A/N: Here's the second and last chapter. Thank you all for your lovely reviews to the first, was genuinely surprised how many of you liked it. I am thinking that some of this might be slightly OOC based on how their relationship was portrayed in season 7 but as this is set towards the end of season 6 I went for a slightly more passionate Jane & Lisbon than we got in canon. Hope you enjoy in any case!

'I...I didn't mean to upset you, Lisbon' he said softly. 'I...-'

'Why the hell did you come here tonight?' she interjected, her eyes open and blazing again.

He glanced at the cannoli and she pushed herself forward on the couch, fingers gripping the seat cushion she sat on. Before he said a word she growled, 'Do not mention the damn cannoli. I know it wasn't because of them.' She stared into his eyes. 'The truth, Jane or god help me I'll beat it out of you.

Chapter 2 - Confession

He shrugged, playing with his wedding ring. 'I wanted to see if you'd made your decision yet' he said softly.

'What else?' she prodded.

He licked his lips nervously. 'I didn't want you to think that I didn't care one way or the other. That stuff I said about not wanting you to go because you might be bored there. You know that's not the real reason I don't want you to go. You know how much I'll miss you if you do. But I meant what I said earlier though too, that I want you to be happy. And if Pike...' he took in a breath. 'If Pike makes you happy then...then I'm trying not to stand in the way of that.'

Her voice quieter she shook her head slowly. 'Really? Because your presence here tonight might suggest otherwise to a casual onlooker.'

He shrugged, sighing loudly. 'I only said I was trying, Lisbon, give me a break' he responded, half apologetically, half smiling.

She smiled faintly at him, tutting and rolling her eyes. Then she frowned, more seriously she thought about his words to her earlier, her brain telling her she had missed something at the time. The detective in her replayed the conversation in her head, automatically picking up and honing in on a seemingly unimportant detail he'd let slip.

'Jane, you said a few minutes ago that you had been sleeping until recently. Why can't you sleep now?'

A glimmer of hesitation she would never have spotted years ago coupled with a slight tremor in his facial muscles before he appeared relaxed again confirmed her suspicions she was on the right path. Casually he replied, 'I'm in insomniac, it comes and goes.' He shrugged, reaching out to put a hand to the mug on the table.

Before it ever touched the china she grabbed hold of it and pulled it towards her lap, surprising him and making him look at her in the process. She took a few seconds to control herself, to try to remain calm. 'Why do you insist on continuing to lie and keep things from me?' she asked him gently, her face searching his for the truth, her grip on his hand solid, afraid he might flee if it weren't.

She felt a tug on it and grasped it tighter. 'No, Jane. No running away. Not this time. Why can't you sleep properly again? And I don't want to hear any cracks about lumpy beds.'

After a moment his hand in hers relaxed as his shoulders sagged, defeat in his eyes as he stared back at her. He looked to the ceiling for a moment before setting his gaze back on her again, his voice cracking as he spoke, 'Because Lisbon every time I close my eyes to go to sleep...I realise it's the beginning of another night that heralds the start of another day where you might be a step further away from me. I can feel it, like a timer ticking down. And if...if I don't sleep then maybe it'll stretch the time I have with you. That somehow it'll slow down the countdown on the clock. That...that we'll have more time together.'

He laughed softly, tears in his eyes. 'I realise that probably makes absolutely no sense. Blame sleep deprivation for my ramblings.'

She continued to stare into his eyes, her breath catching in her throat. Rarely if ever had she seen him so raw and exposed and her heart hammered in her chest. 'That doesn't mean the clock isn't going to stop someday though, Jane' she said finally, willing her voice to stay strong.

He read between the lines instantly. She wanted a declaration of some sort from him, something that would make her think twice about leaving. She was giving him a final chance to make a difference, to change their futures before it was too late.

Although his heart beat wildly, now he was on this path he wanted her to know everything and his walls caved in of their own accord. He hadn't felt this emotionally naked in years. 'I told you earlier that I've done my best not thinking about being in another relationship. It's the truth. I've done my best not thinking about it.'

He shook his head slowly, his gaze intensifying, wanting nothing more than for her to see the truth behind his eyes. 'But that doesn't mean I haven't, Teresa.'

He stopped for a second as he felt the pulse in her wrist race at his words as they continued to hold hands. Buoyed on slightly he spoke a little quicker, a little louder. 'I've thought about it. Lately I've thought about not much else. But the truth is I'm terrified. Terrified of allowing someone get close to me again. Of someone knowing the real me without the pretence and the show.'

He gave her a lopsided grin, allowing his words to sink in. 'But, you know what I've recently realised?' He squeezed her hand. 'I already have that in my life. I'm now just terrified of losing it.'

Once upon a time those words would have been enough for her to change the direction of her life. Now she wanted more from him. Hell, she deserved more. And if Jane wasn't going to offer her that then her future might be better spent with a man who could. 'Jane, that's lovely' she whispered. 'But I...I need more than just a friend. I need...more than that in my life.'

He nodded and sniffed, clearing his head, thinking with more clarity than he had in years. 'I know you do. And you deserve more than that. Much more. What if I...what if I could offer you more? Would that be something you'd be interested in?'

Her heart raced but she needed to think with her head first and not her heart. 'Why?'

Frowning, 'Why? Why what?'

'Why are you willing to offer me more than friendship now when you haven't before? Why is now different? Is it because I'm thinking of leaving? Is it just to get me to stay?'

He puffed put a breath. 'Jeez, you're hard work, woman.'

'I deserve an answer' she replied, defiance in her tone.

He smiled and nodded. 'Yeah, I guess you do. Okay. You're right to a certain extent. You leaving...the possibility of it has made me reassess our relationship I suppose. Made me realise that...' He hesitated, biting his lip.

'What, Jane?'

He mentally prepared himself for a slap. 'It made me realise that you have options. Where other men are concerned. That some might and...well do...find you attractive-'

'Gee, thanks for the compliment' she replied tersely, rolling her eyes. 'And here I was thinking I should be walking around with a bag over my head for years.'

'Teresa, you know I'm not saying you're not attractive. Of course you are. You're absolutely beautiful. You don't need me to tell you that. But...well the difference is you never really took much interest in anyone over the years, no one serious at least. Instead you seemed...kind of...well-'

'For Pete's sake, Jane, just spit it out.'

He puffed out a breath. 'Well, frankly, you were always a little too hung up on me to allow anyone else become close to you.'

Her cheeks reddened immediately of their own accord at his words. She had wanted honesty from him but was surprised at his sudden bluntness in cataloguing her feelings for him.

Before she replied he shrugged, 'I'm sorry Lisbon but...well it's the truth, isn't it? That's what you wanted from me, right? Or at least it was the truth back then. Now? Now, I'm not so sure anymore.'

She gaped before she took control of herself, ignoring his question and going immediately on the defensive instead, her voice growing stronger as she ranted. 'I see, so you're jealous? Is that it? Because I'm interested in someone else's attention and not vying for yours any longer? Someone's playing with your toy and you don't like it? Well, why shouldn't I, Jane? Tell me that. What do you expect, huh? For me to sit in a damn collector's box on a shelf collecting dust for years wondering if you're ever actually going to grow a pair and take me out of the box and play with me?! And another thing-'

Her words were cut off by Jane grunting, 'Oh for god's sake, woman' and his lips suddenly finding hers, passion and heat radiating from him as he pulled her towards him urgently, deepening the kiss quickly, his tongue demanding entrance to her mouth, his hands on the sides of her face, keeping her in place. When she gasped in shock at his unexpected and somewhat frenzied attack he darted his tongue into her mouth immediately, groaning as he tasted her for the first time, eliciting a shiver up her spine and a moan in response. Once her brain had caught up with her mouth she realised she was kissing him back fervently, her tongue dancing with his, dragging him with her to the back of the couch with her hands fisted tightly to his shirt, closing the distance between them further.

When they eventually required oxygen they released their hold on each other slightly but their hands stayed in place, breaths panting as they stared at each other, pupils dark and dilated. Both seemed unsure if the other one was going to flee so remained where they were for seconds, their eyes still fixed to each other, their ragged breaths the only sounds filling the room. As their breathing returned to normal he kissed her again, slowly, tenderly, less unreserved fieriness and more sweet and loving. When he released her lips for a second time she swallowed and in turn released her hands from his shirt, smoothing the fabric down as she did so in an unconscious nervous gesture. He removed his hands from her face, brushing her cheeks with his thumbs slowly as he did so, reluctant to break contact. A smile crept across his face as he pulled her up from the back of the couch to sit beside him again on its edge and he took in and released a large breath, as if a weight had suddenly been lifted from his shoulders. Lisbon shook her head slightly, a small smile on her lips as she found herself sitting beside him again in an open mouthed daze, his hand back in hers again.

After a second he laughed softly, a little nervousness in his tone, more colour in his cheeks. 'That was not how I expected our first kiss to go' he said, shaking his head.

She raised a quizzical eyebrow, finally gaining control of her speech again. 'You and me both.'

They laughed together, a little embarrassed by the sudden change in the status of their relationship.

'What the hell was that?' Lisbon asked, unadulterated affection in her tone. 'I've never had anyone move on me so fast.'

'Are you complaining?' he smirked.

'Not at all' she grinned, 'Just curious.'

Jane laughed, 'I suppose it was me being released from my box. I've been gathering dust for pretty much over a decade myself, you know, Lisbon.' He tilted his head from side to side. 'Also it seemed the most obvious solution to stop you from rambling on any longer. Your voice was getting a little too high pitched for my liking; I'm surprised we don't have dogs howling at your front door.'

She attempted to shoot him a glare but her mouth twitched into a smile instead. Soon she joined in his laughter, new found giddiness taking place of awkwardness.

He continued, grinning, 'In fact I'd very much like to play with you a little more if that's okay with you but I think we should finish our discussion first, don't you?'

'Okay' Lisbon replied, taking a deep breath, 'What the hell were we talking about again?'

Jane frowned, the taste of her lips still on his distracting him from thinking straight momentarily. 'Um...right...You were accusing me of being jealous, of trying to stop you because I didn't want you to leave me. I think you were implying that I may not have any truly passionate or lustful thoughts about you myself.'

He raised an eyebrow at the end of the sentence and she looked at him sideways, her eyes attracted to his lips immediately, still moist and slightly swollen. She looked away quickly, shrugging. 'Oh right, yeah...that' she said quietly, her heart fluttering as she recalled the desire in his eyes for her just moments before.

'So?' he enquired after she was silent for a moment.

'So what?' she replied coyly, hearing his tone tinged with some anxiety from her silence.

He rolled his eyes. 'Stop messing with me, Lisbon. Have I convinced you that my interest in you is certainly not platonic or do I need to prove myself to you again?'

She smiled, gaining confidence, her heart soaring. 'Depends. What exactly do you have in mind?'

He saw a twinkle in her eye and her cheeks redden. He smiled back, more self-assuredly, and slowly put a hand to cup her cheek, brushing it with his thumb as he pulled her towards him. He bent down, lightly touching her lips with his, raining short closed mouth kisses on them.

'Enough yet?' he grinned.

'Nope' she replied, taking his face in her hands and kissing him back with more ardour. After she released him she added, 'I think I need to revise my statement from earlier. I definitely know what I want now.' Her voice was low and she kissed his lips quickly again.

'You do?' he laughed, pecking her back.

'Mmm. Lots more of this.' She paused between kisses. 'With you' she murmured, kissing his neck and chuckling as she felt the pulse there race as her tongue lingered over it.

He cursed under his breath, his hold on her tightening. He closed his eyes as she continued her sweet assault to his earlobe. 'God, I'm an idiot' he whispered, almost to himself.

'I've been telling you that for years' she responded immediately, lifting her lips only a fraction away from his ear. Her hot breath on it almost made him lose any aspect of higher brain function. He was woefully out of practice at being seduced.

'I could have had this months ago' he breathed, as she pushed him back on the couch, her lips covering his jawline.

'I know. Me too. Guess we're both idiots' she replied, throwing a leg over his.

'Teresa?'

'Mmm?' One of her hands had woven its way under his shirt and was gently caressing his stomach. Now he knew why dogs loved this sensation so much. He would certainly follow any command she gave him at this instant, be it begging or fetching a newspaper. Although he conjectured playing dead might cause him some trouble.

'I have to say something to you' he finally managed to declare, his voice raw.

'Who's stopping you?' she replied, as her fingers began to undo a button on his shirt before she captured his lips again.

He smiled into the kiss, intensifying it, one hand running through her hair as the other travelled under the edge of the top she wore, softly stroking the small of her back. It had never felt so good under his fingers and he revelled in the softness of her skin. He couldn't wait to touch and kiss every millimetre of her, to count every freckle, to make her come alive, to wake up beside her. She shuddered as he continued moving his fingers deftly across her back before he broke from their kiss to speak, putting a finger up to her lips before she attacked his again. He was aware if he didn't say what he had to say now then chances were it would be hours until he was capable of much more than grunts and one to two word expressions of sheer joy, most probably accentuated with the word 'Oh'. Or at least he hoped it would be. Truth was he wasn't sure how long his biofeedback could hold out under her expert attention.

He brushed a strand of hair away from her face and smiled at her in awe, looking deep in her eyes. He paused for a few seconds to make sure her attention was focused on his next words. 'I just wanted to say that just in case it's not blatantly obvious by now, I'm in love with you, Teresa Lisbon.'

She answered his words in another searing kiss.

- THE END -

A/N: Thanks again for all your lovely comments. Had a lot of fun writing this so I may do a few more one/two shots like this from earlier episodes of the show. I didn't start writing any fanfiction (or anything at all in fact and wasn't even aware FF existed, hard that is to believe as it has now taken over my life!) until after the end of season 6 so I have a few more ideas for 'what if' and episode tags. Hope you look out for them.