I'm terribly sorry for the delay, guys, but last week was just crazy. Chapter two is finally done, and I must warn you that it's probably the most fluffy (fluffiest?) thing I've ever written. But after watching 6x09 I can safely say that 'fluff' was my official word of the week :)

You can blame this chapter on two things: a) I sprained my ankle last week, and b) it's finally snowing in Poland, we're going to have white Christmas!

Let me know what you think!

One year later

It was snowing on Christmas Eve.

For the first time in seven years Christmas in Sacramento was going to be white. Or, at least, less grey than before.

Lisbon sat at her desk, finishing the report, reorganizing the papers and occasionally looking out of the window. The weather - something resembling winter - put her in good mood. Although it was only two in the afternoon, her team had already left, and she was planning to do exactly the same as soon as possible. In less than eight hours she would be with her brothers, chatting, laughing, preparing the Christmas dinner. She just couldn't wait.

She glanced at Jane, reclining on her couch. She didn't feel good about leaving him alone, but he'd assured her he had 'plans'.

('I only hope I won't have to get you out,' she said when she heard that.

He promised she wouldn't, but you could never be sure with Jane, after all.)

She finished work, gathered her belongings and stood up.

'I'm calling it a day,' she said to Jane. 'I still have a lot of stuff to do before I leave Sacramento.'

Jane stood up. 'I'll walk you to your car.' He helped her put on her coat, then put his own on and the two of them left the office. 'What time are you planning to set off?'

'Around four, I was thinking. It's a six-hour drive usually, and with that weather God knows how long it will take me to get to L.A.'

'Don't worry, it's not like we have a blizzard here. I'd say that seven, seven and a half is the worst-case scenario.'

They exited the building and were instantly welcomed by a cold wind.

Lisbon wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck. 'I hope you're right,' she said, pulling on her left glove.

'Just drive safe, will you?' He was becoming more protective of her lately.

'Of course. What are you going to do?'

'Oh, I told you - a little bit of this, a little bit of that.'

She didn't like the idea, but there was nothing she could do about that. 'Just be safe, will you?'

They smiled at each other. 'Of course.'

Lisbon rummaged through her bag, looking for her right glove. Just as she finally found it, she felt something cold and soft hit her shoulder. 'Don't even start,' she said, not bothering to turn and look at her consultant.

'But Liiisbon...' She didn't have to see him to know that he was doing that pout again.

'I don't have time for that, I haven't packed anything yet.'

'Come on, fifteen minutes won't change anything. And you won't probably see snow again for another seven years.'

'It's not even a proper snow, just a greyish melting mass.'

'You can't build a snowman, true. But a little snowball fight is an entirely different matter. Just think of all the fun...' He looked around, hoping to find something that would convince her.

He didn't have to - in that split second when his back was turned to her, Lisbon bent down, scooped up some snow and made a perfect snowball that a moment later landed on the back of Jane's head.

He spun on his heel, surprised, and started laughing. 'That's not fair,' he said. 'I wasn't looking!'

'That's too bad.' Lisbon shrugged her shoulders and flicked the snow from her gloves. She tried not to smile, but cracked in less than two seconds.

'Just wait, I'll show you a proper fight.' Jane quickly formed another snowball and started chasing Lisbon around the lawn.

She laughed and ran away. He'd been right, that was fun.

Lisbon hadn't planned to be spending Christmas Eve in the ER.

She was furious.

As always, it was all Jane's fault. If he hadn't insisted on that stupid snowball fight, she wouldn't have slipped and sprained (or broken, she didn't know yet) her ankle.

Now he sat there, beside her, with his blonde curly hair wet from melting snowflakes and his cheeks slightly pink. A goddamn cherub.

'You know, I should be already on my way to L.A.,' she informed him flatly.

Jane had guilt written all over his face. 'I'm sorry. I could drive you there, if you want.'

'No way! I won't bear six hours in a car with that.' She pointed at her swollen ankle with her chin. It hurt like hell, she hadn't got any painkillers, and the doctor disappeared with the results of her X-ray ages ago. Plus, she had an empty fridge and no option for Christmas Day. 'What's taking him so long?'

As if summoned by her irritation, the young doctor approached them with her test results in hand. 'Good news is, your ankle is only sprained, not broken,' he said without preamble. 'Bad news is, you will need a splint for a couple of weeks.'

Lisbon groaned. 'Is that really necessary? How am I supposed to work in the field with a splint?'

'Unfortunately, there's no alternative. I'd suggest sticking to desk duty for a while.'

If looks could kill, he would be dead already. Although with difficulty, Lisbon refrained from comment and let him do whatever he thought necessary.

He finished fifteen minutes later, gave Lisbon the discharge papers and the prescriptions and left them alone.

Everything was more difficult with the splint. Jane watched as she struggled to get off the examination table and put on her coat, at the same time fighting with the crutches.

'Here, let me help you,' he said, jumping to his feet.

'I'm fine,' she snapped, but he ignored her, as always.

Lisbon sighed and stood still as he buttoned her coat down. 'I'm sorry,' she said finally. 'It's not your fault that I'm such a cabbage.'

Jane smiled and straightened. 'You're definitely not.'

She looked up at him. 'What am I supposed to do now? I'm totally unprepared for staying at home and I won't be able to do anything now. God, I'm even incapable of carrying a cup of tea from the kitchen to the living room!'

She looked so miserable that Jane almost laughed. 'I'll help you, don't worry.'

She shook her head. 'That's not an option.'

'Why not? Last year it worked pretty well. Didn't you like it?'

Lisbon smiled a little. Their previous Christmas together had been surprisingly nice. She'd been prepared for a constant fight about every detail, TV remote included, but had instead got a peaceful, quiet night with a friend. Oh yes, that had definitely worked well.

'Of course I did, and you know that. It's just... You already have plans, I can't ask you to stay with me.'

Jane waved his hand dismissively. 'It's nothing I can't cancel. Come on, I'm not taking 'no' as an answer.'

Lisbon considered it for a moment. 'Okay,' she said finally. Like she had a choice.

Jane grinned. 'Thank you. Let's go, shall we?'

Lisbon sat at the kitchen table, with her leg propped up on the chair, and cut oranges in neat cubes.

Jane had dropped her off at her house and went shopping. Her fridge was empty save for the lunch she'd planned to have before setting off, and you could hardly call pasta with olives a Christmas dinner.

('At least you have a proper tree,' he commented with a grin when they entered her house, and she could say he really liked it.)

After a quick inspection of the cupboards, Lisbon had decided to prepare a cake before Jane came back. She wanted to have at least that tiny contribution to the dinner Jane was planning to magic up.

She had already taken her painkillers and was in a slightly better mood. Sure, she was still upset that she wouldn't be able to see her brothers, but that wasn't the end of the world. She had called Tommy and apologized, and he'd promised they would come and visit her on New Year's Day.

She heard the front door open and shut and a moment later Jane entered the kitchen, hefting half a dozen of shopping bags. He put them all on the table and took off his coat.

'My God, Jane.' Lisbon laughed as she caught a packet of raisins that fell from the bag. 'Are you planning to invite the whole neighbourhood?' She started unpacking the bags, but Jane stopped her.

'Don't look into this one, or you'll spoil the surprise,' he joked and took the bag away from her.

'Should I be worried?' she laughed, and he could tell she was curious. 'Some of your surprises didn't exactly end well, you know.'

'Now you're hurting my feelings.' He pouted. 'Can't I even buy you a present without you being so suspicious?'

She was taken aback. 'But I already got a present from you.'

A few days before there had been a Christmas party at the CBI. They had exchanged wishes then, drank some wine with the boss, chatted with people they barely knew. Lisbon and her team had been the only ones that had had gifts for each other.

Of course, she and Jane had exchanged presents then, too. And there he was, claiming he'd bought her another present!

'I don't have anything for you,' she admitted.

He smiled warmly. 'I've already got my gift today.'

Lisbon looked confused, but didn't push him any further. 'What are you going to cook?' she asked, turning her attention back to the shopping bags.

'I was thinking of roast turkey with cranberry and walnut stuffing for tomorrow and marmalade ham for today. How does that sound?'

'A real Christmas menu.' She smiled. 'Perfect.'

'I'm glad you like the idea. I forgot about the dessert,' he admitted. 'But I see you've already taken care of it.' He pointed at the oranges and batter she'd prepared earlier.

'Exactly,' she laughed, grabbing the packet of raisins. 'It will be ready in no time.'

'All set, then. Let's get started, we have a lot of work. And after we've finished, maybe we could watch a movie?' he asked, drawing a box from one of the bags.

Lisbon laughed. 'Seriously, 'Love, actually'?'

'Don't you like it?'

'I love it, don't worry. But will you really voluntarily watch a romantic comedy with me?'

He flashed a smile. 'Of course. It's Christmas time, I have to be nice to you.'

'Does that mean I have to be nice to you, too?' she teased him.

Jane shrugged his shoulders. 'It's your choice. But remember, Santa is watching you,' he said, making Lisbon laugh again.

It was well after midnight when Jane and Lisbon finished watching the movie and turned the TV off. Preparing the perfect Christmas meal had taken them longer than they'd expected, and cleaning the kitchen after they'd been done was even worse.

Jane stood up and stretched. His improvised dinner was now a distant memory, and a pile of empty dishes on the table assured him that it had turned out pretty good.

'I'd better clean this mess, or Santa won't bring us any presents,' he joked, picking up the first few plates.

'I'll help you.' Lisbon threw the blanket away and sat up.

Jane grinned. 'And how exactly are you going to carry all that stuff while simultaneously walking on crutches?' he asked.

Lisbon shrugged her shoulders. 'I'll come up with a system for that, eventually.'

'By trial and error? I'm afraid you don't have so many plates. If you want, come and help me with washing them, you don't need two good ankles to dry the dishes.'

'Okay.' Slowly, not accepting Jane's hand, Lisbon stood up and limped to the kitchen.

Jane joined her a moment later, carrying a dozen of plates and two teacups on top of the pile.

'Be careful,' she warned him. 'I like these cups.'

Jane nodded, too focused to answer, and safely placed the dishes in the sink. He turned to look at Lisbon. 'How's your leg?' he asked.

'I'll live, don't worry.' She sat down at the table. Her ankle was killing her, but she wasn't going to upset him, he already felt guilty without it. She changed the subject. 'You know, Annie got engaged last week.'

'Really? That's great. Is she going to invite me to the wedding?' he asked innocently.

Lisbon rolled her eyes. 'I advised her against it, but she isn't going to listen anyway. She's coming to visit next month, you'll get a proper invitation then.'

'And who's the lucky guy? Do you know him?'

'His name's Ethan. I met him briefly, he seemed to be nice. But you know Annie - she will kick his ass if he isn't.'

Jane grinned. Annie, a beautiful twenty-year-old, with a firm opinion on every subject and her heart set on police academy, wasn't exactly what you would call a sweet girl. But she was sharp as a tack, honest and loyal - just like her aunt - and she deserved the best man in the world.

Lisbon's phone rang. She glanced at the screen and smiled. 'Speak of the devil,' she said.

Jane took the cloth from her. 'Have some girls' talk, I'll finish the washing-up.'

'Thanks.' She stood up and limped to the living room. A moment later Jane heard her chat cheerfully. Smiling, he went back to the dishes.

He finished the invidious work half an hour later. Lisbon had ended the call a while before, but hadn't come back to the kitchen. He dried his hands and went to check on her.

Lisbon was curled up on the sofa, fast asleep, with her sprained ankle propped up on the armrest. Jane chuckled and left the room, only to come back a moment later with a box wrapped in green elegant paper, with a nice red bow.

He placed the present under the Christmas tree and sat on the floor next to the sofa.

For a while he watched Lisbon sleep, her left hand under her cheek, her lips slightly parted, dark hair scattered on the pillow. Then he slid his arms under her thin frame and picked her up, careful not to hurt her leg. She stirred, but didn't open her eyes.

Jane stood still for a moment, a small smile playing on his lips, and when he was sure that Lisbon was still fast asleep, carried her to her bedroom.

He glanced at her face again. He couldn't understand why she was always so stubborn. Thank God she hadn't woken up. If she had, she would have probably kicked his ass with her splint for treating her like a damsel in distress.

As he climbed up the stairs, he smiled to his thoughts. He didn't like seeing Lisbon in pain, but thanks to that little 'accident' his Christmas was better than he had ever dreamt.

Actually, he could get used to it.

Lisbon couldn't remember the moment when she'd fallen asleep. She'd finished talking to Annie, and then closed her eyes only for a second...

She woke up when she sensed a movement next to her, but was too tired to open her eyes. A moment later she felt Jane's strong arms lifting her off the sofa.

She didn't dare move as he carried her to her room. She couldn't remember the last time someone had taken care of her, it had been so long ago that she'd forgotten how good it felt to be looked after.

Her perfectly planned Christmas had been ruined, true, but she wasn't going to complain. Jane had changed, was now more thoughtful and considerate, and she really enjoyed spending time with him.

He carefully placed Lisbon on her bed. She hadn't even realised how much she missed intimacy, how much she needed someone in her life.

Jane gently tucked her in, turned off the light and left.

Once alone in the darkness, Lisbon opened her eyes ans smiled, thinking about the man now sitting in her living room. She recalled all the good moments of the day - making dinner together, chatting about nothing, watching the movie, even that stupid snowball fight. It felt so comforting, so... homey.

Oh yes, she thought, drifting off to sleep again, she could definitely get used to it.