Sometimes it feels like this story is writing itself, but I won't be able to update as regularly anymore. As of tomorrow, I am back at work and I also need to put some time into 'Puppeteer', which has totally fallen by the wayside as this story has started taking shape.

Thanks for the reviews I've been receiving! If it weren't for them, this story would never have become a multichip!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story.

When it came to packing for out-of-town work trips, Lisbon believed in travelling lightly and efficiently. After years of cases that had taken her from the top of the state of California to the bottom and countless points in between, she had developed a streamlined system of carrying only the bare essentials. She had mastered the art of fitting two pairs of black pants, three tops, underwear and toiletries into a bag small enough to be taken as carry-on in an airport. So far, this system had been sufficient for her to be prepared for whatever the case had demanded.

But today, for the first time on record, her foolproof plan had failed her. Even though she'd brought a slightly bigger suitcase than usual and had been able to fit more in, not a single piece of clothing she owned was appropriate for the party tonight.

Her clothes, while practical and comfortable, would hardly endear her to the impeccably dressed people of the L.A social set, and the whole point of being undercover was to blend in. This party was a chance for herself and Jane to see for themselves the way things worked around here, make acquaintances, and really start working towards their goal. But if they wanted this to work, they had to look the part.

Lisbon had never been the girly-girl type and so it simply hadn't occurred to her to throw in a slightly dressier outfit, just in case. It seemed so stupid now.

What was she going to do? She and Jane were expected over at Annabelle's any minute, and she was nowhere near ready.

She heard the sounds of him walking up the stairs and after a minute, he called through the closed door of the bedroom.

"Ready to go?"

"Not quite," she said, hoping she sounded less panicked than she felt. Apparently not, if Jane's resulting chuckle was anything to go by.

Though separated from her by a heavy wooden door, Jane could picture Lisbon in his mind's eye, pacing anxiously up and down the room, getting more irritated with every passing moment.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here, and assume that you have nothing to wear. Would I be correct?" he asked.

Silence from the other side of the door. He gathered that meant 'yes.'

"Check the closet," he said, and headed back downstairs to wait.

Once his footsteps had faded away, she went to the closet and slid the door back. She gasped when she saw what was inside.

Unbeknownst to Lisbon, the clothes in the closet had been a clause to the plan agreed upon by Jane and Minelli in a brief chat when Lisbon had not been present. Jane, to whom this turn of events had hardly been unexpected, had managed to convince their superior that it might be a wise move to invest a few hundred bucks of CBI money into providing clothing for just such a situation as this.

She flicked through the garments, eventually stopping at one halfway through the row. She had no time for doubts about it, she had to just put it on and hope for the best.

Downstairs, Jane watched as the clock ticked past seven. They were now running late, and she hadn't shown any signs of being ready anytime soon. It seemed even Teresa Lisbon wasn't totally immune to the female trait of taking forever to get ready before a night out. His wife had been the same. Whenever they had been invited somewhere he had always told her the function started an hour before it actually did, so she could fuss all she wanted, and then they might have some hope of arriving at a reasonable time.

"Lisbon?" he called up the stairs.

He heard footsteps up above and saw the light on the landing turn off.

"You know, there's a difference between being fashionably late and just plain late," he said. "We're not exactly going to be making the best impression…"

He trailed off as she descended the staircase. Whoever of the rookie agents had been dispatched to do the shopping for this case, he wanted to shake their hand. The dress was black with a halter neck that showed off her shoulders, the skirt fell just above her knees and it fit her like a glove. She couldn't have put a feather underneath that dress without it showing. She was also wearing matching black stiletto heels.

His mouth felt dry as he watched her carefully negotiate the last few steps. He'd always known she was a very attractive woman, but he'd never wanted her as badly as he did right now. The hell with the party, the hell with the case, and the hell with the CBI; if it were up to him they wouldn't be going anywhere, except maybe back upstairs to the bedroom.

"I hate these shoes," Lisbon complained when she reached him, seemingly not noticing anything out of the ordinary.

He found his voice. "Shall we get going?"

"Just a second, I need my cell phone. I left it in the kitchen."

As she walked past him, he took the time to appreciate the way the fabric of the dress clung to her body as she moved. She returned a moment later, cell phone in hand.

"Let's get this over with,' she said, sighing, and lead the way out the front door. Jane followed her, wondering if she had always swung her hips in that tantalising way when she walked, and if so, why the hell hadn't he noticed it before?

Lisbon picked her way down the front yard footpath self-consciously. Ever since she'd come down the stairs, she'd been able to feel Jane's eyes on her. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. One the one hand, she was pleased that he appreciated all the hard work that had gone into getting ready, and what woman didn't get a little confidence boost by being ogled by a very handsome man like Jane? On the other hand, she knew she shouldn't be so happy at the prospect that he might find her attractive. It would only complicate things.

When they reached Annabelle's house, Jane forced himself with extreme difficulty, to stop gawking at Lisbon in her little black dress, and concentrate on the task at hand.

"You ready?" he asked her, hand poised to knock.

"No. Are you?"

"Not particularly."

He knocked, and instantly, the door was thrown open.

"You're here!" squealed Annabelle, who was clutching a crystal glass filled with champagne. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to turn up!"

Jane smiled at her. "There's nowhere else we'd rather be."

Annabelle giggled, blushing, and Lisbon rolled her eyes. As it happened, she could think of a whole lot of places she'd rather be: work, home, her favourite bar in Sacramento, yoga class, the bottom of the ocean…

"Oh Will," said Annabelle. "You're such a charmer! Rachel, you are one lucky woman."

"He's certainly one of a kind," said Lisbon.

"That he is," said Annabelle warmly, beaming at him and Lisbon felt the same frustration with her as she had this afternoon. Where did this woman get off, putting the moves on married men? As far as she knew, a ring on the finger meant strictly off-limits as far as flirting was concerned, but obviously Annabelle hadn't got the memo.

As her dislike of their hostess flared, Lisbon was shocked to realize that this wasn't the first time she'd gotten annoyed when another woman had tried it on with her consultant. She'd gotten the same sick feeling in her stomach, and the same sudden urge to reach over and slap Annabelle one. It had been easier to control when they working, as there was other stuff to take her mind off it, but now with nothing else to focus on, she could feel it building inside of her.

All this indignation over Annabelle's disregard for marriage vows, could it really stem from the simple fact that she was after Jane? If it had been anyone else, would Lisbon be quite this upset? She couldn't actually be jealous could she? She searched for another reason for her animosity towards Annabelle, anything at all.

"I love your dress, Rachel. I had one just like it a few years ago."

Her tone was pleasant, but the implication was clear. Lisbon seized on the excuse to hate her with great enthusiasm. Now she could pretend to Jane and more importantly, to herself, that her dislike of Annabelle wasn't that she was trying to steal Jane from her, and instead it was because the woman was simply a bitch.

The thought was heartening, and she felt herself smile. To her satisfaction, the action seemed to throw Annabelle, who had evidently expected her to be insulted by the remark and so quickly changed the subject.

"Well come in, come in, both of you. There are so many people I want you to meet." She stood back to allow them to pass and then they followed her through the house out to the garden, where people were milling around with drinks in their hands, chatting to one another or dancing under a small gazebo where a band was playing.

Parties sure had changed since Lisbon had last been to one. She was more accustomed to the type with loud music, plastic cups, and tequila shots, not that she'd had time to go to many as a teenager, as she'd been so busy. But every now and then she'd arrange for someone else to babysit her brothers and have a night out, with the two friends she'd had. For a few precious hours, she'd been allowed to forget about groceries, and gas bills and appointments with Tommy's school principal and guidance counsellor because he'd got himself into another fight and just enjoy her adolescence.

"Would anyone like a drink?" asked Annabelle.

"Sounds great," said Lisbon sweetly. "And how about you, honey?"

Jane smirked. "Love one."

"So do you feel like wandering over to the bar and getting us some?" asked Lisbon, keeping her eyes on her consultant, effectively shutting Annabelle of the conversation.

"Anything for you, my dear," he said and walked off, brushing past Lisbon as he did so. She felt goose bumps rise up on her arm.

"Come on," said Annabelle, a lot less pleasantly now that Jane was out of earshot. "I'll introduce you to some people." She stalked away, not checking to see whether Lisbon was following or not and eventually stopped in front of a group of three women sitting at a table.

"Ladies, this is Rachel my new neighbour. Rachel this is Lauren, Phoebe and Heidi. I'll leave you guys to get better acquainted."

She left.

The three women all smiled politely at Lisbon who nervously returned it, and they spent the next few minutes making uncomfortable small talk. Lisbon marvelled at the way all three women seemed to share one mind, answering questions in unison and agreeing with whatever each other said.

For the love of God, she needed a drink.

Thankfully, her prayer was answered almost immediately, when she spotted a head of blonde curls weaving its way towards her through the crowd. Jane appeared from the midst of it all with two glasses of champagne.

"There you are!" he exclaimed as he walked to the table they were all sitting at. "I've been looking all over for you." He handed her a glass.

"Why didn't you just ask Annabelle?" she hissed. "I'm sure she would have told you anything you wanted to know."

"Who are your new friends?" he asked, ignoring the previous question.

The one in the middle of the group (Heidi, as it turned out) took it upon herself to introduce herself and her companions, for which Lisbon was grateful as she'd forgotten which one was which the minute she'd sat down.

After the hand shaking and the standard enquiries about how he was liking the new house and so forth, Jane reached over and squeezed Lisbon's shoulder.

"I'm going to go talk to some guys I met at the bar," he said. "OK, baby?"

"Want me to come with?" she offered, eager for a reason to get away from the human female version of Huey, Duey, and Louie.

"No that's all right," he said. "Stay here and keep chatting."

Obviously, he wasn't getting the message.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked him. "In private?" she added as the Siamese triplets leaned forward with interest.

They walked away from the table to a seat in a secluded corner of the garden.

"What's up?" he asked, as they sat down on it.

"I can't do this," said Lisbon, flatly.

"Define this."

"This!" she said sweeping a hand around to indicate the entire garden. "Garden parties, and crystal glasses, and talking to people about stuff I don't even care about…"

"It's our job," he interrupted her.

"No it's not!" she snapped. "My job is going to crime scenes, and talking to witnesses, and paperwork, and keeping you in line, and giving evidence in court, and locking up bad guys!"

"Which is what we're doing," said Jane, calmly. "We're going to help get all that cocaine off the streets and throw all the people responsible in jail. What we're doing is important, Lisbon. Don't forget that."

"Since when are you so logical and righteous?" she said, angrily.

"Since my normally calm, rational boss decided to have a brain snap in the middle of a garden party," he deadpanned.

She took a deep breath and felt herself begin to calm.

"You're right," she said slowly. "I'm sorry."

He grinned at her. "Admitting that I'm right and an apology? In the same sentence? Would I be able to get that in writing?"

In spite of herself, she laughed. He joined in.

"I'm out of my depth here," she said a few minutes later.

"Me too."

"But you're so good at all this stuff," she said.

"I had lots of practice in my old psychic days. Spinning crap becomes second nature if you do it enough" he said airily. "Doesn't mean I like it though. Makes me feel like a fraud all over again."

They sat a few minutes more, finishing off their champagne. It was peaceful with just the two of them and the moon above and the sounds of the party in the background. One might even go so far as to call it romantic, if the two people involved were romantically inclined towards each other.

Well, one was. The other wasn't so sure.

"We should get back," said Lisbon reluctantly. "God knows what they'll think we've been doing all this time."

Jane smirked, and winked at her. "I'm up for it if you are."

"Yeah, right," she said, smiling too.

"They're going to think we did anyway," said Jane. "Why put up with all the ridicule when we didn't even get to have the fun?"

"How is it you can go from being almost a gentleman to a total jerk in less than three seconds?" asked Lisbon.

"Split personalities," said Jane.

"You know," said Lisbon, getting up from the seat. "That would explain a lot."

They walked together back towards the lights and music of the party.

"You should dress up more often," said Jane, looking over at her in the moonlight.

"Sure. Next time we're serving a warrant I'll just make everyone wait while I nip into a ball gown and glass slippers, and instead of my gun I'll carry a magic wand," came the snippy answer.

"You know what I mean," said Jane. "Finish work at a decent hour and go out every once in a while. It'll be good for you."

"What are you, my therapist?"

"Nope, just a concerned citizen. You're denying the men of Sacramento a huge treat, my dear. Look at you tonight, you're a knockout."

But the men of Sacramento had best keep their hands off her if they knew what was good for them, he thought to himself. Patrick Jane didn't have much left worth fighting for, but what he did have, he aimed to keep.

She blushed. "Thanks."

"Will!" came the squeal from across the garden, and their peaceful moment was shattered. Annabelle came hurtling towards them, quite an impressive feat in the six-inch Manolo Blahniks she was wearing. Lisbon wished hard for her to fall flat on her face.

"Where have you been?" she asked him, ignoring Lisbon completely.

"We were just taking a walk," he said.

"Well come on," said Annabelle. "You owe me a dance!"

"As long as it's not the horizontal kind," said Lisbon, but under her breath so nobody could hear her.

"You don't mind if I steal your husband for a little while, do you Rachel?" asked Annabelle with a very forced smile. "I promise to bring him back."

"Not at all," said Lisbon, through gritted teeth. "Have fun."

Jane leant over and whispered in her ear. "Score one for you. See you later."

And he followed Annabelle over to the gazebo.

Lisbon walked over to the bar.

"Champagne please," she requested.

"Champagne?" came a voice from behind her. "You sound like you need something a lot stronger then that."

Lisbon turned around to see a young woman sitting at a table, with light brown hair and piercing blue eyes.

"What would you suggest?" she asked.

"Tequila," said the woman. "And lots of it. It's the only thing that gets me through these parties."

"So you've figured out the secret?" asked Lisbon.

"Not really, but I can tell right away that you don't belong here."

"How?" said Lisbon, a little defensively.

"Well you look like you possess more than one brain cell. That puts you way ahead of the curve."

Lisbon smiled. She liked this woman already.

"I'm Rachel," she said.

"Megan, but everyone just calls me Meg."

"Nice to meet you." And this time, Lisbon meant it. "How about that tequila?"

Meg grinned. "Now you're talking my language!"

Out on the dance floor, Jane sighed with relief as the song they were dancing to finally finished. It turned out that when people stepped on your toes in Manolos, it really, really hurt.

"You're a good dancer, Will."

"Thank you."

The band struck up a new song; a much slower one and he quickly extricated himself from Annabelle's grip before things got any weirder.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Thanks for the dance Annabelle," he said, just to be polite. "But I think I owe the next one to my wife."

He left her in the middle of the gazebo looking very disappointed.

Jane found Lisbon at a table near the bar and was surprised to find that she was smiling. Truly, genuinely smiling, the kind he loved to see on her face.

"Hey," he said as he came up behind her.

"Oh who's this, and where do I get one?" asked the woman sitting next to her.

Introductions were made, and then Jane looked down at Lisbon.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked. "The only way I could get Annabelle to leave me alone was by saying I was dancing with you."

"Fine," she said. "But why didn't you just tell her you didn't want to dance anymore?"

He shrugged. "I'm a coward. You're the brave one in this marriage."

"And don't you forget it," she said, getting up.

"As if I ever could."

I hope you liked this one. I wanted to do a little Jisbon fluff, coz I love it so. I hope nobody was OOC.