Author's Notes: Sorry about the long wait before posting, I got caught up with life. I am alive! I had spring break and decided to bust out the quilt I started in college and also am in the last stages of the story (in a few more chapters) and am experiencing writer's block. I know the general way I want to end this story, but the details are hard pressed to come out and type themselves. Also break ended and I had my first week back to work this week, so a crazy couple of weeks.

Anyway, thank you Yana for your continual hard work! Thank you readers and especially those of you who left a comment! They brighten my day!

lisbon69 (Ah cats, they do what they want and somehow allow us to have their presence in our lives… lol! Wow, glad to hear various people keeping my story safe, I'll be going to you guys if ever my computer crashes. Let's keep our fingers crossed and pray that doesn't happen…), LaFemmeQuiRit (First time reviewer I believe, thank you so much for taking the time to do so!), mwalter1 , MK (Oh, you can continue to tell me how much you like this story lol! Geez, can you imagine having Jane in your family? Just think of what could happen "Is Aunt Martha dead?!" "No, no, she's just in a trance, she wouldn't leave Patrick alone and kept going on and on…"), Country2776 (Thank you!), lisbonloafers (Ah school, somehow I can never get away from school. Thanks for taking the time to read this.), Ebony10 (No inner musings about the stomach thing has been written, weird isn't it?), Americanchick (Sorry it took so long to update!), Hikaru Ceres (I only recognized "The Music of the Night" in your short list. I'll have to look up those others sometime. Have you ever read while listening to music and find the perfect one playing just as you read a certain part? It's happened to me before, it was just a perfect coincidence.), crimsonpirate (Thanks for commenting! Actually one chapter was rated "M" and the other "T+", not K, omg if it was mistaken as "K" that would be horrible! I didn't change it too much, just edited out a few details. I'm glad you thought the chapter was somewhat realistic.), Simonisthecuttestmentalist (Sorry, I have left you hanging for so long! I grovel before you and all the other readers! :-P)

Thank you all for your support!

Chapter 20

Monday morning Teresa awoke much like Sunday morning, warm and content… but also a bit sore. The previous night, despite not being fully recovered from their new bed activities, she had pounced on Jane as soon as the lights went out. He hadn't been completely surprised, noting the change in her mood prior, the too obvious disinterest to cover up her actual interest. Still, there was a tiny amount of surprise when she actually following through on her more than pleasant plans for him.

Teresa didn't blush, per say, at the thoughts of the previous evening, but she did feel warmer. The dark was her domain, at least in bed. She hadn't thought about being confident so much as she wanted Patrick, wanted to please him, in turn pleasing herself with her accomplishment, not to say there weren't more than a few tentative moments as she explored the waters of their sexual relationship.

Memories of hot and wet mouths colliding, the slapping of sweaty misted skin, the groans… okay, she was blushing now. Last night was more about gratifying their bodies, Patrick allowing her control, which made her more comfortable. When she came down in shaking relief, he was there to hold her, sooth her heated, aching body with gentle hands and lips.

Teresa turned in bed to face Patrick to find him already awake, flecks of light bouncing off of the stubble on his chin and about his smile-deepened laugh lines. The arm around her tightened, pulling her against his bare chest, eyes closing in a soft kiss.

"Good morning," he grumbled in a sleep roughened voice, the intimate sound vibrating through her eardrums and body. It was a voice only she would get to enjoy in the privacy of their bed.

"Good morning," she replied, closing her eyes again, just soaking in everything from the comforting smell of her pillow to the weight of his arm around her. Then she sighed; tomorrow is the start of the work week, though if all goes well, it will stay the four day week it is intended to be with no overtime on the weekends. They were salaried workers; they didn't receive overtime wages, but did rack up vacation days they had to use before the end of the year. Government workers usually had weekends and holidays off, but law enforcement was a different matter. Crime didn't have weekends.

Teresa opened her eyes again. She moved her leg over his, running her foot along his inner calf, causing Patrick to shoot her an instantly smoldering look.

"You know," he said conversationally, as he pulled her in closer, their noses almost touching, his voice becoming a purring whisper, "it's not nice to tease a man in the morning after satiating him… completely."

His hand was lightly tracing up her spine, her skin shivered, lust heightened. She had rarely engaged someone in morning antics such as this; she blamed it on a honeymoon mentality of their weekend, finally consummating their relationship only two nights ago. She couldn't quite ignore the sore nether region though, flushing in embarrassment for starting something she wasn't sure she'd be able to complete.

Patrick chuckled deep in his throat, kissing her lightly, then rolling onto his back, pulling her with him, "You are so easy to read."

Teresa bristled a moment, defenses kicking in, but forced herself to stay calm. Patrick was lazily rubbing her back, running his hand down her side and hip before returning again. She laid her head down against his shoulder, breathing into his neck, warming the end of her nose against his skin.

"You know," he started huskily, sending Teresa on guard with those words, "there are other ways to please each other without me having to… enter..."

She couldn't speak and didn't dare to. It was only the morning. She shook her head against his shoulder as he continued his soothing stroking of her back.

"You act so shy this morning, where did last night's vixen go?" he joked, humored by her bashfulness, one of her many attributes he loved. The tough as nails cop turned agent who could tackle men more than twice her size, walk into grisly crime scenes, capable of being a sex kitten, but still shy and embarrassed about many other aspects when it came to her personal life.

"You are a very darling woman," he told her, she could hear the smile in his voice.

"And you're a nice guy," she finally said, then added drily, "when you're not being a pain in the ass."

Her spine whipped straight after a sound smack to her bottom caught her off guard. Teresa pushed herself up, glaring down at Patrick who had on a cheeky grin, "Just fulfilling expectations."

She shoved at his side, startling him with her strength as he was pushed close to the edge of the bed, his arms and legs shooting out, trying to get a grip on the mattress and headboard. Teresa had crossed her arms in front of her bare chest, a satisfied smirk in place. The look of alarm, splayed limbs gripping onto any available surface, and messy covers made her wish for a picture. It was difficult to visibly surprise Patrick Jane.

He straightened himself out slowly and cleared his throat, sounding rather diplomatic, "Well then, I think I'll just go take a shower now."

***

Jane and Lisbon went for a walk around the neighborhood after breakfast. The leaves had started to suggest a change, a few brittle ones littering the ground and gutters. The trees were still predominantly green, but in a few more weeks they would be of many colors, officially announcing autumn's arrival. As it was, the rain fall was increasing in small increments, leaving the air in a palpable chill for those living in southern California, even though the drop in temperature was only a few degrees.

The sky was blue, but they could see the murky grey in the distance as hazy clouds threatened to make their way. It would probably rain by nightfall.

The corner of Jane's lips lifted as he caught Lisbon glancing at his arm. He wondered how long it would take her to muster up the nerve. She went for it, looking down to the side away from him as she slid her arm around his. He pulled his hand out of his pocket as her hand found its target, interlacing their fingers. It took considerably less time than before from the moment he noticed her glances to the execution of her plan. He gripped her hand in a light squeeze; she looked up at him with a small smile then looked ahead, their joined hands swinging lightly between them.

***

The rain hit the window panes in a steady rhythm, the outdoors was dark and dull when Jane and Lisbon turned in for bed. The sheets smelled of fabric softener after being washed earlier that day after their walk. Teresa wore The Jersey to bed that night, snuggling up against Patrick, an arm thrown over his chest as they gave each other a goodnight kiss and she rested her head on his shoulder. Patrick subtly took in her scent, which smelled faintly of her shampoo and that warm unidentifiable feminine Teresa.

Their weekend was over and they would be returning to the office the next morning. Patrick braced himself for the next work day. This weekend, there was a drastic change to their relationship and yet it was the same in other ways. He knew that he had to keep up the charade of them being nothing more than coworkers, but it would be difficult. He was capable of putting on a mask, as was Teresa, but he also knew that Teresa may overdo it just a bit in attempts to conceal her developed affection towards him, to prove to the others that they were not any more than a supervising agent and consultant who happened to banter.

He turned onto his side, wrapping his left arm around her body and felt her move, looking up at him inquisitively in the dark. He pressed his lips against the crown of her head and encouraged her silently to rest her head against him again, tucking it under his chin. He felt her warm hand rubbing his back in slow circles through his shirt and let out a sigh, rubbing his cheek against her hair, closing his eyes. He was being so obvious that even Teresa picked up on his mild anxiety.

In this home was the truth of their relationship, he would have to remember that.

***

Tuesday morning after everyone (except Jane) had settled into their desk areas the usual checking of e-mail ensued. By ten Cho already had a book out, Rigsby had worked up the nerve to sneak another yogurt drink out of the break room, and Van Pelt was studiously staring at her computer screen… running a virus check for lack of anything else to do at the moment. The mail cart came around, a different mailroom boy than they had several months ago. Lisbon hadn't put much thought into it, but recalled a vaguely satisfied smile on Jane's face when the new mail runner took over.

Lisbon's head came up when she heard a rapping at her door.

"Come in," she called out. The mail runner came in with a large manila envelope, setting it in her inbox basket.

"Thanks."

The door clicked shut; Lisbon completed her e-mail message and then looked curiously at the large envelope, picked it up and found only her name on it. She turned it over to find the other side blank as well. She cut open the top with a letter opener and poured out the contents. Her stomach dropped as a chill of dread spread within her. There were pictures of her and Patrick walking, holding hands, of them entering her home together. As she spread them out, almost frantically, she found a white sheet, it's printed words of "I know" the first thing she saw.

She stilled the trembling in her hands as if the note would see and straightened it to read. The twelve point Times New Roman font read:

I know you are involved with Patrick Jane, your team consultant. A copy of these photos will be sent to Virgil Minelli. Submit a letter of resignation by the end of tomorrow and Minelli will never know.

When Lisbon finished reading, she didn't know what to think. She almost wanted to laugh. In fact, she was laughing. Who the hell sent a "threat" like this? It could put a slight damper on her career, but it didn't say they wanted money, didn't threaten her life, just wanted her to resign so that Minelli wouldn't find out about her personal relationship with Jane. It was absurd. Was this a joke?

"Knock, knock."

Lisbon looked up to see Jane walking in, closing the door behind him, "A secret admirer?"

"Hardly," she scoffed, hesitated a moment, then motioned him to her desk, handing him the note.

Jane reached out and accepted the paper, leaned over her desk, eyebrows rising, "Hm."

He read the note, mouth downturned slightly in concentration, no doubt trying to profile the author of it.

"Quite perplexing," he finally commented, setting the paper down, picking up the photos next, "You know, these aren't too bad, we could put them in an album."

"An album of creepiness," Lisbon quipped, eyebrows furrowed, "Who do you think did this? When I got the call from this guy Grace traced it to the payphone in the lobby, they know our names and Minelli's, which I guess isn't too hard to find out, but still."

"We could have the team work on this," Jane suggested, picking out a picture and placing the rest back on her desk. The picture was the moment Lisbon had looked up at him with a shy smile after she placed her hand in his yesterday. It was a good picture were it not for the fact it was taken by a stalker.

"No, we can't do that, this is a personal matter and it would an abuse of my power," Lisbon immediately answered.

Jane looked up from the picture to her, "It's not like they're doing anything else out there, they're bored out of their minds and would love to do this for us."

Lisbon looked down at the pictures before her, appearing to mull something over. She placed a finger on the corner of one of the pictures, straightening it. When she finally looked up, Jane saw that the worry lines had smoothed out, eyes startlingly clear. He knew what she had decided and knew he wouldn't like it.

"Teresa-"

"Jane, I'm going to talk to Minelli. You don't have to come with me if you don't want to, but this was something I should have done as soon as I agreed to start dating you. I was remiss in my duties to do so."

"Teresa, you don't have to do this," Jane argued, blocking her exit from behind the desk. She had stood up from her chair, "The team has long suspected our relationship and wouldn't do anything, they'd support us in fact. We can go find out who sent these to you and take care of it and it'd stay within the team."

"Jane, get out of the way. I think you knew this day was coming. We can't avoid it anymore. Minelli will likely put you with another unit and all will be fine."

"I refuse to move," he said petulantly, arms out to keep her from squeezing past him, "The note said we have until tomorrow, we can do this."

Lisbon stood, arms crossed over her chest, staring up at him, almost pityingly, "Jane, move. I'm sure that whatever unit you get moved to they'll let you bring the couch down with you."

He stared at her, knowing that short of hypnotizing her to buy some more time that what she wanted to do was inevitable. He didn't want to leave her team, he wanted to be able to see her every day, not just at home, but at work, be able to see her office from his couch, be in on everything that was going on with her. He saw her glance over through the windows, and then looked at him again, her face softening. She lightly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Patrick, you have to let me do this. You are welcome to come with me, but whether you do or not, this will happen. We will still be in the same building; we'd be able to drive in together after this, no more secrets from the team. Being able to be open about this would be a huge relief, you know that," she told him gently, giving his shoulder a light squeeze.

Patrick slowly lowered his arms. He knew he couldn't change her mind any more than he could stop loving her, even if he hated this decision. He quietly stepped aside and Teresa moved, pausing in front of him. She stretched up and kissed his cheek, a hand on his chest. When she stepped away from him, a kind smile graced her features. He saw the tired look in her eyes, but also something seemed to be lifted in her as she strode out. He watched her walk out then spotted a surprised Van Pelt standing outside, files held against her chest, a slight blush evident on her cheeks. Jane mustered up a smile and waved at her.

***

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

Lisbon was in Minelli's office, the door and window blinds closed. She had just informed him that she and Jane were in a relationship outside the office and he had told her "no".

"Sir, Jane and I-"

"Stop right there," he ordered from his seat behind his desk. He had fingers on the bridge of his nose, eyes closed as if he was starting to have a headache, "I don't want to hear this."

Lisbon stepped up to the desk, placing her palms on the edge of it as she leaned down and spoke, "Virgil, I'm serious."

He looked up, blue eyes staring into her green ones, "I'm serious too Teresa. I don't want to hear this."

She stood up, arms falling to her side as she looked away in exasperation, "I apologize for going against the non-fraternization regulations; I also apologize on Jane's behalf-"

Minelli snorted, "Yah, I'm sure."

She rolled her eyes then looked straight at him again, "Sir, we broke the rules and are prepared to accept the proper punishment for our misconduct."

Minelli let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair, running a hand over his short salt and pepper hair. After a moment, having collected his thoughts, his sharp blue eyes trained on her again, "Lisbon, do you realize the difficult position you've placed me in?"

"Sir?" she asked confused, her eyebrows furrowed.

Minelli leaned forward, resting his forearms against the top of his desk, clasping his hands together, "What unit could Jane possibly go to? He didn't listen to a single supervising agent until he was placed in your team, albeit listening to you isn't his favorite pastime, but he does, to a degree, listen to you. If you two are… what you say you are, what is the chance he's going to voluntarily listen to anyone else?"

Lisbon tried to keep herself calm; she was starting to wonder if she may have lost Jane his job.

"If I try to move him to another unit, he'll probably stay with your group anyway, or compromise a case to get what he wants, you know he will."

Lisbon shook her head, "No, I'll talk to him. I told him I would tell you, he knows I had to."

"Teresa, do you honestly believe he could 'play nice' with any other unit?" Minelli asked, awaiting her answer.

Lisbon stared at him for a moment, then finally looked down at the floor, swallowing.

"I didn't think so," Minelli said, sitting up in his chair again, dragging a hand across his face, "He closes case, he's great to have around, it's because he's such a great asset to us that I didn't fire him when he didn't work well with the first three supervising agents I sent him to before he was placed with you. I won't fire him, but I also know that I can't place him with another unit without him acting out or simply refusing. Does anyone know about you two?"

"Um, maybe my team knows," she said quietly, then looked up at him, a grim frown tainting her features, "Also I received threats from someone saying they'll tell you, which I don't see how that will affect that person."

Minelli looked concerned, "What about this threat? When did you get it?"

"There was a phone call a while back, then this morning I got an envelope with pictures of me and Jane together at home," she told him, slightly embarrassed to share even that much of her personal life.

"What did they want?"

"My resignation, didn't mention anything about money or threat to my life, it was just blackmail for me to quit my job here," she told him walking over to his outside window.

" 'Just blackmail'?" he asked disbelievingly, "There's no such thing as 'just blackmail'."

"Well, I don't plan to resign and unless there's a proven threat to my life the best I could do was just be truthful and confess. There's nothing to threaten me with now," she reasoned, looking back at him, backlit by the sunlight.

Minelli leaned back in his chair again, massaging his forehead a moment, eyes closed before dropping his hand and looking up at her again, "I'm not going to transfer Jane, which is going to be difficult to explain since I'm guessing the office rumor mill will probably find out about your relationship if they haven't already. Who knows, maybe the person who's threatening you may post the pictures up tomorrow," he paused, forehead crinkling, he cleared his throat and couldn't quite look her in the eye, "The pictures, they weren't ah… compromising, were they?"

Lisbon looked at him quizzically for a moment then jerked up in sudden understanding, "Oh no sir! Nothing like that, just us holding hands, walking, and going into my house."

"Uh, good. We'll hope that's all this person has, um, sorry," he said awkwardly, glancing up at her.

"No, I didn't even think about that," she replied.

"Well then," he cleared his throat again, pretending they hadn't just talked the last few seconds, "I will need to take some sort of action that will sufficiently appease the others. Jane could quit, though I doubt that will happen. You could see about extracting a promise he will keep to work with a new unit…" seeing the look on Lisbon's face he continued on, "I didn't think so either… Suspending you two really doesn't solve the problem since we'll be back at square one when you return… Why can't you just let me pretend none of this happened?"

Lisbon's mouth quirked up in amusement.

Minelli threw his hands up, "You know? To hell with it! As long as you two can keep being professional, or for Jane his standard, while you're at the office and on official business, I'm just going to let this be. What's the point of being the boss if I can't make decisions like this?"

Lisbon's eyes widened in disbelief, not sure if she actually heard what he had just said, "Sir? Do you really mean that? What about regulations?"

"Screw them. Besides, he's a non-armed consultant; it shouldn't affect your team dynamics since he officially isn't supposed to be in danger like the rest of your team. My official stance is that you two are professionals and know not to let your personal lives interfere with work, am I clear on that?" he gave her a hard look, almost daring her to disagree.

Lisbon pressed her lips together and nodded, "Yes sir, thank you."

He stood up and walked towards his door, opening it and signaling her out. She stayed in her spot a moment longer then walked to him, placing her arms around his age softened body and pecked him on the cheek, hurriedly walking away. He stared shocked at her retreating backside, a hand placed on his cheek thoughtfully.