A/N: Thanks for your reviews! We're getting close to the end now!

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

'Light years away'

Chapter 11

He had guided her through the house, not telling her why he had bought a family home. He left her at the bathroom, where she took a shower to wash the prison off of her. All that time, he kept guard outside, but he did it more for himself than her.

She emerged with rosy cheeks and damp hair. She looked at him for a few seconds, before walking over to the bedroom.

He followed her on her heels.

She fell onto the bed, but didn't move after that. So he approached the bed, too, scooted her up so her head was resting on a pillow, tucked her in and, without thinking it through, planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

That was when she decided to open her eyes.

He was so close to her now, he could almost look into her very soul.

"Thank you for believing in me and not giving up," she whispered. He shrugged. "No, it's not okay. You pulled through while everyone, including myself, had given up. I can't thank you enough for everything that you've done for me."

He smiled, and so did she.

And then suddenly, he couldn't hold back anymore. All these months of doubt, of suffering alone, of being cold at night, faded into nothingness with her face so close to his.

"I love you, Teresa," he whispered. Her eyes twinkled a bit. It made his heart soar.

Before she could reply, she fell asleep. He was there to hold her through the night.

~…~

Unsurprisingly, she started having nightmares a few hours after she'd fallen asleep. Luckily, he hadn't been able to catch sleep so he was there when she started hyperventilating, and he was immediately brought back to that one horrible night, when he'd heard her hyperventilating over the phone but couldn't do anything about it.

"Teresa," he whispered. She started thrashing with her arms, but he held them still, pressing his lips to her temple, hoping it would bring her back from her nightmare, or would make her nightmare a little better.

Sure enough, her thrashing and hyperventilating subsided until she was merely moaning her discomfort. Her eyes opened slowly, and they found his, although they were clouded by sleep. She clutched at his hands, in an attempt to no doubt show herself that she wasn't alone now.

A few minutes later, she let go.

"Have you been having them a lot?" he asked, seeing as that one night, she'd had a nightmare probably just like this one.

"Yes. Every night."

He closed his eyes. His poor Teresa, she probably hadn't slept all that much in the past six months, just like him.

"They wouldn't do anything about it at the prison," she admitted. "I already asked for help but they wouldn't give it to me."

He brushed her hair.

"Do you want to tell me what your dreams are about?"

"I think you know."

And indeed, he did. He'd had horrible nightmares after he'd killed Red John, too.

"I'm not an expert, but I think you might be suffering from PTSD."

She nodded.

"I wish all of this wouldn't have happened," he whispered. "You didn't deserve this."

She merely scooted closer to him and put her head on his chest.

~…~

With her insisting he sell her old house, he went looking for the most perfect new owners he could imagine. Of course, he didn't tell them about what had happened in the house, it would most likely make every person want to run away, loudly screaming.

But not them. The young couple was excited about every single part of it until they arrived at the bedroom.

The young woman, Jane guessed her to be 23-ish, shuddered. She turned towards him.

"What happened here?" she asked him, and he hesitated. He didn't know if he should tell her, but she was insisting. She reminded him of Lisbon.

"A man was killed here."

She gasped.

"Why?"
"He wanted things she didn't want."

"Oh, how terrible! How is she now? What happened to her?"

His fists clenched by his side. He still got so mad just thinking about all she'd had to go through. But still, he told them. All throughout his explanation, he could see they got angry, too.

"That's the justice system for ya," the young man, 28-ish, said. Jane nodded.

The woman's gaze dropped to his left hand.

"Is she your wife now?"

Jane lifted his hand, staring at his wedding ring. In all these months, he hadn't thought of it once. Now that they did, he was reminded of it all of a sudden, too.

"No. Not my wife."

The woman nodded. She looked over at her boyfriend and he nodded, too.

"Mister Jane, we'll take this house. I'm sure we can treat it with the same love as the previous owner has."
He wasn't sure of that, but he was glad he had found people who knew of the tragedy that had taken place here, but still loved it anyway.

Much like Lisbon had done with him.

A/N: Next chapter will be the last before the Epilogue! Let me know what your thoughts were, please!