Back at the CBI, once Aubrey had been processed, Lisbon let the team know they could head on home. It was Saturday, after all, and none of them had had a full two days off in a row in over two weeks.

"You sticking around?" Cho asked, standing up and slinging on his jacket.

"Just for a bit," Lisbon said. "I want to write up my notes for the case report while the details are fresh in my mind."

"What about you, Jane?" Rigsby asked, switching off his computer. "What are you and your brothers going to do the rest of the day?"

"Chris is off exploring the American River Bicycle Trail," Jane informed him. "He wanted to give Daniel, Olivia, and Michelle some time alone together."

"So are Daniel and Olivia back together, then?" Van Pelt asked keenly.

Jane shrugged. "Working on it, I think. Chris said he planned to interrogate them about it tomorrow. We're going to spend the day together. And we'd like to take all of you out for dinner on Monday. As a thank you for helping out this week. My treat."

"Dinner?" Rigsby perked up. "I'm in."

"Me, too," Cho said.

Van Pelt smiled warmly at Jane. "I'd love to come. Just let us know where and when."

"I will," Jane assured her. He looked at Lisbon hopefully. "Lisbon?"

"Sure," Lisbon said. "Free food sounds good to me, too."

Jane smiled, pleased. "Excellent."

The rest of the team left, and Lisbon headed into her office to start in on the case report.

Jane followed.

Finding him on her heels, Lisbon stopped and turned to face him with a questioning look. "Jane?"

The door swung closed behind him. "I wanted to thank you," he said. "For finding Michelle. For everything you did this week for my brothers."

"Of course," Lisbon said, starting to make her way around her desk.

Jane's hand shot out and closed around her wrist. Lisbon, startled, turned back to him. Her heart rate spiked at the unexpected contact. And at the fact that he hadn't let go.

He cast his eyes downward. "And for me," he said, addressing her captured wrist. "Thank you for everything you've done for me. Not just this week, but—" he gestured vaguely with his free hand, "for all the years that I've known you." He swallowed. "I don't like to think about the man I would have become if I hadn't had you."

Tears pricked her eyes. "Jane."

He let go of her wrist and raised his eyes to hers. "You were right. I was wrong to cut off my brothers the way I did. And I was wrong to think isolating myself from you would help me find Red John." He took a deep breath. "I've given it a lot of thought, and I've decided not to go through with my plan."

Lisbon went still. "Your—your terrible plan?" she said, a little choked up.

He kept his eyes on hers. "Yeah. That one."

"Oh." Lisbon looked down, not wanting to betray how overcome these simple words had left her. "Okay. Good." She turned her head and dashed at her eyes. "What about Red John?"

"I'm still scared," he admitted. "Terrified, actually. About my brothers, about you and the team. But it was a mistake to let him take so much from me after losing Angela and Charlotte." His eyes bored into hers. "I'm not going to let Red John take my family away from me again."

"That's good, Jane," Lisbon whispered. "That's really good."

Jane smiled faintly. "You know, we've come pretty close to catching him a few times with the team plus one Jane. Who knows? Maybe if we have the team plus three Janes, we'll be able to bring him down faster."

Lisbon wasn't sure whether to be horrified or heartened by this statement, imagining the chaos three Janes could unleash on their immediate surroundings if they were working together. Finally, she said, "Well, I guess I know better than to bet against a Jane. Stands to reason betting against three would be an even bigger mistake."

"Exactly." Jane edged closer. "So, you know what else I've been thinking?"

Lisbon's heart beat in her ears too loudly. "What's that?"

"You might be right about—you know." He gestured vaguely. "Pushing people I love away from me doesn't really seem to be working for me. We are stronger together, etc. So I thought maybe, you know." He took another step towards her. "I might try getting closer, instead."

"Closer?" Lisbon said faintly. The heat of him, so close now, was scrambling her brain.

"Yeah." He took another step. "Closer."

Lisbon swallowed. "Closer is good."

Jane smiled. "Yeah?"

She licked her lips. "Yeah."

He took her hand. "Is this too close?"

"No," Lisbon said, a little dazed. "Not too close."

He put his hand under her chin, and tilted her face up towards his. "How about now?"

Her eyes flickered to his mouth. "I…I think I could go a little closer, even," Lisbon said bravely, and Jane bent and kissed her.

"I think I like close," Lisbon said breathlessly when the kiss ended.

Jane ran his fingers through her hair. "Me, too."