Thank you for the wonderful reviews! You guys are awesome J
Disclaimer: If I owned the Mentalist, Jane and Lisbon would be together by now. So no, nothing is mine.
"Avery, baby, please don't do that," Teresa begged her daughter desperately as she tried to focus on the paperwork in front of her. The little girl was running around their living room, screaming at the top of her lungs for no particular reason. A typical three-year-old.
Ben set the newspaper down and glanced up at his wife. "Honey, you work way too hard. It's Sunday. You should be enjoying your days off."
She brought a hand to her face and sighed. "I wish I could," she muttered.
Teresa felt a hand wrap around hers, gently pulling it away from her face. When her eyelids drifted open, she was gazing into her husband's beautiful hazel eyes. He had a faint smile on his lips. "Don't be so hard on yourself," he whispered. "You're wonderful." He leaned toward her and kissed her softly, pulling back and smiling before picking up his newspaper again.
She was amazed that he still had the ability to make her heart pound like crazy.
She leaned back in her chair, exhaling deeply. She let her eyes close. She was exhausted. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. Even though she was ashamed to admit it to even herself, the sleepless night had to do with Patrick Jane's unexpected return. She had been lying awake, thinking of the painfully confused expression on his face when he saw her with her family.
Why had he come back? Was it simply to visit the team after half a decade of silence? Or was it because he felt guilty about the way he left things?
It was almost like Ben had been reading her mind.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked as he lifted their squealing daughter into his lap.
Teresa looked at him. "Nothing," she lied.
"Stop that."
"Stop what?"
"Lying to me."
"I'm not lying!"
His lips twitched. "Believe me. I can tell when you're lying."
"You can not!"
"Yes, I can!"
She eyed him skeptically.
He smiled slightly. "You can tell me, hon."
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She just clamped her mouth shut and shook her head, turning back to her paperwork.
"Is it that blond guy from last night?" Ben asked her quietly.
Her mouth fell open. "What?"
He didn't look angry. Or jealous. He looked… compassionate. "Handsome guy. Blond, curly hair? The one you were talking to last night?" He let Avery lean her head on his shoulder. She looked so tired. "Is he what's bothering you?" Ben wondered.
How did he know her so well?
She sighed. "Not necessarily… bothering me," she confessed. "I was just surprised to see him there, that's all."
"Who is he?""An old colleague. His name is Patrick Jane."
"Were you two friends?"
Teresa analyzed the tone her husband used. It showed no sign of jealousy or possessiveness. Just curiosity.
"Yes," she admitted. "Very good friends."
He nodded, understanding. "Lovers?"
Teresa burst out laughing. "Me and Jane? No. Just good friends."
"But you loved him."
"Of course. Don't you love your friends?" she said, attempting to cover up her shock. How in the hell could her husband read her so well?
The corners of his mouth curved up. "Teresa."
"Ben."
"Were you in love with him? It's okay if you were."
Ben reached a hand up and gently stroked Avery's dark hair. Her eyelids were now closed, and her breathing had shifted to long, deep breaths. In and out, in and out. She looked so peaceful. Like an angel.
But Ben still watched Teresa.
She came clean. "Yes," she whispered. "I was."
He smiled, satisfied that he finally got her to answer honestly. "Why didn't you ever tell me about him?"
She shrugged. "I guess I didn't want to bring him up."
"Why not?"
"Getting over him was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do," she blurted. As soon as she said it, she brought a hand to her mouth. Had she really just said that out loud?
Ben reached across the table and took her hand. "I would love to meet him," he said. "Why don't you call and invite him for dinner tonight?"
"If I can find a way to get a hold of him, I will." She gave him a small smile, thinking about what an amazing husband she had. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
They both glanced at their daughter, content smiles on their faces.
"AJ," Teresa whispered to the girl. "Are you awake?"
There was no response.
Slowly, Ben stood up, Avery still in his arms. He turned and disappeared down the hallway to put Avery in her bed.
Leaving Teresa alone, with nothing but the silence to think about Jane. Again.
She felt like a stalker. She was searching Jane's credit card history to find out what hotel he was staying at (without a warrant) so that she could try and call him to invite him to dinner.
She finally found the name and address of the hotel. She typed the name into her laptop and found its website. She dialed the phone number on the screen.
Stalking Jane. This felt so wrong.
She asked the hotel manager to speak with a particular guest, and gave her Jane's name. The manager put Teresa on hold.
She held her breath…
"Hello?" came Jane's surprised voice.
"H-hi, Jane," she stuttered. "It's Teresa."
There was a pause on the other end, and Teresa wondered if he was going to hang up on her.
But he didn't. "Hey Teresa," he replied in his usual, cheerful voice.
She relaxed a little, smiling. "So listen. I was just talking to my husband-"
"Ben."
"Yes, Ben," she said, startled. "How did you know that?"
"Grace. I visited her this morning." He chuckled. "She filled me in on everything that has happened since I left."
Since I left. For some reason, the words made Teresa wince.
"Anyway," she continued. "I was just talking to Ben, and we would love to have you for dinner tonight."
"Yes," he answered, without even hesitating. "That would be great."
Teresa's lips twitched. "Great! Ben will be thrilled. He's excited to meet you."
As if on cue, her husband walked into the room, taking a seat at the table across from her.
"What time?" Jane asked.
"Six?"
"Great."
After giving him their address, they exchanged goodbyes and hung up the phone.
"So he's coming?" Ben said.
Teresa nodded, studying him. "Is that… okay?"
"Of course, sweetie!" He grinned, leaning across the table to kiss her forehead. "I would really love to meet him. Tell me all about him. What did you say his name was again?"
"Patrick Jane."
"Where have I heard that name before?"
Teresa laughed. "Oh, dear. Where do I begin?" She leaned back in her chair. "He's a former psychic. Well, now he claims that psychics don't exist. So, he was basically conning people. But he does have extraordinary abilities."
He slowly nodded his head. "So… he quit his job as a conman… to become a cop?"
To be honest, it didn't really make sense.
"Well, there's a story behind it," she explained.
"What's the story?"
All of a sudden, before she got the chance to answer her husband, Teresa had a flashback.
"The victim's name is Brenna Lane. Fifteen years old, discovered by her younger brother," Lisbon informed her team, being very careful not to look her consultant directly in the eye, fearing what she might see. "The brother got off the bus after school and saw the red smiley face on his sister's bedroom door. When he opened it, he found Brenna…" Lisbon gestured to the bloodied body. "like this."
"Where are the parents?" Rigsby asked.
"Work. They're on their way."
The whole team was throwing side-glances at Jane, but he just stuck his hands in his pockets, poking around the room like any other case, like this case didn't hit close to home. Too close.
Cho's phone rang. "Hello?" he deadpanned as he flipped it open. "Yeah… yeah… yeah. Okay." He snapped it shut. "Coroners are on their way," he told the team.
Rigsby, Van Pelt, and Cho all walked out of the room in a single-file line. Jane continued to search and pretend like everything was okay, but Lisbon didn't buy it.
"Jane."
"I'm fine, Lisbon," he said, turning to face her.
"No. You're not."
"What makes you think so?"
She rolled her eyes.
"I mean…" One side of her mouth pulled up involuntarily. "Okay. I'll show you."
Ben smiled, doubting this. "Oh, really?"
"Yep. Sit up straight."
He did.
So did she.
"Now, look me straight in the eyes."
He obeyed her, hazel lost in grass-green.
"Now, I want you to think of a shape. Like a circle, but not a circle. Think of it now," Teresa said.
Ben nodded, letting her know he was ready.
"Done?" she asked.
"Yep."
"Now, think of a smaller shape inside of that shape. Think of it now."
Ben's smile widened.
"Got it?" Teresa asked him.
He nodded.
"Now, project that image, of the two shapes, to the back of my mind."
"Teresa, baby, you're losing it."
"Just do it."
Ben sighed, and fell silent, staring into her eyes again.
"Did you do it?" she said.
He nodded again. "What am I thinking of?"
"I don't know."
He brought his hands together in mock applaud. "That was brilliant, Teresa. How do you do it?"
Another smile tugged at her lips.
"What exactly was the point of that?" he wondered. "That's impossible. Nobody would have been able to do that."
"Patrick could," she told him, finally getting to her point. "Patrick could do anything."
So, I tried to make Lisbon's husband likeable. However, it was REALLY hard to do, considering I absolute LOVE Patrick Jane. So, creating Ben Corbin wasn't easy to do. :P Thanks for reading! Review? J
