the Space & Distance Between Us

A Jane & Lisbon Story

By Brown Eyes Parker

Summary:

To protect her from Red John, Jane sends Lisbon – against her will – to hide out with Hightower. Once separated, they learn things about themselves that they never thought they would learn. Inspired by Sarah McLachlan's album, "afterglow".

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Chapter 4

Lisbon:

She had been in New Hampshire for two weeks, and in those two weeks of being away, she had only heard from Jane three times.

She knew that he was trying to distance himself from her, but it was killing her. And not just because she missed him, but also because she wasn't used to being out of the loop at work. (And nobody else was calling her to tell her what was going on.)

But she took it all in stride and tried to make the best of it. Especially for the Hightowers. . . especially for Mimi and Will, because Hightower seemed to grow increasingly depressed and distant with each passing day. She would go on long drives on a daily basis, and leave her to care for the kids.

She didn't mind though. It gave her a distraction from her growing concern over the chaos that she was certain her team was experiencing with her absence. It gave her a distraction from missing Jane, and her growing feelings for him. When she was with Mimi and Will, she didn't have to admit to herself her feelings. .. not even a little bit.

The only thing she did mind was how slowly time seemed to move. A minute seemed like eternity, an hour seemed longer.

Thankfully the Hightower children were a constant source of diversion and amusement. They were always around, asking for help with their school work, or requesting she tell a story about her and Jane. . . or that she play a song on Mimi's guitar.

Today, they were making Chicken Alfredo, and Lisbon was telling them about the time that Jane had taken her for supper in Napa Valley.

"And Mr. Mashburn let Mr. Jane borrow his car even after he wrecked his other one?" Will asked with widened eyes.

"Well. . . yes," Lisbon answered. "Don't ask me why, but he did."

"And it was your first date?" Mimi asked, her eyes getting a dreamy look to them.

"I don't know. . . we didn't label it," Lisbon said, smiling amusedly. She popped a tray of garlic bread into the oven. "Mimi, go and set the table please."

"Yes ma'am!" Mimi nodded and scurried off to do what she was told.

Lisbon turned to Will. "You, my friend, can get the iced tea and the Parmesan cheese from the fridge."

"Okay!" Will replied willingly.

Hightower came in at that moment. "You made dinner again?"

"Yes," Lisbon answered. "Maybe you'll eat a little something tonight?"

"No. . . no thank you." She refused like she had the other thirteen nights. "I ate in town today."

Lisbon smiled, a knowing smile, and began to slice bread. "Well if you get hungry for dessert, Mimi and I made bear claws today. Can you believe that there were actually recipes on the Internet for bear claws? They're not as good as Marie's, but they're edible."

"Really, I'm okay."

"Well, would you at least like to have a glass of Merlot?" Lisbon asked. "Your kids would love to see you. And frankly, I would love some adult company."

"Patrick not calling you enough?" Hightower asked sarcastically.

Lisbon paled a little bit. "He's just. . . trying to keep me – us – safe"

Hightower sighed. "I'm sorry Teresa, that was uncalled for. I'll tell you what, tomorrow's Friday. You can have the day to yourself, and I'll spend some time with my kids. When you get back, we can all make dinner and have a movie night."

Lisbon smiled at this. "Sounds like a plan."

"Good. . . now I'm going to take some Advil PM and then turn in early. Goodnight Agent Lisbon."

"Goodnight. . . Agent Hightower," Lisbon replied, finding it strange and a little bit funny that they were both out of the CBI, and they couldn't call each other by their first names. It was still all about protocol, and professionalism.

.

After two episodes of Phineas & Ferb, and four Wizards of Waverly Place reruns, Lisbon sent Mimi and Will to get ready for bed while she finished cleaning the kitchen up from dinner.

She had just turned on the dishwasher when her phone buzzed. She answered it quickly, hoping it was from Jane, but wasn't too disappointed when she heard her three-year-old niece on the other end of the line.

"I know it's late there," Tommy said after a couple of minutes had passed. "But Cherie wouldn't go to sleep until she had said goodnight to you."

"That's okay," Lisbon assured him. "I miss hearing from people."

"Have you heard from him in a while?"

"Not since last week. . . it's for the best though."

"You miss him." It wasn't a question, but a statement coming from one of the people who knew Teresa Lisbon better than she knew herself.

"As much as I would miss breathing," Lisbon admitted.

"Maybe you should call him," Tommy suggested. "You're a twenty-first century woman. You could make a move. . . if you wanted to."

"As much as I hate it, I'm going to play by his rules for once. It'll go better for me if I do—"

"Agent Lisbon! We're ready for bed!" Mimi called.

"Tommy, I have to go."

"Okay I'll call you again later. . . love you."

"I love you too," Lisbon replied.

.

"Mom's asleep in our room," Mimi told Lisbon when she had joined her and Will in the living room.

"That's okay," Lisbon said. "We'll sleep on the pull out couch with Will."

"But your pajamas—"

"I left them in the bathroom after my shower this morning," she told Will. "So, this is what we'll do. We'll get the bed ready, and then I'll get dressed for bed—"

"And then you'll tell us another story. . ." Will finished, looking at her hopefully.

"Yes, of course. . ." Lisbon said, rubbing his head, she surpressed the feelings of hurt and loneliness that were surfacing once again. It was the only thing to do to help her keep breathing.

TBC. . .

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Author's Note:

Sorry for not updating sooner, but I was babying a second-degree burn on the side of my left hand. How did it happen, you ask? Well, last Thursday I was making homemade mac & cheese (yes, your beloved author is quite the Holly Homemaker, a Domestic Debby), anyways. . . back to my story. I was making homemade mac & cheese in a Chinese Wok. So, after the cheese sauce was made, I didn't really feel like pulling out a glass casserole dish, so I threw the past into the sauce and stuck the Wok in a 400 degree oven. When the mac & cheese was finished baking, I went to get it out. . . I probably didn't have a good grip on the pot holder, because my skin made contact with hot metal. At first I thought it was nothing, and then the worst pain kicked in and I almost passed out. I had to sit on the floor because it was burning.

So to make a long story short, I was up all night on Thursday with pain so bad, I thought I was dying. If I took my hand out of the water and ice my mom gave me, it felt like my skin was melting off. So yeah. . . lesson learned, never ever bake mac & cheese in a Wok.

If you took the time to read this long author's note, thanks. And don't forget to review. . . but not about my burn.

Holly, July 6, 2011_