Sorry, just a short one this time...


Agent Kimball Cho cast just one look at Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon on Thursday morning when she walked into the break room - with a big smile, but yawning and in search of coffee - and knew why she was in such a good mood. "Late night, boss?" he asked straight-faced.

She blushed at once, but put on a sly grin anyway."Yeah. Want any details, Kimball?"

"Details about what?" Jane inquired, entering the room cheerily.

"Oh, he just wondered about my late night activities," she said nonchalantly.

The consultant mocked surprise and indignation. "Kimball Cho? Do I sense an unhealthy obsession with your boss's love life? How naughty. You know this could be construed as sexual harassment, don't you? Shame on you." He wagged his finger at him as well for good measure, sporting a shit-eating grin.

The Asian man couldn't fully quell a grin of his own from making it onto his lips. "You two really deserve each other," he said neutrally, leaving the meaning of the statement open. Then he went back to the bullpen with two cups of coffee, one of which he delivered to Rigsby, who was reading some files in deep concentration. Cho waited until his partner had taken a big mouthful of the hot beverage before he murmured, "Wow, the boss looks sure happy today. Jane must be one hell of a stud in the sack."

Predictably, nearly a pint of coffee covered every available surface of Rigsby's desk including his files a second later with the agent in question coughing and panting for air, face unhealthily red.

"Oh, did I say that out loud?" Cho asked with raised eyebrows and eyes full of mirth. "Oops."

Grinning he took a big sip of his own coffee, when a cheery voice whispered in his ear, "Being naughty again, Agent Cho?" This in turn startled Cho into spewing his drink partly on the floor and partly on Van Pelt, beside whose desk he'd been standing.

Jane on the other hand stood behind him and snorted with laughter, while Grace couldn't decide whether she should be disgusted about being bathed in Cho's coffee or laughing along because she'd watched the whole encounter. She'd heard how Kimball had played poor Wayne and she'd seen Jane watching the scene and sneaking up behind Cho, motioning for her not to give him away. And apart from being the victim of the coffee attack, the whole thing had been completely hilarious in her opinion, so she gave finally in and bubbled over.

That's the situation Lisbon walked in on, when she entered the bullpen to check in with her team. Her brows disappeared behind her bangs and she said only one word, "Jane."

"I didn't do it," the blond man giggled, trying and failing to look innocent.

She cast him a stern look.

"Okay," he admitted with an impish grin. "But he started it," Jane added mock-petulantly, pointing to Cho.

Teresa rolled her eyes in consternation. But when she spoke again, her tone betrayed her amusement, "And this is supposed to be the leading law enforcement agency in this state… Immature children, the whole lot of you. Agent Van Pelt?" The young woman nodded eagerly, a bit unsure how pissed their boss really was. "Go and put on something clean and dry." Lisbon cast the younger woman a warm smile to put her at ease. Then her expression turned stern again. "Agents Cho and Rigsby? Clean that up." Her hands made a vague gesture meant to cover all the wayward coffee in the room. Turning her attention to her sheepish consultant, she said, "Jane? My office. Now!"

Walking off, they could both hear Grace murmur, "Poor Jane. He's really in for it now." And Cho's answer, "Wouldn't be too sure about that." And Rigsby's predictable question, "What do you mean?" And Grace's and Kimball's exasperated groans.


Jane and Lisbon entered her office together in dignified silence, which lasted exactly until the moment, she'd closed the blinds and he the door. Then the Senior Agent finally lost her battle with laughter. "God, please, Jane. I want the rest of the story now. I only caught the last part of it," she pressed out. "You should have seen Cho's face," she giggled helplessly. "And Van Pelt's, when the coffee hit her straight on. Did you see her face?"

Jane nodded, laughing heartily himself. "Yeah, I could see hers, but not Cho's."

"And then you. Saying you hadn't done it. God, Patrick, sometimes you really look like a five year old caught with his hand in the cookie jar and still protesting his innocence." She giggled some more.

"Let me guess: it was cute." He rolled his eyes.

She stepped closer to him, pulling him down by the lapels of his jacket. "Yeah, as a matter of fact it was," she said, her face suddenly showing hunger instead of mirth. And then she closed the last gap and pressed her lips to his. She released him a moment later, before things could get out of hand. "I really shouldn't do that at work," she scolded herself. Casting him an accusing look she grumbled, "Why are you so damn irresistible, Jane?"

"Oh, nine years of repressed sexual attraction should do the trick. And then there's the whole matter of being in love and all that to consider. Pretty explosive combination," he explained merrily, sporting a completely blasé expression.

She punched his arm. "Idiot! Why aren't you more affected then, smart-ass?"

"I am, Lisbon. Don't doubt that. But I'm better at concealing it. Remember? I'm an excellent liar while you, my dear, are a dreadful one. But rest assured, if it were up to me you'd be on that sofa, naked, shouting my name in ecstasy by now," he said seriously.

"Jane! Don't say things like that," she groaned.

He went over to her couch and sat down. "And just when I was telling the truth for once…" he teased her. He patted the spot beside him. "Come on, Lisbon. Sit down with me, and I'll tell you the rest of the story. Though I do have to warn you that it could very well make us come full circle." He smirked.

She eyed him skeptically but sat down, though she kept some space between them, not trusting either herself or Jane. "Shoot!"

He recounted the whole event and had her giggle very un-Lisbonish again in no time. "Poor Wayne. Cho's nearly as bad as you sometimes."

"Yes, that's why I had to punish him," Jane answered straight-faced. "Ahm, Lisbon?" he asked a moment later and she nodded, "Don't look to the right side of the door, I said, DON'T," he chided her, preventing her from doing so at the last moment, "We're being watched. I'm afraid you didn't fully close one of those blinds."

"Sneaky bastards. Who's it?" she inquired indignant.

He enumerated completely unaffected, "Red hair, black hair, brown hair. Any further questions? They're probably trying to make sure, you didn't kill me. Wanna give them a show?"

"What? You want me to pretend killing you?" She raised her brows.

"Not quite… rather the opposite. Will teach them not to spy on their boss." He smirked.

She looked at him incredulously. "You want to make out with me in front of the team? Are you crazy?"

"Nah, just pretend of course."

She gazed at him with defiance and murmured, "Not sure I can only pretend with you, Jane."

He chuckled, but his eyes only carried warmth. "Then let me do the pretending. Just lie down on the sofa and trust me."

Her voice was very skeptical, "I don't know…"

"Relax, Teresa. From their angle, they can't see much. I'll just bend over, they won't even see you. Come on, don't be a spoil-sport. I promise I won't do anything inappropriate, not at work at least." He winked at her.

She couldn't refuse his expectant eyes. She let him push her sideways so she came to rest on the couch. And as promised he only bent down, shielding her completely from view. She couldn't see where his hands were or what they were doing, but he hardly touched her at all. It only took a few moments of him doing whatever he did, until they could hear two horror-stricken gasps and one dismayed groan from outside her office door.

Jane sat up again and shouted "Busted!" and then they could hear three pairs of feet hurry away. Patrick and Teresa grinned at each other. "Told you that'll teach them."

"Yeah, you did. But now, shoo, Jane. Out of my office so I'll finally get some real work done. I'm still an officer of the law after all," she said strictly.

He got up and went to the door, opened it and was halfway through before he turned once more for a parting-shot. "Yes, but now you are also my girlfriend," he said with a cheeky grin, bringing to both their minds a scene from not so many weeks ago.

She shook her head and went over to her desk mumbling darkly, "Just glad that hussy isn't around anymore to ask for kisses."


TBC

I hope you liked to get a bit of team action.

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