Parachute

Disclaimer: The plot's mine, just borrowing the rest.

A/N:- Starting the year as I mean to go on …. with The Mentalist fic!

I'll open up and be your parachute
And I'll never let you down
So open up and be my human angel
And we'll only hit the ground
Running
And when the world gets sharp and tries to cut you down to size
And makes you feel like giving in
Oh, I will stay …
Train – Parachute


Lisbon was by no means a pessimist but life had taught her to always be on her guard when it looked like something good was about to happen. So when Cho had remarked how lucky it was that they were going to get out of the office at a decent time for once, Lisbon had simply nodded and silently waited for the call to come to say they were urgently needed to solve a small town murder two hundred miles from here ……

But the call never came and for the first time in a long long time, it looked like she was going to have an early night. The case had been relatively straightforward with a limited number of suspects and the knock to the head seemed to have slowed Jane down somewhat and he had left her with a much smaller trail of destruction for her to clean up than usual. Although his constant refusal to see a doctor had worried her, a small part of her had been glad to be able to loosen the reins on him for once and hand him over to Cho to babysit. The last few months had taught her that working with Jane was a bit like being strapped into an emotional rollercoaster that she couldn't get off of and the ride was beginning to make her feel nauseous.

She closed her book and was just thinking about going upstairs when her doorbell rang. She looked at the clock and groaned. This was not a good sign.

"It's 1am Jane, what are you doing here?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe tiredly as she saw her plans to have an early night dissolve in front of her.

He smiled as he looked at her in her ratty old T-shirt and tracksuit bottoms.

"Since you were fretting, I thought you'd want to know that I went to the doctor," he announced. "He said I still have a concussion and should rest but not fall asleep."

She had a nasty feeling she knew where this was heading. "And you want me to give up a good night's sleep to stay awake with you?"

"Well, I knew you'd be up all night worrying about me anyway….."

She gave him a look, he grinned. "I brought doughnuts," he added, waving the paper bag under her nose.

Lisbon sighed, trying to remember what it felt like not to fall even a tiny bit for his easy charm and stepped aside to let him in. The last time he was here, she had bigger things to worry about than the fact he had entered her private world but now she felt increasingly self-conscious as he did his cursory examination before finally settling down on the sofa.

"How's your head?" she asked.

"It hurts but the doctor said the lump should go down in a couple of days."

She walked into the kitchen, grabbed some ice and wrapped it in a towel before sitting down next to him and pressing it against his head. Jane winced dramatically and she rolled her eyes. "Hold it against your head until the ice melts."

He turned to face her and all of a sudden something shifted between them. He reached up as if to take the ice from her but instead put his hand over hers. He held her gaze and she saw him lower his guard and look at her in a way that made her breath catch in the back of her throat. Then in a split second it was over as if he realised just how close they were and the sparkle in his eye returned. "Playing Nurse suits you. We should get you a costume."

She pulled her hand away and made a big show of being annoyed by his teasing but secretly she was glad for the distraction since she was getting entirely too comfortable in the moment. "You can spend the night at Cho's place. He's an insomniac anyway," she said, reaching for her phone.

"I'm kidding. The mothering – it's an endearing quality." He paused and suddenly his mood changed and he grew serious. "It's what makes you a good person."

Lisbon knew that was a loaded point and sat down in the chair opposite him and looked at him questioningly.

He shrugged. "You became a good person in spite of your father, I became someone who got his family killed because of mine."

"Jane …"

"You don't need to say anything Lisbon. I'm not looking for pity," he said, giving her a sad smile, and there was something akin to shame in his eyes. "I'm just having a moment. Must be the blow to the head," he finished with a weak laugh.

Silence descended on the room and Lisbon almost didn't want to break it. She realised this was a rare time he was giving her a glimpse of the real him beneath the mask of charming arrogance he wore. He looked upset. Jane pried and crossed boundaries all the time but she only knew a tiny bit about his past and that was just what she had read between the lines. She knew just enough that his resentment of his father ran deep.

"You have to remember three things Jane," she said at last. "You can't change the past, you loved your wife and daughter and although you think you can see and predict everything, there are some things that no one could possibly have foreseen. Yes, you're arrogant and annoying and sometimes I think your whole existence is to make my life difficult but I know that underneath it all you have a good heart."

"That's four things," he said, and although she knew that words were useless in combating the layers of guilt he had enshrouded himself in, she saw she had perhaps chipped away a tiny bit of it by the way his mouth twitched with gratitude.

Then he lay down on the sofa and took out the baseball from his pocket and began throwing it up and catching it with his free hand.

Lisbon watched him for a minute before leaving him to his own thoughts and pulling out some old case-files to look over.

They sat there in comfortable silence until forty-five minutes later, Jane put down the pack of ice and sat up. "Lisbon?" She looked at him. "I know you know I didn't go to the doctors and that the pain was gone hours ago, so why did you let me in and play along anyway?"

Lisbon held his gaze before sighing. She thought about all the answers she could give and how he would see through them all. She wondered when she had become so comfortable playing his games that she let him manipulate her with eyes wide open. "Why did you come here?"

He smiled at her deflection. He had no answer to give either, at least not one he could say aloud anyway.

She looked away and went to the cupboard and pulled out blankets and a pillow and tried not to let it bother her that he was watching her every move.

"Lisbon, thank you for letting me stay tonight," he said at last.

She nodded, switched the light off and headed towards the staircase.

"Get some sleep. You're buying breakfast in the morning."

She could almost feel him grinning through the darkness. "What do you think the doughnuts are for?" he replied.