Thanks so much to JLluv (oh, yeah…there is promise),Bouncerok, xanderseye (me…cruel? Pshaw;),Jisbon4ever (more banter in this chappie, too), LittleMender (hell, I embarrass myself on a daily basis), kittylizz (I do enjoy giving Jane an excuse to be happy), Ella Beau, AngelDiabolique, hammancheese (*blushes* thnx)
Oh…and I'm sure many of you recognized my inspiration for Lisbon's little voyeuristic moment in Malibu…just google images Simon Baker + beach…ok, yeah…then come back and read the new chapter.
Chapter 10 will certainly crank up the flirtation quotient…a little reality check at the end, but hey…what can you do?
Enjoy…
Ch 10
Teresa Lisbon was right about at least one thing so far—a soaked diaper and hungry tummy did not allow Patrick Jane's commandeering of her bed to continue any longer that morning.
In fact, at the first sign of a fussy Lily, Uncle Patrick was up like a shot, immediately remedying the problem of said diaper as Auntie Teresa threw on a jersey and shorts before running downstairs to pour Lily's juice and boil the kettle for her coffee and Jane's tea.
After throwing a load of clothes in the washer, filling the French press with grounds, pouring a practiced amount of milk in Jane's teacup and plucking a teabag from the box, Lisbon heard the lilting giggle of Lily Anne and the engaging storytelling of her now-official roommate as they headed downstairs.
She smiled at the ridiculous addendums Jane was making to the tale he was currently spinning, and couldn't suppress a chuckle when poor Goldilocks was arrested for breaking and entering, though she did turn around and file suit for injuries sustained while sitting in a poorly maintained wooden chair. Of course the inventive showman had to keep himself entertained as well as the baby.
Teresa knew that they both were guilty of going a little overboard in tending to Lily. Trying to keep her mind off her missing parents was a constant endeavor. She was proud of Jane's efforts to step into the role of 'dad' once again. As painful as the effort might be, he kept up his enthusiasm and responsiveness. Teresa hoped that those pangs of regret might eventually fade a little, allowing Jane to enjoy his second chance at having a family.
Lisbon did notice that her need to chastise her usually unruly consultant was markedly lessened by Lily's presence… well, except for the obscure allusion to having seen her naked…and the flirty hand on her ass this morning. Yeah…she knew she hadn't just dreamed all of that. Speaking of dreams—damn if she wished she hadn't woken up so early. "Just before I got to the good part," Teresa sighed.
Lisbon was certain that Jane wouldn't let something like her dreaming about him drop, and figured that with Patrick Jane the best defense was a good offense.
Dunking his teabag the prescribed number of times before disposing of it in the trash, Teresa smiled to herself when she caught sight of the pair, immediately knowing exactly how to get a little of her own back after this morning's humiliation.
"And what would my beautiful girls like for breakfast this morning?" The chipper blonde queried, Lily beginning to wiggle her way down as she saw the golden juice filling her lidded cup.
"Mama jus…jus…Daddy down…," both adults sighed, knowing it was pointless to correct the toddler.
"There you go, baby girl. Why don't you go find your toys?" Lisbon suggested, the little girl sucking heartily at the juice cup as she ran to seek her favorite playthings.
Jane spied his steaming teacup, and with a quick, 'Thank you m'dear' took a satisfying sip before continuing on with his line of questioning and poking through the contents of the refrigerator and cabinets.
"We could have waffles…or omelets, of course Lily would prefer hers just scrambled, of course…or maybe…."
"Um…Jane?"
"Yes, Lisbon?"
Teresa had to fight the smile that arose at Jane's apparent obliviousness—for a man who spent most of his day in a three-piece-suit, he seemed keenly unaware that he was standing in the kitchen, planning the breakfast menu, dressed solely in his boxers, which as the morning sun shone through the kitchen window, seemed to reveal things quite nicely.
"You might want to think about getting dressed before cooking breakfast—unfortunate places to get burned, and all that," Lisbon warned with a sly grin, taking pleasure in watching Jane first blanch and then blush at the oversight.
"Oh…right…sorry about that," Jane's eyes darted away from Teresa's, looking for something to cover himself with, but finding nothing to put to good use.
With a renewed sense of confidence, Lisbon sidled up to the normally unflappable man, took the half-filled cup from his frozen hands, and patting him condescendingly on the chest suggested, "And why don't you go ahead and take your shower while you're upstairs—you smell a little like baby—and not in a good way," Lisbon wrinkled her nose and coolly walked to the sink.
"Ah, you wound me, woman," Jane groaned playfully, finally catching on to Lisbon's antics.
For her part, Teresa could only chuckle at his theatrics.
Deciding that Lisbon was probably right, and a shower was in order, Patrick scanned the room for his things.
"Do you know where my gym bag might be?" he inquired.
"Stowed away in the closet," Teresa declared pointedly, then rolled her eyes and relented, "I put your boxers, tees and socks in the top right hand drawer of the dresser, sweats in the drawer below that, and your jeans and shirts are hanging in the closet. We'll have Rigsby and Grace drop off your suits at the cleaners when they stop in at lunch."
Jane's words may have come out with a hint of teasing, but their meaning was sincere. Unashamedly he strode up to Teresa Lisbon who was standing with her back against the kitchen sink.
"Awww…you gave me a drawer?"he snaked his arms around Lisbon's petite body, holding her close despite his lack of clothing.
"Two, in fact," she quipped returning the impromptu embrace. "And a bit of closet space, but don't hog it!" her green eyes flashed in playful warning.
She studied Jane's face as his expression grew tender and touched.
"Thank you, Teresa," Patrick replied sincerely and bent to give her a tender and simple kiss.
"You're welcome," Lisbon responded with a smile, "Now hurry up with that shower—we girls are getting hungry for a Patrick Jane breakfast."
The nearly naked blonde grinned and then turned to head back upstairs, but not before a slightly wicked Teresa Lisbon yanked playfully on the back of Jane's boxers, allowing her a quick peek at his nicely-shaped backside.
"Lisbon!" Jane turned back in mocking shock at her actions.
Lisbon flashed a mischievous smile that only be rivaled by Patrick Jane himself, giving Jane a little food for thought as he made his way to the shower, "Just wanted to make sure it was as cute as I remembered…"
ooooo
After spending a few extra minutes in the shower, shall we say, getting a 'handle' on several of his more vivid fantasies before exiting the bathroom, Patrick Jane resumed his regular morning routine before donning his rarely worn jeans and faded blue tee bought in some random tourist trap where his culprit-nabbing antics left him with his suit soiled so badly that Lisbon made him change before she would let him ride in the SUV.
Jane also knew that parenthood and fine Italian silk didn't work well together, either.
Jogging down the stairs with curls still slightly damp from the shower, Jane met Lisbon in the kitchen, holding his palms up and arms out, mockingly trying to win her approval.
"Is this ok?" he inquired, since she had earlier sent him upstairs clad only in his boxer shorts.
"Fine," Lisbon chirped cheerily, but with a twinkle in her eye that gave way to her next teasing chastisement—
"Took you long enough, though," she raised her eyebrows in playful suspicion.
"I do like to indulge in a nice, long shower when I can, Lisbon," Jane spoke in low, sultry tones as he sidled up beside her at the refrigerator, waiting for the flush to rise to her cheeks before adding, "If you're concerned, I can think of a few interesting water-saving tips for us to try."
"How about we make breakfast now—save the environment later," Teresa snarked, mentally chastising herself for encouraging this flirtatious battle of wills with Patrick Jane. Had experience really taught her so little?
His bright eyes glittered happily as he chuckled, Teresa Lisbon shoving a carton of eggs at his waist in her begrudging defeat.
ooooo
Jane quickly scrambled an egg for Lily which she ate, primarily with her hands, in her high chair, finishing it quickly before requesting her 'O's,' which Teresa sprinkled from the bright yellow box onto the toddler's tray.
Just as Lily finished with her breakfast and Lisbon cleaned her up and unlatched the tray, so she could resume her morning explorations, Jane, in his typical grand style, put the finishing touches on a massive omelet, serving it up on a single plate and plucking a lonely fork from the drawer.
Lisbon's face drew to a childish pout at first, thinking that Jane's teasing had gone too far in forgoing making her breakfast, but that thought was quickly banished as he grabbed her hand, took a seat in the corner of the couch and pulled Lisbon into his lap.
"What are we doing?" Lisbon inquired, feigning annoyance.
"We are having breakfast, m'dear," the enthusiastic blonde replied succinctly.
"So…I couldn't have my own plate?"
"Nonsense—no need, we'll share."
"We could just cut it in two, half on my plate, half on yours?" Lisbon pointed out, knowing it was a fruitless endeavor.
"Pfft—I've seen you eat, woman. You can scarf down a gourmet meal in five minutes flat."
"It's part of the job—eating on the go. Not exactly my fault," Lisbon defended, though not moving from Jane's lap, either.
"Yes, well, no work for us today, so here…," Jane cut a bite with the side of his fork and fed a bite to the petite brunette perched on his thighs.
Teresa was surprised at the intrusive movement, but quickly changed her mind as the delectable taste of the concoction hit her taste buds, eyes closing as a gratified groan escaped her closed lips.
"Mmm—what is that?" she looked at Jane, rather astounded.
"Four cheeses, cream, six eggs, prosciutto, shitake mushrooms and a sprinkle of rosemary," Jane grinned before sampling a bite himself.
"I didn't even know that stuff was in the refrigerator," Teresa exclaimed, before opening her mouth expectantly for another bite.
Jane just chuckled as he slid the cool fork slowly against Teresa's bottom lip and was rewarded with a nearly orgasmic moan as she ate.
It was then that Patrick Jane realized that his plan had backfired.
And so did Teresa Lisbon.
Chuckling uncontrollably, Teresa wiggled around on Jane's lap all the more, pestering him for yet another bite.
"More, please," she bounced around like coy schoolgirl, complicating Jane's dilemma even further.
Jane could only sit still, breathing slowly as he tried to will the tightening in his jeans to abate.
"Here, I'll take that," Teresa swiped the plate from his frozen hand.
"Open wide," Teresa did her best 'naughty nurse' impression, complete with breathy delivery and shimmy of her chest to boot, as she fed Jane.
"You're killin' me here, Teresa," Jane mumbled, sufficiently subdued.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Teresa chided with a chuckle.
Under his breath, Patrick Jane mumbled something that sounded vaguely like, "I'll show you mouth full," which only earned him a smack on the chest from Lisbon.
"Be good—here comes Lily," she directed, trying to suppress a grin.
"Mama—no 'pank," a very cross Lily insisted, then reinforced her point with a tiny open palm coming down against Lisbon's bare thigh.
Both Jane and Lisbon were unsuccessfully fighting bouts of laughter when the petite brunette insisted—
"But Daddy was naughty," she accused playfully.
"No 'pank!"the tiny blonde insisted.
"Yeah, Mama, no 'pank," Jane chuckled then whispered into Teresa's ear, "Well, maybe later," he teased as he patted her hip surreptitiously.
Lisbon retaliated by pinching his side that remained hidden from view.
"Ow!" Jane feigned hurt, his face contracting in theatrical pain.
"Mama kiss!" Lily insisted as recompense for Jane's supposed suffering.
"Yeah, Mama, kiss," Jane presented his cheek to the brunette on his lap, but of course, turned to face her just as her eyes closed and lips puckered. After the initial surprise, Lisbon gave into Jane's kiss as he threaded his fingers through her hair to pull her in close.
"Mama, up!" was the order that brought the pair back to the present.
"And here I thought you were trying to help me out, kiddo," Jane teased as Lisbon leaned forward to pull Lily up onto the couch with them, Jane grabbing at the back of Lisbon's shorts to supposedly steady her descent, earning him a suspicious look from the senior agent.
From her new vantage point, Lily spied the plate that had been parked on the coffee table.
"Bie, bie," she insisted, reaching out to the plate and curling her fingers toward her.
"You want to try some of ours, baby girl?" Teresa encouraged, cutting off a piece of the remaining omelet.
"See, we have a true little gourmand in our midst," Jane declared proudly as Lily's little mouth opened to receive the bite.
The toddler chewed for a minute with a scrunched nose, and upon hitting an unfortunately placed piece of rosemary, promptly spit the slobbery mixture back onto the plate.
"Ah, well, no accounting for taste," Jane sighed as Teresa sat the plate back down on the coffee table.
"We tried," Lisbon consoled as she gathered up Lily in her arms, all three of them a happy, playful pile on the sofa.
That was—until a knock came to the front door.
"Mama?...Daddy?..." Lily called, her little hand reaching out toward the front door.
Both Lisbon and Jane's faces fell at the toddler's query, wondering how long it would be before Lily just gave up hope and stopped asking.
"Boss-it's Van pelt and Rigsby," Grace announced through the door.
With a sympathetic kiss to Jane's forehead, Lisbon smiled sadly as she handed off Lily and went to answer the door.
