AN: The next chapter, as promised! Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to leave a review, I appreciate you all more than you know! :)


The room was still dark when Lisbon awoke, wrapped once more in Jane's warm embrace. Her legs and arms were sticky with sweat, the legs of her pajama pants rolled up practically to the knees. Disentangling herself from Jane's sleeping form, she padded silently out of the bedroom and down to the kitchen.

Lisbon tried to be as quiet as possible while searching for a cup and going through the motions of making tea so as not to wake Jane. She remembered their conversation, about how boundaries were important but also that they needed to be more open with each other, and how he had said that it was okay to wake him up if she needed to talk. At the moment, Lisbon didn't know whether or not she wanted to talk or cry. Holding the piping hot cup with a white-knuckled grip, she lifted herself to sit on the counter, tucking her knees to her chest.

Her heart was pounding, the chills a reminder of the anxieties nagging at the back of her mind. It was a problem that followed her often, her sleep plagued by memories and persistent nightmares of the past, present, and future. And it was because she was so preoccupied with trying to dissipate the pressure that had settled over her heart that she missed the creaking sound of the staircase behind her.

Jane rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes, bleary-faced, and noticed that Lisbon had her back turned. It didn't escape him that her shoulders were shaking and her breathing was audible, a clear sign of distress. He didn't want to scare her, so instead of walking over, he stayed a safe distance away, calling to her from the steps.

"Lisbon? Teresa? You okay?"

Her form tightened as she registered his presence. "I'm fine, Jane. Go back to bed," she said in a clipped tone.

"No, you're not. Can I come over there, please?"

"Even if I say no, you're going to do it anyway, right?"

"Yes." He crossed the kitchen in record time, not turning on any lights or doing anything that would overload her senses. Standing directly in front of her, he leaned against the counter she was perched on, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "Is this okay?"

Lisbon relaxed into his touch. "Yes," she murmured.

"We don't have to talk. But I'm here if you want to."

She nodded.

"What's this about?"

Lisbon shook her head, the lump forming in her throat making it too difficult for her to respond.

"Shh," he whispered, never wavering, but shifting his hands to rub comforting circles into her back. "It's okay. Let it all out, you're safe."

Lisbon's head was pillowed on his shoulder, and he could feel her lip quivering against his neck. Always trying to put on a brave face. "Hey. Teresa, look at me." She wearily raised her head to face him. "You can cry. I'm not going to judge you or even ask you what's wrong if you don't want to tell me, okay?"

Wordlessly, Lisbon moved so that she was surrounded by his embrace. Her body racked with sobs, the tiny gasps for air a clear cry for help. She was trembling, every inch of her shaking slightly as he hugged her. Jane had never seen her as vulnerable and open as she was now, her so carefully guarded mask slipped from her face. Tear tracks stained her face, making lines down her sun-kissed cheeks.

It had been a long time since Jane had had to comfort anyone in this way, and never before had he been in a situation where the person needing comfort was Teresa Lisbon. It was touching in a way to see a woman who was so fiercely independent and fiery accepting hugs from him. Most of what he remembered of how to comfort someone was muscle memory, his arms extending out to hold her almost of their own accord. But the hushed whispers of sympathy and reassurance were completely and utterly him.

Although her body was preoccupied with something akin to an anxiety attack, Lisbon tried to force her mind to focus on his words. They were repetitive, soothing, a mantra of love and calming.

"I've got you. It's okay. You don't have to be afraid. Shh, everything's going to be alright." His sentences ran together, punctuating her sobbing with relief.

After some time, her cries died down, leaving only the aftermath of her breakdown, shaking from head to toe. Lisbon's nimble fingers brushed lightly at the tear stains she left on his shirt and she attempted in vain to dry her eyes.

"I'm sorry, that was embarrassing," she choked out.

He pulled back to meet her beautiful green eyes, still shiny with tears. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about. It's alright. Everyone has rough moments, Teresa, you don't have to be afraid of it. It's not embarrassing or wrong, it's just a part of life. You should never feel ashamed of crying."

"Thank you," she whispered. "I mean really, thank you. I don't think I've ever cried in front of anyone before and the hugs helped."

"No need to thank me, Teresa, it's what I'm here for. Do you want to talk?"

She nodded, and he lifted her tiny frame off the counter and set her down on the couch. Jane promised her he'd be right back, and he ran up to their bedroom to grab one of the soft blankets off the bed. When he returned, he tucked it around Lisbon's shoulders and sat down next to her. Unsatisfied with the distance, she scooted closer to him, ducking under his arm and forcing him to hold her close.

"Lisbon, what's wrong? I've never seen you like this."

"I'm an idiot," she said. "A real idiot."

"You're not," he replied patiently. "What makes you say that?"

"I screwed up tonight. Big time. They're going to have people monitoring the house now. It wasn't supposed to end like that, I wasn't supposed to win. We might have to pull the plug on this entire operation and these horrible people will get away with it all. And it would be entirely my fault."

"It was a mistake," he soothed. "The odds were against him. By the numbers, I didn't think he had a chance to win either. And about the house, who cares? All we have to do is keep doing what we've been doing, nothing is going to change."

"And what have we been doing, Jane? Has this all been just us messing around as a means to an end?"

He could tell that she wasn't talking about the mission anymore. Jane knew well what his feelings were on the subject of Teresa Lisbon, but he kept his expression carefully controlled.

"If I've made you uncomfortable or anxious in any way, Lisbon, I'm sorry about that. I never meant to hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me. I think my mistake coupled with, um, what we saw tonight was enough to upset me."

He looked confused. They saw people beat each other up all the time, seeing much worse things on the job usually. How was a boxing match any different?

Noting his look, she tried to explain. "I think that watching the fight, those poor men forced to fight each other against their will was what did it more than anything. I know it's not as bad as anything we usually see, but when I see people forced to fight against someone bigger and stronger than them, and I can't do anything to help, it just reminds me. Reminds me too much of my father."

At last, he understood. Jane knew about her dad, having read and memorized her personnel file when he was first starting out working for her.

"Lisbon, I'm sorry. No one should have to go through that."

"It's alright. I wouldn't be who I am now if it didn't happen. Thank you for staying with me."

"Of course. You shouldn't have to be alone when you're upset," he said, sensing that she was ready to stop talking. "Do you want to sleep?"

Lisbon nodded.

"Do you want to go back to bed or stay here?"

"Stay here," she said quietly.

He lay back against the couch as he so often did at work, Lisbon stretching out atop him. Jane pulled the blanket over her carefully, arranging it so that both of them were covered. Once he was satisfied that neither of them would get cold, he gently stroked her hair until she fell asleep, drifting off not long after her.


Filtered sunlight drifted in through the living room windows as Jane stirred on the sofa. He felt as though something was missing, and he realized immediately what it was when he sat up and a blanket dropped softly to the floor, Lisbon no longer laying with him. Straightening his shirt, he heard the water from the shower running and idly wondered if Lisbon had eaten breakfast yet. Assuming she hadn't, he started some water for tea and set out a pan for eggs. The digital clock on the stovetop informed him that it was very late morning, the two of them having slept in after he found Lisbon in the kitchen the night before.

He was halfway through buttering a few slices of toast when she appeared behind him.

"Good morning," she said happily.

"Morning, Lisbon. I made some breakfast, it'll be done in a few minutes. Feeling better today?"

"Actually, yeah. It helped to talk to someone, and I think being tired made it worse."

"It always does," Jane agreed, setting a plate of eggs and toast in front of her. "But I'm glad I was able to help."

"You slept in," she pointed out. "It's already 11:30."

Jane raised his eyebrows. "Scandalous. If we actually had to report in to the office, we'd be so late."

She laughed, something he was unspeakably glad to hear after her emotional state the night before. "We'd be in so much trouble."

"And somehow I doubt you've ever been late a day in your life."

"Not once," Lisbon confirmed, a sparkle in her eye. "But I bet you run late all the time. You're one of those 'I'm on my own schedule' kind of people."

"Got it in one."

"Sometimes I don't know how you've made it this far," she said, settling her fork down heavily. "All I know is that if I were as late as you are or ran off even half as often as you, any one of my old bosses would kick my ass."

Jane grinned. "I'm just lucky to have a boss that doesn't want to kick my ass."

Unable to punch his shoulder like she normally would, she flung soapy water off the plates at him. "You're a pain."

"But you don't mind!" Jane wiped bubbles off his shirt.

"If that means I put up with you, then yes." She stuck out her tongue childishly.

Just then, Lisbon's phone buzzed. Taking a moment to read the text, she jumped up and grabbed her laptop, booting it up in record time.

"Everything okay?" Jane asked.

"It's fine. We apparently were scheduled to video call with the team, update them on progress, and things like that. I lost track of time and almost missed it."

Before long, Van Pelt answered the call from her laptop, the rest of the team crowding around her desk to talk instead of joining from their own computers.

"Hey, boss, Jane! How did everything go at the fight?" Van Pelt asked.

"Oh, fine," Jane replied airily. "Teresa accidentally won a lot of money."

Lisbon dropped her face into her hands, the team reacting a bit differently to the news. It did not escape Grace that Jane had called her Teresa instead of Lisbon.

"What?" Rigsby spluttered. "You weren't supposed to win!"

"I know!" Lisbon shouted. "I didn't mean to, it was an accident!"

Jane confirmed this. "It was an accident. The odds were stacked up pretty high and I didn't think there was a chance of her actually winning anything."

"What do you think these people know?" Cho asked.

"They're suspicious, but they don't want to let on that they are. A new couple comes in for the first time and wins big? Highly unlikely. I'm willing to bet that they don't think we're cops, but they do think we're either rigging the matches or cheating in some way," Jane theorized. "I also think it's probable that there will start to be eyes on the house. They got the address last night and will probably be sending people to watch at least the outside to make sure we're telling the truth about who we are."

"So you need to lay low," Van Pelt advised. "Don't go out during the day, just in the evenings if there's something you need to get done. You don't want to look any more suspicious than you already do."

"Did you get names?" Rigsby asked.

Lisbon knew that they did, although she couldn't remember them. "Garrett introduced us to his cronies. They're all pretty refined, I wouldn't be surprised if they were the heads of some other crime rings."

"Miss Everett, Mr. Spencer, Mr. Lloyd, and Mr. Blackwell," Jane recited. "They didn't give first names, probably going more for anonymity. I didn't press on the names, mostly because I didn't want to draw attention to us. But we were invited back."

"That's progress," said Cho, crossing his arms. "We need to find out everything we can about these other people."

"We can do some database searches for people in the area with the last names," Van Pelt suggested. "I'm not sure if the names they gave you are real, but we can do some checking. Boss, you should be able to access the CBI archives and files on your laptop, so I can send you what we find."

"Sounds good. Anything I can do?"

"Get ready to go to another fight. Keep up the ruse, and be on the lookout for anyone who's looking at the house," Cho said. "Nice work."

"Thanks. Let me know what you find on the names, I'll have my computer and phone with me. Thanks, guys!"

She ended the video call and Jane moved to sit with her.

"Do you really think they'll start staking out the house?" Lisbon asked nervously.

"Not a stakeout, necessarily. They might drive by a few times, but they won't do anything unless we prove that we're sketchy."

"I don't like it."

"I don't either, but we have to keep doing what we're doing. Everything will work out."

Lisbon exhaled loudly. "I think I'm going to help them with the search. Since I have access to records, I can see what I can find on our friends." She sat on one end of the couch, laptop propped up on the arm.

"I'm going to get some work done too," Jane said.

"Oh really?" she glanced at him. "So you want to help?"

"Not at all." He laid down across the couch, dropping his head into Lisbon's lap and stretching his legs out toward the other side.

"What are you doing? I'm trying to get some things done, Jane."

"I thought it was obvious. I'm going to take a nap. But since you're sitting where my head would usually go, I'm just going to have to use you as a pillow."

"Fine. I don't really care what you do, as long as I have a couple of hours to finish up with some things without being disturbed."

"Excellent!" He relaxed into her, closing his eyes, and within a few minutes, he was asleep.

Jane stayed there the entire time Lisbon worked, only getting up once to drink a cup of tea before settling back down, resting his blonde curls on her thigh. She would admit to spending a few moments just watching him, his peaceful face pulled into a half-smile. His unruly hair was like a magnet to Lisbon's hands, it looked so soft that she just wanted to run her fingers through it, but she restrained herself. Lisbon paced her typing to the rhythmic in and out of his breath, trying not to wake him. She knew that he was tired because he had stayed awake with her until she went to sleep, and he deserved to rest as well.

But by late afternoon, Lisbon had finished with her research, sending one final email to Van Pelt summarizing her findings. It was no surprise that it had been hard to turn up anything on the people from the club, but there were a couple of hits for each of the last names, so she sent over the files for the team to take a closer look at.
"Jane," she hissed. "Jane!"

He stretched and rolled over, almost falling off the couch. "What time is it?" Jane muttered sleepily.

"Five. I just finished working. Now get up, my legs are falling asleep."

He grumbled but complied. "They are not. It's not like I was sitting on you or anything."

"Okay, we are not having this argument," she laughed. "Come on, get up. You have to call again, and I want something to eat."

Jane pulled the shiny card out of his suit pocket, the identification number a matte black 58 in the bottom corner. It was a different phone number from the last time, unsurprisingly, and a similar robotic voice answered asking for his name and ID number. This time, the address he received led to an abandoned aircraft hangar on the opposite side of town.

"That's new," Lisbon said as she mapped the address. "I'm willing to bet this building is still registered to someone."

"Can we trace it?"

"I'll send it back to the office, see what they come up with. In the meantime, I'm done with working for the day."

"Would you like me to start dinner?"

"If you would, that'd be great. I'm going to grab my book out of the car, be back in a minute."

Jane had gotten no further than setting a saucepan on the stove before Lisbon came back, a stricken look on her face. He tried to keep calm and busied himself with getting out the ingredients for a sweet and sour sauce.

"There's someone outside the house," Lisbon said. "A black sedan, but I can't make anything else out, it's too dark. No headlights, but there is a person in the driver's seat."

"Sooner than I expected," Jane said. "Where is it?"

"Right across the street." She gestured in the general direction. "The driver's side window is facing the front of the house."

"I'd like to look, but we have to be casual," Jane said. He caught her arm and pulled her towards the front door. "Put your back towards the door and let me face the windows."

As soon as Lisbon was positioned in the right direction, making sure Jane had a clear view out the front window, he kissed her deeply, taking the time to search the dark street for a car. It was almost an uncomfortable amount of time to spend in one kiss, but Jane needed to see out the window, so he trailed kisses down her neck to her shoulder, making Lisbon shiver. Eventually, Jane pulled away from her, leaning close to whisper in her ear.

"It's a Corolla, the first three plate numbers are TLX, I can't see any more. I'm almost certain whoever it is can see us though, so play it off. Laugh at something I said, then push me away and we'll go back to the kitchen."

Lisbon did as she was told, and he dragged her back to the safety of the other room. Without saying a word, he resumed cooking, and she watched as he prepped ingredients and cut up vegetables. Watching him cook was fascinating, it seemed as if he knew exactly the amount of each ingredient needed without using any measuring cups or spoons. Green onions, peppers, riced cauliflower, shredded carrots, and garlic went into a pan on the stove, cooking in sesame oil. Stirring the sauce, he poured it into the pan, adding the cooked chicken and mixing it all.

Putting two portions in bowls, they ended up sitting on the couch instead of the table because it was less visible from the window.

"Oh my god, Jane," Lisbon said after a bite. "This is ridiculously good. I don't even know what it is, but I love it."

"I'm not sure there's a name for it," he said after a moment. "I guess it's just stir fry, but instead of rice, it's cauliflower rice. It's healthier that way, and I think it tastes just as good."

"If not better," she agreed. Another beat of silence. "Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?"

"You mean the man watching the house?"

"Yes, that. What are we going to do about him?"

"Nothing," Jane replied casually. "We go about our business as usual, as long as he doesn't suspect anything we're fine."

Lisbon drummed her fingers against the rim of her bowl. "I don't like it. It's almost like I'm being stalked."

"As much as I hate to say it, we are being stalked, in a way," Jane pointed out.

"I feel like a sitting duck."

"They won't try anything, Lisbon. As of right now, they're not sure yet whether or not we're for real. It would be horribly misfortunate to attack a potential ally, right? Which leaves only one choice, tail us until they know for sure we're good people."

"And Rigsby's supposed to come down from the office tomorrow. Maybe I should text and explain the situation?"

"Meh. You can do that in the morning. For now, I'd like to do something to take my mind off of the dangerous criminal watching the outside of our house." He washed the dishes quickly and pulled the ice cream they had bought out of the freezer. "Care for some dessert?"

"Absolutely!"

They returned to the living room with their bowls of ice cream, Jane having chosen vanilla and Lisbon eating black raspberry with chocolate chips.

"Any idea what to do to pass the time?" she asked. "I don't really want to move out of this room right now, it feels safer because no one can see in from this angle. Does that sound crazy?"

"Lisbon, you never sound crazy. I would suggest a movie, but I'm far too restless for that," Jane admitted. "If you want to watch something, we can, but I'm not sure how well I'll be able to concentrate on it."

"That's fine, I'm not sure I'd be able to watch a movie right now anyways. Is there something else you'd rather do?"

"We could play a game. Do you like cards?" he asked, pulling a deck out of the inside pocket of his suit.

"Uh, yeah," Lisbon stammered. "Now I'm confused, do you always have those with you?" She pointed at the deck he was now shuffling.

"Sure. You never know when you'll need it, or have the opportunity for an impromptu game. What do you like to play?"

"It's been a while. There are a few games I don't remember how to play, but I know rummy, poker, and king's corners."

"Hmm. Two people for poker isn't as fun, but I know I would beat you, so I'll give you an easy out on that one," Jane said with a wink. "We could play king's corners. It's a faster game, so we may have time for both that and rummy."

Lisbon wound up with a terrible hand the first round, so it was unsurprising that Jane beat her. After three more rounds, they were tied, and Jane suggested a tiebreaker in the form of one round of slapjack. Whoever got the first jack would win, until they moved on to playing a different game. There were a few false slaps, Lisbon accidentally hit Jane's hand hard enough to leave a mark, but by the time they got to the right card, Lisbon was crowned the winner.

"I can't believe you," Jane grumbled. "I think the only reason you won was that I was too scared to keep slapping the table. You're very aggressive."

"I'm choosing to take that as a compliment because I don't know how else to take it."

The man outside was quickly forgotten as Jane and Lisbon continued their competition with a few rounds of rummy. Once again, Lisbon was the winner, and Jane was left wondering how he could have possibly lost to her.

"Ha!" she stuck out her tongue and put a big 'L' on her forehead with her hand. "Patrick Jane is the loser!"

"Very gracious, Lisbon."

"You're only saying that because you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous, you're just competitive."

"I'm not competitive, I just like to win," she shot back good-naturedly.

"You cops, you're all the same. So competitive and such bad losers."

"I raised three brothers, Jane, of course I'm going to be a little competitive from time to time," Lisbon said.

"A little competitive?" he muttered under his breath.

"I heard that!"

When they had cleaned up their bowls and put away the cards, Lisbon cast a nervous glance towards the door. It was already locked, but she wasn't sure if it would look too suspicious to pull the blinds shut too. It was a natural nighttime routine to make sure that everything was

locked from the inside, but Lisbon didn't want to do anything that would draw this man's gaze. Jane noticed her mental argument with herself and came to stand next to her.

"Do you want to pull the blinds? We can if you want," he said.

"You don't think it'll look bad?"

"Not at all. If it makes you feel better, go ahead. I want you to feel safe, Lisbon."

"What makes me feel safe is knowing that I have my gun hidden away in the closet upstairs. But I might as well shut the blinds," she decided. Not wanting to look too closely at the street, she passed each window, snapping the blinds shut behind her, and then following Jane up to bed.

They took turns changing and brushing their teeth before sliding into bed together, the act still uncomfortable but less so than it had been at the beginning of the week. Lisbon passed out fast but Jane lay awake, listening to the sound of her breathing and watching the subtle flutter of her eyelashes as she dreamed.

So beautiful.

Jane knew that she was the reason his insomnia hadn't been as bad, and he was already anxious about the day that all this would be over and they would go back to living their normal lives. He wasn't sure what it would be like for him to go back to sleeping alone on the bed in the CBI attic after this, but he knew for a fact that he would miss Teresa. No amount of work friendliness would ever compare to the experience of living with her. It wasn't as if either of them were seeing anyone though, and the thought that she might be interested in him romantically was enough to set Jane's heart ablaze.

Jane wasn't sure whether or not he wanted Lisbon to hear, but the most he could do was whisper the words into the silence between them, left hanging.