Making his way slowly towards her bedroom, he noticed the bathroom door open. A quick look inside showed him others small red dots on the toilet lid. Sighing in despair he made his way to her bedroom, finding her curled in a fetal position, fully clothed with her shoes still on. Jane was helpless with what he should do next. Should he really go away for two weeks, leaving her in that broken condition? Or should he call Abott right away to cancel and stay near her even if he was hurting her? Sitting on the edge of the bed he thought he would take a decision after waking her up.

Slowly his hand reached her shoulder and began to stroke softly her upper-arm, her cast making a barrier to his caress. Calling her gently he passed his hand then in her hair as she shifted. She turned to lay on her back, rubbing her eyes not knowing exactly what was going on and where she was. Still seated he smiled sweetly to her, full of concern in his eyes.

"Jane? What's wrong?... What happen? Why are you here?", she still was bogged in her sleep.

"Hey, everything is fine. Nothing happened, I... I just wanted to see how you were...", he paused for a second, "Oh Teresa, love, I am so bad for you... I ju... just don't want to hurt you...", his voice cracking now.

Even in the dark room, she could see the tears appearing in the corner of his eyes. She stretched her fingers toward his face, but her casted-arm being too far to reach its aim he took them in his hand and squeezed it lightly. She winced at the touch but said nothing. Taking back her hand, she sat up and hugged him, even though she was still mad at him, she couldn't stand his words. They stayed like that for a while until Jane spoke again.

"I need to tell you something but first you need to change, you're still in your day clothes...".

Standing up he helped her getting out of the bed and they both headed towards the bathroom. At the brightness in the room she squinted and he held himself to say anything about the new bloody scratches he could see on her face. He led her to the small commode, put his hand on her waist and lifted her so she could sat there. Rummaging through her cabinet he soon found everything he needed to heal her wounds. Positioned between her legs, at the right height, he gently wiped the bloody dots away. Very still she was observing him with minutia, the way his piercing blue eyes shone, his lips drawn into a thin line, his wild locks, his wrinkles, and the slight touch of his hand on her damaged skin. The love he was radiating gave her hope for the first time since their argument. She didn't dread what he was going to tell her anymore, and when he was finished with her face, he resume the same process with her hands. They didn't speak, they just breathed in unison. When all was done they stared at each other, eyes in eyes as if they were communicating their most inner thoughts, before they leaned at the same moment towards one another and kissed.

The kiss they shared was sensual, soft and deep, savoring the other one, just feeling every move of their lips and tongues. He helped her getting undressed, she helped him, and kissing they went to the bedroom, loving each other in a thorough, tender, fast existential way. Sleep came fast for both afterwards, all was quiet. Nightmares did came for Lisbon during the night, but not as bad as expected, for Jane would just hold her tighter and she would then calm down.

Jane awoke in the wee hours of the morning, his head on her chest. Raising his head to look at the gorgeous woman sleeping, who he loved so much, and he brushed her cheek hoping to wake her enough to tell her he was leaving.

"Hey beauty..."

"Mmm... Jane?"

"I have to go now... Abott called me earlier, he has an assignment for me in Quantico..."

"Uh... You're leaving?", the unsaid 'me' at the end of her sentence was loud enough for Jane to hear.

"It's just for two weeks, they need someone to teach some profiler's tricks. It won't be long..."

"Two weeks...", she sighed sadly.

"Come on it's not that bad... And we will call each other every day."

"Maybe... two weeks... I guess it will also give us time to think..."

Jane was glad she had come up with that comment herself, certainly it would have backfired if he had brought that up.

"I guess you're right... I'll missed you, you know?"

"I'll miss you too... You'll take care of yourself, no funny stuff, eh..."

"I promise. It applies to you too... I'm worried for you love. Promise me you'll take it easy, get enough sleep, eat properly and...", he couldn't finish his sentence if he wanted to avoid another fight, surely bringing up her daily gateway was no safe topic. "Just don't forget that I love you and I'm confident in us, ok?"

She nodded her answer not trusting her voice.

They stood up together, Lisbon in a robe looking at him while he was dressing up. After sharing a quiet and small breakfast made from tea, coffee and buttered toasts, Jane put his jacket on. Before leaving her home they hugged and kissed, whispering 'love yous'. Both went their ways, Jane towards a new experience and space to think, and Lisbon towards her bed for the time being feeling empty and hopeful. Two weeks was a curse and a blessing for both of them.

.-.-.-.-.

NB: Okay I thought I would make it much more angsty but... it would have been a bit too much. I don't like a psychologically weak Lisbon. I think she is strong and can live on her own, she doesn't depend on a man. Likewise she is happy to have someone in her life she can depend on if she wants or need it... That's also what I'm exploring, add to that the turmoil in her relationship with Jane... I'm having fun! Hope you do to while reading!
Thank you again so much for the support fav/rev! I hope you still like the story and continue reviewing it! I'm trying to answer the reviews but I'm really bad at it, sorry...