A/N: Ah, my dear readers. This chapter, right here, is without a doubt my absolute favorite of the bunch. I think you'll see why, and I have a feeling y'all will enjoy it. I know I really had a lot of fun writing this one!
Thanks to Jisbon4ever, Almena, Iloveplotbunnies, 13 Jo, AngelOfDeath07, TeresaJane, and STVVGHPDWMfan for reviewing chapter five!
Chapter Six
Rrrring! Rrrring! Rrrring!
Lisbon jolts awake when hearing the sound of her phone going off, casting a bleary-eyed look at the alarm clock on her night stand. It's only 5:19 AM on a Saturday. This better be pretty damn important.
She tries to reach for her phone, but the arm draped lazily over her bare waist tightens its grip, impeding her progress.
"Don't answer it," comes Jane's voice, muffled against her shoulder and rough with sleep.
The more time they had spent together, the more difficult it had become to ignore their growing attraction to each other. One thing had inevitably lead to another, and they've been sleeping together for a couple of weeks now. Jane finds that the only way he can be sure his nightmares are just images conjured up by his subconscious, is if he falls asleep with Lisbon in his arms. And while she had been more hesitant at first, she certainly doesn't mind the company; she's had her fair share of dreadful nightmares over the past fifteen years, and it's nice to have someone there for comfort when you wake up in the middle of the night, screaming as you try to chase the bloody silhouettes out of your mind.
"I have to answer it, Jane. It's probably Minelli."
"Day off. Really early. Don't answer it." Apparently, coherence is not a priority of his at the moment.
"I know it's the team's day off, but we're also on call. That means I have to answer my phone. Now let go!"
"Don't want to."
"God, Jane! Do you have any qualities besides annoying?"
"I have many endearing, much more pleasant qualities." His attempt at a seductive tone is considerably hindered by how groggy he sounds.
"Oh, please. I'll believe that when I see it," she scoffs. "Now let go of me before I resort to bodily harm."
He loosens his hold just enough for her to reach the phone, much to her annoyance.
"Lisbon," she answers, sounding entirely too alert for how early it is. "Yes, sir... Mhm... I can be there as soon as – oh!" She breaks off, barely holding back a gasp as Jane plants a slow kiss between her shoulder blades, raising goose bumps all over her skin. "N-nothing, sir. I just, uh...," she trails off as Jane starts tracing lazy circles across her stomach, while his lips continue their journey up her spine. "I just stubbed my toe. I'll, uh, be there soon."
She hangs up without saying goodbye, moaning as soon as the call ends. She barely notices when Jane's phone goes off a few minutes later, grunting in disapproval when he pulls away.
"Do you believe me now?" He whispers smugly in her ear, rolling on his back to answer his phone. "Virgil! How nice of you to call and check up on me so early on a Saturday morning! What can I do for you?"
Lisbon crawls out of bed, feeling simultaneously exhausted and sexually excited. Two can play at this game. Her eyes sparkle mischievously as she saunters over to Jane's side, slowly climbing on top of him. He smirks as Minelli's voice prattles on in his ear, but gives no other indication of even noticing her as she straddles his legs.
"Oh, it's perfectly all right. I didn't have any plans for the day anyway." His voice doesn't waver for a moment as Lisbon plants a kiss just below his navel and continues her way up his torso, brushing her lips against every available surface. "Of course. I'll be there shortly." Still no change, while Lisbon reaches the pulse point in his neck, slowly sucking on the sensitive spot. "Yep. Buh-bye, Virgil."
He ends the call, sets his phone back down, and yawns before finally turning his attention to Lisbon, who is now standing beside the bed with her hands on her hips.
"Well, well. Someone's feeling a little frisky this morning."
"How the hell do you do that?" She asks in frustration, ignoring his comment. "You didn't even flinch!"
"I guess one of us just has a bit more self-control than the other, hm?"
"Yea, well one of us will also be showing up to work with a very noticeable hickey, and it sure as hell isn't me!"
She smiles victoriously before skipping off to the shower as Jane jumps up to inspect himself in the mirror.
"Damn," he mutters, examining a bright red spot on his neck. "At least it was worth it."
-xxx-
"Stay back on this one, okay?" Lisbon warns Jane as she steps out of the driver's seat, slamming the SUV door shut. "This guy is the lead suspect of a double homicide, and I'd really rather it not turn into a triple on your account."
"Of course, Lisbon," he waves off her worries as he climbs out of the passenger side. "You know me; I always listen."
She rolls her eyes as she turns to face the team, assembled a few houses down from their destination.
"All right. Cho, you're with me around front. Rigsby and Van Pelt, you take the b-"
"What's that on your neck, Jane?" Van Pelt interrupts, a hint of concern in her voice.
"Oh, just a bit of a rash. A little lotion and it'll be gone in a few days. You were saying, Lisbon?"
"Right," she drags the word out, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Rigsby and Van Pelt will take the back, and SWAT will cover behind us. Any questions?"
Rigsby starts to raise his hand before directing another question to Jane.
"You sure it's just a rash, man? Looks an awful lot like a hic-"
"Quite sure, Rigsby, but thanks for your concern. I'll just go wait in the car now."
"'A bit of a rash' my ass." Lisbon comments once he's out of earshot, a self-satisfied smirk tugging at her lips as she strides toward the house.
"Definitely a hickey." Cho states. "Bet it was the boss." He almost smiles before following after Lisbon, leaving behind an overly-happy Rigsby and a very confused Van Pelt.
-xxx-
"Mr. Curtis!" Lisbon calls out, banging her fist against the front door. "We're with the CBI. We'd like to ask you a few questions."
No answer.
"Mr. Curtis!" Lisbon knocks loudly a few more times, but only silence follows.
She moves back to kick in the door when she catches movement out of the corner of her eye. Grant Curtis is walking up the other side of the street, but he quickly turns away and sprints in the opposite direction at the sight of armed officers surrounding his house.
"Damn it, why do they always have to run?" Lisbon mutters, breaking into a run to chase after him. "Grant Curtis! I'm with the CBI! I just need to ask you a few questions!"
Her yells do nothing to deter him from running, but she quickly gains on him. When she finally gets close enough, she barrels straight into him, feeling a snag against her throat as she tackles him to the ground.
"Shit!" She exclaims, noticing the cross necklace splayed next to her on the ground, its chain snapped in two.
"Get off me, lady!" Grant mumbles, shifting uncomfortably under the weight of Lisbon pinned against him. "I have my rights!"
"Yea, the right to remain silent," she seethes into his ear. She secures her handcuffs tightly around his wrists before standing up and handing him off to Cho who has just appeared beside her.
Lisbon bends down with a frown, gently picking up the broken necklace, carefully making sure the cross pendant doesn't slide off.
"I can have that fixed for you." Jane says softly from behind her, lightly clutching her elbow as she straightens up.
"It was my mother's... if anything happens to it-"
"I know," he interrupts. "I'll be careful, I promise."
"Okay. I... trust you." She looks into his eyes as she presses the necklace into his outstretched palm, hoping he realizes the deeper meaning behind her words.
Jane can't help but smile, catching the significance of what she just admitted.
"I told you so," he teases, his mind springing back to almost two months ago when Lisbon adamantly denied trusting him at all.
"Yea, yea..." She nudges his shoulder as they walk back to the car. "I guess a lot can change in two months."
-xxx-
The first thing Lisbon notices when she pulls up to her apartment is that a note has been taped to her front door. She climbs out of the car and shuffles forward, curiosity piqued. A smile tugs at her lips when she recognizes Jane's handwriting as she plucks the note from the door and unlocks it, making her way to the couch to read in comfort.
Lisbon,
I figured it's about time for a date night. Y'know, a real date, to one of those fancy places that require a reservation. You can't see me, but I'm wiggling my eyebrows suggestively.
She chuckles to herself at that mental image before she continues to read.
Wear that little black dress hiding in the back of your closet that hasn't seen the light of day, I'm sure, since you bought it. It deserves a night out almost as much as you do!
She frowns, wondering how on earth he knew about that particular dress. I leave him alone in my apartment for five minutes…
Before your mind starts wandering, rest assured I did not snoop! Well, okay. I snooped, but that's not how I knew.
Another frown. Hmph, I knew it.
I have a few errands to run first, but I'll pick you up at 7.
Until then,
Jane
P.S. I know you don't really want to wear the dress, but humor me. Please?
She can't help but smile to herself. Since he asked nicely….
-xxx-
Although she usually doesn't bother much with dates, Lisbon finds herself a bit on edge over this one. Not that she has any reason to be nervous. She's obviously been out with Jane before, just not to any place that requires so much work to be presentable. She shifts a few things around in her closet, brushing aside the occasional cobweb, before being able to access the requested dress.
Half an hour later, she emerges from the bathroom, hair softly curled and styled, makeup appropriately applied. She glances at the clock. 6:27 PM. Perfect. I still have plenty of time. Now begins the hardest decision of all: shoes. Lisbon might not be what most would consider girly, but she can't deny her love of shoes – it almost pains her to have to put on those horrid loafers each morning, but practicality is important in her line of work. However, she gets to wear whatever she chooses this evening, and she's sure her hugely-under-used heels will appreciate the night out. A colorful high heel would be nice, but she has three different colors to choose from, all of which she knows she has matching jewelry for… somewhere. After an intriguing round of eenie-meenie-minie-moe, she decides on purple. She sets them on her bed before rummaging through multiple drawers, keeping an eye out for any jewelry even remotely resembling the color purple. Ten minutes later, she locates the set she's looking for - dangly earrings, consisting of silver twisted around a plum-colored amethyst, and a long silver chain with a matching amethyst stone. She lays them next to the shoes before walking over to the dress that has been hanging on the back of her door for the past hour.
Lisbon takes a deep breath before stepping into it, pulling it up over her hips with only a little difficulty. It fits a bit tighter than she remembers, and she struggles a little to get the zipper to cooperate, but she can breathe. That's the important part, bypassing comfort just for tonight.
It's now 6:58 PM, and Jane will be here any minute. While punctuality may not always be his top priority, she has no doubt this is important enough for him to be on time. It was his idea, after all. She slides into her heels and clasps her necklace before the doorbell rings. She snatches the earrings before dashing toward the door, almost tripping over her heels on the way.
"Damn! Stupid shoes." She mutters under her breath. This is way too much effort for one night.
She's still fiddling with one of her earrings as she opens the door, but all previous thoughts of wasted effort vanish when she locks eyes with the blond-haired man standing in her doorway. Well, she tries to hold his gaze, but he seems to be a bit distracted perusing her outfit with an appraising stare. She takes a moment to return the gesture, noting he's replaced the usual three-piece-suit with a more modern fit, accompanied with a purple tie that just so happens to be the exact shade of plum she's favored for the evening. Why am I not surprised?
"Beautiful." His voice is huskier than usual, and he flashes her one of those heart-melting smiles before his tone lightens a bit. "And we even match!"
"Oh, shut up!" She mumbles, unable to hide her smile as she playfully whacks his shoulder and saunters out the door.
-xxx-
They sit at a somewhat-secluded table, right next to a vast window with a view of the skyline.
"Fancy," Lisbon muses, glancing between the tuxedoed waiters and elegantly dressed patrons before resting her eyes on the single candle flickering in the center of the table.
"Very," Jane agrees, smiling at her over his menu.
Their waiter soon scuffles over with a bottle of the house wine, pouring each of them a glass before disappearing as silently as he came. Lisbon takes a sip, staring at Jane with wide eyes as he reaches into his suit jacket and draws out a slender jewelry box.
"Jane..." She draws out his name, warning evident in her tone.
"No need to get upset, Lisbon. It's not what you think. Just open it."
She quirks an eyebrow, skeptical of his intentions, but concedes to his wishes. Inside the box is her mother's necklace, and a grin spreads over her face as she lifts it from the fabric.
"It looks perfect, Jane." She raises her eyes to look at him. "Thank you."
"You're quite welcome, though I didn't do much. I merely dropped it off and then had the tracking device added. No big deal."
"All the same, you still took the time to- wait, did you say tracking device?"
"Yep." He grins, his eyes sparkling in amusement.
"How the hell did you find someone to just implement a tracker into my mother's necklace?"
"Ah. Well, there was this bet with the guys in the tech department, and-"
"Never mind," she mutters. "Where does the signal go?"
"Right here!" He holds up his phone.
"I'm not sure how I feel about the idea of you always knowing where I am..." she trails off, eyebrow raised in his direction.
"Emergency use only, I assure you. Besides, at least this way you'll never get lost in a house of mirrors."
-xxx-
Lisbon takes another sip of wine, glancing at Jane as he hands their menus to the waiter. She let him order for the both of them, curious as to what he would pick for her. He hit the bull's-eye, as expected, and he smiles at her lack of surprise.
"Am I becoming that predictable?" His voice takes on a tone of mock hurt.
"Oh, please. You're anything but predictable." She rolls her eyes and he resumes staring at her. He hasn't stopped staring since they sat down, and for once, she really doesn't mind.
"How did you know about the dress?" She'd been curious to know since first reading the note he left her.
"I was wondering when you would get around to that," he says with a smile. "I knew because every woman has that one black dress, just begging to be worn. It's usually bought on a whim, in hopes that some sort of occasion will arise in the near future that will require such attire. But as you figured out, that usually doesn't happen. Hence, the back of the closet. But I will admit," he lowers his voice, leaning forward with each word, "I had an ulterior motive when I asked you to wear that dress. Truthfully, I've spent the entire evening waiting to get you out of it." With that, he steals a soft kiss, and she suddenly finds herself a bit antsy to be getting home, Patrick Jane in tow.