Lisbon threw her keys on the table, sighing as she turned to lock her front door. The case was coming along nicely, they had some promising leads from all their leg work that day. The team was working at peak efficiency and she was humbled and thankful to still be their leader.
Stripping off her jacket, Teresa moved to make herself a coffee pondering how long she would be able to maintain this charade with Jane. He had come close to cracking her today, his soulful eyes boring holes in her defences. Would it be so bad if he knew what she was doing? Couldn't she just confide in him and stop all this pretence? Shaking her head at the directions her thoughts were taking her, she had to stop. She couldn't trust him. He wasn't wired the same way as everyone else – this was Jane she was talking about here! Until she had rock solid evidence, he would pull her work to pieces and use it to bolster his argument that Red John was still alive.
Rubbing her face she took a calming breath. No. She was doing the right thing. It was the only way that she could see to help Jane despite himself. She needed to finish the job that she started. Armed with her resolve and a fresh cup of coffee, Lisbon opened her laptop and started to work.
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Lisbon jumped at the knock and checked her watch. 8.58pm. She stifled a grin at Jane's earlier words about Brad being punctual. He was that! She hoped that he had bought something to snack on as she was getting peckish.
She opened the door with a flourish "Right on time . . ." and was left gaping as her smug consultant stood in her doorway grinning impishly.
"Jane, what are you doing here?" Teresa gaped, caught off guard.
"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Jane took in her casual and slightly dishevelled appearance.
"No!" Teresa moved to close the door, denying him access. He couldn't come in, her game would be up if he did! She valiantly tried to hide the alarm that thought had caused, redirecting it into righteous indignation and annoyance at his presence.
"Come, come Lisbon, is that anyway to treat a friend and colleague?" Jane moved closer to Lisbon, angling to get inside. He could see that she was surprised to see him mixed with nerves and indignation.
"Jane, what are you doing here at this time of night?" she demanded crossing her arms to create more of a barrier.
"As you so perceptively pointed out to me today, my dear, I have not met the man whom you are dating, so I thought I should rectify that point." Jane said as he gracefully tried to move past Lisbon.
Teresa flung out her arm to prevent his entry, her eyes hardening, "Not so fast, slick. If I had wanted you to meet I would have arranged it." Bristling with annoyance, her eyes narrowed.
"Oh I know how you want to be the one in control, woman, but I have only your best interests at heart." Patrick placed his hands on her shoulders placatingly, his killer grin in full view.
Seeing that grin, Teresa was on high alert and balanced her weight in the doorway preparing for him to try to slip through. He believed that his charm would crumble her objections – well not this time buddy!
Jane reassessed his entry. His grin almost always worked on Lisbon. What was going on? She was defending her home. He knew that she was a deeply private person, but he had been inside her home before. Intriguing. This tiny woman was a bundle of mystery lately.
Teresa was preparing for Jane's next move when her eyes alighted on Brad's from approaching the door. She smiled at him, her relief palpable.
Jane stood back to observe the two love birds. He had been right in his initial assessment. Brad was modestly good looking with a shock of brown wavy hair. He was probably in law enforcement of some kind with a well-toned body yet a softness about him that spoke of a lot of desk work. They were genuinely fond of each other and Jane couldn't help the touch of jealously that spiked through him as Lisbon casually reached up and kissed Brad's cheek tenderly in greeting. He hadn't really seen her be physically casual with anyone before. She was always so reserved.
"Ahm hm" Jane interjected making a show of watching the couple.
Drawing back quickly, shades of embarrassment and relief reflecting in her eyes, Teresa shot Jane a pointed look. "Brad Treacy, this is my consultant Patrick Jane"
"Ahh – the infamous Patrick Jane!" Brad said with a broad smile, preparing to shake hands.
"Infamous? Please." Jane said self depreciatingly. " I'm sure she hasn't shared that much about me. She certainly hasn't shared anything about you, but you look like a nice enough guy . . . in a pedestrian sort of way." Jane searched Brad's face, looking for nuisances. Assessing him as mostly harmless, he took pity on him and grasped his hand in a firm shake.
Lisbon moved closer to Brad and he could read that she was preparing to defend her new boyfriend as well as her home. His fierce little Lisbon was setting up for a battle. Brad on his part didn't seem to have taken offense to his statement.
"We were just about to eat," Brad indicated the Thai takeaway that he was holding in his other hand. "There is plenty to share if you would care to join us?"
"Why that is very generous of you Brad, sharing precious time with your . ." eyebrows raised, waiting for the descriptor that Brad would use for Lisbon.
"That won't be necessary as Jane was just leaving, weren't you Jane?" Teresa quickly interrupted with authority as she all but forced him from her doorstep effectively putting a stop to the fishing expedition that Jane was obviously on.
Jane argued with himself as to how far he wanted to push this tonight. It was late and he could just leave the content couple to their own devices or he could needle a little more and push this relationship to its limits. He could scuttle this where it was right now if he so choose.
Jane decided to leave it be, raising his hands to signal an armistice. Teresa relaxed slightly and her tone softened, "Good night Jane."
"Lisbon," he uttered with a nod, and then moving in closer to Brad he stated in a stage whisper "she is a lot more adventurous then you think, don't be scared to explore a few boundaries." He chuckled as he saw the shock, embarrassment and outrage battle for position on the faces in front of him and bid a hasty retreat.
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"So that was Jane huh?" Brad inhaled as he settled onto the couch.
"Yep" Teresa gazed at her folded hands, not quite ready to look Brad in the eyes.
"He is just like you described"
"Yep" she sighed.
"So . . . . those boundaries that he mentioned?" Brad left the question hanging, a cheeky grin plastered on his face, eyebrows waggling.
Teresa looked up with shock and seeing his face quickly grabbed a cushion and threw it laughingly.
"Ah Brad, thank you for being so good about this. I can't begin to thank you for what you are doing." Teresa reached over and gently squeezed his hand.
"It is no problem Teresa. We're friends, and friends help each other out." Brad added sincerely.
"If he wasn't so, so . . ." Teresa's eyes searched for words to describe her consultant.
"Perceptive? Annoying? Demanding?" Brad provided helpfully.
"Yes! All of the above and more! If it wasn't for Jane being Jane, I wouldn't be doing this right now." Teresa finished lamely, unable to express her motivations effectively.
"It's alright, Teresa, we are going to get the job done and when we are finished, no one is going to be able to deny that Red John is dead. So, what progress did you make tonight?" Brad was instantly all work as he turned his attention to the computer.
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Jane sat in his bed quietly reflecting on the day's events. His thoughts filled by a certain petite brunette and her new relationship. The tells and signals were all tangled. What was causing this inability to read her lately? Was it that he didn't want her to have a relationship? Were his own feelings preventing him from getting an accurate read? He couldn't afford to let his feelings cloud his judgement. He shouldn't have indulged himself earlier by going over to her place. He had other things that he should be focused on, after all Red John was still out there.