It was Saturday.
Jane knocked on Lisbon's door at 10:30 am.
She opened the door wearing yoga pants and a tank top. "Jane," she said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit you and Lily, of course," Jane said, handing her a sack of pastries.
She blinked and accepted the pastries. "Oh. Well, come on in."
Jane made a beeline for Lily, who was lying on her dog bed, nosing over her toy duck. She looked up when she saw him and wagged her tail.
He knelt down next to her. "Hello, Lily," he crooned. "How's my brave girl?"
"She's been a lot better this week," Lisbon reported, crossing the room and kneeling beside them.
Jane knew this, having visited Lily every single day of Lisbon's first week back at work, but it was still nice to celebrate these milestones in Lily's recovery together.
Jane kissed Lily on the top of her head and scratched her behind the ears. "Of course she is," he said in his silly Lily voice. "Because she's our big strong girl, aren't you, Lily?"
Lily licked his face by way of reply.
Lisbon sat back on her heels and looked at the pair of them. "So is this something that happens now?" she said, a little hesitantly. "You stop by for visits on the weekend?"
Jane hesitated for the merest fraction of a second before resuming his scritching of Lily's ears. In truth, he hadn't thought about it before getting in his car to come over that morning. He'd wanted to see Lily and Lisbon, so he would stop by and see if they were home. Lisbon liked to sleep in on weekends, so he wouldn't come too early. She might go out for a run once she got up, and if he timed it right, he might get to see her in her running gear. As it turned out, she'd clearly gone out for her run a bit earlier than he'd anticipated, but he found freshly showered Lisbon in yoga pants and a tank top just as delightful as sweaty Lisbon in shorts, so from where he was sitting, yielding to the impulse to stop by was working out swimmingly for him. However, it belatedly occurred to him that Lisbon, while grateful for his help with Lily when she'd first been injured and his willingness to keep her dog company while she was at work, may have considered these attentions as likely to be temporary.
Jane hadn't been thinking about whether he'd intended these attentions to be temporary while Lily got back on her feet and Lisbon adjusted to the new fixture in her life. He couldn't say he'd consciously considered the matter one way or another. He had, he realized, simply been reacting to the gravitational pull. Which seemed to have grown even more powerful after spending time with Lisbon in her home, at the park, and at the beach.
But, he decided suddenly, with a kind of giddy, reckless feeling, he didn't want those moments to be temporary aberrations. He wanted more of them.
"Of course," he said with false bravado, paying particular attention to a spot behind Lily's left ear. "Who's going to spoil Lily if I'm not around to do it? If I leave her entirely to you, she'll be the healthiest, most well-behaved dog on the planet."
"Sounds terrible," Lisbon said dryly.
"It would be terrible," Jane agreed. "She's been through a lot. She needs a bit of spoiling now and then."
Lisbon bit her lip. "Well," she said in a neutral voice. "I suppose that's all right, then. If you wanted to stop by now and then, I mean. For Lily's sake."
He looked up and met her gaze. "Anything for Lily."
And suddenly they were beaming at one another across the dog, both surprised and pleased.
Lily lolled her head back, looking between them, and barked her approval.
Xxx
"Lily! Are you ready for your evening constitutional?" Jane greeted Lily at the door one day several weeks later after letting himself in. After much fretting over the possibility of Lily over-exerting herself and several calls to the vet, Lisbon had finally agreed to try taking Lily out for regular walks, allowing her to brave temptations such as squirrels, other rambunctious dogs, and passing garbage trucks.
They had developed a routine. Lisbon had started going home around four on days they didn't have an out of town case. She'd work til around six, and then Jane would stop by. Together, they'd take Lily out for a leisurely walk around Lisbon's neighborhood.
Lily was much improved. She was still restricted from anything more than the lightest exercise, but she was happy to partake in even the sedate walks Lisbon allowed. The mites from the mange were gone, and her fur had started to grow back in the bare patches. Overall, the vet assured Lisbon, she was in excellent shape and should have no trouble when the puppies came in a few weeks.
Jane lifted his head and looked over at Lisbon, sitting on her couch and frowning at her laptop. "You ready?"
"Yeah," she said distractedly. She typed something, then frowned more deeply.
Jane waited patiently. "Teresa?"
She looked up guiltily. "Sorry." She shut her laptop. "I'm coming."
Jane put Lily's leash on her while Lisbon put on her shoes, and together they set out. Jane held Lily's leash. Lisbon walked along beside him while Lily foraged a few feet ahead, sniffing at the grass next to the sidewalk.
"Sorry," Lisbon said again when they were out on the street. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting. I always have a little trouble switching my brain out of work mode at the end of the day."
"You shock and amaze me," Jane said lightly, his eyes on Lily. "After watching you work late practically every day since I've met you, I never would have guessed this about you."
She smacked him on the shoulder. "Hush."
"No apologies necessary, my dear. Your single-minded nature and tenacity are qualities I've always admired about you," Jane said, pausing as Lily meandered over to sniff a particularly intriguing patch of grass.
"Thanks, Jane," Lisbon said, touched.
Lily lost interest in the thoroughly sniffed patch of grass and they resumed walking.
"I think Lily has been good for me in that way," Lisbon said thoughtfully. "I can't get lost in the work so much because she relies on me to come home on time to take care of her."
Jane nodded. "One hopes the practice of feeding another creature regularly also reminds you to feed yourself from time to time."
"I'm not that bad," Lisbon protested.
"Not anymore," Jane agreed. "Now that you have me and Lily making sure you don't skip meals half the time."
Lisbon bit her lip. "Thank you for dinner last night, by the way."
He'd brought tacos over. "You're very welcome." He'd been proceeding cautiously, making an effort to be more conscious of his instinctive reactions to the gravitational pull. So far, he'd limited himself to bringing over take out a couple of nights during the week, sneaking in the occasional home-cooked meal on the weekends. Once Lisbon had opened the door to her life outside of work to him, he'd realized that it would take considerable restraint to prevent himself from rushing in and offering to serve as her live-in chef if only she'd keep letting him hang around her and Lily.
That would open other doors he wasn't quite sure he was ready to go through. The gravitational pull wanted to launch him headlong through every door imaginable, but some caution was needed. Whatever doors he went through, he needed to be prepared to meet what was on the other side. If he rushed in without considering the consequences, he could risk losing her entirely.
For the first time, he was seriously considering the possibility of giving up his vengeance. He would still have to remain part of the investigation, of course. Bosco's death had taught him what might happen if he tried to give it up. But the fixation on killing Red John himself—that might be the cost of yielding to the gravitational pull and establishing a new orbit for himself. He had to assume that Red John knew of his attachment to Lisbon and that her life was therefore at risk due to her existing relationship with him. If he took steps to get closer to her, Lisbon would still be at risk. But would she be more at risk? He didn't know. Perhaps together they could find some way of mitigating the risk. And—well, not yielding to the gravitational pull wasn't exactly a guarantee of Lisbon's safety in the first place. It was just possible that they'd be safer together.
"Oh, my goodness, what a sweet dog!"
A middle-aged couple Jane recognized by sight from previous walks in the neighborhood with Lily walked down the sidewalk towards them, a tall man with gray hair and a woman with kind eyes.
Lily paused and cocked her head at the pair with interest. Jane and Lisbon, behind her, stopped as well.
The woman beamed at Lily. "What's her name?" she asked Lisbon. "Can I pet her?"
"Her name's Lily," Lisbon said. "You can pet her, but please only pet her on the head. She has a broken rib that's still healing, so it's best to avoid her side."
"Oh, the poor thing," the woman said sympathetically. She knelt down and offered Lily her hand to sniff. "She's a sweet little thing. She reminds me of our old dog, Regina. Doesn't she remind you of Reggie, Hal?"
"A bit," her husband said. "There's something like around the eyes. Reggie was a fine old dog. We had her many years. Kids grew up with her. How long have you had Lily here?"
"Only a few weeks," Lisbon said. "But it feels like I've known her forever."
"The best dogs are like that," the man agreed. "We should introduce ourselves. I'm Hal, and this is my wife, Marie."
"Teresa and Patrick," Lisbon said. "Nice to meet you."
Marie was still kneeling on the sidewalk, scratching Lily's ear. "She's a beautiful dog. How'd she hurt her rib?"
"A horrible man kicked her and locked her in a closet," Jane told her.
"How awful," Marie said, shocked. "So you and Teresa rescued her?"
"That's right," Jane said. "She was in pretty bad shape at first. Teresa barely slept, keeping watch over her."
"Well, she seems healthy now," Marie commented. "I wouldn't have known about the rib if you hadn't mentioned it. It's good she has you two to take care of her."
"We're the lucky ones," Jane said, stroking Lily on the head. "Don't you agree, Teresa?"
"Definitely," Lisbon said.
"You two are just adorable," Marie said, getting to her feet and looking back and forth between them. "Don't they make a cute couple, Hal?"
"The cutest," Hal said dryly.
"Oh, we're not—" Lisbon began, but Jane interrupted.
"Thank you," he said, threading his fingers through Lisbon's.
Lisbon started. She shot him a look but didn't immediately yank her hand away.
Jane gave her hand a little squeeze and addressed their new acquaintances. "It was very nice to meet you both. Hope to see you around."
"Likewise," Hal said. "You have a good evening, now."
"Evening," Lisbon echoed faintly, returning Marie's friendly smile and wave good-bye with some hesitation.
They took their leave of the neighbors and continued up the sidewalk, still hand in hand with Lily ahead of them on the leash.
"Why did you do that?" Lisbon said once they were out of earshot.
"Do what?"
Lisbon raised their joined hands. "This. Why did you tell them we were a couple?"
Jane discarded several glib responses and decided to go with the truth. "Because I wanted to hold your hand. Do you mind?"
Lisbon's jaw worked soundlessly. "I suppose not," she said finally, but she eyed him as though she feared for his sanity.
They walked together in silence for another ten steps or so. Then Lisbon asked abruptly, "So is this going to be a regular thing now? The handholding, I mean?"
Okay, well, when she opened the door for him, he was helpless against the gravitational pull. "Every chance I get," he agreed.
Lisbon scowled, clearly not satisfied by his response, but she didn't pull away.
Jane walked down the street a contented man.