A/N: I know I should finish "Red Road" first, but this fanfic keeps me up at night, so I just had to get it out there. I wanted to write something less angsty and more light-hearted, but I'm still gonna update "Red Road" once a week.

Basically, what this story boils down to is that Jane and Lisbon pretend to be a couple to catch a group of diamond thieves. The only problem is that Lisbon already has a boyfriend (Marcus Pike). I had the idea when I started my rewatch of season 6, and once I reached "Violets", I had to discover they had actually already made an episode where Jane and Lisbon pretend to be a couple (which I had completely forgotten about, but in my defense I watched the show once five years ago). In this story, "Violets" didn't happen or at least not like it did in the show, but it's obviously set prior to "Blue Bird". Most of the story takes place in Florida for the sole reason that it's the only place in the US I've been to and I miss it.

Chapter 1 - Rose-Gold Bracelet

"More wine, honey?"

Lisbon flinched. "Sorry?"

Pike held up the bottle of wine and shrugged.

"Yeah, sure," Lisbon agreed, handing him her glass.

"You okay?" Pike wanted to know while he refilled it.

Lisbon nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry," she said, stifling a yawn. "Long day at work."

"We could have had dinner tomorrow," Pike pointed out. It didn't sound accusing, but Lisbon felt as if she had disappointed him.

She was sitting on Pike's couch, the refilled glass of wine in one hand, her phone in the other. Pike was sitting next to her, watching her worriedly. They had just closed a case this afternoon, and she was happy and relieved everything had worked out in the end, but she was also exhausted and would have loved to curl up on her own couch, put on the TV, and fall asleep. Her head was still buzzing from the adrenaline that came from running after an armed criminal, and she knew there would be a lot of paperwork to complete in the morning, which she hated. Pike had offered to cook dinner for her, and she had happily agreed, but now she was here, she slightly regretted it. She had seen it as an excuse to get out of after-case-drinks with the others, but she was beginning to doubt whether she had made the right choice. She had the feeling Pike was expecting her to behave a certain way, more loving, more responsive to his efforts at romance, and she felt unable to.

"No, you have my full attention," Lisbon assured Pike, stifling another yawn.

"Tell you what," Pike said. "You close your eyes for 15 minutes while I finish dinner and I'll wake you once it's ready."

"Thanks," Lisbon said, pressing a soft kiss to Pike's cheek.

Pike stood up from the couch and left, and Lisbon put down her glass of wine and stretched out, her head against one of Pike's embroidered pillows. She closed her eyes while she listened to the sounds coming from the kitchen: running water, onions and garlic frying in a pan, Pike humming to himself under his breath. Maybe it hadn't been such a bad choice to see Pike after all. If she had agreed to go with the others, she would be sitting in some dingy bar right now, trying to have a conversation with Cho, and Jane would beat a stranger at darts or pool while making cocky comments. Because she had chosen Pike, she was able to relax for a bit, even get some sleep, and then he would serve her a nice dinner without expecting witty banter in return.

Lisbon felt herself drift off into an uneasy sleep, her mind swimming with images of the case and Pike and the man she had arrested earlier. It had been a fun case, considering it was a double homicide, and they had been on the verge of solving it without any collateral damage, until the bad guy had decided to run, resulting in a chase during which Lisbon had almost crashed her car. She sat up with a jolt, suddenly wide awake. Because she was so tired, she had forgotten to file the insurance claim to get the dent on the car fixed. She needed to remember to do that in the morning or she would have to pay for it herself. Her phone was right next to her on the couch and it would take about 30 seconds to write herself a note with an alarm so she wouldn't forget. But while she picked up the phone, she remembered Jane's memory palace trick and decided to try it his way, just to see if it actually worked.

While she was still deciding what location to use, she heard Pike's voice calling to her from the kitchen. "Honey, are you up? Dinner's ready."

"Coming," Lisbon called back.

She stood and picked up her glass, but left her phone on the couch, so it wouldn't interrupt their dinner. Pike didn't like it when she looked at her phone, even though she had tried to tell him multiple times she needed to pick up when work called. This had resulted in them having a fight during which Pike had accused her of seeing work as more important than their relationship and Lisbon had told him he didn't understand how vital the work she was doing was; after all, they were catching murderers and not art thieves. In the end, they had both apologized, and Lisbon had agreed to leave her phone in her bag or in another room whenever they were having dinner together, and Pike had agreed not to put any pressure on her whenever she cancelled a date because of work. She liked how mature this relationship was – they could talk about the things that bothered them, and then they worked together to resolve the issue.

Pike had set the wooden dinner table in his kitchen with a tablecloth, a pair of candles and even actual napkins. The light in the room was dimmed, except for a bright one above the countertop. It looked very romantic. Lisbon couldn't help but feel flattered as he pulled out a chair for her.

"It looks lovely," she said. The air smelled of mushrooms and herbs and sizzling garlic. "And it smells lovely."

Pike smiled at her. "I pulled out all the stops for such a special occasion, of course."

Lisbon swallowed. She had the feeling she had forgotten something, but even though Pike had dropped several hints like this throughout the evening, she couldn't say what it was. Her safest bet was to continue talking about the food. "So what are we having?" she asked, a smile on her face.

"You'll see," Pike said, returning the smile.

He busied himself with plates and pots while Lisbon tried to remember what was so special about this evening, until she decided it was just something Pike had said because he was romantic like that. Every date with Lisbon was special for him. And she was scared because she didn't feel the same way. She enjoyed the time they spent together, of course, or she would just stop seeing him, but she also knew he was falling in love with her fast, and she found herself unable to reciprocate these feelings, no matter how much she wanted to. It was her fault, she knew that much – she had always known there was something wrong with her because Pike wasn't the first man in her life who felt more for her than she could for him. But him being the perfect boyfriend made this worse, and it made her wonder if maybe she just wasn't cut out to be in a loving, long-lasting relationship.

Pike put down a plate in front of her. He had cooked steak with a side of small tartlets filled with mushrooms. Then he sat down opposite Lisbon and looked at her expectantly. She cut into the steak; it was rare, done just the way she liked it. After a bite, she glanced at Pike, who still looked at her as if he was waiting for something.

"And?" he asked.

"Well, it's great, but you already knew that," Lisbon answered. Pike was an amazing cook, she had told him so several times, but he still insisted on her paying his cooking a compliment every time he prepared a meal for her.

"I'm never sure you'll like it," Pike said with a shrug, and cut into his own steak.

Maybe she had sounded a tad ungrateful. "You shouldn't be an FBI agent, you should be a gourmet cook," she went on, then tasted the tartlet. "I'm telling you, you picked the wrong career."

Pike's smile returned to his face. "You're just saying that."

"No, I'm serious," Lisbon insisted. "Just take the compliment." Again, she had sounded more flippant than she had meant to. "I mean it, this is amazing," she added quickly, then took a sip of her wine to hide her flushed face.

"Do you want to tell me about your day?" Pike asked carefully, changing the subject. "I can see something's bothering you."

"It's nothing," Lisbon shrugged. "Just the usual."

"But you closed the case, right? We should be celebrating."

"Aren't we celebrating?" Lisbon asked in a flirty tone of voice.

"Yes, but not your case," Pike answered.

So she had forgotten something. "You just don't want me to get used to a meal like this every time I close a case," Lisbon went on, acting as if she knew exactly what tonight was about.

"If that's what it takes to win you over, I'll do it gladly," Pike replied.

"Then I'll continue to play hard to catch if it means you'll continue to be this romantic." The wine and the food were finally having an effect on her and she could feel herself relax. She smiled at Pike. "Honestly, the only thing that could still top this is dessert."

Pike winked at her. "I'm one step ahead of you there. But finish the main course first."

"Main course," Lisbon repeated with a giggle. "You even sound like the gourmet cook you were born to be."

"I don't think the gourmet cook would have a surprise for you that comes with dessert," Pike said, watching Lisbon carefully.

"What kind of surprise?" Lisbon wanted to know.

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise," Pike replied. "You'll see soon enough."

Suddenly Lisbon had to think about her birthday many years ago: Jane had guessed every single present Cho and Van Pelt and Rigsby had gotten her. The memory made her smile. And it made her wish she had Jane's ability to read people because then she would know what kind of surprise Pike was talking about. But maybe she could figure it out in her own way.

"But it isn't even my birthday," she pointed out.

"I don't think I need an excuse like that to get you a present on our four-month anniversary."

So this was what she had forgotten. She caught herself before her face betrayed what she was thinking. "Dinner like this is the only present I need, really," she said, her voice flirty again, because she knew it distracted Pike when she talked like this.

"It's not the only one you deserve though," Pike replied. He reached across the table and took her hand in his. "Four months is quite impressive for me. Since my divorce, I haven't been with a woman this long."

Lisbon continued to smile but didn't say anything because she could feel there was more he wanted to say.

"You're very special to me, Teresa," he continued after a few quiet seconds that stretched on forever for Lisbon, "and I'm still scared almost every day that you'll see how dull and boring I am and leave me again."

Lisbon opened her mouth to reassure him he wasn't boring, but he squeezed her hand, signaling he wasn't done yet.

"You're a good-looking woman, Teresa, you could have anyone. And I'm grateful and happy and stunned, really, that you choose to stay with me. I like to think it's more than my cooking, but if it's not, then I'm fine with that as well, as long as I know you're my girlfriend."

Lisbon could feel her hand getting sweaty under Pike's. This confession caught her flat-footed, a simple dinner turning into something much more, and she wasn't entirely comfortable with it.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time," Pike continued, "and I think I'm finally ready to say it out loud and you're finally ready to hear it." Pike took a deep breath. "I love you, Teresa."

Lisbon felt a flush spread to her cheeks, and it wasn't for the reason she would have liked it to be. She had dreaded to hear these words from Pike because she wasn't able to say it back yet, and it put her in a position she didn't want to be in. Four months was a long time, men had told her they loved her much sooner than this in the past. Back then she had always had an excuse not to say it back, had told them they were moving too fast. But with Pike it was different. Pike wasn't moving too fast, he had said it to her over a romantic candlelight dinner and not slurred drunkenly into her ear in the back of a cab, a hand too high up on her thigh. Still, she found herself unable to say it back, and she didn't want to lie to him and pretend she was in love with him, because it would be unfair to him. But she also didn't want to have a conversation about this now.

Pike sensed he had made her uncomfortable and pulled back his hand. "If you need more time to say it back, I understand," he said, not making eye contact. "I just thought you should know how I feel about you because I really don't see a reason to hide it."

"Thank you," Lisbon finally said, "for being so understanding. This is a big step for me. I care about you and I want to make this work."

"Take all the time you need," Pike assured her.

They finished their dinner in silence, but Lisbon could feel there was more Pike wanted to say to her. He acted as if he didn't mind not hearing her say I love you back, but she knew it hurt him, could see it in his eyes and the way he held his body. The steak and the tartlets didn't taste as good as they had before and felt chewy in Lisbon's mouth. She tried to wash them down with wine but choked on the liquid and had to cough loudly, followed by rasping sounds.

Pike looked at her in concern. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Lisbon assured him, voice hoarse. "I think I'm ready for dessert now."

Pike cleared away the plates while Lisbon wished she had her phone with her. A call from work was what she needed right now, even if it meant more homicides, more running around in dark alleys in the middle of the night, more trying to keep Jane out of trouble. But she would have chosen it any day over this uncomfortable dinner.

Dessert turned out to be tiramisu topped with a real honeycomb. This time, Pike didn't insist on her paying his cooking a compliment, but she did anyway.

"If you were trying to convince me you're not secretly a gourmet cook, you've failed," she said, stopping herself from licking her plate clean.

The compliment cheered Pike up. "Maybe I am one, maybe I just pretend to be an FBI agent."

Lisbon leaned back in her chair, content and sated, but feeling more tired than before. She yawned. "This was amazing, thank you very much," she said.

Pike shifted in his chair and then there was suddenly a small turquoise box in his hand, topped with a white bow. It was the present he had promised her, the one Lisbon had forgotten about over the whole I love you fiasco.

It's too big for a ring, she told herself, hoping it wasn't an engagement ring. If Pike was about to propose to her, she would get up and leave, she knew that much. And then she wouldn't be able to fix things with Pike because he wouldn't take her back after such a rejection.

Pike handed her the box, and she took it out of his hand, feeling its weight, running her thumb over the soft material. It felt expensive, so the contents were as well. Nervously, she untied the silken bow and put it on the table next to her empty plate. She was aware Pike was watching her and she hoped he couldn't see everything she was feeling on her face.

Inside the box was a fragile bracelet, rose gold, a small shimmering diamond shaped like a heart twinkling up at Lisbon. It was a piece of jewelry she had never owned before, one she would never get for herself.

"Marcus," she said breathlessly. "It's beautiful! But it's too much. I can't accept it."

Pike stood up and came over to stand next to Lisbon. He carefully took the bracelet out of the box, handling it like he would handle a small injured bird. He undid the clasp and put it around Lisbon's left wrist, next to her watch, brushing against the skin there. His hands were warm, but the bracelet was cold, the small diamond heart reflecting the light from the candles like ice reflects the morning sun on a cold winter's day. Lisbon stared at it, appreciating how the bracelet shimmered against her skin, thinking this wasn't her, it didn't belong there.

"Now you have something that'll remind you of me when you're wearing it," Pike said with a soft smile, not letting go of Lisbon's wrist.

Before Lisbon could tell him she couldn't wear it, she would surely lose it if she did, she heard her phone ring from the living room. Pike stopped smiling as she jumped out of her chair. He slowly followed her into the living room and reached the couch as she picked up the phone, her whole body shifting into work mode, her back straight, neck stiff, her voice clear and determined.

"Lisbon."

It was Fisher. "I'm sorry for disturbing you this late, but there's been a break-in and a murder, and Abbott wants us all at the office right now."

"No, it's all right," Lisbon said. "I can be there in about half an hour."

"The briefing starts in 20 minutes," Fisher told her. She sounded tired and annoyed.

Lisbon checked her watch, letting herself be distracted briefly by the bracelet next to it. It was half past ten. "I'll be there," she told Fisher and hung up.

"What's happened?" Pike wanted to know.

"I need to get to work," Lisbon told him. "I'm sorry, this is an emergency. They wouldn't have called me if it wasn't."

Pike sighed. "I'll drive you."

"Are you sure? You don't have to."

"I want to," Pike assured her.

Lisbon nodded and kissed him quickly. "Thanks," she said, "and thank you for dinner and for this." She raised her wrist.

Pike pulled her close for another kiss, a longer, deeper one. Lisbon's head was already busy with the case, but she let Pike kiss her and tried her best not the act too distractedly. But a part of her was glad Fisher had disrupted the evening. She didn't feel like spending the night at Pike's place and she knew Pike would have wanted her to. Work was exactly what she needed right now to put some distance between herself, Pike, and the feelings she wanted to have for him but that just weren't there.

When Jane saw Lisbon walk out of the elevator, he couldn't help but grin broadly. Even though Fisher had told her Abbott wanted them all at the FBI despite the late hour, the case wasn't so important they really needed all hands on deck. If Lisbon had wanted to, she could have stayed away. But Jane knew Lisbon could never resist the temptation of a case. She looked tired and should probably have stayed at home to get some sleep, but, selfishly, Jane preferred she was here.

Only, she hadn't come alone. As soon as the first feeling of happiness that seeing Lisbon invoked in him waned, Jane noticed Pike right behind her, a hand on the small of Lisbon's back, guiding her carefully. He wasn't part of their team, the case had nothing to do with him, which meant he was here because of Lisbon. Ergo, they had been spending time together, Pike had driven Lisbon here, and now he tried to be a part of this. Jane took a deep breath to steady himself, trying to shake off the first signs of jealousy (clenched fists, furrowed brow, a stale taste in his mouth) before facing them. He always felt he had to hold back when Lisbon and Pike were together, mostly for Lisbon's sake, but also because he didn't fully trust himself not to do or say something stupid when the other man was there. Sometimes he was caught off-guard by how much he missed the "good old times" when it had just been him and Lisbon, with no messy feelings and no boyfriends in the way. Still, it boiled down to him wanting her to be happy. He knew he had already hurt her too much, and when it came to being Lisbon's boyfriend, he had to realize he simply was too late.

Jane swallowed his feelings and waited until Lisbon and Pike were within earshot. "Hello, Lisbon," he said, a smile on his face. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Lisbon gazed at him, the look on her face guarded. "I could say the same about you."

"What? A case like this? Murder? Theft?" He lowered his voice and smirked. "A stolen diamond?"

Lisbon's looked at him like she always did when she thought he was joking. So they hadn't told her about the diamond yet.

"The Heart of Eternity," Jane whispered conspiratorially. "It's one of the most valuable diamonds in the world. Extremely rare. And it was stolen earlier tonight." He had Lisbon's full attention now. "Whoever took the diamond killed a man. And we have to solve the murder and get the diamond back."

"That's it?" Pike sounded annoyed. A muscle was twitching in his neck, making him look like an angry bull.

Jane took a step back as a precaution. "There's 16 million dollars on the line. And a human life," he pointed out. "That's not nothing."

"No offense, but there are many capable agents here." Pike made a vague gesture to encompass the whole room. "I'm sure you'll be able to solve this one without Teresa having to be here in the middle of the night."

Lisbon opened her mouth, but Jane was quicker. "No one is as capable as Lisbon. If someone can solve this case, it's her."

Pike rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying it could have waited until tomorrow. We were kind of in the middle of something."

"I'm looking forward to seeing you have a discussion about priorities with the victim's family," Jane provoked him.

Before Pike could respond, Abbott told them all to take a seat. Pike ignored Jane, gave Lisbon a quick kiss, and whispered something in her ear before he walked back to the elevator. Jane was glad to see the back of him. He let Lisbon choose a seat in front of the video wall, then took the chair next to hers, glancing at her. When she caught his eye, he smirked at her, and she shook her head and raised a finger to her lips, nodding toward the front where Abbott was waiting for everyone to quieten down.

Jane leaned in closer to her. "Did you have a nice evening?" he asked, his voice a whisper.

"Yes," Lisbon answered, her jaw tight.

So the answer is actually no.

Or maybe she just didn't want to be here. "You don't need to be here if you don't want to," Jane pointed out. "I'm sure no one will think worse of you if you take the evening off."

"No," Lisbon said quickly. "I want to be here."

"Hm," Jane made, then straightened his back and turned his attention to Abbott and the video wall.

Since Lisbon had started dating Pike, Jane had started having difficulties reading her feelings. He knew she was keeping him locked out on purpose, but he didn't know why. He hadn't changed how he behaved toward her, in fact, he had made a point to be nice and attentive so she wouldn't shut him out. He wanted to show her he didn't mind she was in a serious relationship now, he wanted to prove to her (and to himself) there was nothing more important to him than her happiness. But she still didn't let him in, so he had started to retreat further and further as well.

Abbott had started talking, a crime scene photo blown up uncomfortably large behind him. And next to it: a picture of the Heart of Eternity, a massive blue diamond cut in the shape of a heart. Jane pretended to listen to what Abbott was telling them, but he kept glancing at Lisbon, his thoughts preoccupied with her. She sat on his left side, her right leg crossed over her left, her right shoulder turned forward, putting up a physical barrier between herself and Jane. He didn't know what he had done to warrant this kind of behavior (this evening it was most likely subconscious), but the one time he asked had Lisbon if he had done something wrong, she had changed the subject.

After his return from Venezuela, she had forgiven him for everything he had done, even though he didn't deserve her forgiveness, and they had started to mend their friendship, had made good progress, had slowly gotten back to the way things used to be before he had killed Red John. Just when he had thought it might be time to take the next step and ask her out on a date, Lisbon had gotten herself a boyfriend, a proper one, not just a fling, and he had bought the Airstream, and it had gone downhill from there. Jane understood his own feelings, he knew he was scared of Pike taking Lisbon away from him, but he didn't know what Lisbon was going through. She finally had everything she could want, and Jane had been nothing but nice to Pike, despite his better judgement, but Lisbon treated Jane coldly and refused to tell him what he had done to deserve it, and after a while he had stopped trying to figure out what he had done. All he could do now was try to get her to come out of her shell by being himself around her. He still hoped Lisbon would come around sooner or later. But it had been four months now and she was retreating more and more. Maybe she didn't notice it herself or hoped Jane hadn't noticed it, but her body language spoke volumes.

Next to him Lisbon shifted in her seat and raised her hand. Jane noticed a bracelet on her wrist that hadn't been there this morning. A present from Pike. He snorted under his breath when he saw it. It didn't suit her. How could anyone look at Lisbon and think a rose-gold bracelet with a sparkling diamond was the right gift for her? Surely, she was just wearing it as a favor to him. It did looked expensive.

"Lisbon," Abbott acknowledged the raised hand.

"If we've known about them for as long as that, why hasn't there been an arrest yet?" Lisbon asked.

Jane looked at the video wall in confusion and realized he had missed quite a lot about the case. The crime scene photo and the diamond were gone, replaced by surveillance photos of four people, two men and two women.

"They're very careful," Abbott explained. "We have yet to connect them to any of the thefts we know they're responsible for."

"It sounds to me like they are just a bunch of spoiled children," Lisbon pointed out, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Jane looked at the photos on the screen again, trying to determine whether Lisbon was right or not. The suspects certainly looked young, they were in their early thirties. They also looked very rich – but not as if they had been born into wealthy families; instead they had earned their wealth. One of the men wore a big, golden watch; he was trying to show how much money he had, a trait only found in people who had recently come into money. One of the women wore a beautiful designer dress, but horrible shoes topped with pink rhinestones. They were trying to fit into a certain part of society, but no one had told them how they needed to behave and to look to be accepted.

"They're not spoiled children, their wealth is earned," Jane pointed out. "Look at the watch on that man's wrist, Lisbon."

Lisbon glanced at him, then turned her attention back to the video wall.

"They earned their wealth by stealing diamonds," Abbott filled Jane in. "We also don't think they're doing it because they are bored but because it's a source of income for them."

"What's our way in?" Lisbon asked. She turned even further away from Jane, but Jane put that down to the fact that she was angry he had been right.

"We're still working on that," Abbott said with a sigh. "They are very secretive and don't accept new members easily."

"So it's like a club?" Jane asked. Abbott had his full attention now. "What do you have to do to become a member?"

"You have to be a diamond thief, of course," Abbott replied. "And we think you have to fulfill certain personal criteria as well."

"Like what?" Lisbon asked.

"You're not supposed to have any family ties except for a wife or husband if you want to get in. We don't think they accept people who are single into their group," Abbott answered, checking something in his notes.

Lisbon snorted. "That's stupid."

Jane grinned broadly. "No, it's genius," he contradicted her. "If you're already … tied up, you won't be tempted to leave the group because of a fling, steal from your co-workers in the process, and jeopardize their whole operation."

"No, it's stupid," Lisbon insisted. "Single people are much more reliable, no messy feelings, no heartaches, no jealousy."

"Maybe they use it as a form of leverage or insurance," Jane went on thoughtfully, looking at Lisbon. "Let's say, Lisbon, you were a member of this group and you wanted out for some reason. They could blackmail you into staying by using the one thing you care about against you, which is Pike, in your case. You would do anything to protect him and keep him from getting hurt, even if it meant staying in the group."

Lisbon crossed her arms in front of her chest but didn't say anything. Jane looked away, suddenly taking a great interest in the floor. He shouldn't have brought Pike into this.

Abbott waited for a couple of seconds before he continued. "Our victim was murdered here in Austin, but the group has their base in Key West, Florida. So we'll start there. I want you all to familiarize yourselves with the case file until tomorrow morning and then we'll decide how to proceed. You're dismissed."

Jane jumped out of his chair and grabbed a copy of the file Abbott was handing out. Lisbon followed him but ignored him otherwise. Jane briefly thought about offering her a ride home, but Lisbon was already calling Pike to ask him to pick her up. It was better this way, Jane thought – he needed to focus on the plan that had already began forming in his head, a plan to catch the diamond thieves. A plan that would help him get close to Lisbon again.

A/N: Pike gets Lisbon Tiffany's Elsa Peretti "Diamonds by the Yard" Heart Bracelet, which costs around $ 1,500 (so it's really quite an expensive gift for a four-month anniversary).