Author's Note: Please not the chapter is set after the episode in which Craig gave Grace the necklace, the first one. O_o I don't remember the name of it. Please if you do let me know via review or pm as I'd like to know.

THE GIFT

He had had a strange look on his face all afternoon. It had made sense to Grace when he was supposed to be playing jealous at work but now they were alone and he was still acting jealous. She had asked him how he was and had gotten one too many "fines". Now it was time to pull out the big guns and get Rigsby to open up.

"So, do you want to order in for dinner or would you rather just lick chocolate sauce off my naked body?" Grace said, trying to get his attention as they walked through the lobby of her apartment building. It worked like a charm, his head snapped over in her direction and he nearly ran into a pillar.

"Seriously?" He asked having not even noticed his near collision, she chuckled.

"Sure, but only if you tell me what's on your mind first. I'm worried about you Wayne, you've been pouty all day. What's the matter?" He looked towards the elevator door to signal her that he wanted to wait until they were behind closed doors to talk. She gave him that and was silent until they were locked inside their own private little world before she turned to him expectantly.

"Grace I'm sorry, I just can't take it anymore." Her heart sank and her expression fell. She'd been afraid of this, dreading this, ever since she'd proposed this undercover romance they were currently engaging in. Was he about to tell her that he couldn't take the secrecy anymore and wanted to resign from the unit so they could be together openly? Or worse, was he going to tell her he just didn't want her at all, that he had finally realized she wasn't worth it. She held her breath while he approached her and looked at her seriously. He reached up to finger her new necklace and before she even thought to guess he had grabbed it firmly in his fist and yanked it off her neck. It gave a pull and then a snap and Grace yelped and jumped in surprise at Wayne doing anything so violent and destructive. He'd never so much as popped one of her shirt buttons in the heat of passion before let alone ripped something off her neck. He would have never risked her wrath before. But tonight was obviously different.

"Wayne? What the…" She watched as he angrily stalked over to the kitchen sink and dropped the necklace down the drain before reaching for the switch to the garbage disposal. "Wayne that's going to…." But she didn't get a chance to finish as he had already flicked the switch and was watching with sadistic glee as the blades ruined her new necklace beyond repair. "break the disposal." she finished finally as the blades whirred to a noisy stop of their own accord. Rigsby turned the switch back to the off position before coming back to her with a satisfied look on his face.

"You're kidding right? You're actually jealous of the necklace he gave me. He as in the completely gay guy you picked out for me to use as a decoy boyfriend to help hide our illicit relationship."

"I never said it made sense." Grace chuckled at him.

"Well…you feel better?"

"Uh huh." he replied happily. She walked up to him, a smirk still on her face.

"Want me to go get the chocolate sauce now?"

"Uh huh." he smiled as he watched her go an retrieve said item from the fridge.

"You know tomorrow you're replacing the garbage disposal."

"Uh huh." he said, continuing to smile like the cat who ate the canary as he led her towards the bedroom.

The next day she not only had a brand new garbage disposal but a new necklace as well. And she had to admit she liked this one a lot better. It was a seahorse. She had mentioned it to him once in passing on a date to see some popcorn movie about reincarnation. As they chatted over the ending credits, waiting for the crowd to thin, she commented that if she came back in her next life she wanted to be a seahorse because the male carried and birthed the young and they mated for life. Later walking home he'd looked distracted and she had worried if seriously mentioning the idea of reincarnation hadn't been too new agey for her broad shouldered cop of a boyfriend who didn't believe in the too much of supernatural.

"Grace," he'd finally said before they'd drifted off to sleep that night warm and naked in each other's embrace "can I be your seahorse? In your next life. I mean, if you don't get tired of me in this one?" His soft, honest question had touched her heart and made her feel more loved that she could ever remember feeling in her entire life.

"Wouldn't want anyone else." she assured him. And when she had found the elegant gold seahorse on a chain in a little gift wrapped box on her pillow she knew he was already her seahorse. Her mate for life. This one, the next, and forever more.

It touched her so deeply that at work the next day she had to resist the urge to reach up and touch it; the reminder of how much she meant to him, what he was willing to put himself through, risk, for her. Always. He loved her. Not just in this life but the next as well. And everything was alright in her world as long as he loved her.

"Nice necklace." Jane said as he came up behind her suddenly in the break room. "New?'

"Thanks, and yes it is."

"A gift."

"Yeah." She didn't make eye contact and instead stared down at the cup of tea she was stirring.

"Rigsby has better taste then your other boyfriend wouldn't you say?" Grace just froze and tried very hard not to panic. Jane didn't know anything, couldn't know anything, he was just fishing. That's what he did, how he found out things, getting people to tangle themselves up in the line of their own lies.

"You're fishing Jane."

"You're not denying it." She turned and regarding him seriously.

"It's not from Rigsby." He studied her intently.

"You're lying. Don't get me wrong you're a very good liar when you try to be but a liar all the same."

"Believe what you want Jane, you always do anyway."

"True." he shrugged. "But your relationship with Agent O'Loughlin is obviously a sham." Grace laughed out loud at that but inwardly cringed.

"Oh really?"

"Of course. One thing you aren't Grace is stupid. You could have picked up that he was gay as easily as I could. There are only three good reasons to date a gay guy. The first is because there's no sexual obligation which makes you feel safe because of your psychological damage regarding men….

"Psychological damage regarding men?"

"I could say 'cautious nature' but we both know how understated that would be." Grace scowled at him and Jane grinned. "By the way, before Rigsby how long had it been since you'd let a man of his size and strength in your bed? Willingly I mean?" Grace scoffed at him and grabbed her mug of the counter, ignoring the burn of the hot liquid that sloshed out onto her hand in her haste.

"Go to hell Jane." she said, starting to walk away.

"Probably will Grace." He said smugly to her retreating back. Grace sighed and stopped. She hated herself for doing this, but she had too. Turning she asked, "Alright, I'll give. What's the other two reasons?" Jane gave his trademark Cheshire cat smile and walked over to her so he could speak more softly.

"There's always the making Rigsby jealous option, but if that's the way you're going you're not as smart as I thought you were, since the only thing you have to do to get back with Rigsby is ask. Hell, you don't even have to ask, you could handcuff him and throw him in the trunk of your car and he'd be more than happy." Grace's eyes flittered away from Jane's as she thought of doing that, just for kicks. "Sounds fun doesn't it."

"No!" she said vehemently, the appropriate amount of feigned disgust appearing on her face. Jane chuckled and Grace, feeling uncomfortable, wrapped her free arm around her waist and sipped at her tea. Jane chuckled again and Grace hated him just a little bit more than usual.

"The third option, and the one I'm putting my money behind is that the new boyfriend is a decoy because you and Rigsby faked breaking up and are still fucking like rabbits behind closed doors." Grace felt her blood run cold.

"We are not! And don't be so vulgar Jane."

"Oh like you aren't"

"Only with…" she started to defend herself then quickly shut her mouth to keep from burying herself even further. She had never been a dirty talker before Rigsby. She still wasn't sure what it was about him that brought it out in her. But it didn't matter because Jane knew finding her with the shovel in her hands was just as condemning as finding her actually digging. "You're being ridiculous Jane. We broke up. You saw it. We've moved on. Both of us. And my boyfriend is not gay!"

"You set up an elaborate undercover operation is what you've done, a very good one at that. I mean who else but you and me would think to have fake conversations when you two are alone at work just in case I might have a bug in car or be listening in from around the corner. And that little 'be good to her' speech was very well played on both ends, but I know and you know it's all a farce. That if I went and checked out your apartments right now all Rigsby's stuff would be at your place and his apartment would be completely empty." They stared each other down for an eternal moment. "Deny it, I dare you."

"Fuck off Jane." Grace snapped before turning on her heel and walking briskly away from him.

"Now who's being vulgar?" He quipped after her.