A/N: I wrote this on a whim, so I apologize if it is not perfect. Oh, and I admit that the title of the fic was inspired by Castle. ;)
Disclaimer: Not mine.
It was raining.
She was lying in bed, wide awake, listening to the drumming of the downpour on her roof. It was dark, except for the faint glow of the digital numbers on her clock, which read 2:17 A.M.
She was panting, though she was not out of breath. She was shivering, but she wasn't cold.
She was in pain without a scratch on her.
Red John cases did this to her.
She could only imagine how Jane was feeling.
Lisbon shut her eyes tightly and pulled her comforter up to her chin, silently willing the mental images still fresh in her mind to go away. The crimson face taunting them on the stark white wall. The screaming little girl, begging for her big sister to wake up.
Jane's expression, broken beyond repair.
And he wouldn't let her help him.
His voice was still echoing in her ears.
Stop worrying about me. I'm fine. I don't need you.
It had been a moment of weakness. She had known that. However, she couldn't help but believe that there was some truth in his words, and they had stung, much more than they should have.
She was jerked from her thoughts by the shrill sound of her ringing cell phone on her bedside table. She sighed.
It could only be one person at this hour.
"What do you want, Jane?" she demanded as she answered.
A sharp intake of breath on the opposite side of the line caught her off guard and she stiffened. "J-Jane?" she stammered.
"Lisbon," he croaked.
She sat straight up in bed. "Are you alright?"
He didn't say anything for a moment, and all Lisbon could hear was the deafening sound of white noise. "Jane, are you out in the rain?"
"Teresa, can you come open the door for me?" he asked quietly in a shaky voice.
The covers were shoved aside immediately and she leapt from the bed. "I'll be right there," she whispered, before pressing the End button and tossing her phone onto her bed. She hurried from her room and down the staircase, throwing open her front door to see him standing on her porch, drenched.
His face was heartbreaking.
"Oh, Jane." Her breath caught in her throat and she instantly grabbed his cold hands and tugged him inside, shutting the door behind him.
As she turned back around to face him, he startled her by pulling her to him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly. She was frozen for a brief moment, a bit stunned. She felt him bury his face in her hair and squeeze her even tighter. He was cold, freezing, but she didn't care. She finally responded by encircling his waist with her arms and leaning into him. He always knew how to make her forgive him. Always.
"I'm sorry," he breathed. "I do need you."
She shut her eyes. "I know."
"I didn't mean what I said."
"I know," she repeated.
"Okay."
He held her like that for a few more minutes. Neither of them said anything. By now, they were both beginning to shiver, so Jane reluctantly loosened his grip on her and backed away. He eyed her up and down, at her now-damp sweats and t-shirt, and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."
She laughed. "Don't worry about it." She bit her lip, considering something for a moment, and then acting on it before she could talk herself out of it. "I have a box in my storage closet of some of my parents' stuff," she began slowly. "I'm sure I could dig up some of my dad's old sweats if you want to crash on the couch tonight. You know, so you don't have to drive home-"
"Okay," he agreed immediately.
"Okay?" she repeated, smiling. "Okay."
He smiled back. "Thank you, Lisbon."
She glanced down at the ground shyly, and then turned toward the storage closet. "Anytime, Jane."