A/N: I started writing this before season 7 even started, but somehow I never found the motivation to finish it, until now. Takes place at the beginning of season 7 and is slightly AU, because Jane and Lisbon's secret is revealed way before this happened on the show.

Unexpected visitors

„The Boss is gonna hate this."

Grace laughed as they stepped on the porch. „You have to stop calling her that." She knocked at the door and looked at Wayne.

„She doesn't like surprises, that may be true, but she'll be happy to see us."

She shook her head in disbelief. „I still can't understand why she's here. She had the ticket, all her things were packed and ready to go when we last spoke."

Wayne just shrugged but he didn't have time for an answer anyway, because that moment Lisbon opened the door.

She seemed clearly surprised, but as Grace had suspected, after the first shock passed, a huge smile lit up her face.

„What are you two doing here?", she asked and hugged first Grace and then Wayne.

„Well...we could ask you the same." Grace replied with a smile as they entered the house.

Wayne was a bit more forthcoming. „We visited a client in Houston and decided to stay over the weekend in Texas to pay Cho a visit."

They all sat down in the living room and Lisbon opened a bottle of wine. Grace noted that Lisbon seemed different. She couldn't explain why she had that impression, but something had clearly changed. She seemed genuinely happy. It was a weird thought, implying that she hadn't been happy before, but Grace couldn't shake it off. She hadn't seen Lisbon that relaxed in years, if ever at all.

"We had no idea that you're still here until Cho mentioned it this afternoon", Wayne explained her after they settled in with a glass each.

"How are Maddy and Ben?" Lisbon asked and Grace recognised this as weak attempt to change the topic; this was getting more and more suspicious. What the hell had happened? She wouldn't let her former Boss off the hook that easily.

"They're great. We left them with my mother for a few days."

She leaned back in her chair.

"How is…" Grace realised that she couldn't even remember his name, but Lisbon knew immediately what she was talking about.

"Marcus?", her cheeks turned red; she seemed embarrassed.

"We're no longer together." Lisbon avoided looking at her. "He's in D.C. now." Grace wasn't surprised. She'd expected this the moment Cho told her that Lisbon stayed in Austin, what other explanation for this sudden change in plan could there have been?

"What happened-", she never managed to finish the sentence, because that moment the door opened.

They all turned around and Grace couldn't believe her eyes as Jane entered.

"Teresa, I'm back…" He looked up and froze as he saw them.

"Unexpected visitors." He overcame his first amazement immediately and grinned at them the way only Jane could.

"What a nice surprise!"

Grace got up to greet him. Jane had entered without knocking…he clearly had been expected. Could it be…Grace didn't dare to finish the thought; it was impossible. Or was it? After all that happened, after Marcus…Grace had given up hope.

She'd thought Lisbon had seemed embarrassed before…but that was nothing in comparison to now.

Their former boss stood up and put her hands in her jean's pockets.

"Hi", she said to Jane, as if she'd only seen him now. Grace gazed from her to him. Jane seemed a little unsure suddenly. He looked at Lisbon with slightly raised eyebrows, almost as if he was asking her a question.

Lisbon hold his gaze for a moment and then shrugged as if in resignation.

"Do I get a greeting as well?", she asked him and even if Grace had thought it to be impossible, the smile on Jane's face grew even wider.

Jane didn't need a second invitation; he walked over to Lisbon and pulled her close, his hands on her waist. Grace just stared at them, not believing what she saw.

"Hey", Jane murmured and without wasting another second he draw Lisbon even closer and kissed her. Grace hardly could prevent a squeak.

"Hi", Lisbon replied, as they broke apart, cheeks even more flushed than before. She gripped his arm as if for support, before she dared to look back at her and Wayne.

"I knew it!", Wayne exclaimed triumphantly. "Cho owes me 50 bucks."

Grace closed her eyes for a moment, shaking her head in disbelief. Jane started to laugh, a sound so new to Grace's ear that she couldn't help but laugh with him.

"What the hell is this supposed to mean?"

Lisbon sounded a lot like their former boss again and Wayne suddenly seemed a lot smaller.

"It's nothing". He tried to explain himself.

"Did you bet on us?." Jane pulled her closer, but she didn't even seem to notice.

"How long was this going on, Rigbsy?" Lisbon turned around as he avoided her gaze and stared at her instead. "Van Pelt?"

Still laughing Grace just shook her head. "Don't look at me." She noted that Lisbon fell back into old patterns; they were Rigbsy and Van Pelt again. Well she could do that to. "I had nothing to do with it, Boss."

Lisbon just stared at her for a second, blinking in confusion, before her frown turned into a smile.

"I guess I deserved that", she murmured and a still chuckling Jane used that moment to kiss her on the cheek and add: "Couldn't agree more. Why don't we sit down?"

Lisbon looked a him. "You probably want some wine too?"

Jane grinned. "That would be lovely. "

Lisbon sat back down again. "Then get yourself a glass, we clearly don't have to pretend any longer that you don't know where they are."

Grace couldn't stop looking at them after they all settled down. There was more than enough space on the couch but it hadn't stopped them from sitting so close to each other that their legs and shoulders were touching. Grace wondered whether they even had realised it. Lisbon probably not.

She saw that Wayne tried to catch her eye, silently begging her to say something…anything that would stop Lisbon from glaring at him. Grace grinned and even if he deserved it, she herself was way to curious to give Lisbon any more time to stare down her husband.

"So", she began and as expected Lisbon focused on her. "You're together now, huh?"

The reaction she got on the other hand wasn't expected at all. Lisbon tensed visible; she obviously didn't feel comfortable talking about her relationship.

"What do you think?", Jane asked back and while he still smiled at her and Wayne, Grace was sure that he'd noticed it too.

"How about we order some pizza, as in the good old CBI days?", he suggested that moment, "we could even give Cho a call, maybe he joins."

The rather sudden change in topic, for the second time in only a few minutes, made Grace sigh mentally. She probably should get used to the idea, that whatever brought the two finally together, would remain a secret. Grace was curious, but not to the point were she would willingly put Lisbon in a situation that clearly stressed her. The most important thing was, that Jane and Lisbon finally sorted everything out; how it'd happened was only secondary.

It was a lot later that evening, when Grace suddenly and unexpectedly got a glimpse into what had happened between her former co-workers. Cho and Rigsby were still in the living room and she could hear them laughing as she came back from the bathroom – however, it was a different voice that caught her immediate attention.

"Relax, Lisbon", Jane said softly. Grace saw them in the kitchen around the corner; she herself was partly hidden from their view by a bookshelf. She knew that she should walk back to the boys, but somehow her curiosity got the best of her and she stayed.

"I am relaxed…it's just", Lisbon sighed and put the last dishes into the dish-washer. "Every time Grace looks at me I'm afraid she's gonna ask me what happened."

Jane looked at her for a moment, before he very carefully asked: "And what would be so bad about that?" He smiled at her, but even from her hidden corner, Grace could see that the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"I know you'd rather kept this a secret for a while longer, but now that the truth is out there, a few details won't harm you."

Grace was sure that Lisbon must felt Jane's forced indifference, he was obviously hurt by her behaviour, but her former boss chose not to look at him.

"That's not it", Lisbon sighed.

"It won't need much to make Grace happy. It isn't as if we have to tell her in every detail what I told you", he took Lisbon's hand, "what I said is between you and me alone."

Lisbon raised her eyebrows: "And the 50 other passenger on that plane, in case you forgot that."

Jane grinned at her. "Meh, that's just a tiny detail."

Plane, passengers… Grace wondered for a moment whether she'd understood that correctly. What the hell had a plane to do with this?

"I'm actually surprised you didn't tell Grace about that right away. I mean me tumbling over an airport fence makes for a entertaining story, I'd guess. After all you're not the one that stormed an plane and got arrested. I should be the one reluctant to talk, here."

Lisbon shook her head. "Most people would probably call that a romantic gesture and swoon at you, and you know that very well. I actually imagine Grace would consider it exactly that way."

She hated to admit it, but the idea of Jane chasing after a plane to, as it seemed, confess his love… the thought alone made Grace tear up. Lisbon's prediction of her reaction was spot on.

"You're not one of them, then?", Jane asked Lisbon, but the way he smirked at her made Grace believe that he knew her answer very well. The response he got was that she hit him on the arm.

"You know very well how I feel about that", Lisbon admitted, deeply blushing and it didn't help that Jane chose that moment to kiss her hand.

"Idiot", Lisbon murmured, but she couldn't prevent a smile.

Jane grinned at her. "I promise we keep it a secret that there's a true romantic heart hidden somewhere in that fierce aget. I'd bet Cho and Rigsby would spend the rest of the evening teasing me about the whole thing and that will distract them from any further questions about you. And I have to admit, considering the embarrassing fact that I managed to twist my ankle, I might even deserve their mocking."

Lisbon suddenly looked a lot more serious. "It's not your behaviour, which was embarrassing." She started to put away the dishes again, obviously an attempt to avoid having to look at Jane.

"Teresa – " Jane began and Grace felt even more like an intruder. Hearing Jane calling Lisbon by her first name moved her deeply.

"They're not going to ask you about him, believe me."

Lisbon turned around to face him. "Maybe not implicitly, but this doesn't change what they're thinking. It was horrible, what I did." She looked up at Jane, suddenly shocked that he could misunderstand her words.

"I mean..", she swallowed, "I don't regret that I stayed, not for a second. It's everything that happened before that I resent." She rubbed her hands over her forehead. "I never should have let it come that far, I-"

Grace would never learn what Lisbon meant with that, because Jane took that moment to take Lisbon's hand in his and stop her line of thought.

"You never intended to hurt him. And this wasn't entirely your fault, Teresa. I played a part in this too. I could have said something months before you even met him and I didn't."

Lisbon still didn't look at him.

"These are your friends outside there", Jane continued. "Your happiness is what matters to them. No one is going to blame you, Lisbon."

She finally lifted her eyes up to him. "That is not true, I blame myself." Jane tucked a renegade lock of her hair behind her ear.

"I know", he whispered, "even if you shouldn't. Is there something I can do to help you?" He took both her hands in his.

Lisbon smiled at him, an honest and affectionate smile. "You do more than you think. You're making me happy". She kissed him and Grace looked away. She had a bad conscience for watching them, for eavesdropping on them, but part of her was glad that she'd stayed. After all these two went through, it was such a relief to see them finding comfort in each other.

"I'll get over it", Lisbon told Jane softly. "I will never like how I used him, but I'll learn to forgive myself." She hugged Jane fiercely. "I just want you to know that whenever I dodge questions about us, it has nothing to do with you. And not even for a second I want you to think that I'm embarrassed of you. What we have means everything to me, I need you to know that."

Jane tilted her chin up, so that he could look at her. "I do know that", he whispered and as he kissed Lisbon again, Grace slowly walked away with a smile on her face.