Chapter Text
Because the last time you let yourself feel this way it was a long, long time ago
And now we get so scared, and we get so scared to be nowhere left alone
Lisbon wakes with a start, breath catching in her chest as she breaks from the clutches of sleep. Disoriented, she blinks her bleary eyes open and waits a moment as she adjusts to the sunlight filtering through the half closed curtains in the airstream. Her breathing slowly evens as she pushes through the rest of the sleep-induced fog, and she calms further upon registering the body pressed against her back and the arm thrown across her waist.
The Special Agent listens for a moment to the steady inhale-exhale of her partner, and basks in the warmth of his embrace. She wouldn’t have known he was awake at all, save for the way his hand had tightened briefly when she’d awoken before his thumb had resumed its gentle stroking of her belly.
They hadn’t told anyone about the pregnancy yet, having both decided to wait until she was safely into the second trimester. As it was, she was barely nine weeks along, and they were both content to remain in their bubble a little while longer.
That’s not to say that their happy bubble had been completely without fears- Jane had already been concerned enough as it was about her safety- but it had seemed to increase tenfold since her announcement. Although not completely out of the field, she’s volunteered to take the more lower-risk tasks on cases. It reminds her of being a rookie again, all gruntwork research and interviews, with no gunplay payoff.
But for the safety of their newest addition, she’s glad to make the compromise. She just hopes that the other agents don’t look too closely as to why she’s taken a step back.
“You okay?” he inquires quietly, breaking the silence.
Pulling herself from her musing, Lisbon hums in affirmation, turning her head to look over her shoulder. Jane’s eyes are closed and he looks to be the picture of sleep, though she knows he’s probably been up for at least a couple of hours. A decade of insomnia and abhorrent sleep patterns don’t just fix themselves, but he’s trying, for her.
His eyes open suddenly, and a soft smile crosses his face as his gaze meets her own. He leans forward to place a haphazardly aimed kiss to her cheek. Lisbon crinkles her nose at the way his scruff tickles her skin, but shifts onto her back anyway. Reaching up, her hand finds the back of his neck, and she guides his head down towards her own where she captures his lips in a languid kiss.
He shifts, bringing in his body partially overtop of hers as his hands start to roam. Lisbon hums in approval as his mouth starts to wander as well, trailing kisses along her jaw and down the column of her throat. The consultant delights in her pleasure, taking extra care of the spot just above her collarbone that he knows she likes.
The blissful shroud that had settled over the pair is soon broken however as the shrill ringing of her cellphone’s ringtone pierces the air, separating the lovers prematurely.
“Leave it,” Jane urges, breath tickling her skin as he brings his hands to rest on either side of her waist, effectively stopping her from getting up.
Lisbon acquiesces, bringing his mouth back to hers. Her mystery caller is persistent however, and not one minute later her cellphone is sounding again.
Breaking the kiss with a sigh, she leans over the edge of the bed, fishing the damned device from the floor before looking at the caller ID.
“It’s Cho,” she tells her partner, before answering. “Hey boss,” she greets, turning her gaze away from Jane’s unamused expression as she listens to her friend’s reply. Jane makes no attempt to move however, keeping his body balanced above her own. He’s of two minds as he purposely brings his face within inches of her own- half to tempt her into hanging up faster, and the other half to eavesdrop.
“Hey, Lisbon. I need you to come in today,” comes Cho’s even voice through the speaker.
Jane lets out a huff, already knowing what his wife will undoubtedly end up agreeing to. Lisbon shoots him an exasperated glance, her hand coming up to cover his mouth.
“I’m off today. I have plans,” she tells her former subordinate, all the while ignoring her partner’s frown beneath her palm.
“I’m sorry,” Cho says through the phone. “But we have a new high profile case and we're too green. I need you to be the team lead on this one.”
It’s a fair point, Jane thinks. She’s got the most leadership experience out of all their team, Cho included, but-
“Why can’t you?” the consultant grumbles against Lisbon’s hand. “That’s your job,” he adds bitterly. Her grip tightens briefly before dropping.
“Hey Jane,” Cho acknowledges, and the female agent sighs again before putting the call on speakerphone. If Jane was going to butt into her conversation anyway, she might as well make it easier for him. “Look, you know I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important. I have a couple meetings already booked with the higher-ups about our unit that I can’t miss.”
“Fine,” Lisbon grumbles. “I’ll be there in an hour.”
“Good,” Cho says by way of thanks. “I’ll brief you when you get here.”
“Great,” she says, before hanging up the phone.
Jane still hasn’t moved, fingers tapping an erratic beat on her hips.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she bristles, finally taking in her husband's unimpressed expression “He was right, I can’t say no. We are too green.”
At his continued silence, she continues. “I’m sorry. I’ll rebook the ultrasound when this case is over, okay?”
“Only if you promise,” he says irritably.
“Yes, fine,” she agrees, punctuating her statement with a chaste kiss.
Jane’s frown fades, after all he can’t really stay mad at her. Annoyed perhaps, but not entirely directed at her. More so at the fact that she had to be so damn good at her job that they needed to call her in on their day off.
Satisfied, he flops back onto his side of the bed, allowing her to get up. Closing his eyes, he listens as Lisbon showers and dresses, all the while contemplating their newfound arrangement.
Before Abbott had left, they’d renegotiated some of their terms of agreement for his freedom. Their former SSA could see the toll the job was taking on Jane, particularly when it came to a certain brunette, though he wouldn’t say anything explicitly. The man had more than enough first-hand experience with death than anyone should have in a lifetime, which garnered him a certain amount of sympathy from Abbott. Besides, having Jane help sometimes was better than not having him at all, so the FBI agent was willing to make the sacrifice.
They’d eventually come to an agreement after some deliberation; if Jane wanted to keep his immunity, then he’d have to serve out the remainder of their initial agreement as a consultant. However, he was now entitled to indirect consulting- i.e: he could pick his own hours and did not have to be present at the FBI headquarters, so long as he was still assisting when necessary. Should he choose to participate in the case fully, that was his prerogative, but not necessary unless otherwise ordered by the unit chief.
The last amendment was the easiest term to agree to: he had to remain under the distant supervision of an agent whenever he was not in the FBI office or on his own property unless otherwise ordered, which worked well enough considering he just so happened to be married to one.
The subtext was clear; should he break any of the conditions of agreement, there was a nice hard cot waiting for him in prison. But he couldn’t hurt Teresa- not again, especially with their little surprise on the way, and Jane had no intentions of returning to jail. Once was enough, thank you very much.
Since then, he’d spent his free time renovating their cabin whenever Lisbon was off doing the ‘boring detective work’, as he’d affectionately called it. He’d more often than not end up joining her for the ‘exciting’ parts of the cases- for equal parts habit and general anxiety over her safety.
“You’d better hurry up and finish our house,” Lisbon grumbles, exiting the tiny bathroom to come and stand in front of the bed.
Turning his head in her direction, he shoots her an inquisitive look.
“I’m not gonna be able to fit in that bathroom in a couple of months,” she elaborates, scowling at the thought as her hand comes to rest against her abdomen.
Jane laughs at the put-out look on her face, before crawling out of bed to stand and face her. Lisbon’s scowl shifts towards a small smile, as he stoops slightly to capture one more sweet kiss.
“I’ll see you later?”
“I’ll call you,” he answers, bending to place a quick kiss to her belly as well. The brunette smiles at their now familiar hello/goodbye ritual before heading out to her car.