I couldn't help myself - I had to write my own continuation of Blue Bird... At the moment it's a one-shot seen mostly from Lisbon's POV, but I can very well see this growing into something bigger... This chapter is T-rated but should this turn into a longer fic, it's going to turn M-rated at some point - that it isn't already is a bit of a miracle, but my excuse is that Jane and Lisbon had a bit of a rough night at the airport... ;-)

Oh, and I'm sorry about the title. I couldn't find a meaningful one, so in the end I just went with my working title...

Disclaimer: Bruno is god - I'm merely a penniless disciple...

This Is Not A Drill

After the kiss that would forever redefine the meaning of the word kiss for Lisbon, their wordless exchange of pure adoration and love shared in a look so intense it almost made them both climax, was rather rudely interrupted by the door of the interrogation room swinging open so violently it hit the wall.

"You said, you wanted to question the perpetrator, Special Agent Lisbon. This is completely inappropriate," the Transportation Security Officer, who'd witnessed their kiss through the window, complained angrily.

"With all due respect," Lisbon answered, unable to quell the happy smile on her face and so giddy that she couldn't maintain any part of her stern cop persona at the moment, "but I got exactly the answers I was looking for."

Jane couldn't help but chuckle.

"This man committed a serious security breach and we can't fully exclude the possibility that he was planning to commit an act of terrorism. As an FBI agent you should know that this is a serious offense and he might be a threat to national security. I have no idea what they teach you at the FBI these days but…" the TSA official continued, only to be interrupted by supervising agent Abbott who'd just entered the room.

"Sorry to cut you short, officer, but let's be realistic here. Mr. Jane is a consultant with the FBI as I've already told you on the phone. He's a valued member of my team. He came here in an official FBI vehicle and with my express permission." Abbott stepped up beside Jane and cast him a stern look. "I wasn't aware that he'd elide airport security and Mr. Jane will of course face disciplinary measures for it. But I can assure you that his intentions were in no way of a nefarious nature. I also happen to know that you never even did a security inspection of the aircraft after our initial conversation, which implies that you believed me right away when I vouched for Mr. Jane. So if we could resolve this matter in a reasonable way and in the spirit of inter-agency cooperation, I'd be very grateful."

The TS officer didn't look entirely convinced. "I don't know if I can do that, Agent Abbott. This woman," he pointed at Lisbon, "who also claims to be part of the FBI and your team, showed such unprofessional behavior that I'm seriously doubting your abilities to keep your team in line."

"It's not your place to decide that, Officer Hartman. If you're inclined to cause problems and refuse to cooperate, I'd rather talk with your superior and clear this up at the appropriate rank level," Abbott replied in his coldest command voice.

"I'm sure my boss will fully agree with me," the TS officer retorted with a very stubborn glint in his eyes.

"If I may add…" Jane chimed in.

"I think, it would be in your best interest to keep your mouth shut, Mr. Jane," Abbott warned him.

"But Dennis, I really think our poor Mr. Hartman here is misreading the situation completely and is operating under a serious misconception," Jane explained, his eyes pleading with his boss to let him continue.

"I'm sure, I don't." Hartman huffed.

Jane cast him a sunny smile. "Oh, but you do. Look, I really don't want you to get in trouble with your superior. But if you insist to get him involved, I'm very afraid it could mean the end of your career, my friend. No one here wants that, right?"

Lisbon, Abbott, and Hartman looked at Jane as if he'd lost his mind. "Excuse me, but how am I the one in trouble here, man?" the TS officer inquired in an irritated tone.

The FBI consultant smiled merrily (which made both Abbott and Lisbon feel a sense of dread) and said, "Well, take a look at me. Do I look like an athlete to you?"

Hartman's brow furrowed. "What kind of inane question is that? I really don't have time to deal with your crap."

"I take that as a no," Jane replied, looking very cheery and completely unfazed. "And I still took it upon myself to subject your security measures to a thorough test. Without regard to my personal health, I might add. Almost heroic, if I dare say so."

Lisbon and Abbott both did their best to repress a groan and the urge to snort. The TS officer seemed to have entered a state of open-mouthed shock.

Jane went on, unperturbed by their reactions. "And even without being an athlete – as we've previously established – I easily succeeded to conquer what little security you seem to deem enough to keep unwanted intruders away. Intruders like these vicious terrorist with all that rigorous training they're allegedly getting in these horrible camps that we're reading about in the papers all the time. I mean, it was a piece of cake to get onto that plane and to bypass security. A piece of cake, really."

Lisbon cast a pointed look at his injured ankle which was resting on a chair agai,n but she couldn't stop herself from showing her amusement. Jane winked at her. Abbott watched their exchange and shook his head.

Redirecting his gaze at officer Hartman, Jane continued, "I must say that this incident has made me lose quite a bit of confidence and faith in our Transport Security systems. " He looked very worried. "Makes one very uneas,y using this mode of transportation to be honest. It's a scandal, really, come to think of it. I mean, I of course, being an FBI consultant on a mission, I was perfectly justified to hop over that little fence. But just imagine for a second that I'd been a real criminal and not someone who was graciously testing your airport security systems! Just imagine what could've happened at some point in the future if I hadn't called this to your attention!"

He released a deep, exaggerated sigh of relief. "But now you know where the real weaknesses are in your system and you can adjust them accordingly and all before anything threatening has happened. No need to alert your superiors and make them aware of the lax way in which security has been handled at this facility until now. Just plug the holes, close the security lapses, repair the breaches, eliminate the vulnerabilities. No harm done."

He grinned smugly. "Oh, and you don't even need to thank me. You're very welcome, officer. Though I have to say that your accommodations leave a lot to be desired. I asked for tea more than five hours ago and alas, I'm still waiting for my cuppa."

Abbott hid his face behind his hands, not sure whether to laugh out loud or throttle his consultant. Jane had just either bought himself yet another jail-free card or made things so bad that his superior would have a hard time getting him out of that mess. As of yet the supervising agent had no idea which one it would be.

Lisbon was slowly losing her fight to keep a half-way serious face. God, how she loved that idiot and his insolence was – she had to admit that – hilarious when it wasn't her job to get him out of the consequences. He looked so adorable being all smug and pretending to read that poor TS officer the riot act, turning himself into the victim instead of the perp, and she wished with all her might that his newest scheme would actually get them out of there as fast as possible because she felt an almost irresistible urge to kiss the hell out of him. No, life with Jane would definitely never be boring and she'd enjoy every second of it (well, almost every second).

Officer Hartman had been made head of security of the North Terminal six months ago and it had been a moment of deep pride for him. He'd worked hard for the promotion and even his family life had suffered for it. But it had all been worth it when the head of airport security had given him this new, responsible position (which included a considerable raise in income as well) and finally Hartman had been able to relent to his wife's wishes and bought the nice three bedroom home they had always dreamed of, one with a small garden perfect for their son to play in.

Jane hadn't known all those details of course, but it hadn't been too hard for him to gather from Hartman's behavior that he was relatively new at the job and wasn't all that established in his position. It had been enough for him to find a weak spot and jump in – both literally about six or seven hours ago and metaphorically speaking just minutes ago. Now Jane cast the officer a reassuring smile and exuded an air of friendliness and understanding, paired with a slightly conspiratorial glint in his eyes to express that he was perfectly willing to overlook all the injustice that had been done to him and give Hartman a chance to redeem himself.

To the amused astonishment of Abbott and the relief of Lisbon it actually worked. "If you put it like that," Hartman said with a pained expression, his eyes casting an almost imploring look at the highest ranking person in the room. "Would it be alright to deal with this discreetly and on the quiet, Agent Abbott? That would be in both of our interests, right, Sir?"

"Absolutely," the dark-skinned man answered jovially. "No need to make an unnecessary fuss, Officer. I'll just take Mr. Jane and agent Lisbon with me and we'll forget this whole mess ever happened. You can tell your staff that this was a security check and that Mr. Jane was on an undercover mission sanctioned by the Air Marshals and that an FBI agent had been placed on the plane as an additional safety measure too." With a stern look he added, "And that fence needs serious improvement, Officer. My consultant is the antipode of a trained agent and if he can get over that thing, anyone could."

"Hey," Jane complained, but had the sense of self-preservation to keep his mouth shut at the look of warning he got from his boss.

"Yes, sir," Hartman answered dutifully. "I'll make it my top priority to ensure that no similar incident could ever take place again and I'm very grateful for your discretion."

Abbott gave a friendly nod and stepped over to the still sitting Jane. "You able to walk?"

"I'm not sure," the consultant admitted.

"Come on," his boss said and hauled him up on his feet, being careful to support some of Jane's weight. Jane made a tentative attempt to take a step. He smiled and signaled that he was fine and only Lisbon who had known him long enough to see through most of his game faces realized that he was in a great deal of pain and only pretending to be okay for the sake of the TS officer. And probably also to get out of that dark, depressing interrogation room as fast as possible. Though Lisbon had to admit that she would always remember it fondly as the place of the first kiss she'd shared with the man she'd been head over heels in love with for years.

And it hadn't just been a kiss. To her it had been a revelation because nothing in her life had ever felt like this, had ignited every nerve ending in her and made her come alive in a way she'd only read about in trashy romance novels. She'd always assumed that it was nothing but a fictional cliché. Obviously she'd just never kissed the right person before. Kissing Marcus had sure as hell never done to her even a sliver of what she'd felt when Jane's lips had met hers and that despite the fact that their location couldn't have been any less romantic. And the way he'd looked at her afterwards had done very funny things to her heart and her stomach and if it hadn't been for that stupid TS officer she was pretty sure, she'd jumped over that damn table and kissed the breath out of Jane. That would have to wait a while longer but she would do it again, a lot – that was a given.

In passing she saw her reflection in the window. Somehow an almost absurdly happy smile she'd never seen before had decided to become a permanent fixture on her face without her noticing but she had no regrets.

Outside the sun was high in the sky telling Lisbon that the night had long since surrendered to day. After a sleepless night and all the time in the rather gloomy room the light seemed to hurt Jane's sour eyes and made him blink, and she could take a good guess judging from her own state how utterly exhausted he probably was both physically and emotionally. His foot was also causing him quite a bit of pain, she surmised. It looked like it was only the pure happiness in his soul fueling his steps.

She realized that she'd become quite the expert reading him because she could even recognize how he was trying his best not to let his companions see that he was barely able to keep himself upright. They entered the parking lot and the way in which he sank down onto the backseat of the SUV Abbott had used to come to the airport confirmed her suspicions.

"Jane needs to see a doctor," Lisbon told Abbott outside of the car and out of hearing range from Jane.

"But he is doing alright," her boss answered with raised brows.

Lisbon snorted. "Believe me, he's not. Let me handle him, sir. He's even more of a pain than usual when the word hospital comes up. What's the plan anyway?"

"Get into the car and I'll tell the both of you together, agent," her superior replied, motioning with his head to the rear of the SUV.

Abbott got into the driver's seat and Lisbon joined Jane in the back. The consultant looked half asleep and his face was ashen.

"Well, Jane, be very glad that you actually solved that old case or I would have had to hang you by your intestines for falsifying evidence and for several other infringements like waste of taxpayers' money and such. But as it is, DC is happy and thus I'm happy and you're probably in for a recommendation from somewhere very high up." He shook his head. "I can't believe how you always manage to get out of these pickles."

Jane only succeeded to utter a token chuckle, too exhausted to engage in any verbal contest with his boss, but still ending up with a big, happy smile on his face remembering a certain other, rather recent talk about pickles.

Abbott cast a look over his shoulder and couldn't help but be satisfied with what he saw. His best asset looked happy (albeit extremely exhausted) for the first time in weeks and was holding hands with the agent the dark-skinned supervisor had come to value as one of the best he'd ever met and had hated to see go. Said agent looked just as happy as his consultant and blushed forcefully when she realized that her boss's eyes were resting on her hand that was firmly intertwined with another, bigger one.

"I've also received another call from DC," Abbott continued, now addressing Lisbon. "Seems like I'm the lucky one who gets to keep you on the team, Teresa. Don isn't happy at all. He'd been very eager to get you into his clutches – a homicide detective with such a terrific success rate and so much experience."

He watched in contentment how the woman blushed an even darker shade of red at the compliment. "That being said, it'll take a few days to reinstate you, I'm afraid. But maybe that's all for the best considering that my consultant decided to play acrobat and will obviously be on sick leave for a while and needs someone to help him out for a few days. Would you be willing to volunteer for that dreadful job, agent? Even off the payroll?" Abbott smiled benignly, not doubting the nature of her answer even for a second.

"Maybe I could be convinced to do that," Lisbon replied with an amused grin, casting a sideways glance at the beaming man beside her. "When will our flight leave for Austin, Sir?"

"Fischer, Cho, and I will leave in a few hours. You two, however, aren't booked on a flight yet. I had no way of knowing whether I'd get that idiot," he nodded in Jane's direction, "out of this mess in time and neither did I know until quite recently that I'll get to keep you around, agent Lisbon. So I'd suggest that you return to the Blue Bird Lodge and spend a few days resting and recuperating – on Jane's account of course. As you'll be nursing him, Lisbon, you'll have to share a room, I'm afraid, also because Jane's room is still a crime scene at the moment. Now we'll get our athlete here to the closest emergency room, have his ankle checked and get a sick leave slip for him."

"I don't need a doctor," Jane protested.

Lisbon glared at him. "Yes, you do and don't you try to fool me. It won't work," she said sternly but added softly, "I don't want to see you in pain, Jane."

"Okay," the blond man answered unexpectedly meekly, giving Lisbon a first glimpse at the kind of power she'd obviously gained over the stubborn, independent man next to her, now that their relationship had changed. It filled her with a deep sense of affection and she resolved herself to make sure that he'd be very well taken care of from now on. She had no doubt that he'd do the same for her.

Four hours later found Jane standing in the middle of Lisbon's old room – now their shared one – at the Blue Bird Lodge. The trip to the hospital had revealed that he'd managed to lacerate a capsule in his right ankle joint and would have to wear a splint for a few weeks and he had gotten a pair of crutches because he was supposed to keep off that foot until the swelling was down. They would also need to go shoe shopping very soon as the splint didn't really seem to agree with his beloved old, brown ones. Lisbon had had a good laugh at Jane's expense when it had become obvious that a pair of sneakers would soon have to join Jane's limited wardrobe and she used the opportunity to add several pairs of socks to the verbal shopping list. The look on Jane's face had been priceless.

Despite the fact that Jane's old room was still a crime scene Abbott had managed to have Cho remove Jane's things from it. Cho had delivered the bag to Jane in person just after they'd arrived from the hospital and right before the rest of their party had to leave for Austin. Cho had looked somewhat shell-shocked and hadn't been able to stop himself from showing visible signs of disbelief on his normally stoic face when he'd encountered his former boss ruffling their consultant's hair in a gesture that no one could possibly call sibling like. Lisbon had been amused to realize that their friend had turned out to be so utterly clueless about the nature of their feelings for each other. "I really love him, Cho," she'd offered. "Have done for years actually. And vice versa."

"None of my business," the Asian agent had mumbled. Then he'd turned in Jane's direction and had added in an imperturbable tone, "Hurt her and that ankle," he had pointed to the swollen, discolored one, "will be the least damaged part of your anatomy." He'd left immediately afterwards.

Things had turned slightly awkward after that.

"I should probably take a shower or something," Jane said with a sigh, sniffing his armpit with disgust. "After all that running and climbing and sitting around in that musty room, I mean."

Lisbon chuckled. "You're not THAT gross, Jane. But if you want a spot in my bed you better clean up a bit. You're a mess," she teased. She stepped closer and added in a more serious tone, "Are you up to it though? You look like you're about to faint and I don't know if I trust you with these crutches in the shower."

"I'll just have to find out," he replied.

With a slightly halting voice and a blush she said, "Would it be alright if, well, if… I mean, I could help you, maybe. You know, so you don't slip and break your neck or something."

Jane took a few steps and sat down in an armchair, too tired to keep himself upright on the crutches any longer. He sighed while he started to remove his left shoe and sock – the right foot was bare already. "That's not exactly the way I'd imagined you to see me naked for the first time," he admitted sheepishly. "But I guess it suits us in a way. Nothing's ever gonna be normal with us, right?"

Lisbon followed him to the chair and sat down on the armrest. Their gazes met. "We've known each other for so long, Jane. To me it feels kind of natural. I know it's not exactly romantic or anything. But I don't mind. I want to take care of you. That's meaningful too, isn't it?"

"I suppose," he said. "Just makes me feel a bit inadequate to be honest." He looked bashful and she sensed there was a lot more meaning to that statement than the mere words expressed.

"What do you mean with that? How's that being inadequate? You're hurt and as your partner I'm gonna help you out. No reason to feel bad about it, or is there?" she inquired.

He sighed. "It's nothing, really," he said.

She slapped his arm lightly. "What happened to being honest with me? If we want to make this work, we'll have to share these things. Something's obviously bothering you. Out with it, Jane!"

Jane started to unbutton his shirt while he tried to gather enough courage to confess what was really on his mind. She sensed his unease and gave him the time he needed. His shirt hanging open he finally started, his eyes averted, his voice soft and hesitant. The sight of his toned, graceful chest distracted her so much she almost missed his first words. "It's just that I'm a tad, shall we say, insecure. I mean, you're obviously a very beautiful woman, Teresa. And you're taking great care of yourself whilst I, as we've already established today, am not exactly an athlete. I know, I'm not fat or anything and I spent quite a bit of time in Venezuela swimming and I've done a few laps here and there in Austin too, so I'm not entirely unfit or flabby. But you've just been with a trained FBI agent and, well… I… I expected your first glance at me to be clouded by my irresistible powers of seduction or something like that. You know, so you would be distracted and…"

He was interrupted by Lisbon's disbelieving burst of laughter. "Oh my god!" she managed to get out in-between hysterical giggles. "You think you won't measure up? That's what this is all about?" She snorted, still fighting to regain her poise and losing the battle. She saw that her outburst didn't exactly help any and that the normally smug man beside her looked truly uncomfortable but she couldn't stop herself. Maybe that night full of emotional ups and downs, the lack of sleep, the last weeks that had felt like a constant rollercoaster of feelings had finally caught up with her. Whatever it was, she was unable to control herself.

How could that perceptive man be so idiotic sometimes? How could he not know that she desired him like she'd never desired anything or anyone? That the mere thought of his graceful hands could arouse her and make her crave his touch in the worst ways possible? How even now the mere sight of his naked chest had made her wet her panties? That she'd more than once dreamt of that shapely butt of his and that she loved to walk behind him just to be able to ogle it to her heart's desire without him calling her out on it? That she'd fantasized about his other body parts for years and that whenever he'd rolled up his sleeves she'd almost drooled over his shapely arms and his skin that looked so soft she'd have loved to caress it for hours? And his hair, how she craved to bury her hands in those delicious curls of his! And she loved the way he smelled, the way he walked so gracefully and smooth. His voice could melt her heart too, especially that gentle, husky, soft tone he only ever seemed to use when talking to her.

She shook her head, partly to clear it, partly because she was still full of disbelief that Jane truly doubted his own attractiveness. And then on impulse she moved herself from the armrest of the chair onto his lap and used the moment of surprise and shock he experienced at her unexpected action to push his open shirt off his shoulders and down his arms as much as possible in their position, restraining his arms in the process.

He smelled a bit musky and sweaty and she didn't mind it at all. On the contrary it touched something primal inside of her and she started to pepper his chest with kisses and licks, inhaling his unique flavor in the process. This was her man, her mate and he was all hers. She heard him moan and in a gesture of surrender he let his head fall back exposing his throat. It incited her even more. She felt a sudden urge to claim him and by sheer instinct she buried her teeth in the juncture between his neck and shoulder and bit him – enough to leave teeth marks but not enough to truly hurt him. He groaned loudly and wiggled his arms free of his shirt so he could bury his hands in her hair, pressing her into him. She kissed the spot where she'd bitten him to soothe away any remaining pain, a bit shocked at her own, unrestraint behavior, but there was no real regret. It all felt right somehow.

Both were breathless for a while and had to regain some composure. Their eyes connected and both grinned. "That was unexpected," Jane finally whispered his hand caressing her cheek. "Where did that come from?"

"You're mine," Lisbon growled. "And I desire you. Just wanted to let you know." She blushed when she fully realized what she'd just done and said and how it must've sounded, all possessive and almost animalistic.

He chuckled and continued his fondling. "I'm not complaining, my dear, far from it. I always suspected that you're a very passionate lover. But you sure surprised me this time." He hurried to add, "In a good way."

"I'm not sure what came over me," she admitted sheepishly. "I've never done anything like this before."

"I'm glad," he said. "It means that we just shared a real first."

Their lips met in a deep kiss that had them both panting in no time. She broke it before it could get too much out of hand, already sensing his erection pressing against her stomach. "We shouldn't do this right now," she said breathlessly. "We're both in no shape to follow it through and I want to be able to really enjoy our first time. Come on, let's get you cleaned up and then into bed. We both need some rest, Jane."

"I love you so much, Teresa," was his only reply, a look of pure adoration on his face, the one she'd seen a few times already today and wouldn't ever get tired of.

She realized in that moment that she'd yet to return the sentiment – at least outright. Somehow it hadn't felt right back in the interrogation room. His heartfelt confession on the plane had been so much more than a simple "I love you". It had expressed his feelings of insecurity and his relief because he'd finally been able to break down the walls around his heart and overcome his fears. He'd bared his soul for her, truly given her his heart to do with what she felt was right for her. It had taken the hours she'd been forced to wait before she could see him for her to fully comprehend what he'd done, what it really meant, and how humbling it had been to witness the moment in which that beautiful man had taken maybe the most important and most courageous step in his life.

And she had also realized that a lot of what he'd said was just as valid for her – even if it was in a different way. Because she'd been a coward too. And she'd lied to herself and to Marcus just because she had been scared to risk her heart and go for what she really wanted. It hadn't been a conscious lie, but she had known that she wasn't in love with Marcus all along. She could at least admit that. It had been the easy and the safe option – though only in the beginning. When the whole DC matter had been added into the mix, things had become a lot more complicated. And weird if she was being honest.

The phone call to Marcus she'd made right after leaving the plane to inform him that she wouldn't come to DC after all had only cemented how weird it really was. He had been disappointed of course, but he'd sounded more like someone losing a game than a love interest. They had decided to speak again and clear the air in a few days. He would be in Austin next week to tie up some loose ends and they'd meet in person then and have a serious conversation. She had however made it clear to him that she wasn't going to reconsider her decision and that her staying in Austin was final.

She knew she would need to do quite a bit of soul-searching in the near future, maybe share some serious talks with Jane to figure out what had happened over the last weeks and how she'd ended up with a fiancé she didn't love or want and a job in another city. But now wasn't the time for it.

What she had discovered already during her time waiting at the airport was that she not only shared Jane's feelings of love but also the need to see him every day, as well as the fears connected with this important change in their relationship. Thus it had felt a lot more fitting to tell him that she felt the same way instead of using that certain three-word-phrase. Now however the situation was a lot different…

With one hand she cupped his cheek, her thumb caressing it gently. She locked eyes with him. "I love you too, Patrick," she replied, stumbling a bit over his given name. He had always been her Jane and he would always remain her Jane. To her it was more than anything a term of endearment anyway, but she conceded that there might be occasions when his first name seemed more appropriate somehow.

His smile turned even more beaming if possible and she enjoyed to sense with her hand how this caused his whole face to feel different. She pecked him on his lips and said, "Come on, Jane. Let's get you all clean and shiny."

She got up from his lap and helped him to his feet, mindful of his injured ankle. She handed him the crutches and carried his bag into the spacious en suite. He followed her. She sat his things on the counter beside the sink and stepped over to him afterwards. He was about to take a seat on the lock of the toilet but she stopped him. "Let me help you with your pants first. You'll have a hard time opening it with the crutches in your hands and you won't be able to pull them down while you sit either," she explained.

He acknowledged her words with a nod. She was pretty sure that he was still quite aroused so she was careful with him. Their heated, emotional encounter on the armchair had changed something between them, she realized. He seemed perfectly fine with her undressing him and she didn't feel any awkwardness either. And though the sight of his bare torso was still very arousing, right now it felt natural to just touch him casually and without any sexual intentions. It didn't stop her from admiring the rest of the gorgeous body she was now divesting.

As she had suspected he had well-shaped, beautiful legs and the erection proudly standing at attention was thick and elegant and just as gorgeous as the rest of him. Making love with him would be incredible – of that she was sure. And he had nothing to be ashamed of, absolutely nothing. He wasn't very muscular, that much was true. But he was toned enough and looked like he was sculptured out of the finest marble money could buy – hardly any hair covering him, only a light, soft down on his legs, his chest totally devoid of it. She liked that – a lot.

Marcus had been a lot more hairy and to be honest – she hadn't really appreciated it. And if she was even more honest, the whole physical aspect of that relationship had been kind of meh – to use a Jane phrase. In hindsight she had to admit that a lot about her interaction with Marcus had been that way. There'd never been any real passion. It became even more glaringly obvious now that she felt more aroused than she'd ever been with Pike just from looking at Jane in a still more or less innocent way.

"Do I pass inspection?" Jane's voice pulled her out of her deep thoughts. "It's not that I don't enjoy your attention but I'd really like to sit down for a bit. This whole crutch thingy is more exhausting than it looks."

She looked a bit sheepish and continued to pull down his pants enough so he could do the rest by himself sitting down. "Sorry. I got lost in my mind for a moment."

"No problem," Jane replied and finally took a seat on the toilet lock with an expression of relief. "Though I seriously hope that face you pulled in the end wasn't caused by, well, by what you just uncovered," he remarked – only half jokingly she sensed – while he proceeded to get rid of the rest of his clothing.

She bent down, pecked his cheek and stepped over to the big bath tub. While she started to draw a bath she replied, "Stop worrying, Patrick. You're all I could ever wish for and more." She blushed a bit afterwards but she didn't care. It was true after all. He was gorgeous to her. Perfect. And while she would normally hesitate to compliment him that openly, afraid to stroke his overdeveloped ego, she instinctively knew that in this case his fears were very real to him and that he needed some reassurance. Furthermore, deep down she'd always known that he wasn't half as cocky as he liked to appear and it was warming her heart beyond measure that he was comfortable enough to let her see his insecurity.

When the bath tub was filled and Lisbon had added one of the essences the hotel offered which didn't smell too feminine, she helped Jane into the water. She caught him by surprise when she started to shed her clothes the moment he'd been safely placed in the tub. He obviously admired what she revealed, openly staring. His adoration made her feel wonderful, all desirable and powerful.

"God, you are beautiful," he whispered with reverence when she stood in front of him in all of her naked glory.

She smiled and motioned for him to move a bit so she could join him. She sat down between his outstretched legs and rested her back against his chest. The tub was big enough so both of them very fully enclosed in the warm water. His arms came around her chest and he rested them on her stomach, caressing her lightly. It felt like coming home.

They didn't talk, just enjoyed the company and the relaxing warmth surrounding them and seeping through them. They nearly fell asleep that way but Lisbon prevented it in the nick of time. With their last energy they cleaned each other with a washcloth, enjoying the chance to explore the other gently and thoroughly. There was nothing really sexual about it but it felt more satisfying to Lisbon than any sexual act she'd ever engaged in. It felt natural, comfortable, peaceful, intimate, familiar, and fulfilling in a way that she'd never known before. She decided that judging from this their sex would probably blow her mind completely.

She helped him out of the tub afterwards and dried him tenderly. She found boxer shorts and a t-shirt for him in his bag and after he'd brushed his teeth, he had barely enough strength left to drag himself over to the bed. She was fading fast too and after she'd finished in the bathroom it took her only moments to fall asleep in his arms.

The End?

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