Lisbon had seemed wistful when Rigsby joyously mused that his baby son was 'the best thing that had ever happened to him.' And Jane had noticed the distant look on the agent's face after Wayne had gone back to his desk.

Maybe Teresa's reaction had been due, in part, to the fact they'd recently run into her ex-fiancé from years ago? It was clear that she had left Greg Tayback with a broken heart at some point in her distant past. The melancholy expression she'd worn just after that reconnection made Jane wonder if meeting Greg's wife and three daughters had started Lisbon wondering about her past choices.

Was his partner's heart weighted down with 'what if's' surrounding having a family, and 'what could have been?' Surely, she knew it wasn't too late for that now if she decided she wanted a family? At any rate, Patrick didn't like seeing Lisbon doubt herself. He kept a close eye on his partner for the rest of the investigation.

At the end of their time in San Martinez, the partners walked together to Lisbon's car. After some case-closed chatter, with a few mentions of the Taybacks, Jane offered words of comfort, just in case they were needed: "Don't be wistful Lisbon. Greg was never the right man for you."

"No, he wasn't," Lisbon agreed, still struggling with the 'what ifs' her partner had been on guard about.

"You're too intense and particular for a man like that…"

"What?!" Her eyes flashed with a familiar blend of amusement and threat; leave it to Jane to snap her out of the doldrums with a teasing poke.

Jane grinned with satisfaction at having perked his delightful partner's mood with a healthy dose of playful banter. He enjoyed her tickled laughter and typically sarcastic comebacks as they both sent good-natured word barrages back and forth with comfortable familiarity on their way to the CBI-issued vehicle.

The partners continued their conversation over dinner, halfway to Sacramento.

"It was definitely weird running into Greg on this case…" Lisbon's eyes glanced side to side uncomfortably for a second before settling back on Jane. "But I'm so relieved to see that he's happily married and wow - three daughters!" The agent laughed nervously and shook her head in amazed disbelief.

"Ha! Yeah," Jane joined her laughter, but then grew more thoughtful: "Have you ever thought about it Lisbon?"

"About what?"

"What it would have been like if you had taken the domestic route?"

"Pfft - It's too late for that now."

"Why?"

"Do I have to spell it out Jane? I'm not getting any younger and there's no sign of anything resembling a relationship in my future so let's just get back to the facts of the case."

"Well, that's not true, Lisbon."

"What's not true? The facts?"

"No. Your claim about relationships and your future."

"I don't want to talk about this with you," she quickly looked at her plate, focusing intently on the pile of fries there.

"Why not? You don't consider what we have - our partnership - as 'anything resembling a relationship?" Darting her attention back to him with surprise, Teresa noted that Jane looked unreasonably hurt.

"Come on, Jane you know what I meant."

"Do I?"

Teresa squirmed with discomfort. She did not trust her trickster/jokester partner with her vulnerable heart, but she'd allowed the annoying 'showman' side of the man to back her into a corner.

In a hushed tone, leaning closer to Jane's dining chair, she animatedly shared: "I meant an actual relationship. You know? The kind where I have someone to love and there's someone who loves me back?" Teresa's sternly raised eyebrows didn't quite cover the longing that flowed under the surface of her words.

The precocious sparkle left Jane's eye in a flash, replaced quickly by a level of care and empathy that threw Teresa even more off-balance. This was unlike her partner. She assumed the change would soon be followed by a trick even greater than she'd ever endured from him.

"Oh, Lisbon. Your logic is flawed my dear."

Still expecting to be humiliated in short order, she shot back with impatience: "Oh yeah? Flawed how?"

Jane remained quite sincere as he pulled her gesturing hands gently into his. "Flawed in that your core assumption about your future prospects is incorrect. You are so loved, Teresa… already… right now..."

Lisbon didn't want to think about where her consultant might be going with this; it would be too hard to recover once it became clear she had misunderstood, or that he was only kidding to try and make her feel better. So, she tried to brush it off: "Listen, that stuff with Greg happened a lifetime ago, he has no affection for me now aside from maybe a tinge of nostalgia."

Jane didn't flinch: "I wasn't talking about Greg."

Lisbon rolled with the punches grasping for another deflection: "And I know you'd like to think that something happened with Walter Mashburn, but despite your misplaced matchmaker efforts he is not my type at all." Teresa gagged slightly to amplify her point.

Still holding her hands, still mining for truth with his warm gaze, Patrick refuted her latest claim with a whisper: "not Mashburn."

With a sigh of surrender, Lisbon reasoned she would drive herself insane wondering what he had meant if she didn't press him to get to the point tonight. So, for her own sanity she risked it: "Okay Jane, who then?!" She fought like mad to keep her tears at bay. No doubt he was going to launch into his punchline now, and despite her best efforts she'd already gotten too attached to the hopeful daydream of what his answer might be.

Lisbon braced for reality as Jane leaned even closer to her, bringing his lips gently to the sensitive patch of skin near her earlobe, brushing the surface just enough to create a trail of goosebumps. He murmured in a hushed tone, struggling against a growing lump in his throat: "it's me, Teresa… you are so loved, by me."

When Patrick retreated back to a seated position, still cradling her hands, Lisbon searched her partner's eyes, swimming in the depthless sincerity she found there. The seconds that passed as she held him in her soft, hopefully curious gaze seemed to Jane like a lifetime.

Patrick held his breath in an optimistic sort of panic, desperate to know that he hadn't committed a grievous error with his admission. He'd had no choice though; his heart couldn't handle the sadly thoughtful looks he'd seen on his partner the last few days: from her wistful reaction to Rigsby's excitement at being a dad, to second-guessing her life choices after their interactions with the Tayback family. Jane simply had to throw this fragile line of honesty to Lisbon; he needed her to know the truth of how he felt. She deserved to hear it.

Just as Patrick began to despair, Teresa broke the silence: "I feel the same way," her voice danced softly to his ears, releasing his fears and tensions into a most beautiful Jane-smile.

"Well, that's lucky," he glimmered, slowly leaning in, gently guiding her closer as his fingers cradled her chin.

Lisbon's heart was pounding, as her body worked to process the combined sensations of the words they'd just spoken to one another, the gorgeous sight of Patrick's beaming smile and shimmering eyes, and the growing warmth that played on her lips as Jane's own lips inched closer.

With a tender softness, he kissed her sweetly. It was in many ways a tentative and innocent kiss, but also bore a weighty power - full of meaning and emotion.

Temporarily stunned, the two sat in adoring silence for a few moments, grinning as they looked into each other's eyes, both quite affected by what had just happened.

"So, have you ever thought about it, Lisbon?" Patrick sparkled irresistibly.

"It's crossed my mind, yeah," Teresa beamed, newly comfortable in her partner's presence; allowing herself to daydream more freely, her cheeks radiating a delightful shade of pink, in the process.

"Excellent," Jane glowed with possibility, cautiously allowing his own mind to wander in response.