Easter Smile
Disclaimer: The Mentalist show and characters are the property of Bruno Heller, Primrose Hill Productions, Warner Bros. Television and I'm sure others. I am not profiting from this story.
Author's Notes: Just thought it would be nice to write a one-shot. Please leave a comment. Hope those who observe Easter had a good Easter and those who don't, hope you had a good weekend.
***
They sat on her desk, innocently staring up at her, which was odd since they were consumables. Normally she may have not given them a second glance anywhere else, but they were sitting there. On her desk.
Lisbon immediately knew who they had to be from. No one else would have gone into her locked office to leave them, a sticky note signed "The Easter Bunny" next to the single yellow Peep and foil wrapped Cadbury Egg. Despite herself, her lips quirked into a small smile.
"I see the Easter Bunny has visited you."
Lisbon looked up at Jane who likely had poked his head in with impeccable timing to see her smile. He was walking into her office without invitation as usual, his hands casually in his pockets. She rolled her eyes, but wasn't truly annoyed.
"Thanks Jane," she said, setting the treats to the side of her desk to eat later, probably in the afternoon when her energy dropped.
Jane raised his brows as if getting ready to deny that he had anything to do with Easter Bunny duties, but instead flashed a quick grin and retreated to his couch, leaving Lisbon alone in her office to get ready for the day.
***
His father had taught him to prey on people's weaknesses, which included, at times, a person's belief system. Because of this he had never really picked up on religion or spirituality himself. Why would a deity let one of their followers get scammed by his father and himself? Why would a higher being give him a father who loved his money-earning talents more than his own son?
"Patty" Jane grew up quickly under the tutelage of his biological father and left, cutting off his last link to any semblance of family as he came into his own, now Patrick Jane.
It wasn't until he held his baby girl in his arms that he believed in any sort of higher power: a child's unbridled joy.
Holidays he hadn't celebrated before were now something to dive into wholeheartedly just to see the smile on his daughter's face, his wife happily watching her often jaded husband melt away into an almost innocent child with their daughter.
On a whim he bought the colorful cardboard package of Easter egg dying kit and brought it home to his four-year-old daughter and together, for the first time in his life and hers, they colored eggs. His curly-haired daughter watched in wonder as the color on the eggs changed when dunked in different colors. A red egg turned purple when put in blue dye, the magic of white appearing when the white crayon was used before dyeing the egg. His wife came to the kitchen in slight dismay at the mess they made and the stains left in the countertop.
Every Easter after that he would bring home the egg dying kit and would buy all the different candies associated with that holiday from chocolate bunnies, the baskets filled with green plastic grass and assortment of jelly beans, chocolate eggs, Peeps, and pastel colored candies. His wife had mixed feelings about this. She approved of Patrick spending time with the family, his obvious love of their daughter, the Easter eggs hunts they had, but she had to take charge of rationing the candy so that their daughter wouldn't suffer from sugar highs and cavities.
After his family was gone he didn't celebrate any holidays again, they were a painful reminder of what he had lost and what he needed to do before he left this world. It wasn't until he came to work at the CBI that he celebrated anything again, from birthdays to Easter, if only in the form of a couple of candies he left on Lisbon's desk.
***
His eyes were closed, but he was awake, thinking as he appeared to be napping. He heard the familiar footsteps of Lisbon coming to his couch and opened his eyes after she addressed him and the rest of the team with the announcement of another case.
"Let's go."
He saw the fluffy marshmallow chick in her hand and saw her raise it to her mouth, taking a bite out of it. A small smile tickled her lips, perhaps a flutter of good childhood memories. That was why he did it, donned the title of Easter Bunny again, the simple paper crafts, the unexpected treats, all to see her smile. Lisbon's smile.