A/N: Sorry about the wait everyone. I was writing last week when my computer crashed and I lost a page and for some reason it took me for ever to want to redue it and also I saw this weeks preview and got all weird, the result being that this took me forever. Yikes.

Also, I didn't respond to anonymous reviews for chapter two at the end of chapter three because I was at Disneyland at the time I posted it and simply forgot. Sorry about that. However, I have now put responses to anonymous reviews for chapter two at the end of chapter three for those kind people reviewed and don't have accounts.

Finally, I had someone point out that there is another story called Post Red and that I should change the name of mine because it's confusing. If I do, it'll still be Post Red, it'll just have a tag after that. Just a heads up...

Chapter 4

It had been a good feeling, Lisbon conceded, seeing Jane's face when she'd left with Cho later that night. She'd seen him right after Cho had come into her office, taken her jacket from the coat hanger and had handed it to her. She'd gathered her stuff as Cho waited patiently for her and the two had walked out of the office to see Jane standing just out of the kitchen with his light blue tea cup paused half way up to his mouth with his brow furrowed. She'd had to suppress a smile as she waved goodbye to Rigsby and Van Pelt before heading to the elevator.

However, now that the two of them were sitting at her dining room table munching on several boxes of Chinese food, while discussing their case, she wasn't so sure it was that funny anymore. Cho was being deliberately avoidant. She much preferred it when he just said what was on his mind. She forced herself to listen to him while deciding that she'd have to weasel it out of him, or this was going to be a very unpleasant week.

"I don't think Max James' girlfriend is smart enough to have poisoned him with Cyanide or vicious enough," Cho said taking a bit of eggroll.

"Celia? She has motive though, so I don't want to rule her out all together." Lisbon agreed with him, but procedure was important and she couldn't count the number of times they'd been fooled by a clever performance.

He nodded. "So does his wife, Veronica," Cho said. "And I'd be more likely to believe she did it than the girlfriend. Did you see Celia? I wasn't in the interrogation room for more than a minute before she turned into a blathering mess—I hadn't even said anything yet."

Lisbon repressed a chuckle. She was pretty sure Celia had started crying because he hadn't said anything. Cho underestimated how intimidating his "Ice Man" routine could be. She grabbed the container with the chow mien and shoveled a good portion onto her paper plate.

"I think you're right, but I'll feel better about her after we've checked her alibi," Lisbon said as she grabbed several noodles with her chopsticks and dangled them into her mouth.

Cho grabbed the General Tao's chicken and started eating from the box.

"Stop that," Lisbon scolded him, pointing her chopsticks in his direction for emphasis. "It's gross."

He grabbed another piece and sat the box down. "Please," he said without looking at her while dishing a few pot stickers on to his plate, "you ate off of my fork after you stole it from me last week, when we were at that pub."

She scowled as she grabbed another container. The last thing she wanted to do was discuss how domestic that seemed. It gave her pause.

"What is it?" Cho asked, noticing her stop halfway through dishing out the Moo Shu Pork.

She shook her head lightly. "Nothing," she said glancing at him sideways. She sat the container down, grabbed her soda and took a nervous gulp.

"I think Jane was right about the wife," Cho said jumping back on topic. "She's hiding something. I know her alibi is solid, but I think we should check it out personally tomorrow."

She swallowed. "All right. So," she looked down at her plate and pushed her food around with her chopsticks, "what do you think about bringing Jane back?"

"It was a smart move professionally," Cho said before taking another bite. "He closes cases."

Lisbon rested her hands on the edge of the table. "What about personally?"

Cho sighed, sat his chopsticks down and looked at her. "Okay—if you can keep it professional."

She felt her brow furrow. "You don't think I can?" She grabbed the General Tao's chicken and plucked a piece out with her chopsticks.

"I think you'll try," Cho told her as she put the chicken in her mouth. "But he's in love with you…"

She chocked on her bite effectively silencing whatever he was going to say with her coughing.

"Easy," he said as he reached over and patted her back. He then picked up her soda and handed it to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said gasping. "It just went down the wrong tube." She took a sip of her drink and calmed her coughs.

"You good?"

She nodded then proved it by inhaling deeply. "I can keep it professional," she spat so unexpectedly she surprised them both.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "That wasn't a personal attack. Jane is very persuasive. He usually gets what he wants. If that's not what you want…?"

She shook her head immediately. "No."

Cho breathed out. "Then you need to have a plan to dissuade him."

She covered her mouth and coughed once more. "I have one."

He raised his brow. "Moving on?"

She nodded.

"Did you take the white dress with you when you went to Malibu, or did you leave it in your closet," he asked.

She pulled her chin back, hadn't been expecting that. "I took it," she lied immediately.

"So, if I go upstairs and look it won't be at the back of the closet with the tag still on it?"

She shook her head.

Cho stood up.

She grabbed his arm. "All right, all right," she hissed. "I didn't take it, but I am trying to move on. I swear it."

He sat back down. "How?"

She fidgeted under his gaze. "I stayed the night in Walter Mashburn's hotel while I was in Malibu."

Cho looked down uncomfortably and Lisbon had the urge to hide under the table.

"I didn't sleep with him," she said quickly. She hadn't meant for it to sound like that. She groaned internally. "I was hiding from Jane."

He raised his brow at her and she realized that she hadn't told him anything that had happened. It had completely slipped her mind. They were closer friends now than ever before, but they really didn't talk about their romantic relationships. And now she was talking about two men who she'd had feelings for with him and it felt like some parallel universe.

"Hiding from Jane?" He looked worried.

She shook her head. "It's not what you think," she tried to assuage his concern. Last thing she needed was for Cho to think that he needed to protect her from Jane. Especially if Jane was going to be coming back. "He was just Jane, you know how he is. He tried to talk to me and I didn't want to, so I went to Walter's room. But I slept on the couch."

She saw him visibly relax.

"I had a point," she told him. "Walter asked if he could take me out…"

Cho's brow furrowed. "He doesn't live here."

"He's down this week… for business," she lied quickly. "He's taking me to dinner tomorrow."

Cho shook his head, but picked up his chopsticks and the General Tao's chicken from in front of her and took a piece out. "He's not exactly Mr. Right, is he?"

She slouched. "No, but I like him, he's fun and I think that he's a good person to get me out of this funk I'm in. I might not move on with him, but I could see him helping me move on."

Cho looked her in the eye. "Just be careful."

She smiled lightly at him. "I will."

"You know Jane followed us here, right?"

She slouched dramatically. "I am a detective," she said feigning offense, "and he drives a baby blue Citroen. Not that it matters, I'm sure he knows we know."

"Yeah probably," Cho said after finishing off his eggroll. "Want me to stay the night?"

"No," she said indignantly. She felt her cheeks flame as he stared at her stone faced. Blast him. "Yes please."

"Relax," he paused and looked up at her. "You didn't really think my car was broken down, did you?"

Her jaw dropped. They'd left together because he said his car wouldn't start.

"I figured you'd want a buffer, but would be too stubborn to ask for it," he finished.

She glared then swatted him on the shoulder. "Subterfuge."

He smiled and reached for her noodles with his chopsticks. "You finished with that?"

"Jane, back off," Lisbon snarled at Jane as he followed her up to the door of Max James's home. She stopped and turned on him.

He held back a smile and pointed to the path. "It's a tiny path, Lisbon, and I haven't touched you once as per your demands. Be reasonable."

"Just take a step back and walk behind me," she ordered as she walked away from him once more. He did as he was told, but still stayed close behind her and finally allowed a grin to take over his face. So far it'd been a good day. He'd started it off by bringing coffee and donuts in for the entire team, making sure to let her know none of it was for her, had avoided her office couch, but had made himself very comfortable on the chair across from her desk, and had made sure to get close enough to her on several occasions that it'd be more than easy to touch, but never touched stating all was per her mandates in the office yesterday. She'd wanted to strangle him several times, but a lot of her frustration had been because he wasn't touching her, just getting close enough to drive her crazy.

Despite her irritation, he'd felt rather proud that he'd been able to get her to let him tag along with her to the James's home. Sure he was a master manipulator, but regardless of her complaint that a year had left her more in the dark about him than ever before, he was still pretty sure she'd have her guard up; she did know him better than anyone so she'd know what to look for. Besides, he didn't really want to manipulate her. Play with her maybe, but only in good fun of course. And it would only be good fun if she ended up with him, where she belonged.

He knew she was feeling bold after having allowed Cho to sleep at her apartment last night. She shouldn't have felt that way. He knew better. Regardless of what message she was trying to convey and despite the fact that there was a fairly substantial bet going in the office that Cho and Lisbon were sleeping together, he knew it was completely ludicrous. Cho would never sleep with Lisbon.

He and Lisbon hadn't done much talking the entire ride and what they did talk about was entirely case related. He didn't mind, it was all about baby steps. Still, he had to admit, his teasing her with "almost touches" was becoming increasingly bothersome for him as well. He had to force himself to keep his hands at his side as they walked up to the front door, and not bring a hand up to the small of her back. He decided he was going to have to come up with a way to expedite the process, because he really wanted to touch.

When she stopped abruptly at the door he slammed into the back of her and grabbed her waist to steady himself. He felt a chill run up his spine at their proximity and the feel of her hips under his palms as he breathed in the fresh citrusy smell of her. She stiffened. He dropped his hands and rolled back on his heels, half expecting her to turn on him with an angry glare and biting remark. He decided to head off her fury. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."

She pulled her gun and he grimaced before taking a step back. She didn't turn on him though, and that's when he noticed his surroundings. He peeked around her and saw her eyes fastened on the slightly ajar door. He'd been so focused on Lisbon that he hadn't noticed it was open as they were walking up. Granted it was barely open, but he never missed that stuff. She scooted forward with her gun raised and pushed the door the rest of the way open.

"Mrs. James?" she called. She stepped into the house and he followed. "Hello? Is anyone here? This is Agent Teresa Lisbon with the CBI."

"Uh, Lisbon," Jane whispered as they moved further into the foyer. "Don't you think we should call for back up?" She gave him a dirty look and he raised his hands as if in surrender. "I was just asking." Sure he'd been gone a year, but if his memory severed him correctly, and he was more than positive it did, open doors at the homes of murder suspects were never a good thing.

She pushed into the first door she came upon on the right and stopped. "Crap," she said as she moved forward and dropped to her knees. Jane moved in behind her and saw that she was kneeling in front of a female body. The woman was a little taller than Lisbon with auburn hair that covered her face, she was wearing a gray skirt suit and her head was lying in a puddle of bright red blood. Jane noted a candlestick lying on the floor next to the woman also covered in blood.

Lisbon checked for a pulse. She pulled a mat of hair off of the woman's face, then glanced up at Jane who was feeling decidedly queasy. Not unlike the first time he'd ever seen a body.

"Who is it?" he asked.

She sighed. "My primary suspect."

Cho and Rigsby circled the body, while Lisbon filled them in on what she and Jane had found earlier. Cho bent down to retrieve the candlestick and shoved it into a plastic bag. Jane thought of what he'd normally be doing at times like this. Probably making himself a cup of tea, and he should probably do that, but he was still feeling a little nauseous. It had never occurred to him that he had built up a resistance to dead bodies, and that a year away would affect that resistance.

"Death by bludgeoning?" Rigsby said as he looked at Veronica James's smashed in skull. "What a way to go."

Jane took a deep breath and looked away from the body. "Sorry Colonel Mustard," he breathed out in Rigsby's direction. "But Miss Scarlet was not killed in the library with the candlestick." His voice had taken on a decidedly cranky tone. Rigsby bristled, Cho and Lisbon ignored him.

Cho stood up with the candlestick, in baggy, in hand and lifted it for Jane's scrutiny. "How do you figure?"

Jane cringed away from the weapon that he could now see had what looked to be hair and brain matter clumped on it. "Guh," he forced bile back down his throat and continued, "she was poisoned just like Max. Her blood is cherry red and her skin has taken on a pink hue." He looked back at Lisbon who was now scrutinizing the body. "Both are signs of strychnine poisoning."

Lisbon looked up at him, right as he looked down at the body again, then covered his eyes with his hand. "You all right there, Professor Plum?" she dead panned then smirked when he looked up at her.

He smiled in return, then breathed out again. "It's been awhile since I've seen a body…" He just needed to keep breathing.

"You saw the pictures of Max James yesterday," Rigsby pointed out sounding confused.

He looked at Rigsby. "That wasn't in person. This is very different, I assure you," Jane said before waving at the team to follow him into the hall. He didn't miss the amused looks Cho and Lisbon passed each other as they went with him. Rigsby stayed with the body.

"So why two different methods? Strychnine is extremely deadly. If they'd already given her the strychnine when they went after her with the candlestick wouldn't that imply they were making sure she was dead?" Lisbon asked as she glanced between Cho and Jane.

"Or maybe one person poisoned her and another person, not knowing she'd been poisoned smashed her skull in," Cho offered before resting his hands on his hips.

Jane took another deep breath. "Hey!" Jane glared at Cho. "Enough with the smashed skull please."

"You sure you want to come back and work with us?" Lisbon asked in a less than friendly voice, filled with mirth.

"You really want to talk about this now?" Jane raised his brow at her. Cho looked away. She swallowed. "No," she said quietly.

Jane rolled back on his heels and looked her in the eye. She didn't flinch away even though he could see she very much wanted to—his feisty Lisbon. "Thank you. It was neither, by the way. They weren't trying to make sure she was dead and there weren't two killers. Whoever did this was hoping the latter would disguise the poisoning."

Lisbon pulled her chin back. "That doesn't make any sense," she said. "Why cover up the poisoning here, but not with Max James?"

Cho looked in the direction of the room. "Well, they had hoped the first would look like a suicide. A bunch of people watched him put pills in his water and then drink it right before he suffocated to death."

Jane smiled. "Excellent observation, Cho. And you're right, whoever did this didn't kill Max. It was someone else entirely."

Cho stared blankly at Jane. "I didn't say that."

Jane pointed at him. "But you would have come to that conclusion soon enough."

"Wait, two killers who both use strychnine?" Lisbon asked. "That's not likely is it?"

Jane nodded. "Not unless the second was a revenge killing," Jane explained. He turned then and walked out the front door. It wasn't a moment before Lisbon was at his side. He placed his hands on his knees and took one last breath before standing tall. "Lisbon…?

"I'll go easy on you because you're nauseous…" she started.

He made eye contact. "Finally."

She continued, "but I can't work like this. I know you've figured something out. So either share with the rest of the class or I'll tell LaRoche to find you another team to work with."

He sighed. He was no longer sick, just frustrated. He felt his brow furrow. "It's just a gut feeling…"

She placed her hands on her hips. "And if you were anyone else I'd let it slip, but you're not. You're Jane, and your gut feelings have led us to more killers than most cops detective skills. So spill."

He felt a broad smile cover his face. "Why, thank you Lisbon."

She glared.

"I'd be happy to tell you anything you want to know, Teresa, but I've told you before that if I tell you about every hunch I ever get, you'd get very annoyed," he explained.

"I'll tell you when and if it gets annoying," she told him in her angry boss voice.

He held back a smile. "It's just what I said. I think this was a revenge killing. Whoever did this thought Veronica was responsible for Max's death."

"That makes Celia… the girlfriend, a suspect again."

Jane lifted a finger to his lips and tapped them.

"Wait here," she said pointing at the ground in front of her. She then turned and walked back into the house as Jane moved forward and stood exactly where she'd pointed. A moment later she was back out of the house and walking toward him. "Come on, we're going back to the office," she said as she passed him. "Cho and Rigsby will finish up here."

"Yes ma'am," Jane said before doing an about face and following her with cocky grin. He stopped abruptly once again, this time managing not to slam into the back of her, when she stopped as a man came running up the path. Several uniformed policemen were chasing him, guns aloft, yelling at him to stop.

Lisbon took their cue and pulled her gun, aiming it at the approaching man. "Stop, sir," she ordered.

The man slowed and Jane was able to get a good look at him. He was wearing a finely tailored suit, had salt and pepper hair, was tall and skinny and looked harried. It was Max James's business partner, Harold Mead.

"Is it Veronica?" Harold asked as he stopping a few feet from them, but still looked up into the house. "Is she dead?"

The other officer's stopped as well, and Lisbon nodded at them.

"Sir, I need you to calm down and tell us what you're doing here," Lisbon said.

An officer behind him moved a little closer. "He just shoved my partner and ran past us," the officer said.

Jane moved next to Lisbon and saw her roll her eyes as she looked back at Harold. "Mr. Mead, what are you doing here?"

"Yes, Veronica James is dead," Jane confirmed than watched Harold's reaction carefully. He saw the anxiousness and anger mixed together across his features, and the way he was staring into the house with desperation.

"I knew it," Harold said under his breath.

Jane inched forward. "How? Did you kill her?"

"No!" Harold yelled, turning his attention from the house and to Jane. "Of course not. James and Veronica have been my best friends since college!"

Lisbon took her cue from Jane. "How'd you know she was dead, Mr. Mead?" she asked, gun still aloft. "We only just found out ourselves."

"I guessed," he said looking anxious. "I pulled up and there were cop cars everywhere."

"Ah," Jane said. "You killed them." Lisbon quickly glanced over her shoulder at him. "First you killed Max James, that way you could have controlling interest in the company?" Harold's jaw tightened. "Then you killed poor Veronica here, I'm not sure why. Maybe she found out what you did and you had to silence her. But not to worry the truth will come out eventually, I suspect."

The man's face dropped and he lunged at Jane, punching him in the temple. Jane vision went black for a second as he fell backward. When he hit the ground with a thud he saw Lisbon grab Harold's free arm and twist it behind his back, before pushing him to the ground and kneeling on his back.

"I didn't kill Veronica!" Harold yelled. "You bastard. I'll kill you!"

Lisbon clapped handcuffs on him. "Yes he is, but he's our bastard. If anyone is going to kill him, it's going to be me." At that she pulled him to his feet. "Cho," she yelled toward the house. As Lisbon read Harold his rights Cho came running out of the house and slowed when he saw Jane sprawled over the path and lawn.

"Jane, are you all right?" Cho asked as he ran up.

"Oh yeah," he sighed. "I just need a minute."

Lisbon shoved Harold toward Cho. "Take him back to CBI."

Cho nodded and gave Jane a wary glance before walking off with Harold. Lisbon came over and squatted next to Jane. If it hadn't been for the throbbing pain and stars dancing across his vision, he might have felt pleased at the nervous look she was giving him.

"Are you okay?" she asked after a moment.

He closed his eyes briefly, then looked over at her. "It's been awhile since anyone's hit me. I'd forgotten how much it hurts."

She chuckled. "Just like old times, huh?"

Lisbon had taken Jane directly back to the CBI and had led him into her office, before helping him sit down on her couch. She'd wanted to take him to the emergency room, afraid that he might have a concussion, but he'd refused and she wasn't in the mood to fight with him. Fighting wouldn't start a good precedence for there working relationship, if it was to continue, that was.

She'd left him there, in a hurry, to go see if Cho had gotten anywhere with Harold Mead, but the most they'd gotten was a request for a lawyer who had already arrived by the time she'd gotten back with Jane. They didn't have any proof of Jane's claims and were going to have to cut Mead loose unless Jane decided to press charges. She slouched, had had enough of Jane today, but knew she was going to need to ask him what he wanted to do. She went to her office, stopping at the kitchen for glass of water, pain meds and an icepack first.

When she stepped into her office, she was surprised to see the shades closed and the lights off, and immediately panicked when she saw Jane resting with his head against the back of the couch with his eyes closed. If he had a concussion falling asleep could kill him.

"Jane," she yelped the instant she stepped in her office and saw him.

He moaned. "Teresa, keep it down would you, my head is killing me."

She sighed, then sat the glass of water and bottle of pain meds on her desk, before turning on her desk light. He cringed away from it. "You can't sleep Jane, you might have a concussion."

"I don't have a concussion, just a headache," he mumbled.

She shook her head and went to sit next to him on the couch, breaking up the icepack as she went. He opened his eyes as she sat next to him, at a safe distance, but kept his head resting on the back of the couch. "Did you become a doctor while you were gone?" she asked.

He furrowed his brow. "Don't be silly," he said.

"Then stop diagnosing yourself. Here," she reached up and placed the icepack on the side of his face, none too gently. He hissed at the contact. "Sorry." She pulled the bag back and replaced it with a little more finesse.

She was expecting him to reach up and take the bag from her, but instead he leaned his head into the pack and closed his eyes again. He hummed lightly in his throat, as she supported the weight of his head and instantly felt a chill go up her spine that had nothing to do with the ice pack.

She cleared her throat. "Jane, I'm not your nurse maid…"

She saw a small smile spread over his lips. "Could have fooled me with the icepack, the pain killers and the water you brought for me. And I'm sure you'd look lovely in a nurses' uniform."

She ignored him and gently shoved the icepack against his head, just enough to jostle him a tiny little bit. "Take this, I don't want to sit her holding up your ego inflated head."

He chuckled and glanced over at her with a wicked gleam in his eye, while at the same time lifting the hand closest to her to take the icepack. He took the pack from her, but grabbed her hand before she could pull it too far away him. He dropped the icepack in his lap and grabbed her hand with both of his bringing her hand up to cup his face. She froze.

"Your hand feels better than the icepack." He made eye contact briefly and she could see that he was practically daring her to look away and she knew if she were going to pull her hand back now would be the time. But she didn't, she felt as though all her motor abilities had somehow stopped functioning. He shut his eyes and leaned into her touch. "So much better," he crooned and then he started humming softly again.

She swallowed the thick lump forming in her throat and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. This was exactly the kind of thing she was trying to discourage, and here she was passively allowing it, but it couldn't be helped. She knew the reasons why they shouldn't be together, knew he'd moved on, knew she needed to, but it felt good to have this moment. After a year of wondering where he was and what he was doing and if he was missing her at all, and if he was even still alive, it was nice to feel his skin under her palm, nice to feel the beat of his pulse near her wrist and to feel him breathing—so she indulged.

Today had been all to similar to before he'd left, even down to his obvious attempts to irk her—she knew he thought he was being clever. Maybe he was, because here she was sitting a person away from him on the couch in her office, with the lights low, the blinds shut, and now she realized that the door had swung shut as well, and she was touching him. Still, it wasn't likely that Jane had gotten himself punched to finagle this moment into happening. Then again, he was Jane.

Her brow furrowed at the thought and she remembered two things. First that he had said he'd come back for her, and if that was true, if she was his first priority right now, then it wouldn't be at all hard to believe that Jane had done this on purpose. Second was her conversation with Cho last night. It hadn't been a full day and already she was succumbing. She felt her lips purse and her hand twitch against his skin.

She was about to pull away when he unexpectedly turned his face into her palm and planted a kiss in it, nuzzling it lightly after. She stiffened and immediately found her voice in the same instant that she ripped her hand from his grasp. She saw his eyes open right as she stood up from the couch and made her way to her desk. She didn't stop until it was safely set between the two of them.

"Lisbon?" his voice sounded truly quizzical and she hated herself for her moment of weakness.

She decided to pretend nothing had happened and turned to face him after hardening her expression. "We don't have enough proof to keep Harold Mead here for the murders so we're going to let him go, unless of course you'd like to press charges?"

He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "We can't hold him over night for any other reason?"

"No," she answered.

His brow furrowed. "Yes, I'll press charges then."

She placed one hand on her hip. "What are you up to? I really don't think you think he's guilty, so unless you're just pissed at him for hitting you I can't see any other reason why you'd want us to keep him."

He smiled at her, then suddenly he looked very sad before he relaxed his expression. "I'm pissed at him. I'm going to have a throbbing headache for days."

She felt a small pang for him, knowing what he said was true, but also felt a familiar nervousness building in her gut. He was definitely up to something. "Whatever. Listen, I'm heading out soon, but tomorrow, headache or not the rules are in place again. And I don't want you sleeping in my office tonight." She felt her brow furrow as something occurred to her. "Where are you," she stopped short. She didn't need to know where he was staying.

He leaned forward and looked at her. "Yes?"

She cleared her throat. "Take a couple painkillers if you're head's still hurting," she said pointing to the bottle of meds and glass of water on her desk. He seemed disappointed. "And don't sleep tonight if you can avoid it."

"Yes ma'am," he said with a little smile. "What are your plans for the evening?"

She was irritated that he'd asked. Hadn't she told him that their relationship was to remain professional? Still, the answer might be just what he'd need to back off. "I'm going out with Walter."

She watched as Jane stiffened very noticeably on the couch and felt a mixture of pride and guilt.

"Ah, the competition," he said. "Relax Lisbon, I won't lecture you. You feel a need to prove to me that you've moved on, and who better to do that with than someone you were once intimate with. But don't think for one second that this news, upsetting though it may be, will dissuade me from trying to win you back. If anything it will only encourage me to try harder."

She felt her jaw tightening and her hands clutch into fists. "Of course you know I slept with Walter," she said shaking in her effort to control her anger. "You would, but you should also know that I stayed with him on Saturday night as well."

"I know," he said looking briefly at his hands. "I saw you leave your room and knew exactly where you were going. I'd hoped you'd come to your senses when you saw me at your door and remember what we had."

Her jaw dropped and she felt a sudden urge to throw her stapler at him. "We never had anything you egotistical jerk," she barked, "and even if we had you made it more than clear that it didn't mean that much."

"Teresa?" he said sounding truly quizzical.

She turned and grabbed her jacket from the coat hanger. "I'll let Cho know you want to press charges. Make sure you eat a good meal tonight and take it easy. I'm sure we have a busy day with whatever it is you have planned. And if I hear you stayed the night in the building, you'll be off the team instantly." At that, she turned and headed out of her office and in the direction of interrogation.

Cho pulled up to the curb in front of a gray bungalow with a pitched roof, white siding and shutters that he'd gotten to know fairly well over the last few months, and parked. After Lisbon had given him instructions on Mead and left, he'd stayed an extra hour before heading out himself. He'd planned on going straight home, but he could tell that Lisbon had been angry when she'd left and worried that Jane had a concussion, even he felt a little worried about that. After his talk with her last night he knew it was only going to get worse between her and Jane unless he said something. So he'd made the ten minute drive from the office to here.

He walked up the path and past the nicely manicured lawn and garden then took the steps to the front door two at a time and knocked. He placed his hands on his hips as he waited and looked down the street. There were lots of trees and a family two houses down and across the street were unloading groceries from the car. He smiled as a little boy who appeared to be about four or five attempted to retrieve a watermelon from the car that was nearly as big as he was. His dad came around the car just in time to stop a disaster.

The sound of a door creaking open brought his attention back.

"Cho? What a nice surprise," Jane said as he held an icepack wrapped in a towel to his face. He then stood back so he could come in. "I was just about to make myself a cup of tea, would you like one?"

"Sure," Cho said as he stepped into the living room and waited for Jane to shut the door. "You should fix that squeak." He pointed to the door. "I'm surprised you haven't already. Is the back door still squeaking too?"

Jane nodded then made for the kitchen with Cho at his heel. "Yes, all the doors squeak. I know Red John's gone, but I sleep better knowing my doors have built in alarms anyway."

When they entered the kitchen Cho took a seat at the bar as Jane made his way to the stove, pulling the kettle that was now whistling from the burner. Jane opened one of the white cupboards and pulled out two mugs then looked at Cho. "What kind of tea would you like? I'm having clover honey."

Cho sighed. "That's fine. Listen, we need to talk."

Jane put the tea bags in each mug and added milk to his own, but not to Cho's, before pouring the hot water over them both. He then turned and made his way to Cho and handed him his tea. "I figured. Should I call for takeout?"

Cho crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at the line of tile and hardwood floor that separated the kitchen from the dining area and living room. He'd wanted to be quick, but he hadn't eaten in hours and Jane still owed him for helping him sand and stain the floors. "All right. I want pizza, but not from the last place we ordered from, I want it from the one that delivers in the orange car."

Jane smiled and rolled back on his heels. "Excellent choice."

"And you're paying."

"Naturally," Jane said as he took a sip of his tea.

A/N: Okay, who saw that coming? Haha.

Anonymous Reviews:

Guest: Thank you!

Guest: I like Walter, not so much with Lisbon...ahem...not that I want to give anything away. Ha! I'm glad you're enjoying cho in this, all though there may be some mixed feelings after this chapter. Sorry for the wait!

Ilovetea: Your "morning lecture"? Haha! That was cute. As you'll have seen from this chapter, Jane definitely has his own ideas about the rules. Thanks for the review!

fmd-jade: Whoa! Such violence. All though if Jane needed a good punching I'm sure Cho would be happy to oblige. maybe I'll give Jane some slack though after this chapter. Haha! Thanks for the compliment. I do try so hard to keep them IC, so thanks for that!