CHAPTER 12 – BACK TO HIS OLD TRICKS

It was almost 4 pm when they arrived back at the hut and Teresa realized that she would be late for her hair and makeup appointment for the bridesmaids. She and Jane hadn't had a chance to talk about what happened at the beach and she was starting to feel juvenile with the way she acted today. He was being gracious and letting it go it would seem.

The wedding was at 7 pm tonight, which meant the food wouldn't be served until at least 8 pm. She was hungry because all she'd had was a liquid lunch and nuts from the bar. When he went to the little bar fridge and took out her favorite sandwich – she was so thankful. Then he helped her pack her things and drove her to the appointment. The other bridesmaids were waiting for her outside and she was now regretting asking him to keep their relationship a secret because she wished he would have kissed her. Instead, he just said 'bye' and sat still in the golf card. She wasn't going to see him until tonight at the wedding and she felt depressed with the way things were between them right now.

Jane was back at the hut feeling like a caged tiger. He'd been so frantic looking for her this afternoon that he hadn't had time to think about what had gone so wrong today. He showered, shaved, and put on his evening attire… there was still another hour before the wedding started so he laid on the bed to think. She'd been upset by that thing that happened ages ago – enough so that she ran off, which is unlike her. He hated thinking about the past, especially the bad stuff. He'd become very good at forgetting the negative experiences because he'd had to in order to survive if he was being honest with himself. His childhood was full of them and he would not have been able to get through the day to day if he wasn't good at forgetting things no kid should ever go through. Now he realized that he had brought that into his adult life too.

Teresa has always meant a lot to him. He's only ever wanted her happiness. But he knew that he had brought her a lot of stress in the past – mostly related to their type of work – which he thought was part of working together in an intense job. But the hurt he saw today was not work-related… he'd hurt her. He remembered what she'd said when she was explaining her break up with Pike… that he'd hurt her over and over again. So, this wasn't the only time he'd been responsible for her pain. She's the only person on this planet that he cares about, that he loves, and he's hurt her often it would seem over the years.

How could he have not seen it? All the times he'd hurt her, it was for his revenge on Red John. The repercussions of his arrogance all those years ago, from the death of his family to the loss of the last few years of his life dedicated to killing Red John and now to realize that he had also caused collateral damage to Teresa's life. Angela had begged him to quit and he didn't – he had put his need for greed and vanity ahead of his family. And like in a parallel universe, Teresa begging him to not kill Red John, telling that he had people who cared about him that would miss him and again he put his need for revenge ahead of everything. The realization of how he'd put the two women he had loved the most as second to his needs horrified him.

Teresa deserved better than him… but she loved him, and he couldn't let her go – there was that selfishness again. He needed to find a way to show her that he would put her needs first going forward. That she could count on him to not leave and that he was serious about their relationship. He couldn't stand the thought of letting her down again. But words were just that… he needed to prove to her that she came first. She took all the risks this week by telling him she loved him, he had to do the same – take a leap of faith. It was scary to open himself up again, but he knew that he could trust Teresa. He sat up abruptly from the bed – he knew what he had to do and decided, he headed out to the wedding venue.

Everyone was getting into position and Teresa was looking for Jane. She still couldn't believe that she was wearing this loud form-fitting fuchsia-colored bridesmaid dress in public. The hem of the dress barely made it to her mid-thigh and her heels were too high. Faceplanting was a big concern right now and everyone seeing her thong underwear. She was looking for Jane but couldn't see him in the crowd. Was he a no show? Her brother's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Tee. If you're looking for your boyfriend, you won't find him over there… he's with Karen helping with the kids, over there," Stan pointed in the opposite direction of where she was looking.

"He's not my boyfriend," she said turning around in the direction that Stan was pointing.

There he was, playing giant checkers with the two older kids and he had Joey on his shoulders, so he wouldn't escape she thought – he was a runner. Karen was rocking the stroller back and forth, it looked like the babies were asleep. Jane was so great to be helping out like that. She was so happy that he came with her on this trip… the best decision she's ever made she thought. Her heart swelled with emotion – she loved him so much. It felt so good to finally put the proper label on her feelings for him. As soon as the ceremony was done, she was going to apologize for her behavior today and make it up to him.

"So why are you doing googly eyes at him then?" said Stan, smirking.

"I'm not," she said. Stan looked unconvinced. "I'm not," she said for good measure.

Stan didn't push further, probably because they had to walk out soon. She grabbed the crook of his arm. She was being unfair when she asked Jane to keep their new relationship a secret from her family. If Stan knew, then the rest of her brothers did too. So, what was the point?

"Fine – I'm with Jan- Patrick now," she said – remembering that her family called him Patrick, which sounded foreign on her tongue. Jane had always used her name and last name interchangeably, maybe she would try to call him Patrick.

"Doesn't it feel better to say it out loud, sis," said Stan nudging her with his elbow.

When the cue for the ceremony to begin arrived, Jane and Karen attempted to get the kids corralled to the chairs. In the end, he ended up in the back with Joey and Annie and he'd missed most of the ceremony. But he did manage to watch Teresa walk up the aisle in her bridesmaid dress and she looked absolutely stunning. He could tell that she hated the dress, but he was loving it. As she passed, she'd given him the biggest smile and he knew that she was over whatever it was that had her upset today. That was Teresa – she forgave so easily that it was easy to forget your transgression against her and with his ability to forget, they were a good pair indeed.

After all the photos, Teresa was finally able to make her escape and catch up with Jane. He was still helping Karen with the kids and he was looking tired.

"Hey, guys… how's it been with the kids? Stan was right behind me, so he'll be here soon," Teresa said to Jane and she saw the relief in his eyes. Annie had been putting her barrettes in his hair and he was smiling through it. She grabbed his hand and held it and he gave her a surprised look.

"Karen… you probably know this already, but since I've already spoken with the boys, I just wanted you to hear from me that Patrick and I are together," she said happily.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you two! That's great news!" Karen said enthusiastically and hugged her.

"You two are so adorable together – I've been telling Stan all week that you two were sweet on each other. He didn't want to believe it, I tell you, but I knew! Oh… this is so exciting! Oh my god… your babies are going to be so cute!"

Teresa's brain jammed. Babies… what was Karen doing talking about babies with her new boyfriend? Even if it was Jane… come on – who does that. She looked over to Jane with a stiff smile and he was just grinning at her obvious discomfort. When Stan finally showed up, she and Jane left to go grab some drinks for everyone.

Jane pulled her across the path and was leading her to the back of an enclosed tent in the distance.

"So, we're not a secret anymore?" he said smiling.

"No. Everyone knew anyway. It was hardly a secret. I can't believe it was that obvious," she said.

"Ah… actually, Wayne did mention it to me last year that he and Grace had always thought that we would be together… and Abbott kept asking me why I was letting you date Pike… so looks like your brothers weren't the only ones to figure it out before us," Jane said regrettably.

"Are you serious, right now? What about Cho?" she said.

"I don't know. He never said anything to me about it," Jane said.

"Where are we going?" she whispered, he feet were already hurting, and he was walking at a quick pace.

Once they arrived behind the tent, Jane took her in arms and kissed her.

"I've missed you so much today."

"Me too – I'm sorry for getting upset and leaving."

"No – you had every right to be upset. I hurt you and I need to make it up to you-"

"There's nothing to make up. I just want to look at the future. We were both acting stupid."

"How did I get so lucky to have you love me?" Jane asked in wonderment.

"You grew on me I guess," she said chuckling.

He kissed her again and pulled her tightly against him. The kiss was getting heated and it was her that stopped it this time.

"The speeches are going to start in 10 minutes. We have to get the drinks and get back," she said a little breathlessly.

Jane was breathing hard too. "You look really good in that dress," he said suggestively scanning her from head to toe. Then he took a steadying breath and offered her his arm. The headed towards the bar to get the drinks.

An hour later, they had eaten, and all the speeches were done. The DJ was setting up for the first dance so that the entertainment portion of the evening could start. Teresa smiled at Jane… Paul had fallen asleep in his arms, her brother Stan had Brian asleep on him as well and Annie was sitting on her lap playing with her doll. She could tell that Karen couldn't wait to get off her feet, she'd been trying to keep her 3-year-old busy, so he wouldn't run onto the dance floor. Tommy was in a mood because Annabeth had met a boy from the other family and was holding his hand. He was no help because he felt the need to watch her like a hawk.

Finally, the lights dimmed, and Jimmy danced with his new wife. It made her eyes misty because she finally felt like she was done raising her brothers. She could maybe let go a bit and be a sister instead of a pseudo-parent. Jane reached for her hand and squeezed it. As soon as the dance ended, Stan and Karen gathered all the kids, said their farewells and headed back to their room to put the kids to bed. It was almost 9 pm and she was ready to head back too but knew that she couldn't leave right away. Jimmy came to her table and asked her to dance, then she danced with Tommy, then with Annabeth to a fast song and then she got pulled into another dance with the bridesmaids. Her feet we so sore and she escaped the dance floor to get back to Jane.

He watched her approach and smiled at her as he usually does. She surprised him by sitting on his lap and kissing him. His arms reached around her and hugged her close.

"Humm. This, I like. I didn't think you'd be coming back from your spin on the dance floor," he chuckled.

She kissed him again, then whispered in his ear. "We should get out here before anyone notices," she raised her eyebrows at him and bit her lower lip.

"We can't go until I give you my surprise," he said secretly.

"Surprise? Okay… where is it?" she said impatiently, just wanting to leave.

"Ah – you have to wait," he said with a wink. "But, I will get you another drink. What would you like?"

Teresa gave her order and waited for him to come back. He kept looking back at her from the bar… how is it that she didn't figure out how much she loved him all this time, she didn't know. He was so adorable and sexy. She couldn't wait to get back to the hut to be alone with him. She'd wanted to be with him yesterday, but he had put on the brakes in a misguided effort to give her time. She could barely wait another hour, let alone another night. She was ready to jump him behind that tent if she hadn't had responsibilities towards her brother. Jane was finally back and handed her the drink. She got up and sat back down on Jane's lap, not caring what anyone else thought. He laughed as she gave him a sultry look and sipped on her drink. He moved her hair and kissed her neck.

"How long do I have to wait for the surprise?" she asked.

"Huh- I think it's almost ready," he said coyly.

"Okay," she said as she looked around wondering what it was.

As if on cue, she heard the beginning chords of her favorite high school song and remembered dancing with him when they worked the high school reunion case. She turned to reminisce with him when she felt herself lifting as Jane was standing. He nodded towards the dance floor and took her hand.

"Let's dance my Bella Donna," he said with a gleam in his eye.

"Okay," she said with a tiny smile.

When they got to the dance floor, he took her in arms and they started dancing. She placed her head on his shoulder and then looked up into his face. "Is this my surprise? You remembered our song."

"Part of it… this is one of my favorite memories – dancing with you to this song," he said smiling down at her.

She leaned back into him enjoying the feel of him against her. He was holding her so close, she wished they were alone.

"When do I get the rest of my surprise?" she asked.

"You already have it," he said.

"I do?" she asked confused.

She looked up at his face wondering what he was talking about when he took her right hand that he was holding in his left hand and place it on his chest. He then covered her hand with his. That's when she saw that he wasn't wearing his wedding ring. He'd been wearing it earlier, she was sure of it.

"Your ring, it's missing?" she said alarmed.

"No. It's in a safe place," he said seriously and then kissed her neck. He took his finger and touched her cross.

She reached for the cross at her neck and that's when she felt it… his ring. How? When? She was just staring at him and he kissed her.

"Teresa, I've made a lot of mistakes in the past, but I want you to know that you are the most important person in my life and I want you to know that I will put you first in everything I do now. I want to be that guy that you imagined yourself with and I will do everything I can to make sure that you're happy and that you have what you need from me," Jane said sincerely watching her face carefully. "I love you."

Teresa couldn't believe it. She kept touching the ring at her neck and kept trying to keep her tears at bay, so she wouldn't make a fool of herself on the dance floor. The dance ended, and Jane led her off the dance floor. She kissed him, feeling emotional, she said "This is the best surprise you've ever given me. It means a lot to me this gesture. I know how much this ring means to you."

"I know you will keep it safe and… I like the way it looks on you," he said with a lopsided grin. "You can thank your brothers and your niece later for helping me distract you while I did this."

Teresa giggled and looked behind her. Tommy waved at her with Annabeth. Then Jimmy waved in her direction.

"Ah – you're already pulling my family into your tricks I see," she said chastising.

Jane broke out into a huge belly laugh. "It was only a matter of time. You should worry about Annabeth, she's a natural… Do you want to get out of here?"

"Oh my god yes! Let's get out of here!" she said emphatically.