Something New About Agent Lisbon

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Early January 2010

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Dr. Sophie Miller ran across the street, trying to avoid the large puddles and the splashing water from the passing cars, and reached a little café that appeared to be warm and welcoming, and most of all: dry. Once inside, she went straight for the counter, manoeuvring her way around the crowded room. She really needed coffee. Despite being busy and low on staff, the service was quick and before she knew it, she had a cappuccino in her hands. She went to the sugar and milk stand to grab a couple of sugar packets. Only once she had everything she needed, did she realise that spare tables were scarce. She scoured the room with her eyes, trying to spot an empty table. After a minute or so, she noticed a table at the far left corner of the room that appeared to be empty. Once she reached the desired location, Sophie realized that the table was already occupied. She was about to leave when she noticed that the woman at the table looked familiar, although she couldn't quite place her. The woman who had been looking towards the counter, probably waiting for someone to come back with her beverage, finally noticed her.

"Dr. Miller?" she said in a surprised tone.

She felt quite embarrassed about not remembering the brunette. She quickly racked her brain to remember who she was and then a flash of recognition finally sprung. "Agent Lisbon!" she exclaimed, relieved to spare herself the embarrassment.

Agent Lisbon smiled politely, but Sophie could sense a discomfort from the agent. She didn't have much time to analyze the situation as she heard a familiar voice behind her:

"This coffee reeks of caffeine. To think you drink this stuff three or four times a day. No wonder you're so short."

Had Agent Lisbon not been so distracted by her presence, Sophie was sure that she would have given Patrick Jane the rhetoric he deserved. Patrick put two mugs on the table and was looking at the brunette, not noticing the tall blonde standing in front of him. Sophie gently touched his arm and said "Patrick" to get his attention. He immediately whipped around and smiled at her, clearly happy to see her.

"Sophie!" he exclaimed and shook her hand cordially. "How good to see you."

She smiled back. "Same." She looked at Lisbon who did not seem to think it was that good to see her. "I better go find a table before there are none left," she said nodding to both of them.

"There aren't any," Patrick told her as he sat down next to Agent Lisbon. "This was the last one." He smiled at her and indicated the chair across from Agent Lisbon, "please, join us."

Sophie looked at his companion, hesitating. She was pretty sure she was intruding. Agent Lisbon noticed her hesitation and smiled at her for the first time. "Yes, please sit," she told her.

The prospect of finally sitting down and drinking her coffee won Sophie over and she gracefully accepted the invitation. As she was sitting down, she noticed a look passing between Patrick and Agent Lisbon. That was interesting.

"How are you?" she asked Patrick.

Patrick took a sip of his tea before answering. "Good. Lisbon here tries to keep me in line."

"And failing miserably," Agent Lisbon added.

Sophie smiled at Lisbon's meagre attempt at humour. The poor woman was trying. "The person who manages to keep Patrick Jane in line deserves an award," she said. "How's work, Agent Lisbon? Are you getting closer on the Red John case?"

Agent Lisbon tensed as soon as Sophie said 'Red John' and quickly glanced at Patrick. Sophie noticed Patrick's arm moving and was pretty sure that if she looked under the table, she would see Patrick holding Agent Lisbon's hand.

"Call me Teresa," Agent Lisbon said genially. "We've got a few more leads than we used to have, but he still eludes us."

"I'm sorry for opening a can of worms," she apologized.

Patrick waved his hand in the air dismissively. "Don't worry about it. We both know you were asking out of concern. The subject isn't taboo."

Sophie nodded and then took a good look at Lisbon. "Something's different about you," she told her, "something new."

"She got bangs," Patrick said good-humouredly.

Sophie smiled, but shook her head, dismissing Patrick's theory. "No, it's something else. I can't pinpoint what exactly. Maybe it's the fact that you're dating. You weren't when I met you, right?" she asked. Lisbon tensed again. Sophie was starting to understand that Agent Lisbon did not like people knowing anything personal about her. Patrick, on the other hand, was as relaxed as ever and was grinning.

"No, we weren't dating when you last saw us," he confirmed. He raised the hand that had been holding Agent Lisbon's to the brunette's face and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She pretended to be annoyed, but it was obvious to Sophie that Agent Lisbon was pleased with Patrick's display of affection.

"We're not dating, exactly," Lisbon corrected.

Sophie raised an eyebrow, inquiringly. "Oh?"

"We're lovers," she told her.

"She means it in the modern, sexual definition, not the archaic, literal definition," Patrick quipped.

Sophie tried very hard not to laugh. She always knew that the next time Patrick would be involved with a woman would be quite unorthodox and interesting. Watching Agent Lisbon and Patrick together confirmed this. He had casually put his arm against the back of Lisbon's chair, effectively bringing himself closer to her without invading her personal space. Patrick clearly enjoyed touching agent Lisbon, displaying his affection publicly in these small forms. Agent Lisbon, on the other hand, showed either annoyance or ignored him.

"But you're having coffee together," Sophie insisted.

"It's just coffee. We're friends. We're not going to start kissing and telling sweet nothings in each other's ear," Lisbon explained.

Patrick leaned back against his chair and looked at Lisbon. "Really? Is that what you do when you're dating someone, Lisbon?" he asked clearly amused.

She scoffed, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I'm just saying." She looked furtively at Patrick before looking at Sophie again, smiling her professional, well-rehearsed smile.

That's when Sophie finally sees it, hidden between the depth of her eyes and the light blush on her cheeks. The thing that's new about Agent Lisbon.

She's in love.