Disclaimer – The Mentalist belongs to Bruno Heller and CBS. Not me. Obviously.

A/N - We're almost at the end now, and I just wanted to thank everyone who is still following and hopefully enjoying this story. This is the chapter I'm most nervous about, mainly because I haven't really written romance before. I'm much more comfortable writing angst, but I kind of wanted to give them some semblance of happiness for once. It might not be exactly what you were expecting, but I hope you like it nonetheless. Enjoy!

~ Chapter Seventeen ~

Another Fine Mess

The next day, Jane woke to the smell of eggs.

The wonderful smell drifted up into his nostrils and he breathed deeply, ignoring the way it made his ribs twinge in pain and instead revelling in the way that it made his mouth water and his stomach grumble. After a couple of pleasant seconds however, confusion rose up in him, and memories of an earlier time drifted through his mind. Angela was dead though, he reminded himself tiredly. No one had made him eggs for breakfast in a very long time. So who…?

"Jane?"

Ah, Lisbon. His mind was always a little bit slower in the mornings, especially with the drugs he was on and the injuries he was still dealing with, and it was taking a while to catch up with his situation. He was on Lisbon's couch, Jane realised slowly, trying to force his mind to wake up. And Lisbon was…

"Jane? You awake?" she continued, and he could hear her move closer, probably as she made her way from the kitchen. He opened his eyes and blinked sleepily up at her as she came into focus.

"I am now," Jane mumbled, trying to wake himself up a little more. Using his uninjured arm, he reached to his side, feeling the empty space where Lisbon had slept last night. It was cold, which meant she'd been up for hours. He was slightly annoyed with himself for not waking up with her, though the doctors had warned him that he would be more tired than usual whilst he was recovering.

The issue with that however, he quickly realised, was that his brief lapse had probably given Lisbon plenty of opportunity to regret what had happened last night. If her face this morning was anything to go by, she had spent far too much time overthinking it all, and had probably convinced herself that it was all a big mistake, one that would ruin their friendship if either of them ever brought it up again.

The trouble was, Jane didn't regret it in the least, and he had no intention of forgetting it…

"I was worried about you," Lisbon said, coming to sit beside him on the couch. She passed him a plate of eggs which he took gratefully, though she flinched slightly when he accidentally brushed her hand. Oh, she had definitely spent too much time thinking about things…

He shook himself slightly, and she frowned when he winced at the sudden movement.

"It's almost midday," she continued, her frown deepening. "I didn't think you slept that well usually."

"I don't," Jane replied ruefully. Then he grinned, hoping to charm Lisbon back to normal. No matter how much Lisbon regretted her lapse in control last night, Jane wasn't going to let it go. "Of course, usually I don't have such a nice warm cushion to snuggle up to."

"Shut up, Jane," she mumbled. Her face glowed in embarrassment, and Jane decided to keep his mouth shut for once, almost wishing he hadn't said anything at all. Oh, this was worse than he'd first thought…

"The eggs smell good," Jane offered instead. He took a cautious bite and was pleased with the result. "And they taste good too. My Lisbon, we might make you into a domestic goddess yet."

Lisbon didn't reply to the good-natured jibe at her expense and kept her gaze averted from him as he continued to eat his late breakfast. Jane sighed; he knew what was bothering her, but for once, he had absolutely no idea what to do about it.

Last night, when he and Lisbon had fallen asleep wrapped in each other's arms…it had been on a whim, something he had needed without wanting to think about it too deeply. He still didn't want to overthink it now, but it was beginning to look like he wasn't going to get much choice.

Perhaps it had been a mistake of sorts, but even now, in the cold light of day, he still couldn't make himself regret it.

Jane frowned as he surreptitiously studied Lisbon, taking another bite of his eggs as he thought about her mood this morning. He'd obviously pushed her too hard last night. She looked nervous and tense, as if she couldn't wait to get away from him. In fact, the only reason she was probably still on the couch at all was because she clearly felt it was her responsibility to make sure he actually ate something. Saint Teresa strikes again, he sighed to himself.

To put her mind at ease with that at least, Jane polished off the last of the eggs, and patted his stomach with a sigh for good measure.

"Excellent Lisbon," he praised, hoping to knock her out of the tense state she had been in since he'd woken up. He didn't seemed to be getting very far, and the first trickling of fear began to run through him. Had he ruined them…?

"Thanks," she replied, and made a move to take the empty plate from him.

"I've got it," he said quickly, and began to pull himself up from the couch, plate firmly in hand. "You cooked, I'll wash up."

"Are you sure?"

"What happened to 'if you're well enough to be out of the hospital, you well enough to help me clean up'?" He mimicked her voice - quite accurately he thought too - but Lisbon didn't even crack a smile.

Instead she frowned and watched with concern as he stood on somewhat shaky legs. That sent alarm bells running through him more than anything else. Lisbon was usually the first person to yell at him when he was being stubborn and stupid. For her to stay quiet now…she must have been more embarrassed by last night than he'd originally anticipated.

Despite his achy body, Jane made short work of the cleaning up, and quickly found his way back to the couch, careful to avoid the mess left behind from yesterday.

He sighed deeply, and ran a hand through his messy hair. Lisbon was not reacting well to what happened last night, that much was clear. It was time they talked.

"Jane," Lisbon began, before he could speak first. "About last night…"

"I don't regret it," Jane interrupted. Lisbon gave him a long, hard look, but didn't answer immediately.

"There's nothing to regret," Lisbon replied after a long moment, though she avoided his gaze. "It didn't mean anything – "

"It meant something to me," Jane interrupted, his voice quiet but firm.

"We just fell asleep," Lisbon replied. "We were both tired…"

It must have sounded weak even to her ears, because she immediately frowned. Jane took the opportunity to scoot closer to her, though he made sure to more slowly. He had the odd thought that if he moved too quickly, he would spook her, like one would spook a wild animal.

"And yet instead of going to bed, you fell asleep in my arms," Jane argued. "And what's more, you liked it."

"Shut up, Jane," she shot back, and this time he could feel a bit of anger in her voice as well. That never boded well for him, but he preserved.

"You liked it, and so did I," Jane continued relentlessly. "You can deny it all you want, but it meant something."

"I'm going for a shower." She made to get up, but Jane immediately put his hand on her arm, imploring her to stay. He'd known that she would be somewhat scared by the possibilities of last night, but he'd be damned if he was going to let her give in to the fear. Damn it, he wanted this…

"Don't run away from this, Lisbon," Jane tried, almost desperately this time. "Please, just – "

"I'm going for a shower," Lisbon repeated. "I'll be back in a bit, and then we can talk."

"You're running away," he accused, watching as she stood up and pulled herself away from him.

"Well, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you Jane?" Lisbon shot back. "You're the champion at running away from your feelings."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you were kidnapped, Jane. You had the crap beaten out of you, and yet all you've done is sit on this couch, with that stupid grin on your face, pretending it didn't happen."

He frowned. "That's not what I'm doing."

"Then what are you doing? Because it seems to me that I'm not the only one who doesn't want to think about...things."

"It's not like that, Lisbon."

"Of course it is, Jane. You always do this. You always run away when things get too real. You always come up with some excuse," she gave him a long hard look. "Or, you pretend it never happened in the first place."

He knew what she was talking about, and he knew that she was quite right to bring it up. He had been a coward that day, and every day since. He hadn't had the guts to recognise his feelings then, and he had definitely been too scared to act on them. He'd been terrified; of all sorts of things, for all sorts of reasons.

Not anymore though.

The kidnapping had been the catalyst to make him finally act on everything he had been suppressing for years now. It had been different to any of his other near death experiences, mainly because this time he had actually seen the fabled white light and had been inches away from it when Lisbon and the team had finally rocked up.

He was different now, at least in his priorities. For the first time in a long time, Jane had realised, whilst he had been bleeding out on the cold floor of that storage closet, that he wanted to live. He didn't just need to live to fulfil his revenge anymore. He actually had a reason to live now. A reason that made his want to stick around.

Lisbon.

She'd changed him; not completely, but enough for him to have noticed the differences at least. He relied on her, in a way that he hadn't relied on anyone since Angela had died, and truthfully, it scared him. Terrified him. Because if something ever happened to her, he didn't think he'd survive it. It was why he had spent so long trying to ignore how he felt about her, why he'd kept a certain distance between them.

But now all that avoidance was moot, because he just couldn't do it anymore. He needed her, and the kidnapping had simply made him realise that he didn't have to deny it anymore. Angela was dead; he was no good to her, and his self-imposed celibacy – Lorelei the only exception – wouldn't mean anything to her now. He would always be loyal to her in some form or another, but he didn't have to give up everything to prove his love to a dead woman.

And it had only taken getting beaten up within an inch of his life to finally accept that.

All that was left for him to do now was to just make sure that Lisbon accepted it too. He wanted things to be different now. Not an easy task, he realised, especially judging by his frosty reception this morning. Lisbon would certainly be a tough nut to crack, but in the end it would be worth it. He didn't know what would change, where they would go, but he wanted to know, he had to know, that there was something more out there for them, if only they had the guts to reach for it.

"Fine, I'll talk then," Jane replied with a deep breath. "Please, sit back down."

She did so reluctantly, and turned to face him, her face a mess of warring emotions. He could see that she was scared. That particular realisation made him feel a little better, but not much. She was also annoyed, frustrated, and just a little bit hopeful. That last emotion was the final push he needed.

"When I first woke up after I realised they'd taken me…my first thought was you," Jane admitted. "I knew, even then, that you were coming for me. It helped."

Lisbon's expression softened slightly, her mind clearly going back to that day. "You must have been scared."

"Terrified, of course," Jane replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Especially when I realised that Liam was there with me. I…I didn't want to be responsible for another one."

"Jane…"

He persevered. "But I never lost hope. I knew you'd come and get me. That you'd save me. You always save me, Lisbon. Even when I don't deserve to be saved."

"And last night?" she asked cautiously, as if she was almost dreading the answer.

"I needed you again," Jane replied with a shrug, though it was anything but casual. "And you were there for me again. I just…I don't want to wonder anymore. I realised, whilst I was taking those punches, that I didn't know that it was like…to be with you. And I regretted that more than anything else. I suppose, when it really came down to it…I suppose that I realised what's really important to me."

"But Red John…"

"I still want him gone, Lisbon," Jane replied, turning his gaze away from her slightly. "But it's not just for revenge's sake anymore. Angela and Charlotte…they're gone. I just…I want him gone as well so that I can finally be free. So that we can be free."

"Jane, I don't..."

"Don't give up on me now, please," he replied. He thought back to the rescue, his heart beating loudly in his chest. "I meant what I said, Lisbon. And this time I have no intention of pretending I don't remember saying it. When you found me in that damn office building, before I passed out…"

"You mean…?"

"I love you, Lisbon," Jane finished. "I don't know why, because frankly you can be very frustrating sometimes, but there it is. I love you."

"I…don't know what to say."

His heart was still beating loudly in his chest as he tried to read which emotions were flitting across her face. "If…well, if you don't feel the same way, now would be an excellent time to tell me."

"I do," she replied quickly, looking a little shell-shocked. "Dammit, Jane, I…I love you too."

"Good," he replied, a grin finally forming on his face.

She gave him a tentative smile back. "It's just...it's a bit quick, that's all. Don't you think this has happened a bit quickly? It feels a little out of the blue..."

"Oh, pshaw," Jane scoffed, stopping her rambling before she could send herself into a frenzy. "It's been years in the making. These feelings aren't new to me. I suppose I just needed a nudge in the right direction and some courage to finally act on them."

"Right, so what you're saying is that it took a beating to finally knock some sense into you," Lisbon replied, her lips quirking slightly.

He grinned cockily. "Actually, what I'm saying is that it took the shock of nearly losing me to finally make you finally recognise what there is between us."

"But there's nothing between us, Jane," Lisbon replied. "We're colleagues, friends…"

"We could be more," Jane replied, scooting even closer to her. "If you want?"

"What do you want, Jane?"

"I want you," he replied quietly. "I want to know that when it's finally over, when Red John has gone...I need to know that I still have you."

"You'll always have me, Jane," Lisbon replied softly. And with that, Lisbon snuggled gently into his side, all resistance gone. There was a tentative promise there, something binding between them, and for now, it was enough. Neither was ready for more right now, but they both needed the reassurance that one day they would be. Jane let out a deep breath, and tried to calm his steadily beating heart. He didn't know where the future would take them, but it was enough to know that Lisbon would be beside him all the way.

She loved him. He didn't know why she did, but he wasn't about to argue with her.

Gently, Jane wrapped an arm around Lisbon, pulling her closer to him. He decided that he could lie like this for hours, with her lying warmly against him...

"I'm glad you're alive, Jane," Lisbon mumbled quietly, her voice slightly muffled as she pressed into his chest.

"Me too," Jane agreed.

And it was true. Lying here, with Lisbon wrapped in his arms…well, there was no place in the world he'd rather be. Despite the achiness in his limbs, and the fact that he was doing his recovering body no favours by spending so much time on the couch, Jane couldn't even contemplate moving.

He glanced down at Lisbon, a soft smile playing on his lips. So long as he had her, he thought, Jane could quite happily stay on this couch forever.

A/N - So how was it? I did my best to keep them in character, but I'm not entirely sure I've managed it. In fact, I'm not really sure about this chapter as a whole. It was more difficult to write than I'd anticipated, and I'm not sure it flowed very well. There's only the epilogue to go now, but I might add Lisbon's point of view for all this if people are interested in reading it. Let me know, but for now, thanks for sticking with me! I hope it's been worth the ride!