Staring at Cho's bumper, Lisbon resisted the urge to pass him. The man was driving much too slowly when she wanted this over with already. Tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, she admitted her impatience had everything to do with her choice of riding companion and nothing to do with the case. It certainly wasn't a perverse desire to get an eyeful of the very bloody crime scene she knew awaited her.

Murder-suicides were always messy. That was a given.

Then again, if this was a murder-suicide, why were they being called in? It obviously wasn't an open and shut as they often were. If it was, the file would have never crossed her desk. And Bertram would never have "asked" her team to take a look into things as a personal favor if there wasn't something off about the killings. Oh, and if the local Sheriff wasn't an old friend of long standing. Lisbon clicked her tongue in distaste. She was clearly in a damned if she did and damned if she didn't situation. The kind that reeked to the high heavens before she'd even had a chance to step in it.

Or Jane stepped in it for her.

Casting a disparaging glance in her companion's direction, Lisbon admitted she could have avoided a large part of her annoyance by demanding Van Pelt ride with her and Jane with the boys. She doubted her actions would have red flagged anything as it wouldn't be the first time such a thing had happened. In fact, he'd ridden with the boys plenty of times over the years…Just not recently...Anyways, her guys would have figured Jane had gotten on her last nerve yet again and they wouldn't be that far off.

Although exactly what he'd done to accomplish that feat would definitely surprise them far more than his wackiest antics in the past ever had.

Denying her the pleasure of his bed wasn't high in the catalog of things Jane usually did to piss her off. She doubted that one had even made the list. In fact, she knew it hadn't. She also knew there was far more to her frustration than just the physical. What was really sending her into orbit was Jane was denying them the right to explore the feelings so suddenly blazing to life between them. He didn't have that right. And, as far as she was concerned, assuming he did was just plain wrong.

If she was willing to take the risks, he should be willing to let her. She was a grown woman fully capable of evaluating her life and making her own decisions. She didn't want or need his protection. But, she did need him. In her life and in her bed.

Besides, ignoring what was between them was going to blow up in their faces…Maybe not today or tomorrow; but, soon…She could feel it in her bones and that was making her just plain edgy. Rolling her eyes, Lisbon fought an overwhelming urge to smack Jane just because she could.

Hard.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Jane." She said instead as she glanced briefly at the GPS realizing they were less than twenty miles from their destination.

"My mind isn't in the gutter." Jane corrected her.

"Yeah?" Lisbon questioned. "You're imagining me naked. Sounds like your mind's in the gutter to me."

"Why would you think that?" Jane shifted in his seat to gaze at her.

"I've seen that look enough recently to know exactly what you're thinking." Lisbon answered honestly.

"Then you should know I'm imagining you naked and up to something." Jane said innocently knowing the effect his words were having on her.

Fortunately, he was very much in control and showing no outward signs of his wicked thinking. He couldn't say the same for Lisbon. Her breathing had grown somewhat erratic and her pupils were definitely dilated. The woman was recollecting things she shouldn't.

"Bite me." Lisbon rolled her eyes in defeat knowing she'd never get one up on the man.

"Not the best come back for a time like this, My Dear." Jane said as he studied her profile. "Actually, in all seriousness, my mind wasn't in the gutter. Thinking about us and what we did is neither dirty nor something I'm ashamed of."

"It just can't happen again." Lisbon ignored the betraying hitch in her voice.

"Not because we don't want it too." Jane reminded her logically. "Because we both know such fleeting pleasures aren't worth your life."

"You're a complete idiot, you know that?" Lisbon shot him a heated glance. "All the years of dealing with that psycho have totally skewed your thinking. You're as messed up as he is in some respects.

Regardless of whether we bang like bunnies, I'm so already on the Red John Hit List. I have been for years. Ignoring that fact doesn't make it any less real.

Have you forgotten that whole bring him my head thing in Vegas? Or that bloody Calla Lily? We weren't doing the horizontal mambo then and he was already reminding both of us I have a target painted on my forehead."

"I haven't forgotten any of that." Jane softly agreed.

"Neither have I. I repeat. He's. Got. Your. Head. Totally. Screwed. Up. Every time you try to protect me by pulling away, he shows us just how stupid that line of thinking really is. He does something horrible anyway. You know it's true.

Why won't you just accept if he wants me, he's going to get me. Unless we stop him first which I certainly hope we do. It's going to happen whether you're in my life or not. You know it and I know it.

What we also know is, I'm not like those other women he's killed. I'm not defenseless. I'm packing serious heat and I know how to use it." Lisbon reminded him. "I'm a cop and I know he's coming. I won't be as easy to kill as they were."

"While that might be true, there are considerations other than Red John to think about." Jane reminded her.

"Like what? I've given it some serious thought and I'm not so sure." She'd done nothing but think since they crossed that line and not about her open cases. "If you start some cock and bull, lame brained rant about this not lasting or our feelings not being real or it just being sex between us, I will so shoot you without a second thought and I'll shoot you dead.

If you doubt it, take a look in my eyes."

From the look in her eyes and tone of her voice, Jane couldn't deny Lisbon was seriously put out with him though he doubted she'd go that far.

"I'm not the one ranting." Jane said softly knowing he wouldn't be either.

"Yeah, well, I think I'm going to rant some more. If those other considerations concern work, since I've been shot, put on desk duty, suspended, and fired any number of times over the years because of you, I seriously doubt our being together can damage my career any more than it already is." Lisbon said realistically. "And I'm pretty sure they won't do much beyond a slap on the hand. If Bertram's Red John, he isn't ready to end the game. If he's not, he knows you solve too many cases and you've got too much dirt on people in really high places to mess with you too much.

Besides, you've shown them exactly how much of a pain in the ass you can be when they try to split us up. Why would anyone want to play that game? I don't think they would."

Jane was more than willing to cause heads to roll.

He'd already proven that.

"It's still not worth the risk." Jane said quietly.

"That's not your decision." Lisbon reminded him.

"As you're clearly not thinking as rationally as you should, I think it is." Jane's tone was soft and firm.

"Fine, then stop thinking about me naked." Lisbon stated just as firmly. "It makes me think about you naked and that hurts too damned much."

"Fair enough." Jane reached over to pat her hand grateful Lisbon didn't pull away from his touch.

"We're almost here." Lisbon said as a house surrounded by far too many police cars came into her line of vision.

Pulling her SUV onto the side of the road behind Cho's, she removed the keys from the ignition before turning to face Jane.

"Yes, it seems we are." Jane agreed. "You know this conversation isn't over."

"Maybe it's not." Lisbon reluctantly agreed knowing she wouldn't shut him down if he wanted to revisit the intolerability of their situation. It would be counterproductive to her goals. As long as they were talking, she had a shot at changing his mind. "But, right now we've got work to do. I suggest we both focus on that. Our issues will still be issues after the case is solved."

"Yes, we do." Jane agreed opening his car door as he glanced over at the team milling about on the sidewalk waiting on them.

And, as sorry as he was to admit it, Lisbon was exactly right. Their problems would still be here long after this case was solved unless something gave and he didn't see that happening any time soon. Red John wasn't going to.

Watching Lisbon slide out of the SUV, Jane watched her square her shoulders and assume work mode as though their conversation had never taken place. He admired that about the woman and he always had. She was ceaselessly dedicated to the job no matter what was happening in her personal life. He had no doubts she was already going over that checklist in her head preparing to analyze that crime scene to the nth degree once she finally set eyes on it.

Walking over to her team, Lisbon stopped in front of Cho secretly pleased at the way they all snapped a little straighter in her presence. Positive they'd been discussing something as inconsequential to the case as she had been prior to her arrival, it was apparent their attention was now on the matter at hand. Good. That was how it should be.

They were at a crime scene.

The victims deserved their full attention.

"Let's get a move on." Lisbon's tone was all business as she headed for the entrance of the attractive two story house and the Sheriff standing by the front door. "We have a job to do."

#####

Walking into the spacious family room, Lisbon stopped in her tracks absorbing the gruesome scene marring an otherwise welcoming home. At first flush, it was a classic murder-suicide as she'd been told. One parent offed the kids and spouse before shooting him, or her, self in the head. Who did what was the obvious question. Eyes flickering over the scene, there was something not sitting well with her.

She hadn't quite put her finger on it; but, it was definitely there and already nagging at her.

"Crap, Jane, they didn't mention anything about this being a child murder." Lisbon commented instead not noticing how she leaned into his personal space more than usual.

"It's a family slaughter, Lisbon, not a simple child murder." Jane corrected her placing a steadying hand on her shoulder more to strengthen himself than his boss. These kinds of cases always hit him hard in the gut. "It was also made to look like a murder-suicide which it clearly isn't."

"How do you know that?" Lisbon asked as she drew a pair of latex gloves from her pocket. "That's exactly what the local PD thinks it is…A murder-suicide…Although if they were a hundred percent sure of that we wouldn't be here…." Masking her emotions, she knelt to get a closer look at the teen-aged daughter. "Only it was the mother doing the murdering and not the father as it usually is."

"Well, they're wrong. For one thing, women don't usually shoot themselves in the head." Jane said quietly looking anywhere but at that girl who was much too close to the age his daughter would be. "Or, in this case, they don't usually shoot their faces off."

"Not usually; but, it's not unheard of." Lisbon argued as she rose to her feet. "Maybe she and her husband were struggling when the weapon went off. From the looks of things it could have taken a while for him to die. Maybe he took her out before he did."

"The first shot incapacitated him." Jane continued studying the male body intently. "Besides, the angle of entry is all wrong for either scenario…These people were clearly murdered by someone having enough basic knowledge to make the crime scene pass at a cursory glance. When you really start picking the tableau apart, including how it doesn't look, then you realize just how miserably they failed."

"You think so?" Jane turned at the sound of a foreign voice to find himself face to face with the Sheriff they'd met briefly outside.

"I know so." Jane said confidently. "Forensics will prove me out. For one thing, look at where the bodies fell. Patterson there was clearly trying to get to his wife when he was gunned down and she was trying to get to him. Not what either would be doing if she was the shooter. If you look closely, they were moved slightly and posed. Not a lot. Just enough to obscure what really happened. Lividity and that slight smearing of the blood pooling around the bodies will bear me out.

Oh, and this wasn't done by a scorned lover on either side. It's a stranger killing. A happy family destroyed by a whack job with a personal ax to grind. One I'm betting had nothing to do with any of these people beyond they fit some preconceived criteria in her head.

Yes, I said "her". I'm going so far as to say you've probably got a female serial killer on your hands."

Jane added with a bit of a flourish enjoying the way the condescending law enforcement officer's eyes widened at his words.

"Why would you say that?" Sheriff Benton turned disbelieving eyes in Jane's direction. "I don't see anything here indicating what you've said. The part about it not being a murder-suicide maybe I can go along with. We wouldn't have called you guys in if there hadn't been something hinky about the scene. But the rest of that spiel is pure hogwash."

"Don't think so, Sheriff." Lisbon stood up from examining the mother ignoring the moue of distaste on Jane's face that she could stomach such an up close and personal perusal of gory pulp and tissue. "Jane's usually right when he gets a hunch. I'll have Van Pelt start putting out feelers for similar murders in surrounding areas."

"You do that." The Sheriff said. "While we'll certainly support you, this is your ball of wax. That's why we called you in. My guys aren't up to handling something like this…Not if it turns out to be a Serial…Gale assures me you are and I hope he's right."

As much as he hated to admit this was over his Department's head, Benton wasn't a fool. He hadn't remained Sheriff for close to a quarter century by letting his ego override his common sense. If anyone ended up with egg on their face over this one, it wasn't going to be him. It would be the pretty lady radiating authority and her prettier sidekick pulling goofball theories out of thin air.

Bertram had warned him about the man's unorthodox methods; but, he'd also assured him Jane got the job done. Looking at the blonde haired man in the three piece suit, he had his doubts. What the hell kind of name was that for a man anyway? Jane? Like a girl. Whatever. As long as the man solved the case he didn't really care.

He hadn't stuck around as long as he had being dumb. He'd gladly play second fiddle close enough to those two to share the media glory for solving the case. He'd also remain far enough away to escape the fall out if they didn't. If the crap hit the fan, he didn't intend getting caught in the spray.

"Cho, finish the photographs in here." Lisbon motioned to the crime scene. "I'm going to check out the rest of the house and find Jane."

A Jane who had sneaked off while she was defending him to the Sheriff.

"Sure thing, Boss." Cho continued wondering where their Consultant had gotten off to now. "I think I saw him heading upstairs."

"I'm sure you did." Lisbon said as she headed for the stairs.

Goodness only knew what Jane was up to. Most likely getting into some form of trouble as that seemed to be what he did best…Next to solving cases of course. If she didn't miss her guess, she'd probably find him poking into closets and drawers uncovering secrets that were none of his business and seemingly irrelevant to the case on the surface. Fortunately, things were rarely as they seemed. It was usually the things he found out on these random forays that ended up breaking the case wide open.

"Jane, honestly, where are you?" Lisbon huffed as she ambled into the master bedroom. "I can't take my eyes off you for thirty seconds without you disappearing."

"I'm in here, Lisbon." Jane looked up as Lisbon came to stand in the bathroom doorway. "Evie Patterson was pregnant…Obviously still in the early days from the looks of things…If I don't miss my guess, when we start linking the cases, we're going to find all of the wives were in their first trimester."

"You can't be serious." Lisbon's horror showed on her face. "Oh, shit, you are serious."

"Yes, Lisbon, I'm perfectly serious." Jane agreed. "Her prenatal vitamins were in the kitchen cabinet by the sink and her anti-emetics are here in the medicine cabinet."

It seemed their victim was suffering from pretty severe morning sickness.

"You think that's the trigger." Lisbon took a step into the bathroom to take a look around.

"One of them, yes." Jane said as he watched her poke through the medicine cabinet looking at the unused pregnancy tests the woman hadn't needed and the half empty prescription bottles of the medications she had obviuosly recently stopped taking.

"We need to get back to the office so I can start putting out feelers to see if we can locate anymore murder-suicides with similar M.O.'s." Lisbon turned to walk out of the bathroom with Jane on her heels. "You do know we aren't going to be able to keep this nightmare out of the press? This situation is going to be hell before it's over. It's going to leave every pregnant woman with a husband and two kids in a panic and rightfully so."

"Not every pregnant woman, Lisbon, just the ones with a son in Middle School and a daughter in High School who are in their first trimester of pregnancy." Jane corrected her. "Our psycho is very specific in those aspects of her victimology."

"Right, like anyone's really going to listen to the voice of reason." Lisbon knew nothing could be farther from the truth.

"That people won't listen and believe what we tell them doesn't change the facts." Jane said rationally. "There're going to be a lot of people in a panic who shouldn't be."

"And that's going to make our jobs that much harder." Lisbon smacked her hand on the counter.

"Yes, it will." Jane agreed. "But that comes with the territory. What do you say we head back so we can get started on locating those other cases? The ones we know are out there no one else has bothered to find."

"I'd say that sounds like a good idea." Lisbon closed the medicine cabinet knowing their insanity was just beginning.

"Ladies first." Jane gestured in the direction of the open door.

"Right." Lisbon rolled her eyes. "What I don't get is how she's targeting her victims."

"While I can't be sure, I'd say it isn't that hard." Jane followed Lisbon out of the bedroom.

"How can you say that?" Lisbon asked. "It's not like Evie Patterson was showing. From what you've said, I doubt we'll find that any of the other women were either."

When they finally uncovered the other cases they were both already convinced were out there.

"You're making this much too hard, My Dear." Jane patted her shoulder in that way Lisbon hated. The one saying he knew so much more than she did. The sad part was he usually did. "While I can't prove it, I suspect our killer hacks into the computer systems of certain kinds of doctors to get her list of potential victims and their addresses. All the information she needs to narrow down her list would be in those databases. I think she checks out selected victims at home until she finds the one that meets her needs. From there she stalks them to learn their habits including the best time to strike. Once she's satisfied she's done her homework, that's what she does. Strike and the rest is history."

"You can't be serious." Lisbon knew he was and that they'd probably find the truth was not far removed from the scenario he'd just described.

"I'm perfectly serious." Jane followed her down the stairs. "While I can't be sure that's exactly how she operates, I'm sure it's close."

"Yeah, so am I." Lisbon agreed. "I think you're right and I think this case is going to be a bitch to solve. Things are going to get a whole lot nastier before they get better. I'd also say we're going to have more victims before she's caught."

Lisbon shook her head at the litany of curse words going around in her head. She'd have to remember to thank Bertram for this one. She really would. He had to have known what he was getting her into…He also had to be pretty confident Jane would solve the case or he wouldn't have put her team on it… Not stopping this psycho wouldn't look good for anyone…If there was one thing that man was all about it was self-promotion and generating good press for the Bureau...Talk about pressure…He was putting the screws on without saying a word.

"I'm going to leave the team here to finish wrapping up the crime scene while we head back. Cho can finish the pictures and diagrams while Wayne and Grace canvass for potential witnesses. You know you don't have to go back with me if you'd rather stay here. The choice is yours." Lisbon tossed over her shoulder as she headed towards their crime scene.

While there were certain risks in letting Jane run wild, she'd get a lot more done with him out of her hair.

"You know the answer to that." Jane said quietly as he followed her into the den.

"You're riding back with me." Lisbon stated unnecessarily.

"I'll start the murder boards while you start contacting other Agencies looking for similar cases." Jane stopped to take one last look at Evie Patterson carefully avoiding the ruins of her face.

Now that he knew she'd been with child, he could see the slight thickening of her waist not readily apparent at first glance. It was one of the things nagging at him sending him rummaging in search of answers. He'd known something was bothering him. He'd just not been sure what. Now he knew. He'd been detecting the faint, tell-tale signs of her pregnancy without realizing what he was looking at.

"I think that would be a good idea." Lisbon said as she walked towards the kitchen where she knew the Sheriff was hanging out. "Why don't you head for the SUV while I touch base with Cho and let Benton know we're leaving?"

"Sounds like a plan." Taking one last look around the crime scene, Jane turned on his heel and headed for the door.

Watching him leave, Lisbon caught Cho's eye. As soon as she brought her Number One up to speed on her plans, she'd say their goodbyes to the Sheriff and beat a path out of there. She had not doubts they'd be burning the midnight oil every night until this case was closed. There was a nut job out there that had to be stopped. None of her team would rest until she was. Lisbon was sure of that.

A panicked public wouldn't let them even if they wanted to.

#####

Three weeks later

Leaning back in her chair, Lisbon studied the miniature murder board Jane had made for her office that first day that mirrored the larger display in the bullpen. This case was proving more complex than they'd anticipated. They'd discovered a sixth case, and knew there were bound to be more, in a Podunk town a couple of hours away from Sacramento on the California-Nevada border with the same M.O. just today.

One indicating the wife had slain her spouse and two children in a jealous rage.

It was another case now going from simple murder-suicide to the far more complex murder by serial killer. And Lisbon's favorite kind of case considering Jane handled them so well. Especially when there were children involved. Female children close to his daughter's age. The strain was already showing in his face. The man looked harried as they all did. Fortunately, he hadn't yet degenerated into his wild and woolly phase. His appearance was still neat and in-control as she needed him to be.

Walking over to the display to tack another photograph to the board, Lisbon glanced at her watch in disbelief. Where had the time gone? The past four hours had passed in a blink and she still wasn't any closer to a breakthrough than she'd been when she'd started following her current train of thought. Gazing at the photograph littered with bodies, she wondered how the heck anyone could have thought that was ever a murder-suicide.

Given the sloppiness of the crime scene, this was clearly one of their perp's first goes at killing anyone. From the looks of things, she'd made mistakes if they could identify them. She needed to have the Forensics re-examined. Who knew? With a new team going over trace with a fine tooth comb from a different angle, they might find evidence overlooked the first time around. Like maybe blood belonging to the murderer and not the victims. Not that that would necessarily help them all that much with no suspects at hand; but, it would be something tangible to use down the road when they did.

Studying the victims' photographs, Lisbon decided even though the bodies were long gone, it might behoove them to visit the crime scene and pay a visit to the local PD. She'd look into a road trip tomorrow. At a good three hours one way, the town was far enough away she could probably justify staying over one night and possibly two. She'd clear it through the appropriate channels from home tomorrow. Maybe everything would be in place for them to hit the road by the following day when her team returned from the day of rest she'd given them.

Turning at the sound of her door opening, Lisbon wasn't all that surprised to see Jane entering looking the worse for wear. He was the only person daring to enter her domain without knocking. Quirking a brow, she watched him lock the door behind him before walking over to stand beside her. It was apparent this last case was taking a toll on him. It was weighing on all of them; but, especially Jane.

"What are you still doing here?" Lisbon asked. "I told all of you to go home a long time ago."

Not only that, she'd told her team not to come back into the office until the day after tomorrow as they were all ready to drop. Actually considering it was well past midnight, they'd be coming in tomorrow hopefully well rested and raring to go. They'd been burning the midnight oil seven days a week the past three weeks and had earned a well deserved, if much too short, break. Lisbon wished she could say the same for herself. As TL, her work was never done.

"I'm not leaving until you do." Jane quietly reminded her. "You already know that."

"Don't be ridiculous." Lisbon reached up to touch a haggard cheek. "You don't have to worry. I can take care of myself."

"Right." Jane rolled his eyes at her. "That's why you fell apart earlier today."

"I wasn't expecting that." Lisbon defended herself. "None of us were and we still haven't found the latest victim."

Hanging her head, Lisbon couldn't accept she'd totally lost it when they'd returned from lunch on the terrace to find a bloodied rose resting smack in the center of her desk. Fortunately, only Jane had been with her at the time. He'd closed and locked her door before the rest of the team got wind of what was going down while she'd efficiently bagged the evidence with tremoring hands. She'd then all but collapsed weeping in his arms.

"There isn't necessarily another victim yet." Jane reminded her. "We don't know where he got the blood."

"There's another victim." Lisbon said. "She just might not be dead yet. Just what we need…another Red John kill on top of this."

She gestured in the direction of her murder board.

"No, that bloody rose on your desk earlier today was what we needed. It's a wakeup call we need to be more careful. Remember the shark already circling in the water." Jane corrected her. "As you're still alive and we can keep you that way, I'd say you're more important than any of this. We can't afford to forget that.

All we can do for any of them is find whoever is responsible for taking their lives and make them pay."

"We can stop her from killing again." Lisbon reminded him.

"Yes, we can." Jane agreed. "And we will; but, not at the cost of your safety."

"Which is why you didn't go home." Lisbon said softly. "You're guarding me."

"Among other things." Jane agreed.

"It's too much." Lisbon said quietly. "On top of the rest of this, dealing with his crap is just too much."

"It's just a warning." Jane calmly reminded her. "I don't think it's anything to be overly concerned about. He just doesn't want to get lost in the mix or be forgotten."

"Like that could ever happen." Lisbon snorted.

"We are working another serial killer case." Jane stated the obvious. "It's a very high profile case being splashed across every major news channel across the country. Maybe the world. Red John doesn't like sharing his billing and certainly not with a woman. Think about it. Some idiot in the media might make the mistake of touting our girl as being more of a badass than he is.

She is targeting whole families instead of predominantly women."

"I hope not." Lisbon said sincerely knowing they'd have another body on their hands if they did. "That's just what we need…Competing serial killers."

"Prepare yourself, Teresa, it may very well happen." Jane said what she didn't want to hear.

"Not what I wanted to hear even if it is the truth." Lisbon said as she unconsciously gravitated closer to Jane finding it much too hard to stay away even knowing she should.

Contrary to what they'd both expected, they hadn't had a chance to revisit them or their "issues". They'd been much too busy dissecting the new files rolling in on their female serial killer.

"I'm sorry." Jane said. "I'm not going to lie to you."

"I don't want you to." Lisbon said as she reached out to place her hand on his chest.

"Good, because I'm not going to." Jane rested his hand lightly on her hip.

Looking at the placement of their hands, Lisbon sighed knowing they were always going to end up here. They'd opened Pandora's Box that night and there was no locking their feeling back inside. It just wasn't happening.

No matter how hard they tried.

Deciding what the hell, Lisbon reached up to pull his lips down to hers. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she didn't ask permission. She simply took what she wanted. Not that Jane seemed to be resisting at all from the avid tangling of his tongue with hers. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at the stupidity between them. For the moment, she was accepting that things would happen as they happened. Their relationship, or lack of one, simply was what it was until something changed.

Jane would be a broken record saying it couldn't happen again and she'd play along with him. Even knowing it would. Happen again. In moments when they were both too weak to fight it.

Moments like now.

Moments when they were exhausted, concerned, and desperately in need of reassurance everything would be alright though nothing could be farther from the truth.

Lisbon was just happy he wasn't resisting her. That Jane was kissing her back for all he was worth. With his eyes closed. Who knew Patrick Jane kissed with his eyes closed? Like a girl. Well, not exactly like a girl because he was definitely a guy…But anyway, she'd have to remember to give him hell about that one…She was the one who kissed with her eyes closed. That was why she didn't know he did, too.

Or he did some of the time.

Feeling the first button of her blouse come undone through a lust filled haze, Lisbon sprang into action halting the persistent fingers up to no good.

"Patrick, be reasonable." Lisbon appealed to his common sense having a feeling she was going to have to put her foot down more forcefully before she was done. "We're in my office at the CBI in the middle of a case."

"It's nearly three a.m. and the last Agent other than the ones on call two floors down went home three hours ago. The cleaning crew was gone long before that." Jane corrected her. "There isn't anyone left to find out."

"Not here, Jane." Lisbon stated firmly. "Not in my office. Not on my couch. Not where you're always sitting. I can't take it when you shut me out again. Professionalism, or lack of it, aside, I can't take seeing us together like that every time I see you sitting there and knowing it can't happen again."

"Then I'll follow you home." Jane suggested confidently knowing she wouldn't turn him down.

"Let me get my stuff." Lisbon said deciding, while taking him home wasn't necessarily what she'd intended when she'd kissed him, she'd take what she could get.

Then again, if she was honest, maybe that was exactly what she'd wanted. She'd known things getting out-of-hand was certainly a risk when she'd pressed her lips against his. Whatever her intent, she knew the more entangled she got with Jane the less likely either of them would be able to break free and that was perfectly fine by her.

"Don't." Jane returned the files she was preparing to stuff into her briefcase back to the open drawers. "Leave all of that here. You won't be working any time soon."

Hopefully, she'd be asleep when he snuck out and she'd stay that way. He wasn't the only one looking more than a little haggard around the edges. Lisbon looked rough with those dark circles under her eyes and he didn't like it. Especially knowing the situation between them was adding to her strain.

As much as he wished he could walk away as he knew he should, and had fully intended, the impossible woman was proving he couldn't time and again. Maybe he should just give in to what they both wanted. On the one hand, the idea was much too tempting and it would make life so much easier on the both of them. On the other, he wouldn't survive if something happened to Lisbon because they were together.

"Stop thinking, Jane." Lisbon walked over to pull his face down to hers. "Don't make me do something I'll never forgive you for because you're balking on me. I'll make your life hell in ways you never saw coming. That's a promise."

If she had to see them like that every time she looked at her couch, Jane would live to regret it.

"I'm not balking, Teresa." Jane said in defeat knowing he needed her just as badly as she needed him. "Perhaps questioning the wisdom of our actions; but, I'm definitely not balking."

"That's good to know." Lisbon tucked the strap of her briefcase over her shoulder and grabbed her purse. "You ready to go?"

"I don't need to get anything if that's what you're asking." Jane stuffed his hands in his pocket feeling the sudden awkwardness hanging in the air between them.

"Then go already." Lisbon snarked as she felt her cheeks turn red at his knowing smirk. What should be easy and natural was suddenly strange because of how they were going at it. "If you make this hard for me when we get to my place, I'm so going to kick your ass."

"As it's already hard for you, I'd say you're going to kick my ass anyway." Jane quipped knowing if she hit him with all the pent up frustrations radiating off of her, he was going to be hard put to keep up with her in the first place. Not that he was complaining. Just mentally preparing to handle whatever game Lisbon brought to the table...er, mattress...whatever.

"Shush, Jane." Lisbon stepped from behind her desk and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Teresa, it's going to be okay." Jane caressed her arm reassuringly in passing.

"Yeah, it is." Lisbon tossed over her should accepting his lie at face value.

And it would be.

Until Jane decided to sneak out that door again.