The Way I Loved You
Teresa's got a new boyfriend and she's happy. Isn't she? If she's so happy then why does she keeping think about Patrick Jane?
Oneshot songfic to 'The Way I Loved You' by Taylor Swift. This turn out at all the way I was expecting it to, but I hope you like it anyway! Reviews are loved! :)
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Teresa had met him on the job and had taken an instant liking to him. He was a lawyer, much to the disgust of the men on her team but they had the decency, and sense, not to comment on this in front of her. It had been a long while since Teresa had gone out with a man and her first date with Robert was surprisingly good. He had been gentlemanly, opening doors for her and pulling out her chair to sit on, and he listened attentively to her when she spoke. They had had a lovely evening and arranged to see each other again, soon.
Teresa went home and took off the clothes that constituted as her 'date outfit' and replayed the evening in her head as she got ready for bed. Robert was sweet and charming, and already she could see a future for them but there was something missing that she couldn't quite put her finger on.
It was when she and Robert had reached their three month anniversary that Teresa began to see what was missing from her otherwise perfect relationship. She had left the office a little earlier than usual but still the only person who remained there from her team was Patrick. He was sprawled out on his brown leather couch, his eyes shut and his chest rising and falling in a gentle rhythm. Teresa hoped he was asleep and sidled passed as quietly as possible to avoid waking him. The last thing she needed right now was Patrick's psychoanalysis. Especially as she was still managing to be running late.
Irritatingly enough, Robert didn't seem to mind it when she turned up late for their dates, or when he turned up to pick her up and she wasn't quite ready. To begin with it had been a relief but sometimes Teresa found herself wishing he'd be angry, and yell and then later they'd kiss and make up.
Teresa soon slipped into a balance in her life; she worked and she spent time with Robert. She was happy, at least she thought so, but she wasn't completely satisfied with her relationship. She knew she shouldn't take Robert's patience, generosity and understanding for granted but she still wanted more from him. She could see herself spending the rest of her life with him, marrying him; having a family with him but she knew this was taking the easy route. Teresa Lisbon had never taken the easy way out before at work or in her personal relationships and she didn't want to start doing it now.
Still knowing that someone would be at home waiting for her after a long, tiring shift at work was something Teresa soon got used to. At Christmas the two of them had spent the holidays visiting each other's families and it had passed much more smoothly than Teresa had expected. She was surprised at how much her family seemed to like Robert, bringing her more rebellious streak to the fore again.
A year after they had started dating, Robert took her out to a fancy French restaurant and in the lull before dessert, he had produced a small, green velvet box from his jacket pocket. After a moment of hesitation, Teresa had said yes to becoming his wife.
On their way back home after the proposal, Teresa had been called away on a case. A body had washed up on one of the local beaches and she set off straightaway, still dressed in her evening clothes. She had given Robert a swift kiss on the cheek before climbing into her car, and he didn't seem to mind at all that she was going. Teresa played the evening over again in her head as she navigated through the quiet, dark coastal roads. She'd wanted him to be pissed; to beg her to stay; to tell her to forget about her job for one night but he hadn't. She was sure that, had roles been reversed, Patrick wouldn't have let her go out without a fight.
Teresa chided herself for thinking of him again, she had spent too many hours wondering how different Patrick would have responded to the situations she and Robert found themselves in. She was engaged to the man now, but still she could not stop thinking about Patrick Jane.
She had kissed Patrick that night. As usual they had had a difference of opinion over how to pursue the case, regardless of the fact that Teresa was his supervisor. This particular time it was about his insensitivity towards one of the victim's relatives. Teresa had dragged him away from the others until they were standing at the far end of the stretch of sand, the only sound coming from the lapping waves.
"Do you realise how insensitive you were? That woman just lost her only daughter and her husband has only months to live!" Teresa had half-screamed at him, letting out all of her pent up frustration. She was pretty much certain this wasn't the way you were supposed to feel after being proposed to.
"Insensitive?" Patrick replied, his own eyes blazing with something that Teresa had assumed was anger. "You're accusing me of being insensitive, Teresa?" He rarely called her by her first name, she should have taken this as a warning.
"Well, you were." She shot back equally as angry now. How dare he talk back to her like this?
"You should know," He said coldly. "You are the expert. Stringing along some guy who's crazy about you just because you're too scared to admit your true feelings for someone else."
"What do you mean?" Teresa asked, meeting his eyes and realising that what she had previously assumed was anger had actually been desire. She had taken his face in her hands them, kissing him hard, nipping at his lower lip, their teeth clashing in the frenzy of passion. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."
Patrick took her hands, noticing the diamond ring on her left hand for the first time. "No, you probably shouldn't." He looked sad now and Teresa hated herself for this, knowing that he was probably thinking of his murdered wife now. "Is this new?" He asked. She nodded, unable to form words with him looking at her like that. "Well, congratulations Lisbon." He said, dropping her hands and walking away.
Teresa wanted to go after him; call to him and explain herself but she just stood there alone on the beach. The sand might as well have been quicksand.
Patrick pretended to be asleep on his brown leather couch when Teresa came into work the next morning, he had been doing that a lot recently, he realised. He sighed, giving her enough time to drink at least half of her coffee before he approached her. Although she had made the first move, he felt he should apologise. He accepted that some of things he had said to her had been out of line, but they had been true all the same.
"Lisbon?" He called softly, tapping lightly on her ajar office door before slipping inside the room.
"Hey." She smiled up at him from her seat at her desk. It didn't take a mentalist to notice that she was no longer wearing the engagement ring.