(AN: Surprise! Posting this chapter a bit earlier in the week due to some holiday travel :) SO the chapter *following* this one will post somewhere around the 15th - ish ;)


The team was in a chopper, headed to a crime scene near some remotely located exclusive men's club. Jane and Lisbon were sitting side by side; Cho had insisted, teasing them just a bit about being joined at the hip now.

"Very funny Kimball!" Lisbon volleyed before turning to her glowing partner, loving how their new partnership looked on him. "Who knew Cho was such a comedian?"

"Hilarious indeed," Jane quipped, still wearing his biggest smile. "This is just how I imagined it - always getting teased about being together. And I love it!"

"Well, I love seeing how you're growing into yourself, now that you aren't being stalked by a psycho killer anymore. What you did to save Mr. Cruz from death row last week warms my heart, Jane - makes it thump crazy fast, actually. I've always known this was the real you."

"I know you have," he hummed with a warm smile and grateful eyes. "I adore you, for that. Can I kiss you?" He was treading on thin ice since they were on a case but still, he had to try.

"Quick, while no one's looking," she glimmered.

Patrick had only just gotten in a quick peck when Cho turned to announce they were landing soon.

The partners shared a quick giggle, then took some breaths to get back into business mode; the Foragers Club was awaiting the FBI.

Once on the ground, Jane was doing a terrible job of hiding his irritation with the management at the club; the head honcho was treating his partner dismissively, and behaving overall like a misogynistic caveman.

Patrick turned his attention elsewhere by lunching with Lisbon at the facility's onsite restaurant. He was playing games with the wait staff, moving ketchup bottles and then asking for replacements - that sort of thing.

Teresa ignored him, being distracted by a text message: "Hey sorry if I embarrassed you by flirting on the phone the other night. Had no idea you two were a thing. Just know if that ever changes, I'm here. I think you're a hell of a good-looking woman and I'd love to get to know you better."

As her eyebrows pushed together in consternation, Jane's voice broke her attention: "Tell Pike I say 'Hi.'"

"How'd you guess?"

"You're wearing the same annoyed expression as when you told me he'd hit on you over the phone."

"Ah. Yes. Apparently, he can't take subtle hints."

"I've got some subtle-ish ideas."

"God help us," she snorted, looking away in mock fear. It was only then that she noticed her partner's odder than usual behavior with the waitresses: "And… Jane?"

"Yes, Lisbon?"

"Why are you sniffing people's hair?" she wore a mixed expression of mild disgust and curious wonder.

"I can sniff yours next if you like?" he poked.

"No thanks, but I'll take an explanation," she said firmly, with high, expectant eyebrows and a partly amused smirk.

Jane's phone buzzed with a text before he could respond; Abbott was here. The partners settled their bill and moved outside to meet up with the boss.

"So, it sounds like this mystery golfer might be suspect number one, but no one has seen the man for days. Being out in the country like this leaves us with a lot of ground to cover," Abbott shared the intel the support team had received on their recent flight in.

"Too much ground, I suspect," Jane pondered, holding a finger to his chin in thought.

Teresa's phone rang, and she scowled when she saw the caller ID. After a look of annoyance to Jane, she turned away from the conversation to answer her phone. And though she didn't want to interrupt Jane's thought process, she also didn't want to give Pike a chance to flirt again, so she put the phone on speaker. "This is Lisbon."

"Teresa! Hey! I hear you're still in the woods!"

"Yup. How can I help you, Marcus?" she rolled her eyes at Jane and Abbott, noting the equally annoyed look on her partner's face. Abbott simply looked confused about what Pike may want; he wasn't on the serious crimes team and had no connection to the current case.

"Well, hey, Wylie wanted me to call and let you know about Madison Price's phone."

"What about the victim's phone, Pike?" Honestly, why didn't Jason just call, himself? She wondered.

"He can dig into the device and repair the lost audio. The tech's think the woman may have actually recorded her own murder – BUT it could take a few days."

Before Teresa could respond, Jane jumped in - glad to knock the Art Squad agent down a few pegs for continuing to engage his partner in unnecessary conversations: "Yeah, thanks Pike," he shouted, "but we're gonna have this case cracked by sundown." Patrick beamed at Lisbon, who was smirking her approval of his 'subtle-ish' tactics toward Pike. Besides, she always loved it when he sparkled like this; it was clear he had some "grand plan" forming.

"Ah... Jane…" the voice grumbled from the phone, not having realized that he was on speaker… OR that his competition was standing nearby. "Um… okay thanks, I'll tell Wylie."

"That was awkward," Abbott quipped as the phone snapped shut and the three left to get Jane's plan in order.

"Awkward, but well-deserved," Jane crowed, walking toward the main lodge at Foragers, planning to invite himself to headline the club's entertainment stage tonight.

As advertised, and with Lisbon nervously agreeing to be his 'onstage assistant,' Jane's gag full of magic tricks at the Foragers Club caught the killer. The FBI were pleased with the result, and Patrick had thoroughly enjoyed getting to be a showman again; not to mention the understated flirting that he and Teresa had shared onstage throughout the act.


Later, back at the FBI, everyone had left for the day, save the two lovers.

Lisbon tiptoed past Jane's couch, having changed into a little black dress for an FBI social event she felt obligated to attend.

"Hey! look at you!" He sparkled.

"Don't start."

"I'm not starting! You look beautiful!"

"Wasted on the wrong people obviously," she glimmered at the blonde curls reclined on the couch.

The man with the curls rolled up to a seated position, elbows resting on his knees. "Are you required to go to this event, Teresa?"

"Well, no… But- "

"But nothing," he stood, moving closer: "Change of plans." His eyes sparked with a heavier sincerity than usual - even since they'd been dating.

"Jane…" Teresa whined. True, she didn't really want to go to the FBI thing; but she worried how it might look if her absence was noticed tonight.

"Okay, Lisbon, how about this: I will escort you to this event, and we'll stay long enough for you to be seen by all the important people. Then, we will quietly slip away and you will join me for dinner," he lilted through the plan, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Dinner?" How was she expected to visit some burger joint when she was dressed to the nines like this?! Unless… "At a place fancy enough for this dress?" She teased, though Patrick saw a hint of desire in her eyes.

"Cloth napkins and everything," he grinned wide, utterly gratified by the beaming smile on his beloved partner's face. Clearly, she was pleased.

"It's a date!" Lisbon cheered as she grabbed her purse, her black leather jacket and Jane's hand.

"Let's go!" The delighted consultant agreed.


A few hours later, the two partners were seated at an intimate booth. Lisbon had never been to this restaurant before but was struck by the fact that all the staff there seemed to know Jane personally. With his skills in the kitchen, she couldn't imagine him going out to eat often enough for that to be the case but tucked the question away for later.

Jane was relieved that it had taken much less time to cycle through all the FBI dignitaries than he'd expected. That was a gift that allowed him to get his dearest partner to dinner in time to make his originally scheduled reservation.

Their conversation had been pleasant and playful as always, with each of them confirming to themselves how wonderful this change in their partnership truly was. Jane was currently admiring, with loving amusement, the fact that he'd brought his firebrand cop to a fine dining establishment, run by an award-winning chef, and she had ordered the cheeseburger and fries. He chuckled inside at the fact he could've ordered for her and gotten it right - even down to the extra pickles. As he handed the menus to the server, the consultant guided the conversation in a new direction:

"So, Teresa, there's something I wanted to tell you… Today is the anniversary… "

After a moment, she realized which anniversary he meant, and her face immediately dropped into an expression of care and concern. She quickly covered his nearby hand with hers, massaging with love and empathy. "I'm so sorry, Jane, I didn't remember- "

"It's okay," he smiled, gently patting her hand. "What I wanted to say is: I usually take the day off and eat at a restaurant like this, alone… with them…"

Teresa's eyes showed concern. Should she leave him to his memories?

As if he'd heard her thoughts, Patrick smiled, shaking his head quickly, "But I wanted you to be with me… erm… I guess I mean... with us, today, because I promised to share all my plans with you; and that includes letting you in on other closely-held truths too, my love… I want us to have no secrets anymore."

Lisbon's concern melted away immediately. "I like the sound of that," she sparkled with adoration.

Validated, but slightly unsure, her partner explained: "So this may sound weird, but I'd like to introduce you to them, in a way, tonight… and vice versa," he was visibly nervous as he pulled a sleeve of photos and papers from his jacket pocket.

A tear escaped Teresa's eye. "I would love that, Patrick." She reached over again to give his free hand a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for this," she whispered with emotion.

He began sorting through the contents with a mixture of nervousness, tender joy, and remembered sadness. After taking a breath to steady himself, he placed the first photograph on the table in front of Lisbon:

"So, this is a carny picnic. It was the day we met."

Lisbon's face lightened into such a beautiful smile. "Aw, look at you…" she said adoringly. "How old are you guys here?"

"Maybe twelve? Angela is a few months after me so might be eleven… And look! That's Eileen Barlow standing on the picnic table behind us!"

"Wow!" Teresa's smile reached to her eyes as she took this treasured journey into her love's mysterious and guarded past. He was so tan in the picture; it was clear he spent a lot of time outdoors. Makes sense… carnival life, she thought admiringly.

For the next several minutes the partners chatted happily about the items in Jane's 'time capsule' envelope, and he giddily shared his stories with her; noticeably relaxing his defenses; seemingly relieved to have that opportunity.

He stopped suddenly, when he pulled out the last portrait, his lips together in a smile pressed flat by a moment of pain: "Here's the wedding…"

With concern for her partner's change of expression, Lisbon took hold of the photo for a better look. Teresa wasn't sure why, but she was surprised to see that he'd married Angela in a church. Maybe she'd been expecting a big top ceremony or an open meadow? At any rate, it broke her heart seeing the genuinely joyful smile on his young face as he looked into his newlywed wife's eyes. Not that she was jealous, but seeing this moment only made Jane's loss hit her even harder, seeing how truly and fully he and his lost angel adored each other.

"This is a beautiful picture, Patrick. The love you have for each other is practically radiating from the page…" Lisbon looked up at her partner, who was holding her gaze with tearfully anxious eyes.

Jane's heart was pounding with so many emotions: He truly did love and adore Angela; the photo had reminded him of that as well… and of what had been lost. Also, he worried that if Teresa saw the evidence of that love in the photo, she might be somehow hurt by it… or may feel threatened… He desperately needed to share these past memories with her if they were going to continue to grow closer as a couple, but throughout the process he felt like he was on the Big Dipper: climbs of joyful anticipation followed by downhills of suspenseful concern.

The wedding photo had been possibly his most worrisome reveal tonight; he feared it may be the hardest thing for her to see - him in love with someone else. And he knew he was being foolish to worry; Lisbon had voiced it multiple times, how she understood that he would never stop loving his lost family, and how she could never be jealous of that. But still his heart was pounding as he presented it. He didn't know if he could handle it if the picture caused his beloved Lisbon pain. So, it was with tremendous relief and tearful gratitude that his eyes met her truly happy gaze right now.

Teresa saw all of the emotions on Patrick's face when their eyes met. She moved her chair closer, and held him comfortingly for a long moment. "I think it's beautiful, this photo… your love story with Angela… I know she will always be in your heart and it's okay, love. That heart's big enough to love both of us fully and completely, at the same time. Your big heart is what got me here." She let go and gave him a comforting wink.

"Thank you, love… It means everything to know that," he gave her hand a squeeze as he glistened with grateful adoration.

The waitress brought a tray of drinks and began serving them to the table when Jane stopped her: "Oh, they must not have passed on my message to you," he smiled congenially. "I changed my order slightly this year. Could we do champagne instead?"

"Of course, Mr. Jane," the girl smiled, swooping away to change out her tray of Bloody Marys.

"You have a standing order here?" Teresa said with some disbelief.

Jane glanced at the table of photos then back to Teresa: "Yes, it's sort of a yearly ritual. But I felt the need to change things up slightly this time."

"How so?"

"Well, I typically would come and order three Bloody Marys - dark humor I suppose…"

"Jane…" Lisbon was crushed for him, hearing how he tortured himself that way.

"And I would drink all three of them... alone… at a table set for three… facing the two empty chairs in front of me knowing what I'd done… knowing what I'd lost…"

Teresa held his hand tightly, silent tears streaming down her grief-stricken face. It had been a long time since she'd been faced with the reality of how he could punish himself so harshly.

Patrick lifted their joined hands to his lips and pressed a long, tender kiss onto the back of Lisbon's hand. "But gratefully, this year is different."

He paused, allowing that sentence to hang in the air for a moment, allowing himself to fully soak in the truth of it.

"This year there is a bit of joy in the dinner. And this year's anniversary has less mourning and even an air of celebration," his eyes sparkled with affection. "Because this year I've found love again… And though the love I've found isn't new - I've loved you for years and years, Teresa…"

"Same…" Teresa was smiling so hard her cheeks hurt right now.

"But what's new about this love is that we are, at last, in agreement… that the love is real, and that we're both willing to jump into that abyss… and not just willing, but desperate to be together…"

Lisbon nodded tearfully, still beaming.

"And that calls for celebration, my dear. So, this year it's champagne," he smiled, leaning over to plant a kiss on Teresa's tear-stained cheek. "I love you, my dear… quite hopelessly.

"I love you too, Jane." Lisbon took a moment to dry her eyes with one of the cloth napkins Jane had bragged about earlier in the day, allowing some of her overflowing emotions to escape into happy laughter. "Look at me; I'm a mess over here!"

Venting his own overwhelm with a chuckle, Jane quipped: "Messy people make the best lovers."

"Is that so?" She flipped her napkin at him teasingly as the waitress returned bearing flutes of the bubbly for them both.

A male server followed right behind, delivering the dinner orders. "Bon appétit," he chimed before flitting away to another table.

As the two began eating hungrily, Jane had one more important point to share: "So there are a couple items I don't want to forget tonight."

Lisbon looked up and nodded as she took a bite of her burger.

"One is that the carnival will be in town later this week. The Barsockys will be on hand AND believe it or not Danny Ruskin is also back with the show."

"Really? That's great for him!"

"It really is! I would love it immensely if you'd go there with me one of those nights Teresa. I want to tell them about us - Samantha is going to be beside herself - and there is so much I want to show you!"

She couldn't stand it; he was so adorably amped up about this. "Of course, Jane - I cannot wait to go," she grinned genuinely. "Feels like it might be the 3-D version of what you've shared tonight?"

"Ha! So, it is!" Patrick glimmered with excitement, before putting his own napkin on the table and leaning close to Teresa:

"The other thing is," he took both her hands, leaning in even closer: "I've been talking with your brothers and we all agree: it's been far too long since you've been home."

Her eyes got wide with anticipation. "And?"

"AND, Stan says his work on your family home will be complete by the fall, so they would all love it if you - I mean… if WE would come up for a visit then. I think it's time… don't you?"

Lisbon's expression vacillated between excitement and anxiety. "I would love that! But what if-"

"I've already cleared things with Abbott, Teresa, and he's assured me that the FBI will indeed continue to function without us; so, no worries there."

She immediately relaxed. As always, he'd anticipated her reaction, she shook her head with an amused chuckle. "Sure you're not psychic, are ya?"

"Quite," he grinned before cheekily sipping from his glass.

"Thank you, Patrick. The truth is that I've been thinking a lot about those ruffians lately. There is so much to tell them: the new job and city and the new house and…" she sighed dreamily, "and the new way I see my partner…"

Her partner stole a tender kiss after that comment, causing a gorgeous blush to radiate as Teresa spoke:

"I cannot wait to tell them about us! Annabeth is going to FLIP!"

"Annie…" he playfully corrected.

"Yes, fine, Annie," she lightly slapped his hand.

Jane snickered happily; he so loved their snarky banter. He so loved everything about the two of them together. He so loved her.

Teresa's dreamy smile had returned when Patrick finished his last bite of dinner. He looked up to see her pale green eyes holding him in the most loving gaze as she rested her chin on her hand.

"Dessert?" He hummed, a little breathless with how she was looking at him.

"I've got some ideas," she flirted.

Jane grinned wide, as he flagged down the waitress: "Check please!"