A/N: Wow. You guys really love Cho as a clock, huh? ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing as always. Sorry I've not been able to respond to every review, but thank you anyway!

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When they wouldn't let him leave his office, he knew he was in trouble. Only, he didn't care as much about his own trouble as Lisbon. What were they going to do to actually help her before it was too late? Who knew what that beast was up to!

Pike appeared with a knock on his door. "Agent Minnelli, I've brought some sandwiches. I was hoping we could talk."

Great. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Agent Pike. Pike eyed him expectantly, as though he didn't expect his invitation to talk and eat to be declined. Smug bastard. Though, if he could convince anyone to help Lisbon, it was worth a shot.

"Sure."

As they ate, Pike started asking him a variety of questions. They all seemed pretty standard. After all, Pike was here to gather intel.

Though, the questions took a rather strange turn.

"Do you know if Teresa has ever been married?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Is she seeing anyone?"

Sure, that was a standard question for a missing person. But from Pike's flippant, casual tone when asking questions, he could sense that Pike didn't believe her to really be in trouble. Remembering what Lisbon shared with him the other day, he realized the man in front of him was on a different type of intel gathering mission.

"Um, why are you asking me that?"

"Come on, Minnelli. You know her better than anyone in the building! Is she seeing anyone?"

"I'm not sure. I don't keep track of my agents' personal lives, and in Lisbon's case, it would be especially inappropriate."

He didn't even want to imagine the HR paperwork from asking a female agent questions about her dating life. Maybe the FBI needed to refresh Pike on proper HR protocols.

Pike sighed. "Listen, Minnelli. I'm going to level with you. I don't know what's going on here, but I want to help you...if you'll help me."

"Help you? Lisbon is the one who needs our help right now!"

"As you've said. Only, no one can track your story." He doubted that they had even tried. "I was thinking that maybe you could help me out with Teresa."

"Help you out with...Teresa?"

"Yeah, as far as I can tell. No one has more pull with her than you. Get her to open up to me. Encourage her to take me seriously."

Was he serious right now? Teresa Lisbon was a fully grown woman, who frankly, would be ready to fight upon hearing two men talk about her in such a way. "Take you seriously?"

"Sure. I want to marry her. I know it must be hard for her to tell the rocks from the diamonds. Help me show her that I'm her diamond." Pike grinned, but he wanted to be sick.

"How do you expect me to do that? I don't routinely interfere in the personal lives of my agents."

"Tell her who listened to you and what a good man I am. Encourage her to consider my proposal."

"And why would I do this?"

"Because I know you care for her. Everyone here does. I want to marry Teresa, but I need you to help me show her what a good man I am. Of course, that means she won't be long for the CBI. Once we're married, I expect she will be home with our kids."

Minnelli's eyebrows shot up. They were currently detaining him on suspicion of harming Lisbon, but any man who spoke this way about a woman, especially one who expressed disinterest as Lisbon had, was the type they should really be worried about. But he held out a slither of hope that he could break through to Pike to get him to go help her.

"Listen, like I said: I don't routinely interfere in the personal lives of my agents. Who Agent Lisbon marries is her business. If she's interested in you, that's her decision to make. I cannot help you with that, but that has nothing to do with what's happening now. She's..."

"Missing. I get it. If you help me with her, I can help you. I have to tell you that right now, you're in deep shit. What do you think is going to happen to her when Bertram inevitably throws you out of here on your ass?"

Bertram throwing him out of here? "Agent Lisbon will preserve, but the more imminent threat…"

"Come on! You're not long for this office. Neither is she. Don't you want to see her well taken care of and protected?"

The Teresa Lisbon he knew needed no man's protection. Perhaps that was part of Pike's miscalculation in dealing with her. Well, that and the way the younger man was determined to set the schedule of her life.

"Again, that's her business. I cannot help you with that." Nor did he want to. After this bizarre conversation, he would happily steer her away from anything to do with Marcus Pike.

Pike stood, huffing as he began to pace around his office. "Well, I was hoping you'd see things my way and help me out. But since you don't want to protect Teresa, I have to assume you want to harm her."

He furrowed his brows. "Harm her? I would never!"

Pike was out of his office in seconds. What the hell was he playing at?

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This morning, the armoire hung out a dress for her. She wasn't opposed to wearing dresses, but this was her only clothing choice this morning. It was rather...odd. It was definitely not the kind of outfit choice she would choose on a normal day. Oh what the hell! The dress was gorgeous. Besides, who would even see her all dressed up?

She slid into the coral, strapless gown. Looking at herself in the mirror, she grinned. All dressed up with nowhere to go. Indeed, the long, strapless dress was one meant for a nice dinner out on the town before dancing the night away with whoever she decided would be her handsome prince for the evening. They never lasted longer than a dance or two anyway.

On the floor, next to the mirror, she spotted a pair of strappy golden stiletto sandals. That brought her back to reality as she gulped, thinking of the idea of walking around in those all day. She only wore shoes like that when absolutely necessary. Well, she might as well commit to the house's look completely. As she stepped into the shoes, she shuddered at the thought that any of this felt remotely normal. She looked at herself again in the mirror. Even if it wasn't normal, she did look good. Walking out to meet Jane for breakfast, she noticed him waiting by the staircase.

"Waiting for me?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Never know when a princess will wake up, and the house won't feed me until she does apparently. You officially have more pull over my magical house than I do!"

Jane flashed her a toothy smile, which elicited a smile of her own. She wondered what he looked like as a human man. She would ask, but that seemed a touchy subject with all things considered.

"Maybe the house senses that I have better taste than you do."

"Very funny. Love when that little sense of humor of yours shines through that rough exterior."

She scoffed. "Rough exterior? You're one to talk!"

He nodded as he motioned toward the staircase. "Yeah, I'll explain it all to you as I accompany you to the dining room."

Her instinct was to jerk him around a little bit more and prolong his hunger. But then, she felt her own hunger pangs creep up on her. "Let's get to it then!"

She followed him. "So rough exterior, huh?"

"Yeah. You try really hard to make sure people know you're serious and won't be trifled with-which works by the way, but…"

Her heel turned sideways and she stumbled on the steps. She nearly fell until she caught a hold of his arm...or well, he caught her with his arm wrapped around her back. He helped steady her upright again.

"Easy there!"

"I'm so sorry! I don't usually wear heels."

"I kind of figured. But they do bring you closer to me. I mean, they make you taller. But I guess you also have a death grip on my arm right now."

He started to laugh a bit, but she felt embarrassed. Her hands felt like they'd been burnt. She could hold onto the bannister and just pay attention. When she went to move her hand, he placed his paw over it.

"No, it's ok. Just teasing. You can hold onto me. I'm not entirely sure why the house thought we needed to be so dressed up today. I usually only wear a suit when I'm meeting with clients, and I didn't even know I had one in this size!"

She smiled. She could scarcely believe he was wearing a three piece, nicely tailored suit with a vest and all. If they could break this curse, but keep the magic of the house, wouldn't that be neat?

"I'm sure the house took that into account."

It was nice to know he also found it odd that the house wanted them so dressed up. She thought about that all the way to the dining room...before noticing that she had held onto his arm all the way there. She removed her hands from his arm carefully, ensuring she would not offend him. He had been very thoughtful and helpful in offering her his arm to help her steady in these damn shoes.

"Bacon, eggs, and waffles!" He exclaimed as he clapped his paws together. "I take it you wanted the waffles?"

She smiled. "Yes, I'm what you call a fan."

"Also a fan of coffee."

"It helps you wake up, but I have to say that bed is so comfortable that I actually feel well rested."

"I'm glad you were able to rest. I even slept a bit last night myself."

"You don't usually sleep?"

"No, I get caught in my thoughts quite a bit."

She hoped he could soon rest easier. Once they got to the bottom of this, hopefully, he and the others could rest easier. Of course, some therapy might be in order. But it would be better to think about that when they were all in human form again.

Over breakfast, they talked a bit more about the curse. She still couldn't quite grasp what he was meant to figure out. Was he meant to solve a mystery? Have some sort of realization? Why would the man curse him to begin with and tell him to break it? It's possible he was never meant to break the curse.

After breakfast, they went to the library again. Only, this time all of the furniture had been moved out.

"Well, this hasn't happened before. I wonder what it's trying to tell us."

Just then, she heard music start to play. It didn't even take two full bars before she recognized that "More than Words" was playing. Jane looked at her. "Do you...know this song?"

She smiled at the good memories it brought of first kisses, prom, and other things that made her who she was today. "I do. It was popular when I was in high school."

She started to hum along to the words. Jane cleared his throat. She expected for him to make fun of her being momentarily lost in the music when there were more important things to do.

"Would you like to dance?"

"Um...sure, but no funny business, mister!"

He laughed at her joke. Slowly, she placed her hand in his paw. He wrapped his other arm around her back as they began to sway to the danced through that song...as they did many others through the morning.

It made her smile when she realized the house was playing one of her playlists. As strange as the house's music choice was, she couldn't help but think Jane was an excellent dance partner.

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When he noticed her reaction to the song, he was overcome with an urge to ask her to dance. He didn't have to, but something inside of him wanted to dance with Lisbon. When she heard the song play, her face showed a happiness and a sense of peace that he hoped would last for as long as possible.

As the songs changed, they kept dancing, never letting go of each other. It was an odd assortment of slow songs. He wondered if all of this was her music. Of course, there were songs he recognized too, but she had an interesting, eclectic taste in music.

"You're quite the romantic, aren't you?"

A blush formed over her cheeks. "How do I know this isn't your music?"

"Please. You've already given away the game. You recognize the playlist, don't you?"

She sighed. "It's mine. Sometimes, I listen to it when I'm reading a romance novel. The songs...they set the mood for the stories."

"Hmm. Romance novels, romance music, football...you're quite the little package." She instinctively slapped his harm. "Package of rage."

She chuckled. "Well, what did you think I do when I'm not at work? Watch crime dramas?"

"Well, you do have quite an assortment to choose from."

"Not for me. So I'm a romantic at heart. Hell, sometimes, I even cry when watching movies! Is there something wrong with that?" She spoke a bit defensively.

"It's not something you tell people often, though, is it?"

She shook her head before speaking softly. "No, it's not something I tell people."

"Because you want to be taken seriously?"

She nodded. "It's...difficult sometimes. God, I don't know why I'm telling you any of this."

"I have that quality about me...or so I've been told."

She glared at him. "Very funny."

"So you made this playlist for when you're reading books at home, all alone?"

There was a brief moment of heavy silence. He didn't even know why he added that last part...or why he cared. Though, he imagined it was more than just reading. He could picture her at home swaying to the music alone, maybe with a glass of wine. He thought to joke about it, but no, that would make her feel embarrassed if he mentioned it. As he thought of how to proceed, she answered his question.

"I just feel like music enhances the story. Sometimes, it's what makes it make sense. They say love is when the songs make sense."

Lisbon was truly a fascinating woman. She had many layers, most of them colorful-maybe more colorful than she herself believed. He had a hard time making connections with people, but she held his interest. She was also beautiful. He wanted to tell her when he saw her in that dress this morning. Though her natural beauty and her fierceness had shined through since the moment they met, the coral dress flattered her figure. Would she appreciate such a comment? He wouldn't make her read or listen to her songs alone. Lisbon didn't deserve to dance alone.

The songs...they made sense. Suddenly, he felt his chest burn. No, no, no! This was all wrong!

He couldn't think like this! Not only was there a lot on the line, but she would never be interested in a monster like him. Even in his human form, she would never give him more than a passing smile. She knew too much about the falsities that lie beneath his golden smile. She could never love him nor was he good enough for her.

She was here to help at his rather forceful request. He couldn't take advantage. He wouldn't. He couldn't go down this route.

He did his best to push it all down as the music stopped abruptly and the tv started playing some kind of close circuit feed.

"What is that?"

"That's Minnelli's office at the CBI. What...why is the tv showing us the CBI?"

Even though the music stopped, he still held her as they watched the screen. Her presence felt...comforting. She went rigid as Agent Minnelli appeared on the screen.

"I've told you all that we need to go help Agent Lisbon in Malibu, but no one believes me."

A bald headed man was speaking to him. Even through the screen he could read loud and clear that this man was a bureaucrat. "No. Frankly, your story makes no sense, Agent Minnelli. It's clear you're too incompetent to continue in your position at the CBI. I'm terminating you with cause."

Lisbon gasped as she placed a hand over her mouth. "Bertram, you son of a bitch! They can't do that!"

"You're terminating me?! Fine! But what about Lisbon? She needs help!"

"Oh I'm not just terminating you. As far as I know, Agent Lisbon is missing. Maybe you came onto your little princess, she rejected you, and you didn't take it so well…"

Red faced, Minnelli screamed. "Excuse me? I would never harm Lisbon! And it's certainly not like that!"

That Minnelli threw an accusatory look toward the brown haired man standing next to Bertram did not escape Jane's notice. He held Lisbon tightly as she went from rigid to limp. Bertram continued.

"Or maybe she finally decided the job was too much for her. In any case, we're booking you and putting you in a holding cell for the time being."

"Booking me for what? I'm telling you where she is. I'd never harm Lisbon! That beast has her."

"Yeah, yeah. You're under arrest for suspicion of...well, Pike, what do you want to book him for?"

"Suspicion of kidnapping. He ought to do really well in general population."

"Lisbon is missing! Pike, you know that!"

"What I believe is that you've outlived your usefulness here and probably anywhere. Don't worry. When I find her, I will take good care of her. She doesn't need you anymore."

She shuddered ever so slightly at that. Whoever this Pike guy was, he set off internal alarm bells that she probably didn't even recognize. Though, it was also clear he didn't believe Minnelli was guilty of a crime. He was screwing with him.

The two men escorted Minnelli out of the office, practically manhandling him, as he yelled about needing to help Lisbon.

"I...I can't believe that just happened. They've been looking for a reason to get rid of him. But this?"

"I can see. Who's that Pike guy?"

He watched as Lisbon moved from his embrace and started to pace around the room, clenching and releasing her fists as though she were trying to will the anger through her body.

"He just...he's the absolute scum of the earth is what he is! And if he were here…let's just say I'd happily earn 6 months of anger management! I can't believe this! Of course, Minnelli just wanted to help me. I wish I could've told him I'm ok and not to bring anyone else into this!"

Suddenly, the reality of the situation hit him like a ton of bricks. Lisbon stayed here, taking Minnelli's place, because he selfishly wanted someone to help him break the curse...the curse that he brought upon himself and four other innocent people. Of course, Minnelli sought someone to help Lisbon because he believed her to be in distress-and of course, nobody believed him. It was all his fault. Once again.

He needed Lisbon's help, but who was he kidding? He was probably never meant to break the damn curse anyway! He was probably meant to agonize over it until the last petal fell and the man would appear to laugh in his face. Maybe he was just meant to die. It was clear that he was meant to suffer. Anyone in his vicinity was meant to suffer.

But Lisbon...she deserved better.

He lowered his eyes as he spoke. "I release you."

She stopped pacing and turned to look at him slowly. "What?"

"I release you! Go! Go help Minnelli."

"Jane, I promised I'd help you. You don't have much time left. Let's get to the bottom of this, and then…"

He swallowed thickly, knowing what he'd have to do. He roared. "It's clear I'm not meant to break this curse. Not even California's finest is going to make that possible. And you know what? I deserve it. I'm an absolute beast! He was right about me. Maybe I'll break this curse, maybe I won't. If I find him, I know what I'll do. And I don't need you to do it. Go! Go back to your life! Save your boss!"

Her green eyes held a look of slight panic. "But…"

"But nothing! I deserve this. Don't you understand?"

"What about everyone else, huh? Do they deserve it?"

"I'll figure it out!"

He realized that physically, at least, he had the upper hand here. He squared himself up before deciding maybe he should just embrace his new role: be a monster. As he grabbed her forearm and started to pull her along toward the garage, he felt sick as a surge of grief and shame washed over him. She was the closest to a friend he'd ever had, and she was a lovely woman. But he had to do this for her-and again, selfishly, for himself. He couldn't handle ruining two more lives. Grabbing the keys off the side counter, he handed them to her.

"Here, drive back to your office. Save Minnelli. That's what matters. I don't need you!"

That-or maybe him pulling her to his garage-finally struck a nerve in her as her face turned to pure anger. "That's your problem. You don't think you need anyone! What should I do? Come back in a month to see you all permanently stuck this way? You can't accept there are people in the world who care!"

"I don't need you to care about me." Would it be so bad to have someone care about him? He looked away. "Leave."

She huffed as she got into the car and drove away. He felt a single tear fall as he watched her drive away in his blue Citreon.

"Goodbye, Lisbon."

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A/N: Wow.

*starts playing Passenger's "Let Her Go"*

What an angsty ending, huh? What a terrible place to end the chapter, right? Is THIS your villain origin story? LOL thanks for reading! Expect the final chapter within a few days or so!