Thank you so much for the kind reviews. Please do keep them coming as I honestly am inspired to write when people take the time to read and review my stories.

Hopefully this chapter is a bit more 'in character'.

"Jane." Agent Cho glanced up from his desk at the consultant as he passed.

"Hi Cho", Jane answered cheerfully, the ubiquitous cup of tea in his hand. He made his way over to his couch and sat down. "No one else here yet?"

Cho glanced around the empty room. "No."

"Hmm, that's kind of strange, isn't it?"

"No."

Jane took a cautious sip of the hot tea. "So, what's new?"

"Nothing."

Jane closed his eyes and leaned back, enjoying the quiet and the tea. "I expect Lisbon will be in shortly", he informed the other man.

"She's gone", Cho said, going through some papers on his desk. "She's going to DC."

"No she isn't", Jane answered calmly. "She'll be here."

Cho looked up at him eyebrows raised. After a moment he nodded. "Okay", he finally agreed amicably, recognizing that Abbott must have been right. Who would have thought? Jane and Lisbon. He'd have to call Rigsby and let him know.

"Hey Kim", Jane smiled his greeting at the agent who had just arrived.

"Jane. I didn't think you'd be back yet. How was the rest of your time in Miami?" she smirked.

"Miami was fine. A little too hot and humid for my taste but otherwise it was good."

"Mmm hmm", she murmured. "I'm sure it was very hot."

Jane didn't respond other than to take a sip of tea. A moment later the room began to fill as other FBI employees arrived for their work-day. One of the last ones in was Abbott, who simply said a general hello, until he saw Jane.

"You're back."

"I am indeed", agreed Jane. "And may I say how nice it is to be here."

"I'm sure it is", Abbott told him, walking over and looking down at the consultant. "Where's your partner in crime?"

"If by that you mean Agent Lisbon, who I am sure has never committed a crime, either by herself or in partnership with me or anyone else, I don't know. I expect her to walk in though, in about", he looked at his watch, "five, four, three, two – hi Lisbon."

"Jane", she acknowledged him briefly. "Sir", she nodded at Abbott.

Just then Wylie also arrived. "Agent Lisbon! I thought you'd left already for Washington."

"Uh no. Actually Wylie, I'm -"

"I convinced Agent Lisbon to give us another chance", Abbott interrupted. "She's too good an agent to lose and I informed the office in DC they needed to find someone else."

"But I though you and Agent Pike -" Wylie started to say.

""Wylie, I need you to check some computer files for me", Cho interrupted, pulling out a file folder from the neat pile on his desk. "I need to cross check these names with the Waterford case files."

"What?" Wylie frowned in confusion. He glanced around at his colleagues and suddenly had the strange feeling there was something he was missing. "Uh, okay." He reached out and took the file folder. "I'm glad you're staying Agent Lisbon", he finally said. "We would have missed you."

"Thanks Wylie", she smiled. "I appreciate that."

"Lisbon, Jane, in my office in ten minutes please."

"Yes Sir", Lisbon answered quickly, refusing to look at the man on the couch.

"Ten minutes is perfect" Jane told him. "Just enough time for me to finish my tea. Ah, there's nothing like a good cup of Oolong."

Abbott rolled his eyes and headed towards his office, wondering briefly if he should have left Jane to the tender mercies of the TSA.

Lisbon glanced surreptitiously at the man on the couch, who responded with a full on grin and a general salute with his tea cup. "How are you this morning Lisbon?"

"Fine Jane", she answered, refusing to elaborate. "What's happening?"

"Cho informs me that nothing is happening, although I suspect he's not being entirely truthful. He's been looking at the Plesko file since about 5:00 this morning, trying to find anything he may have missed."

Cho sighed loudly and shook his head. "I didn't miss anything", Cho informed him.

"No? What about the fact that Ernie Baker is Miriam Plesko's brother?"

"She doesn't have a brother", Cho informed him.

"Yes she does. Miriam was adopted as an infant so there's no record of the fact that she had a brother. Ernie is that brother. It's obvious. All you have to do is look at the pictures of Miriam's parents – who don't look anything like her and then take a look at Ernie. Same nose, same jaw-line -"

"Even if that's true", Cho interrupted, "what does that have to do with the murder of her husband?"

Jane shook his head. "Cho, Cho, Cho – money. It was about money, which it usually is, unless it's about jealousy or revenge. But in this case it was purely money. Miriam inherited how much from her husband?"

"About $30 Million."

"There, you see."

"And you think she arranged for this long-lost brother to kill her husband for his money", Cho asked him.

"No, I don't think she had anything to do with it. She clearly loved her husband. But now there's an open field for this long-lost brother to show up in her life. She's all alone and obviously completely helpless and very needy. It won't be long before he insinuates himself into her life and – voila – he has access to all that money. I wouldn't be surprised if she mysteriously dies in a few years herself, leaving him as beneficiary in her will."

Cho stared at him, his lips pursed tightly.

"Sounds plausible to me Cho", Kim told him.

"No it doesn't", the stern-faced detective answered. "But knowing Jane, he's probably right. I'll check it out."

"You do that", Jane nodded.

"Come on Jane, Abbott wants to see us." Teresa grinned at the by-play she'd just witnessed, one that she'd seen on so many other occasions. She wondered suddenly how she could have ever contemplated leaving all this behind.

Jane stood up and stretched. Setting his cup down on a nearby desk he dutifully followed Lisbon. "Abbott calls", he told her cheerfully.

"Right", she rolled her eyes. "As if you ever do what he says."

"Hey, that's not fair", he objected as Teresa knocked on their bosses' office. "I sometimes do."

"Come in." Dennis looked up from his desk as Lisbon, one of his most valuable agents and Jane, his biggest pain in the ass but definitely his most valuable asset, walked in. "Have a seat." Once the two were seated he clasped his hands in front of him and began to speak. "You both know why you're here."

"Do we? Teresa", Jane turned his head to face the dark-haired woman at his side. "Do you know why we're here?"

"Sir", she said, ignoring her partner. "Thank you for saying what you did about convincing me to stay. I appreciate it and it'll make it much easier."

"Easier than what?" Jane asked innocently, only grinning at the death glare he received from his partner.

"You're welcome Agent Lisbon. We are glad that you've decided not to leave us. But", and here he glared at Jane, "I'm going to insist that the two of you act in a professional way, or else I'll have to consider having one of you reassigned."

"Uh", Jane grimaced and changed position, looking rather uncomfortable.

It was Lisbon, however, who said what they were both thinking. "Uh Sir – Jane never acts professionally."

Abbott removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Of course he doesn't." He replaced his glasses and sighed. "I think you know what I mean. I don't want to see any – obvious – demonstrations from the two of you. Keep it clean and discreet and there won't be any problems."

He regarded the two of them – Lisbon, who was rather pink-cheeked, and Jane, who simply looked pleased with himself, and sighed again. He couldn't help but feel happy for them, although he worried what he was getting himself into now. "If you don't have any questions, then that will be all."

"Okay", Jane popped up out of his chair. "Hey Lisbon", he waggled his brows. "Feel like meeting me in the broom closet in fifteen minutes?"

Abbott laughed and told them to get out of his office. Lisbon sighed, then thanked her boss again and left, followed closely by the consultant, who turned at the last minute and faced the FBI agent.

"Thank you", he nodded, a sincere (for once) smile on his face.

"You're welcome and – good luck."

Jane moved back to his couch and spread himself out horizontally, his eyes closed and a small grin on his face. Lisbon watched him for a moment, and shook her head, wondering for the hundredth time what she'd gotten herself into. With a smile and sigh at the idea of the broom closet, she headed towards her own desk, ready to resume her work.

At least she tried to resume it. She ruffled papers around her desk, opened and closed files, checked her email (she had absolutely no idea what anyone had written) and generally tried to pretend she was working. People stopped by all morning to tell her they were glad she was staying but also offering condolences on the fact that her transfer had been denied. A few of them knew about Pike so there were some oblique references to him and even a few nosy questions. She managed to answer civilly to everyone and not give anything away. As far as she could tell, no one suspected a thing about her and Jane.

With all that was going through her head and with the constant interruptions she didn't get a thing accomplished. Whenever she was alone she would think back on the past few days and the huge changes that had occurred. First there was her confusion about going to DC, then her anger at Jane and the acceptance of Marcus' proposal – the most stupid thing she had ever done, she admitted to herself. At least accepting the proposal was stupid, the anger at Jane was definitely justified.

And then there was the scene on the plane. She still blushed to think about it. Talk about creating a spectacle. But if she were being honest with herself, through the embarrassment she had felt indescribable warmth over the fact that a man would go to that length for her. It was a memory she would never forget.

Also up there with 'things she'd never forget' was that first kiss. Her lips twitched at the thought and the broom closet was looking more tempting after each passing moment. She was absolutely planning to experience more of those kisses soon. She just prayed they wouldn't get a new case today.

And then, of course, there were Patrick's revelations about his wife and his – experience, something it was still hard for her to process. And finally, more special than anything was the night that followed those revelations. She definitely would never forget that night. He might not be as experienced, at least with the number of women he'd been with but damn, he was definitely good at knowing what a woman wanted. She guessed it was part and parcel of his ability to read people.

However he did it – and she didn't know whether she wanted to explore that in depth or not – it was amazing. She'd never had anyone make her feel quite like that before. To be fair to the other men she'd dated, part of the difference might be that she was in love with Jane and that had to make the physical side of things even better. After a second she shook her head. No way. It had been good because Jane knew her and knew how to make her respond. It was as simple as that.

She spent a few minutes day dreaming about their night – and morning – together and then forced herself to stop. It was just too – frustrating, especially when she glanced over at his resting form and started to imagine him the way she'd seen him in bed at the hotel.

She switched her mind to their drive home. Jane had insisted on renting a car, rather than taking the bus, even though it was expensive. She wondered briefly how much money he had squirreled away, although figured it probably didn't matter. He wasn't a man who was interested in possessions and so used his money to pretty much do as he wanted.

The ride home had been fun. They'd talked and laughed, much like they had done for years, except it was much lighter and freer than before. She was only beginning to realize how much darkness Jane had shed since he'd killed Red John. There were still scars – hell, still open wounds – that would probably never quite heal, but he was beginning to open up and to let go of at least some of the anger and guilt.

She knew she had to be willing to accept that there would always be a part of Jane that would be beyond her ability to help or to heal. He had been damaged in ways she could never imagine, didn't want to imagine, and she was sure there was nothing anyone could do to change that. Still, there was a part of her that knew that those very scars are also what had turned him into the man she loved. The brief glimpses she'd had on occasion, of the Jane he must have been before, had been someone she couldn't have loved. The horrible tragedy he had suffered had turned him into a better man – what horrible irony.

The conversation on their return had never veered into anything serious or earth shattering. They had silently agreed that they didn't need that, not now, not after all the turmoil and the changes of the last few days. They needed time to simply be – to enjoy one another without soul-baring revelations.

She hoped that would come, recognized it had to come – at least to a certain extent. She knew, as did Jane, that their relationship would only succeed with openness and trust. Oh, she trusted that he would do anything for her, she was less sure that he could be completely open with his thoughts and feelings. The jury was out, but she was hopeful.

When they'd arrived back in Austin she'd debated asking him to stay when he drove up to her house. Fortunately her landlord hadn't rented it yet and was happy to let her move right back in. In the end they'd both agreed – Jane with a smile and a shrug – that it was better if he went back to his Airstream. As much as she wanted him with her, she also needed some space to think things over and to get re-settled, both physically and emotionally. She rather suspected that Jane needed some time alone as well, even though he didn't admit it. He'd made a huge, and for him frightening, step, and he needed to process everything.

They'd agreed that they'd try and keep things quiet at work, although frankly she doubted he'd be able to. She had suspected that he would tease her and make it obvious to everyone that they were a couple. He wasn't exactly the subtlest person in the world, unless he wanted to be. For some stupid reason then, she felt disappointed that he'd been his old, usual self when she got in today. He was definitely playing it cool, not acting any differently towards her than he ever did – and she was tempted to start teasing him.

She laughed and then grew embarrassed when heads turned and people looked at her. She was supposed to be going over cold-case murder files – not something that usually generated laughter. She glanced over at Jane, who was lying down with his eyes closed, but who was also sporting a smirk.

The jerk! He knew exactly what she was thinking and was enjoying it. She would definitely have to plan some way of getting him back.

It was lunch-time and she was starting to get hungry. She hadn't had time to fix anything for herself. If course, the fact that her refrigerator and cupboards were bare had made it impossible regardless of the time. Knowing she'd have to either go to the cafeteria, which she hated, or drive to one of the restaurants close by, she almost decided to simply forget lunch.

Just then someone walked by her desk – she didn't lift her head to see who – but a small piece of paper floated down. She frowned and went to grab it, only to smile when she saw what it was. The frog! Jane had made one for her years ago, shortly after he'd started consulting with the CBI. She laughed at the fond memory.

She went to reach for it when it jumped and she couldn't help the small squeak that erupted. Looking around in embarrassment she was relieved that no one seemed to have noticed – except maybe Cho, who had a small smile on his face, even though he wasn't looking at her.

With another check around the room she reached and picked up the small paper frog. There was writing on it and she quickly straightened the paper.

Meet me in the courtyard in 10.

Carefully placing the paper in her purse she checked her watch, grinned and started re-sorting the file in front of her.

Jane was sitting at one of the table in the courtyard provided for employees. He had a large while paper bag in front of him and two sodas.

"Hi", his eyes crinkled up as he caught sight of her. "Lunch?"

"Tell me you brought something good?" she asked, sitting down and giving him a smile.

"Mmm – here", he reached in and pulled out two sandwiches – thick grilled vegetables and cheese layered in crusty French bread. He also brought out a couple of apples and placed them on the table. "Thought you probably didn't have a chance to buy any food last night and I know how much you hate the cafeteria here."

"How did you do this? You were in late last night too." She took a bite of the sandwich and closed her eyes. "This is amazing."

He shrugged and simply grinned as he watched her eat. "How was your morning?"

She looked at him in disgust, still chewing her sandwich. "Fine. And yours? Get some more sleep?"

He grinned even wider and grabbed a piece of Portobello mushroom that seemed to want to escape his sandwich. "I'll have you know I wasn't sleeping. I was thinking."

"About a case I'm sure", she told him sarcastically.

"No – I solved the Plesko case already this morning. No, this was about this weekend."

"You were thinking about this weekend?" she asked curiously. "What about it?"

"Well, I thought we could do something – you know, something fun."

"Fun?"

"Yeah, you know 'fun' – something you enjoy doing?"

"Oh." She suddenly realized that, although she and Jane had spent a lot of time together over the years, and that there had been fun times, she had never gone with him somewhere that wasn't somehow case related. "You mean a date?" she finally asked, a smile breaking out on her face.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes Teresa, a date."

"Sounds good. What did you have in mind?"

He frowned for a moment and she suddenly wondered what kinds of things he found fun. She didn't picture him as the out-door type – although the mental picture of him tramping down trails in his suit was rather priceless. Museums seemed more his style, that and classical concerts or plays.

"How about the zoo?" he asked.

"The zoo?" It was the last place she would have thought of and she blinked a couple of times in surprise.

"You don't like zoos?"

"What? No – no, it's not that. It's just I guess I never thought of you going to a zoo."

He grinned at her – she never got tired of his smile or how his eyes crinkled up. How the hell he could be such a smiler after everything he'd been through always amazed her. Although, on second thought she realized that a lot of it over the years had been a front, armor to protect himself. Now she was pretty sure the smiles were mostly honest – and she loved them.

Without warning his smile faded and he broke eye contact with her. The next moment he was twisting his wedding ring. "Uh – I used to -"

"Yes", she prodded softly, recognizing that whatever he was going to say was something difficult and probably painful.

He looked up at her and this time his smile was crooked. "Charlotte used to love it."

She blinked again, pretty sure that if she tried to speak it would come out more as a sob. That was the first time she'd ever really heard him mention his daughter except in the context of her death and catching Red John. She reached out her hand and captured his. "I would love to go to the zoo." She squeezed his hand and he looked at her gratefully.

"See, it'll be fun", he told her, his eyes looking suspiciously bright but the full-watt smile beginning to return.

"Yes it will." She grabbed one of the apples and took a bite. "I see you finally remembered my apple", she informed him, knowing he needed a change of subject.

He laughed and stood up, collecting the garbage. "I never forget anything you ask me Teresa", he told her. "Come on or Abbott's gonna send Cho out to get us."

She stood, more slowly, and wished that she could reach out and kiss him. For some reason she knew that what had just occurred was pretty momentous and a step forward in their relationship. God, she wanted to be able to hug him. Instead all she could do was brush past him and give his hand another quick squeeze.

He followed her back into the building, feeling lighter than he had in a long, long time.