Lisbon knocked on the door to Agent Pott's office, and when she heard a muffled voice inside tell her to come in, she did so. The atmosphere in the office was more relaxed than Abbott's office had been, but Millie grew wary when she saw who stood in the doorway. Her eyes narrowed and her shoulders tensed. What Lisbon said, though, was not at all what she was expecting her to say.

"Agent Potts, how are you feeling?"

"I'm honestly not sure. Agent Jane seems nice enough, but the way he was looking at me—it seemed like he was looking right through me. That was intense."

Lisbon nodded. "Jane is NOT an agent. He's a consultant. He was trying to get to know you. I'm sorry he made you uncomfortable."

"How long have you worked together?"

"Almost ten years now."

"Wow. I don't know if I could handle being around someone like him for ten years."

"Give him a chance. Most of his colleagues like him once they get to know him. Why don't you let me take you to dinner, so we can get to know each other better, and I can tell you all you need to know about Patrick Jane."

Agent Potts hesitated, and Lisbon said, "Think of it as an apology and a peace offering. If we're going to be working together, I don't want any animosity between us. Italian?"

"That sounds nice. Thank you."

"Great. Meet me in the bullpen when you finish with work for the day. I know the perfect place. I'll make the reservations."

(0o0)

Lisbon had made their reservations for 6:00. The restaurant was on the street level of a high rise hotel building. Traffic was worse than usual, so she offered to drive, and they arrived just in time to be seated. Since it was a rather warm evening, Lisbon had arranged for a table on the patio. As they were being seated, Lisbon looked out over the sidewalk. Suddenly, she froze. He breath caught in her throat. Then, she blinked a few times, and told herself it couldn't be. It wasn't possible. There was no way she could have seen the person she thought she saw. She forced herself to stay calm, realizing she needed to think about this rationally.

"Agent Lisbon?" She heard Millie's voice as if it came from far away.

"Teresa," she said, pulling herself back into the moment. "We're not at work."

Millie Potts nodded. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Everything is fine." She looked down at the table, suddenly realizing that the maitre 'd had come and gone. She hastily seated herself. "Sorry. I thought I saw someone I used to work with. It's nothing." Lisbon still seemed shaken, as far as Millie could tell, but she was making an effort to move on with dinner, and it was obvious that she didn't want to talk about the person she had seen, so Millie followed her lead.

The two women chatted through breadsticks and salad, stopping only long enough to peruse their menus, and place their orders.

The waiter brought them a bottle of wine, offering the cork to Lisbon for her approval. She waved it under her nose and allowed the fragrance of the wine to waft up. It smelled fantastic and she nodded her approval. He poured each of them a glass and put the bottle back in it's ice bucket, which sat on a small cart next to the table.

When the waiter left, Millie Potts looked at Lisbon and said, "So, the truth about Patrick Jane."

Lisbon nodded. Jane was her friend, and a large part of her wanted to defend him, to try to justify who he was, but she knew, if she wanted Millie to trust her, that the other woman deserved the truth. "Where to start? He can be arrogant and difficult, and yet he can also be intuitive and surprisingly caring, and he closes every case he's involved with. He uses things and people as he has to do so, and for his own purposes, but he is loyal and very protective of those he cares for, and he's the smartest person in every room. He's generally two steps ahead of everyone else, and he won't let you in on his plans until he has decided you need to know. He can wreak all manner of havoc if he takes a mind to do so, and he's more interested in justice than he is in the law. If he decides to help you, there're no better hands you can be in, though you might not think so at the time."

"Jane's your friend? I'd hate to hear what you had to say about someone you didn't like."

"Jane is my friend, and he knows all of this about himself. He would not be offended by any of what I've said here today. He's not perfect, by any means. I promised you the truth, and that's what I gave you. Now, let's stop talking about Jane. I always worry that talking about him will cause him to appear. Like a leprechaun," she joked. "I want to get to know you."

Their entrees came shortly after the conversation shifted, and they talked about their jobs, their lives, and the trajectories their careers had taken them in over the years, and focused on getting to know one another throughout the rest of their meal. The wine bottle was nearly empty, and their plates had been cleared away, but the night air was the perfect temperature and neither of them were all that eager to leave. So, they sat and talked. Mildred Potts decided that she quite liked this Teresa Lisbon.

A few minutes later, their waiter appeared again, setting a plate of canoli down in front of them. Lisbon started to protest. "We didn't order that," she said, but a voice cut her off.

"I did," said a voice behind them, and a moment later, Jane had thanked and tipped the waiter, and pulled up a chair and seated himself at the table with them.

"Agent Lisbon?", Millie Potts looked from her to Jane and then back again. "What is this? You invited him to join us?"

"No."

"Don't blame her. She didn't know I was coming. We need to talk, Millie." He looked back and forth between the two women and then spoke up again. "Eat up, and then we'll go somewhere a little more private."

With those words, Jane helped himself to a canoli, and began munching away happily.

"No. I don't think so. I had quite enough of talking to you in Agent Abbott's office this afternoon."

Jane put down the rest of his canoli and studied her. He held up a finger, asking her to wait. Reaching inside his jacket pocket, he took out a pen and paper and started writing. Millie studied him curiously. A moment later, he tore the top sheet off of the pad, and passed it over to her. Her eyes grew wide as she read what he had written. Lisbon looked back and forth between them, confused. When she had finished reading, Millie passed the paper over to the other woman and just sort of folded up into herself.

Lisbon read the words Jane had written. We have reason to believe that we are all in danger. I cannot discuss the situation aloud until we have reached a secure location and taken the proper precautions. If you refuse to accompany me willingly, there are FBI agents spread out throughout the immediate vicinity, who will take you into custody and escort you to the secure meeting location.

When Lisbon looked up, Jane spoke again. "I'm afraid I have to insist." He tore off the two sheets of paper below the paper he had written on, folded all three up, and held one corner up to the candle that sat burning on the table. When it was burning properly, he dropped the whole thing into a metal bowl that sat on the small cart (and looked like it originally held sauces).

He watched it burn until it was nothing but ashes, and then tipped it up and let the breeze carry it off into the night. When that was done, he summoned the waiter to bring their check and had him box up the remainder of the canoli.

Lisbon's eyes grew wide as she watched the man across the table from her. This was an iteration of Patrick Jane she had seen only once before, on a terrible, dark day, and to be honest, it scared her a bit. The last time he was like this, he had ended up running away—south of the border—and she hadn't seen him for two years. There was a coldness and a precision in his movements, which, though not directed at them, was menacing nonetheless. She couldn't explain what it was about him that reminded her of that time, but she couldn't shake the feeling that this was far worse than he was choosing to let on at the moment.

Some of what she was thinking must have shown on her face because as they rose to leave, he gently bumped her arm with his, and when she looked up, he made eye contact and smiled at her. That was his way of telling her that things were serious, but he needed her help. They had to keep Agent Potts calm until they reached a place where he could explain what was happening. Lisbon smiled back. That one small gesture probably made her feel better than anything else he could have done.

Jane stepped over next to Millie and offered her his hand. She stood mechanically, and allowed him to steer her over next to Lisbon. Placing a hand under each woman's elbow, Jane guided them through the restaurant to the elevators, and once they were all on, he pressed a button and the elevator began moving upwards.