A/N: I had hoped to get this final chapter up sooner, but I dealt with a little writer's block and dissatisfaction with the route I was taking. I actually had Lisbon having a pregnancy scare for a while, lol, but came thankfully to my senses and deleted that trite nonsense. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this conclusion and epilogue. Be advised that midway through, it veers unmistakably into "M" territory.

Chapter 10: Conclusion

Jane and Lisbon sat inside Jane's partially wrecked car in the parking lot of the San Francisco courthouse.

"Bonnie's out on bail now," Lisbon marveled, smoothing down the chocolate brown skirt Jane had bought for her from a department store in record time. In a rare display of vanity, she'd refused to go to court in the ghastly dress of an old woman. She'd had no money, so had to suffer the embarrassment of borrowing from Jane, and she'd grabbed the first skirt suit she'd seen in her size, found a plain white blouse, and a change of undergarments. Jane had plopped down his credit card in amusement while she promised over and over she'd pay him back. She hated being in debt to anyone, despite Jane's insistence that it was his pleasure to play the role of sugar daddy. This remark had almost earned him a punch in the nose.

"Glad I've kept in touch with the DA from my old SFPD days," she continued now. "He owed me one. The trial is up to Bonnie though. Nothing else I can do there since I wasn't a witness to what she did to her husband."

"But at least she'll be with the baby from now and throughout the trial."

"I think the DA will go easy on her. She seemed like a nice enough person, caught up in this unfortunate madness. Torn between two ghastly men."

"It happens," Jane said simply. He reached across the seat for her hand. "You were great in there. I love it when you are so…impassioned." He smiled a little, delighting in her modest little blush.

"A child needs their mother," she said, no doubt thinking of her own childhood. Jane imagined the gangly, lost little girl she must have been, motherless, then fatherless, and his heart broke a little for her. He brought her hand to his lips.

"You did a good thing, Lisbon."

"I hope so." She looked into his eyes now, and thoughts of Bonnie, her baby and Clive fled from her mind. They were free of it all, until they had to testify at Clive's trial, anyway, and both of them suddenly wondered where that left the two of them. Would this new relationship of theirs continue? Should it?

"You ready?" Jane asked her, and for a moment she wondered if he were reading her mind, asking if she were ready for this relationship.

"Yes," she replied, and she realized she meant yes to both, although she was afraid just yet to tell him so. "Let's go home," she said instead.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jane awoke in his bed the next morning a changed man. For one thing, he had slept the whole night through for the first time in years (without drugs), and for another, he actually felt…happy. All of this, of course, was due to the petite woman who lay naked beside him on her stomach, her breath in sleep deep and even, her hair completely covering the half of her face not resting against his pillow. He smiled tenderly, brushing the silky hair gently back that she might breathe more easily.

They'd spent two hours in debriefing at CBI headquarters the afternoon before, and the rest of the team had thankfully not mentioned that Jane had paid Clive to go out with Lisbon in the first place. They'd kept to the simplified story—as worked out on the way back to Sacramento—that Jane and Lisbon had set each other up on double blind-dates, that when Clive had found out Lisbon was with the CBI, he'd decided to coerce her into testifying for his lover. They'd realized he was up to something, so they'd put a wire on Lisbon to find out. Minnelli had not been happy about that, nor had the FBI agent who had sat in because Clive was being charged with kidnapping.

Cho had already been concerned after he'd received a call that morning from the restaurant that Lisbon's purse (containing her badge and cell phone but missing her gun) had been left there, so he and Rigsby had gone to the scene, checked out the restaurant's security cameras, and found Lisbon's discarded wire in the alley. Unfortunately, no cameras had been directed at the alley, but the street cams had caught them obviously being forced by Clive to go to Jane's car, although no area cameras filmed what actually happened once they'd gotten to it. Clive's car had been discovered abandoned in the restaurant parking lot, confirming Cho's suspicions that Lisbon and Jane had been abducted. It was then that Cho had informed Minnelli of the situation.

Jane, of course, had saved them a load of detective work by managing to call Cho, and the rest had quickly fallen into place. Since nothing had actually been recorded, the FBI agent had dropped the matter of Lisbon being wired without a warrant. Jane had suggested they go out for Chinese food to celebrate. It had ended up being a take-out meal which they'd eaten at Jane's hotel room. Considering all they'd been through, Minnelli had given them both the next day off, and they'd celebrated their free time, full bellies and safe return by a mad tumble amidst discarded napkins and broken fortune cookies.

Now, as Jane looked at the length of her naked back revealed by the slipping sheet, he couldn't resist following the line of her spine with open-mouthed kisses He began at her waist, moving delicately up to the nape of her neck. Lisbon came awake with a little moan of pleasure, as Jane moved over her back, his chest pressing hers further into the mattress. He was much heavier than she, but Lisbon found his weight pleasantly sensual. She squirmed beneath him, feeling at once the firmness of his desire against her bottom, the warmth of his hands as they glided up and down her sides, the heat of his lips as he kissed her beneath her hair.

"Good morning," he breathed close to her ear. She shivered in response and sighed at the incredible sensation.

"Morning," came her muffled reply.

"You know," he continued in a whisper, "sleeping on your stomach is a horrible habit. It can exacerbate the tension you already have in your neck, plus-" and he kissed the sensitive spot beneath her ear—"it can cause wrinkles."

He heard her soft laughter, a little breathless from the weight of his body.

"Your concern for my health is touching," she said into the pillow.

"I'm always looking out for you, Lisbon. There is, however, one obvious benefit to your current position."

"Oh?" she inquired in amusement, and she heard the now familiar sound of the bedside table drawer opening.

She wriggled her bottom playfully against him then, and she heard his answering gasp, then low chuckle at her teasing antics. His hands drifted down to her waist to still her, and he moaned as she opened her knees encouragingly. Lisbon felt him move his body lower, dip his hips, and enter her slowly from behind. She trembled with barely contained pleasure.

"Oh," she said again, this time on a shaky sigh.

As he glided lazily in and out of her body, his chest caressed her shapely back, and she reveled in the indescribable bliss of being filled completely, of having him so close she could feel each shallow breath he expelled against her skin, feel the slick perspiration of his body mingling with hers.

"Teresa," he whispered, the word shivering along her spine as he brought her to a place of pure feeling.

The pressure built inside of her, and she clenched around him with each stroke, until, with a primal groan, he rose upon his knees, pulling her hips almost roughly off the bed. He plunged into her even more deeply, and she cried out as he took her over and over again, her palms braced against the headboard. When he reached around to touch her most sensitive spot, she cried out her release. She felt him teeter on the edge in reaction to her convulsing internal muscles, and it wasn't long until he went over himself, calling her name again as he fell.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Work will be weird," Lisbon said later, as she lay curled against him.

"Will it? It doesn't have to be."

"I'm pretty sure there is a rule against team members having romantic relationships."

"I'm a consultant though," he reasoned, kissing the top of her head where it lay nestled beneath his shoulder. "Besides, I'm pretty sure everyone has figured out something new has happened between us. No use trying to hide it."

She turned to her stomach so she could look at his face. In the aftermath of their passion it looked as if ten years had fallen away from him, and his blonde curls were endearingly disheveled. He looked sexy and relaxed and well-loved. She found that she wanted him again, but as much as she wanted to avoid this conversation by climbing on top of him and letting her body take over, she knew they had to work this out now, before either of them dug themselves in any deeper.

She blushed a little at his words. "True. It also didn't help things that you couldn't seem to keep your hands to yourself yesterday at HQ. Attacking me in bathrooms has got to stop."

He grinned, the smile breaking over his features like the sun. "I locked the door," he said in his own defense. "I don't know, Lisbon, I've suddenly developed a strange fetish where commodes are concerned."

She gave him a stern look, to which he just grinned all the wider.

"I promise to be more professional. I just feel very…proprietary toward you. I don't foresee that going away."

"Really?"

He knew what she was asking. "That's the heart of all of this, isn't it?"

"Yes," she said, her fingertips absently touching his stubbly cheeks.

"You're wondering if I'm ready to be in a relationship. You're afraid of what might happen at work if things go sour. You're thinking, how could we possibly work together with all this sexual tension between us?"

She raised an eyebrow at how accurately he'd read her, but she was also gratified that they seemed to be on the same page with regard to the important questions.

"What are your answers, oh Great Swami?"

He ignored the barb and answered her seriously. "Yes, I'm ready. But I won't sugar coat it, Teresa; I'm scared to death. I'll probably have some anxiety, and set-backs, and feelings of guilt from time to time. I'm not a hundred percent emotionally speaking, but I think I could get there, if you're there to help me, that is."

"Yes," she said, stretching up to kiss him softly. "I'll do my best."

He smiled a little, and went on to question two. "I want you to know, Lisbon, that no matter what happens, we'll always be friends. As painful as it might be to lose this, I'm still on a quest, still here to help make up for my past mistakes. I'm still gonna need you for that. But I want to be optimistic about us. I think we good be okay."

"And if one or both of us gets fired for this?"

"Leave Minnelli to me. I'll scour the rule books to find some way for this to work in the eyes of the CBI. You know how good I am at manipulation. And if worse comes to worst, I'll hypnotize everyone to look the other way whenever I have the urge to kiss you—"

"Which you absolutely won't do on the job—"

He shrugged. "Whatever you say, Lisbon." He'd leave that debate for later. "As for your third concern—I've kept my true feelings for you buried for five years, Lisbon. I can behave at the office. If not, see the addendum above—mass hypnosis can really come in handy."

Her finger traced his full bottom lip as it stretched into a grin, and her own mouth formed a moue of surprise.

"Five years? Really? You've thought of me—of us—like this?"

"I've been sinking in the pit of anger, depression, and self-loathing; I haven't been completely dead. I've resisted you for many reasons, not the least of which was my preoccupation with other things. But I've always wanted you Teresa. There's no doubt about that. It just wasn't right before."

"And you think it's right now?"

He nodded solemnly. "So now, the real question is, can you handle this—handle me?" he asked her. He was momentarily afraid of her answer, despite his strong new desire to see the glass half full.

"If you can understand how really important my concerns are about us continuing, if you realize that I'm still gonna gripe and complain for the stupid, reckless things you do…Our working relationship has got to remain separate from the personal as much as possible. At the CBI, I'm your boss, remember?"

He looked at her blankly, having never actually thought of her in that light before. She'd been more of a close colleague in his mind, but it wouldn't hurt to continue to let her think that.

"Okay, so long as I'm the boss in bed," he bargained with a smirk.

Next thing Jane knew, she was on top of him, pinning his wrists down, her knee hovering in the vicinity of his most sensitive area. "You want to rephrase that, Jane?"

"What?" he asked innocently. "It's only fair…we can't both be the boss."

Her knee brushed firmly against his hot flesh. His eyes widened, and he swallowed with what, given recent events, seemed to be genuine fear. If she were to exert just a little more pressure…

"Partners?" he amended.

She smiled in satisfaction. "That's more like it," she said, lowering her knee and kissing him until they were both breathless. If she'd have asked anything else of him in that moment, he would have gladly said yes. Wisely, however, he didn't mention that fact to her.

That was something she'd just have to figure out on her own.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Epilogue

Two weeks later…

The old-fashioned tinkling of a bell alerted the shopkeeper that a new customer had entered the establishment. Jane paused just inside the door, surveying the enticing wares on display inside Southern Belle's Lingerie. He inhaled the seductive fragrance of pink roses, and grinned as the tall, blonde proprietress approached him in surprise.

"Why, Patrick," Amy said, in that soft drawl that put him in mind of lazy summer evenings with a glass of smooth whiskey. "What a pleasant surprise! What brings you here to my little corner of the world?" She took his hand and leaned forward, kissing his cheek in welcome.

"I've come to buy a gift, but I've also come to see how you were doing."

He gave her an understanding smile, which she knew to mean he was asking if she'd recovered from their double date.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking. I was sorry at first that I didn't hear from you, but since that night, I finally agreed to go out with the handsome senator I see every morning at the coffee shop next door. He'd been asking me to join him for coffee for months now, and our little blind date gave me the confidence to finally say yes. We've had two dates already," she said, blushing prettily.

He squeezed her hand. "Good for you, Amy," he said sincerely. He politely dropped her hand.

"I heard about Clive, that bastard," she told him, her voice lowering in deference to the two ladies browsing through the panty display. "I had a bad feeling about that rat from the moment I laid eyes on him. He was too slick by far, a real con man. Sorry for what you and Teresa went through with that trash."

Jane managed to cringe only a little at the reminder of his responsibility for that particular mess. "Yeah, he was a real bastard all right."

"But from what I hear, something good came of that situation." Her eyes sparkled knowingly.

"Yes," Jane grinned. "It certainly did. I take it you've spoken to Teresa recently."

"I sure did, about a week ago. She said something about being head over heels in love with a certain consultant she works with. She says the two of you are deliriously happy. Well, I for one am over the moon for you both…Patrick?"

His face had frozen in what appeared to be shock, or at the very least, intense surprise. He and Lisbon had spent an incredible two weeks, making love most every night, coming into work with a new passion for the job. They'd solved two tough cases, one right after another, their new connection outside the CBI seeming to only enhance how well they worked together in the field. But never once had either of them mentioned anything about love.

"Oh, dear Lord," Amy exclaimed softly, her hands going to her cheeks in mortification. "I've spoken out of turn. Teresa didn't act like it was a secret. She seemed so open about it, like it was common knowledge. Please, forget I said anything."

His expression was full of awe, and Jane felt his heart leap, then gallop within his chest. She loved him?

"Patrick? Are you okay?"

Jane snapped out of his daze and put on his trademark grin of nonchalance.

"Uh…yeah. Don't worry about it." He waved a dismissive hand. "You're right; it's really no secret. However, I do need to ask that you keep my visit here a secret, at least until I have a chance to give Lisbon the gift you help me pick out."

Amy looked at him worriedly, but her southern manners kept her from prying. She put on a smile of her own.

"You have something special in mind? We just got in some lovely penoirs, and Teresa is quite partial to red lace, if you recall."

"Yes," he said, his eyes bright with unspoken emotion. "So am I, as a matter of fact."

The End

Thanks so much for your support of this story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. I'll likely continue on my season 3 series next, carrying it into the events of season 4. Also, I hope to keep writing tags, so please put me on author alert so you can catch any new fics I write. Thanks again! And I'll see you for this week's tag very soon!

Oh, P.S.: I was disappointed to learn Simon Baker's new film "Margin Call," won't be out in the movie theatres in wide release, despite the great reviews it's received. You can actually rent it right now at Amazon (do a search) and watch it directly on your computer or TV if you have that capability. Or, it will be available on DVD in December. I'm off to download it…