Everywhere she isn't: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine


The case was an uninteresting one. Jane figured out the killer the moment the brother opened his mouth. He spent the rest of the day lying on the couch while the team scurried around to find evidence to prove the killer's guilt.

But Jane didn't even notice a thing they were doing.

There was only one thing on his mind, and it was plaguing him…

Lisbon leaving affected him more than he'd care to admit (even though, for once, his mask wasn't very efficient and his worry shone through plain as day). The fact was that he always thought of Lisbon as the one constant in his messed-up little world: No matter what happened, what he did, she'd always be in her office when he left at night (if he left at night) and there when he arrived in the morning. She'd always make him stay within regulations, or at very least worry like the world was going to end when they pursued one of his less-than-rule-abiding plans. She'd always forgive him (eventually) when he screwed up, she'd always drink her coffee with milk and no sugar, and she would never, ever, run away out of the blue and leave them behind. It simply wasn't done. It simply wasn't her.

And now she wasn't here. And no one knew where she was, why she was there or if she was ever coming back.

If he was being honest, he knew that leaving and not coming back was what was best for her. This job (working with him in particular) was going to be the death of her. Or at very least give her an ulcer like no other. And not to mention that tiny thing about the psychopathic serial killer that was after his blood. Red John would always be a threat to him and everyone he loved. Just look at what happened to Kristina – one date and she's Red John's hostage. And Lisbon was important to him, to whichever extent he wished to admit to. Hardy already tried to kill her once…

But he was selfish. He wanted his constant there.

And then he saw it: Just a flash of green, out of the corner of his eye. And not just any green: Her green. The green-blue colour of her eyes. (He wasn't aware that he ever filed her specific eye shade in such an important folder in his mind that a simple flash leaves him practically falling of the couch in shocked recognition, but never mind…)

He scurries off of his couch in the general direction of where the flash went. The team watches his frantic exit with confused eyes.

"Just let him go." Cho says and waves them off back to work.

Jane runs down the hallway, looking desperately for that specific shade of green that he knew he saw.

But it's gone. It's nowhere.

He stops in the hallway, panting; his eyes still darting in all directions, still to no avail.

"Damn… I must be going crazy…" He mutters to himself.

Then he walks back to the bullpen, thinking of an explanation for his absurd behavior. He looks back once – just in case.

X

Lisbon looked at herself in the full-length mirror in the bathroom. If she had to admit so herself, she looked pretty good.

The boutique downstairs in the hotel, other than being absurdly overprized, carried the widest selection she'd ever seen of super-short, bedazzled dresses.

Well, that's Vegas for you… She thought. She ended up picking out a sequined red dress, shorter than anything she'd normally allow herself to wear and too fancy for her to ever be able to wear it again. On her feet she wore sky-high black heels.

Lisbon never dressed femininely, out of fear that if she emphasized that she was, in fact, a woman, she would be further underestimated and undervalued in her job. Normally, she didn't really have a problem with that. She was never a frilly, girly girl; as a kid, before things got bad, she always played sports with the boys. Pants and flat shoes was what she was comfortable in.

But the entire point of her being her, in Vegas, was that she was breaking out. Out of her comfort zone, out of her tiny little world that was slowly sucking the life out of her. To, finally, after years of procrastinating, live. And, like every woman, she did love getting dolled up every once in a while, when the situation called for it.

As she applied the make up to her face (another thing she made without for her job), she decided she was going to hit the casino tonight. Maybe even go dancing if the mood takes her…

Then she smiles as a memory creeps up on her: Jane at the casino. Borrowing her money, promising to double it… The necklace he bought for her with his winnings…

It always pained her that she had to give it back. But it was almost surely against regulations. Damn that ethic code she follows so loyally. It was such a beautiful necklace.

She shook her head, expelling the unwanted memory of what she has to forget. Then she grabbed a clutch, stuffed her credit card and cash inside, and walked out.

Behind her, on the bedside table, her cell phone lays; once again blowing up with Jane's face.


Alright, so I'm getting really happy over this fic! That's why I'm superspeed-updating. See? Review work! Make me work some more?

All my love, Zanny