AN: Hello lovely people! I'm so sorry I'm just now getting this uploaded, it's been a very long week and I wasn't feeling quite up to publishing a chapter of this story after updating my more recent work. If any of you were wondering, this is the second to last chapter in this fic! :)


Sometime in the early morning, when the world was still dark and most Californians were still asleep, Jane woke up curled around Lisbon. A glance at the bedside clock told him that it was nearly four in the morning. His mind roiled with the intrusive thoughts that so often plagued him in the night, an instant replay of one life-altering night so many years ago. A long hallway, a note, the door. Over and over until he couldn't stand it.

But there was something different about this night. So often, when he had that dream before he woke up alone, warm and cold at the same time. Jane always found himself unable to go back to sleep, unable to turn off the thoughts that grew like an avalanche. A long time ago he might have tried some sort of biofeedback or grounding trick to relieve his mind of the memories, but not anymore. They had stopped working after a few months. To his knowledge, nothing was effective in shutting out the thoughts, to pulling the plug on the repetitive visions and terrors. He had become almost nocturnal, up all night reading or learning something, and sleeping at the office during the day. That was until he had begun this mission.

Sharing a bed with someone, specifically, Teresa Lisbon had eased his insomnia problems to an almost dormant state over the week they had been living together. It was easy to fall asleep listening to her breathing or feeling her move as she dreamed. This was the first time that he had had the dream since they began the op, and not wanting to wake her up, he settled for stroking her dark brown locks gently. However, it ended up having the opposite effect, Lisbon waking up a few minutes later.

"Hey," she whispered. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"I'm just thinking," he said. "I'm sorry if I woke you, go back to sleep."

Lisbon rolled over to face him. "No, it's okay. What are you thinking about?"

Jane pondered whether or not to tell the truth. "Anything and everything. I had a nightmare."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You should have woken me up."

"You need your rest. I'll be fine, go back to sleep."

"No. Talk to me, Jane."

He did want to talk to her. Desperately. It would feel so good to tell her everything, about the nightmares and the memories that so often haunted him. But telling her would be giving a voice to that fear, feeding the anxiety with anguish over what to say. Jane sighed, not knowing what to do.

"You can tell me anything. I won't think any less of you," Lisbon whispered.

Jane decided to just bite the bullet and tell her everything. "When I fall asleep, I see the hallway. The note. God, I think I've memorized it just from the number of times I've seen it in my dreams. I always wake up before I can open the door, which should be better, but it makes it worse. It feels like he's behind the door, and I just can't open it in time. I thought the dream had gone away, at least temporarily, but tonight it came back."

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry. There's nothing you could have done, Teresa."

Lisbon realized that they were doing exactly what she had been afraid of, holding an emotionally charged conversation in the dark. At the beginning of the week, she had thought it was a good thing that Jane hardly slept, but deep down she knew she also slept better with him beside her. It didn't change the fact that nighttime talks seemed to be so serious, and where she would have avoided it at all costs a week ago, now she was glad to be able to be there for him when he felt this way.

She pulled the blanket up close to her chin. "You're right. There's nothing I could have done then, but you're here with me right now and I can talk to you until you fall asleep again."

"You don't have to."

"But I want to. If you'd rather, I could sing you to sleep," Lisbon suggested, smiling in the dark.

"No offense to your singing voice, Lisbon, but I really don't want to hear that. I'm sure you're a lovely singer, but it may honestly keep me up instead of helping me go back to sleep."

She laughed quietly. "Smart choice. I can't sing worth a lick. My brothers always said I was 'tone-deaf Teresa'."

"But didn't you play an instrument?"

"Clarinet, yeah. But just because I can read music doesn't mean I can sing it," she pointed out. "Besides, I think my talents lie elsewhere."

"I don't disagree. Just out of curiosity, what songs did you sing?" Jane asked.

Lisbon's blush wasn't visible to Jane, but she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. "You already know I'm a Spice Girls fan. That, and classic rock. It was my dad's favorite. Enough of me attempting to sing those and my brothers told me once and for all that I'm not allowed to sing in the house." She was laughing at this point, trying to keep quiet.

Jane chuckled. "In that case, I do think it would be better if we just talked until I fell asleep."

Lisbon hummed the chorus of 'I Won't Back Down' before Jane groaned in protest. "Just kidding," she said. "But there's a taste of the 'tone-deaf Teresa' treatment."

"And we can skip the rest, I know how the song goes," he teased good-naturedly.

"But if you want, I'll talk to you until you go back to sleep. Maybe I'll just talk about work, bore you enough to fall asleep," Lisbon suggested.

"Seriously, you don't have to. If you go to sleep, I can just listen to you until I fall asleep too. Is that okay?" he asked.

"Sure."

Lisbon tucked her arm under her pillow, sighing softly and closing her eyes. Jane listened to her breathe and watched the gentle flutter of her eyelashes. So beautiful, and so different from how she looked when she was awake. He was going to miss this, miss her. Trying to distract himself from the fact that his little oasis with her might be over soon, he fell asleep again.

At a more reasonable hour of the morning, she found him in the kitchen sipping at a cup of tea and reading his book. Lisbon slumped onto one of the kitchen chairs, dwarfed by the oversized hoodie she wore. Before long, she smelled coffee percolating, and a warm mug was slid in front of her.

"Thanks, Jane," she said, sipping the warm drink with her hands still in her sleeves.

"Anytime. You look tired."

"Fix me up with six cups of coffee and I'll be good to go," Lisbon joked. "But you're right, I am a bit tired."

He ran his fingers through his blond curls nervously. "I knew I shouldn't have woken you up."

"Don't worry about it, I'm glad you did. By the way, what are you reading? I've seen you with that book in your hand all week, and I haven't once seen the title."

Jane removed the dust cover and held it up so that Lisbon could clearly see the title.

Immediately, she burst out laughing. "Seriously? 'Weird History of the Universe in 400 Pages'? What even is that?"

Looking slightly miffed, Jane tried to explain. "It's fascinating, Lisbon, really. It takes you through a timeline of events strung together by weird facts about organisms and civilizations. It's not Shakespeare, but it is informative."

"Okay. Give me a weird historical fact, Mr. Nonfiction," Lisbon challenged.

"In the 1830s, ketchup was sold as medicine," Jane shot back without hesitation. "In the 13th century, the Pope declared war on cats."

He continued with a few more, and Lisbon was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. "It certainly sounds...intriguing. Probably not my go-to for curling up with a book, but at least it's interesting," Lisbon said.

"And what kinds of books are your go-to?"

"I haven't had as much time as I'd like, but I used to really love adventure and spy novels. And I definitely read my fair share of mystery books as a kid."

"That explains a lot," Jane muttered. "You were just destined to be a cop."

"Basically." Lisbon grabbed a bagel and sat down across from Jane. "Between that and wrestling my brothers, being a cop just seemed a natural choice."

"What would you do if you weren't a cop?" Jane asked. "If you could have any other job, what would you do?"

Lisbon hummed thoughtfully. "I'm not sure. Something where I can help people. Maybe a social worker?"

"I think you'd be good at that," he said. "I'm not sure what I'd do."

"Sometimes I feel like you'd fit in at any job."

"Lisbon, you know that's not true," Jane said.

"I mean, sure, you've got that crazy mind of your own that can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but you've got a good heart. And you're good at going with the flow, which is nice too, and you're good at reading people. You'd be a good counselor, especially if you worked with kids," she said.

Jane smiled. Lisbon would never admit it, but she loved the way he interacted with kids while they were on the job. He was so gentle and caring and always up for an impromptu sword fight or game of make-believe. To be truthful, she was slightly envious, because he got to be everything she never had a chance to. When she was raising her brothers, she had to be the adult who made sure children stayed safe and her father didn't get too out of hand with his punishments. Jane got to be just a father, someone who would play with his child and give her whatever attention she wanted. Lisbon knew it wasn't fair to be jealous of a man who had lost his daughter, but she felt the twinge in her heart anyway.

Lisbon wasn't sure she ever wanted children. Of course, she had dreamed of it when she was younger, but raising three wild brothers had taken a little bit of that eagerness out of her. She supposed it would be different with a child of her own, especially if there was a father around to help out, but the thought still scared her. Being responsible for another life was terrifying.

"It's a good thing we have the jobs we do, though," Jane said. "It would be hard for you to find another job that required this amount of kick-assery."

"Kick-assery? Really Jane?" Lisbon laughed. "I think you've been reading too much Weird History."

"Maybe I have. I should start using those slang terms around the office."

She flicked soapy water at him from where she stood at the sink, washing her mug. "You absolutely shouldn't."

"Come on, I can be hip when I want to be!"

Lisbon rolled her eyes. "The fact that you said 'hip' immediately proves that you're not."

"Oh, the lady doth wound me so," Jane said, putting a hand over his heart.

"Sensitive."

"I am not."

"You are too!" Lisbon protested, flinging more soap at him.

"Woman, I swear if any more soap gets on my suit, I will-" Before he could say more, a clump of foamy dish soap hit him in the face.

Lisbon giggled uncontrollably. "Or else you'll what?"

"Or else I'll do this!"

Jane chased her in circles through the kitchen until she slid on something and slowed down enough for him to catch her. Quickly, he threw his arms around her waist and picked her up. Spinning her around, Jane laughed at the thrilled giggles coming from Lisbon, so uncharacteristically girly. When he began to get dizzy, he set her down on the ground, but not before tickling her stomach and arms.

Lisbon leaned against the counter, helpless against the onslaught of tickles. Her stomach hurt from laughing and tears were streaming down her face before she managed, "Jane, stop! Please!"

At this point, he was laughing too, her giggles only encouraging him. But since she asked, he did stop, pulling away to allow her to breathe.

"Teresa Lisbon, you are ticklish!" He exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

"Everyone's ticklish when they're being tickled, Jane," Lisbon said, still trying to catch her breath. "Especially when it comes out of nowhere."

"You provoked me!"

"I only asked what you would do," she pointed out. "I did not ask for a tickle fight."

Jane hummed thoughtfully. "Then I propose a truce. No more throwing soapy water at me, and I won't tickle you anymore."

Lisbon stuck out her hand to shake on it. "Deal. Before you forget, we're supposed to do a video conference with Walker and Sanchez, Minelli, and the rest of the team. We've got to tell them where we were invited, I want eyes on us. Smaller groups mean more opportunity for danger."

"I won't forget. I'm going to get the address before we call Minelli so we know where we're going."

Jane pulled out his phone and followed the same routine as with the previous cards, rattling off the number and his name before receiving an automated response with an address. When Lisbon looked it up, it came back as a dive bar on the outskirts of town, not far from where their house was. She expected that the reason it was chosen was because there would likely not be anyone there that wasn't a part of the gang, and therefore it would be easier to conduct business as usual. But she also supposed that the patrons were onto them, considering the car that was parked outside their house again this morning.

Lisbon's feelings about being watched were about the same, but she tried her best not to creep into the territory of paranoia. It was all too easy to be looking over her shoulder every thirty seconds, waiting for the other shoe to drop. The only issue was that to make the con work, she had to act as nonchalant as possible, even flippant about the situation.

Jane wasn't altogether happy about being watched by a mysterious man in a car with tinted windows, but he did a good job of playing it cool to help alleviate Lisbon's fear as much as possible. He knew she didn't like the idea of being watched, so he tried to play it off in order to help her feel safer. Regular distractions were vital to that, and whenever they switched rooms he made sure that it wouldn't be visible from the street. Any precaution he could take, he did. That being said, Jane realized that being invited to a supposedly friendly poker game was probably all a ruse to lure them out of hiding and into a spotlight. In the interest of friendship, he chose not to tell Lisbon his theory.

"We can ask for backup, Lisbon," Jane said upon seeing the gleam in her eye.

"I don't want backup. I just want to do this."

"Teresa, we don't know what they want from us. Won't it be better to have someone watching us from the outside, just in case?

"No," she shot back. "Because if we're wrong and they're just being inclusive, I don't want to try and explain a police escort to a bunch of gang members."

Jane sighed exasperatedly. "I think they're onto us. The car parked outside just seems like a formality at this point."

"But we don't know for sure, and I'd rather play it safe alone tonight than blow our cover and get into a dangerous situation." Lisbon plugged in her laptop and cued up the video chat. "Besides, we don't know whether or not they want us to make the bust yet."

When the conference began, Minelli asked them how the operation had been going. He had been reading the reports sent over by the team, but since Lisbon and Jane had yet to update anyone on the situation as of the night before, they had a lot to catch up on.

"Last night we were given an invite to a poker game. It's a small crowd, as far as I know, it's just going to be us and the patrons," Lisbon said. "We already got the address, it's at a dive bar outside of Oakland."

"And what did you find out about Lloyd and Blackwell?" Cho asked.

"Lloyd deals in art, likely of the stolen variety," Jane informed them. "And Blackwell does cars. Probably stealing and smuggling outside of the country."

"I can run the names with the charges in the database, see if anything comes up," Van Pelt piped up. "I bet they both have international contacts."

"Probably," Lisbon agreed. "So we're going to go play poker with a bunch of felons."

Sanchez looked uncomfortable. "Can you wear wires?"

"I don't want wires. It's too risky," Lisbon explained. "I was just telling Jane it doesn't make much sense to have backup, because if this game turns out to be a false alarm and they don't suspect anything, it'll be much harder to explain why there are police outside."

"But Boss," Rigsby said. "What if it's not a false alarm? What if the reason you were given this invitation is that they want to draw you out into the open?"

"My thoughts exactly. Lisbon, if you find yourself in a situation tonight where you're stuck, it's not going to be easy to get to you," Walker said.

Jane turned to face her. "Lisbon, as good a shot as you are, you can't defend both of us against that many people."

"What if a few of us went to keep an eye on you?" Cho suggested.

"I'm liking this operation less and less," Minelli said. "I don't like putting two of my best people in danger, especially when they have no way to defend themselves. I have half a mind to pull the plug on the whole thing."

"With all due respect-" Lisbon began.

"Let me finish. I don't want you two there without at least a few sets of eyes on the building. We'd need probable cause to burst in, and solid evidence to make an arrest, but I don't want you stranded there without help."

She tried not to let it show, but Jane could tell that Lisbon was fuming.

"Sir," she begged. "We've gotten this far, there are some really bad people involved here. If we can make a bust, we may be able to shut some of them down for good or make a deal to get their associates. Don't you want that?"

"Lisbon, you know I do," Minelli said.

"What if we agreed to have eyes out for us tonight? Would you let us finish out the mission if we had backup waiting?" Jane asked him. "That way, in case things go south, we have someone to rescue us."

Minelli thought about it for a minute, everyone holding their breath. "Fine. I want Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt stationed outside the building with eyes on you when you arrive. Agents Walker and Sanchez will be a few blocks away, tracking you in case things go wrong."

Lisbon's sigh of relief was audible, but still, she felt the need to clear some things up. "We won't have wires, but we'll have our phones. Van Pelt put tracking software on them, so she should be able to watch us from the car."

"I can," Van Pelt confirmed. "What if you were to call us and leave the phone on in your bag?"

"Too risky," Rigsby said. "They might be looking too closely, and besides, you won't be able to hear as well from inside a purse."

"I have my digital recorder with me," Lisbon reminded them. "Usually I use it for interviews, but if I clear the cache there should be enough room for me to leave it on in my bag. Besides, it's more sensitive than a phone recorder anyway."

"Good. So take your recorder and your phones when you go tonight. We'll call in on your phones when you get there so you know where everyone is," Walker decided.

"How are you going to tell us how many people are there?" Sanchez asked.

"I can excuse myself to the bathroom and send a text," Lisbon suggested. "I'll code it, but you'll know what I'm talking about."

"Lisbon," Minelli said. "I want you to leave your gun in the house. Do not bring it with you. If something goes wrong and they find it, I don't want them to have that power over you all. They probably have weapons on them, but in the case that we're wrong about how tonight will go, there's no need to bring more attention to yourself."

"I will."

"And look," Minelli continued. "Whatever happens tonight, you've done well. These kinds of operations aren't easy, and I'll make sure a commendation goes in each of your files when you get back. But if we're right, tonight we may make a huge bust. Lisbon, Jane, good luck."

The video call ended and Lisbon's screen went black. She preened a little at the praise from her boss, always one to react well to compliments and positive reinforcement. If all went according to plan, it would be a career-making bust for all of them, but she couldn't help feeling a little bittersweet at the realization that if they got what they needed tonight, the con would be over and she and Jane would go back to living their normal lives again.

Jane reached over and squeezed her hand. "I know you didn't want backup, but it's how this has to be. And besides, we'll both be safer this way."

"Mmm," Lisbon grumbled. "I'd rather do this on my own, but if this is the only way, I'm going to have to be okay with it."

"It's not a reflection of your job," he pointed out. "You didn't do anything wrong, we just want to keep you safe."

"Logically, I know that. But I can't help feeling like I messed something up."

"You didn't. We'll both be safer this way, and to be completely honest I'd like to come out of this alive," Jane said, an attempt at lightheartedness.

"Aha! So you think tonight is a trap."

"I never said that," he protested. "I just said I'd like to live longer than today."

"For what it's worth, I think tonight's a setup. They want to lure us out, find out once and for all who we are. How do you want to play this, Jane? We've been a step ahead this whole time, but now, I think they have the upper hand," Lisbon explained. "What's our strategy?"

"I think we play the cards we've been dealt. There's no good way to tell what to expect, but we have to keep doing what we've been doing. Any changes in behavior will be noticed."

"Okay. Let's get ready to go and we can go over the plan again with the rest of the team on the way."

Lisbon led the way up to their shared bedroom and bathroom, grabbing her brush and flatiron. Jane sat on the rim of the tub as he usually did, chattering happily with Lisbon as she got ready to go.

"Why are you so fascinated with watching me do my hair?" Lisbon asked after a little while.

"I'm not entirely sure. I like how you know what you're doing without looking, it's so natural and feminine."

Lisbon scoffed. "Oh please. 'Natural and feminine', my ass."

"I'm serious. I like your concentration face. You scrunch up your nose and squint your eyes, it's cute," Jane said.

"You don't have to flatter me."

"I'm not. It's true, you look adorable when you're focusing on something."

A blush spread over Lisbon's face and neck. "Thanks." She didn't know what else to say that wouldn't convey her conflicted emotions, so instead, she finished what she was doing and kicked Jane out of the bathroom so she could get dressed.

"Do I have to leave?" Jane teased.

"Yes. Out!"

"But darling," he said, drawing out the word. "we are married."

"We are not," she said quickly. "Get out of the bathroom!"

He playfully trailed a hand down her arm and reached for the handle. "I'll be waiting."

"Shut up!" Lisbon promptly shoved him out the door into the adjoining bedroom and locked it behind her. Jane was in a weird mood, she wouldn't put it past him to try and open the door just to make fun of her. Even though she knew he could pick the lock and open the door, it felt like an added layer of security. She put on a skirt, tucking her shirt loosely into the waistband, and admiring how it made her hips and waist look. Once she was satisfied, Lisbon walked out into the bedroom, accidentally catching a glimpse of Patrick Jane with his shirt unbuttoned.

"Um, sorry!" she squeaked, rushing back into the bathroom. He finished getting dressed before opening the door again.

"So I guess we're even," Jane said.

"I guess we are." Her face was painted with the crimson hue of a sweet blush. "I didn't mean to walk in on you."

"It's alright. Look, we're running late. Let's just go, okay?"

On their way out, Lisbon grabbed her digital recorder and threw it in her clutch. They called the team again during the drive to confirm location and status, and everyone got to their places. Lisbon used the time to attempt to calm her racing pulse, momentarily jealous of Jane's stupid biofeedback tricks. As he drove, he exhibited no signs of distress, not even an anxious hand flutter or fidgeting. This was another one of those times where she wished she could have brought her gun but knew that it wouldn't help.

Jane noticed the first couple of times Lisbon clicked her bag open and shut, but by the fifth time he reached a hand over to hers, steadying her movements.

"Lisbon. It's alright."

"I know. It's a good plan. I just don't like being the bait."

"Don't think of it as bait, think of yourself as a lure."

"A lure is the same thing as bait!" Lisbon shouted.

"It's not," Jane said patiently. "Bait is meant to be eaten, while a lure is meant to distract the prey."

"Real funny, Jane. We're not a distraction, we're gathering intel."

"But we're distracting them from knowing what we're doing. We may know what we're doing, and we may know what they're doing, but we don't know that they don't know that we know what they're doing, and as far as I'm concerned they don't know for sure what we're doing," Jane explained.

"Could you possibly have made that more confusing?" Lisbon asked, frustrated.

"I will if you want."

"Jackass," she muttered.

By the time they rolled into the parking lot, Lisbon had wriggled out of Jane's grasp. The entire parking lot was dark, lit only by the lights outside the bar. Judging by the number of cars, there wasn't anyone there besides them but the patrons. Lisbon twisted around in her seat to look for Van Pelt's car, which was parked in an adjacent lot. Rigsby was with Grace, and Cho was waiting on the shoulder of the exit road. Sanchez and Walker had said they were no more than five minutes away, ready to give chase if needed.

A few minutes later Lisbon and Jane found themselves in the bar, seated at a table set for poker. They were missing Elizabeth Everett, Jason Blackwell, and Alan Spencer, but Jane kept everyone entertained while they waited by doing some cold readings. Not long after he had finished reading Lloyd, the rest of the patrons showed up and they got the game started.

Lisbon was playing for the two of them with Jane watching for tells and fake tells, keeping himself entertained. On a break between hands, he pulled Lisbon aside to get a drink.

"Teresa, I believe most of the people here are armed," he whispered.

"How do you know?"

"Blackwell's favoring his right side when he walks. His gun is either in the waistband or his right side pocket. Garrett has a holster covered by his suit jacket, you can see it when he leans into the table," he explained. "I'm not sure about anyone else, but I know they have a weapon or have someone who does."

Lisbon took this into consideration and realized they were taking too much time to be pouring a drink. "Okay. Nothing we can do. I'll tell the team to be careful."

They returned to the table and played another hand, but Lisbon excused herself to the restroom, making a big show out of teasing Jane and asking him to play for her.

"You won't mess this up, will you darling?" she purred. "I do seem to be winning. Or would you rather hold the game until I return?"

"I'll be just fine, thanks, dear. Go ahead. You can expect to see me winning when you get back," he replied, just as playfully.

Lisbon grabbed her clutch and walked as calmly as she could toward the bathroom. Once inside, she threw her bag on the sink counter and pulled out her phone, typing a frantic message to the team. Her heart was beating out of her chest. Here they were with five armed and dangerous criminals, with no way to defend themselves.

God, Teresa, how could you be so stupid, she thought. Screw the orders, how she wished she had brought her weapon!

It was practically a hostage situation that they had walked right into. If these people decided for some reason to make them prisoners, they could count on not being able to be rescued for fear of getting hurt. She quickly tried to think of a way to code a message to Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt.

'We have five cats,' Lisbon typed. 'Don't forget to feed them all. Also, a few of them are biters, so try to keep your hands away. You may have to pick me up tomorrow morning sooner than I thought.'

Lisbon pressed send and watched as the blue bar told her the text was in the process of sending. Before it could fill all the way, she realized with dread that she had next to no service. A few moments later, the send bar had only filled up a little bit more, and she knew she'd have to get back to the game soon. Before she could turn around, the familiar sound of a gun clicking came from behind her, the cold metal of the barrel on her neck.

"Drop the phone, Teresa!" Elizabeth Everett shouted. "Put it on the ground so I can see it, and put your hands up. Do it now!"

Almost instinctively, Lisbon's hands went up and she threw her phone at the ground near Everett's feet. The woman picked it up and read the text aloud, chuckling at her cleverness.

"Smart. A coded message. I assume you have someone waiting?"

Lisbon didn't respond.

"Answer me! Do you have someone waiting?"

"Yes," Lisbon said. "Outside the building."

"Who are you working with?" The woman asked. "Tell me, or Patrick dies."

She marched Lisbon out of the restroom at gunpoint, forcing her back into the main room. Keeping the gun trained on her, Lisbon was able to make out that Jane had been tied to his chair, Blackwell's gun pointed at him.

"Teresa was attempting to contact someone outside of the building," Everett announced to the group. "They now know how many of us there are and that we are armed." She threw the phone on the table.

"Damn you!" Garrett shouted, bringing the butt of his gun down on the phone and shattering the screen.

Lloyd jerked a thumb towards Lisbon. "Who is she? How much does she know?"

Lisbon's heart gave a flutter as she realized she didn't know whether or not her text was sent. If it hadn't gone through, they were toast. No one knew they were in trouble and they had no way to tell anyone they were. She caught sight of Jane's phone, smashed into pieces on the ground.

"I don't know. But we can't kill them here. Whoever's waiting for her outside will hear the shots," Blackwell pointed out.

Keeping the gun steady, Everett reached towards Lisbon and slapped her, hard across the face. She then raked her nails down Teresa's arm, drawing blood. Lisbon winced slightly, trying not to cringe.

"Who are you?" Everett cooed. "Innocent little thing. We didn't even suspect you until the day you won the underdog bet."

Blackwell strode over to her, tracing her cheekbone with one finger. "Such a pretty face. You are a beautiful woman, you know that Teresa? But even beautiful women have their downfalls. As much as I hate to say it, now that we know what you're doing, I'm going to have to kill you. A shame really. I would have loved to have you."

Jane grunted at this and pulled on his restraints, doing nothing but burning his wrists against the rope.

"Quiet!" Garrett yelled at him.

"You aren't married to Patrick, are you, Teresa?" Spencer asked.

Lisbon shook her head.

"But you do love him," Everett mused. "Perhaps the best way to get her to talk is to go through him?"

Lloyd held a knife to Jane's neck. "Every minute you don't talk, I'm pressing harder on the handle," he said. "So I advise you to get your story straight."

"Knock it off, Lloyd!" Garrett yelled. "Knife marks are identifiable, use the gun, for Christ's sake!"

"Idiot, you're going to screw it up, just like when you killed the other girl! Shade, I think it was. We have these two where we want them, she'll talk," Lloyd said confidently.

"Do it!" Everett screamed, hitting Lisbon again.

Her pulse picked up as she watched Lloyd's grip on both Jane and the knife tighten. "My name is Teresa Lisbon. Patrick and I were sent to find the Shades' killers."

"Oh, shit," Spencer said. "They're cops! What can we do?"

Jane whimpered as the knife got closer to his neck. Lisbon's pulse was racing, running a marathon in her chest as she watched, helpless and with no way to defend herself. The patrons seemed to be figuring out a way to get them to a clear location without anyone noticing.

"What if we take them out?" Blackwell suggested. "Put them in a car and drive them somewhere else?"

"Isn't that too noticeable?" Garrett asked.

"I vote to kill them here and walk out the back," Everett said. "Get in a car and drive away as far as the east coast. I could have one of my men clean up."

"No, that's too messy," Lloyd said. "No loose ends, remember?"

"What about the last couple? A lot of loose ends there," Everett shot back.

"You bitch!" Spencer cried. "You said you could get them out without a trace!"

"I'd like to see you do better!" Blackwell yelled.

Lisbon caught Jane's eye then, watching as this group turned on each other. It almost seemed as if Jane was using his division strategies, but there's no way he possibly could while gagged and tied. The group seemed to be coming to a decision, the yells quieting to whispers and the conversation dying to a minimum.

"Alright, bitch," Blackwell said, prodding Lisbon with the barrel of his gun. "Walk. We're going out the back. Any wrong moves and I won't hesitate to kill you."

They untied Jane from the chair and marched him at gunpoint to the alley behind the bar. Lisbon wanted to call their bluff, knowing that they wouldn't kill them out in the open but decided wisely to keep quiet. Jane, on the other hand, didn't get the memo. They had taken off his gag when they untied him from the chair, and he spoke freely as if there wasn't a deadly weapon pointed directly at him.

"You won't kill us here," he said as they walked through the back alley. "Too open, too vulnerable. Besides, you want us alive as bargaining chips."

"What makes you think you're worth anything to us?" Garrett growled.

"Oh, just the fact that we've got people waiting for us. You don't want us dead."

They hadn't gotten too far before the sound of sirens filled the air and three police cars pulled up. Doors slammed and Cho, Rigsby, Van Pelt, Sanchez, and Walker were there, pointing guns at the five patrons.

"Drop your weapons!" Cho yelled.

"Do it now!" Van Pelt commanded.

They were surrounded on all sides, and the criminals knew when they were beaten. Slowly and carefully, they dropped their weapons, and as soon as they were in handcuffs Lisbon ran to Jane.

"Jane, oh my god. Are you okay?" She put her hands on either side of his face as if feeling for bruises. "Tell me you're okay."

"I'm fine," he said, holding up his wrists. "Just a little bit of rope burn. You took more of a beating than I did." Jane ran his hands carefully over her cheek, glowing red from the slap.

"I'll be okay," Lisbon said. "It's nothing."

While their burns and bruises were being attended to by an EMT, Cho told Lisbon the story.

"I got the text. Your signal went dark and we figured you were in trouble. We all moved in on the building, but we heard lots of shouting and decided to wait until they brought us out. Sanchez thought we'd be dealing with a hostage situation, and he wanted to call SWAT."

"But we knew Jane had a plan," Van Pelt said. "So we convinced him to wait."

"Yeah. We had been waiting so long by the time we caught sight of you, I almost thought they had gone the other way," Rigsby admitted. "But we got you."

Lisbon inhaled sharply as the EMT put disinfectant on her scratch marks. "It was okay, we just got a little bruised. I have the tape from my digital recorder for the official statement."

Cho patted her on the back. "Nice work boss. It's going to be great to have you back."

As the EMT told her she was good to go, Lisbon realized she'd be going back to her own apartment, alone, tonight. The team decided to do the paperwork when she returned to the office, giving her time to go by their fake house and pick up her things before driving back to Sacramento. After she and Jane had packed up the house, he got a ride back to his motel with Rigsby while Lisbon drove the SUV back to her apartment.

She got there late, putting away her clothes and toiletries while letting the stress and adrenaline wash over her. It was time to pull her head out of the clouds and get back to the real world, She was the boss, and she had a job to do. As much as Lisbon wanted to laze around a house forever with Jane, she had responsibilities. And besides, being lazy would get boring. By midnight, her body was ready to go to sleep but her mind wouldn't stop replaying the events of the evening. Was Jane feeling the same withdrawal effect she was? Lisbon only hoped she wasn't being irrational.

She wandered into her kitchen to make herself a cup of tea, the movements almost habitual. Sitting down on her couch, she turned on some evening TV special, not paying any attention to it. Her thoughts went instead to Jane, who was alone at his little motel in the middle of nowhere. Was he feeling as alone as she was? Did he actually miss her, or did all their little interactions throughout the week just amount to some sort of stupid game?

Her relationship with him was troubled, but she was still hopelessly in love with the man, the feeling only intensified by all their playfulness earlier in the week. At this point, sleeping wasn't an option. Lisbon typed out a text to Jane on her recovered phone.

'Hey. Hope you're doing okay,' it read. 'Is it bad that I miss you?'

After several rewrites with the same premise, Lisbon decided it wasn't a good idea to send it after all. So she let it be, thumb hovering over the 'send' button.