Author's note: Well, here it is. The end. I've been holding off posting this because I didn't want to let go of this story. I've enjoyed writing it SO MUCH and have cherished all of you who have enjoyed reading it. Thank you all so much for all of your support to make this first time fic author feel like she might actually not be committing a major atrocity. I love this fandom so very much!

She woke with a start, heart racing as she reached automatically for the gun on her nightstand. Only it wasn't there. Instead, her fingers encountered something cool and wet. A water bottle. She twisted the top off and drank it greedily, dropping the empty plastic to the floor. With a giant yawn, she settled back into the pillow, wondering what had awoken her.

A nightmare? She quickly dismissed the possibility. Only the really bad ones ever woke her up, usually followed by a bout of nausea and a sprint to the bathroom. Was Jane snoring? She turned her head and squinted in the dim light. Nope. In fact, he wasn't even there. What the hell? Certainly, she hadn't been dreaming it, because her dreams were never that good. She felt her cheeks heat up. Well, she thought sheepishly, almost never.

He must be messing around with something in the kitchen. She reached over to grab the covers from the other side of the bed, smiling as she was enveloped in the scent of his cologne. She was so unbelievably happy that she didn't even care that he had deprived her of the first time of waking up in his arms. Okay, maybe she cared a little.

She'd let it slide this time. Probably.

She had just started thinking about all the ways he could make it up to her, when he entered the room with a steaming cup of coffee, clad in only his suit pants. Immediately, he was forgiven, and she silently cursed herself. Her two biggest weaknesses were her love for caffeine and her love for Jane. Combined, they had nearly unspeakable power. He clicked on her bedside lamp and handed her the mug.

The coffee was definitely hot, but it tasted fantastic. He certainly knew his way around a coffee maker. She closed her eyes in bliss, holding up her hand to silence him as he took a breath to speak. He smiled in amusement and sat on the edge of the bed, close to her hip.

After she had drained about half of the mug, he took it from her hands and sat it on her nightstand. His hands found both sides of her face, thumbs brushing her cheeks as he sealed his lips to hers. After a delicious minute, he pulled away with a murmured "Good morning."

Her brow wrinkled in confusion. "Morning? It's morning?"

He smiled and shrugged. "Our two hour nap might have gone a tad overboard. I'm not complaining, though." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trailing his fingers down her jaw line. "It was the best sleep I've had in longer than I can remember."

She blushed for the second time that morning and then silently laughed at herself. This whole thing was still so surreal. She almost didn't recognize these versions of herself and of Jane. But, she couldn't wait to get to know them.

"I made breakfast. Kind of. Do you feel strong enough to walk into the kitchen? If not, I could—"

"Jane, you are not carrying me!"

"I was merely going to offer to bring it in here. I've cheated bodily harm twice in the last twenty-four hours. Attempting it a third time would just be crazy."

"Oh. Sorry. I'm pretty sure I can walk." She swung her legs off the side of the bed, grasped the bedside table, and stood up, her legs shaking with the effort to hold herself up. Instantly, his hands were at her waist to steady her. "I don't need help!" she snapped, irritated with herself at her own weakness. She felt him tense, but he didn't make a move to drop his hands and she immediately felt contrite. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to the center of his chest, lingering for a few moments before she pulled back and looked up at him.

"I'm sorry, Patrick. I'm just irritated with myself. We both know I'm no good at this."

"Your grumpiness doesn't scare me, Teresa. It's one of the many qualities I love about you. We're both going to mess up from time to time, and that's okay. There's no one else I'd rather find my way with."

She smiled up at him, relieved she hadn't ruined things already. "I feel the same way," she replied, turning and sliding an arm around his waist. "Now, let's see what you've managed to come up with for breakfast."

"It's not much," he said as they slowly made their way to the kitchen. "You have the kitchen of the stereotypical G-Woman."

"Hey," she responded in mock indignation, "I'm better than I used to be." They made it to her kitchen table, where he helped her to sit before returning to the table with two bowls of macaroni and cheese.

He set it in front of her with a flourish. "Thank God you didn't get the kind that requires milk. I'm pretty sure yours has turned into cottage cheese."

She laughed as he refilled her coffee. "That's how I save money! Two foods for the price of one."

He slid his chair around the table until his knees bumped hers. "That's disgusting. And stopping as of today."

She just smiled at him and speared a few more noodles, chewing slowly as her eyes took in the sight before her. She hoped she wasn't making him uncomfortable, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from him.

He noticed her staring and glanced down, seemingly self-conscious. "What? Do we dress formally for macaroni and cheese around here?"

Instead of answering, she reached out a tentative hand and traced the horizontal scar just below his ribs. He sucked in a breath at the contact and met her eyes. "How did this happen?" she asked softly, dropping her hand to his knee.

He shrugged nonchalantly, staring into his bowl. "Nothing exciting or remarkable, really. It happened a long time ago. During my tenure as Patrick Jane, Boy Wonder, I also masqueraded as Patrick Jane, Boy of Repairs. I wasn't really qualified to do anything, but I was cheap labor. One morning, I was up on this ladder trying to fix a lighting track in the House of Mirrors. I'm pretty sure they borrowed it from Helga, whose claim to fame was being the oldest woman alive at, supposedly, one hundred and twelve. I'm also pretty sure that the ladder was given to her at birth, because it collapsed after only a couple of minutes and I fell into one of the mirrors, which broke and sliced through me pretty well.

My recovery was fairly extensive, which, thankfully, afforded my dad time to find a new handyman. He told me that I was going to have to step up my game now that the work I was doing wasn't going to be taken out of our rent. So, I started practicing different cold reading tactics. By the time I was well enough to be released, I had most of the staff convinced that I was the genuine article. The rest, as they say, is history."

"Jane, that's horrible! I can't believe your dad put you in that position in the first place!"

He shrugged and stood, grabbing their bowls and depositing them in the sink. "I was just grateful he didn't toss me out at the next town."

When he returned to stand next to her, she reached out and grasped his hips, pulling him toward her and pressing a kiss to his abdomen. She smiled as she felt his stomach muscles quiver beneath her lips. She felt his fingers at her hairline, tracing the faint line on her forehead.

"Since we're sharing—I noticed this when you were in the hospital, and I was surprised that I hadn't seen it before. What's the story there?"

Lisbon didn't say anything as she looked down at the table. She took a deep breath, but before she could speak, Jane slid his fingers underneath her chin and lifted her face. She wasn't sure what expression she wore, but whatever he saw made him nod, smile softly and ghost his lips across her own mark, repeating her earlier gesture.

"I thought so," he murmured as he pulled back. "It seems we both bear the marks left by people who should have protected us."

"How did you know?"

"Why do you still ask me that question?"

She shrugged, the corner of her mouth lifting as she shook her head. "I have no idea. Maybe I'm just trying to learn your secret."

"My love, I have no secrets from you." She looked at him like he'd grown another head and he couldn't help the laugh that burst from his chest. "Okay, maybe I still have a few. But, if there's anything you ever want to know, just ask. I have nothing to hide from you, Teresa. Not anymore."

"I will be taking you up on that offer soon. I have so many questions."

He laughed again, squeezing her shoulders before stepping away. "I'm sure you do. I'll just caution you that some things are better left a mystery. Either way, it will have to wait. I have to head into the bureau soon."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Apparently, I left the action a bit too early the other night. I neglected to provide a formal statement, so I have to go in before they come after me. They're also pushing their seventy-two hour limit as far as charging Haffner, so I'm certain they will be doing that today. Abbott wanted to grill as many of his minions as possible before going after Haffner himself, so they're conducting that interview today. I want to be there."

She rose slowly from the table, a determined look on her face. "I'm going with you. Just give me a few minutes to get dressed."

"I don't have to tell you that you are in no shape to do this."

"And I don't have to tell you that I'm perfectly aware of that. But, I need to be there. I need to see his face, Jane. Afterwards, I'll come back here and finish out my leave. You can handcuff me to the bed if you want to."

"Can I get that in writing? Maybe notarized?"

"Very funny. When do we leave?"

"Look, I know you why you want to be there. I get it, I do. I just don't think that you've had enough time to process everything you've been through and I don't want to see you hurt anymore."

"I appreciate that, Jane. I really do. But, I'm going to be there one way or the other. So, you can either go with me or I can call Cho. It makes no difference to me."

His eyes met her determined gaze and held it. She wasn't backing down and she knew that he knew it. After a few tense moments, he heaved a giant sigh and rolled his eyes. "Fine, but I'm driving."

She smiled and brought his head down to her. "It's a deal," she murmured against his lips.

The elevator doors opened and Lisbon stepped cautiously into the bullpen, Jane hovering slightly behind her as she delicately made her way across the floor. Wylie was the first to spot them, rushing over to lightly wrap his arms around her.

"It's so good to see you!" he gushed. "But what are you doing here? Not that we don't miss you, but I guess I kinda feel like maybe you might need a few more days to rest before—"

Lisbon cut him off, laughing. "Lay off the coffee, Wylie. I'm just here to tie up a few loose ends and then it's back to leave I go."

"Awesome. I'm going to the break room. Need anything?"

She shook her head. "No, thank you. Just stick to decaf from here on out, okay?"

He smiled and headed towards the break room, nearly colliding with Abbott, who looked at them in surprise. "Teresa! Good to see you up and about. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"I just wanted to see him for myself, Boss. Then I'm headed home."

"Of course. Cho's waiting for Jane in interrogation. I was just headed there myself." He offered his arm to her. "Care to join me?"

She could almost physically feel Jane's surprise as she hesitated for a moment before taking Abbott up on his offer. It was the better of her two options—either accept a little bit of assistance, or risk causing a scene if she grew too tired and fell over. She preferred to avoid that scenario at all costs.

They'd gone about five feet when a voice spoke up from behind them. "Um, Agent Lisbon?"

The trio turned to see a young woman with auburn hair. A visitor's badge hung from the lapel of her police uniform. Jane immediately smiled and motioned her over. She took a few tentative steps forward, glancing around nervously as she stopped in front of them. Her eyes met Lisbon's as she started to speak. "I don't know if you know who I am. I know we never actually saw each other—"

"Officer Belding. I'd recognize your voice anywhere." Lisbon let go of Abbott's arm and put her arms around the younger woman, hugging her with as much strength as she could muster. The redhead returned her embrace fiercely, pulling back after a few moments to look at Lisbon with tears in her eyes.

Lisbon's own eyes were a bit glossy. "Guys, you go on ahead. I'd like a few minutes with Heather."

"Of course," Abbott replied. "Feel free to use my office. C'mon, Jane. Let's close this up."

"With pleasure," Jane said, subtly brushing his hand across Lisbon's back as he and Abbott headed to join Cho.

Lisbon led the way to his office, shutting the door behind her and settling onto his couch. Heather followed suit, grabbing Lisbon's hand.

"How did you know I'd be here today, Heather?"

"I didn't. I heard that you caught…him and that they were going to be questioning him today, and I just felt like I had to be here. I know you understand."

Lisbon nodded. "Yeah, I do. That's the same reason I'm here. How have you been feeling?"

Heather dropped her gaze and said quickly, "Oh, I'm fine."

"Are you really? Because I'm not."

Heather's head shot up, tears filling her eyes again. After a moment, she shook her head. "I'm not, either," she whispered. "But I feel like I should be. I left you there. You almost died and I left you there and I should be fine. But, I'm not."

"Heather, you didn't leave me there to die. We made a plan. One of us had to go—it was inevitable. You're allowed to not be okay because of the ordeal we went through. But I won't let you feel guilt about how we got out of it. From what I understand, your information was what saved my life. They never would have found me in time if it wasn't for you. So, I'd say we're even."

"I don't know about that."

"You're a smart woman. You wouldn't be where you are now if you weren't. And you're a good cop. I wouldn't be sitting here with you now if you weren't. I'd be a desiccated corpse left to rot in some hellhole."

Lisbon held the other woman's gaze until a small smile appeared on Heather's face. "Thank you, Teresa. I know our circumstances were dire. And I know that what happened wasn't my fault. I guess I just couldn't shake the guilt. There are times where I wake up and still feel like I'm there."

"I know. I do, too. Have you talked to anyone?"

"I had to complete professional counseling before I was even allowed to go back to the precinct. My husband's been really supportive, which helps a lot. How have you been feeling?"

Lisbon shrugged. "Physically, I'm getting there. I'm getting stronger every day. Emotionally, I'd say we're in the same place. I haven't spoken with my counselor yet."

"And you've got Mr. Jane. I'm sure he's been a huge source of support." Heather laughed at the surprised look on Lisbon's face. "Is that supposed to be a secret? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"I'm almost afraid to ask how you figured it out."

"It was pretty obvious what you meant to him. He didn't exactly keep it a secret that he wasn't going to stop until he found you. His intensity was different from the others on your team. They were all as determined, but he was the only one acting like he had something more to lose."

It was Lisbon's turn to look down, shaking her head. She could only imagine what he'd done. Or what might have happened to him if they hadn't found her. Lisbon stood and Heather did the same, facing her. They hugged one more time and when they separated, they were both smiling. "We're both going to be okay," Lisbon said. "Let's go make sure that bastard rots in his own hellhole for the rest of his life."

Heather nodded, taking Lisbon's arm as they left Abbott's office and headed towards interrogation. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

"This is Special Agent Kimball Cho, along with Patrick Jane. First interview of Raymond Haffner, alias Revanche. Mr. Haffner, you have chosen to waive legal representation for the duration of this interview. Is that correct?"

Haffner sat back in the chair and nodded as he smirked at Cho.

Without missing a beat, Cho leaned forward and replied, "Mr. Haffner has physically indicated that he does not wish to have an attorney present. Patrick Jane is here as witness."

"I certainly am!" Jane chimed in with a sunny smile.

"I'm declining legal representation," Haffner interjected, lacing his fingers behind his head, "because you have nothing to accuse me of. You don't need a shark when you're on dry land."

"We should arrest you just for that. Dry land? Really? That's the best you could come up with?" Jane regarded Haffner with thinly veiled disgust. "Dry land," he murmured, shaking his head.

Cho shot a nearly imperceptible look at Jane, then turned his attention back to the man sitting across from them. " It's over for you. We've got an overwhelming amount of evidence against you and you know that we do. You know how this game is played. You cooperate and things get a little easier. You make me work for it, and all those deals go flying out the window."

Haffner smirked and shifted in his chair, his gaze casually going from Jane to Cho. "Well, you're right about one thing. I do indeed know how this game is played, which is how I know that you are running out of time. So, what's it going to be, fellas? If you're not going to formally charge me, I have an appointment that I really don't want to be late for."

Jane nodded in understanding. "Gonna cover up those grays, huh? What are you thinking?" He leaned back in his chair and studied the other man's head. "Hmm. What goes well with prison orange? Maybe a toasted coconut? We'd better let him go, Cho. It would absolutely be a crime on our part to let him go on with those roots."

Cho opened the folder in front of him. "Right. You want charges? Let's start with possession of illegal weapons."

Haffner shrugged. "You can't trace any of those back to me. Try again."

"Drug trafficking."

"I had no idea there were drugs there! Look, you guys have this all backwards. I'm the victim here."

"Uh huh. We have thirty guys in lockup who are prepared to testify exactly the opposite."

"On orders from their boss, I'll bet. I'm being set up here. You guys should really be focusing your efforts on her. Seriously, check her out. Some blonde chick named Krystal."

"If that's true, how did you know about the escape hatch?"

"I'd been held there a while, which gave me plenty of opportunity to learn the layout. When you guys came blazing in, I saw my opportunity to run, so I took it."

Cho stared at him, obviously not buying it. "Good for you. There's still the two counts of kidnapping. One for Officer Heather Belding and one for Agent Teresa Lisbon."

Haffner's eyes went wide. "Teresa's missing? That's absolutely horrible!" He ran his hand over his face and shook his head. "Oh my God, I can't believe this! If there's anything I can do to help find her, you have to let me know. I want this bastard caught!"

Jane snorted in disgust and was about to reply when the door to the interrogation room opened. As soon as he saw Officer Belding, his eyes found Haffner's face again. The other man was tense, but when he saw who was behind Heather, his already pale face drained of what little color it had. Haffner's eyes never left Teresa as Heather moved to stand behind Cho. Lisbon stood behind Jane, not saying a word as she looked down at Haffner.

Jane felt a huge, satisfied smile settle across his face. Gotcha, you son of a bitch.

After a moment, Cho spoke up again. "Did I forget to mention two counts of attempted murder? I should have started with that one."

Haffner replied, his eyes still not leaving Lisbon's face. "I think I'd like that lawyer now."

Three weeks later

Jane nervously adjusted the collar of his shirt. It had been a while since he'd donned this particular garment and he wanted to wear it tonight so it could have a better memory attached to it. The blue swirl pattern had always reminded him of the ocean. He'd had so many happy memories alongside the ocean. Building sandcastles with Charlotte. Moonlit swims with Angela.

His thumb automatically went to adjust his wedding band, as it did every time he thought of his wife. Only this time, it met bare skin. He wondered how long it would be before he stopped that particular habit. The ring was in the pocket of his new vest. How long would it take Teresa to notice it was gone? He was determined not to draw attention to it, though he felt as if he were wearing a big neon arrow pointing straight at his hand.

He glanced at his watch and then back up towards the door. Where was she? He hoped she could find the place all right. They'd never been here before, but he'd heard that it had great cannoli. It was early evening, and the dinner crowd at Il Tavolo Bianco was just starting to trickle in.

He took another sip of his champagne and glanced at his watch again. The alcohol helped calm his nerves, but only slightly. He had another bottle of it and two of those famous cannolis chilling in a cooler in the trunk of his Citroen. Lisbon had surprised him with the car last week. Her brother Stan had been storing it in his garage for the last two years. He had been so touched that she'd gone to such lengths to hold on to something so precious to him, even if she did supposedly fear for her safety every time she got in it.

If he hadn't been absolutely sure of his decision before, that gesture had sealed it. Two days later, he'd taken an extended lunch to purchase the ring that was in the other vest pocket. He wasn't sure which ring he was more nervous about. He was counting on the fact that she felt as deeply for him as he did for her, otherwise he was afraid that she'd bolt, claiming that they were moving too fast. But this just felt so right to him. She felt so right.

"Looks like you've got some pretty deep thoughts going on there. You need some more time alone?"

With a start, he looked up to see her smiling down at him. He shot to his feet, taking her in with one glance. She was beautiful in a jade green halter dress, the exact same shade as her eyes. She was also wearing the small emerald studs he'd bought her two weeks ago. He'd meant what he said all those years ago—they really did look lovely with her eyes.

She smirked as she saw his shirt. "You went with the blue swirls again, huh? Not a bad choice."

He framed her face with his hands and kissed her. She grabbed his hands as he pulled back and her eyes widened as she encountered his now ring-less finger. He smiled and pulled out her chair, catching her left hand and pulling it to his lips. "Best choice I've made in a long time."

Thank you all so much for reading. I would love to hear your final thoughts—good, bad or indifferent. I don't plan on giving up writing in this fandom, though I will be sticking to one shots for a while. Much less pressure. :)