Teresa Lisbon was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
She had entered the bullpen, completely spent from her night of tedious surveillance. As Jane had predicted, the wife angle in regards to the Harry Davidson murder had been completely futile. The woman was cleaner than Mother Teresa herself, and had spent the evening reading to her small eight-year old autistic son to sleep. God-damn his knack for reading people.
Cho, bless his heart, did however find a similarity between this case and another of Sacramento PD's; a perp had murdered a few fellow lawyers of the small and kidnapped their spouses for ransom, until he received the sum of cash he requested and murdered the helpless housewives. The killings spanned a few years back, and the county sheriff's office had branded the case cold, after being unable to come up with any witnesses or even possible suspects.
Lisbon had commanded her agents to look into any possible leads with this new information, pouncing onto this new information and sinking her claws in deep. She rubbed her fore-head and tucked in a loose piece of her blue pin-stripe blouse back into her pants. A sudden fragrant aroma encircled her like a blanket and she followed her nose straight into the tiny CBI Kitchenette and watched as a junior agent brewed a fresh pot of strong Italian-roast coffee, mentally making a note to send her regards to the big man upstairs for this heavenly blessing. She had thanked the new "Probie" graciously, and poured herself a generous mug of pure black caffeine. She didn't bother putting any of her usual sweetners, instead preferring to drink it straight up to spike what little energy she could into her fatigued body. She took a large gulp and directed her feet towards the office, careful not to slosh the scorching liquid as she scanned the notes the Deputy Sheriff had sent over. She paused to slip the file folder under her arm, and used her now free hand to open the metal pull on her door.
She walked over to her desk, with a renewed spring in her step due to the caffiene buzz which had settled over her dull mind. She placed the mug onto an old saucer Jane had left in there a few days ago, and she had been too wrapped up in her work to remove it. It had proved to be rather effective for avoiding tell-tale coffee-cup rings on reports, and neatened up her desk slightly.
She pulled out her own pad of yellow, legal ruled paper and uncapped a Bic pen. Upon reading the first couple of chicken-scratch paragraphs, she found herself with more questions than answers, as she filled up the lines and spaces. She managed to decipher most of the writing, and even came up with a few possible ways to look at the situation. She underlined the people that she deemed worthy to speak with when she went into town. She sighed, recapping her pen and leaning back into her chair.
The problem regarding lack of sleep had been solved, but she could no longer ignore the epic drum solo going on inside her head at the moment. She had swiftly removed a tiny bottle of anti-inflammatory pills from her desk drawer and popped a few into her mouth, washing them down with a gulp of bitter liquid from her mug. She knew it would take some time for the meds to kick in, but felt better knowing that the pain would eventually dissipate.
She had briefly registered the visit from the cocky consultant, until she heard a loud 'thunk' directly in front of her. She glanced up briefly from her work to see her blonde haired colleague spread out across her sofa, his eyes closed and his face rather peaceful. She did bother telling him hello, unwilling to disturb the man from his interesting thoughts. So she returned to her note-taking, and promptly ignored his presence.
He inhaled sharply, and cause Lisbon to look at him. "I told you that the wife was a pointless lead." He said, a smirk forming over his face.
She ceased writing. "Well don't you like to toot your own horn." She said with a snort.
"You should listen to me more often, Lisbon. The majority of the time, I'm right." He said, confidently.
She didn't bother dignifying that with an answer, instead choosing to sip her coffee in place of snapping out a cruel comeback.
"Any progress from your furious note-taking?" He asked, still not opening his eyes.
"No, but I've got some folks who could serve as potential witnesses. I think I am going to go into town later and talk to them. Care to join, or is sleeping taking up too much of your time?" She asked, unable to resist the last jab.
"No, I'll come. I've always loved small towns. They have amazing tea." He said.
"Should I take that as a yes?" She asked, scrawling down a line about a woman whom had disappeared from the town a few years ago.
"Yes, Lisbon, I shall accompany you to talk to people." He said, in a mock exasperated fashion.
"Good, you need some fresh air." She said.
"Meh, that's debatable. Besides I already know who the killer is." He said, running a hand over his face.
"Uh-huh. And who is that?" She asked.
"The assistant. The jealous gleam in her eyes as she sat down next to Davidson's wife was the tell. Plus, she had some dried blood on her ankle, and she never shifted her legs once she crossed them. And she just struck me as a person whom was capable of murder."
"Well why don't we bring her in right now for an arrest." Lisbon said pointedly.
"I was simply stating my opinion, Lisbon. No need to be cross." He said, quietly.
Moments passed with out either person saying a word.
"What's wrong with you, Jane? You're barely speaking" She asked, putting her pen down.
"I could ask you the same question, my dear. You appear to want to bite my head off every time I open my mouth. Are you PMSing?" He asked, in a raspy voice.
Lisbon's face flushed. "No." She snapped, but winced at her tone. "I'm just a little tired Jane, that's all. I'm sorry, I shouldn't take it out on you." She said, picking back up her pen.
"It's quite alright, Lisbon. We all have our days." He said, before sighing. She took that as her cue to cease talking, and allow the man his rest.
She looked over at him, slightly captivated by the tranquil consultant. His navy jacket had been remove, and his sleeves on his light-blue dress shirt had been rolled up to reveal a dusting of blonde hair and a set of well toned arm muscles. She wondered quietly to herself how he could possible become buff when all he did was lounge around on couches and annoy others. His hands were intertwined together on top of his vest-clad chest, and his gold wedding band gleamed in the sunlight on his left hand. She felt a familiar pang of guilt as she looked at it, sorrow clutching at her heart at this man she called her friend's agonizing misfortune.
"Is the mighty Saint Teresa staring at me?" He asked.
She jumped slightly, jarred out of her day dream. She met his electric blue irises with a sheepish grin.
"I'm sorry. I'm a little spacey today." She admitted, blushing furiously.
"Your cheeks are red." He said, grinning.
She willed them to stop betraying her, but instead focused on her now lukewarm beverage. She took a sip to avoid speaking.
She didn't dare say anything as she went through and underlined key points she had made in her list of notes. The room was silent for a good five minutes, and Lisbon causally looked up to see if Jane had fallen back into a slumber. She was slightly surprised to find the couch vacant, having been too wrapped up in her thoughts to hear him leave. She sighed, and closed her eyes, cursing herself for getting caught staring at him.
/THE MENTALIST/
Half-an-hour later, she had come up with enough information to start digging and questioning. She grabbed her jacket from behind her chair, and began gathering her belongings. A small black, square box caught her eye as she shuffled the last of her notes together. She picked it up, intrigued. She picked up her coffee mug, and took another sip. It was a rather large mouthful, and she struggled to swallow it as she opened the tiny package. She did a classic movie spit-take as her eyes took in it's contents.
She stormed out of the office, anger mounting and coffee dripping down her cleavage.
"Jane!" She screeched, upon entering the bullpen. Her high pitched shriek had aroused several stares from fellow agents.
Jane simply grinned. He made a point to gesture to her dripping wet shirt, but quickly dropped his hand when he noticed her frosty glare. She was livid, and Jane could almost see the smoke coming out of her ears. Her green eyes were narrowed, and her left hand made a fist at her side.
"Seriously Jane? Did I miss Scare-the-hell-outta-Lisbon Day or something?" She asked, throwing the ring box into his lap a little too hard. He winced slightly as it collided with a sensitive area, and she nearly smiled.
"Lisbon." He said, offering her a half smile. He gingerly picked up the box from between his legs. "I would have thought you would of liked it! After all, it goes perfectly with your eyes." He said seductively, winking at her charmingly.
All the blood in her body seemed to rush to her face. "What the hell Jane? This isn't a funny joke" She said, her voice rising as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Marriage is no joke, Teresa." He said seriously.
She barely took into account the smirks that her coworkers had plastered onto her faces. She failed to notice the passing of twenty dollar bills to one exceedingly happy Grace Van Pelt from her less than thrilled men colleagues.
"A word?" She asked, all but dragging his sorry ass out to the space near the elevators. He followed her, slightly fearing for his life.
"Jane. Explain now!" She snapped, her eyes flashing with anger. Her voice was a combination of a whisper and a low hiss.
"Lisbon, when two people love each other deeply enough..." He began, striking his heart.
"Cut the crap, Jane. What are you up to?" She asked.
"Did Hightower not tell you?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Did she not tell me what?" She said back, her voice returning to it's usual pitch.
"For the next two weeks, Teresa Lisbon, you and I are technically married!" Jane said, cracking into a grin. He pulled out the ring box once again. He pulled up his pant leg slightly, and got down on one knee.
Lisbon gave him a death glare, but he continued none-the-less. "Teresa Lisbon, would you do me the honor of making me the happiest man alive, and marry me?" He asked, smiling as he opened the small black box to reveal a little ring, with a tiny emerald encircled by even tinier diamonds.
He pulled her hand towards his, and slipped the ring onto her finger, despite not having received a response from her. People whom had been watching nonchalantly from the glass windows erupted into cheers.
She stared at him for a loss for words, her mouth locked into a tiny o. Her breath quickened and her mind raced. Then she did what she thought was necessary.
She punched him in the nose.
/
Hope you enjoyed, please R&R and let me know if I should continue.