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Contrary to what people might assume given his skills as a mentalist and a master of reading human behavior, Patrick Jane didn't spend most of his time trying to hide his own emotions.
Teresa Lisbon had figured that out over the years she’d worked with him as her consultant—though "subordinate" was the last thing he’d ever be to anyone.
Even though the man was good at manipulating his own reactions and influencing people because of it, he didn't make a habit of it in his daily life.
It wasn't rare for the head of the CBI's Major Crimes division to witness her consultant look away when a father or a husband broke down upon receiving news of a loved one's death. She was sure she’d seen genuine joy on the man's face whenever he stumbled upon a child during their investigations. She also remembered seeing his blue eyes get misty before he turned away upon hearing the news of Rigsby's first child being born, or as he watched Rigsby and Van Pelt's wedding from a distance. And of course, there were the times he became completely distraught when working directly on cases involving the serial killer Red John.
In fact, she could list many other occasions. The day he stormed onto a plane to stop her from leaving and told her he loved her. The morning at her nephew’s christening when she said those feelings out loud for the first time. The moment at Vega’s funeral when he announced he was leaving because he couldn't handle the fear that came with the risks of her job. The marriage proposal. The instant he said, "I do." The pregnancy announcement.
Those were all moments when Patrick Jane didn't shy away from letting his feelings show freely on his face.
So, Lisbon wasn't surprised when pure shock flashed across his features the moment the obstetrician performing her ultrasound explained that the shadows on the screen meant two gestational sacs.
Twins. She was pregnant with twins.
Maybe the FBI agent should have been amused to finally see him in a panic since finding out about the pregnancy. After all, she’d been the only one swinging between denial and despair for the last two days over an unplanned pregnancy with a man who had enough trauma for her to assume he wouldn't want to be a father again.
But Jane's reaction had been genuinely happy; the twin pregnancy was the first thing to bring a flash of sheer terror to his face since he’d found out.
But how could Lisbon find that funny when she was barely holding herself together to keep from succumbing to panic herself?
She wasn't stupid; she knew pregnancies after thirty-five could be tricky. Add twins to the mix, and she was definitely in for a high-risk pregnancy, if the doctor's expression was anything to go by. And that was after the woman had spent the first half of the appointment reassuring her that she could still have a perfectly normal pregnancy despite her age.
Jane recovered quickly.
Or rather, he put his skills to work to project that everything was fine, even though he ran his hands through his blond hair more times than usual—a clear nervous tic.
After all, what could be better than one baby? he said. Just two, he answered his own question a little too cheerfully to sound natural.
But Lisbon kept sinking into a spiral of despair despite his mood.
She was facing a high-risk pregnancy. And as much as she knew she’d have the best medical care available, she couldn't help imagining the worst happening to her and the babies.
And then Jane would be alone.
Again.
That was, if he even stuck around until the end of the pregnancy, since the fact that Lisbon faced dangerous situations tended to scare him enough to run, as they’d recently discovered.
But when he found out about the pregnancy, he said they were in this together. And they were married now. Surely, he wouldn't abandon her again, right?
These questions were still swirling in her mind as they got into the car after the appointment.
Lisbon's state was worrying enough that she didn't protest her husband taking the keys from her pocket and heading for the driver's seat. Instead, she just slumped into the passenger seat and started to hyperventilate.
"Teresa," Jane called, alarmed. "Teresa, look at me. Right in my eyes," he asked, locking his blue irises on her green ones, which were looking a little lost. "That's it, now breathe with me," he instructed once he had her attention.
The agent obeyed, and together they did the breathing exercise for a few moments.
It took a while, but the woman's breathing returned to normal, though she still looked a mess. Teary eyes, pale face, dark hair disheveled, probably from running her fingers through it repeatedly since they got the big news.
"Honey, you're okay. You're okay and you're safe," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders and never breaking his penetrating gaze, his voice calm and low—a tone she recognized as very close to the one he used when he was about to hypnotize someone.
Not wanting to scold him and believing a little hypnosis might be just the thing to keep her from completely losing it, she nodded, barely noticing the term of endearment. They’d been married for less than twenty-four hours, but it seemed some switches had already flipped.
"It's going to be okay," Jane assured her, as much to convince himself as her.
She had to be okay. He simply couldn't accept the idea of her being at risk because of something that was also his responsibility.
And to think the happiness of knowing he’d be a father again could be so easily washed away by a wave of fear and uncertainty.
"The doctor said that as long as we're monitored and careful, everything should be fine," he recited. "You're not the first woman close to forty pregnant with twins she's treated," he reminded her.
"Right," the brunette nodded, still a bit out of it.
After all, the obstetrician had spent the last part of the appointment giving strict instructions and assuring them she’d successfully managed other cases similar to hers.
The outlook was positive.
And to think, her biggest worry at the start of the day had been the possibility of disappointing her husband if the pharmacy tests had turned out to be false positives.
"But even if everything turns out fine, at the end of all this, we'll still have two babies to take care of," she reminded him. "At once."
A different kind of desperation took over Jane's expression as the woman started hyperventilating again.
"No, honey, don't do that again," he pleaded, resuming the calm tone and measured breathing for her to mimic. "Think of the babies' well-being."
Heavens.
Babies.
Plural.
The brunette's breathing became more irregular, and the blond immediately realized he’d said the wrong thing.
While trying to calm himself down, Jane decided the situation was desperate enough to actually hypnotize his wife. Just lightly. Hell, at that moment, he envied her because there was no one there who could do the same for him.
Once a much calmer, somewhat sleepy Lisbon rested her head against the window, he used every calming technique he knew to stave off his own panic attack.
He shouldn't be this desperate.
He’d spent ten years of his life chasing a dangerous serial killer while pissing off plenty of other murderers along the way. He could definitely handle two children.
"Sorry about that," she apologized, gradually becoming more alert.
The blond took her hand and interlaced their fingers, giving hers a reassuring squeeze.
The consultant knew his wife hadn't been dealing well with the unplanned pregnancy from the start, largely because she feared his reaction. So the last thing he should do was get swept away by all the uncertainties and negative possibilities.
For the first time in her life, Lisbon needed him to be her support, not the other way around.
"We can do this," he asserted, regaining his confidence.
Lisbon responded with a somewhat skeptical look.
"There are two babies and two of us," he pointed out with his free hand. "As long as they don't outnumber us, we'll be fine," he concluded.
The agent couldn't help the laugh that escaped her throat.
Jane smiled reflexively, somewhat relieved. It was the first time she’d smiled since they left the doctor's office.
"You say that because it's not you who'll have to push both of them out in a few months," she retorted sarcastically.
Of course, Lisbon thought that, actually, pushing both babies out in a natural birth would be more of a blessing than a problem, since it was more likely she’d have to have a premature C-section, given that twins don't always make it to the thirty-sixth week.
The thought made her brow furrow in anguish, fear growing like ice in her stomach again.
Even if he weren't a genius, Jane would still know where her thoughts were heading.
"Honey, it's going to be okay," he repeated, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb to comfort her.
"They could be born prematurely," she almost whined.
"Then we get to meet them sooner," Jane countered.
Lisbon smiled faintly.
"Always looking on the bright side," she recited, realizing what he was doing.
"Always," the blond confirmed with an encouraging smile. "Now, let's get you out of here," he decided. "You're still fasting from the tests, so let's stop somewhere and get something to eat before we head home," he added.
Lisbon didn't complain, only then realizing she was starving.
The fact that they’d been seen at a maternity hospital made it easier to do the routine tests in the same place as the consultation, but the brunette had a sneaking suspicion that convincing the doctor to see them on such short notice on a Sunday involved some kind of bribery on her husband's part. But honestly, at that moment, she didn't want to know the extent of it.
So, she just leaned her head back against the headrest and tried to relax as Jane drove them to wherever he deemed suitable for a brunch that Lisbon was sure would involve quality eggs.
Of course, relaxing wasn't exactly easy with so many things swirling in her mind. She felt lost and disoriented. Generally, Lisbon was good at keeping her problems to herself, but in a situation where she was so inexperienced, it would be good to have some guidance. Especially from someone who wasn't in the eye of the storm like she was. The brunette didn't want to dismiss Jane's experience, but at that moment, he was just as shaken as she was, maybe more.
But who could she turn to?
Her sister-in-law Karen was definitely experienced after giving birth to four children, but telling her would mean having a horde of Lisbons on her doorstep from time to time, and she definitely didn't want the commotion that would entail. Not after having so much trouble sending them back home. And to think her brothers had been resistant to saying goodbye to her on what was, technically, her honeymoon, and only left when Karen literally dragged them to the car by their ears.
So, Karen wasn't an option, but maybe there was someone else she could count on.
The idea made her bite her lip as she wondered if Jane would agree with her.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked, and Lisbon wasn't surprised he’d noticed the change in her expression even without taking his eyes off the road.
"Do you think we should tell the team?" she asked uncertainly, though there was one person on the team in particular she really wanted to talk to.
Stopped at a red light, Jane turned to look at her.
"I will definitely be telling Cho, so he can assign duties appropriate for your… delicate condition," he warned, his gaze and tone a bit serious. "I'd do that even if you weren't expecting twins," he added, so as not to make her situation seem more grave than necessary and worry her even more.
Lisbon's expression became challenging, and her stubborn posture was reinforced by her crossed arms, but upon noticing the blue eyes staring back at her with severity, she gave in and rolled her own green ones.
Jane couldn't help a victorious smile and blew a kiss to the tip of his wife's nose to lighten the mood before driving on as the light turned green.
"That's not what I meant," she explained.
The blond didn't need to think hard to understand.
"Ah! You want to tell the CBI folks?" he questioned.
The woman suddenly became shy.
"Well, we won't get another chance to tell them in person, so I thought it might be nice," she argued, though the idea of telling anyone made her feel a bit embarrassed. But then, everyone would know anyway when her belly was big enough to be impossible to ignore.
"But I know we're not really in a stable stage of the pregnancy yet, so I don't know if it's a good idea," she added.
"People usually announce at twelve weeks. You're at eleven," Jane reminded her, also highlighting the absurdity of them taking so long to notice. "Besides, as you've told me more than once, they're family. With family, we share the good and the bad," he finished.
"Right," Lisbon agreed. "But Grace and Rigsby's flight is around 3 p.m. Do you think we can meet up before then?" she pondered.
"I'm sure it can be arranged," Jane stated, turning onto a different street.
Within minutes, he parked in front of a charming café on the corner of a quiet street. Lisbon smiled at the sight of the wooden establishment with its green window frames and door, and the red checkered cloths decorating the small round tables on the sidewalk.
The place was adorable, but it was the group of familiar people occupying one of the corner tables under some trees that made the brunette break into her first wide, genuine smile of the day.
"You are unbelievable!" she exclaimed, turning to her husband, who was grinning mischievously.
"And you, my dear, remain very predictable when it comes to your flock," he retorted before planting another kiss, this time on his wife's cheek, and hopping out of the vehicle to open the door for her.
The agent couldn't help but blush at the courteous gesture. Jane had always been a gentleman, but she had a feeling that from then on, he’d also become overly protective.
The idea, however, didn't displease her all that much.
It felt good to be taken care of after a lifetime of only taking care of others, but proud as she was, she would never admit that out loud.
"Over here!" Grace Van Pelt, seated between Wayne Rigsby and Kimball Cho, waved animatedly at them as they got out of the car.
Jane and Lisbon quickly took the two vacant seats, and soon the old CBI Major Crimes team was gathered around the same table, something they hadn't done in a long time.
"I was so happy when Jane invited us! I really wanted to see you before we flew back, but I'd never bother a couple on their honeymoon," declared Van Pelt.
"Well, the wedding was decided last minute, so we're not leaving town right now anyway," though also surprised by the meeting Jane had arranged, Lisbon explained. "The honeymoon trip will have to wait," she added.
"Blame your boss," Jane grumbled, giving Cho a somewhat sulky look.
"This team can't handle another shift in dynamics. Give me at least a few days before I approve both of you taking time off at once," the Asian agent replied pragmatically, and Jane had to resist the urge to rub Lisbon's pregnancy in his face to see how the stoic man would handle that particular change.
"Any clever legal loophole that would let us hire them as temporary members and give us some breathing room?" the consultant inquired, nodding toward Van Pelt and Rigsby.
"No way, man," Rigsby countered. "We've got two kids to take care of at home," he reminded him, and again Jane had to resist the urge to shout that he now had two babies to worry about, too.
Luckily, the accusatory look Van Pelt was shooting in the consultant's direction was enough to distract him from the urge to just blurt out the news before Lisbon had the chance.
"I didn't do anything, Grace," Jane assured her, seeing the redhead's brown eyes were as sharp as daggers. "I swear it's not my fault Teresa looks worn out," he guaranteed, pulling his wife closer to plant another kiss on her cheek to prove his point.
The brunette, as expected, blushed intensely and returned the affectionate gesture with a slap on her husband's arm.
"That's not entirely accurate," she contested, and Jane had to nod in acknowledgment because she was right.
"Really? You've been married for, what, twenty-four hours?" Rigsby asked. "Thought it'd take you longer to mess things up," he observed to the consultant in a laughing tone, earning a displeased look from the blond.
"Bet a minute would be enough," Cho quipped, without even changing the laconic expression he always held, making his subordinate look at him somewhat indignantly.
"Okay, I definitely did not take just a minute to do that," he argued, pointing at his wife.
"Jane!" Lisbon scolded, hiding her face in her hands because, no matter how close they were, she never discussed her sex life in front of her former subordinates.
The two other men were just confused by the fact that the blond was trying to defend how long it took him to do whatever stupid thing he’d done, when he’d just claimed innocence, and also by Lisbon not scolding him as usual but suddenly looking so embarrassed.
Van Pelt, however, noticed that even though Jane was pointing at Lisbon up and down, his index finger was directed at a very specific area of her body.
"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, standing up with her palms flat on the table.
"I'm pregnant," Lisbon admitted quietly, her voice muffled by the hands still hiding her face.
The redhead, however, ignored the woman's embarrassment, quickly rounded the table, squealing with joy, and pulled her to her feet for a proper hug.
"You sneaky devil," Rigsby declared, delivering a slap on Jane's back so strong the consultant swore he’d be thrown across the table. "Getting married in a hurry to hide knocking up the boss," he accused, laughing joyfully before pulling him into a bone-crushing hug.
Jane gasped in the larger man's arms, barely able to breathe, saved by Cho, who pulled him in for a brief, somewhat milder hug.
"That's not why we got married! I didn't know Teresa was pregnant until after the wedding, okay?" the blond defended himself. "And she's not my boss anymore. Saying I did that to my superior sounds weird now," he joked, looking at Cho, who suppressed a shudder while Rigsby laughed at the stupid joke.
"Right, forget team dynamics. Just take her and go," Cho requested, imagining the nightmare the next few months at the FBI would be with a very grumpy Lisbon on limited duty and a ridiculously panicked and overprotective Jane hovering around her all the time.
"Alright, enough, you three," Lisbon commanded, disentangling herself from Van Pelt, demonstrating that she might not be their boss anymore, but she was still a figure of authority.
"Okay, Mom," Rigsby joked, only to receive two slaps, one on each shoulder, from his former boss and his wife.
"And I can still work, Cho," the brunette stated as they sat back down.
"That we can discuss later," Jane added, attracting an icy glare from his wife and a concerned look from Cho, who sensed there was something more beneath the surface.
Well, they’d tell him when they were ready.
"When did you find out?" Van Pelt tried to steer the conversation to what really mattered, in her opinion. Jane knew if she wasn't satisfied with the information she got at this meeting, she’d spend the next few days interrogating Lisbon via text message.
"Actually," the brunette agent began with a slight smile. "I realized it during that video call with you two," she revealed, attracting an intrigued look from Jane, who didn't know this yet.
"Oh, that's so cool," declared the redhead. "It makes me feel like we were part of that moment somehow," she explained, making Rigsby smile with her. "Even Cho was part of it, for putting us in touch with you," she reminded them.
Cho, however, looked very serious, digesting the information he’d just received.
"Wait," he said. "Does that mean you participated in the capture of a dangerous, armed criminal, knowing you were pregnant and without wearing a Kevlar vest?" remembering Joe Keller's arrest, he questioned, staring at Lisbon with severity, his tone becoming even graver than usual.
The brunette hadn't expected that, but suddenly she felt very small under the gaze of her former subordinate, who was now her boss, while receiving a knowing look from Jane and sympathetic expressions from Van Pelt and Rigsby.
"Forget time off. Maybe I should suspend you for that," Cho decided, ignoring the woman's stammering attempts to justify herself, which soon turned into indignant protests.
Jane, as accustomed as he was to being the target of the team's criticism and scolding, couldn't help but laugh at his wife, who promptly started slapping him again, saying it was all his fault.
Telling her it takes two to make a pregnancy didn't help him much, and soon the rest of the team was laughing at the couple's energetic interaction. None of them would say it out loud, but they all felt a sense of relief at finally seeing Jane in a domestic and happy place.
The normalcy suited him.
The meal proceeded with Van Pelt's maternity tips for Lisbon (it was clear the agent was proud to be more experienced in some area than her former boss) and light, fun conversation that caught them up on each other's lives.
Soon they found it was close to departure time, and Cho committed to taking Rigsby and Van Pelt to the airport so Jane and Lisbon could enjoy the rest of their Sunday peacefully.
Before saying goodbye, however, the redhead managed to pull the former boss away from the group under the pretext of going to the restroom.
"Why do I get the feeling your worry isn't just about being a first-time mom with an unplanned pregnancy?" Van Pelt asked as they walked away from the table.
Lisbon bit her lower lip, pondering whether she should really confide in her friend and break the joyful magic the pregnancy news had brought the team. She didn't want to worry them, but she also knew she might feel more at ease if she could talk about it.
"That's because you used to be a great detective," the brunette said before finally sharing the biggest discovery they’d made at that morning's appointment.
When they returned to the table, Jane couldn't ignore the slightly shocked expression the redhead wore, which made him look at his wife curiously.
Lisbon just nodded in response, defeated, and the blond shrugged, aware that the brunette was terrible at keeping secrets.
The group soon said their goodbyes, with Rigsby and Grace promising to try to visit before Lisbon's pregnancy was too far along and assuring them they’d definitely come to meet the baby after it was born.
Soon, the newlyweds found themselves back in the car, heading to Lisbon's house, as Jane had decided she’d need more comfort from then on, and the Airstream definitely wasn't up to the task, no matter how insistent he’d previously been about the vehicle's perfection and practicality—an obsession that had led them to spend most of their relationship's nights in it. Hell, those children had probably been conceived inside the silver bucket, the brunette thought.
"So you told Grace about the twins," Jane commented, getting his wife's attention.
"She could tell something was off. I thought I'd feel better if I shared," she justified.
"There's nothing wrong with that," the consultant assured her, to prevent them from falling back into the pit of negative emotions from before. "Did it help?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Yes. Grace is very positive and made a point of telling me success stories of similar cases and making lots of encouraging statements," Lisbon told him. "I miss her bright energy," she added sadly.
"Me too," Jane smiled.
"But I asked her not to tell anyone about the twins," she asserted.
"Which means she'll find a way to tell Rigsby while they're at the hotel grabbing their bags, and he, in turn, will tell Cho before boarding, since it wouldn't be fair for him to be the only one on the team who doesn't know," the blond concluded, remembering something similar had happened years before, though with a much darker secret.
Lisbon smiled resignedly, helping him shoo his ghosts away.
"Thank you for this," she declared, placing her hand on his leg and squeezing gently before withdrawing it. "I really loved meeting them and having a happy moment while we only have good news."
Jane wanted to contest her and say they’d only continue to have good news, but the truth was, even though he was good at predicting people's behavior, he couldn't get a glimpse of the future.
But he couldn't deny that, for the first time in a long time, he had hope.
And that was thanks to the strong, resilient woman beside him, who, once she calmed down, would definitely fight tooth and nail to make sure everything turned out well for her and the children.
So, the least he could do was make sure she had the support she needed for that.
So, all he said was:
"Anything for you, Lisbon."
The woman couldn't help but blush, realizing he still remembered those words, said to her a long time ago. Seeing him repeat them now only proved that, even back then, Jane was willing to move heaven and earth to keep her safe.
But now it wasn't just that.
Besides safe, he wanted her happy.
Amused by his easily flustered wife, Jane took her hand to kiss her knuckles.
There was another aspect of him Lisbon would have to get used to now that they were married. The consultant wasn't very shy about public displays of affection, if the way he kept his arm around her shoulders during the entire meeting with the old team was any indication.
"But I still could have done without the insinuations about our sex life," she scolded him, remembering one particularly mortifying part of that afternoon's meeting.
"Sorry about that," he said, though his tone didn't sound remorseful, but rather held a certain masculine pride.
The woman rolled her eyes.
"You seemed overly confident about the fact that it didn't take you just a minute to conceive these children. That's pretty arrogant, considering you don't even know exactly when it was," she provoked in retaliation, attracting an indignant look from her husband.
"It doesn't matter when it was, because you not only know, honey, you feel in your bones that I can last a lot longer than a minute," he declared, containing his indignation to inject a somewhat lascivious tone into his voice. "But if you need a reminder, I have no problem providing one," he added with a cheeky grin. "After all, your OB didn't impose any sexual restrictions, as long as we don't have any overly rough interactions during the pregnancy, which, personally, I think is a shame. But I'll survive," he lamented.
Lisbon couldn't prevent the blush that took over her face for a completely different reason, accompanied by a sudden warmth that spread throughout her body.
"I should have known that not even the despair over the twin news would stop you from paying attention to that part of the doctor's explanation," she muttered, feigning nonchalance, though she suddenly felt warm and bothered.
Jane's smile widened even further and took on a predatory edge.
"Easy, honey. We're almost home," he declared, forcing a deep, seductive tone that left her torn between the desire to punch him and the desire to jump him. "There's nothing to be ashamed of here, just a couple about to enjoy the rest of their honeymoon very, very well," he added to tease her, unable to avoid laughing at the exasperated groan she emitted.
Lisbon should have guessed when Jane said they were about to enjoy the rest of their honeymoon that he would keep her in bed for the remainder of the day, occupied with activities she definitely had no complaints about, except for the fact that she woke up completely exhausted the next day and felt a bit more like a zombie as they walked together through the cold, impersonal halls of the FBI headquarters in Austin.
Her fatigue was so evident that even Cho, who for some reason was waiting for them leaning against her desk, raised an eyebrow as he watched her approach.
"Congratulations on the twins," he said in a low tone, even though they were the only ones in the bullpen at that hour.
As expected, Lisbon's face flushed, and they both thanked him.
"You look tired. Stick to desk duty until I decide how we'll proceed with this. Jane, you're with me, we have a case," he announced before walking away with firm steps.
Lisbon, of course, couldn't help but send a murderous look in her husband's direction, unable to avoid imagining that the fact he’d worn her out so much the day before was part of a plan to convince Cho to keep her chained to her desk and away from the action.
Jane, however, just put on an innocent expression before quickly following Cho, not giving his wife a chance to throw a stapler or something at him.