Disclaimer: Bruno Heller and I are both Jane/Lisbon shippers, but that's the only thing we have in common. I own nothing!

A/N: Thank you again for so many nice reviews! To recap: last chapter we heard some highlights from Jane's mistaken memory. Now, Lisbon considers what should be done once Jane is released from the hospital. And Jane says something slightly mysterious towards the end. This chapter contains brief language.

Someone Else's Life

Chapter 4: Plans and Actions

Cho came back to the hospital at noon that day. He had a feeling that Lisbon had stayed there all night with Jane, so he told Van Pelt and Rigsby that he would go and relieve her.

Pushing open the door to Jane's room, Cho wondered why it was so dark. He quickly figured out that the lights had been dimmed as far as possible, without shutting them off, and that the blinds were drawn shut. Once his eyes adjusted, he was able to see much more clearly. It was then that he noticed the two sleeping figures on the hospital bed.

Lisbon was sitting up, head propped by a pillow, and Jane was cuddled close against her side. One of her arms was behind his neck, her fingers threaded through the hair on the uninjured side of his head. Her other hand was resting over one of his that gripped the edge of her jacket tightly. His other arm was curled around behind her waist, and his head lolled on her shoulder.

Cho took in the scene for a moment, and tried not to smile. It wasn't that difficult; he was used to maintaining his composure in most situations. But this was almost too sweet to be believed: his ironclad boss and the irreverent consultant, sleeping curled up and affectionately holding each other? They were just lucky he had found them, and not someone who would've been giggling and teasing them about it for the rest of the day.

He considered for a moment the best way to wake Lisbon up. He definitely didn't want to startle her, so tapping or shaking her was out. He eventually decided to simply open the blinds; the light would shine in her face but not Jane's, so she wouldn't give him a hard time about that.

The sunlight streaming in on Lisbon's face woke her gently. She blinked for a minute, and then her eyes cleared and she saw Cho by the window. He waved but didn't speak. She was suddenly and acutely aware of the position she was in, and her face flushed a bit. She held a finger up to her lips then pointed to the door, indicating she'd get up and they'd talk outside.

She slowly started to remove herself from Jane's arms, but he immediately scowled in his sleep, murmuring "No, no" and clutching her tighter. Cho covered his mouth to keep from chuckling, but was stunned into silence by what Lisbon did next.

She stroked Jane's hair softly, then carefully leaned her head closer to his and whispered, "Shh, it's alright, Patrick. You don't have to wake up," in the most tender tone Cho had ever heard her use. He watched as Jane slowly relaxed again, and Lisbon finally extricated herself. She nodded at Cho, and they walked quietly out into the hall.

"Before you say a word," Lisbon said quickly once they sat down, "That scene in there wasn't what it looked like. Jane and I were up talking until dawn, and he was exhausted but still couldn't fall asleep. I thought maybe staying with him until he dropped off would make him feel better, but I guess I was more tired than I thought and-"

"Boss," Cho finally interrupted, shaking his head and holding up a hand. "You don't need to explain anything. Seriously." He watched her exhale slowly in relief, then asked her, "How is he?"

Lisbon sighed. "Not great, to tell you the truth. He's tired, confused, upset, frightened… the list goes on. We went over his memories last night, and while most of it is near exactly as I remember, there are chunks that his mind just created."

"So he's not just a little confused? He's actually made up a whole alternate life that includes you being married to each other?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment before continuing. "That's how it seems. And it's not all little things either; some of it's very detailed. Not only did we get married in this extended fantasy, but we also had a complicated two-week honeymoon. He described it pretty vividly; apparently, we spent one week touring the castles of Ireland, and the second week diving in the Galapagos."

"Wow, sounds nice," Cho stated flatly after a moment. He didn't know what else to say.

"Oh, yes, it sounds pretty much perfect. Beautiful, exciting, romantic, but completely unreal! Where did it all come from, is what I want to know," Lisbon continued. "I guess I've always gotten the impression that Jane looked at us as having more of a sibling type relationship than anything else."

"Sorry to break it to you, boss, but that's not even slightly convincing. I mean, you have three brothers, right? Have any of them ever bought you expensive jewelry, or given you flowers, or borrowed a fancy sports car just to take you out to lunch? Nobody thinks he acts like a brother towards you, except possibly for the 'annoying you every single day' part," Cho said, and waited for what would most likely be Lisbon's angry reply.

She glared at him for a moment, but shook her head before answering. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I told myself that to keep things from getting more complicated than they already were. I guess it doesn't really matter that much at this point, though, because what's going on now is what we have to deal with."

"Right," said Cho. "What needs to be taken care of first?"

Lisbon shrugged. "Telling him was the very first thing, and I've done that. I know he believes that I'm telling the truth. What I'm not sure about, however, is whether he's connected that with actually accepting what he remembers as only a dream. That will probably take more time."

"Okay, and until then?"

"Until then, we have to find out how much longer he needs to stay in the hospital. And then we have to see if he's able to stay on his own when he leaves."

"Is it likely that he won't be?" he asked.

"You heard the psychiatrist last night," Lisbon said. "She was convinced he'd need someone living with him for a while even after he's pronounced ready to be discharged."

"Do any of us know exactly where he lives now?"

"Not really, including him at the moment," Lisbon said. She sighed again. "If it ends up being necessary, I'd probably take him to my apartment to live with me. I have a spare bedroom, and he's been there once before so it shouldn't be too unfamiliar to him."

She neglected to mention that Jane's dream had included them living together at her apartment. She didn't have to, as it turned out, because Cho was already thinking along those lines. He frowned. "That sounds… odd, boss. Isn't he going to keep feeling like you're married because you're living in the same place? And could you stand living with him?"

"Cho, if you have a better idea I'm open to suggestions, believe me!" Lisbon snapped. "I don't want to do anything that will make his recovery slower, either, but what are our real options here?" She then rubbed her eyes and grimaced. "That came out harsher than I meant it, and I'm sorry. I haven't had much sleep; I could use a bit more."

"That's why I came in the first place," Cho said. "Why don't you go home and get some rest? I'll go in and sit with Jane."

"I would, but what if he wakes up and I'm not here? He'll probably get all worked up and impossible again."

Cho tried not to smile for the second time. "I'm sure he understands that you can't be here with him all the time. I'll find a way to calm him down if I have to."

Lisbon nodded. "Okay, but if there's a serious problem, call me and I'll come right back."

"I will, I promise."

"Thanks, Cho. I'll call later, all right?"

"No problem, boss. Talk to you then."

###

Cho sat quietly reading his book for the next two hours. He would periodically glance up at Jane, but never saw him doing anything but sleeping peacefully. At least, until Cho's phone went off, alerting him of a text message.

While Cho silently berated himself for forgetting to switch it to vibrate, Jane turned over and raised a hand. "Switch that off, Teresa, would you? Why'd you set the alarm, sweetheart?" he mumbled, waving vaguely in the direction of the noise. Cho rolled his eyes. No need to wonder what Jane was (still) dreaming about. –Sibling type relationship, my ass,- Cho thought.

At three o'clock, Jane stirred. His hand immediately reached over and started patting the side of the bed, and his forehead furrowed when it came up empty. His eyes fluttered open, and he blinked rapidly and squinted in the brightness of the afternoon sunshine. "Where the hell am I?" he grumbled, in a voice still rough from sleep.

"Still in the hospital, Jane," said Cho, marking his place before setting his novel aside. "You woke up from your coma yesterday, but they didn't release you. Do you remember?"

"Ah, yes. Yes, I remember. And I was finally able to go to sleep this morning, but only when my wi- when Teresa settled down here with me. Where is she, Cho?"

"The boss went home to sleep, Jane. She's fine, just worn out, like you were. We talked for a bit, then she went back to her place and I came in here."

"Did she mention the conversation she and I had most of the night?" said Jane, looking a little embarrassed for probably the first time Cho had ever seen.

"In passing," Cho admitted. "Nothing dirty, if that's what you're wondering about. Just that you had a bunch of stories that weren't the same as what the rest of us remember."

"Yes, that's about the extent of it. Hard to believe none of it was real."

"It'll be okay, once you're well enough to get out of here and live in the world again. Your real memory will probably return, and then life goes back to normal."

"And what if it doesn't?" Jane asked.

Cho shrugged. "Then we deal with it."

###

Back at her apartment, Lisbon slept for a few hours, and then woke up in the middle of the afternoon. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her clothes, and she felt grungy and uncomfortable. She decided a shower was in order before anything else.

Afterwards, wrapped in her dark green towel and distractedly combing her hair, she wandered into her infrequently used guest room. –I'm going to have to get this place ready if Jane ends up coming to stay with me,- she thought.

The room was fairly clean, but dusty, and a number of things were stored in there that would need to be shifted into other areas. Still, it was suitable; it had a nice window and a good-sized closet. The bed needed attending, she noticed with a frown. Sheets laundered, mattress flipped, etc. She sighed. Jane wasn't even out of the hospital and coming here for sure yet, and already he was causing her more trouble.

She got dressed, then called Cho. "Hey, boss," he said when he picked up.

"Hey Cho. How's it going there?"

"Just fine. Rigsby is coming in about half an hour to switch off with me."

"Is Jane awake?"

"Yes, and he's been asking about you. A lot," Cho added.

Lisbon huffed. "I'll talk to him. You want to put him on?"

"Sure," said Cho, and he passed the phone to Jane.

"Hello, Teresa," Jane said.

"Hi, Patrick. How are you feeling now?"

"Better, but still a bit odd, and the food here is ghastly. Are you coming back tonight?" he asked.

"Probably not; I thought I'd come tomorrow instead. Would that be okay?"

He paused for a moment. "Yes, it should be fine. I'll be fine," he repeated, but she heard the sadness in his voice.

She took a deep breath. "Look, if you need me there, I'll come."

"You will?"

"Absolutely. Though this time I think I'll pack myself an overnight bag, just in case," she said with a smile.

"You always look lovely, even wearing yesterday's rumpled outfit, my dear," he said. "But I can see how you might be more comfortable if you didn't have to."

She laughed, and they continued to chat while she went around her apartment gathering the things she needed. Everything was fine, until she went into the bathroom to get the last few things she might need. "Damn it!" she exclaimed loudly.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he said, sounding concerned.

"Oh nothing, I'm just out of floss, that's all," she grumbled.

"No, you're not. The new one's in the second drawer of the medicine cabinet," he said immediately.

"What?" asked Lisbon, as she reached out and opened the drawer. Sure enough, there was a new box of floss right on top. "How did you know that?"

"That's where you always keep it. That's where it had to be."

"Yes but how did you know where I keep it?"

"If I said how I knew, you wouldn't believe me. Because it never happened, right? So, let's say I guessed. After all, I'm great at guessing," he said lightly.

"I know you are, but… that was still very strange, Patrick."

"Uncanny yet irritating, I believe you once said. No offense taken, of course." She could practically hear the wink.

Lisbon shook her head. "Okay, I'll be there soon, and I'll bring some real food with me. Pass me back to Cho."

"All right, see you soon. And I'd like pizza," Jane said, before handing over the phone.

"Hey boss," said Cho as he recovered his phone. "So you're on your way back? Should I call Rigsby?"

"No, it'd be good for Jane to have more than just me to talk to for the rest of the evening. I'll be there after a while; I'm going to finish getting some things together, and then pick up a pizza for Jane on the way."

"All right, if you get here before Rigsby I'll see you then. If not, I'll catch up with you tomorrow at the CBI."

"Right. Goodbye, Cho."

"Bye."

Lisbon tapped her phone, and looked down at the floss in her hand. "That's really weird," she said out loud. Then she tossed it in her bag.

She'd just have to ask Jane about it again sometime.

TBC…