Snuggled together on the hastily-assembled bed in their newly-acquired Austin house, Jane and Lisbon were anticipating their first day at the FBI field office with a prickly mixture of anxiety and excitement.

"Do you think Abbott will be there?"

"Absolutely Lisbon. Even if he's conflicted about the island, there is something imperative to him about our employment. No way he's leaving it to chance."

"Mmm," Teresa nodded against his chest. "What about Kim?"

"I hope so. I've got a few words to share about her trick with bugging my island house," he sneered.

With a satisfied chuckle, Teresa kissed his cheek and rolled out of bed to get ready.

A couple hours later, the partners found themselves exiting an unfamiliar elevator, leading into the FBI's serious crimes bullpen.

After going back and forth several times about her attire, Teresa had decided on her black power suit; the same one she'd worn to dinner on the island. Her hope was that Abbott would translate her wearing of the garment to a statement that she meant business and would tolerate no tricks or going back on their deal. Upon stepping out of the lift, Lisbon noted, with a bit of amazement, the sheer amount of stainless steel and glass their new workspace contained.

Rather than noticing the existing decor, Jane was focused on what was missing: "Well, I don't see a couch anywhere," he grumbled.

"Don't start trouble," Lisbon warned, "at least not yet."

It didn't take long for them to reach Abbott, who was already leading the daily team meeting:

"And our asset has just arrived!" He grinned cordially, welcoming them each to the group: "Mr. Jane… Miss Lisbon…"

Jane glimmered mockingly: "He called me an asset! That's so touching."

Lisbon smacked him on the arm with a threatening look.

"I'm an optimist," Abbott glinted, with a somewhat guarded glance.

Ignoring him, Patrick was excited to see an old friend. "Hi Cho! How's it going?"

"We're in the middle of a briefing," Kimball deadpanned. "We can catch up later."

Jane nodded, then turned his attention to another familiar face. "Hi Kim," he greeted the agent with an aloof air, wanting her to know he was there, but also projecting a sort of arrogant annoyance.

With barely a sideways glance, Kim ignored Jane's greeting - continuing her part of the briefing: "Abel Schneiderman is missing. What he knows could bring our banking system to its knees."

"Oh, this is exciting!" Jane gasped mockingly, "Is this the case I'm here for?"

"We're getting to you," Kim muttered, unimpressed.

"I knew you saw me," Jane teased in a sing-song voice. "I knew it!" he glimmered.

Standing to the side of the group, Lisbon quickly rolled her eyes. She was nervous that her partner would push too many buttons right away on day one, and that her carefully brokered deal would fall apart before the ink had even dried. Not to mention her distaste for seeing him flirt with agent Fischer, no matter the payback motive.

Undaunted by the theatrics, Dennis explained "The New York FBI sent someone in, undercover, as a psychic and Mrs. Schneiderman saw right through it."

At that, Jane finally snapped into overconfident consultant mode: "Of course. She's a gypsy; she knows her psychics."

Kim wondered out loud: "How do you know she's a gypsy?"

With impatient arrogance, Patrick shot back: "It's obvious. 'Defiance' is a gypsy name. And just look at her bedroom - it's gypsy catnip," he threw his arms toward the photo onscreen, insinuating that even a child could tell that. "Schneiderman is Jewish, so she turned her back on her heritage. Now, she has a missing husband and no family for support; It's a psychic 911." With arms wide, and a self-satisfied expression, Jane rested his case.

"Well, there we go," Dennis said, motioning to Jane as if presenting a stage act. Then, he quickly added: "And Jane? Lisbon? This is for you!" With a fake smile, Dennis handed Lisbon an updated contract, devoid of any of the terms they'd demanded while on the island.

"This is not what we agreed to Abbott!" Jane snapped sternly, "We agreed to these terms!" The consultant pulled the pink, island-dinner napkin from his pocket, still sporting its multiple rows of demands.

"You are on US soil now," Dennis sneered, stepping forward. "I am the federal government and I am telling you that this is a deal," he framed the new contract with his hands. "That is a napkin," he pointed dismissively at Jane's handwritten list. "Take it or leave it." Dennis looked quite satisfied with himself as he punctuated his presentation with expectant eyebrows.

Despite Abbott's pompous delivery, Jane still got a weird vibe from the man. He didn't buy the power-broker act for a second. With a confident wink at Lisbon, Jane expressionlessly brushed off the offer: "I leave it."

To Teresa's dismay, Abbott immediately had Jane taken to a detention cell. "'No deal' means he's culpable for the murder charges," he reasoned out loud, throwing his hands up, claiming he was powerless to stop it.

Immensely irritated and a little scared for her partner, Teresa cornered Kim after Jane was led away. "Why are your people holding my partner in a detention cell?! We had a deal!"

"Look, we want to help him out, but…"

"You want to use him," Lisbon accused.

"Is that so bad?" Kim shrugged.

"In case you haven't noticed, Jane is not your standard federal agent material," Teresa was getting wound up with the ridiculousness of the situation. This lady had no idea who she was dealing with.

"We know how Jane works," Fischer claimed, "and we're aware of the risks, but we can't ignore the up-side. He closed every case you were ever assigned."

Lisbon was annoyed at the pedestal Kim wanted to put the man on. "Yeah? He had some help!" Lisbon held her arms out, eyebrows raised. "Look, we can argue this another time, but until my attorneys can make sense of this mess with Dennis breaking our signed contract, the terms of the updated version are null. Now tell your boss to let me talk to Jane. Because he doesn't crack cases by himself; we're a team."

Seeing the logic in Lisbon's argument, and also feeling slightly off-balance at the mention of attorneys, Fischer had a quiet sidebar with Abbott, getting his agreement to honor the island contract - but only for the length of the current case.

Within minutes, Teresa was talking excitedly in Patrick's detention cell, explaining how she'd garnered them a temporary reprieve from Abbott's updated terms with a fake 'lawyer' angle, impressing the consultant thoroughly.

"And since you're reinstated, we've got work to do. So, get your ass outta that chair and let's go!" She crowed proudly.

"Federal officers, coming through!" Jane glinted at the guards as he and Lisbon walked freely past.

On the flight from Austin to New York, Jane was whining about the seating. "Coach? I'd prefer an aisle seat if we're not flying first class," his face showed his disappointment.

"You'll sit where you're told," Fischer muttered sternly. "You're still a federal detainee, you understand?"

Jane grinned with conceit. "Oh, I understand you, Kim. I understand you very well," he grinned arrogantly, "even better than you do yourself."

Lisbon pretended to ignore his antics, internally rolling her eyes at Jane's manipulations. But despite her best efforts Teresa found herself prickling just a bit at his typically flirtatious tone with Fischer. Her inner dialogue was one of constant argument; her common sense and long history with Jane trying to calm the infuriating jealousies that had popped up in response, without her permission. She reasoned that, when they'd last worked together, she hadn't yet experienced the sensation of loving the man… not mutually… not physically… Her heart's recent knowledge of those points must be what was flaring up the subconscious possessive thoughts she was having as he worked his charms on Agent Fischer.

Meanwhile, Kim was still reading him the riot act: "You will stay at arm's length and if there's any foolishness you will go back to detention."

"Mmm," Jane nodded patronizingly, before turning to smile at Lisbon. He knew immediately when he laid eyes on her 'staring out the window' expression that things were now different in their working partnership: During their past cop history together, he'd never before sensed jealousy on Teresa's face. But they were lovers now. It was clear he would need to adjust his tactics slightly in order to avoid the discomfort he currently sensed from his beloved partner. He knew it would only make Lisbon more uncomfortable, though, if he demonstrated tenderness toward her in front of Fischer; so Jane frustratingly couldn't rest his hand on her knee or offer any physical touch to comfort her now. He hoped the smile he offered as she glanced his way would be enough to calm any worries his love may be feeling on this flight - a temporary salve until they had more privacy.

In the Brooklyn apartment building, Jane connected immediately with Defiance Schneiderman, claiming his carny background to build trust; cold-reading her with pinpoint accuracy, to prove his point. In the course of the interaction, Defiance shared with great worry that her personal psychic, Clio, was also missing.

"Interesting," Jane scratched his chin in concentration. "Defiance, where was the last place you saw your husband?"

"On the roof."

"The roof?"

"Yes. He keeps a garden up there. Says it's peaceful."

With a glance to Lisbon, Jane asked the woman to show them to her husband's rooftop garden.

As the group passed through the hallway, Jane was distracted by the darkening of a peephole as they moved past a neighboring apartment door. The consultant took a moment to knock, questioning the man inside - who'd clearly been watching them walk by. It was a short conversation that yielded no new information.

Continuing toward the roof, Lisbon shared: "His name is Win Hai. He's a Vietnamese immigrant who used to own a noodle shop - now he owns the building."

"How did you know that?" Kim was amazed.

"I read the case file." Lisbon said snarkily, eyeing the agent with an expression that showed it should have been obvious; and also, that a seasoned detective like Kim should have done the same.

Jane stood proudly beside his partner, who had clearly just one-upped their annoying FBI handler with her fastidiousness, looking down his nose at Fischer with a slight smirk.

Rattled, Fischer changed the subject: "Just so long as he doesn't get too curious about things. We can't afford to have the press catch wind of Schneiderman's disappearance. With the sensitive nature of his work, it could create a panic."

On the roof, Jane continued his show, making correct guesses about Defiance's husband, and gaining her favor.

Fearing her charge was moving too far away, Kim went to move in closer to Jane as he worked his magic on the missing man's wife; but Teresa stopped her.

"It's best to let him do his thing – he solves cases faster when you leave him some space."

Kim nodded warily, tracking the man's movements from a distance.

"So, you're saying Abel married me because I'm a gypsy?" Defiance scoffed.

"Yes," Jane answered with sincerity, "and because you were willing to walk away from centuries of tradition for love."

Her expression softened at the thought.

"You may not know it, but you give your husband the courage to be who he is on the inside."

"It's true that he hates being so buttoned up in his accountant's business world," the woman smiled. "He's a much gentler soul than that… an artist really."

"I can sense that," Jane nodded. "I'm also sensing that the only way we'll ever find him is if you involve the news media. If I were you, I'd run to the nearest TV station right now and ask them to report that Abel is missing."

Shortly after, Defiance took off running, opening the access door and hurrying down the inside stairs.

Jane jogged right behind, "She wants to call the press," he shouted to Fischer. "I tried to stop her," he shrugged unconvincingly.

Lisbon mumbled while shaking her head in disbelief. "You must really miss that prison cell."

"I'm gonna go talk with her," Jane started toward the stairs.

"You've done enough talking," Kim barked, holding a hand flat out, in front of the consultant, stopping him.

"Fine! You go then!" Patrick stood, one arm gesturing Kim toward the exit door.

"I will!" Fischer was not going to be tricked into allowing her slippery detainee to leave the controlled environs of the roof. "Lisbon, keep an eye on him while I'm gone," she demanded with steel in her eyes.

Teresa nodded, with a fiery gaze that conveyed her lack of appreciation for the hard-ass tactics her supposed 'colleague' was using.

"Fine Kim, you go - I'll stay," Lisbon waved her off. "Welcome to working with Jane!" She beamed with pride, feeling greatly satisfied at Fischer's being thrown off-balance.

Kim had thought so surely that she knew the man, after spending only a few days with him on the island. Lisbon had to laugh; she knew that she was the only woman on earth who could claim that. Teresa had knowingly watched as Patrick expertly laid his trap. She saw clearly the breadcrumb trail he'd left for Kim to 'find;' pushing all the right buttons, leading the agent to leave him virtually unattended on the rooftop - while feeling as though the whole thing had been her own idea.

"Aw… shucks," Jane reacted to Lisbon's proud words by turning away shyly, garnering a snort and an eyeroll from his favorite agent.

As Kim slipped off into the stairwell after Defiance, Jane called out to his partner: "Lisbon, could I have a word?" Patrick looked suddenly serious, so Teresa sidled up next to him beside the door to the stairwell.

"What is it?" She looked curious and slightly concerned.

"Mmm…" he looked this direction and that, clearly struggling with something. "I have to do something in order for this case to crack… AND to permanently fix the mess Abbott's made of the deal we supposedly agreed to, back on the island."

"You have to do… something? Like what?" She was suspicious and a bit more concerned now.

He sighed with resignation. "I have to disappear for a while." His eyes showed that he fully understood how hard this would be for her to accept. "But I can't give you any details, for your own protection. Culpability and all… It won't be for long, just a day or two. And I AM coming back, I swear to you."

His partner was beginning to tear-up, without even realizing it. Things were brand new with her and Patrick, but this felt like old times - and not in a good way. She had no words to say; her eyes spoke for her.

"Do you trust me, Teresa?" he worked desperately to read anything in her dazed, glazed expression. "Teresa?" he pleaded.

"N… Not one hundred percent, no…" she couldn't stop the tears from escaping their way down her cheeks.

"Teresa, love… I'm coming back - in just a couple days the plan will come to fruition and we'll be snuggled together by the fire," he took both her hands in his. "Please believe me, dear. Please believe your own words that the past is the past. I'm not who I was, and we are not who we were. This move is absolutely necessary or I would not willingly spend a single night without your warmth beside me, let alone a handful of nights."

She jerked her hands away in irritation. "Oh, now it's a 'handful' not a couple?"

"Lisbon, be reasonable. You know these things play out on their own timeline to some degree."

"Yes, Jane, but to what degree?!" Her arms flung out to her sides.

Jane's expression fell to sad-faced-puppy disappointment, "what happened to 'Patrick?'" He pouted in an infuriatingly irresistible way.

"'Patrick' is at risk of needing a new apartment if he doesn't offer up a firm deadline for his current shenanigans," she said evenly, eyebrows popping up with disciplinary expectation.

Jane slowly exhaled. "Very well, dear. You're right, you deserve that much. You deserve much more actually, but for now this is what I can do," he touched his lips to her damp cheek, impressing a solemn kiss into the wake of her quiet tears.

"Well?" She crossed her arms and rested on her right hip.

"I will make sure that I'm found by the FBI, no later than Friday, my love."

"Fine. But you had better keep yourself safe, you idiot," she put both her hands squarely on his chest and gave a little push. "I want them to find YOU, not your corpse." Her eyes were stern, but fragile with worry at the same time.

"I promise you, Teresa. I will be healthy and strong, and able to show you all the ways I adore you, well into the night, my love. Please believe me, I will make sure you are repaid for your tolerance… I will make it worth your while, lovely Lisbon." He held her gaze for a long moment, allowing her time to imagine all the possible payment methods he may employ during his reparations.

"Teresa? Do you trust me, love?" he repeated, pleadingly, holding one hand out to her; feeling as if his heart might break if she were to refute the question a second time.

She loathed giving in on this, but it was true that she had told him the past was the past. And he had shown himself to be trustworthy and wonderful in every way since they'd gotten back. "Okay, Jane… I trust you," she sighed, with a half-grin; appeased, but still not wanting him to go.

"See you soon, love!" He hopped to open the stairwell door.

"Jane!" She called quickly, stopping him; his hand holding to the knob.

"Lisbon?" He turned.

"Thank you for telling me… for not just leaving… it means a lot. It means everything."

Jane turned back to her, held both her hands, and took his time with one more tender kiss. "I love you, Teresa," he sparkled.

"And I love you… Patrick," she winked, knowing he'd heard and understood the forgiveness and support she'd just offered in the subtext.

Back in Austin, Abbott was at his wits end over Jane's disappearance, despite Lisbon's reassurances that: "This is just how the man works. Let him do things his way, and the case will be closed by the weekend."

Cho briefed the team, making it clear to Kim that she was the one responsible for letting Jane get away.

"We'll find him," Fischer assured.

"You're only gonna find him if he wants to be found," Lisbon said, unimpressed, "which he doesn't or wouldn't have left in the first place,"

"Tell me something," Kim stepped closer to Teresa with a hard look of suspicion. "Did you let Jane escape?

"Why would I do that?"

"You're his… friend."

"Yes, I am, but I'm also an officer of the law," Lisbon defended flatly, her eyes never breaking their narrowed focus.

"I'm not trying to get you in trouble. It's just… I need your help." Kim deflated with embarrassed frustration. "I was so certain I had him figured out."

"Welcome to my life," Lisbon chuckled, finding the angle she needed to gain Kim's trust; to throw her off balance and leave Jane alone to do whatever it was he needed to do between now and Friday.

"How did you make it work for so long?"

"I've thought about that myself after he disappeared; how I made it work for so long…" Teresa had upped her acting game to such a degree she was almost ashamed of how well she was doing at covering for Jane right now. But it was necessary, she told herself. She was his protector and there was no way she was letting Kim use her in order to get to him.

"And what's the answer."

"The answer to what?"

"To how you made it work for so long?"

"I have no idea," Lisbon laughed.

Kim's expression changed. "Were you two ever… involved?"

Lisbon successfully hid her alarm behind a wall of indignation: "What a strange question? Why would you ask me that?" She held Kim's gaze firmly, eyebrows low and eyes glinting in a cautionary way.

Flustered, Kim scrambled for an explanation. "No, I just… I… I… Never mind," the agent smiled as if nothing had happened; hoping Lisbon would forgive and forget.

Meanwhile in Brooklyn, Jane was putting the final touches on his plan, mailing an envelope marked 'top secret' to Abbott from a public post box, and proceeding to make his location obvious to anyone who may be looking for him; namely the FBI.

The agent who did the finding was not actually an agent at all. The young tech wiz, Jason Wylie, stood expectantly at the front of Kimball Cho's desk; patiently waiting for the agent to pause his work long enough to look up, which the man did, with some annoyance.

"What are you doing?" Cho asked without inflection.

"Waiting for you."

"To do what?"

"To notice me."

"What do you want Jason?"

Wylie glimmered with excitement. "About Patrick Jane; Look what I found!"

Cho found himself looking at Jason's laptop screen, and a satellite screenshot of a New York City street sporting a giant spray-painted "Jane" on its surface, complete with an almost cartoonish arrow that pointed to a nearby alley. "That's him alright," Cho deadpanned with familiarity.

"You think it's really him? It's not a trick?" Fischer wondered aloud, wandering over with Lisbon to Cho's desk.

"That's Jane!" Teresa confirmed, with pride in her eyes, and an amused smile on her lips. Ridiculous and fun; that was her partner for sure.

After confirmation from Cho and Lisbon, Kim traveled to New York, meeting Jane in prison where he was being held by the NYPD, on behalf of the FBI.

"I just wanted a bacon-wrapped hotdog, that's all. I didn't mean to cause any trouble, really," Jane assured Fischer, in the prison meeting room. "I'm ready to discuss the terms of Abbott's job offer now."

"There is no offer," the agent stated flatly. "I'm going back to Austin and you're going to be indicted for the murder of Thomas McAllister," Kim grabbed her files and began to walk away.

"Oh, really?" Jane snarked. "You cats find the body yet?" He proceeded to share his theory about the dirt pile on the roof, telling Kim that the husband had killed the psychic out of jealousy and buried him in pieces under the dirt. "Do you seriously think a man would keep a giant pile of potting soil at the ready during the winter?"

"What I think is that you're lying about the whole thing."

"Maybe? But not likely."

Fischer was caught in a tough spot. She didn't like it, but the only winning play was to take the chance that Jane was right.

Shortly after filling Dennis Abbott in on her conversation with Jane, Kim found herself back on the roof of Defiance's apartment building with the Supervisory Agent.

"I hope this isn't his idea of a joke," Fischer spoke nervously.

"There is that chance," Dennis agreed, "but there's also the chance that he's right. If there's one thing that this job kills inside, it's a sense of trust. I almost forgot what it feels like."

"Um… Abbott?" Kim looked shocked when the forensics tech pulled a severed foot out of the pile of potting soil Jane had referenced.

"Well, I'll be damned," Dennis was amazed.

Back in Austin, Jane stood in the FBI bullpen, still in handcuffs: "So Abel killed his wife's lover and ran away… just like I said…" he looked from side to side, in a conceited manner.

"Well, it appears so," Abbott tentatively agreed.

"Meh - don't beat yourselves up about it," the showman gloated, "you would've figured it out for yourselves eventually."

"I said it appears so," Dennis corrected. "We just received a ransom note…"

Jane was shocked. "This isn't right, there are no kidnappers… What am I missing?" He paced, in confused thought.

Lisbon jumped in with an idea: "Maybe Abel faked his own kidnapping to get money to escape the country?"

"That's very good, Lisbon; that's the best explanation yet. But it's wrong too…" Teresa drooped slightly as Jane continued to ponder. "I need another look at that loft…"

Fischer was not amused. "Really? Back to Brooklyn again?"

"Yeah…" Jane spoke in a monotone, already focused on a plan.

After seeing a nod from Abbott, Kim nodded too. "OK."

"Don't worry," the consultant teased, with a sunshiny smile. "I won't escape."

"I'm not worried," Kim glimmered, without expression. "You screw up this time, I'll shoot you!"

Lisbon didn't like Kim's flirtatious tone, or the sparkling smile she flashed toward Jane in the delivery. "Like hell she will," she mumbled to herself.

Abbott and his team were on the next flight to New York. Seated side by side, across the aisle from Kim Fischer, Jane and Lisbon were silent. Patrick wondered what had struck his usually-quite-verbal partner mute?

"Lisbon, what's wrong? If it's about the faked kidnapping idea I'm sorry, it was a good idea, but…"

"It's not that," she answered quietly, staring into the night.

"Why won't you look at me, Teresa?" Jane was growing more concerned about her silence.

"It's just… this is harder than I thought. Working together… Now that we're… together, I mean."

This was not good. It sounded like his skittish girl might be getting cold feet about their new arrangement. Patrick beefed up his inner controls to keep from panicking. "Why, my dear?"

When she finally turned from the darkened plane window to her partner, Teresa's heart squeezed at the sight of his fragile eyes. "I'm sorry, Jane, it's just that…"

Oh no… she called him 'Jane' again… this was getting worse. "It's just that what, love?" A tear of worry escaped his eye despite his best efforts. He couldn't lose her now; not after knowing what it felt like to belong to her… not after knowing the feeling of having her belong to him.

Teresa felt awful for being so emotionally awkward that she'd made her beloved Jane cry. She sniffed, then shook her head to snap herself out of her malaise, before reaching over to wipe the tear stain from his golden cheek. "I'm sorry, Patrick… there's no need for tears. I'm just struggling, watching you work with Kim. I know you use your charm - it just comes naturally to you, and I never want you to change; I love that charm and sparkle," she glimmered as she held her hand to his cheek, leaning in for a quick kiss while no one was looking. "But I wasn't expecting the nauseating levels of jealousy I've been feeling, watching Kim react to those charms. Not to mention the defensiveness that bubbles up so quickly when she asks about our relationship status - which she does quite regularly, by the way. I'm pretty sure she's asking because she wants you for herself," Lisbon raised her eyebrows quickly to punctuate the sincerity of her suspicion.

"I see." Relieved to hear that his partner had not, in fact, been having second thoughts about their personal relationship, Jane exhaled approximately six tons of worry, before leaning closely against her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and kissing her senseless for several delightful minutes. Once he came up for air, and Lisbon had regained herself, they noticed a stunned Kim Fischer, gawking at them from across the aisle. "Well," Jane spoke loud enough for the meddling agent to hear, "Agent Fischer is wasting her efforts. My heart is taken. I belong wholly to you, my dear Lisbon," he twinkled at the shocked, yet delighted look he saw on his beautiful partner's face. Then, turning to Fischer, he snarked: "Does that clear things up for you, Kim?"

The flummoxed agent nodded, red-faced.

"And is there anything else I can answer for you, regarding my partnership with Lisbon or the status of my love life?"

Kim shook her head quickly, then buried her attention in the airline menu, suddenly quite interested in the beverage choices.

Jane turned back to his partner, grinning mischievously. "Better?"

With a relieved chuckle and an affectionate nudge, Teresa nodded. She contentedly leaned into Patrick's embrace for the remainder of the flight.