Author's Note: Because, you know, I love ya.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist and would not be foolish enough to claim to.
The three of them abandoned their half-full teacups on the coffee table at Elsa's call and made their way into the dining room, where a sumptuous meal lay spread out waiting for them.
He couldn't help but salivate a little as he took his seat to the right of Mrs. Ruskin at the head and Teresa sat on the other side so they were facing each other. When it was just him and the old woman beside him, they didn't usually have a great array of options. They usually ate pretty conservatively, despite was the Lisbon boys had thought.
For a long time, they ate in relative silence, with only a smattering of polite conversation between bites.
Teresa seemed to be enjoying herself. She ate like someone who was starved, but politely too, and didn't seem to mind Mrs. Ruskin asking her questions. Perhaps she didn't get much of a chance to eat a calm, quiet meal.
They fell into an easiness that seemed almost too good to last.
When they were finally winding down and had almost finished, Mrs. Ruskin wiped her mouth and cleared her throat slightly. "So, what do your parents do, dear Teresa?"
"Grandmother-" Jane tried to protest the attempt at what seemed far more like an interrogation than her previous questions.
"Are you suddenly going by the name of Teresa, Patrick?" Mrs. Ruskin asked with a quip, giving him a frown at his attempted interruption.
He colored, but Lisbon answered over him.
"It's okay. My father was a firefighter, ma'am, until he slipped a disc in his back pulling a kid from a basement. He works construction now. My m-mother was a nurse." She looked down.
"And what is she now?"
Jane wanted to bite a hole in his cheek, or hug Teresa fiercely, or even yell at the older woman beside him for bringing up this topic. It was an odd mixture of fierce protectiveness and jealousy that swept through him. The strength of it was something he'd never felt before.
The color had drained from Teresa's face, and she had transferred her gaze back to her plate again. "Uh, she's- she's dead."
Mrs. Ruskin's eyes suddenly went soft. "Oh dear." Her wrinkled hand reached out and gently touched the girl's arm. "I'm so sorry."
Teresa only nodded.
"Do you mind if I ask... how?" It was asked softly, for which Jane was grateful. His heart was wrenching in sympathy already.
He couldn't breath as he waited for Teresa to answer or decline to speak about it.
"A drunk driver." Lisbon spoke quietly around what seemed like a wet barrier around her throat. "The rains made it too hard for her to see in time. Her car was t-boned."
"You must miss her a great deal." Mrs. Ruskin sounded pained.
"Uh, yeah. I-I mean, yes ma'am." The younger woman sat up a little straighter in her chair. "My mother... was good person. She worked hard her whole life to help other people. To make their lives better. She was very devoted to her family and to her religion. She had a cross that she wore and never removed, especially when she was working. Her mother gave it to her when she was a little girl."
"And you? She gave you one as well?"
Suddenly, Lisbon reddened and spoke faintly. "Yes."
"Do you normally wear it?"
"I-" She swallowed, looking at him for help. "I used to."
"Don't you think it's about time we adjourn to the sitting room grandmother?" Jane spoke up.
Mrs. Ruskin gave him a look that clearly said he wasn't fooling anyone, but she let the segue happened. Maybe she had noticed the way Teresa was fighting off tears.
They had another cup of tea, sitting and talking only quietly, as though all of them were afraid to break the peace.
Lisbon checked the time. "I'm so sorry, ma'am. I've had a very nice time, but I'm afraid if I don't get home soon, I might not have a home to go to when my brothers get done with it."
With a small chuckle, Mrs. Ruskin stood. "Then I'll just say goodnight, dear. I'm glad my grandson has such a wonderful friend to talk to."
Teresa blushed, but didn't hesitate to shake the elder woman's hand this time. "Thank you for the hospitality. Everything was delicious and it was nice to get to know you, ma'am."
Jane nodded to Mrs. Ruskin and led Teresa toward the door. He stole the opportunity to surreptitiously place his palm back on the bare small of her back.
Her lips turned up at the very corner he could see as she walked.
"I hope you meant what you said." Jane murmured to her when they got to the other side of the door, shutting it to give themselves some privacy, and stopped to face each other. "I know my grandmother can be a little... intense."
"I like her." Lisbon commented softly. Her eyes sparkled. "She saucy for an old dame."
He chuckled, knowing Mrs. Ruskin would delight in hearing herself described that way. "Yes, she is that." Jane eyed his friend, trying to see if she was really okay. "I'm am sorry you had to talk about your mother though. I know... you don't really like to."
In a meek way, Teresa's smile was sympathetic. "It's okay. I probably would have told you about it anyways."
A heart attack. That's what he was having. That or his stomach had replaced his feet.
Not knowing what she had done to him with such an innocent phrase, Teresa rubbed her arms to warm them and tilted her head at him. "I had a nice time, Patrick." She laughed. "Don't worry so much."
Shaking his head, he cleared what must have been a troubled expression from his face and held out his hand.
Without hesitation, Lisbon put her own in his.
Linking their fingers, he slowly brought the back of her hand up to kiss it softly. He let his lips linger a bit too long.
She stared and caught her bottom lips between her teeth before sliding it slowly free again.
He could practically see her thoughts racing.
"-I... should get going."
Jane nodded, but something made him step closer to her, following a kind of instinct that made his brain happily fuzzy.
The way she swallowed reflexively belied Teresa's thoughts. Her hand trembled slightly in his and he didn't think it was from the cold.
Another step closer and he was able to hover his lips over hers, breathing in her breath.
Lisbon watched him, his mouth, and finally, she closed her eyes.
Drawn forward, Jane leaned in and at last took her soft lips in a delicate kiss, only pulling back when the lightheaded euphoria threatened to topple him.
Teresa swallowed again without opening her eyes.
"Drive safely for me, Teresa." He whispered.
Her eyes fluttered open, looking at him in a way that sliced through his every defense. Full-on vulnerability, shining in emerald depths that seemed to house the world inside of them. Such a beautiful world. "Okay." With that breathed, she drew away, but their hands didn't part till she was down the steps, making her way to the beat up old car sitting in the driveway.
He watched her climb inside, waved till her vehicle vanished from sight and then collapsed through the doorway, falling down to his butt right on the other side, dress slacks be damned. The door clicked shut.
From near the stairs, Mrs. Ruskin's elderly voice spoke in gentle amusement. "That is quite the young lady, Patrick. Nicely done."
Jane smiled harder if that was possible, but didn't bother to open his eyes. He wanted to hold onto that last image for the rest of his life. If there was a throne in his memory palace, that is where Teresa sat and that was where this night would always rest. The biggest moment of his life. A true success because he'd gotten to kiss the girl that he loved.