A/N: Here it is, the epilogue, before the season finale, just like I promised. I wanted to thank all the people who've followed and encouraged me through this little AU; your encouragement has been amazing, and kept me motivated to go on! So... happy season finale, that Heller could be with us, and let's hope that we'll not be disappointed and/or heartbroken.
The phone kept ringing insistently, and when she checked the ID, she only saw a foreign number. Looking quizzically in front of her, Lisbon answered, and on the other side of the line, she heard the frantic voice of Jane; he talked and talked and talked, without taking a breath, and she didn't manage to stop him.
"Teresa... It's over. It's done. We are finally free. I just want you to know that I'm okay. And… I'm so sorry, but… I can't stay here after what I've done. McAllister may be dead, but… I can't risk it, Teresa. Just can't. I have to leave. But… I'm gonna miss you, but maybe… if you still want me… I'll be waiting for you at Sacramento Amtrak until midday. Just know that I'll understand if you'll not be there. Or if you'll be there to just put me in handcuffs. Goodbye Teresa. I love you."
The line went dead, and Teresa looked at the cellphone in her hands like it was an object she had never seen before.
"What's going on?" Wayne asked her, his hands on her shoulders. She lifted her eyes and looked at him, and for an interminable moment, she couldn't say a word.
"It was Jane… he did it. He killed McAllister." She paused. "And I know where he is going to be next… but we have only twenty minutes before we are going to lose him." Teresa clenched her fists, gritting her teeth as she felt at battle with herself: the cop on her wanted to arrest him for what he had done, but the woman wanted him, and the life they could have together.
Jane had only told her he was going to be at the station, but hadn't bothered telling her where exactly, or which train he intended to take, probably thinking that she would have changed her mind and decided to arrest him. But, after having run to the station at a frantic speed, running through red lights and with the breath dying in her throat, as soon as she and Wayne reached their objective, she looked at the big, old-fashioned clock, knowing that her resolve was vanishing with each step she took. Her mind kept going back to their days at the carnival and to his beach house in Malibu: she couldn't forget how he had cared for her, took care of her, body and soul. And then… his phone call. She couldn't shake the feeling that, despite the strange way they had gotten to know each other, while on the run, and even if they had basically just met…
She loved him. Just like he said he loved her.
She frantically run, looking everywhere between the tracks, searching for familiar blonde curls in the crowd surrounding them, all the while checking her watch, feeling dread filling her very soul as the clock kept ticking, twelve o'clock getting closer and closer.
And then, as a train passed by, she saw him, standing there on the other side of the tracks, looking straight into her eyes, like they were the only two humans left on the planet. Both of them felt mixed emotions within their very hearts, love and sorrow, desire, despair and guilt. Teresa was still at war with herself, still didn't know what she was supposed to do. Few minutes before, a patrol confirmed finding the remains of the late Thomas McAllister, thus making of Patrick Jane a murderer.
She wanted to arrest him, because she was a cop and it was her duty.
She wanted to thank him, because he had freed the world of McAllister's shadow.
She wanted to follow him everywhere he would go, because she loved him.
Her hands reached for the gun at her side on autopilot, and even if he was seeing her, he didn't move, Teresa wondered briefly why he wasn't trying to escape any longer; after all, how many times had he run? After he had found Angie, after she had taken him with her…
Jane was always escaping, she thought, shutting her eyes against the onslaught of emotions. He had done so since he was basically just a kid. He was a liar and a cheater, a gigolo, a man who had always, always lived of felonies, a man who had escaped justice because of his good looks and because he could sweet-talk anyone in doing as he pleased, with his voice, his body, hypnosis and his most powerful weapon, sex. She wasn't going to lie: she had been wondering if he hadn't been doing the same with her too, using nice words, sex, love to get her where he wanted her to be, to do what he wanted her to do, like it was all an act in the grand scheme of Patrick Jane's life & lies.
But a look into his eyes told her it wasn't the case, it was genuine affection the one he felt for her, and not the mask he always wore. For once in her life, she believed, wanted to believe, in a man. Her man.
She took a step in his direction, her eyes never leaving his, and she could see a big smile rising on his face, but as suddenly as the smile had appeared, it vanished. She looked at him quizzically, stopping where she was, and then she felt a strong, big hand encircling her wrist, and when she turned, Wayne was there, looking at her like he had never seen her before, with a rage and hate that scared her, and made her feel the little girl who run away when her drunk of a father got home late at night.
"Teresa…" he said in an intimidating voice, tightening the grip on her wrist. "Don't."
His eyes never left hers, but Teresa couldn't do it any longer; Wayne wasn't the man for her. It didn't matter if she decided to stay there or follow Jane, one way or another, her relationship with Wayne ended that day, for both their sakes.
She simply shook her head, and kissed him one last time with tears in her eyes, a lingering kiss full of longing for things that hadn't been and shouldn't have been; she knew that Wayne loved her, but it was time for him to accept reality, it was time for the both of them to just let it go of their past: together, they would have just hurt each other, with the weight of their past reminding every step of live of what they had been forced to go through because of their families.
"Teresa, please…" Wayne begged, sobbing a little, shaking his head as he couldn't believe she could really considering leaving him and their life. "Teresa… he is a criminal. He is…"
"I don't know what I'm going to do, Wayne." She closed her eyes and left a butterfly kiss on the corner of his lips, and in that moment he knew it was farewell, and that it was over. Reluctantly, he let it go of her, and turned, not wanting to look at the woman he loved leaving with another man, the knowledge pained him enough as it is, but having the image of her, happy and carefree in Jane's arms, something she had never been with him, would have broken him beyond repair.
Teresa took the few steps that separated her from Jane, and when they were in front of each other, for few minutes they didn't say a word, they just looked into each other eyes. When just two minutes were left before midday, when he saw that she was still at battle with herself, Jane finally spoke, his hand reaching out to cup her face, Teresa leaning in his touch, sighing in pleasure and security at closed eyes.
"I know that you love your job, Teresa… but every time I look into your eyes, I know that you are tired. There's so much death and corruption all around you… and for every criminal you put behind bars, other two emerge. Aren't you tired of this?" he said, plea evident as in his voice as in his water-green eyes. Teresa opened her mouth in an "O" of surprise, feeling like he was reading her mind: that was exactly how she had felt in the last few months, long before her first encounter with Patrick Jane.
"Teresa, come with me... Europe, South America, Australia, I don't care as long as it's with you. You've always wanted to start anew, and this is our chance. I'll not be a sorry excuse of a gigolo or a conman any longer, and no one will ever know you've been related to the Lisbons and the McAllisters… you'll finally be able to start anew for real… you'll be free from your family's blood for real."
She gasped, and her eyes got teary as her mind started to wonder, and imagined what ifs scenarios: a new life where no one knew her, nor of her past, where she wasn't going to be judged because of the faults of others… and with Patrick at her side. It was so good… too good. She had never dared to dream of such a life: could she really do it? Finally leave out all the rest?
She closed her eyes and dared to think about such a future. She decided there and then that it wasn't a matter of being able to do it- she wanted that life, it was just that easy. Still imagining their future together, she smiled, and her mirrored her expression as he took her in his arms, spinning her like she was a ballerina, or a weight-less child.
They kissed, igniting a new spark within them, and suddenly everything stopped existing, and they were the only ones that mattered. As they parted, both breathing hard, Jane never let it go of her, always kept an hand on her side. Looking around, smirking mischievously as Teresa smiled against the rough skin of his neck, careful that no one was staring at them, he took her gun and her badge, and threw the first in a bin, the second in the pocket of a guy who passed him by.
When he was done, midday struck, and their train whistled, announcing their imminent departure. Smiling like he had never done before, like he was the happiest man alive, he took her hand in his own, and guided her in the First Class compartment, and when they sat, cuddling together like they were teenagers in love for the first time, he produced like from thin air a little red book, testament and living proof of the woman she was going to be from then on.
"Wherever you want, Teresa. Just as long as I'm with you… we can be whoever we want. Where we want." He said, kissing her once, tenderly, on the lips, resting his forehead against her own, the greatest sign of intimacy.
She opened the little red book, and looked with a lifted eyebrow at the woman smiling at her from the picture- the same who had been on her CBI badge, and despite having seen that image every day for years, it was like she was looking at it with fresh new eyes, for the first time.
"Teresa Hogan, born in Chicago, on December the 5th, 1983. Profession: social worker." She lifted her eyes and looked at him, smirking a little. "Nice of you to allow me to keep my name and my birthday. But, a social worker, really?"
"Meh, you're a good-natured woman, Reese. Besides, you've recently left your job, as you've just married a billionaire you met through the job. Name's Patrick Barlow, does it ring any bell?" he said, and kissed her again.
"Barlow I get, but a billionaire? Seriously, Rick…" she said, rolling the nickname on the tip of her tongue, putting the word as it was erotica made sound.
"Oh, don't worry. I didn't steal any money." He rolled his eyes. "Not exactly."
"Jane…" she hissed at low voice, lifting her right hook, but he just smirked like the Cheshire cat.
"Relax woman. I simply liquidated the McAllisters' assets, thanks to my dear hacking friend Wylie… dividing the family fortune in five parts. One for each one of you Lisbons- even if I made sure that your brothers will have to behave to get their hands on it, especially Tommy. Who will have to divide it with your nice, otherwise he'll never get anything. The last part is in a protected trust found, for the people in your family, and in the McAllister clan, who suffered because of the faults of many."
Neither of them said anything, she simply cupped his face, her eyes watery. "It belonged to your family, Teresa. McAllister took it away from you and your siblings when he married into your family. That's what your mother and Angela would have wanted, and I'm glad I've been able to help."
Teresa smiled, and allowed the train to lull her to half-asleep. "I've always wanted to live in Australia." She told him, smiling, her eyes still closed, her voice low and muffled. She allowed her head to fall on his head, and rested, for real, probably for the first time since they had started their crazy adventure together.
Jane kissed the crown of her hair, and, hands crossed behind his head, he sighed at closed eyes. "Australia, here we came!"
It was far from over. This adventure could have ended, but many others were going to follow; only, in their new life together, they would have dealt not with criminals, mobsters, prostitutes and con-men, but a big house by the sea, new friends, a lot of love and little Charlotte, who joined them less than a year after they had met. Patrick still did what he was best at, but he started conning people who were conmen themselves, giving back what they had stolen, like a modern-day Robin Hood operating in the shadows. He lived of the little he kept for themselves, and thanks to a good financial advisor, the fortune belonging to McAllister increased exponentially, allowing them to live the beautiful life Jane had craved as a carnie kid, to leave a trust fund for their baby and help people out- because despite her denying being made for social working, Teresa ended up being quite the philanthropist, on top of a beloved and loving mother and wife.
Maybe it wasn't the kind of adventure Teresa had dreamed about when joining the police, but it was everything Patrick had always wanted out of life- and they couldn't have loved it any more than what they did.