I was asked to write a little something between Cho and Patrick (as Red John) with Charlotte still being alive. Well, this is the first chapter of that. This is going to be fun!
Warnings: Sex. Murder. (This is an ongoing story and warnings will be added as I go along.)
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Placing her book down Charlotte cocked her head to the side and listened to her father talk on the phone. Well, she attempted to listen to him. He always got really quiet when he was talking about whatever he was working on.
It wasn't as if she didn't know what was going on and who he was. There was no real reason for him to hide that part of himself. That didn't stop him from not wanting her to get involved with his double life.
She knew that it was mostly because her being in the dark about the finer points made her safe, but it was still a little annoying. How safe could she be with the knowledge that her father was a serial killer that had murdered her mother?
Yeah, her not knowing about the details in his 'operations' wasn't the best place for her either. He was her father though and she knew he was trying to keep her safe. If it had been anyone else though it would have just angered her.
Instead she liked to listen in and try to figure out what he was doing. Without him knowing of course. Which brought her to his newest operation. Though she wasn't completely sure if she'd call it an operation or just sheer boredom at this point.
When he had told her that he was going to be working with the CBI to help them catch Red John she had laughed in his face. Not just because he himself was the killer, but because he was supposed to be working with a team.
Patrick Jane was not a team player anymore than she was. They lead and everyone else followed. At least that's what she had always thought. Then he actually did it and something in him changed. She still didn't know if it was a good change or not.
Not to say that he didn't continue working behind the scenes and organizing everything that he could get his hands on from elections to… Honestly, maybe he kept the details from her because they were actually a little boring.
The point was he wasn't acting like himself and she had no idea why. It was a puzzle and she, like her father, loved having a good puzzle to figure out. Especially when the person didn't know they needed to be figured out.
The changes in him were subtle ones that she had actually missed at first, but now that she saw them she couldn't not see them. Smiling real smiles a little more. Being more playful to other people instead of dismissing them out right.
For the first time she could say that he was truly enjoying life. That wasn't exactly the right way to phrase it, but she couldn't think of any other way to describe the change. Other than saying she was going to get to the bottom of it.
That's what she did. When a puzzle was in front of her she had to figure it out. Like when her mother was killed. She knew that there was something wrong about the whole situation. It just didn't fit what the police and her father were saying.
Not that she was really told all that much. She was a child and there for had to be protected from the horrors that had come. For awhile she had been okay with that. She had just lost her mother and her father was in an institution. She wanted nothing to do with any of it.
When her father came back though he was different in a way she hadn't expected. At least, he was when no one else was around. When it was just him and her he was the loving father that he had always been.
She wasn't ashamed to say that she was a Daddy's girl and she was the twinkle in his eyes. That was just the way things went with them. If she needed anything she went to her father and he did everything in his power to do what she wanted.
Even at his most busy he had made sure that she came first. Whether it was skipping meetings to come to her piano recitals or making sure that he tucked her into bed when she was younger. He was always there.
To this day before she went into her room to sleep he always said their little saying. 'You are safe, you are loved, and you are wise'. It was a small thing, but it was their thing and that meant something to them.
She hadn't had that same relationship with her mother. She could remember them playing with dolls and coloring together, but there was a sort of disconnect between them. Almost as if it was done out of duty and not because they wanted to spend time together.
It hadn't been a rough childhood. Outside of a little fighting that happened there was nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, the more time she spent thinking about her parents the more she realized that they had acted more like roommates and less like husband and wife.
That had been her first clue that something was amiss with her mother's murder. Charlotte had been devastated when she found out. They might not have been close, but she was her mother and she did love her.
She had spent weeks crying and wondering what would have happened if she had been there instead of at a slumber party. One that she hadn't actually been supposed to go to because she had gotten grounded earlier that week.
It was frankly terrifying to think about. Especially after her father went off the deep end for a bit. Which made no sense at all. Yes, she was sure that he loved her, but he didn't love her enough to act like he had been.
Then they were finally away from the police and cameras and he was back to being his normal self. Except a little lighter. Almost as if a weight, about 120 pounds, had been lifted off of his chest. Psychologists were good, but not that good.
So she had started to watch him and what she saw should have scared her. Every sign pointed to the fact that he was behind the murder somehow. At first that was what she thought. Red John had contacted her father and that was that.
It wasn't until she realized that the killer had stopped what the was doing that it all fell into place. He hadn't been connected by Red John and put a hit out on his wife. He had been the one to kill her himself.
Charlotte had had no idea what she was supposed to do with that information. It had thrust him into a whole new light and for the first time she was actually a little afraid of the man. That fear lasted almost a full day.
Then he spilled hot tea all over his shirt and pant and started to jump around the kitchen like a loon. She had fallen out of her chair laughing at her father's antics. After that she knew that while he might be a killer she was complete safe with him.
Later that night she had sat him down and told him that she knew about him being Red John. She had never seen him look more fearful than when she had said that. It was like he thought she was going to walk away from him.
It had broken her heart to see him like that. Which made it all the nicer to see him smile when she explained that the last thing she was going to do was turn him into the police. It was just a random fact about her father that didn't really affect her at all.
Work was work and home was home. That was their life and though it was a bit annoying having him disappear for a day or so or hearing him talking in hushed voices about something that she both wanted to know about and didn't care about.
Then he decided that it was time to make a change and Red John was brought out to play once more. She still wasn't sure if he did that just because he was bored or if he had really wanted to join the CBI and work the case. It didn't really matter she guessed.
All that did matter was what he was doing currently. Which was talking on the phone with she guessed Lisbon about a case that they were attempting to solve. Well, the agents were attempting to solve it. Knowing her father he already had all the answers and a plan.
As for her she had a plan all her own. One that she started to come up with when she met the members of team Lisbon. Okay, maybe not that early, but once she had learned about the team she started to formulate it.
The first people she had met were Grace and Wayne. She wanted them to get together as soon as she saw them staring longingly at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. They were just so cute together. Though it was apart that they found their steps.
Both of them were insanely sweet and kind to pretty much everyone that they came into contact with. They were all smiles and shoulders to cry on if someone needed them. Sometimes even when they weren't needed.
All of that changed though when someone was in danger. She could tell just by looking at the puppy dog that was Wayne Rigsby that he could fight. It was Grace that was a bit of a shock. Yet when the time came they were both more than ready to hand someone their own ass. Usually while smiling.
After that she had met the fearless leader that was Teresa Lisbon. It had taken a few weeks to figure out who she was, but after that it was blindingly obvious. Seriously, how everyone didn't see it was beyond Charlotte.
The woman was born to be a mother. She was equal parts overprotective and loving. She made sure that everyone was taken care of. Even if she had to drag them out of the office by their ear. It had been hilarious to see her do that to her father.
Then came Kimball Cho. The only person on the team she had yet to figure out even after years of knowing him. If she was right though she wasn't the only one the man was a mystery too. Her father hadn't figured out either.
That in and of itself was strange. He had been reading people for a lot longer than she had. He made his job and his side job reading people. If he wasn't good at reading people than he would have already been caught for murder.
There was something about the young agent that gave everyone pause. Well, almost everyone. A lot of people over looked the man for some reason. They never saw the potential in what he could be hiding from them.
That was probably why he was her favorite person on the team. Especially when they got into discussions. It was fun trying to figure out what he was going to say about a certain situation and than be completely surprised when he took it a direction even she hadn't seen.
When everything was said and done she liked him and she wanted him. Not like that. At least not for herself. As much as her father would hate to admit it he was lonely and the two would make a good pair.
Which was exactly what she was going to do. They might be blind to the obvious attraction and potential between them, but she wasn't. Somehow she was going to help them see it. It was a good thing she was as smart and devious as her father.