Author's notes: Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts with me, it's always lovely to hear them and your support. Thanks for the follows and favs. I hope you like this chapter and that it feels real and makes sense. :)

Teresa's stunned, he's surprised her! He can read it in her face.

"I can see I've taken you by surprise, I've taken me by surprise. I don't want you to answer right now. I want you think about it. I'm a lot to take on I know, it's not something to be done lightly."

Teresa finds a voice.

"Patrick are you sure?"

"Yes. I look at that wall an it's completely blank. It had my wife's blood on it for so long, representing the evil done here and I painted on my heart. But now it's gone and there's nothing. It's the same for me. Everything I ever had is gone. My family, my life and now Red John. What I have is now and you're my now."

"You shouldn't turn to me just because there's no-one else."

"It's not like that."

"How can you be sure?"

Patrick looks to the ceiling searching for the right words.

"I guess the truth is I can't be certain, but I know that I look forward to seeing you every day. I know that I feel happy when I'm with you. I know that I can trust you with my darkest secrets. I know that when something happens, you're the one I want to tell. I know when I'm not with you, I miss you."

Her mind is whirling but she tries to choose her words carefully.

"I love spending time with you. I care for you deeply. You're the most important person in my life, but I...I don't know if I love you."

Patrick takes a hold of her hand.

"That's okay, I don't know too. I'm not asking you to marry me, not yet anyway, but to give us a chance. I know I want to try, that I'm totally certain about. Just think about it, that's all I ask."

Teresa nods her head, her eyes brimming with tears. Patrick can see she's about to say something and he puts a finger against her lips.

"Shhhh. Don't say anything now, I want you to be certain. But know that whatever you decide I'll still be around. You don't have to say yes to keep me in Sacramento."

Teresa can't stop the tears falling and Patrick brushes them away with his thumb, he pulls her in close and hugs her tight. He whispers in her ear.

"I believe I have a dinner to cook. I'm going to nip to the store as I realise I've forgotten something, you stay here and fix your face."

He feels Teresa nod in to his shoulder. He pulls away and with his hands on her arms he dips his knees to look her in the face.

"Whatever you decided will be all right. I want what's best for you and if that isn't me then that's okay."

She nods her head again. He kisses her on the cheek and is gone. Teresa doesn't move as she listens to him grab his keys and open and close the door. She hears him get into the car and start it up and then he's gone and the emptiness of the house envelops her. After a moment she realises that she needs to move and she goes in to the bathroom and washes her face. She stares at her reflection, eyes red and puffy. A smile flickers across her face as what Patrick said sinks in. He's giving her alone time to recover and to think, that man's never forgotten anything in his life, except when he wants to. She splashes her face once more and dabs it dry with the hand towel hanging on the heated towel rack. She buries her face, enjoying it's softness and warmth. She takes some deep breaths, then lifts up her head and shakes it, as if trying to set it working again. She sits down on the bed then swings her legs around and lies down.

She closes her eyes and allows pictures of Patrick run through her mind. She sees him as he first arrived in her life, a broken man, looking for a purpose, in need of a home. The CBI became that home and with its security propping him up he became stronger and with it irritating, reckless, dangerous, but brilliant. There were times when the hassle just didn't seem worth it, but then his vulnerability surfaced from an encounter with the loss of a child or the cruelty of Red John and she knew that for better or for worse they were his only hope of salvation.

Then he became her partner, her friend. Still irritating, reckless and dangerous but now he trusted her, not with everything but that was usually for her own protection. He started to come in to her office and lay down on her couch to keep her company as she finished off paperwork. Sometimes he didn't need to say anything just being there, so she wasn't alone, was enough.

She remembers when Red John took him, the whole weekend was gone. He had him for almost three days before she even realised. The emotions that went through hit her as a body blow. He could be dead before she'd even know he was gone, he was at least suffering. When she saw him tied to the chair, his suffering beyond her imagination, she was torn between despair and hope. He was alive, they'd found him in time.

He'd shut her out at first, but their bond had won through. He shared it all with her, trusted her with the great shame he'd felt and he'd listened to her, fought his way through it all. Been there for her, saved her life, caught Red John. The horror of the roof top where Jane had chosen her over himself.

She became aware of tears wetting her face again, she brushes them with her hand. She can see him standing in front of her, letting her see his scars - scars on the outside and inside. She realises he's shared everything with her, there's nothing he's held back. She thinks back to her answer to him. How could she say she didn't know if she loved him? Emotions begin to overwhelm her and she closes her eyes as if that will contain them, keep them from spilling over. She loves him! He's a part of everything she is, she doesn't want a life without him woven in it, as much a part of her as she is. She also realises that he was holding back, not wanting to overwhelm her, because he loves her and he knows it too.