Warning: A bit angsty.


Teresa was by Patrick's side immediately. She asked Ben, "Is there a place more private we can go to for a while?"

"My trailer is close by. Come on," he replied.

Andy interfered. "No offense mate, but your wife and child are there as well. Not good right now. Come on, folks. My parents are still working and their home's empty right now. I have the key and they won't mind. It's just over there."

He put a hand on his best friend's shoulder and steered him in the right direction. With a pointed look at Ben he said. "Why don't you go and see how your family is doing? Maybe you, Sheila, would like to accompany him?"

His wife understood his hint of course. No sense crowding the poor man right now. "I'd love to spend some time with Evan and Kathryn. See you later."


Andy practically shoved his friend into his parents' trailer. Patrick seemed nearly paralyzed. He stumbled inside and made a beeline for the couch. Teresa followed and sat beside him, taking hold of his hand.

"I'm making tea," Andy said and went to the kitchen area in the back of the trailer.

Patrick started to shake like a leaf, coming down from his adrenaline high. Lisbon put a comforting arm around his waist and it appeared as if her lover just now became aware of her presence. Suddenly he kissed her fiercely, almost brutally. He shoved her down on the couch forcefully keeping her restrained with his greater weight and began to unbutton her jeans with impatience.

"No, Patrick. Stop! Not like this," she begged him.

Andy asked from the kitchen if everything was alright. Teresa wanted to try and get to Patrick on her own, no need to involve someone else in this, and shouted "Yes" to reply.

Jane didn't seem to take notice of any of her protests or Andy's presence but fumbled with his own buttons.

"Please, Patrick. Stop it. You're hurting and scaring me right now," she said emphatically.

That finally got his attention. He sat up and stared at her, eyes wide open in obvious shock. "What happened? Did I hurt you? I'm sorry. I need you, Teresa. Please."

"Yes, but not like this, Patrick. Do you know where we are?" she asked, straightening out her clothes.

He cast a bewildered look around. "I'm not sure. Feels a bit like Andy's old place," he stated.

"Not too far off. It's his parents' trailer. We're not alone. Andy's in the back making tea, okay? Can you pull yourself together now?"

His expression turned very sad. "Oh, Teresa, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. God, can you forgive me? I nearly forced myself on you. I'm… I don't know what to say."

"It wouldn't have come to that. You stopped, okay? And even if you hadn't, I'm a cop, remember? I would have been able to defend myself. No harm done. Don't worry. I understand your need for that kind of release, but it's neither the time nor the place right now."

She stroked his cheek gently and leaned in for a very tender kiss. "And there isn't anything to forgive," she whispered against his lips. "In fact, I'm incredibly proud of you. I'm amazed how well you handled your father."

"Yeah, mate. She's absolutely right. You beat him at his own game. That'll teach him. Man, it was nearly scary," Andy agreed. He'd just appeared with a pot and three cups. "Milk, no sugar?"

Patrick nodded. Suddenly he started to laugh hysterically. "He's a worthless, spineless creep. God, I was afraid of a laughing stock like that? A freaking sucker like that?" he pressed out between his laughs, which turned more and more into sobs. Teresa pulled him into a strong embrace.

"All lies," he gasped out. "They were all lies."

"Yes," she whispered.

"I didn't kill her."

"No, you didn't."

"I'm not really evil."

"No, love. You are not evil."

"All lies. It's all been lies. He lied to me."

"Yes, Patrick. He did. Because he is a vile little creep."

"I'm not stupid."

"No, love. Far from it."

"I… I am wor… I am… I am worthy."

"Yes, Patrick. You are worthy," she said with ultimate conviction and kissed him deeply despite his face being drowned in tears. "And I'm so, so glad to hear you say that. I love you, Patrick Jane."

She held his face gently between her hands, cupping his cheeks, and looked him straight in the eyes the whole time she spoke. Slowly, a guarded little smile made the corners of his mouth lift and the glint of a sparkle appeared in his teary eyes. She hadn't seen a more beautiful sight before, she was sure.

Andy, who'd left them for a moment, came back carrying a wet washcloth, which he handed over to his friend. Patrick thanked him looking a bit embarrassed and cleaned and cooled his face. His old friend took a seat on his other side, so he was sandwiched between Teresa and Andy. Both had an arm around his back.

"Mate, I would never be friends with you if you weren't a good person. I've known you since we were ten. I love you like a brother. Well, a very dwarfish and curly brother, but man, you never know with these genes," the large man said.

"At least I was spared your nose, mate," Patrick teased him back, his good humor returning.

"Maybe, but you know what they say about men with big noses…" Andy replied.

Patrick chuckled. "Well, I haven't gotten any complaints so far. But you can ask Teresa for her professional opinion on the matter. Or, we two could just go and take a leak together, compare notes."

"Hello, boys. There's a lady in the room with you. Stop your primitive male-talk and drink your tea like civilized people," Lisbon chipped in.

They both snickered like children.

"Lisbon has seen a lady. Do you see the lady, Andy? I haven't seen one in here at all," Patrick joked.

"Nah, ain't no lady in here, my friend. I would have noticed, I'm sure," Andy agreed.

"I won't even dignify this with a comment," Teresa answered snootily but couldn't help her smile. "You two have the combined maturity of one teenager."

They sat a moment in silence and enjoyed their tea.

"Andy?" Patrick asked.

"Yeah, man?" Andy answered.

"Love you too, bro," Patrick stated, and they both gave each other very manly signs of affection in the form of rather hard pats on the back. Teresa laughed heartily at their antics.

"Are we ready to go back to the others again? I really want to try a few of the rides before we have to leave," she inquired.

"Alright with me, but if you could excuse me for a moment, I would really like to freshen up a bit before we join the rest," Jane explained.


A while later he reappeared with all traces of tears and anguish gone from his face and they made their way back outside.

After retrieving the rest of their party, they enjoyed what was left of the afternoon, trying out just about every ride available. As before, they never had to actually pay and were slipped past the waiting crowd each time. Teresa decided that there were distinct advantages to being friends with carnies while at a carnival. Even the cop-slights were mostly good-natured and she took them in stride.

She saw that her lover, though he was not overly fond of a lot of the aspects connected to this lifestyle anymore, still seemed to be in his element here. He was all smiles and charms and appeared to be quite relaxed. A big part of it was faked though, of that she was sure. He wasn't really open, rather carefully guarded. It made her happy to know that she could actually read him well enough to recognize it. Furthermore, she was glad he didn't seem to feel the same necessity to hide behind a mask when he was around her these days.

By the time they were ready to leave, it was was half past six and already getting dark. Jane and Lisbon took their farewells from both Andy and Sheila, who would stay a while longer to have dinner with his parents and Ben and his family.


On their way out, they made a stop at the public toilets because Teresa needed to use the facilities. Patrick waited for her. She was just about to leave the portaloo, when she heard a yell from just outside, which she unfortunately was all too familiar with: it was unmistakably Jane's voice shouting "Lisbon!" in obvious panic.

She rushed out and had to watch helplessly, when a dark figure lunged at her lover with a knife. Fortunately, Patrick's reaction time was quick enough to avoid a direct hit to his abdomen, where the attacker had obviously aimed. Before anything else could happen, Teresa tackled the offender to the ground and had him in a brutal hold.

"Jane, my purse. Get me the handcuffs," she ordered.

Her lover just stood before her in petrified shock.

"Jane. Damn it! Get a grip. I need your help," she said in her most commanding voice, which, as usual, had the desired effect on her consultant.

He moved to retrieve her purse, which had fallen down during her tackling. He opened it and handed her the cuffs. Not too soon either because the attacker offered vehement resistance and Teresa had a hard time restraining him with a knee to his back. When she had secured him, she got up and turned him around. To her complete horror, she was faced with Alex Jane.


TBC

I hope, I managed to surprise you a little with the latest development... If you want to give me a pleasant surprise, writing a review would definitely be the way to go...