Shout-outs: Totorsg, lollierocker, meguie, Chymom, ReAdErOnLy, Mentalgal, Water-please, you lost me, Lalalupin, GyMusicAddict, n3tRN, crazyanalylst, ShellGrad, xs18, Lothlorien Aeterna, Linnspinn, and Special Agent Baker for their reviews!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even the laptop I'm typing this story on.

Rated: T

Meguie: Thank you for your compliment on my being "perfect". I am flattered that you think I should write "all" the Mentalist episodes, it's actually a dream of mine to write at least one episode for the show.

Chymom: Hope this is soon enough.

ReAdErOnLy: I'm trying to write quickly. I had a fun time at my parties. Though, I do have a tiny bit of a sinus infection. It almost made it unenjoyably.

you lost me: You probably aren't reading this right now, but I'm sorry I lost you. I have reasons for doing everything I did in this story. Like I said, I needed conflict and I didn't want it to be the same old thing, where Lisbon questions their relationship or her old boyfriend (or Mashburn comes) and tries to get her to break up with Jane.

idon'thaveaname: You didn't miss anything darling, it's an alternate universe. Like a "what if" story.

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Chapter 4

December 22nd

The next day, it was almost like the kiss had never happened, but at the same time it still hung in the air between them, pleading to be explored, begging for the couple to unlock doors that they had hidden the keys to when they had agreed to only be partial lovers.

It had been stupid to think they could have a relatively platonic relationship. They were two grown adults, not second graders trading candy ring pops and pretending to get married on the playground during recess with their eight-year-old classmates as their witnesses.

He had known when he had first set the terms for their relationship that one day, one of them would want something more from their relationship. He'd just never thought it he'd actually be the first one who wanted it the most. For some reason, he had always thought it would be Lisbon who'd drag him into something more and he wouldn't realize how much he wanted something more too until they were in it.

"You should ask her to dance instead of just staring at her all night," Joseph teased, breaking into Jane's thoughts.

"Was I staring?" Jane asked, recovering nicely.

"Dude, you haven't taken your eyes off of her all night," Joseph replied. "Come on, the party will be over soon and you'll miss her chance completely if you don't act soon."

"Asking her to dance isn't the best idea right now," Jane said.

Joseph frowned. "Did you two have an argument or something? Because you haven't really spoken to each other all day, which is weird, because everybody knows that the two of you are completely joined at the hip."

"We're fine," Jane assured the youngest Lisbon. "We just needed some space. And besides, your sister came to see you. Not spend time running around Chicago with me."

"Well, I still think you should ask her to dance," Joseph said. "I mean, she's actually wearing a dress. In all the Christmas parties we've had at this church, Reese has never worn a dress."

Jane glanced over at Lisbon, who caught his eye and smiled, waving a little bit at him while she brushed a stray curl away from her face and then turned her attention back to the elderly woman she was speaking with.

"She won't want to dance with me," Jane said, unable to look away from her for even a second.

"I think you're wrong," Joseph answered, pushing the consultant towards his sister. "I know Reese, and I can tell that she's dying for you to dance with her. Go on, make up and be friends again."

.

"I didn't know you were coming to see me," Lisbon said, her smile widening when she looked up and saw him standing next to her.

"I didn't know it either, until somebody pointed out to me that it's the last dance of the evening," Jane replied taking in her messy bun and the curls framing her face. "And I was just wondering. . . well, I hate to interrupt your conversation."

Lisbon laughed and ran her hand down her red dress. "Now Patrick, we both know that interrupting my conversations never seems to fazes you."

Jane merely grinned in reply. "Anyways, I just came over here to see if you wanted to dance with me. Since it is the last dance of the evening."

"I'd love to dance with you," Lisbon answered, turning to her companion. "Mrs. Forest, would you please excuse me for a minute?"

"Of course darling, go and dance with your beau," Mrs. Forest answered with a sly smile as she waved her wrinkled, bejeweled hand in the air like a queen commanding her subjects.

"Oh, but Mrs. Forest. . . he isn't my beau! We're just friends—" Lisbon started as Jane whisked her away.

"Really Lisbon, lying to a little old lady!" Jane clucked his tongue and shook his head as he put his arms around her and started to sway to what he thought was a slow song.

"Hold on a second Jane," Lisbon said, pushing him away. "This isn't exactly a slow dance."

Jane stopped for a second and listened as the Catholic school's lead glee club singers stopped singing the Nat King Cole song they'd been singing and broke into Shout by the Isley Brothers.

"And here I always thought that you ended the night with slow dances," Jane answered.

"Not here," Lisbon replied, trying not to burst into laughter by the look on his face as the dance floor started to fill up with kids jumping up and down while they sang along to the song at the top of their lungs. "It's a tradition that started when I was in high school, actually. You see, the lead singer of the glee club back then had just broken up with his girlfriend. I guess he didn't want to sing love songs, so right when he was beginning to sing whatever mushy song he was supposed to sing, he broke out into Shout and now all the glee kids do it every year at the end of the annual Christmas party."

"And the sisters liked this?" Jane asked, watching as Joseph and Annie joined them on the dance floor.

"Not at first," she answered. "Actually, Mother Superior kicked Kenny out of the glee club because he went off the format. It was too late though, he had started a mini-revolution."

"And was he the mean-spirited guy that you worshipped from afar?" Jane asked teasingly.

"No, definitely not!" Lisbon answered with a laugh. "Kenny was one of the sweetest boys that you'd ever meet."

"And he definitely wasn't listening to the words when he decided to sing Shout of all songs in protest of love. I mean, have you really listened to the lyrics? He's telling a woman that she makes him want to shout because she belongs to him or something like that."

Lisbon laughed again as she pulled him out of the throng of people and towards the metal chairs where they had stashed their coats. "Well, nobody said that Kenny was the sharpest crayon in the box. Come on; let's get out of here. . . unless you still want to dance."

"No. We can go," Jane answered, picking her coat up and helping her into it. He leaned into her for a second, his lips brushing her ear as he lowered his voice. "But you owe me one."

"And I'm going to pay you back as soon as possible," she said, turning around to look at him as she buttoned her coat and pulled her gloves on with a little smile on her face.

.

"Come on," Lisbon said, pulling Jane to the den after locking the front door behind them.

She took her coat off and threw it on the couch, then went over to her father's old record collection. She flipped through the vinyls and smiled when she found the one she was looking for. She dropped it on the old record player and came over to him as Bing Crosby's voice filled the air.

"Ask me to dance," she all but ordered.

"I already did," Jane replied, slipping his hand into her's. "Back at the church."

"Do it again."

"Okay," he finally obliged after a minute. "Dance with me Teresa?"

She nodded, putting her arms around him and swaying slowly to the music while she whispered the words of the song into his ear.

"Let me call you sweetheart, I'm in love with you. Let me hear you whisper that you love me too,"

Jane pulled away from her and looked into her eyes, suddenly seeing the same intense longing that he'd been feeling all day. His heart stopped beating for a second as she smiled at him encouragingly, he was just about to lean down and kiss her even more passionately than before when Joseph and Annie burst into the room.

The pair pushed each other away quickly and put as much distant between each other as possible.

"There you guys are!" Annie said, flopping down on the couch and grabbing the remote control. "Everyone was wondering what had happened to you."

"We decided to come home a little early," Lisbon answered lightly. "That's all."

"But we all went to the church together. So, you didn't have a car," Annie pointed out. "How did you get home?"

"The way I always got around when I was younger and carless," Lisbon replied. "We walked."

Annie looked down at her aunt's feet. "You walked in those shoes?"

"They're three inches, Annabeth. Not five inch stilettoes."

Annie didn't reply as she grabbed a handful of dark chocolate Hershey kisses and turned the television on. "So, what were you two doing when we came in a few minutes ago?"

"Nothing really," Jane answered before Lisbon had the opportunity to. "We were discussing Christmas presents actually. I was telling her that I didn't have a chance to get anything for you guys, and she said that we could go shopping tomorrow if I really needed to pick gifts up."

"Right," Lisbon agreed. "We were discussing Christmas presents. I'm craving hot chocolate, what about you guys?"

"Hot chocolate sounds good," Annie said, grinning slightly as she settled on the Nanny.

"Come and help me, Jane?" Lisbon requested.

"Of course," Jane replied, following her out of the living room.

"So, what do you think Uncle Joe?" Annie asked after they'd disappeared. "Are they together or not?"

"I'd like to say that they're a couple, but they've always acted like they're an old married couple, so I'm really not sure."

Annie sighed in frustration as she muted a commercial. "But he does like her, right? And I mean does he like her more than a friend?"

Joseph shrugged. "I guess so. But he's always liked her."

"Then why aren't they together?"

"Because they're adults," Joseph replied. "Everything's more complicated when you're older."

"I seriously hope you're counting yourself in that category," Annie said as she chucked a deep purple foil wrapper at his nose.

"I don't have time for complicated," he answered, throwing the wrapper back at his niece. "I'm just trying to get through graduate school."

"So, does that mean you won't try and help me get them together?" Annie asked, raising her eyebrows.

"As much as I'd love to see them get together and as much as I love teasing Reese about them getting together, I really think that we're just going to have to not interfere and let them get together by themselves."

"But you saw them when we came into the living room. They were almost kissing!" Annie protested. "You know how honesty needs a little plus? Fate needs a little shove."

Joseph looked at her in amazement and then burst into laughter. "I've heard people quote White Christmas so many different times in my life. But I have never heard anybody quote that particular line before."

Annie playfully stuck her tongue out at him before eating another chocolate. "Are you avoiding the topic at hand Uncle?"

"I'm not helping you get Patrick and Teresa together," Joseph replied. "No way, interfering in other people's lives is a sure fire way to get yourself into trouble."

Annie sighed mournfully and gave him her best puppy dog eyes. "Please? Please?"

"Who are you hanging out with these days?" Joseph asked. "You were never like this before; you were always a lot more mature than the other girls your age. When all the other girls were arguing Team Jacob versus Team Edward, you were laughing at them!"

"I'm still the same person I was last year," Annie answered. "I just want to see my aunt happy with the man that she's so obviously in love with."

Joseph smiled like he knew a secret. "Just give it a little time; I'm sure if you're a very good girl then Santa will give you exactly what you want for Christmas."

.

"I think they almost caught us," Lisbon whispered as she filled a worn looking kettle with water from the tap and placed it on the stove. "The hot chocolate is on the top shelf, second cabinet from the left."

Jane took a deep breath as he took out a box of Swiss Miss and ripped it open before dumping a package of cocoa mix into a mug with Hermey and Rudolph on it. "Maybe we should just tell them."

"Tell them?" Lisbon repeated, frowning slightly. "Patrick, what are you saying?"

"I'm not sure yet," Jane answered. "Give me a little while to think about it, and I'll tell you about it later."

TBC. . .

Author's Note:

Does that classify as a cliff-hanger? Or a crappy, unfinished thought? Speaking of thoughts, I'd love to hear what you thought of this chapter. Too rushed? Or whatever, I love hearing from all of you.

Love,

Holly, 12/20/2012_