Thanks for the encouraging feedback and reviews on the last chapter! I'm in the homestretch with this story (three, maybe four chapters to go after this one) and the support I've received really keeps me going! You guys are the best.

Another short installment here, but I'm trying to keep things moving along nonetheless. This story has been quite the slow-burning romance, I know, so any actual concrete progress for Lisbon and Jane feels like a giant leap forward to me. I hope the pacing feels right to you readers!

Chapter 14

When Lisbon opened the front door of Virgil's house just past seven thirty that night, Jane was standing on the front steps with a bottle of red wine in one hand and a pizza balanced in the other. It was probably the most glorious sight she had ever seen in her life.

"Hey, you" she greeted him then glanced at the box in his hand quizzically. "I thought I was taking care of dinner."

"You did. I just happened to intercept the delivery boy in the driveway just now," he explained with a grin, handing the box to her as she ushered him into the small entryway of the house.

"Come on in. Did you find the place okay?" she asked as he toed off his worn leather shoes and followed her into the tiny kitchen off the hallway. She set the pizza down on the counter.

"Yep, your directions were perfect," he answered, placing the wine next to the pizza box. "Follow the switchback up the hill, three turns, yellow house with white trim."

"Good," she replied with a smile as she opened the drawer to retrieve silverware. "So, do you want a fork or just a-".

Before she could finish her sentence, she looked up to find that he had closed the distance between them and was descending his lips upon hers. She gasped slightly in surprise, but immediately molded her mouth with his and returned his deep kiss fervently. The utensils she had taken out of the drawer remained clutched mindlessly in her hand as she draped her arms around his neck and brought her body flush with his.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to do that when I saw you at the café earlier," he said on a heavy breath when they finally broke apart a minute later. "Although I knew if I tried any funny stuff in front of your coworkers, you'd probably belt me."

"Well, maybe you should go for it next time and see what happens," she replied in a teasing tone with the arch of her brow. His arms were still wrapped around her and she felt his deft fingers playing with the wavy ends of her long hair hanging down her back, still damp from the shower. She saw the smoldering intensity of his gaze reignite in response to her cheeky remark, and he swooped his head down to steal another kiss. She accepted it readily, but cut it short after a few moments, knowing full well that if she didn't, the two of them would probably end up having sex on the cold linoleum of Virgil's kitchen floor. Not that that would be a bad thing…on the contrary, it would probably be very, very good.

"Dinner first," she reprimanded him jokingly, handing him the silverware and plates.

They decided to forgo the kitchen table and instead settled themselves on the area rug in the living room enjoying the warmth of the blazing fire Lisbon had started in the wood burning stove in the corner of the room. The wine and pizza were spread out on the coffee table and they sat side by side, eating from the plates in their hands as they leaned up against the sofa. When they were done they moved up to the couch, Jane with his legs crossed casually in front of him, Lisbon with her heels tucked underneath her and the rest of her body leaning into his. They sat in silence for a minute or two, looking out the picture window at the brilliant orange and pink sunset on display before them as Jane laid his palm on her back and rubbed it idly.

"This is a great little place Virgil's got here," Jane remarked as his eyes swept the cozy wood paneled room before settling on a collection of framed photos on the nearby bookcase. Most of the pictures were of the Lisbon siblings when they were younger, the most recent one being a photo taken at Teresa's police academy graduation, which showed her surrounded by her smiling teenaged brothers and Virgil looking on as proudly as any parent.

"You stayed here a lot as a kid?"

"Oh, yeah. After my mom died, dad started bringing us out here to the coast a couple of times each summer whenever he couldn't deal with things anymore. He'd basically just dump us in Virgil's lap and disappear for a week or two."

"Nice," Jane interjected dryly.

"Yeah, well, if Virgil was ever put out by it, he never let it show. He knew how much we needed him- and the escape, especially my brothers being as young as they were. He'd close up the shop early every day when we were here- even during the busy summer season- and take us out hiking in the hills or bring the boys out fishing on his boat."

"Not you?"

"Oh, god no," she answered on a laugh. "I tried it once and got so seasick. I ended up spending most of the afternoon with my head in a bucket."

Jane chuckled as she grimaced in embarrassment.

"But, I remember how much I loved the peace of those afternoons when I'd stay behind and be here by myself. I'd pretend that I was all grown up and this was my house." She smiled wistfully at the remembrance then rolled her eyes a little. "I guess it's not all that different from what I've been doing here the past year. It's like I've been playing house all these months, on vacation from the real world, and now it's time to go back."

"Well, I suspect this place will always be a home to you, no matter where you are," he replied as he reached across and took her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers.

"Yeah," she nodded and looked up. "It's the same for you, isn't it? With Sam and Pete?"

Jane raised his eyebrows and nodded in return. "I suppose so, especially as this nomadic existence of mine starts to wane and loses some of its charm."

"Really?" she asked with the furrow of her brow. "But, you've spent your whole life on the road. What's changed?"

"Well, the carnival was a community, friends who were like family to me. I was constantly on the move but always surrounded by everyone and everything I knew." Jane paused and cast his eyes downward. "The way it's been these last few years on my own- well, it's gotten a little too solitary for my taste I guess. So much so …" he paused again and took a deep breath, "that I'm thinking about maybe settling down a bit; staying in one place for a while. Try it out and see how it feels."

She glanced up at him in genuine surprise. "Wait… are you saying you're going to stay here? In Cannon River?"

"Here? No," Jane answered with the shake of his head. "That little shop of mine doesn't exactly have much long-term potential for me. To be honest I'm getting a little bored with it and need to try something different. And as much as I'd love to stay with them forever, I can't keep imposing on Sam and Pete."

"So, what are you going to do?" Teresa kept her eyes trained on his and noticed an almost imperceptible flicker of nervousness and uncertainty flash across his face. He continued haltingly, his gaze darting back and forth between her face and their intertwined fingers; she hung on to his every word and syllable.

"Well, I'm thinking that a city might suit me better. You know, someplace with lots of options to explore, where I can figure out what I want to do." He laughed nervously but brought his eyes back to hers. "And it'd be nice to be somewhere relatively close to here; I could get back to see Sam and Pete every now and then.

"And, I was thinking I could choose a place where I already know someone." Jane swallowed hard; she couldn't believe how anxious he looked. His voice was now barely above a whisper.

"Someone who has become very important to me…and who is looking at me right now like a deer headlights." His face broke into an apprehensive smile, clearly an attempt to momentarily defuse the tension that hung in the air. But he kept his sea green eyes on hers and searched them expectantly, attempting to gauge her reaction as the dawning realization of what he was saying began to sink in.

"You want to come to Portland… with me?" Teresa gaped in shock and she pulled herself upright, turning her body so she could face him directly.

"Yeah," Jane replied simply, then tilted his head to the side and eyed her cautiously. "But now you are looking at me like I'm crazy and I'm thinking I probably shouldn't have said anything…"

"No! I'm not looking at you like you're crazy," she replied weakly, feeling completely off-kilter and totally incoherent at this startling turn of events. "It's just… this isn't a conversation I ever expected you and I would be having."

"Clearly," he replied on a wry laugh; he waited a beat and his expression was suddenly serious again. "But do you want to have it, this conversation I mean?"

Lisbon looked back at him intently; she couldn't quite fathom the full ramifications of he was proposing or what it all actually meant. But instinctively she knew the answer to his question and without any hesitation or doubt, she smiled widely and nodded in affirmation. "Yes."

Relief and joy flooded his features, and she could feel his entire body relax at her response. He leaned over and kissed her soundly, then grasped her hands and held them between his palms as he continued on excitedly.

"So, I know you're going to have a lot on your plate when you go back, reestablishing yourself at your job and everything else, and I don't want to get in the way of that. I'm certainly going to have plenty to figure out on that front for myself, but I can do that and give you the space you need at the same time."

"Okay," she nodded with a small laugh.

"And I'm thinking I can find some campground or trailer park on the edge of the city to park the Airstream and I'll be out of your hair whenever you want me to be. We can just see each other on the weekends if you think I'd be a distraction…"

"Jane-" she cut in tentatively.

"Or, I'll bring you coffee and donuts when you're out on a stakeout, if you want a distraction…"

"Jane, take a breath. Slow down," she interjected before adding soothingly, "We'll figure it all out."

He did as he was told, then smiled softly at her. "Yeah, we will. I'm sorry- I am getting a little ahead of myself. I guess I'm just so relieved you didn't run screaming from the room when I sprang all this one you."

Teresa laughed again, but then a thought popped into her head and she bit her bottom lip anxiously. "So, what did bring all this on, Jane?"

He looked at her questioningly.

"Are you making this… huge, life-altering decision because I told you I'm leaving in few weeks?" she asked her voice filled with trepidation. "Because if you are, you need to really think this through. I can't be the reason you turn your whole life upside down like this."

"It's not because of that, Teresa," he shook his head firmly and met her steady gaze. "I mean, I'm sure that's part of the reason- but I think this has been coming for a while now."

He leaned forward a bit and brought his elbows to rest on his knees as he clasped his hands together.

"I was having a conversation with Pete this afternoon and you may not have noticed this about him, but he's a pretty perceptive guy. He has a way of cutting through the clutter awfully fast, and he isn't afraid to call things as he sees them."

"And what does he see?" she asked gently.

"That I don't like what I'm doing; that I'm not happy just coasting along and using my brains to get by like I've always done." Jane smiled wearily. "You know he asked me if I wanted to be doing this psychic thing for the next twenty, thirty years of my life… And it's such a simple, basic question, but I realized today that I've never even asked myself that before. I've never really considered what I wanted, beyond scoring the mark in front of me and lining my pockets a bit before moving onto my next scheme or plan."

Teresa's widened eyes pooled with emotion as she listened; it was a little strange and overwhelming to hear him speak so unguardedly about what had been, until recently, something of a taboo topic between them. And now here he was, laying it all bare before her. She reached her hand over to touch his and as soon as their skin made contact, he clasped it firmly and met her eyes.

"Teresa, I don't know what lays ahead for me," he shrugged before adding, "which I realize must sound pretty ironic coming from someone who's spent most of his life claiming to be 'all knowing and all seeing'."

She chuckled lightly as he leaned in closer and fixed his fervent expression on hers.

"I've got a lot I'm going to have to figure out these next few weeks and months… but one thing I do know- is that when I envision the future, wherever I am or whatever I might be doing, I picture you there. I want you to be a part of it, somehow. And maybe that scares you and it's probably too early for me to be saying this- but I needed you to know that."

He raised his eyebrows expectantly then grinned. "This would be your cue to run screaming from the room."

"I'm not going to run screaming from the room," she replied softly, her eyes brimming with wonder and happiness as she moved closer to him and kissed him once again.