A/N: So sorry I missed yesterday! Had a lot to do, so little time! Please, enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.


'Dismissed'

Chapter 12

They all retired to their cabins, this time more teachers staying up a little later to clean up the common hall. Lisbon once again got into a conversation with Wylie, even though it was just a short one. Something had changed about him, too, she noticed. Considering he was not likely to have found a new woman to love, there had to be something that had changed with Michelle. Lisbon was determined to find out what it was.

Mr. Jane opened the door for her, and she both liked and hated his gentlemanly ways. She was about to point it out to him, when she noticed his pupils were fully dilated as she turned towards him. His eyes had been on her the entire time.

Suddenly, she couldn't stop herself anymore. He had taunted her all day long, ever since they first kissed - if he liked her so much, he could have her.

She closed the distance between them and linked their lips, and he responded immediately, swinging his arms around her to pull her close.

The big hands she had noticed before roamed her body, setting her nerves on fire. She gasped into his mouth as he cupped her bottom, and she pulled on the hairs in the back of his neck.

When she moved to his front and went to unbutton his vest, he pulled away from her lips.

"I don't want to go too fast," he whispered, even though his hands told her something else. "We can take our time. We can even do this another time, if you want."

She slowed down her movements as a reaction to his words. She was surprised - most men she had been with had been so blinded by lust at this point that they wouldn't stop, even if she wanted them to. And here he was - a man, whose lust and eagerness was slowly poking against her stomach, taking his time with her, wanting to savor her and not rush her into anything. His admiration for her was obvious, and it made her realize that she admired him, too, adored him. She wouldn't be able to give a valid reason why, she simply did.

She brushed his cheek and rested her other hand on his chest.

"If we don't do this now, I don't think I will be able to sleep this night."

His breath fanned her face, but aside from some twinkling in his eyes, she didn't get much of a response.

She needed him, probably way more than he needed her. She had an itch inside her that needed to be scratched, but she needed his full cooperation.

She softly pushed him away.

"You know what, you're right. We should do this another time."

Turning around, walking over to the bed in the middle of the room, she took the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head.

She heard footsteps behind her but they didn't come any closer. The curtains ruffled, she wanted to know what he was doing. She wanted to turn towards him, but just as she was about to, she felt his body against her back, his lips on her neck, his hands cupping everything he could find.

"Teresa," he breathed near her ear, and the use of her first name had never brought on such an intense reaction - her entire body felt as though it was on fire. Now she knew why he had reacted the way he had when she had used his first name. "If we do this now, I will not be able to stop."

She nodded and grabbed one of his hands for balancing purposes.

"Please." It was the only thing she could muster. He moved her towards the bed and made her lie down. At that moment, all rational thought left her, as Mr. Jane - no, Patrick - crouched down beside the bed and took one of her legs in his hands, kissing her ankle.

"Patrick…"

He slowly crawled up her body to link their lips, immediately understanding what she needed.

She loved him. She couldn't unsee that anymore. She would fight the world just to get some more time with him.

~...~

He woke up in the middle of the night when he tried to move onto his other side, but a warm object that was pressed against his side prevented him from doing so. He looked down, some of his muscles were protesting, but he had to look. He was met by the sight of the most beautiful woman he had seen in years. Snuggled against his chest. Not just warming his body, but warming his entire soul.

He got a lump in his throat and he felt he couldn't breathe past it, so he kissed the top of her head and slowly but surely left the bed, making sure she was comfortable and still asleep.

He got himself something to drink and splashed his face with water at the sink. Muscles that he hadn't used in a while were aching, and it felt good, it reminded him of what he had done with Teresa.

When he returned to the main room, he noticed she hadn't moved a lot since he had left her.

He had meant his words - he hadn't expected to find something like this when he had come to the school. He had hoped he would be distracted from his eternal boredom with the chance to teach the younger generation a bit more than they already knew. He had entered the school on that first day with a healthy dose of regret and reluctance, but it had all faded when he had first laid eyes on her. Oddly enough, ever since that first moment he had seen her, most of his thoughts revolved around her.

He sat down in an armchair placed in the corner of the room, where he had a perfect view of her.

He had gone too fast, he knew it. She deserved way more, deserved a romantic declaration of his love, with rose petals at the beach with the sun setting casting a beautiful glow over her perfect face. She deserved the best champagne he could afford while they were having a picnic with fireworks going off in the sky.

Instead, all he had given her was a rushed declaration on a stupid tree log, because he had been so eager to be with her, kiss her, see that beautiful smile on her lips.

And now, he had made love with her, multiple times at that, and it had been on the same day as his rushed declaration. He hadn't even told her he loved her. He had been numb with love, he hadn't been able to say much yet. To top it all off, he didn't want the entire neighborhood and their students to join in on their lovemaking so they'd had to stay relatively quiet.

And to imagine that he hadn't intended to make this step for at least a few days… but he hoped she knew that she meant a lot to him. He should voice it, however, or else she might never know.

"All that frowning might give you a headache," he heard her soft voice fill the room, pulling him out of his deep thoughts. He focused on her tiny frame again.

She put an elbow underneath her and her face came into sight. Her lips were slightly red, likely from all the time he had been desperate to kiss her, and her hair was a mess, but she looked so beautiful she took his breath away.

"What are you thinking of?"

He didn't respond, and now it was her time to frown. She got up and the thin comforter slid off her naked body, and he was only barely capable of keeping his small gasp in as his body responded to her beauty.

Her hips swayed when she walked towards him, and she probably did it without thinking about it. She put one hand on his shoulder as she climbed on his lap, straddling his legs.

"I don't know how to do this, Teresa."

She frowned even more.

"What do you mean?"

He sighed, and rested both of his hands on her hips.

"I mean… I don't know how to do… relationships. I don't want you to… to look back in a few days, or weeks, or months, and think… that we went too fast and that you're not ready for this. I don't want you to think that you're just an easy lay for me." When he saw how attentively she was listening to him, with love pouring out of her eyes, he lost the fight he had been having against his tears, and it felt like they came all the way from his toes.

"I never wanted anything in my life that I couldn't stand losing… it's too late for that now." He cupped her face with both of his hands, while she held his wrists, the corners of her mouth turned down as a reaction to his tears. He was such a pussy, but couldn't go back now. "Teresa Lisbon, I love you. I am consumed by the desire to be with you, to talk with you and to be by your side."

His tears brought out her tears, too, and within seconds, they were both sobbing in each other's arms. No, this was not how he wanted it to go! It needed to be romantic, but instead they were just crying so much they could barely utter words. Why was he such a blabbermouth?

"I love you," she whispered, although it was more sobbing what she did, and he kissed her then, with all his might, showing her how much it meant to him that she was here with him, and that he was hers.

In the past few weeks, he hadn't wanted to admit what she was slowly becoming, and he hadn't given much thought to his changing feelings. He knew now that he had slowly been falling in love with her; every day they had worked together, every witty joke she had thrown at him, every time she pretended to hate him, he had been drawn closer to her. Like a mermaid she had called him in, and now he was here, with no other way than further, together.

This was the woman he wanted to grow old with. He had experienced this before, and had failed to protect her. But this woman, this little firecracker - he would try everything he could to protect her. Even if she insisted she didn't need his protection.

He recovered before she did, the tears she was shedding now more likely brought on by exhaustion, and he brushed them away, every single one that showed up and dared to touch her cheeks.

Eventually, she looked up into his eyes, and cracked an embarrassed little smile.

"Are you sore?" he asked her, brushing some left-over tears from her cheeks. She took in a deep breath and nodded. He traced her lips with one finger, admiring the texture of them, knowing he would never get enough of her. "Let's get you to bed, then. We'll just sleep."

He put both of his arms underneath her and lifted her, feeling a slight buzz of victory, feeling like her knight carrying her out of danger, even though he would never be her hero. He wasn't a hero. Whatever he was, though, he was hers. If she wanted him, she could have him. All of him. He was a terrible boyfriend, but he would be her terrible boyfriend.


A/N: Let me know what you think, please!