Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! Writing this is what's getting me through the hiatus so it's nice to know other people are enjoying my therapy. :) And to the guest reviewer who asked me if I really think it's Volker: I think he makes a great, plausible suspect, which is why so many of us have fixed on him in our stories. But I don't mind admitting that I hope to be surprised by the show. I was shocked by Red John's identity, so it wouldn't be the first time!

Chapter 7

It took some time to arrange their travel, since they were mindful of the possibility of attack. Cho napped on Jane's couch while Lisbon reviewed the case file and Fischer caught up on paperwork. Jane decided to look at the security footage from the data center, since an inside job seemed likely. Fortunately Cho's computer was available, and Wiley helped him get started.

When he looked up to rest his eyes and saw Lisbon's empty seat, he realized she'd been gone longer than getting a refill in the break room warranted. He also realized his tea was cold, so he got up and headed in that direction. Pausing outside the door when he heard Lisbon's voice, he soon realized what was taking her so long.

"Marcus," she said softly, her voice tinged with exasperation. Jane had heard her say his own name like that a hundred times, but never anyone else's, and he found he didn't like it.

"I know, I know," Marcus said. "You're with Jane now. I get it. I'm just saying, if he screws up, I'll be here."

"I don't want you to put your life on hold. You're a great guy. You deserve to find someone else. Someone who can love you with all her heart."

"I don't want someone else. Look, I know you feel like you have to give this a try. You have all that history together. But from what I can see, Jane's not long-term material. Sooner or later you'll be ready to move on, and I'll be here when you do."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Lisbon said, her snark tempered with humor.

"You're a strong, intelligent woman, Teresa. He's controlling and manipulative, and I think one day you'll wake up and wonder, 'What am I doing with this guy?' When that happens, give me a call. Meanwhile, I just want you to remember that I care about you, and I'm here for you. I hope we can at least be friends."

"Of course," Lisbon said warmly.

Jane would have applauded Marcus' approach if he weren't so annoyed by it. To make matters worse, Marcus seemed to really mean what he was saying, so this wasn't just a calculated move. Why couldn't he be a cad? That would have made things so much easier, Jane reflected. But no, Marcus was a nice guy who cared about Lisbon, so it was high time Jane interrupted this conversation before things got confused again.

He rounded the corner into the doorway in time to see Marcus lean in for a kiss. Lisbon turned her head so he caught her cheek instead of her lips, but she ruined Jane's moment of satisfaction by planting a kiss on Marcus' cheek too.

"Am I interrupting?" Jane inquired innocently, heading for the electric kettle he'd installed and filling it with water.

"No," Marcus said. He left the room calmly without further comment. Jane reluctantly admired his cool.

Lisbon looked defiant, her cheeks rosy with guilt. "How long were you listening?" she demanded.

"Oh, I just came in for the last act," Jane said breezily. "Nicely done. I suppose I can't blame you for keeping him in reserve, given how often I've disappointed you in the past. But I can't say I enjoyed seeing you kiss him."

"On the cheek, Jane," she snapped. "Like friends do."

"Oh? I wonder what other Texan customs I've overlooked? You should have told me sooner, Lisbon," he said, pouring the water into his teacup and dunking his tea bag. "I fear I've come across as unfriendly. I shall have to remedy that."

Fischer happened to walk into the room then, apparently in search of more coffee. As she poured some into her mug, Jane asked, "Any word on our departure?"

"Working on it. There's a flight at one; we're getting permission to bypass the security checkpoint," she replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Me? Oh, I'm fine. Thanks for asking. How are you? Slept well, I trust?"

"Uh, yeah," Fischer said, looking wary.

"Good, good." Jane planted a kiss on her cheek and left the room with his teacup in hand, not glancing back to see Fischer's befuddlement.

He did, however, hear her ask Lisbon, "What was that?"

Jane paused long enough to hear Lisbon say in an annoyed tone, "Just ignore him."

He reclaimed Cho's desk, grimacing at how uncomfortable the chair was. Starting the video back up, he sipped his tea, managing not to spill it when Lisbon smacked him on the shoulder.

"You're such a child," she hissed.

"Merely making a point," he replied.

She rolled her eyes and took a seat at her desk, opening the case file again. Jane watched the video long enough to finish his tea, rewound it to confirm his observations, then made a decision. Getting up, he went over to Lisbon's desk and made himself comfortable in her guest chair. He very much missed the days when they could seek refuge in the privacy of her office and wondered how long it would take her to rise to a level the FBI deemed worthy of one. It was, he felt, inevitable. At least in any rational world.

"I'm contemplating a change of plan," he announced.

"Oh?" She glanced at him.

"Yes. I've decided to die here, now that there's no need to go to Arkansas."

"You've solved the case? Already?"

"I have indeed." He smiled, not bothering to hide his smugness.

Lisbon gave him a skeptical look. "Without even leaving the building."

"Yes."

"Or reading the case file."

"Meh." He waved a hand dismissively. "Since when do I read case files? I have you for that."

"Right." She folded her arms. "Who did it?"

"The janitor."

Lisbon flipped through the file. "The janitor? The one person on the video with absolutely no training or expertise in computer hardware?"

"Precisely. Wiley," Jane called.

"Yeah?" Wiley looked nervous, as if worried he was being set up as the butt of a joke.

"How much expertise does it take to pull a server hard drive and replace it?"

"Well, it depends on the server and the configuration. In a RAID array, it's—"

Jane cut him off. "It's something you could teach anyone to do? Me, perhaps?"

"Uh, well, yeah, if you wanted to learn," Wiley said, looking confused.

"Of course," Jane said, looking at Lisbon again, "it's not the janitor we need to be interested in, but the person who recruited him for this scheme. You should look for a new pattern in the janitor's life."

Fischer approached, obviously spotting the signs that they were onto something. "No need to go to Arkansas," Jane announced. "All the local field office has to do is find the person who trained and paid the janitor to swap out the hard drives."

While Fischer gaped, Lisbon demanded, "Since when are you such a computer expert?"

"If you'll recall, the desk closest to my couch at the dear old CBI was Grace's. I was bound to pick a few things up from listening to her all day." Jane allowed himself to sound nostalgic, because he was.

Lisbon looked wistful for a moment, until Fischer said incredulously, "The janitor? How did he get the drives out past the security check?"

"He threw them away, of course, safely encased in plastic, I assume. Doubtless the conspiracy included one or more employees of the trash service."

"A conspiracy," Fischer said, a little less dubiously.

"Yes. This was too complex for one individual to pull off by himself. Or herself. Yes, I'd look for a woman. It has a devious subtlety to it, distinctly feminine."

Now both Fischer and Lisbon were glaring at him. Jane decided it was time to change the subject. "And now that I've taken care of that, we can discuss my final arrangements. I'm thinking a sniper during my lunch break."

"Too likely to cause panic," Fischer said. "Mugging gone wrong gets my vote."

Jane gave her a pained look. "My brilliant career cut short by an ordinary mugger? How...pedestrian."

"We won't put it on your tombstone," Fischer joked dryly.

Lisbon glanced down, a crease forming between her eyebrows. Jane replied, "Oh, this won't go on long enough to get a tombstone. Where would you like to kill me off, Agent Fischer? The taco truck? The deli on the corner? Not my diner, please. I want to be able to go back there."

"I'll check with Abbott," Fischer said, moving off.

Jane reached across the desk to tap Lisbon's folded hands with a finger. "Hey."

"What?" She looked up at him, having regained her poker face.

"I don't really care what happens to my body after I die," he said softly. "You know I don't believe in an afterlife. I just think it would look natural for you to bury me with my family, given that we haven't been together long."

"Of course. We don't need to talk about this, Jane," she said, her eyes on the case file she'd already read twice.

"But I want to. In case you have to decide for real someday. Right now, when we're not an established couple, I want to be buried with my family. I want you to go on with your life and leave me in your past. But five or ten or forty years from now, I want to be buried wherever you find it easiest. Or just cremate me and put me on the mantle. Whatever will comfort you while you're grieving." He covered her hand with his. "I want to be buried with my wife. But I'd like it to be my second wife."

She blinked at him, eyes wide. "Jane," she said in a strained whisper. "We've been together two days. You can't—"

"We've been together far longer than that, Lisbon, but relax. This isn't a proposal. More a declaration of intent." He kept his tone light but let her see in his eyes how serious he was.

She held his gaze for a long moment before breaking it. "Brave words for a dead man," she said finally.

He grinned.

mmm

Things went exactly according to plan, for once, Jane reflected as he lay on the sidewalk covered in fake blood from a supposed stabbing, eyes closed. There was a lot of screaming, even though he could hear that Fischer and Cho had cuffed the agent from another office they'd recruited to play the mugger, since he was in town for an unrelated matter.

Lisbon was kneeling beside him, searching for a pulse. He could feel her hands shaking a little as she touched him and mentally applauded her dedication to the illusion. Of course, it helped that he must look pretty bad.

"Jane. Jane!" Her voice was shaking too. "Can you hear me? Jane, please, answer me!"

Cho must have come over to help. "Ambulance is on its way. How is he?"

"I can't—" Lisbon's voice broke.

Cho's fingers dug into the side of Jane's neck. "Damn."

"No," Lisbon moaned. Then she laid her bloody hands on his chest and let out a gasping sob.

Jane's entire body wanted to twitch with the imperative to comfort her. Keeping still took every ounce of willpower he could muster. The downside to this plan began to occur to him as Lisbon collapsed on his chest, weeping piteously. "Don't leave me," she pleaded. "You promised! You promised me, Jane!"

She was doing this to punish him for kissing Kim, he decided. Of course she would choose now to discover her acting ability. Did she not realize she was making it extremely difficult for him to breathe imperceptibly?

Jane stifled a sigh of relief as her weight lifted from him. He guessed that Cho had pulled her off him and decided to extend his friend's couch privileges indefinitely.

He'd never heard Lisbon really cry before, but this sounded painfully authentic. If Volker's hit man was nearby, he'd have quite a report to give his boss. Hell, he was probably shooting a video of it on his phone.

Jane wished he'd been able to score a paralytic drug, because it was taking all his willpower not to give Lisbon a sign he was fine. He had never really analyzed how deeply her emotions affected him, but apparently the effect was strong enough to subvert his normally implacable determination to achieve his goal.

He was relieved when the ambulance arrived and he was loaded into it, though Lisbon's tearful protests that she wanted to go with him were heart-rending. Cho must have thought so too, because a moment later she was in the ambulance with him, pulling the door closed behind her.

"Nicely done," Jane murmured as he opened his eyes. Then he blinked.

He'd seen Lisbon hurt, sick, and shell-shocked and covered in blood in the aftermath of Bosco's shooting, but he'd never seen her like this. Her eyes were red and puffy, there was snot dripping out of her nose, and one whole side of her face was covered in fake blood except where her tears had washed it away. It was matting her lovely hair on that side of her head, too. And the look in her eyes was one of utter desolation.

"Teresa," he breathed, trying to sit up. He was belted to the stretcher, though, so he had to settle for laying a hand on her cheek.

She managed a smile for him. "I'm okay. You look like hell."

"Pretty good for a dead guy," the EMT, who of course had been briefed by Fischer, grinned. "I have some wipes if you want to clean up, ma'am."

"No, thanks," she said, never taking her eyes off Jane. "I need to look like a mess to pull things off at the hospital. Abbott's tipping off the press in case the hit man wasn't there for the mugging."

Jane offered, "I can lie still and not talk if it'll help you stay in character."

"Ha, ha. I take it you have notes, as usual?"

"No. You sounded extremely convincing. I was touched," he admitted.

"See? I can keep a secret," she said triumphantly. "All that lying to Abbott about hearing from you was good practice."

He didn't have the heart to tell her that he suspected Abbott had seen right through her and surveilled her, leading to discovery of his letters. He'd always known it was a possibility, and in the end it had brought him home. "Congratulations," he said.

"So you have no reason to keep things from me anymore. Like where this safe house is that you're going to hide out in."

"On the contrary, I still have a reason to keep things to myself: It's more fun that way."

Lisbon smacked his arm. "Fun, huh?"

He didn't want to provoke her further, so he said, "I promise, I'll be in touch. Tonight."

"No, Jane, it's too risky. You can't expose yourself."

"Don't worry. Everything's arranged." He squeezed her arm.

"I can't believe you're trusting the FBI and not me." Her pout was devastatingly effective when she was already tear-streaked and puffy eyed.

"That's not what's happening. You'll see." He took her hand in his. "When we get to the hospital, Jimmy here will sneak me out of the ER in disguise, while you go out to the waiting room and mourn me until the media get there. Cho will come along to relieve you when he can. The two of you need to stick together for safety. Promise me, Lisbon."

She rolled her eyes. "That makes no sense if we're both targets."

"Yes, it does. It makes you irresistible. They'll assume we thought I was the target all along and now that I'm dead, you're unprotected. Cho's an old friend, so he's naturally the person you'd turn to in your grief. The hit man will think he's getting a two-for-one special. He won't know you're both on your guard."

"I know you already talked Fischer into this, because she has my house under surveillance," she said. "So why are you bothering to talk me into it?"

He smiled. "Because you, my dear, are the star of this little play. And also because your opinions matter to me."

She scoffed. "Since when?"

"Since always. But I confess I've become more aware of the need to act like it in the past few weeks."

She rolled her eyes but said, "Fine. I'll stay with Cho. Happy?"

"Yes. Thank you." He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back. Soon afterward, the ambulance pulled up to the ER entrance, and Jane murmured, "Showtime."

Lisbon sighed, then bent to press her lips to his and whisper, "You were the love of my life, you know."

Jane smiled as she drew the blanket up over his face.

mmm

Jane had never used his emergency key to Lisbon's house, a snug bungalow set underneath some lovely trees, since he'd been trying not to piss her off while convincing her to commit to him. But after he let himself in the back door and guessed her security system code on the first try, he took a moment to savor the luxury of being alone in her space. He'd be able to snoop to his heart's content, which was good because he needed something to occupy the time before Lisbon got home.

First, he needed a shower. Then he thought he'd try Lisbon's bed for a nap, which he sorely needed after the weekend he'd had. Then he'd see what was available in her kitchen to cook her for dinner. Which reminded him that he needed to draw all the blinds. Whoever was after Lisbon was doubtless watching her right now, but after she got home, both the spy and the FBI would be watching the house.

He followed through with the first part of his plan, but after taking the pain medication for his arm and crawling into Lisbon's surprisingly luxurious sheets naked, he fell into a deep sleep. He didn't wake until he heard the front door open, noticing that night had fallen.

"Thank God," Lisbon groaned. "I'm going to get a shower. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen."

Cho replied, "I'm good, thanks. I'll just read."

Jane grinned in anticipation as he heard Lisbon climb the stairs. When she reached the bedroom, she closed the door behind her and flipped on the light, shrugging out of her bloody jacket. She looked exhausted and disheveled, but when she caught sight of him her hand flew to her weapon as if she were on high alert. "Shit!" she exclaimed as she recognized him.

Cho must have practically flown up the stairs; he burst through the door gun first.

Jane grinned, sitting up and letting the covers fall to his waist. "Hey, Cho."

Cho holstered his gun. "Hey, Jane. Fischer know you're here?"

"No. I figured the last FBI safe house wasn't so safe, so I'd be better off here. Plus, the ambiance is much better."

"Uh huh. Didn't you bring any clothes?"

Jane glanced down at his bare chest. "Meh. I can't go out, so what do I need clothes for?"

Lisbon recovered from her shock. "Jane, this wasn't the plan. You were supposed to stay out of trouble!"

"And who better to keep me out of trouble than you?"

She rolled her eyes. "This is where the hit man's going to come next, if your theory is correct. I'd say trouble is inevitable. Unless you were lying about that?"

"I wasn't. But I'm confident you and Cho can handle things. There's no one I'd rather entrust my safety to." He smiled at them, confident his logic was unassailable.

Cho turned to Lisbon. "Let me know if you need help moving the body." Then he left.

Lisbon let out a sigh. Jane said, "I'm hurt you're not happy to see me, Lisbon. It's not every day the love of your life comes back to you from the dead."

"Which is why I want to minimize the chances of you dying," she pointed out. She came over to the bed to give him a peck on the lips, then said, "I need a shower. Behave."

"I'll keep the bed warm for you," he offered, which made her smile despite herself. She looked at him for a moment more, no doubt memorizing the sight of him in her bed, then went into the bathroom. She closed the door behind her but didn't lock it, he noted happily.

With his arm hurt, he wasn't up to shower sex, so he regretfully refrained from joining her. Instead, he turned on her clock radio and found a jazz station, setting the volume high enough to mask any sounds they might make. Since Cho was on watch, he couldn't put headphones on, but there was no need for him to hear them making love.

Jane really wanted to wrap this whole Volker thing up so he and Lisbon could have some privacy. He had an increasing desire to make her scream. The thought made his heart rate increase, but he purposely didn't let himself picture her in the shower. He didn't want to get too far ahead of her, after all.

He beamed at her in delight when she emerged in nothing but a plush robe, damp hair curling softly around her shoulders and smelling irresistible. "You really were amazing today," he told her, because he knew she'd appreciate the compliment after all the teasing and criticism she'd received from him on her acting.

She shrugged, causing the robe to fall open a little and expose more of the shadowed valley between her breasts. "It wasn't hard. All I had to do was pretend it was real." She settled on the edge of the bed, then reached out to run her fingertips lightly over his chest, making him shiver with want. "I can't lose you again, Jane. Not ever, but especially not now, not when we've just gotten started."

"I will do my very best to stay with you at all times," he replied.

"I'm serious. You're so careless with yourself. Sneaking away from your safe house to come here and be in the line of fire is dangerous, Jane! You have to be more careful. You owe that to me."

"Yes, I do," he admitted, capturing her hand and pressing a kiss against the inside of her wrist. "And I will be careful. I just want to be careful in your presence when at all possible."

She shook her head. "You'll do what you always do: exactly what you want. You don't care what I want."

"That's not true. I do care what you want, Teresa. In fact, I'll prove it to you. While we're hidden away here, I'll do whatever you want."

"Even if what I want is for you to go back to the safe house?" she challenged.

"If that's what you really want, yes. At this point that's not a realistic option, though."

"What if I kick you out of my bed and make you sleep in the guest room?"

"I won't like it, but I will." No chance of that either, he knew.

"You're so full of shit," she said, not fooled for a minute.

"I'll prove it to you." He got out of bed, standing naked and erect in front of her. "Down the hall to the left, I assume?"

Her eyes roved up and down him, pupils huge, the tip of her tongue darting out to moisten her plump bottom lip. He felt himself grow harder watching her drink him in. They hadn't had a chance to really look at each other yet, he realized, trying to be subtle about sucking in his gut a little. But he needn't have worried; that wasn't what she was most interested in.

"Lie down," she ordered, standing up so he could more easily get back in bed.

He obeyed, lying flat on his back on top of the covers and waiting for her next move. Years of observation had led him to conclude she would be assertive, even aggressive, in bed with a man she was comfortable with. She might even go all dom on him given her need for control, especially now when they were at risk and she felt stressed.

But she surprised him, sitting on the edge of the bed again and reaching for his face instead of his cock. She stroked his cheek tenderly. "Do you really love me?" she asked softly.

He held her gaze, willing her to see his sincerity. "I love you as completely, as madly, as it is possible for a man to love a woman. Until my heart stops, every beat will be for you."

She blinked, a little misty eyed at that. "And you won't leave me."

It wasn't quite a question, but he answered it anyway. "Never again."

"And you'll stop being so ridiculously jealous?"

He smiled, shaking his head. "That, I can't promise. I'm a jealous man, Teresa. If you ever want to leave me you'd better be prepared for a long struggle. If you ever want to be good buddies with any man besides Rigsby and Cho, he'd better be gay, married, or a eunuch. I want to come first with you. And I promise you will always come first with me."

"That'll make a nice change," she said dryly. She laid her palm on his chest and began moving it down his ribcage with excruciating slowness. "I'm surprised, Jane. You're so arrogant about everything else. Why so threatened by other men? You know I've been in love with you for years."

"Sometimes love isn't enough," he said. "Especially stacked up against all the times I've hurt you. I may be arrogant, but I'm not stupid. I know you are worthy of a much better man. I'm trying to be that for you, but we both know I'm a creature of habit. I'm afraid Marcus is right and that one day you'll wake up and wonder why you're putting up with me."

"Too late. I've been doing that for years," she smiled. "You know what the answer is?"

"What?" He was genuinely curious.

She leaned down to kiss him. "Because you are a much better man than you realize. Do you think I fall in love with every arrogant jerk who comes into my office asking about a case?" She got to her feet, untied her robe, and let it fall to the floor. Jane barely had time to take in the glorious sight before she climbed onto the bed, breasts swaying gracefully, and impaled herself on him.

He cried out at the intensity of her, the searing heat and grip of her body combined with the sheer beauty of her rising above him, eyes glazed with passion, lips parted, sleek muscles moving under pale skin. The physical and emotional impact was overwhelming, and he struggled even to breathe.

Lisbon gave a half-sigh, half-hum of pleasure that nearly did him in, and he lifted his good arm to where their bodies were joined, searching out her clit with two of his fingers. She gasped and sped up her rhythm, then grasped his wrist. "Not so fast," she panted. "I want slow."

"And I want to give you slow," he managed to say. "But I'm out of practice. We may have to work up to slow. I'm a little...overstimulated."

She gave him a big, toothy smile. "Are you saying I'm too much for you to handle?' She squeezed her muscles around his cock as she teased him.

He gave a hoarse cry. "Yes," he gasped.

She leaned down to kiss him. "Mm. I guess your sexual prime was a while ago. Too bad I'm still in mine."

"You are a cruel, cruel woman, Teresa Lisbon," he moaned as she straightened back up, the change in angle sending a jolt of pleasure up his spine.

"Aw, poor baby. Let me help you out." She cupped her breasts in her hands and let out a long, throaty moan.

Jane was forced to close his eyes. The sight of her squeezing those delicious mounds he'd so enjoyed feasting on the other night was seriously damaging his control. Her gentle laughter at his predicament didn't help his Herculean effort not to embarrass himself. He needed to distract himself or hurry her along, or both.

"I want to do this every night," he whispered, opening his eyes and keeping them locked on hers. "You feel amazing. You're so beautiful. Sometimes it would break my heart to look at you and know I couldn't have you. You just kept getting more beautiful as the years went by, and I started to dream about running away with you, just forgetting everything that was keeping us apart and hiding away somewhere we could make love all night and tease each other all day. I wish I'd done it. Would you, if I'd asked?"

"Yes," she breathed, her eyes glittering down at him.

"All that wasted time," he lamented. He knew that while in the throes of his obsession, he hadn't been capable of running away, but he still regretted the years they'd lost. And he thought she was probably romanticizing their past selves as well. But what mattered was their future. "Let's never waste another minute."

"Uh huh." She was getting close, he thought, if she was losing the ability to form actual words. He let himself start thrusting up into her more insistently, relived when she followed his new rhythm without protest.

"Do you want to be engaged or can we just elope?" he asked breathlessly.

A strangled sound came out of her mouth that might have started with an "e." Jane decided to move on. "Babies? I know we're getting up there but you'd look so pretty all round and ripe—"

He broke off with a shout as she threw her head back and spasmed around him, gritting his teeth to keep thrusting through her orgasm. Finally she collapsed on his chest and he let himself go, shoving as deep as he could and shooting what felt like a gallon into her.

They lay in a panting, boneless heap for a minute. Then Lisbon slid off him, ignoring his whine of protest.

It took her a few more moments to summon the energy to lightly smack his chest. "No serious conversations during sex," she said. "And if you ever propose to me, you better be wearing clothes."

"Noted," he replied, managing to raise his good arm and turn off the radio. Then he grinned. Even if she hadn't held up her end of the conversation, he had learned valuable information.

Their babies were going to be beautiful, brilliant, and stubborn as hell.

mmm

Jane slept heavily, waking only when Lisbon's alarm demanded it. They took a quick shower, pulled on clean clothes, and went downstairs to find Cho already pouring himself a cup of the freshly brewed coffee. He regarded them grimly.

"What is it?" Jane asked him. Lisbon frowned, turning her attention to their colleague instead of the coffeemaker.

"I got a call from Fischer. Tommy Volker was found dead in his cell this morning."