Disclaimer: I own nothing
A/N: I know I'll get flack for posting a new fic with so many others not done but this is what happens when real life and writer's block get in the way of things. I haven't had a good couple of months and it's probably not going to get any better for a while. For some reason this fic has spoken to me and I just felt the need to get it out, maybe it's depressive nature fits my own problems, I'm not sure. But I decided it was better to post something then nothing so here it is. I'm sure I'll disappoint some people but I'm not sure if anymore negative words can hurt me. So for the fans who stick with me no matter what. This is for you.
This fic is a little different, a lot of new territory for me with at least 6 new characters and a brand new enemy for the team to chase. If you don't like originality, stop now.
On another note, this fic is based off some spoilers from season 6 so read at your own peril.
The Price You Pay
Chapter 1: Held Together By a Thread
"Daddy look! I'm flying!" his little girl shouted, she wasn't really flying of course, just going up and down on the swing set as high as her little legs could pump her. Jane kept a careful eye on her as she played on the swing, smiling happily at the beautiful image she made. The perfect combination of her mother and her father with curly dark brown hair and soft green eyes, she was an Irish princess that would surely cause trouble when she was older. That was something he was looking forward to and dreading at the same time.
His daughter really was the best part of his life, the only thing that really mattered to him anymore. After Red John's death, Jane had learned the hard way that the price of revenge was always higher than originally thought. He was lucky that he now had a child; otherwise he honestly had no idea what he would have done with the remains of his life.
He checked the time on his phone and saw that playtime at the park was over; he had to get Grace home to her mother's by six. Jane stood up from the bench and went over to collect his daughter. "Grace, it's time to go."
"In a minute, Daddy."
"No, you know you need to go home to Mommy."
Grace pouted a little and mournfully hopped off of the swing set and took her father's hand. He knew she was caught between two worlds; she loved her mother and her father and never liked to be separated from either. Even if it was all she'd ever known.
Jane led her over to his car, her little pink duffel bag of clothes already in the back and her white stuffed cat next to her car seat. He buckled her in while she smiled prettily at him before he got behind the wheel and began the drive over to her primary home.
Grace started chattering as soon as he started the engine; talking about her friend Mallory at daycare and birthday party she went to. "James's mommy and daddy were kissing in the hammock, it was icky."
Jane chuckled a little. "Depends on what kind of kiss it was. Mommies and daddies kiss sometimes."
"Do you kiss Mommy?"
Yep, he'd walked right into that question. "Uh, I used to," he admitted. Perhaps it wasn't the best time to be honest with his child but he didn't see the harm in showing that part of his past to her.
"Why don't you anymore?"
There were a lot of answers to that question and while he was sure Grace was at least somewhat aware of the complications surrounding her broken family, he wasn't ready to ruin her innocence yet. "Mommy and I decided not to."
Grace was quiet for a moment as she took in that explanation. "Do you love Mommy?"
That question actually shocked him. He was surprised that Grace had moved on to love, she was a perceptive and intelligent child, and apparently could surprise even him. He thought about lying, about giving her the easy answer that her mother would almost certainly give.
But this wasn't something he liked to lie about.
"Yes I do," Jane told her, "I've loved her for a very long time."
"Does Mommy love you?"
He didn't know that answer, he truly wished he did. "She used to, you'll have to ask her yourself," he said. He actually wondered what she would say to that question, he know what he wished she would answer. "But we both love you, more than anything."
"I know," Grace replied, "Mommy says that too."
Jane quickly changed the subject to something that was a lot lighter and didn't fill him with so much sadness. It didn't take long for Grace to forget all about mommies and daddies and love, she was too cheerful of a child to dwell on the heavy things. But she was aware, he was sure of that, even though her parents had taken great pains to keep her from finding out things…she saw more than most.
Small wonder where that had come from.
Eventually the car ride came to an end and he was at her home with a few minutes to spare. Jane helped Grace out of the car and pulled out her overnight bag and the requisite toys that followed Grace from home to home. When he turned around he saw that Grace's mother was standing in the open doorway waiting for them.
Teresa Lisbon was still as beautiful as ever, motherhood had agreed with her, even if the pain of the last few years had been hard. She had her arms crossed but didn't step out to meet him. "You're on time for once."
He almost rolled his eyes there. It wasn't his fault there had been a traffic jam last week. Grace was oblivious to her parent's awkwardness, or if she did notice she chose not to acknowledge it. Instead she ran over to her mother as if they had been separated for months instead of a mere two days. "Mommy!"
Lisbon knelt down and opened her arms to receive her child and Grace ran right into them, happy in her mother's embrace. "Oh I missed you, baby," Lisbon said, kissing the top of her daughter's head.
Jane took that moment to enjoy the sight of mother and daughter. They look so much alike from their porcelain skin, dark hair and soft green eyes. It was something he loved seeing and wished he could enjoy it not as a bystander but as a part of it.
Lisbon met Jane's eyes as he stepped forward and set Grace's bag down. "Say goodbye to Daddy, Grace."
Grace pulled away from her mother and turned around to hug her father now. "Bye bye, Daddy."
Jane held her close, smelling that sweet fruity smell of her shampoo. "I'll miss you, sweetheart."
"I'll miss you too."
He let her go, kissing her goodbye and hating that he had to do this. Grace walked back to her mother, per the custody agreement they had reached even before her birth. Lisbon's eyes were emotionless as she nodded at him. "I'll have her ready at six on Wednesday."
"You always do," he replied.
Lisbon nudged Grace into the house. "Come on, Grace, we should wash up before dinner."
He watched as the door closed, separating him from his child and her mother once more. Jane sighed and headed back to his car so he could go back to his own home. Alone once again until the next scheduled visit.
Jane hadn't thought that life after Red John would be this hard…he should have known better.
It was Monday morning once again at the CBI and while going through security Jane played one of his favorite games: Guess What They Did This Weekend. The real fun was seeing the ones who were obviously hung-over or fidgeting nervously while looking at their watches proving that they had either overslept or lollygagged on the way to work that morning.
Now there was the bleary face of the guy from financial crimes, from his red eyes and weak pallor Jane suspected that it was more than just a few drinks, probably a full out bender with some form of narcotic. It wouldn't take long for the randomized drug testing to catch up with him.
Further up the line was the new secretary from the second floor and if he wasn't mistaken (and he never was) she was wearing the same clothes she'd worn on Friday just with a sweater thrown over it. Jane didn't know who she spent her weekend with but apparently she'd had a good time, even if she was enduring the walk of shame now.
He smiled at the security guard while he put his keys and emptied his pockets into the bin before being allowed to step through the metal detectors. Once he cleared security he was free to finally head up to meet with the rest of the team.
The elevator stopped on his floor and Jane headed towards the bullpen, not quite so eager to see the faces of his teammates.
Agent Thomas Moretti's team was good people even if they all had their own personalities that Jane found exasperating. He'd been reminded of those few days he'd worked with Haffner's team only this time he didn't have any plans to get back into Lisbon's good graces…nor did he actively seek out ways to annoy them. Well most of the time at least.
The most senior member on the team was Agent Derek Thaler, tall with the boyish good looks that he loved to use on any female that they came across in their investigations. He bragged about his conquests and was always looking for the next one, he'd wind up with some disease or even worse, fall in love and not know what to do with it and end up with a broken heart. But he did his job and kept his nose clean, that was enough for everyone.
Next was Ana Gilchrist and she was probably one of the most terrifying females Jane had ever met. Tall, blonde and strong as an ox, she was a former marine who still lived like she was on the barracks. She had ice blue eyes and loved being able to prove she was tougher than any man who dared speak to her. Jane found it amusing that her austere personality was directly responsible for her loneliness that only drove her even more strict…not that he'd tell her to her face. He wasn't keen on being turned into mincemeat but he would gladly watch as Thaler yanked her chain.
The youngest member of the team was Preston Gray and Jane was still trying to figure out where that man found the will to leave his house in the morning. A real wizard with technology, it was no surprise he'd made it so far even if he was so young…but he was a real germaphobe and hypochondriac. Jane was tempted every day to put something from the garbage in his desk if only to watch him freak out. Needless to say, Gray didn't leave the bullpen much.
And their fearless team leader was none other than Agent Thomas Moretti, he was Jane's age give or take a year and of the "no nonsense variety". He knew for a fact that the man hadn't wanted to work with him but being the good soldier he'd once been, he hadn't turned down an order from a superior. It had taken a bit for Jane's skills to have a positive impact, they would never be friends, never share the mutual respect that Jane missed with Lisbon…but at least he had the grudging acknowledgement that he was a valuable member of the team.
A new team for Jane meant a new investigation too since Lisbon was still in charge of the serious crimes unit. Moretti's team focused on organized crime and drug trafficking, not quite as intriguing as murder and in many ways it was quite mundane since Jane found most mob bosses and drug leaders operated the same ways. The bonus was that for the most parts the crime scenes smelled better.
Jane did his normal Monday routine, nodding hello to his teammates before resting back on his brown couch. They'd just wrapped up a drug ring that had been running through the borders and still were sniffing around some new rumors floating in from San Francisco, nothing concrete yet. Until his skills were needed Jane was going to conserve his energy.
No it wasn't exactly the life he'd imagined for years…but he had a beautiful daughter. He would take what victories he could get.
Mornings for Lisbon were rapidly becoming even more hectic now that her little girl was growing up so fast. She thought taking care of a baby was chaotic, but wrangling a four year old was on an entirely different level. Now she had to make sure Grace was actually wearing matching socks and try to figure out what food for breakfast she would eat that morning, her willful daughter was a real handful most of the time, but her smile rivaled the brightest ray of sunshine.
Somehow she managed to get Grace into decent clothing, eat a little scrambled eggs and buckled up into the car. Her preschool wasn't far from their home and on the way to the CBI, per the normal routine she dropped Grace off with a hug goodbye. Watching for a moment as her little girl waved exuberantly at her mother before being ushered into the building by her friendly-faced teacher.
After that it was a slightly less cheerful drive to the CBI where the rest of her team was waiting for her. Things were better now, time had passed and while Lisbon knew she would never stop walking into that bullpen and feeling pain at the missing face…it no longer felt like a crushing blow. Just like it no longer destroyed her to see the wall bare of Jane's couch, she ignored that bit of guilt and buried it further with her resentment.
Cho was at his desk, looking over a report, being the dutiful agent he always was. She might have thought that he had been touched the least by what had happened but that was a lie; she knew how much he'd hidden his pain. She also knew that Cho had stepped up to help not only her but also Rigsby out, taking his friend in close to try and help him heal. Maybe it worked; at the very least there was no doubt how strong his friendship was with the man.
Rigsby looked like he was trying to appear busy but she knew he was hiding something underneath that paperwork, probably the sports section of the paper if she knew him as well as she thought she did. He was better now, while she knew she might never get over that frightful drive to the coast all those years ago. He'd never been as bad as some…but she'd been desperate to keep her family together when it had already started to unravel.
Two out of four wasn't bad.
The final face was of Amy Brennar, a sweet girl with the fresh-faced good looks of a farmer's daughter even if she'd never set foot out of the city. She was already typing away at her computer, probably finishing up some report or other. She was a hard worker and always determined to prove herself to this team, sometimes her awestruck demeanor was a little grating but Lisbon also knew she had to feel odd being the newcomer to a team that was well known for it's extreme loyalty to one another.
Lisbon greeted them all with a quick smile and light chit chat before heading to her office to get ahead on her paperwork. The hours would pass by in a blur until it was time to go home or get a case, whichever came first.
Two cups of coffee later and her phone rang. She had her answer.
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Henderson PD called in the CBI for help, rightfully believing that they were in over their head. From the beginning it was obvious that this was actually a dumpsite, the young girl with her overly made up face and revealing clothing didn't belong with the very conservative and quiet small town. There was the big question over where she came from since she appeared far too young to be a runaway but no one could ever say for sure these days. She was dressed a bit like prostitute but she couldn't be more than thirteen of fourteen.
Sometimes the job really sucked.
Lisbon's team was still trying to process the scene, talking to the witnesses and the first responding officers when her phone chirped. She was a bit surprised to see the name of Lisa Jennings, her nanny, pop up on her caller ID. It was far too early for Lisa to have picked up Grace from preschool, which meant something else must be going on.
She answered quickly and listened as her usually well put together and very prompt nanny explained the harried situation. Apparently her roommate had fallen down the stairs and hurt her foot, there was the real possibility that something was broken seriously and she didn't want to leave her until all of the tests were done and she could take her friend home. That meant that she would almost certainly not be able to pick up Grace from preschool.
While inconvenient, Lisbon wasn't heartless. She assured Lisa that it would be all right and she would figure something out. The woman was practically a saint already, taking care of her daughter while she was at work and not complaining about the sometimes-late hours and very unorthodox arrangement between Grace's parents. The fact that Lisa had survived the interview with Jane was enough to assure her that she was the right woman for the job.
There were a few benefits to being on speaking terms with the father of her child, the best of which was being able to call him to pick up Grace. Lisbon knew she'd been hesitant on letting him be involved, that was an understatement if she was forced to be entirely honest, since she'd actually decided to not even attempt to find him and tell him about the baby. But he'd found out and she had her suspicions over how, in the end it didn't matter. A formal agreement was reached between them that they would raise their child together but as separate as possible. So she was stuck with Jane in her life whether she wanted it to be that way or not.
After all, Grace seemed to like him.
So she dialed up Jane's number and prepared to make his day.
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Jane might have changed teams but some things remained the same. There were always going to be days when no case came up and no remaining work could be done. Those were the days that the other members of Moretti's team were just as bored as he was. So Jane did what he could to entertain himself and the rest of the team, the latter only occurring when Moretti's eye was not on him. Moretti wasn't a bad man; bit was not nearly as fun or flexible as Lisbon had been. He was strictly a professional, never a friend.
The dull morning was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. Jane raised an eyebrow when he saw that it was Lisbon calling, which meant it had to be about Grace. "Teresa," he answered immediately, "what is it?"
"Lisa's roommate is in the hospital," she explained simply, "she doesn't want to leave her until all of the tests come back but Grace needs to be picked up from pre school. I'm at a scene in Henderson."
"Think nothing of it," Jane told her, "I'll gladly pick her up." It was certainly true. Some weeks he only got to see Grace on Wednesday night if it was her weekend with her mother. Any time he got an extra few hours was a real treat.
So he was all smiles as he got into his car to head over to the preschool that Grace attended. She was a bright little girl, always getting into things but she was charming too, it was hard for her teachers to handle her especially when all she had to do was smile and she would be forgiven.
Jane pulled up outside of the preschool; it wasn't the first time he had been there. He and Lisbon had sat down together to discuss the options they had for her schooling, it hadn't been an entirely pleasant conversation but they had both decided on this facility. This was not the first time he'd had to pick her up from the school and he knew it probably wouldn't be the last.
Grace was waiting in her classroom with her little purple backpack around her shoulders. As soon as she saw him she came running. "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" He scooped her up into his arms and she giggle with excitement. "Does this mean I go with you, Daddy?"
"Of course it does," Jane told her.
"Yay!"
His daughter loved it on those rare occasions when he or her mother was the one who picked her up from preschool, it usually meant she got to hang out that afternoon at the CBI rather than go home and eat apple slices with her nanny. This meant she got to spend time with her daddy who was always fun, and like her daddy, she loved every extra minute with him.
Grace kept up an endless stream of cheerful commentary the entire way back to the CBI with a short stop at a nearby McDonalds so he could pick up some chicken nuggets for her lunch. She took after him in that area, always hungry and never full.
The security guard manning the entrance grinned as soon as they saw her; Grace was always popular with them since her cheerful smile was better than the usual agents and secretaries coming in as a part of the daily grind. By now though the only people who stared were the ones who greeted the little girl with a smile. The gossip had run it's course years ago, while it would always carry the whiff of scandal with it, the fact that he had a child with his former team leader was now considered old news.
Of course she let out a little shriek of delight when she made it to the floor where Jane currently worked, one floor below where Lisbon's team worked. Unfortunately the other members of his team didn't find Grace quite as enjoyable as Cho and Rigsby did.
Gilchrist did little more than raise her eyebrows and outright ignore Grace; she was never good with kids, finding them annoying more than anything. At least Thaler smiled at her and while he was friendly, he was more of the send-presents-but-don't-interact-uncle type. As for Gray...well he stared at Grace as if she were carrying the West Nile Virus, pulling out two bottles of antiseptic as soon as he caught sight of her.
Grace didn't mind that she wasn't quite as beloved to her father's team as she was to her mother. She was too happy that she got to spend some extra time with her daddy and that was quite enough to keep her happy. She loved hopping onto her daddy's couch (he'd had it moved down one floor, no way he was going to work anywhere without his couch) and snuggling against his lap with a book. Or perhaps she would lie on the floor by his feet and color, she knew not to bother the other agents and if she kept to herself then neither Moretti nor anyone else objected to her being around, especially if there was nothing else going on.
Jane spent the time relaxing and watching his daughter play, that was something he never grew tired of…because he knew he would never get enough time.
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It was hard to think of what could be worse then having work a crime scene of a fourteen year old girl that was found dead, beaten and sexually assaulted. Throw in the fact that it was clear the abuse had been for quite a long time and all of them were ready to find the sick son of a bitch and put him away in a place where he could face his own abuse.
Lisbon was sad, depressed and tired when she finished the drive back to the CBI. Brenner was quick to hop on the computer and get to work trying to identify their victim, she admired Brenner's work ethic but sometimes it was only a painful reminder of the woman who preceded her.
At least there was one thing she had to look forward too and Lisbon sought it out immediately.
The first place she checked was upstairs but Jane's couch was empty and all she got was a shrug from the members of the team, she knew better than to ask Moretti. There were only a few places where Jane could take their daughter and she started with the most likely place they would be.
The rooftop café was bright and cheerful but mostly deserted at this time of day, it was in between breaks so people weren't hungry and they were still living off of their noon caffeine buzz. The lack of people meant it was easy to spot Jane and Grace off to the side near the empty patch mostly free of tables and chairs.
Jane was kneeling next to his daughter a little pink plastic bottle of bubble soap, he held up the wand for Grace. The little girl puckered her lips together and blew making five or six bubbles float across the rooftop. Grace started giggling immediately, entranced by the bubbles, even running over to try and catch one only to have it pop in her hand.
Lisbon tried to keep her eyes on her daughter who looked so beautiful running around with delight. But her gaze turned to Jane who was just as mesmerized as he. The truth was she hadn't actually seen Jane simply enjoying life with their child, not since Grace had been a few months old and could spend the night at his home. After that their moments were cut short to picking up and dropping off and the occasional awkward elevator ride by chance.
She had never seen him so…happy. He looked years younger from the day they met, his eyes filled with real joy and bliss. Jane wasn't weighted down by the burdens of Red John and his lost family, yes he had new pain, one she saw for the few minutes that they met, but being with Grace made them nonexistent, at least temporarily.
This was something she'd dreamed about years ago, but it had been different. That dream had involved both of them together and happy with their child, still working together and not torn apart by fresh pain that could never be overcome. Death wasn't something that could easily be swept under the rug; unlike the many times she'd ignored the consequences to his previous actions.
Sometimes she felt the yearning to do just that though, to somehow find a way to soften her hardened heart and maybe try to recapture that old dream. They were so close now…and yet it seemed impossible to bridge that gap between them. Because every time she saw her daughter she was also reminded of what happened to her namesake.
"Mommy!" Grace's little voice broke Lisbon's troubled thoughts. The little girl had caught sight of her mother and immediately raced over to receive her promised hug. Lisbon knelt down to embrace her child, all to happy to feel her beautiful daughter enveloped in her arms.
Jane stood up, putting the cap back onto the bottle of bubbles and smiled at the image of mother and daughter. She wondered briefly if he had the same regrets she did, if he'd shared the shame dreams and still secretly yearned for them to come true. Despite what he'd said to her that night in her apartment all those years ago, Lisbon was never truly sure if Jane loved her the way she had for so long.
But it didn't matter, that love and those dreams were dead and buried just like their friend.
Lisbon turned her thoughts back to the only good thing she had in her life these days, her beautiful little girl. "Hello, sweetheart," she said softly, "Did you have fun with Daddy?"
"Yep!" Grace declared, "Daddy took me to his couch and he read me a story and Mr. Gray said I was a…germ fested something."
Lisbon looked up at Jane with a raised eyebrow. "Germ fested?"
Jane shrugged. "Gray isn't known for his fatherly manners."
"I've heard that," she replied, rising to her feet. "She didn't bother your teammates did she?"
"Of course not," he assured her, "Gray is bothered by everything, getting out of bed worries him."
She bit back a smile; she'd heard a few stories about Agent Gray, usually involving hand sanitizer or panic attacks. "As long as Moretti is all right with it."
Jane gave her a slow smile, one she hadn't actually been on the receiving end in years. Damn it still thrilled her. "You doubt my charming nature?"
Lisbon shook her head. "Just making sure." For a second Jane held her gaze and she actually thought she might have stopped breathing for a moment. Out of the corner of her eye she saw little Grace staring up at her parents quizzically, a soft smile on her lips. No small wonder why, it was probably the first time she'd ever seen her parents speak words beyond, "Have her home on time" and "I'll have her ready on Wednesday."
Maybe she even had the same dream as Hayley Mills that her messed up parents would wind up back together, minus the identical twin pitching in to help.
Perhaps that was too scheming for a four year old but then again, she had half of Jane's DNA.
Lisbon squeezed Grace's hand. "You want to go say hi to Uncle Cho and Uncle Rigsby?"
"Yes!" Grace actually jumped up and down as if she was told she was going to meet Santa.
Lisbon met Jane's eyes calmly. "I'll take her off your hands for a few hours. Until Lisa is free to pick her up."
"She's no trouble," Jane assured her.
"You have to get some work done with your team," Lisbon insisted. "Moretti won't like it if his consultant's time is monopolized."
"Nothing is more important than my child."
She believed that, every act Jane had done in the past few years had proven that the one thing that mattered to him was Grace. But she was a professional and he had to be too…and this was more then his designated time dammit. "I know," she said diplomatically, "but I'm not sure your boss would agree."
"Moretti isn't my boss," Jane pointed out.
That caught her up short for a moment. Jane used to make those same pronouncements about her. Not boss, partner. At first she'd resisted that characterization but slowly had grown to accept it and then enjoy it. Partner. She'd had a partner.
Was Moretti his partner now?"
That idea filled her with bitterness. While their partnership was long since over Lisbon knew that a part of her had hoped that he would never find that kind of easy companionship again. It wasn't that she hadn't wished Jane to be happy…actually she'd not thought much of his life beyond him picking up their child on time.
She just wanted to be the special one. For once.
"Moretti might disagree," Lisbon pointed out quickly. "Besides, Cho and Rigsby haven't seen her in a while." She felt a little smug there; he couldn't very well deny that her team certainly was more child friendly then his.
Maybe it was the mention of the people he used to consider close friends, the guilt that would always be there from the mistakes of the past. More likely it was the fact that this was a simple request and Grace should be with her mother, even if she did live with her primarily. "Make sure she says goodbye," Jane told her.
She might still be indifferent but she wasn't petty. "Of course."
Lisbon picked Grace up while the littler girl squealed and she headed towards the stairs with a grin. Not letting her daughter's forlorn little wave goodbye to her daddy dampen her mood.
If Grace was at all sad to leave her father's presence she quickly brightened at seeing her favorite uncles not by blood. "Uncle Rigsby! Uncle Choooo!" She bellowed the latter's name loud enough to rouse the whole building. It had the desired affect though as all three members of Lisbon's team turned their head just in time for Lisbon to deposit a squirming little girl onto her feet.
Grace made a mad dash to their desks, heading for Rigsby first, mostly because he was the closest. She quickly hugged his legs and before he could finish grinning at her she was gone in a flash, hopping onto Cho's lap as if he were Santa Clause at the mall. Nobody would believe it without seeing it for themselves, but the normally stoic agent smiled softly at the little girl. Grace impishly kissed his cheek before hopping down to head over to Brenner.
She loved her uncles but there was one clear favorite for Grace and that was the woman who was quickly becoming her Aunt Amy. It was no small wonder why, Branner had five younger siblings and had been around kids all of her life. As soon as she'd caught sight of Grace she'd pulled out a small bag of lollipops from her desk.
Lisbon smiled at Grace's excitement but didn't forget that this wasn't a playground. "We still have a case to work on, we can't forget that. Even if we do have a junior agent on our team."
Grace beamed at the nickname. "I get to help, Mommy?" She had a lollipop stick poking out of the corner of her mouth already.
"Of course," she replied, knowing full well that helping meant coloring on the floor while the grownups theorized around her.
Her mother scrounged up a coloring book and crayons that she kept stashed in her desk for just this emergency and Grace was content to sit by Brenner's feet and start scribbling on one of the pictures. Lisbon kept one eye on her daughter as her team quickly got back to work, keeping the descriptions to a minimum but it was rather clear what they had.
A barely teenaged girl was dead and her body dumped in the middle of nowhere. Rigsby showed her the autopsy report, which confirmed sexual assault and evidence of strangulation along with other forms of abuse. The interesting part was her dental work, which the coroner clearly marked, was not from the United States. That meant their victim was probably an immigrant.
Lisbon didn't like where this was all adding up. A young girl dead, sexually assaulted, with on going abuse, and a foreigner. Something was telling all of them that this was more than just one sick pervert out there, something much, much bigger.
To say Jane was disappointed to watch Lisbon take their daughter away was an understatement. True, it wasn't only for a couple of hours and he knew Lisbon would never infringe on the scheduled times he had agreed to. But the facts were that she had a hard time letting him have any more time beyond that, not because she was afraid for their daughter, instead it was from her strong desire to keep him shut out.
Jane knew for a fact that if not for their daughter she probably would never have spoken to him again. He also knew that he would have stayed away just as she wished. Fortunately for him, fate had intervened. So he might not be involved as much as he wanted but it was certainly more than he could have hoped.
He made his way back to the bullpen where he found Moretti hunched over Gray's desk, looking at something on his computer. The team leader looked up at Jane. "Where's your kid?"
"Grace is with her mother," Jane told him simply.
Moretti grunted in response, clearly glad that the child was no longer there to interfere with their work, not that she'd ever been a problem in the first place. Jane ignored his attitude and headed over to the desk. "What do we have here?"
"One of Thaler's boys called about some things going down between San Francisco and here."
That was interesting and Jane welcomed the distraction. "Do we know what it is?"
"Not drugs," Thaler called out from his desk. "And it's not coming in from Mexico."
"Who's behind it?"
"Still working on the details."
Jane almost rolled his eyes at that statement. He knew following leads took time and this wasn't like working a homicide where there was a crime scene and witnesses right off the bat. But they needed to give him something to work with beyond something might be going down. "Well let me know when you have something."
He didn't have to turn around to know that Moretti was glaring daggers at him, but he knew better than to order him to stick around. Five years of working together had forced them to learn the intricacies of each other's work…it didn't mean they liked each other.
A cup of tea in the break room seemed like a good idea to him.
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An hour and a half later Jane's team was still looking into this mysterious smuggling operation that they knew nothing about when the patter of little feet informed Jane that his daughter had returned. He sat up on the couch just in time to catch her as she all but leapt onto the furniture. "Daddy! Daddy!" she shouted, the child completely oblivious to Moretti's glare of disapproval.
Grace's mother followed at a much slower pace, the little girl's backpack slung over one arm. "Lisa's roommate is out of the hospital so she's coming by to pick Grace up."
He nodded simply. "Hopefully everything is all right on that front."
"Sounded like she'll be okay."
Jane turned his attention back to his daughter. "Well we had fun today didn't we?"
"Yes!" Grace exclaimed happily.
"You want to stay?"
"Yes!"
Lisbon glared at him. "You know you can't stay, Grace. Daddy has to get back to work…and so do I."
"Mommy…" But Lisbon was firm, not that there had been any chance Grace would be staying with him the whole day anyways. She was just annoyed that he'd put the idea in her head.
Jane kissed his daughter on her temple. "I'll see you on Wednesday, Grace," he promised her simply.
Grace hugged his neck as if they were parting for years instead of a mere two days. "Bye bye Daddy."
He hugged her back, following the same routine he always did when he held his child in her arms, committing every feeling of this moment to memory. "I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you, Daddy."
After one last kiss he put her back down on the floor and joined her mother. Lisbon met his eyes. "She'll be ready on Wednesday."
"I know," Jane told her, "and I'll call tomorrow at my usual time."
"Of course." She took Grace's hand and they both waved goodbye while Jane watched them go, feeling that same emptiness wash over him that always happened when he had to say goodbye to his child.
Thaler was watching Lisbon and Grace leave too, practically breaking his neck to get a good look at the woman's retreating figure. "Damn…she looks good."
Jane tried to ignore the man's comments; he was nothing more than a wannabe Casanova who was mostly all talk anyways. Unfortunately Thaler had other ideas. "She is single right?"
Gilchrist glared at him too. "She has a kid."
"So? I'm not looking to be a stepfather, just have a little fun." Then he made a very big mistake. Thaler turned to eye Jane. "Hey, you think I have a shot?"
Jane didn't flinch, nor did he even really seem angry, instead he had a steady cool demeanor as he walked over to Thaler's desk. "Do you remember what happened between me and Officer Hendrix?"
Thaler chuckled a little. "Oh yeah."
He nodded. "And that was only because he annoyed me."
The other man frowned now, finally starting catch on. "So…you're saying…?"
"I'm saying you should remember that before you ever ask me for pointers on seducing the mother of my child ever again."
The agent got the message real quick after that, shutting his mouth and ducking his head to get back to work. Gilchrist and Gray both looked amused but Jane didn't care, just took his spot back on his couch. He was ready to forget about Thaler's ridiculous and lofty ideas; certainly the man had no chance of even being noticed by Lisbon.
Not that she was above the odd one night stand. He knew for a fact that she'd had a few trysts in the past five years, none lasting more than twenty-four hours and not one significant. They hadn't bothered him since she'd been careful to keep Grace from knowing about it.
Okay, that wasn't true. They did bother him, a lot.
But he didn't have any right to say anything overt, not when their lives were currently entirely separate. The sad thing was he didn't see any way that would change.
After Grace's departure from the CBI the day was rather uneventful. Not much headway could be made on the case when the girl was still unidentified and they had no idea where she had even come from. The media would be helpful for once, running her picture and information all night. Maybe they would get lucky and catch a break.
She was glad to go home and be able to see her daughter again. Some days it was nice to shake off Special Agent Teresa Lisbon and become Mommy instead. Five years ago she used to come home and still have her head at work, now she was engulfed with happier duties such as bath time and reading another Judy Blume book.
The special day at the CBI had invigorated the little girl; she was not ready to accept that it was time to go to sleep. She ran her mother ragged until Lisbon finally managed to wrangle her into her pajamas and get her to climb into her bed. Grace's room was simple and sweet, soft cream colored walls with lavender and pink accents to match the butterflies that adorned almost everything. She had a real love for butterflies, not just for how beautiful the creatures were but her reasoning was much more clever. She loved the idea of change; even at such a young age she recognized how incredible it was for something to undergo a metamorphosis from one to the next. There was no doubt she was one intelligent and precocious child.
"All right," Lisbon said, sitting on the edge of Grace's bed. "Are you ready for sleep?"
"Yes, Mommy," Grace replied. She sat up in the bed, her stuffed caterpillar clutched at her side. She steepled her hands and began to recite the prayer her mother had taught her. "Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. May angels watch me through the night and wake me with the morning light. Amen."
Lisbon smiled softly and brushed the hair from her face, marveling that she had this beautiful child. Grace looked into her mother's eyes with that inquisitive stare. "Do angels really watch us, Mommy?"
Always asking questions, small wonder where that came from.
"Of course," she replied, "they watch over us all of the time."
"Why?"
"To guide us and protect us," Lisbon explained, "like our guardian angels. They keep us safe."
"Do I have one?"
Lisbon's voice caught in her throat and she nodded. "Yes you do, baby."
"Who?"
That wasn't a question that could be easily answered and the first one that came to Lisbon's mind pained her immeasurably. There had been some questions over the years, sly ones that indicated Grace knew more than she should about her broken family and the pain they all shared. But she didn't know everything, couldn't know everything.
Still, there was no harm in putting a face to this one.
"A beautiful woman," Lisbon explained, "with long red hair and bright hazel eyes. She has a soft laugh and a warm smile…and she loves you so much."
Grace sat up again. "She does?"
"She's your guardian angel," Lisbon reminded her, "her job is to love and protect you."
"But who is she, Mommy?"
She paused, hesitating for a long time before finally giving her a name. "Her name is Grace. Just like you."
The little girl brightened at that answer. "Really?"
She nodded simply. "Really." Then Lisbon leaned over to kiss her daughter goodnight. "Now go to sleep, sweetheart."
Grace snuggled into the covers and closed her eyes; quite happy with the answers her mother had given her and now content to sail away into her dreams. Lisbon stood up and quietly crept out of the room.
Finally she was alone in her hallway, the house dark and quiet. The significance of her answers was weighing heavily on her and now that she was in solitude Lisbon could finally let her emotions well forth. Tears fell from her eyes but she was careful to keep her cries completely silent so she wouldn't wake her up.
It still hurt. Five years later and the pain was still almost unbearable. None of it seemed fair, a life for a life. One Grace for another. And yet here they were.
With no way to change it.
The tears spilt during the night were not present in the following morning. Thankfully everything was routine again with Lisbon dropping off her daughter at preschool before heading back to the CBI. This time she was greeted with the welcome news that the media had managed to give them a very lucky break.
A tip had come in from a local gangbanger who explained he'd seen their victim near what was supposed to be an abandoned warehouse. His description was spot on about their victim and they had every reason to believe him, the real question they had was why she had been there.
Lisbon and her team were ready, putting on their Kevlar vests and preparing their weapons. They had no idea who would be in there or what they would find, if it was the guy who killed their victim then Lisbon expected a real sick bastard who wouldn't go down without a fight.
The door to the warehouse opened with a rusty squeak but there were no apparent signs that anyone was there currently. A few beer bottles and some cleared dust proved that someone had stopped by, but whether that was their killer or some teenagers was not obvious. Cho led the way down the hall, peeking into rooms but shaking his head each time.
It was until they made it to closed door near the back that things changed. A muffled voice made it clear that someone was there. They all felt the adrenaline kick in and the grip on her gun tightened before she nodded at Cho.
He kicked the door and they burst in, weapons drawn.
"CBI!" they shouted, ensuring that whoever was there was caught off guard.
The first thing Lisbon noticed was three guns being pointed straight at her. "Put your guns down!" She shouted while they said the exact same thing. The dim light making it hard to make out much else…but she saw four figures instead.
It took a moment for her to hear anything else beyond her pounding heart but her mind registered what she was seeing much quicker. But she couldn't believe it, not until she heard his voice.
"Well, Lisbon," Jane said, she could see his hands raised above his head but he was smiling broadly. "This seems rather familiar."
A/N: Well what do you think? Sad I know but it will get better...eventually. It'll get more interesting now that Jane and Lisbon's teams are forced to work together to solve this elaborate case. Be prepared for a couple of more new characters, one will be introduced next chapter who is VERY important so stick around.