Disclaimer: I do not own The Mentalist, but if I had any say into how this episode should have ended, this is what it would be.

Rose - Colored Glasses

Season 2 episode 11

"With you? No!" were the words that should have scared Jane off from pressing her further to dance with him, but he was persistent. "Aw, come on, you can pretend that I'm that mean cold-hearted guy that you used to worship from afar but never talked to," he said coyly. She gave him a sheepish smirk and acquiesced, but warned him "no funny stuff." To which he replied teasingly, "really?" as they joined hands advancing onto the dance floor. She smiled back at him.

They slipped comfortably into position- Lisbon's hand went around Jane's shoulder as her head rested on it and Jane's hand went around her waist. This was definitely a site most likely never witnessed before between two law-enforcement professionals on a case. They were far from being dressed for the occasion as well. Lisbon immediately felt at ease in Jane's arms though. She let herself relax and tuned out all that was going on around her for those few moments that they were able to steal. She basked in his arms while swaying to her favorite song. Jane, however, always uncomfortable in admitting to his feelings, used one of his usual avoidance tactics to deflect them. He toyed with Lisbon by taking a guess as to what instrument it was that she played in high school. "Oh Jane," she thought, "can't be serious even for a second." Lisbon did not let herself be drawn from the moment and just sighed with a reply to keep him quiet. She masked her thoughts and continued to amuse herself with the dance. She was enjoying being held snuggly in a man's arms and feeling like a lady – as much of a lady as she could feel in a pant suit. She hadn't felt this way in a while and was happy Jane convinced her to dance. She felt herself de-stressing and did not care if Jane was just humoring her.

When their three minutes were over, they remained standing in position for a few seconds longer. They had both become so entranced in the moment that they could not break apart abruptly. The next song was starting to play when Lisbon stepped back and looked up at Jane. They were still holding hands when Jane asked if she would like to dance the next one as well. Lisbon wanted to, but this was as far as her unprofessionalism would allow her to go. She politely declined and started to walk away while slowly regaining her composure and slipping back into cop-mode. "Let's go Jane." Jane did not release her hand, and as she walked off the dance floor he trailed behind her. Lisbon didn't mind his hand as long as it would keep him from lingering. It was the closest she could get to having to drag him out. When they were safely off the dance floor Jane asked Lisbon if they could stop at the bar to get something light to drink. Lisbon was antsy to get home after the long day, but she agreed.

Drinks in hand, Jane suggested that they sit down for a bit before heading out. The music was still playing so they sat in silence sipping their drinks before Jane began to speak.

"Lisbon?" he hesitated and then the words began to flow from his mouth in a mumble. "When I asked if you wanted to dance… what did you mean when you said…" Lisbon's attention was drawn and she looked at Jane curiously.

"What did I mean when I said what?" she interrupted.

"You know, when I asked if you would want to dance you kind of made it seem like I had the cooties or something," he finished. She looked at him again, puzzled, as she did not recall the conversation well enough to know what he was getting at.

"Jane, what did I say exactly?"

"Well, it's not really what you said as much as how you said it," he noted.

She looked at him questioningly waiting for him to elaborate.

"Well, when I asked if you would like to dance with me you got all defensive and the tone of voice you used to turn down the offer was quite hurtful. I am not quite sure why dancing with me would be such a horrible thing to you that you would reject the notion so adamantly."

Lisbon reflected back to the conversation as she remembered her reply. She began to wonder why, in fact, she had replied like that as well. Dancing with Jane wasn't all that bad- and as a matter of fact, she actually felt amazingly comfortable with him. She couldn't really think of a response to his query.

Seeing that he was genuinely offended by this, she decided to be delicate with him.

"I am sorry Jane," she said softly. "I really wasn't thinking. It was just a gut response."

"The question is why was that your 'gut response.' What is so bad about the idea of with dancing with me?" he continued in a serious tone. She saw that he was visibly hurt by her earlier words.

Jane continued. "What do you think of me, Lisbon? What is the matter with me that you would reject my innocent offer to dance with you?"

Being put on the spot like this was forcing Lisbon to confront herself and think why she actually did reply the way she did. It was a bit of an extreme reaction to her co-worker innocently asking for her hand to dance. A few thoughts fluttered through her head, but they were thoughts she did not want give attention to. She had to admit that there must have been a more subconscious reason as to why she responded that way and that Jane, being Jane, caught onto it even before she did.

Lisbon let out a sigh.

"Forget it Lisbon, I guess I am reading into this a bit too much."

Although this was an uncomfortable conversation for Lisbon, she did not want Jane walking away feeling rejected and bad about himself. She saw he was genuinely taking this to heart and that her opinion of him seemed to really matter.

"I don't really know, Jane. I mean, we do work together so it did seem weird," she replied, trying to fudge her way through with a seemingly neutral answer.

"Would you have responded like that if it was Cho who had asked you?"

Ooh, he did have a point there and she knew her response to Cho would not have been the same as how she responded to Jane. Again, she was forced to delve into her feelings a bit more deeply. Why did she reply to Jane that way? Why would dancing with Cho be innocent and with Jane, well… something else? She suddenly felt herself sweating a bit and felt a shaky feeling under her skin. The music was interrupting her thoughts, but she knew this was an unavoidable conversation.

"Let's go, this music is getting to me," she suggested.

"One more dance?" Jane proposed with a grin.

"Boy, you are not going to let this thing go!" she replied and returned his smile.

He looked at her expectantly and her heart-rate sped up a notch. Where were these emotions coming from? Suddenly dancing with Jane was taking on a whole new meaning. Now she was sure she wouldn't feel this way with Cho.

"This is not a 'no'- it's just a request for a raincheck," she said softly. "How about we not have this conversation here!" she said half-jokingly.

Instead of looking rejected, Jane's face had a hopeful look on it.

"Come on," she said, taking him by the hand and leading him out.

Once in the lobby, she turned to him.

"Jane, I am so beat from today. I want to think things over before I say something stupid. I didn't mean to hurt you by that reply." She knew she was just stalling now. She just wanted some time to think clearly without Jane waiting there for her to give an explanation.

"Ok," he said, visibly not satisfied with her answer, but knew not to press her for more.

She noticed his look again and added, "Let's talk tomorrow, k?"

He nodded and they exited the building together and headed for her car. As she drove, they exchanged but a few trivial words about the case, purposefully, as an effort to fight the awkwardness that had developed between them that evening. After dropping Jane off, Lisbon heaved a sigh and sat watching him for an extra moment as he walked away. Watching his figure fade, she felt her heart swell with emotion. "What a sensitive man," she thought. She realized that it was a side of him that very few were privy to see and she was probably the one who saw it more than anyone, although quite infrequently. His vulnerability was always overshadowed by his sarcasm and tenacity.

She drove away with thoughts of Jane swimming through her mind and wondered how they suddenly got there.