Three days after Teresa Lisbon had fully awakened, Kimball Cho found himself on a stakeout with Agent Hendricks and his team in a small mountain town south of Salem, Oregon. The high altitude logging town of Sparks was secluded and basically off the grid with one winding dirt road leading in and out. "Town" was a misnomer too because it really was nothing more than a gas station, a small general supply store, a few mobile homes, and the logging company office. A few camp trailers also completed the scene. It was the perfect place for a wanted man to hide out.

The team had discovered that Richard Haibach's younger cousin Zeke Colton had indeed been the accomplice in Teresa Lisbon's abduction and he was also the presumed murderer of Haibach. They'd been unable to track him at first, but then they'd gotten this most current and it would seem reliable lead.

Colton had spent some time in Sparks over the last three summers and the team had gotten a tip that he'd returned here now. Supposedly, he was holed up in a small camp trailer on the edge of the small town. It was this trailer that Hendricks, Cho, and several other agents were surveilling right now.

"On my six," Hendricks said quietly into his IFB connection. "Six...five...four…" agents moved stealthily into place surrounding a small later model camp trailer, "three...two...one!"

"Zeke Colton. This is the FBI! We've got your place surrounded! Come out with your hands up!" All agents had moved forward with appropriate cover and guns drawn while Hendricks spoke through a bullhorn.

"Mr. Colton, this is your last warning! Come out now or we will be forced to come in."

No action or movement from the trailer. Hendricks motioned an agent in full tactical gear to move to the door. The agent banged on the small tin can.

Two more agents moved in, and Cho was close behind. One threw open the door, breached the entry and swept the inside. Cho and Hendricks entered too with guns drawn...nothing! The elusive Colton had slipped the FBI once again.

Scott Hendricks was rightfully chastened. He instructed his men to search the trailer for any clues or evidence that Colton may have left. He motioned Cho back outside.

"Dammit!" The senior agent growled in disgust. "I thought we had him!"

Cho looked at his new friend with determination. "I think we were close." He pointed to a smoldering cigarette butt in a tin coffee can near the trailer step.

"Yeah, no doubt."

"Boss?" Hendricks was summoned inside the trailer.

"What is it?"

"Uh, you're gonna want to see this…"

Back in Salem, Teresa Lisbon was getting ready to be discharged from Salem General Hospital. Patrick Jane had not left her side for any significant amount of time in three days. Currently, he was staring out the window at the drizzly rain outside while he waited for Teresa to finish dressing in the bathroom. She had recovered physically quite quickly, but for some reason her memory had not returned. The doctor thought it was just a matter of time, but Jane wasn't so sure. She seemed to have blocked out her abduction completely and the only explanation that seemed to make sense was her blocking out the trauma of what had happened to her. Jane wanted to hypnotize her and try to pick her brain, but both the doctor and Cho had put down that idea. He was exhausted and he wanted resolution, but at the moment he needed to keep a halfway decent and calm demeanor for Teresa. The bathroom door clicked behind him and he swung around to see Teresa dressed and ready to go. Her wrist had been stabilized in a cast she'd have to wear for at least a few weeks and her other hand with the injured thumb now just sported a minimal bandage while her thumb healed. She was dressed in jeans and a cardigan looking much more like herself and more than ready to leave the hospital. He smiled at her warmly.

"Uh, Jane...could you help me with a couple of things?" She looked embarrassed.

He stepped toward her. "Sure." He raised his eyebrows in a question.

"Ugh. I can't seem to do any buttons or zippers." She blushed and looked down at the waistband of her pants. God, she hated even asking him.

"I could get a nurse…" She started to say, but even before she'd finished Jane had accomplished the task and matter-of-factly stepped in front of her closing her zipper and the button on her Levi's in one swift motion. It didn't seem to affect him at all, and Teresa attributed his calmness to having been a father and stepping right back into caregiver mode with ease. What she didn't know is that even though he covered it well, just the hint of her black silk panties and wisp of her skin on his fingertips had almost been enough to make him lightheaded. How he wished with all his might that the circumstances were different.

He chuckled. "Never thought I'd be helping you INTO your pants, Teresa!"

She hushed him with a typical Teresa Lisbon shush and a blush. She cleared her throat. "Uh, Jane?"

"Yeah?"

"There's one more thing."

He stared at her.

"I, um, can't seem to secure my bra clasp."

Willing his eyes to stay on her face and not look down at her chest, Jane kept his eyes locked on hers as he turned her to face away from him.

"Ok, here come my hands," Jane said quietly. He had to use all of his biofeedback measures to keep them steady. He rubbed them together quickly for warmth.. He chuckled, "I don't want to shock you with my cold hands."

Quickly, he lifted the back of her shirt where he saw the clasp and strap of Teresa's black bra undone. The sight of her soft alabaster skin sprinkled with light freckles caused him to swallow nervously. Quickly he clipped the two pieces of fabric together and then as he pulled her shirt down again, he realized that he'd been holding his breath.

Lisbon thanked him and turned around again, a healthy pink tone highlighting her cheeks.

"You ready to get out of here?" He asked.

"You bet your sweet biffy," she replied.

"My sweet what?"

"Biffy." She smiled.

Jane looked at her quizzically. A Chicago term? He'd not heard that one before. But so as to not fuss with her, he just nodded and pointed to the wheelchair by the door. He'd try to clarify what a biffy was at a later date.

"Oh, really? Must I?" Teresa was feeling much stronger and more like herself, and she certainly felt like she did not need to ride out of the hospital in a wheelchair. At just that moment though, her nurse re-entered the room with her discharge papers. She looked pointedly from Teresa to the chair.

"You ready for your limousine ride out of here, Ms. Lisbon?"

Lisbon grumbled but sat down in the chair.

30 minutes later Lisbon and Jane were checking her into the Comfort Inn for one night before they traveled back to Washington the next day. Cho and Hendricks were waiting in the lobby for them.

"Hey there," said Jane. He lowered his voice while Lisbon was signing paperwork at the check-in desk. "Did you find him?"

"No." Cho looked grim.

"What?" Jane sensed that something was up.

"Not now," Cho said quietly. "We'll talk in a minute after she gets into her room."

"OK."

"Cho!" Teresa smiled as she walked over to the men.

"Boss. How are you feeling?"

"Much better," she sighed.

"We are very glad to see you upright, Chief Lisbon," said Agent Hendricks.

"Thank-you, Agent. It does feel good to be out of the hospital."

The group continued to chat politely as they walked Teresa to her room which was in the same cluster as the others. They all agreed to rest for an hour and then meet up to go to dinner.

Jane opened Teresa's door and ushered her inside. He put her bag down and then turned down the covers of her bed. He smiled sheepishly. "What else can I do for you?"

When she didn't answer, he turned to leave, but her soft voice stopped him.

"Jane."

"Yes?"

She didn't look at him but stared at the floor.

"Could you stay?"

"Um…"

"I mean," she whispered, "I think I'd just feel better with someone in the room."

Jane smiled.

"Of course, anything for you, Lisbon."

She smiled back, crawled into the bed, and was almost immediately asleep.

Jane pulled the covers up around her shoulders and noticed how peaceful she looked. Sleep took away the confusion and indecision. Mentally he wished her a good rest. Jane lay down on the nearby floral couch and punched one of the pillows into a comfortable shape. After listening for Teresa's even breathing, he set an alarm on his phone, and then lay back. He could do with catching a few hoodwinks too.