Lisbon looked sadly across the room, at least he looked happy.
She didn't have anything against Patrick Jane's new girlfriend, she was glad he eventually was moving on with his life, she was just disappointed it wasn't with her.
Lucy seemed nice enough; Teresa Lisbon just hoped no one got hurt. But then they were all adults, it was their choice, she thought as she resigned herself. Sighing she tried to ignore the noise from the bullpen and turned back to the paperwork. She would just have to get on with her life, and stop daydreaming, real life is tough, she's been through worse.
X
It had been a hard case, finally cracking it late Friday, Teresa was exhausted. The paperwork would wait til Saturday. "I need a drink, anyone feel like joining me?"
She was thankful for the company of the team but more thankful Jane had plans with Lucy. She was fine but after the week they'd had, she just wanted to relax.
Van Pelt was looking worried, darn it she'd forgotten to keep her mask up while they were getting another round in at the bar. "Boss, are you ok?"
Oh no, I could really do without this right now, but then who else could she talk to? "Not really, but I'm getting there thanks."
"It's tough seeing them together isn't it?"
"I sometimes forget how insightful you are Van Pelt. Yeah it is, but I'm just keeping myself focused. I thought we might have had something, but I guess I got it wrong. Maybe I should start dating. It's not like he ever showed any definite interest in me, he was more into a murderer at one point for goodness sake. I need to move on. We just work together. I wish I never looked up the rule about co-workers dating, I pinned too many hopes that as a consultant it didn't cover him. I guess it wouldn't have been the best idea anyway. He always winds me up, gets us into trouble with the DA's office for all of his ridiculous schemes, if he didn't close so many cases he would've been fired years ago."
"True. Well if you want to put those thoughts into action, I might know someone who's right up your street."
"Wow, um yeah, that would be good. I guess I might as well start living life again." Teresa smiled; it would be nice to have something outside of work to talk about. Something new to focus on, distract her from Jane.
As they headed back to Cho and Rigsby, she was feeling a lot more hopeful than she had been in years.
X
Patrick Jane stretched out on the couch, thinking about where to take Lucy next. Smiling, he thought why not keep it simple, the coffeehouse down the street did a great Danish pastry. After a while, he wondered why Lisbon hadn't kicked his couch recently. They had a case in motion, but oddly she hadn't seemed as stressed as usual. He opened an eye as she left her office, leaving the CBI? That was odd, she didn't usually take lunch this early. He stored it away to think about later.
Meeting Lucy out the front of the CBI, they greeted with a kiss. He only saw her last night but she intrigued him, and was astonishingly beautiful. As they walked down to the coffeehouse, he did a double-take, surely that wasn't who he thought it was. Teresa Lisbon smiling, laughing, flirting with a handsome stranger? They kept walking, but he couldn't get the mystery man out of his mind, who was he? He tried to focus on Lucy, throwing slightly more effort into their conversation to cover up his thoughts. He was annoyed, why hadn't she told him about the date? Moreover why hadn't he noticed, actually he hadn't noticed her much at all recently. Well he guessed perhaps Lucy was keeping him occupied, everyone has to switch off eventually. He had gotten so used to seeing Lisbon around, he had stopped noticing her. He'd forgotten how beautifully her face lit up when she smiled.
X
Teresa smiled to herself, pleased how well Van Pelt must know her, even more pleased meeting Nathan had gone so well. He was certainly attractive, which threw her slightly as she smiled and introduced herself, trying not to blush. She was glad not to have to worry about talking shop with him, he worked in geophysics, whatever that was, and he was grounded and seemed generally nice, particularly with those deep, soulful eyes. Although they only met for a while she was looking forward to seeing him again, they'd agreed on dinner in a couple of days. She just prayed work wouldn't take her away from Sacramento.
X
"Jane, can I get your input on this witness please?" she asked as she stood over his couch. Relieved she had some work to focus on.
"Lisbon" he smiled, glad of the intrusion. "Anything for you. How was your date?"
That unsettled her; even after so long working with Jane surely even he wasn't that good. "How did you know?"
"Well nothing too impressive, I just saw you talking with someone while I was at lunch"
"Ah. It was good thanks, think we're going to meet up later this week for dinner."
"Great. Well if the witness is Daniel Jones, he didn't do it." He sank inside, she seemed genuinely happy. Why wasn't he happy for her? He hadn't spent much time with her recently, maybe he just missed her. That must be it.
X
Teresa Lisbon was cursing, Patrick smiled, it amused him when she let loose a general rant at the universe, at least it wasn't at him. He took the opportunity to get her a coffee, he could always use some favour in her book.
"Why is it when I finally get a date, someone gets murdered?" all she wanted was some semblance of a normal life. At least Nathan had understood, she hoped whenever they got back to Sacramento they could meet up again, she hadn't met anyone like that in a while. She remembered now why she didn't usually date, she was already married to the damn CBI.
"Now Lisbon, I hardly think just because you made plans it directly led to this man's death." Jane smiled wryly. He was secretly pleased. As happy as Lisbon looked earlier talking with that man, he couldn't help wishing it had been him making her smile. He would have walked in on them before if it hadn't been for Lucy. "Look on the bright side, now you get to see the sights of Santa Barbara with me. Meet you at the airport in an hour?"
Lisbon sighed, just what she was hoping to avoid. Nathan was a welcome distraction, but she was hoping to keep her distance from Jane for a little longer, if just to help her heart heal that little bit more. She had only allowed herself one evening of wallowing on the sofa with ice-cream. She had to stay focused, work should help with that, Patrick Jane is still strictly off limits, despite her checks of interoffice dating. "Sure. Hopefully it will be a short trip though, we don't want Lucy missing you too much."
That reminded Patrick, he needed to give her a call. As nice as she was, something was missing. "Oh I don't think its working out. Besides, the CBI is harsh mistress enough. See you in an hour."
Great she thought. Now she could go back to blaming herself for not being what Patrick Jane was looking for. It was almost better when he preferred someone else. Now she had to go back to her own inadequacies. Work. Work work work. She tried to focus again. There was always the hope of Nathan, he did seem genuinely interested in her. She hoped that would be enough to get her through the next few days.
X
Patrick Jane felt much better after breaking it off with Lucy. She was a nice distraction, but lacked substance. He did feel strange after Van Pelt caught him watching Lisbon sleep on the flight though. He tried to disguise it but guessed he was as transparent as he felt. He had been doing a lot of thinking lately. Much of it about the raven haired beauty next to him. His best friend, who had been through much, who always knew what to do, who trusted him. He couldn't lose that, lose her. They had such a happy equilibrium, why should he try to change it? For the risk of knowing her completely? Seeing her with that guy the other day had definitely awoken the green monster in him. He wanted her to be happy, but happy with him, in his arms. He couldn't bear the thought of her sharing someone else's bed, giving birth to their children. Patrick had the suspicion unless he did something soon, that might very well happen. He had to take the risk, he couldn't risk losing her.