Distracted Chapter Two:

As soon as Lisbon had seated herself at the opposite side of Ardiles desk, he dropped a pile of files in front of her.

"We'll go over these today", he told her while he sat down opposite to her. "I would appreciate it if you could help me with the technical terms and descriptions", he asked while already reading a file.

Lisbon nodded and started reading herself. They started working and Lisbon soon noticed how thorough he handled every case, making notes everywhere and looking everything up. Lisbon started to understand how someone could get so annoyed, when you're working like this. She couldn't help but admire him for giving his work so much attention, so she was glad when she proved to be quite helpful.

"Ah man… another one of those…", Lisbon heard him mutter after a while.

She asked him what was going on. He sighed.

"Another of those agents that just do as they please, without considering the consequences."

Lisbon saw the frown returning to his face.

"Here," he said, starting to tell what the file said, "Two agents going into the house of the accused, without any cause or warrant. Anything they found inside may be deleted from the evidence list…"

Lisbon took the file to skim it. "It says here that this man was accused of physically abusing a child and that he has a history of violence, especially when he was drunk", Lisbon started. "The agents had checked the bar, where they told them that the accused had been there the whole afternoon, but had left. So it's safe to say the agents assumed he had been drinking", she looked at Ardiles to see if she should go on."It's only natural that the agents were worried for the child's safety. This guy getting drunk and being alone with a child, while he was just being investigated for beating a child, I think it's only natural for the agents to go in to make sure the child is safe."

Lisbon looked uncomfortable, waiting for Ardiles to start a speech on how that was the completely wrong thinking that got her into this.
But it never came. Instead he was deep in thought. His frown had disappeared.

"That might work", he stated and they continued.

They came across a few other cases where Lisbon was able to provide Ardiles with some inside knowledge that made his case stronger and Lisbon grew more confident every time. She was glad she could show him just how competent she was.


They had worked through two-thirds of the stack of files when Lisbon had proposed another solution to a problem with a case. She looked around the room while Ardiles made notes.

"You're on a roll here, Lisbon. You would make a decent lawyer", he said while scribbling down words on his note block.

Lisbon looked surprised. "What, Ardiles, was that something nice you just said?", Lisbon joked.

He smiled at her. "Well, you would be if you weren't such a terrible speaker and if you would try just a little harder to be charming."

Lisbon smiled internally. She thought about the guys Jane mentioned this morning that had shown an interest in her. She definitely knew how to be charming, but she wasn't going to let Ardiles in on the secret.

"Pff", she snorted. "You make it sound as if it's just a matter of charming the judge and jury for you guys, after all the hard work we do!"

Ardiles smiled but then looked deadly serious. "Yes, that's right, that is how we do it. We dress up in fancy costumes, dance around in the courtroom, wink at the judge, perform some magic tricks, et voila, a job well done!"

Lisbon laughed. But after she could fully apprehend the fact that Ardiles of all people had made her laugh, he had gotten back to business.

"Do you think there's any way I could make battery out of that assault charge?", he asked, so Lisbon decided there was no need to think about how he got so normal all the sudden.


The sun had started to set when they were finally done for the day. Lisbon had managed to keep from commenting on how boring and inconvenient all this extra work had been, because Ardiles had tried to hide his dismay as well. When he closed the last case file, he looked up at her, his eyes weary from all the work.

"Well, that's that. I don't know about you, but I'm going home," he said.

Lisbon started collect her stuff when she heard him mutter to himself. "Ridiculous… work so hard… get home, go straight to bed… And Monday? More of this fun. A trial and a day filled with Jane&co…".

Lisbon started to get really fed up with his whining.

"Oh cut it out, already. You think you have it tough, well I have to spend all day with you! Which, I can tell you, isn't exactly a trip to Disneyland as well."

Ardiles just looked very annoyed. "Look, I just want to go home, so if you really need to yell at me some more, can you do it while we're walking?"

Lisbon got really pissed, she grabbed her jacket from the chair and stormed out the door Ardiles held open for her.

"Yes! I do need to yell at you! I've had it with your endless complaining. Is it really too much to ask for you to do your job without nagging about it all day? Because if it is, we're going to have a major problem once we get a case", Lisbon said.

Ardiles didn't look at her, but only picked up his pace, determined to outrun her. Once their ways parted and he went out the door, Lisbon had one more thing to add.

"You should really ask yourself if you're tough enough to handle that..!" As she watched him walk away, he threw a uninterested hand in the air, which caused Lisbon to retrieve to her office frustrated as hell.


After the weekend, they didn't meet until right before the trial started. Ardiles looked completely ready and fully prepared. He seemed surprised she had shown up.

"Lisbon, good morning, I didn't think you would actually come, since I'm such a disaster to be around." He smiled a little and Lisbon decided to stop being mad.

"I thought I'd give you one more chance, see if you're any good in court today", she said.

Ardiles smile got broader. "You'll be amazed at how good I am", he said extremely confident.

Lisbon shrugged. "We'll see", she answered teasingly and walked to the audience tribune. Ardiles grinned as he watched her walk away before entering the courtroom himself.

The trial had just started and Lisbon wondered what Ardiles would be like in court today. She couldn't picture any judge or jury that would find him charming or appealing if he would act the same annoying way with them as he did around her. Once he got up to give his opening statement, Lisbon couldn't help but notice how sharp he looked in his black suit. He started talking and Lisbon saw he was completely in his element. He stood confident in front of the jury and gave his speech, all the while gesturing at his heart's content. During the rest of the trial, Lisbon got all the more impressed with the comfort and style he handled it. Once he got on a roll, there was no stopping him, much to the dismay of the defendant and his lawyer. To a vulnerable witness he was a proper gentleman, a dishonest one he tricked into telling the truth. He charmed the judge with his good manners and his outstanding preparation, he charmed the jury with his broad smile and frisky style. When he went back to his seat, he almost bounced with excitement and once he spotted Lisbon he gave her a playful wink. Lisbon nearly chuckled when he made an unnecessary turn before sitting down to give his opponent a meaningful look.

When Lisbon left the court during recess, Ardiles came walking toward her, with a smug grin on his lips. "Told you I'd rock your world", he said.

Lisbon smiled. "You were pretty good out there, very to the point."

Ardiles grinned, and Lisbon noticed that he seemed so much more relaxed and happy than she'd seen him so far. "Yes, judges and juries like that, I've done most of the work for them. They just have to listen to me telling what happened. No razzle dazzle to work through."

"Well, a bit of razzle dazzle", Lisbon said. "A little bit of razzle dazzle, yes", Ardiles agreed.

When her phone suddenly rang, Lisbon answered with a smile still on her lips. It soon got replaced by a serious look though. After hanging up, she told Ardiles what was going on. "That was Cho, there's been a murder in Fresno. I have to go…".

Ardiles nodded. "Off course. I'll be in court all day, so I won't be able to come along".

"Sure, no problem. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then", Lisbon said.

"Yes, tomorrow. Good luck!", Ardiles said sincerely. Lisbon gave him a friendly smile while she walked away. "You too."


Lisbon and Jane drove to Fresno. It was quiet in the car. Jane seemed lost in thoughts, staring out the window. Suddenly, he turned to look at her. Lisbon noticed it immediately, but didn't want to give him the pleasure of letting him know that it made her feel a little nervous. When he kept looking at her with that little smile of his, she eventually spoke.

"What, Jane?"

"Nothing", he replied, "just… Did you know, the last time you scolded me for something was two days ago..!"

Lisbon briefly looked at him and shrugged. "So?"

"So, that either means that you're starting to care less about the rules, which I highly doubt, or…", he said while trying to read her body language, "Or you're starting to care less about me."

Lisbon looked at him. "Off course not, what makes you even think that?"

"Well, normally, you watch my every move, 24/7. You always know what I'm doing. This morning, there was a little post-it at your office door saying 'Thank you, Teresa – Wilson'. You didn't even consider that I may have interfered with your love – no – sex life, by, let's say, sending him a letter that expresses your gratefulness for the amazing skills he's shown you as a lover", Jane told her, without even smiling about his own stunt.

Lisbon just looked very dismayed, but refrained from commenting.

Jane continued. "You see, nothing. I've barely spoken to you in the past days. We haven't even discussed how working with our weird little friend Ardiles is!"

Lisbon looked at him.

"Jane, I swear, you're going to clear up the mess you made with Wilson, or I will make sure you will be working with Ardiles."

Jane smiled broadly. "Thank you Lisbon, that was perfect! Just what I needed to hear."

Lisbon snorted.

Jane, being completely in his element again, started to chat. "So, I take it Ardiles didn't turn out to be the ray of sunshine he seemed? I can't believe you spent an entire afternoon with him! Did he actually get some work done, or did he just kept nagging? Unbelievable someone still employs a guy like that…"

Lisbon had smiled, but started to feel the need to defend Ardiles a little. "Jane, cut the guy some slack…"

Jane looked at her in disbelief. "Lisbon, the man tried to put me in prison for the rest of my life..!"

Lisbon smiled. "He probably knew you would get away with it. And, since it makes you so happy when I keep you on a tight leash, I'm warning you. Behave these two weeks, because I can't have any more problems with Ardiles."

Jane huffed. "Why do you care so much about what that guy thinks about you?"

"I don't", Lisbon said annoyed, ending the discussion.


By the time they got back, everyone had already left the building. Wondering how Ardiles' case had ended, Lisbon decided to check if there was still someone at the legal department. When she approached the bullpen she heard laughter and dance music. She knocked on the door, but off course no-one heard, so she walked in soon after.

As she took in the scene in front of her, a smile started to slowly form on her lips. Ardiles and some of his lawyer buddies were drinking shots of vodka and loudly telling stories, laughing about them and speaking all at the same time. They had lost their ties and unbuttoned the top two or three buttons of their shirts. It didn't take long for Lisbon to figure out Ardiles had won the case, since he was clearly the center of the attention.

Since no-one had noticed her yet, she decided she'd enjoy this little scene for a little while longer. Soon she was able to make out what they were saying. One guy joked about the swagger Ardiles used in court. Another guy picked up the joke.

"Who am I imitating? Who am I imitating?", he asked, laughing loudly, while he tried to sway his hips and show some other dance moves.

Ardiles laughed along, leaning back a little to watch his friend make a fool of himself. He shook his head mockingly at the bad dance moves the guy showed.

After he put his empty glass on the table behind them, he pushed the guy aside and demonstrably loosened his neck and shoulder muscles. He waited for the right moment in the track and when that came he started to dance, showing his buddies how it's done.

What impressed Lisbon even more than his dance moves, was how at ease and cheerful he was. He stopped after a few seconds and went to lean back against the table again.

Lisbon couldn't help but laugh out loud after what she just witnessed. Ardiles' head immediately snapped in her direction, a shocked look in his eyes as if he'd been caught outside by his mother after bedtime.

Lisbon smiled broadly. The other guys looked at her as well.

"Agent Teresa Lisbon!", one of them said loudly. "Sexy as always…", he added.

Ardiles turned to give him a disapproving look.

The guy smiled at him. "What, Ardiles? You get to play with her during the day, can't she play with us at night?"

Lisbon sighed. Ardiles got so embarrassed that he didn't dare to look her in the eye, but instead stared at the ground.

"So I guess you've won the case?", she asked, smiling.

"Yeah…" He looked at her. "This…", he motioned across the room, "is just something we… do", he said, not sure how to behave.

Lisbon smiled. "Congratulations. You guys have fun, I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

Ardiles nodded. "Yes, tomorrow. See you then."

As Lisbon walked away, she heard some of the other guys yelling after her to stay and scolding Ardiles for letting her leave.