Chapter 10

Jane, Cho and Lisbon walked into the office, Cho made his way to his desk, Jane his sofa and Lisbon walked to the break room. She and Jane hadn't spoke on the car ride up, it was awkward with Cho sat right next to her. She wanted to speak with him though, desperately.

He kissed her. Patrick Jane kissed her!

Yes, ok it was only a peck, but he still kissed her. Her heart was still pounding, she placed her mug on the counter and took some deep breaths to calm herself. She told Carol that she wasn't in love with him, she had been telling herself the same thing for the last 12 years. Now, with her heart pounding at the idea of his lips on hers, she wasn't quite sure she had been honest with herself.

The memory of their first meeting flashed through her mind. She had never seen someone in so much need of care, of love. He was broken, his eyes were dead, the only spark there was of revenge, and his arms were crossed over his body, as if he was the only one who could protect himself. It was scary and yet she couldn't help feeling a pull towards him.

As the years pasted, she watched his guard drop a little, not much but there was life in his eyes again. The spark of revenge changed to life, he wasn't just going through the motions; he was living. He had gotten her into trouble on countless occasions, she had been suspended, fired and then re-hired all because of him. But she was never angry, annoyed, frustrated, but she could never be angry with the man. It was infuriating.

She couldn't stop a grin. They had been through a lot together, and had grown stronger, closer. He was her best friend, she knew he lies and plays tricks, but there was no one she would trust more than Patrick Jane.

"Well, that's a big grin," a voice teased from behind her, Lisbon jumped. "I'm sorry," Pike said, as he walked around next to her. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's alright," she said, picking her mug up. She had knocked it over when she jumped. "How can I help you, Agent Pike?"

"I wanted to apologise," he said, leaning against the counter.

"For what?" She turned to put some coffee and milk in her mug, a little confused as to what this man was talking about.

"Well, I think I've given you a wrong impression."

"Of what?"

"Me, I realise I've been a little…"

"Pig headed?" She asked, joking. Slightly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm not normally like this, I just don't really know how to act around you," Pike ducked his head, Lisbon was surprised to see that he was embarrassed.

"I'm sorry?"

"Um, well, you're a beautiful woman and a little intimidating, I must admit," the pair laughed at little, Lisbon's was slightly uncomfortable.

"Well, I don't mean to be," Lisbon said, pushing away from the counter.

"The thing is," Pike said, following her to the middle island in the room. "You're kinda hard to figure out."

"And normally you're pretty good at figuring out women?" Pike laughed a little.

"Normally pretty good at figuring out people, but you? Nothing. I guess I want the opportunity to figure you out."

"You want to figure me out?" She asked, shocked and a little offended. Pike glanced around, she knew he was looking out for Jane.

"You're beautiful, smart, bad ass. I just want to get to know you, can I get to know you?" He looked strangely vulnerable, with a mixture of confidence.

"Agent Pike," she started.

"Marcus."

"Marcus. I, uh, I'm sort of, I'm flattered," she stuttered, wishing Jane would walk up and save her from this. She hated these sort of conversations. "But I'm-"

"It's ok," Pike said, stopping her. "I get it. You can't blame a guy for trying though, right?" She smiled at him, looking away from his eyes.

"Um, Agent Lisbon?" Wylie said, Lisbon grinned at his obvious discomfort.

"What is it Wylie?" She asked.

"Um, Melissa Emry's boss is here."

"Ok, thanks Wylie," the younger agent nodded and left them alone. "If you'll excuse me, I need to-"

"Yeah, you go ahead," Pike said, she nodded and left him alone without a backwards glance. She didn't notice Pike watch her leave, nor Jane's squinted eye's scrutinising the two of them.

Lisbon walked towards the interview room, her mind going over her conversation with Pike. He said that he wanted to figure her out, as if she was some sort of game for him to play. She knew he didn't mean to be offensive, but she couldn't help feeling a little offended. Wasn't she a person? Didn't she have feelings? She wasn't some sort of play thing for people to mess around with.

All of a sudden, she felt some anger rise up. Anger at herself, she's rejecting a nice guy who, yes seems like a bit of a tool, but hasn't played any games with her. Yet she's mooning over a guy who has done nothing but play games with her. Oh he was charming, handsome, and all of that helped him with his little mind games.

She bet the kiss was just another one of those, make her feel, something, then he can just, just. She didn't know what his game could be, before she would assume that it was something to do with Red John. Now there was no obvious reason. Maybe it was to do with this case, make whoever was targeting them believe something was going on? Lure them out into the open?

Whatever it was, she wasn't going to play. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him move. She moved fast to the interview room, not wanting to speak with him. She went from wanting to kiss him to wanting to hit him, damn that man was frustrating.

"Lisbon," he called, she didn't slow down. He caught up with her and took her arm. "Lisbon?" She pulled away from him, but he held fast. "Lisbon, are you ok?"

"I'm fine Jane, I need to question Melissa's boss," she said, not looking at him. She was annoyed and confused and she really didn't want to speak with him right now.

"What did Pike say to you?" His voice had become low and slightly dangerous. Lisbon looked him in the eye and saw a flash of jealousy, mixed with anger.

"He asked me out," Jane dropped her arm, as if he had been burnt. She instantly felt the loss of his touch.

"And what did you say?" He asked, trying to sound casual. She could see something flicker in his eyes, before the mask was placed back on his face.

"Lisbon," Cho called, drawing their attention. "You ready?"

"Yeah," she said, moving around Jane. She glanced back at him before entering the room.

She and Cho took a seat opposite the salon owner.

"Ms Hall, thanks for coming in," Cho said.

"No problem, anything I can do to help," the older woman replied.

"Melissa had two new clients recently, correct?" Lisbon asked.

"Yes, one was you Agent," Lisbon nodded in acknowledgement. "The other was an older lady," Ms Hall continued.

"Did you know her name?" Cho asked, getting his notepad out.

"Heather? Hazel? Helen? Something like that," she replied.

"Did you know her last name?"

"Um, I can't really remember it. It was unusual. She insisted we called her by her first name."

"Do you remember what she looked like?" Lisbon asked.

"Medium height, brown hair. Late 40s, early 50s?"

"Would you be able to give a description to a sketch artist?" Lisbon asked.

"Sure," Ms Hall replied. Lisbon and Cho thanked her and left the room, Jane met them outside. She glanced at him before looking back at Cho.

"When we get the sketch, I want you guys to have a look and see if you recognise her. Then take it to Emry and Kingsdon's next of kin, see if they know her," Cho said, Jane and Lisbon nodded before heading back to their respective places. As they past another interview room, Jane grabbed her arm and pulled her inside.

"Jane, what the-" He put a finger to her lips, stopping her from speaking as he closed the blinds and locked the door. Lisbon looked up at him in the dim light, she went to move around him but he didn't budge. "Jane, I'm very busy I don't have time for this," she said, exasperated.

"I want to know what's wrong," he said, his hands holding her upper arms.

"Nothing's wrong," she said, her voice breaking slightly due to his proximity. Damn this man, she wanted to be angry with him, but it was practically impossible. She could see his eyes darting between hers, there wasn't much light, so she couldn't read what was there. Still, even with the bad lighting, he managed to hold her transfixed. It was only when his head begin to bend did she move.

Lisbon pushed against his chest, putting some distance between them. She saw hurt flash across his features and felt bad.

"Lisbon," he said, softly. She shook her head, she wasn't going to let him play his games with her any more. "I'm not playing any games with you."

"I didn't say that," she said, her voice going up an octave. She was sick of his mind games.

"You were thinking it," he said, he brushed his hand through his hair. She could feel his frustration growing. "I've said, I've told you."

"You told me? How am I supposed to believe that? How do I know that you're not playing some sort of game with me? For as long as I've known you, you've played games with me, used me. How can I trust you, how do I know if you're-" she got cut off then: Jane had pushed her up against the wall, his lips on hers, moving frantically. His hands were in her hair, his fingernails scraping against her scalp. After a second, her hands found their way to his hair. Her intention was to pull him away, but his tongue flicked over her lips, asking for entry. Her lips parted and his tongue darted in. As soon as it did, rather than push him away, her hands pulled him close.

Jane's hands travelled down to her waist, his entire body was pressed against her. She could feel him growing and she moaned into his mouth. She could feel his lips curl into a smile. His hands slipped up her shirt, ghosting over her skin. His hands were rough, she could feel callouses on his fingertips. She wondered where he got them from, but before she could form any sort of coherent thought about it, he pressed even harder against her. His hands going even further under her shirt, she could feel them over her bra strap.

Her hands glided from his hair to the front of his shirt, grabbing the fabric and pulling it close. She felt, rather than heard his moan and her lips curled into a smile. She had imagined what this would feel like, but nothing could have prepared her for it. Her head was so light, she felt like she was floating. He was gentle, yet firm. Not taking charge, but also not losing control. She felt safe, her defences were dropping. She had completely forgotten where they were.

Jane pulled away, not too far though. He rested his forehead on hers, both were breathing very heavy. She could feel his breath on her face, it was warm and intoxicating.

"Do you still think I'm playing a game?" He asked her, heavily. She shook her head, her eyes still closed.

"It that why you did that? To prove a point?" She asked, her voice just as heavy. She could hear her heart pounding.

"Kind of, not entirely," he said, her eyes flicked open and she stared straight into his. She was surprised to see so much emotion there. "I need you to know that I'm not playing games, not any more. Not about this, ok?" She didn't answer. "Lisbon, please say you believe me," he pleaded with her.

"I believe you," she said, knowing what he was saying was true. He grinned at her, leaned in again to kiss her. It was nowhere near as passionate as the previous one, but it still left her breathless. He pushed away again, further this time and looked her up and down. He smirked at her and she frowned a little in his direction.

"You might want to check your hair before you go back out there," he chuckled as he unlocked the door, he opened it and held out his hand for her to proceed him through it. Lisbon shot him a dirty look, which was ruined by the grin she was trying to hide. She fixed her hair in the one way window, tucked her shirt back into her jeans. She caught Jane watching her from the mirror, looking him over she smirked some more.

"You might want to check your hair before you go back out there," she laughed as he grinned at her. Her smile slipped from her face a little, something Jane noticed, and he threw her a questioning look. "You said 'not entirely'," she turned round to face him. "What did you mean?"

Jane smiled and walked towards her, he brushed her hair back from her face and pecked her on the nose. "I've been wanting to do that for years," he walked back to the door. "Shall we?"

They left the room together, neither of them noticed the man watching them from the room behind the glass.

Jane and Lisbon was about to leave the office, both heading towards their hotel. Cho was following behind when Abbot called Jane. Jane looked over and saw the agent waving him, he looked back to Lisbon, squeezed her hand and then left her in the capable hands of Kimball Cho. He didn't really want her to leave without him, but he knew Cho wouldn't let anything happen to her.

He followed Abbot into his office, he sat, motioning Jane to do the same. The two men sat opposite each other, Jane sat back in his chair and Abbot leant forward on his elbows. Jane watched the man in front of him, he guessed why he was in here but waited for Abbot to say it. He was enjoying the subtle, but obvious nervousness his boss was experiencing.

"Patrick, I need to speak with you about something," he started.

"I'm all ears, Dennis," Jane replied.

"You and Lisbon are great,"

"Oh, Agent Abbot, you flatter me," he teased.

"Agent Pike has spoken with me, he has requested that Lisbon transfer to his team."

"What?" Jane sat forward in his chair, he really, really didn't like this Agent Pike. "What did you say?"

"I said, that I wasn't going to give up one of my top agents. I also said that it wasn't my call, if she wants to transfer then it needs to be her decision," Jane sat back in his chair, he could feel gratitude rising up for his new boss. "I wanted to give you a heads up. Pike's going to talk to her tomorrow."

"You're not giving Lisbon a heads up?" Jane asked, leaning forwards again. He smirked at the Agent. He knew Lisbon wouldn't transfer, not if it was her choice, but this guy had no idea how pissed she would be when she finds out he got a heads up and not her.

"I spoke with her earlier, after your little rendezvous in the interview room," The agent smirked at him.

"You saw?"

"No, of course not. I saw you guys exiting the interview room, I made an educated guess based on your appearance," Abbot grinned at him. "Add that to the fact that you guys have been stealing glances from each other all afternoon." Jane was impressed, the guy's observational skills were on point. "I am surprised though."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd take this long," Abbot said, grinning at his consultant. Jane nodded, smiling a little in spite of himself.

"What did Lisbon say?" Jane asked, changing the subject back to the matter he was most interested in.

"I don't think that's my place," Abbot said, evasively.

"Come on, Dennis. I know what you're doing."

"You do?"

"Yes. You're trying to get a rise out of me, to see what I really feel," Jane stated simply.

"Am I?"

"If you want to know, why don't you just ask me?"

"Would you tell me?"

"Probably not," Jane shrugged. There was no probably about it, he wouldn't tell Abbot, no matter how much he liked the guy.

"She seemed surprised, but I don't think she'll move," Abbot said. Jane nodded, he didn't think so either, but it was nice to know for certain. "Right, let's get you back to the hotel," Abbot said, as he stood.

"You're taking me?"

"Yes, I want to go home. Taking you back gives me an excuse to leave," he shrugged. Jane mimicked him, smiling as they left the office. They walked to the lift and Abbot pushed the button. "Jane, I have to ask,"

"You want to know about me and Lisbon," Jane stated, looking at his boss.

"It's none of my business, whatever it is that is going on between you it just that," Abbot said.

"Well, that's very generous of you."

"Yes, I just need to know that it won't get in the way of your work."

"You do know Teresa, right?" Abbot nodded. "Then you'll know that she is nothing but professional," Jane said, turning back to the lift as it opened. They entered and the doors closed behind them.

"So, your little meeting in the interview room. You call that professional?" Abbot questioned, there was no hint of accusation. In fact, Jane could detect a hint of amusement.

"Maybe not," Jane said, amused himself. "That was a one off, I can promise that."

"I'm glad to hear it." They rode the rest of the way down in silence. Jane was impatient to get back to the hotel, he wanted to see Teresa. He remembered the look in her eyes when he kissed her, they burned. It had been a long time someone had looked at him like that, not just with lust, but affection.

He had met many women in his life, most of them had been interested in him. He could see it in their eyes when they looked at him, he used to use that. Use women, use their attraction to him to get what he wanted. Not anymore, yes he still used people. Used them to catch bad guys, he knew people thought that's all he did and that he enjoyed it.

He couldn't lie to himself, he enjoyed taking people down a peg, but he never used people who didn't deserve it, unless it was absolutely necessary to catch a killer.

After he lost Angela, using women lost its appeal. He used to love the attention they gave him, loved the fact that they wanted him. He was never unfaithful, he loved his wife and is a true believer in monogamy. But it never stopped him from using their feelings for him, not anymore. He missed the look Angela used to give him, missed seeing love rather than lust. That was what he saw in Teresa, she wanted him but not just for his body. She was attracted to him, but she also loved who he was, despite what he had done.

When he did that dating video on the Symphony case, he spoke about his wife, about what she was. He wanted someone who know him, all of him and still loved him. Just like Angela did. He never thought he'd meet someone like that again, not until he met Teresa Lisbon. Not only does she know the worst of him and still love him, she saved him.

From the moment they met, she never treated him like a victim. Never stood on eggshells around him. She called him out on, well, everything. She never let him wallow in self-pity, she always picked him up. It was because of her, he didn't turn the gun on himself after kill McAllister.

She went above and beyond anything he could ever ask for.

Jane and Abbot pulled up at the hotel, Jane unbuckled his seatbelt and Abbot followed suit.

"You're coming up?" Jane asked, surprised.

"I want to check in with Lisbon and Cho," Abbot replied and they got out the car. Jane didn't question it, it made sense that Abbot would want to check on his team.

They walked up to the rooms, Abbot knocked on Cho's first. He answered, dressed in jogging bottoms and a t-shirt.

"Sir," Cho said.

"Hey, Cho. Just wanted to check in on you guys. Lisbon in her room?" Abbot asked at Jane went to knock the door of said room.

"Yeah, all's quiet," Cho replied. Jane knocked again.

"Good, that's good," Abbot said. Jane knocked again. The two other men looked over.

"Lisbon?" Jane called, he put his ear to the door.

"Maybe she's in the shower," Abbot suggested when he saw Jane's worried look.

"I can't hear the water running. Lisbon!" Jane called again, this time pounding on the door. "Lisbon, open up!" Cho exited his room, he and Abbot crowded round Jane. "Break it down," Jane said to Cho.

"Jane, she's probably sleeping. There's no reason to worry," Abbot said, trying to calm him down.

"No, she's a light sleeper. She would have woken up by now," Jane took out him phone and dialled Lisbon's number, it went straight to voice mail. He dialled again. "Cho, knock it down."

The Asian agent moved in front of the door, and kicked it open. The three of them walked in, Cho and Abbot had their guns out.

The room before them empty, nothing was out of place. Jane kept calling Lisbon's phone, it was vibrating on her bed. Cho cleared the bathroom, he and Abbot looked to Jane. His phone was still in his hand.

Lisbon was nowhere to be seen.

*AN: I love a good cliff hanger (at least I hope this was a good cliff hanger). Hope you enjoyed, and please, please review! Thanks :-)*