Chapter 2: You Are Who?
All that week during the case, Jane varied between extra-good behavior and moments of what Lisbon could only call "pure Jane-insanity." He would follow her around like a very sad, very lost puppy until it almost seemed like he couldn't not be himself; then he would pester the suspect so that she would have to deal with all the repercussions.
Sitting at her desk in her office on Friday, she still didn't understand his behavior. Why the heck was he acting like this? Lisbon wasn't sure if she preferred it when he didn't hold back. And she'd never thought she'd say that.
Suddenly, Jane walked into the room with his tea cup in hand; he was casual, almost too casual. Lisbon waited for the nasty surprise.
But what she didn't expect Jane to say as he flounced onto her white couch was, "Didn't Luke get his left arm cut off and lose the lightsaber Obi Wan Kenobi made for him?"
Lisbon blinked and tried to understand where this came from, but when she considered what he said, her demeanor changed from confused and calm to determined and annoyed.
"Luke lost his right hand at the wrist, and the lightsaber was his father's, not Obi Wan Kenobi. He just held it for him, and..."
"I knew it! You're a total StarWars fan!" Jane's face was child-like, his eyes wide in amusement. One hand pointed at her, the other haphazardly ran through his hair.
Lisbon couldn't help noticing how that left some curls sticking up in wayward directions. She thought it was cute, but then she went back to her disgruntlement.
"It's true. My brothers loved the movies, and they would beg me to see it with them all the time."
He still smiled at her, thrilled with his brilliant deduction. "I imagine you thought the ewoks were adorable, but you never told anyone because you thought they would make fun of you."
"My brothers were partial to Han Solo," she admitted. A small grin played over her face as she thought back to those fun times. "But I think they also liked Luke because even though his father was evil, he still had some good in him." Her grin faded away, and silence filled the room.
Jane knew all about Lisbon's younger life: that her mother died when she was young, that her father began drinking in to escape, and that Lisbon had to grow up so quickly to be a mother to her three brothers and protect them from the pain in their lives. Now he regretted calling Darth Vader's chance at redemption "hogwash." He didn't realize they had seen a mirror of it in their lives.
"I can appreciate that, but I was never a huge fan of Luke character-wise. He's just annoying," Jane noted, his mouth contorting in disgust.
"Hmmm... I thought you would connect with Luke more. Because he has these abilities and he isn't always understood for them." Lisbon's eyes turned to him, thoughtful and somewhat amused. "You can be annoying too."
He turned away and added petulantly, "But at least I don't whine all the time." His face was unreadable, but suddenly Lisbon understood his craziness all week. She wanted to crow with her discovery, but she knew she'd have to play it carefully. She turned away for a moment to compose herself, and then calmly said, "Actually, thinking about it, I'm not sure if I would consider you Luke."
Always the puppy, he turned towards her, hope of a new designation of character going through his mind. "Oh?" His smile was back, and his eyes twinkled. "Who would I be?"
She took a leap, and prayed it was correct. "I'd say you're Han Solo."
Jane lit up again with excitement.
"You don't get along that well with everyone, but when you want to you can be quite charming. You've turned good, and you do care about helping others," she paused for effect as the wattage of his smile and the ocean-color of his eyes increased with intensity, "even if you don't always go about it the right way."
He stood up and leaned over Lisbon's desk. "I'm glad. It's hard to imagine us brother and sister."
"What?" Damn him for flooring her again.
"I was going to tell you earlier, but you're Leia, of course. Although you do have more aptitude with a gun, Miss poster girl for the NRA." He began to tick on his fingers. "You're better at getting along with some people, and being the boss of them when needed." Lisbon's eyebrows raised in amusement. "And you'd probably look better in the outfits. Your petite frame and hair would work well with it, though I would forget about the cinnabon hair." She tried to pretend to be insulted, but it was hard when he was complimenting her.
"And I do commend the movies for getting them together at the right time. Even though that love scene on the Millennium Falcon always makes me laugh."
Not wanting Lisbon to lose her patience towards him yet again, he sauntered out, waving a goodbye and a plan on his mind.
The next morning, Lisbon opened her office door to discover a bouncing Jane with a cookie in his hand, actually a cookie in the shape of Yoda, sprinkles and all.
"For you!" he said. She took it and began to examine it, considering if it would go with the coffee in her other hand, when Jane unceremoniously interrupted her thoughts.
"So, I'm wondering what other movies you secretly love, and what actors you like in them. How partial are you to Aragorn in LordoftheRings?"
"Shut up, Jane!"
"Now don't ruin your splendid morning, Lisbon. You need to finish your coffee, and you wouldn't wish to lose your splendid treat! But really, did you ever have a crush on Robert Redford? Or is he not the swashbuckling type for you? How about Errol..."
"I'm this close to punching you in the nose," Lisbon said, her lips pursed in semi-annoyance.
"Oh woman, don't you want to wait until the opportunity really arises when I do something worse? Otherwise, I could break my nose and what would you do then?"
"I'm still tempted," she muttered, though her lips were smoothing out. Jane smirked slightly.
"How long did you secretly have a crush on Han Solo?"
"That's sheep dip; I didn't, and I don't understand..." They walked away into the shared kitchen area, bantering all the way.
Van Pelt heard this hilarious exchange and grinned to herself. Walking to the bullpen, she congratulated herself that she had brought up to Jane the Star Wars concept in the first place.