(A/N): Please, ignore the title. It is not very good. This is one small moment set in Devil's Cherry, after Charlotte has gone.
I do not own the Mentalist.
HeavenSkye x
One Moment; Theirs.
"Uh, is Charlotte..." Lisbon trailed off self-consciously, well aware of how crazy she sounded to anyone but Jane. Jane, however, looked downhearted, trying to mask his hurt and despair.
"Gone. The tea wore off." Jane confirmed, arms crossed defensively over his chest. He couldn't get Charlotte out of his head. Still remembering the way she'd argued with him, pointed out facts he'd been ignoring for far too long. The fact that he'd told Lisbon about Charlotte's presence meant a lot, he knew, to both of them. Of course, if anyone else heard them talking about his dead daughter, they'd be carted off to the mental institute together. He almost smiled, but the loss of his daughter, albeit imaginary, prevented the smile from crossing his features.
"Oh." Lisbon paused, searching for something, anything, to say. She settled for going back to the case. "Well, you were right. Your hallucination led us to the killer." She tried, hands stuffed deep in her pockets, desperately trying to stop feeling so awkward.
"No, my imaginary daughter was right. Its all a little too easy." Jane corrected her, still hunched in his defensive pose on his couch. He saw Grace turn from the corner of his eye, but his gaze was still fixed on Lisbon. She gave him a small half-smile, that oddly soothed him. True, he might not have his daughter, hallucinatory or otherwise, but his daughter had reminded him that he had something precious, something to hold on to, something to cherish and love. Teresa Lisbon.
"What are you talking about?" Van Pelt asked, brow furrowed, looking bewildered. And just like that, the moment was lost. Both knew they couldn't act on their love, but they would take what they could get. For now.
Jane gave Lisbon an apologetic half-smile before coming out of his defensive pose and turning to face Van Pelt.
"Well, I've never been to that workshop, I've never met the apprentice. How would I know he was stashing stolen goods there?"
Lisbon stood silent. Things weren't ideal between them, but it was enough. It was theirs, and that was all that mattered.