Author's Note: First, apologies for the delay. I've been doing the professional equivalent of climbing the Cliffs of Insanity, and my muse refused to accompany me. We've made up now though I hope! Also, way back in Chapter 6 I declared this story a Volker- and Kirkland-free zone. But then, before the last episode, I decided Kirkland had to exist after all (just not as someone Lisbon was remotely interested in, of course). The bulk of this chapter was written before the last episode, but I just couldn't get it finished in time to impress you all with my prescience. Oh well. Thanks for hanging in there!

Chapter 36

The next morning, Lisbon woke to find Jane wrapped around her instead of fixing breakfast. She was touched, but also hungry. At least she could smell that the coffeemaker's timer had done its job, since it wasn't distracted by emotional concerns. "Morning," she grumbled.

"Good morning. We can stop by Marie's on the way to work," Jane said as her stomach growled at him. "We have time, since you don't need to wash your hair again." His nose wrinkled a little as he sniffed it. "I can't say I'm wild about the lilac. It's a little cloying."

"Better than that damn cologne," she replied.

"Indisputably."

She tried to wriggle out of his embrace, but he refused to let go. "If you really want to stop by Marie's, we need to get moving," she reminded him.

He let out a long sigh, then gave her a quick kiss and rolled over to get out of bed.

mmm

They ended up with breakfast and coffee for the whole team, since they'd kept them up late. It was Lisbon's idea, but Jane took it a step further, buying enough pastry to feed the whole floor. As they piled the boxes in the car, she reflected that whatever his faults, he was always generous with her and the others he considered family. There was no doubt in her mind that little Charlotte had wanted for nothing, and she wondered what it would be like to parent with someone who gave so unstintingly.

No doubt she'd end up being the disciplinarian, the no-fun parent, while he would be more of a playmate and source of treats. He'd probably undermine her every chance he got, too, as he frequently did at work. And they'd definitely gang up on her, Jane and his Mini Me. The obnoxious genes were surely dominant ones.

Why did that unattractive thought give her heart a pang?

"If you'd let me drive, you could eat in the car," he offered.

"I'm not going to starve to death between here and the office," she replied.

"No, but you might bite my nose off," he said. "You look like you're thinking about something I've done to annoy you. But I've been boringly well-behaved lately, so I can't think why."

"Just thinking," she said.

"Care to share?"

She started the car. "What, you can't tell?"

"Too many possibilities," he said. "It could be anything from not making your breakfast to comprehensively ruining your life."

"Feeling needy?" she asked, glancing at him. He hadn't bemoaned his effect on her life in a while, probably because on a daily basis, he'd actually improved it over the last few months. She lived in a nicer place, ate more nutritious meals, didn't work all night anymore, and got more sleep. And he made her happy.

"Just pointing out the obvious."

"It's not obvious. Patrick, we've been over this. I was assigned to his case before we even met. Who's to say he wouldn't have targeted me if we hadn't?"

"He wouldn't have become obsessed with you, though," Jane said.

"You don't know that."

"I do know that. Because his obsession with you grew out of his curiosity about me. I think he started to pay attention to you when he realized you were more important to me than he was, despite what I wanted everyone to believe. He must have realized how special you are. And now he's decided he wants that."

She frowned. "But how could he think I would ever feel that way about him? Or does he think he can just hypnotize me into thinking I'm in love with him?"

"No, he'll want to believe he's won you because he's the better man."

"But he's not."

"He undoubtedly thinks he is. He sees himself as a leader, someone who collects broken, discarded, or misguided people and turns their lives around. He even tried to redeem me from my charlatan ways, in his eyes. And as much as it kills me, I can't say he's entirely wrong about that. I think I am a better person, or a slightly less selfish one, anyway."

"That's the person you always were. He didn't make you better. He just made you sadder, less pleased with yourself."

"Less pleased with myself is better."

She sighed. "Stop trying to argue that the sadistic serial killer who tied me up and threatened to rape me is a better man than the one who held me all night so he could wake me up from my nightmares."

Glancing at him, she saw the corner of his mouth turn upward. "Well, when you put it like that..."

"Exactly." She couldn't help smirking a little at having won the argument.

When they reached the office, Jane took the pastry boxes, leaving Lisbon to manage the tray with four coffees. He'd passed on getting tea, since he preferred to brew his own whenever possible.

Unusually, they had the elevator to themselves, but Lisbon felt uneasy the moment she stepped into it. It wasn't until she heard Jane take an audible sniff that she realized why.

The elevator reeked of sandalwood cologne.

Her heart began to race. "He's here."

"We don't know that," Jane pointed out. "He could just be messing with us, maybe gave one of his friends a bottle of the stuff. Or gave it to a bunch of his friends, so you can't forget him. I won't be surprised if the elevator at home smells like this in the next couple of days, or if someone at the poker game is wearing it. It's part of the game he's playing. Think about it. Have we ever smelled cologne at one of his crime scenes? No. He's too smart for that. The use of scent last night was deliberate."

Lisbon took a deep breath to calm herself, but the smell spoiled the effect. "Okay. You're right. He's probably just messing with us. And even if he is here, I'll be damned if I let him see me rattled."

"That's my girl," Jane murmured with a faint smile.

She cut her eyes at him but, given how sweet he'd been all night, didn't give into the temptation to kick him in the ankle for calling her a girl.

When the elevator doors opened, they went straight to the bullpen to distribute breakfast. Lisbon noticed that her blinds were drawn even though she hadn't left them that way, but she decided solving that mystery could wait until she'd fed her sleep-deprived team.

Everyone perked up at the sight of the boxes from Marie's and the coffees. Jane handed Rigsby the doughnut box to distract him while Lisbon claimed her bear claw. Cho waited until she'd had a sip of coffee to say, "Stan Moore's here. He wanted to know why we were all at your place last night. I told him Jane called us because he was freaked out about something and to ask you about it."

Lisbon was grateful for Cho's quick thinking. He'd avoided lying to the FBI and left the door open for her to claim it was a false alarm if she chose. "Thanks."

Jane grumbled, "I wouldn't mind them watching us so closely if that actually made us any safer."

Cho ignored him. "He's in your office with some guy from Homeland Security."

Lisbon couldn't have been more surprised if Cho had burst into song. "Homeland Security? Did he say why?"

"No."

Rigsby muttered, "If he told us, he'd have to kill us."

Van Pelt asked, "You okay, Boss?"

"Just fine," Lisbon replied, glancing down at her and summoning a smile. "Thanks to your good work. All of you."

Jane was staring at her office, frowning in thought. Lisbon realized that she needed to get rid of the distraction if she wanted her team to be productive. But when she finished her bear claw and turned to go, Jane followed her, practically walking on her heels.

"Let me handle this," she said, stopping and turning to face him.

"Okay," he replied, but he showed no sign of heading to his couch as she intended.

"Alone." Jane and Homeland Security would be a bad mix, she knew. With his urge to flout authority and mischievous sense of humor, he could end up in Guantanamo Bay before the day was out.

"No." Jane said it like it was a perfectly reasonable response.

"Excuse me?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

"No," he repeated. "Alone is not an option. If you don't want me in there, take Cho or Rigsby or Grace."

"You're being ridiculous. What do you think they could possibly do to me in my own office, with all of you out here?"

"They closed your blinds. You don't find that suspicious?" he retorted.

"They probably just didn't want everybody gawking at a Homeland Security agent," she said, realizing that the rumor mill was going to have a field day with this visit. And she was only making it worse arguing with Jane in the bullpen. He wasn't going to back down, she saw. And letting him tag along was probably better than taking an agent in with her, which would signal to her visitors that she felt the need for reinforcements. "Fine," she said. "But you speak only when spoken to."

He smiled cheekily at her and gestured for her to precede him. She pushed the door open to find Moore and another man seated at the little table. It didn't escape her that their choice of seating made it too awkward for her to sit at her desk, in the position of power. "Good morning, Agent Moore. To what do we owe the pleasure of such an early visit?" She remained standing, but Jane brushed a hand along her back on his way to sit on the couch.

"Agent Lisbon, Mr. Jane, this is Bob Kirkland, Homeland Security," Moore replied, seeming less cheery than normal. Lisbon had been through her share of turf wars, but she wasn't going to waste any sympathy on Moore.

"What can we do for Homeland Security?" she asked Kirkland.

Kirkland gave her a smile she might have found charming under other circumstances. "Agent Lisbon, it's a pleasure to meet you. We've recently taken an interest in the Red John matter, so naturally I wanted to talk to the agent who's spent the most time on the case."

Lisbon didn't know whether to be worried or relieved that Kirkland was ignoring Jane, and she was curious as to why Moore was following his lead. She'd always thought Moore and Jane had a weird rapport. "CBI is always happy to help our federal partners," she said. She could feel Jane smirking but didn't look at him. "But isn't serial murder a little out of your usual interests? I thought you chased terrorists."

"Our investigations often take us in unexpected directions," Kirkland smiled.

Lisbon knew she shouldn't continue to stand, but for some reason she didn't want to take the third seat at the table. So she went to sit beside Jane on the couch, hoping he would behave.

When Kirkland didn't continue, Moore spoke again. "We hear you had an exciting night."

Lisbon had been undecided about telling Moore what happened, but she was not prepared to lie to Homeland Security. Omitting certain details was another matter, though. "Yes. Red John paid me a visit."

Neither man looked surprised. Moore said, "And you weren't hurt?"

"No. He just wanted to make it clear that he was unhappy with me." Lisbon grimaced a little, and Jane slid an arm around her waist. She decided to let him play the overprotective husband, since that's what Red John would expect.

"He threatened her," Jane said, his voice roughened with anger. "Drugged her, tied her up, and threatened her. When I found her I thought she was dead."

There was so much pain in his voice that she didn't have to fake her look of concern. "I'm okay," she said softly, holding his gaze for a moment.

Moore said, "I'm relieved to hear that. What was the threat?"

"To rape me if I didn't get pregnant soon." Lisbon was gratified that she'd managed to make their visitors uncomfortable, but sorry that she upset Jane. His fingers curled around her waist, clutching at her, and he frowned fiercely.

"That's a pretty radical departure for him," Kirkland said. "As far as we know, he hasn't raped anyone since Miranda Roman. And that was to make Lorelei Martins vulnerable to him. What do you think is the purpose behind this threat?"

Jane answered, "It's part of the game he's playing with us. I think he planned for Lisbon to be pregnant in time for the anniversary so he could celebrate it by killing my family again, ten years later."

Lisbon looked at him in surprise. She knew the date of his family's murders, of course, but with everything going on she hadn't thought about it being so soon. She needed to, though, and not just for Jane's sake, apparently.

Moore was nodding thoughtfully, but he looked a little startled when Jane added, "But I think the game has gotten a little out of his control. I think he's watched us so closely for so long that he's fallen in what passes in his mind for love with Lisbon. So killing her isn't in his new plan. He wants to seduce her instead. Mostly for his own pleasure, but also because he knows that would make me suffer almost as much as if he killed her, and for longer."

"Still for the anniversary of your family's deaths?" Moore frowned.

"I doubt even he thinks he can work that quickly. I'm sure he has something in mind for that, but his plan for Lisbon must have a longer timeline."

"Like until hell freezes over," Lisbon muttered.

"Did you get any clues to his identity?" Moore asked.

She shook her head. "He was careful not to let me get a look at him. At least...not that I remember. I guess it's possible he hypnotized me to forget."

"No," Jane said. "You weren't hypnotized. I checked."

"All I remember is how he smelled," she said, shivering a little for effect.

Jane tightened his arm around her, pulling her closer. "Sandalwood. She reeked of it when I found her. Obviously he wanted me to smell it. But we've never found that scent at one of his crime scenes, so I doubt it's something he wears regularly."

Lisbon wondered if she should mention the elevator, but she didn't see how that could possibly help them identify him.

"So," Moore said, "it's not just about seducing Agent Lisbon, but about you knowing he's doing it."

Jane smiled thinly. "Yes. Win-win, from his perspective." He paused, then said, "I'd appreciate it if you could make your surveillance into more of a security measure."

"I would if I could," Moore said. "But surveillance works best when it's invisible. Security works best when it's not. It's a little hard to combine them."

Jane looked at Kirkland. "You probably have resources the CBI can only dream of. Any chance of getting some help?"

"It seems the best way to find Red John is to watch Agent Lisbon," Kirkland said. "I assure you that any of my colleagues would intervene if they perceived her life to be in danger."

Lisbon took a second to admire the artistry of his non-informative response. But before she could reply, he turned to her to ask, "Anyone displaying unusual interest in you lately?"

"Not that I've noticed," she said, glancing at Jane. He would be more likely to have spotted anything like that, she thought.

Jane answered her unspoken question. "No, nothing like that. But then, I don't pay much attention to men trying to flirt with my wife. It's not a concern, since she's not interested."

He was lying through his teeth, Lisbon thought, keeping her expression bland. Just two days ago he'd dealt with a flirting deputy by loudly proclaiming the man had wet the bed as a child and was looking for a mommy figure to take care of him. God knows what else he would have said to the poor man if she hadn't stomped on his foot to shut him up.

Moore smiled as if he read her thought, remarking to Jane, "It must be nice to be so confident in your own appeal."

Jane shrugged. "It's got nothing to do with me. It's Teresa's integrity I'm confident in."

Lisbon enjoyed the compliment even though she knew Jane wouldn't leave any threat to his place in her heart up to her integrity. He'd deal with it ruthlessly and efficiently, probably before she even realized what was going on. But it was true he had nothing to worry about. Jane had crowded other men out of her thoughts for years now, and that showed no signs of changing now that they were married.

"Well," Kirkland said, "if you do notice anyone sniffing around, I trust you'll let us know."

"Of course," Lisbon said. "Are you taking lead on the case, then?"

"No. This is still the FBI's case," he replied. "We're merely observing and assisting."

Lisbon bet the FBI had a different phrase for it, but Moore merely nodded in agreement, then got to his feet as Kirkland did and said, "Glad to see you're okay, Agent Lisbon. Let me know if there's anything I can do."

"Thanks, Stan," Jane said pleasantly as he and Lisbon stood as well. "Always a pleasure to see you." He shook Moore's hand, then turned to Kirkland. "Nice to meet you, Agent Kirkland."

Kirkland shook Jane's hand with a brief, "Likewise," then turned to Lisbon with a smile. "Hopefully you won't have any more excitement for a while."

"Thanks," she said, shaking his hand politely.

When the visitors were gone, Lisbon turned to Jane, folding her arms. "That guy gave me the creeps."

"Of course he did. Any man you meet today will," Jane said. "That's part of the game, to keep us off balance." He frowned. "But in Kirkland's case, your instincts are spot on. That remark about 'sniffing around,' the way he was looking at you even though you're a married woman who's just had a traumatic experience—all highly suspicious."

Lisbon felt the need to point out, "Or, we're both a little on edge today and he's just a guy doing his job."

"Moore has no reason to be on edge, but he obviously dislikes Kirkland."

"Because he's muscling in on his turf," Lisbon said. She sighed, then said, "I'm afraid I hadn't thought about the anniversary being next week. Should I put in for leave for you? Do you want me to take the day off too, or do you want to be alone?"

Jane shook his head. "That might be a dangerous day for you. I want you surrounded by people with guns who will stop at nothing to protect you. I want us here that day, and I want the others over for dinner that night. And I don't want you alone for a single second at any time until we're safely past the date."

"But I know you normally go to the cemetery," she protested.

He shook his head again. "They're dead. They neither know nor care where I am, that day or any other."

"But you do." She had a bad feeling this wasn't going to be as straightforward as he was claiming.

"Not nearly as much as I care about keeping you safe," he said, holding her gaze.

She sighed a little, knowing he wasn't going to budge. And when he lowered his mouth to hers, she didn't stop him. They both needed the comfort, she reasoned as she slid her fingers into his curls and her tongue along the roof of his mouth.

They were both so lost in the kiss that the knock on the door wasn't enough warning for them to completely separate before Cho opened the door. "We have a case," he said, ignoring the fact that they were both breathing a little hard and she was blushing fiercely.

"Text me the address and we'll meet you there," she managed to say in a mostly normal tone.

"Will do," Cho said, closing the door behind him.

Lisbon was unsurprised to find Jane grinning at her. She rolled her eyes and tried to put his hair back in order, but he caught her hand before she could finish. "No need to be embarrassed. We are married, after all."

"That's not the point," she said, going over to open the blinds. "Ready to go? We can get you some tea afterward."

"Fine," he said.

"And no wandering off," she warned. "Remember what I told you. Don't let yourself become bait."

"Yes, dear," he said with exaggerated patience as he opened the door for her.