Still some Jane family time ahead...


After the main course Patrick excused himself to the toilet and Matthew took that as his cue to follow him and talk to him in private.

"Oh, hi," Patrick greeted him warily when he suddenly appeared beside him at the urinal. "I hope you don't mind me teaching your boy that stuff. I didn't mean to go against you and it sounded like you're not that happy about his interest in magical tricks. But I couldn't very well say no at that point. Sorry."

Matt patted him on the shoulder in a friendly gesture, which made the other man flinch a bit at first. "Don't worry, Patrick. I'm truly glad you're helping him. He's been so frustrated and almost desperate. And you seem to do an excellent job. Thanks."

"Okay," Patrick answered neutrally. He was really mystified by the other man and had a difficult time reading him.

"You're right. At first I wasn't happy with his hobby. It reminded me too much of my brother. But I've done a lot of thinking since the last time we met, Patrick, and I have realized that thinking my boy might turn into a replica of your father only because he has the same hobby is just as absurd and uncalled for as my assumptions of you being just like him."

The blond man cast his uncle a sideways glance to find out if the other was telling the truth. When he was convinced that Matthew indeed seemed honest, he replied, "Alright then. Though I have to warn you: I learned what I just taught Paul from Alex."

Both men had walked over to the sinks by now and were washing their hands.

"I figured as much. It's okay, really. The fact that my brother knew them as well doesn't automatically turn magic tricks into something evil. It's just that at first… well, I'm sure you've noticed their similar appearances?"

Patrick nodded. "It was a bit of a shock I have to admit. But Paul's personality is rather the opposite from what I've gathered so far. He's… timid, slightly insecure – not unusual at this age, especially for boys. He's smart, a quick study, but not a high-achiever. He…" he stopped himself at that point. "Sorry, that was rude. I didn't mean to do a cold-reading on your son, sir."

Matt sighed. "Could you please drop the whole 'sir' crap? I'm really sorry we had such a lousy first meeting, but I would like to try for a fresh start. It's not just something I'm saying to please my parents. And you calling me 'sir' feels wrong and weird. I'm Matthew, or rather Matt. That's what my family calls me, at least when I'm not in trouble." He grinned sheepishly at the last part.

The younger male examined the older one intently for a moment and sensed the other's honesty. He took a deep breath, stood tall and held out his right hand. "Hello, I'm your nephew, Patrick. It's nice to meet you." Matt smiled at him warmly, returned the gesture and they shook hands. With a smirk, the younger Jane added, "But don't expect me to call you uncle. THAT would be weird."

They turned to leave. "Saw on TV that you riled up Gale Bertram the other night," Matt said conversationally. Patrick nodded warily. "Well, good for you! Never liked that sleazy bloke. He taught a few classes when I was on a seminar a few years ago. Always kept that crowd of boot-licking followers around. Never had him as a teacher myself though."

"I'm glad you approve. He rubbed me the wrong way right from the start." Patrick grinned, remembering his first contact with the man.

"Yes, I can imagine. You played him extremely well by the way. You would've made an excellent lawyer, I'm sure." Matt cast him an approving look while he opened the door of the men's room and motioned for Patrick to lead the way.

"Thanks for the compliment. But believe me when I tell you that the judicial system of this state is far better off without me being a part of it. I'm already causing enough havoc on the other side of law enforcement…" Patrick replied with a look over his shoulder at his uncle, testing the waters a bit with the last part of his statement.

To his surprise the older man chuckled. "So I've been told. But with astonishing results to show for it. Nearly forty percent. That's how much the rate of closed cases has improved since you joined the CBI. That's quite a number, Patrick. Impressive."

"The team's great. It's a joint accomplishment," the younger Jane explained modestly, as they walked back to their table.

"Oh I don't doubt their qualities. Especially your girlfriend is a force to be reckoned with. But I'm equally as sure that your special input is what truly distinguishes your team from others," Matt said cordially, patting the other man's shoulder once more. And to his delight his nephew didn't flinch this time.

They'd reached the others again by now and the last exchange had been overheard by them. "You're right about that, Matthew," Teresa chimed in. "He is the best detective in this state, as I've told you before." Her face showed pride.

Patrick passed her by on his way to his chair and pecked her on the cheek. "We're the best team in the state, Lisbon. Never forget that. I might connect the dots and make the picture more visible with my schemes, but if it wasn't for the team, there wouldn't be any dots to connect." Teresa looked up at him in open astonishment and he added with a chuckle, "Yes, I know. Usually I only make fun of your tedious police work, but I do understand its value. Don't expect me to ever say the same about that absurd paperwork you seem so fond of, though."

Everybody laughed at that and the conversation around the table continued in high spirits. As Patrick had promised, Paul had the hand movements necessary to vanish objects down by the time their desserts arrived and during the course of the evening he taught his cousin a wide range of other tricks. To the amazement and amusement of everyone, but especially the two youngest participants, he conjured a whole assortment of devices suitable for doing magic from the divers pockets of his waistcoat and jacket, so that at least Mary and Paul were well entertained by their new relative all along. Even the girl had taken an active interest and seemed genuinely happy when - after asking Paul's permission – Patrick taught her a card trick as well.

Teresa had watched the display with great amusement. It was so typically Patrick to completely enamor the teenagers in a matter of hours. Earlier in their acquaintance she'd always assumed it was his childish disposition that lured youngsters to him, but now she knew it wasn't just that.

He was rather good relating to them, no doubt, and he had a childlike curiosity and way about him. But his wasn't real immaturity. It was easy to forget that he'd indeed been a responsible husband and father who'd cared for his family. She knew that side of him as well. And so she'd realized that the real knack he had when dealing with children was his ability to take them seriously without coming across as patronizing. He showed them honest respect and treated them as equals without giving up his position as the older, wiser adult. It was a true gift and a very positive side effect of his incredible skills of perception paired with a genuine liking for the honesty and innocence of children.

To him they represented people free from ulterior motives, machinations, and betrayal, and considering his own childhood and life so far she could very well understand his desire to be around forthrightness. And watching him dealing with children had in fact been the most redeeming factor in her eyes in the beginning of their cooperation. No one in their right mind could ever doubt that Patrick Jane was a good man after seeing him around children. To her at least it had always been a sight of beauty to observe his interactions with kids of all ages.

And if she wasn't entirely wrong, he'd managed to slay even the last remaining doubts in the rest of the Jane family as well tonight. She'd seen Matthew watching his nephew out of the corner of his eye on quite a few occasions and his expression had been a very pleased one. Teresa was sure Patrick had won over Emma already during their greeting, when he'd diffused the potentially awkward situation with the sulking teenage girl in the blink of an eye. Elisa already adored her oldest grandchild. And Teresa had seen pride and affection glinting in Jonathan's eyes the whole evening when his gaze lingered on the child of his oldest son.


Yes, this had indeed been a very successful evening, Teresa concluded while shaking hands with everybody when they all took their farewells, and it would make the events to come the next day a whole lot easier to deal with.

On their way home Lisbon said as much to him. He cast her a slightly doubtful sideways glance and said, "Not that I didn't have a good time and all - Mary and Paul are great kids – but I barely exchanged a word with any of the adults. So not really a setting that allowed me to gain many brownie points, I'd say."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "For someone so perceptive you can be completely oblivious at times."

"Oh really? Then please enlighten me, Lisbon. How did you perceive this evening? And what pray tell has made it such a success in your eyes?" he asked sarcastically.

"No need to get all snippy, Jane. You do have quite a blind spot when it comes to reading your newfound family." She held up her hand to stop him from interrupting her and he complied and shut his mouth. "You can deny it all you want but you know I'm right. I don't expect you to admit it but you can't fool me, Patrick. You have made some pretty incorrect presumptions in that respect already and if you were to be honest for a moment, you would acknowledge it."

She gave him a minute to let it sink in. A moment later he conceded, "Well, maybe you have a point there. It does seem especially difficult to read that bunch."

Her hand wandered to his thigh and she gave him a gentle squeeze. "Because you're not the neutral, keen observer you normally are. For once you're in a position that involves deep feelings and desires. It's only natural that this would cloud your observations and judgment." Her hand had lingered on his thigh and now she started to caress his leg lightly in a gesture of comfort. "You've read me wrong on a few occasions as well since we got together, if you need further proof, my love."

She could sense him wriggling a bit in his seat, seemingly uncomfortable. It was a barely visible reaction, but she could judge him well enough by now to recognize it. "It's okay, Patrick. No need to be embarrassed. It's because you're so afraid of rejection that you try to read signs of rejection into every action of the people you're close to. It's perfectly understandable."

He shook his head. "You're really starting to scare me, Teresa. I guess I'm just getting a taste of my own medicine: I seem to be an open book to you these days… I'm not sure how I feel about being dissected like this." He looked quite sheepish at that but grinned anyway.

Teresa laughed out loud at his last comment. She loved his humor and she appreciated his readiness to make good-natured fun of himself like that. "Well, didn't you want someone to love you even though they know about all your flaws?" she challenged him.

"Ah, and another question answered at long last: You did watch that application video Erica made of me," he deduced.

She could sense some insecurity in his tone. "Yes, Patrick. I admit that I did watch it. It was your own fault, stealing my laptop and all. And it was very enlightening to see it, at least the few passages where you were being truthful."

Turning very serious and wishing for this talk to take place at another location than his car, she added, "I know I'm not your wife, but I want you to know that I love you just the way you are and that I'm very happy to have you in my life, Patrick. I couldn't wish for a better man to be with."

He remained silent for a good two minutes, fighting to compose himself and focusing on driving, before he answered hoarsely, "You are a cruel woman, Teresa, telling me such things while I have to make sure I don't crash the car instead of ravishing you."

She snickered, both to fight her own bout of desire for him and to set him at ease a bit. "I must admit I might have picked a bad moment to tell you and would gladly do something other than hold my breath and hope you won't cause any accidents – well even more so than usual that is. But as that's not an option until we're back home, I could analyze this evening for you from my point of view instead. What do you think?"

He sighed heavily. "Well, can't say that that's a real alternative to my actual desires right now, but it'll have to do. And I am kind of curious about your version of the events. So, by all means, shoot!"

She snickered and squeezed his thigh again. "And be careful with manhandling my anatomy, Teresa, or I can't be held responsible for my actions or guarantee any further compliance with traffic regulations," he whined.

Her snicker turned into a real laugh and of course she had to squeeze his thigh once more, a bit higher up than before for good measure, eliciting a groan from him. "I trust in that superior self-control you always claim to possess, Mr. Jane," she teased him.

He pretended to groan with frustration, but motioned for her to go on talking. "About the evening: don't you realize that it was exactly the fact that you got on so well with your cousins that produced a whole mountain of your so called brownie points?"

Patrick frowned. "What are you implying? I mean, I know that I had a promising start with the kids, but that won't help me much if the parents don't want me to have any further contact with them. Sure, I made some headway with Matt, but apart from the introductions I barely exchanged a word with Emma. Very proper lady, that one. Don't know much about her except from that."

She snorted. "It's really unbelievable how utterly clueless you can be sometimes."

"Gee, thanks. Could you stop insulting me for a minute and explain things instead?" he chimed in rather miffed.

"Sorry, Patrick. I didn't mean it that way. I'll try to clarify it. It's as plain as that: nothing could possibly show you in a more favorable light than you being around children," she said warmly, and started caressing his thigh out of simple, innocent affection. "You are great with kids. All your best qualities come to the fore when you're together with them. The way you comport yourself in the company of children is the best thinkable advertisement for your personality. In other words: you charmed the whole Jane family into the ground tonight without even realizing it."

She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. "Me too, by the way. It happens every time you come across children. I'm a total sucker for it."


TBC

Reviews are like Jane with kids: a sight that makes me very happy...