The sun is just rising over the landscape as Lisbon and Van Pelt leave a room at the little, no-name motel. The case they were here for in the small town had ended late. The team agreed to say overnight and get an early start in the morning.
Both turn when they hear another door open and close. Rigsby sees them and walks over.
"The diner's open. We can have breakfast before we leave." Rigsby says enthusiastically, happy he can eat before they start the long trip back. He smiles at Van Pelt noticing how good she looks so early in the morning.
Another door opens. Cho exits, quietly closing it behind himself. He comes over, and Lisbon is surprised at how tired he looks. Rigsby and Van Pelt walk on to the diner as Lisbon and Cho follow.
"You look tired, didn't you sleep well?" Lisbon says as Cho yawns.
"I should have bunked with Rigsby, his snoring I could have ignored," he says and yawns again.
Lisbon smiles and says, "I take it Jane was not a perfect roommate?"
"He had a nightmare and almost hit me when I tried to wake him. When he did wake up he paced the room the rest of the night."
"Are you okay?" She scrutinizes his face for bruises.
"Fine, just tired. He finally fell asleep in bed about a half hour ago. I didn't want to wake him for breakfast since he looks exhausted." Cho opens the door to the diner and they join the rest of the team at a table.
Later the four leave the diner, all of them carrying to-go cups of coffee. Once again Cho yawns.
Lisbon stops and turns to her three team members. "It's only seven and we have the rooms until noon. Rigsby, you and Van Pelt go ahead and check out of your rooms. I'll let Jane sleep a bit longer in the room he and Cho had. The three of you take one van and head back home. Rigsby, I want you to drive so Cho can sleep in the back seat. When you get to the CBI, turn in the van and go ahead home and get a start on an off weekend."
"Thanks, Boss. -I'll get my stuff and meet you at the van," Rigsby says heading back to his room.
"Want me to get your stuff together, Boss? I'll put your away bag in the van you're going to drive with Jane," Van Pelt offers.
"Thanks. Here's my key for when you check out of our room. Try and talk Rigsby out of stopping at every market on the way or you'll never get back early." Van Pelt smiles at that remark and heads back to their room.
Cho unlocks the door and enters the room he shared with Jane, followed by Lisbon. The drapes are closed and there is little light. He turns on the bathroom light to pack up his few belongings without waking Jane. Lisbon walks to the bed and eyes her consultant with a faint frown of worry. Jane lies asleep wearing blue pajamas, looking exhausted. She reaches to the end of the bed and pulls up the blanket to cover him. Jane looks at her blearily, then closes his eyes, turns on his side and sighs as he burrows deeper under the covers.
Lisbon follows Cho out and walks with him to where Rigsby and Van Pelt are standing by a van. Cho loads his bag, gets into the back seat, buckles up and closes his eyes.
"We're all checked out. The owner says you can stay until one if you need to. I told her Jane is a little under the weather," Van Pelts says.
"Okay, thank you everyone for your hard work the past few days." Lisbon looks up at the darkening sky, now almost covered by heavy gray clouds. "Get going. Hopefully you can beat the storm before it breaks."
"I checked the weather station. Storm shouldn't be bad till the afternoon and we should miss it," Rigsby comments as he settles into the driver's seat. Van Pelt slides into the passenger seat and waves as they pull away. Lisbon watches them pull safely onto the highway then returns to Jane's motel room.
A few hours later Lisbon closes her laptop and puts the computer and paperwork into a bag. She stands and stretches, then looks at her watch. Jane stirs in the bed, attracting her attention. He sits up and yawns. Jane blinks in surprise at seeing Lisbon standing nearby.
"How are you feeling?" she asks with a smile.
"Right as rain," he replies, returning the smile. "I guess I gave Cho a bad night. Next time maybe I should get a room for myself and let the rest of the team have a good night."
Lisbon laughs. "Or just room with Rigsby. Cho says nothing wakes Rigsby after he's asleep."
"Where are the others?" he asks, rising.
"I sent them home a few hours ago. I figured you could use the sleep. You get ready while I get you hot tea and something to eat from the diner." As Jane picks up his clothes from a chair, "Just tea, please. I'm really not hungry."
Lisbon's sharp glance stops him in his tracks. "Tea and something to eat. You didn't eat last night and you need more than tea." He looks at her and shrugs. There's no talking her out of it when she has that look on her face.
"They say the best way to tell if a diner is good is how they make their eggs. So I'll have eggs." He gives her a million dollar smile. "Thank you for taking care of me, Lisbon," then adds as a pretend afterthought, "And the team too, I guess."
"That's why they pay me the big bucks. Be back in a few minutes." She grabs her purse and leaves the room.
A short time later they are on the road and rain is coming down in sheets. Sparing a moment's attention from driving, Lisbon looks over at Jane who is asleep again, his head propped against the window. The case had been hard for the team and even more so for Jane. Cases involving children were always difficult. Jane insisted on being included in the search party even though she thought it was a bad idea. Jane found the child. Dead. The girl's father was a police officer, lending a special horror to the case as the agents considered whether a fellow cop had done it. The girl's mother confessed to killing her daughter when Jane talked to her, a perversion of everything motherhood stood for. Jane was quiet during the rest of the investigation. Lisbon wishes Jane would allow himself the relief of talking, of sharing the burden, but knows getting him to open up was not going to happen no matter how hard she tries. She returns her attention to driving in the difficult weather.
A deer bounds across the wet road just ahead. Lisbon jams on the brakes. She corrects the steering but the van skids through water pooled on the road. No control! The van hurtles off the side, sliding, jouncing down the slope. It hits a boulder and rolls twice.
Suddenly, quiet. The van is stopped, right side up, lost in a world of rain and leaves and trees.