Well everybody seems to be asking for the same thing and if I'm honest I've been waiting for this chapter myself I want to see Jane and Lisbon get together as bad as you guys do. So I would love to hear what you have to say about this chapter, and I promise I have a plan sort of. As usual I own nothing.
It took all I could to open my eyes the next morning, but when I did I was rewarded with Jane coming in from his run. His shirt was off and he was using it to wipe off his face. God I should look away.
"You're up early." He smiled, "Excited to get back to work I assume." I watched him walk into the kitchen and then come back a couple minutes later with a glass of water. "Or totally dreading it." He read the look on my face.
"Not dreading work, dreading leaving you alone with the kids." I answered sitting up.
"I haven't proven myself yet?" He frowned, "Well I'll keep working. Oh and you're going to have to wait a couple minutes for your coffee I just put the pot on."
"You should really try being more efficient." I teased, he needed to go get dressed, this was distracting.
"I'm giving it my all here." He smirked, "Since you're up after my shower I was thinking I might go out and get doughnuts for breakfast."
"Jane I don't have all the time I usually have." I reminded.
"I know I figured you could get the kids ready, while I get doughnuts." He smiled, "That's what you've wanted right to be able to help the kids get ready in the morning."
"I hate you." I rolled my eyes.
"I'm going to go take a shower." He laughed, I waited for him to go upstairs before preparing for my own shower. It was rushed but I was really happy to be able to get the kids ready for the day.
"Noo." Alyssa protested, as I tried to wake her up.
"But I have to go to work today don't you want to say good bye." I attempted.
"Good bye." She yawned, rolling over.
"Patrick is bringing home doughnuts for breakfast." I sighed, and apparently doughnuts was the magic word because I had three heads popping up out of their sleeping bags. "Come on we got to get dressed first, and brush our teeth and hair." Protest was minimal as long as they acknowledged they would get doughnuts when it was done.
By the time I got to work I was already wondering what the kids were doing without me, was this what it was going to be like forever? On top of that I had been forced to drive Jane's car because there was no way I was letting him drive with all four kids in his. To his credit it did drive nicely.
"Good to have you back boss." Grace stopped by my office when she walked in, Cho did the same soon after, and Rigsby was the last one in. I had been at my desk a whole half an hour when there was a knock on the door. Director Bertram came in without waiting for my response.
"Where's Jane?" He questioned standing in front of my desk.
"He's watching the kids for me this week until they start school." I looked up from my paperwork.
"Was it to much of a bother to call and tell some one this?" He asked.
"I told him to call, and I assumed he had but apparently not." I answered it, in honesty it never crossed my mind for him to call in, he never clocked in on a schedule anyway. "He did say something about being a consultant and only working cases he wants to anyway."
"I see." Bertram frowned, "I was hoping to talk to him about something."
"If it's about the book thing, he hasn't looked at any of it and still thinks its ridiculous." I stated, "Besides he said you agreed on six months before making a contract, it's been three."
"I hadn't realized he told you about that." Bertram tilted his head, how come I had a feeling I wasn't going to like what came next. "Could you talk him into this book idea."
"He's not arguing, he understands why he has to, he's not happy but he doesn't need to be talked into anything." I looked up at him.
"I have to ask." Bertram stared, "The two of you aren't in some sort of relationship are you?"
"What no, of course not." I stuttered, "Why would you think that?"
"I hear things and you were on a two week vacation together." He reminded.
"Jane and I are not in a relationship, I lost an old friend and have no idea how to raise kids. Jane is the only one I know who does have experience raising a child, I needed his help and that is all." I returned, I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince him or myself.
"Just making sure." He shrugged, "And I'm sure you'll do fine taking care of those kids." He started walking for the door, when I remembered I had a request.
"Director." I stopped him, and he turned, "Is it okay if I take off at lunch on Wednesday, I need to get some things for the kids."
"Umm yes, I guess." He didn't look very happy.
"The twins want a bunk bed, if we're on a case I'll wait until the case is solved I promise." I tried to reassure him, but he just nodded and walked out of my office, he had barely made it to the elevator when my team rushed in.
"What did he want?" Cho asked.
"To try and confirm rumors." I watched as Rigsby pulled a twenty from his back pocket, they would seriously bet on anything. "He wanted to talk to Jane about something, he wasn't happy that Jane's not coming to work this week."
It was almost noon and I had barely gotten any work done, it was killing me that they got to have fun and I was sitting behind my desk. It got even worse every time I looked at Jane's couch. In the end I decided I really had no choice but to call.
"I expected this an hour ago." Jane chuckled answering his phone.
"How are the kids?" I ignored his comment.
"Absolutely perfect." He answered and I heard a ding in the background.
"What was that?" I questioned, and why did it sound so familiar.
"The microwave." Was his reply.
"Since when do you use the microwave?" I frowned.
"There is a lot to be said for Tyson chicken nuggets, have you seen the commercials." He teased.
"Can I say hi to the kids?" They were why I had called in the first place.
"I suppose so, kids go say hi to Teresa." I could almost hear him smiling, and before I really heard what he said my office door flew open and I had three small children jumping into my lap and my cell phone fell to the ground.
"I knew that wasn't a microwave." I rolled my eyes trying to balance all three children onto my lap.
"And you were right." He chuckled hanging up his own phone and setting a bag of lunch on my desk.
"Is this whole room your office?" Emily jumped from my lap and ran to the couch.
"Yep." I smiled, watching Alyssa dig through the bag of lunches for her own meal.
"Does Patrick get an office?" Emily wondered curling up in the corner of the couch that Jane usually occupied.
"I get a couch." He grinned, "I'm not an actual cop. But why don't you ladies take this bag out to the rest of the team."
"Is this your couch?" Emily asked hopping up and taking the bag from his hand.
"No my couch is the one out there with the team, Teresa wouldn't be very happy if I spent all my time on her couch." He laughed.
"Bertram asked about you this morning." I took the bag of food and William over to the couch where Jane had sat with Cass on his lap.
"Naturally." He nodded, accepting the sandwich I pulled from the bag.
"He wanted to talk about the book thing." I warned.
"No he didn't he wanted to hear from you that the rumors weren't true." He shrugged, readjusting Cass in his lap so he could eat.
"Why is everyone so obsessed with those damn rumors?" I pouted helping William with his lunch.
"Because you're a celebrity now." He teased looking over at the stack of newspaper articles Van Pelt had cut out with my name in it since the Red John case. "Or they have no lives of their own and they've watched When Harry Met Sally one to many times."
"I like your last answer better." I smiled, "but what does that movie have to do with us?"
"I think the quote is 'men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.'" He answered watching me, I knew the quote I loved the movie. I'd never admit to it I don't watch romantic movies but something about that one always made me happy.
"Ridiculous line." I announced, and Jane just laughed, "You don't think so?"
"I've never really had a chance to find out." He shrugged, what does that mean, "If you haven't noticed Lisbon I don't have to many friends." He answered my unasked question.
"You have four good friends." I reassured, "And you don't want to have sex with any of them do you?"
"Well I don't know Lisbon." He face got incredibly serious, except for that devilish twinkle in his eyes, I swore I would never fall for a bad boy, but that was before I had met Patrick Jane, did he count as a bad boy?
"What's that supposed to mean?" I frowned, he stared out at the bullpen for a minute then looked back at me with a wicked grin.
"Those are two incredibly attractive men out there." His face portrayed only seriousness and I didn't know what to think, until he broke down and started laughing. "You should really see the look on your face right now."
"You're a jerk." I laughed with him.
"There is nothing wrong with admitting that another man is attractive." He tried to keep a straight face but it was proving difficult.
"It is when the question asked was would you like to have sex with any of your friends." I raised my eyes.
"And you thought I was telling the truth." He smirked.
"I don't know is it really hard to believe?" I teased, "I mean I've never seen a man so insistent on wearing nice clothes, you turn down every women that talks to you, and everyone already knows you're an impeccable liar so maybe you just didn't want anyone to know."
"That's funny." He set Cass in her carrier at the same time William jumped up and ran to join his sisters in the bullpen, I was watching through the one open blinds as the kids played in the bullpen with my team.
"I'm just saying it wouldn't be a horrible shock." I lied.
"The look on your face when I said it begged to differ." He chuckled.
"I was just impressed that you chose to confide in me." I shrugged, "I mean all those nights we've shared a bed and you've tried nothing you expect me to be surprised." I grinned and so did he, before I had time to react his lips were on mine his sandwich wrapper fell to the floor as his arms wrapped around my waist, I wanted to pull away we were at work this was inappropriate some of the blinds were open. But when I felt his tongue start to dual with mine I was gone, until he pulled back to breath.
"It's really hard." He breathed, and it took me a minute to realize where he was going with this, because I kind of sensed it had a dual meaning. "To not try something every night in bed."
"You're not gay." Was all I could bring myself to say and we both sat back in satisfied laughter, his kiss was like a drug I hadn't even realized how much I needed it again until I got it. Maybe we could work out a system a kiss a week until I got rid of my need for it, unless that only made it worse.
"Mr. Agent Cho wants to know if everything is okay in here." Alyssa came running in, uh oh I knew someone would see something, but Jane just laughed.
"You can tell him we were testing a theory." Jane straightened up. "Here tell your sister to eat her food before it gets cold." He handed her the bag with a single sandwich in it.
"That's all it was." I nodded, after Alyssa ran back out of the room. "You were proving a point, that I may add you never needed to prove to begin with."
"Alright." He listened.
"Nothing changed, we're still co-workers and it's still inappropriate. Maybe after the furniture gets moved in we shouldn't share a bed anymore, if it really is that hard for you." I wasn't worried about his self-discipline when it came to that he had been chaste for the better part of a decade but I really didn't trust myself.
"If you think it's necessary." He frowned was he really disappointed, did he really want this as bad as I did. He had kissed me now twice.
"Maybe after the girls start school you shouldn't spend the night anymore either." I was killing myself right now, "I mean you can still come over and tuck them in and help them get ready in the morning, but maybe sleep somewhere else."
"If that's what you want." He nodded, of course this wasn't what I wanted, this is what had to happen.
After he and the kids left the afternoon was possibly even longer than the morning. Damn that impossible man. Why had he done that? Clearly to make my head spin, there was no need to prove a point he knew as well as I did we weren't being serious. Now I got to drive his stupid death trap back to the house.
"What the hell?" I walked into the living room.
"Yes?" Jane looked up.
"You bought a couch." I frowned, "And where did you get all these toys?"
"Well I've been banished from the bed." He shrugged.
"So you bought a couch." I groaned letting myself fall onto it, in his defense it was a lot more comfortable and bigger than my thirteen-year-old couch.
"Consider it a house warming gift." He chuckled.
"It's not my house." I argued.
"You're money, you're house." He announced.
"What is that your mantra now?" I rolled my eyes, watching him play with the kids. "And where did these toys comes from?"
"Patrick took us back to the storage unit." Alyssa smiled, "Look at all the Barbie's."
"He also brought the chest back with him." Emily grinned, "We had to beg him to because we really wanted to see the magazines."
"You brought the chest here?" I turned to him I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting him to be sitting there grinning.
"It's very hard to turn down two adorable pouting five year olds." Jane smiled, and then added, "I couldn't say no when I only had one. I have found very few people who can play me, but they have the cuteness factor it's not fair."
"The cuteness factor?" I laughed.
"Yes, the cuteness factor." He replied, "It's harder to say no when the person selling is good looking."
"I suppose that worked to your advantage." I wondered, and he stared back.
"I don't think the cuteness factor works for anyone who isn't a child." He answered.
"So you're saying you're attractiveness had nothing to do with your ability to sell your load of crap, to every women and their mother." I smirked.
"Did Teresa Lisbon just call me attractive?" He changed the topic.
"Well I'm not blind." I responded, he really looked good even if he was holding a Barbie in his hand. For some reason I felt this conversation was heading toward a non co-worker friendly conversation and one of those was enough for a day. "What do you have planned for dinner?"
"Steak." He smiled at my changing conversations.
"Steak, that's kind of expensive and isn't it hard for kids to chew?" I worried, sitting up a little.
"It's only hard to chew if you don't cook it all the way." He faced me again, "And I for one will cook it properly."
"Patrick, Teresa's home now can you open the chest?" Alyssa sat up.
"After dinner." He frowned.
"You said when Teresa got home you would open it." Emily pouted.
"I know but I'm sure she's tired from work she probably wants to relax a little." He tried.
"Well you're the one opening it she can relax." Alyssa pointed out.
"No, guys we can wait until after dinner." I interrupted, "Until then I want you to tell me about this game your playing."
"Agent Lisbon playing with Barbie." Jane chuckled.
"I'm not going to smack you." I sighed, "You're going to go cook dinner and then we'll have a look at those magazines."
"That is possibly more cruel than anything I've ever done to you." He argued handing me the doll and heading for the kitchen.
"Oh I doubt that, you brought the chest back you knew what would happen." I called after him, then he stuck his head back through the kitchen door.
"If you're interested in torture, you might want to hook up the VCR ." And with that he was back in the kitchen. Was he talking about torture for me or torture for him? I mean he had unloaded all of my boxes I didn't know if I still had any of my childhood home videos, I thought I left them all with my brothers in Chicago.
Dinner turned out to be amazing, I will forever be convinced that he hypnotized the girls into eating asparagus of course the promise of the magazines and leftover dessert pizza helped. On top of that I had never had homemade mashed potatoes before.
"Time to open the chest!" Alyssa cheered finishing her last bite of steak.
"Why is this so exciting to you?" Jane chuckled, gathering up the dishes.
"You were in a magazine." Emily smiled and rolled her eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"He was on TV too." I volunteered, just in case whatever torture he had planned was going to affect me.
"You were on TV?" Alyssa jumped up.
"Thank you Lisbon." He shook his head but he didn't look nearly as upset as I thought he would, not nearly as sad. "But hey you've been on TV you're fair share this year, and the paper, and I believe a couple magazines."
"That's different, I was on TV giving interviews you were performing." I tried to argue, "And every time I was on TV or in the paper, or interviewed in a magazine you were right next to me."
"You were in magazines too!" Emily grinned, "Are you famous?"
"No." I shook my head.
"Kind of." Jane smirked, "Teresa can go get her magazine articles from her bookshelf and I'll do the dishes, and then I suppose I have to open the chest."
"Okay." Alyssa dragged her brother to the bookshelf to look for the magazine, so I didn't really have an option but to go help them.
So twenty minutes later we were all grouped together on the couch with the chest in front of it and the magazines from my bookshelf sitting on top of them. "Why is Patrick sleeping in that picture?" Emily frowned as we opened the first of two magazines.
"Because the photographer wanted a picture of a normal day at work." I explained, "That's why Patrick sleeping and everyone else is sitting at the table going through case files."
"Are you supposed to sleep at work?" Alyssa questioned.
"No, you're not supposed to, but Patrick doesn't like listening to rules." I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes, while we flipped through the two magazines.
"Okay, open the chest." Emily announced setting the magazines down next to us.
"Alright." Jane took a deep breath and pulled a paperclip out of his pocket, did he carry those with him all the time, it certainly seemed like it. It only took him a second to pick the lock, but I could see him stall when it came to flipping open the lid. On top lay a little more than half dozen magazines all with him on the cover, with his hair gelled back in a way I had only seen once before and that was when I watched the clip that led to him eventually joining us at the CBI.
"Why is your hair funny?" Alyssa giggled flipping through the photos.
"Yeah Patrick why is your hair funny?" I teased him, if he was smiling with us he wasn't thinking about other things.
"It's called gel." He smiled.
"I thought only girls wear hair gel." Emily tried and failed to hide her laughter.
"Well how do all those boys on TV keep their hair spiky?" He turned and tickled her.
"What this?" Liam pulled something out of the bottom of the chest.
"Yeah Patrick what are these?" I frowned pulling out a bunch of VHS's fearing they were his own family videos why else would they be locked in the bottom of a chest.
"Those my dear are my copies of all of the TV appearance's I ever did." He answered as I went through and read the dates on each side of the tape. I had never seen his act, on multiple occasions I thought about looking up clips on youtube thinking there must be something there but in the end I always chickened out. Knowing Jane wouldn't like it if I dug into his past too much.
"And this is why you had me hook up the VCR." I frowned.
"I know how much you've wanted to see them," He shrugged, how could he possibly know that? "And I appreciate that you didn't want to do it behind my back."
"Jane." I started.
"No, I don't mind watching them, that particular clip isn't here." He interrupted, "That is in the bottom of the ocean." Something about the way he said it didn't sound right, but I didn't ask but he answered anyway. "Well my copy is, I took the studio's copy and that is some where else."
"How often do you watch it?" I frowned.
"Here girls go put this in the VCR." Jane pulled out a tape at random. "I haven't watched it at all since."
"How often did you watch it before?" I worried.
"Enough." He shrugged, welcoming William onto his lap to watch the clip.
"You are a sadist." I just shook my head.
"I guarantee I got no pleasure out of watching it." He scooted over so Emily could squeeze back in between us.
"Then why watch it?"
"I wanted to see if I could have changed things from happening." He admitted and then the tape started we weren't five minutes in when William turned to look at Jane.
"What's psychic?" He asked.
"Someone who makes predications and claims to talk to people who aren't there." Jane answered, looking down at the boy.
"They talk to dead people." Emily frowned.
"Can you talk to mommy and daddy?" Alyssa turned away from the TV, and now the discomfort on Jane's face was obvious.
"You three pay attention okay." Jane looked from one kid to the next, "There is no such thing as psychic's and I can't talk to the dead and neither can anyone else. If I could talk to the dead I would try my very hardest to talk to your parents."
"And your family." Emily watched him.
"And my family, but you see that's all on TV and its acting like in a movie, there's no such thing as psychic's." He nodded, I thought he was doing a pretty good job at explaining things, how did he always know what to say. Sooner than not we were back to watching his shows, he really was convincing but I had always known he was good at his job. And before I knew it we were all tucked into our sleeping bags after a very interesting day.