Author's notes: Thank you all for your reviews and the lovely response to this 'tag' I hope you enjoy as Jane comes back.
Jane looks at Lisbon as though he knows exactly what she's thinking and he most likely does. He's probably guessed that there's something in the box she doesn't want him to see. She's hidden away the box of fragments so that even if he checks the packing carton she pulled out, literally from under his nose, when she remembered what was in it. The thought of him discovering that she'd kept the fragments filled her with horror. It would amuse him and how could she explain why, when she didn't understand herself. He's already amused, that twinkle in his eye, the mock show of surrender.
"It's okay Lisbon, there's something there you don't want me to see. I will respect your secret."
"Yea, of course you will!"
"Something connected with a past lover perhaps."
"See! I'm not playing this game."
She starts to walk out of the kitchen.
"Okay okay, Lisbon, no need to leave, I won't say anymore."
She stares at him, trying to judge his sincerity.
"I promise."
She relents at a flash of his smile, how's she missed that smile. She struggles to hold back the tug threatening at the corners of her mouth, so her growl can be more convincing.
"Okay, but one word, and there's no ice-cream when we finish."
"Scouts honour, lips are sealed."
She drops her purse on to the floor and drops on to the couch after her fifteen hour, successful day. Her tiredness a testament to how long it's been since she's really had to work. It was rare she worked more than the allotted nine hour days in Washington and the cases certainly didn't tax her brain.
She looks around the room, there are still a couple of boxes to unpack after being here a month. She smiles to herself. She managed to get a house. She'd expected to be renting an apartment bu when Jane left the detention centre he'd presented her with three houses he'd found up for rent in areas he thought she would like. He said it was the least he could do after dragging her away from Washington. This place was at a great price, just on the edge of suburbia so she could feel she'd left the city behind her, but not have a horrible drive into work, especially if she was out of the house by seven.
She lets out a sigh and stands up, she needs to get something to eat before it's too late, but first she'll slip into something more comfortable. On her way to her bedroom, at the back of the house, she shrugs out of her jacket and once inside she hangs it in the closet. She unbuttons her shirt and leaves it hanging open as she grabs a t shirt. She checks the pockets of her pants and her fingers brush against a piece of paper. She pulls it out, it's a scrap of paper about a third of an A5 notepad, one edge is rough where it's been torn free. As she opens it she recognises the familiar handwriting, a smile plays on her lips and she flops down on to the edge of the bed as she reads the words
'A menu from the fancy restaurant in the big city, where he planned to take you at the weekend, in which he's circled the most expensive dish they serve, to show that, where he's concerned, there's no expense spared.'
Her smile widens as she scrunches it up and throws it in the bin, it's a game he's played ever since he helped her move in, and the suggestions are getting more outrageous. She thinks back through the day, wondering when he would have slipped it in her pocket. She only saw him for a few moments in the morning and at the end of day briefing, as he accompanied Fischer all day. She remembers his hands brushing against her arms as he passed by to sit beside her. He's a talent, she never suspected a thing.
It's fun having him back. In a moment of honesty she has to admit it's more than that, it's getting a part of herself back that had gone missing and left a gaping hole that she wallpapered over with moving to a different state, a different job, a different home. It didn't work and she knew that with the first letter that arrived. She waited for each one, hungry to hear his voice in her head, grateful to know he was okay, He sounded lonely.
When Abbott summoned her to Houston, saying that Jane had returned, her heart leapt. On the plane anxiety took over, wondering as to the reason for his return and what the future might hold for him. She comforted herself with the thought that he must have come back voluntarily, so he must have a plan.
She remembers that first sound of his voice and the feel of his arms around her, holding her so tight, trying to get back what had been missed in the two years since they'd last seen each other. Then he was making plans for her future, their future, and she protested because where does he have the right, but then he was gone once more, taken away from her in handcuffs.
But he's back, with everything he wanted, including her. It was no contest, the three months he languished, felt longer than the two years. She didn't make it easy, she's proud of herself for that, but she was never going to refuse the job. She was never going to let him go, now that he was back.
Next chapter will be the move to Washington, and why did she keep them.