A/N: Well, isn't this weird? tromana, actually writing a oneshot after such a long absence. This is the first Mentalist fic I've actually written since the Reverse Big Bang, which is nuts. Anyway, this is dedicated to the wonderful Lothiriel84. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Thank you to: Jane Doe51, Lalalupin, Olfactory-Ventriloquism, and Laubelle88

x tromana

Title: Lucky Ones
Author: tromana
Rating: K+
Summary: An ordinary day turns quite extraordinary.
Characters: Jane/Lisbon
Notes: Written for Lothiriel84 - I hope you have a very, very happy birthday! You deserve it. Also for the Paint It Red October 2013 Monthly Challenge - it's an amnesty month, using various prompts from the past year.

Lucky Ones

It started out as a perfectly ordinary day. Teresa Lisbon woke up too late, grumbling because somebody had turned off her alarm clock. She was going to be late for work and that was anything but professional. As a consequence, without even giving herself a chance to breathe, she dove into the shower, dried herself off and changed at a record pace.

For a moment, she paused to look at herself in the mirror. She had chosen her favorite emerald green shirt. It brought out the color in her eyes, or at least, that was what she had been told. Unconsciously, her hand grazed across her belly. Lisbon paused for a second and shook her head violently. Now was not the time to be thinking about that; she had to get to work and fast. She didn't even bother stopping for breakfast, even if she knew she would get reprimanded by the time she reached the sanctity of her office.

Surprisingly, for the lead agent of the CBI's Serious Crimes Unit, she didn't have all that much planned for the day. The team didn't have an active case; she just had a few testimonies to consider for later court dates. But, there was just a very important meeting first thing in the morning, something which she couldn't be late for. However, because of somebody's meddling, she was already pushing for time. She could feel the darkened mood creeping into the back of her mind, but tried to push it aside. But, it already felt like it was going to be a day where everything that could go wrong, would go wrong.

It was only when she was waiting impatiently, with fingers tapping at her steering wheel, at a stop light, that she realized what the date was. Lisbon's heart sank to her stomach. Anniversaries of certain events never passed well. But, it did go a long way to explaining things. The deathly silent house, the empty side of the bed, the hollowness she had felt inside ever since she had first stirred this morning.

But, she also knew that she couldn't let this deeper shade of blue overwhelm her. She couldn't let it alter her day. Otherwise, she was still letting him win, even after all these years.

When she pulled into the parking lot, her eyes automatically glanced over all the vehicles present. Lisbon was checking to see if her team had arrived yet, making sure that she had beaten them to the office. It wasn't a competition, of course, but she did still pride herself as being the first one in and the last one out. Lead by example was one of the earliest things she had been taught about leadership.

Somewhere along the line, she had been somewhat corrupted, though. Lisbon knew this all too well and she knew exactly who was responsible for said corruption. But, she wouldn't be without him. He made her who she was and, she was a better cop for it. Of course, she would never have admitted that to his face; his ego was already swelled too much. It was just a little something that they never needed to say aloud.

After all, she could just tell that the feeling was more than mutual.

She just about had time to pop by her office. A Styrofoam cup of tea had been placed on there, peppermint, if she wasn't mistaken, alongside a bear claw. The sight of the pastry made her feel sick to her stomach. Lisbon was about to throw it into the trash when she caught sight of the now, practically expected note that accompanied it.

I knew you would skip breakfast. If you won't eat this for yourself, eat it for me.

It was funny just how easily a few simple words could manipulate her. Even though her stomach protested and she felt like her throat was trying to close in on itself, she willingly obliged. Then, she rushed off to that mandatory meeting. At least she was on time, she told herself firmly. At least certain forces (certain people) hadn't managed to completely ruin her plans.

The meeting was strangely dull. Meetings at the CBI were rarely that illuminating, but this one appeared to be duller than most. Vaguely, she wondered if it had been scheduled just as an excuse to get the team leaders of the various units away. Other leaders had a lot going on, Lisbon knew that, and she could see the irritation radiating from them clearly. This was a distraction of their precious time, time which they could have been using to chase down notorious criminals. Instead, they were all holed up here for the sole purpose of talking about CBI rule revisions.

Even the idea of going over cold cases for the thousandth time was more interesting than this.

It was going midday by the time she was mercifully released from the most irrelevant meeting she had ever attended to date. Lisbon stretched her tired muscles and headed promptly for the bullpen. She was yet to see a single member of her team and she really needed to find out what they had been up to of late. They were like a family, so it was only natural that she missed the comfortable routine that they had on quiet days like this.

But, the bullpen was eerily quiet. Desks were deserted, the conference table was bare. The only inhabitant was lying on the leather couch, reclining there as if he owned the place. Lisbon swallowed a growl; what with the date, the meeting, her failure to get up on time, the anger was building. Seeing Patrick Jane there, looking completely serene, just seemed to infuriate her.

Just as soon as she was about to disturb him, he broke out into a warm smile and sat up.

"I've been waiting for you."

"I've been in meetings. You know that; I told you last night."

She crossed her arms firmly across her chest, forming a protective barrier from him. However, he caught hold of her wrist and somehow managed to disentangle them. Jane ran his fingers across her wrist, tickled her palm before interlocking their hands. She didn't object; she knew that some of his best communicative skills were in his body language. It was something that she had had to learn over time; it was one of the many ways he had managed to open her up.

"We're the lucky ones," he whispered gently and he stood up to brush a kiss against her cheek. There was once a time when she would have protested, told him that this behavior was completely inappropriate. There was also a time when it would have absolutely disgusted her to think that she would let her consultant treat her in this way. But, those words, those arguments had long since disappeared. They had blown away, into the ether, never to be seen again. Teresa Lisbon had learned that some things were just meant to happen. There was absolutely no point in resisting the inevitable. With his mouth close to her left ear, he continued to speak. "Marry me."

She pulled away. "Wh-what?"

"I can't say the word," he admitted after a moment's silence, "but you know how I feel about you. And I know that you know you feel the same way. We've waited for so long, exhausted every argument. There's nothing stopping us, not anymore."

Lisbon considered it briefly. The word 'yes' was on the tip of her tongue. However, there was that tiny bit of insecurity nagging at the back of her mind. Maybe it was just because of the date, maybe it was just because she'd had an awfully dull morning, or maybe it had been there all along. She hated those little doubts at the back of her mind, but now they were shouting loud and clear.

Exactly two years ago, they had stopped Red John, together. It wasn't without bloodshed, but he was dead and gone. Since, they had grown increasingly closer, destroyed many barriers and become increasingly more involved in one another's lives. Lisbon couldn't help but wonder just how long they had really been toying with one another, how long they had been dancing this dance. But sometimes, it still felt like she was giving him little pieces of her heart and getting nothing back in return.

But, this was hard for him, just like it was for her. They both had their reasons, however vastly different they were. Still, Lisbon couldn't help it. She needed to push him that little bit further.

As she stepped away, he pressed a small something into her right palm. She frowned when she opened her hand to see a small square of tissue paper. Carefully, she unwrapped it. When she found an old wedding band, the gold's shimmer diminished through age and wear, she was completely stunned. On the paper underneath his old wedding band, there were more words.

This is a piece of my heart. I need you to look after it for me.

Lisbon let out a small laugh of surprise. She honestly didn't know what to say. Too engrossed in the small, but most precious gift he had given her, she didn't notice the sound of footsteps filling the bullpen. Nor was she aware of Jane bending down to one knee, a velvet box somehow magicked into in his hands.

"I love you," he said clearly, so that everyone could hear. Jane opened up the box to reveal a simple, elegant engagement ring.

Again, the word 'yes' was on the tip of her tongue, but again, she resisted saying it. Instead, she knelt down beside him and took his hands into her own. "Why can you say it now, but you couldn't five minutes ago?" she whispered.

"I've done what I needed to do," Jane answered back and she could see the honesty shining in his blue eyes. "Let's start creating some happy memories, Teresa. It's time to put the past behind us." He slipped the engagement ring onto her finger, but she was too busy looking at him. He smiled broadly before he kissed her, to the applause of their audience.

"I couldn't agree more," she whispered in assent when they parted.

An ordinary day had just turned quite extraordinary. Lisbon's hand skimmed across her stomach as they both turned to greet their friends. There were people missing, taken before their time. They would always be remembered, but it was time that they both stopped dwelling on the past.

Besides, they had something to live for now. And she had a very little surprise to share with her now-fiancé.

But, that could wait until later, she decided with a warm smile. They definitely were the lucky ones.