A light knock announced Jane's arrival the next morning and caused a kaleidoscope of butterflies to take flight in Teresa's chest. She put down the magazine she'd been flicking through and tried to calm her racing heart as she headed for the door.

"Hey" she said, as it swung open to reveal him, lounging nonchalantly against the jam, hands clasped behind his back. "How are you?"

"All the better for seeing you Lisbon." He smiled, warm and wide, his eyes dancing with affection as he presented her with a gardenia bloom.

"Aww." She inhaled the flower's fragrance, a silly grin on her face as she stepped back to let him in. "Thank you."

"My pleasure." He stepped inside and closed the door before leaning down to give her a soft kiss. Teresa reached up to touch his freshly shaven cheek, breathing in the clean scent of his sun warmed skin, and the brief spurt of anxiety she'd been feeling melted away. He was back where he belonged, with her, and all was right with the world.

"Come on in. Would you like a cup of tea?" She wandered into the kitchen and filled a glass with water for the gardenia, placing it on the window ledge with a smile.

"I'll make it." He took off his jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair. "Are you having a cup?"

"Sure." She leant on the counter to watch him, envying him his insouciance as he moved around, filling the kettle, turning on the stove, selecting cups and tea, thoroughly at home. "How did it go yesterday? Did you behave yourself?"

"You wound me Lisbon." He said, placing a hand over his heart for effect. "I was a model employee."

Teresa snorted at him, shaking her head as he looked at her with mock affront. "Uh huh."

The kettle whistled and Jane poured hot water over the fragrant tea, dunking the bags until he was satisfied with the infusion, before turning and handing her a cup with a smile. "Let's go and sit down shall we, I have an hour or so before I need to head into the office." He strolled into the living room and settled onto the couch, patting the seat beside him.

"So, what was the case?" She asked, fitting herself next to him.

Jane blew across the hot liquid in his cup and took a sip. "Mmm…. Murder, betrayal, vengeance, the usual sort of thing." He took another sip. "It wasn't the same without you, Cho doesn't have the same err… sense of adventure as you do Lisbon."

"You mean he wouldn't go along with some hairbrained scheme?" she asked knowingly.

"Meh, hairbrained, ingenious. It's all the same." He grinned, putting his arm around her. "I missed you."

Teresa tilted her head to look up at him. "I missed you too. It was weird, not being out there with you, let's not do that again."

"Couldn't stand not being in the know?" he enquired sagely.

Teresa chuckled. "Maybe. So, what big plan did Cho not want to go along with?"

"No big plan, just a little ruse, I promised you no more shenanigans unless you were involved, remember?"

"I remember. Must have been a terrible hardship for you." She said, her solemn tone belying her grin.

"Oh, you have no idea Lisbon. No idea!" he sighed dramatically. "The things we do for love."

He gazed down at her with those sparkling blue eyes and the kilowatt smile that stole her breath, and she was head over heels all over again. It just wasn't fair. She had no defences in the face of, well, his face. So, to hell with it, she might as well just give in and enjoy being in love with him. She plucked the cup from his hand and placed it on the table with hers. "How long have we got before you need to head in?"

"Erm…about 30 minutes or so. Why?" he asked quizzically.

"Did I mention how much I missed you last night?" she purred, standing, and backing away towards the stairs.

Jane sat forward, suddenly very alert. "I don't recall, did you?" he said, standing and stalking towards her.

"We should make every minute count don't you think?" she reached the stairs and began climbing.

"Some things are worth being tardy for Lisbon." he said, his smile predatory as he sprang towards her.

Teresa shrieked, laughing as she ran to the bedroom, Jane at her heels.

"Why don't we take the airstream out for the weekend?" Jane asked later as they got dressed. "We could just pack up and go where the road takes us." He looked at her expectantly. "It would be nice to get away, just the two of us, no interruptions, no murder, just us."

"Sounds great, but what about work?" She finished making the bed and they headed downstairs.

"I'll clear it with Abbott, he's flying up to DC anyway, so I doubt we'll be needed until he gets back. We could head up to Fredericksberg, do a little wine tasting, I'll even take you dancing at the place on the lake. What do you say?"

He was so exuberant, so excited, how could she deny him? "OK. Let's do it."

He took her face in his hands and kissed her. "Excellent." He kissed her again. "Get packing." And again. "It's going to be fun."

Teresa laughed feeling excited herself, his enthusiasm contagious. It would be fun, there time in Florida had been too short. "OK, do you need me to do anything?"

Jane shrugged into his jacket "Err…I don't think so. I'll call you later when I know what time I can get away." He kissed her one last time before heading for the door, leaving her feeling slightly stunned in the middle of the room.

OK then, she needed to pack. Again.