Disclaimer: See previous chapters. I'm still not owning any of it. :)
A/N: You guys are great with the reviews. I love them. I'm actually not used to this many. My other fic is in a smaller fandom so I'm lucky to get one review a chapter. I still love writing it though. I stick to stories until they are finished so you don't have to worry about me forgetting this one. :) Again all mistakes are my own. Oh if any of you like Bones fiction I suggest reading NellietheItalianOne's works. She is really good. The story Ultimate Healing is the BEST!!
The feeling of something warm and wet trickling down her face was the first thing Teresa Lisbon noticed. The second was that her head was resting against the steering wheel. The deflated airbag being the only thing between her face and the hard surface -- probably the only reason she was still alive. At first confusion invaded her mind, but the events of what had happened returned rather quickly. Forcing her eyes to open she slowly sat back in the seat. It hurt to move but she needed to see if Jane was alive. The sight of him lying there with his head facing the window made it look like he was just sleeping. Raising her arm to shake his shoulder proved to be a lot more work than she had thought. Pain shot through her like a red hot poker burning into her body leaving no doubt in her mind that her right arm would be out of commission for awhile. A few tears managed to make their way down her cheeks as she tried her hardest not to cry out. Unbuckling the seat belt with her left hand she turned herself around and gently touched his arm.
"Jane?" He didn't move, not even a flinch. Her heart was racing in fear. She didn't want to be alone out here, but more importantly she didn't want to lose him. Shaking his arm with more force she tried again. Louder this time. "Jane?" Relief flooded her from head to toe when she heard him groan. Her eyes roamed over him checking for any serious looking injuries. Thankfully she didn't see any.
"Lisbon?" His voice was low, scratchy and pain filled, but she had never heard anything more beautiful.
"Oh thank God you're alive. Are you hurt?" Letting out another groan he turned his head to meet her worried face. Tear stains down both cheeks and blood seeping from a gash on her forehead, and she was asking him if he was hurt?
"I think I should be asking you that." Jane smiled weakly despite the circumstances and reached down to unbuckle himself.
"Just a cut. I'm fine." Noticing the close proximity between their bodies he couldn't help but wrap one arm around her waist and pull her to his chest. He'd blame it on the near death experience later, but for right now he just content knowing that she wasn't pulling away. He hugged her tighter just wanting to forget himself and was shocked when she let out a muffled groan against his neck.
"What's wrong?" She didn't want to tell him about her arm or he would just worry the whole time and right now they needed to focus on getting help. Rather reluctantly she pulled away and met his worried blue eyes. There was a bruise forming on his face, right below his left eye, but besides that she couldn't see any other sign of trauma. Granted it was still dark outside. He hadn't answered her when she ask if he was hurt, which she took as a sign that he probably was.
"Nothing." They both knew she answered too quickly in that defensive tone that really told you there was indeed something wrong, but he let it slide. For once, he decided to let it go until a more appropriate time. "I should call for help." In silent agreement they both opened their doors and climbed out, not knowing what to expect when they could finally see the damage that had been done. Jane surveyed the vehicle while Lisbon was trying to get service on her phone. The side view mirrors were gone, one tire was completely shot, the front end was beyond fixable and currently wrapped around a tree. Walking around to the driver's side he found the damage running along the back half.
"Lisbon?"
"Dammit. I can't get service. Try your phone." He took the cell out of his pocket and glanced down to see if he had any bars. No such luck. They were in a dead zone. She was staring at him with a hopeful expression that turned to disappointment when he shook his head. "Looks like we're walking."
"It's three in the morning and you're hurt." Jane knew there was something wrong with her arm. She'd been holding it close to her body since he regained consciousness but he couldn't very well be mad at her for hiding it when he was hiding his own injuries from her. His ribs were starting to ache and his head was pounding.
"I'm fine. Come on the road is back up this way." Fighting with her would be pointless in this situation. She was thinking that the sooner they got help the better which would be the case if either of them were suffering from an extensive injury they didn't know about. Internal bleeding for example. His legs were achy and stiff but he followed her nonetheless. As they headed through the wilderness her hand brushed against his sending a shock through his body. It brought back an interesting memory of her grabbing onto his hand when they were run off the road. Even in the dark he could see the flush in her cheeks.
"You grabbed my hand." Lisbon was taken aback by his seemingly out of nowhere statement.
"What?"
"Before we crashed." Maybe walking through the woods at night with Patrick Jane wasn't such a good idea.
"I don't remember." That was a lie, a terrible one. She knew she had reached for his hand as some type of comfort. It wasn't her fault she kept liking him more and more. It didn't help that he had held on to hers just as tightly.
"Yes you do." She cursed him in her mind for being such a damn good mentalist. Why did he have to be able to tell when she was lying? Quickening her pace she hoped to put a little distance between them but he matched her step for step. Getting close to him out in the middle of nowhere while her mind was fuzzy would not be a smart thing to do and yet all she wanted to do was just that.
"Why do you have to do that? Why can't you just leave it alone?" Jane had expected her to be angry, but she sounded more defeated than anything. That wasn't a good sign, especially since this was Lisbon. She was always the fighter. He counted on that.
"Why do you bother lying when you know I can tell?" He didn't want to be arguing about something so trivial. All he really wanted to do was pull her close and kiss away her every fear. Something had happened when he was unconscious. He'd seen his wife which was completely impossible but it happened and she'd told him that by loving someone else he wasn't loving her any less. You could always make more love when you needed it. He wouldn't say he loved Teresa Lisbon but there was definitely something there. Maybe it would turn to love.
"Touche." He could see what appeared to be the road ahead of them about a hundred feet. "Is it okay if I ask you something personal Jane?"
"Why are you asking if it's okay?" Moving a branch out of their way he let her go through the space first. It seemed like their car had managed to open up a pretty good sized path for them to follow.
"Because I like to get permission before I go digging into people's personal lives." The smile on her face gave away the fact that she was teasing. Flashing her his own smile he nodded his head and replied carefully.
"I'll answer if I can." She knew it was hard to get him to open up so just the fact that he said he would was a big deal for her. That meant she had his trust, something she was never really sure of.
"Did you play I spy with your daughter?" Silence settled over them as they continued they made their way up onto to the road. The smooth pavement would hopefully lead them to safety. After just a few steps Teresa started to feel a little awkward as the seconds turned to minutes and he still hadn't said anything. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked that. I just know usually kids play that game and you really seemed to enjoy...."
"It's okay. I gave you permission." He wanted to answer her. He wanted to finally open up to someone so taking in a steady breath he stopped walking and gently grabbed her uninjured arm bringing her to a halt. As soon as his blue eyes met her green ones a calm easiness settled over him. "It was her favorite game. You're the only other person I've played it with." He brought one hand up to her face as his eyes turned a darker shade.
"Jane..." She knew what was about to happen before he even started leaning forward. The hand that was caressing her cheek told her all she needed to know. As he got closer her heart rate increased dramatically, her cheeks flushed and her eyes closed of their own accord. She could feel him rest his forehead against hers careful not to bump the cut there and then he softly whispered against her lips.
"Let me see your arm." At first she thought she had heard him wrong but he proceeded to pull back far enough to very cautiously lift her arm from it's place at her stomach. How he even knew there was something wrong with it in the first place was beyond her. He was still standing intoxicatingly close as he peeled the sleeve of her red sweater back to see the damage. A gasp fell from her own lips at the sight of the swollen angry purplish red limb. "I think it's broken." He ran his fingers over the swollen area softly, trying not to cause her any more pain.
"Ah! Don't touch it." She pulled her arm back and ducked her head shamefully. It wasn't everyday she let someone she work with almost kiss her.
Jane would've made fun of her childish behavior but the tears in her eyes made him think twice about it. Seeing her in pain was not something he could deal with very well.
"Teresa I know your arm has to be killing you. It's okay to show it." His eyes were warm and caring. Letting her know it really was okay, but she didn't want him to see her so weak. Willing herself to suck it up she turned away from him after one last lingering gaze.
"We should get moving." Just like that their moment was over, but at least now Jane knew she wouldn't knock him on his ass for trying to kiss her. Tucking that bit of information away for later he fell into step with her once again.
a/n: Next chapter will be up soon. I'm trying to keep these updates pretty regular. :) ~Rina