A/N: This is the final chapter of this story; I really hope you enjoyed it. Please let me apologize for the delay in getting this posted. I want to thank everyone so much for your kind words and support for this story. It has really meant a lot :-)

Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist.

Patrick had been quiet on the car ride from McCoy's house and Teresa knew better than to keep asking him about it. She knew there were things he had to start dealing with now in order to move on with his life. She made them both some lunch, which was eaten in virtual silence, save for the usual small talk between bites of food. It was when Teresa announced that she was going to go and pack her bag to get ready for the drive back to Sacramento that Patrick had stopped her and told her he wanted to stay in Malibu for one more night. When she had asked him why, he just smiled and told her he wanted to spend some time together with her.

They drove to the beach that afternoon.

Much to Teresa's surprise, Patrick had taken his surfboard with him. She had no idea he knew how to surf but as she lay on the beach watching him, she felt as if he was born on the waves. She found herself transfixed at the sight; he moved with such grace and precision, like he commanded the water. It was clear he had done this many times before. He looked majestic, like a king, as if he were Neptune himself. She stared in wonder, awe, as if hypnotized by his movements. As she looked more closely she couldn't hep but notice a faint trace of melancholy about his movements but there was a distinct sadness to his elegance that she had noticed in everything he did but out there on the waves it was somehow more pronounced, maybe due to the fact that there was nowhere for him to hide. It was deeper, more exposed, as if he was baring his soul to her, only her, trying to show her what was going on inside him without the need for painful works. In that moment she felt a connection to him. She felt as though everything he was, was out there on the water for her to see, there were no more masks and she could not take her eyes off him; her mind filled with both sadness and joy.

After a while the sun was beginning to set. Teresa watched as he walked over to where she lay on the sand, his back to the sun, the shadows it cast over his face were not dark enough to hide his smile for her. He looked so strong, so confident, her warrior, returning to her and it filled her with joy.

Patrick loved the way she could not stop looking at him. He had known she had been doing that the whole time and the thought unnerved him at first; he would never let anyone watch him surf. It was his own private way of dealing with all the pain and bad memories. It was as if the water became the embodiment of his feelings, his blood, flowing, powerful yet chaotic, never leaving him, threatening to topple him over at any minute but when he conquered them he felt such joy and relief. After a while of her watching him he found a strange sense of comfort in her gaze. As he moved towards her now his eyes roamed over the beautiful pink and green coverup she wore which exposed her thighs in a very pleasing manner and his smile grew in intensity. "The water was great today." He told he as he sat down beside her, picked up a towel and started drying himself off. "You should have joined me."

"I don't know how to surf." She said as he moved the towel to his head.

"Well that's something I'll have to teach you one day."

She smiled and looked down at the sand, "Oh I don't know."

He chuckled slightly at her sudden change in demeanor and then his eyes softened as she looked up at him. "Hey, I'm sorry about before," he began, "I know you wanted to talk but I…"

"You weren't ready, it's okay, I get that." She tried to assure him.

"Thanks," he replied and took her hand in his. "I do want to talk about it but I just need time."

Teresa nodded, "I understand." She smiled at him and caressed the side of his face with her free hand.

"We better head off home." He suggested, "I'll make us some dinner."

With that they both stood up and began to walk towards the car. "I had no idea you liked to cook." She told him and he laughed.

"What you thought I ate out of a packet every night?"

"Well, no," she began, "I just didn't picture you standing behind a stove wearing an apron on your days off."

Patrick raised his eyebrows in amusement at that. "And just how did you picture me?"

Teresa shook her head and smiled and it made her eyes sparkle, "I'm not going to answer that while there's still children around!" She joked. Patrick had never seen her so relaxed and happy in all the time that he had known her. He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him as they walked, he was enjoying every second of this.

Teresa woke up in his bed just after 3am the next morning, her back pressed close against Patrick's chest as he held her in his sleep. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and she sighed quietly. As her eyes began to grow accustomed to the darkness she glanced about the room, her mind wandering, still thinking about all the other women he had shared this bed with. As much as she wanted to believe that Patrick would be faithful to her, she just couldn't shake the fact that he has a reputation for being a womanizer. She wondered if she was being foolish, only hearing what she wanted to hear, believing what she wanted to believe. These thoughts kept her awake for another hour until she realized that there was no way she was going to get anymore sleep so she slowly began bring herself up into a sitting position, that is, until she felt Patrick's hold on her waist tighten and she was quickly pulled back into him. Teresa was so taken back by the movement that she let out an involuntary squeal which caused Patrick to giggle happily. "And just where do you think you're going?" He asked, his voice husky as he spoke softly into her ear.

"I couldn't sleep." She told him.

He now also raised himself into a sitting position, his back resting against the pillows, his arm still around her waist, holding her close as he nuzzled his face against hers. He couldn't see her expression but he could tell by her body language that something was off. "Something on your mind Teresa?" He asked. She wanted to tell him the truth but feared what she would sound like, so she shook her head instead. When she said nothing he placed his hand on her chin and gently turned her faced towards him, noticing her troubled eyes. "How long have you been up?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, maybe an hour?"

"You know, if you were having trouble sleeping, I could have helped you out." He told he as he began kissing his way down her neck but stopped when he realized she wasn't responding. "Teresa, what's wrong."

Teresa pulled his arm away from her body and got up off the bed, then walked towards the window. She was joined by Patrick a few seconds later. He stood behind her but didn't touch her this time. "Patrick," she began, "is this real?"

"What?" He asked, confused.

She didn't turn around. "I'm just wondering...it's so beautiful here, you and me, this house, the beach but…"

"When we get back to Sacramento, will things change?" He finished.

She turned to face him, "Yes."

He examined her face closely and then for just a second caught something in the way she looked at him which made him realize what she was talking about. "You're wondering if I'll go back to being...the way I was when you met me?" Teresa didn't say anything, just let her eyes drop to the floor. "I thought we've been through this?" He paused then said, "Have a shower, get dressed, grab your things and meet me in the car in twenty minutes."

"What?"

"We're going back to Sacramento." He replied and was already picking out some clean clothes for himself.

"We're going back now?" She asked, a hint of disappointment in her voice, "I thought maybe we could stay here another day?"

He stopped what he was doing then, walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, "I would have loved to stay here a little longer but I know now that it would only make you upset, maybe even change your mind about..us. There's somewhere I need to take you before we go home...something I need to show you."

"What?" She asked, as he slowly ushered her out of the room. "Patrick?"

"I'll explain everything later, but please let's just get dressed first, huh? We have a long drive ahead of us."

….

They drove to Sacramento in Patrick's car. Teresa spent the first third of the journey trying to find out what he was up to, but all he would tell her was that there was something important he wanted her to see. They finally pulled up outside a cemetery a few hours later and Patrick turned off the engine. "We're here." He told her as he got out of the car. Teresa did the same and the two of them began to walk.

"A cemetery?" She asked.

He took her hand but his eyes were focused on the gravestones around them. "Yes," he said.

"Why are we here?"

He squeezed her hand as his eyes fixed on a place in the distance. "You'll see. Come on, it's over there." Their pace quickened as he led her to a small grave by a row of birch trees. As Teresa approached, realization hit her, "Emily." She whispered, looking up at Patrick.

He nodded, "Yeah." He said softly, his eyes glazing over as he gazed at the little marble headstone which bore the words 'Emily Hamilton' in small gold letters. "After she died I made sure to bury her here, in this spot." He paused as a single tear trickled down his cheek; memories of the little girl whom he thought of as his own beginning to flood into his mind. "Every Saturday we would go to the park, she wasn't really interested in playing on the swings like the other kids. She would always ask me to sit with her under the trees while she took out her book and drew them." Teresa could feel the sting of tears behind her own eyes as he continued. "I think I still have those pictures somewhere."

"I'd like to see them sometime." Teresa asked tentatively.

He nodded, "She always loved did love those trees."

"It's a beautiful place Patrick, so peaceful."

They stood by Emily's graveside for a few moments and Teresa whispered a silent prayer for the little girl. They then left and walked back to the car in silence. Once inside Teresa watched as he put his seat belt on and when he reached to turn the ignition on she took his hand. "Thank you. Thank you for sharing that with me, I know I couldn't have been easy."

He paused for a moment, his hands gripping the steering wheel, then said, "I've never told anyone...about her. Vicky didn't have any family other than Emily, no one to miss her or her daughter." He turned to face her. "I know you have been feeling uncomfortable Teresa. You're probably wondering if I'll just treat you like I've treated a lot of other women. I know there are rumors about me, some of them true, some not, but I would never hurt you." He took a breath, "You have done for me...more than anyone has ever done - you have given me my life back."

"Patrick…" she began but he wouldn't let her finish.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you, but somehow fate decided to put the two of us together to solve this case. I can breathe again Teresa, I can finally breathe again, and it's all thanks to you. You believed in me and for that I will be forever indebted to you." He ran his hand through his hair. "I know I have been a bastard with you. I've been rubbing your face in...well...you know."

Teresa nodded.

"I guess I was just in denial. I didn't want to believe that you could affect me the way you do. That I could care about you the way I cared about…" He broke off, and looked out of the window. "That's why I brought you here. I have never felt comfortable talking about her, about Emily and I would never have imagined showing anyone this place, but I wanted to share this, with you." He then went quiet and Teresa just looked at him for a moment, trying to process what he had just said. Suddenly a feeling of warmth spread over her heart and she leaned into him and kissed his cheek. He looked at her briefly and smiled but was unable to speak; he was unused to being so vulnerable with anyone. He then turned the key and started the car.

By the time he drove her back to his small house it was late in the afternoon. While Teresa napped in the small guest room Patrick busied himself with dinner. They had stopped by a grocery store on the way and he had bought some food. After he was finished he knocked on the bedroom door before entering. He saw Teresa had fallen asleep and just took a minute to just watch her, marveling in her beauty. He then reached out and gently shook her arm. "Teresa," he whispered, "Teresa wake up."

Teresa groaned a little and then slowly opened her eyes. "What time is it?" She asked, blinking herself awake.

"A little after six. Come on." He said, taking her hand as he began to pull her off the bed."

"Where are we going?"

"Outside in the backyard. I wanna see the sunset with you." Teresa smiled as she followed him outside.

They sat on the stone steps just outside the backdoor and watched as the golden rays of the sun morphed into various shades of orange and red. As Teresa looked at the sky, Patrick found his eyes refused to leave her face. He watched her intently; thinking that even the beauty of the sunset paled in comparison to her smile. He wanted to see that smile every day of his life, but for now he decided he would keep that thought to himself. The fact that he was falling for this amazing woman beside him was enough to scare him as it was. Instead he put his arm around her and pulled her into him and she gladly nuzzled her head against his shoulder. "This is nice," she sighed.

"I guess this makes the third thing I've only shared with you." He told her.

She looked up at him then, "Third?" she asked, confused.

"You're the first person to see where I live; where I really live."

"Really? You've never…"

He laughed, "Well this place isn't exactly a woman-magnet!"

"I like it." She told him, "Much better than that other place."

He smiled at that, unsure as to why her comment made him so happy.

He couldn't see it; because she was facing away from him, but Teresa had the biggest grin on her face. He pulled her into his lap and held her close as the sun continued its descent in the sky. "So what will you do now?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean are you going to carry on...doing what you do?"

"Oh, that." He said then shook his head as she turned to face him. "I don't know, maybe, maybe not. Actually I was thinking of becoming a cop."

Teresa's eyes widened and she looked at him skeptically. "What?"

"Sam Bosco told me he could use a guy like me on his team. Said we could close a lot of cases together." He looked at the shocked expression on her face and he couldn't keep it together any longer and he soon broke out into a fit of laughter. "Got ya good didn't I?" He teased and she hit him on the arm.

"Very funny!" She replied but was also smiling.

"To be honest Teresa, I don't know what I'm going to do now. I don't think I could go back to that life. I think it's time to move on, start something new."

Teresa smiled as she gazed into his sea-green eyes and saw that he was being truthful. "Oh my God Patrick," she began, her voice teasing, "have I actually made an honest man out of you?"

He grinned and kissed her tenderly on the lips, "Hmmm," he said, "I knew you were trouble!"