A/N For those of you reading my Sadie story, I haven't abandoned it. I promise but this came to me the other day and I just had to get it out. You know how it is. I'm blaming it on the teacup-themed Christmas tree I saw at the Yankee Candle Factory the other day. If Jane had a tree (and we all know, he probably doesn't), I'm pretty sure I would have looked like this tree. haha Anyway, I hope you enjoy this.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist or the characters (I know this because I checked my room, and they're still not under the bed...sadly).
Too Late for Tea
Jane was relaxing comfortably in his usual state somewhere between consciousness and dreamland when the all too familiar click of heals audibly proclaimed Lisbon's presence. Feigning slumber, he remained motionless but the petite brunette either knew better or didn't care. The leather couch shook with Lisbon's swift kick and Jane sat up as if startled.
"Wake up Jane. We needed you in interrogation fifteen minutes ago. I thought I had made that clear."
Jane blinked once, and rolled over facing the back of the couch, and softly replied, "And I thought I made it perfectly clear, not today."
Lisbon put both hands on her hips. "Well excuse me Jane, but the job doesn't wait until you feel it is convenient for you. Like it or not, you are employed by the CBI and right now, we need you in the interrogation room with the suspect. What's with you anyway Jane? You're usually eager to catch the bad guy, and more importantly, prove to yourself and the world that your skills are invaluable or whatever. Hightower said this case needs to be closed yesterday now get up."
If Lisbon and the rest of the team hadn't already tried cracking the guy, she wouldn't be asking for Jane's help. God forbid she boost the man's ego any higher than it already was. Unfortunately for Lisbon, their suspect was a first-class sicko and almost certainly guilty. Frank Williams killed his wife and twin daughters by smothering them in their sleep. Coroner said they died at least a month prior to the tip they had received from a neighbor who became concerned when she didn't see the children at the bus stop for a few weeks in a row. It seems as if the husband lived with the deceased for that entire period, posing them in positions, like dolls as he saw fit. When the authorities served the warrant to the husband, they found the wife and the daughters' corpses tied to the dining room chairs, each with a full plate of food in front of them. Talk about disturbing. The only thing they were lacking was a motive. That's where Jane came in, if only he would move from couch.
"If we don't figure out this guy's motive, he could walk, or more than likely win an insanity plea. He still may, even if we do figure it out." Lisbon urged.
Jane just shrugged, eyes still closed.
Lisbon took a deep breath. "Jane, either do your job or leave. "
To the Lisbon's surprise, Jane sat up, grabbed jacket from the other side of the couch, and walked through the bullpen, away from the interrogation room. He was leaving. She couldn't believe it. Lisbon felt the anger build within her.
"Jane stop." He stopped walking but made no move to face her. "You walk out of here and you're done for the week, banned from the building. If we can't rely on you to be there when we need you, then we don't need you at all. You're being selfish and stubborn, and at this moment I can honestly say that I can't stand to even look at you."
Jane didn't argue. He didn't speak at all. He didn't even turn to face Lisbon. He simply let out a deep breath, shoulders sagging slightly, and walked out of the bullpen.
Lisbon let out an angry growl, and stomped into her office, nearly knocking the blinds off her door as she entered. She collapsed into her chair and looked at the calendar on her desk. Today was Tuesday. She would need to inform Hightower that Jane would be banned from the building until Monday; a conversation Lisbon was not looking forward to. Lisbon had highlighted the entire week on her calendar to remind her of the performance reviews she had to give and receive this week. At least she wouldn't have to worry about Jane messing up those. Lisbon sighed, finally settling the fury running through her veins.
Five minutes later, Lisbon found the three remaining members of her team in the observation room, awaiting orders concerning their suspect.
"Where's Jane?" Rigsby asked.
"I sent him home." Lisbon explained. "He refused to help, and I can't have members of my team thinking they can participate when they feel like it and nap when they don't."
"Forgive me boss," Van Pelt began, "But don't you think we should give Jane a little slack."
"No." Lisbon answered firmly. "Especially given the performance reviews this week. I can't have him usurping my authority just because he feels like it. I suspended him for the rest of the week."
Lisbon watched the tree members of her team and was surprised with their reactions. Van Pelt closed her eyes, Rigsby stared at her, bug-eyed and Cho spoke.
"Performance reviews are next month." He said matter-of-factly.
"Then why…" Something clicked inside of Lisbon. "No, please, tell me I didn't."
"What made you think the performance reviews were this week?" Cho asked.
"My calendar." Lisbon replied, in a weak voice.
Cho continued. "What color do you typically highlight work-related events?"
"Blue."
"And what color was this week?"
"Red. Oh God, what have I done?" Lisbon frantically pulled out her phone while simultaneously muttered instructions to her team. "Cho, you sit on Williams for another hour. If he still refuses to talk, book him with what we have. Risgby, I'm going to go find Jane. I need you and Van Pelt to hold down the fort here. If Hightower asks where I am, make something up."
"Ok, Boss." Van Pelt replied but Lisbon was already out the door with the phone to her ear.
'Jane, answer your phone.' Lisbon thought but it went straight to voicemail.
Jane was furious and the long drive hadn't helped much. How dare she send him home this week of all weeks? He had silenced his phone after her third call, guessing she had finally realized her mistake, but didn't turn around the car. Out of all the people to forget, Jane never thought it would be Lisbon, who called herself his friend. But it wasn't completely her fault now was it? She didn't totally understand and probably never would since he was too stubborn to share his pain with anyone. After all, the burden was his to bear, his alone.
He deposited his phone and keys on the counter and opened kitchen cabinet door, the one he never opened, and pulled out the pastel yellow ceramic object. He stared down at the offending object, hands shaking, and in a moment of anger, hurled it across the room where it crashed into the opposite wall and shattered to the ground in a dozen or so pieces. As soon as the object left his hand, Jane immediately wished he could take it back. Curse the forces of gravity, or was it the laws of motion? His anger instantly turned into regret as he ran over to the fractured pile of yellow and dropped to his knees. He scooped the jagged pieces, gripping them tightly. It was if he thought that by squeezing the pieces hard enough, they would fuse back together.
Tears streamed down his face as the sharp edges cut into the man's delicate skin but the tears were more from frustration and sorrow rather than from the pain. Eventually, Jane must have realized the damage he was doing because he dropped the pile in his hands back to the floor and made his way to the bathroom, leaving a small trail of blood along the way. He washed his hands in the sink but the cuts continued to flow freely. Jane did not recognize his own reflection, pale and ragged. With shaking hands, he opened up the cabinet behind the mirror, retrieving ttwo bottles with a shaking hand.
Two prescriptions. One for pain and one for sleep and oh how he needed sleep. He figured he could do without the pain meds. After all, the pain kept away other unwanted thoughts. But then again… Jane took another long look at the two bottles, neither of them low in quantity. It would be so easy. There and gone right? One last cup of tea. It would be ironically fitting.
By the time Lisbon pulled into the long driveway, she realized she had no idea what she was going to do or say for that matter when she found Jane. She was running on autopilot. After finding Jane's drably motel room vacant, she had phoned Van Pelt and asked her to trace his cell phone. She knew Jane's location before Van Pelt confirmed it: Malibu. Lisbon was relieved to see Jane's blue deathtrap of a vehicle parked outside the enormous beachfront house. The little Citroen didn't look like it belonged, but that was beside the point. Lisbon turned off the SUV and climbed out of her car. The rain that had started halfway through the six-hour drive was just starting to let up. She walked up the long stone path that led to the front door, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. No answer, so she tried the doorbell and waited another minute. Still not a sound from inside the house. She tried the door. It was unlocked.
Lisbon slowly entered Jane's house, shutting the door behind her. She had never been inside and had only seen photos of the master bedroom in the case file. There was surprisingly nothing to see. Absolutely nothing. No furniture, no photos or paintings on the wall, no appliances.
"Jane, you in here?" Lisbon called out, voice echoing off the bare walls of the large house. No reply.
Lisbon wandered through the first couple of rooms on the bottom floor before making it into the kitchen where she found the broken pieces of some sort of ceramic dish, and the blood. Not a lot but enough to raise Lisbon's heart rate enough for her to feel it in her throat. She swallowed and followed the drops of crimson into the bathroom. It was there that she spotted the two prescription bottles, the two empty bottles.
Frantically, Lisbon searched the rest of the house only pausing slightly in surprise at the face on the wall in the master bedroom. Every second that past, pulled Lisbon further into despair. Where could he be? Something made her look out the bedroom window. At this height, Lisbon had a clear view of the beach. At first, Lisbon saw nothing but then, on the far side of the beach she spotted a large bolder, and more importantly, two grey-clad legs sticking out from the side of the boulder. Lisbon quickly grabbed a blanket from the worn mattress on the floor before sprinting out of the bedroom and down the stairs. She flew out the front door, and ran around back until she found the small path that led down to the beach. The drizzle made it difficult to see but Lisbon hardly noticed. Once on the sand, she hesitated momentarily to fling off her work shoes and took off toward the boulder.
Jane was lying against said boulder, teacup in his lap that was now collecting the small raindrops that fell into it. His face was pale and he was drenched from head to foot. Lisbon saw that his eyes were closed. He was sleeping, unconscious, or… She refused to go there. Instead, Lisbon collapsed onto the wet sand beside Jane and grabbed his hand. It was freezing cold. She shook his shoulder, attempting to wake him.
"Jane? Can you hear me? It's Lisbon."
Eyelids fluttered open and Lisbon released a breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"Jane?" Lisbon watched as Jane's groggy eyes tried to focus on her.
"Lisbon? What are you doing here?" He mumbled.
"I could ask you the same thing." Lisbon said pulling her phone from her pocket. "Jane, I'm going to call you an ambulance. I need you to tell me how many pills you took." She was about to dial when he replied.
"I didn't."
Lisbon paused but didn't put away the phone. "Come on Jane, I saw the empty bottles. Now, how many were left?"
"You're right, the bottles were full but I couldn't. I flushed them Lisbon. It would have been too easy."
Lisbon looked into Jane's eyes and she could tell he was being sincere. "Then why are you out here in the rain? You're going to freeze yourself to death." She helped Jane wrap the warm blanket around his shoulders. He was visibly shivering now.
Jane shrugged. "It wasn't raining when I came out here. You still haven't answered my question Lisbon. What are you doing all the way out here? Surely, you have more important things to do like figuring out our suspect's motive." He was staring out at the ocean, clearly avoiding Lisbon's stare.
He didn't turn until he heard a quiet sniffle by his side. Lisbon had hung her head in shame, trying to hide her tears. "I'm sorry Lisbon. That was cruel." He hated to see her cry.
"No." Lisbon looked up, her face ridden with guilt. "I deserved it. I said some horrible things to you today. I'm supposed to be your friend and I can't even remember to be there for you when you needed me most. Instead, I sent you away." She sniffed again. "I don't know what I would have done if you had…" She couldn't make herself finish the statement.
Jane took his hand and gently grasped onto Lisbon's smaller one. It was then Lisbon noticed the cuts on his hands but she didn't have time to ask what they were from before he spoke.
"I didn't and you're here. That's all that matters." He looked into her eyes. "Can we just move on from here?"
Lisbon nodded, biting on her lower lip in an attempt to keep the tears from flowing again. Jane pulled her into his arms and she could still feel him shivering under the thin blanket. They needed to get inside, for his sake but they also needed this moment. Lisbon wrapped her arms around the trembling man, returning the embrace. They remained like that for a few minutes before they both slowly pulled away.
"Why don't we go inside, get you into something dry, and then I'll take a look at your hands." Lisbon suggested.
Jane nodded as she stood, offering her hand to help him do the same.
Fifteen minutes later, Jane was sitting on the kitchen counter and Lisbon was attending to his mangled hands. He had changed into a dry suit, although his hair was still damp. Lisbon was thankful that there was a first aid kit in the SUV. She had applied antiseptic cream to all of the cuts and was wrapping his right hand in a clean, white bandage when he spoke.
"I never really liked tea." He said. The comment had its desired effect as Lisbon looked up at him confused.
"Before Charlie, I never drank the stuff. Then, when Angie got pregnant, she developed this love for tea, of all kinds. You'd be surprised how fast a person can become an expert on the likings of tea. She made me try it all. I hated it at first but then slowly got used to it, if only to appease her. I was surprised when she continued to drink it even after Charlie was born."
"Jane." Lisbon said quietly, placing her hand on his knee. "You don't have to tell me all this you know."
"Yes I do, Lisbon."
Lisbon nodded. "Ok."
"When Charlotte turned three, Angie bought her this beautiful tea set. Charlie loved it so much, eagerly wanted to learn the correct method to making tea and the proper etiquette of a tea party. She would dress up all the time and invite Angie and I to her room for tea." Jane smiled at the memory, clearly lost in thought. "I wasn't allowed to drink from the pink teacups because Charlie said pink was for girls. Instead, I used this yellow mug that she made me whenever we had tea parties. I can still hear her reminding me that the milk goes in first, every time I make myself a cup of tea."
Jane looked down at his now bandaged hands. Lisbon waited patiently for him to continue.
"That day," Jane took a ragged breath. "Before I left for work, Charlie all but begged me to have tea with her. She said that Lucy the teddy bear and Sparkles the unicorn were awaiting my arrival. To Charlie's disappointment, I told her I needed to go to work, but promised to have tea with her, Lucy and Sparkles when I got home."
Jane looked at Lisbon. "You've ah, read the report, seen the photos from that night?"
Lisbon nodded.
"Notice any holes, parts missing?"
Again, Lisbon nodded.
"They were taken out of the file at Sophie's request when she found out I was again going to be working for the CBI. She was worried if I saw them, they would send me back into a relapse."
Lisbon swallowed, wondering what revelations, if any she was about to hear about that night.
"You ah, you read about what I found in the master bedroom. My wife, still lying in our bed, the red smiley face spotlighted on the wall. That wasn't nearly the worst of it. That wasn't why I ended up in a locked padded room. "
Lisbon hopped up onto the counter so that she was now sitting shoulder to shoulder with Jane. She made no move to touch the man but hoped the closeness would be more comforting than hindering so it was a real surprise when Jane reached out a bandaged hand and placed it on her knee. She took the action as a hint and placed her hand on top of his, squeezing ever so slightly as to not cause the man any more pain, physically anyway.
"When I finally gathered the courage to look into my daughter's room next door, I was greeted by a completely different sight. Charlie's little table was still set for tea, awaiting my arrival that hadn't come before bedtime. Lucy and Sparkles were seated in their usual positions on the left and right side of the table. My yellow mug was there, gloating that I was indeed too late for this tea party and there, in the chair on the far side of the table, sat my beautiful girl, eyes staring into nothingness. The only reason she was even upright was because that monster had tied her into the chair. I walked over to that table, sat down and began to sip on the cold tea in my pastel yellow mug. With each sip of the frigid liquid, I slowly disappeared into myself. Authorities apparently found me like that two days later."
Lisbon didn't know when the tears had started but she could feel them slowly trailing down her cheeks, her heart breaking all over again for the man to her left.
They sat in silence, the only movement being Lisbon's thumb slowly tracing back and forth across the soft white fabric of the bandage on Jane's hand. Lisbon knew that there were no words that could possibly be any sort of comfort to either of their aching souls, but she hoped the silence would absorb even a little of the grief.
The somber moment was broken by the chirp from Lisbon's cell phone. It was Cho. She answered.
"Hello?"
"Did you find Jane?"
"Yeah, I found him. We're ok."
Cho sighed. "That's good. Are you two coming back?"
"I'm not sure but I doubt it. You think you could come up with something to tell Hightower? I'll be back by morning but I don't think I'll make it back to the office tonight."
"Sure, I'll take care of it. As far as I know, she hasn't asked any questions."
"Good, and thanks Cho."
"No problem. Tell Jane we say hi."
"Will do." Lisbon hung up the phone.
"The guys say hello. I told them not to expect us tonight."
"Does this mean I'm not suspended anymore?" Jane asked tentatively.
"No, you're not suspended." Lisbon sighed. "God, I've been so stupid."
"Already forgiven and forgotten Lisbon. Trust me."
Lisbon looked over at her friend. "Thank you Jane."
He nodded.
"Why don't you say we get out of this place. Are you ok to drive?"
Jane nodded again.
"We'll go to my place."
Jane's raised his eyebrows.
"You, can sleep on the couch." She corrected.
"No, that's ok Lisbon. I can just go back to my place." He insisted.
"This isn't negotiable. Besides, that hotel room is way too drably." Lisbon hinted that the conversation was over by retrieving her keys and wallet from the counter.
"Is it ok if I use your bathroom before we leave?" Lisbon asked.
"No problem, first door over there on the right." Jane pointed, forgetting that Lisbon already knew the location of his bathroom.
"You can go ahead outside Jane, I'll lock up in here and then meet you out there." Lisbon said.
Jane strolled into the bullpen at 11 am the following morning. He had awakened at eight, which was late for him, to find Lisbon already gone. She had left him a note informing him not to rush, that there was breakfast to heat up in the fridge and a limited variety of tea on the counter. He had eaten, driven to his place for a quick shower and change of clothes, before finally making his way to the bureau.
He received smiles from his three team members as he strode through the bullpen and over to his beloved couch. Lisbon was kind to offer hers for him to sleep on but nothing beat this one. Jane was about to collapse onto the leather cushions when he spotted the brown box. He picked it up before sitting, now curious as to what the box contained. To say Jane was surprised when he opened the lid of the box would be the understatement of the year.
Crumpled newspaper filled most of the space but nestled snuggly in the center of the box was his pastel yellow teacup, the "I 'heart' DAD" in the child's unique scribble made it clear this was no duplicate. But how?
Jane stood, box in hand, and strolled to Lisbon's office. As usual, he didn't knock before barging into the room. Lisbon looked up as Jane entered, and smiled.
"Jane."
"Lisbon, how?" Jane lifted the box to show what he was referring to.
"I have a friend who works with ceramics. I hope you don't mind but when I was leaving your place last night, I saw the shattered mug on the floor. Anyway, I asked her if there was anything she could do. She told me she would try but could make no promises. I thought it turned out well." Before Lisbon knew what was coming, she was enveloped by Jane who clung to her tightly.
"Thank you Lisbon."
"You're welcome Jane."
Jane plucked the mug from its newspaper cradle and then reached over Lisbon's desk to grab her now predictably empty mug. "More coffee my dear?"
He knew her too well. "Sure. Thank you Jane."
He smiled, a genuine smile that reached her eyes. "One coffee coming right up," Jane said as he disappeared out the door.
Lisbon knew the week was far from over but she had a feeling her small little family of a team would help Jane through it. In fact, she was sure of it, starting with a much-needed team dinner night tonight. Yup, Rigsby and food were guaranteed to lift the spirits of the gloomiest of souls. Lisbon chuckled to herself. What a weird bunch she led, but she wouldn't trade a single one. Lisbon leaned back in her chair and awaited her coffee. Maybe tomorrow, she would ask Jane to teach her about tea. Who knows, maybe she would even learn to like the stuff. She never really gave it a try, not the real stuff anyway, and after all, she already knew the most important rule: The milk goes in first.
fin