This is a bit shorter than the others, but I'm trying to stay in keeping with the built-in stopping points I made. Apologies- next chapter will be longer.
I apologize for any incongruencies with the actual show, about Angela and Charlotte (Angela is Jane's deceased wife, Charlotte is his deceased daughter). It's hard to stay on track with them, as mentions of them are vague and few in number.
Anyways, here you are. Have fun!
So now she had a delirious ex-psychic-con-man coworker mindreader man in her house. She wasn't sure if that was better or worse than the vomiting.
He shifted restlessly under her hand. "You're not my mom. You aren't allowed to do that," he complained, childlike again. Lisbon decided the vomiting was better.
"You behave," she scolded him.
He flicked her nose, making her flinch. "No, you behave."
He jumped violently, suddenly, looking around and scooting back against the headboard.
"What the… where am I?" he asked loudly. He looked at Lisbon, eyes seeming to focus. "Angela, I know you're not good at handling this 'sick' thing… look, take Charlotte and spend the day with Danny, he never gets to see you anymore."
Lisbon had no idea how to react to this. He reached out and stroked her cheek with burning fingers.
"Angel, sweetheart, you still with us? I love what you've done to your hair- all short with those choppy bangs, looks cute and tough." Lisbon held her breath as he ran his hand through her dark locks.
"Jane… I think I should get you to the hospital," she choked out.
"The hospital? Why? You know this kind of thing only gets me down for a day. I'll be right as rain by tomorrow morning. Tell Charlotte to come give me a hug before you go. Tell Charlotte… tell…" his eyes wandered for a moment, then snapped back to Lisbon's face. His hand on her cheek changed from a caress to a firm hold.
"Jane, ow-,"
"Where's Charlotte and Angela? Who are you?" he gasped, squinting at her.
"Jane, stop! It's me, Teresa Lisbon," she said quickly, trying to pull away from his hand that held her chin so roughly. He blinked rapidly.
"Teresa? I don't… yes, Teresa. I'm sorry," he said, releasing her face and dropping his hands in his lap.
"It's okay," she whispered, not sure what else to say.
"I didn't mean to… it was Red John… Angela, can you grab me my phone? I need to reschedule the sessions I missed today," he mumbled, slipping back into delirium.
"Jane, I'm not Angela. I'm Teresa Lisbon. You're sick," she said, trying to bring back the clever, in-touch with reality consultant.
"Sick? That's a stretch, all I did was make a few racy suggestions," he pouted, now blinking like an owl. He became transfixed with the shadows his hands cast on the blankets in the light of the bedside lamp.
"We're going for a walk, Jane. Up you go," she said, grabbing his hands and breaking his focus. He jumped slightly, then followed her willingly enough out of the room, slinging one arm around her shoulders so she could help him balance.
To the kitchen the odd pair went. The senior agent left him balancing against the counter while she grabbed a stool and put it against the window, then guided him over to sit, so the cool glass was against his back. He leaned back, enjoying the sensation of cold. She turned to get an ice pack from the freezer and wrap it in a dishcloth.
When she turned back around, he had taken a napkin from the counter and was folding it carefully across his knee, and in moments, he had a droopy little napkin-crane. He flew it around and make squawking noises. She regarded him for a moment, bemused, then shook her head and stepped forward to put the ice pack on his forehead. He flinched away- it was very cold.
"Attack, my pet!" he cried, tossing the napkin crane at her. It plummeted almost immediately.
"Shoddy work," Lisbon commented.
"You're shoddy work. And so's your mum," he shouted triumphantly.
"Leave my mum out of this," she said, defensively but with a laugh in her voice.
"Saint Teresa, standing for all who are shoddy, praise her!"
"Shut up, you," she said, smacking him lightly in the arm. He nearly fell off the stool in his faux-swoon.
"If you weren't a lady, I would challenge you to defend my honor," he grumbled. "I'm sure your witchy prowess would overwhelm me, anyways."
"Yes, don't push me, or I'll go all black magic on you," she said with exasperation.
"Pepper!" he called suddenly, voice urgent and frightened.
"I'm here, Jane, I'm here! What's wrong?"
"I'm hungry," he said petulantly. It was all she could do to keep from smacking her forehead.
"I'm not feeding you anymore. That's how you got in this mess in the first place."
"First place gold medal, that's me." He reached out and touched her cross suddenly. She stayed very still as his long digits traced the gold metal. The feel of his burning skin on her collarbones made her shudder.
"Pretty," he muttered. "Pretty things for pretty girls." He turned his wide, boyish eyes to her face and let his hand drop back to his side. "Gold on her neck, and emerald jewels in her eyes. Tough princess."
"Jane-,"
He sneezed suddenly and violently with no warning. Lisbon jumped back, escaping his range. The stool teetered, then tipped over, sending him to the floor. He lay there for a moment, and Lisbon dove to his side.
"Jane, you okay? Jane?"
She realized his shaking was actually laughter as it erupted out of him. He rolled onto his back, still laughing raucously.
"Pepper," he said.
"What?"
"I fell." He roared with laughter again. She stood, sighing with exasperation-
-And let out a yelp as she crashed to the floor beside him when he grabbed her ankle and gave it a tug.
"Jane!" she bellowed, pushing her hair out of her eyes and glaring at the man.
"Angel. Guess what. I just," he paused for the effect, "swept you off your feet!" he exclaimed.
"Great. Thanks." She sat up, rubbing her banged elbow.
"I pulled that on Charlotte yesterday. Don't worry, Angela, it was on the plush sitting room carpet. You should've seen her giggle. You should dig out your camera sometime. We can make some home videos- you know how Lotte is so photogenic. Just like her parents," he said warmly, eyes glazing again.
"Jane. I'm Lisbon," she said firmly. He ignored her and continued.
"You know, I still have our wedding photo in my wallet. I have to print a new one every few months because it gets beat up, and I need to be able to see your face. Beautiful," he murmured. "I love how Lotte looks- so beautiful. The perfect combination of me and you, it amazes me every day."
"Please, Jane. Snap out of it. You're scaring me," she said. Her tone was firm, but she couldn't keep it from trembling a little bit.
"We've got enough for that Disney trip we've been promising her, more than enough now. The two clients I just picked up are practically gold mines. If they weren't foolish enough to fall for this whole 'psychic' thing in the first place, I would feel bad about taking their money," he laughed, reaching out to put a hand on Lisbon's knee.
"Where is Charlotte, sweetie? Upstairs?" he asked.
"Angel? Where is she?" he asked.
"Where is our baby?" he asked.