A/N: Thank you again for your wonderful reviews! I'm thrilled at the reception to the humor in the previous chapter. I had such fun writing it. Now, another installment that I hope will surprise you again (in a good way, of course) and provide you with a few more laughs.

Chapter 5

Jane waited until Lisbon left her office before he attempted to rise from the floor. It was an experience best described as hellish, and by the time he got to his feet, he had used every expletive he knew, made up a few others, until at last he stood on wobbly legs, drenched in sweat from pain and exertion. He held onto Lisbon's desk a moment, wiping his brow with his shirtsleeve. He felt a slight scratchiness inside his shirt, and reaching for his chest, he withdrew Lisbon's crumpled check. He smiled a little despite his pain, and laid it reverently on her desk, taking a moment to attempt to smooth out the hopelessly wrinkled paper. Giving up, he left it there where she would be sure to discover it. After that kiss, he felt like he should be paying her.

Jane hobbled to the door, cussing to himself with each slow step. Thankfully, no one was in the hallway, so he made his way gingerly to the elevator, gritting his teeth against the throbbing in his groin.

Eventually, he made it to his car and back to his motel room. The first thing he did was grab a bag of frozen vegetables from his little freezer, stuffing them down his pants and collapsing onto the bed in relief.

As he lay there, his physical needs seen to for the moment, he could finally focus on the other traumatic event that had so recently befallen him. The Kiss. He had kissed Lisbon, and they'd both gone a little crazy for a few glorious minutes. It had been full of anger and passion and damned if there wasn't a giant helping of lust thrown in for good measure. All he'd wanted to do was push her down onto her desk, or onto the floor, or against the wall and end his years of celibacy in one swift stroke. Lisbon obviously had had other ideas.

He supposed he couldn't blame her for the punishment she'd inflicted upon him, but he couldn't decide if she was reacting to the kiss or to what she'd found out about Clive. He'd prefer to think it was a delayed reaction to having been lied to and used so callously rather than the kiss itself. More than likely it was a bit of both, but Jane had been so shaken up himself that he could see why Lisbon had needed an outlet for her frustration and fear. While he wished his genitalia had not had to be the prime target (whatever happened to a good old-fashioned punch in the nose?), he knew he deserved it for the Clive situation, but not for the kiss. That, he couldn't find in his heart to be sorry for.

Even now he could still taste the sweetness of her sugared morning coffee on his tongue, could still feel the warmth of her smooth lips, the sensual way they molded to his. He gasped a little as his body twitched in remembrance and pain beneath the frozen peas. Kissing Lisbon had been a revelation—not only because now he knew he could still have that kind of physical reaction to a woman, but that the woman happened to be Teresa Lisbon.

His ringing cell phone made him jump in surprise, then made his hear pick up speed at the thought that it might be Lisbon on the other end. He was disappointed.

"Nice try getting me out of the picture, Patty," said Clive without preamble. "But ultimately, you failed again. She's going out with me tonight."

"What?" Jane's mind was racing. Was Clive just messing with him now? Lisbon knew the truth about him, so why would she go out with a conman again? He chose to play along anyway, to see if his old partner might reveal the truth.

"Yeah, Agent Lisbon and I will be doing some mutual investigating, if you know what I mean."

"I find that hard to believe," Jane replied, because it was true. "I still don't get what you want from her," he pressed.

"Just a few…favors," he said cryptically. "Well, have a great day, old pal. I know I will." He broke the connection and Jane stared at his phone. He was about to call Lisbon before he lost his nerve when a knock came on his door. He was tempted to ignore it, but he so seldom had any visitors…

He pulled the frozen food from his pants and tossed it in the sink, then limped his way to the door. He saw the concerned face of Lisbon through the peephole, and for a moment he was too paralyzed by fear to open the door. He dropped his forehead gently to the cold metal, closing his eyes tightly against the renewed onslaught of conflicting emotions.

"Jane, I know you're in there. Your car's out front. Don't make me kick in the damn door."

She could do it too, he thought, and smiled. He opened the door.

"Sorry," he said. "I'm a little slower going this afternoon."

She blushed at his meaning, and his grin widened when her eyes drifted to his crotch, then rushed hastily back up to his eyes.

"Please, come in, Lisbon," he said in amusement, and he stepped aside to let her. "I was actually about to call you."

"Oh," she said, looking around the cheap room in what he thought was pity. His grin faded. He didn't want that from her.

"Yeah, I just got a weird call from our good friend Clive," he explained. "Seems you two are going out tonight. He wasn't lying, was he?" He nodded for her to sit at the small table in his tiny kitchenette, while he lowered himself to the soft comfort of the bed. Lisbon caught sight of the discarded bag of frozen peas in the sink and smiled to herself as she took a seat on the ladder back chair.

"No," she said, "he wasn't lying. That's why I'm here, actually. I got to thinking about what you said, that he wants something from me—besides my body, of course," she said, a flash of her usual humor lighting her eyes. "If he's playing me for nefarious reasons, I want to know, so I can knee him in the balls too."

Jane cringed. "Yeah, well I think you've more than proven yourself capable in that regard."

"Too soon?" she asked, because he wasn't laughing. "Anyway, since the cat is out of the bag now, I wondered if you had any idea what exactly he's planning for me."

"I have no idea. We never ran any scams I can remember that were remotely similar to this one. I'm thinking it must have to do with your profession. I was the one to call him, remember, so he must have hatched this plan when he found out you were with the CBI."

"Hmm," she said. "He must need information, or for me to do something for him."

"I agree. He said something about wanting a favor from you. I don't like the idea of your going out with him to find out what it is."

She smirked. "I think I'm fully capable of handling myself."

"Maybe. But I don't have to like it."

She sobered and their eyes met, and each of them was undeniably thinking of their shared kiss.

"One kiss and you're awfully proprietary all of a sudden," she commented bravely, putting it out there on the table. He admired that about her.

"Maybe," he repeated. She flushed and his gaze upon her intensified. "I'm not sorry though, Lisbon, for kissing you. It was—"

"Good," they said together.

"Yes," she agreed. "It was. But it was foolish of us. We work together, and I'm pretty sure there are rules—"

"Rules smules," he mocked. "That's the trouble with you, Lisbon. You need to stop playing by the rules so much, have some excitement in your life."

"Ha. This from a man whose first date in five years was only this weekend. Have I created a monster?"

That is probably a good characterization, thought Jane, shifting a little when he felt himself responding to her voice, her body, the promise of her soft, pink lips.

Aloud, he said, "What can I tell you, Lisbon, you've broken the dam, or the ice, or whatever euphemism you want to insert. Now, all I can think about is the pain in my groin and kissing you again, not necessarily in that order."

Her eyes went round in surprise that he too was being so open and honest about this. She had expected that they'd both be evasive, that they'd at the very least agree to forget about it, pretend it never happened. She supposed they'd worked together long enough to know that unless they dealt with this, it might ruin their working relationship. Their personal friendship might go all to hell, but in the grand scheme of things, finding bad guys was much more important than hurt feelings. Wasn't it?

"Me too," she whispered, feeling a little disoriented by the brief flare of passion in his gaze.

He laughed suddenly, his eyes going quickly from arousal to amusement. "You are also thinking of my groin? Why, Teresa-"

"Shut up," she said, blushing again. "Look, I have a theory about all this."

"Oh, really?" He was amused at her attempt at logic in what seemed to him a totally illogical situation, but he was still incredibly interested in how she was going to explain this away. She gave him her familiar look of admonishment.

"Yes, really. We were obviously both frustrated and angry with one another—"

"I wasn't angry with you, Lisbon."

"Well, I was pissed off enough for the both of us. Stop interrupting me so I can get this out."

He mimed locking his lips and sat on the bed contritely, but of course the merry twinkle in his eyes overshadowed all of that. She sighed, but plowed on determinedly.

"Neither of us is used to being so physical lately with someone who isn't a murder suspect—"

He started to comment on that, but at her glare, he grinned and kept his mouth shut.

"What I'm trying to say is, it was a heat of the moment thing, an extreme overreaction to all the different emotions that had been building since Saturday night. We were just letting off some steam before either of us exploded."

He waited a few beats to be sure she was finished, then he raised his hand for permission to speak. She rolled her eyes but nodded her approval.

"Well, that's a very logical, well-thought-out theory, Lisbon. It does make perfect sense when you put it that way. But I have a problem with your line of reasoning."

"Of course you do," she sighed, and closed her eyes, one hand going to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"We've had plenty of fights in the past, and you certainly haven't hesitated to express yourself…physically with me before, though I don't recall our lips ever actually touching. No, this time, there was something more than anger there, so I think we should test this theory of yours."

She raised her head to look at him, ala deer in the headlights. "What? How?"

He smirked, but despite his calm, rational exterior, his heart was pounding double-time at the thought that she might call his bluff and allow him to kiss her again.

"You know how. We're not seething masses of rage at the moment, are we?"

All she could manage was a slight shake of her head.

"Then, come here and kiss me again Lisbon, and see if that's all there was to it." He patted the space beside him.

He watched the emotions play across her face, smiling inwardly when they seemed to range from fear to curiosity, from excitement to resignation. He tried to control his breathing when she sat beside him, the bed giving a little at her slight weight.

"Okay," she said, as if getting ready for a flu shot. "Let's do this."

She closed her eyes and puckered her lips slightly. Jane stared at her a moment, his momentary panic easing back to amusement as she waited for him to continue the experiment.

"Don't act like you're about to kiss your smelly old Aunt Martha. At least pretend you might like it."

Her eyes flew open. "How did you know I have an Aunt Mar—?"

"Everyone has a smelly old Aunt Martha. Just relax, Lisbon. I know you've done this before."

"You're right. Sorry. Proceed." She put her hands flat on her thighs and turned to face him, a blank expression on her elfish face. Jane took her impassivity as a challenge. He allowed his own face and eyes to soften, and he reached out a tentative hand to lift her chin. She blinked at him owlishly, and he heard the tiny catch of her breath as he closed his eyes and lowered his mouth to hers.

Their first kiss had been hurried and awkward, an insane mashing together of lips and tongues and teeth. He savored her lips now, moving his slowly against hers, reintroducing himself properly this time. His tongue darted out to trace the seam of her mouth, encouraging her to open to him, and she did, with a sharp gasp of welcome.

Lisbon's hands hesitated, then slid up his arms to his shoulders, and she tilted her head to allow him better access. He took full advantage and the mood of the kiss turned quickly from gentle and seeking to hungry and eager. Jane felt like he was drowning in her taste, her softness, her passion. He couldn't stop himself, not even to breathe, and he pulled her into his arms, wanting to get as close as possible to her beckoning warmth. He felt himself harden painfully and he moaned a little as his injured groin protested, but he did his best to ignore it, especially when Lisbon's small hands began roaming over the buttonless V at his throat.

Without thinking, he lowered her to the bed and lay halfway on top of her, deepening the kiss even further. His hands slipped into the silkiness of her hair, her intoxicating scent surrounding him, taking him to a hazy place of pure sensation, his sharp mind suddenly useless and empty of everything but her. Had Jane been thinking at all, he wouldn't have risked the irresistible desire to cover her body completely with his. Renewed pain suffused him as their bodies aligned, and he abruptly rolled onto his back with a yelp. He lay there helplessly, his breathing visibly raising and lowering his vest as he struggled to deal with the violent throbbing of both his crotch and his heart.

"Jane? Did I hurt you?" She sat up on one elbow and leaned over him, her own pulse pounding through her entire body, her head still foggy with passion.

"Yeah," he panted. "About two hours ago."

"Oh," she said meekly, but then she smiled into his face. "Talk about being hoist—or not hoist—on your own petard."

"Is that a commentary on my prowess?" he asked, eyes still closed, but a grin overtaking his pained expression.

"That remains to be seen," she said softly. His eyes slowly opened then, and he was gratified to see her green eyes still slightly dazed, her lips plump and swollen from his kisses.

"I guess we've soundly disproved your theory."

She reached over and absently brushed the blonde curls that had rakishly fallen forward on his brow. "What are we going to do about this, Jane?" she said on a tremulous sigh.

"I don't know, Teresa. It's all very…surreal. It's not like either of us planned this, you know."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that. It wasn't like it was one of my diabolical plans. If you recall, you're the one who encouraged me to put myself out there. Whose petard are we talking about now?"

She chuckled. "Why is it that everything you do ends up blowing up in my face?

"Just one of the many occupational hazards that comes with working with me."

They smiled at each other, both experiencing a mixture of emotions, one of which felt strangely like peace. Jane for one hadn't felt that way in such a long time that he almost didn't recognize the feeling.

"I don't know what I'm prepared to give you, but I do know what I want, Lisbon. I want more of this. I'm messed up about a lot of things. I'm obsessive to the point of blindness at times, and I know that I frequently make your life miserable." He laughed in a self-deprecating way. "I guess listing my faults isn't exactly the way to sell a relationship with me, but there it is."

Lisbon smiled, but didn't offer him any other reassurance. She felt like she'd just been given life-changing news, and didn't quite know how to process it yet. Everything was happening so fast that, despite how right it felt when she kissed him, she couldn't rely on her own judgment, especially when he was looking at her in adoration, his blue-green eyes smoky with desire.

"I don't know what I'm feeling here, what I'm able to give you either," she told him honestly. "I need to think, and right now, being here with you is not conducive to clear thinking." She moved to sit up, and Jane reached for her again, pulling her down gently to kiss her, devouring her lips slowly, seductively, giving her something that was sure to interfere with all that clear thinking she was planning.

He let her go reluctantly, and she stood, smoothing down her clothes as he gingerly sat up, grimacing at the soreness of his nether region.

"Did I apologize for that?" asked Lisbon, glancing at his crotch again in a way that made Jane flush a little.

"No."

"Good," she said with a superior grin. They both knew he'd deserved it for hiring a conman.

He smiled back. "Hey, what time are you meeting Clive?"

"You're not going."

"Yes I am. You need backup."

"You look a little out of commission at the moment."

"Lisbon," he protested.

"Jane," she mocked.

"You know I'll figure out how to find you, right? Save us both some trouble and just tell me."

She knew he was right, so she gave in reluctantly and named a French restaurant. Jane wondered how Clive had gotten reservations for the place on such short notice. He'd probably greased some palms with the very money Jane had paid him Saturday night. He felt decidedly cross at that thought. He and Lisbon briefly discussed their plan to con the conman, and she made him promise not to interfere unless he received the agreed upon signal for help.

"I'll see you there later," he told her. He moved to escort her out, but she held up a forestalling hand.

"Don't get up. You just relax and reapply those peas for awhile." Her mouth quirked with restrained laughter. "You'll need your strength later."

"Is that an invitation?" he couldn't resist asking, smirking back at her sudden embarrassment. "If that's the case, I'll step it up to Brussels sprouts."

"Stick with the peas…for now." And she winked at him before she shut the door.

A/N: Did their honesty surprise you? I've personally written (and read) other fics where Jane and Lisbon are either confused or run scared, or bury their feelings for each other after the first kiss, so I thought it might be a refreshing change if they were just honest with each other, in the spirit of their recent interactions on the show. But don't worry, just because they're being honest (for once) doesn't mean things will go smoothly.

I hope you liked what I did with this chapter. I'm excited about the new episode tonight, and I hope to have a tag for you very soon! Thanks for reading!