A/N: I forgot to mention that the first three chapters of this story were posted about a year ago, and taken down last November. I also forgot my disclaimer-I don't own The Mentalist and write this for my own entertainment, not for profit. I just want to thank all of you who left a review and/or added me to your various lists! One more thing-this story is not beta'd, so all mistakes are of my own stupidity.
The next few days were quiet. Rigsby still had not told his teammates that he was leaving, there were no new cases, and there was a feeling of restlessness and tension in the bullpen.
Lisbon was filling out the last of her over abundant pile of paperwork that had accumulated during the previous case. She was interrupted by a soft knocking on her office door.
"Enter."
"You know I'm not one for office scuttlebutt, but you see, Rigsby's been acting strange and leaving almost before the shift ended. Van Pelt won't even look at him anymore and they only speak to each other when absolutely necessary. Honestly, I'm not sure what happened, but I have a feeling that Rigsby's done something horrendously wrong, and Van Pelt found out about it. I also noticed that you didn't act surprised when I started talking, so you know what happened." Cho said after closing the door and sitting down in the chair opposite Lisbon's desk.
"I see Jane has rubbed off on you. I'm not going to deny that I know what Rigsby did. He handed in his resignation a few days ago. I'm surprised he hasn't made that common knowledge by now-"
Lisbon was interrupted by Jane walking into her office. "You do realize that spending so much time behind closed doors could lead the rest of us to believe that there is more than just conversation occurring in here, right?"
"JANE!" Lisbon exclaimed, blushing profusely.
"You're blushing. I don t think red is your color. And Cho, I don t think green is yours either."
Cho decided to remain blissfully silent in this showdown in between Lisbon and Jane, although he didn't like that Jane accused him of being jealous.
"What do you need Jane?"
"Well, Teresa, I always love to see you blush."
"I'm not blushing." Lisbon interrupted, her blush returning at his use of her first name.
"My goodness woman, I was just wondering if I could entice you two lovebirds to joining Van Pelt, Rigsby, and I for pizza after work."
"Fine." Lisbon said, her cheeks still flushed after restraining herself from throwing something at him.
"Sure. You're paying, right?" Cho added, finally deciding to jump in to the conversation.
"Hey, it's five. Let's go get pizza!" Jane exclaimed, jumping up and down like a child.
"You've been saying that for the last twenty minutes. We will go when it is ACTUALLY five." Lisbon said, looking at the clock which said 4:57.
"Aww, come on! You're no fun!"
Exactly thee minutes later, Jane did the unthinkable...
He walked up to Lisbon, hooked his thumb through the belt loop on the back of her jeans as he stuck his hand in her pocket, and started guiding (more like dragging/pushing) her towards the elevator.
"JANE!" Lisbon exclaimed, face red from embarrassment and fury, arms trying to slap him away.
They had reached the elevator by then, and Jane exclaimed: "We're going to the pizza place on Fifth and Rose. Meet us there if you want pizza." Lisbon was still struggling as the elevator doors closed.
While Jane was pushing Lisbon towards the elevator, Cho returned from his excursion to Lisbon's office to retrieve her keys. He saw what Jane was doing, and decided that Lisbon could free herself if she wanted, and that she would give him hell for it if he tried to step in, so he decided to let this scene play out, and then give Jane a though verbal beating when she wasn't within earshot.
At the pizzeria, the team enjoyed a meal with light-hearted banter and conversation. Rigsby still had not told the team that he was leaving, but was still planning on it before the end of the night. Just as he began to speak, Lisbon's phone rang. "Saved by the bell"Rigsby thought.
"We caught a case. I'll fill you in on it on the way. Rigsby, can you get the bill this time?"
"Sure." He stayed in the pizzeria, and the rest of the team went out to their cars.
The team (minus Rigsby) met up in the CBI parking lot. Van Pelt went into the office to get her laptop and came back out.
"We're done here. Let's go." Lisbon said, getting into the CBI issued sedan.
"Wait. Aren't we missing someone?" Van Pelt asked, fully aware of the person missing from the car.
"No, we're not. If we don't leave now, we are going to miss our flight." Lisbon replied.
"Our flight?" Cho asked, once they were in the SUV.
"Yes. We have to fly down to the Mexican border. Apparently, someone had set fire to a watchtower and murdered all the on-duty Border Patrol personnel. They are severely short-handed, and since we're not on an active case, we were asked to come help with the investigation and help out the Border Patrol until they can get back on their feet.
"Wait. So why isn't Rigsby coming? Isn't he the arson specialist?" Van Pelt asked.
"Not anymore. He has to stay back and help Minneli find his replacement." Lisbon stated, assuming that she already knew that he was leaving (because of what Cho had told her earlier about Van Pelt's attitude).
"His replacement? He's leaving?" Van Pelt asked, her expression changing from one of concern to one of knowing. "He must have taken me seriously..."
