurt anybody. But then again, every time Patrick said he wanted to talk when we were dating we ended up kissing for hours. . .

"Okay," she said aloud, banishing the last thought from her mind. "I guess I could manage a conversation with you."

Jane's face brightened immediately. "Fantastic! Maybe you could come around later tonight? We can talk while I close up the diner for the day."

"Sounds like a plan," Lisbon replied, smiling at Lainie. "It was lovely meeting you, Lainie."

"You too Miss Lisbon," Lainie answered, beaming at her.

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Hours later, Lisbon was standing outside the diner again. She hesitated a moment and then, she went in.

"I didn't think you'd come," Jane said when he saw her standing in the doorway, he put the broom he was holding down and came over to lead her further into the restaurant. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? A root beer float?"

"I'm good," Lisbon answered. "I ate a big dinner before coming, I'm probably not going to be able to fit into my bridesmaid's dress the way my aunt is feeding me these days."

"That's probably not true," Jane told her. "You're still as skinny as the first day I laid eyes on you 24 years ago."

"I guess you can't afford to gain weight in my profession," Lisbon answered as she sat down on the stool.

"Oh, I don't know. . . I've seen a lot of overweight detectives," Jane replied, taking the seat beside her.

"But you didn't ask me here to talk about my weight or fat detectives, did you?"

"I just wanted to catch up and see if you got everything you wanted that day in the airport. I wanted to see if you were happy. It's been hard to read you the last two times that we've been together."

"I do have everything that I wanted," Lisbon said. "And I am happy, happier than most women my age or at least."

"The married ones with kids, or the ones who don't have time for relationships and families?"

Lisbon winced slightly at the unintended barb. "Both," she told him.

"Good," Jane said. "I'm glad."

"What about you?" She asked softly. "Are you happy?"

Jane picked at a piece of worn linoleum on the counter and shrugged. "Seeing you again makes me happy again. I never thought I would get to see you again."

"Oh."

He jumped up and said, "Wait here!"

Lisbon watched him go over to the jukebox in a corner and press a button.

"That old thing still works?" She asked in amazement.

"And it's playing our song," Jane replied as he came back to her. "Remember?"

"Of course," Lisbon answered, getting a far off look in her eyes. "The first time we danced to it was in the bed of your truck at the beach. You always did have a thing for everything out of date."

"What can I say? You can't mess with the classics," Jane said. "So, what do you say? Do you want to dance?"

Lisbon shook her head. "With you? No."

"Come on! We used to dance all the time!"

"You and I could never just dance, and you know that. Besides, I came here to talk, not to be swept off my feet."

"Maybe I asked you here under false pretenses," Jane answered as he pulled her off the stool and started to whirl her around the diner. "Maybe I was planning on sweeping you off your feet the whole time."

"Patrick Jane, you haven't changed either the past twenty years. You're still as deceitful and scheming as ever," Lisbon said as he dipped her down.

"Sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do," Jane replied. "Besides, you know me better than anyone else and still here you are."

"When you asked me here earlier, were you really planning on just having a conversation or were you looking for something more?"

"I was really only planning on talking," Jane answered.

"Really? But you're usually in better control of situations," Lisbon said softly, teasingly. "This isn't like you, doing things by the seat of your pants."

"Really? Then I must have been a really good pretender when we were together," Jane whispered. "You have a way of throwing me off kilter."

"Impossible," Lisbon whispered back. "You were the epitome of cool back in high school. And even now, all the guys want to be like you and all the girls want to date you."

"People shouldn't believe everything they read in the tabloids," Jane told her. "I don't really have anything that anybody wants. Just look at me, Reese. I'm a broken-shell of a man, any leftover bravo is probably just a front."

Lisbon was stunned that he was sharing something so personal with her. She had thought that after 20 years, their deep history wouldn't matter and he would be a little tight-lipped about the things that had happened to him.

"Don't look so surprised," he said. "Like you said, some things never change. And one of the things that haven't changed is how much I still trust you."

Lisbon's heart fluttered slightly in her chest at his statement.

After all these years, he still trusted her. For some reason this made her happy.

And that's when she knew, she knew that she was in danger of falling in love with him again.

TBC. . .

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Author's Note:

I hope you enjoyed this chapter of "Something Old, Something New". I think that it was one of my favorites to write. Anyways, tell me what you thought in a review. I always love hearing what you think.

Holly, 9/20/13_