A/n I was disappointed in myself for the last chapter so here is the next which I believe is written slightly better. Thanks for reading.

/

6.

They didn't go to bed together last night. The awkwardness between them hadn't diminished so she went up, alone, and he joined her later on. Lisbon pretended to be asleep when he did, not being able to actually drift off because of being anxious about what went on between them, or more importantly what didn't. He saw through her pretence and guilt started to eat at him, he wants them to be okay.

Unusually, she wakes before him and after getting over the fact she is nestled into his side, she slowly and quietly prises herself away from him, hoping that he doesn't stir. He doesn't. Jane must really be tired or maybe she has helped him mend his sleep schedule like he wished. She finds herself smiling at the sight of him snoozing away without a care in the world. She isn't an idiot; she recognises that he is a good-looking man, but he does seem a lot more attractive now he hasn't got this heavy weight on his shoulders.

Her eyes dart to the ring on her finger as she muses how it feels strangely normal there now and how although that is a scary thought there is something else there, a buzz of excitement almost. Could they be anything other than friends? That is the big question at the forefront of her mind as she makes them breakfast and brews him a pot of tea for when he eventually rises. "You should have woken me." He tiredly murmurs with a yawn as he ruffles his messy curls.

She watches him slump into a chair at the kitchen table and his smile that forms when he notices his ready tea. He is not used to having someone domestically dote on him, it has been a long time since that has happened. "You looked like you needed the sleep." She tells him and puts down a plate of eggs on toast in front of him. "I hope my eggs are up to scratch."

"I'm sure they are." He beams at her and immediately dives in whilst she sits opposite him with a half-drunk cup of coffee. Instantly any potential awkwardness between them has disappeared after just a short exchange of words. It is one of the reasons why they work so well together, they put each other at ease even during stressful times. "I haven't had a reply from Clarkson."

"Maybe, he's having a lie in." She jokes, they both know the real reason is that he's likely talking to Grady and Seo-Jun about next steps. "What do you want to do today? Apart from the mountain of household chores that is."

"What chores?" He asks with a mouthful of food. "I did the laundry, some ironing and cleaned up in here last night before I came to bed."

"That's why you were late to bed!"

"I wanted to keep busy." He shrugs before triumphantly smirking. "I knew you were still awake."

"Ha. Ha."

"Can't kid and kidder. I practically wrote the book on pretending to be asleep, so people don't ask anything of me."

"You can say that again…" She trails, reminiscing on all those times back at CBI when he did just that and the few occasions that he surprised her by actually being asleep. Those times she usually felt bad, unless he had done something particularly annoying that day, because it was no secret that sleep isn't his best friend. "Thank you for doing the chores. I will vacuum later."

"Later? In which case we can play pool now."

Lisbon lightly laughs at his childishness. "We need to get up first and then we can play games." She decides and then downs the remainder of her coffee in preparation of her tedious morning routine.

"Yes, my dear." Jane mutters finding it highly amusing that even when they have very little to do, she cannot let go enough to play pool in yard in her pyjamas. It is something though that he thinks is oddly appealing. With a shake of his head, he gets up to tidy away the mess from breakfast, not allowing himself to dwell too much on the brunette who clouds his thoughts.

xxx

When playing pool starts to become tedious, especially with her continual showboating whenever she sinks a ball, they instead decide to sit at the table on the veranda enjoying the lovely weather with a glass of orange juice. "We are getting low on food." She utters him, "And more importantly, beer."

"I will do a shop in a bit." He replies and she is about to offer to do it instead, he did the last one after all, but his phone decides to chime, breaking the interaction. "Ah, finally a message from Clarkson. I was getting worried…" He murmurs while scanning the screen of the device. "Oh he is not happy."

"Shock." She sarcastically drawls. "What does it say?"

"It says, 'Patrick I am sorry to hear this, very disappointing. I hope there will be deals between us in the future. Adrian.' Sounds ominous."

"It is fine." Lisbon attempts to persuade. "We will be more prepared next time."

"If there is a next time…"

Jane immediately regrets his comment as a familiar expression of panic washes her features. "What if us delaying it has blown the case and they move on to new people?" She swiftly questions. Different terrible scenarios begin to dawn on her that could be the result of their unpreparedness. "We should have been more ready, had a concrete plan. We've become too lax."

"There is no point panicking." He helpfully states, earning a glower in his direction from the brunette so he decides to offer up something more useful. "They've done the hard work with us already, the legwork if you will. They aren't going to just move on." She recognises that he's probably right. "We will give them a couple of days to stew and then we will seek them out. I will say I have money ready and waiting for their next investment, they won't be able to resist." He senses her relax at his new idea and she hums in agreement. "For now though, let's take advantage of this pleasant day and surprisingly comfy outdoor furniture."

"It is comfy." She decides and allows herself to relax. "I should update Abbott."

"Meh. In a minute." He waves off her idea. "I'm enjoying the tranquillity right now." He leans back in his chair to add to his point and when she seems to mirror his action he lets his attention wander to her, contemplating what they can do once this is all over. "We should hang out more, you know, not at work." He finds himself saying and immediately her brow is raised. "I mean it isn't like we don't have the time. You don't have mountains of paperwork in this role, and I don't have a revenge mission to focus on. Plus, I have liked spending the time with you."

"Hm." She ponders, he makes a good point. She has had much more free time in this job than she did back at CBI, not having a managerial position has been something she has certainly discovered the advantages of. It is like now she can actually shut off out of work because she doesn't have all the other stuff to think about. She's also liked spending time with him. "We should."

They don't talk about it anymore, they just share a smile, before resuming in their relaxed activity of sipping orange juice whilst basking in the sun.

xxx

There is something strangely calming about doing a grocery shop. He doesn't usually make a big deal out of it, living in an Airstream he doesn't have a lot of storage, so he tends to buy only when he needs food. Living, albeit temporarily, in a house and cooking for another person has woken up something within him that he almost completely forgot about. He has always enjoyed shopping and the art of food. Even though his wife did a lot of it because he was constantly working, whenever he got the opportunity he relished it – like he is doing now.

Jane grabs a punnet of strawberries that he then places in his trolley, remembering how much his partner loves this particular fruit… and apples, he recollects, finding a bag of them which he then also adds to the growing load in the trolley. Studying the contents, he realises how Lisbon-centric it is. He has picked her favourite chips, beer, cookies, in fact the only thing he has chosen to indulge himself is a new box of tea, a slightly different blend that he wants to try.

Humming to himself as he roams, he wonders whether his trolley contents is a clear indication of what's important to him, her, and he doesn't have to think about it long because he knows that it is true. She is his life. If she weren't in it then life would not be worth the pain. She was the top of his demands list when he returned to the US, he wanted a job for her more than his freedom because he thought that she deserved it, not whatever work she had found herself after her inevitable demotion because of his behaviour. It was the least she deserved for all the trouble he caused.

Working with her again, being close to her again has made him understand how irreplaceable she is to him. There is no-one else in this world he'd rather spend time with, and he knows that will be the same in the future… could they share a future together, in a more personal capacity than they do now? He hopes so because that's what he wants. Today, this week, has proven that to him. Patrick Jane loves Teresa Lisbon and although he is apprehensive about saying that to her, he believes that she has a right to know and do what she wants with the information.

He's grinning the rest of the way around the store, with a skip in his step, and it doesn't leave his face whilst he is paying for his items, loading the car, or driving back to the house. He even sings a little to a song playing on the radio.

His smile falters when he parks up in the gated drive.

Trepidation is an odd emotion because it doesn't mean the same thing to different people. To some people it is as simple as being worried about an exam or a job interview but to Jane it carries a different burden. From the moment he spotted the paper taped onto his bedroom door at his old Malibu property, was the moment that trepidation had a different meaning to him. As soon as he spots that the front door has been left ajar that feeling overwhelms him, his breathing becomes hard work, and a queasiness settles in the pit of his stomach. He doesn't even bother to get the bags from the trunk of the car.

Jane moves quickly, to push open the door whilst calling her name over and over, getting louder every time. Maybe she accidentally left it open, and she is okay… but why is she not replying? Once he rushes into the kitchen, he knows that his worst fears have come true by the clear signs of a struggle. The discarded vacuum cleaner, the smashed mug with the splatters of coffee across the floor and down the side of one of the cabinets, devastation across the countertops and a knife that he used just two days prior when cooking her dinner takes centre stage on the tiles. She tried to defend herself but with her firearm upstairs with her other FBI belongings out of sight, she couldn't hold them off.

It is like he is being held underwater. He can't breathe, his senses are being stifled and his ears begin to ring, as panic starts to take him over. All he can think about are their six victims and how they were found, and he's trying to rationalise with himself that whilst he isn't with their suspects then she is unlikely to die. All the other victims were in pairs and killed at the same time according to the coroner. He knows that this may be wishful thinking, but he must give himself hope so he can do all he can to make sure she is okay.

Finding some kind of poise, he manages to fish his phone out of his pocket and he's immediately calling Abbott, taking deep breaths in attempt to quell some of the nausea he is experiencing. He needs to sharpen his mind, focus, so he can be as useful to her as possible. "Abbott. They've taken her. They've taken Lisbon." He has got to act brave, valiant, courageous… when his whole world is actually crashing down around him.