Patrick Jane managed to entice his law-enforcement lifer, workaholic wife into taking that early retirement; not immensely early, but just early enough to make use of every vacation day they had saved up over their years of near-nonstop work. He had rumbled in her ear for weeks, spinning intoxicating daydreams about tropical islands, and destinations near and far that they hadn't had time for in their first days together.

His irresistible stories played on her subconscious thoughts, and broke down her lock-stepped work ethic with promises and assurances: Wouldn't it be wonderful to devote themselves fully to each other for a time? Wouldn't it be useful to travel the world while they were still young enough and healthy enough to fully enjoy it? And wouldn't it be wise to do all of these things in the years before the inevitable appearance of grandchildren, when they would no doubt want to have their travels and wanderings behind them, fully content and able to settle in, loving on their cherished grand-babies without interruption?

And this is how they had both ended up at the cusp of the Grand Canyon, sipping coffee and tea under the canopy of the Airstream, on the morning of their anniversary.

Lisbon had put the paper frog on a toy pack mule she'd purchased from the park gift shop just for the occasion - quite proud of her own cleverness and humor.

Jane was glowing with pride, himself, at the tantalizing mixture of his wife's joyous, unbridled laughter and the deliciously fresh highland desert air - such an invigorating combination. Even in his retirement daydreams he hadn't conjured a scene so absolutely rapturous.

But he'd successfully done it. He had convinced the irreplaceable Special Agent Teresa Lisbon to let go of the familiar, and run away with him. It was pleasantly overwhelming, seeing how carefree she had become after handing in the badge that had so defined her - since before they'd even met. And that carefree spirit had only served to amplify her natural beauty - to a degree even he couldn't have possibly anticipated. He could not believe how lucky he was, these days. Who would've thought?

"Isn't this lovely, Lisbon? Just the two of us, and one of the wonders of the world?"

"You are one of the wonders of the world, Jane." She glinted, giving him a nudge.

After a chuckle, he pulled her closer and planted a kiss on her cheek. "I love you, my dear. And it does wonders for my heart, having this time with you. I still can't get enough, it seems."

She smiled warmly, glowing at her life partner and unlikely soulmate. "I love doing wonders for your heart, sweet Patrick."

He grinned graciously.

"Though," she joked, "I do occasionally get the random urge to tackle a miscreant."

He laughed fully at that. "And I miss seeing you do that, Lisbon! But who knows, we may encounter the odd cattle rustler out here on the range." He twinkled.

She loved his playfulness so much. Not a day had passed, since she'd come to her senses in her sleep and narrowly averted the life-choice disaster of choosing the wrong man, that she wasn't consciously grateful for her connection to the Boy Wonder who had managed his way into her heart. There was no doubt in her mind that he would create the opportunity for tackling, himself, if he thought she truly needed the satisfaction.

"Patrick."

"Yes, Teresa?"

"How is it possible that, even after all these years, I can't help but love you even more, as each anniversary passes?"

He looked down and sniffed with emotion. "I don't know, my dear. But I ask myself that same question every day, when it comes to my love for you. By now, my heart would need to be exponentially larger than my body for the math to logically work out."

"There's nothing logical about love, Jane."

"Obviously," he chuckled, "or I wouldn't have been nearly as lucky. There's no logical way I would have landed a babe like you!" He grinned wide, shimmering with his own unique mixture of truth and mischief.

"Oh, hush!" She smirked and slapped at his upper arm. "Well, it follows that there's no logical way I would have ended up with a sparkling showman like you, either! Logic would've trapped me in a boring, legalistic prison of my own making." She looked away, across the canyon for a thoughtful moment, as if looking into that lifeless, alternate future.

"Thank God, love beats logic, my dear." He gathered her in, eyes misty with gratitude and affection, and held her close for the longest time.

"Thank God, indeed." She closed her eyes tightly, as she clung to her dearest love with every bit of desperate thanks she felt in that moment. How had she managed to end up in such a beautiful place with such a gorgeous soul at this point in her life? She had always assumed that her family wouldn't extend any further than her three brothers and the CBI, and that she would work cases until the day she died. But God knew what he was doing when he threw this lost puppy, Patrick Jane, into her life. What a deep and beautiful treasure he was. A miracle-match, if ever there was one. Thank you.

While she was still hugging him, music began playing from inside the Airstream. She pulled back, tilted her chin a bit and lowered her eyebrows in concentration until she recognized their wedding song. Bursting into a wide smile, she looked back at Jane in amazement.

"Okay. How did you do that?!"

"Magic." He glinted, with overplayed nonchalance.

Still grinning, he pulled her against him, once more, and began to dance her around the canopied porch, drawing a delightful bouquet of giggles.

She sparkled effervescently at his successful attempt to surprise her and sweep her off her feet, yet again.

"You are simply made from magic, Patrick. Magic and sparkle, and just enough trouble to keep things interesting."

The glow in her eyes was more than he could take. He stopped the dance long enough to capture a long, deep passionate kiss from his favorite ex-cop.

When the song ended, they spent a few moments just looking into each other silently; interrupted only by the gusting desert wind, and an eagle calling across the sky.

"Even this canyon isn't big enough contain the love I hold for you, beautiful Teresa."

She giggled, tenderly caressing his stubbly cheek. "Aw, love… I was honestly just thinking the same thing."

The sweet sentiments were interrupted by a sudden clap of thunder.

The two looked at each other with wide-eyed shock for a split second, before leaping into action: dismantling the porch area and canopy, storing everything safely; gathering all their breakfast items, and the frog-laden pack mule; then dancing in a comical sort of fast-motion, back inside the vehicle, shutting the door just as sheets of rain began to pour over its shimmery, silver shell.

"Whew! That was close!" Jane panted, salted caramel curls still wind-tossed.

"I know! We just barely made it!" Lisbon laughed, venting the adrenaline that was still pulsing through her.

Jane suddenly quieted, looking intently at his bride of almost 30 years; moving closer - completely enamored of her wind-whipped charcoal locks, and the sparks of storm-induced spontaneity shimmering in her sage eyes.

"You have never looked more beautiful, Teresa." He breathed, with absolute sincerity.

She was completely pulled in by the passion in his tone, and by the depth of his sea-colored eyes, as they communicated wordless desires.

The two lovers began to peel off the layers that separated them from each other, moving hastily toward the small bedroom, until they were blissfully connected, skin on skin.

Pressing breathlessly into one another, tumbling onto the bed, their dance continued, slowly, then moved more and more quickly, in an intimate, rhythmic motion that grew in intensity; matching the swelling swirl of the storm outside, until it overtook them both, most gloriously. Their moans and screams of passion were perfectly accompanied by the crashing of thunder and the barreling of rain. The streaming trails of fallen drops that lined the windows of the space were mirrored on the lovers' cheeks, as tears of gratitude and love streamed from their eyes.

"I haven't cried like that since the very first time we made love, beautiful Teresa. God, I love you, woman." Patrick embraced her strongly, clinging to her with heightened desperation to bring her even closer.

"Sweet Patrick," she breathed, between tender kisses to his temple and cheek, "I adore you more than I could ever express, love. I'm just so eternally grateful to have you, Jane." She sniffled, clinging to him just as tightly.

As the storm died down outside, the two relaxed into each other, allowing all of the pulsating tendrils of their love to massage them thoroughly in the afterglow.

Once he had regained his composure, a coy grin crept onto Jane's lips.

"Hey Lisbon?"

"Hey what, Jane?"

"Anytime you need to tackle someone again, I'm your man." He winked.

Bursting into amused laughter, Teresa turned to tackle her husband with tickles. The whole scene turned from relaxed release to tickle-tortured belly laughs.

As she continued to play with her beloved carny boy, Lisbon prayed thanks once again - both for him, and for their lasting partnership; an abyss of passionate desire one second, and a playful tease the next. God, she would have never even imagined how desperately she needed this man in her life, back before they had met.

Thank you for this life, Father. Bless this beautiful man. Eternal blessings upon his heart and soul.

Days later, Jane and Lisbon were having dinner and drinks on the deck of the Malibu house. The sun was getting low in the sky, but provided enough light for them to enjoy looking through Brendan and Briar Rose's wedding album. The couple had sent a copy of the book to their families after the big event, and had left an extra copy at the house in Malibu - which had become a popular vacation home amongst all of the extended family.

"I love that she decided to do the bouquet toss after all." Lisbon smiled, looking at the sparkle in her daughter-in-law's eyes, and at the twinkle in the eyes of the six-year-old girl who had caught the prize - still clinging to the bundle, grinning through a missing front tooth.

"Me too." Jane leaned closer, wrapping an arm around Lisbon. "And I loved her logic, that since Brendan had proven wrong her theory that the ritual was bunk, she couldn't take the chance away from some other girl who may need a little magic in her life."

"Those two are magic together."

"Yes, they are, lovely Lisbon. And so are we." He gave her a squeeze, and nestled into her hair, breathing her in, deeply.

"Mmm… true… I love you, Jane."

"I know." He winked, procuring a retaliatory nudge and a lighthearted laugh.

The laughter was interrupted by Teresa's phone alarm sounding.

"Oh! That's for our call with Meg and Trey!" Lisbon said excitedly, standing and walking quickly inside to the kitchen - where her laptop was setup on the table.

Jane followed close behind, resting a hand on his wife's back, as had been his custom for decades.

Once they connected onto the call, Meg shared some exciting news: she was four months pregnant. They had waited a bit to call their families because they thought it would be more fun if they could also share whether it was a boy or a girl.

"I'm sorry we didn't call right away, but… I mean… well… now there's a question we need to ask you both. We feel really strongly about it. But it has to be OK with you before we - especially with… Oh, I'm not making any sense."

Trey shook his head, with a smile to the camera, lovingly amused at the way pregnancy was scrambling his wife's sentences into fragments these days. But he also sensed strong emotions and impending tears from her, so wrapped a supportive arm around his magical Megs.

Jane and Lisbon flashed a knowing smile at one another, remembering the days when Teresa was carrying Meghan.

"Sorry," Meg sniffled, "pregnancy hormones." Her words were punctuated by a short burst of nervous laughter.

Lisbon nodded with familiarity. "Oh, trust me, I remember very well how carrying you turned my steel nerves to sobby mush!"

Everyone on the call shared a cleansing laugh at that comment. Then, Meghan and Trey both took a deep breath before getting to the point.

"So, first: we found out today that the baby and I are both healthy and strong."

"That's wonderful, Meg! It's the most important thing." Lisbon grinned happily.

"Thanks, Mom! We also found out that we are having… a girl!"

Lisbon raised her eyebrows and her mouth opening wide with excitement. She looked immediately over to her husband, whom she knew would be thrilled with this news.

"Meghan Elizabeth, I am beside myself with anticipation! I shall begin cleaning all of my favorite tea party accessories immediately!" Jane beamed his biggest smile.

Meghan chuckled with delight at her parents' reactions to their happy news. Still, she was nervous about something. She knew there was no point in delaying her question - her dad could always tell when she was hiding something. So, she got right to the point.

"Here's the thing. Trey and I wholeheartedly agree that there's only one real choice for the baby's name. Still, we need to make sure you are both okay with it first. Especially Dad."

Jane suspected what his daughter might ask next, so calmed himself into an accepting mindset.

Lisbon had also guessed correctly, and held her love's hand with a gentle squeeze.

"Okay, Meg. Out with it." Jane grinned, eyebrows up.

"We want to name her…" she paused for a breath, "Charlotte Jane Hernandez."

The call seemed momentarily suspended, as Meg's words sunk in, confirming what both of her parents had guessed. Trey and Meg held their collective breath, anticipating Patrick and Teresa's response.

With misty grey eyes, and a trembling smile, Jane responded first. "Meghan Elizabeth Jane… I think that is the most beautiful thought. Your big sister would be so very honored, I have no doubt of that."

Lisbon sniffled quickly before adding, "I agree. I cannot wait to meet precious baby Charlotte Jane!"

Both Charlotte Jane Hernandez's parents and grandparents embraced, then - on either end of the video link. Both couples celebrated the moment, the impending life due to be born by years end, and also the joyous memory of Charlotte Anne Jane, that had been amply rekindled with the announcement of the night.

"These children of ours, love. They continue to amaze with their abilities, but also their big, caring hearts." Jane murmured, after the call, shaking his head in wonder.

"That is the absolute truth, Jane. They are such concrete proof of how good you and I are together." Lisbon glimmered back.

"Yes, we are, my dear. I'd be nothing without you, Teresa." He held her gaze, sparkling those eyes at her in his enchanting way.

"I love you, sweet Patrick. Every day with you is a gift." She pulled him into a tender embrace, and held him for a long moment.

He leaned back to shower her with kisses, then took her hand. "Moonlight stroll on the beach, my love?"

"Absolutely!"

"Perfect!" He grinned delightedly, walking down the stairs to the sand.

"So, Lisbon, if Meghan is four months along, that means we have no more than five months before becoming grandparents."

"True… I'm so excited to watch Meg and Trey grow into being parents, and I can't wait to meet precious Charlotte! But I admit, I will miss these days of exploring with you, Jane. I'm so glad I let you talk me into it."

"It has been a dream, love." He stopped to hold her, admiring the way the moonlight was reflecting in her eyes. "With our time on the road getting short, though, it begs the question: where to, next?"

"Hmm… an excellent question!" Teresa began going through a mental travelogue of places she'd always wanted to visit, and they had talked about maybe re-visiting some of the sites they had seen back when she had taken two weeks of leave to find her lost love, all those years ago. There was no way she could formulate an answer on such short notice. With limited time for their plans, she wanted to analyze the possibilities for a day or two first. With eyebrows pushing together in her tell-tale 'thoughtful' look, she answered tentatively. "Maybe we should sleep on it?"

Jane broke into a grin. He had expected no less from his wife - once an investigator, always an investigator, he thought, with affection and pride. "Well, my dear, we can eventually sleep," he said, with a mischievous look in his eyes, "but I have some other plans for us, first." With a wink, he ran back toward the deck stairs, with Lisbon in close pursuit. Both partners shared flirts and lusty smirks the whole way back to the deck.

As they reached the top step, Teresa caught her husband by the arm, holding firm. "Patrick, look at that!"

Amused at being captured by his gorgeous bride, he turned in fun, only to be struck silent by what he saw. Seemingly right in front of the deck railing, hung the most amazing full moon, shimmering over the otherwise darkened Pacific.

"Wow! I haven't seen a moon this gorgeous since our first trip to the island!"

"Exactly what I thought too!"

They stood for a silent moment, taking in the beautiful sight, holding on to each other dearly.

"Wait here." Jane said, running quickly into the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine and two stemmed glasses.

He proceeded to lower the privacy screens on either side of the deck, then generously poured wine for Lisbon and himself. "There. This is a perfect setting for remembering that night, Teresa. I had already begun daydreaming about being with you for the rest of my days. But after finally being able to fully love you… after turning off all of my controls and allowing every sensation and emotion to flow through me, as we loved each other for the first time… that's when I became absolutely desperate to officially claim you. That started the whole proposal plan—"

"Which absolutely blew my mind and caught my heart off-guard, sweet Patrick. You were glittering more than ever throughout that amazing and romantic puzzle you'd created for me at the old CBI."

"That was the plan, exactly, my dear." He grinned and gave his eyebrows a roguish wiggle.

"Well, it worked perfectly.' She glowed at his playfulness. "I still get choked up thinking about it." She buried her face in his chest and squeezed him tightly.

"As do I, beautiful Teresa. And that night on the island sealed it. That was the night I truly came alive again. You are the gift that brought me back from the brink, my love, and you are the gift that I have looked forward to every day since." He ran his fingers through her greying locks, and kissed her with abandon - completely overcome by his absolute need for her, and his endless gratitude for their partnership and love.

Breathless, Lisbon spoke with insistence. "Sweet love, you brought me to life that night too." She held his face in her hands, centering her eyes on his. "And you are also the gift that saved me. Always remember that. There's a reason I was never able to fully relax my guard around any other man. My heart was waiting for you. I'd kept it locked up my whole life, but you held the key, Jane." She kissed him thoroughly, enjoying the remnants of wine as her tongue massaged his.

Tenderly pressing his forehead to hers, an ornery grin formed on his lips. "Well, technically I picked the lock, but yes, love." He was momentarily interrupted by an appreciative snort from Lisbon

"Typical." She winked, running her fingers through his gorgeous curls.

He chuckled lightly, then grew sincere once more. "I was thrilled beyond measure when you opened yourself to me, Teresa - not just physically, but emotionally. It had been so long since anyone had trusted me that fully. In fact, there's an entire room in my memory palace devoted to that very moment."

"That moment, or that night on the island, love?"

"They are the same, lovely Lisbon."

"Mmm… so should we open the door to that room tonight? For the sake of remembrance and all?" She flirted.

"You're on to my plan, gorgeous." He growled, pulling her close… capturing her lips once again… lowering the both of them to the softest chaise on the deck.

The two enjoyed a long, pleasurable night of gifts and remembrances, under the full moon.

Teresa's eyes opened to the warm light of sunrise, as it slowly crept over the top of the Malibu roof, kissing the deck. The early rays played delightfully on her husband's messy curls, still gorgeously tangled from their play in the night.

Snuggled tightly around his wife, protected from the cool, morning ocean breeze by her warm skin, and a beach blanket, Patrick's azure eyes blinked open. "Morning, beautiful…" He hummed, with a gentle stretch.

"Morning, handsome…" She kissed his stubbly cheek with an adorable grin.

"So, my dear, did you dream of our next destination? I can't stand the suspense, Lisbon!"

She giggled at her husband. Such a gorgeous man, but so childlike when he got excited like this. So impatiently curious. Teresa couldn't stand it - she held him tight, with affection. "God, I love you, Jane."

"And I adore you, my love." He glimmered, quickly being overtaken by a knowing smile. "But you have thought of something, haven't you! What is it? Where are we going, Lisbon?"

"Okay, Jane - ya got me!" She giggled with a playful roll of her eyes. "So, here's what I was thinking…"

(A/N: So, what do you think? What destination surfaced in Lisbon's dreams last night? Where are they going next? I can't stand the suspense! :) )