A/N: Yay, two chapters in one day. Then again, I need to be writing this fast to have a hope of finishing this.

Thanks to yaba, boutondor, dwennie, Divinia Serit and Ebony10 for reviewing so swiftly. And sorry for updating faster than people can read it. Heh.

x tromana

Part Nine

"Excuse me, Sir, but this is a crime scene," Lisbon shouted, exasperated, as a blond man made his way towards the dead body. "You can't just…"

The man paused, looked her up and down and smiled.

"I'm looking for Agent Lisbon. I was told he…" he trailed off as the woman in front of him smirked. "You're Agent Lisbon, aren't you?"

"Yes I am," she replied, proffering a hand automatically. Her boss had told her that Minelli had assigned the Serious Crimes Unit a consultant, trusting her, as second in command, to keep an eye on him. "And you're Patrick Jane."

"So you've heard of me, then?"

"Unfortunately."

"Well, that's not nice," he sniffed, "we've only just met."

"Yes, but I've been warned you're trouble."

"Lies."

"Twice. By two different people."

"Ah."

"So, Caucasian male, twenty seven. Died of blunt force trauma to the head. Weapon is probably…"

"That rock over there. You're going to send it to forensics for DNA testing. Am I right?"

"Yes," she answered, albeit through gritted teeth.

…

"I believe you promised a date if I was right about the last case."

"I did nothing of the sort," Lisbon replied, her eyes not quite meeting his. Truth be told, she was hoping he'd have forgotten.

"Oh come on, Teresa," Jane answered teasingly. "What would be so bad about dating me?"

"Do I really need to list the reasons?"

"Go on."

"It's against company policy."

"I'm just a consultant attached to your unit. Well, Mackenzie's unit. But it's going to be yours soon enough anyway."

"What is your point?"

"I'm just a civilian. You would not be doing anything wrong if you chose to date me."

"You're not going to drop this, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

That was the last time she was going to bet with him.

Ever.

…

"Marry me."

She took a couple of seconds to realize what he had just said. Lisbon couldn't quite believe it; she knew his history. They all did.

For a while she had simply assumed that she was the rebound. It made it easier to cope with what she saw as the inevitable heartbreak she would have to face sooner or later.

But still, she tried to disguise the smile that was trying to make itself known.

"Ask me later."

"Fine. Will you marry me now?"

"I meant not at work and preferably not over a dead body."

"I knew what you meant."

"You're incorrigible. And being disrespectful to Mr. P…"

"I'm sure Mr. Peters doesn't really mind. In fact, were he still alive, he'd probably offer us his congratulations."

"You're that certain I'll say yes, are you?"

"Naturally."

"Well you'll still have to wait to find out. Go get on with something useful, Jane."

…

"You may now kiss the bride."

Her breath caught in her throat slightly as Jane reached out and brushed a few loose hairs away from her cheek.

Carefully, he leaned in and his lips barely brushed hers, but she couldn't help but smile. Only a chaste kiss; there were children present. Anything else would have been completely inappropriate, not that Jane usually worried too much about that.

"You okay?" he murmured, only loud enough for her to hear.

"I'm fine, Patrick."

"Most women cry on their wedding day."

"You should know by now, I'm not most women," she retorted, still grinning. "But if you really want me to turn into a blubbering wreck, I'm sure I could find some onions somewhere."

…

"I'm sorry, Jane, I just…"

He noted the use of his surname immediately.

Teresa only ever used it whenever she was angry or upset. She seemed to be both at that very moment.

Carefully, he reached out, placing a gentle hand on her waist. The kind of touch that she normally melted into, that normally relaxed her within seconds.

Instead, she brushed it away, along with some bitter tears.

He begged her hoarsely to stop as she zipped up the suitcase. And again as she hauled it downstairs.

Okay, so he was wrong about Red John this time around. It hadn't been the first time. Nor did he think it'd be the last.

She knew his Red John connection. He thought she understood it.

Clearly, he thought wrong. She obviously couldn't cope with sharing her husband with a serial killer and a ghost as well as he thought she could.

"I just can't do this anymore."

He felt helpless as she slammed the car door shut in front of him.

Seconds later, she was speeding away.

Patrick Jane wasn't quite sure what had happened. It had all been so fast.

000

"Teresa, you're as stiff as a board."

"I'm fine, Jane."

Jane frowned. She still hadn't adjusted to calling him Patrick again.

Then again, they had only been reunited, officially, for a week or so. She just needed a bit of time.

Unlike him, she had been trying to avoid this scenario. It was only because Red John had claimed to be upping his game that she agreed at all.

She had been right though; Minelli loathed the idea.

In fact, he'd spent a good half an hour trying desperately to persuade them otherwise. To tell them that the risks were too great, that the potential pay off was too small.

By dating again, whether it was for real or not, it was only going to anger Red John further.

In the end, knowing the resolve of both the people standing before him, his shoulders sagged and he gave up. Minelli knew that he would get more sense out of a brick wall than the two individuals standing in front of him.

Stubborn, the pair of them.

Eventually, he'd agreed to offer his support to them. He couldn't say he thought the plan was wise, but it was a chance to get Red John to show himself again. And if they did manage to get something out of it, then at least he could say the risk was worth it.

If it turned for the worst however…

Lisbon twitched slightly as a car pulled up outdoors and Jane tightened his grip on her shoulder slightly. She was jumping at ghosts now and she had been almost all night.

"He's not going to jump through the door at any minute."

"He knows where I live."

She didn't even need to state who had her so worried. It was blindingly obvious anyway, so there was little point in naming him.

Jane had been watching her all day. She'd been quite reserved, flinching at his every touch.

He'd tried talking to her about it but she always clammed up or changed the subject, with work being her preference. It was awful for him to see her so stressed and there was nothing he could do about it.

Especially as there was little he could do about it.

It didn't help that he was fairly certain she was only going to get worse.

"I'm going to bed," she whispered, pulling away from him. "There's some blankets in the closet."

"Okay," he responded as she stood. "We'll be fine, Teresa. I promise."

She nodded, not really believing him and he watched as she climbed upstairs and disappeared from sight.

He knew this was never going to be easy. They were never going to slip back into their lives and have what they used to have. Jane never expected that as that would have been far too much wishful thinking.

But somehow, he just thought it would be different to this.

TBC…