Teresa opened her eyes to find Jane watching her, head propped up on his hand, bare chested, his golden curls glinting in the morning sun, a look of contentment on his face.

"Good morning." He murmured as he slid a hand across her cheek and into her hair, lowering his head to give her a leisurely kiss.

"Good morning." She replied when they finally came up for air. He pulled her into his embrace, and she pressed against him with a sigh.

Last night had been a revelation. He made love to her for the first time with a singular intensity and tender passion that left her shattered. They'd spoken not a word, bar the others name, communicating only through touch and breathy exclamations. Teresa didn't really do what she considered "touchy feely crap" but his complete devotion and poignant surrender had moved her to tears. She'd never felt so completely loved, so cherished.

"What time is it?" she asked, absentmindedly, as she rubbed her fingers lazily through the hair peppering his chest.

"Ahh, I'm not sure, around 8 I think."

"I suppose we should get up." She murmured, her hand sliding lower, stroking the skin across his abdomen.

"I suppose we should." He agreed languidly, making absolutely no move to do so. "In a minute."

Teresa laughed "I'm going to take a shower." She pushed away from him, tucking the sheet around her, and shimmied out of bed, noting Jane had, at some point, put on his pyjama pants.

Jane sighed "Shall I order us some breakfast?"

"Sure." Teresa sauntered into the bathroom. "Or you could join me." She called, poking her head around the door, and throwing the sheet at him.

He sat bolt upright and stared after her for a few moments. "You know Lisbon." He said, clearing his throat and rising to follow her. "I've always believed that water conservation is very important."


Teresa dried her hair, watching Jane in the mirror as he wandered in and out of view in various states of dress.

"I'm popping out." He said, appearing in the doorway.

"Where are you going?" she asked, turning off the dryer.

"Quick errand. Won't be long."

"I'll come with you, just let me get dressed."

"No need." He kissed her hurriedly on the cheek. "I ordered you some coffee. It's over there. Call Abbott. I'll be back in 20 minutes."

"Jane…" the room door closed behind him and she stood there blinking. Seriously?

She grabbed a coffee and her phone and went to sit outside in the sun. Sipping the hot brew, she pondered the various comments Abbott had made over the last couple of weeks, that she'd ignored and brushed off, about Jane, and her. He'd clearly known, had tried to warn her of impending disaster, she wondered if he'd done the same to Jane. It was a little humiliating. There was no point in lying to him, if he asked her, she'd be straight with him, she just hoped he wouldn't ask. She dialled the number and took a deep breath.

"Hey boss."

"Lisbon. How are you?"

"OK, you know, considering."

"Ah. Things didn't work out with Pike I hear."

"No sir, that's kind of the reason I'm calling."

"Oh? What can I do for you Teresa?"

"Well, I was hoping that you might still have a job for me."

"I see. You're definitely staying in Austin then? You're sure?"

"I am sir, yes." She held her breath; if he were going to ask it would be now.

"Well, that's good." He paused and Teresa waited. "Of course. The job is yours, happy to keep you on the team. You would have been hard to replace."

"Thank you, sir." She said, letting out her breath. "Um…"

"Was there something else?"

"Not really, it's just I'd arranged some leave…"

"And you'd like to take it?"

"If that's OK with you?"

"Not a problem Teresa, do what you need to do. We'll see you back in two weeks."

"Thank you. See you then boss." She hung up the phone, relieved and grateful for his discretion. She'd better find out if she still had a place to live. She picked up the phone again and called her realtor.

True to his word, Jane arrived back 20 minutes later, accompanied by room service and breakfast. He tipped the waiter and wheeled the trolley out onto the terrace.

"Where did you go?" she asked, as he sat down and began lifting the covers off the array of dishes on the tray.

"Oh, I just had to pick something up." Teresa narrowed her eyes at him, he was being far too blasé.

"Jane?"

"What happened to Patrick?" he asked, tucking into a plate of eggs.

"I'm saving it for special occasions." She retorted. "What are you up to?"

"And lovemaking?" his eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Possibly." she waited. "Jane?!"

He put down his fork and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "If you must know, I was picking up a gift for you. It's on the bed. You're welcome."

"You were? What is it?"

"Go and see for yourself." He flapped a hand towards the bedroom.

A shopping bag sat on the bed and Teresa peered inside; he'd bought her more clothes. She reached inside and pulled out a pretty summer dress, sandals, even underwear. She held the dress against her, touched by his thoughtfulness.

"I figured we could spend the day being tourists, I didn't think a pant suit would be very comfortable." He said softly from the balcony doors where he leaned, sipping a cup of tea.

"I thought you had to be back in Austin today?"

"Well, yes. I did say that, but I didn't say what time I'd be back."

She shook her head, smiling warmly at him. "It's lovely, thank you. You're too generous."

"Nonsense, it was my pleasure." He shrugged self-deprecatingly. "It makes me happy to give you things." He sipped more tea, gazing at her over the rim of his cup. "Come and eat." He beckoned with a nod of his head, sing-songing "There are pancakes."

Teresa lay the dress carefully on the bed. "Blueberry?"

"What do you take me for?" he called from outside.

Teresa followed him out. "Do you really want me to answer that?" she said taking a seat. "There are several choice words that spring to mind."

"Thank you, Lisbon, I'm sure your colourful vocabulary would amaze, but I suggest we go with…hmm, magnificent."

"Oh really." Teresa laughed, picking up a fork to dig into the aforementioned pancakes.

"Well yes, I rather thought so." He bit into a piece of toast, raising a brow, looking particularly self-satisfied.

She absolutely refused to blush. "Don't we need to check out soon?" she asked hurriedly.

Jane just smiled, eyes twinkling, and she thought seriously about stabbing him with her fork.

"All taken care of. We can keep the room until 3pm and I've booked us on the 5 o'clock flight."

"So, what are we going to do today?"

He grinned mischievously at her and shrugged. "Oh, I'm sure we can think of something."

In the end, they decided just to spend a quiet day at the beach together. Jane rolled up his pants and they took off their shoes and walked, hand in hand, through the surf. He bought a bucket and spade and joined in with a group of kids building an enormous fort, a look of innocent delight on his face. He found such joy in the simple pleasures; the sun on his face, a beautiful view, playing in the sand. It was infectious and impossible to resist.

He took her for lunch in a small café where they watched passers-by as they ate, Jane making outrageous observations that had her laughing so hard they drew curious stares from the other patrons.

"Jane, stop." Teresa finally gasped. "I can't take any more, I'm getting a stitch."

He leaned back in his chair and observed her. "I don't think I've ever seen you laugh like that before." He signalled for the check.

"Maybe you've never been that funny before." She rubbed her side as the waiter arrived, placing a leather folio on the table.

"Well, that's just rude." He said, counting out notes. "I'm always funny."

"Yeah, but I meant funny ha-ha, not funny peculiar."

"Just rude." He said standing, holding out his hand and shaking his head at her. "I don't think you deserve ice cream now."

"What? I deserve ice cream." She took his hand as they began strolling slowly back towards the beach.

"I don't know Lisbon. Do you?"

"Ok, maybe I was a little hasty. I do sometimes find you quite amusing."

He looked balefully at her for several seconds. "Nah. Don't believe you."

"Jane, come on! I want ice cream." She wheedled.

He laughed at her, and they continued to bicker, good naturedly, until they reached the hotel, ice creams in hand.

Back in the room, they freshened up and packed their few belongings away, their mood a little subdued now that the day was ending. It had been wonderful, but it was time to go home.

"Patrick?" The use of his given name gained his full attention. "It will be OK, won't it? We'll be OK?"

He took her hand and kissed her forehead. "Yes." He said, with absolute certainty. "We will."