Red John targets those closest to Patrick Jane yet again; Jane and Lisbon must protect Patrick's niece and create a family for the orphaned toddler.
Pairing: Patrick Jane/Teresa Lisbon
Rating:Mature
Disclaimer:CBS and Bruno Heller own all.
Set before season two. Some details may be slightly AU. I know this plot will be Jossed during 3x02, but anyway…
Second Chances
Teresa Lisbon awoke to the smell of bacon sizzling crisp and cinnamon-hazelnut coffee brewing. While initially disconcerted with the thought of someone breaking into her apartment as she slept, she did have the presence of mind to realize that most criminals don't stop to cook you breakfast prior to committing said felony against your property or person.
The longer she lay there in her bed, the more varied and intense the aromas became—blueberry pancakes, melted butter and maple syrup were added. The sleepy brunette whined as she forced herself to rise, feigning sleep would only mean microwaved leftovers later that morning and a pouting Patrick who was obviously in the mood for company at 6:30 am on a Sunday morning.
Though the senior agent was tempted to toss her familiar intruder out on his ass until a more reasonable hour, she knew that Patrick Jane often relied on her companionship—even more so as fall began its approach, and the dreaded anniversary date of his family's loss drew near. Teresa Lisbon had grown adept at marking the subtle shifts in Jane's moods, trying to help keep the guilt and despair at bay for the friend who lost his wife and child six years before.
Not to say that their friendship was wholly one-sided. Patrick would often escort Teresa to various holiday festivities, even though he normally would've eschewed them, just so her absence of family members wouldn't be so keenly felt. He, too, would help bolster Teresa's spirits as the calendar days grew black for her, as well. Her mother's accident and father's suicide were memories that could send Lisbon into a dark withdrawal, even though most of her co-workers remained unaware, skilled as she was in shielding her private life.
Patrick Jane could see through those opaque layers like no one else Teresa had ever known, though instead of exposing her pain for the rest to see, Patrick Jane would offer his friendship—a fresh cup of coffee or tea (depending on the level of sympathy required), her favorite take-out, a movie they'd seen a dozen times….
Of course, Lisbon's friendship with Jane did not usually secure the whole-hearted cooperation of the fractious consultant. He would regularly test her patience with his, albeit, successful antics, while the feisty brunette would often be forced to chastise Jane like an errant schoolboy, though he generally took his comeuppance with a modicum of grace.
Generally, Patrick Jane would try to avoid pushing the bounds of friendship with Teresa Lisbon too far, not relishing those moments when the senior agent was forced to decide between himself and her job, while Lisbon would try to give the insightful consultant as much leeway as possible, due to the accuracy of his deductions and the depth of his suffering.
Their individual isolation was made more tolerable by these regular intrusions and presumptions on each other's parts, such as the breakfast preparations currently taking place in Lisbon's kitchen. Teresa would frequently chastise Patrick for locating the spare key she would hide in a new spot each time the previous one was discovered, which was only slightly better than the fact that he would resort to picking the lock if she wasn't gracious enough to leave the key available for him.
The senior agent finally decided that allowing Jane to use the spare key was recompense enough for being allowed to sleep past four a.m. when the blonde consultant would often take up residence on her couch after another sleepless night.
Sadly, there seemed little Teresa could do to convince Patrick to let her sleep in on the weekends. Knowing he'd been up for hours already, Lisbon was aware the only rest Jane ever really took was on the leather sofa at the CBI building, the buzz of the office serving as temporary distraction to his anguished mind.
Slipping into yoga pants, bra, and a tee, Lisbon raked her fingers through her hair as she trudged downstairs, squinting at the early morning sunshine that poured in the downstairs windows.
"What the hell, Jane?" the petite brunette groaned as she meandered into her kitchen, its use usually reserved for Patrick Jane's early morning intrusions and attempts to keep Teresa Lisbon adequately fed.
"Good morning to you, too, Lisbon," the blonde consultant, looking oddly casual in a black tee and jeans, smiled cheerily, offering the senior agent a steaming cup of her favorite coffee.
"What did you do?" Lisbon inquired flatly as she eyed the dark brew suspiciously.
"I made blueberry pancakes and bacon," Jane indicated with the spatula in his hand and an air of innocence.
"You made me coffee—not tea—therefore, you must have committed some atrocity for which I will have to apologize, and I just want to be prepared," Lisbon nodded with a wry smile as she perched in the kitchen chair.
"I promise you, Lisbon, I have done nothing to fluster, offend, or generally piss-off anyone in the last 24 hours," Patrick grinned back at Teresa before continuing with the true reason he'd arrived so very early this Sunday morning.
"Just…hungry, couldn't sleep, Sunday morning breakfast alone didn't seem at all appealing," he smiled with a quick wink though his normally bright eyes were momentarily shadowed with a forlorn longing that he typically kept hidden from most.
"Fine…," Lisbon sighed, knowing that there was little point in trying to make Jane feel contrite for intruding on her much-deserved rest. She gave the curly-haired consultant a begrudging smile as he placed her plate in front of her, though she nevertheless sighed with pleasure at the bite of syrup-laden goodness that she tasted.
"So are you going to help me work all this off after breakfast?" Lisbon asked pointedly.
Jane choked at the question—it's not often that the senior agent caught him off-guard.
"What…did you have…in mind…exactly?" Jane stammered, trying to appear unaffected.
"Running, of course—what did you think I meant?" Lisbon snarked, enjoying the opportunity to tease her colleague.
"Running?" Jane whined—scrunching his face to playfully elicit the sympathy he knew Lisbon would refuse him. "Come on, Teresa…it's Sunday," he continued with the plaintive begging until the senior agent lobbed her napkin in his direction.
"Yeah, Patrick—Sunday—when most normal people sleep past 6:30 a.m."
Jane chuckled, amused that he finally goaded Lisbon into retaliation.
"Gym bag's in the car," he confessed in concession, taking a hearty bite of his pancakes followed by a sip of Earl Grey from the sole teacup he kept stashed in Lisbon's cabinet.
Lisbon flashed her consultant a smug grin as she snapped off a bite of bacon in her tiny triumph.
"So…what's on for tonight? Dragnet boxed set? Chinese take-out?" Lisbon tempted as she swirled her pancakes in the puddle of extra syrup Jane had supplied.
"Meh, I was thinking Jack Lord and pizza," Jane casually remarked, finishing off the last of his pancakes and flinching as he sipped his tea that had grown cold.
"You're just disagreeing with me out of habit," Lisbon cocked a sardonic eyebrow as she wiped her plate clean of syrup with the last bite of her breakfast.
"Now…when have I ever been guilty of that?" Jane inquired, as if shocked by the accusation.
Lisbon scoffed loudly, shoulders lurching forward and eyes rolling toward the ceiling to reinforce her point.
"Seriously—I can only take so much Joe Friday in one afternoon—reminds me too much of Cho," the blonde consultant explained matter-a-factly, eliciting a unladylike snort from Lisbon.
"Ok, fine—Hawaii 5-0 it is—but we're still getting Chinese," Lisbon compromised," crumpling her extra napkin on top of her empty plate and leaning back in her chair.
Jane smiled broadly, taking a little pleasure in amusing the senior agent.
"Fine."
Lisbon countered with a slightly smug quirk of her lips.
"Well," Agent Lisbon pushed up from her dining chair as her consultant gathered the dishes, "we'd better get started on those ten miles, hmm?" she inquired rhetorically as she made toward the stairs to retrieve her running shoes.
"Ten miles?" Jane called from the kitchen. "Are you trying to kill me, woman?" he poked his head from the doorway and eyed Teresa incredulously. "Can we make it five, instead?"
A wicked smile graced Teresa's face.
"Ha!" she countered from upstairs, shouting back her retort, "I really only wanted to run five miles, anyway."
Patrick chuckled at Teresa's reverie, deciding it the better part of valor to occasionally let her have the last word.
Just as Jane rose from his seat to fetch his gym bag from the Citroën, and Lisbon was scurrying back down the stairs, threading her hair into a messy bun, the senior agent's phone began to reverberate against the dining table.
Jane picked up the device, handing it off to his co-worker with a resigned sigh.
"Looks like Dan-o will have to book 'em another day—it's Minelli calling."