Chapter 2-Settling into Normal
I am going along with a lot of the spoilers for the new season with this story. I know that Fischer (Emily Swallow)will not be back for the next season. I am working around with that idea of her leaving. I know there will be a new agent as well being introduced.
Disclaimer:Don't own the Mentalist. Bruno Heller does.
Lisbon came back from her memory from two weeks ago after arriving back to Austin. She was observing the scene of Kim Fischer saying goodbye to all the colleagues in the middle of the FBI building. Two weeks before she had found out Kim had gotten a promotion to the New York City office. During the time Lisbon knew her she had become good friends with the agent. At first it was hard but eventually she realized she enjoyed working with her.
The day after arriving back from Miami,she was talking to Fischer during a girl's night at a restaurant. They were sitting across from the table from one another.
"I have to say I am completely surprised at the turn of events. A few days ago you were leaving us to take a job in D.C. and with Agent Pike. Now you're staying here in Austin." Fischer narrated.
"I know, but I just couldn't leave. I realized it was a mistake. The entire relationship with Pike was a lie."Lisbon admitted.
"You couldn't leave Jane. I heard about it." Fischer stated. Lisbon knew what Fischer was referring to.
"Yes. You were right about Jane and I at the first case I had with you. The one with Abel Schneiderman and Defiance. It was not how you thought though. We had feelings for each other. We just took a long time to admit them to ourselves. Really, we couldn't mostly because of that difficult time." Lisbon admitted hoping Fischer would know what she was describing. It was because of Red John. She remembered when Fischer asked about her and Jane being involved and was offended at the time.
"Yes. I understand." Fischer replied knowingly. "I am very happy for you and Jane. I really didn't think Pike and you matched anyway. I always held out for you and Jane actually."
"Yes. I realize now that Pike was too perfect and he too pushy." Lisbon explained and paused, then continued."He pressured me to go to D.C. And he arranged for a job I didn't really want. And on top of that he was going to pressure me into marriage. He was moving too fast in the relationship." Lisbon confessed.
"I wouldn't want to be pressured into that either. I'm glad you came to your senses." Fischer admitted.
"Me too. I don't like how I became now. I wasn't myself." Lisbon admitted.
" It's not going to be announced until tomorrow, but I'll tell you now. I'll be leaving Austin headquarters because I got a promotion in New York. I'll be leaving in two weeks." Fischer explained.
"Congratulations, Kim. We will miss you." Lisbon stated.
"Hey, are you going to miss her?" Jane asked from behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders. It felt good have to his touches again.
"Yes, I am. She came to be a pretty good friend." Lisbon admitted. She enjoyed being in Fischer's company after a while even though it started off rocky.
"Let's hope a lovesick fool don't try to stop her plane from leaving." Jane laughed referring to his own stunt he had done two weeks before. He now went beside her and took her hand.
"Like who?" Lisbon asked.
"I don't know. Maybe Ted from accounting." Jane admitted.
"What!" Lisbon exclaimed.
"He brings her coffee. He has had a crush on her since we started working." Jane admitted.
"Oh, really?"
"I'm kidding about that."
Soon Kim came up to them. "I will miss you two. But Lisbon I still don't know how you controlled Jane." Jane looked at Lisbon for an answer and smirked.
"I didn't most of the time. I still don't know." Lisbon smiled.
"She now has ways to control me." Jane grinned.
"I did not need to hear that." Kim smirked and shook her head.
Lisbon turned to him and glared at him and hit him in the arm. He grinned anyway. "She loves me."
"You two are adorable." Fischer smiled. "It's going be pretty dull now once I move without the excitement of never knowing what Jane is up to when solving a case."
"You can always call me and I will keep you up to date on what he's doing." Lisbon admitted.
They each hugged Kim goodbye. "Just a couple of weeks ago you were doing the same thing, Lisbon." Fischer realized saying to Lisbon. "You stayed."
"I know. Plans changed." Lisbon admitted.
A little later towards the end of the day in the briefing room, Abbott was going to make an annoucement. Jane and Lisbon sat by each other. Cho was on the other side of Lisbon.
"Next week we will be getting a new addition to our team here in Austin as well as a new promotion." He paused and looked at Cho. "Congratulations, Kimball Cho. You will be taking Fischer's position as head special agent of your team. Good luck handling Jane." Abbott looked at Jane.
Jane turned and looked at Cho. " Yes, good luck handling me." He grinned. Cho just stared at him.
"Anyway, continuing, Michelle Vega, a new graduate will be joining us on Monday. I hope all of you can welcome her with open arms." Abbott finished. Everyone departed from the room except for Jane and Lisbon and Cho.
"A new agent. What do you think about that, Lisbon?" Jane asked Lisbon getting up. Lisbon got up as well as Cho. He left in another direction.
"A new person is fine. The only thing is I will have to explain how you work. More than likely, she will be going by the rules." Lisbon explained. "She just graduated and that is what she will be taught."
"I bet we'll get along fine with her." Jane smiled walking. She was walking along side.
"Don't push your luck, Jane." Lisbon admitted. "I was exactly like her wanting to go by the rules when I graduated from the police academy."
"We haven't met her yet. We don't know." Jane said.
"Trust me. She will be." Lisbon admitted.
"Okay, boss. We need groceries."
Lisbon was surprised at how domestic they had become in the last two weeks. She had luckily found a house to buy, since she had sold her previous one before planning to go to D.C. Her things were kept in storage and she cancelled her moving truck before the case in Miami. The one that Jane took out from the cold cases. She stayed with Jane in the airstream the first week and he helped with the house hunt. It was okay for that week even though the Airstream was not her favorite but it did not matter because Jane was there. She remembered househunting.
Lisbon again was burdened with the chore of househunting after changing her mind about leaving to D.C. because Jane finally confessed his love for her. Couldn't he have said something sooner?
Her thoughts were interrupted. "So, are you ready, Teresa?" Jane asked looking at the house before them-a nice tradional style with two floors. The realtor was unlocking the door. "Ms. Lisbon, are you ready to look at this gorgeous house.?"
"Yes, I am." Lisbon answered to Jane and the realtor. He took her hand and led into the house.
"There are four bedrooms, a fire place in the living room. A large kitchen. I will show you around." The realtor said.
"Are you sure about this?" Lisbon questioned looking inside the house. She looked at the fireplace and high ceilings and arch doorways and four bedrooms as they were guided in the rooms.
"This is the house you gravitated towards in the ad." Jane admitted. "It's quite a nice house if I may so." He observed the house.
"I know but I wasn't thinking practically. I was fantasizing." Lisbon admitted.
"Does everything have to be practical? Fantasizing is fine." Jane continued observing. "I really like it too. Helping you in the househunt is the least I can do since I was a sloth in asking you to stay."
"You're comparing yourself to a sloth?" Lisbon grinned wonderly.
"Yes. It's a South American animal that's extremely slow and they sleep 15-18 hours a day and only active breifly." Jane explaining one of his random facts she assumed he got from nature shows he enjoyed.
"That comparison sounds about right." Lisbon teased smiling. "You do sleep on the couch a lot."
"Hey! I don't sleep that long!"
"You made the comparison." Lisbon smiled.
They contiued looking at the house. They looked at the living room with the fireplace.
"I love the fireplace!" Lisbon exclaimed looking at it.
Then they went into the fairly large kitchen. "Though the kitchen is bigger than I need it. I'm certainly not a gourmet chef."
"Well, it's nice. I will do the cooking for you." Jane grinned at her observing the kitchen.
"You're a gourmet chef?" Lisbon asked.
"Well, I certainly know my way in the kitchen. I'm a man of many talents." Jane grinned.
"I'm sure you are."
The realtor came up to them. "You seem to like this house? You look like such a great couple. How long have you been married?"
"W're not married. We've known each other 10 years." Lisbon stated.
"Yes we do love it. We are a couple though."Jane admitted.
"We will take it." Lisbon finally said after looking over the house. She really did love it. Jane seemed to love it. Instantly, she realized she said we instead of I. In a way she was looking for a house for her and Jane. She knew he would be staying there as well.
Grocery shopping was an experience in itself. He knew about different foods to get. She had never been one to cook. She had done some for her brothers but nothing to complicated. It was hard to stick to a routine and cook a meal with the job she had so she relied on takeout and TV dinners. Since she bought the house, Jane made sure of keeping it loaded with food. He was always reading different recipes and knew some as well. When shopping he knew what foods to get. Of course he always got eggs for breakfast. She wondered how he knew. She did figure it was because of Angela.
She appreciated a man that cooked and Jane was an excellent cook. That night after grocery shopping he cooked lasagne, garlic bread, and a salad. Later after dinner they were sitting on the couch in front of the TV.
"That was the best lasagne I've ever tasted." Lisbon smiled at him. He smiled back.
"I'm glad you approve." Jane admitted grinning.
"You are a man of many talents. You deserve thanks" She leaned over and kissed him. He kissed back. He smiled at that.
"I remembered one time I cooked dinner to catch a killer. It was Eddie Russo's murder." Jane confessed.
"Oh, yes. That was a few years ago." Lisbon remembered.
"It was his wife. She didn't like the red sauce and pineapple on pizza." Jane described. "You were grumpy I didn't give you a birthday present right away."
"You ended up getting me a pony." Lisbon smiled remembering the thought. He put a bow on her office door and opened it revealing a pony in her office. How he got it in there she always wondered? She was thrilled because that was one of her childhood wishes that he somehow knew. His smile was priceless that day and her delight in the gift showed.
"Which reminds me where is that pony? I remember your reaction. Your smile was priceless."
"I couldn't very well keep it in my apartment at the time. I gave it to a petting zoo outside of Sacramento for them to take care of for me."
"That's good to know." Jane admitted.
After a while she decided she laid down her head against Jane's chest. He took her hand. They were now settling into the new normal.
I had just watched "Red Sauce" before writing the end dialogue. It was in my mind. I loved when he got Lisbon a pony at the end. In this one he had cooked the victim's wife dinner.
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