A/N: So this is the final chapter! I forgot to mention it before but yeah. Can't believe that with this chapter, the entire story is out there. I hope you like it! Also, once again taking some artistic licence here and there. Hope you don't mind!

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

'The Door to Peace'

Chapter 10

They went to the bureau the next day, and she could tell that he was nervous, even if it wasn't his first time in prison, unfortunately. This time she knew, however, that he knew he couldn't get around it. This was for real, and even though it wasn't that long, he couldn't bat his pretty lashes at them for a better treatment.

Eventually, they had to say their goodbyes.

"Hey. Everything will be alright, okay? You will be out of this mess sooner than you think, and we can go back to our normal little life then."

"I can't wait. Just promise me you will tell me when that faintness endures. I want to know."

She nodded. "I will keep you updated."

And once again, she had to leave him. She couldn't wait until she could spend everyday with him, without any disruptions, just waking up next to him every morning, and kissing him goodnight every evening.

She went to the doctor's office nearly immediately after their trip to the bureau, because even without them making love, she felt odd and not quite herself. It was not like the previous time she had gotten ill, which had been nothing more than a stomach bug. Perhaps this was something more serious.

The lady looked at her cautiously, and suddenly, Lisbon started to worry. She wouldn't accept it if this was the end. She and Jane had only just started their lives together.

"Can I congratulate you, Ms. Lisbon?"

"With what?"

"You're pregnant."

She actually laughed out loud, for she couldn't believe this, she had only just stopped her pill, and she was old for having a baby, and quite frankly, so was he. It would have made more sense if it would take forever for them to conceive, that they would maybe even have to enter a medical treatment to help things along. So to her, the most logical way to answer was exactly how she replied.

"I'm not pregnant."

The woman frowned. "You are, though. Do you… want information on… abortions?"

"No. I just… need some time to let this sink in. We've only just been trying. I hadn't expected it to happen so soon."

The woman started smiling a little. Lisbon was glad - she didn't want to startle her.

"Well, I always look at it like this: those who really deserve it get a gift like this."

They must have been really deserving then.

"Can you tell me anything else about the baby?"

"It's too early for that. We can say more at around the tenth week."

Lisbon was provided with a bunch of informative articles discussing the kind of diet she had to adapt to now, and what kind of symptoms to expect.

That evening, the bed felt even bigger with the knowledge that she was pregnant with their child - she should be celebrating this with him, but there was no chance in hell that Abbott would allow Jane to leave early. The image of the bureau would be seriously damaged should that happen.

She remembered her promise to him - she would tell him the outcome of a possible doctor's appointment, and she couldn't possibly break a promise. She never had and never would.

But she did fear that he might misbehave to get out, that he would fuss and make a scene, and it might influence his chances of being let go.

Yet still, she couldn't keep this from him. They were in this together, him and her. It was their baby. So she would have to find a way of telling him this, but keep him from doing anything stupid.

~...~

She stood in front of a mirror a few moments before she would enter the visitor's room, and she couldn't help but judge her belly, even if she couldn't see anything, and she knew because she had checked that morning. Still, she wanted to check to make sure. Soon enough, there would be no way around it.

She sat down in front of him, and she knew he could tell that there was something different about her. He frowned and looked at her face. Surely he couldn't see this, could he?

"I'm going to tell you something, but you need to promise me that this will not impact your behavior here."

"What is it?"

She couldn't keep it from him anymore. Everything spilled out of her.

"I'm pregnant. Oh Jane, I'm pregnant."

She knew it were the hormones, but out of nowhere she started crying, the happiness she was feeling outing itself like that, apparently.

She felt his hands on her arms, then on her cheeks, cupping them. She looked at him. He was kneeling in front of her.

"You are?"

She nodded at him. She could tell he was just as confused as she had been when she had just found out, just as surprised, but it was soon followed by tears. He let out a small sigh, and she knew it was the only reaction that was possible for him at that time.

Through her tears, she could still utter the words she had practiced before coming here, because she had had a feeling she would get emotional.

"Please promise me you'll behave. Behave, and we'll be back together in six weeks. We'll still have plenty of time to celebrate this."

He nodded. "I love you, Teresa. I promise I'll be good."

She knew he would keep his promise, too.

~...~

She had done some calculating, and could only place the moment that their baby was conceived around the night she had come back to Venezuela. She loved the idea that her God didn't want them to wait that long, and had gifted them a baby so quickly.

Jane had been especially good, proving he could behave, something she had seen already but hadn't been proven often. He had been so proud that she was pregnant that he had told everyone around him the good news. Eventually, Abbott had heard the news, too.

He had called her into his office about a week into Jane's imprisonment, and had asked her if the news was true.

"Yes, it's true."

"Did you plan this on purpose so I would feel bad for Jane and let him go?"

"Of course not. We have a life too, and I don't want all of this to put that on hold."

"Okay. I understand."

He pretended to not be faltered by this, but she could tell that he wanted to give in. She was reminded of Cho's words a while ago - the public would undoubtedly want Jane to get a shot at being happy, and she felt that this could be a reason for Abbott's doubts. Only a day later, Jane was released, under the condition that he would stay with the bureau for the remaining time of his imprisonment and the two years that were noted down already, provided he didn't break any rules. Which was ironic, because the bureau was breaking countless of rules to keep him on a leash.

They spent all their time celebrating her pregnancy, and he inspected every inch of her body, hoping to find a change in her body, indicating the growing of new life. He claimed he found all of them, but she didn't believe him.

"Your breasts are slightly fuller," he told her. "I know because they used to sit perfectly in your bras, but they're overflowing a little. You feel different, too… when we make love. I don't know how to explain it. Your appetite has changed, you used to love these cookies I stole from the restaurant around the corner back in Caracas, but you pull a face at them now. And you're glowing. You're positively glowing. You have always looked beautiful to me, and it's only amplified now."

"Gosh, you can be so poetic."

"Guess that's what my love for you does to me."

She smiled and kissed him. "I'm so honored to be carrying your child."

"Hey. It's our child."

"I know… but you put our baby in me."

She knew he was blushing, even if it was really too dark for her to see. She put her hand on his cheek and fair enough, the skin was warm.

"I can't wait to meet them," he whispered. "I want to know what they look like, I want to see all the little fingers and toes."

They still had to wait. But she hoped that everything would go quickly without much strife.

~...~

He behaved like an angel, which was strange for everybody including Lisbon. Perhaps he knew that he couldn't blow this. If he did, he would have to miss out on her pregnancy and birth, the first few weeks of their baby's life. As a result of his revelation, he even got their new boss Dennis Abbott his standard coffee as though he was his PA.

He even got Lisbon a spot in the unit. Every other time, she would have scolded him for interfering in her life, but their lives were so entwined now, it didn't really matter anymore. And she liked the change of environment, because being stuck in their apartment was not a life she could live.

The first time she had stepped into the building, a sense of relief had washed over her. Sure, it wasn't the CBI, and she was starting all the way at the bottom, from scratch basically, she liked being busy and solving cases. She didn't even mind to be doing mostly desk work due to her pregnancy.

Even though Jane was an angel, he still managed to get what he wanted, yet now in a less menacing voice, with more compassion. He even said 'please' and 'thank you', which was a whole new world for Lisbon. He had nicely asked for a 'thinking couch' behind Lisbon's desk, and Abbott had refused it at the time, but when he noticed Jane didn't do well sitting behind a desk all day, he granted the wish anyway. So now, she was accompanied by her favorite person often, but they didn't always talk.

That was something they had both agreed to - they lived and worked together now, so they didn't need to talk all that time. In any case, they didn't need words to communicate - if she wanted some tea, he would know way in advance, so by the time she would ask him for it, he would have it ready.

Sometimes late at night, when almost everybody had left the office, they would sit on his couch and have some tea together, discussing their day at work. He knew he wouldn't be able to tear her away from her job if she felt there were still things left to do, so he accommodated in her wishes, getting her some tea or a snack.

He always waited patiently until she deemed her work to be finished for the day, and he always drove them home. If someone had told her months ago that she would step into a car with Patrick Jane and not be worried about his driving, she would have laughed. But he had improved greatly, mainly for her safety but also for their baby's. And really, she was just too sleepy to drive, this baby taking all of her energy, but it was totally okay, and definitely worth it in the long run.

She woke a little later when Jane put her to bed, and she hadn't noticed that she had been sleeping that deeply, to not have felt that he had carried her out of the car.

"Do you want something to drink?"

She shook her head. She just wanted to sleep now.

"I'm seriously thinking you should go home earlier, Teresa," he told her, helping her undress and get her into her sleepwear. "There will be another day tomorrow, as well. Right now, our baby needs all of your attention."

And perhaps he was right. She had the right to leave the office with everybody else.

He slipped into her arms when he had finished changing, and she sighed contently just as he did, his hand on her belly.

"You really have improved greatly due to your therapy," she whispered. He shook his head.

"No. It was you who improved me. I could have gone to therapy any time, but it was you who suggested it and made me realize that it was the best option. You gave me a purpose. I wouldn't have gone if it weren't for you. You hugged all my broken pieces back together, therapy only helped glue them shut."

"But it can't have been all my doing."

"I think it was. Well, you helped me to a few inches from the border between the two worlds. Therapy pushed me over it."

"I'm really glad that there is improvement. It hurt me to see you like that."

He buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"I guess I can always count on my Saint Teresa to come save me."

Wasn't that the biggest truth?

~...~

Even well into her pregnancy, having returned to the states for months, she remained captivated by the beaches of Venezuela. She had never felt as free before as when she had sat on their balcony there, looking over the clear blue water, and even though she had been born and raised Chicagoan and had not seen this much sun in her life she had never felt at home quite like she had in Venezuela. It was where she had confessed her love to Patrick Jane, where they had kissed and made love for the first time, where he had proposed to her, and where they had conceived their baby. The beaches held a special place in her heart.

Jane had picked up on it, of course. Their new work space was LA based, and they had started renting an apartment close to the city, he knew it wouldn't be enough to satisfy her desire to be close to the beach. They had visited Santa Monica beach together with their friends on a lovely summer day, and she had simply wandered off from the group to walk down the seashore barefoot. It didn't take long until Jane joined her, his hand taking hers.

"Hey."

She looked at him. "Hi."

"What's wrong?" he simply asked, because she knew that he would know something was wrong anyway.

"I miss Venezuela."

He was quiet for a while, all that time they continued walking. He nodded eventually.

"Me too."

"We could just go back."

He shook his head. "Healthcare isn't as good there as it is here. I don't want anything to happen to you or the baby."

She sighed. He was right, of course. When it had been the two of them, they could well manage the sometimes tough environment of their city, but their baby needed all the care in the world, should they need it.

He made her stop and turned her to him. He put their foreheads together. "We can be happy in the states, too, my dear Teresa. As long as we have each other."

They stood like that for a while, her arms wrapped around him tightly for as much as they could while her belly was in the way. He was right - again. She really only needed him. But she couldn't turn off that little voice in her head that she was the happiest at the beach, sand between her toes and breeze in her hair.

He pulled away from her all of a sudden. "That's it. It could work."

"What could work?"

He wrapped his hand around hers again, pulling her with him, and she protested for he was going much too quickly and she couldn't keep up with him. She was about to tell him off and stop in her tracks when he came to a sudden halt.

He looked at her, and she frowned. What was he getting at?

"We might not be able to get back to Venezuela with our little one… but we might be able to get Venezuela here."

"What do you mean?"

He pointed somewhere away from the beach, and she followed his hand until her gaze landed on a small beach house - with a 'for sale' sign in the front yard.

"I remember seeing it on our way here."

"Jane, this is too much. We can't just live here."

"Why not?"

"This is Santa Monica. I'm sure that place is too expensive for us."

He bowed down until his lips touched her ear. "Nothing is too expensive for us, Teresa. We can afford it and still spoil you and our little one."

He let the idea sink in while he walked towards the house, his happy smile definitely in place, and she could clearly envision him walking the stairs leading up to the porch with their child on a beautiful spring day, the two hand in hand, laughing at each other's jokes.

He turned back to her, and she could still see his eyes gleaming even from this far away, and he spread out his arms in complete awe.

"I love you, Teresa!" he yelled, and she rolled her eyes and made her way over to him. Once there, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

She kissed the corner of his mouth. "I love you, too. And I love this house."

He placed an offer that same day, inquiring on any other competitors and raising the money tremendously, and it was accepted. Four weeks later, they got the keys.

They lay on their new bed, his head resting against her swollen belly, her fingers in his neck, brushing the short curls there.

"I can't believe how lucky I've become," she heard him whisper. "I asked you to come with me… and you did."

She smiled. She brushed the cheek that was in reach for her. "I did."

"And… I know we had some setbacks back there… but… I'm so happy we got through it… and I'm so happy that you love me, too. Even more than I could have expected."

She pulled on his hair so he would come up to face her. She kissed his lips.

"What did you expect?" she asked him after a while. He looked her in the eye, and thought about her question, but eventually he just shrugged.

"Peace. I didn't expect anything, but I wanted peace. For me, but especially for you. And I know it wasn't admirable to pull you with me like that… but I wanted to protect you, because it was clear that things were going to get sour. I know you don't want to be protected… but I also knew you would stay there, even if it meant that your whole life would be crumbling down. I didn't want that for you… I still don't. And perhaps I wanted you to find someone who would love you properly, who could offer you the whole world, away from the CBI, from Sacramento… from me. But you have shown me… that you love me. And that means… everything to me."

He looked at her, and just like any other time he did, his eyes were overflowing with love, happiness written in every line on his perfect face.

"I wanted to give you peace… but instead, you gave it to me."

She smiled at him. She hoped he would never stop being so poetic - she loved how good he was with words.

"You gave me peace, too. Don't forget that."

"But how?"

She showed him the ring he had put on her finger months ago, and she remembered how he had explained that he hoped it could be a way of thinking about him, even when he wasn't there. What was that, if it wasn't peace? And the fact that there was a teensy tiny baby in her belly, just waiting to show their face and light up Lisbon's life.

"You make me the happiest woman I have ever known, Patrick Jane. I have never known love the way you love me. The way… I love me, when I'm with you. And I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, that you disregarded my wishes by pulling me with you to Venezuela. You're right, I would have stayed in the US knowing my life was a shithole. You did me a favor by taking me away from there. I can't thank you enough."

He snorted at her words, and his reaction made her chuckle.

"My life was a shithole, wasn't it just?"

He nodded. "So was mine. But not anymore. Not with you by my side."

He kissed her good, like he always did, never missing an opportunity to talk love with his lips, and she responded in kind, stopping just before they started something they couldn't finish.

She took his face between her hands and looked him in the eye. He put one hand on her belly, his eyes sparkling with love.

"I love you, my sweet Patrick."

"And I love you, my darling Teresa."

She pushed herself up, barely managing, and got off the bed. She grabbed his hand and pulled him with her.

"C'mon, we gotta enjoy the beach!"

He chuckled and lifted her, and he only lowered her when he was in the ocean knee deep. She watched as he likely ruined the good suit he had put on to impress the realtor, chuckling and looking back at her from time to time.

Her happy idiot. She had gotten so lucky.

A/N: Okay! There you go! I hope you liked the story, and even if it was odd and weird at some times, I hope you still sort of liked it! Let me know in a review, and I'll start writing another story now for you to enjoy! ;)