A/N: Okey dokey, as promised, here is the second to last chapter! :( Hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Woops, I forgot the disclaimer last chapter, so this one goes for both. I don't own The Mentalist or any of the characters. Never have, never will. End of. :'(

Y for yacht

She risked opening her eyes again, but regretted it instantly. Water. All around her, deep, dark murky lake water that concealed God knows what. She heard a laugh at the other end of the small, two person sailboat.

"What?" she muttered crossly.

"Nothing." He chuckled. Lisbon huddled further into the corner of the vessel, which creaked conspicuously around her. How it was even staying afloat, she didn't know, but sure as hell, she wanted out of this god forsaken 'team building' exercise. It was windy, drizzling with rain, and bitterly cold. To make matters worse, she hadn't been particularly well lately.

What she wouldn't give to be on a posh yacht in the middle of the Bahamas right now, kicking back, letting someone else take the wheel for once and letting them doing all the work…

A sudden gust of wind caught in the overhead sails, making the boat veer sharply to the side. "Please don't capsize…Please don't capsize… Please don't capsize…" she repeated to herself.

"It isn't gonna capsize, Teresa." Jane tutted. She raised her eyebrows questionably.

"Really? With you driving? You're bad enough controlling a car! Let alone a freakin' BOAT!" she squeaked.

"Hey! I'm not that bad at driving! Take that back!" he shot back, smiling to himself.

"NO!"

He wrenched the rudder to the left suddenly, making the boat swerve perilously. She screamed and gripped the sides of the boat, eyes now wide open.

"OK! OK! I'm sorry! I take it back!" He laughed hysterically as he righted the boat to its normal position. Van Pelt, Cho and Rigsby were watching them. They joined in with the chorus of laughter.

Yep, that yacht was definitely looking good right now.

She curled up further, humiliated and utterly frozen to the bone. The laughter faded and she glanced up to see them caught in a wind current and being propelled off to the other side of the lake. Jane's blue eyes were scanning her, all traces of a smile gone now. "What?" she huffed. "You had your fun, now stop staring at me like that!"

"Hey. Calm down. I'm sorry. I know what will make you feel better." He spoke softly, whilst subconsciously steering the boat with his right hand.

"Yeah. So do I."

"Oh? What's that then?" he asked, the smile slowly returning.

"Getting to push you off the boat." She deadpanned, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, that's not exactly what I had in mind…" he stuttered, caught off guard.

"Oh, really? Well that's what I was thinking. What was your idea then?"

"Well, I know how much you want a yacht…"

Her eyes widened. CRAP! HOW THE HELL DID HE KNOW THAT?

"…And I know how much you have always wanted to visit the Bahamas…"

DOUBLE CRAP!

"…And how you've always wanted to be able to just sit back and relax whilst someone else does all the work. Like in this case, letting someone else, literally, take the wheel and take you along for the ride."

A THOUSAND TIMES, CRAP!

"What the hell, Jane? How—"

"How do I know all that? Well when you were with Mashburn, you were very, how should I say… occupied with your new friend, Google. Pictures of yachts and big, expensive houses were quite a common sight on your computer screen." He explained. She couldn't help noticing the look of disdain he let show when Mashburn was mentioned. She too, couldn't resist cringing.

"You were spying on me?"

"Maybe a little. In my defence, you didn't exactly make an effort to hide it…" he said quietly. His eyes had averted down to look at the water that gushed past them. During their conversation, they hadn't noticed that the wind had picked up speed.

"Ahem… So, what were you going to suggest?" she asked, her voice suddenly several decibels lower.

"I was gonna say that you should close your eyes and imagine you're on a big, beautiful yacht, with the sun on your face and a gentle breeze in your hair, but then you said yours, and it sounded a lot better."

Her heart panged. She knew how much he hated Mashburn. And truth be told, she sometimes thought back to that night and wanted to forget the whole thing completely. Yet at the time, she had made it clear they were together. She had taken Jane's loathing for Walter as just general hate, as he so often showed it for the most random people they met.

"You know, your one is much better than mine…" she said after a few minutes of awkward silence. "But actually… Now I think about it that sounds a little too flashy for my liking." She tried to lighten the mood.

His body jolted a bit as he laughed silently without smiling. "Nothing's too flashy for you, my dear." She looked at him.

"What do you mean? I—"

"I mean, you deserve the very best of everything. A big house, a loving family, a yacht, the whole shebang." She stared at him. "You go. Have a good time. Marry Mashburn, live a good and happy life with the man who makes you happy." He said. But he didn't speak out of sarcasm. His heartfelt speech was genuine, and it made her eyes prick with tears.

Looking at him now, his curly blonde hair sodden from the rain, the tip of his nose red from the cold, and his hand carefully manoeuvring the boat around, she realised the irony in his previous words.

He was taking her along for the ride. And although they weren't on a large, flashy, expensive yacht, and this place wasn't exactly the Bahamas, it was more than she could ever ask for; being with a man who made her happy. Made her smile. Someone who, without her really ever noticing, gave her a good life. The first thing she thought of in the morning and the last thing she thought of at night, was him. Always him. Be it a bad thing, or a good thing, he plagued her thoughts. The thing that made her feel riddled with guilt, however, was that she never once showed her appreciation, let alone even acknowledged there might be something there.

Perhaps now, she decided, was the right time to change that.

"But I don't want a big house, or a yacht. And I ESPECIALLY don't want to marry Mashburn. That was over a long time ago, Patrick." She assured him.

"But that's what you want, isn't it? A man who can give you everything you've ever wanted?"

"Hey. You said it yourself. Empty glamour. That's all it was, and that's all it will ever be. I don't want any of that crap now. All those times you saw me with him, or when I was looking at pictures of yachts on the internet… I was deluded. I was blinded by him and the crazy, unrealistic fantasy world he created for me. I don't need the multi-billionaire with his fat head and fast cars."

Jane was now watching her as she spoke, hanging onto her every word. She had started speaking now, and she had no way to stop the stream of heartfelt words coming out of her mouth.

"I need the man who's always been there for me with his cheeky, albeit occasionally annoying ego. I need the one who always manages to find a way to make me want to smile and burst out laughing, even though I don't always let it show. Even though he's usually the one to cause the gigantic pile of paperwork on my desk, I don't care, because he makes my days so much brighter than they were before, and he does it in a way that feels special, yet still so realistic."

Jane's eyes were now filling with tears. He never knew someone like Lisbon was so…amazing with words. He had never felt more compelled to hug someone before now, and the urge to just hold her close was growing increasingly stronger. But she wasn't finished yet.

"I need the man who leaves me origami frogs on my desk to cheer me up. I need the man who is willing to catch me in a trust fall to gain my faith, even though he already had it long ago. I need the one who can make everything seem alright in a heartbeat with one of his smiles. And most importantly, I need a man who I love more than anything. And who…who loves me…in return." She stammered the last few words, suddenly unsure of her long speech. "That is…If he's…willing to…"

Of course he isn't willing to, you idiot! What could he possibly see in you? There's a reason why you haven't had a boyfriend in several years, you know.

She looked down, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "I'm sorry…I dunno what I just did…"

"I'll tell you what you just did." whispered Jane. She braced herself for a massive rant about how he wasn't prepared to let go of his past for someone as rubbish as her. The tears began to fall thicker and faster.

"You've just made me love you more than ever, Teresa Lisbon."

She snapped her head up, disbelieving. "And I—" He started, but he was cut off by the boat suddenly tipping over in the wind.

"Patrick!" Lisbon screeched as she plummeted into the icy cold water.

It forced itself into her mouth and flooded her lungs. The turbulence from the boat forced her downwards into the black, inky depths, and she felt her body go rigid from the cold. Her foot caught in a rope attached to the sail which was now submerged and she kicked around, desperate to free herself. All it was doing though was creating a bigger and tighter knot around her ankle. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't see and she couldn't feel anything. Until she felt a strong hand frantically untangling the noose. Then it grabbed hers and yanked her towards the surface.

She came up, and gasped in as much air as possible. Then she choked from the water already in her system. She wasn't on the actual surface, more in the pocket of air underneath the upside down boat. Two broad, muscular arms wrapped around her, and kept her buoyant whilst she coughed out all of the muck she had swallowed.

Afterwards, she was shivering from the exertion. Jane pulled her closer, trying to keep her warm. She glanced up at his face, cheeks still tearstained and pale. "You really meant all those things?" he whispered.

"Yes… But I'm sorry, cos now you're gonna hate me, and I've ruined our friendship and—" he silenced her with a finger to her lips.

"You really think this is me hating you, Teresa?" he smiled, placing his forehead to hers. Her skin was freezing, and if that was any indication to her body temperature, she had better get out soon, or she'd become ill again. "You haven't ruined our friendship at all. And don't you be sorry. Not for one teeny tiny second. I love you, Teresa. I have for a long time, and I always will."

And to prove he meant every word, he leant forward and kissed her softly. She replied with equal verve, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding onto the boat with a free hand to keep them above water level.

This moment was special. Better than any house, fast car or yacht she could ever have dreamed of.

A/N: Wow, this is the longest chapter…whoops. A little too long maybe, but I kinda liked this one, and I can't really change it without missing large parts out. Hope you all enjoyed! This is written at like, half 2 in the morning, cos I can't sleep and I said I'd try and get it up ASAP. Just worried my mum will hear me. Then I'm well and truly dead… So, this is DWG32, over and out! Xx Much love, guys! Final chapter tomorrow! DUN DUN DUNNNN!