Hello! After your encouraging reviews for my first English story, I translated another one! I want also to thank my beta reader lysjelonken! You are the best! :D
Disclaimer: Nope. I still own nothing.
"Officer! Has someone finally checked our ID's?" Lisbon asked frantically. A younger police officer turned with an annoyed expression towards her.
"I'm sorry Ma'am. It's New Year's Eve and, as it usually is at this time, our system is overloaded", he briefly informed her and walked away.
"Hey, come back! I'm Special Agent! I'm with the CBI! Why does no one believe me?" she yelled after him and started shaking the iron bars violently, which kept her caged from the outside.
"Sure. And I am Superman!" the young officer scoffed, not turning around again.
Frustrated, Lisbon flopped down at the hard bed on the left side of the cell. This was her worst New Year's Eve ever…as an adult person, mind you. And almost every time that she'd started a sentence with "The worst…", it was directly linked with her pain-in-the-ass consultant. The same consultant who was currently lying on the bed at the other side of the cell, calmly staring at the ceiling.
"This is all your fault, Jane!" she hissed.
"You really can't blame me for the overloaded system or that you forgot your badge at home!" he contradicted with an innocent smirk playing on his lips. He rolled to his side, so he had a better view of her.
"No, but it's your fault that we are considered thieves! What the hell were you doing in that house anyway?" she shouted.
"Lisbon, I just asked you if you could pick me up. I never asked that you must follow me in the house. And I couldn't have known the neighbors were so attentive" he explained, his smile still on its place.
"When I arrived, you were nowhere to be seen, so I went to look for you! And just for you to know: that was the last time I did you a favor!" she yelled at him. She lay down on the bed. Now it was her turn to stare at the ceiling, just so she didn't have to face him any longer or she would punch him in his infuriating grinning face!
"C'mon Lisbon! This whole thing is actually kind of funny." he chuckled, but then her death glare hit him.
"It's New Year's Eve and we are in prison. Other than the obvious fact of how humiliating this is for me, you don't think I'd have liked to spend this night in another way than rot in a damn cell with you?" she snarled.
"How would you have spent it then?" he asked curiously. Well, she should have expected that…
"Anywhere but in a cell." she told him evasively and crossed her arms.
"You would have been all alone at home watching 'Dinner for one', like every New Year's Eve. You would have gone to bed at 10 o'clock with the firm conviction that the next year wouldn't change anything." he analyzed and watched her expectantly.
"Fine, maybe…who cares? I'll bet you would have been all alone in your big house and tortured yourself because, you know, no matter how many years have passed you still feel lonely and abandoned!" she grumbled. Only a moment later she already regretted her rude words. She hadn't meant to be rude; she was just really pissed because of this whole situation.
His smile faded. He stood up and looked out the barred window, so she couldn't see how her words affected him. He just stood there and stared, lost in his own thoughts. Lisbon had no idea what he was staring at, but she was sure it wasn't the cold concrete scenery outside the window. Most likely he saw happy memories of his family playing in his head. The only thing left of them.
"We used to spend New Year's Eve as a family. Just the three of us. Each of us said what he wished for, for the coming year. I will never forget my daughter's last wish. She wished her dad was home more often. She just wanted to spend more time with me, but back then I didn't understand how valuable every moment with her was. I didn't listen to her…two months later she was dead…" he spoke with a broken voice, his eyes still fixated at the horizon outside.
"I'm so sorry, Jane. But there's no way you could've known what was going to happen." she tried to comfort him and slowly approached him.
"Her wish would have been so easy to fulfill. Just a little bit more time. I wouldn't have gone to that show, I wouldn't have insulted Red John, I…" his voice cracked but no tear left his eyes. She knew that he suffered so much more than he wanted to show right now.
"You wouldn't have helped all the people you have while working with us. You are a good person and what happened to your family wasn't your fault, Jane." she said, her voice full of compassion.
He didn't even react to her attempts of cheering him up. He just continued to stare outside the window. Because she didn't know what else to say, how she could get through to him, she also remained silent and stood next to him. Both of them looked out into the night. From afar they heard the countdown and the following fireworks showed them that a new year had started.
"Happy New Year, Lisbon" Jane said, his usual self again.
"Happy New Year, Jane", she answered, with a playful smirk on her face as well, while they were still watching the glittering fireworks.
"I know you don't care about New Year's resolutions, but we could talk about what we liked about the past year?" Jane suggested with a charming smile and a hopeful glance.
"OK, then go ahead. What did you like about the past year?" she asked, so she didn't have to start.
"Well, I really liked that I could always count on you; that you're always there for me even though I'm not always making things easy for you. And I'm very glad to spent New Year's Eve with you." he confessed, his eyes still searching the sky for the fireworks.
"Thanks Jane…I guess. You know I…I really liked to hear that also you are capable to learn something." she joked and he threw a fake-hurt look at her.
"And maybe it's not that bad to spend New Year's Eve with you." she mumbled additionally and his wide grin showed up again.
"That's nice. Please remember these words later on." he mentioned with a wink, before turning around to watch the fireworks again. For a moment Lisbon studied him puzzled and then she started to realize…
"Jane! Is this whole imprisonment thing one of your crazy stunts, so you don't have to spend this night alone?" she questioned suspiciously. He smiled innocently at her, before grabbing her at her shoulders and guided her closer to the window.
"Look at this, Lisbon. Isn't it lovely how the whole city sparkles in the light of the fireworks?" He distracted her and pointed though the bars at the scenery.
"You are impossible…" she grumbled rolling her eyes. But, actually, she didn't really care.
If this was his way of showing her that he needed her, she wouldn't push him away. Besides, she felt lonely too. So maybe he didn't do it just for himself, but for her as well.
But did he really have to get her arrested? He could have just asked her…
But then again, then it wouldn't be Jane.