Wide eyed, and amped up with nervous excitement, Lisbon threw her big hat and dark glasses back on, and followed Cho's coordinates to a residential neighborhood near Jane's beach, several blocks outside of the tourist area. She walked down the middle of the dusty street, getting frustrated with the apparent lack of house numbers in this country. But then her eyes caught a glance of wild blonde curls on the right side of the road. She smiled wider than she had in months when she recognized him. Having missed being able to tease him, she tiptoed to the side of his porch, being sure to stay just out of his line of sight, making the most of the surprise.

"I know what you said, Paddy, but I've never been good at patience," she glimmered, surprising the hell out of the man on the porch.

"Hey!" His voice almost sang the familiar greeting, but could find no words to follow. He thought that he should feel angry that she hadn't listened, or that he should be petrified for her safety with all that had happened; but instead he just stood, grinning with his mouth hanging open, eyes twinkling, full of adoration.

"Hey yourself!" She gleamed behind her dark lenses. "You should clean yourself up, you're a mess. Got a whole homeless vibe about you."

Jane's smile grew to full-sparkle, hearing Lisbon's voice echoing phrases from their first days together; and at her typically overdone 'disguise,' with that hat and those sunglasses. She was madly adorable.

The reunion was quickly interrupted, though, when the mystery woman from the beach arrived. Upon seeing her, Patrick's face moved back to neutral so quickly, it was as if someone had thrown a reset switch.

"Ready for dinner and dancing, Patrick?" She chirped annoyingly.

Lisbon's heart fell a bit as Jane answered back just as cheerily: "Absolutely, Kim! Let me grab my things," he grinned wide - but not as wide as he had grinned at her, the moment before, Teresa noted, with comfort.

Nonchalantly, Jane finished up his not-even-begun conversation with the disguised Lisbon as he slipped into his sandals and grabbed some cash. "Thanks again for the work, señorita. I'm so sorry I couldn't do more tonight, but there's something I need to do right now. Maybe we can finish the tiling in the morning?" He sparkled in a way that attempted to convey the depth of his absolute delight at being so close to her, while also communicating his massive disappointment at having to leave, rather than pulling her into a crushing embrace that he would refuse to loosen for at least a year.

Teresa wanted so badly to wink, or to brush his hand with hers, but didn't want to give herself away to this 'Kim' woman, just in case her cop suspicions were true. So, instead, she shook her head in mock irritation and muttered something in Spanish that roughly translated to: "Typical American. Overpromise and underdeliver."

Jane didn't even hear what Kim said after Lisbon left, he was so completely thrown by Teresa's absolutely fabulous acting performance just then. And how long had she spoken Spanish?! He didn't even detect an American accent on her gorgeous lips!

"Patrick?" Kim repeated, with a hint of impatience.

Snapping out of his delighted Lisbon-trance, Jane apologized. "So sorry Kim, I still haven't gotten used to some of the local slang!" He laughed, doing his best to brush-off the exchange she'd just seen, determined to see if he could enjoy himself tonight.

He had planned to use this evening as a test run; to see what it might feel like to be somebody else… someone who had less baggage and fewer regrets. Speaking of regrets, he thought to himself, before methodically sliding Angela's wedding band from his finger. As he sat the ring on his bedside table, he realized an immediate lightness in his body from that action; tantamount to losing a hundred pounds of psychological weight - but wrapped in an unsteady tinge of guilt. He took a moment to recenter his thoughts before walking determinedly to enjoy dinner with the mysterious Kim.

He did find dinner to be quite enjoyable; it was significantly freeing, trying on a different skin for the night. But even as he danced with Kim, seemingly having a great time, his heart was bleeding behind his carefree smile. He came to realize during the evening that, though it truly was wonderful to be free of that psychological weight, he did NOT actually want to be someone else. He only wanted to be Patrick Jane. Because Patrick Jane's partner was Teresa Lisbon. He had missed her terribly; so much so that he could have sworn he had seen her face in the crowd dozens of times since he'd arrived here. But every single time, he had been mistaken. Until now, that is.

Jane fought a growing lump in his throat, hating that he'd had to push her away tonight - and so soon after being knocked off of his feet with surprise by her appearance on his doorstep! The dissolution of their partnership had been his biggest, and possibly his only regret in the wake of Red John's just desserts. He almost felt like he might have done things differently if it would have allowed their close friendship to remain intact ; in fact, his heart had hoped to have grown even closer to her than that . But 'almost' wasn't enough for him to feel anything aside from disgust for, and victory over, that murderous villain. His heart ached for Lisbon, but it also ached for Angela and Charlotte, and he was ecstatic that the bastard was dead - proud of himself for being the one who put him down.

Jane was still a little amped up in his thoughts as he walked Kim home, which is probably what gave him the foolish courage to goad a couple of drug dealing ruffians on the way. He ended up with a black eye and an early night. He also ended up with an overnight house guest, as Kim insisted on staying over, just to be sure he wasn't seriously hurt. Jane did his best to be gracious, not letting-on about his extreme frustration at being kept from his dearest Lisbon even longer due to Kim's insistence.

It wasn't until the next morning that the old CBI partners were able to gratefully share a quiet, beach-side brunch on the other side of the island.

Jane had used some local contacts to find where his favorite cop was staying, and had shown up on her doorstep mid-morning, holding a ridiculous bouquet of flowers and begging her to let him make things up to her with 'the best eggs on the island.'

She had reluctantly agreed, being quite sleep-deprived after having secretly surveilled Jane's entire dinner date with Kim, the night before. Lisbon didn't trust that woman in the least, and felt compelled to make sure Jane remained safe throughout their supposed 'date;' she hadn't even had the chance to warn him about Abbott, for crying out loud! From the shadows, she had tried to maintain professional objectivity during the intimate local dinner, and the carefree couples' dancing that her partner shared with the mysterious woman.

Walking arm-in-arm with Jane, this morning, Teresa rolled her eyes when she saw the name of the al-fresco brunch place, spelled out over the entrance in dozens of Spanish tiles. "So, this is what you meant by 'tiling,' when you brushed me off of your veranda last night?" She said with a typical Lisbon-level of sarcasm.

"There's no need for jealousy, Lisbon." Jane said, seemingly amused.

"I'm not jealous," Teresa lied, as terribly as she ever had - high voice and all. "But what's her story?"

"She wants me to believe that she's a typical American who's facing a career decision, and she plays that role quite well - had me fooled for the longest time, BUT…" he stopped to look around them, checking for spies and inching closer to Lisbon.

Typically impatient, his partner elbowed him, "But?!" She flung her hands up, in a questioning posture.

Patrick took one more look around, then said quietly, his lips nearly touching Teresa's ear, "She's clearly FBI, here to get the lay of the land, and to babysit me."

So, he had noticed. Lisbon was immeasurably relieved that he'd been honest with her about the woman. Maybe she had read too much into things when she'd observed him with her on the beach? They'd sure seemed to enjoy each other's company last night though. "Yeah, I noticed she seemed a bit gun-smart for a typical tourist. What's her play? Research? Kidnapping or arrest?"

"According to my local friend, Franklin, she's not the only FBI agent on the island right now."

"Really?" She noted the familiar name of her local contact through Cho.

"Really."

"Hmm… Actually, that's part of why I'm here. Cho is FBI now, stationed in Austin - same as Abbott. Kimball knew an agent had made contact with you, and that Abbott's plan is to trick you into believing I've been kidnapped by Blake Association or Red John disciples, convincing you to fly back to help."

Jane looked thoughtfully at his breakfast. "Smart play. I'd have done it in a split second with no further thought. It's probably the only thing that would have had so much visceral power over me."

Lisbon tamped down a rush of emotion at hearing Jane admit he cared so deeply about her that he wouldn't even think before bounding into his own peril, in order to save her; in this moment, it was more important to share the current threat levels with him, than to relax into her own emotional tides. "I was watching Kim very carefully yesterday, and last night, suspicious that she was that agent - which you've basically confirmed. Cho also said Abbott's team was supposed to fly in yesterday morning…Do you think this other agent is one of Abbott's people?"

"According to Franklin, it's Abbott himself."

"That's interesting…" Teresa stood from her brunch chair and paced, anxious and perplexed. Why would Abbott make such a long trip when Jane's mystery woman, Kim - or any other team member - could easily handle such rudimentary surveillance? This was a development she would most definitely need to check in with Cho about. But first, she had questions about a different development: "I noticed something else that's interesting, Jane: You took off your wedding ring for your date, last night." Lisbon muttered, with underlying pain, putting a slightly-mocking, sing-song-like emphasis on the word 'date.'

Jane stood immediately to walk beside her, tossing some local cash on the table before quickly escorting his partner to a desolate stretch of sand on this less-populated side of the island. Lisbon's voice, so heavily laced with disappointment, was more than he could take. He had to make her understand the truth. Patrick found a shady spot under some palm trees, then stopped and faced her - both his hands holding the outside of each of her shoulders to focus her attention on his words. "Yes, I took off the ring. But not for her, Teresa, I did that for me. This whole trip has been as much about me getting my head right as it's been about exile. The ring had begun weighing me down. Recently, my every thought has involved ways to allow myself a life with you, and you alone." He got closer than she was expecting, and looked deeply into her eyes as he rumbled those last three words, causing her to gasp at the intensity of that sensation. "It felt wrong to continue wearing the symbol of my first love, when my heart now belongs to you. I simply used the excuse of dinner and dancing with the undercover FBI lady to see how I might fare without it for an evening."

"Well, you fared pretty well - she spent the night." Teresa refused to cry, fighting like mad to control the pitch of her voice, and the tremble in her lower lip, as she spewed her sarcastic jab.

Jane's face fell into an expression of pained pleading. "Lisbon, nothing happened. I got beat up by some local drug dealer and she held ice to my face for a few hours. She slept on the couch." Despite his desperation, though, he couldn't resist having a little fun with his partner; he'd so missed razzing her these past several months. "But she did make me a remarkably delicious cup of tea the next morning," he glinted with juvenile glee.

"Jane, don't push your luck!" His partner was not amused by his antics, and was about to get into some truth-telling, herself.

"Teres—" His protest was cut off when Teresa's lips covered his with significant force; she caught him entirely off-guard, her arms throwing themselves around his neck and her legs wrapping tightly around his hips and waist. She wanted so badly to punch him in the nose, but instead, her body - aching with long-suppressed desire - decided to attack him with a passionate, almost violent series of kisses and love bites.

"Don't you even try to stop me, you idiot," she panted as she unwrapped one bit of gauzy fabric at a time from his skin, planning to make love to him right there on the sand, in a physical reply to his written professions of affection.

But he did try to stop her: "Wait…" he pleaded, with sad eyes. "I don't want to force you into this exile, Teresa... You don't deserve to live in the shadows with the likes of me."

Unrattled and unworried, Lisbon stopped his argument cold: "Jane, stop being such a worrywart," she eyed him with a sly smirk, "I've got a plan."

He was gobsmacked with amazement. "I'm the one being a worrywart?! And you are the one with a plan, Lisbon?!" He was so incredibly surprised, so incredibly proud… and more than a little relieved, though he tried to hide that last truth.

With that, they fully resumed their loving, fiery consummation of one another, with no further cares or concerns. Teresa did her best to hold her endangered love so close that their hearts nearly made physical contact, through their chests. Jane matched his partner's voracity and left a path of kisses that spanned every breathtaking region of her body. Fully embraced by their mutual love and passion, shielded by the privacy of the surrounding palms, and driven by the ravenous yearning that had built up over so many long months apart, they seemed to transform from two separate beings into one; their pursuit of complete reunion flourishing into a blindingly powerful burst of ecstatic joy.

In the warmth of the smoldering embers that remained, after the peak of passion had passed, the two held each other, enjoying the pulsating aftershocks; every muscle pleasantly fluttering in the wake of their being together, at such long last; each of their own bodies gloriously massaging them from the inside out.

"My God, Jane… I love you…" Teresa panted in the afterglow, clinging to him like mad. She was so glad to have him in her arms, feeling his heartbeat, knowing he was safe.

Patrick's face pulsed with emotion, and he struggled for control of his own voice, finally managing to answer: "And I love you, Lisbon… more than you know… The truth is, Teresa, I can't live without you, my dear." He held her closely for a long moment, before pulling back with a mischievous thought: His eyes glinted, and he grinned that ornery grin she'd missed so desperately for so very long. "I love you, even if I never hear my given name fall from your lips for as long as we both shall live," he winked and pressed a quick kiss just behind her earlobe.

She giggled at his joke, answering with a playful tickle on his most sensitive rib. "Is that so? Well, the truth is, that I could live without you, Jane, but," she paused to kiss him so very tenderly, so deeply; massaging his tongue delightfully with her own, before purring: "But I really don't want to… ever again… These past months have been sadder and more torturous for me than any I can remember… I didn't realize it was possible to miss someone so fundamentally." She gently traced his jawline with her fingertips, holding his gaze, intently. "I have loved you for so very long… Patrick …" She purred his name in such an inviting way, gleaming with pleasure at the sound it made in her own ears as she did. Teresa was visibly moved, too, by the palpable effect that her pronouncement had on her gorgeous partner.

"Thank you, love…" he sighed, amazed and thrilled at hearing her breathe his name so tenderly. He pulled her close as ever, and relaxed into her fully, soaking her shoulder with tears of immeasurable gratitude. He had not felt so whole in a lifetime.

"Oh, I've missed you," Jane said, after a while.

"Not nearly as much as I've missed you," Lisbon breathed, as they both tightened their grip on each other even more desperately.

Suddenly, Teresa remembered the danger that surrounded them… the danger that surrounded him . Crestfallen about what she had to say next, she kissed him thoroughly, with heavy emotion. "We should probably not be seen together... and I should go," she sniffed, standing to get her clothes - and herself - put back together. "Here's a burner phone. The whole team is programmed in. Everyone has a code name. The women are 'May' and the men are 'Virgil.' In your case you should just say, 'do you have my 50 bucks?'"

Jane exploded with laughter, jumping up to recapture Lisbon in his arms, even as she was attempting to leave; squeezing his love tighter than ever. "I adore you, beautiful Teresa," he managed, once again stricken by thick emotion; pulling her as close as possible before leaning back to look at her, tracing her cheek gently with the backs of his fingers. "And I'm so… so sorry-"

"Shh… Patrick…" she gently interrupted his trembling apology, pressing her fingertips to his lips. "Yesterday is gone… but today is here, and we're together. There's nothing to be sorry for, today."

With yesterday's regrets still shimmering in his blue eyes, Jane nestled his face gratefully in the curve of his lovely partner's neck, pressing a tender kiss into the most sensitive patch of skin there. "Today is a dream that I hope to never wake from, my dearest Teresa."

The embrace that followed lasted an eternity, yet not long enough.