"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Jane asked as soon as Lisbon opened her door.

While she may have thought their conversation ended at the hospital, she was clearly wrong. Admitting her foolish "bug" trick was a stupid move had gone a long way towards defusing the heat of the moment; but, it didn't wipe the slate clean. Nor did agreeing it had given Red John the means to lure her in like a fish on a line. Exactly as Jane had told her it would. There were still a number of things left to be said. He was having a difficult time restraining himself any longer.

Before, his overwhelming fear and joy at having Lisbon alive halted his tongue. He'd chosen to bask in the moment instead. Besides, while she was lying in a hospital bed in shock wasn't the time or place to let her have it. However, that didn't mean she was walking away from the entire situation without knowing exactly how he felt.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

She'd do the same to him.

"Do not cuss at me, Jane." Lisbon resisted the urge to slam the door in his face. "You don't have that right."

"I beg to differ." Jane said. "I'm your partner. If anyone has the right to protest you unnecessarily putting your life at risk, I'd say that person is me. However, you did more than put your life at risk. You managed to cheat death in spite of your foolish actions…You must know I never expected to get you back…None of us did."

"Don't." Lisbon said as she locked the door. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Too bad." Jane's tone was stubborn. "We're going to whether you want to or not."

Following him into her kitchen, Lisbon decided she much preferred the man by her hospital bed to the one she was dealing with now. The one whose presence instantly calmed her when she'd awakened so violently positive she was bleeding out from Haffner's vicious slash. He'd gently touched her reassuring her everything was fine. Her dream was little more than a vicious nightmare fading into the recesses of her mind. He'd anchored her in the storm gently easing her back into a their altered reality. He'd let her know she was unharmed aside from that nasty Taser burn. Something she'd not been entirely sure of. He'd even brought her home from the hospital and stayed through the night.

Nobody knew that.

Well, not exactly "nobody". She was pretty damned sure Red John did. The bastard knew everything. He probably knew Jane had driven her into work the next day as well. However, she doubted he knew Jane had slept in her bed the night before and held her deep into the darkness. She'd done that a time or two for him in the past when the nightmares became too much. He'd simply returned the favor.

Or that was what she kept telling herself. She wasn't reading anything more into Jane's tenderness.

"Not." Lisbon supplied while she watched Jane make a beeline for a certain cabinet.

Watching him take his cup down, she watched him set it on the counter in the matching saucer before setting the kettle on the burner to heat. If there was one thing Jane was when it came to tea, it was predictable. He was going to make himself a cup from one of the blends she kept on hand just for him. If Lisbon was lucky, he'd make her that perfect cup of coffee.

He was also going to head for the pantry and that expensive bottle of Bourbon he'd stuck in a forgotten corner a couple of years ago. It was still three quarters full as neither of them even qualified as social drinkers. That didn't mean either of them turned down the occasional "Case Closed" libation or that occasional glass of wine. Just that alcohol wasn't the most regular occurrence in either of their lives. If she discounted that annual drunkfest on a certain anniversary which she did.

"Lisbon, you can't keep doing stupid things like going into deserted houses without backup." Jane said offering her the first sip from the liberal glass of Bourbon he'd poured. "The last time you did something like that you ended with a bomb strapped to your chest. Didn't the experience teach you anything?"

"I had a job to do." Lisbon defended herself. "I knew Partridge was in there."

She so didn't like the taste of Bourbon and her nasty face said it.

"And you knew he was a tool at best." Jane reminded her. "There was no reason to risk your life for him."

"Maybe." Lisbon conceded. "Or maybe he was totally innocent…We honestly didn't know."

But, she did now. They all did. That 'Tyger, Tyger.' said it all.

"Either way, he was already a goner." Jane's tone was deadly quiet. "You had to know that, too."

"Maybe." Lisbon repeated refusing to look him in the eyes. "Whether he was or he wasn't, I couldn't stand there doing nothing."

She'd thought about it; but, that really wasn't an option…not for her.

"Yes, you could." Jane corrected her. "You should have stayed outside until backup arrived. Going in was a no-win situation and you know it. All it was going to do was make Bertram ask difficult questions we don't need him asking. Ones like why you'd go in that deserted house since there was no mention of Partridge or Red John on the call you responded to. In case you don't know, that's exactly what he asked me. All I could say was I didn't know. We both know he believed that one."

Fortunately, Bertram had decided that was a fight for another day and let the matter drop. Jane was clearly more concerned with Lisbon and her welfare than he was with placating their "Boss." He'd been willing to simply let things be.

"I made a judgment call." Lisbon defended her actions. "Maybe it wasn't the right one…But, I had to do something."

"No, you didn't." Jane continued. "You didn't have to do a thing."

"Stop it, Jane." Lisbon said wearily. "I know what almost happened. I'm a cop. I can't stand by and do nothing when someone's life's at stake."

Or, more importantly, the answers they so desperately needed.

"Do you?" Jane asked ignoring the majority of her statement including the part she'd left unsaid. "Know what almost happened? I'm not sure you do. Red John didn't have to let you go and, contrary to what I said at the hospital, I don't think he intended to. I also don't think he was feeling playful even if I said otherwise.

I believe I'm more right in thinking he got spooked before he could finish the job. Maybe he heard those sirens in the distance, realized he didn't have time to play his usual twisted games, and cut his losses. Maybe he didn't hear a thing but knew you'd called for backup so they'd probably be showing up at anytime. Either way, the clock was ticking down faster than he'd meant for it to.

I'd say a more likely explanation for your survival is Red John is a true artisan. He wanted you conscious while he tormented you. Seeing and feeling every agonizing thrust and slice of his handiwork.

Since he couldn't have that, you got a rain check instead. Consider that lovely calling card on your face, the one I wiped away before you could see it, his mark of intent. If I were you, I'd cease taking unnecessary chances.

We've always known you had an imaginary target on your back. Now you've had a literal one telling us we're exactly right."

"I said I don't want to discuss it so hush." Lisbon fixed him with a mildly exasperated look conveying the next words out of her mouth were going to be stronger if he didn't. "You're talking too much."

"I'm going to continue talking." Jane said doing just that. "In spite of your stupidity, you were a very lucky woman. You should be lying on a slab in the M.E.'s office not standing here talking to me."

"Or maybe you're totally wrong in what you're thinking. Maybe Red John never meant to do anything more than what he did. Maybe he just wanted to shake us up and send a message." Lisbon reminded him. "Let us know he could get to any of us any time he wanted."

"Maybe." Jane agreed. "I'm not sure of anything except, of everyone I know, he took the one person who means the most to me. I'd say we're busted, Lisbon. Not that it surprises me. He's known there was something between us long before Lorelei."

Looking away, Lisbon refused to give Jane the satisfaction of agreeing with him.

"If I hadn't gone into that house, you'd never have gotten your answer." Lisbon quietly reminded him instead.

Jane gave her look saying that wasn't exactly true.

"I don't care about answers at the moment, Lisbon." Jane informed her knowing, unlike the woman staring at him through wide green eyes, if he hadn't gotten his "answer" the way she mentioned, he'd have eventually gotten it another. While he might be occasionally stumped what his next move should be, he'd never doubted his abilities to figure it out eventually. Now, whether things actually played out precisely the way he'd imagined was an entirely different matter. "I care about you. End of story."

"Yeah, well, while that may be true, we needed that answer." Lisbon reminded him. "Red John isn't psychic is he?"

Lisbon now clearly believed what he'd been saying all along.

"You're finally accepting what I've been telling you all along." Jane smirked slightly at her wide, questioning eyes. "I've told you a million times over the years, there's no such thing as psychics…just very gifted cons."

Lisbon gave him a look saying she still wasn't sure about that. She knew he wasn't either. She'd lived with having his special brand of "something" intimately in her midst for a number of years. While Jane might deny any "psychic" abilities, there were moments that seemed to belie his claims. As it happened, she'd seen too many such "moments" over the years to completely dismiss the thought he might not possess at least some of the abilities he mocked so openly.

"He was using Sophie Miller's notes." Lisbon said.

"Among other things we haven't discovered yet. Something I'd have figured out eventually without you putting yourself at risk." Jane agreed. "He's clearly had insider knowledge we didn't know he was privy to. We've known that all along, we just haven't known what or how. We're beginning to get a handle on that. Red John is crafty, Lisbon, but he isn't psychic. The unfortunate truth is we're going to have to be craftier if we want to beat him. Keep our inside knowledge inside."

"How do we do that?" Lisbon asked. "We've never been able to keep our secrets even when we thought we were."

"That's because we never knew the extent of his reach before now." Jane stated quietly. "Now that we're starting to, that's a game changer. I'm not sure how we're going to do what needs to be done; but, for the first time in a while I believe we'll figure it out." Jane said. "We don't have a choice if we hope to stop him."

"We're going to stop him." Lisbon stated firmly with renewed determination even if she didn't have a clue where to start and felt like crap at the moment. "He's just going to keep on killing if we don't."

And he was going to keep them apart if they let him. Looking at Lisbon, Jane decided now was as good a time as any to press his suit. They had nothing to hide. Red John clearly knew they meant more to each other than met the eye. If either of them believed differently, he'd recently proven them wrong. He wouldn't have honed in on Lisbon if he hadn't.

"Let's go for it." Jane dropped his bomb out of the blue.

"Go for what?" Lisbon said automatically although she knew better.

"Do I have to spell it out?" Jane asked.

"I think you do." Lisbon countered.

"Fine." Jane agreed. "You and me, let's go for it. It's not like we have anything left to hide."

"Harry's at 6:30 on Thursday night." Lisbon said quietly not missing a beat. She really didn't have any reason to hem and haw or think about it. The CBI had relaxed their dating regulations recently so hanging out with Jane on a more personal level wasn't nearly as unprofessional as it used to be. Besides, she was fast approaching Rigsby and Van Pelt's whole "screw the CBI attitude" anyway. As for Red John, he'd changed the rules of the game. She might as well give him a reason to come after her if he was doing it anyway. "Meet me at my office and we'll go from there. I should be through with my meeting with Bertram and most of my paperwork by then. We can hit the bookstore for coffee and tea afterwards."

She needed to find something for Cho's birthday and Jane's input would be welcome.

"Harry's it is." Jane agreed.

While it wasn't the fine restaurant he'd hoped for their first official date, it was a nice casual place within walking distance of the CBI. If that wasn't enough, other boutique shops were still open besides the bookstore. They could drag out the evening checking them out. If he was lucky, Lisbon would let him buy more than just her dinner. She'd find something nice in one of those shops. Even if she didn't, if Harry's was what Lisbon wanted, that was what she'd get.

He could take her to a swankier place on Friday.