One week earlier
"Jane! Are you coming or not?", came Lisbon's irate voice from the lifts bringing a smile to Jane's face. He jumped up grabbing his coat and practically danced to where Lisbon was standing her hands on her hips, glaring at him. Jane enjoyed teasing her, to bring that hint of blush to her cheeks and fire into her eyes. It also brought a fire into his belly, although he squashed that train of thought immediately upon entry to his conscious thought.
He smiled at her, his amusement and fondness clearly showing in his eyes and Lisbon couldn't resist it for long and had to turn towards the lifts to hide her smile, while trying to stay stern.
"One day I'm just going to leave you behind", she threatened looking at Jane from under her hair, while the lift doors closed. He smirked at her and self assuredly said, "No, you won't".
"Where are we going?", Jane asked next and Lisbon had to smile at his childlike curiosity and restlessness. They didn't have a case at the moment, so it wasn't a surprise that Jane for once didn't have any idea where they were going. Lisbon congratulated herself for succeeding to confuse Jane, at least for a moment. She smiled at him and didn't say a word.
On cue Jane started whining and followed her like an over eager puppy and Lisbon couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into a laugh.
Jane was confused as to why Lisbon was laughing, but he didn't mind whatever it was as it wasn't often that she laughed so freely and unguarded. They walked for a while in a comfortable silence, until they reached a busy shopping street and Lisbon steered them towards a coffee stand next to a park. Once they had bought their coffee and tea, they took a seat on a bench in the park.
"Care to share with the class?", Jane finally asked still smiling, while taking in the sight of a happy and relaxed Lisbon. She looked like somebody had lifted a heavy weight from her shoulders, like she had been given a second chance in life, therefore making Jane very curious to what had happened to make Lisbon behave so out of character.
"I did some serious thinking over the Christmas and New Year", Lisbon started, getting a nod from Jane as he had noticed that she had appeared absent minded during the quiet days in the office between Christmas and New Year.
"I came to realisation that I have been hiding a lot from myself and that there is something I have to admit to myself as it's starting to interfere with my capability to concentrate at work", Lisbon continued making Jane frown as he didn't have a clue where she was going with this.
"So I made a New Year's promise", Lisbon concluded and looked at Jane, smiling at the confused look on his face. She was feeling very nervous, but she had made a promise to herself and she was going to see it through.
She took a deep breath and continued, "There is someone, that I care deeply about and although I have tried to ignore the feeling, I can't anymore and even though I'm fairly certain that he won't feel the same way, I have to let him know. For my sake and for his sake".
Jane tried to keep the shock from showing. He had had no idea that Lisbon was romantically involved or even interested in someone and he had to admit that the thought surprisingly made him feel jealous and hurt. He mentally slapped himself to concentrate on listening to Lisbon, who now looked at him expectantly.
"I'm happy for you Lisbon. Who's the lucky guy?", Jane managed to get out without sounding too strangled, although something must have been evident in his voice as Lisbon looked at him funnily.
"You can be such an idiot sometimes", Lisbon said to him sighing.
"It's you", she said quietly.
Jane's eyes widened and Lisbon could clearly see the swirl of myriad emotions behind his blue eyes; fear, panic, fondness, tenderness, all stumbling over each others. She waited patiently, with her heart in her throat. She knew that it was very unlikely that Jane would return her feelings, but she had to make him aware that he wasn't alone, that there was someone that cared about him. And she trusted that their friendship was now solid and deep enough to survive such an announcement. She knew that for her, it had been a right thing to do, because as soon as she had made up her mind, she felt content and happy.
Jane had regained his composure quickly and he leaned forwards and said quietly, "You know that I'm not worth it". His face was open and devoid of any masks, his eyes honest.
"To me you are", Lisbon answered quickly.
"You don't have to say anything. I wanted to make it clear how I feel, but I'm not expecting anything in return. I'm your friend, but I wanted to make it clear that if you need anything, you can come to me. That there is someone who is always thinking about you, worried about you and willing to help", Lisbon continued.
Jane was still leaning close to her on the bench, one arm on the back of the bench. He lifted his right hand to push a strand of Lisbon's hair behind her ear, following his hand with his eyes. He brought his eyes back, to look at Lisbon and whispered in a choking voice, "Thank you".
Jane definitely hadn't expected to hear anything like this from Lisbon, but it warmed his heart to know that this brave woman cared deeply about him. He wasn't sure that he would ever be able to give what she deserved, but the least he could do was to trust her and be honest with her.
While they both were still coming to terms with Lisbon's announcement, they failed to see a black van coming to a halt behind them. Neither did they see the two men who jumped out of the van wearing ski masks and who were headed towards them, guns drawn.
TBC
