A/N: Hi everyone! It's been a year since I've wrote here .I wasn't in touch with the mentalist. Also, the work kept me tied up. So I just watched all the episodes I had missed and I thought I must write something.
Really loved the last episode by the way. I guess, they are finally addressing Jisbon. So I decided to do an episode tag for this. Hope you'll like it! And please override the grammatical mistakes, I'm not really in practice.
"A black tan on the rocks." Jane exclaimed wavering at the bartender.
He felt uneasy on the stool. It'd been a long time since he'd been to a bar, all alone.
"Make it two." A thick voice came from behind. Jane turned to his amusement.
"Agent Abbott! What brings you here?" Jane spoke trying to mask his expressions with a smile.
"Well, you tell me Jane." Abbott made himself comfortable on the chair "I always pegged you as a tea guy .By the way, sorry for breaking your saucer back at the CBI", he chuckled remembering the old days.
" I guess, it's time to move on." Jane sighed "Everyone has moved on with their lives, why shouldn't I?" he spoke as he gulped his drink in a go.
Abbott gazed at the man in distress. Jane wasn't that hard to read after all.
"Besides," Jane continued as he ordered another round of drinks "what's a better way than a few drinks to celebrate the closing of the case. Isn't it, ma nigga." Jane winked in mischief.
"Celebrate? All alone." Abbott raised his brows " There's a thing they say, If a man wants to celebrate, he drinks with his friends; he drinks alone when he wants to forget."
Jane beamed; he knew exactly where he was going with this.
"I guess, I would've asked but people were busy."
"People or just Lisbon?"
" Well, Cho was busy too. Guess what? He had to hit the gym. I mean who goes to the gym at this time of the day. Right?" he took another sip of that god forsaken drink even though it burned his throat "Classic Cho!" he muffled.
Abbott was enjoying the how Jane desperately tried to steer the conversation. He looked at the glass in his hands. It was surprising for him to see that Jane was on his fourth round while he was still at his first; the alcohol turned out to be a lot stronger than he had thought.
" You know, Jane. I always thought you both were an item."
"What! Cho and I!" Jane laughed in an unusual way, the alcohol finally starting to hit him "I guess we need to change your glasses, Agent Abbott. One on your eyes and the other one in your hands"
He continued to laugh till it wasn't funny anymore. Dennis observed the man, taking his revenge didn't change anything; Jane was still the lonely man he ever was.
Jane caught his breath and gazed at Abbott, this time with a more serene expression "Lisbon and I are just friends, we always have been."
"Don't tell me what you keep on telling everyone else. I ain't gonna believe it, Jane." He added the ice cubes to dilute the liquid "A man doesn't write letters every week just to a friend for two years."
"You read my letters!" Jane spoke in bafflement.
" Every 103 of them. A requisite to find where you were hiding." he stated "I still have that recording you left for her before going away to the island. So tell me anything but don't tell me you are just friends. I've seen the way you look at her."
"Okay, so we are not just friends. We are best friends. How does that work out for you?"
"Best friends feel happy when one of them goes out on a date. They don't come to a bar and brood over a glass of whiskey to ease their pain."
"You think you got me all figured out but you haven't." Jane spoke, his eyes glued to the TV screen on the wall.
"What more do you need me to tell you, Jane. I know you want her like crazy, isn't that the reason you wanted me to appoint her at the FBI; you love her and wanted to be near her."
"Dennis, don't you have a family to go to rather than lecturing me on how to live my life?" the insecurity could be easily traced in his voice.
"I had, until I drove her away. Got caught up in work, had a little time for her. Never told her how much I loved her, I always thought she knew. But that's the thing, Love needs affirmation time to time. I still regret what I did." Jane listened to his each and every word as he drank from his glass. It isn't everyday that your boss opens about his love life.
"She's waited long enough, Jane. Don't make her wait anymore. You'll end up losing her." Abbott continued.
"I've lost her. I guess, she's finally moving on." Jane sighed, finally letting out his feelings "She deserves happiness. I'm happy for her."
"Oh, come on. Happy is the last thing that you feel right now."
"Do you really think she'd be happy with a lunatic like me? I've hurt her, lied to her, abandoned her when she needed me the most" Jane uttered, the alcohol was finally taking its toll over him "She deserves so much better than me."
"Jane, you know what's nice about having transparent walls at the FBI?"
" Ah! I know that one. It lets you watch Lisa from the crime investigations, right? You sly thing." He said playfully.
" Very funny, Jane. The thing is that ,it not only lets you watch the person, it also lets you gaze into their soul. You are the first thing that she searches for whenever she steps in to the office. Her eyes light up as when she see you resting on the couch. She deserves better but she wants no one but you ."
"You notice that! Really?" Jane was clearly astonished on the amount of detailing. He'd never taken Abbott for an observer.
"Well, they didn't make me the head of FBI for no reason." He smiled through his glass. " Now go tell her how you feel. She won't wait forever, you're not that charming, you know."
They both shared a laugh. Although it was unusual but Jane felt quite comfortable after talking to him. Guess, it was the alcohol that made him feel that way.
"If I tell her how I feel, doesn't that mean I'll betray my wife and family. I can't move on, I should not move on."
"It's okay to move on. You'll have to do it someday. Might as well do it now with someone you love. Don't you think so?"
"Still, that art saver, he's a nice guy, he makes her laugh. I saw it. She should be with her." He said looking at the empty glass in his hands.
" He might make her laugh Jane but it's you who make her happy. Who knows, she might still be waiting for your call."
"Yeah!" Jane nodded and for a moment there was an awkward silence between the two. They both realized they had shared more than that was necessary.
"Ahm, It's late I should probably go now", Abbott broke the silence.
With this,he finally stood up, throwing a green note on the counter.
" Good night." He patted his shoulder and started to walk towards the door.
" Hey Abbot!", the man turned back at the call " that story you told me about your wife, it wasn't true ,was it?"
Abbott gave a coy smile, "Good night, Jane"
" Good night, Abbott."
Jane smirked as the man walked out of the door.
He sat there in silence ruminating about the conversation that he just had. He reached for his inner pocket ,flipped open his cell and typed her name. A smile crossed his face as her face sprang up on the dialer. He ran his thumb across her face, she looked happy just like she did today. He could not take that away from her.
After much contemplation ,he finally slammed off the phone and slid it inside the coat.
"Scotch on the rocks please, make it double."
