Oh so sweet thanks for the read

Perfect Coda for 4.24! I love that this is comforting (after such a dark and packed episode) but not overly sweet/cliched; like you said "Things wouldn't just be magically okay again", but they're taking their time to make small steps...
p.s. I just watched the episode last night and yes, the "Love you" echoes in my mind as well...

3

Very nice illumination of the subtext of their relationship after the Vegas events. Thank you.

As with all of your work, the writing and characterizations in this fic are superb.

Sweet! I like it!

Haven't seen a TM story from you in a little while, I miss you! Very much. Would love a multichapter romance from you to help the hiatus, please?! *pouty-jane*

I just love this story so much - you have such talent for dialogue and for capturing their voices so canonically.

I know this is a late review - I've been reading lots of post Crimson Hat fics and I keep coming back to yours and re-reading it again - that's how fantastic it is.

"It was unbelievably tempting to believe that a beautiful woman might want me, even knowing how screwed up I was."

I love that. I'm not completely sure why, but I do.

This fic positively saved me from physically banging my head against the table (this "class" gives me so many 2nd hand embarrassment issues, time really stops.. GOD!)

I loved that you added Darcy's point of view. I'm not too fond of her character, but somehow her input on the episode and here, being intrigued by Jane and Lisbon's relationship but not jumping to the conclusion that Lisbon puts up with Jane because she's madly in love with the guy (THANK YOU) somehow made Darcy earn brownie points in my book.

I had imagined something similar to what you told in Jane's part, when he saw Lisbon at the church. So happy to see her he kinda forgot everything else for a second.

I still feel bad for Lisbon (on the show) and the fact that he had nothing to offer her (other than his company.. For now) was so sad :( but the ending had a certain hopefulness, some sweetness to it. After all, it can't be all flowers and bubbles after the finale we had. I'm glad you focused more on the aftermath of the team's arrest as well as Jane's, and tending to Lisbon's wounds instead of just Jane's.

So much loveliness.

(And I admit, I was almost hoping he'd kiss her cheek in the end. Maybe close to her lips.. He had been trouble not touching her and she *was* thinking on his words... I know, I know. Tell that to my smushy brain).

Hugs :)

I really like this. Good choice with Darcy's point of view, I like her intrigue regarding Jane and Lisbon. I love Jane's protectiveness; I love that Lisbon can't shake the echo of his "love you", and the end is so sweet. Thank you :)

Okay, you nearly had me crying when I read about Jane and Lisbon holding hands for the entire drive back to Sacramento. And it's just lovely when Lisbon says she's arranged for him to work with her again...

Thanks for the so soothing ending, by the way. Even if the problems are still there, they can find a little rest - at least for a while.

I can't help but wonder where the next season will head to...

Anyway, here are my favorite parts (too many, as usual...):

***

I'm faking my breakdown.

With that one sentence, said in her ear, in a church of all places, Jane had changed everything.

All the worry, all the panic, all the sleepless nights (she was so very tired). She still hated him, still wanted to hit him, but underneath it all...

He hadn't given up. He wasn't quite as close to slipping off the edge as she'd thought. He'd come back to her, sought her out.

***

In fact, he was almost exactly like he used to be. Almost. It was shocking to see him in her office, fixing tea in the break room, leaning against the wall in interrogation.

In the interrogation room, with Lorelei, when Lisbon'd been questioning the woman, the two of them had found their old rhythm. Lisbon asking the questions, Jane observing, adding the odd question when it suited him. Even with Lorelei's attempts to throw her off balance, interrogating with Jane felt like nothing had changed. But something had, hadn't it?

It had to have.

***

And before he'd pointed a gun at her and pulled the trigger, and after he'd pulled her into his arms and held her tighter than anyone had in years, he'd... He had said it.

Good luck, Teresa. Love you, love you, love you, love you... It echoed through her like a beat on her brain.

She needed to forget it. It didn't mean anything. They'd both been running high, both been frightened. Neither thinking clearly. She knew that.

***

He had slept with a woman he'd known could be one of Red John's agents.

He'd also faked his breakdown.

Exactly what else was he faking? What was an act, and what was...

Just how far was she being manipulated? Just how much of what he said did he mean? Lisbon spun in frustration, trying to figure out whether she hated him again, or herself.

***

"It wasn't that I didn't trust you enough, you know," Jane told her, walking in the room with a pot of tea and a second cup.

"No?" she asked, spinning back to face him, and hating how hopeful her voice sounded.

She watched him shake his head slowly. "It was that I didn't think you were a good enough actress."

***

Lisbon stared at him. Could she have acted upset that he'd left her? Would she still have woken up at two in the morning wondering if he was eating enough, or safe, or whether he was lying in a gutter somewhere, drunk and out of it? All of a sudden she was angry again.

***

Lisbon watched as he set down his own cup of tea, picked up hers, and handed it back to her. She took it without looking at it, unable to take her eyes off his hand, which was now sliding down, finding her free hand, and slipping his fingers into hers.

She stared at their hands, remembering the now-familiar feeling.

She wasn't sure how long the two of them had sad on that little mount of dirt, Jane still trying to catch his breath, to calm himself, she trying to make him feel better, to reassure herself that he was still here and whole.

***

She was pretty sure she'd glanced at him every sixty seconds or so. Mostly he'd been looking out the window, or watching her.

Then she'd noticed his hand sliding towards her very slowly.

She'd (very casually, she'd thought) placed her right hand on the console between the seats.

He'd taken it almost immediately, holding on lightly. He'd never held her very tight. She could remove her hand without trouble any time she needed both hands to drive.

But he'd held her hand the entire way back. Even after he'd started making casual comments about the team, and the neighbourhood, and even Lisbon's new blouse. He'd held her hand through it all.

***

"Provided I do my 'community service' with the CBI," Jane said slowly.

"Yes," Lisbon breathed out, anticipation building.

"Under your supervision," Jane added, looking at her intently.

She found a smirk to send him then, "Nobody else was stupid enough to take you on."

***

"You could have been more convincing," Jane said leaning towards her slightly.

Lisbon glared at him, torn between wanting to hug him and hit him. "Why do you think that sentence is so reduced?"

***

"Yup," Lisbon agreed, taking a sip of her tea. Three months. She'd secured him on her team for a minimum of three months. Three months when she'd know he wasn't off getting himself killed. She thought that might help with... everything.

***

She flopped back on the couch, slipping her hand out of his. "Hey, it's your choice."

She watched him out of the corner of her eye, as he eyed her hand. "You know I choose you," he said softly.

Lisbon allowed herself the smallest of smiles. "Excellent."

"Even if you're little more than a slave driver," Jane added before taking a drink of his tea.

"Damn straight. I own you." Lisbon said happily, snuggling into the couch and taking a drink from her own cup.

***

"At the CBI we're not just being innovative in how we catch criminals, but how we deal with them."

"Teresa!" she heard Jane breathe in admiration.

She chuckled, trying very hard to ignore her blush. "Bertram's not so hard," she told him. "He genuinely doesn't seem to care about right and wrong most of the time; he cares about the politics of it. What did you think? That I couldn't make a good political argument if I needed to? Sorry Jane, that's you."

***

Jane was still smiling, though she couldn't quite look at him. "Not saying this life isn't without its drawbacks, but it's not all bad."

"Glad to hear it," Lisbon murmured, trying very hard to summon her anger at him for his completely ridiculous remarks in the last fifteen minutes and ignoring the pounding in her ears. Really, why did he say half of the things he did? Love you, love you, love you...

"Thank you, Lisbon," he murmured again.

"Whatever." Love you, love you, love you. Why had he said it?

***

"You're exhausted," he reminded her. "Just relax for a minute, before you drive home."

She tensed. Half of her brain was objecting, the other half was pointing out that her couch really was quite comfortable. And whatever Jane was doing with his hand (and he'd better not be hypnotizing her), actually felt really good. "Jane..."

***

Not quite sure what she was getting into, Lisbon let herself drift off, comforted by the feeling of his hand in hers.

She still had questions, but they could wait until later. He'd still be there.

She still had him, for at least a little while longer.

You did a great job here. That was both sad and oddly sweet at the same time.

Loved the way Jane can't keep himself from touching Lisbon and inching closer to her...

Here are my favorite parts:

***

Jane considered his teacup. Obviously he needed to start watching out for Lisbon now. Even more than he had been.

She was too far onto Red John's radar.

He'd thought maybe... After he hadn't spoken to her for six months... It should have sent a clear message to the serial killer. This is why she was safer when she was ignorant of his plans. Trust didn't even enter into at this point.

***

Lisbon shrugged. "Basically the entire FBI still thinks you're a lunatic."

"Meh," Jane replied, sipping his tea. "You don't think so, though."

Lisbon shook her head. "Not today. I think you're loads of other things."

"You told me," he murmured, remembering her voice as she'd yelled at him in the church. She wasn't going to give up on him though. Not now. Not now that he was reaching out and asking for her help.

***

When he'd first seen her in that church, for a second none of it had mattered. Not Red John, not Lorelei, not his fake breakdown, not the fact that it still took him less than an hour to find her, not even the fact that she was sad and hurt. All that had mattered was that after six months, she was right there and he'd been so happy to see her.

***

The next time he'd seen her, she'd invited him into her office, with that soft, welcoming, understanding voice of hers. And he hadn't been able to stop himself from wrapping himself around her. There'd been so much momentum, and so much emotion, and stress, and... And she'd trusted him.

***

Jane didn't know what was going on through her head. He wanted to find out. He wanted to find out how she was doing, check that she was okay. He wanted...

He wanted to make her tea.

***

"Hmm," Jane muttered, still trailing his finger along her wrist. Why was she making this difficult? Why couldn't she just... He was trying.

He was trying to make her less sad. He was trying to watch out for her. She would need careful protection. Red John was thinking about making her a toy.

Jane wouldn't allow that.

***

"I said I was sorry," Jane said softly, feeling the same pain in his gut that he had when she'd yelled at him in the church. She'd been hurt, as he'd known she would be. He hadn't wanted to hurt her. He'd just wanted to catch Red John.

***

"All of your plans are horrible," Lisbon grumbled, more to herself than anything.

Jane almost smiled. Almost. "You still go along with them," he said, still softly.

Lisbon shrugged. "Because it's better than the alternative."

"See now." Jane murmured encouragingly, pleased that she seemed to find helping him preferable than leaving him to his own devices, even if he didn't deserve that degree of loyalty. He wished he had more to offer in return.

***

She looked away from him, but he caught the flash of pain in her eyes now that the anger was gone. She was really so close. Oh, he'd missed her. It would be so easy to pull her into his arms. So easy...

***

"Besides," Jane added, stepping closer again without realizing. "I'll have you to look after me?" To his annoyance, he realized what had been meant as a statement came out as a question.

He watched her watch him, obviously trying to decide if what he was saying was the truth.

"I didn't say no before, you really think I'm going to now?" she asked sarcastically after a moment.

***

He'd been frightened.

Were they really going to pretend that he didn't remember what he'd said to her?

Whether she believed his apparent memory lapse or not (and Jane had his doubts), he had to pretend. He couldn't afford complications right now; neither of them could. Even if the words had been...

***

Jane wished that he wasn't such a coward. He'd wished it earlier too, when she'd asked him her question.

She terrified him sometimes. And she made him happy. Often unintentionally.

***

Jane watched her hesitate. He knew it wouldn't solve anything. Things wouldn't just be magically okay again. Not even okay as they'd ever been. Tea wasn't a miracle-worker. But, well, maybe it would help. At least, maybe she'd let him sit with her for a while. It'd been so long since he'd done that. He just wanted a bit more of her time. The future was still uncertain, but Lisbon had always been constant. He needed that.

He watched her eyes suddenly brighten. She was pleased. He didn't quite see how or why, but she was.

"Please."

As he slipped out of her office, Jane had to remind himself that hope was dangerous.

That was absolutely interesting, especially since it's from Darcy's point of view.

I like how you portrayed her, and the way she wonders about the relationship between Jane and Lisbon.

Here are my favorite parts:

***

"You needed to get my attention," Darcy surmised dryly. Actually, it hadn't been the use of her first name, but the desperation in Lisbon's voice that had alerted Darcy that there was more to things than she'd thought. After all, Teresa Lisbon wasn't one to lose her cool over just anything.

***

Darcy shook her head. She appreciated the gesture on the other woman's part, but Darcy knew very well what Jane thought of her. "I'm not sure anyone's off Jane's suspect list."

Lisbon sighed, "Yeah."

"Except you, of course," Darcy added slyly. Amid all the subterfuge and uncertainty, Patrick Jane did seem like he might have one constant...

***

Jane should have looked casual, standing there, leaning against the bookshelf drinking tea, but he looked anything but. Darcy suspected his arrival had been deliberately timed. Patrick Jane did almost nothing casually, and he was currently watching her very carefully over his teacup, like a viper ready to strike if Darcy made so much as a single wrong move. Or, more specifically, if she presented even the slightest threat to Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon.

***

Darcy smiled to herself. It seemed the great Patrick Jane might be human after all. Her eyes shifted to his boss. It was harder to tell where she stood on the relationship.

***

Even more interestingly, although he was no longer on high alert, Jane didn't step away from his protective position behind Lisbon. Darcy was fairly certain that, while she'd obviously been assigned a lower threat level, she also hadn't quite achieved the status of friend. The idea intrigued her, particularly since Jane very obviously wasn't worried about her for his own sake.

***

Darcy remembered seeing the two of them at the crime scene, Jane holding onto her hand, not letting go.

It had seemed oddly important somehow, for all that Darcy hadn't been expecting it. Like a crucial missing piece to the puzzle that was Patrick Jane. Darcy had thought he was Red John, but after today...

***

She found herself examining Lisbon carefully. It was fascinating, the level of loyalty the woman seemed to inspire, particularly from a man who didn't seem to care about much else. Lisbon had never liked her, for reasons Darcy was only now beginning to fully understand. Teresa Lisbon looked after her own. Even though Jane currently looked like he'd strike quickly and viciously against any perceived threat towards his partner, Lisbon was the one who'd repeatedly risked her job for him when he'd asked her to.

***

"And hey, if you ever need… I mean, you probably won't believe me, I know. But I'm not the enemy," Darcy added, trying one more attempt at extending the olive branch. She wasn't sure why, exactly, but she wanted them to know that she was a friend. They both looked like they could use one.

***

She realized suddenly that, although she didn't really understand what was between them, that the only thing to do was leave them to each other. At this point, she figured it was what they both wanted, whether they admitted it or not.

Still, as she exchanged pleasantries with Agent Lisbon, who was politely walking her to the elevator, Darcy had to admit, she wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall in Lisbon's office for the next hour or so.

She bet it would be interesting, and possibly answer a few of her questions.

Brilliant ending to a brilliant story