A/N: So yeah, I decided to do the dailyfics challenge on LJ. Just started with a week's worth of prompts. May be more adventurous in the future. As a warning, this is touching on the Mature side of things at the end. Though nothing too graphic, so I'm not sure if I should bump the rating up or not. Not that I think people pay attention to ratings particularly anyway... hm.

This one is dedicated to Frogster, because Lisbon is showing her vulnerable side a bit again.

x tromana

Title: Memories
Rating: T/M
Summary: Jane's distractions change his relationship with Lisbon somewhat.
Disclaimer: …nope, still not mine.
Notes: 50 Phrases: I can't, LJ dailyfics community fic, day 2. Prompt: Nightfall

Memories

Teresa Lisbon wasn't normally much of a drinker, but there were times when cases just got to her and she needed to find an outlet of sorts. If they were at home, in Sacramento, she would have hit the streets for a good, hard run, but they weren't. Instead, she holed herself up in a corner of the hotel patio, glass of wine in hand, watching as the sun set. The rest of the team had long since retired to their hotel rooms to watch movies, break into mini-bars and for what she hoped, come nightfall, would be a good night's sleep. She needed them to be fresh and alert come morning, at any rate. The case was still in its infancy and they had plenty of leads to be chasing up.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

She jolted from her reverie, accidentally spilling a little of the deep red contents of her glass over the wooden table. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she took the time to mop it up with a napkin. Lisbon knew that she should have expected Jane to come across her sooner or later; his insomnia was almost as well-known as his grief over the death of his family. He smiled that typical sunny smile of his, the one that never quite met the corners of his eyes as he took the seat opposite her. She sighed; there was no point in telling him to go away as he never listened to her anyway. Even when it mattered. The amount of times she had had to save his sorry ass of late was unbelievable. No wonder her paperwork always seemed like it was multiplying like bacteria.

"What do you want Jane?"

"Oh, lots of things," he replied airily. "A drink would be nice, maybe some sleep…"

"What do you want with me right now?"

"To know what's troubling you."

Her eyes suddenly became fixated on the rim of the glass as her finger danced around it. Lisbon could feel his eyes on her, watching her every move as he often tended to do so. When she first met Jane, it had unnerved her somewhat, but she had grown used to his attention, even if it did still make her feel uncomfortable at times. And did she really want to launch into a discussion about the nights that her parents died? Both days had been perfectly nice, but they were marred by the evenings. Blackened nights that were welcomed in by blood red skies. She shuddered slightly and gulped at her drink. The sun was still on the horizon. It felt like it was going to be another one of those nights.

"The case?"

She nodded in response and placed the glass back down, for fear of making a fool out of herself yet again. The victim had been an alcoholic father of three. To the untrained eye, it would have been dismissed as suicide, but in reality it was blindingly obvious that there was more to it than that.

"My mother died on a night like this. In a car crash."

His fingers entwined around hers and for once, she didn't pull away. A sad smile replaced the bright one in a flash.

"I know."

"I don't want to talk about it," she added quickly.

"Talking can help."

"Hypocrite."

Jane stood and pulled Lisbon to her feet. The sun had almost set and frankly, he didn't like the idea of her sitting alone, drinking herself into a stupor. Not that she would ever do that; his Lisbon was far too sensible and far too level-headed to do such a thing. She remained mute for a while, but he knew that curiosity would soon get the better of her. Either that or her impatience. It didn't matter which she succumbed to first, both would have the same result.

"Where are we going?" she eventually sighed."Red sky at night, shepherd's delight," he mused, out loud. "It's a beautiful sunset, isn't it?"

"Why are you quoting proverbs at me?" she asked. "And what the hell does it mean anyway?"

"That it's meant to be a lovely day tomorrow."

She snorted. "Every morning after a particularly impressive sunset has always been particularly bad for me."

"We need to do something about that," he declared.

"Jane…"

He had gone mad, she decided. Completely and utterly mad. Sure, he had his sweet moments, but usually his underlying sadness was still obvious. It was what made him so attractive to the countless number of widows they had dealt with. The fact that they could just tell that he knew what they were going through was enough. Still, she followed him onto the beach where he promptly pulled off his ugly shoes and encouraged her to do the same. Lisbon couldn't help but smile slightly as her foot sank into the soft sand. She hadn't been on a beach for pleasure for years, mainly because she just didn't seem to have the time. The walk was good, relaxing. She didn't need to talk to be able to enjoy Jane's company.

"You're smiling," Jane noted.

"Yes, I am."

"You look beautiful when you're smiling."

Jane stated it so matter-of-factly and with such honesty that Lisbon found herself having to stop walking. That admission was unexpected to phrase it politely, but what surprised her more was to find that his hand was gently stroking her cheek as his blue-green eyes stared directly into hers. Seconds later, she found him kissing her tenderly and as much as she wanted to melt into his touch, she had to pull away.

"Jane, Patrick… I can't… we can't…"

"Why not?"

He looked so forlorn that she immediately felt the guilt set in and once again, she found herself looking for anything to distract her from looking at him. After a while, she focussed on the reflected moonlight on the ocean.

"You still love your wife," she murmured. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

She tried to ignore the tears building up in her eyes and rushed away. Lisbon knew that a relationship with him wouldn't be forbidden by the CBI, not because she had checked, but because she knew the rulebook back to front. It was their damn emotions that had stopped their flirting from becoming anything but that. They were both aware of just how broken they were as individuals. Once in her hotel room, she flopped down in frustration upon the bed. A night that she had intended to spend quietly reflecting on the loss of her parents had somehow turned to a night where she was debating where her already fragile friendship with Jane was going. She couldn't quite decide which was worse. Lisbon cursed at herself; she had just known that the sunset was going to signify something, again.

"Teresa, I know you're in there."

She jerked her head in the direction of the door, quickly noting the use of her given name. She hadn't even noticed his insistent tapping upon the door. Eventually, she padded across to it and unlocked it. Jane's persistence meant that if she didn't bother letting him in, she wouldn't get any sleep. It was better to hear him out then attempt to ignore him. Nodding at her, he stepped through the open door and closed it behind him.

"I can," he started, swallowing deeply. "I can love you both. If you can, I mean…"

Lisbon couldn't help but laugh slightly as the words tumbled out of his mouth. Obviously, Jane had tried preparing what he was going to say and it was all going wrong. Gently, she placed her index finger across his lips before covering them with her own. An arm travelled around her waist while his other hand ran its way through her soft, dark hair. Gently, he indicated to her bed and nodding slightly, she stumbled backwards and collapsed upon it, pulling him down on top of her.

"Are you sure?" he murmured, "we can't take this back if we do."

She nodded in response and his lips found her bare shoulder while her hands disappeared up his shirt. Layer by layer, they slowly, painfully stripped each other of clothing. As each piece found its way to the floor, he asked for permission. Jane in reality was far more nervous than the one she had unashamedly fantasised about for the past couple of years, but he more than made up for it in sweetness. Both of them were disconcerted somewhat at how fast everything was moving. In reality, they had been playing games with each other and dancing a tentative dance for so long that it felt natural. As he explored her body, fingers and tongue finding soft skin that hadn't ever been exposed to him before, he managed to shelve the guilt. By the time he cried out Teresa's name later, it had dissipated entirely. As he wrapped his arms around her sweat slicked body to settle down for the rest of the night, he could only hope that she didn't feel guilty too.

As the sun peeked through the curtains, Lisbon smiled contentedly to herself. She hadn't expected Jane to still have an arm casually wrapped around her come morning. But then again, she hadn't exactly expected him to join her for the night at all. Red sky at night, shepherd's delight, indeed. For the first time in her life, she was beginning to think that the shepherds may actually have a point.

end