AN: Hello lovely people! This is just a short sweet little tag to Blue Bird, inspired by an awesome prompt from Jochi! Follow her on Twitter ( redbadges)! And yes, this is a bit sappier than I usually do, but we're going to chalk it up to the fact that I was listening to Hozier while working on it. Hope you enjoy it! 3

Always the Years Between Us

It had been a hell of a day.

Teresa Lisbon had gone into work thinking it was her last day on the job before joining her boyfriend Marcus Pike in Washington, DC, and had left the building an hour later on her way to Florida. Somehow, things had a way of working out with the worst timing.

Even though the time difference was only an hour between Texas and Florida, they had hit the ground running. The case was time sensitive, and it was imperative that they crack it before their killer had the chance to kill again. So Lisbon had been chauffeured around all day by Patrick Jane in that ridiculous car, interrogating suspects and following leads.

In other words, she was exhausted. She hadn't slept much the night before, too busy finishing up with all her packing. Sleeping on the plane was out of the question. It was too loud, and she might have accidentally done something embarrassing like falling asleep with her head on Jane's shoulder. So by the time they got to the Blue Bird Lodge, Lisbon was tired to the bone.

But Jane had somehow managed to be perky and chipper all day, and his good mood seemed to be contagious. Lisbon figured he was happy that they were able to work one more case together, although she was already dreading telling him goodbye. He had offered to put in a word with Abbott, see if she could go out to DC early, but she refused, and she wasn't sure why.

It wasn't that she didn't want to go see Pike. But she also didn't want to say goodbye to Jane even earlier than she had to. Logically, it made more sense for her to leave early, get settled in with Marcus in DC and get a jumpstart on the moving process. She had surprised herself by saying no to Jane's offer. Maybe it was the excitement of solving a critical part of their case, or maybe it was a touch of separation anxiety, but she had refused Jane's offer to leave.

Something about it bugged her, but Lisbon didn't get much of a chance to ruminate on it before they pulled into the hotel lot. He had truly gone all out for what he had referred to as "their last hurrah", renting a ridiculous yacht of a car and booking them fancy suites at the lodge. It was so classically Jane, she almost had to laugh.

By the time Jane had parked the car, Lisbon was already missing the feel of the breeze in her hair. She grabbed her bag from the back, savoring the smell of ocean air that drifted to her nose. It reminded her of the beach trip she had gone on with her parents when she was little. It was their first and last family vacation, and she spent most of the time building sandcastles with Stan and chasing Tommy in and out of the waves.

Jane noticed her smiling and sported a matching grin of his own as they headed toward the lodge.

Still riding the high from having cracked the riddle all on her own, she followed Jane into the lodge. From the outside, it had looked rather small, but the high ceilings and warm interior made it look much roomier. If Lisbon had to guess, it was a rather old lodge, but seemed almost like new. Open windows and plenty of greenery accented the tropical atmosphere, and even from the lobby, she could smell the beach.

"Welcome to the Blue Bird," the receptionist said. "You have adjoining waterside suites, just as you requested, Mr. Jane."

He took the keys and handed one to Lisbon. "Thank you."

"Sounds expensive," she remarked, taking her room key from him.

"Well, why not? Could be our last hurrah." He turned to the receptionist, fixing her with one of his million-dollar smiles. "Someone may call the hotel asking for a Greta DeJorio. Anyone that does that, give them my room number. The room number, but not my name. And tell the night staff to do the same, yes?"

"Certainly, sir. Just your room number, DeJorio."

"Perfect."

"Oh, would you like me to confirm your dinner reservations?"

Dinner reservations? Lisbon's head was spinning. First it was waterside suites, now dinner reservations? It was too much. She had let Jane call to make reservations at the lodge, but she wouldn't have if she had known he would go so overboard. They were there on a case, for god's sake, she didn't need to be pampered! Although Jane would probably argue otherwise.

"Yes, ma'am," Jane said, nodding sagely.

"Certainly. And just so you know, evening attire is preferred," the woman said, glancing at Lisbon.

"Oh, I'll just get a sandwich or order room service," Lisbon said, leaning toward Jane. "I don't have anything to wear." She had come prepared for a case, and your standard FBI investigation certainly did not include going to fancy dinners. Lisbon had never really been a fancy dinner kind of girl anyway. She didn't own many dresses, and the ones she did own were already packed up to go to Washington, DC.

Unconcerned as usual, Jane waved it off. "Eh, we'll figure it out. Thank you," he said, waving to the receptionist.

"It's right up the stairs on the first floor," she said, pointing to the staircase.

"Thank you."

Jane gave her a knowing look as she fumbled with the key, smiling as he walked into his own room. As soon as she had the door open, she knew why. The room was gorgeous. It was exactly what she would have imagined a fairy's bedroom to look like. Blue walls contrasted with the green of the potted plants in the corner, and crisp white curtains fluttered in the breeze that came through her balcony door. She froze for a moment, unable to move, just turning around and taking it all in.

Lisbon wasn't used to staying in places like this while she was traveling for work. Hotel expenses were one thing the CBI never budged on, so they mostly rented from motels while they were conducting investigations. She had never been somewhere like this before. The best word she could think of was 'charming', and it clearly meant that Jane wanted to spoil her.

"Whoa," she breathed, noticing the dresses that had been laid out on the bed for her. She ran her fingers over them, holding the green lace one up to herself. It was so classically Jane. Leave it to him to shower her with nice gifts on the last case they worked together. She was moved, probably more than she should have been. Lisbon knew better than anyone that Jane showed affection by giving people things, and she wasn't sure what the message was.

Picking up the phone, she dialed Jane's room number.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Jane, this is too much. It's too nice, we're on a case."

"It'll be our last case together, so uh, how could anything be too nice?"

He was whispering, and she didn't know why. Lisbon matched his tone, not wanting him to hear the slight tremor in her voice. "The dresses are beautiful."

"I'll see you at dinner."

She could practically hear his smile as she hung up the phone, biting her lower lip.

Not long after Lisbon had hung up, Jane's phone rang again.

"Hello?" He was expecting it to be Lisbon, but was proved wrong. It was the receptionist, informing him that agents Cho and Abbott were here to talk to him. "Here? Now?" After confirming where they were, Jane made his way to the lobby.

He did his best to tamp down the butterflies in his stomach as he walked down the stairs. It was an important night. So important, in fact, that nothing could go wrong. He had been planning this for a while, and had taken precautions to ensure that they would have time alone. Abbott and Cho showing up had thrown a wrench into the well oiled machine of his plans, and he didn't know how best to shoo them away other than telling the truth.

"Hey Jane," Cho said, arms crossed. "Nice place. Our unsub has good taste, huh?"

"Yeah. What are you guys doing here? Lisbon and I can handle this." He was telling the truth, they could handle it, but there was more at stake than just a case.

"Well, this is a big case with a whole lot of downside potential," Abbott explained. "DC wants to put senior agents on the scene. Do you have a problem with that?"

Jane had many problems with that, but he wouldn't say it. "Nope. No problem."

"I'm starving. How's the food here?" Cho asked, trying to take the edge off the conversation.

"Yeah, apparently it's good," Jane said, turning back toward the stairs. As he was walking away, Abbott asked one of the waiters about getting a table for dinner.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir. We're not serving dinner in the dining room tonight, just on the veranda," the waiter said apologetically. "But there are a few tables left out there if you're interested."

"We'll take it," Abbott agreed.

Jane had been listening to the conversation quietly, trying to judge whether or not Abbott knew what he was doing, but the head waiter walked up to him and said rather loudly, "Mr. Jane, you didn't specify if you wanted a table in the dining room tonight, just that you wanted it cleared. We can leave a table for two up for you if that's okay?"

Cho whipped around and stared at Jane. "What's going on?"

"Did you set this up, Jane?" Abbott asked, equally confused.

Jane let out a deep breath. "I'm going to tell you something, but I need you to promise you won't be angry."

"What did you do?"

"I made this up. Lied. Fabricated it all. The note, the riddle, everything. I needed to get Lisbon away from Austin and I was running out of time. I've had this planned for a while now."

Abbott gave him a knowing look. "So you set up a place where she'd be forced to listen to you. You know she's not going to like finding out that you used a case to lure her in."

"What?" Cho asked, still confused. "Why Lisbon? Why now?"

"I understand," Abbott said. "But I don't approve of you opening up this case again. I think you were on to something, and that we will find the killer, but these back alley methods need to stop." He sighed. "Look, I'll clean this up. You do what you need to do. But don't let it happen again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." Jane was silent, but his heart leaped at the thought that his plan would still work.

Abbott led Cho out to the veranda, and Jane headed back to his room to get ready.

Meanwhile, Lisbon was in her bathroom putting the finishing touches on her makeup. She usually didn't wear much makeup, especially on her eyes, but she felt that it would be incongruous to wear such a nice dress without it.

Briefly, she wondered how Jane managed to get the exact right size dress, but dismissed it quickly. He was Jane, of course he would be able to tell. She had decided on the pink one, a soft, floor-length dress with a strapless sweetheart neckline. It accentuated her curves without being overly dressy. All in all, appropriate both for a nice dinner and for a walk on the beach.

She slipped on a pair of heeled sandals that she had thrown in her bag on a whim, gave herself a once-over in the mirror behind the door, and left to go downstairs. It had gotten dark while she was getting ready, the sun setting nicely over the beach and the soft tendrils of dusk settling over the lodge. It felt peaceful, something she might have recalled from a dream.

By the time she reached the bottom landing of the stairs, she noticed that the lobby was completely clear. Where tables had been there just hours earlier, was now empty space lined with lit candles. A warm glow was cast over the floor in places and soft music floated to her ears.

The moment she reached the floor, Jane stepped out from the shadows. "Lisbon. Teresa. You look amazing."

"Thank you," she said, bewildered. "Did you do this?"

"Yes." He clasped her hand in his, staring deeply into her eyes. "You know I mean it when I say you look lovely, right?"

"Of course," she replied, heart skipping a beat. "What's all this for, Jane?"

He spun her around once, leading her to the center of the floor. "I have some things to tell you. But first, will you dance with me?"

Lisbon bit back a giggle as his hand slid around her waist, pulling her close to him. She quickly remembered how agile he was, recalling their dance from a case ages ago. Without realizing, she settled her cheek against his shoulder as he guided them around the floor. Once the song was over, he pulled her over to the table, handing her a glass of wine.

"What's all this about, Jane?" Lisbon asked, taking a sip. "Surely all this isn't just because it's our last case together."

"Something like that," he admitted. "Teresa, I have a few things I need to tell you." His eyes glistened, something she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Okay," she said gently. "You know you can tell me anything."

"This case...it was all a lie. A trick. To get you here, and delay you from going to DC. Listen, before you get mad, please hear me out."

Lisbon schooled her features into something resembling a calm exterior, but she was confused and upset.

"I wrote the letter. It was me. It was just a ruse, but I'm 100% confident that it's gonna smoke out the killer. And...if that makes me a horrible person, then just let me have it. I know you're already mad. But I did it for a reason, Teresa. I knew something wasn't right with the case. I knew justice needed to be served. But this case also helped me on a more personal level. It brought me here, and it brought you here. Gave me an opportunity to tell you something I should have told you a long time ago." He took a deep breath. "If you don't want to listen, that's fine. I won't blame you. I'll arrange for you to get on a plane right now and go to DC, and you'll never have to see me again. But I hope you'll at least hear what I have to say."

Lisbon nodded. She would have said something, but her throat was completely dry. Her heart was beating so fast in her chest that she was afraid Jane could hear it.

"I have forgotten how to act like a normal human being. And I play games, I lie, I trick people to avoid the truth of how I feel. And the idea of letting anyone close to me is terrifying for obvious reasons." He looked up, and she noticed a tear running down his face. "But the truth, Teresa, is that I can't imagine waking up knowing I won't see you. The truth is, I love you."

She stared at him, unable to say anything.

"You can't imagine how good that feels to say out loud," he said softly, looking away. "But it scares me, and it is the truth. It is the truth of what I feel."

"Jane-"

"I understand. It's okay. I needed to get to this, and you deserved to hear it. I love you, Teresa, and it makes me happy to be able to say that to you." Without so much as another glance in her direction, he stood and walked away.

"Jane. Patrick," Lisbon called after him, voice cracking. "You don't have to go. I need to tell you something too."

He turned around, teary eyes meeting hers.

"It was just...never the right time. Always a shadow hanging over our heads, always a threat looming in the distance. And it means a lot to me that you chose to tell me, instead of just letting this thing between us fade away." She was crying too, and he ran back to her, hands on her waist.

"Teresa," he whispered.

"Did you mean what you said?"

"Yes. I meant what I said, every word of it."

"Good. Because I feel the same way."

"Well that's lucky," he said, smiling at her. "What about Pike?"

"He'll understand." She scrunched her nose adorably. "Say it again."

"Say what again?"

Lisbon raised her eyebrows, and without saying another word, Jane leaned down, closing the gap between them. He cupped her chin and met her lips with his, kissing her sweetly. As she pulled away for a breath, he felt her smile, and wiped a tear off her cheek.

And he did say it again. As they danced the rest of the night away, he held her close to him, whispering "I love you" in her ear.