A/N - WOW. These reviews though. Thank you so much! I've had one of the most mentally exhausting days at work today for various reasons, but coming on here is making me so happy. Seriously. Massive hugs to everyone.
I feel like I'm posting these chapters too fast... but I have so many fics I really want to finish so I can post them here for you guys. :)
Enjoy, yo.
She opened the front door. She needed him to stay. She needed him.
He was about to leave.
"Jane!"
It was music to his ears. The second her voice sounded, a symphony started in his brain. Somehow crystal clear, strong and loud, she had yelled his name out. It was the first word she had spoken since she'd woken up. The sound of summer rain; the crashing of waves; laughter; happiness. Her voice was so much more.
Somehow, as the words had gathered on the end of her tongue, her brain, for the first time, hadn't frozen. It hadn't stalled. It hadn't stopped her words - word - from coming out.
And suddenly, she had to say it all.
She ran out to Jane, aware she looked an absolute mess, but she didn't care.
"I love you!" she cried, her head buzzing, her lungs full.
He looked at her like a deer in headlights, now the one who was lost for words.
"I love you, for God's sake! I love you, and only you. I love you because of Blue Birds, I love you because of orange blossom ice cream and bean soup and pillow mints and fine pickles, and I love you because of broken blue teacups and because of your vests. I love you because you protect me and choose me over Erica Flynn and would do anything to see me happy. I love you because this," she grabbed his left hand, holding up his ring finger, "this, is our ring. I love you because you gave me my little yellow house and my two dances and because you don't need sylvan themes and because we're a team, and because you've saved me more times than I can count. I am completely and utterly in love with you, Patrick Jane, and you're what I need to be happy. I love you."
Five seconds passed, where Lisbon took a deep breath, her heart and head racing, and where Jane stood and stared, dumb founded.
But then he grabbed her by the waist, looser on her right hip despite the fact that the long scar that was drawn into her skin didn't hurt anymore, and pulled her toward him. He didn't stop to look at her, desperate, instead just dipping his head to kiss her.
She was shocked. She hadn't expected him to react like this.
But she wasn't going to complain. Somehow, kissing real-life Jane was even better than kissing Coma Jane.
Jane's arms slid around her back, pulling her closer, as Lisbon's hand wandered to his cheek. Even when she tried to stop momentarily for breath, Jane barely let her go, drawing her in tighter still. He didn't want to let go of her, didn't want to lose her. She was beautiful and all he ever wanted and they were kissing each other and were finally together, so he couldn't let her go.
But he had to control himself. His kisses became softer, less mind-blowing and more affectionate and touching, and he steadied his breathing as best he could.
"I have no clue what the hell any of what you said means," he said softly, faces still so tantalisingly close together, "but I do know that I love you. I know that I love you too and you're my best friend, and my everything, and I lied, because even if you're happy, I can't be happy if you're not here." He kissed her again, before pulling her into a hug.
They stood there, in the light breeze of the day, both regaining their breath and coming to terms with what had just happened. Jane realised that tears of happiness were running down his face; a ridiculous amount of good things had just happened, and saying that he was over the moon was an understatement.
He sniffed, and moved his arms back to her waist. "Can we go inside and talk about this?" he asked, raising a hand to play with the strings of her hoodie. Talk! She could finally talk!
Lisbon nodded, smiling shyly. "It's complicated." She brushed away his tears.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Lucky I've got nowhere to be, huh?"
"So you're telling me… we got married? And you were pregnant?"
"Talk about moving fast, right?" She wiped away a few of her own tears this time. She'd just told Jane all about what had happened during her coma. It had taken a long time, considering, at one point, she hadn't been able to speak again, and had to write out her thoughts. And it still hurt. She had left a few parts out, like more about his CBI teacup birthday gift, and about just how exactly he'd proposed. She wanted to keep something to herself, a few private memories of her favourite moments.
"So that's why you were so weird around Pike," Jane pondered, remembering how Lisbon wouldn't even look at him, and eventually stopped allowing him into her hospital room. She had promised Jane that after she was out of hospital, she would apologise and go to DC with Pike; but, as luck would have it, it was a false promise the entire time. He added, "I can see the logic behind this entire facade, though."
"What do you mean?"
Jane sipped on the tea Lisbon had made him. "I know that I, most likely, would have followed you to the airport, like in your coma. I don't think I could have let you leave. And I think you kinda knew it, too."
She nodded, tracing patterns on the dining table. "It's just… so confusing. Everything I think I know is probably false. Including everything I think I know about you. My head constantly feels foggy."
He got up from his seat, walking over to crouch down next to Lisbon. "I want you to stop worrying, Teresa." He grabbed her hand. "I'm the one who has catching up to do."
"I know, but-"
"Stop." Jane pulled her from her seat. "I want to make this easier for you." He held her chin up so that they were looking eye to eye. "I don't care how long it takes, or how many times you ask me something or get confused. Ask me what you think you know about me, and I'll tell you if it's true or not."
Lisbon looked at him, caught in the gaze of his eyes. "Did you know that I really love you?"
Laughing, he kissed her. "So I've heard."
She decided to start off small. "True or false - you still own your vests."
He looked at her strangely. "True, but I don't see what this has to do with-"
"This is leading somewhere. True or false - if I, by chance, said that I liked your vests, would you, perhaps, start wearing them again? For me?"
"Is that a trick question?"
"I like the vests."
"Yeah… we'll see."
A little surge of courage ran through her. "True or false - you think I'm ticklish."
"False. I know you're ticklish."
"I am not!" However, a simple poke in the side was all Lisbon needed to twitch. She rolled her eyes at him, but then bit her lip. "True or false -"
A/N #2 - As you can tell, I love fluff. Also, Lisbon's monologue is probably one of my favourite things I've ever written.
