A/N: So many things in this episode. So many, many things. It was touching and funny and chock full of Jane's repressed feelings for Lisbon to please us Jisbon shippers. I loved the ambulance scene/conversation the best! I know we'll all be analyzing this one for days!
For my tag, I chose to write a missing scene. This takes place right before Betty Fulford pulls up in her car and the hilarity ensues. There's some humor, a few moments of angst, and minor hints of Jisbon. I hope you like it.
Episode Tag: Devil's Cherry, 5x2
"This is never going to work," said Lisbon to Jane. She watched as he held up the cage containing the rabbit they'd just purchased, smiling into the fluffy creature's beady little eyes.
"Have some faith. Betty's a nut job already; she'll believe in a not-so- invisible rabbit."
"Nice touch," said Cho. "Choosing a white one."
"Very Alice in Wonderland," Lisbon said.
"More like Jefferson Airplane," said Cho dryly, and Jane grinned.
"Okay, so you'll be waiting in the wings with Snowball here, ready to release him into Betty's dining room when I send the text," Jane said to Cho.
"If you say so. I'm sort of with the boss though on the question of plausibility."
"Look, this woman hacked up a guy with a gem cutter, then stole his diamonds. I would be surprised if belladonna wasn't a part of her complete breakfast, if you know what I mean."
Cho shrugged. "I'll be hiding in the yard." He reached for the cage Jane had pulled out of the back of the SUV and carried the docile creature away. Halfway to the back gate, Jane and Lisbon heard him making little friendly clicking noises at Snowball and cooing gently in a high-pitched voice. The old softy.
"Seriously though, Jane, unless Betty Fulford confesses or somehow gives herself away, we'll be the ones left holding the bag," said Lisbon.
"You mean this bag?" He held up a little paper sack. "Raspberry and hibiscus—lovely blend. It won't be a total loss."
Lisbon put her hand to her forehead. "I don't know why I keep doing things like this for you."
"It's because you know me," Jane said. She heard the sudden intensity in his quiet statement, and it felt oddly like he was making some sort of confession. She met his serious eyes.
"Jane…are you really okay? Seeing your daughter—that must have been—I don't even know how to describe what it must have been like for you. You want to talk about it?"
He hesitated, but his mind was still so full of the vision of his imagined Charlotte, and she seemed so very real to him that he felt compelled to talk about her as if he really had received a visit. As if she were real. Who else would he talk about this with but Lisbon?
"She pointed out some things that I've known for awhile but haven't been able to admit to myself. You would have totally agreed with her. I mean, with uh, me. It's still very confusing…"
"Well, now you have to tell me."
He walked over to a large shade tree in front of Betty's house, and she followed, as he knew she would. She watched his face as he leaned against the large trunk, crossing his arms in a deceptively casual pose. She knew he was still shaken up, at least on the inside. So was she, to tell the truth. Seeing him near death on a gurney for the second time within a year had taken its toll on her. The thought of losing him, and the reality of having done so for six months, had made Lisbon realize just how big a part of her life he was. How important he was to it.
"She said I've been wasting my life on Red John."
If she had been a less compassionate soul, Lisbon might have said, well, duh. But she knew what such an admission had cost him. She wouldn't debase his conclusion by being dishonest with him, however.
"At the expense of other things, yes, maybe you have," she said gently. "But I want to catch that bastard almost as much as you do, Jane. There's nothing wrong with wanting justice, not just for your family, but for the families of his other victims, and those still likely to come. But…you could always go on with the rest of your life, Jane. Leave this to the CBI, whose job it really is to find him. I wouldn't blame you. As a matter of fact, I'd encourage it."
She held her breath. Maybe his imaginary daughter had succeeded in getting through to him in a way she'd been trying for years. His obsession wasn't healthy, particularly the risks he took to feed it. And while it caused an ache somewhere in the vicinity of her heart to contemplate him leaving, and maybe finding someone to fill the void of his loss (even if it wasn't her), she would gladly grant him that chance at happiness if it was within her power.
Jane's face relaxed into a grin. "Just because I admit I have no life, doesn't mean I'm anywhere close to ridding you of my presence, Teresa. Don't get your hopes up."
She let loose her held breath and smiled back. "Please, don't tease me like that…Patrick."
He cringed at her use of his first name, and the memory of their conversation in the ambulance came back to him. He actually blushed a little when he recalled a few of "Charlotte's" other choice remarks.
"Call me Jane, Lisbon. Patrick sounds so…formal."
She chuckled. "You've fallen prey to the law enforcement family shorthand. I don't even know the first names of half the people I work with. Everyone has one name, like Madonna."
He smiled, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the smooth bark of the tree behind him. She was relieved when he changed the subject back to the upcoming ambush of Betty Fulford.
"You think you're up to a little improv in there?"
"You're the expert. What do you think of my recent performances?"
He opened one eye. "Pretty believable, I suppose. This assignment might be a little more difficult though. It will be a close approximation to the mad tea party. Do you speak German?"
"What?"
He closed his eye again. "No matter. Betty probably doesn't either. Follow my lead and you'll be fine."
"That isn't really very reassuring. "
"You worry too much."
"When it comes to you, sometimes I don't think I worry enough."
"Hmmm," he hummed, relaxing against his tree.
Lisbon felt her throat tightening, looking at him now. He'd been back from Vegas only a couple of weeks but she still could hardly believe he was really there sometimes. She felt a lump form in her throat and she turned away, looking sightlessly down the quiet residential street.
"I hope you've learned your lesson from this incident," she said, her voice only slightly above a whisper.
"Which incident? Which lesson?"
"The damn tea, of course. Don't snoop around in strangers' kitchens and use unfamiliar tea from unmarked strainers. And while you're at it, don't go off on your own in the dark when there's a killer on the loose, especially where there are ponds you can be drowned in. Don't run off to Vegas for months on end without any contact and then pop up suddenly in a church as if everything was perfectly normal. I swear to God, Jane, you might have nine lives, but I'm about one shock away from using up the only one I have."
He'd walked away from the tree to stand before her, while she stood there, letting a year's worth of fear and anguish roll off her tongue. Once she'd gotten started, she couldn't seem to stop. His hands went to her shoulders to still her, to steady her. He could feel her small frame shaking beneath his palms, and he ducked his head to try to get her to meet his eyes.
"Shhh. Lisbon, hush. I'm here. I'm fine. It's history, all of it. And I have learned, believe it or not."
That snapped her out of it. "Ha. What have you learned? That gullible, dependable Lisbon will always be there to bail you out of your self-induced messes? I guess I'm not one to talk about learning from mistakes."
"Hey, I get it, Lisbon. I do. I swear I will never drink tea from someone's house unless I can tell for certain what I'm getting. I promise to stay away from dark and creepy ponds, and I vow I will never, ever leave you to worry while I run off to Vegas alone."
"Or sleep with any of Red John's minions?"
His eyes widened and he tensed.
"Scout's honor," he whispered at last. Their gazes locked and he swallowed. After a few heavy moments, she nodded briefly and stepped away from his touch, reaching up to wipe at her eyes with the backs of her hands.
"No way you were ever a boy scout," she said, but her brief flare of anger was extinguished by their shared sense of humor.
"It's the only oath I felt absolutely certain I could give."
Lisbon physically shook out her entire body, starting with her shoulders, then her arms and legs, while trying to shake out her mind as well and focus on the case. She looked at Jane sheepishly as he found his tree again, this time watching her thoughtfully.
"Sorry I freaked out on you," she said. "It's been a rough day."
"Tell me about it. You up to doing this thing now?"
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm not the one who recently had my stomach pumped."
"Okay, then. Let's put our ghosts and our regrets behind us and do this thing—sans hallucinogenics. Well, real ones anyway."
"Deal. Hey, I think her car's coming."
"Stand here and look with a mixture of longing and befuddlement at the house."
"Really? Doesn't that seem a bit obvious?" she asked, turning her back to the road.
"She's a nosey neighbor; Mrs. Kravitz had nothing on her. This will be as effective as Pavlov's bell."
"Whatever. This is your plan, so if you screw it up, you can have all the blame."
"When my plan's successful, as it usually is,"-he ignored her derisive snort-, "do I get all the credit?"
"When have I ever stopped you?"
"Aw, Lisbon, you do know me better than anyone else."
The car pulled up to the curb behind them, and they struck the agreed upon pose.
"Play it cool," he murmured, and she rolled her eyes and waited for her cue.
A/N: Okay, so forgive me if this tag was all over the place; so was the episode, right? I wanted it to be somewhat humorous, and felt the ending was just too dark a place for me to tack on a tag. I liked the show's ending, as mystifying as it was (was that belladonna, or wasn't it?). Also, I know my pop culture references date me some, so you older folks are more likely to get some of these jokes than you youngsters (or those not suckled at the breast of American TV). Lost? Check out Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and watch old Bewitched episodes, and that should catch you up, lol.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Oh, and if you haven't read my old pal waterbaby134's fic, "Marked," do yourself a favor and scout it out. It's really incredible!
See you next week (and sooner for "Taming of the Psychic.")