A/N: Okay, a little more sexy time in the first section. It's not too graphic but feel free to skip it, it won't make a difference to the story.

Chapter 33 - Sex & Honesty

As they finished their ice cream together, the crowd in the restaurant thinned out. They could hear the soft opera music being played now and they sat silently listening to the tones of Puccini. There was a break, presumably to change CDs Jane supposed and the more lively 'Volare' came on.

'Want to dance?' Jane asked hopefully.

'Another night, okay?' Lisbon replied, happy to just listen and tap her foot along.

As they exited the restaurant Lisbon took Jane's arm as they strolled home.

'How are the feet? In need of a piggy back?' he asked.

'Not at the moment.'

As they walked on a downpour of rain came out of nowhere. They dived into a nearby bus shelter to take cover.

'Do you want me to do my Gene Kelly?' Jane asked, motioning to the pavement in front of them, his blond curls dripping.

'Don't you even dare' replied Lisbon, smiling.

Jane noticed her dress was sticking to her, droplets of rain glistening on her face and her breasts, her wet hair beginning to turn curly.

He took off his jacket to put around her, pulling her in close for a deep lingering kiss as he did so.

'This moment is going to take pride of place in my memory palace, I think' he said, looking down into her eyes.

'You are so corny, you know that?' she laughed.

The downpour was soon over and they resumed their walk home.

When they got to the door Lisbon inserted the key, Jane behind her kissing her neck eagerly, his hands fondling her through her wet dress.

'Will you stop that until we get inside? My neighbours will be thinking I'm some type of harlot.'

Jane grinned behind her, continuing his assault of kisses on her neck and whispered 'If what happened in the restaurant tonight was anything to go by then I would say you are.'

Lisbon laughed, still not able to get the door open.

Jane turned her around impatiently, his tongue delving into her mouth hungrily as one of his hands grabbed a breast through her dress. The other hand deftly opened the door behind her and they both flew in, Lisbon almost falling to the ground in the process. They both laughed for a second then their eyes became serious as desire took over. Jane slammed the door behind him and walked towards her. She backed away to the kitchen table, her smile tempting him further.

He backed her up against the table as their kissing became more frantic, Lisbon pulling at his wet shirt as Jane's hands wandered up her thighs, too eager to deal with taking off her dress. She gasped as he reached his goal, throwing her head back then pulling at his trousers. With one hand he let them and his boxers fall to the ground as she balanced herself on the table, ready for him. He took her quickly as they rocked together until they both cried out in ecstasy.

After they finished Jane said breathlessly 'I'll never eat eggs from this table again without thinking about this', his wet shirt sticking to his chest. Lisbon pulled her dress down laughing, kissing him on the cheek as she went to the bedroom to get changed for bed.

Jane woke after a couple of hours sleep and absentmindedly moved his arm to cuddle Lisbon to find her missing from the bed. He turned on the light and noticed it was 3.45am. After checking the bathroom he went to find her in the living room. She sat curled up on the couch in her nightshirt looking at a photo album, her fingers tracing over the photos and a sad expression on her face. She had not yet noticed him standing in the doorway. Jane thought for a second, wanting for her to talk to him but remembering his promise to let her tell her things in her own time and moved back so as not to intrude on this private moment for her. However, upon stepping back, the floorboard beneath him creaked, making her look up.

'Sorry' he said. 'I woke up and you weren't there, I...I'll go back to bed and leave you to it.'

She thought for a second and replied sadly, 'That's okay, do you want to take a look with me?'

'Only if you want me to.'

She nodded and he came and joined her on the couch.

She sat up and placed the album on her lap, Jane sitting beside her.

He said softly, pointing to a photo of a woman smiling and eating an ice cream at the beach and that could have been Lisbon's double, 'That's your mother, huh?'

She nodded, smiling sadly, her fingers tracing the image again. 'That was the last vacation we all took together, we went to Myrtle Beach. I think that's why I liked California. I know it's on the other side of the country but being near the beach always reminds me of that vacation.'

Jane nodded, placing an arm around her shoulders. He knew the feeling, he always thought of building sandcastles with Charlotte every time he was at the beach.

He pointed to another one of three boys that looked like the same vacation. They sat facing the camera proudly, looking like they were pushing each other out of the way. 'So, that's Tommy obviously, James and Andrew, right?' he asked.

She nodded.

'How old were they when this was taken?' he asked.

Lisbon replied 'I guess Tommy was ten, James eight and Andrew five I think'.

Jane nodded. 'They look like quite a handful'. He didn't think he could admire her any more but she had mothered these children shortly after this was taken.

He smiled as he pointed to the next photo. 'Ah, now who could this be?'

She smiled back, both of them looking at a photo of a teenage girl with short bobbed chestnut hair dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, laughing happily as she sits in a dodgem car, having just rammed some unsuspecting driver. Jane looked at her, mesmerised by the innocence and carefree smile on her face. He had seen Lisbon smile plenty of times but never like this. He swallowed a lump in his throat and joked, 'And you said I was an aggressive driver.'

She laughed. 'I didn't say that, I said you drive too fast.'

Jane smiled but then became serious as his eyes went to the last photo on the page. A middle aged man was in front of him, sitting on a park bench with his arms outstretched, smiling widely into the camera. 'Your mother took this photo' Jane said quietly.

Lisbon nodded. 'How did you know that?'

Jane shrugged. 'It's obvious in his eyes, the love he had for her.' He didn't want to besmirch her father to her as much as he felt the need.

Lisbon nodded.

Jane waited a moment as Lisbon collected her thoughts.

'You don't have to tell me everything, you know, even showing me this is enough for now' he said softly.

She shook her head. 'I want to tell you more.'

Jane nodded, rubbing her shoulder with his thumb. 'Okay.'

Lisbon breathed deeply and began as Jane sat quietly beside her, taking in every word. 'You know, when I think of my childhood it's like a play with two acts. One before my mom died and one after. Almost like a dream turning into a nightmare. When my mom was alive we were just a normal family. I'm not saying we were the Brady bunch or anything but life was good, you know. We went on picnics, to ballgames, ate dinner together, all the normal stuff'.

She sighed sadly and continued. 'When...when she died it was like a switch was activated suddenly in my father's brain. He went from being one of the most loving men in the world to a shell of himself pretty much overnight. We were all grieving naturally and relatives kept telling me that he was heartbroken but that he would pick himself up. But he never did. I needed him so badly then, Jane, for him to just take me in his arms and tell me he still loved me but he never did, he never held me again.' Tears were falling silently down her face as she stared ahead.

Jane sighed, watching her, almost willing her to stop talking so she didn't have to face those memories.

She sniffed and continued, making her voice louder after a few deep breaths, anger beginning to fill her thoughts now. 'I had to pick up the pieces, put my brothers to bed, feed them, help them with their homework. That's how it was for a while. There was a routine of sorts I guess. My father would go to work, give me the money for the bills and so on and I would take care of things. In the beginning he was never violent, just used to come home and plant himself in front of the TV, I think he was still in shock at losing her. So I managed, told myself that it would only be for a little while and that he would get better soon.'

She sighed again, holding her head in her hands.

'You don't have to go into this now, Teresa, if it's too hard for you-'

Lisbon shook her head. 'No, if I don't tell you know I don't know when I'll be ready again.'

'It was about six months after her death that he hit Tommy. I was in the kitchen getting dinner and the boys were supposed to be doing their homework in the living room. I could hear Tommy and James arguing a bit. That was nothing new, they had always been like that, still are today actually. Then I heard my father's voice roaring at them both then what sounded like a slap in the face. I was so surprised for a moment I couldn't move, just stood there at the stove. My father had barely spoke in those first six months and when he did it was just a mumble or a whisper. If I hadn't come in and saw Tommy rubbing his cheek and the other two staring at my father I wouldn't have believed it.'

'He had never hit any of you before?'

Lisbon shook her head. 'Not like that, not out of anger. He believed in taking a ruler to us occasionally if we were out of line but that was it.'

Jane nodded. 'That night. He had been drinking before that?'

'Yes. He always liked a drink but after she died I noticed more empty bottles around the house. I was so busy I hardly noticed how much more he took. Maybe if I had noticed sooner, been able to get him to face up to things-'

Jane took her hand. 'None of this is your fault Teresa, don't even think about blaming yourself for any of it. He was the one who made the choice to do what he did. He was the adult, not you.'

Lisbon nodded but Jane knew there was still guilt inside of her.

Lisbon continued 'Anyway, it just got worse really after that. He would go to work, come home, if he felt like lashing out he would. It continued like that until he killed himself a few years later.' Her voice ended in a whisper, exhausted by telling the tale.

Jane sighed, almost wishing the man was still alive so he could kill him himself for putting Lisbon and her brothers through that.

'How bad were the beatings? For you, I mean?' Jane asked softly.

Lisbon looked at him. 'That's just it, he hardly laid a finger on me. The only times I ever got hurt were when I got in the way of him beating one of my brothers. Once he knew it was me he would stop hitting them but a few times it took him a moment or two to realise I was there so I copped a few right handers every now and then. I was the only one who could get him to stop when he was like that.' She shrugged afterwards.

'You reminded him of your mother, that's why he couldn't knowingly harm you' Jane said.

Lisbon nodded.

Jane thought for a second, a question forming in his mind that he was afraid to ask.

Lisbon regarded him. 'What is it?'

Jane asked quietly, 'You reminded him of your mother, did he ever...'

Lisbon nodded in understanding then shook her head. 'No, never. My father was a lot of things but not that.'

Jane nodded, grasping her hand, thankful for that at least.

Lisbon sat back on the couch, Jane putting both his arms around her and they sat in silence for a few moments. Lisbon said 'There's more to explain about the night he killed himself but I'm not ready yet. I'm not sure I'll ever be to be honest.'

Jane nodded, kissing the top of her head. 'That's okay, take all the time you need, I think you've shared enough for tonight.'

Lisbon felt his arms around her and knew his thoughts were with what Eva had said. She said quietly 'You're not the same, you know, as him? Eva was wrong about that.'

Jane sighed. 'And I thought I was supposed to be the fake psychic. You can't deny there are similarities in the way I've treated you though.'

Lisbon nodded. 'Okay I guess I can agree to that. I have felt used and manipulated by you but the difference is that I never had any expectation that you would do otherwise. You were pulling stunts from practically the first day we started working together. I knew your background; you were a conman after all. I wasn't dumb enough to realise that you wouldn't con me sometimes too so I was more prepared for it when it happened. Like you said, he was the adult, my father, so he wasn't supposed to treat me like that.'

Jane replied, smiling a little, 'So you're saying I was more honest in my dishonesty and abuse of you? Isn't that an oxymoron?'

Lisbon laughed a little. 'Perhaps it is but I know now at least you're trying to change because you love me, it's more than he ever did.'

'Yes I am trying and yes I do, very much.'

A/N: I'm not sure of the name of Lisbon's third brother, I don't recall it ever being mentioned in the show but if I'm wrong please let me know so I can correct it. I thought I'd make an educated guess that it was too the name of an apostle.

Next chapter is back to the case, I'm emotionally wrung out after writing this one!