Author's Note: Hey guys, so here's the epilogue for you! I hope you like it but remember, there will be some serious fluff in here, so stay away, if you don't like that xD I'm such a sucker for happy endings, I couldn't help myself!

But now I want to thank everyone who favourited, followed or reviewed this story! It has been an amazing journey and I loved writing this and I hope you loved to read this. I never thought so many people would like my story, I'm so happy and really grateful! The first version of this story was 8 pages long and this version was 36 pages long and it's all because of you guys inspired me! So huge thanks to you :) !

And I can't wait for the Mentalist Season 6, God help me, what will I do if Jisbon happens or doesn't happen? I think I'm going to die either way xD But thanks and enjoy and have a great summer everyone :) !


Epilogue - A few weeks later

"Hi Reese, you're looking pretty great!"

Tommy's smiling at me with a big smile and Annie gives me a hug.

"That dress is so nice", Annie says to me and I look at myself, my emerald green cocktail dress and my way too high heels. "Really, you should wear it more often. And I love your hair!"

I smile to them both, feeling secretly pleased. I'm happy that they like the way I look and I hope that someone else will too.

"Actually you look more than great", Tommy continues, raising his eyebrows a little. "It's been a while since I've seen you this happy."

"You're right", Annie continues with a grin. "It almost looks like you're in love?"

I try to act normal, but a slight blush comes to my cheeks and Annie's eyes widen in delight.

"Oh my God, you are? I knew it, I'm so happy for you Aunt Reese! You deserve happiness! Although…"

Her smile starts to fade away, when she remembers that this night is not only to celebrate Red John's death but to honor Jane's memory. And clearly she knows too what Jane meant to me. Why does everyone know things like that, I feel like I'm always the last to know even my own feelings.

"Don't worry about that", Tommy continues hastily, not wanting to upset me. He wants to stay as far from the Jane subject as he can. He doesn't want to have another emotional conversation with me. "He'd be happy for you, you do know that. And we'd love to meet this new guy afterwards, if that's okay?"

I don't know what to say so I just nod a little. Annie is almost giggling now.

"Oh my God, this is serious! I've never seen you like this before! That guy must be something really special. We have to meet him!"

She has no idea how right she is.

"Now, now, take it easy", I hush them. "I'll see you later, I have to go now."

I back away from the party, dodging all the familiar faces trying to look like I'm going somewhere. Finally, I get away from everyone and silently go behind the stage.

It's dark and quiet in here. I raise the big curtain and carefully take a peek of the whole hall. Wow, it's a really massive event if you're looking at it up here. There's so many people!

Hey, Minelli came too! I've missed him so much, it's been ages. He seems so proud that his little Teresa finally caught Red John.

He surely tries to take all the credit for it, I think grumpily, but can't help smiling. And there's Cho's girlfriend -

I almost scream, when someone places his cool lips against my throat. I spin around, almost ready to punch him.

Jane backs away immediately, raising his hands in defense.

"Wow, calm down, wild horse", he chuckles. "It's just me."

"Stop scaring the life out of me", I say breathing heavily, which makes him just grin wider. I ignore him and turn back to the stage, taking one final peek.

This is really one of the biggest parties CBI has ever held. Red John was so big part of us that it's worth partying. Also everyone wants to honor Jane's memory and all the work he did for CBI.

Jane laughs at me trying to ignore him and wraps his arms around my waist from behind and pulls me away from the curtain and against his chest. I don't resist and let the curtain fall as I close my eyes and melt into his arms.

"Are you nervous yet?" I ask, eyes still closed. "The whole hall is full. You're going to give heart attacks by showing up."

"That's the whole point", he says smiling into my hair. "What's the fun, if nobody gets a heart attack?"

"You do realize, they're going to hate you after that."

"Why? I did it just to catch Red John, not just for fun. They should be happy that I'm alive, not angry with me."

"I'm not going to say anything to that."

"But seriously, everybody dislikes me already, so where's the difference? They don't like me and I don't like them so I'm more than glad to mess with them."

"You're mean", I smile as he spins me around to face him. "No wonder that nobody likes you."

"I'm just happy there is one person in the CBI who likes me", he grins at me and I make a face.

"But I'm still a bit hurt that the team hasn't forgiven me yet", he continues, pulling a face. "Van Pelt is still so mad at me. That's so unfair. I did apologize to her more than once. She probably hates me forever."

"Hey, don't blame her", I say defensively. "It has been a tough year for her. She really did cry over you many times and tried to help me all the time. And then you come back just like that. It takes a bit longer time to get over this than Vegas."

Jane pouts and sighs dramatically. I roll my eyes at him.

"This is what you get when you try to do the right thing. Would Van Pelt be happier if I was dead then?" he asks grumpily and I give him a warning glare. I know everything is okay right now, but it has been only a few weeks after he came back to life and the wounds are still too fresh to joke like this.

"Give her some time", I assure him. "Like with Vegas, the team forgave you. Maybe not as quickly as I did, but they did. I'll guess that after a week or two everything's back to normal."

"And I don't understand why she complains", Jane continues giving me a wicked grin. "I mean, while crying over me she had always an excuse to cry against Rigsby's shoulder and then have passionate comfort sex afterwards."

"Jane!" I gasp. "Van Pelt was really grieving, so don't make fun of her! And what comes to Rigsby's and Van Pelt's love life, that's none of your business."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. If you want, you could pretend that I'm still dead and cry against my shoulder and then we could have some passionate comfort sex."

His wicked grin deepens as I blush fiercely. Although I can understand what he means. After he rose from the dead and we argued and I ended up crying against his shoulder and kissing him and then -

Well, all I can say is that when you make love to someone you thought you'd lost forever, it makes things more... everything. You thought that you'd never see his face again, never be able to hold him again and suddenly he's there, holding you in his arms and when he starts to kiss you desperately and passionately –

I can feel my blush deepening just thinking about our first night, remembering him whispering my name against my lips, as I moaned from pleasure... The way he kissed me and made me shiver…

And other than that it was our first night after he rose from the dead, it was all in all our first night ever together. You'd think that changing a ten year old friendship into something more would feel awkward, but it felt right from the very first kiss. We were never ordinary in any way. We both always knew it was meant to happen sooner or later.

And I'm glad it did.

As I lay there in his arms, breathing his scent in, I was just thinking how unfair it was that we wasted all this time because of Red John. That only after so many years, after so much pain and longing, we were allowed to hold each other like this.

"Thinking about our first night?" Jane asks as he places his lips against my throat. I can't help but gasp and then push him gently away before we both get carried away.

"Stop reading my mind", I say to him a bit breathless. "And don't even try, we have the whole party ahead of us! Anyone could walk in here!"

He just chuckles and cups my face and kisses me and I forget for a while where I am and who I am. When he finally pulls away, he wraps his arms more tightly around my waist and gently caresses my hipbones.

"That's a really nice dress", he says distracted eyeing me up and down. "Although it covers a bit too much", he suggests and tries to lift the hem of my dress but I take a hold of his hand and push it away.

"Try to behave."

Jane sighs dramatically and steps away. I raise the curtain a little and take a peek again. It's nearly time. We're going to hold a memory speech for Jane, me and my team, and Jane wants to walk to the stage and give everyone a heart attack. Seriously, I hate the idea and I think it's only fair if everyone hit him after that. Faking your death is one thing but making a show of fooling everyone is completely other.

"Annie's going to be so mad at you", I say when I let the curtain fall. "She's so tough she'll hate that you tricked her to look weak. If she wants to punch you in the face, I'll let her."

"Well, thanks for that, partner", Jane mutters.

"And by the way, Annie and Tommy both think I'm in love with someone. They want to meet the guy afterwards, they think it's pretty serious."

"Really?" Jane asks, his grin widening. "Well, that doesn't sound too bad."

"But of course, when they see who the guy is, they're going to think I'm crazy. Tommy already thinks I'm crazy for grieving over you for this long, so now he'll have more reasons to doubt my sanity. And they'll probably hate you forever after this."

"Why are you Lisbon's so aggressive and violent? Should they have some anger management too?" he says sighing dramatically and I slap him playfully.

"Yes, we are aggressive, you better get used to that if you want to be a part of the family!"

Jane lifts his gaze alert and I realize what I just said. There's a little awkward silence, I clear my throat and try to act like normal.

We've been together only for a few weeks now. Everything's still so raw and fresh and new and I shouldn't say things like that. Although he promised me that he's never going to leave me again, there's a small voice in my head saying to me, that I shouldn't get ahead of myself. He's still recovering from Red John's death, things might still go wrong…

"Uhm, well, I think I'll go and find everyone. The show is going to start soon, do you know where they went –"

"Teresa", he stops me gently and comes closer again. He lifts my chin with his two fingers and makes me look at him in the eye. "That reminds me of something. You remember, how I promised that I'd never leave you again?"

"Yes", I whisper, not even surprised anymore how quickly he reads my mind. "And you really should keep that promise, because –"

"Let me finish", he laughs and cuts me off. I swallow, my pulse quickening. "As I was saying, I promised that I'd never leave you again, and I'm going to keep that promise."

His face softens and he caresses my cheeks, making me instantly more relaxed.

"I know it's been only a few weeks since I came back, but I need you to know, that I'm never leaving you again. I couldn't, even if I wanted to. I've known you for years and loved you for such a long time. I don't need to date you for a few years to know if I want to spend the rest of my life with you, because I already know you so well. I already love you more than you probably understand."

I try to swallow the lump in my throat away as I nod to his words. He falls silent and I wonder if he waits for me to answer, but then to my surprise he slowly drops down on one knee –

Wait. No. No way, no –

My shock must show on my face, because his smile lights his whole face as he takes a little box from his pocket. I can't think, I just stare at his face not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"I know this is a bit early and if you're not ready, then I'll wait. A year, five years, even another ten years. Because like I said, I'm never leaving again."

He smiles at me so heart-breakingly that I just want to burst into tears.

"Teresa, will you marry me?"

I can't believe this is happening. That he's down on his knee, asking me to marry him. Only a month ago I thought he was dead and I'd never get to tell him that I loved him.

And now…

I take a deep breath and try to calm down. If I think this through, I know getting married this quickly is really reckless. It's stupid and I shouldn't say yes. It's been so little time since he rose from the dead that I have to think this through. I'm too overwhelmed with emotions, I have to calm down, I –

But just looking at his face I already know what I'm going to say, 'cause who am I fooling? I've loved him for years now, nothing's going to change that. Even his death couldn't tear us apart. If he wants to stay with me forever, I'm more than glad to take it.

And I know this may be stupid and everyone will think I'm crazy by saying yes, but I'm used to that. With him, nothing goes the normal way. With him, everything is crazy, nothing makes sense. It's just the way he is, it's just the way we've been all these years.

And I love him for that.

"Well, are you going to answer me?" he jokes giving me one of his dazzling smiles. "My legs are hurting if I have to stay down here much longer."

"No, I'm not going to answer. You must've read my thoughts already, so what's the point?"

He gives me a little pout.

"Come on Teresa, I ask this only once so it would be nice to answer and not to ruin the great moment."

I make a face. He knows I hate all this romantic crap but just looking at his puppy eyes and that smile…

Oh, who am I kidding, I'm such a sucker for happy endings.

"Yes", I whisper and he takes my hand and carefully places the beautiful emerald ring to my ring finger. I'm having trouble breathing, I'm so happy. Not that I'm going to admit it.

"Was that the answer you were waiting for?" I ask teasingly as he rises to meet my eyes and wraps his arms around my waist. "Or did I manage to surprise you?"

"I know you better than you know yourself", he says cupping my face. "But you still never cease to surprise me in your own way."

He kisses me and this time I don't even try to stop him. His lips are so soft and urgent on mine and my heart feels like bursting with emotions. I pull his face closer to mine, kissing him desperately and he smiles against my lips as he pulls my body closer to his. The warmth of his body makes me shiver, as I bury my fingers into his hair and -

"Hey guys, get a room."

Cho's voice makes us both jump. I hastily break away from Jane's arms, my hair a bit disheveled and my lips swollen. I'm blushing, but Jane's just smiling even wider. I know he loves to see me embarrassed and if he makes a joke, I'm going to punch him.

"You almost ruined the big moment", Jane just says easily and puts his hand on the small of my back, gently pushing me forward. Automatically I hide my hands behind my back and I rather feel than see him rolling his eyes.

"What?" Van Pelt asks excitedly, her eyes fixed on my face. She still tries her best to ignore Jane as much as she can. I know she's happy that Jane is alive and she's more than happy that we're a couple now, but I understand why she still acts like she's angry with him. "What's going on?"

"Well…", I mutter not really knowing how to tell this, but luckily our party's presenter saves me. His voice echoes from the other side of the curtain, talking about the upcoming memory speech.

"Hey, it's your time", I say to the team, ushering them to the side of the stage. "You go in already, I'll be there in just a minute."

They all start to make their way to the stage and I turn to look at Jane.

"Shouldn't we delay this ceremony just a little longer?" he asks taking my hands and pulling me once again against his chest. Instantly I melt against him. This feels so right, it's like I've been made for his arms, I fit them perfectly. "I mean, I can rise from the dead later. Right now I'd like to have you and me running away from here and having a little private celebration –"

"Stop it", I say giggling. "We won't delay this. We have all night to celebrate after this."

His grin widens but I raise my hand against his chest and push him away.

"But right now you have to rise from the dead. Or do you want me to walk around the hall telling about my engagement to a dead man? I don't think Annie and Tommy would like that." I wave my ring finger in front of his face. "But when you think about it, they probably think I'm an idiot either way. Getting engaged to the dead you or alive you. It might be possible that they think I'm crazier choosing the alive version than the dead one."

I wait for him to pout or act grumpy or hurt, but instead he just keeps on grinning. It's like nothing's going to wipe that grin away from his face tonight. I love this new Jane, this free and content Jane, whose smiles always reaches the eyes.

"Don't try to fool me, Teresa", he says and eyes me up and down again. "Tonight I'll show you what the dead me can't do. Then I'll ask again, which one you'll choose."

Oh God, we're like teenagers. But right now that doesn't even bother me, I'm too happy.

Then Van Pelt calls me to the stage and I step closer to the curtain. I turn to look at Jane.

"See you on the other side", I say to him. "You'll be right behind me."

"No", he says and for a moment we just stare at each other. Shivers run down my spine. What does he mean, no? Isn't he going to come? "I won't be right behind you. We won't see on the other side."

My heartbeat quickens. I can't help but feel scared. I remember our conversation over a year ago. I remember my fear then and -

He steps forward, right next to me, and takes my hand and brings it to his lips.

"Because I'll never leave you again. We'll go together."

I want to slap him. But then, I want to kiss him.

"Together", I say and smile at him. And as I pull the curtain aside, we step into our future, my hand never leaving his.