"Why is there a mirror in here and why is it set so high up on the wall?" Jane was sharp as ever when the team processed the aftermath of the shootings in the DEA offices; identifying the location of an unknown surveillance camera at the scene.
While debriefing the local LEO's back at the Corpus Christi police station, Jane, Lisbon and the team learned that the DEA had been looking for someone called 'Mr. X.' In the process of the investigation, the cops shared a photo of a high-level gang member with his girlfriend, Crystal Markham. The officers and agents filed out of the room to locate Markham, leaving Jane and Lisbon to study the pile of photos left scattered on the surface.
True to his word, Jane shared his thoughts with Lisbon as they sat alone: "It's her."
"It's who?"
"This Crystal Markham. She's the key somehow."
"The girlfriend?!"
"Yes. Look at how she carries herself in the photo - much more confident than a woman under the control of a typically demanding drug boss. She's leading more than following. She definitely knows something and may even hold real power in some way…"
"Okay? So, what do we do?"
"I need to get close to her… alone…"
"How do you intend to do that?"
"I'm gonna ask her to dinner."
Lisbon's eyes widened: "Oh."
"Teresa, you've seen me do this thousands of times. I promise it's strictly business, no matter how good my acting skills may be during the 'date.' AND I promise to be careful. I'll even have Wylie bug the place if it makes you feel better."
"Actually, that would be helpful - and not just for me, for the team."
"For the team, eh?" Jane grinned, eyeing his partner in a way that said he knew it was mostly for her. "Very well then, I'll set it up."
Teresa smirked at his expression and swatted at his arm in playful retaliation.
Kim Fischer had not been let in on Jane's secret plan for Markham, and so was venting her thoughts on his apparent date with the suspect while she and Teresa stood in the FBI bullpen:
"So, Lisbon - does Jane make a habit of dating suspects?"
"Not really, but he's up to something with that woman."
"I'll say," Kim said in a suggestively growly voice.
Lisbon shook her head in correction: "No, what I mean is, he suspects she has information so he's charming her into conversation - she's not even his type."
"That's what I said!" Kim puzzled: "What is his type?"
"I dunno?!" Lisbon heard her high voice in her own ears and knew she'd been a bit 'big' with that response, but her anxiety over having her and Jane's budding relationship outed too early had caused a knee-jerk reaction.
Feeling foolish for having asked, Kim moved on, sharing her earlier discussion with Jane regarding couches - including her annoyed amazement at his subsequent reads about her visits to therapy and her tricks on the island:
"He insists on having one like he had at the CBI."
Lisbon smiled wide; she had taken that old beat-up leather sofa home with her the day they closed that agency. She had planned to surprise the man with it - before he dashed the plan by disappearing for years. Holding out hope to someday see him again, she'd taken it to Washington with her for safe keeping. It remained there, waiting to be shipped to Austin with the bulk of her belongings. "I think I've got a line on that CBI couch, if you want me to handle it?"
"Excellent Lisbon, thanks!"
Teresa leaned on the desk, while Wylie played the livestream of Jane's dinner with Crystal Markham. Jason had done a fabulous job of setting up the surveillance; the entirety of the conversation could be heard clearly. As the consultant told the story of his mission to find and kill Red John, garnering great sympathy from his date, Lisbon felt a little sick. She had never heard the whole truth from him about that day, though she had more than suspected what had happened. He had to know she'd be listening in, after their conversation about surveilling the dinner, and it was jarring to hear Jane's honesty about Red John's murder. But she had asked for his honesty moving forward, and he had promised her that. Maybe this was his way of letting her in on the Red John details without his having to see the sadness and disappointment in her eyes as he did? At any rate, Lisbon quickly realized that this part of the evening's chat could not be left on the record under any circumstances:
"Okay, Wylie, this isn't pertinent to the case but it's highly personal and could be damaging to Jane. You need to delete this part of the conversation, please. Now," Lisbon insisted.
Understanding perfectly, Jason hit a few keys and edited the audio file accordingly. "Erased!" The geeky young man smiled. He had been on board with all things Lisbon and Jane ever since watching them work on the Brooklyn case.
"Thanks, Jason," Lisbon said with a pat on the back, before leaning in once more to listen for clues from the gang banger's girlfriend.
Jane's voice came through the speakers again, as he attempted to console the woman on the death of her lover: "Crystal, you need to move on. Trust me, I know. Loss has this way of paralyzing you. It's clearly stopped you from moving on in your life, and as hard as that is… as guilty as you feel… that's what you have to do is move on. It's what I'm trying to do anyhow… trying…"
Teresa's heart squeezed in touched recognition: he had meant these words for her ears as well. This was him spilling some of his most guarded secrets and opening his heart wide; and yes, that was working to gain the trust of his current mark, but Lisbon had the unshakable feeling that he had suggested the surveillance in part to also allow her to see further into his heart at the same time. This was Jane at his investigative best, AND this was her beloved Patrick making good on his recent promise to let her in on his plans… and into the most guarded parts of his life. She was so grateful for his candor, and for his thoughtfulness tonight; with purpose, she straightened and headed back to her desk - trusting Wylie to capture the rest of Markham's unwitting testimony.
Once there, she picked up her personal cell and dialed a Washington number:
"Hello! Yes, this is Teresa Lisbon. I have unit 403 rented and had promised to call when I was ready for delivery of the goods to my new location… Yes, I have an address on file now… Correct, the Austin one… Yes, immediately please… And hey - could you put a rush on one of the items for me? Yes… the brown leather sofa? Excellent! Any way to get it here by, say, tomorrow? … You can?! Oh, that would be amazing - thank you so much!"
Lisbon bounced to the elevator with a huge smile on her face; Jane was going to flip when he saw her surprise!
The savvy detective in Teresa didn't trust this Markham woman in the least, so she and Cho were spying outside Crystal's kitchen window as the woman brazenly waved a gun around, appearing to threaten a seedy-looking character and his apparent bodyguard.
Meantime, Jane was wandering around after-hours at the FBI looking for his phone, and eventually found it on a familiar leather couch newly-parked just behind Lisbon's desk. He suspected which couch it was and where it had come from. As he laid down and stretched himself comfortably on the soft, well-worn leather, he called Lisbon's number to thank her.
"Teresa, thank you so much my dear. I'm touched immeasurably that you stewarded my favorite piece of furniture from our earliest days right here to the FBI."
"It's my pleasure, Jane," she quietly answered, smiling wide. "This was a surprise that had been in the making for a few years, so I was thrilled to spring it on you finally." Checking that Cho was out of earshot, then cupping her hand over her mouth and the receiver nonetheless, she whispered: "Besides, your actions lately have warmed my heart more than I can say. I thought I was going to burst when I realized your secondary plan for yesterday's dinner surveillance, so I had to surprise you with your beloved sofa today. You so deserve it, love, and I can't wait to catch sight of you napping there… I have always adored that view, sweet Patrick."
"Aw… Lisbon, you're making me blush…"
"Oh my God!" Teresa gasped suddenly.
Jane shot up to a seated position, hearing muffled whispers on the line…
"Lisbon?" He whispered fearfully.
"We're okay," she whispered, "but your dinner date just blew some gang banger away on her kitchen foyer!"
Jane's eyes widened, "No kidding?!… I had suspicions about her. I now suspect she may in fact be 'Mr. X."
"That would be in line with what we've witnessed here tonight," Lisbon whispered.
"Well, sounds like it's time to call for the second date!"
"Jane, be careful!"
"Of course I'll be careful, Teresa. I wouldn't do anything that might keep me from my naps on this gorgeous couch OR anything that might jeopardize my chances for delicious private time with you, my dear," he sparkled.
"Very funny!" With a stifled snort, Lisbon said goodbye with a quick kiss into the receiver.
While Jane was meeting the suspect woman on some yacht for their next date, Lisbon and Fischer were back at the FBI, scrolling through video footage from the DEA office shooting, finding new evidence that suggested Markham was the killer, and also the ringleader of the drug smuggling crew.
Lisbon called Jane immediately to share the discovery and to confirm the plan was on: "It's Markham; she's the ringleader!"
Jane's voice crackled from the speaker with the 'go ahead' code phrase: "I'm right in the middle of something here, call me back a little later."
Lisbon snapped the phone shut and called out to the team: "Okay it's a 'go' from Jane everyone. Let's get to the chopper!"
Fischer, who'd been standing close enough to hear Jane's comments, was knitting her eyebrows. "How'd you get a 'go' signal from that?"
Teresa flung her arms to her sides and looked at the agent like she had two heads. "We're partners?!"
"Got it Lisbon," Cho called from the bullpen, doing his best to ignore the debate he was hearing between the two women. "Wylie is setting our communications on channel five, everyone touch base with me there."
Lisbon and Fischer nodded in his direction as they grabbed their bags and took off for the helipad.
"So, channel five works for the team but how are we supposed to time things with Jane?" Fischer mused.
Lisbon answered with a concerned shrug. Fischer didn't need to know that Jane's code phrase asking her to 'call him back later' was part of his plan; Teresa knew that meant to call him once they were airborne, then he'd pick up silently, keeping the call live so she could listen in on what was happening with him and Markham. She was still quite nervous for his safety with this drug ringleader, though, so her concerned expression was in fact not an act.
An hour or so later, after the 'too close for comfort' sting, when Jane was waiting on a bench, dripping wet by the shore after leaping into the bay to escape being shot, Fischer and Lisbon walked quickly to him.
"Jane? You alright?" Teresa mostly covered her deep concern in a thick layer of 'cop voice.'
"Well, you guys took your sweet time, didn't you? Another minute and I'd have been a dead duck," the man snarked as he shivered.
Before Lisbon could explain about the trouble they'd had starting the engine on the chopper, Fischer jumped in with a sarcastic barb:
"Well maybe now you've learned your lesson."
"What lesson's that?"
"If you'd let us in on your little plan then maybe we could have gotten here earlier," the agent popped her eyebrows in a familiar Lisbon-like way that caused a chuckle from the drowned rat on the bench.
Teresa caught herself throwing heart eyes at the man and kicked herself internally. To cover, should anyone have noticed, she piled onto Kim's comment: "I have been telling him that for years," she smirked, seeing confirmation in his expression - and the quick wink that accompanied it - that he'd understood her tease. Shaking her head in mock correction, while also glowing with a relieved smile, Lisbon put an arm around her shivering partner and guided him to her waiting car.
Once they were safely back at her Austin digs, Teresa dutifully prepared a pot for tea, and got a couple bath towels from the closet.
"Here ya go! You should get out of those cold wet clothes and into a hot shower, love. I worry you'll catch cold or worse," she caressed him with her empathetic gaze, the poor man. "I'm so sorry we were running behind tonight; the chopper wouldn't start for like ten minutes. I thought I was going to explode I was so frustrated with worry."
Jane's response showed which of her words held the most weight with him: "a hot shower, love? I noticed you brought two towels?" He was glimmering at top levels despite his frigid state.
Teresa took the towels in one hand, and her beloved partner's hand in the other, leading them both to the fairly huge walk-in shower she'd lucked into with this new place.
She adjusted the water to her favorite temperature: one degree below scalding, and stepped inside the glass booth after her still-shivering love.
After several minutes of warm caresses, long hugs, and tender kisses, the two spoke lightly as they shared the suds and shampoo.
"You know Markham was right about one thing…"
"What's that?" He chuckled.
"You underestimate yourself."
"Ha! In what way?"
"You were worried about how you were handling this case… Worried about the balancing act of keeping me in on things while keeping the team in the dark. And it worked perfectly! You did it, love!"
He pulled her close, so they were skin to skin in the warmth of the shower spray. "And you were perfect too, my dear! That is… you are perfect…" he hummed, holding her gaze adoringly, stroking her dampened hair.
"Oh, Jane… I was so worried we wouldn't get there in time!"
"I had it all under control my dear"
"Of course you did," she goaded with playful sarcasm.
"I am sorry I worried you, Teresa. Though if this steamy shower is the result of that worry, then maybe I'm not so sorry," he grinned devilishly.
"You are incorrigible," she attacked his mouth with kisses before he could protest.
The next morning, the partners were cuddled together in Lisbon's recently-delivered bed, under some billowy blankets:
"Well, that was a delightful roll in the hay, Patrick," Lisbon purred. The sensuality in her voice was rivaled only by the heat in her gaze, as she pulled her blonde lover into a long, satisfying kiss.
"Mmm… indeed, my dear," the lover agreed, overcome with affection for the petite powerhouse in his arms, "I would roll anywhere with you." The sentiment was sealed with another tongue-tied kiss, and a playful roll to the top of her. "So do you think Fischer knows?"
"As far as I can tell she has no idea," Lisbon sparkled with mischief, which delighted Jane thoroughly. "But we're gonna have to tell her and the team eventually."
Jane wasn't sure about the mildly concerned look that accompanied Lisbon's last sentence. "You look uncomfortable with that idea, Teresa? Why? Are you embarrassed?"
Lisbon rushed to cover, alarmed that her anxieties had been so transparent to her partner: "No! I mean… don't be silly, Jane. I have never been surer of anything than I am about you and me together. And I'm quite proud to be your partner… in every way," she winked before planting a playful peck on his cheek.
Patrick's beaming smile showed how relieved he was to hear that.
"It's just that we're still the new kids here, AND not to mention that, as a woman in this field, it's important that I maintain an all-business demeanor at the office and amongst the team - at least for now… Once I've had ample time to prove myself, I may feel less concerned about that, but you know me, Jane; I've never been okay with having my personal life be part of the water cooler conversation."
He did know her, he warmed thoroughly at the confirmation that she knew that truth too. "Of course, my dear - I understand," he wore the most comforting smile. "But Lisbon they are going to be wowed by your talents and prowess and smarts so quickly that we'll be in the clear soon enough - you'll see."
"I hope you're right. But for now, I'm going to enjoy the romance of this secrecy!" Lisbon's eyes danced with fun and affection, prompting her top-secret lover to carefully roll her back to his side of the bed and into a grateful embrace.
Patrick couldn't get over how lucky he felt. Coming back from the island had been a risk; but if this was the reward then it was a risk worth taking.
After one more quick kiss, Teresa rolled back over to get out of bed. "We should get ready - I don't want to be late today."
"I know Teresa…" he circled her wrist with his fingers, coaxing her back into the soft blankets with him. "But please, just a few more minutes?"
"Still sleepy love?" She wrapped herself back around him.
"Not sleepy… just want to savor the warmth of being so delightfully tangled up with you, my dear."
"Mmmm," she snuggled closer. "I can't argue with that."