A/N: I'll try to update fairly regularly, hopefully once a day. Alright, here's chapter two. Thanks for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist of any of its characters.
Lisbon blinked slowly, her eyes adjusting to the sudden light. The room around her appeared to be a soft teal in her fuzzy vision. As she stirred she heard quiet footsteps treading down the hall. An older woman entered the room. Her grey hair framed her face in easy curls and a kind smile was on her wrinkled face. Lisbon tensed at the presence of another person in this unfamiliar place. Lisbon tried to sit up as the lady perched on a chair beside the bed. Lisbon gasped as pain instantly shot through her.
The lady spoke in a soothing voice, "Careful, you don't want to hurt yourself" she uttered as she helped Lisbon lie back down.
"I heard you wake up, how are you feeling honey?" The older woman continued.
Lisbon looked around confused, her vision starting to clear, "I'm fine, who are you and what happened?" Lisbon had no recollection of the past few days.
"Oh I'm sorry, I completely forgot to introduce myself. My name's Veronica. I live here with my husband, Henry. We have two daughters. they must be a few years older than you. But they're off with their own families now and right now my oldest daughter's little girl is staying with us."
Lisbon nodded politely "I'm Teresa Lisbon. What happened?"
"Poor thing, you don't remember?
Lisbon shook her head and winced.
Veronica began recounting the events of her story. Lisbon listened without interrupting, trying desperately to remember what happened. By the time Veronica finished Lisbon felt even more perplexed and frustrated.
"Are you okay?" Said Veronica.
"Yeah. Thank you so much for helping me." Lisbon said gratefully.
"Oh don't be silly," Veronica waved a dismissive hand, "I couldn't just leave you there."
Lisbon was usually apprehensive towards strangers; untrusting and reluctant to open up to them. But for some reason Lisbon felt close to Veronica. maybe it was her caring manner or gentleness, but she reminded Lisbon of her mother and that made Lisbon trust her.
"How are you feeling?" Veronica inquired.
"I'm okay."
"Nah-uh don't give me any of that, now how do you really feel?" She said with a knowing look.
Lisbon gave a small smile, "I'm exhausted, and everything hurts. A lot."
"That's more like it," Veronica winked, "is there anything I can do for you?"
"Could I have a glass of water, please?"
"Of course, I'll be right back with it."
Lisbon took the time alone to compose herself and clear her head. The physical pain was much easier to deal with than the emotional pain. When she had first woken up her whole body collectively ached but now everything hurt differently. Her head pounded and her stomach was flipping, a sharp pain pierced through her wrist. Lisbon took a deep breath, moments later Veronica came into view with a glass of water. She handed it to Lisbon and took a seat.
"Are you tired or do you want to talk for a bit?"
"I am a little tired but don't mind talking."
"Okay, so tell me about yourself."
"What do you want to know?"
"Um where do you live? What do you do?"
"I live in Sacramento, California. I'm a senior special agent for the CBI."
"What's the CBI?"
Lisbon laughed at the familiarity of the question, "CBI stands for California Bureau of Investigation. We're a state agency and investigate statewide crimes. My team is the Serious Crimes Unit. We deal mostly with homicides."
Veronica nodded, "And you said you were a special agent for the CBI what does that mean?"
"Basically it means that I'm in charge of my team, they call me boss and I get to make the final decision.. it also means that I get to do a bunch of extra paperwork."
Veronica laughed, "paperwork is a killer isn't it?"
"Tell me about it." Lisbon said with a smirk. "What do you do?"
"Oh I'm retired now but I was a nurse."
They talked for a while longer until Lisbon's eyes felt heavy with sleep and she began nodding off.
Veronica stood up. "You look exhausted. How's the pain?"
"I'm-" She began.
"Honest answer." Veronica stated with a smile.
"It hurts but I'll be fine."
"I'm so sorry sweetie, I know it's late, and you're hurt and in an unfamiliar place but don't you worry. We're going to take care of you. You're a toughy I can tell. You'll pull through."
"Thank you so much, really I don't know how to respond."
"It's no problem" Veronica said as she gave Lisbon a gentle hug.
Veronica turned out the lights.
"Goodnight Teresa and if you need anything just call"
"Thank you, goodnight Veronica" Lisbon said sleepily.