Shout-Outs: Lolly2222, fadedSorrow, Sarah Dinkson, In The Name, Annabella Prinx, SteelzSimz, AngryLittlePrincess, Wldwmn, & Jisbon4ever. . . thanks for the reviews you guys. Your support continues to floor me!

Chapter 5

He was in love with her, he realized this as he sat in her apartment parking lot. He thought he would have been able to control himself when he said he was her boyfriend, but he had been wrong, and now their game of pretend was boarder-line real. If he was being honest with himself, he would have said he had been in love with her for a while now.

Not that it mattered, because he knew the only reason she had asked him for help was because of his ability to turn out an Oscar-worthy performance.

Jane sighed and turned his car on, the last thing he needed was to get busted for loitering. Lisbon would be furious, and he would probably lose the good opinion of her family.

Not that that mattered either. . . this was all going to be over on January third. He'd go back to being Jane and she'd go back to being Lisbon. They would be co-workers and friends again. . . nothing more, and (hopefully) nothing less.

A male version of All I Want For Christmas is You was playing, and he changed it to a station that was playing jazzy, instrumental versions of Christmas songs. He needed to clear his head of Lisbon for the evening.

He needed to talk himself out of loving her. But the kiss from the night before was still burning his lips, and the way she smiled when he had danced with her while they watched White Christmas was all he could think about.

Maybe it wasn't too much to hope that she was falling in love with him. She had let all the things happen without complaint and all of the guardedness she usually possessed. Jane felt like a real barrier had come down between them over the past two days. He just hoped that, even if they were never a real couple, some things would never go back to normal. He liked the closeness he and Lisbon were sharing.

And even though he didn't really want to, he found himself humming All I Want For Christmas is You.

.

"Aunt Reese!" Damon shouted the next morning. "Your boyfriend is here!"

It didn't take Lisbon five minutes to show up at the door with a smile on her face. "Good morning Patrick."

"Good morning dear," Jane answered, kissing her because Damon was watching them with a goofy smile.

"Guess what!" The teenage boy said when they broke apart. "Aunt Reese made snowman shaped, chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast."

"I made eggs for you, if you haven't already eaten yet," Lisbon added.

"I'm touched Reese, you made my favorite breakfast. I didn't even know that we were at that stage in our relationship!" Jane said wanting to kiss her again, and this time it wouldn't be for show.

"It gets better," Damon said. "She's going to make blueberry muffins for dessert tonight. She says that those are your favorites."

Lisbon blushed. "Damon, go and finish your breakfast. Cold chocolate chip pancakes are disgusting."

"I get it. . . you want to kiss Patrick without me around."

"Something like that," Lisbon replied, sliding an arm around Jane's waist and resting a hand on his chest.

Jane hoped that she wouldn't notice how his heart started to race ever so slightly. He swallowed hard and kicked the door closed.

"Let's take your nieces and nephews to see Santa Claus today," he suggested.

"I thought you said that you didn't believe in him," Lisbon said.

"I don't, but I don't have anything against the gentleman either."

Lisbon fell silent, dropped her arm, and went back to the kitchen leaving Jane to follow her and wonder what was wrong.

He grabbed her by the wrist. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Nothing," Lisbon answered. "I just don't like Santa very much."

"Why?"

Lisbon was quiet, she didn't owe him anything. . . not an explanation or vulnerability. After all, they weren't going out for real. They were just staging a relationship, and because of that it excluded them from the deeper privileges of actual couples.

Still, inspite of these facts, Jane was determined to find out what was bothering her.

"Comeon Lisbon. . . you know you can tell me anything."

Lisbon released a breath. "Why do you always think that there's something wrong?"

Jane loosened his grasp. "So there isn'tanything wrong?"

"No," Lisbon replied with another sigh.

Jane decided to let it slide for once, because she obviously didn't want to talk about it and he didn't want to have to Heimlich it out of her either.

"Come on, your eggs are probably cold and rubbery by now. I'll have to make you some new ones."

Jane placed his hands on her shoulders and followed her into the kitchen. "No problem, we have all day. The mall isn't going anywhere and neither is any of your—"

"Hey Uncle Patrick!" All of the kids said together, grinning at them knowingly.

Lisbon ignored them and went to the refrigerator to get a carton of eggs. She was oblivious to the way he watched her move around the kitchen, making her eggs exactly the way he liked them.

"Thank you," he said when she was finished making his breakfast. "These look delicious."

Lisbon blushed with pleasure and dipped a napkin in her glass of water to wipe chocolate off of Ellie's face.

"Do you have a mall around here Reese?" Maura asked. "I need to pick up a few more gifts—"

"We were actually planning on going to the mall to see Santa Claus," Jane interjected.

Damon and Annie moaned.

"With the younger kids," Lisbon clarified.

"That's great!" Maura said. "Mind if Donna and I tag along?"

"No, of course not!" She answered.

"The more the merrier," Jane added, grabbing Lisbon by the wrist and taking a bite of her cinnamon raisin toast. "Besides, I'll need you to keep an eye on Reese. I still haven't bought her Christmas gift, and I don't want her to peek."

"Jane, er. . . Patrick, I thought we agreed that we weren't going to give each other elaborate gifts this year!" Lisbon protested.

"I know dear, but I changed my mind."

"But why?"

Jane grinned. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Well now I'll have to get you something too, Showoff."

"We'll help!" Donna said. "Maura and I know exactly what to get a guy for Christmas!"

"I do too, besides I've been getting Jane gifts for years!"

"Jane?" Ellie asked.

"She meant Patrick," Annie said. "She probably forgets sometimes, because she has to use his surname at work all the time."

"Thank you Annie," Lisbon mouthed.

"You're welcome," she mouthed back.

"Where are your brothers?" Jane asked as he finished off his breakfast.

"They decided to go out by themselves today," Lisbon answered.

"That's code speak for they needed to do their Christmas shopping," Damon said.

"Are you sure we should go to the mall then?" Jane asked. "We could wait until they get back."

"Oh they don't do malls," Lisbon answered. "They like to give us one of a kind gifts."

"They probably won't be home until much later," Maura said.

"Uncle Eddie was driving, so they're probably halfway to Hollywood by now," Annie added.

"Edward tends to get a little lost," Lisbon explained. "But my other brothers don't care, they say driving with him is an adventure."

Jane smiled, falling a little more in love with Lisbon and her family by the second. He was completely and utterly hooked, and it was all because Lisbon had asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend for a few days.

He didn't know what he was going to do when it was all over.

TBC. . .

Author's Note:

Next up, their trip to the mall. . . mmh, I wonder what's going to happen there. Stay tuned to find out. Also, we might have some Jane and Lisbon (not) pretending. . . and it'll be Christmasy, but without mistletoe. I just wonder what's going to happen.

Plus, I'll reveal the special gift that Jane's buying Lisbon. My sister suggested it, so I'm sure you'll all love it.

Holly, November 11, 2011_