A/N: Not completely happy with this, but I just needed to write! Loved the idea of Minelli finding out about Jane and Lisbon, and perhaps not being too keen on the idea of their relationship at first. Thanks to SteeleSimz on Twitter for this prompt! Greatly appreciated!
Lisbon sat at her desk in the bullpen, quite literally twiddling her thumbs as they waited for a case to come in. The toe of her boots were pushing her to and fro, gently swivelling the chair from side to side. If living with Jane on a permanent basis these past several weeks had taught her anything, it was that she still had an element of her inner child that she needed to satisfy. She desperately wanted to shove herself away from the desk and power herself round and round until she got sick with dizziness. She was now having an internal go at Jane for what he'd brought out in her.
Suddenly her office phone rang and the few agents in the bullpen turned to her with hope of a new case, something that'd cure their boredom.
"Lisbon," she said, picking up.
"Lisbon! Or should I say Agent Jane?" A familiar voice said irritably down the phone. It took her a moment to figure out who the voice belonged to, but when she did she turned to the others and shook her head apologetically. They all turned away and continued with what they were doing to fill the time.
"Minelli?" She whispered forcefully, putting her back to the rest of the bullpen.
"Is it true?" He asked. "You and Jane?"
She sighed, and pressed her fingers to her temple. "Yes, it's true."
"And when were you thinking about telling me?"
"I have no way of contacting you! Anyway, how did you find out?"
"I have my ways… What're you doing this weekend?"
"I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon but nothing else. Why? You coming to town?"
"I've been meaning to visit the Grand Canyon long before my retirement began. What's the harm in going a little out of my way to check your mental health."
She laughed and shook her head. "A lot has changed since you left. My mental health is still in working order, thank you."
"Even so, it'd be nice to catch up. What's your cell number?"
She told him and they ended the conversation with a time and a place for their reunion.
A couple of hours later Cho sent them all home. The journey to the cabin was only ten minutes longer than it was to her house, although in the opposite direction. She drove down the narrow gravel road that led to their new, and gradually improving, reside. She saw the lights on in the cabin and headed in that direction after abandoning the car beside the Airstream. She went up the sloping steps and saw him packing away through the open door.
"Hello," she said, going in much as she had done the day he'd proposed… and most work days after that.
"Hi, how was work? Cho bossing everyone around?"
"I wish," she scoffed, thinking back on the endless hours of wasting time.
"Come on," he motioned to the door and switched off the light. They walked onto the veranda as he pulled the rickety door closed and took her hand as they continued their journey to the Airstream.
"Minelli called today," she stated.
He turned to her with a surprised expression plastered on his face. "Really?"
"Yeah… He wanted to know if it was true. Us. Getting married."
He raised his eyebrows and considered the possible scolding Lisbon had received. "The CBI grapevine has more connections than we thought then. How did he get hold of you? I thought we lost contact with him years ago?"
"We did. He must have found out that I worked at the FBI here and called reception. They put him through to my line."
"Are you meeting with him tomorrow?"
She grinned up at him and he gave a smug glance back. "Yeah, we're going to the coffee shop next door to the library before the doctor's appointment."
"Do I have the honour of being invited too?"
"He said you're welcome to join us if you wish."
"I can almost hear the dread in his voice as he said that," he chuckled, holding the Airstream door open for her.
"Oh come on, you had your differences but generally you both got along!"
She began slipping her jacket from her shoulders when he came behind her and paused her movements.
"Let's go out," he proposed.
"For dinner?"
"Sure."
She bowed her head and began nibbling on the inside of her cheek. "I don't know."
"Come on, Teresa… I won't force you, but I think we should. It'll make a change."
"Okay," she gave in. The last time she'd gone out for food had not ended too well. Her morning sickness wasn't too extreme, what it lacked in severity it made up for in unpredictability.
"You didn't embarrass me last time. In fact, it made me swell with pride that you heaved as the waiter put down my cheese board with crackers."
"It's not funny," she pouted and shoved his chest.
The next day Jane drove himself and Lisbon into the centre of the city. They were going to visit the doctor today for the first ultrasound, meaning Teresa had been on edge all morning. Tossing and turning all night. And either extremely quiet or extremely chatty. First stop was the coffee shop where Minelli had probably been waiting for the past ten minutes. The morning sickness, as unpredictable as it was, had gone on for longer than usual today, nerves probably aiding the illness.
"Did you want me to come in with you?" He asked as they pulled up outside.
"Give me fifteen minutes with him, calm before the storm some would say. I'll try and cool his anger. Go in the library or something."
"Okay, no problem. Work your magic, Agent Lisbon." He leant over and she pressed a kiss on his lips before hopping out the car. Her eyes immediately caught the gaze of Minelli, sat at a table beside the window. She sucked in her lips, that display of affection was not the foot she wanted to start off on. She waved and walked into the café, the stereotypical ring of a bell announcing her arrival. She went over to him as he stood up and they greeted with a hug. He'd aged; more engravings etched on his skin, shadows darker beneath his eyes and a sprinkling of fine hairs across the top of his head.
"Well look at you! Positively glowing!" He smiled, inspecting her at arms length. She blushed, not only because he'd noticed the radiance that, more often than not, was regarded with pregnancy, but also because a sudden wave of heat had flooded her. She perched on the edge of her chair as she shrugged off her jacket and stopped a waitress as she passed. She ordered a decaf coffee and another cappuccino for Minelli.
"Decaf huh? Since when did Agent Lisbon start drinking decaf coffee?"
"I have trouble sleeping, I'm trying to cut down on caffeine to see if that helps."
"I think you forget that I was once an officer of the law too. How about the truth?"
She paused, looking out the window, sighed and turned back to him.
"Okay…" She gave in, knowing there was no way out. "Well, I'm expecting."
"Congratulations!" He cheered, attracting more attention than she liked. "Is it Jane's?"
"What do you take me for?!" She exclaimed, a little offended but hardly blaming him if he knew the truth involving Marcus.
"I never thought I'd see the day. Teresa Lisbon settling down. And with her ex-consultant no less!"
"Hey, be easy on him," she said with a new element of seriousness in her tone. "He's coming in in a bit."
"He sent you in to extinguish the fire first, eh?"
"It was my idea. I told him to wait. What's your issue with him and I?"
"Nothing, Teresa."
"It sure sounds like you've got a beef against us."
"I just feel that you deserve better. He was never easy for you, nor anyone. But the warnings and threats always came down on you. He got you in a lot of trouble, more times than I can count on my fingers. He treated you badly, little respect for the rules and your job. He's a great crime solver, he'd make an excellent whodunit novelist. But he always played people, cheated the system."
"He's changed a lot since then, Virgil. He's found inner peace, moved on. He worked for the FBI, now he's on indefinite leave, building us a house. Renovating an old cabin, beside a lake, with brush and forest surrounding it. He held respect for his superior at the FBI, once learning he wasn't out to drag him down. I wouldn't say he morphed into a good man, I don't think Jane could ever be that. But he's learnt to care again. He fusses now."
"He fusses?" Virgil said, shock drowning his voice.
"It's possible for people to change. I know the Jane you knew was one obsessed with his own revenge, selfish, cheating, vain even. He was, I remember him like that. But honestly, Virgil, I trust him more than anyone else now."
"Okay… Okay, then I'm glad you're happy. You are happy?"
"I didn't think it was possible to feel this elated, even throughout morning sickness."
"He better be holding your hair and rubbing your back."
She grinned and nodded, "Even flushes the chain."
"When will he join us?"
"Within the next five to ten minutes."
His over protective state for her that he'd wrapped himself in meant he turned up a few minutes early, which she was glad for. He and Minelli shook hands, a reunion that was long overdue. Jane then dragged over a chair from another table and sat beside his wife, immediately placing his hand on her leg and squeezing her thigh discreetly. They small talked for a bit, bringing Minelli up to date with the lives of the CBI team. He was overjoyed to hear of the addition to the Rigsby family and glad that Grace had been given the opportunity to put her technical abilities to the test, a challenge that never arose during her time at the CBI. Lisbon then proudly announced that Cho had made it as a boss of his own team within the FBI. All of a sudden the attention was thrown onto Jane and Lisbon as Minelli brought up the topic of their unborn child.
"How far gone are you?" He asked with a smile.
"The end of my first trimester."
"Have you got a scan of this rascal yet?"
Jane grinned, "Not yet. We'll have one later today."
"That's the mysterious appointment that's racing us for time here, is it?"
Lisbon nodded and drained the last few mouthfuls of lukewarm coffee from her mug.
"Speaking of which," Jane began, "we're gonna have to make a move. It was nice catching up with you, Virgil."
They hugged and shook hands, scooped up jackets and left the coffee shop.
"You should swing by more often," Jane said as they stood on the sidewalk.
"I hardly swung by, it's surprising how stressful and tiring the journey is."
"Well, when the little one is here, we'd like for you to join us for the christening. And when we have things set in a routine, we'll make time to come up to California and visit. We'll stop off on our way to San Francisco and the Rigsbys.
"It's a plan!" Virgil agreed, the grin of a proud grandparent across his face. They bid farewell and went their separate ways.