"You're early." Lisbon glanced up as Jane silently slipped through her unlocked door before dropping her eyes back to her computer screen. "Have a seat. I'm almost done."

"How did your meeting go?" Jane asked as he sprawled lazily on her couch. "You were gone a long time."

"How do you think?" Lisbon asked as she continued to type. "Bertram asked a lot of invasive questions concerning why I would go into an abandoned building without backup. While not unheard of under special circumstances, I didn't have any in this instance. Since I couldn't tell him that I knew Brett was there without admitting to the rest of it, I had to make up some cockamamie yarn about hearing noises coming from inside. Bertram believed that one about as much as I did.

The hell of it all is I'm not sure I didn't hear a cry." The look on Lisbon's face was painful to see.

"Don't go there." Jane said quietly. "It'll drive you mad."

"I can't help it." Lisbon said. "I know what I heard."

"Lisbon, you know what you think you heard in hindsight. The mind plays tricks in traumatic situations. It doesn't matter either way. Once Patridge's throat was slashed, he was beyond any help we could give him." Jane said. "Even if you hadn't gotten tazed, he would have bled out before the medics arrived. Trust me; I looked at the forensics report. While his vocal cords weren't completely severed, his jugular was. He only had a handful of minutes at best to live, probably less, so it doesn't matter what you heard or didn't hear. He'd become expendable and his time was up."

"How can you be so callous in the face of a Red John kill?" Lisbon searched Jane's face for any flicker of emotion and found none. "I know Partridge wasn't your favorite person; but, I didn't think you disliked him that much."

"Callous isn't the word I'd use and I didn't dislike him at all." Jane calmly corrected her. "I found him a distasteful Forensics' Ghoul precisely as I said. Clearly with just cause given he was a Red John tool. The man took entirely too much pleasure in his job to be normal.

As for my casual acceptance of recent events, I've learned to live with Red John's antics because I don't have another choice. I've experienced the alternative in case you've forgotten. A padded room isn't all it's cracked up to be. It isn't every day you find a Sophie Miller to help you out of it."

Looking at Jane's face, Lisbon was sorry she'd opened her mouth. She needed to apologize before she did any more damage. He hadn't had such an easy time of it the last few days himself. If anything, he'd had a worst time than she had and that was saying a lot.

If arriving at that house to find her unconscious with Red John's mark smeared across her countenance wasn't enough, Jane had found Sophie's severed head in her oven. That had shaken him more than he'd let on. She'd seen that truth in his eyes. While he hadn't seen his old Psychologist in five years, he'd liked and respected the woman for what she'd done for him. He'd never expected her life to end so tragically. Certainly not because she'd come to his aid so long ago.

Then again, he hadn't been all that surprised by her execution either. Anyone crossing his path in a significant way was liable to suddenly find an imaginary smiley face drawn on their chest. There was nothing Jane could do about it. He couldn't stop people from entering and exiting his life. He didn't have those kinds of super powers.

No one did.

"I'm sorry, Jane." Lisbon said as she closed the file on the screen. "I shouldn't have said any of that."

"No, you shouldn't have; but, I'm not holding it against you." He gave her a tolerant look. "It would make for a rather uncomfortable first date don't you think?"

"On that note, I'll be back in a few." Lisbon grabbed her purse from her desk drawer before rising to her feet and heading for the Ladies Room. "Before you try to follow me, I don't need an escort. Got it? Do not stick your head in the restroom or the date is off. We can continue our talk out here."

"Got it." Jane said as he sat back down. "If you're not back in ten minutes, I'm coming after you. It shouldn't take that long since you're perfect the way you are."

"Can it, Jane." Lisbon rolled her eyes at him. "Flattery isn't getting you anywhere. I know how your mind works and I'm familiar with your Mentalist games. So, I'm warning you not to follow me."

Watching her walk out the door, Jane couldn't help smirking around the words, "It was worth a try."

#

Opening his eyes upon hearing Lisbon enter her office with a snort, Jane rolled easily to his feet before glancing at his watch.

"You were gone twenty minutes." He said as they exited her office. "Need a few extra minutes to talk yourself into going?"

"Maybe." Lisbon admitted punching the elevator button. "I'm still debating the wisdom of hanging out with you like this."

"Well, you can't use that old argument about us being against rules and regulations anymore." Jane reminded her. "And you can't say you don't want to go when we both know you do. So, I'd say you're just being stubborn."

Jane resisted the compelling urge to reach out and do something stupid like muss her hair in frustration. The woman was being a brat. She deserved nothing better and he didn't deserve her reaction to such a gesture. She'd smack him down and refuse to go out with him.

"Maybe I am." Lisbon agreed. "But, whether it's still against rules or regs or not, our being in a relationship is still unprofessional."

"Only if you make it so." Jane said following her down the deserted hall towards the elevator. "Otherwise, it's just a date."

"I guess it is." Lisbon agreed. "And we're both so good at those. We won't mention my last date or yours."

"She was hardly a date, My Dear." Jane said quietly surprised Lisbon could so casually mention a topic that had been a sore point between them for much too long. "Lorelei was strictly business."

"If you say so." Lisbon quirked an eyebrow. "I've never totally bought that argument."

"Let me rephrase it then." Jane said quietly. "It was as close to business as such a moment can be."

"I'll accept that." Lisbon agreed. "It makes more sense."

"Good, now can we change the subject?" Jane asked. "We're on a date, not discussing cases. In fact, I propose we agree work is off limits for the rest of the night. Especially anything connected to Red John."

Holding the door open, Jane watched Lisbon walk outside before falling in step beside her. Waving to the Security Guards they continued across the parking lot towards the sidewalk. Harry's was a good three blocks down on the opposite side of the street. While not the kind of place he'd have selected for a first date, the restaurant was cozy and the home cooking was good. It they were lucky, they'd get one of the quieter tables in the back away from the bustling booths up front.

"What are we going to talk about if we do?" Lisbon asked knowing they usually ended up discussing cases even when they said they wouldn't. Both current and long solved cases from the past. Their work was the one thing binding their universes together like nothing else. "You going to tell me about some more of those cons that should have landed you in a cell a long time ago?"

Lisbon continued talking as she pressed her face against a shop window. She might come back for that large framed print hanging on the far wall. She needed to get a closer look at it. But, from what she could see, it looked like it would match her new comforter set beautifully. If the shop closed before they were on their way back, she'd check it out tomorrow on her lunch break.

"Let's go in and take a look." Jane said quietly from over her shoulder. "Otherwise, you're going to be thinking about that picture all night."

"I can look at it another day." Lisbon said. "We're on our way to dinner."

"Yes, we are, but Harry's can wait." Jane continued. "We don't have a reservation and the restaurant is open late so there's no reason to hurry unless you're hungry. We're still close enough to the CBI to walk across the street and put any purchases in your car. I don't see any reason to wait."

"Since you're okay with the delay neither do I." Lisbon said as she opened the door and stepped inside.

Walking to the back wall, she surveyed the two large hand painted canvases catching her interest. Both were fairly expensive modern interpretations of a famous Post-Impressionist painter's work. Both were stylized Almond Tree branches in full bloom. One had a crimson background in a dark stained wood and gold frame that would blend well with her new bedroom set. The other had an opulent teal background in an elegant wood frame with a champagne finish that would blend equally well with the same set. They were both ridiculously expensive in her opinion; but, she thought she'd live a little dangerously for a change. She hadn't spent as much as she'd budgeted to redo her bedroom so she had some cash left over to play with. So, what it really came down to was which background color suited her best. Deciding she liked the teal, Lisbon prepared to motion the hovering sales associate over only to find Jane had beat her to the punch.

"We'll take both of those." Jane motioned to the two paintings.

"Jane, I only want the teal painting." Lisbon said softly as she reached in her purse for her credit card.

"I want the red one." Jane said as he handed his credit card to the waiting woman. "Before you waste your breath protesting, consider the painting an early birthday present." He nodded in the direction of the painting already being carefully wrapped in a thick layer of protective brown paper wrap.

"You shouldn't have done that." Lisbon said softly.

"I want to." Jane said as he slipped his credit card back in his wallet. "Besides, you just spent a ton of money redoing your bedroom. You don't need to spend anything more."

Taking the wrapped painting, Jane handed it to Lisbon confident she could carry it across the street even if it was rather heavy. Taking the other painting he said their good-byes and followed her out the door. Striding across the street, he leaned his painting against the pavement as he opened the back hatch on Lisbon's SUV. Placing both paintings on the seat, he waited for the protest he knew was coming.

"I thought you said you wanted that painting?" Lisbon stood with her hands on her hips. "If that's true, there's no reason you should be putting both of them in my car."

"Honestly, Lisbon, where would I put it?" Jane asked reasonably. "Put the red one in your bedroom and the teal one downstairs in your living room. You know you wanted both of them."

"Wanting something and getting it are two different things." Lisbon said. "Those paintings weren't cheap."

"No, they weren't; but, you're worth it. In case you don't know, Segram is a rising new star in the art world." Jane said quietly as he closed the back hatch of the SUV. "Those two paintings are going to appreciate so don't let anything happen to them."

"How do you know that?" Lisbon asked as they walked across the street yet again in the direction of the restaurant.

"Angela was interested in art." Jane said conversationally. "I still follow the rising local artists when I get a chance. Jenny Segram's work started appearing in local galleries a couple of years ago. She's developed quite a following since then. Those two paintings we just bought were actually undervalued for their size so we did well in buying them now."

"I'll take your word for it." Lisbon said. "I'll also believe that's why you were willing to drop almost a grand for two paintings."

It was well over a grand; but, he wasn't correcting her math.

"They would have cost twice as much in that gallery across town." Jane commented. "I know because I priced both of them there. I was thinking about getting them for you as a redecorating present. I wasn't sure you'd like them."

"What the hell is a "redecorating present," Jane?" Lisbon asked as the hostess showed them to their table.

"An excuse to give you a gift you can't return." Jane answered honestly. "You have a habit of returning my more expensive tokens of affection."

"Yeah, because you usually buy them with ill gotten gains." Lisbon opened the menu.

Unable to dispute the validity of her claim, Jane opened his menu as well.

"So, has Geoffrey called you recently?" Jane asked as he gazed over the offerings knowing Lisbon was going for those ridiculous "Chicken Fingers" or a specialty burger with hand cut fries. He was leaning more in the direction of the Chicken Fried Steak complete with mashed potatoes and gravy. If he was going to clog his arteries, he might as well have fun doing it. "I know he's heard about what happened."

He knew because he'd called him before his old friend had a chance to see it on the News. While not really any of Geoffrey's business in his opinion, Jane knew the other man would feel differently. Since he'd not wanted to find himself blacklisted from his favorite hangout, he'd made that aggravating call instead.

"He called me before I ever left the hospital." Lisbon admitted. "He's called a couple of times since to make sure I'm doing okay."

"He's a good man." Jane closed the menu. "Even if he is still trying to steal my girl."

"He's not trying anything." Lisbon corrected him. "And I'm not your girl."

"Tonight says otherwise." Jane reminded her. "Surely you don't think this is a onetime thing?"

Even Teresa Lisbon couldn't live in that much denial.

"I honestly haven't given it much thought one way or another." Lisbon told him. "So, I don't know what I think."

Jane's quirked brow silently reminded her how lousy a liar she really was.

"Fine. I've thought about it." Lisbon rolled her eyes as their server dropped a burger bigger than she was in front of her. "I suppose you already have a reservation somewhere less casual for tomorrow night?"

"That new place you mentioned a couple of weeks ago." Jane confirmed as he stared at his burger wondering why he'd decided against the chicken fried steak. "The renovated saw mill on the other side of town. It's a step or two up from this place yet not as fancy as somewhere like Geoffrey's. I thought it would make a nice change."

"Seven thirty?" Lisbon asked as she lifted her burger to her lips. "This looks really good."

"Eight thirty." Jane clarified. "It'll give you a little longer to get ready before I swing by your place."

"You better hope we don't get a new case." Lisbon watched Jane nibble a fry. "That restaurant is forty-five minutes away."

"We'll play it by ear." Jane's tone wasn't all that concerned. "If we miss our reservation, we'll go somewhere else."

"Or we can do take out." Lisbon agreed. "This burger is really good. You should try it instead of hoping it'll turn into whatever you've decided you'd have rather had."

"Chicken fried steak." Jane said.

"What?" Lisbon was clearly more interested in eating than tracking their conversation.

"I'd have rather had chicken fried stead." Jane clarified.

"Oh." Lisbon took another bite of her burger. "Then order it. You can take that home with you or leave it at the CBI for lunch tomorrow."

"It won't be as good." Jane finally gave in and took a bite of his burger ultimately decided it wasn't bad even if it wasn't chicken fried steak. "This is pretty good."

"I told you so." Lisbon smirked knowingly as she watched Jane take another bite of his burger. "So, I can expect you to show up about seven?"

"Probably." Jane agreed. "I'll let myself in with my emergency key. As long as we hit the road by seven-forty, we should be all right."

"I'll be ready by then." Lisbon took a sip of her soda already deciding what she was going to wear. "That's assuming we even get to go. I'm not holding my breath the way things are going. We're liable to get that new case we never saw coming."

They were getting more curve balls than they'd anticipated lately. Red John had lobbied quite a few of those in their direction recently in addition to the other kooks. They fully expected him to keep them coming. Tomorrow would be a perfect opportunity for such a surprise.

"If we do, it's no big deal." Jane lifted his cup to his lips. "All that really matters in the end, is we're together."

"I guess it is." Lisbon shifted uncomfortably in her seat knowing darned well Jane was talking about more than just tomorrow night and she wasn't quite sure how she felt about that.

"You know it is." Jane ignored her restless shifting as she lost herself in thought. "If you felt differently, you wouldn't be sitting here tonight."

"I guess I wouldn't." Lisbon decided she'd give him that much.

"You know you wouldn't." Jane said casually before giving Lisbon the out she so desperately needed. "What do you want for dessert?"

"Hot fudge cake with two scoops of ice cream." Lisbon's eyes lit at the thought of the plate of gooey sinfulness.

"You're so predictable." Jane shook his head. "If there's chocolate anywhere in sight, you're going for it."

"Yeah, what's so bad about that?" Lisbon asked. "Besides, you're ordering apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream. Talk about predictable."

"Actually, tonight I think I'm going for one of those sundaes." Jane corrected her.

"Right. The one with the spiced apple topping instead of hot fudge or caramel sauce." Lisbon laughed at the acquiescence in his eyes. "Talk about predictable. If it has apples in it, you're going for it." She mocked him gently.

"You may be right." Jane closed the dessert menu.

"You know I am." Lisbon agreed. "You know something else?"

"Maybe." Jane said.

"Maybe?" Lisbon quirked a brow at him. "Fine, since you know so much, tell me what I'm thinking."

"You've had a nice time tonight and we should keep on doing this." Jane said quietly. "You've finally decided, "What the hell?". You've given the CBI and Red John long enough. Maybe I'm right in thinking we should just go for it."

"Something like that." Lisbon agreed not all that surprised he'd read her mind so thoroughly.

Things might be different if they didn't know each other so well; but, they did.