Chapter 2
Patrick looked at her in absolute shock when she told him that she was his half-sister. She knew that he would. Who wouldn't be in shock and disbelief when they find out that they have a sister that's young enough to be their daughter that they had absolutely no idea about? He quickly hid his reaction though. Probably because he didn't want to hurt to hurt her feelings, but she didn't mind.
She was now curled up in the corner of Jane's couch, waiting for the DNA test to come back. They offered to perform it right there in the CBI building. She was a little shaken up because she had a horrible phobia of needles. They wanted to use blood, because it was the most accurate.
It was cold in the office so Rigsby gave her his jacket when he noticed her shivering. It was a nice gesture, it made her smile. They were all just kind of sitting around in a circle, surrounding the couch where she sat. Waiting. It was tiresome, and she was anxious. What if they really weren't related? Where would she go? A foster home? And what if they were related…where would they go from there? She could tell from the first time she saw Patrick that he kept feelings hidden from the one's that cared about him. Not unlike herself.
Stop. You're just making yourself think that you're similar, she thought. Even if you are alike that doesn't mean he'll take you in. You have no idea what's going to happen next.
She looked up at the sound of footsteps. Patrick was walking over to the couch after locking himself inside Ms. Lisbon's office for a half an hour. He wanted to think. He sat down on the edge of the couch, with a good amount of space between them. He leaned in a little closer.
"Lizzy, what do you see?" he asked smiling. She looked at him in surprise. What did she see? What was he getting at? And why was he smiling…? Ohh… what did she see.
Looking around the office, never moving from her position on the couch, she took it all in. Her eyes darted in every direction like a cat watching a bird. She looked at Patrick, questioning if she should speak.
"Tell me a secret." He said grinning. She giggled. She closed her eyes and listened to the deep nervous breathing of Rigsby and Ms. Lisbon. The calm and soothing breathing of Patrick. She listened to the clicking of each nail as Ms Vanpelt typed at her desk, and she could feel the unblinking stair of Cho. She liked Cho.
"Rigsby and Ms. Vanpelt were once emotionally involved," I said slowly, looking at them. They looked at each other in shock. How was it not obvious? Everything about them screamed "we had a relationship!". They were a little awkward around one another, but you could tell they still cared for each other. They were comfortable with each other too, they enjoyed one another's presence.
"And even though they're not anymore, they still have feelings for each other." She explained, looking up at all of the adults surrounding her.
"Wha- how'd you know that?" Rigsby asked astonished.
"Oh come on Rigsby, that's obvious to anyone. Its not that impressive." Cho said, dead pan. She lifted an eye brow at Cho and then looked at Patrick. He nodded, as if giving her permission to analyze his coworkers.
"Ms Lisbon has been through a lot." She started, "But you can tell that she cares about you, all of you, even if her own family problems make her angry and bitter. You've taken almost a parenting roll with your team haven't you Ms. Lisbon? Not just because you're the boss but because you're accustomed to that roll." She said quietly but clearly.
Lisbon was speechless. Her mouth opened to say something but no words left her throat. Patrick chuckled. Lizzy smiled. Just hearing the surprise and respect in his laughter, warmed her inside. Looking over at Cho, he nodded and the corner of his mouth lifted just a little. She has surprised him as well.
"Well, Jane, looks like there might be some competition for your job" Ms. Vanpelt said laughing lightly.
"Not quite, Grace. She still has a lot to learn." He said. You could practically see the gears in his head working, he was thinking so loud she was almost surprised that smoke wasn't emitting from his ears.
But she was the only one who noticed. She was usually the only one who noticed things, but now, Patrick noticed things too.
She really hoped that he was her older brother, even if he is 40, and will be bossy and protective. In fact that is what she wants. She wants someone in her life that actually cares about where she goes, how she spends her nights, or what she eats for breakfast.
Her father, correction, their father never cared for her that way. He was old and grumpy and mean. After her mother died he just left, mentally. Physically he was still there but in his mind he was in a whole different place.
That's how she found out about Patrick. Their father talked, and sometimes yelled in his sleep about his son. How his son had left him and now he was stuck with a daughter who wasn't good enough.
Tears welled in her eyes. She wasn't sad because of her father's death, she was sad because she didn't know what was going to happen to her. Yes she was almost 17, but she'd never lived outside the carnival. She didn't know how to survive on her own, in the real world. She only knew how to survive in the fair, where everyone was a cheat and everything was a lie.
A tear spilled over and slid down her right cheek, and she quickly brushed it away when she realized that she'd been sitting in silence for five minutes and they were all staring at her.
Why do people stare? It only makes things more uncomfortable.
"Are you all right sweety?" Ms. Lisbon asked, bending down so that she could see my face, she brushed away a second tear from my cheek. I stopped crying.
"Umm, Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." I lied. My lie was solid and Ms. Lisbon backed away. They had no reason to believe anything other then truth. But Patrick saw right through it. He looked at me and his gaze shattered the glass wall I'd put up to hide the truth. I looked away.
"So how long does the DNA test take anyways?" Cho asked breaking the silence with a question I knew everyone else was afraid to ask. She really liked Cho.
"The guy upstairs said it would take around two hours, so there's around a half an hour left." Ms. Vanpelt answered.
That half an hour was probably the longest half an hour that she'd ever experience. To her it felt like days, as the minutes passed. You could tell that the other's felt the same way. Every once in a while someone would get up to use the bathroom, or check their email. Patrick made himself and Lizzy a cup of tea. She welcomed the cup, taking it greedily. She loved tea.
Just as she was finishing the last of the brew, and setting the tea cup onto Rigsby's desk a small thin man with a large adam's apple and beady eyes came running into the office.
"Mr. Jane? The test results are confirmed. She is your half-sister."