Notes: Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed this story, I may not say it to you all individually, but I do still appreciate it. To the dozens of people who have followed/read the story, thank you also. This is the final chapter and I hope it's a fitting end.

Chapter Eight

Coming to terms with her job prospects post-injury had been easier than Lisbon had expected, once she'd been discharged from hospital and become an outpatient, she'd found peace with her demons. The decision to take early retirement on disability grounds felt right and though she still longed to return to her office, to her team, the painful emotions it struck were considerably easier to manage. The time that passed since hearing her fate was a mixture of happiness at closing yet another case and sadness over the consequences of closing said case.

It took a couple of months to rehabilitate to a suitable state of mobility, something which both frustrated and annoyed her. Lisbon had always been so active, as long as she could remember she'd swam, played softball or frequented a yoga class at the YMCA. Having to take it easy was hard; sitting up in a hospital bed with television and books her only source of entertainment. Eating three meals at set times was a routine she hadn't expected to have back until she'd reach old age.

The occasional visit from Jane, or the rest of the team, made her days brighter. She was even lucky enough to be visited by not one but all three of her brothers throughout her stay in the rehabilitation centre at the hospital.

Over the course of her stay she'd made several plans for her future; she decided to let out her townhouse for the foreseeable future, would appreciate the extra income as she used what savings she had to see the places she had never had time to visit. First stop China, then Vietnam, Bali and finally, a couple of months visiting an old college friend in Australia.

In preparation she'd spent the last week packing up her belongings into boxes; only the necessities would keep her company for the final weeks of her rehabilitation program. She'd always been a woman of very few belongings. As long as she had the cross her mother used to wear, photographs of her family from a time when they were all together and happy and an old Spice Girls LP on her iPod then she didn't need much more. As she tidied away a pile of books she was momentarily distracted by a knock at the door.

'Jane,' she said, opening the door to reveal her – previous – consultant.

'How's the leg?' he asked, as he did every time he saw her these days. Lisbon informed him of her latest progress with the physio and made her way towards the kitchen. 'Let me, all that hobbling around and my tea will have brewed too long.'

Lisbon tapped him playfully on the arm, though she allowed him access to her kitchen and returned to the sofa where she'd been about to tape up another box. She rested her cane – something which made her feel older than her years – against the arm and watched Jane moving around in the next room. He opened and closed cupboards and drawers, which only made Lisbon smile.

'Make mine a tea,' she said and ignored his raised eyebrow in her direction. She'd taken to drinking it when she'd come out of the hospital, caffeine wasn't the healthiest of options and the doctors thought it wise to give up. At least until she'd fully recovered – whatever that meant for someone expected to have mobility problems for the rest of their life.

'Do you even have any coffee left in the house?' Jane asked as he placed her cup down on the table and sat down in the chair opposite.

Lisbon shook her head. 'I asked Grace to throw it out a couple of days ago when she last visited.'

'And you have six different types of tea, what have you done with the real Teresa Lisbon?'

'I need to take care of myself,' she said and sipped on her tea. 'It's surprising how much better I've felt since they forced me to eat regularly and drink nothing but water in the hospital.'

'That had nothing to do with the lack of stressful situations,' said Jane, with a grin. Lisbon smiled back and they sat drinking their tea in a companionable silence.

x

'I thought I'd treat you to dinner,' said Jane, holding out a leaflet after helping her to load a couple of boxes into her spare bedroom.

'You're not going to hold the heavy lifting over me?' she asked.

Jane grinned. 'After everything I've put you through? I think a few hot meals are the least I can do.'

x

Jane cleared the Chinese take-out containers away once they'd finished eating leaving Lisbon sat on the sofa once more. She watched him cleaning their plates and cups, before he made them another cup of tea each. Since he'd arrived earlier that afternoon, Lisbon had barely been allowed to move, something which suited her for the short term. But even with her physiotherapists request that she keep herself as mobile as possible, Lisbon didn't want to spend the rest of the night in the exact same position.

'Hey,' said Jane, returning to her side as quickly as she'd got to her feet. He rested a hand around her waist, which she didn't dispute. 'Don't do that, you should be resting.'

'I'm perfectly capable of standing up, Jane,' she assured him. 'In fact, it's doctor's orders that I don't sit on my butt all day while someone else does all the work.'

'Pish posh, what do doctors know about the human body?'

'Everything?'

'I'd rather you sit down,' said Jane, but Lisbon opted instead for turning on her stereo and dancing slowly across the room. 'Dancing? Really?'

'If you're so worried, you could dance too,' she said, dancing towards him.

'This definitely isn't part of the Lisbon I know.'

'Maybe not the part you see.'

'Of course, the Spice Girls.'

Lisbon stopped moving and sent a glare in his direction but his smile was too persuasive for her to stay mad at him for long. Eventually he wrapped his arms around her waist and she rested her own around his shoulders.

'My doctor said I should dance sometimes, nothing too fast, just fast enough to move my legs for a period of time,' she said, swaying along to Jane's own movement.

'Ah, rehab exercises.'

The song ended and the next one that came on was slower, more emotionally charged. Lisbon stopped moving but Jane was staring into her eyes. The timing of the song brought goose pimples to her arms and Lisbon found herself staring back.

'I like this new – old – but not in years – Lisbon,' said Jane, frowning as he tripped over his words.

'Nice save,' Lisbon said, slipping back into the movement with ease.

'I hear you're officially no longer my boss,' said Jane, his hands moving a little lower down the base of her spine as he lengthened each individual movement.

'So?'

'So…'

He trailed off and the dancing slowed to a stop, Lisbon continued to look into his eyes as Jane's fluttered closed. She could feel the moment heading in the direction before she felt Jane's lips press firmly against her own.

'This doesn't mean I've forgiven you,' Lisbon said as she pulled back briefly before kissing him back. There were moments they still hadn't discussed, conversations they knew were important but it hadn't felt like the right time to return to them. Her health had been an unspoken elephant that sat between everything from before and present day. It had taken weeks for it to grow smaller and smaller until finally it had vanished one day. In reality, Lisbon didn't feel angry any more, nor did she hold any negative feelings towards Jane. However, she did recognise the need to discuss what happened before they could ever move on.

Finally, Jane pulled away from the kiss, his hands cupping her cheeks and his mouth so close that Lisbon wanted nothing more than to pull him back in.

'The things I've done that have hurt you are some of the worst things I've done in my life, and I've done some horrible things,' he said, maintaining the close proximity. 'When I told you that I loved you, Teresa, I meant it. I never told you about the day you got hurt. When I heard gunshots I didn't cower in Tanya Goodwin's bedroom, I ran down those stairs, almost twisted my ankle jumping the final few. I didn't hesitate to get to you as quickly as I could. Even if that meant walking into the room with a murderer pointing a gun at me.'

'You always were a reckless fool,' said Lisbon, rolling her eyes. Though the sentiment mattered more than she could have possibly explained. 'You don't need to do this, Jane, I've forgiven you.'

'Maybe I haven't forgiven myself. I'm sorry that I hurt you.'

'I'm sorry too.'

Words no longer mattered as Lisbon found Jane's lips again and a hunger that she'd supressed after the first night they spent together came back with a vengeance. He scooped her up into his arms, their lips moving from skin to skin as Jane carried her up the stairs. Nothing else mattered in that moment as they explored the feelings they'd fought for so long.

x

By morning, Lisbon's body ached in ways she hadn't expected. The feeling of sleeping in her bed, with Jane wrapped around her, was something she was ready to experience again and again. It didn't matter that he was still dozing beside her, though unusual for the habitual insomniac.

'I love you too,' Lisbon whispered as she placed soft kisses against his cheek. When she finally reached his eyes, she almost jumped at the sight of his pupils staring back at her.

'It's about time.'

'That's not fair,' said Lisbon, hitting his cheek softly. 'You're not supposed to know someone is in love with you until they tell you.'

'Maybe you're not, but that's how I've always known.'

Lisbon rolled over and glanced at the clock, it didn't surprise her that it was barely the crack of dawn. Having worked continuously for a decade she'd grown accustomed to waking up at the same time every day, the exception being when she was in hospital.

'Don't you have a job to go to?'

'That depends on what you mean by job.'

'The CBI…'

'Oh, that. I handed in my notice last month. Sorry I didn't invite you to my leaving party but under the circumstances I knew you'd decline.'

'Wait, what?'

'I thought I'd come with you.'

'Come with me, where?'

'To China, Vietnam, Bali, Australia.'

The idea of having Jane follow her around the world was something that Lisbon would have once disapproved of. He could be annoying, moody, downright difficult and that didn't change with his news of quitting his job. They hadn't caught Red John, something which she'd always expected to happen before he even considered leaving his position with the CBI, so the move was unexpected. Besides, he could always go back once the trip was over.

But he was Patrick Jane. The man that infuriated her so much that she wanted to kiss him, angered her to the point of desired strangulation followed by an even stronger desire to make love to him. The majority of senior agents at the CBI had been confounded by her ability to control him; a few had even asked her advice from time to time on what to do with difficult consultants. The answer wasn't easy because it required a certain level of emotional attachment and desire to understand the human being behind the madman.

'I'll let you come with me on one condition.'

'Done.'

'You don't even want to hear what the condition is?'

'Not really.'

'Then this really isn't going to work.'

'Haven't you learnt anything from me, Teresa? I'll have a cup of tea and a bearclaw on the table in twenty minutes.'

As he climbed out of bed and rushed around her bedroom to find his scattered items of clothing, Lisbon watched his desire to please her. Life wouldn't be the same without her position at the CBI; she'd miss the friendships she'd created with her team, Director Bertram and their games of Poker, she even expected to miss the speed at which her office computer ran on a busy day. But the one person she wouldn't have time to miss was the man she expected to be by her side until her dying day, or the day she killed him, whichever one came first.

The End