This is my first attempt at a Mentalist story. I usually write for the X-Files but somehow this idea came to my head
wldwmn is totally to blame for this little piece of Rigspelt foolishness for she encouraged me to write it and she pre-read it for me. Thanks a lot.
Please know that English is not my first language so feel free to point out any typos and other errors.
Oh, of course, I don't own anything. ;)
"I'm sorry, Boss, but no way.", Agent Wayne Rigsby stated vehemently. He held senior agent Lisbon's eyes for a few seconds to emphasize his words, then turned around and left her office, lest she try to order him into doing what she wanted. Frowning, Lisbon stared after him, her eyes lingering on the closing door for a moment, then muttered to herself: "What the hell was that?"
"I'd say Rigsby just refused.", came the answer from a corner of the room, where her consultant lazed around on the couch. She turned to him, glaring. "I got that, Jane. But I have no clue why he did it. I'd have thought he would jump at the chance to do this with van Pelt. We all know he has a thing for her. God only knows how many headaches I suffered on their behalf."
Jane swung his legs around to sit upright, then patted the cushion he had just vacated invitingly. When she declined, pacing her office instead, he suggested: "Maybe that's what's keeping him. He may be afraid of ruining what they have."
"That's bull, and you know it. They don't have anything."
"I beg to differ, my dear.", Jane answered. "There's definitely chemistry between these two, and let's not forget the fact that she trusts him."
The dark-haired agent snorted. "They're partners, they're supposed to trust each other."
"Not necessarily", Jane disagreed. "We're supposed to be partners as well but you hardly trust me."
"I wonder why.", she muttered bitterly before slumping down on her chair. "Let's hope Rigsby changes his mind before the higher-ups have my hide. Again.", she added as an afterthought, looking pointedly at the blond man on her couch who gave her his best Who? Me?-eyes.
"Rigsby, we need to talk!"
The tall agent looked up from the coffee he had just made, startled by the harsh request. He had never seen Grace van Pelt look so furious, but still he had to admit she was beautiful in her wrath.
"Um... okay.", he agreed, certain he'd be able to calm her with his news. Was he ever wrong.
"Now.", she hissed, grabbing his arm, dragging him to the nearest interrogation room and slamming the door behind them. She spun around to glare at her partner.
"Okay, Rigsby. Why?", she demanded. He shrugged. "Well, that's easy. The boss told me to. But don't worry, I already refused."
"My point exactly.", the redhead snapped. "I want to know why."
Confusion washed over Rigsby's face. Scratching his head, he replied: "Wait. You're not mad because of the assignment, you're mad because I refused?"
If she hadn't been so angry at her partner right now she would have smiled at his obvious cluelessness which always made him look so cute. Instead, she glared at him some more.
"Well, yes.", she said, her voice still full of anger and... pain? Could he have hurt her by refusing the assignment? If anything, he'd assumed she would be glad he'd saved them from the task. Calming slightly, van Pelt nodded. "Yes.", she confirmed. "I want to know why you don't trust me with this job."
He hastened to reassure her: "How can you ever think that? I trust you. You're a good agent, despite the short time you've been in the field. You are a quick learner and a valuable member of the team."
Now it was her turn to be confused. "Then why don't you want to go undercover with me? You believe I don't have enough experience, right? That I won't be able to watch your back. You're wrong. I can do it.", she said, somewhat defensively.
"Believe me, I know you can do it.", he answered softly. "The problem is, I don't know if I can."
"Oh, come on, Rigsby, you've been on the job for much longer than I have. Don't tell me you can't go through with this. It's only a small assignment, we don't even have to prepare for too long. It would be a great opportunity for me to actually do something useful for once instead of staying behind and doing background checks. The boss thinks I'm perfect for this assignment due to my personal background and my volunteer work but she also made it clear that she won't send me there on my own. I only can go when you come along and now you mean to tell me you won't? That's just not fair."
He knew she was right. If they were able to finish the operation successfully, they would be noticed by their superiors which would be good for their careers. He honestly couldn't care less but he was well aware that it was important to the rookie agent. Still, he knew the price they'd have to pay could be too much. How he was going to make van Pelt understand was a completely different question, though.
"Listen.", he began, hoping she'd hear him out and not start yelling again. "I have absolutely no doubt that you'll do good in the assignment, although I know nothing about your personal background concerning the matter. I do, however, have objections to the fact that we're supposed to pose as a couple. That's the part I'm not so sure about."
"Why?", she wanted to know. "Do you think we won't be able to make it look real?"
"No, that's not it. I just don't think we'll be able to go through this without ruining our partnership."
"So you're saying we should pass up on the opportunity to catch a murderer because you can't pretend to be with me? I'm sure we'll be able to pull this off. I really want to try."
"You got me wrong here, Grace." He said her given name softly, almost reverently, as if to make it clear that what he was going to say next would be nothing but the truth. She looked him in the eye questioningly. "Then what are you saying?", she repeated.
"What I'm saying is that we won't only have to live together, share an apartment and tell everybody we're an item. It doesn't end at that. We'll have to act it out in public, hold hands, embrace, kiss..." His voice trailed off and for a moment he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. van Pelt's reply brought him back abruptly, though. "Don't you think I can see the difference between the assignment and our real relationship as partners and... friends? I assure you I will think nothing of what you and I will have to do for the operation to work.", she promised. Rigsby shook his head. "I'm sure you believe that now, but this assignment could change everything. I've never been in an undercover operation myself but I've seen it happen. Law enforcement often forces male/female partners to pose as couples because they tend to understand each other without words anyway. The problem is, when you're undercover, you have to keep up with your story no matter what happens. Many partners don't manage to go back to what they had before because when you live together the lines tend to get blurry. Intimacy is required and feels natural. When the operation is over all that was said and done while it lasted stands between the partners. All that's left is an awkward feeling. I don't want that to happen to us, Grace, that's why I refused when Lisbon asked me."
She read on his face that he was sincere and had to admit that the possibility of losing her easy pace with him, the comfortable feeling she had in his presence, scared her. Still, she was determined to accept the assignment. The scenario he had just painted out for her could never happen to the two of them, could it? They were good together, she knew that. Despite the fact that everybody on the team made fun of Rigsby for the way he behaved towards her she was certain that they were envied for the ease with which they understood each other when it really mattered. He was the one who had eased her mind when she had been new to the team and was still secretly scared of their hot-tempered boss. She had liked his chivalrous manners at once, finding that his presence could calm her no matter what. She was confident that they would make it right, even if the assignment would prove to be harder than expected.
"Somehow I doubt that this will be a problem for us.", she stated. "I trust you to watch my back and I trust you on this. Unless you don't trust me as well I don't see why we shouldn't be able to succeed with our partnership intact. I promise not to hold anything against you once the operation is over. This is important for me, Rigsby, so please don't take it from me. Please?" He knew he shouldn't have looked into her eyes because as soon as he saw the barely concealed hope there he was lost. Slowly, he nodded. "Fine, we'll do it. But we'll have to talk during the assingment. A lot. No hiding anything, okay?" She beamed at him, hardly refraining from squealing in delight, then threw her arms around him in the biggest hug he had ever experienced. "Thank you, Wayne.", she whispered into his shirt before letting go. "Come on, let's tell the boss before you change your mind again." With that, she was out of the door not even looking if he would follow. Sighing, Rigsby trailed behind her. This was going to be the hardest job of his life, he was sure of that. Still, making her happy was worth it, at least at the moment. He could only hope they'd be okay.