The Shadow of the Past
Chapter 1
Disclaimer: Not mine. Anything you recognize does not belong to me.
"It's time to move on Jane, you can't keep living in the past!" Lisbon's voice was escalating to yelling levels. Her eyes were flashing with fury as she leaned over her desk, paperwork forgotten.
"I'm not living in the past!"
"You are obsessed with Red John! That is all you care about," Jane moved away from Lisbon, moving closer to the couch. "You need to live your life."
"I am living my life. Do you have any idea what I have been through?" Jane paused, drawing a deep breath before continuing, anger flaring wildly within him, "No, you don't. I lost my only love and child. You have no idea what I'm going through."
All the life seemed to drain out of Lisbon's body, her small frame slumped down, and her eyes lost all their fight.
She grabbed her jacket and her bag before disappearing out of the office. The darkness of the empty building swallowed her.
Jane's eyes followed her, anger still coursing through his veins. For 5 minutes, Jane stood, frozen, in the same spot as before, seething at the nerve of Lisbon's words.
He began making his way to the attic on autopilot. Lying down on the small cot, he crossed his fingers over his chest and waited for sleep to take him.
His eyes intently studied the planks of the ceiling. The words of his argument with Lisbon were on constant replay. Jane was unsure if he was asleep or in a dazed state of thought.
"Hello Patrick." A voice he had not heard in 10 years rang out through the attic.
The blonde man turned to his side quickly and found him gazing upon his wife, "Angela?"
"Yes, Patrick. It's me."
"Wh-wh-what are you doing here?" Jane stammered, staring at her form, which looked so solid, so real.
The rosy lips that filled his dreams turned up in a small smile. "I'm here to help you."
"I don't need help," he stated.
"Well, then why are you yelling at the one person who has stayed by your side through all of this craziness, hm?"
"Because she doesn't understand what I'm going through!" Jane demanded, shifting from lying to sitting up. "She hasn't lost the people she loved."
Angela fixed him with a condescending smile. "Obviously your mind is weakening with age."
"What! No, it's not." Jane shot a small glare at Angela.
"Are you sure Teresa Lisbon hasn't lost as much as you?" Jane nodded, but his brow was furrowed with doubt. "Fine, let's see." Angela waved a hand much like a magician would and the dreary background of the attic shimmered and changed to that of a graveyard.
A bright sun illuminated the blue sky, but Jane could feel the cold, brisk air that seemed only to exist in the Midwest. A wooden casket was being lowered into a grave. A small family consisting of an older man, three boys and a young girl watched as the box was covered with dirt. A priest was saying a prayer, but Jane was not listening.
"Is that Lisbon?" Jane asked, pointing to the girl fingering a gold chain around her neck. She looked to be about 12, but her gaze looked to be that of a much older person.
"Yes, at her mother's funeral."
A look of realization crossed Jane's face and Angela shot him a slightly smug grin that she had often used in life. "I forgot."
"Yeah, you did."
Jane's gaze remained on the family as one of the younger boy's began crying and the young Lisbon wrapped her arms around her brother. The other two boys held stiff upper lips and their father held his arms around their shoulders, silent tears tracking down his face.
"Are we done then? Can I go back?" Jane wanted nothing more then to wake up and go see Lisbon.
"No, we aren't done. There's more." Angela waved her hand again and the scene before them disappeared.
"Mark, can you take your brothers upstairs and play a game with them?" A slightly older Teresa asked a boy who shared her green eyes and dark hair, but not her small stature.
"But I don't wanna play with the little kids," Mark whined. The sound of a car on gravel echoed in the silent house.
"I'll take you to a movie if you do," Teresa pleaded, her eyes wide with fear.
"Okay!" Mark's face split into a smile.
"Why don't you play in the attic? It'll be more fun that way!" Teresa suggested. Her body was tense, contrasting her kind smile greatly.
"Yeah!" The 11 year-old ran towards the stairs, yelling, "Tommy! James!" The thump of their feet dulled as they ran up to the attic, far away from their older sister.
The door creaked open and there were a few muttered curses as a foot collided with some unknown object.
The younger version of Lisbon was trembling with fear, something Jane never thought in a million years he would see.
A large man appeared in the doorway, he reeked of alcohol and a bottle was clutched loosely in his hand.
"Is that her father?" Jane whisper, afraid they would be able to hear him.
Angela nodded silently and pointed towards the scene in front of them.
Teresa was quietly putting away dishes as her father stormed in. Mr. Lisbon yanked open the fridge door and was searching through the shelves, his face illuminated by the white light.
Although her body was nearly shaking with fear, she continued putting away the dishes. Her father's face contorted with anger.
"Reesa," his voice was heavy with the affects of the beer in his hand, "where's the beer?"
"I don't know, Daddy. Maybe you drank it all," she suggested meekly. The shift in the room was palpable. Immediately Jane could sense Lisbon's mistake.
Mr. Lisbon clenched his hands into fists. "You hid it, din't you, ya little brat."
"No. I wouldn't do that," She said definitely.
"You little bitch," Rick Lisbon's hand shot out and grabbed his daughter's small arm.
Jane moved to step forward, but was restrained by Angela's light hand, "You can't do anything for her. It's in the past."
Jane pulled his gaze away from his beautiful wife to the younger version of his partner.
"Now, tell me. Where is it?" Lisbon's father growled as he held her close to his face. Lisbon flinched as his putrid breath hit her airways.
"I didn't d-do anything to it," Her voice shook slightly, but her eyes stayed firmly locked on her father's.
"Don't lie to me!" He roared as one of his fist came flying through the air and made an impact on the girl's skinny shoulder.
She made noise of pain, only a small, "Oomf," as the air left her.
Jane turned his head away, cringing at the sounds. Angela rubbed her hand up and down his back, similar to a mother calming a small child. He turned back only to see Teresa thrown to the ground with a hard slap to her face. She curled up in a small ball, waiting for more, but nothing more came.
Rick Lisbon had stumbled to the couch and passed out, his beer bottle clattering to the ground in a small puddle.
Lisbon stood up, brushed her self off, and then walked over to the sleeping form of her father. She proceeded to lay a thin blanket over him, clean up the beer and light a scented candle to cover up the potent scent of beer. "Good night daddy."
Jane looked at the younger girl as she made four peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and disappeared up the stairs, presumably to her brothers.
"Still think she didn't go through as much?" Angela asked.
"No. I made a mistake. Can we go back? "
"No, there's more." Angela waved her hand solemnly and the scenery changed yet again.
Lisbon appeared to be around 14, or 15 now. She was changing out of a supermarket uniform and into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that read Illinois State Track and Field.
"Hmm… I forgot she ran track in high school. I'm assuming State is good, right?" Jane mused.
"State is very good." Angela said, her eyebrows rose in amusement.
Young Lisbon was counting a pile of money and checking a sheet of paper. A wide grin spread on her face. She threw the money into an envelope and sped out of her bedroom and into a bedroom right across the hall. "Mark! Guess what?"
Her oldest brother was seated on his bed, methodically taping a hockey stick, "I can go?" His face light up with excitement and joy at her nod.
"Yes! I got enough money." She all but disappeared as her brother engulfed her in a hug. "Are your skates in good shape?"
"Uh-huh, Sammy sharpened them for me. I'm so, I mean, you know…" the young boy stammered over his words, "Thank you so much, Reese. I love you so much. Did you know there are going to be scouts there? For some of the junior teams and schools!" Teresa grinned at her brother's excitement.
"Just play your best, and you'll do fine." She said reassuringly.
"Wait, what are they talking about?" Jane's face was portraying an emotion not often found on his face, confusion.
"Hockey. Lisbon's brother Mark plays hockey and is going to a tournament that's very important. Your Lisbon had to work two shifts at the market and babysit, all while basically raising three boys."
Mark Lisbon's voice cut through the shade's ramblings, "So there is enough, right? And we'll be fine?" Lisbon smiled kindly.
"Yes, it'll all be fine. You just worry about your hockey." She stood up to leave and was almost out of the door when her brother glanced up from the money, a look of worry crossing his joyful face,
"What about dad?"
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure he'll be fine with it," She gave a slight wave of her hand, dismissing her brother's worries.
The scene changed and they were watching Lisbon curled up in a chair, reading a book.
"This is the week of the hockey tournament," Angela supplied helpfully.
Lisbon turned through a few pages when the phone rang shrilly. Lisbon, her eyes filled with curiosity, grabbed the phone and pulled it to her ear; "Hello?" a small smile graced her features, "Mark! How is the tournament? Wait what?" A thundering of footsteps pounded down the stairs. James and who Jane assumed was Tommy came sliding into view.
"Reese! Is it Mark?" Tommy asked eagerly.
Teresa covered the mouthpiece with a hand and said, "Yeah. I'll put it on speaker." She pressed a button and lay the phone on the small table, "Mark, you're on speaker, Tommy and James are here."
"Hey guys!" A voice dripping with excitement rang through the phone.
"Hey Mark!" The two boys chorused back.
"Okay, you guys will never guess what happened today?"
"What?" Tommy, the youngest, asked loudly, insuring his brother would hear. "What
happened, Mark? Did you guys win the tourney?"
"We're in the semifinals, so not yet,"
"Is that what you wanted to tell us?" Teresa fiddled absentmindedly with the cover of her book, her eyes locked on the phone.
"Noooooo," Mark drawled.
"Just tell us," James whined.
"Patience young padawan."
"Marco," Teresa warned.
Even from miles away, Mark knew his sister's warning tone, knowing it would do best to listen, "Fine, fine. I'm going. You guys will never believe this. I got an offer."
"Wha?" Tommy tilted his head to the side in confusion. He glanced between the phone and his two older siblings.
His older sister shot him a warning look and he quickly silenced.
"I got an offer!" Mark's voice was increasingly louder; "I got an offer for a full ride!"
Over the squeals and high-fives of the two boys, Teresa asked, "Where?"
"Shattuck- St. Mary's, in Minnesota. That program feeds directly into the national program. They offered a full scholarship plus clothes, equipment, room and board, the whole shebang," the awe in his voice was so powerful, Jane felt truly excited for the boy.
"Oh my god," there were two quiet gasps from James and Tommy at their sister's language, "Mark, that's… wow… that's amazing. I can't believe it! Mark, did you accept?"
Jane could almost feel the tension through the phone as Mark stumbled out, "Uh… well… I did accept, but they said they need to talk to my parents before I can accept the offer. Reese, can I talk to you alone?"
"'Course, Tom, James, why don't you two go get something to eat? I think there's some ice cream in the fridge," The two boys' eyes light up with joy.
"Ice cream, before dinner?" Tommy said, his jaw hanging open.
"Yes, Tommy-boy, now shoo," she waved a hand and her brothers scurried away to the kitchen. Teresa picked up the phone and cradled it in her shoulder.
"Ang, will we be able to hear?" Jane turned to her; his blue eyes alit with wonder.
She gave an elegant flick of her wrist, something he knew Lisbon would never do, and they could hear Mark's voice just as clearly as the rest. Jane's mind stumbled over the last thought he had, since when had he compared his wife to Lisbon?
"Reese, do you think Dad'll let me go?" Mark Lisbon sounded terrified at what his sister's response would be.
"Yeah, I'm sure he would be so proud of you." Her eyes were beginning to water at the thought of convincing their drunken father of the situation.
"Are you sure? I mean with all the you know…" Mark trailed off, unsure of how to put their father's actions into words.
"Mark, I'll deal with it. When does the school want to come talk to us?" Jane was struck by similarities of the young Lisbon and the one he knew. Always trying to protect everyone around her, and trying to make their lives better, especially his.
"Um… they said in about a week. That way if I accept I will be ready to go to school for this coming year,"
"What day?" Jane could already see the cogs whirring in the young girl's mind; he had seen it many times before in the future version.
"June… errr… 20th," the boy stuttered.
Teresa squeezed her eyes shut in worry, and a micro expression of pain flashed across her face.
"What's wrong with her?" Jane asked, almost insensitively.
"June 20th was her mother's birthday," Angela said quietly, her eyes still fixed on the scene in front of them.
Jane's lips formed a small O as he realized the implications of this.
"Okay," Teresa began chewing her lip nervously, "bye, Marco. Love you so much." Her last words came out like a whisper or a prayer.
"Love you too, Reese. I'll be home soon." The line went dead and she returned the phone.
Angela waved her hand to the side and they were watching a family dinner. Mark was not there, so Jane assumed he must have been at his tournament still.
Rick Lisbon was picking dully at his food, a sense of weariness held over him. This oddly surprised Jane, as the older Teresa often looked similar to what her father was doing.
The two boys were engulfing their food at an alarming rate and both cleaned their plates in next to no time. They both stood simultaneously and cleared their plates with minimal clanking.
Lisbon was pushing her pasta around in a bored manner, but her eyes were darting back and forth in fear and nerves.
Jane could smell no alcohol in the near vicinity so he assumed that Rick was sober for the time being.
"How's school going?" His voice was low and gruff, but still friendly, something that surprised Jane after the last time he'd seen him.
Teresa's eyes widen momentarily before she said quietly, "It's fine."
"That's good," the silence between them was long and awkward.
"Uh, Dad, you know how Mark's at a hockey tournament?" Rick nodded, raising his fork to his mouth, "Well, he got accepted into Shattuck," she halted, her voice faltering at this crucial moment, "With a full scholarship and a spot on their hockey team."
Rick's voice alit with something Jane hadn't seen before in the man, pride and happiness. "Shattuck? As in Shattuck St. Mary's?" The disbelief was scrawled across the man's face, "My boy got into Shattuck?!"
He moved to give her a hug and Teresa flinched slightly, but relaxed once his arms were around her.
"Yes, Daddy, Marco got into Shattuck! Can you believe it?" Her voice was muffled by her father's shoulder, but Jane could see her eyes and they were glowing with happiness.
"It's amazing! Do you want to watch a movie, shoulder high? Or are you to old for that?"
Rick pulled away and Teresa nodded furiously, her eyes glinting with tears of happiness. "The Goonies?"
"'Course, Reese." The father- daughter duo walked over to their couch and Teresa stuck a tape in an old VHS.
"Wow, I forgot about those," Angela said, a soft smirk on her lips.
Angela slid her hand through the air, pushing the scene forward at a fast rate. They were soon watching Teresa, fast asleep, curled on her father's shoulder. The ending credits were making their way across the screen.
Rick Lisbon slipped his hands under his daughter's shoulders and knees and lifted her up bridal style.
Jane and Angela slid along with the father and daughter as they made their way upstairs into Teresa's room. Rick tucked his only daughter in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm sorry, shoulder high. I love you so much, Teresa,"
Angela waved her hand like Obi-Wan Kenobi. They were in a misty room and Jane's eyes darted around, looking for Lisbon.
"Why did you show me that memory?" Jane questioned.
"I wanted to show you how her childhood wasn't all bad, and what sacrifices your partner made for her brothers."
"What ever happened to Mark?" Jane asked quietly, his eyes spinning through the room of mist.
"Oh, he went to Shattuck and played at the Olympic level, then for the National league. He and Teresa don't really talk any more," Angela's soft face fell with a wave of sadness and pity. Jane's eyebrows knitted together momentarily, knowing his partner would hate to hear or see someone pitying her.
"Why?" Jane's unquenchable curiosity got the better of him, he knew Teresa most likely wouldn't want him digging into her past, but his digging nature was stronger.
Angela shot him a doubtful look before sighing, "I will show you, but Patrick, you have to tread carefully. This is someone's past, their history, not a jungle gym." Her hand moved in a familiar sweeping motion and they were looking at the outside of the Lisbon house.
A soft layer of snow littered the ground around the house. A trail of slush led from the road to the house, the print of heavy boot evident.
The sun was starting to droop below the high skylines of Chicago, casting an eerie light on the small house.
"This is two years after. Teresa would be around 17." Angela's voice floated to his ears as Jane's wispy form was pulled towards the house as a dark haired boy dragged a heavy duffle with him.
On closer inspection, the boy was Mark Lisbon, only lankier, bulkier and with trimmed hair. His hair no longer fell precariously into his green eyes.
Mark fumbled a key out of his windbreaker pocket and jammed it into the lock, his fingers locking with the cold. He pushed open the door and threw his duffle in before following it with a yell, "Reese! Tommy! James! Anyone home?"
He was met by a still silence. Mark began warily making his way up the stairs, still calling his siblings' names.
As he reached the hall, muffled sobs echoed through the hall. "Teresa?"
Mark quickened his pace, almost running through the hall until he reached the room at the end. He opened the door loudly, and stuck his head in; "Ree-" His mouth gaped open, unable to finish the sentence.
Jane's eyes flitted from the boy in front of him to the man slumped, hanging from the ceiling, to the girl curled up, sobbing, a note clutched in her hand.
"Teresa!" Mark ignored the hanging man and rushed to his sister's side. He engulfed her in a massive hug, comforting his older sister. Mark, arms now muscular from constant training, scooped up his sister and carried her out of their father's bedroom. "Reese, what happened?"
The two siblings slumped down in Mark's neat, orderly bed, Teresa still shaking against him.
Mark repeated himself, speaking softly, still holding her to him, "Wha- what happened to Dad?"
Teresa squeezed her eyes shut before muttering, "He killed himself. He was just… hanging… when I got there. I came home from dropping the- the- b-b-boys off at the Freeman's for a sleepover," a fresh wave of tears overtook her and her small frame jerked with the sobs.
Jane felt like his heart was breaking. Here was the unbreakable Teresa Lisbon sobbing uncontrollably, something Jane never thought he'd seen in million years. He subconsciously reached for Angela's delicate hand. She gripped his finger tightly in reassurance. A sly grin slipped on to Jane's lips as he thought if the irony. Getting comfort from a dead person.
Mark rubbed his hand over Teresa's small shoulder. "Did he leave a note?"
Teresa's head bobbed slightly against his shoulder, and one of her hands pulled away from her body. "Here,"
Mark's eyes scanned the note, but Jane had to crane his neck to see.
He could just make out:
…Mark is my pride and joy. I can only hope he goes big.
Teresa, all I wanted was for a loving family. But you…
"But what?" Jane whirled around to stare imploringly at Angela.
"There are some things that you don't need to know. I give you the basic jist. Her father said that she was a disappointment and stuff like that." Angela, still holding his hand, began leading him away from the crying brother and sister.
The ghostly duo floated down the stairs into the main entrance. They glided past a table covered in envelopes. Jane happened to glance down at one. He jerked to a stop, yanking Angela along with him.
He hazily pointed a finger at the envelope, "Lisbon went to Yale?" He began scanning the rest of the table, "Boston? Cal? Lisbon got accepted to all these? I mean I knew she was smart, but this? Wow,"
"Something the brilliant Patrick Jane didn't know?" Angela poked him in the side gently, "But she didn't go to any of these schools. She got accepted in the police academy and just went there instead."
"Why not any of these schools?"
Angela shot him a wry smile, "And who would take care of her brothers? Also tuition," Angela trailed off, allowing Jane's keen mind to fill in the blanks.
"I never knew…. So are we done here? Can I go back and set things straight?"
"Oh no, I still have more to show you and some others do to," Angela said mysteriously.
"So you're ghost of Christmas Past. This is some sort of Christmas Carol thing?"
"I suppose," her smile widened, "but think of it more as… an otherworldly intervention," Jane rolled his eyes slightly at the implications, but said nothing, "Now, we have a few more memories."
Angela raised her hand, but paused as Jane moved forward, "Is this whole hand waving thing really necessary?" whined Jane.
She gave him an extremely familiar glare, the one that normally meant he was doing something stupid and/or irritating. "Yes, Patrick." She bit out, "It is necessary." Her tone left no room for complaint or objection.
Jane spread his hands wide in concession, "Okay, okay. Proceed."
Angela waved her hand and the main entrance of the Lisbon household dissolved into a police precedent. The SFPD logo was emblazoned on one wall.
Jane's eyes quickly sought out the dark hair of Lisbon and found her leaving an office, a man walking next to her.
The older man guided her over to a group of desks where 3 men sat, all working diligently.
"Bosco!" The man barked. And a younger version of the Bosco he knew snapped to attention.
"Yes, sir?"
"This is the newest member on your team," he gestured a hand to Lisbon, who was slightly behind him, "Teresa Lisbon. She's right out of the academy. Placed top in her class."
The corners of Jane's mouth rose slightly at the reddening of Lisbon's cheek. If he had known all you had to do to make her blush was to compliment her, she would've gotten a lot more from him.
Bosco's eyebrows rose at this. His beady eyes studied the woman in front of him, quickly making snap judgments.
"Detective Sam Bosco, senior Detective." He stuck out a hand and loosely shook Lisbon's small one.
"Teresa Lisbon," Lisbon shot a nervous smile towards her new superior before releasing his hand.
"This is Jack Kowalski," a tall, blonde haired man stood up and gave her a small smile. He had a genuinely nice face, but he seemed rather out of place.
"Nice to meet you," Teresa smiled back.
"Ya, same here."
Then the other man stood up and swaggered over, a half assed grin on his face, "Hi, I'm Detective Spencer Gander." He held out a hand that Lisbon accepted readily. A slight flinch passed through Lisbon as Gander shook her hand. But she merely responded with squeezing with equal force. "It's good to meet you, Teresa," his tone was mocking and patronizing all in one, bringing a slight sneer to Lisbon's face.
"It's good to meet you too. And you can just call me Lisbon,"
Jane was so busy throwing daggers with his eyes that he didn't notice Angela's over dramatic hand wave until the scene shifted.
The team, minus Bosco, was all working at their desks. Lisbon was filling out a report, Jane grinned at this. Some things never change. Gander was randomly doodling and Kowalski was reading the sports page from the newspaper.
"Damn, Red Wings lost," Kowalski hissed. His teammates both looked up simultaneously.
"Who'd they lose to?" Lisbon asked.
"Toronto," his face was pinched with anger.
"Well, that's not too bad. Toronto's pretty good this year," she reasoned.
A slimy grin appeared on Gander's face, "Ooohhh, Reese knows her hockey. What? Did Daddy dearest teach you?"
Lisbon shut her eyes momentarily before saying, "How'd Chicago do?"
"Tie. They your team? 'Cause mine's Detroit. Might make some issues," Kowalski teased good-naturedly.
"Bring it," Lisbon jabbed playfully back, "What about Dallas?"
"They won."
A sad expression crossed Lisbon's face briefly, but her smile didn't falter, "That's good."
"Hmmm… there's a Lisbon on the roster here. Mark Lisbon," Gander said, reading over Kowalski's shoulder, "s'hat Reese's brother? How come you never mentioned it?"
"Don't call me Reese," she hissed out, anger seeping into her tone.
"I can do whatever I please," smirked Gander. "Oh look, there's even a small blurb. 'Mark Lisbon, 22, is the young, up and coming star for the Dallas Stars. Originally from Chicago, he attended the Shattuck St. Mary School throughout junior high and high school. He is expected to become one of the leading scorers on the team with his deadly slap shot.' Reesa, your brother looks good,"
"Yeah, he's very good. And I swear to god if you call me Reese or Reesa one more time…"
"You'll what? Go crying to Daddy?" he taunted. Lisbon's jaw locked immediately and her eyes were cold as ice.
"See what she had to go through to get to where she is? And then she just gets stuck with you," Angela's steely eyes met his and Jane ducked his head quickly. Another wave of her hand and they were in the old CBI headquarters.
Jane's eyes darted to what currently was Lisbon's office, only to find the name, Virgil Minelli printed boldly on it. The ghosts rushed into the office where a still young Lisbon was sitting in the chair across from Minelli.
Minelli was dragging his hands through his hair, an exasperated look firmly placed on his face.
"Lisbon, do you have any idea as to what you've done?" he barked, much like he would at Jane.
"Yes, sir," Lisbon gritted through her teeth.
"You shot the DA's cousin, for God's sake!" Minelli threw his arms up in the air.
"Only in the leg," added Lisbon drily.
"My god. Lisbon, what the hell were you thinking?"
A steely expression locked into place before she said quietly, "He was going to kill her,"
"Then you should've waited a bit while longer for backup!"
"No, if I had, we'd be dealing with two murders. I'm not going to stand around and let a father kill his daughter,"
"The man was drunk off his ass, of course he's going to do stupid stuff," Minelli countered.
"That is not an excuse. There was evidence of prior beatings! The girl was covered in bruises. Does that not mean anything?" Lisbon's voice was edging into hysterics, "That girl took her father's abuse for her younger sister and brother. I would guess every day. It's not fair that he gets to abuse his children like that. She was protecting her siblings. He had a knife. 'M not going to let anyone else take that sort of abuse." Her eyes widened ever so slightly as she realized her slip up.
"Teresa?" Minelli's expression had softened noticeably and he moved away from his desk.
She squeezed her eyes shut, "I'm fine,"
"What happened?"
"Nothing," insisted Teresa. She backed away from him and slid down the wall of the office. Her shirt rode up her left hip, revealing a long white line. Minelli strode over to her and sat down next to her.
She buried her face in her hands, a dark curtain of hair shielding her face.
Jane wanted nothing more then to go to her side and comfort her, protect her from the horrors of her past.
"Lis… Teresa, do you want to talk about it?" Minelli asked softly, laying a massive hand on her small arm.
She shook her head violently, still not meeting his eye, and there was a muttered, "No,"
"Teresa… it's okay,"
Head still tucked down, she murmured, "No, it's not."
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" coaxed Minelli.
"Nothing happened, my mother died, my dad was a drunk. There's nothing more than that," she declared adamantly.
"Then why were you so upset about this case…?" he urged gently.
Teresa seemed to curl up more in her self, trying to instinctively protect herself. Minelli moved to wrap an arm around her and an immense flinch shuddered through her. He retracted his arm as she turned away from him, shielding her face.
"Teresa, are you okay?" Minelli stood up and moved to squat in front of her. Tears were streaming silently down her face.
"Yes," she choked out, but her head shook no. Minelli pulled her into her arms and just held the crying woman, smoothing her hair out.
Jane slammed his eyes shut, despising to see the strong, independent Lisbon crying her eyes out.
Angela's hand jerked to the side and the scene dissolved.
They were standing in his attic once more, surrounded by the dusty old floorboards and the ancient cot that he had taken to sleeping on.
To say Jane was rattled would be a gross understatement. He was almost shaking at what he just saw his partner go through. Angela ran a delicate hand down his back, brushing away his pain.
"You're leaving aren't you?" Jane asked sadly. Angela confirmed with a solemn nod.
"I have to, my dear." Her half warm fingers brushed his cheek softly, her eyes brimming with tears, "You need to move on. Killing Red John won't bring Charlotte or me back. There are people around you who care about you."
"Ang…"
"Patrick." She responded sternly. "That woman cares more about you than any other living person. You treat her badly and I swear to god I will haunt you for eternity."
"There's going to be another ghost, isn't there?" Jane's face scrunched up in mild distaste, "Let me guess, this one will be the ghost of Present,"
"Yeah, you could call me that,"
What do you all think? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Please leave a review.
Next chapter should be up in the next few days.
hoagie