Eulogy

By Alasse Fefalas

Lisbon took her place behind a small podium on the stage. Looking at the mass of faces staring up at her, she felt a familiar feeling of melancholy rising in her chest when she saw Minelli among them. Taking a deep breath, she smoothened the piece of paper in front of her and spoke.

"Red John may not have been the only serial killer in California, but he has been the only one to have come so close to home. He acted like he was one of us, and we welcomed him. We never knew what we actually had was a monster lurking in our own backyard, and because of that, many unknowingly fell victim to him.

"As you know, we're all here today to honour those who have sacrificed their lives in order to catch this murderer. I am lucky to be standing here as the lead agent for the Red John case, but the rest of my team are not.

"They were not only my colleagues, they were my friends, my family. They were good, hardworking, and innocent. They had a bright future ahead of them - finding love, building a family. But it was cut short because of a psychotic killer we once thought was one of us. Now that Red John is dead, it is time for us to remember the lives of agents Kimball Cho, Wayne Rigsby, and Grace Van Pelt. We will never forget," Lisbon read, her voice cracking slightly as she read the names.

The seated crowd in the hall before her clapped sombrely. Nodding at them, she turned and walked off the stage. At the foot of the stairs, there stood Jane, offering her a hand. The corner of her lips tugged upwards slightly as she took his hand.

"You okay?" Jane asked, concerned. Still holding on to her hand, he led them to two empty seats at the front.

"That was a crappy eulogy," Lisbon lamented as she sat down.

"It was very you: short, impersonal and intense," Jane shrugged.

"I don't know whether that was supposed to be an insult or a compliment, " Lisbon said, shaking her head at him.

"It was a compliment," Jane smiled gently, interlacing his fingers with hers.

They both turned their heads towards the stage when they heard a voice coming from the speakers. LaRoche stood at the same spot Lisbon had been standing only moments before. He was thanking all who came and concluded the ceremony. All around them, people stood up and trailed out of the hall.

Lisbon and Jane stayed seated as they waited for the hall to empty. Lisbon stared at the headshots of her former team members, her eyes welling up as she felt guilt weigh her down. She put her hands on her chest, her fingers tracing the scars on it. Three bullets to the chest.

"You were really lucky, you know," Minelli's voice came from beside Lisbon.

Lisbon quickly let go of Jane's hand and turned around, smiling sadly at her former boss. "The rest weren't, unfortunately," Lisbon replied.

"You should be glad your face isn't there, Lisbon. I would have been the one to have said an eulogy for all four of you then," Minelli shook his head, placing a hand on Lisbon's shoulder. "Too much of a bother."

"It's good to see you too, Virgil," Lisbon smiled genuinely as she pulled the man into a hug.

"It's not your fault, Lisbon. You need to know that," Minelli said as he pulled away from the tight hug she had given him.

"If I hadn't told them to check the rooms..." Lisbon trailed, anguish in her voice.

"Then they wouldn't have been able to warn you," Minelli said firmly. "Stop blaming yourself, Lisbon. Or else you're going to end up like him," Minelli said, gesturing at the man who was standing vigil beside Lisbon. Offering his hand, he greeted, "Jane."

"Virgil," Jane smiled, taking his hand and shaking it. "Glad you could make it."

"I would have flown 2000 miles just to be here," Minelli shrugged.

"Thank you for coming. Really," Lisbon said, staring up at Minelli.

"They were once my agents too, Lisbon," Minelli nodded. "Hey, I heard you were offered a promotion in the CBI?"

"And a spot in the FBI," Jane added.

"No, I'm not taking either," Lisbon said, shaking her head slightly. "I don't even know if I can go on in the CBI. Every time I look at the bullpen, I expect to see them there. But they're not. Whatever you say, their deaths are on me."

"Would you rather have died there, with them?" Jane asked quietly.

Lisbon shot a look at him. "One part of me says yes. The other part... no."

"Even if you have died, it wouldn't have made a difference, Lisbon," Minelli said sympathetically as he patted her shoulder. "They'd be dead either way."

"I know. And that's the worst part," Lisbon's said, lips quivering. She felt Jane's hand envelope hers as he moved closer to her, his body heat calming her slightly.

"Ah. I see you two finally got together," Minelli said, shooting both Jane and Lisbon disapproving looks.

"Come on, Virgil. Don't look so disappointed. You'll end up an old, grumpy man," Jane chuckled.

"You know, actually, I think he'll be good for you, Lisbon," Minelli said, looking at her. "He'll stop you from turning into him."

Lisbon felt blood rush up her neck as she smiled at her former mentor. "It was a spur of the moment thing, actually. I thought I was going to die," Lisbon said, her free hand absently touching the visible scars on her chest.

"I thought you were going to too," Jane admitted, his grip on Lisbon's hand tightening.

"And you two professed your love for each other. Alright, I get it. Enough with the sappy love drama, sheesh," Minelli said grumpily, turning away slightly.

"Hey, Minelli," Jane called out. "You want sappy love drama?"

As Minelli turned, Lisbon felt Jane's hand under her chin, tilting her head upwards. Before she could say anything, he brought his lips down on hers, giving her a slow, deep, and gentle kiss.

"Okay, okay! Stop it! You're at a funeral!" Minelli said exasperatedly, throwing his hands up in the air.

Lisbon pulled away from the blonde man and smacked him in the arm. "Jane!"

"What? They had a bet going anyway," Jane shrugged.

"Who?" Lisbon asked incredulously.

"Cho and Rigsby. 50 bucks if we ever got together. I suppose this means that Cho had won."

"Seriously?! Those two?!"

"Yes, my dear. Those two."

"God, I miss them," Lisbon sighed, leaning on Jane. "I miss them so bad."

"I know you do. I do too," Jane said.

"I never thought the last time I'd see them would be at their funeral," Minelli admitted. "You'd think I would have died first before they did."

"Yeah, you'd think," Lisbon chuckled.

A sombre silence descended upon the three of them as they stared at the line of portraits. There were so many people Lisbon knew personally, and many she only knew by face.

Cho, Rigsby, Van Pelt, Wainright, Bosco.

As her eyes lingered at Sam Bosco's portrait, her throat itched for the burn of tequila. Feeling a nudge on her hand, Lisbon smiled. Jane may not be psychic, but she was glad he knew her.

"Final case closed tequila and pizza?" Jane asked.

"Okay. Final case closed tequila and pizza," Lisbon nodded.

A/N: Okay, I know this was a baaaad story, but it took me long time to write this. Just needed to write something before the premiere, know? Read and review please. Feel free to critique me all you want (because I know how bad this one is). Although, if you're reading this author's note it means you've read to the end, so thanks for reading!