Warning: Some additional Jane-angst, not too much though, I think.


An iron-like grip on his thigh prevent his motion. "And where do you think you are going, dear?" his grandmother asked strictly.

"I… Don't you want me to leave?" he inquired with a puzzled expression.

"Why would I want you to leave? I'm not finished with our little game yet."

He sat back, resigned to being humiliated even more before he would be shown the door.

Elisa took a good look at her grandson. He seemed almost heart-broken, even though he did an excellent job of hiding his emotions once again. Well, she had started this show, now she had to finish it and hopefully get her point across to him. So she addressed Lisbon now. "Teresa, dear? Would you please tell me, who YOU think would consider our Patrick here to be family?"

The agent had finally caught on to the game Mrs. Jane was playing and decided to play along, signaling it with a nod. "Well, I do, most certainly," she started, smiling warmly. "His friend Andy does for sure, he even calls him brother. Our whole team has used the term family on several occasions when talking about our very personal pain-in-the-butt. His brother-in-law does call him bro, if I'm not mistaken. And if I'm allowed to venture a guess, I'd say, you two have pretty much accepted him into the family as well." She'd accompanied her words by gently circling the back of Patrick's hand with her thumb. "There are a bunch of other people who are very fond of him as well, but I wouldn't exactly put them in the family category," she added.

The old woman nodded her head in satisfaction. "That's what I thought." Turning her full attention on her grandchild she said, "You have no idea what family is all about, do you? I understand that you have very strong feelings for a lot of people, but you don't expect them to be returned because you think you don't deserve it."

She had to clear her throat before she could continue. "I won't go into detail because I think you're right in your estimation that today isn't the best time to speak about your father, but I still need to say one thing: I am extremely angry at my son right now because I am convinced that most of this insecurity is his fault. Let's leave it at that."

She paused again. "Patrick, please look at me," she finally asked. Her grandson complied with great reluctance. "Even though this should be a sad day because I learnt that my oldest child is dead, this has turned into one of the best I've had in a long time. Because I have gained a grandchild today. A beautiful, smart, kind man. And I couldn't be happier." She leaned over and caressed his cheek lightly. "And even though I've only seen some glints so far, I think I've found my match when it comes to mischievousness and perception as well." She chuckled happily. "Finally another rogue in the family!"

Jonathan had been very silent for a while, but now he chimed in, "I fully agree with my wife's assessment, though I'm not entirely sure the last part is a reason for celebration." He snickered. "We have our hands full with her already," he added with a fond look at Elisa.

Patrick was completely overwhelmed. He could hardly believe his ears. They had actually accepted HIM into their family? His face was full of wonderment, an expression Teresa couldn't recall seeing on him before. He looked a bit like a child on Christmas, she decided, and she couldn't resist the urge to kiss him. Out of consideration for his grandparents she kept it short and sweet though. It still got him out of his stupor just in time to realize what his grandfather had said.

"I'll behave," he hurried to say, eager to please. "I promise, I won't cause you any trouble, sir."

The old man laughed out loud. "Oh you will, my boy. As soon as you feel comfortable around us." He smiled warmly at his newfound relative. "I'm looking forward to it," he added.

"You are?" Confusion was evident on Patrick's face again.

"To you feeling comfortable enough around us to be yourself? Most certainly, Patrick," Jonathan replied smiling warmly.

He looked over at his wife and they seemed to exchange some wordless dialog. "How about I fix us some dinner," the old man suggested a moment later.

Teresa decided to speak up at that point. "I really don't want to be a spoil-sport, but we should probably think about leaving. We have a two-hour-drive ahead of us after all, and we're in the middle of an important case," she said with a regretful mien.

Elisa looked a bit disappointed but nodded in understanding. "You know what? We'll be coming over to Sacramento tomorrow. We happen to have a small apartment there in fact. Jonathan used to work there part-time and to spare him the constant traveling, we bought the place and we've never found the energy to sell it. It will be paying off now that we've found out we have a grandson living in the city." Turning her face towards Patrick she asked, "Now that I think of it, have you decided on anything regarding Alexander's funeral of yet?"

He shook his head. "No. And it won't be necessary for a while, because of the on-going investigation. And to be honest, this last Sunday was the first time I saw him since he disowned me in 1990." He paused for a moment. "I do feel kind of obligated to deal with the arrangements, but I…" Here, he stopped speaking entirely because he really didn't know what to say.

"We'll deal with it together then, Patrick," his grandmother told him. "When it comes to obligations to him, I guess we're probably in the same boat, dear. And I'll talk with your uncle later. He doesn't really remember much about his brother, but I'm sure, he'll want to attend the funeral and, more importantly, meet his nephew." She patted his thigh again. "Now you shouldn't let your lady wait anymore. Just write down your phone number and leave us some contact addresses before you go."

Patrick complied and after a very hearty and warm parting, the two CBI investigators left San Francisco and drove back to their home in comfortable and contemplative silence.


They filled the rest of the evening with mundane tasks like having some sandwiches, drinking tea and watching TV. They retired to bed not even two hours after getting back from San Francisco. Not much was said and they kept their silence until they'd lain down together in the darkness of their bedroom, cuddled, and shared some intense kisses, reassuring each other of their deep mutual love. "I'm glad things worked out well with your grandparents, Patrick." Lisbon finally broke the silence, resting her head on his chest, her fingers playing lazily with his curls. "It was a bit of a bumpy ride, but…I'm happy for you," she said warmly.

"They might still revoke their words once they've had some time to really think things over," he replied quietly.

He could practically hear her rolling her eyes. "You're willfully trying to rile me up, aren't you?"

"Well, there is a slight possibility it might happen," he said only half-jokingly.

"The possibility that I'll punch you is a lot bigger, I assure you," she mock-threatened him, belying her words by propping herself up enough to bestow another kiss on him.

Silence commenced again until she broke it once more. "What a crazy day. I mean, imagine all the things that happened during the last 18 hours. It's mind-boggling: Red John kills your father, we find out that he had a mole in SacPD, and we not only discovered you have living family, we actually met your grandparents."

He could sense her shaking her head in the dark. When she'd stilled her movements, he reached out and started to play with some strands of her hair, pushing some behind her ear. "A lot to take in, that's for sure." He sighed. "I'm glad I had you by my side the whole time… though I'm still a bit miffed about all the things you told Elisa and Jonathan about me," he admitted.

"I'm sorry, but if they hadn't been able to accept you the way you are, they wouldn't have been worth it," she claimed.

He pulled a bit on one of her strands, but carefully so as not to cause any real pain. "You are quite self-righteous sometimes, Agent Lisbon. Strictly speaking, that's not really your decision to make. You know that, don't you?"

"Maybe," she mumbled. "But I'm still right. You are a wonderful person and everyone who can't see that is an idiot," she added, pretending to be cocksure of being justified in her opinion on the matter.

He had to chuckle in reaction. "I'm not entirely sure I like that holier-than-thou attitude of yours, but as we all have our flaws, I guess I'll love you just the same," he said with a bountiful air.

Teresa let out a quite un-Lisbonish giggle. "You have a way to always turn the table, don't you? I don't know how you do that, but it's definitely a gift." She propped herself up again and leaned in for another kiss. It turned into a deep, sweet and languid one. "I love you, Patrick," she said afterwards. "Let's try to get some rest now."

He agreed. She left her spot on top of him for once and decided to take in her usual sleeping position lying on her right side facing the door. "Spoon me, Patrick," she ordered.

"You are very demanding," he whispered in her ear, making her flinch, because she hadn't expected him to be so close.

"Don't do that, Jane. You scared the hell out of me," she scolded him.

He snickered and bit her lightly in the tip of her ear, eliciting a languorous moan from her. With a final little lick to her ear, he tried to settle down behind her like she'd asked for. After some tossing and turning he had to admit defeat. "Sorry to disappoint you, Lisbon, but this isn't gonna work. I'd either have to lie on my right arm in this position or you would have to lie on it. Unfortunately, neither is an option right now."

He turned over to his left side and tried to get comfortable. He was slightly miffed he wasn't able to hold his lover, but suddenly he felt someone climb over him and a moment later, Teresa settled down with her back against his chest. She pulled his right arm carefully over her waist, making sure the injured part didn't touch anything. She let out a satisfied sigh.

"Good night, my love," she said sleepily.

"Good night, Teresa," he answered warmly, pressing his lips to the top of her head in a final good-night kiss.

She drifted off to sleep soon afterwards, while Patrick lay awake for many hours trying to sort through the tumble in his mind, until he finally fell asleep in the small hours of the morning.


TBC

A/N: Sorry the chapter's a bit shorter than usual, but it was a good place to stop. I know, Jane's quite OOC again, but please bear with me...

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