A/N: All characters, cases, and locations belong to Bruno Heller, CBS, and affiliates. This is the updated and edited version. If you like this one shot, check out my other two longer multi-chapter stories "Painting the Roses Red" and "Red Fingerprints". Please review.
Both agents were exiting the Tanner house as Lisbon unceremoniously tripped on the steps, scattering her notes and case files, and ending up looking at the sky above her.
"Are you okay?" Grace immediately knelt down beside her, but before she could help her up, Lisbon had already moved to her feet and was collecting the fallen papers.
"Damn it," Lisbon muttered under her breath. As the two straightened up, the red head watched her new boss of only a few weeks warily.
"It's got to be tough," she said quietly with a pang of pity in her eyes. Lisbon looked up from straightening the files in her folder with creased eyebrows.
"What?"
Grace hesitated, biting her bottom lip nervously. "I mean, a drunk driver … isn't that what happened to your mother?"
Lisbon's green eyes immediately hardened.
"Sorry," Van Pelt said quickly. "It's none of my business."
"We don't discuss our personal lives in this unit. It's not useful or professional," was Lisbon's curt reply.
Grace's cheeks reddened slightly from the reprimand, but didn't say anything else as they walked towards the car.
"Cho?" Lisbon said as they got into the SUV. The phone patched through the stereo as Lisbon put the car in drive. "Names to run, Darlene Pappas, Andy, Danny, Hope, and Flipper."
"Flipper?"
"You heard me and tell Social Services that I want them at the Tanner house to check on the two sibling in a week, then however much they see fit."
"You see something to be concerned about, boss?"
Lisbon could feel Grace's eyes on her from the passenger seat.
"Just a feeling."
"All right, will do. Oh yeah, you have nine missed calls from your brother here. He says wants you to call him back when you get a chance. He's on the line now, do you want me to patch him through."
Lisbon sighed and her free hand rubbed the cross around her neck. "Yeah, go ahead."
There was a beep on the line before a little voice picked up.
"Hi Aunt Reese!"
"Hello Piper," she replied, her tone changing to one Grace had never heard from her. "Is everything all right? Is there an emergency?"
"No 'mergency," the little girl said lightly. "Just miss ya." Grace could hear the smile in the child's voice.
"I miss you too," Lisbon said, cutting across traffic quickly. "I told your mom and dad I was coming to see you guys soon though."
"Daddy says you busy."
"Did he now?" Lisbon asked, amused.
"Uh huh, catchin' bad guys," she said disappointedly before perking back up. "Guess what Aunt Reese, we learned what to do if we see a bad guy today at school!"
"You did?"
"Yep! We supposed to call 9-11 and then run far away, but I told the teacher that I should call you because you could shoot the bad guy so he couldn't hurt anyone else, but Mrs. Jenkins says that it wasn't right. Then I told her that you could have her arrest for not tellin' the truth, but then she called daddy again."
"Piper, you know better than to correct you teacher."
Lisbon's niece sighed and Lisbon's lips quirked into a small smile. "Daddy said I should have told her that you could 'ave shooted her instead, but mommy didn't like that."
Lisbon smirked. "I'm sure she didn't. Can you put your father on please?"
"Mmkay, Aunt Reese."
There was a pause on the line before a male voice picked up. "Hey kid," Lisbon greeted affectionately.
"Hey Reese, sorry about her. Carrie just taught her how the use the phone for safety week at preschool and apparently she now knows how to use the re-dial button."
Both women in the car smiled.
"You should stop telling your daughter that I can arrest and or shot people she doesn't like," Lisbon snapped playfully
"Aw, come on Reese, it was just a joke. I didn't think she would repeat it to anybody. Her stick in the mud teacher needs to lighten up a bit. She's pushing these kids into a deep dark hole of depression and they're only four!"
Lisbon snorted. "So no emergency, then?"
"Nah. You on a case?"
"Always am."
"Anyone scary or just the regular murdering scumbag on the loose?" He sounded amused at his own joke. Lisbon rolled her eyes.
"Andrew," she prompted with an eyebrow raised.
"Yah, yah, I know you can't tell me. You'll be safe though, right?"
"I'll try." There was short pause. "Love you."
"Love you too, Reese."
Lisbon reached up and pushed a button on the stereo, ending the conversation with a short beep. Grace ran a hand through her hair before leaning forward in her chair slightly.
"Is Andrew your only brother?"
Lisbon's eyes jumped over to her for a moment before focusing back on the road. "No, there are three of them," she said calmly. "James, Andrew, and Tommy. All younger."
"Aww, how cute. Both of my sisters are older. I always wanted to be the oldest though." The new agent continued to chatter away about her family and sister back in Iowa as Lisbon drove, though it was clear the Senior Agent was only half listening. Her mind was wandering somewhere else, focused in the shadows of her soul.
*The Mentalist*
"Cho, can I ask you a question?" Van Pelt asked once just she and Rigsby were left in the bull pen. Lisbon and Jane had left to talk to the dock owner near the beach with Jane chattering something about a plan being afoot.
The ex-gang member didn't look up from the report he was writing. "Yeah, I guess."
"It's about Lisbon," Grace continued hesitantly. She watched Rigsby turn in his seat to hear the conversation better. "Does she seem upset to you about this case? I mean I know her mother died the same way as the victim's, but the vic's dad seemed to bother her at the house."
There was a pause before Cho answered.
"Lisbon's the best agent I've ever worked with. She doesn't like her past or anybody else's to get in the way of doing her job," Cho rattled off, automatically.
"That's not what I asked Cho, and you know it."
The Asian sighed and looked up from the report finally. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes looking Van Pelt up and down before speaking.
"We need to tell her, man," Rigsby said finally.
"Tell me what?" Her question was followed by silence so she continued, "I don't want to upset her or anything. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. I know I'm new and everything, but she seemed kind of … I don't know … closed down when I asked her about it."
Cho folded his hands together with a slight frown. Rigsby cleared his throat. "Lisbon was twelve when her mom died. The car got T-boned by a drunk driver. Lisbon was in the passenger seat, watched her mom bleed out before EMT could save her."
"Oh my god."
"She doesn't talk about it. I only asked her about it once and she weaved her way out of ever answering my question. I've been on her team for the past six year and I know next to nothing about her. It's not you, Grace, it's just that Lisbon isn't an easy read."
"But you know, don't you Cho. She trusts you," Grace said turning back to face him. "You're protective over her, just like Jane is sometimes. It's like the two of you know something we don't."
Cho rubbed his hands over his face. When he removed them, his eyes were dark, heavy and he spoke.
"I've worked with Lisbon for almost twelve years now. I was here before Jane or Rigsby. I don't know much about her life before SFPD. She's from Chicago, basically raised her three younger brothers after her mom died. Her dad was a firefighter, but after her mother's death he shut down, starting drinking all the time. He lost his job and lashed out.
"She's never alluded to it, but we know he knocked her around for years. After three years of drinking and hitting his kids, the prick shot himself, after putting three rounds through Lisbon."
"No—" Van Pelt whimpered, but Cho cut her off continuing with a pause.
"Minelli told me she spent three months in ICU before they released her. He thought someone should look after her on the squad that knew the truth. The internal bleeding from the years of abuse almost killed her. She fought for custody of all three brothers and won. I don't know when they came to California, but I would wager it wasn't long after.
"She'll never admit any of though. That part of her is locked somewhere deep inside of her. I doubt any one will ever know the extent of the damage she suffered."
"Tanner's house was filled with all kind of empty bottles. She probably thought about her own family. God I was so oblivious! She must think I'm so insensitive and-and-"
Rigsby shook his head and put a hand on her arm. "She knows you didn't know. She'd hate the pity anyways. She'll want to just stay focused on the case like she always does."
"Does Jane know?"
The two boys looked at her and she blushed slightly. "I meant did she tell him or did he just know?"
Rigsby shrugged. "Something I learned early on with Jane on the team is that he and Lisbon are on another level together and to just get used to not knowing."
"It must be awful," grace said after a moment of reflection. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "To see other families that remind you of something you'd just want to forget."
"Lisbon's strong," Cho said roughly, turning back towards his papers. "She tries not to let it affect her. If it does, she mourns in private."
*The Mentalist*
"GO HOME NOW!"
There was a crash that brought the rest of the team out of the bullpen to see Lisbon pushing the victim's father roughly against the wall.
Mr. Tanner's body hit the glass with enough force to shake the wall and Lisbon clearly had restrained a violent drunk previously in her life. She had no trouble pushing him away from Flipper and holding him back. As she released her hold on him slightly, not a hair was out of place.
Tanner's face was red with anger and tears trailed down his face unnoticed. His clothes were crinkled and dirty; his face unshaken. It was clear he hadn't taken care of himself since Lisbon and Van Pelt had visited him for their interview.
"Look at me. Look at me," she snapped harshly at him. In that moment, Lisbon seemed to grow much bigger than the man opposite her. Her chest moved up and down rapidly and her green eyes sparked with fire.
"You need to go home, take care of your children," Lisbon said, staring directly into his face.
His sobbing flooded the hallway and he made one pathetic attempt to chase Flipper as the unis escorted him quickly away.
Grace watched from the hallway as Cho inched closer to Lisbon. There was clear concern on his face, though something else in his eyes made her bite her lip nervous as she watched her boss.
The girl and the younger boy cringed near the side as they watched their father crumbled against the wall.
"I'm going to get somebody to drive you home," Lisbon said gently. For the first time since the altercation, her eyes flicked away from the man.
"Come on Mister Tanner, let's get you an officer to drive you and your kids, shall we?"
Tanner let the younger detective move him away from the wall and Lisbon turned gently towards the two children, who stood motionlessly a few feet away.
"Lisa, I need you to listen very carefully to what I'm about to tell you, okay?"
The blonde child nodded, her eyes fixed on Lisbon's face, clearly shaken by her father's outburst.
"When you get home I want you to pack a bag for you and your brother, some clothes, toys, whatever you would need for a few days away. I want you to put it next to the front door. Do you know someone you could stay with in case something happens?"
"We go over to our neighbor's house a lot before mom died," she said hesitantly.
Lisbon nodded. "Good. That's good. The moment you feel scared, I want you to grab your brother and the bag and go there. Once you get there, I want you to call me at this number all right?"
She reached into her back pocket and extended her card to the girl. Lisa reached out and clutched it, looking over the words and the number with her hazel eyes.
"Okay."
"I need you to be brave for me, all right, Lisa? With your sister gone you've got to look after you and your brother. Do you think you can do that?"
The girl swallowed thickly, fear clear in her eyes, but she nodded.
"Lisa? Micah? There's a car here to take you and your dad home," the same officer called from the other room. Lisa jumped slightly and glanced up at Lisbon before taking her brother's hand.
"Come on, Micah. It's time to go."
Lisbon stood up as the watched them walk towards the officer and leave the hallway. Cho discreetly moved back out of the way as Lisbon collected herself.
She turned to find Jane watching her from the corner.
"You did good, Lisbon," Jane said tentatively, coming close enough to brush her hand. His scent seemed to calm her enough to make her cheeks pale back to their normal hue and her eyes to return to their normal dilation.
"Go away, Jane," she said roughly, feeling Van Pelt watching her reaction from the window.
"It's okay to be a little emotionally involved, you know, Lisbon," Jane said smoothly, leaning back on the window. His blue eyes bore into intensely, analyzing her every breath and every flicker of her eyelashes.
"I'm not emotional! I'm just doing my job. I don't need another two dead kids on my desk because I didn't get them out of the house before the dad clocks out again or worse knocks them around, okay."
Jane frowned at her revelation then leaned down to put his mouth towards her ear. Her cheeks flushed slightly as his lips met her skin.
To Jane's surprise, she didn't move away.
"Go call your family, Teresa."
She jerked back as if he burned her, almost running into Rigsby, coming forward with papers fresh off the printer. "Got the ME report on the body at the docks. Everything all right, boss?"
"Just another day at the office," she said bitterly, sweeping past him to lock herself in her office.