Great story and I loved the conclusion - the petition & testimonials were great ideas on Lisbon’s part, it was nice to have LaRoche be portrayed as one of the ‘good guys’ for once and I liked how you got Jisbon together in the end as well as the symmetry of Lisbon getting Jane’s job back from the CBI director just like Jane did for her with Bertram but in her own special way. I also love that Lisbon made Jane promise to read the testimonials & try to believe them - very in-character for them both especially there I think!

Lol that you had the convo Lisbon thought was Jane cheating turn out to be about Jane’s other love... tea! That was clever.

I also agree with some of the other reviews I’ve read that you’ve received in that I enjoyed the Walter-Jane dynamic. It was cool how they simultaneously maintained the stance of friends and rivals - Walter helped Jane & Lisbon almost as much as he competed against Jane! And I like how you eventually revealed that Cho had masterminded having Walter back in Lisbon’s life in an attempt to bring Jisbon together. I loved the Cho-Lisbon friendship dynamic in this fic and I agree that it’s quite in-character for Cho to have taken big brotherly interest in Lisbon’s welfare given Jane left - I loved the bit where Cho lists Lisbon and his Mum as the 2 most important people in his life (that was so sweet) & Lisbon saying about Jane & Lisbon succeeding in annoying Cho in the list of all that Jane & her had managed to accomplish in their year apart from each other made me laugh (yep, despite the sadness of the separation and the hurting each other, Jane & Lisbon certainly did manage to annoy Cho - poor guy! I think Cho was definitely getting to the point of wanting to knock Jane & Lisbon’s heads together so I really don’t blame Cho for leaving Lisbon at Jane’s ‘stranded’ without her car). I like how Cho watched out for & protected Lisbon even from herself (like making sure she ate), as well as Cho protecting Lisbon from making a bigger mistake with Walter after Lisbon took the sleeping pills & alcohol. I laughed at the idea of Jane putting Cho in a headlock when he found out Jane had been back in Sacramento for a month & not told anyone - especially Lisbon - lol, I could definitely see that happening under the circumstances! I did wonder at a few points if Cho had been instructed by Jane to look out for Lisbon & in how to do so whilst he was gone, especially with Jane’s strength of conviction that Cho would never sleep with Lisbon, but I actually really like that you had Cho watch out for Lisbon naturally just because he cares about her (aww, not so Ironman Cho after all on the inside - or at least not so much when it comes to Lisbon)!

It was also hilarious to have both Walter and Jane interject to announce in unison to David Hurt that Lisbon was taken! Having the mailman Lisbon claimed was hot whilst under hypnosis in the Red Badge episode from the actual show also be called Ashley was a good twist too & you did a good job of explaining why Jane didn’t recall Ashley earlier despite his memory palace - as even for Jane it’s reasonable for him to not recall a person he’d had limited interaction with out of context (given that initially all he knew was something about Ashley had made Lisbon mad) without time, prompts and a lot of work (even in the show where he recalled the list of the people he’d shook hands with since his family was killed it took a long time & a lot of work!) Whereas it’d have been hard to believe that Jane wouldn’t have immediately recalled Ashley if he’d slept with her in the period after his wife & child were murdered - even if it had been a drunken one night stand, especially as Jane has such a good memory in general anyhow, so I’m glad you had a reasonable explanation that didn’t make Jane ‘unfaithful’ in a sense to Lisbon. (I can see why it’d have felt like infidelity to Lisbon even though Jisbon wasn’t together at the time - although it’s ironic when one considers that Lisbon actually went further with Walter than Jane did with anyone in the year & a week since Jane left - but I guess that’s quite well explained by Lisbon being drugged & intoxicated at the time!) It’s good that Jane doesn’t blow the hickey Lisbon has from Walter out of all proportion in the end too, despite the hickey understandably bugging him as it’s an unpleasant reminder of Lisbon having been with Walter both recently to a lesser extent and in the past when they actually did sleep together... I like what Jane says about ‘replacing the hickey with one of his own’ to Lisbon though lol and I found it amusing that Lisbon then blames Jane for her having a hickey in the first place because he’s the reason she took the sleeping pills that left her so out of it in the first place. I’m also really glad you had Cho intervene so Walter & Lisbon didn’t go further and Walter wasn’t definitely portrayed as the bad guy, which he would have looked even more like if he’d slept with Lisbon whilst she was so out of it even though he didn’t seem to know she was out of it at the time! I’m not convinced that the Walter from your story would have forgiven himself if they’d slept together & then he’d found out Lisbon had been under the influence, as Walter really does come across as a nice guy in this fic, although he’s used to getting what he wants and rather oblivious to Teresa being in love with Jane for most of this fic.

Overall, great job with this fic and a very enjoyable read with some sweet and some really good funny moments.

Cho as Lisbon's emotional connection, her own Jiminy Cricket, is odd. I can't think that she would have anyone else (perhaps Minnelli?), but it does seem out of Cho's character to take a counselor role with her. Still reading and enjoying, but uncertain about that dynamic.

Good characterization of all the major players. I like Cho as protective older brotherit fits that he would assume the role with Jane (indefinitely) out of the picture.
Starting with a chase and takedown is an exciting way to grab the reader and build interest.

It was fun and so awesome! Thanks for writing such amazing pieces.

Thankyou a brilliant combination of humour and plots loved it

Now this has been a very good read again thanks I have really enjoyed it

oh my goshhh that story was literally an emotional roller coaster in every aspect. I'm not sure I can handle such angst, but I guess you can take that as a compliment.

Just came across this..unputdownable..One of the best fanfic stories I read

Did you know that the killer's name, Celia changes from Melrose to Brown. Just a little correction. Loved your story and your writing - wish Chapter 10 continued the teasing in Chapter 9 but I can always hope for a sequal! Great job!
Sugar

Still loving it!

Okay so I'm a little late to the party but I absolutely love this story so far having just discovered it!

This is sincerely my favourite portrayal of Lisbon strong independent and accomplished in her own right.
Sometimes people tend to forget this because of Jane's showmanship and his protective streak towards her.
I love this!

I still don’t like endings in particular, but I couldn't help but forgive this chapter for being one, because I loved so many things about it.
Lisbon summed up the whole story pretty well: „Apart one year and all we managed to do was miss each other, hurt each other and annoy Cho.“ I think what I liked most about her whole attitude was, that it was not only about love. About love a lot, but also about their jobs, what these jobs mean to them and other people and the effect they have on each other. It’s a great, big picture.
And something must be very, very wrong with me because despite my dislike for Mashburn I loved his conversation with Lisbon. It also means that you did something very, very right here portraying him in a way that even I couldn't keep my anti attitude.
All the playing it cool (“How romantic”) and then later, the part about never needing anyone and of course, his final line was just…wow. You know, the heartbreaking confession: “Teresa. It was always too late, wasn't it?” and her just nodding to that. Very for-good, I loved it!
And 878 complaints seem realistic to me but the thought of counting them really had me smile. And the petition and the testimonials, the fact that Lisbon even made Mashburn sign and had started this whole campaign month ago despite being mad...wow.
The scene in the office where they all fought for Janes job (including LaRoache!) gave me real All-for-one-and-one-for-all musketeer feelings :)
And, of course the-end-of-the-end and Janes promise that he’d try reading the "Thank yous", and the same time knowing that he’d do one day out of love was really, really sweet!
Thank you for writing and sharing this.

TrustFalls

PS: And Lisbons line about being her bullet proof vest, her combat boots and the Glock to bed “only on special occasions” was another one that made me smile.

First things first: I adore Janes barbeque grill—it sounds exactly like the just-a-liitle-over-the-top gadget he’d equip his house with (and the rest of his house sounded pretty cozy, too.)
And secondly: I wouldn’t have thought that I’d enjoy a talk between Jane and Mashburn much, but I did! The cheerful sentiment was great, Janes punch, the hurt hand, Mashburns allusion to the “little island in South America” and the steaks…Well done. I think my favorite part was where Jane explained why he knew about Chos scheme all along.
Another part I loved was Cho and his insight in Lisbons love life. That one: “He supposed it was because within the team they all knew they were safe” The paragraph started a little wired, but the end, the “Distance couldn’t break them” was really touching. And the part about the two people he cares most about really had me smile.
But my favorite part was the one where Lisbon thought that “Jane was hers to worry about whether he was near her or far away”. That one really did hit the mark.
(And I feel kinda bad for grouching since you had very valid reasons for taking time. I'm sorry!)

I really love this chapter!
Thanks