Alright, first Mentalist fic! Also my longest one shot. Hope you enjoy, R&R!
Bubbles
It was an ordinary day at the CBI. Teresa Lisbon was sitting at her desk, tapping her pencil. It had been an uneventful day so far, and the team had been stuck in the CBI building with nothing to do. Suddenly the door to her office swung open and in walked (without permission of course) the annoying consultant extraordinaire.
"Jane." Lisbon said with out looking up.
"We should have a picnic!" his voice filled the semi vacant office. Lisbon looked up and saw Patrick Jane with his huge trademark smile standing in front of her desk. Actually the idea didn't sound so bad at the moment. "We won't be missed today, nothing's happened so far and I doubt anything will. Come on." he whined. Lisbon sighed and looked out the window. He was right, on a day like this she doubted any cases would come in. It was just one of those days.
"Fine." she said trying to hide the actual relief that she felt of not having to be cooped up inside any longer. Of course Jane noticed it.
"I knew you'd say yes." he said, smiling still.
"Yeah, yeah." she replied as she got up from her desk.
After the picnic was packed and everyone had changed into something more suitable, the team met back at the station to leave for some place that Jane had suggested they go. Of course they didn't think for a minute about letting him drive though. Lisbon had made it very clear that he was to enter the location into the GPS, then just sit and stay in the passenger seat, so she could keep an eye on him.
When everyone met at the SUV, they were all wearing
something different, except Jane. Rigsby was wearing knee long kaki pants and a colourful surfer t-shirt, and Van Pelt was wearing shorts with a loose cream spaghetti strap tank top. Lisbon was wearing a loose cotton skirt that reached half way down her calf with a light blue coloured loose t-shirt. Jane of course was wearing his usual three-piece suit and was carrying a rather large picnic basket that probably weighed a hundred pounds. Jane only ever remembered seeing Lisbon in a skirt when she was in court... she should really wear one more often.
"Are we ready?" he asked everyone. He was answered by a series of "yeah"s and nods. "Alright then!" he said and headed for the car. Everyone followed. He was just about to reach for the driver's door, when he was intercepted by Lisbon.
"You don't even have the keys Jane." she informed him as she climbed into the SUV. "And you still have to put the basket in the back." she added, pointing at the large picnic basket before closing the door. He smiled and opened the trunk and put the basket in before closing it again and climbing into his own seat. Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt were already to go, squished in the back seat. Jane had said that it would be better to take one car so they didn't run the risk of losing half the team on the way and that it would be better for the Earth if they only had one car's exhaust pouring out of the car and into the atmosphere.
Lisbon searched her bag in which she had put the keys only minutes ago, and found nothing.
"Hey Lisbon, why aren't we going anywhere?" Jane asked sarcastically. The team's eyes went back and forth between the two.
"I put the keys in here and few minutes ago..." She stopped when she heard the familiar jingle of useful pieces of metal and a key chain clank together and looked up. "Jane!" she said, grabbing for the keys. He shook his head.
"Uh, uh, uh, Lisbon." he taunted.
"Jane give me those keys right now." she said seriously. Jane was having fun.
"Come on Lisbon, let me drive." She gave him a look that she would give a convicted killer if he asked if he could just walk out of jail, free of charge.
"No, you'll end up getting us killed." she told him.
"Please?" he asked again, giving his best puppy dog face and still holding the keys out of reach. It was quite a ridiculous sight, actually. Lisbon was leaning over from the driver's seat, half onto Jane with arms outstretched and Jane was leaning away, holding the keys right up against the window.
"For the last time, no! And Jane, if you don't give me those keys right now, we're not going." she said strictly. Jane put on an over exaggerated frown, before giving the keys to Lisbon. "Finally." she muttered before retreating back to her seat in full.
"You wouldn't really cancel our picnic just because you couldn't drive would you?" he asked sincerely. She just glared at him and stuck the keys in the ignition. Once the car was on, Jane put the directions to the picnic place into the GPS and Lisbon pulled out of the parking lot.
"Turn left in 20 feet." the GPS instructed. In the back, Cho was enjoying a book, and Van Pelt and Rigsby were sneaking glances at each other and smiling. Lisbon kept her eyes on the road and Jane was observing. He noticed the way Lisbon's teeth gritted and her face got all 'I'm going to kill you' when the GPS gave an order. Jane knew Lisbon liked to be in charge, and being ordered around by a piece of technology would tick anyone off.
It was only twenty minutes into the trip when Lisbon asked, "Jane how long will this drive take?"
He smiled as he answered, "About an hour more." Lisbon gave a frustrated sigh as she turned her attention back to the road.
About half an hour later of near silent travel (exception of the rather loud GPS), Jane started to hum. The sound broke the silence softly, but quickly got annoying. Within a few moments, Lisbon spoke up.
"Jane, please. That's really annoying." she said, taking eyes off the road momentarily to glare at him.
"But I'm bored! You guys are some crowd." he replied.
"Bored? This trip was your idea!" she said exasperatedly.
"Yeah, and it will be fun, but you guys are such downers when it comes to the ride. Let's do something fun." He said excitedly.
"Like what?" Lisbon replied.
"I spy!" Jane offered.
"Fine. I spy with my little eye, an arrogant, annoying, asshole of a consultant." She spat back.
"Awe, that hurts Lisbon." he said, putting a hand over his heart. She rolled her eyes. Everyone in the back kept quiet at their little quarrel. The car fell silent again and stayed that way for the rest of the ride. Jane noticed how Lisbon's looks toward the GPS just got more pissed off.
"You have reached your final destination." The GPS chimed as Lisbon stopped the SUV at a dead end.
"Jane where the hell are we?" she demanded. The rest of the team was looking out the windows with interest.
"We are almost at our picnic spot." He informed her, before jumping out of the car. They were nearly surrounded by forest. The trees looked like fifty-foot high walls. Jane was already smiling when he went and opened the back of the SUV and took out the picnic basket. The trunk of the SUV opened up into the cab and he told the team who were still in their seats, gawking from out the windows, "Come on you guys, it's nice outside. You're not going to get anywhere by staring out the windows."
Cho was the first one to open his door and step out into the fresh air. Next Rigsby opened his door and slid out, keeping it open for Van Pelt who sat in the middle. Seeing as the rest of the team had safely made it out, Lisbon gave one last sigh before opening her door and climbing out of the SUV. She shut the door behind her and put the keys into her bag, zipping it up this time.
"Jane, where are we going?" She asked as she walked to the back of the SUV where the team had regrouped.
"Not to far from here." He replied, of course still smiling. Lisbon blew out air and stared at him. Jane started to walk towards the trees. When he realized that no one was following, he waved them over. "Come on, you're not going to get any where by standing either." He said before heading towards the forest again. Lisbon shook her head, but followed anyway, and quickly was pursued by the rest of the team.
"Where are we going?" Lisbon repeated. Jane answered by heading into a space between trees and disappearing into the woods. Lisbon and the team followed, finally catching up to him again. Lisbon stopped trying, and just followed him. The forest was actually really beautiful, if you looked at it. Soon they found themselves totally surrounded by trees, with no visible escape.
"Um, maybe we should turn back." Van Pelt's unsure voice came, from the back of the crowd.
"Not to worry, I know where we're going." Jane replied, still tugging along the near-hundred-pound picnic basket.
Finally after what seemed like a year, Jane led the team to a clearing in the forest. Lisbon gasped when the sight reached her eyes, along with equally surprised reactions from the rest of the team. Jane smiled. The opening was quite large. It had a stream running through it close to the far side, with a tree just to the left that had a tire swinging from it. The whole place seemed as if it belonged in a fairytale, and as if it hadn't been touched in decades. The ground was covered in lush grass that was a bright colour of green. There was open sky directly above, but the sun was already peeking through the trees to the west.
"Wow." Lisbon managed.
"I told you I knew where I was going. Now, who's hungry?" Jane asked as he headed to the middle of the opening. He plunked the basket down at his feet, then opened it and obtained a large checkered blanket. All of this seemed very cliché, but the team went along with it anyway.
Jane had already started to set the food out on the blanket. First were the fruits, strawberries, oranges, and blueberries. Next were the salads, egg salad, Caesar salad, and Italian garden salad. Finally he put out the sandwiches, they were different cheese buns filled with various meats. Van Pelt came over to help set out the plates and cutlery while Rigsby eyed the food and Cho observed. Lisbon was still at the entrance, taking in the sights around her. The rest of the team was now seated at various spots around the blanket and their wonderful picnic.
Then Jane called, "Lisbon are you going to eat, or stand around like a dumb struck fool all day?" Lisbon broke from her reverie and came to join her team.
"Jane did you bring all this?" she asked Jane as she sat down between he and Cho. Jane nodded, before taking a big bite out of a salami sandwich. Rigsby had already finished his sandwich and was moving on to another, when Van Pelt slapped his hand and pointed towards the fruit. Rigsby smiled sheepishly before grabbing a few blueberries and dropping them onto his plate, then picking them up again and eating them. Lisbon sat cross-legged between Jane and Cho. Casually she reached forward and grabbed one of the large red strawberries then, eying it carefully took a large bite.
When everyone had finished their meal Jane started to pack up the plates and cutlery. After he was finished, he closed the lid of the basket and got up to stretch.
"That was a really good picnic, Jane." Rigsby complimented. Van Pelt started to laugh, and Jane smiled (some more). "What? It was!" He retorted, before being dragged off by Van Pelt.
Before long, everyone was at ease. Cho was reading his book in a sunny spot by the river, Van Pelt and Rigsby were frolicking around and doing who knows what and Lisbon was sitting peacefully on the tire swing. Jane studied her. She did look quite peaceful, gazing off into the forest, but Jane detected something else, loneliness. Quietly he came over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She jerked with alertness when he came in contact.
"You look lonely." He said softly.
"I'm fine Jane." She replied. Then she tried to change the subject. "How did you know this place was here?" she asked, finally looking at him. Jane let his hand linger on Lisbon's shoulder a few moments more than needed.
"I used to come here when I was little, I lived around here. In the summers I had a lot of time to waste, so I explored, and one day I found this place. I started to come here more often, that's when I made the swing." He said pointing to the tire she was sitting on. "I took my daughter here too. She used to love the river." He added glancing at the stream. Lisbon now regretted bringing up the topic. She knew how much his daughter meant to him.
"Jane, I'm sorry." She said putting her hand on his arm. He looked down at her.
"No, it's fine. I wouldn't have brought you here if I was going to have some sort of break down." He replied, breaking out a trademark smile. He looked around the grassy opening. Everyone else looked immersed in their own activities. "Come on." He said pulling Lisbon up by her wrist.
He led her to another small break in the trees, that wasn't the one they had come out of. Lisbon freed her wrist.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"You'll see." He said. Lisbon looked at him skeptically, before he stepped into the forest. She hardly waited a moment before following.
"Jane!" she called as she ran after him through the trees. She stopped dead in her tracks at the end of what you might call the path. "A tree house?" she asked. Jane was standing at the bottom of an insanely large tree that had planks of wood running up its trunk all the way to a wooden clubhouse.
"Yup." Jane said, before turning around and starting to climb up the planks.
"You can't be serious." Lisbon said in a disbelieving tone.
"Are you coming?" Jane called back over his shoulder, half way up the tree already. Lisbon looked around to make sure no one had followed them there. Seeing no one, she decided that it couldn't hurt. Jane had already reached the top by the time she started to climb the planks. It took her a while longer than Jane due to her long skirt repetitively getting caught in the way. When she finally reached the top, she was greeted by several glass-like orbs floating through the air towards her. One floated close to her face, then popped on her nose. Jane let out a laugh.
"Bubbles? Really Jane?" she said as she finished her climb inside the tree fort.
"What? Everybody loves bubbles." He replied, smiling in her direction as he blew more bubbles her way. She rolled her eyes as she sat next to him.
"You build this place too?" she asked, swatting the bubbles out of her face. Jane nodded. "It's nice." Lisbon replied, looking out the entrance of the tree house. More of the liquidy round orbs floated passed her view. "Jane! Must you?" He laughed as the bubbles flew away. She tried to scowl at him, but just ended up breaking into a smile.
Jane studied Lisbon. She was looking out the entrance of the clubhouse again. Her emerald eyes were trained on the sun, which peeked its rays out of the trees. She sat with on leg folded under the other, which stayed straight. Her light cotton skirt moved slightly when a breezed brushed through, as did her dark hair. She seemed very at ease, a state Jane rarely saw in.
"You seemed to enjoy it up here," he said, breaking the silence and causing Lisbon to jolt a little.
"Yeah, it's peaceful." She replied, finally looking at him.
"You know, I've only ever taken two people up here. And they're two people I care very much for." He said, more quietly this time. Lisbon already knew who those two were, his wife and his daughter, but she asked anyway.
"Who?" He looked right in her eyes as he answered.
"My daughter, and you, Teresa." He replied, still holding her gaze. She shivered when he used her first name, just the feeling of it coming out of his mouth. His gaze was so intense she had to look down at her hand as she spoke again.
"What about your wife?" Jane shook his head.
"I was going to take them both here one day but..." The sentence didn't need answering. She said nothing, but put her hand on his arm. He looked up at her with eyes full of gratitude. Soon enough he broke into a huge grin, picked up the bottle of bubbles, took out the bubble wand, and blew. His movement caused Lisbon to realize she still had her hand on his arm, and removed it quickly. Then she realized how soft his skin had been, and had the urge to touch it again, but didn't.
Teresa, get a hold of your self! It's Jane! She scolded in her mind when she realized her own thoughts. She had been noticing little things about him the whole day, but didn't dare say anything. More bubbles floated her way, and she blew them back at Jane.
"Hey! I'm the one annoying you here!" he said as the hoard of bubbles started coming close enough to pop. He slipped of his grey coat and blew more bubbles her way. She swatted at them, and he just blew more.
"Jane!" She yelled. It was in a playful way though. He came closer, blowing the bubbles in her face. They popped as they touched her nose and hair. She put her hand on his shoulder to keep him from getting any closer. It was hardly convincible though because she was laughing so hard.
He put his hand over hers that now rested on his shoulder. When she looked up she was startled, but the remnants of a smile still graced her face. He slipped their hands off his shoulder and held hers in front of them. He looked at her, and she looked back. Then his eyes turned to her hair and the stray bit that was invading her face. There was an un-popped bubble in it. Jane lifted up his spare hand and popped the bubble in her hair, then brushed it out of her face. He let his hand linger, than dragged his finger down Lisbon's cheek. Before he could drop it, she brought her own hand onto his, forcing it to stay on her cheek before dropping it.
"We should go, the others are probably wondering where we are." She said, dropping his other hand and turning back towards the entrance of the tree house.
"Lisbon."
"Come on Jane, it's getting late."
"Lisbon." He said again, a little more demanding this time. He grabbed her arm and pulled it, forcing her to turn to him. She didn't look at him, but down at the small space between them.
Jane once again caressed her check with the back of his hand. She decided to look at him, even though she knew she really shouldn't. His big blue eyes were looking at her with something she had seen before, but in much less intensity. Some days when cases were coming slow, or he was bored and not annoying her (rarely) he would look at her with that glint, but only quickly then would vanish. Now it was there, and not disappearing.
"Teresa." He said. His eyes were holding hers so tightly she couldn't look away. Slowly, he tilted her head up so she was looking at him fully, then softly, slowly, he pressed his lips to hers.
Her eyes slid shut, and fireworks blasted behind her eyelids. The kiss only lasted a second, and she had to force her eyes open. He was looking back at her with that same glint in his eyes and she couldn't resist. She flung her arm around his neck, and pulled him close, smashing their lips together. Their kiss was feverous. Lisbon suckered on Jane's bottom lip and his lips parted. His tongue was soon begging entrance and she gave it. His hand slipped from her face down to her waist, and the other to her hair. Lisbon's hand was already buried in Jane's golden curls and her fingers were twirling them.
Soon they needed to part for air. They were gasping as they leaned their foreheads against each other's.
"...Jane-"
"Shh." She was cut off by his lips against hers in a lip-lock. "You were saying the others were probably wondering where we are. I think you're probably right." He said, grabbing his suit jacket and the bubbles and heading out of the clubhouse.
On the ride back, the team's mood had changed. They all were much more relaxed, especially Jane and Lisbon. Van Pelt noticed the looks they gave each other the whole ride. First Jane would look at Lisbon, then Lisbon would notice and give him a knowing, somewhat mysterious smile, then turn her eyes and focus back to the road. When they finally returned to the CBI, everyone got out of the SUV and stretched. Each of the team members started to drift towards their own car, but before Lisbon could reach hers, she was intercepted by Van Pelt.
"Congrats boss." She said, as she walked by.
"About what?" Lisbon asked, confused. Van Pelt gave her a knowing look, then glanced at Jane who was slowly and discreetly making his way over to Lisbon's car. A slight blush passed Lisbon's cheeks. Van Pelt smiled as she walked towards her own car. The last thing Van Pelt saw before driving away was Jane and Lisbon standing dangerously close to each other.