A/N: I have some random obsession with writing them after Red John is gone and they are together. If you don't like the idea, don't read. Thanks in advance to everyone that reads and reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, much to my dismay.
Die Trying
He silently climbs out of bed, thankful that she is sleeping peacefully on her side facing away from him. Usually, after a day like today, she would cling to him in her sleep searching for his undeniable warmth. Her small frame fit nicely next to his, if not intertwined with his. It had actually become his favorite way to sleep since it rarely happened. He smiles and allows his thoughts to wander toward frightening territory as he changes into one of his three piece suits. He isn't sure he will ever get to experience that again. Before he can regret his decision he stops his train of thought and looks at her sleeping peacefully.
"I love you, Teresa," he whispers as he leans down to kiss her softly on the forehead. She smiles in her sleep and curls up tighter, burrowing into her pillow. She makes a soft noise of contentment as her breathing evens out. In that moment, all he wants to do is lay back down beside her and forget about his plan. He studies the version of Lisbon he has come to appreciate more and more over the past few years. That version is Teresa, his wife, the woman who only surfaces unwillingly during deep emotional moments. Every other time he gets to see her is on Lisbon's terms. It has become a game of his to try to get Teresa to surface more, especially around their two year old twins.
He takes one last long glance at the sleeping woman before he turns his attention down the hall. The room to his left is painted a light purple because Lisbon had not liked the idea of pink. He had agreed mostly because his first daughter's room was pink. He opens the door and is greeted with the steady breathing of a sleeping child. Ashlyn is spelled white capital ceramic letters above the girl's bed. The letters are well out of the way of curious fingers. Cautiously, he walks into the room and murmurs his love into her hair as he places a kiss to the top of her head. He leaves and closes the door once again.
Across the hall, he opens the door to a room that can only be described as ocean blue. It is set up much the same way as its counterpart a few steps away; the only difference being the color and the name above the bed. Christopher is spelled out in the same ceramic letters. He enters this room just as silently. The boy looks up at him sleepily, but doesn't say anything. He chooses to only kiss the top of the boy's head and give him a reassuring pat; the boy smiles at him and returns to dreamland. A moment later he is out the front door and heading down the road not once looking back.
"Cho," Jane says acknowledging the only other man in the deserted parking lot.
"You sure about this Jane?" Cho asks him seriously.
"There is a six year old girl that may die tonight if I don't go. Yes Cho I am sure," Jane says as he puts a hand on his car. Cho nods and holds out a Kevlar vest for him. Jane shakes his head a vest would be a dead give-away if he is frisked. He has to at least try to stay alive. The men they are going after are ruthless and have killed countless police officers before. Jane is going in because he is not a police officer. Silently, he reminds himself he has something to live for as he drives out of the parking lot.
Jane pulls up in front of a dark abandoned warehouse. He chuckles inwardly at the sheer idiocy of the hideout. Everyone uses an abandoned warehouse because of the space and the way sound echoes. The main drawbacks of using an abandoned warehouse as a hiding place? Everyone uses them, they have a lot of space, and sound echoes. He takes a deep breath preparing to walk in without any outside communication. He has refused weapons, wires, and earwigs. The men he is up against are good at what they do; they won't be fooled by anything. Cho and the SWAT team are setting up a block away. He enters the warehouse and walks into the first room. It looks to be the full four stories high and at least a football field in length. Stray boxes can be seen scattered across the floor. There is even an old trailer portion of a tractor trailer.
"You! STOP!" a man's voice calls out from somewhere to his left. Three men come at him from different angles all brandishing shot guns. One of them is double barreled. Slowly, he raises his hands in the common gesture of surrender. One man puts his weapon down long enough to frisk Jane. Once deemed harmless, the three men lower the shot guns, but the one facing him pulls out a pistol. At least the shot guns are put away.
"What do you want?" the man with the pistol asks.
"The girl," Jane answers.
"Which one?" the man on his left sneers. Jane's heart almost stops. There is more than one child here. He can't bring himself to save just one. No, he has to save them all or die trying. He knows what it is like to lose a child and he swears he will not make anyone else feel that pain as long as he can do something about it. He offers a silent apology to his current wife for what he is about to do.
"All of them," he tells the man.
The man laughs. "You don't have enough money for all of them," he says and pokes Jane in the chest with his pistol to emphasize his point. The men circle him and stand directly in front of him in a line. His mind goes into overdrive and a smile crosses his features. He knows a way to get out of this. Cautiously, he pulls a few $100 bills out of his pocket and shows them to the men.
"You will take me to the girls," Jane says and points to the man in the center. "You will let him," he tells the man on the right. "And you will be following behind me making sure I don't try to escape," Jane finishes as he looks to the last man. The three men take a few minutes to discuss their options before doing exactly what Jane predicted. He smiles at how easy it is to manipulate people.
The first man opens the door to an unmarked crate and Jane is greeted with a sight that could haunt him for years if he can't save these girls. They are dirty. All of them flinch when the door is opened. It is barely big enough for the girls to sit comfortably on the floor. 10 girls crowd the small space all dressed in clothes too nice for the place they are in. Every one of them reminds him of the daughter her couldn't keep safe. He makes a split second decision and gives Cho the agreed upon signal. Jane simply scratches his head.
An instant later gunfire assaults his ears. He runs into the crate and shuts the door, but not before he feels a searing pain in his left arm. His hand immediately comes up to cover the wound. His fingers feel slick with his own blood and he winces in pain. He tries to apply more pressure to the wound, and discovers that it s an opening in his skin not a hole. Thankfully, he had only been grazed.
The firefight ends shortly and an eerie silence fills the warehouse. The girls are sobbing and he attempts to comfort them all in some small way. He can't give them each the individual attention they deserve at the moment though. He is too busy paying attention to the blood on his hand. Cho's voice fills the warehouse. "JANE?" can be heard echoing through the room.
"In here!" Jane calls from inside the crate. Cho opens the door and sees all the hysterical girls, none older than 10, crammed in the crate. His eyes widen slightly at the sight of blood.
"What happened man?" Cho asks, indicating Jane's blood stained suit.
"Got shot, but I think it's only a graze," Jane says as he climbs out of the crate. Cho waves the paramedics over to the crate and one of them bandages Jane's arm. He nods his head in thanks and puts his coat back on. His suit has blood stains down the left side, but he doesn't care. He stays long enough to give his statement, and then he leaves. There is nothing else for him to do until tomorrow morning. The whole ordeal has taken an hour and a half. He looks at his clock, 2am. He still has time to catch some sleep once he gets home.
