Notes: Future fic, set after Liz clears her name.

Your Place

He was driving her nuts. At first she had waved it off. He wanted to cook for her at her place. It was sweet, and Jacob was sweet when he wanted to be. One perk of dating a man that she'd been married to for nearly three years was that Liz didn't have to worry about explaining why there were only frozen dinners in the freezer or why when they came straight from work there was dog pee all over the floor. She didn't have to explain oddities of how she lived or why she did or didn't do things. He knew, and even things she didn't think he would remember, he did.

The first few times it was sweet, but then she started to suspect something was up. "You do actually have a place here, right?" she asked him as she leaned her hip against the desk he was sitting at, glaring at the paperwork like that would somehow scare it into filling itself out. She wasn't entirely convinced that he hadn't manipulated a couple of people outside of their core group into doing for him before. He was fitting in fairly well with the task force, but apparently paperwork was a foreign concept to him when it came to field work.

Jacob looked up, blue eyes blinking owlishly at her like he'd worn his contacts too long and they weren't focusing properly. "'Course," he answered. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I just meant that you're not living out of a motel or something, right?"

His lips tilted upward. "That was you, Liz, not me."

She swatted at him good naturedly. "Then why do you always come to my place?" she grumbled quietly.

"You don't have to whisper. It's not a secret," her ex husband teased her with that smile of his. It was small, almost more of a smirk, and she rolled her eyes.

"Are you cooking tonight?"

"If you want me to."

"At your place?"

She watched Jacob's smile fade ever so slightly. Even he had tells, and now that she knew what she was looking for, Liz could spot them in the small shifting of his gaze, the way his head tilted ever so slightly as he looked at her, and the way the muscles in his shoulders tightened, pulling them back where he sat. "What's wrong with yours?"

"Nothing. It's fine, but we've been back nearly two months now and I still haven't seen yours. Isn't that weird?"

"Is it?"

Liz glared at him. "Don't deflect," she grumbled at him and the smile returned.

"It's nothing special."

"Why don't you want me to see it?"

"I never said I didn't."

He was starting to get on her nerves now. He was getting better about not outright lying to her - everyone else was a different story, but at least he was making the effort for her - but there were times when he got very stubborn about answering something and started dancing around the subject. He knew that she knew exactly what he was doing, and most of the time it was done with a more teasing tone. Not that evening though.

"Jacob," she said sternly and he offered her an easy smile.

"Liz."

"You think you're being cute, but you're not," she huffed. "I just... I just want to make sure you're okay. That you're not-"

"Getting ready to run?"

Liz stopped and stared. She hadn't wanted to admit it to herself, but the thought had crossed her mind. Jacob had admitted to running most of his life and now... Now all of his masks had been shattered, he was working for the feds, and they were trying to take the time to get to know each other again. Sometimes he seemed to enjoy the work, but other times he looked like a man that felt like the walls were just a little too close around him. Liz wanted to believe he loved her enough not to run, but with everything that happened she questioned even things she likely shouldn't.

Jacob shifted in his seat, standing so that they were close. She looked up at him and watched as he intentionally peeled back a few of his own defences that he kept up there at the Post Office. She was the only one that got to see him like this. His eyes softened and he reached forward, thumb tracing her cheekbone. "I've fought too hard to be with you. I'm not going anywhere."

Liz leaned into his touch, her hand coming up to cover his. "I know," she whispered.

"I'll tell you as many times as you need to hear it," he promised. "I'm here, Liz. I'm not leaving you." He pressed a quick kiss to her lips, something rare while they were in the office, and when he pulled back she saw his smile reach his eyes. "Parking sucks at my place, so you want me to drive? I can drive you back over to get your car or..."

"Or I could just stay," she murmured. "It's not like we have to get up and come into the office tomorrow morning."

Jacob rolled his eyes dramatically. "Why would you say something like that? Now all hell will break loose."

Liz shook her head and laughed. "Let's get going then. Hudson has probably already made a mess on your floor."

"Nah. There's this really nice neighbour that comes over and lets him out in the back midday. He should be good."

"You let someone in your house when you're not there? That's how bugs get planted," she teased as she watched him scratch a few notes in barely legible handwringing and shove the paperwork in a folder.

Jacob laughed. "No kidding. You ready?"

Liz reached over and grabbed her jacket from her chair. "Let's go see this place," she said as she shrugged it on.

They piled into the dark grey Mustang that Jacob had simply shown up to work in one day and Liz hadn't asked when he had the time - much less the cash - to get it so quickly. They hadn't discussed if he still had money tucked away in various accounts from his previous line of work, but Liz had worked with the task force long enough - and he had worked for it for a short enough time - that she knew that that wasn't how he'd afforded the vehicle.

As they drove they talked about dinner options and the case. It was nice being able to speak to him about it. He had always played such an innocent and naive role when they were married that even when she could tell him something, often she didn't want to. She had always known that he worried, but hadn't understood that he knew enough to worry more when she didn't talk about it.

Their chatter distracted her, but she slowly started recognising their surroundings. She glanced over to her ex, watching his expression carefully. "Get a place in familiar territory?" she teased.

"I got a good deal," he answered noncommittally and pulled over.

It was too much of a coincidence. "Jacob?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you buy our old place?"

He gave her was he probably thought was an innocent look. "Maybe. You just going to sit there?"

Liz opened her door and stepped out, the familiar street keeping her quiet. She didn't know quite how to react. It was the last thing she expected from him. While Tom had always loved to revisit the past it seemed like a personality quirk that Jacob differed on. He was always pushing forward, looking ahead, and fighting to get there. He didn't seem like the nostalgic type.

"A lot happened here," she said softly as Jacob fit the key into the outer door's lock and she saw him stiffen a little. He was nervous. She hadn't realized it before, but he was on pins and needles about her reaction to this.

"Good and bad, yeah," he answered. The sound of Hudson running on the wood floor interrupted anything else he might have said and a grin took over. "Hey there, buddy. Look who I brought."

Hudson nearly knocked her over and Liz couldn't help but smile. She looked up after a moment of scratching him behind his scruffy ears to see Jacob watching her with fond sort of smile. His expression was distant, like he might be wrapped up in his own thoughts a little more tightly than usual, and when he caught her watching him in return his lips twitched upward just a little more. "I have enough bad memories in my life, Liz. I don't need anymore."

"You want to replace the bad with good ones?" she asked softly. "Like the boat."

He shrugged, dropping to a knee with her in the hallway. "Yeah. I mean, I know it doesn't while them out. They happened, we've moved on..." She reached out and touched his hand and the smile grew a little more real again. "So much good happened here. You remember when I sent you the pictures when we first started looking? You wanted to put a down payment on it that afternoon."

"And you told me you'd run the numbers and see if we could," she murmured, the memories playing through her mind. She had been getting the last minute transfer set up and he'd offered to look.

"Mm," he hummed and his gaze flickered to her again. "That signing bonus with the school that we used for it?"

Liz cringed, knowing that tone. "Not a signing bonus?"

"I never really spent much of my paycheck for each job I worked because I went straight to another. I took some from one of my accounts, but it took time to manage it."

"Probably bought it this time in the same way, huh?"

"Maybe," Jacob offered with a little mischief in his eyes. He leaned back against the door. "I'm crazy for buying it, aren't I?"

Liz laughed a little at him and joined him in leaning, letting her head rest against his shoulder. "A little," she admitted, "but it's interesting. When you put it like that - better memories to outweigh the bad ones - that's something I'm coming to realized is very you. I like it."

He leaned over and kissed the side of her head, reaching for her hand and lacing their fingers together as Hudson piled in the middle. "I may need your help with the whole decorating thing. Not really my forte."

She choked back a giggle and leaned around the dog. "Yeah, it's pretty bare. Maybe I should just stay the whole weekend and help you with that?"

Jacob grinned and suddenly he was kissing her. Hudson scurried out of their way as Liz turned into it, one hand going to the back of his neck and pulling him closer. One of his hands tangled in her hair while the other slid down, finally finding hers again and when they broke from the kiss he didn't let go. "See?" he whispered breathlessly. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm home."

Liz sat up a little straighter and pressed another quick kiss to his lips. "I love you."

"You too," he answered. "Food?"

"Yes, before I lose it on our floor."

"Our?" he asked with a small smile.

She was already standing and pulled him up with her. "Well, if you're dragging me in to decorate..." she teased.

"Thought you wanted to take this slow?"

Liz loosed a breath as she followed him into the kitchen - the only room that looked put together with pots and pans and a full pantry - and he finally released her hand to rummage for what he needed. "I do, but that doesn't mean that in a few months... I mean, you bought the place, right? I'm on a month to month." He was grinning by this point and she swatted at him. "You know what I mean."

"Anytime you're ready, babe," he offered. "No rush."

"Because you're not going anywhere," she affirmed and smiled as he pulled a saucepan out to set to work. It felt so comfortable there, so right, and possibly even more so. Liz hadn't understood what the weight of worry was stemming from before, but the lies had finally been brought to light and with honesty between them she had a good feeling about it. There were elements of Tom in Jacob, both good and bad, but it was an adventure getting to know him more. An adventure that she was now certain that she wouldn't give up for anything.

After it all, they were home.