A/N: Great reviews, everyone! Thanks so much! Picking up the next morning in this extra-long chapter, then a continuation of the trip, with more of the promised car conversation, in which I try to fill in some blanks in Jane and Lisbon's past…

Chapter 4

Lisbon awoke for the second time that morning to the smell of strong coffee and something enticingly warm and sweet. Her eyes remained closed as she inhaled the ambrosia. She felt the mattress give a bit as Jane kneeled upon it to kiss her, and the scent of his familiar cologne suffused her senses.

"Good morning, my love," he whispered against her lips.

"Hmm."

He chuckled softly at her sleepy response, then dropped a kiss on her nose before standing and going to the balcony doors. He opened them to the fresh morning air, washed clean and fresh by the night's storm. The curtains billowed gently in the light breeze, and diffused sunlight bathed the room.

He brought her robe and laid it on the bed beside her.

"Get up and have the most incredible coffee in the world," he said.

She opened one eye. "You hate coffee; how would you know?"

"I don't hate coffee; I just prefer tea. And that stuff you police types mainline tastes like mud. This," he said taking the lid off one of the to-go cups he'd bought and inhaling dramatically—"is what coffee is supposed to taste like."

She sat up, drawn to the intensified scent. "It does smell incredible." She grabbed the robe and Jane paused to watch the show of her wrapping it round her naked body. She met his darkened eyes and blushed in shared memory of all they had done last night, not to mention how he'd awakened her the first time an hour before.

He led her to the small table on the balcony, placing the coffee in her hand and carrying his own, along with the small paper sack with the logo Café Beignet. She sat and took a tentative sip while he unpacked napkins and the contents of the bag.

"Wow? What is this?" This was her reaction to the coffee.

"You like it?"

"Yes…it's different. Very nice. And you know I don't usually take coffee with milk, but this is really good."

He sat and smugly sipped his own. "That's because its chicory and coffee—au lait."

"Chicory?" she looked down at the creamy brew. "Wow." She looked critically at the pastries liberally dusted with powdered sugar that he'd set on napkins.

"Square donuts?"

"Aw, but unlike any donut you have ever tasted. Beignets." She looked skeptical. Cops knew their donuts, cliché though it may sound. She picked it up. It was still warm. It melted beautifully in her mouth, leaving behind a white, powdery mustache.

"Mmmm," she said, closing her eyes and chewing.

Jane smiled. She'd made that same noise earlier, when he'd found just the right place with his tongue. Unable to resist, he leaned across the table and licked at a bit of sugar at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes flew open at his surprising proximity.

"Mmm," he echoed, "as delicious as I remember."

He sat back in his chair, his eyes sparkling at her flustered expression. Jane wondered if he'd ever get used to seeing her this way- hair all mussed, cheeks a delicate pink, her chest at the V of her robe still showing the red abrasions his two-day beard had left. She was more beautiful than he'd ever seen her, even as she fought a futile battle with the messy powdered sugar.

When they'd finished their first beignet, he fished out the others he'd bought, knowing how both of them had worked up quite an appetite. He smiled around a mouthful.

"What time is it?" she mused, sipping her coffee and looking out at the nearly empty street. A few shopkeepers were out, sweeping the sidewalk in front of their businesses, along with the occasional tourist, carrying familiar paper sacks of their own.

"It's almost eight," he said. He tensed, fully expecting a loud exclamation of annoyance, then a mad dash to get dressed and get on the road again.

"Hm," she said calmly, surprising him once more. "I suppose we should get ready to go soon."

"Probably," he said, though he leisurely sipped his coffee and enjoyed the fact that neither of them were making any moves to leave this spot. He reached a powdery hand over to hold hers. "But I'd be happy to stay here with you forever, stuffing ourselves on beignets and shrimp etouffee."

She smiled. "Sounds like heaven to me."

He raised an eyebrow. "So you like New Orleans after all, eh?"

"New Orleans is okay, if you discount the drunks and the freak storms and the strange smells. No…it's the hotels I like the most. Specifically, the hotel beds. Oh, and the showers. The showers are pretty nice too…"

With each word, Jane's eyes softened more, until by the end of her teasing speech she could see the love written there so plainly, it seized her breath, made her heart beat joyfully. Saying nothing, he set down his coffee, stood, and pulled her into his arms. He embraced her small body, made bulkier by the fluffy terrycloth robe.

"I can't believe this," he whispered in her hair. "That we are here, that you are mine."

"I know what you mean. I've dreamed of this so long, it still feels a little bit…overwhelming."

"Yes," he agreed, his voice breaking a little, amazed that she understood exactly what he meant.

It was surreal, but it was so incredibly right, so easy, it almost seemed like they'd been together this way forever. They'd both been in love before, and Jane had never thought he'd find someone he loved more than he had Angela. Part of admitting his feelings for Lisbon had been accepting that they weren't just in his lonely imagination, that he was allowed to love someone besides his wife.

His love for Lisbon was very different from what he'd felt for Angela. It was deeper, Jane could guiltlessly admit now. When he and Angela had fallen in love, it had been fast and incendiary, as love often was when you are kids. With Lisbon, it was something that had slowly simmered for years, had grown from friendship to a deep, abiding love, richer and more mature. Because he'd lost Angela, he appreciated Lisbon even more than he had his wife. Now that they'd confessed their true feelings, he wasn't about to waste any more time on regrets or allow any obstacles—self-imposed or otherwise—to come between them now.

As if reading his thoughts for a change, she hugged him more tightly.

"I love you," she said. "I don't want anything to mess this up—especially not ourselves."

He laughed softly, pulling back to look at her, to smooth back her charmingly messy hair.

"That is the danger, isn't it? Over-thinking things. We're both over-thinkers, aren't we?"

She grinned at the truth of it. "Yes. We have to decide that nothing is more important than us. If we are going to make this work, we have to promise not to hide what we're feeling and thinking from each other. It's not going to be easy—"

"Not at first, perhaps," he conceded. "But I'm up for it. I've waited twelve years for this. Trust me; you are my number one priority—nothing else even comes close."

It was true. Red John was gone. His ring was gone. He was free to make her his new obsession, and for the first time in a very long time, he could say it was a healthy one.

"Same here," she said, and it was true for her too.

Being let go from her position as team leader with the CBI had been heartbreaking and scary for a woman used to being in control. Now, with the FBI, she was no longer the boss, and it was surprisingly liberating. She neither wanted nor needed all the responsibility anymore. Her job used to be the most important thing in her life; she was happy to have Jane take that position now. She'd never felt free enough to let herself have this kind of a relationship before, but she was confident enough in her feelings—and in his—to embrace love fully and completely.

He reached for their coffee cups, putting hers back in her hand.

"To new priorities," he toasted, and she touched his cup in agreement.

"New priorities."

They each took a sip of their chicory coffee, and another kiss sealed the deal.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

There were still eight hours left until Austin, and the highway stretched out before them like a long, gray ribbon. For once, Lisbon gladly let Jane drive, and she settled into the passenger's seat armed with another cup of coffee.

"Okay, Lisbon. Tell me everything about yourself."

She rolled her eyes. "Jane, you already know everything about me. And what you don't know, you can probably deduce with your superhuman powers of observation."

He rolled his eyes. "After the past month of not reading you correctly, I think it's apparent you are the lone chink in my armor—my own personal Kryptonite," he said wryly.

She smiled, shaking her head at him. "Well that's flattering, I guess. What specifically do you want to know?"

"Hmm…tell me about all your former lovers."

"All? Gee, we only have eight hours until Austin…"

"Come on, Lisbon, I'm not implying you're a loose woman, not by any means—"

"Well, that's a relief."

"—but I think it's perfectly natural that I am a bit curious."

She sighed. "Okay, but only if you share your past with equal candor."

He raised an eyebrow. "You sure you really want to know about that?"

"Of course. It's only fair."

"Well, okay then, but don't say I didn't warn you. Now stop procrastinating and get on with it."

"Well, first there was Justin. That was first grade. He was so cute, with the biggest blue—"

"You can skip ahead just a little, Lisbon, as charming as Justin was, I'm sure. Why don't you start with Mr. Trans Am?"

She smirked. "That would be Ryan. I thought I was in love. I was seventeen and stupid, and he had a nice car, was captain of the football team. You can guess the rest."

"He dumped you for a cheerleader?"

"Exactly. I guess dating a band nerd was quite a blow to his reputation. I was devastated of course. I didn't go out again for a year, but that was partly because Dad died, and I had a few new responsibilities. Greg Tayback really stepped up and helped me out with my little brothers. Helped them with their hockey practices, and football. I don't think I could have gotten through that time without him."

"Ah," he said.

"What does that mean?"

"You felt beholden to him."

"Yes, but that wasn't the only attraction," she said, a little defensively. "He was blonde and beautiful and my first adult relationship. We dated through college. I was going to marry him, or so I said when I accepted his ring. But I left him and Chicago the day after graduation, went to the bus station and took the first bus that would take me the farthest away. By then, Tommy was old enough to take care of the other two, and I told him it was his turn. I arrived in California three days later, with a hundred bucks and only what I could carry in a duffle bag. I applied to the police academy, and the rest is history."

"Why did you leave him? He seemed like a good man." Both of them were painfully aware of how they'd described Pike in that exact way.

"Because I knew he wasn't the one," she replied. "Greg wanted me to be a housewife and mother—nothing wrong with that, of course, but it wasn't for me. I wanted to be a cop. Besides, I already felt like I'd raised a family with my little brothers, and I was anxious to be free to live my own life for a change."

"Greg must have been really torn up that you'd left him. I totally get that, Teresa. I almost lost you, and it was painful, let me tell you."

When they'd met Greg twenty years late, Jane could see that he'd still held a torch for her, poor sap. That could very easily have been him, he realized.

He glanced sidelong at her, reached over and touched her hand. "But I don't mean for you to feel guilty. You shouldn't stay with a man you don't really love. Seems to me he got what he wanted eventually."

"What I did to Greg was terrible. I tried to explain myself, but I knew he didn't really understand. I was a coward and I ran away, because I feared he would change my mind. I guess I pretty much did the same thing with Marcus."

"With Greg, you were young. With Marcus, well, he was pushing you into something you really weren't ready for with him. And besides, you loved someone else more."

She squeezed his hand. "True, on both counts, but that's no excuse. Thanks for trying to justify my horrendous behavior, but I'm going to have to find a way to forgive myself for needlessly hurting two wonderful men. I promise you, Jane, past is not prologue with me, not where you're concerned. I have no doubts about you or about us, not anymore."

"I'm glad to hear that. Not that it doesn't scare me a little," he teased. "Love 'em and leave 'em Lisbon."

"Oh, stop."

He grinned, happy that he really felt no doubts about her either. "You got out of order a bit, Lisbon. Who was after Greg?"

She blushed. "No one serious, I'm afraid. I became all about the career, going out with the occasional guy from another department, or there was the one I met in church. He seemed promising, but a little too devoted, if you want to know the truth."

Jane laughed. "Let me guess—he was strictly missionary position, in every sense of the word."

She had to laugh too, though it certainly wasn't funny at the time. "It took me six months to even get him in bed, and then I felt like I'd corrupted him or something. The guilt was terrible, but the sex was worse."

He grinned, and then a delicious thought occurred to him. "Don't tell me—you drove him into the priesthood."

"Oh, God," she said, her hands going to her face in embarrassment. "It's not funny."

Jane laughed until there were tears in his eyes, and he held onto the steering wheel with one had so he could wipe them.

"Shut up," she said, but she was smiling too. "And watch where you're going."

"Oh, Lisbon, that's a sad, sad tale indeed."

"The worst moment was when I saw him in church two years later," she added sheepishly. "I had to change parishes. I couldn't get over the fact I knew what the priest looked like under his cassock."

He chuckled. "You're not exactly the fairy tale ending type of girl, are you?"

"Well, not until now."

He lifted his hand to her cheek, tempted to pull over and kiss her. "Good to know…Okay, next? But how could you possibly top that?"

"I can't really. Things pretty well dried up after that. Occasional dates, nothing remotely serious. I'm ashamed to admit there were a couple of one-night-stands."

"A woman has needs too, Lisbon. Don't be ashamed."

"I am, a little. But by then I had met you, and somehow you seemed to take over every aspect of my life. No one I met outside of work could compare with you. No one stimulated me—"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Mentally," she clarified, "like you could. No one was as-well, as handsome as you, to risk boosting your already over-inflated ego. Every man paled by comparison. I knew I couldn't have you, and I was lonely sometimes, but I contented myself with seeing you every day, with working with you, with being your friend, with putting away the bad guys. It wasn't enough, but I convinced myself that it was. And until Marcus and now you, that pretty well covers my ill-fated love life."

He pondered her words, wishing he would have been in an emotional place to comfort her at the time. He'd known there was a mutual attraction between Lisbon and himself, and sometimes he'd flirted with her because he couldn't help himself. He knew she loved him, but he hadn't felt worthy of that love. He'd been pathetic and self-loathing and she'd deserved much better. He still thought that to some degree, but she had chosen him, and he was finished trying to second-guess her decisions.

"You forgot to mention one important little affair, which you attempted to hide from me, though I might add you were quite unsuccessful at it," he said. He'd been waiting for this particular confession, and was happy to call her on it now he finally had the chance.

"I don't know who you mean," she lied, staring straight out the front windshield.

He tsked softly. "Now, Lisbon. The truth will set you free, you know. And we are in fact in a moving vehicle…"

"Jane."

"Lisbon."

"All right, I admit it—I slept with Walter Mashburn. On a few occasions."

"A few?"

"Whenever he was in town that year. Then it sort of fizzled out. I wasn't terribly disappointed."

"I thought you were there that night I came to his hotel room in San Francisco. I smelled your perfume," he said. "I had no idea about the other times. Huh. You surprise me, Lisbon."

He had to admit that it hurt a little, even though he'd practically pushed her into the billionaire's arms. He'd liked Mashburn, found him mentally challenging and amusing. He was a total cad, but Jane certainly had no room to judge. He'd sensed their affinity for one another, and Mashburn had made no secret of his interest in Lisbon. Jane had encouraged it because he wanted Lisbon to have a little fun. He hadn't thought Mashburn would stay interested for long, but he'd underestimated Lisbon's charms, even with a confirmed playboy.

"You never said anything," she said, "I mean, about being there the first time."

"None of my business."

"Sort of like now," she pointed out.

"Hey, you agreed to play this game…"

"I didn't want to say anything at the time because you two were friends, in a weird sort of way. I thought it would be too…awkward."

"It would have been," Jane admitted. "I was already terribly jealous when I figured out you were with him that night."

"I'm sorry."

"Water under the bridge, Teresa. I'd like to think everyone we've been with has prepared us for each other. It's just interesting to finally be able to talk about this stuff."

"It's a way to get closer," she agreed. "To build trust."

"And sometimes we've needed a little help in that department, so this is good, right?"

"Right."

She smiled reassuringly, feeling like she'd just passed a major exam. Now, however, it was his turn to be tested. She hoped she could handle what he told her with as much understanding as he'd shown her.

"I suppose it's my turn now?"

"Yes. Have at it. From the top, just like me. Shall we start with Karen, Hollywood sign girl?"

"We could, but she was actually number two."

"Oh."

He chuckled at her surprise. Well, he thought, she was about to become downright shocked.

"Number one was a woman about ten years my senior. She was an acrobat in the carnival sideshow."

"Jane—that's child abuse!" she exclaimed, outraged for the young boy he used to be.

He shrugged. "Let's just say I lied about my age, and she didn't check my ID. And she was a fine teacher—very bendy."

"Sheesh," she said under her breath.

He grinned. "After her and Karen, I uh, sort of lost count. Sowed lots of wild oats, you could say. Until I met Angela, when I was about twenty. Her father bought out the carnival Dad and I were traveling with. It wasn't exactly love at first sight."

Lisbon sat very still, listening intently. He'd rarely spoken about his wife, and she was intrigued to hear anything he had to say about this mysterious paragon.

"But eventually we fell in love, shared a mutual dislike for our controlling fathers, and ran away together. The rest you know," he said, ending on that. Of course, she only knew the facts of their lives together; she still didn't know much about their actual relationship, except that he obviously had loved Angela and their daughter very much. She waited for more information, but it wasn't forthcoming. He was doling it out to her in small doses, she realized, probably more for his own comfort level than for hers. But she decided to be patient and not push him by asking questions; maybe he'd tell her more sometime.

"What about Sophie Miller? Did you and she ever-?"

"No. She was my doctor. I formed a certain…attachment to her, maybe a bit of a crush. But she was always very professional. And then she died because of me."

"She died because Red John murdered her," she said. "It wasn't your fault. Look, I'm sorry. We don't have to go on with this. Let's talk about something else."

Lisbon was starting to have serious doubts about turnabout being fair play with Jane, when it came to his past relationships. None of them seemed to have ended well.

"No, it's good for me to talk about this stuff. I should have trusted you more with my feelings over the years, but I wanted to spare you. And frankly, I was a bit ashamed of the way I handled some things."

"What about Kristina Frye? You seemed genuinely interested in her."

"I was, I suppose. She challenged me and infuriated me at the same time. I only went out with her because Madeline Hightower encouraged me."

"Hightower? Really?"

Jane grinned. "Yep. Good old Madeline. Always looking out for me."

"Wow. I had no idea. But you actually dated Kristina, didn't you? That was a big step for you."

"We went out once, Teresa. I wasn't ready. I nearly had a panic attack at the restaurant, I was so unready."

"I'm sorry, Jane," she said, meaning it.

"Nothing to be sorry about, Lisbon, except that her involvement with me, no matter how brief, led to her mental incapacitation at Red John's hands. You can see why I was a bit hesitant to allow myself to get close to anyone, especially not to you, Teresa."

"It's understandable, Jane. I should have realized why you took so long to tell me your true feelings. I'm sorry I was so tough on you about it."

"Thanks, but I was definitely being a coward where you were concerned, no excuses. I haven't loved any other woman after Angela, except you. I'm glad you gave me a chance, or I don't know what I might have done."

"You mean, something more stupid than boarding a plane illegally?"

He nodded solemnly, and she knew he wasn't joking. His eyes found hers and held them for a weighted moment, and she saw in them the fear and panic he must have felt when she'd left him for the airport. In hindsight, she shouldn't have been surprised he'd risked getting arrested or possibly even death to get to her, but she'd been so angry and hurt, she hadn't been thinking at all beyond getting the hell away from him. And what might he have done if he hadn't mustered the nerve to chase after her? He might have disappeared once more, this time for good. She felt a chill at the very thought of it.

"None of that is important now," she said. "None of my former lovers, none of yours since your wife…it's just us now. It was only the two of us in that bed last night—"

"And this morning," he added, some of his usual humor returning.

She blushed. "Yes. We seriously don't need to talk about anyone else anymore."

"Scared?" he asked, a challenge in his voice.

"Yes," she admitted.

Lisbon thought of the two other women he was involved with that they hadn't talked about yet, and she definitely wasn't looking forward to the rest of this awkward stroll down Memory Lane. He'd warned her, after all.

"Well, I'm sure you know who's next, Lisbon. Shall we continue?"

She took a deep breath. "If you insist."

"I do. Now…Erica Flynn…" Her tension became palpable in the small car, and he grinned.

"Oh, I definitely have some questions about her," she said in annoyance.

"I'm sure you do."

And so she asked him straight out. "Did you sleep with her?"

"No. She kissed me though—a couple of times."

"She turned you on, didn't she?"

He let out a bark of surprised laughter. "She was a looker. Very sexy. A very devious mind, too, which I'm ashamed to admit has always been a turn-on for me."

"I got that," she said coldly.

"I wouldn't have slept with her, Teresa," he said seriously. "She was responsible for the murder of her husband. I don't much care for cold-hearted bitches."

"But you were tempted none the less."

"I'd be lying if I denied it. But I didn't initiate anything with her. I was trying to get into her head, not in her bed." He laughed a little at his unintended rhyme. Lisbon didn't join in.

"Tell me the truth now, once and for all. Did you help her escape?"

He sighed. "Once and for all, Teresa, I didn't help her. I admit to being impressed that she'd fooled me, but no, I had nothing to do with her escape. She actually called me later to taunt me about it."

"You should have told me about that, Jane. We might have been able to trace her call."

He shook his head. "Doubtful. I'm sure it was somewhere tropical and expensive, and she's changed her name and hooked up with some foreign sugar daddy or two. You could probably find her now by looking up unexplained deaths of wealthy men in the Caribbean, or maybe the Mediterranean. A real black widow, that dame."

Lisbon rolled her eyes. "Well, I have no desire to look for her. Good riddance."

"You were really jealous of Erica, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was, and sounds like with good reason. But mostly I was worried about her corrupting you, or worse."

He grinned. "Nice to know you cared."

"Hmph," she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

They were quiet a moment. "I suppose now we must talk about Lorelei."

"No, we mustn't," she said coolly.

"I admit this will be very difficult to discuss with you, Teresa. I did some things that I'm definitely not proud of. I lied to you. But this just shows how desperate and obsessed I'd been to get Red John. I literally would have done anything to get to him, even sleep with the enemy. And I went into it knowing all along she was working for Red John. But I'd be lying though if I said I wouldn't have done it all again."

"I know," she said softly. "But this one hurt, Jane, more than I'd like to admit. I thought you had fallen in love with her, that your judgment had been impaired. It frightened me, the lengths you were willing to go to. Above everything, I feared she'd literally be the death of you."

"And she almost was, on a couple of occasions. But at the risk of stirring up old anger and resentments, I'd like to come clean on a few things."

"All right," she said, in resignation. He glanced at her, hating seeing the worry and doubt in her eyes.

"First of all, I never loved her. I admit I was physically attracted, maybe felt a bit of empathy with her when I found out what Red John had done to her sister. But I only slept with her once, and that was just to convince Red John I was totally beaten down and ready to come over to the dark side. And she didn't kidnap me later, Lisbon. Brett Stiles owed me a favor and broke her out of jail for me. I set up the whole ruse to fool the cops—unfortunately that meant fooling you too, and for that I am sorry."

She hadn't known Stiles had been in on it. She was surprised by that, though not surprised at the extent of the cult leader's power and influence.

"I figured out what you'd done with the kidnapping, Jane, later. And I hated you for it. Hated that you could lie again, that you would let me think you were really in danger—"

"Well, technically I was. She kicked the hell out of me when she figured out I'd lied to her too, and she could have contacted Red John anytime, turned me over to him on a silver platter. But your anger and betrayal are perfectly justified."

"And you let her escape from the cabin, too, didn't you?"

"Yes. And I uh—crashed the car into that tree on purpose."

"Dear God, Jane, you could have killed yourself. Why didn't you just have her tie you up or something?"

He shook his head. "It had to be beyond reproach. No one would have believed in a million years that even I would have done that much damage to myself on her behalf."

"I would have believed it," she said. "I actually suspected."

He smiled without humor. "I thought you did. And later, any feelings of pity or empathy I might have had for her were gone when she betrayed me in the end, wouldn't tell me Red John's real name, wanted to go after him without me, after all I'd done to help her. I underestimated her desire for revenge—a huge mistake on my part."

"Yes. And she paid the ultimate price too, didn't she?"

"Well deserved. She was an even bigger murderer than I am," he said dryly. " I guess her story should have been a cautionary tale for me, but I couldn't let it go—couldn't let Red John go. I had to end this on my terms. I'm not the least bit sorry I killed him, Lisbon, although two years apart was my own price to pay."

"Which I paid too, I might add. But that too, is over. I'm glad you told me the truth finally, as painful as it was to hear. But I'd already forgiven you for everything I'd known, and for even stuff I hadn't known for sure. I imagine it feels good to get it all off your chest."

His smile was genuine now. "It is, and I'm grateful for your forgiving spirit, more than you know. Soon, we'll be able to say we have no secrets between us, Teresa. I'm looking forward to starting afresh with you."

"Me too." She let out a relieved breath. "Is that all of your former lovers now? Because, to tell you the truth, I'm not sure I can take much more of this fun car game." Before he could reply, a disturbing thought occurred to her. She frowned. "I suppose there are those two years on the island unaccounted for…"

"Yes, that's true," he said, his tone becoming heavy with dread. "I suppose this is what I've feared telling you about the most—even more than talking about Lorelei. I'm afraid I sort of went crazy for awhile on that island. A different native girl every night-I guess it was being totally free for the first time in ten years. I did things I'd never done before. Orgies. Bondage. Strange island mating rituals…I even wore a sarong…"

Her eyes had gone wide with shock, and then she saw the twinkle in his eye as he glanced over to see her reaction. She punched him in the arm, hard.

"You pig!"

He laughed, his left hand gingerly rubbing his injury, while his right stayed precariously on the wheel. The car swerved dangerously.

"Ow! What do you want to do, cause an accident?"

But he continued to smile while she fumed a few minutes more.

"That was mean," she said finally.

"I'll say. I'll have a bruise the size of an island coconut."

"Shut up. You deserved it."

They were quiet a few minutes, and then he saw Lisbon grinning secretly to herself behind her hand. She never could resist his charming sense of humor.

"Honestly, Lisbon, on the island I lived even more like a monk than I had been in California. I walked for hours on the beach every day, mainly thinking about you. Missing you. But you read all that in the letters I sent. Sometimes being without you was unbearable, and you don't know how many times I contemplated calling you, or even hopping on the next flight to Washington. But Sam and Pete had told me you were settled into a good job, starting a new life. I didn't want to mess things up for you again."

"The letters helped," she said. "I've kept them all, read them countless times. But I can't tell you how many times I thought of holding a gun to Pete's head and forcing him to tell me exactly where you were. I had dreams of joining you there, of staying with you, even if it meant I'd become a fugitive too."

"You would have hated it, after awhile. Resented the life you'd given up. You were meant to be a cop, Lisbon. You were lucky you could remain one, after all that you did to help me."

"You're probably right. I really hate the beach."

He smiled. "See. It all worked out for the best."

"Eventually."

"Good things come to those who wait, etcetera, etcetera."

She put her hand on his cheek. "And we've waited far too long, don't you think?"

He kissed her hand, then held it gently across the console.

"Most definitely," he said softly. "And, speaking of waiting, I really need to make a pit stop. I'm not used to drinking coffee in the morning."

She chuckled. "You and your wimpy tea. Why, I can hold out through an entire pot of coffee without going."

He put on his blinker for the next exit. "That's an impressive skill you have there, Lisbon. Sorry if I'm going to bow out gracefully from that particular road game."

"Wimp," she taunted again.

"If the bladder fits…"

"Okay, but after we stop, it's my turn to drive," she countered.

"I've only been driving for two hours, Lisbon. Can't you reign in your control freakery for a few more miles?"

"Control freakery? Need I remind you that we don't have to travel at light speed to make it to Austin in good time. It won't do anyone any good if we don't arrive in one piece. You still are the worst driver…"

And their old, good-natured argument continued, both of them finding an odd kind of comfort in their familiar banter.

A/N: Almost there! One more chapter and they'll have reached Austin. Hope you've enjoyed the journey so far. I'd love for you to review, and please log in if you do. I can't reply to your questions personally if you don't log in. Thanks as always for reading!

And please check out waterbaby134's wonderful epilogue to our collaborative fic, "Eyes Like the Sea." You can find it listed under her name. Or, if you haven't read it yet, it's now complete, so have fun with it—we did :).