A/N: Okay, folks, here's the last chapter at long last. And as you can probably guess from the title of the chapter there are some sexytimes in it so I'll mark it as slightly M rated in parts (but nothing too explicit).

Chapter 46 - Consummation & Commitment

Abbott had procured a private plane to transport Jane and Lisbon back to Austin later that evening. The press were still too interested in Jane to allow them to fly commercially without creating another media storm. Hugs were exchanged with Cho and Lisbon was a little startled when Reynolds drew her into an embrace too, whispering a 'thanks' into her ear before she shook Jane's hand firmly.

As they took their seats on the aircraft and the engines started Jane intertwined their fingers together and sat both their hands on his thigh. Lisbon looked around her, a little fazed at flying privately.

'Wow, this is some set up' she said quietly as she took in the leather upholstery and luxurious seats. 'Feel like I'm a movie star and that I should be carrying a Louis Vitton handbag.'

Jane laughed softly beside her. In his psychic days he'd flown privately quite a bit and he'd had the same open eyed sense of wonderment too the first few times. Apart from a flight attendant and the pilots in the cockpit they were the only two people on board. When the attendant went to complete safety checks at the far end of the plane Jane leaned in and kissed Lisbon gently. He was a little surprised when she deepened it and curled her fingers around his neck pulling him closer. He chuckled again. 'Better stop that or we'll be joining the mile high club.'

Blushing she dragged her lips away from him and settled into his side with her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. 'Teresa?' he said softly.

'Hmm?' she replied sleepily with her eyes closed, the soft whirr of the engines lulling her into slumber quickly.

'Will you marry me?'

Her head bounced off his shoulder straightaway and her mouth opened in surprise. Suddenly she was wide awake.

He smiled at her, some nervousness in his expression. 'I want you to be my wife. Will you do me that honour?'

A second's pause later she grinned. 'Yes! Of course I will!'

His smile grew and he kissed her again. 'Good. Glad that's settled. I was a little nervous.'

'Come on, you knew I'd say yes.'

He shrugged. 'Hoped would be nearer the truth.'

As they smiled at each other the flight attendant brought two glasses of champagne to their seats. Lisbon raised a quizzical eyebrow at him after she took the glass and the attendant excused herself again. 'You set this up with her?'

He took a sip. 'Might have. Or she might just think we're champagne kind of people.'

Lisbon looked at their more than bedraggled appearance after their busy day, their clothing rumpled and practically sticking to them. 'Yeah, I can see why she would assume that' she replied with an eye roll. 'What if I'd said no?'

'Then I guess I'd have looked like an idiot and we'd be in for a fairly uncomfortable trip back to Austin.'

She laughed suddenly a moment later.

'What's so funny?'

'Well, it seems you have quite a thing for making dramatic gestures on planes, Patrick Jane. Just glad this one didn't land you in trouble with the TSA again.'

He chuckled, moving some hair from her face so he could peck her lips. 'I was going to wait until we were home actually, book a nice restaurant-'

'Seduce me over a meal?' she teased.

'Something like that' he laughed. 'Then I just didn't want to wait another minute.' His expression grew serious. 'When you were gone...I realised I'd been wasting time again where you and I were concerned. More regrets. I didn't want to waste anymore. I don't want to waste anymore' he added emphatically.

She kissed him gently, cupping his cheek. 'Then we'll make sure we don't.'

They fell asleep on the plane ride home, the attendant having to wake them to buckle their seatbelts as they started their descent into Austin. Seeing the lights in front of them they stretched languidly. Jane yawned and Lisbon rubbed her cheek, certain the imprint of Jane's jacket had made an impression there as her head lay on his shoulder.

As they left the plane the cool fresh air of Austin hit them and they hailed a cab to take them to Lisbon's house. As they journeyed the familiar streets Lisbon grabbed Jane's hand in hers, mild panic rising in her in recalling how the night she'd gone missing she'd stopped to help a man who had flagged down her car, citing his friend who had seemingly collapsed on the pavement. When she'd got out of the car he had quickly injected her with a hypodermic syringe in her neck to render her unconscious and presumably bundled her into a van or car. The whole thing took no more than a minute. Jane held her hand tight, his gaze serious as he realised what she was remembering.

'You're safe now. Okay?' he whispered in her ear.

As her heart rate increased a cold clamminess overcame her body, her clothes suddenly feeling tight and restrictive on her. She nodded after a moment as the feeling of panic subsided. 'Yeah, can't wait to have a shower, though.'

He grinned wolfishly at her. 'Well that sounds like a tremendously good idea.'

'Yeah? I'll let you know how good it was' she smiled innocently.

He shook his head. 'You're an evil woman sometimes, Teresa Lisbon.'

When they arrived at her front door Jane dug out the key to her house and opened it, motioning for her to enter first. A stack of mail was piled on the table in the hallway, dust on and under it. Evidently Jane hadn't spent much time here since she'd been abducted. Lisbon reflexively began to flick through it as Jane locked the door behind him. All of a sudden he quickly turned her around to face him again, the mail scattering to the floor beneath and he pushed her against the table before kissing her with ferociousness. He parted her lips roughly with his tongue before it entered her mouth. The kiss was all heat, desperate, raw and seeking. It was as if he needed it to make sure she was standing in front of him, that she'd made it home again and she was real. He divested her of her jacket quickly, his lips never parting from hers, pulling her tightly against him, and knowing she was likely to have bruises on her back as his fingers dug deep into her flesh. She moaned loudly, her hands going to his hair and gripping it hard before kissing him back with abandon and he groaned in response, his lips then seeking the flesh on her neck wildly and his fingers unbuttoning the blouse she wore now. His patience ran thin quickly as his fingers moved over its small buttons and he yanked her blouse wide open and the last few buttons skittered to the floor as he attacked her collarbone with his lips, needing to taste more of her skin. She gasped and grinned and quickly dropped the blouse down her arms to the floor. One hand then began working on his shirt buttons, the other on his belt buckle. Jane kissed the valley between her breasts, his hands working on releasing the button of her jeans. In their hunger for each other they grew frustrated and fumbled. After a few seconds where no progress was made in removing any more articles of clothing Lisbon suddenly giggled. After a second Jane joined in. They stood in the hallway, their clothes halfway off their bodies and continued chuckling for a few moments as they drew their breaths. Jane pressed his forehead against hers. 'Sorry, got a little carried away' he breathed, kissing it.

'You weren't the only one' she panted.

He drew back from her slightly, adjusting his pants, 'Bedroom?'

As they arrived there they began kissing again, more slowly and languidly, less frantic urge and more sensual need. She peeled off his vest and shirt as he unhooked her bra, casting it to the floor to join his clothing. She drew her hands over the planes of his chest as it glistened slightly with sweat, kissing him passionately as she weaved her fingertips slowly across it. He massaged a breast with one hand as they continued their slow exploration, his other unfastening her jeans and pulling her zipper down. He pushed his hand gently inside the opening he'd created, moaned as he felt evidence of her arousal through the thin cotton briefs she wore, his fingers light and teasing against her. She let out a light gasp, inflaming him into exploring her further and he removed his hand to pull her jeans off her. Soon they were both standing at the bottom of the bed in their underwear, still fused to each other.

'Jane?' she whispered as he kissed her earlobe and caressed the cheeks of her ass.

'Hmm?' he responded, nibbling on her ear gently and smiling as goosepumps appeared on her skin from the sensation.

'Did you mean what you said?'

He drew back, taking a second to stop his thoughts of being nothing but decidedly carnal desires and engaged in conversation again. 'Probably. What about?'

She bit her bottom lip gently.

As he gazed at her, all plump lips, unruly dark hair and shining emerald eyes he almost forgot he was supposed to be thinking.

'About having a baby' she said quietly.

He focussed immediately and smiled, nodding. 'Yes, I meant every word.'

'You're sure you want this? I don't want you doing it just for me-'

He stopped her mid sentence by taking her hand and leading her to the adjoining bathroom. He opened the medicine cabinet and handed her the birth control pills she kept there. He turned on the faucet before crossing his arms across his chest and gesturing for her to throw them down the sink with a confident nod of his head.

She smiled, troubling her bottom lip again, turning them over in her hands.

'Are you sure?' he asked gently.

A grin spread across her face after a second. 'Yes, I am.'

She turned the water off and Jane frowned at her. 'What are you doing? I thought you said you were sure?' he asked.

She laughed. 'I am. But I can just not take them, Jane. Don't have to go to the trouble of pouring them down the sink.'

He rolled his eyes. 'It was supposed to be a symbolic gesture, Lisbon.'

She laughed again before throwing them into the wastepaper basket and wrapping her arms around him again. 'But my way is quicker.' She kissed his lips eagerly. 'And I thought you didn't want to waste more time.'

'Good point' he admitted, kissing her back quickly. He picked her up suddenly and she yelped in surprise as he carried her back to the bedroom with her legs wrapped around him. 'Jane! Jesus, watch your back, you're an old man!'

He grinned salaciously at her as he deposited her rather unceremoniously on the bed before climbing on afterwards. 'Really? Well I guess I better prove you wrong on that point, my dear.'

They made love, slowly and unhurriedly at first as they stripped each other of their remaining clothing. Then, their lovemaking ebbed faster like a slow trickling stream that was making its way out to sea, their hands drifting over each other's bodies constantly like waves across an ocean, unable to get enough of feeling the other's skin beneath their fingertips. Their desire grew more tempestuous and a tidal wave of passion overcame them as they joined together, matching each other thrust for thrust. Bodies tangled together, a sheen of moisture covering them as they rode it higher and higher, faster and faster. Finally they climaxed together with a loud roar like waves crashing on rocks, Lisbon's legs wrapped around Jane's waist as they lay in bed holding each other tight, her nails studded into his back, his thumbprints engraved on her hip bones.

After a moment where he nuzzled her neck as they gathered their breaths he rolled them over so they lay side by side and they kissed again.

'Jesus, that was wild' Lisbon gasped, wide eyed and sated.

'Not bad for an old man' Jane quipped but his breathing was shallow and his legs were shaking. He puffed out a breath. 'Does it make me sound incredibly superficial to say how much I've missed that' he added, grinning.

She giggled, kissing his shoulder. 'If it does then I guess that makes two of us.'

He frowned at her after a few seconds. 'Shouldn't you have your legs up in the air or something?'

She raised an eyebrow back. 'Didn't we just do that part?'

He chuckled. 'No. Aren't you supposed to do that after sex to help get you pregnant?'

'Where'd you hear that?'

He shook his head. 'Dunno, think I saw it on TV one time or something.'

She looked at him suspiciously before she shrugged. 'What the hell' she murmured, lifting her legs high in the air as she lay on her back. 'How long am I supposed to do this for?'

'Don't know' he smirked. He had to admit the position gave him quite the nice view from the side.

They fell asleep for a little while after until Lisbon woke up with a start, hot and sticky, her mind a whirr of old and more recent memories, all battling for dominance. She looked over at Jane beside her, sleeping soundly, his curls tumbling over his forehead and his mouth slightly parted. After a few minutes lying awake she went to leave the bed and he put his arm around her waist, stopping her. 'Where are you going?' he asked groggily, his eyes still tightly closed.

'Shower' she whispered, kissing him softly, moving his arm away. 'Go back to sleep.'

The hot water felt good against her skin and she breathed in the steam, closing her eyes to ground herself, to feel like herself again. So much had happened in the past month and she knew she was in for a rough few days and perhaps weeks ahead as she got over the worst of it but she wasn't alone going through the tough times in her life any longer. She looked at her bare left hand finger as she soaped her body with a sponge, wondering what type of ring she'd wear on it soon. She heard the shower door open behind her and grinned.

'Who invited you to this party?' she smiled.

He wrapped his arms around her, kissed her neck. 'Just conserving water, my dear' he replied smoothly, pulling her towards him more.

'Hardly likely if you continue that' she responded as his hands travelled down her stomach and she felt his hardness on her back.

'You want me to stop?' he laughed, his fingers already caressing her and she instinctively arched into him and rose onto her tiptoes, ensuring a better angle was achieved for him to continue his ministrations.

'If you do I'll kill you' was her rather short reply as she closed her eyes with a soft moan.

As they lay back in bed again Jane kissed the side of her head as he wrapped his arms around her. 'It'll get better' he said gently. 'The not sleeping I mean. First night back after all the drama you've gone through has got to be unsettling.'

'I know' she replied. 'Just because I can't doesn't mean you shouldn't, though. Although you haven't exactly had an easy time of it yourself.'

'Meh, you know I'm an insomniac anyway. Whatever I've been through, you're back and that's all that matters. However, I should warn you that I'm more than likely going to be in obsessive protective mode over you for a little while.'

'What else is new, huh?' she smiled. Then she looked up at him, more seriousness in her expression. 'I know you were getting better before I was taken. Sorry this is going to set you back again.'

He kissed her nose. 'Hardly your fault. Just don't get too mad when I won't let you out of my sight over the next few days.'

'I'll try' she nodded.

'So, you ready to be a boss again?'

She exhaled loudly. 'Yeah, in a few days I will be I think. It'll be strange, though. After all this time again.'

'Ah, you're a natural at it. You love bossing people around.'

She laughed softly. 'I guess I do. It was the only way to get my lazy ass brothers out of bed some days. Guess it always struck a cord with me since.'

'You deserve it, Teresa. It should never have been taken away from you in the first place' he said quietly.

She picked up the guilt in his voice immediately. 'Hey' she said, tapping her fingers on his chest. 'No more of that. We agreed, no more wasting time. That includes wasting time worrying about things in the past we can't change.'

'Look on the bright side instead, huh?' he smiled.

'Precisely' she commanded. 'Although I am going to miss Cho being around.' She turned her face towards him. 'And you too I'm guessing.'

He bit the inside of his cheek. 'I think so. At least for now. But have my couch moved to your new office just in case I change my mind one day or just for the times I call in to visit.'

She nodded, kissed the skin above his heart. 'I get it. It's not the career you ever really wanted in the first place. But I'll miss working with you.'

He embraced her more tightly. 'Well, just think of the legions of paperwork you won't have to complete without me working there. And the home cooked meals you'll get every night in its place.'

'Sounds good' she grinned. 'But what are you going to do instead?'

'I'll figure something out. Think I'd like to just sit still for a while. See what happens when the wheels stop turning. Maybe find us somewhere bigger to live.' He moved his hand across her stomach. 'In case we're lucky. And if not I'd like a little more room for the two of us anyway.'

She put her hand on his. 'You've lived in an airstream for almost two years and now my house isn't big enough for you?' she laughed.

He shrugged. 'Well, I'm putting down roots at long last. A tree needs space to spread out.'

'So now you're comparing yourself to a tree?' she tittered.

'I'm sure there's a joke there about having wood but since we're having an intimate moment I won't look for it.'

She chuckled again. After a moment she said, 'You know part of me kind of wishes I didn't have all my memories back.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah, part of me liked falling in love with you again. Or, well, more in love with you than I was before we first got together.'

He kissed the top of her head. 'I admit it was nice to play a little more confident role than when we first started the more romantic part of our relationship. I was so unsure of myself back then, still so afraid.'

'And now?'

'Now? Now I can't wait to see what the future holds because I know it's with you.'

He tapped her left hand ring finger. When he'd entered the shower earlier he'd noticed her looking at it. 'Talking of which, I'll get you a ring for that in the morning.'

'Okay' she grinned. 'Nothing too gauche, though' she added.

'Of course. I thought we'd have a fairly small wedding. You okay with that?'

'Yeah, no fuss. Happy enough for it just to be the two of us and a judge' she replied assuredly.

'Whatever you want' he agreed but rolled his eyes at the ceiling, smiling. He knew it would grow into something a little larger than that. And he couldn't care less.

- THE END -

A/N: So there it is! A final thank you to everyone who has been so kind to read this story and ever leave a review. It has been the longest and most plot oriented one I've ever written and without your lovely words I fear I may have given up, it was a close call some days when I spent hours looking at a blank screen in front of me! Some of you have even reviewed every single chapter and I really do appreciate the support your words give me. They really do spur me on to write when I'm having a bad day. For those of you only following this story, I have two other multichapters currently ongoing (Destinies & Trust) and I will be focussing on them more now so for those reading them you should get more timely updates.

Also I'm in the midst of writing another little episode tag (more of a what if scenario actually) that I'll post shortly as my other two recent ones really seemed to echo with people who especially don't have time to read multichapters.

But for those who do I also have another multichapter (and an accompanying sequel to it) in the works too but it'll be a little while before I post something but please look out for it. It's (tentatively) titled Chance Encounter. So, you lovely Mentalist FF readers, safe to say I'm not done with these characters just yet!