Author's Note: Okay, this isn't the ending I originally envisioned. It kind of wanted to be a whole other story, so I hope it isn't too out of control. Thank you for reading, and to all my kind reviewers out there, you rock!

Epilogue

The shrieking from downstairs told Lisbon it was time to close her laptop and leave the rest of her work for tomorrow. Bedtime was one of her favorite times, but it was always better on the nights Jane wasn't out on a case.

Their foster children had been with them for two months now, and they were settling into being a family. Mary and Ellie, 8 and 6, had a range of issues, but Jane had been part of their rescue from their nightmare life, so they mostly exempted him from their general distrust of men, and he always seemed to be able to get to the root of whatever was causing difficult behavior. Lisbon was convinced she'd never have been able to handle them on her own. Jane was better than having a live-in therapist. He was great at helping with schoolwork, too.

Going downstairs, she found Jane draped in a sheet, pretending to be a ghost while the girls laughed and squealed, pretending to be scared. They were wary of being touched by men, so Jane was careful about physical contact, but he loved goofing around with them, no matter how often she pointed out that getting them all worked up before bedtime was counterproductive.

"Uh oh," she said. "It's that pesky ghost again. What should we do about him, girls?"

"Tickle him!" they chorused.

So Lisbon got her evening workout chasing her husband around the living room and wrestling him expertly to the floor, holding him down with her knee while tickling him until he cried for mercy. Then she plucked the sheet off him while he lay panting and the girls clapped.

"Bedtime for bad ghosts," she announced. "And little girls."

Jane got to his feet, yawning. "Bedtime story, anyone?"

"My turn to pick!" Ellie exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement.

They went upstairs, Lisbon joining the girls in their big canopy bed, loving how they snuggled up in her arms and leaned against her. They'd started out with twin beds, but the girls preferred to be close to each other at night, so they'd taken them furniture shopping a week after their arrival.

Jane always sat on a chair. It made Lisbon sad that he couldn't have the hugs and snuggles she enjoyed and that he'd had with Charlotte, but in a way, she thought this might be easier for him. The first night the girls were with them, he'd confided to her that he wasn't as terrified as he'd expected, because he was confident that nothing would happen to them in his care as bad as what they'd already been through. He felt he had something to offer them that they weren't likely to find anywhere else: real understanding and patience. With her loving acceptance and their happy marriage, he felt they could raise these girls and give them a chance at a normal life.

She'd never loved him more.

It took two stories for the girls to get drowsy, and then Lisbon turned on the nightlight and kissed them goodnight. Jane dropped kisses on the tops of their heads, one of the few touches they were comfortable with.

Then they closed the door behind them and went back downstairs to cuddle on the couch for a while.

"How was the case?" Lisbon asked, noticing Jane was quieter than usual.

"Meh." He shrugged. "It's always tough when the killer turns out to be the parent. I'll never understand it. To be given such a gift, and then to be so selfish that your child's existence becomes a problem to be solved. If there were any justice in the world, those kinds of people would never have children at all."

"Justice is meant to be a struggle, I guess," Lisbon sighed. "Sorry. I hope you'll get a nice juicy bank robbery or something next."

"Something I could solve with a complicated plan to make Abbott and Cho roll their eyes would be nice," he agreed. "Maybe you could guest star as my gun moll."

"Maybe." She slanted a smile up at him.

Jane tightened his embrace and kissed her temple. "We still have that appointment at the fertility clinic day after tomorrow, right?"

"Yes." Lisbon frowned. With her adjustment to her new job, two children in need of loving attention who were having trouble adjusting to school, and Jane's unpredictable schedule, she worried that going through fertility treatments, if they turned out to be necessary, might be the last straw. "But I...I wonder sometimes if it's selfish to put us through that. We have the girls now. That should be enough."

"And you're worried how they'll take it if we have a baby," Jane said. "That they might feel replaced or worried we won't have time for them, or resent the baby."

"I'm worried we're all going to end up in therapy," she admitted. The girls had a therapist, and they consulted with her regularly, but so far they were doing pretty well. She didn't want setbacks.

"Do you want to wait?" Jane asked softly.

"If we wait, we'll probably lose our chance," she sighed.

"Then let's do it. We'll deal with whatever problems arise. Who knows, a little brother might help the girls relate to boys better."

"And if it's a girl?" Lisbon couldn't help feeling that was a recipe for disaster. A little sister who, given her father's genes, was bound to be brilliant and beautiful and who would be sheltered from the horrors Mary and Ellie had experienced would inevitably be resented, she feared.

"We will make it work," Jane said firmly. "Let's at least go get a thorough understanding of our options, okay?"

"Okay." Lisbon tucked her head against his shoulder. "Are you...worried we won't get to keep the girls?"

"A little. Their mother might manage to stay clean once she gets out of jail. Or maybe one of their fathers will turn up to claim paternity."

"Unlikely, since she was turning tricks for money to buy drugs," Lisbon pointed out. She knew it was unchristian, but she had nothing but disdain for the woman who'd sold her children. That she had apparently believed the buyer was a private adoption broker didn't absolve her.

"But if their fathers can't be identified, they won't be able to surrender their parental rights, and we'll never be able to officially adopt them," Jane sighed. "Though maybe it's for the best. Mary might find my last name irksome."

She chuckled. "She could take mine. Oh, speaking of jail, they want me to testify at Amy's trial. The prosecutor called to let me know it'll be next week. Will you and the girls be okay without me?"

Jane hummed thoughtfully. "It's a little soon. They're beginning to trust me, but you're the one they've really bonded with. I'm not sure it's a good idea."

Lisbon sighed, wondering if they could persuade Fischer to spend the night.

"I think we should all go," Jane said suddenly. "DC's full of great kid activities. And I bet the girls have never been on a vacation."

"Can you get the time off?" Lisbon knew it was a silly question the moment the words left her mouth.

"Uncle Dennis won't deny the girls a treat." Jane grinned, and she knew that if necessary, he'd take the girls to the office to plead his case. Their coworkers all knew the girls' story, and Cho had been with Jane when they found them. Everyone was rooting for them.

"I thought I'd try to settle Marcus' estate while I'm there," she sighed. "I think everything's wrapped up."

"Good. Have you decided what to do with the money?"

"I...I know I said I wanted to donate it to charity, but lately I've been thinking. I don't think he'd mind if I set it aside for the girls. Do you?" She held her breath as she waited for his response.

"No, love. I don't mind, and I think Marcus would be glad to help our girls. For college? We can cover their tuition now, but it might come in handy later."

Lisbon couldn't help a shudder at what the private school was costing, but she had to admit that the girls needed a safe environment with understanding teachers, at least right now. "College, or to get started in their careers. Help me invest it?"

Jane chuckled. "I take it you don't mean I should use it as my stake at the nearest casino."

"I was thinking about a CD or mutual funds," Lisbon replied. "Though...if you wanted to see what you could do with some of it—not all!—you might talk me into it."

"Oo, I love it when you enable my vices," he breathed in her ear. "Want to go upstairs and see what you can do about the others?"

"Be good," she whispered, "and maybe we can sneak in a long lunch while the girls are at school."

Jane pulled her up, turning her so he could claim her mouth. They were careful about sex now, not wanting the girls to overhear, and the sense of sneaking around appealed to him. Lisbon was dying to really let go, though.

Maybe she'd take an extra day off before they left.

mmm

Testifying was never fun, but it was even less so when she was personally involved in the case. Jane had wanted to be there to support her, but they'd agreed a murder and kidnapping trial was no place for their girls. So the rest of her family went to the zoo while she was stuck in a courthouse. At least she'd get to join them for dinner later.

And she could take comfort in the fact that the trial seemed to be going well. Amy was doubtless going to prison for the rest of her life, and Lisbon hoped she hated every minute of it. She wanted it to be a fitting punishment for killing a good man and hurting and terrifying another.

As she left the courthouse, her phone rang. Lisbon grabbed it eagerly, hoping it was Jane, but instead it was the fertility clinic. She bit her lip, then sent it to voicemail. Whatever the news, she and Jane would need time alone to process it, and she didn't want to spoil the girls' first vacation. They were so excited about everything: the flight, the big city with all the gleaming white stone, and the historical (or possibly apocryphal) tales Jane seemed to spin nonstop.

She was thrilled that the girls had been happy to go have fun with Jane, showing no signs of nervousness that she was leaving them in his charge. He cared so much about them and devoted so much thought and effort to their wellbeing that he deserved to be loved and treasured in return. Someday, she hoped they would run to him with their nightmares as readily as they ran to her. It would take time, though, she knew. They had suffered for nearly a year, after all.

She texted Jane that she was finished, and he responded that they were still at the zoo and would meet her there. So she got on the Metro and headed to Woodley Park, grateful her testimony had been scheduled for early afternoon so she could have a little fun. It was a beautiful early summer day, not too hot yet and just a little humid.

That morning, she'd wrapped up Marcus' estate, and while she was relieved to be done with all the financial and legal work, she was a little sad too. It was like saying goodbye to him all over again.

She would always be grateful that Marcus had shown her she could have more than work in her life. And even though that life hadn't turned out to be with him, she gave him part of the credit for it. If he hadn't come along, Jane might have been content to go on as always. They might still be pretending to be just friends and colleagues instead of making each other happy and building a good life for their children.

Walking up the hill from the station to the National Zoo, Lisbon smiled in anticipation. Jane had texted her photos of the kids enjoying themselves, eating ice cream and picking out stuffed animals. They probably wouldn't want their dinner and might end up buying an extra suitcase to take all their loot home, but it would be worth it.

When she entered the zoo and looked around, she was delighted to spot Jane carrying Ellie with a huge stuffed tiger walking beside him. That thing was bigger than Mary, who was obviously attempting to carry it, and she wondered how on earth they would get it home. When she got within earshot, she said, "Really, Patrick. I entrusted you with two healthy girls, and now one can't walk and the other's been eaten by a tiger!"

Jane grinned as Mary shook the tiger and made "rawr" noises. "Ellie's tummy is a little rumbly. On reflection, the cotton candy with the snow cone might have been unwise."

Lisbon hurried to lay a hand on Ellie's back. "You okay, sweetie?"

"Huh uh," she said miserably, reaching out an arm.

Jane adjusted her weight. "You're too big for Teresa to carry, Ellie. But you can sit in her lap when we get in the cab, okay?"

"Okay," she sniffled.

Lisbon kissed her sweaty cheek and rubbed her back soothingly. The girls had lived on a diet of junk food most of their lives, but Jane was on a crusade to teach them proper nutrition. After a steady stream of veggies and fruit, the influx of sugar had apparently been too much for Ellie's delicate digestive system. "We'll get you some Pepto Bismol when we get back to the hotel."

Ellie wrinkled her nose, leaning her head back on Jane's shoulder. Lisbon was glad to see that she was okay with Jane holding her; that was a big step. Turning to Mary, Lisbon caught a grin on the girl's face before it vanished behind the tiger again. "So, tiger, you're in big, big trouble. You better spit Mary back out right now."

"Rawr, rawr," Mary responded. "I'm a big tiger and I'm all prowly and growly, so you better watch out!"

Jane said, "Turns out Mary is a cat person."

"So I see. Tigers can't fly on airplanes, you know," Lisbon told her. "So how are we going to get you home?"

Mary peeked out from behind the tiger, her happy smile fading. "I can't take him with me? Patrick promised!"

Jane said, "I always keep my promises, Mary. Your tiger just has to go a different way. We'll get him a nice box and he'll go in a different part of the plane."

Mary jumped up and down. "Yay!"

Lisbon bit back a question about how much this tiger was going to end up costing, because she didn't want to dampen Mary's happiness again and because Jane would just roll his eyes at her. "I take it we're getting a cab back?"

"I think that's best for Ellie," Jane replied as they all started walking toward the exit.

Lisbon looked down at Mary. "You want me to carry your tiger, Mary?"

"No. I can do it," Mary insisted.

Ellie whined, "Patriiiick."

"You want a drink, do you?" Jane asked. "Teresa, could you get it out of the bag?"

He turned partway around, and Lisbon rummaged in the drawstring sack he had slung over his shoulder. She pulled out the bottle and stared at it. "Perrier, Jane?"

He chuckled at her use of his last name. "The carbonation helps settle her stomach. They didn't have ginger ale."

"Next you'll be making them caviar scrambled eggs," she sighed, unscrewing the cap off the bottle and holding it up for Ellie to drink.

"Truffles, maybe. Not caviar," he replied, apparently serious. "Mary, you need a drink?"

"Uh huh." She wrestled the tiger around until Lisbon gently took it from her, handing her the bottle instead. The girl gulped down a mouthful and then held out her arms for the tiger.

"What's his name?" Lisbon asked as she took the bottle and gave the tiger back.

"Her. It's a girl," Mary said, as if that should have been obvious. "Her name is Teresa, but Patrick said we should call her a nickname so we won't get confused. So we'll call her Tess."

"Tess the tiger," Lisbon said, touched.

"She's going to sleep at the foot of the bed and protect us," Mary said.

"Good." They reached the exit, and Lisbon hailed a passing cab. They all got inside, Lisbon first, then Ellie on her lap, then Mary, and lastly Jane wrestling Tess the tiger into the cab before closing the door.

Holding Ellie, who snuggled so trustingly on her lap, Lisbon made a decision. The girls needed them. She couldn't be selfish, sinking time, energy, and money into trying to defeat nature. They were a family. Maybe not the family she'd dreamed of, but God didn't always answer prayers the way you expected, she knew. She'd be grateful for what He had seen fit to give her and not question it.

She kissed Ellie's head, smelling apple scented shampoo (not strawberry, not ever, for Jane's sake), sweat, and cotton candy, and smiled down at Mary, who was playing with Tess' whiskers. Then she looked at Jane, who was looking back with the intent expression that she knew meant he was reading her. She smiled to reassure him, and he leaned across Mary to kiss her quickly.

Yes. This was right. This was their family.

mmm

Jane could tell Lisbon had been wrestling with something but had come to a decision. He hoped it wasn't anything to do with the trial. She seemed happy, so he was content to wait to find out what it was.

Now that the girls were settled in and bonding with her, she had a glow of contentment, and he loved watching her being a mother. She was every bit as good at it as he'd imagined, and it made her happy, even though sometimes it was difficult and even painful. But one of the reasons he'd wanted the girls to live with them was that Lisbon was the best example he could imagine of someone who had triumphed over her past. She could show them how, without even trying. She could help them heal, just like she'd helped him.

Right now she was making a quiet fuss over Ellie, helping her feel safe and loved. It didn't escape Jane's attention that Mary was watching, even though she was pretending not to. He'd never forget finding the girls in that squalid room, Ellie hiding under a blanket and Mary glaring fiercely at him and Cho as they stood in the doorway. When Jane had gently suggested the hiding child reveal herself, Mary had said, "That's my sister. Don't you touch her!"

Mary would find a kindred spirit in Lisbon, also a protective big sister. And hopefully she could have the childhood Lisbon hadn't, now that she was beginning to trust them with Ellie's care.

Ellie was asleep by the time they got to their hotel downtown, and Jane helped Mary out of the cab, handed her Tess, and went around to the other door to pick Ellie up so Lisbon could get out. Then he took the girls upstairs to their two-bedroom suite while Lisbon went to the drugstore next door, laying Ellie on her bed with Mary and Tess watching and then ordering a light dinner from room service.

Lisbon arrived with medicine and ginger ale, gave Ellie a little of both, then gave her a quick wipe down in lieu of a bath and put her in her pajamas, tucking her in with kisses and comforting murmurs. Dinner arrived shortly afterward, so Mary and Lisbon left Ellie in Tess' charge and sat down at the little table in the main room, leaving the door open in case Ellie called for either of them.

During dinner, Lisbon distracted Mary from worrying about her sister with questions about the animals she'd seen, further demonstrating her excellence as a mother. Jane enjoyed watching them, remembering with a pang how he'd marveled at Angela and Charlotte. With only vague memories of his own mother, he was happy to know the children in his care had what he'd missed.

Mary began yawning before she was finished eating, so after her bath she was amenable to going to bed. Moving Tess to the foot of the bed, Mary crawled to her sister's side and draped an arm over her.

Lisbon bent to kiss Ellie's forehead, then straightened to tell Jane, "She hasn't got a fever, and she's sleeping soundly. She'll be fine in the morning, I bet."

"I'll be more careful next time," he said ruefully. "Poor little thing."

Lisbon caught his hand in hers. "You were just trying to give her a treat. But next time, go easy on the sweets, okay?"

"I will," he murmured.

"Story?" Mary asked, yawning.

"Of course." Jane looked around for a chair he could move.

"You can sit with Tess," Mary offered, then bit her lip.

"Thank you," Jane smiled, sitting at the foot of the bed beside the tiger. He then recited one of Mary's favorite books from memory, doing all the character voices, while Lisbon sat stroking Mary's hair. She was asleep before he finished.

As they left, Lisbon didn't close the door all the way. The girls always wanted to be behind a closed door, but he knew tonight Lisbon wanted to be able to hear Ellie.

"How was the trial?" He asked after they were in their own room.

Lisbon kicked off her shoes, lying down on the bed with a sigh of relief. "It went okay. They've got an airtight case. And everything went okay at the courthouse, so that's over with."

Jane couldn't be sorry to finally have Pike out of their lives and less stress on Lisbon. "Good. Did you hear from the clinic today? They called me but didn't leave a voicemail."

"Oh. Yeah, I have a voicemail. I haven't listened to it yet." She bit her lip, and Jane knew this was what she had been wrestling with earlier. "I'm not sure I want to."

"Whatever it is, we'll deal with it," Jane assured her, settling on the bed beside her and reaching for her hand.

"That's the thing. I don't...I want to focus on the girls. I've spent too much of my life wishing for what I didn't have," she said softly.

Jane scooted down and turned so they were lying nose to nose. "But some of your wishes came true, didn't they?"

"Yes. I got you. Finally." She smiled and kissed him. Then she sighed. "But I don't want to get so wrapped up in wanting what I don't have that I miss what I do have."

Jane was torn. One one hand, he was relieved not to have the worries that would come with a pregnancy and infant care. But on the other, he was deeply sad at the thought of never seeing Lisbon all round and glowing or nursing her baby. "So you're saying, what? You don't want to have a baby after all?"

"I'm saying...I don't want to do any treatments. I want to just focus on our family. If a baby happens, great. If it doesn't, fine." She searched his face anxiously. "Are you okay with that?"

"Yes," he assured her. "But...dreams are hard to let go of, Teresa. You may feel this way now, but next week or next month you may change your mind."

"I won't," she said, setting her little chin stubbornly. He couldn't resist kissing it.

"Okay. But let's not close any doors just yet. Let's at least find out where we stand," he said. "We don't have to make any decisions, but we should at least go get the test results."

Lisbon sighed. "Okay." She pulled out her phone, put it on speaker, and played the voicemail.

"Hello Ms. Lisbon, this is Stephanie from Dr. Gaines' office. We have your test results, but there's no need to come in again. It turns out you won't be needing our services at all. Congratulations, and please see your ob/gyn as soon as possible. Good luck!"

Lisbon sucked in a breath of shock, and Jane felt a smile stretch his face almost painfully. He couldn't seem to stop, even when his wife kissed him, giggling breathlessly from sheer happiness.

mmm

Seven and a half months later, Ian Andrew Jane made his appearance and met his exhausted but ecstatic mother, his relieved and amazed father, and, a little later, his two curious older sisters. As Jane rocked him in his arms on his first night home, he couldn't take his gaze off the little face with his mouth and Lisbon's eyes, imagining his future.

He would grow up playing tea party and wearing silly hats, hating Little League but falling in love with tennis, learning to play the piano and then teaching himself the guitar, and dropping out of Juilliard to join the Peace Corps before coming back to the States to go to Stanford, finally graduating with a degree in criminal justice.

He would have an affinity for magic tricks and a passion for justice, and he would love his family fiercely. His mother would light up every time he came into the room, and his father would be so proud of him that there was no room left in him for guilt or worry or self-loathing. His sisters would adore him and ask his advice about their boyfriends, and their Thanksgiving and Christmas family dinners would be full of laughter.

"Welcome," Jane whispered to his son. "Welcome to the family."

Then he laid the baby in the bassinet and turned to the bed, where Mary and Ellie were cuddling with Lisbon now that she was finished nursing.

"Bedtime story?" he asked.

"Yeah!" The girls grinned.

Jane took his seat near the foot of the bed, massaging his wife's feet through the covers. "Once upon a time, there was a man who had everything he ever wanted, until he lost it through carelessness. He was angry, and he went on a quest to find revenge. But along the way he met an angry little princess who had lost her tiara, and after he helped her find it, she agreed to help him with his quest. She was a very beautiful princess, and she had three loyal knights, but she needed cheering up. So the man became her jester. And they had many adventures, some of them quite silly..."

THE END