Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed this story! I meant to post this before I went to the lake for Labor Day, but forgot! Sorry! I'll be replying to reviews shortly! I hope y'all enjoy the final part of this gift exchange fic! Let me know what you think ;)

Halfway up the backyard, Lisbon ran into trouble. The youngest member of the criminal team was smoking a cigarette with his glock hanging down by his side. He wasn't paying any attention to the area he was supposed to have been watching which made her job a lot easier. She was southeast of his position, and she knew she could silently overtake him. She wasn't sure if she could kill him. She swallowed hard. Reaching for the pocketknife, she flicked it open. It was small, but she knew it would do the job. Staring at the blade, Bosco's voice filled her ears.

"It's never an easy decision, rookie. But sometimes it has to be made. Some day, I won't be beside you and it will be your call. We aren't meant to be judge, jury, and executioner, but there will be a time when you have to make that decision to protect others or to protect yourself. And rookie- on that day, don't hesitate."

She gripped the knife firmly, and silently stepped through the woods. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she was sure it would give her away. She was never naive enough to believe she'd never half to kill someone. She just never believed it would be close up with a knife. She watched the ground, careful not to step on any sticks or leaves that could make a noise that would give her away. She was behind the guy quicker than she realized. The blade flashed in her hand.

In a moment, it was done.

A second after that, she was braced against a tree, heaving up the granola bar she had just eaten. Her cheeks were wet and she belatedly realized she was crying. Wiping her eyes, she heaved one last time before wiping her mouth with her shirt. Stepping back to the body, her fingers reached toward the mask. Grasping the wool in her fingers to pulled it off. The boy was no more than a child, she thought with a sickening feeling. Shaking her head, she dropped the mask beside him, and began to search his body. She took his lighter and the gun, gave the body one last glance, and continued walking towards the house. If her calculations were correct, there were three left.

When she arrived at the corner of the house, she stopped and assessed her surroundings. She had seen no other sign of movement, but when the boy failed to report in, she knew they would know something was up. Sure enough, a few seconds later, the porch door slammed open, and the intruder that had the gun at her back earlier was stomping towards the docks and grumbling under his breath. Without hesitating, she slipped into the house and kept her back to the wall.

The family and their guests were no longer in the dining room, and judging by the sound of voices, it sounded like everyone was upstairs. The voices were raised, and she heard Mr. Glenn's in disdain. He was answered by the gruff man, and she quickly slipped into another room when they came clomping down the stairs. She held her breath as the footsteps grew closer, her fingers clutching the gun in her right hand. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of her face, and she allowed herself a soft sigh when they turned the other way. A door creaked open, and there was silence.

"You said no one else would get hurt," Mr. Glenn said suddenly.

She missed the intruders' response. Lisbon pressed herself closer to the wall, trying to hear what was being said. She could feel herself growing angrier and angrier as each word was said.

"But those two cops! That wasn't part of the deal," the fat man whined. "You were just supposed to kill Elaine, and leave it as a botched robbery. I'm supposed to get custody of Grayson and the trust fund that comes with her."

Lisbon made a split second decision and started to head upstairs. She had to warn the others if she could and get Elaine out of the house. She tiptoed up the wooden stairs praying there wouldn't be any creaky boards. Taking a deep breath when she reached the top, she was faced with a long hall and several closed doors. She knew she didn't have long. In response to that thought, she heard the kitchen door slam open, and a flurry of footsteps and yelling. She knew the boy's body had been found. She grabbed the first doorknob she reached and quickly slipped inside.

"You're supposed to be dead!"

Lisbon jumped and whirled around with the gun raised. She was greeted by four sets of surprised eyes, and quickly lowered her weapon. She knew she must look like a maniac with her drenched clothes and bloody face.

"Yeah, well, I don't die easily," she muttered. "We have to be quick. Mrs. Glenn- they're coming to kill you. Your husband arranged it all."

Elaine blanched at Lisbon's blunt announcement and the other woman took her arm.

"They know I didn't die in the lake, and by now they've probably discovered my footprints,' Lisbon filled them in quickly. She noted the two men looked calm and in charge, and she turned to address them.

"Protocol dictates that backup should be here in less than five minutes. We've got to keep you all safe until that happens."

"But you didn't call for backup," the blond added with a puzzled expression.

"Harrison hates coffee. That's one of our safe words for situations like these," she said with a wry smile. "Dispatch knows that something was wrong. At least, our lives depend on that they know."

She looked around.

"Where's the girl?"

"She should be headed down to the dock," the blond answered knowingly.

"I knew you weren't in the bathroom that long," the other man responded with a grin.

"She was headed out over the roof."

The sound of running grew louder, and Lisbon froze. The blond quickly grabbed her arm and shoved her towards the bathroom.

"You can get out through the bathroom. Mark and I will keep them safe. You go protect Gracie," Jane whispered.

Lisbon pulled the knife from her pocket, and pressed it into his hands.

"You might need this," she said softly.

With a flip of her brown hair, she slipped out of the window and into the night.

JLJLJLJLJL

Grayson Glenn shivered as she slipped behind another tree. Her feet were scratched and bloody. She had slipped out of her tiny heels before climbing out of her window. Her tennis shoes had been left in the mudroom earlier that day, and she didn't want to waste time looking through her closet. She ignored the prick of sticks and pine straw, and sprinted towards the trees. As soon as she had made it to the shadows, she heard the house erupt in confusion. Her heart was pounding, but she wasn't sure what else to do. Mr. Jane told her to hide by the docks, so that's what she was going to do.

She frowned as she headed for the next tree. She wished Mr. Jane was her dad. He was nice and listened to what she had to say. He also treated her like an adult, and understood that she'd rather be riding Bubbles that sit at a fancy dinner party. She heard a sharp crack behind her, and she froze, wrapping her arms around the tree and pressing herself against it. She silently counted to thirty before moving again. She was almost there.

"Gracie?" a soft voice whispered.

She dropped to the ground and crouched behind a bush. She strained her eyes; it had to be just a trick. Those evil men must be looking for her, and she was positive they'd kidnap her just like the evil men in the books her mother hated she read. She tried to flatten herself even more when she saw a dark figure approach.

"Gracie?" the voice called again.

She froze. It sounded like a woman. The only other woman that would be here was the female cop. But, they intruders had killed her. She thought for a moment, before wondering what Mr. Jane would do. Taking a deep breath, she slowly stood up.

"Over here," she whispered.

The figure grew closer. Gracie swallowed and blinked hard.

"Thank god!" the woman said as she stepped closer.

Gracie began to tremble when she realized it was the cop.

"Hey honey, you can call me Lisbon. I'm here to help you," the woman said and extended her hand.

"Okay," Gracie responded and reached out. She knew it was babyish, but right now she didn't care. It made her feel safe.

She kept a firm grip on the woman's hand as they quietly wove around the property. A few minutes later, the lake came into sight. The glimmer of the moon on the water was beautiful, and Gracie wished they could stop and enjoy it. It would have been a perfect night for a midnight ride. They continued down towards the bank, and Gracie remembered they kept a canoe tied up nearby. She was sure that's where they were headed. Her feet squished in the mud and she reluctantly let go of Lisbon's hand and waited by the dock.

Suddenly a loud bang echoed through the night.

"Fuck!"

Gracie clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her scream, as Lisbon dropped and let out a muffled curse. The woman quickly got to her knees and looked around wildly. Spotting Gracie, she crawled over and rose, clutching her arm. Blood seeped through her fingers and she let out a soft hiss.

"Gracie, I need you to look by the post and see if you can find the shirt I put there earlier. I've got to bind this up."

Gracie nodded and slipped under the dock.

JLJLJLJLJLJL

Lisbon tried not to yell as her arm started to burn. She was pretty sure it wasn't too deep. The bullet should have only grazed her, but it still hurt like hell. To make matters worse, the temperature was starting to drop and she could feel herself start to shiver. But whether that was from shock or cold, she didn't know. A wad of fabric plopped by her side and she quickly tore off a strip and began to wind it around her arm. It was too dark to see properly, but she knew that would hold it for the time being. Another shot sounded closer, and she turned to Gracie.

"Is there another place you can get to quickly from here?" she asked urgently.

Gracie cocked her head and thought for a second.

"The hayloft," she answered firmly.

"Good," Lisbon whispered with a nod. "I want you to go there as fast as you can. Don't come out unless a policeman comes to get you."

"Where are you going to go?" Gracie asked softly.

"I'm going to draw them away from you."

She could see the girl swallow hard, before nodded firmly. Silently, they both stood up and Lisbon gave the girl's hand one last squeeze.

"No matter what, Grace. Don't stop running."

Without another sound the girl was gone. Lisbon blinked and let out a soft sigh as she touched her arm again. She knew she had bought the girl a little bit of time, and she just prayed it was enough. She knew there were only moments before the masked men found her position, and she hoped to god they wouldn't shoot her on site. She hissed out another puff of air, and jogged back towards the perimeter of the yard towards the house, taking care to make a little bit of noise to alert them to her new position.

It worked like a charm, and in seconds she could hear the sound of someone else crashing through the woods. She bit her lip and kept running, waiting for the killing shot. Instead, she was tackled to the ground- a wave of pain surging through her arm and sending a wave of nausea crashing over her. The gun clattered out of her hand before landing somewhere in the brush along the path. She frantically flailed and tried to grasp anything she could use as a weapon to no avail.

"Fucking bitch," the man cursed as he pulled her roughly to her feet. "You should have stayed dead where you belonged. I'd cut your damn throat if the boss didn't want to do it himself."

A chill spread through her body as she stumbled along up the hill. The cut on her cheek had reopened and her right eye was beginning to swell. She suddenly remembered the packet of aspirin in her pocket and she let out a choked laugh. It would take more than aspirin to make things better now. The man behind her shoved her through the kitchen floor and she shot out her arms to keep herself from falling. The jarred movement sent another wave of pain through her arm, and she grimaced. She felt the cool weight of a gun at her neck as she was harshly prodded into the living room.

She heard a few surprised gasps emerge from the occupants when she was shoved through. Raising her head, she met the blond man's gaze that had helped her earlier. She gave a slight nod to try and explain that Gracie was safe for now. The others looked relatively unharmed and were surrounding Mrs. Glenn protectively. Mr. Glenn was sitting in the corner looking like the world had ended and he wasn't quite ready to believe it. Lisbon felt no remorse for someone who would do that to his wife and child.

"Where's the girl?" an angry voice demanded.

"Safe," she flippantly responded.

She knew she probably shouldn't egg on the man with a gun, but she wasn't one to go quietly. She'd had enough practice standing up to her father. Bosco always told her she needed to work on her smart mouth, but it looked like she would never get that chance. A second later, she was struck down and Mrs. Glenn let out a sharp shriek. Lisbon spat out a mouthful of blood and spit and stared back defiantly.

"Anything else you'd like to add?" the man that had tackled her earlier sarcastically remarked as his boss pulled back the hammer.

"Fuck you," another voice said.

In that moment, everything happened at once.

Grayson Glenn stepped into the living room holding the gun Lisbon had dropped earlier.

"Grayson Charlotte Glenn!" Her mother exclaimed both at her daughter's appearance and her choice of words.

Patrick Jane leaped up to tackle Dave Glenn who had taken the moment to escape.

The intruders turned their heads at the sudden intrusion of the police.

A shot went off, and Lisbon closed her eyes.

But she didn't fall. She cracked them open warily to see both criminals on the ground and the third in handcuffs. She let out a shaky breath as Sam Bosco stepped into the light of the living room, his gun still smoking.

JLJLJLJLJL

She awoke in a drugged haze hours later with only the sound of beeping machinery for company. Blinking rapidly, she started to sit up, but her body felt too heavy to attempt the move. Resigned to her position, she focused on a crack in the ceiling tile and fumbled for the call button. Her throat was sore, and she wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. The sound of her door opening made her twist her head and she smiled at her partner as he entered.

"I thought I told you to stay out of trouble," he teased with a half-exasperated sigh.

"It's not my fault you decided to play hooky," she rasped back. "Although-" her throat locked up at the thought of Frank Harrison.

"I know, rookie. It'll be okay."

He patted her hand and they sat in silence. She cleared her throat, and he placed the straw of her water at her lips.

"They're calling you a hero," he said fondly. "Saint Teresa."

She groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Everyone else okay?" she asked him.

He nodded.

"You did good, kid."

"When can I get out of here?"

He chuckled and patted her head. She gave him her best glare which he brushed off with a smile and a shake of his head.

"I'll go find your doctor."

He closed the door behind him, but moments after he left the sound of footsteps approaching made her tense. She relaxed when the blond man from the Glenn's house stuck his head in the door.

"I just wanted to thank you," he said after taking a few steps towards her bed.

"I was just doing my job," she replied quietly.

"No- must people would have turned tail and ran. You went above and beyond."

She didn't respond.

"I'm sure Gracie will be in contact. She's quite enamored with you. According to Elaine, she's taken to shooting lessons at their private club at my suggestion. I figured it wouldn't hurt for them to learn a little bit about defending themselves."

"She's a smart kid," Lisbon replied in agreement.

The man shifted his weight nervously at her short response, and Lisbon got the feeling this wasn't someone who was normally at a loss for words.

"Well, thanks again," he said as he headed for the door. He started to shut the door behind him, then stopped and turned around. She lifted her eyebrow questioningly.

"I'm Patrick Jane."

"Teresa Lisbon."

He nodded and flashed her a grin. She shook her head after he left, not quite sure how to react to the strange man. Sighing deeply, she leaned back into her pillow and wished Bosco would hurry up.

She was ready to go home.

End.