Author's Note: Here we are at the end. I do have a sequel in mind, though I might do a story that's been floating around my head since Blue Bird first. It's a long hiatus, so I'm betting I'll get around to everything eventually! Thank you so much for reading, and for those of you who've reviewed, big hugs. I love reviews like Jane loves tea.

Oh, and I should mention the first part of this chapter is Mish. Turns out one chapter wasn't enough for our happy couple. Skip ahead a few pages if that's not what you're here for. :)

Chapter 9

Lisbon is not a morning person. This is a fact I've been aware of for as long as I've known her. So when I wake at dawn to find her lying on her stomach beside me, I nuzzle the back of her neck without any real expectation of being allowed to put my morning erection to use.

"Mm." She blinks and yawns, not quite awake.

"Good morning, my love," I say, kissing her cheek. "I'm afraid I don't have any coffee."

She makes a cute little unhappy grunt. "Lemme guess. You wanna get my heart going without caffeine."

I chuckle against her shoulder blade. "Even I have more of a sense of self preservation than that. Feeling like a latte? Or is it an espresso day?"

"We hafta get up?" She pouts, eyes still closed. It's a good thing she never pouted at work; I would have done anything she wanted every time.

It's a work day, but I'm not sure of her employment status at the moment and I don't care if I play hooky. "No. It's early."

"Then stop talking," she grumbles.

Well, at least she didn't tell me to stop kissing. I focus on that for a while, enjoying the warm silk of her skin and the strong bone and muscle beneath. Mapping her back is the most pleasant way I've spent a morning in...well, a very long time. I memorize the textures of her spine as I move down it, slowly pulling the sheet out of the way as I make my way to the beautifully defined muscles of her ass. She moans and shifts a little as I sprinkle kisses on each globe and gives a breathy giggle as I run my tongue along the place where her ass and thigh meet.

"Awake yet?" I tease.

"Hm mm." She buries her face in her pillow.

I yield to impulse and bite, careful not to break the skin, just holding some of the firm muscle and creamy skin between my teeth for a moment. She lets out a squeak of surprise and lifts her head to stare at me. I grin at her and soothe the spot with my tongue, feeling smug that she'll remember this moment every time she sits down today.

Then I dip lower, exploring her sex with my nose and tongue. Lisbon obligingly spreads her legs to give me better access, surprising me. Perhaps morning sex is on the table after all.

"Sore, sweetheart?" I ask as she squirms a little.

"Hm mm," she responds.

I am, but then, I'm much further out of practice than she is. Did Pike get her accustomed to erotic wake up calls?

With a sigh, I abandon my explorations and move back up the bed, resting my head beside hers on the pillow. She opens one eye and frowns at me. "Why'd you stop?"

"You don't seem that into it," I reply. "Would you like some breakfast? I have some Lipton to tide you over until we find coffee."

Both eyes open now, she looks perplexed. "I'm not hungry. I thought we were having sex."

"Only if you really want to." She tried very hard with Pike; I'm concerned she might have fallen into the habit of passive acceptance. That's not the Lisbon I want. I love her feistiness.

"Yeah, I do. I just don't do enthusiasm this early," she says.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to, ah, indulge me."

She snorts. "Oh, for God's sake, Jane. If you do something I don't like, I'll let you know, okay? I'm all for more sex. I just don't want to put a lot of effort into it at this time of day. Go for it, but you get to do the work."

"You're such a romantic," I chuckle, stroking her cheek and tucking her short hair behind her ear.

She rolls her eyes. "I'll roll over if you want."

"No, no, don't bother. You're good like this."

I go back to getting her ready, then finally slip into her. She's so tight in this position it takes more effort, but after a minute I'm able to set up a nice, leisurely rhythm, gliding in and out while savoring the sensual feast. I hope Lisbon's doing the same, but I realize my mistake when she yawns.

"You're not falling asleep, are you?" I ask, not really joking.

"No, I'm awake," she assures me. "Don't worry about it. I never come in the mornings."

Now that was a dare, whether she realizes it or not. "Never ever?"

"No. Just do what you want." She yawns again.

"My dear," I say, "I am a selfish bastard in almost every way possible, but never in bed. And just because you don't normally come in the morning doesn't mean you can't."

"This is fine," she insists. "It feels nice."

Fine? Nice? There's no way I can allow that to stand. I take stock of the situation. While her body is open and pliant, she's showing absolutely no sign of approaching orgasm. Slow and sweet is apparently not going to do it for her. But then I always suspected Lisbon liked it hot and fast and maybe a little rough.

I plant one last kiss on her shoulder, then pull out of her to reposition us. Sitting on my knees, I pull her up into my lap so I've got a better angle, then slide back inside her and lean forward to rest my hands on the wall.

Lisbon's breathing speeds up a bit. "What are you doing?"

"Waking you up," I reply. I pull almost all the way out and then slam back in, throwing my weight into it.

Lisbon cries out, partly in surprise but mostly in pleasure. "Jane—"

"Patrick," I correct her.

She scrambles to get her knees under her so she can get some leverage to meet my thrusts. "Patrick," she gasps as the bed shakes under our movements. Hell, I think the whole Airstream might be moving.

We don't talk for the next few minutes, the intensity of our lovemaking leaving us only enough breath to produce groans and gasps. Finally I feel her tense around me, and she lifts one hand, flailing for a second until she finds mine and entwines our fingers. I bend and whisper in her ear, "Welcome to morning orgasms."

She comes, not as hard as last night but definitely nothing to sneeze at. I thrust through the sweet agony of her body clutching hard at mine, then let myself go before collapsing on her and rolling off. I'm panting through my smug grin, and Lisbon smacks me lightly on the shoulder when she notices. "You just have to prove me wrong, don't you?"

"Be careful what you tell me is impossible," I agree. "For instance, I won't be held responsible if you tell me you can't come in an elevator. Or an office bathroom. Or—"

"I get the idea," she says dryly. "In that case, I can definitely come in Abbott's office. No question. No need to prove anything there."

I chuckle. "On his desk?"

"Sure," she says. "He likes that."

I stop laughing. "No teasing me about you being with other men," I say firmly.

"Too soon? Sorry." She looks at me with regret and strokes my cheek, and I kiss her palm to let her know she's forgiven.

"Speaking of Abbott, do we need to talk to him? How did you leave things in DC?"

Lisbon sighs. "I talked to Don before I left, told him I needed to come back here for personal reasons. He was okay with me taking unpaid leave instead of serving out my notice. I can get back pay if I convince Abbott to transfer me back here."

"He will." I'll make sure of it. "Don't worry about his so-called conditions. I'll take care of it."

She shrugs. "It's not like I'm going to leave again. Not while you're here, anyway."

"I don't want you to feel trapped. Especially if I screw things up."

She frowns at me. "Jane, since I've known you, you've screwed things up for me in just about every way known to man. What exactly do you think you're going to do that would make me leave you?"

"I'm going to drive you crazy hovering, being overprotective," I say. "I'm...I've been terrified of letting anyone close to me. For obvious reasons. But since I have anyway, at the slightest sign you're in danger I'm going to go berserk. That thing with Haibach was partly because I was afraid he was going after you next."

"I will be careful," she says. "But you have to be careful too. I don't want to lose you any more than you want to lose me. I don't want to be the one left behind either. Okay?"

It really never occurred to me before that she would take my death as hard as I took Angela's, complete with a guilt chaser because she thinks it's her job to save me. I never want that for her. Never.

I pull her into my arms and hold her tightly. "I won't leave you behind. I'll be more careful."

"I'm holding you to that," she says fiercely.

I stroke her back comfortingly. "Does Pike know you've left him?"

"Yes," she sighs into my shoulder. "When he was going out the door he asked if I'd be there when he got back. I told him no. We, uh, we said our goodbye. I left him a letter to explain things better, but he's not under any illusion I'm coming back."

I figured she'd made a clean break when she wanted to make love, but I feel better after hearing it. "I looked at some houses online. We can make some appointments today."

"You knew I was coming back?"

"Hoped. Would you rather go ahead and buy instead of rent? I can kick in my half. Or more." She gets that little crinkle between her brows, and I realize I'm pushing her. "Only if you're ready. I can wait. I'm all set here." I smile reassuringly.

She strokes my cheek again. "It's been a long time since you've had a home," she muses gently.

"Yes." Going on 13 years, in fact. "But I'd like to make one with you. I...I felt safe at the CBI, there in the bullpen. But the closest I felt to being at home was in your office, because you were there. You're what I need to make a home, Teresa. When you're ready."

She kisses me tenderly. "Let's do it."

"Are you sure?"

"I...I think I was more attracted to the idea of being part of a couple than I was to Marcus," she admits, biting her lip. "That's something I want. I want it with you. But if you're not ready, I understand."

"I want that. I want to make a home with you, a life with you. I want to move forward but I need your help."

"You have it," she says, smiling at me a little tearfully. "You can always have anything I have to give, Ja—Patrick."

I smile back, wondering how long I'm going to be "Ja—Patrick" before she gets used to calling me by my first name. "Then let's go house hunting."

"Don't you have to work?"

"Meh. They won't miss me."

I have about two seconds to realize I just tempted fate before my phone starts ringing. I bury my face in Lisbon's neck, determined to ignore it.

"Jane," she chides. "You need to answer it."

"If it's bothering you, you answer it," I grumble.

She ignores that suggestion, as I knew she would. "If it's Cho and he doesn't get an answer, you know he's going to come check on you."

There's no arguing with that. I groan and lever myself out of bed, searching for my suit jacket and digging the phone out. It's already stopped ringing, but I see it was indeed Cho. I call him back. "What can I do for you?" I say when he picks up.

"We got a case. Abbott wants you in the office."

"I'm not feeling up to it today," I tell him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Uh huh. He said if you said that, I should tell you to get your ass out of bed and bring Lisbon with you."

I glance over at her. She's sitting up, not bothering to cover herself, and I have to ask Cho to repeat what he just said.

"I said, bring Lisbon. Is she there?"

"Uh." I raise my eyebrows at her questioningly. "Why would Lisbon be here?"

She sighs and gets out of bed, reaching for the phone. I hand it to her and then eavesdrop shamelessly. "Hi, Cho. So Abbott knows I'm here?"

"Yeah. Bring Jane in back to his old self and you can write your own ticket," Cho says, but more quietly, as if he doesn't want to be overheard.

"Thanks. We'll be there in an hour."

"Good to have you back," Cho says, then hangs up.

"I'll take the first shower if you don't mind," Lisbon says. "The bed needs stripped if you need to keep busy."

"Yes, dear." I kiss her on the cheek. "Eggs for breakfast?"

"Sure."

I grin as I start pulling the sheets off the bed. A visit to the laundromat is definitely in order; good thing I have a spare set. Then I get started on breakfast for two. This is going to be a good day. A great day.

The first day of my new life with Lisbon.

mmm

An hour later, we walk into the building together. Apparently the grapevine hasn't had time to spread the word through the entire building yet, because no one comments as we make our way to the elevator. When the doors open to our floor, I lay a hand on the small of her back for reassurance.

Cho, Fischer, and Wylie are standing there beaming at us, wanting Lisbon hugs. After getting hers, Fischer says, "Welcome back."

"I'm not officially back," Lisbon points out.

"Abbott wants to see you," Fischer says. "Go get it straightened out and we'll get to work."

Lisbon glances at me, then heads in that direction. I go with her, a little unsure she wants me there. This is her job we're talking about, and she's never wanted me to interfere with that. But she doesn't tell me to go, so I enter Abbott's office and close the door behind us.

"Nice of you to join us," Abbott says to me dryly as we sit.

"I had something important to do," I reply. The proper care and feeding—and caffeination—of Lisbon is now my full time job.

"And Agent Lisbon. Don called me yesterday evening to let me know you expressed a desire to transfer back."

"Yes, sir," Lisbon says. She's sitting up straight, nervous.

"As I told you on the phone, while your position is still open, this building does not have a revolving door for a reason." Abbott fixes her with a serious gaze. "If you come back, I expect you to stay long enough to make the paperwork worth my time."

"Yes, sir. As you know, I left for personal reasons," Lisbon replies. "My situation has changed. Permanently. I won't have a reason to leave again."

Abbott raises his eyebrows, then looks at me. "Seems to me that's partly in your hands, Jane."

"She won't be leaving again," I say. No matter how bad I screw up, I will make amends. I will never let her leave me again, no matter what I have to do.

"Well." Abbott sits back in his chair. "If you two are sure you have things worked out, then my only remaining concern is how your relationship will affect the smooth functioning of the team. Keep the lovey-dovey stuff out of the office."

I can't resist saying, "Does that include the elevator?"

Lisbon elbows me painfully, accompanied by a glare clearly threatening dire consequences if I don't shut up.

"All spaces on this property," Abbott clarifies. "Or during work hours no matter where you are."

"We understand," Lisbon says, giving me a look that makes it plain our promising sex life is dependent on my understanding of and adherence to this rule.

"All work, no play. Got it," I say.

Abbott looks skeptical, but he turns back to Lisbon. "Then I will start the transfer paperwork. And I'll remind you that vacation requests must be submitted as far in advance as possible, so if you're planning a honeymoon, talk to me first."

"You'll be among the first to know," I assure him. After this, I'm pretty sure we owe him an invitation to the wedding at the very least.

"Good. I should also be among the first to know of any impending maternity leave so I can make field assignments accordingly."

Lisbon blushes a little and says, "If that happens, we'll let you know."

"Good." He smiles at us. "Welcome back, Agent Lisbon. We've missed you."

"I've missed you too, sir," Lisbon says with a grin.

"Then let's get back to work. Fischer has your assignments."

We're clearly dismissed, so we head back out to the bullpen, where Fischer is waiting to start the briefing. I barely listen, busy reveling in the fact that Lisbon's sitting next to me again. After a few minutes, Fischer stops talking and we all get up. I follow Lisbon toward the elevator, but Fischer says, "Jane, you're with me."

"Hm? No." I turn to frown at her. "I'm with Lisbon."

"She's not officially back yet. And you're a consultant. She's with Cho and you're with me." Fischer folds her arms.

Lisbon jostles my arm to break my staring contest with Fischer. "Behave," she whispers.

I pout at her, but she winks to assure me she'll make it worth my while. So I give in. "Fine."

As we all head for the elevator, I note that Cho has his hand on Fischer's back and smirk. Once the doors close on the four of us, I say, "Abbott was just reminding us of the rules for honeymoon and maternity leaves."

"Jane!" Lisbon hisses, kicking me painfully in the instep.

"Ow! No need for violence, Lisbon. Just thought our friends would find the reminder useful since they're now in the same situation."

Fischer rolls her eyes, pulls out her wallet, and passes a twenty to Cho. He pockets it with a smirk lasting mere milliseconds, then says, "Shut up, Jane. If I kick you, you're going to the hospital."

"No bodily harm, please," Lisbon says. "I need him to look at houses."

Fischer says, "How about we call a truce? Personal remarks stay out of the office."

"Agreed," Lisbon and Cho chorus. Their combined glare makes me grin and say, "Fine. Can we go out for drinks so I can get it out of my system?"

"You're buying," Cho says.

"Gladly," I say, and mean it. "Now we just need to get Wylie a date."

All three of them roll their eyes at me in perfect unison, and I chuckle.

Life is good. I've got Lisbon back forever; Cho and Fischer are too wrapped up in their own affair to tease us; and Abbott's already thinking about what to get us for a wedding present. I can't wait to tell Rigsby and Grace. They'll appreciate how hard the road back is after you've screwed things up the first time. And how precious happiness is after you've thought it was gone forever.

Fortunately, it's never too late to turn things around while there's life and love. Lisbon and I have both.

And we're going to make the most of it.