Title: Amaze
Author: shallowness
Fandom: The Mentalist
Rating: Universal
Characters/Pairing: Teresa Lisbon/Patrick Jane
Author's Note: Written for the prompt 'Any, any female, she never usually wears dresses, so when she does, the effect is amazing'. Post show. 398 words.

Amaze: shallowness

The number of dresses in her closet is miniscule and the man who became her husband is responsible for more than one of them getting there. He's also responsible for the fact that tonight, as she's choosing what to wear out for their two-month wedding anniversary, Teresa's seriously considering putting on a dress before she starts to show and most of them, most of her clothes get too tight. Also, Jane is taking her to that kind of restaurant. Teresa bites her lip, habit making her second-guess herself.

"Wear it, go on." Patrick wheedles, and she spins around to glare at him, exasperated that he got the drop on her. She doesn't want to ask him how long he's been watching her stand in front of the open closet staring at clothes, reading her from the set of her shoulders and the tilt of her head. She's sure he's been very entertained. "You'll outshine everyone else at the restaurant."

"No, I won't," she replies, letting him distract her from venting her irritation.

Patrick grins, the so-sure one that she love-hates. "Yes, you will."

Teresa's morning sickness mainly happens early in the day, it's why she agreed to this date, that and she's still in the extravagantly grateful and surprised stage of her marriage. With Patrick's and their histories, she wonders sometimes if she'll ever leave that stage. Other married couples have a honeymoon period, they have something of a miracle.

He can see that her mind is wandering and his smile fades. It's the look of anxiety that banishes her doubts.

"Okay, okay," she says, yieldng. Jane, being Jane, looks smug that he won the round.

It's actually the first time she's worn a dress since the wedding. When she walks out of the bedroom, Jane's face makes her blush. Better yet, she's silenced him in a good way. Teresa starts counting and gets to a pretty high number before her husband breaks his silence and compliments her for doing what he suggested and then compliments his own taste all the way to the car, because it's the Miami dress.

She doesn't outshine anyone at the restaurant, she thinks, and credits Jane for a lot of the interested looks they get when they enter. Jane will notice, but not tell her, that this assessment is wrong. The happiness on his wife's face, softening it, earned, makes her radiant.