Disclaimer - The Mentalist belongs to Bruno Heller and CBS. Not me. Obviously.

A/N - Hello one and all, and welcome to my newest one-shot. Before you start reading though, I just want to warn you that there are spoilers in this, so if you haven't seen the finale episode yet, please don't read any further. If you have seen the episode however, I hope you're as happy with it as I am with it! Honestly, this episode tag is basically just me expressing how utterly excited I am after the finale. I hope you like reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

~ Making Up For Lost Time ~

Despite the political nous she'd developed after years of working with Jane, it still took a couple of hours for Lisbon to smooth the feathers that Jane had ruffled up with the TSA, and even then it took Abbott using his considerable FBI clout before the airport security staff were finally convinced that it was okay to transfer Jane into FBI custody.

As she finally made her way back to the holding room though, none of the stress of his detainment seemed to matter. In spite of her reservations about everything that had happened over the last day or so, Lisbon couldn't help but reach up to press a finger against her lips, a tingle still running over them despite the hours that had passed since Jane had kissed her.

God, he'd kissed her.

She'd lost count of the amount of nights she'd laid in bed dreaming of kissing that man. He'd always seemed so untouchable in real life, but in her mind, in her dreams, he was always hers, and she was always his. And he always kissed her…

And now, dreams had become reality, and honestly, she felt like she was walking on air.

I love you.

That, however, had never been part of the dreams. She had hoped, somewhere in the back of her mind, that Jane might care for in a way that was decidedly more than friendship, but she'd never once dreamed that he would love her in the way he had declared today. He loved her. He was in love with her. She found she had to grip her fists to stop them from shaking as she rounded another corner on her way back to him.

Jane, the man who had locked his heart away so tightly that it was a wonder he was even still alive. Jane, the man who had spent ten years of his life sleeping in an attic like a madman whilst he planned his revenge. Jane, the man who had murdered his family's killer in cold blood and then had written her letters every week whilst he'd been on the run, just to make sure she knew that he was alright.

And now, after everything, he was Jane, the man who had declared his love for her on an aeroplane in front of all the other passengers, still limping after jumping over a fence to dodge security.

I meant what I said. Every word of it.

She couldn't believe it, and yet she also couldn't stop smiling. God, it was really happening. This was real.

He loved her. And she loved him.

When she finally made it back to his room after sorting out the last of the paperwork with the guard on duty, her smile threatened to take over her face, and her excitement was making it very hard to focus on anything but getting back to him. When she saw Jane sitting at the table right where she'd left him, his head resting in his arms and his eyes closed in sleep, her affection for him grew, and she suddenly very much needed to be close with him. Preferably for a long, long time...

He stirred at her entrance - although she stayed as still and quiet as she could, content to simply watch him and admire him without any inhibitions. When he finally woke up enough to notice her presence, turning to face her with such an intense look in his eyes, her affection took a back seat to an unexpected rush of lust, and Lisbon found she had to make a special effort not to jump him right where he was.

"Hey, ready to go?" she asked, nerves bubbling in her stomach despite her happiness. She did her best to push them away, not wanting them to ruin this night.

His grin was wide and bright at her announcement. "You got me out?"

"Abbott did," she replied, grinning back. Why couldn't she stop smiling? "On the proviso that you behave yourself until we get back to base. Any funny business and I'm under strict orders to hand you back."

"Funny business?" His smirk was positively lethal in its suggestiveness, and Lisbon felt a tendril of apprehension at the thought of Jane's mischievous nature in their love-making. What was she getting into…?

She pushed that away too, but couldn't help the red that tinged her cheeks at the mere thought of being in bed with him.

"Can I drive when we get back to Austin?" he asked, obviously enjoying making her blush. He'd probably read every thought on her face, the smug bastard, so she made a special effort to keep her face blank as she opened the door for him.

"Nope," she said in reply to his request. "Come on, before they change their minds."

"Yes, Ma'am," Jane said, his grin widening even more. God, she had never seen him so happy. He looked like ten years had dropped away from him in the last hour, and she couldn't help but be amazed by the change that had occurred in him.

"After you," he gestured towards the open door, and when he grinned at her again, despite everything that had gone on between then before this point, nothing in the world could have stopped her from returning it.

They caught the first plane back to Texas, and spent the flight with their hands intertwined but saying very little. Once they landed, rather than stay in a hotel, Jane insisted on carrying on until they were back home for good. The drive back to Jane's Airstream didn't take as long as Lisbon had expected though, and before she knew it, she was soon standing beside Jane in his cramped, but actually quite cosy, Airstream living area.

He hadn't actually explicitly asked her to stay with him yet, but if the constant grin on his face was anything to go by, he really didn't mind. She decided simply not to question it for once.

"You got any ice," she asked instead, nodding towards his injured ankle. He grimaced slightly as he tried to avoid putting any weight on it, but shook his head. Clearly he was in a lot of pain, but in true Jane fashion, he'd decided to forgo a trip to the hospital. For once, she wasn't complaining.

"Afraid not," Jane replied, then he grinned and sat down, gesturing for her to join him. "You'll just have to kiss it better."

"Dream on," she shot back, grinning as well. "There's no way in hell I'm going near those feet. If rumours are to be believed, you've been wearing the same pair of socks from the moment you joined the FBI."

"They're your socks, my dear," Jane grinned, and she was genuinely touched by how pleased he seemed to be with her gift. "Or at least the ones you gave to me. Anyway, I doubt that's the worst rumour you've heard about me in the last few months."

She laughed, and was surprised by the lightness she now felt in her chest. She felt new.

"Now that I think about it," she began lightly, her tone teasing. "There was a rumour flying round that the only reason the FBI is letting you off the murder charge is because you got Fisher pregnant on that island of yours."

He laughed at that, his face crinkling up in genuine joy.

"Of course," she continued, smiling with pure, unfettered happiness. "I also heard that you were sleeping with Abbott, so who knows what the truth is."

"Alas," he replied, mock-sad as he met her eyes. "I'm afraid another captured my heart a long time ago."

"How unlucky for her," she joked.

His smile faltered slightly, and she immediately regretted her glib statement.

"I hope not, Teresa," he said quietly, all amusement gone for the moment.

"Jane…" she began. "I didn't mean it like that."

He nodded, smiled, and she hoped that meant he understood. Just to make sure, she slowly took his hand and held it in a reassuring grip.

"I'm not going anywhere," she told him, meeting his eyes with a certainty that she had never felt confident enough to express with anyone else. "I promise, Jane. I won't leave you, because despite it all, I do know how lucky I am. Truly, I do. So long as you'll have me, I'll be here."

"Then I'm afraid you're stuck with me," he said, and finally his smile grew into something much more sincere, something much more like the Jane she knew she had fallen in love with. She knew, even now, that their road together would not be an easy one, but she also knew that they loved each other, and that sometimes, as cheesy as it sounded, love really was enough.

"Can you call me Patrick? he asked suddenly, dragging her away from her runaway thoughts.

"Patrick," she repeated obediently, although it did sound strange on her tongue. That was definitely something she would need to get used to. Hearing him call her Teresa, however…well, that was something she could listen to all day…

"I'm being serious for once," Jane replied, and again she got the feeling that he knew exactly what she was thinking. "My name is Patrick, after all."

"I don't know," Lisbon began seriously, although she did allow a teasing smile to form slowly on her face. "I kinda like Jane. All those years I spent dreaming about this moment; all those times I thought about…being with you, I never once called you Patrick."

His grin was back in full force now, "Oh, really? And just how often did you think about me?"

"Don't get too cocky," she warned, though her eyes were twinkling. "Half the time, I was thinking about where I would hide the body."

"Ouch," Jane replied, though his smile suggested that he was amused more than anything else. "Though I doubt you'd need to hide it. In fact, the state would probably give you a medal."

"Meh," she shrugged playfully. "Probably too much paperwork. Anyway, as annoying as you are, I suppose you occasionally have your uses."

"Oh, and what would they be?" There was a challenge in his eyes, and Lisbon had no intention of backing down.

"How about I show you?" she suggested, and though her heart was beating loudly in her chest, she couldn't get over just how right this felt. She moved closer, almost holding her breath, but Jane met her half-way, as if he just couldn't control himself or even attempt to hold himself back, and it made her feel cherished and loved to the point where she knew she could never settle for anything else.

I love you.

They'd both waited a long time to get to this moment, and as her lips finally met his again, two becoming one, she vowed to make the most of every single second, because honestly, they'd wasted enough time already.

And because ultimately, this was worth everything they had gone through to get here. They were worth it.

He was worth it.

A/N – So how was it? I'll probably end up writing a longer post season six story at some point, particularly if the wait for season seven ends up being a long one, but for now I just had to get this little one-shot out there because I'm just so happy! I wrote it quite quickly, so there's probably a lot of mistakes in it, but I hope you liked it anyway. Please let me know what you think, and until next time, thanks for reading!