Hi guys, so I did manage to finish this chapter in time! :) I'm kind of proud of myself… Anyway, thank you all so much for all the lovely feedback on last chapter! It always warms my heart to know that you enjoy this story… This chapter wasn't exactly a piece of cake to write but I really hope you will like it! :)

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own The mentalist…

Chapter 11

The following Monday Jane couldn't wait for Lisbon to arrive at the CBI. He paced back and forth in the bullpen and dropping down on his couch when he heard the ding of the elevator. That had to be her since they were always the first two in the office. He was nervous as to what her reaction would be... He didn't lead himself to false hopes, he knew that everything wouldn't be just magically right between them again from a beautiful piece of jewelry, but he wanted to know what she thought. Did she understand his meaning? Would she accept it at all?

He crossed his ankles right as he heard her familiar footsteps approaching. He closed his eyes, hoping that she would stop and 'wake him up'. He imagined her pretty face leaning above him, her dark brown curls framing her face, then as she leaned down they would dangle in his face. And of course the earrings in her ear would sparkle like diamonds. But the first thing he would see were her breathtaking eyes… Maybe behind the curtain of her hair she would let him kiss her.

He had to be disappointed though when he heard her steps pass him. She didn't even falter in her walk towards her office. He cracked one eye open and saw her moving form, almost out of the bullpen.

"Good morning Lisbon!" he said, his voice intentionally a little rough. He swung his legs over the edge of the couch and peered at her. She stopped and turned back, but no greeting smile graced her features.

"Morning!" she told him with a brief nod and she was about to turn and continue when he stood up.

"Wait! Hey, Lisbon… What's wrong?" he asked sensing her bad mood and going closer. His eyes were soft and concerned as he regarded her, trying to figure out what was bothering her. He cocked his head to the side, taking in her face and posture. She was still half turned away from him and she had a standoffish look in her eyes. She was clutching her take out coffee cup with one hand and the other was at her side, playing nervously with the edge of her jacket.

"What? Nothing Jane!" she denied and took a step backwards, her eyes running over the bullpen to see that they were the only ones on the floor. She wanted to run the other direction but suddenly she felt his hand on her arm. Her head snapped down to it and she stared at the gentleness with which his fingers curled around her arm.

"Lisbon…" he murmured and she had to repress a shiver that run down her spine from his smooth voice.

Jane searched her face for long moments then his eyes traveled to her ear and his heart sank when he saw that she wasn't wearing the earrings. He met her eyes then and saw the desperation and apology in them. His fingers loosened around her arm as realization sank in. He dropped his stare and pulled his hand back from her.

"Jane I…" she started but was cut off when he looked up into her eyes. His crystal blue orbs were sad and determined at the same time. His hand that was holding her arm just a moment ago came up to settle on the side of her neck and before she could go anything about it he pulled her face to his and pressed his lips at hers.

She automatically closed her eyes when their lips met and even though she knew this was wrong she let herself forget it for a short minute. Then when his lips were starting to get more eager she put her free hand on his chest and pushed him away. She gasped as her mouth broke away from his.

"Jane you can't just… we can't… This isn't right!" she stammered and after one more slide of his thumb over her pulse point he pulled his hand back.

"Why?" he asked and saw in the way she averted her eyes that she didn't want to talk about these things. She just wanted him to let her go, she wanted to shut him out and run away.

"Because I have a boyfriend. Jane I can't do this…" she shook her head and backed a few steps away from him.

"Do you love him Teresa?" he asked and her eyes widened. He got braver from that and stepped closer to her again.

"Don't do this Jane!" she begged him, her face getting flushed from his closeness.

"Tell me you don't want it… Tell me you don't love me and I'll stop!" he said boldly and held her helpless stare. She opened her mouth and closed it again. Then she took a breath and straightened her back.

"I don't want it Jane! I'm with Derek now, and I'm happy… He won't hurt me and that's what I need right now!" she said and spun on her heels before he could react.

By the time her words registered in his brain she was in her office, behind a closed door.

She was afraid he would hurt her… He felt awful and decided that he needed to prove her that he would never hurt her again. That he would rather die than hurt her again. That he would do anything to gain her trust again.

In her office Lisbon leaned back on the door and pressed a trembling hand to her lips. She could still taste him in her mouth, she could still feel the pressure of his warm lips against hers. She felt tears stinging her eyes and she closed them, allowing a couple of drops to roll down her cheek.

She had to stay strong and resist him, but how the hell was she supposed to do it like this? She knew that on the long run it would be better for both of them to just stay friends, but every time he got a bit too close to her, every time he flashed her one of his glamorous smiles reserved only for her she fell for him over and over again. No matter how much he had hurt her, how he broke her heart into tiny pieces when he broke up with her, Lisbon couldn't help it…

She wanted to put that earring on today, she wished she could just wear it all the time. But she changer her mind at the last moment when she realized how it would look. It would look like she wanted him back. She knew she might be overreacting it, but she didn't want him to think that she was going to let him win again. She had decided that she would stay with Derek and she was sticking to that despite any trick Jane was pulling. She knew him, she knew that once he set his mind to something he didn't give up. But she also knew that Jane would back down if he saw that she really was happy with Derek. And even though she might be happier with Jane, she had to stay strong and reject him no matter what he tried. She would be happier for a while but then it would all turn upside down and all kinds of bad. Their problems won't go away in a couple of months and one of them had to be responsible. If not him, then her... If only for the sake of their friendship which most probably wouldn't survive another break up.

Lisbon pushed herself away from the door and walking to her desk she felt the pressure of the earrings in her pocket. She changed her mind in the very last minute. She sighed, thinking how long it would take for him to break her now so steady decision.

In the next few days there weren't any major developments in Jane's plan. He was thinking and waiting and watching, trying to figure out what would be the best next step. He noticed that Lisbon seemed to avoid him lately, not that he could blame her. She was most probably afraid that he would attack her with a kiss again. Which by the way was a very tempting idea after that morning...

But he had to make her change her mind about him. He had to gain her trust back, show her just how incredibly important she was for him. And sudden stolen kisses wouldn't exactly help his case.

When they got a new case, a murder of a professional poker player he saw the perfect opportunity. The case was like an open book for him but he had to get some proof for the team. And an idea popped up in his mind as he made his way to the elevator. He paused and thought it over then as he made up is mind he turned back and headed straight to Lisbon's office.

He knocked on the closed door and smirked to himself. Now, he was respecting her privacy... What a gentleman he became just for her!

"Yeah?" she called out and he poked his head inside.

"Am I bothering you?" he asked and smiled at the surprised raise of eyebrow from her when she saw him.

"Uh… no, come in Jane!" she said, waving him inside. He saw the confusion on her face as he walked to her couch and sat down. "Can I help you with anything?" she asked a little suspiciously.

"I just came to tell you that I'm going to visit the mother of our victim. Would you like to come with me?"

"I… No, I have work to do. But why would you go there? Is she a suspect?" she asked and narrowed her eyebrows. She reached for a folder in the top drawer of her desk and ran through the information.

"No, I just have a feeling she will be a helpful source of information!" he shrugged with a grin. "You sure you don't want to come?" he asked and couldn't keep the hopefulness out of his voice.

"No, I'm good…" she muttered and her eyes kept going between him and her paperwork.

"All right, I just wanted you to know what I'm up to…" he told her and stood up from the couch. He felt her eyes on himself all the way to the door and he knew she was wondering what hit him as it was quite unlike him to tell her his plans. But to get her trust back, this was the smallest first step he was going to take…

Two days later he had the case wide open. In his head at least. He already had a plan to catch the culprit but he had one thing left before he would swing into action.

He jogged down the stairs from the attic and strolled into the bullpen, looking around. VanPelt was typing on her computer while Cho and Rigsby were throwing a ball to each other.

"Have you seen Lisbon?" he asked them and VanPelt just shook her head, not looking up from her work. Jane looked at the boys who both shrugged. "You can stop the crazy searching Grace dear, I will have this case closed by nightfall." He added as he walked across the bullpen towards Lisbon's office.

"Oh yeah, sure!" she heard VanPelt's chuckle and the sound of the keyboard.

As he approached her office, he saw that Lisbon was not inside and he sighed. Where could she be?

He started for the kitchen, hoping that maybe she was just making a coffee for herself. He didn't even get there though when he already knew that she wasn't in the kitchen, it was way too silent.

He passed the kitchen and went for the bathrooms instead. He waited in front of the ladies room for five minutes and after that he only hoped that she wasn't in there…

Then he heard her voice, quiet and soft, coming from somewhere down the hall. He followed the sound and reached a door not far from the bathrooms. The sign on the door said storage and Jane paused in front of it. He pressed his ear to the door to make sure that her voice did really come from there.

He instantly recognized her tiny laugh and frowned.

"No, that's not right! Okay, I gotta go now..." he heard her words as he almost melted into the door. "Really! I love you too!" she said and Jane realized that she was hanging up the phone in the last minute. He pushed away from the door and sprinted in the other direction. He was turning the corner when he heard the door open but his mind was elsewhere. She said I love you too... Were she and Derek already in the 'I love you phase'?

Was he too late with all this gaining her trust back thing? Or maybe he only had a chance at being friends with her? He could do that, friends were better than nothing. But he wasn't sure he could contain his feelings for her forever... They were too strong and urgent, they would bubble up and break out of him one day. And what if she were already married to another guy? She would never cheat on her husband, not even if she reciprocated his feelings...

"Jane? What are you doing here?" Lisbon's question pulled him out of his thoughts and he realized he had been leaning on a wall just around the corner.

"I was...I was just looking for you actually!" he said, forcing a smile on his face. Lisbon raised an eyebrow, and a look of doubt formed on her face which he wished he could kiss away. But Jane knew that he couldn't make her every doubt about him disappear just with a kiss. No, Teresa Lisbon was hard to get and ever harder to win back when you were stupid enough to let her go. Even if you thought it was the best for her... He would have to work to get her back, but he was ready to fight, he was ready to work tirelessly until she was convinced that she belonged nowhere else but next to him.

"Why?" she asked and motioned for him to walk with her.

"I wanted to share my plan to solve the case with you!" he told her innocently.

"Really? Well, that's...um, nice of you?" she said but it sounded like a question. Jane knew what she wanted to say instead of nice, she was about to say unusual.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure it was his friend Mark... I just need one more test!" he winked, and she nodded.

"And what would that test be?" she asked.

"Well I would like to organize a little get together… Sort of a poker party?" he told her as they stopped in front of her office. Lisbon's hand paused on the doorknob and she glanced at him over her shoulder.

"And why are you telling me this? Is there something you need?" she asked and Jane felt slightly bad about the way he had treated her for years. He now saw the hurt that he caused her by his actions in her eyes and he hated himself for it. He should have included her in his plans, or at least the ones that weren't too dangerous.

"No Lisbon, I just thought you would like to know about it. And maybe join me…" he suggested and tried to make his words more natural with a small smile. She looked taken aback and she looked into his eyes questioningly. He held her gaze and tried his best to tell her with his eyes that he was working on becoming better for her. That she could trust him!

"I…Yeah, I would like to come with you!" she nodded after a second of hesitation and pulled her hand back from the door. "And tell me Jane, what kind of a poker game would this be?" she asked with just the hint of teasing in her voice and warmness flooded his veins. This was them again, teasing and bantering through cases. He missed it so much over the last few days and he was oh so happy to have it back, if only for a little while…

"You know me, my dear! Only the best and most rotten kind!" he laughed at her and knew that in that moment –just like so many times before- their minds went down the same path, remembering one particular time when he brought her to a poker party.

It was raining and they had to run from the car but Lisbon didn't mind. She was feeling sort of nervous even though Jane promised there would be nothing illegal about this game. She still had a knot in her stomach entering the club and she felt incredibly out of place. She glanced at Jane who grinned back and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. He greeted the bartender and the middle aged man nodded towards a table in the back of the room. She turned her head towards it and saw five men seated around it with cards on the table, smoke above their heads. She had to repress a snicker at the sight, it looked so much like in movies.

"That way Lisbon! You are going to love the boys!" he said and ushered her to the table. The men all looked up at their arrival and she felt self conscious from their intense stare. "Gentlemen, it's been too long!" Jane shook hands with all of them, then stood next to her and she felt his hand at the small of her back. "This lovely lady is Teresa Lisbon, I hope you wouldn't mind her joining us for tonight!" he introduced her and she waved shyly.

"You playing?" asked a long haired man from the far end of the table.

"Yes!" she said as confidently as she could and let an amused smirk spread across her lips when she saw the surprised expressions on their faces. "What, you've never been beaten by a woman before?" she asked boldly and took delight in the approving grins of the men. She felt Jane shaking with laughter and when she turned her head towards him he looked at her with eyes that she could only describe as proud. He leaned in to kiss the corner of her mouth then pushed her in the direction of an empty seat.

"She's a killer when it comes to poker fellows, be warned!" he said and walked around the table to the last available chair right opposite her.

That night six men, including Jane had been indeed beaten by Lisbon over and over again in poker. She still didn't know how she did it, how she had gotten so lucky. She had a strong feeling that Jane had a hand in it, but he swore that he didn't do anything…

Jane laughed at the memory and saw that Lisbon tried really hard to contain a huge smile as well.

"All right, let's go then!" Jane said and made a move for the elevator only to be stopped by Lisbon's hand on his arm. Her touch was timid and she pulled her hand back immediately as he turned his head back to her.

"Hey Jane? Thanks for telling me this time!" she told him and he almost teared up at the gratitude that sparkled in her eyes.

"Yeah, I knew you would be up for a little gambling anytime!" he joked, masking his feelings with a grin as they walked to the elevator to catch the killer.

On the ride down to the parking lot Jane allowed himself to bathe in the small victory that he achieved this day. He was finally making progression. Slowly and without her noticing it he would win her trust back…

And this was it… I'm curiously waiting to hear your opinion about it! Please write me a few words in a review and tell me if you liked it! It would totally make my day! :)
I truly hope you liked it, thank you for reading and reviewing! It means a lot to me!
Oh, and I just have to mention the latest episode… I mean, woooaaah! I absolutely loved it, what about you guys? :)
Next chapter, as usual, in about a week!
Until then, xxx