A/N: So I know I said I'd post all my songfics (thanks to kathiann superwoman1015 for telling me what these are called) separately, but this one followed Look At Us so well I just had to post it as a continuation.
The song that I do not own is L.O.V.E. by Nat King Cole, and its lyrics are paired with stories based on characters that I do not own from the Mentalist.
All these vignettes occur after the season 6 finale.
L
Is for the way you Look at me
She's never seen anything close to the look on his face at this moment. She'd suspected he cared for her, but now she knows she'd had no idea of the depth of his feelings.
She wants to see that look on his face again, only in a more private setting. Like, for instance, one where there isn't a security guard watching them and banging on the window?
O
Is for the Only one I see
"Teresa?" It's amazing, a detached part of her mind thinks, how she can go from comfortable to panicked in the blink of an eye. Even over the phone it's obvious in Jane's voice that something bad's happened. She takes a moment to calm herself, trying to speak in a reasonable voice.
"What happened?"
He chuckles softly. "It's all right. No life-threatening injuries. There was a pileup on the highway. Abbott and I were on the fringes, so the car's totalled but we're alright."
She's very impressed with herself that her Jane lie detector even works over the phone. "Don't give me that." She lets annoyance creep into her voice.
"Fine." She can hear his smile. "You're getting better at that, by the way. Well, we're not bad enough to be given priority. You would not believe how many people are packed into the waiting room. Uh, Abbott's got a concussion and a pair of sprains: ankle and wrist. I've got a few 'bruises and lacerations', to quote the nurse. And apparently I'll have a nice shiner tomorrow. I thought airbags were supposed to protect you!"
She lets out her breath. "All right, tell me the hospital, I'm coming over."
When she gets there, her eyes zero in on Jane with an uncanny instinct. He's a mess. His jacket is AWOL, currently serving as a bed for an eight-month-old baby, there's blood caked in his hair, and she can already tell that he's going to have two black eyes.
He looks like the best thing she's seen all day. She's so focused on him that she's right beside him before she realizes that Abbott's there too.
Jane notices this, of course, and grins. "May I introduce my boss Dennis Abbott." He leans over to Abbott. "We've been together two months, and she still can't keep her eyes off me. It's like she's never seen a man before."
She puts on the fiercest face she can conjure up. Only the bruises showing under his ripped shirt prevent her from smacking him. "Shut up."
V
Is Very, very extraordinary
"Hey, look at this!" Jane bends down, picks something off the ground.
"Did you find the bullet?" Lisbon looks down reflexively at his hand. She about jumps out of her skin. Crawling along his outstretched finger is a decidedly scary-looking bug.
"It's an alligator!"
"What?" Okay, her voice is slightly more shaky than normal.
He looks up, grinning widely. "Oh, were you scared?"
"No! I was expecting a bullet, that's all. It was unexpected." The bug is creepy. It's covered in black spines and coloured like Halloween.
"This little guy is friendly! He eats aphids." He looks down at the body of the gardener a few feet away. "I'll bet he was delighted that he had these in his garden."
She tries to back up surreptitiously, without attracting his notice. Fat chance. He's grinning at her again.
"There's absolutely no reason to be afraid. Do you know what he grows up to be?" She really can't express how much she doesn't care. "A ladybug!" He makes this pronouncement like it's the most extraordinary thing in the world.
And he may be right. She steps a little closer. That ugly thing (an alligator, she now knows it's called) becomes the ladybug we all know and love?
She looks up at Jane. Where would she be without him to point out the little things in life like this?
E
Is Even more than anyone that you adore can
She's got a few drinks in her, and she's feeling a little braver that normal. "Let's dance," she pouts.
Jane leads her to the dance floor, where a slow song is playing. She presses herself up against him as closely as possible.
He grins down at her. "Feeling frisky, are we? We could go home right now, if you like..."
She smiles herself, pulls away just a little bit. "Nah, let's dance awhile first." He's good, she'll give him that. She's sure no one else would have noticed his tiny gasp, and the way he froze, just for a second, to regain control of himself before making that flippant statement.
She sways to the music in tandem with him, secure in the knowledge that she is the only person on the planet who can rattle Patrick Jane.
Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
They're sitting on the couch, enjoying a relaxing evening. Lisbon loves these moments best of all, when they're just holding each other.
Her phone goes off. Uh-oh. Jane is not going to like the interruption. She points her finger at him in warning as she fishes it out of her pocket.
She answers with a crisp "Lisbon." It's Abbott.
She knows from previous experience that she'll get about a minute's grace before Jane gets impatient. Sure enough, at about the 50-second mark, the look in his eyes starts making her wary.
Before she can figure out what he's planning, he pulls her a little further into his lap and starts kissing her neck. She can't restrain a little gasp, before remembering that her boss is still on the phone.
"What was that?"
"Uh... I stubbed my toe. Sorry." She hears Jane chuckle. She digs her elbow into his ribs, and when he lets go, she runs for the bathroom to finish her call in peace.
She comes back down the stairs five minutes later, trying (and failing) to be properly mad. "I've told you not to do that! Is it just a game to you? This is our boss! What would you think if I did that to you?"
The stupidity of that comment doesn't register with her until after it's out of her mouth. Jane jumps all over it.
"Why don't you? It'd be fun!"
She snorts. "Forget I spoke. You'd just tell Abbott what I was doing."
"Well it wouldn't surprise him. He knows we have a sexual relationship."
Her eyes widen. "Jane, please tell me you don't talk about our love life at work!"
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don't break it
Love was made for me and you
It's hard to break the habit of a decade. Lisbon knows because she tries every day.
She'd always protected her emotions, but it got worse when she met Jane. He twisted her up, mentally and emotionally. Despite her best efforts she'd fallen in love with him. But she'd known they could never be, so she'd tried to expect that he would leave at any moment. And he'd proved her right time and again.
And now she just can't seem to turn it off. She still expects him to leave at any moment. She knows it's not fair, but for the moment she has to live with it. All she can do right now is make sure Jane doesn't know. It would hurt him badly.
So far it seems to be working. At least, he hasn't seemed to notice.
Then one day she wakes up in the middle of the night and he's gone. She knows he still doesn't sleep much, but this has never happened before. He always stayed in bed, watched her sleep. He'd said that she'd watched him sleep for years, and he needed to even the score.
She's well on her way to a full-fledged panic attack by the time she turns on the lamp and notices the note.
Dear Lisbon (it reads),
Take a couple deep breaths. It is important to keep up your oxygen supply when you're having a panic attack. Try to relax. I have merely gone to the bathroom. I'll be back in a few minutes.
Love, Patrick
So much for him not knowing about her issues.
She closes her eyes. Her heart is still racing. He walks back in at that moment.
"I see you got my note."
She shuts off the light and he crawls in beside her. "I love you."
"I know." She can physically feel his smile. It's his way of saying they don't need to talk about it right now.
She snuggles up to him. There's a long hard road ahead, but she knows he'll be right there beside her every step of the way.
They'll get through this, together.
L
Is for the way you Look at me
He wanders back in from the break room fifteen minutes later, a perfectly made cup of tea balanced in his hand. She's sitting at her desk, looking like she wants to rip his head off.
"JANE! Do you have a death wish? How dare you run off on me like that! Get over here now!"
He schools his features into a look of irreproachable innocence. "Yes? What?"
The look in her eyes would be enough to make the devil himself run for cover. "You know darn well what! Unhandcuff me from my chair this instant!"
O
Is for the Only one I see
He's been blackmailed into performing once again at the FBI fundraiser. Well, not really. Ever the showman, he thrives on the attention and the glamour.
Lisbon laughs good-naturedly and calls him vain for it. But her teasing is lighthearted, and he knows she's secretly delighted with his tricks.
On stage, he hauls up various rich volunteers and steals their money, making it appear in another person's purse. He causes assorted animals to disappear. He reads minds; promises to blackmail the mayor if he doesn't donate something.
Throughout, he watches Lisbon out of the corner of his eye. There are 921 people here tonight - but as far as he's concerned it's a private performance. He sees her trying not to laugh at the look on the mayor's face, and he's honestly surprised that he doesn't float off the stage.
He doesn't care if they don't raise a single cent. He has one goal: to see a look of amazement on her fine features. Forget these silly airheads - their approval doesn't mean a thing. He only sees the woman in the black dress, hiding from the spotlight at the back of the room. The smile on her face is worth far more to him than the thunderous applause at the end of his act.
He appears behind her, makes her jump.
"Great job. Too bad you insulted the mayor. I don't think he'll give anything now."
"Wrong. He's got a guilt complex. He'll give far more than he was planning to, to prove that he leads a blameless life."
"What's your guess?"
"He's sleeping with his brother's wife." He produces a bouquet of roses. Clichéd, sure, but he doesn't care. Love'll do that to a man. "May I have this dance?"
V
Is Very, very extraordinary
He wakes up with a barely perceptible start. Lisbon rolls over, puts her hand on his cheek.
"It's all right honey, just another nightmare."
He stares at her in disbelief. There is no way she knew that. At the CBI he'd gotten good at hiding the fact that he was having nightmares. If a bunch of wide-awake cops never knew, how the heck could it be so obvious now that it'd disturb her sleep?
"Mmm. Go back to sleep." He puts his hand on her back. She wakes up a little more, lifts her head. Her eyes seem to bore into his soul.
"Jane- Patrick. I'm right here. I'm safe. And I'm not going away." Her pale face is caring and understanding in the moonlight. He suddenly wonders about all those times she'd woken him up at the CBI when he'd been having a nightmare. She'd always had an excellent reason, but he's never believed in coincidence...
He has to ask. "You always knew, didn't you."
She puts her head on his chest, nuzzles him a bit. "Go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Obviously she doesn't want to talk right now.
He massages her shoulder blades. She's already ninety percent back to sleep. He can't believe it, but all the worry and fear resultant from his nightmare have disappeared.
This woman is truly amazing.
E
Is Even more than anyone that you adore can
"Hey, Grumpyjeans. Coffee's on the counter."
She falls on the offering like a starving shark. He grins at her. Making good coffee is a survival skill when you're living with Teresa Lisbon.
"Seriously! What do you do to this coffee? It never tastes like this when I make it. Did you hypnotize the coffeemaker?"
"Nah. The key is just to add an extra dollop of love and affection."
He'll never tell her about that expensive brand he gets that he hides in the back of the pantry. A good conjuror never reveals his tricks.
Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
"Jane, I can't take this. It's too much."
"No, it's exactly enough."
"Jane, I don't want a ring with a stone so big that I can't lift my hand."
"You say that, but I can tell you secretly want it."
"Jane. You're not listening. I want something small and sedate. What's wrong with tradition? Let's get matching gold bands. Nothing more, nothing less."
"It's not fair. You won't let me pamper you. I have all this money and you won't let me spend it on you! What am I supposed to give you? How am I supposed to show the world that I love you?"
"We're buying wedding rings. That's a pretty good start."
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don't break it
Love was made for me and you
It's hard to break the habit of a decade. Jane knows because he tries every day.
He'd always hidden behind his persona, but it got worse when his family was murdered. He couldn't afford to let anyone get close to him; they'd just get hurt or killed. And he'd been proved right time and again. He'd been so worried about Lisbon for so long...
And now he just can't seem to turn it off. He's still convinced that loving her will end in tragedy. He knows it's not fair, but for the moment he fights guilt daily. All he can do right now is make sure Lisbon doesn't know. It would hurt her badly.
So far it seems to be working. At least, she hasn't seemed to notice.
Then one day he gets shot. She holds his hand the whole way to the hospital.
When he wakes up after surgery six hours later she's sitting there beside him. She's been crying most of that time, although she's tried valliantly to hide the fact.
He hates himself. He let her fall in love with him, and now she'll be devastated if he anything happens to him... He never should have let her in.
She's glaring at him. "Don't you dare." He can only stare at her. So much for her not knowing about his issues.
"I know what you're thinking, and don't. I wouldn't want it any other way. I'm happy when I'm with you. So I refuse to let you shut me out of your life."
He reaches out, holds her hand tightly. There's a long hard road ahead, but he knows she'll be right there beside him every step of the way.
They'll get through this, together.
Love was made for me and you
Love was made for me and you