Race For Red Trophies

A/N: I am really happy with the response to this story. Thank you to all who have been following and who have read and enjoyed.

Chapter five: Advancement

The final race dawned sunny and bright, and Lisbon arrived at the track early. She was busy fiddling around in her engine doing her final checks when two familiar male voices caught her attention. "So, Andrew," the first one said. "Who's the favourite to win today?"

"Well, Jack," replied Andrew. "I guess I'm the ultimate favourite, but the risky gamblers are betting on Teresa Lisbon to take the title."

Jack Flanagan laughed. He knew that Andrew Black was the favourite to win, having been in the lead the entire time, and found the idea of Lisbon winning utterly ridiculous.

Lisbon pulled herself from her engine and wiped her hands on a nearby rag. "Can I help you two?" she asked, getting their attention. She picked up the spanner next to her.

Andrew's eyes travelled shamelessly over her overall-clad body, and she scowled. "No, Teresa." He said, grinning. "But we just came to tell you that the racetrack is no place for a woman, especially one with so little experience as you."

Lisbon's eyes blazed – some of her anger at being appraised so brazenly, the rest at Andrew's words – and she stepped closer to the men. "I've been street racing since I was sixteen. I am just as good a racer as you are and you know it." her voice was dangerously sweet, making her words sound even more threatening. "You're just threatened by a woman coming onto your scene and stealing your thunder, beating you at what you know best. So you feel the need to prove your masculinity by intimidating me." Her voice turned mocking. "Very masculine of you, Andrew Black."

Andrew scowled, his grin vanishing. He did not appreciate Lisbon's opinion of his masculinity. "Ms Lisbon, a woman does not belong on the racetrack. She belongs at home, looking after the house and raising the children. You're in a man's world, Teresa, and you're treading dangerous ground. We suggest you leave, before you get hurt."

Lisbon pulled herself up to her full height, her expression indignant. "Times have progressed, and your world is no longer just for men." Her eyes darkened, and Jack took an involuntary step back. "I am perfectly capable of defending myself, Mr Black." Her tone was clipped and hard, and her jaw had a stubborn set to it. "Now, get the hell out of my garage before I beat you with this spanner."

Andrew grinned widely at her threat, his grin not quite reaching his eyes. "Now, now, Teresa. No need for idle threats here. We're just looking out for you…"

He began backing out of the garage as Lisbon took a step closer. The tiny woman shot him an absolutely terrifying glare, the fire flashing in her eyes, before launching the spanner in his direction. She was a good shot, missing Andrew by mere inches. Jack vanished, running in fear. Andrew foolishly risked poking his head around the door, but ducked away quickly as a second spanner bounced off of the metal frame just above his head with a loud clang.

Jane appeared around the door several minutes later and found Lisbon sitting on the floor in front of her GTO. Her eyes were red, and it was quite evident that she had been crying. As angry as Lisbon had been, Andrew's words had struck a serious nerve. She glanced up at Jane, who extended his hand down to her. She reached up and gripped it, and he pulled her up into a tight embrace. "I know what they did," he murmured into her hair. He breathed in her scent of cinnamon and vanilla, his mind clouding. "I heard them talking about it."

Lisbon gripped onto Jane's suit, resting her head on his shoulder. "It hurt to hear it," she murmured. "I threw my spanner at that bastard for saying it. But that doesn't change the fact that his words are true."

Jane's grip tightened. He felt a spark of anger shoot through him, and wanted nothing more than to hurt the man who had hurt his Lisbon, and dared to make her doubt her abilities as a racer. She pulled away slightly, and looked up into Jane's eyes, wondering at his silence. Jane wasn't quite quick enough to disguise the pure anger in his eyes, and Lisbon saw it. She chose not to say anything about it. Jane turned to the GTO, reluctant to release her. "Are you ready, Teresa?" he asked.

Lisbon ignored the way her name sounded almost like a caress on his lips and stepped back. She felt cold when Jane dropped his hands and looked away. "I'm almost ready. I just need to finish my final checks."

Jane nodded and watched her as she returned to her engine checks. When she closed the hood, he pulled her into an unexpected hug. "Good luck out there, Teresa." He whispered, planting a feather-light kiss on her temple. "Be safe."

Lisbon blushed and stepped back, confusion flooding her features. The announcement of the start of the race broke her thoughts, and she quickly climbed into her car. She drove to the starting line, pushing Jane's odd behaviour to the back of her mind. She needed to focus.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Lisbon stopped behind Andrew's BMW. She waited for the green flag to appear, relishing the familiar flow of adrenaline through her system. The first lap around was slow, and she hung back, pressing her foot down hard on the accelerator pedal as the flag dropped. Everyone was jostling for position, but her powerful engine pushed her past the three cars in front of her into fourth. The laps fell away quickly, and she gained two further places. With ten laps remaining, she was still in second, with Andrew just in front of her. He was no more than a second and a half ahead, but Lisbon knew she would have to push harder if she was to win.

Jane watched anxiously from the guest suite. Lisbon was gaining distance on Andrew's lead, but very slowly, and that concerned him greatly. Lisbon needed to win in order to show that pretentious git that a woman could do what a man could do. His barely controlled anger simmered dangerously below the surface.

His business partner, Van Pelt, sat just down the window from him. She had her newest love interest with her. Jane recognised him as the racer Mr Cho had signed on. Rigsby, if Jane remembered his name correctly. The two were smitten, and couldn't keep their eyes off of each other. Watching Rigsby with Van Pelt – and the loving way he looked at her – made Jane want to punch Andrew as hard as he could for daring to hurt his Lisbon. He struggled to focus on the race before him, fighting with his primal instinct to protect the woman he had fallen for.

Lisbon knew that she had three laps to close the half second gap between her car and Andrew's. She coaxed the tiniest bit more speed from her screaming engine, and watched the gap before her shrink slowly. There was one lap remaining when she pulled alongside Andrew. He glanced over at her and scowled. Lisbon's GTO nosed ahead of his BMW, and the crowd roared in appreciation. Andrew tried to get back past her again, but Lisbon's engine was just too powerful. The entire crowd were on their feet as Lisbon rounded the last corner. The front of Andrew's BMW was sitting just behind her driver's door as she crossed the line in first place. The crowd came alive as she stopped her car. She had finally shown them what a woman could do.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Lisbon was cleaning up for the presentation at the small basin in her garage. She was drying her hands when someone walked into the garage. She turned at the movement, and froze when she realised it was Andrew. He was furious, and he stormed up to her. He grabbed the front of her jacket and pushed her roughly against the wall next to the basin. "Nobody makes a fool of me," he growled, leaning close to her face.

Lisbon steeled her expression, meeting his fuming gaze with cold emerald. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mr Black," she said calmly, resisting the urge to slam her knee up into his groin.

Andrew pushed her harder into the wall, causing her to gasp for air. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, bitch."

Jane walked into the garage and froze, hearing the last part of the conversation. He saw Lisbon being intimidated by the insufferable Andrew Black, and his weak resolve snapped. He strode forward and grabbed Andrew by the back of his shirt. Jane spun him around and punched him as hard as he could in the face. Blood squirted from Andrew's lip as he dropped to the floor. "Are you alright?" Jane asked Lisbon, concern evident in his voice.

Lisbon nodded, stunned. She had never had a man fight for her before, and she wasn't quite sure how to react. "You bastard," spat Andrew, getting slowly to his feet.

Lisbon growled menacingly. "Get the hell out of my garage before I call security."

Andrew scowled bitterly at Jane before turning and heading for the door. Once he was gone, Lisbon turned to Jane. "Are you sure you're okay?" he looked down at her with concern still in his eyes.

Lisbon nodded. "He was just trying to scare me. Fortunately for me, I raised my three brothers, so nothing scares me."

Jane laughed without humour and stepped closer to her. Lisbon looked up into his eyes and saw something burning deep within them. She looked away, embarrassed, but didn't move. Jane closed the distance between them and caught her in a tight embrace. Before Lisbon could stop him, he bent down and pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. She was stunned, but it only took a moment for her to respond to his touch. She slid her hands up into his hair, but pulled his mouth away from hers. "Patrick," she whispered. "I need to go."

Jane nodded, his eyes glazed and his breath shallow, and he stepped back. Lisbon nearly ran from the room, smoothing down her ruffled hair. Jane gazed forlornly after her, wishing for her to be back in his arms.

Lisbon accepted the Redding Cup gladly, and raised the red and gold trophy above her head proudly. The crowd of people gathered at the foot of the stage cheered wildly for her, and she smiled widely. Her father would have been so proud of her in that moment.

As she left the stage, she was ambushed by reporters. They fired questions at her, but she just smiled back. "Ms Lisbon," one yelled. "What's it like being the first woman to win the Redding Cup?"

Lisbon stopped and turned. "It's an absolute honour, and I am very proud to be a part of this process."

The reporter looked confused. "What process?"

Lisbon grinned into the camera. "Advancement."

With that, she turned and walked away. She had faced the reporters, but now she needed to face Patrick Jane.

A/N2: I hope you've enjoyed this one. Please leave a review and tell me how I'm doing, and whether you like this chapter. Thanks.