The Mentalist – The ghosts I've called
Romance/Drama
Rating T
Summary: A confused and angry Lisbon, combined with a stunned-by-a-pink-dress Jane spells disaster.
Set between/during 6x20 Il Tavolo Bianco and 6x21 Black Hearts, inspired by the heartache and the promo pics.
Teresa Lisbon was trying to keep a clear head. Desperately.
Having left her apartment in quite the hurry, she was now talking a walk in a nearby park in Austin, Texas, the gentle breeze whispering between the leaves of a late summer evening.
The task she was trying to do - deciding what to do - turned out to be nearly impossible.
Not when she'd just been proposed to.
By the perfect man, no less.
So why was she walking in a park trying to clear her head, instead of joyously celebrating her engagement, with her brand-new fiancé?
Because she'd asked for time to think, to clear her head. This was what she was trying to do. And when she returned, she would have to have an answer for him.
But what –
"Lisbon?"
Teresa looked up, startled out of her deep thoughts. This was one person she would not have expected strolling in the park at this hour.
"Hey, good evening." A smiling Kim Fischer came towards her, wrapped in a light coat, brown hair flowing freely over her shoulders.
"Hey Kim. Nice to meet you here." Lisbon forced herself to smile at her. She meant what she said, but as usual, she was terrible at hiding her thoughts.
Fischer smiled back, but her smile quickly turned into a frown. "You okay?" She asked tentatively.
"Oh, I'm fine. Great!" Lisbon tried to maintain a bright expression, and failed utterly.
Kim paused, unsure if their budding friendship allowed prodding questions already. She simply tilted her head, and continued to look questioningly at Lisbon.
"Marcus proposed." Lisbon blurted out. She'd surprised herself there, normally a very private person, not used to share her personal issues. Much less with someone she had to consider a superior.
"Con-gratulations?" Fischer gave the polite reply, but not able to avoid her voice to rise at the end of the word.
Lisbon let out a soft "Thank you", tone flat, and not meeting the other agent's eyes. Instead, she looked towards the path between the trees, as an animal would looking for an escape route.
"Look, Teresa." Fischer tried to put the woman before her at ease. "I know it's none of my business, and we haven't known each other for long. But let's forget for a minute that we work together, and just be two people, perhaps friends even, taking a walk, talking. If you'd like, that is."
Lisbon pondered her situation, clearly torn between acting professional, and having the rare need to share some of her thoughts.
After a minute, she nodded curtly, and grateful, and motioned to Fischer to accompany her along the way.
Fischer got in step with Lisbon, letting her gather her thoughts before speaking.
"You know, I know I should be insanely happy." Lisbon began. "Marcus is a great guy, and I really…" She broke off.
Fischer just nodded, letting Teresa set the pace.
Frustrated with her inability to put her turmoil into words, Lisbon began again, running a hand through her hair. "It could all be so easy, if it weren't for… -" She broke off again, only to continue with a decidedly angry tone: "I hate complicated relationships. That's why I seldom engage in one."
"I hear ya. Men, huh?" Fischer smiled lopsidedly at her, reminded of other equally weird examples of the male species who had been spooked into taking flight as soon as they'd learned about their positions within the FBI.
"You can say that again." A still agitated Teresa Lisbon ground that out between clenched teeth. "I mean, if I only knew for certain what he means half of the time, this would be so much easier!" Digging her hands deep in her pockets, she let out a frustrated huff.
Fischer wasn't sure they were speaking of the same man. "Well, a proposal is quite straightforward, no?" She asked carefully.
Lisbon looked at her, confused. She hadn't really noticed how quickly her thoughts had shifted to one certain blonde consultant.
"What? No, not Marcus. Jane." She sighed. "He was at my door the other night."
"Oh?" prodded Fischer on, gently.
"Yes, he had some cannoli with him, from that restaurant Abbott ordered us to inspect. Claimed he just wanted to drop these off, and there was 'enough for Marcus, too'. Hah! As if he was interested in feeding Marcus, of all people, with this deliciousness!" Lisbon rolled her eyes at the memory of seeing Jane lying so badly for the first time ever.
"So – you called him on it?"
"Of course I did. I asked him point blank what he did this time of night at my door. And do you know what he said?" Lisbon couldn't quite contain her irritation.
Fischer shook her head, not wanting to interrupt Lisbon's rant.
"That he thought about my leaving, and that it was important to him that I was happy. No." She quickly corrected herself. "That I did what makes me happy. That this would be the most important thing in his life. Can you believe that?!"
Fuming, she turned to Fischer, who shot her a quick glance, but wisely said nothing.
Not waiting further for her to respond, Lisbon went on venting about Jane. She by far wasn't finished. Not now, when there was so much to be said.
"And this Airstream of his. What kind of a home is that anyway? It's a tin can on wheels, that's what it is. It's so typical for him, instead of a real home, he lives in a trailer, which allows him to hit the road anytime he feels the need to. And who am I to know when the next time will be?!"
Fischer refrained from pointing out that the minute Jane would saunter away, Abbot would put a BOLO on the trailer, which in itself wasn't hard to miss. But she didn't think that was the point, here.
"So you think he'll leave some day?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Lisbon threw her hands in the air agitated to point of hitting someone. Fischer discreetly took a tiny step to the side. "He still doesn't tell me anything, although I explicitly asked him to. I asked him to stop meddling in my affairs, to stop making decisions for me, and made sure he knows how pissed off I was that he ran away again when we were investigating the missing accountant. Not to mention that his schemes still don't include me knowing about them, as always. Instead, he chose precisely this time to listen to what he's been told by Abbott and left me in the dark. And you, of course." Lisbon quickly added. "You haven't known about the con, either – oh, the sting! So sorry!" Lisbon was fuming.
Fischer had troubles to follow Lisbon's quick succession of issues she had with Jane, the cases they've worked on, and what bothered Lisbon about the circumstances. One thing was apparent for her, though.
"So, basically, Jane does what you asked of him lately." At the angry line showing on Lisbon's forehead, she quickly added: "Well, he most certainly does not meddle in your affairs, now, does he?" That's what Abbott's doing right now, she added to herself. "Typical case of 'The Ghosts I Have Called', if you ask me."
"Are you telling me this is my fault?!" Lisbon stopped walking and clenched her fists. Fischer raised her empty hands in a peaceful and calming gesture - or so she hoped. "Easy there, Lisbon! Just stating my thoughts here." If the woman treated all arguments she had like a fight, Fischer no longer wondered why Jane avoided talking to her directly. He would be in severe danger of having his head bitten off.
A noncommittal sound left Lisbon's mouth, turning around to the path again, her eyes darting about the beautiful scenery without taking in anything about her.
Fischer knew she treaded on dangerous territory. "I mean," Fischer went on explaining, carefully choosing her words, "Jane let you know that the ball's in your court now, when he told you to do what makes you happy. At least, that's how I would understand it."
Lisbon put her hands in her pockets, slouched deeper in her jacket, and ground out: "Fine. For some part, he does what I asked. (I wished he didn't.) But what does it mean?"
Fischer studied Lisbon's face for a moment, and wondered fleetingly why even the most clairvoyant investigators could be so blind, when they were concerned themselves.
"You mean you don't know?" She asked for clarification.
"Know what?" Lisbon shot back, at the end of her already paper-thin patience.
"That Jane is head over heels with you." Fischer said simply.
Lisbon whirled around so fast, Fischer feared for a moment it might give her whiplash. "What?!"
Fischer gave a small laugh. "Sure he is. He might try to put on his mask when you're around, but especially lately, everyone can see how miserable he is." Since she was with Pike, to be precise. But Fischer didn't want to stress this point.
Lisbon let out an incredulous huff. "No, he isn't. He never told me how he feels. And if he does, he takes it back soon after, or leaves me stranded at some beach."
Fischer did a double take, not sure if she heard right. "Jane told you he loved you?"
"Once, yes, before he shot me." At the startled look on Fischer's face, Lisbon nearly had to laugh. Quite the roller coaster of emotions she was going through lately. "It was a con (or sting?) to catch Red John. Long story. Point is, he took it back when I asked him about it, and instead went and had sex with his archenemy's mistress." This wasn't quite the precise course of events, but Lisbon had found out about Lorelei afterwards, so for her, it was a betrayal that happened after he said what he claimed to have forgotten later.
Fischer took a minute to digest that. "Well, he left me stranded once, too. But not after declaring his feelings for me and - well."
"And he even didn't look at me in my dress."
Still pondering about the question what she would do if someone did that to her, Fischer almost missed Lisbon's words. They had been spoken softly, like a young, sad maiden, disappointed about not having caught the eye of her big crush.
"You mean the case with the art thieves?" Fischer inquired. "Of course he looked at you. He picked out that dress especially for you. And believe me, you might not have caught him looking down your cleavage, but I certainly did. Abbott, and Cho did, too. Cho's face was priceless!" Fischer smiled broadly at the memory of the silent exchange between the two men. Cho had had the air of an older brother, indignant and reprimanding, whereas Jane had just grinned, and shrugged his shoulders in a 'What did you expect me to do?' gesture.
Lisbon's heart picked up speed at the thought of Jane checking her out. Why didn't he show her what he felt? "Violets." She murmured.
"Hmm?" Fischer didn't quite catch that.
"Oh, nothing. Just something he said to the art thief when we were in his car, hatching a plan to steal that painting. It probably means nothing. He didn't even talk directly to me at that time."
"Jane's the master of indirect messages, isn't he?" Fischer mused.
"Well, his wedding ring states a message loud and clear." Lisbon stated dryly, and not only a tiny bit bitter.
"And now you're thinking of putting one on your finger, too. Don't you?"
Lisbon looked at the woman before her, coming back from a far away place. It took her a moment to comprehend what her colleague was talking about. "Oh. Yes. Of course. Marcus."
"Yes?" This word bore some significance in this context. "So you'll accept?" Fischer studied Lisbon's face carefully.
*beep beep beep*
*beep beep beep*
Simultaneously, both their mobiles started ringing. Cho and Abbott, respectively. The women looked at each other.
"Saved by the bell, huh?" Fischer winked at Lisbon.
Sighing, Lisbon answered her phone to hear from Cho about their newest case.
- tbc -
A/N: Part of me dreads to know why Lisbon seems so supremely pissed in the promo pics, another part craves this knowledge. This is what I came up with. It's set between 6x20 and 6x21; Part 2 will deal with the promo pics.