Author's Note: Hey everyone! Here's chapter 25! It's really just a bunch of fluff and Jane and Lisbon having a moment. I hope you guys all like it and enjoy your New Years!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist.

Lisbon had looked into Jane's noise complaint from the previous night. As it had turned out, Jane's complaint really had been taken seriously and most - if not all - of the people at the party had been arrested and taken into custody. Upon seeing this, Lisbon smiled and then informed Jane, who was also very pleased. Jane then convinced her to take an extended lunch break. With not much going on, Lisbon agreed. Jane took her back home where they had left over Chinese food and lay on the couch to relax a little.

"I texted Melody earlier. She seems to be doing okay at school today. She told her friends the bruise was from a gymnastics accident." Lisbon said, her head resting on Jane's chest.

"I'm glad to hear she's doing okay."

"She's still not herself, though."

"No." Jane agreed. "She's not. That was a pretty traumatic thing, so it'll probably take her some time to come back from that."

Lisbon sighed heavily, lifting her head to look at Jane. "You think I might have neglected her a little bit?"

Jane's brows furrowed. "Neglected? Are you kidding? No. Anything but."

Lisbon pursed her lips. "Are you sure? I mean, I know I kept the box from her and everything, but maybe I should spend some more time with her? I don't want to smother her or-"

"You're babbling." Jane informed Lisbon gently.

Lisbon huffed, placing her head back on Jane's chest. "Do you think I should spend some more time with her? I haven't done that so much recently."

"Yeah, I think it would do you both good to start spending more time together again." Jane replied.

"What would I even do to spend time with her?" Lisbon wondered.

"That doesn't really matter." Jane told her. "As long as you're both spending time together. Play a board game. Go see a movie. Go to the mall..."

"Like going to the mall would really go well for us." Lisbon mumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I...I'm not good at that stuff. Shopping and fashion and whatever. Melody wouldn't be able to enjoy it."

"Don't be ridiculous. Melody would love it. You could both discover it all together. You're just as curious about girly things as she is."

"I'm not."

"You are. You're just not sure how to stop repressing it."

"I am not repressing!" Lisbon argued.

"Oh, don't give me that. You are so. You secretly love your dresses and heels."

"And what makes you say that?"

It was Jane's turn to sigh deeply. "You're going to deny every piece of evidence I give you, anyway. I'm not explaining this to you."

Lisbon just grumbled and they lapsed into silence.

Jane laced his fingers through Lisbon's, bringing her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. "She's going to be okay, Teresa. She's strong. You, James and I have done an okay job. At least, I like to think I helped."

Lisbon lifted her head again and shifted up the couch so she could look Jane directly in the eye. "Of course you've helped. You're better at this than I am. I don't know what would have happened last night if I didn't have you."

"You would have gotten through it."

"You know, if it weren't for you, Melody might have been grounded by now."

Jane chuckled. "I don't think so. You wouldn't really ground her. How would you be able to keep an eye on her here while you're at work? And you know she'd find something entertaining at work."

"I know." Lisbon grumbled.

"You can still feel good that you're able to instill fear into Melody when you really want to, though."

"I think she's learning your immunity to my anger."

"Oh, that would be a trick. I don't have have an immunity to your anger. When you want to be, you're terrifying."

"Yet you still seem to bother me when I'm mad at you."

"That doesn't mean I'm not scared of you. It just means I love you too much to let you scare me off. Besides, if one of us were ever going to be scared off by the other one, it would have been you. I don't exactly come with light baggage."

"We've been over this. I have accepted that about you. My baggage isn't minimal either. I mean, if we weren't together I would still have Melody so it would almost be like dating a single mother. You know." Lisbon cleared her throat, trying not to sound to upset. "With an ailing brother as well."

Jane tucked her head into his shoulder and ran his fingers through her hair. "I'm happy, though." He whispered to her. "I'm happy with you anyway. I love Melody and your brothers. They're my family, too, in case you have forgotten."

"I know. And I'm happy with you, too." Lisbon was silent for a moment. "Did you...nevermind." Lisbon shook her head.

"What?" Jane asked.

"No, nothing. It's none of my business."

"What is it?"

"Nothing, I-"

"Teresa."

"It's about Angela. Forget I said anything."

Jane's heart skipped a beat at the mention of his late wife's name. "Ask me anyway."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. But don't be mad if you don't like my answer for some reason. And don't get upset. It's your question."

"Uh..." Lisbon took a deep breath, not sure where to start now. "I know...I know you...um..."

"Out with it, Teresa. Just ask me." Jane told her gently.

"I know you didn't have them very long, but what was it like? You guys were basically the perfect family. What was that like?"

"The perfect family. That's an odd question."

"Is it?"

"No one is perfect, Teresa."

"I know."

"You're asking me because you think I might feel the family I had with them was better than what I have right now with you."

Lisbon didn't respond, but her silence was answer enough.

"We weren't perfect. And you and I aren't perfect. I love both of you. Equally, but differently."

"I know."

"Then why do you ask me things like that?"

"Because I want to know what a normal happy family is like." Lisbon choked out. "It's all I ever wanted since my mom died."

"Teresa." Jane held her tightly as he felt tears soak into his shirt.

"You don't have to answer. I'm sorry." Lisbon wiped at her tears, trying to sit up but Jane wouldn't let her go.

"No, Teresa. Don't leave."

"It's fine." Lisbon still tried to get up, shaking her head and wiping at her tears. "I always do this, I know. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong."

Lisbon settled back against Jane, sniffling.

"We were happy." Jane answered. "I'm not sure what else you want me to tell you. We went to friend's houses and threw some parties of our own. If you really think we had a completely functional family, then you would be wrong. My father didn't even come to our wedding. And I told you about how Angela had to bail Danny out of jail in her dress."

"What about Angela's parents?"

"Her father didn't want to go, but her mother showed up. We had our friends from after we left the carnival that showed up and everything. My wedding with Angela was bigger than the one I had with you. You two are very different, but you both would have gotten along. Angela would have liked your wit. She always said that she wished she was wittier and tougher."

"She put up with you, so she was some kind of tough."

Jane laughed. "Regardless, that's what she said. And she would have admired that about you."

Lisbon smiled. "My mom would have liked you. At least, I like to think she would."

"And your dad?"

"I was his little girl. I don't think he would have ever fully liked any man I ended up with."

"Oh, he's one of those types."

"My mom would have made him behave. She always did."

"Oh, that's where you got your bossy gene from." Jane teased.

"Don't make me hit you right now."

Jane just kissed her head. "Do I get to ask a question now? About your family?"

"You know about my family."

"I mean your family before I joined it."

"You know all that."

"No, I mean when Tommy and Annie's mom got married. I've never met Annie's mom. What was she like? What was it like for you becoming an aunt for the first time?"

Lisbon exhaled loudly. "Annie's mom used to be really nice. Then they just went south somehow. I think Annie's mom just hit her mid-life crisis early and lost herself a little bit."

"But before that?"

"Before that, she and I got along really well. I had met her quite a few times before they got married. She was always polite and hospitable. Sometimes she even had to play peacemaker between Tommy and I. She always made Tommy offer to let me stay at their place whenever I came up to visit. When they first moved in together, I was going to just get a hotel room or stay with James or something to give them privacy, but she insisted that it was okay."

"Sounds like it was good."

"It was. They got married and I was happy for them. She almost made me a bridesmaid, though." Lisbon shuddered. "I managed to convince her not to."

"And you're going to tell me you're not repressing?"

"I can still hit you."

"Continue." Jane smirked.

"What else do you want me to say? A year or so later, she got pregnant with Annie."

"How'd that go?"

"Really well, actually. She was one of those women that just managed to get really lucky with their pregnancy. She was glowing and perky and apparently never had morning sickness. How was Angela's pregnancy?"

"It was that for the first half of it. The the second half her luck ran out and she always had morning sickness or her feet were sore or something. I was making a lot of chicken noodle soup for her. And there was a lot of hair holding over the toilet."

"That's unfortunate. She almost got lucky the whole way through like Annie's mom."

"Yeah, but Angela was still thrilled about having a baby."

"That's good. She deserved it if that was what she'd wanted. She worked hard fr it probably."

"And Annie's mom?"

"Annie's mom...she was originally an only child so marrying someone with three other siblings was exciting for her. At least, that's what she always told me. And since I was the only other girl - because James and Andy didn't have girlfriends at the time, or if they did, it was temporary girlfriends - she really tried for that pregnancy female bonding thing. She didn't really talk to me about it, just kind of threw it all at me. I was super confused, but I went along with all of it because, I mean, she's my brother's wife and the soon to be mother of my niece. I wasn't going to tell her no."

"No, you never would."

"I remember the first time I visited after she got pregnant. She was about half way through the pregnancy and she was pretty big. They met me at the luggage rack at the airport and before I could hug either of them or tell them hello she grabbed my hand and was like 'welcome home! fell it! The baby was kicking!' And stuck my hand on her stomach." Lisbon grinned at the memory.

"How shocked were you?"

"Very."

"Did Annie kick for you?"

"She did." Lisbon nodded. "It was a really weird feeling."

"It is." Jane agreed.

"But pretty much the whole time that's how she was. If Annie kicked, her mother would find the closest person and grab their hand and put it on her stomach to make them feel it. A lot of the time I ended up being the closest one."

"Oh, you loved it."

"Yeah, I did. I thought it was sweet and I was glad she wanted me to feel like I was a part of it. Then Annie was born and Tommy called me to let me know. They sent me a card with her picture and all her information."

"That's the picture you have in the frame in the cabinet?"

"That's the one. I went and got a frame especially for it."

"You had it engraved and everything."

"Of course."

"What about Melody's mom?"

"I think you've asked a little more than one question. Do I get more questions?"

"You started all this."

"Did not."

"Did so. But fine. You can ask me more questions. But what about Melody's mom?"

"Her mom was quite the piece of work. She seemed nice at first. Nice enough, anyway. She wasn't very talkative and I felt she liked to have distance between her and other people, which I guess I can't really hold against her. I was the same way for a long time. She just seemed very self-concerned. But James was happy and she was never particularly rude. She got along well enough with the rest of us. I figured she was only temporary, to be honest. She didn't seem like she was really the type to stick around long."

"You didn't expect James to want to settle down with her?"

"No. James was always so adamant that he wasn't going to get married and that he didn't want to be a father. He just didn't want to turn out like our dad, so he decided that the best way to avoid doing that is to not be a father at all."

"So what changed his mind when he was told about impending fatherhood?"

"I asked him that when he called me to tell me. He didn't seem to really have an answer. James just said that he felt he had to give it a shot. I think despite what he said, he thought about being a dad. I think he always kind of wanted to be one. He was really good with Annie. He even teased Andy and I that he wanted more nieces and nephews. I told him that was kind of hypocritical since he wasn't planning to give us any."

"Funny how he ended up giving you one though."

"Karma, I guess. The first thing he said that Melody's mom offered to do was terminate the pregnancy, but he told her not to. He said he was going to do his best at fatherhood. So she went along with it. I thought I was going to have to do another female pregnancy bonding thing and I even got myself excited for it, because Annie's mom had been so great but Melody's mom wasn't up for that. She seemed more distant. Actually, she seemed kind of mad about the whole thing. I think she really expected James to go along with her idea to terminate the pregnancy and when he didn't she didn't know what to do besides oblige him. I did feel kind of bad for her. She had to deal with everything and it was for a goal she didn't want to work for. James tried to accommodate her as best he could. He took her to the ultrasounds and got her on his health insurance plan to cover expenses and everything. Maybe he thought she'd change her mind and want to get on board with the whole thing."

"Didn't work, huh?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Did you see her while she was pregnant?"

"Yeah. She let me touch her belly, but she only seemed to do it begrudgingly. Didn't want people touching her much at all. Which, I guess I can understand. James said she had some morning sickness and soreness, not terrible but I'm sure it would make anyone grouchy. About two thirds of the way into the pregnancy she changed her mind all together and decided she was going to terminate it. James begged her not to, tried to convince her it was better to just have the baby. He said he would take care of it himself. He'd set up the nursery and everything. I mean it was just his little apartment that you saw, but he had little posters for the room and a crib and everything. He sent me some pictures. But she was dead set that she wanted to no longer be pregnant. He called me crying because he really thought he wasn't going to be able to be a father anymore."

"What did he do?"

"He had to go after her in court."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. He didn't want to, but he did. Melody's mom tried to get it thrown out and claimed that James was abusing her the whole time and he wasn't being supportive."

"I'm sure that didn't work out for her."

"James showed them the receipts from the credit card he used to pay the hospital bills with. He gave them proof that he'd put her on his health plan. He showed them the nursery he'd set up. She had moved in with him and he'd fed her and everything he could possible do so her claim got thrown out. I don't remember what else she tried to say. They did a test to see if there was any added risk for her being pregnant and James was willing to let her terminate if there was a huge risk to her life, but there wasn't. Apparently she was in the perfect health to carry a child. They just battled it out in court for the longest time and then the water broke and Melody was born anyway. There wasn't much of a contest after she was born, which parent got custody. Melody's mom wanted nothing to do with custody and James took it gladly."

"Well, at least it ended well for him in that way."

"Yeah. He didn't have a name for her when he called me. He hadn't been able to settle on one. He tried to cooperate with Melody's mom to pick a name so she'd get excited but that didn't work out. He had to think of one in the couple of days they give you after the baby is born."

"So he called you? Big sister is going to fix everything?"

"I do not fix everything for them. But yes, he called me. He decided on Melody as a name and he needed a middle name."

"And he asked if he could use your name."

"Yeah. I never thought anyone would ever ask me that in my entire life."

"You've helped a lot of people, Teresa. You never know who might have taken your name."

"Maybe. But I was still flattered."

"It suites her. I can't imagine her with any other name." Jane rubbed Lisbon's back. "You seem to be feeling better."

Lisbon snuggled more into Jane. "I am. Now, about me getting to ask more questions..."

"What do you want to know?"

"Charlotte's name. How'd you guys decide on it?"

"Charlotte. It means free. We liked the name and we liked the meaning. We wanted her to be free to do what she wanted. To be whoever she wanted and not feel trapped like we had growing. Angela's grandmother's name was Anne and they had been close so I agreed Anne would be fitting. I also really liked the flow of those two names together. I'd thought picking out a name would have been harder."

"What would you have named her if she'd been a boy?"

"Angela really wanted Jason for a boy."

"Jason. It's okay"

"It means healer."

"That's a very nice meaning."

Jane shrugged. "I wasn't a huge fan, but she probably would have gotten her way. Teresa means harvester, you know."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. Very fitting for you. Considering what you do."

Lisbon snorted. "If criminals were crops."

"I'm sure your parents were thinking more about the saint than the meaning of the name."

"Okay, smartypants. What does your name mean?"

"Noble."

"Ironic, but fitting."

Jane puffed. "Excuse you."

Lisbon laughed.

Lisbon's phone started to ring on the living room coffee table.

"Crap!" Lisbon gasped. "How long have we been on lunch break!?" She tried to sit up, but Jane tried to hold onto her.

"Not long enough." He grumbled.

Lisbon still struggled to get up, grabbing for her phone on the table. She was so close as it continued to ring. She pushed against Jane one more time and managed to grab her phone, picking it up just seconds before her voice mail got it. "Lisbon."

Jane pulled her back against him and began to kiss her neck as she swatted his shoulder.

"Hey, boss. We got a call from a sheriff. He wants us to come check out a body in one of the suburbs. Bathtub drowning. When are you and Jane coming back from lunch?"

"Okay, we'll be in soon. We were just coming back."

Jane grumbled against her neck and she smacked his shoulder again.

"Okay. See you when you guys come in, boss."

"Bye, Van Pelt." Lisbon hung up. "You're such a pain, Patrick!"

"Excuse me for trying to get you to relax a little." Jane continued to kiss her shoulder.

"Let me up and lets get going." Lisbon rolled her eyes.

Jane let her go, sighing heavily. "I want a kiss before we leave, though." He sat up.

Lisbon turned around and gave him a peck on the lips before hurrying to the door.

"I meant a proper kiss."

Lisbon laughed as she got her shoes on.

"Oh, you're holding out on me. Is that it?" Jane joined her, pulling her against him.

"No." Lisbon giggled, stumbling into him as he pulled her off balance. She turned in his arms to look at him, smiling. "I'm not holding out."

"You are so."

"No." Lisbon bit her lip.

"Mhm..." Jane murmured, knowing that she was lying. He caught her lips in an affectionate kiss.

Lisbon hummed her appreciation and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You still want to tell me that you weren't holding out?"

"We need to...go to work." Lisbon stammered.

Jane chuckled, kissing her once more. "Yes, work. Well, lets go then."

Lisbon cleared her throat and stepped back, putting on her shoes again. She was helped into her coat by Jane and they headed off.

Jane was pleased to note the blush on Lisbon's cheeks as they got into the car.

Author's Note: Well, that's it for now! Please leave a review! See you guys at the next chapter! Happy New Year