Stop and Stare

The California Bureau of Investigation was a small force, but it knew how to be elaborate. Or rather, the newly instated Agent Hightower knew how to be elaborate. She had taken Christmas 2010 as a reason not only to celebrate, but to establish bonds with their sister agencies. Many of the agents were disgruntled about this – Minelli usually hired a function room of some kind and just supplied them with the means to get hammered, or the teams would go out individually...and get hammered. Either way, it ended up with the ones who didn't drink being the ones who ended up rushing off to the last minute cases over Christmas, so if you weren't drunk, you were working. This year, however, they all had to turn up at a swanky hotel, in their most formal clothing, and pretend not to be slightly creeped out by the large glitter ball hanging from the ceiling.

Jane and Cho stood near the buffet table, drinks in hand and stared up at the offending object. "It's a glitter ball," Cho stated.

"My daughter had a glitter ball," Jane said, his voice confused as they stared at it. "But she was five. We're not five year old girls."

Cho turned his attention around the room and Rigsby joined them. "Do you realise how many people are staring at us?"

"It's me," Jane shrugged.

"I think you've pissed off at least fifty percent of this room," Rigsby mumbled into his drink.

"Eighty-two percent," Jane corrected him. "If, of course, you include yourselves."

Cho and Rigsby exchanged a look, nodded, and then continued drinking. Grace approached them with her own drink, throwing a soft smile in Rigsby's direction. "Have you seen who's here?" she asked in a moan. "All I keep getting is glares and harsh stares. It's supposed to be a party but apparently its 'a chance to bond with our sister agencies'," she mocked.

"But we don't do bonding," Jane argued.

Rigsby gave a one shouldered shrug. "Just enough to be civilised, I guess."

"In the spirit of Christmas," Grace told him."Just one night."

"Why should we bond?" Jane continued to argue.

"We all work for the same state," Cho pointed out. "C'mon, can't you behave for one night?"

"Christmas is supposed to be fun," Jane frowned. "And now I...I...I..."

He stopped, rendered speechless at the sight which captured his attention so intently. He stood facing towards the stairs that marked the entrance, looking past the others to see the radiant image before him. Making her way down the steps was Lisbon, as he had never seen her before. Grace's comment a few days previously about her looking like a princess just didn't seem to compare anymore. He remembered the last opportunity they'd had to dress up in this way, only to be involved in a diamond theft case shortly after arriving, and his heart had ached to take her in his arms that night, wanting nothing more than for her to stay with him wearing that navy dress she'd worn but now...if having to watch her leave alone in that dress had been what it took to see her descending the staircase ahead of him right at that moment, looking as she was, he'd have gone back in time and restrained himself again.

Since a shared shopping trip the previous weekend, Grace hadn't stopped making reference to Lisbon's choice of dress. Perfect had been the world that was mentioned the most, and she also insisted that their boss was going to have a many number of men salivating over her. He had to admit, she had been right. The dress was a deep red, not too low at the front but dipping just a little to show enough flesh above her chest to captivate the eyes of every man in the room. No indecent, just flattering – more than flattering, actually. This was much better than the somewhat simple navy dress she'd won last time; this had diamante patterns on the bodice, patterns that sparkled as they caught the light cast from the glitter ball. She'd not just pulled this dress from her closet, she'd searched for hours, agonised over her choice and chosen it for a reason – the reason being that she looked absolutely stunning in it. It clung to her upper body, hugging itself to her hips even though it was loose and flowing satin around her legs.

One of the attendants took a velvet black shrug from her and as she turned around to hand it to them Jane saw that the back of her dress was non-existent. The fabric missed her back, showing a large amount of skin that he just wanted to touch, but he knew he couldn't. She'd worn her hair up though, which made his nose crinkle a little – he loved her hair down. There was something compelling about how it could change every day – one day curly, one day straight, one day wavy. Wavy was best, slightly curled and wild as loose as nature intended her hair to be.

"Jane," Cho interrupted his thoughts.

"What?" he stumbled over his words.

"She catches you staring at her like that, she's gonna kill you," he said simply.

Jane just came over with a stupid grin. "What a way to go," he mused.

By the time that Lisbon had made it over to her team, she already looked sick of the false smiles she was having to give to people who had filed complaints against them. "Hi," she greeted them all. "Please tell me someone has a drink for me."

Jane extended a wine glass to her, making no secret of looking her up and down. Now that she was less than three feet in front of him the view was much better. "Lisbon...you look...wow...just...wow..." he stammered.

"Patrick Jane, speechless," she admired.

"You just look...wow..." he repeated.

"You already said that," she teased.

"I don't know how else to describe it," he admitted, looking her in the eye now that he had drunk in every inch of the dress. "Lisbon, you look...beautiful."

She smiled, averting her eyes a little self-consciously. "Thanks," she muttered.

"Stop it," he said, realising the thoughts that were going through her head as her eyes fell on some of the more elaborate dresses in the room as if comparing them to hers. "You look perfect. There's not a man in the room who isn't checking you out right now," he said, throwing a couple of glares around. "Unfortunately," he mumbled to himself.

Grace and Rigsby excused themselves for an 'innocent' dance, and before they knew it, they were mingling.

Jane approached Lisbon from behind, noticing that she was talking to one of the agents on a CBI team, but it happened to be the one who had repeatedly asked her for dates over the past three years. Naturally, Jane didn't like him. "Hi," he smiled at her. "Can I borrow you for a second?"

"Of course," she said eagerly, her eyes screaming 'save me'.

Lisbon's admirer got the hint and smiled at her, putting his hand on her arm for a moment in a way that made Jane want to snap it off. "Enjoy your night, Agent Lisbon, you look really nice tonight."

He left, and Lisbon was half amused as she noticed the glare that Jane directed at the man's back. "Why are you looking at him like you want to kill him?" she asked him.

"He said you looked nice," he grumbled.

"Women like to be told that," she told him.

"You don't look 'nice', Lisbon," he told her. "You look better than nice, much better. You look perfect."

She smiled. "I appreciate you getting rid of him, but did you have to do it before I got a dance?" she teased him.

He extended an arm. "If a dance is what my lady wishes..."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Your lady?"

He winked. "Come on, humour me. One dance."

She took his arm after a deep breath, and the next song started almost in clue as he lead her to the centre of the dance floor. Now many people were dancing now that the large buffet table had been opened, which pleased him just find. He wanted to dance with Lisbon and he didn't want the rest of the agency teasing them about denied feelings. His gaze never strayed to the people that may or may not be watching them, not when he had much more important things on his mind. He took Lisbon in his arms, one hand on her hip and the other one holding hers. She smiled, placing her free hand on his shoulder, the space between them more than obvious, and yet despite a mutual urge to fill it, they held back.

This town is colder now, I think it's sick of us
It's time to make our move, I'm shaking off the rust.
I've got my heart set on anywhere but here
I'm staring down myself, counting up the years.

"This dance partnership is becoming a regular hobby," Jane commented aloud as they swayed to the music.

"We've danced twice, including this time," Lisbon pointed out. "Hardly regular."

"Perhaps it should be," Jane suggested. "It's fun."

Lisbon gave him a slightly mocking grin. "Christmas came early this year," she teased.

"Careful," he warned. "I'll return your gift."

"You got me a gift?" she questioned.

"You got me one," he predicted.

She thought for a moment, narrowing her eyes in suspicion, and then realised. "Grace."

"I'll never reveal my sources," he shook his head.

Steady hands just take the wheel
Every glance is killing me
Time to make one last appeal
For the life I lead.

The chorus of the song kicked in and Jane seemed to be waiting for it. He'd heard this song before on the radio but never paid attention to the words, not as much as he was now. Mind you, he was dancing with Lisbon, he wanted to remember this song. He wanted to remember the lyrics. He wanted to remember every second of how she felt in his arms because he didn't know how long it would be before he got an opportunity like this again. As the tune of the song became more powerful he put more feeling into his steps; steps that he hadn't used for a long time now but ones his feet still knew. Lisbon followed in his lead, relinquishing control only for the length of a dance, allowing him to move her across the dance floor in any way he wanted, listening to the words of the song as much as he was.

Stop and stare

I think I'm moving but I go nowhere

Yeah, I know that everyone gets scared

But I've become what I can't be

Stop and stare

You start to wonder why you're here not there

And you'd give anything to get what's fair

But fair ain't what you really need

Oh, can you see what I see?

The slower tune returned to the song, and to match, their movements also slowed. However, after a graceful turn Lisbon ended up being pulled close in to Jane, through no intention of their own. The gap between them was now gone, as she ended up pressed firmly against him in all ways. Jane groaned a little uncomfortably. "Lisbon..." he murmured, his face wrought with control.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

He indicated to the non-existent gap between them. "You're the only woman I've...danced with, in a long time," he told her.

"Oh," she said, going to move backwards but finding that his hands held her still.

They're trying to come back, all my senses push

Untie the weight bags I never thought I could

Steady feet don't fail me now

I'm gonna run 'til you can't walk

Something pulls my focus out

And I'm staring down

He placed his hand on her upper back, wishing that he could feel her hair spilling over his fingers, but instead there was nothing but air. "The last woman I held like this, I had no intention of letting go of for the rest of the night," he told her with a gentle smile. However, he then leaned in closer and whispered his next words directly into his ear. "And right now, I feel like I couldn't let you go either.

Lisbon was about to answer, but before the words could leave her lips she found herself spinning as he moved quicker with the music again.

Stop and stare

I think I'm moving but I go nowhere

Yeah I know that everyone gets scared

But I've become what I can't be

Stop and stare

You start to wonder why you're here not there

And you'd give anything to get what's fair

But fair ain't what you really need

Oh, can you see what I see?

During the instrumental part of the song they danced expertly as if they'd danced the steps together a million times before. However, the music soon calmed again and they stood in the middle of the dance floor, their eyes connected. The moment they had stilled, Jane gave into temptation and he reached up, finding the singular clip that held her hair in place and he gently removed it. Immediately, waves cascaded down her back, brushing against his skin and her own, and in their proximity he heard her sigh.

What you need, what you need, what you need...

People were watching them now, that much was obvious, but they didn't care as they stood motionless in the centre of the floor. Jane moved forwards, placing his hands in her wavy hair. For months now he'd been waiting for this moment, the moment where he could dive his hands into her luxurious hair, to feel the softness that he knew was there between his fingers and know that she knew he was worshipping her, that he wasn't doing this as a joke or a scheme This was Jane, and only Jane, no ruse, no joke, no lies, and certainly nothing fake about it.

Stop and stare

He bought one hand down, trailing it through her hair until it rested on her upper arm. He trailed his finger tips up and down the skin there, a gentle motion that seemed to have her surrender to him. His other hand cradled her head beneath her hair, so that he felt when she gave him control, her neck collapsing a little as she leaned ever so slightly into his hold. He leaned forwards, closing the gap even more as he rested his forehead against hers and the additional contact, as well as the motion of his finger tips, was enough to make her shudder.

I think I'm moving but I go nowhere

Her shudder ran through her, transferring onto him. Knowing that she was in this moment as much as he was gave him the courage to move again; too intoxicated in the moment to think of any of the millions of reasons to stop. The hand that was on her arm moved, settling much lower down on her back, skimming the skin lower long after his hand was teased by the last length of her hair. As his thumb stroked the bare skin ever so gentle, she couldn't fight the tremble that flowered through her, only this time she knew it affected him as well because she felt his breathing hitch.

Yeah, I know that everyone gets scared

She realised that he wasn't doing this for anything other than genuine reasons, and put one of her arms around his neck. It would have drawn them closer had they not already been impossibly close. Her other palm was sprawled on his chest, ever so lightly trying to find a hold in the shirt he was wearing. Her eyes were raised to meet his, only an inch away, and she was unable to move under his gaze – the gaze that could see into her soul on the hardest of days, let alone in moments like this. His eyes watched her as they always did, seeing so deeply that she felt as if he were seeing directly into her soul, faults and all...though did he realise that his own eyes were speaking volumes of words that she knew he'd never say aloud?

I've become what I can be

Breathlessly, Jane spoke, his lips so close to her own that she felt them more than she heard. "Teresa..."

He'd never said her name like that before, and she doubted if any man had done. Never had her own name made her shiver and exhale like that. Instinct took over them both, and as Jane leaned his lips ever so slightly forward she mimicked his action. They'd always had their connection, usually expressing them through irritation in another attempt to discard the feelings they were struggling with, but now, it had spilled from anger into passion. It made sense, in hindsight, to have fought their feelings for so long, because passion wasn't about speed. Passion was about timing. Passion was leaning in so slowly that it drove them both crazy...both of them wanting...pleading...for more...

And then the moment was gone.

"Boss, we got a body," Cho announced, approaching them with his cell phone pressed against his ear.

They broke away, suddenly aware of what was happening and were both very thankful that Cho seemed not to have noticed what he'd interrupted. Jane kept his eyes on Lisbon's, even though she had decided to avoid his gaze. Instead, she nodded, turning back into her 'work mode'. "Right, let's go," she agreed.

She followed Cho off the dance floor as he filled her in on what details the call had given him, but Jane did nothing but stare after them as he heard the last line of the song, one that would echo in his mind summing up everything he felt when he watched Lisbon walk away from him.

Oh, do you see what I see?