Chapter 4: Sleepless Nights

Jane's mind was wandering indefinitely and it was enough to make him sick. When he was alone there was nothing to distract him from the memories of his family and the night he found them… and the red smiley painted on the wall in their blood. It was all too much for him to handle, so his eyes drifted around the room desperately searching for something to analyze. This technique would work for a little while, but being in a confined space gave him little to concentrate on and caused his mind to loop, repeating his observations over and over again.

For example, he kept staring at the bedside lamp and kept noticing a tear on its shade. He would then wonder how that tear came to be and what kind of object damaged it. Then he would consider whether the owner of the hotel had noticed the tear. Then there was the painting that was slightly askew, the unidentified spot on the blinds, and the long crack in the ceiling. He cursed his skills at times like these, wishing he could fall asleep and leave his memories and observations behind. He tried to close his eyes and block out the images, but nothing helped.

Then there was the fact that he was squeezed in between Rigsby and Cho, who were both snoring loudly. The room seemed to vibrate and Jane grabbed his pillow and covered his ears in an attempt to block out the overflow of information that was flooding his senses.

He couldn't remember the last time he felt this miserable.

Lisbon opened her eyes and listened as Van Pelt started to toss and turn on the bed. She began mumbling and Lisbon could already predict what would follow. Van Pelt began to kick and pull at the covers and Lisbon ruthlessly pulled back.

They had already had this battle once already and it had ended with Lisbon deposited on the floor. Van Pelt was extremely violent in her restless sleep and Lisbon had already woken her up once to tell her so. She had sincerely apologized, but an hour later, the cycle started again.

If Lisbon had had her gun, she would have shot her.

Van Pelt lashed out and Lisbon could feel her heel dig into her back. She slid off the bed and hit her head on the night table as she fell to the hard floor. Lisbon groaned and tiredly rubbed her hand on her head.

"Van Pelt!" She growled angrily, but Van Pelt was still fast asleep, completely unaffected by her fury. Lisbon decided she was safer on the floor and gave up on taking back her side of the bed. She sat up and held her head in her hands. She wanted to cry as means of releasing her anger and frustration, not to mention the throbbing pain in her head. She never could have imagined such a horrible trip and it seemed to be getting worse and worse by the minute.

She took a couple deep breaths to compose herself before getting up and moving to the bedroom door. She needed a change of scenery, an escape from this room, but as soon as she stepped into the dimly lit hall, she found she wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep.

"Jane, what are you doing in the hall?" She questioned, clearly surprised to find him sitting on the floor with his back pressed against the wall. He looked up at her with a crestfallen expression and a rare somberness in his blue eyes. He was sitting outside his hotel room with his legs bent at the knee. Lisbon then noticed the house of cards he was building and the deck that was sitting next to him.

"I could ask you the same thing." He replied, his expression unchanged by her presence. His focus returned to the cards.

"Van Pelt kicked me off the bed twice." Lisbon admitted, closing the door behind her. "I hit my head on the nightstand the second time and I think the next time might just kill me." She joked, but Jane didn't smile. His reaction, or lack of, made her worry.

"Sounds like her." He commented, meeting her eyes again. He looked very tired with dark rings around his eyes and a certain weakness and frailty about him.

"You look exhausted." Lisbon observed.

"Did you know that both Cho and Rigsby snore?" Jane informed her suddenly. Lisbon noted a faint hint of a smile on his lips and it made her feel more comfortable in his company. "They're almost in sync with each other." He added. Lisbon smiled at him. "Sit." He gestured to the floor in front of him.

"I shouldn't be in the hall at 1 in the morning." Lisbon replied; her mind warning her that sitting in the hall with Jane in the middle of the night was not a good idea.

"Then why'd you come out here?" Jane asked curiously, the hint of a smile becoming more prominent; however, it was the hopeful shine to his eyes that convinced her. She smiled softly before sagging against the wall until she was sitting across from him on the floor. She was careful not to disturb Jane's tower of cards.

Jane took another two cards and slowly balanced them on the top level of his tower. Lisbon watched silently, but her eyes seemed to focus more on Jane than the actual house of cards.

"Can I try?" Lisbon asked. Jane glanced up at her and smiled before handing her the deck in a silent reply. Lisbon took the cards and concentrated on not destroying Jane's tower. She slowly added the cards and didn't notice Jane staring at her.

"You have very steady hands." He commented once she had finished. The tower swayed slightly, but didn't fall. She smiled at him.

"I used to build houses of cards when I was really bored as a kid." She explained.

"Me too." Jane stated. He took another few cards and tried to add them, but his hand slipped and reduced the impressive tower to a pile of rubble on the floor. Jane froze.

"You killed it," Lisbon teased, smiling devilishly as she said it. He smiled back at her.

"I can't be perfect all the time." He shrugged, laughing slightly. His mood had improved dramatically since Lisbon joined him. He didn't feel so lonely anymore. He watched Lisbon's smile fade and her eyes shift downward. "You're worried," Jane observed. Lisbon glanced up at him.

"I'm going to be in so much trouble for being so late to this damn crime scene." She confessed with a sigh. Jane gave her a comforting smile.

"Just a few days." He shrugged. "It's not your fault. It's just bad luck." He added, seriously tempted to reach out and touch her arm. Actually, if he was honest with himself he wanted to give her a comforting hug, but he knew better. Instead, all he could do was give her a smile.

"I doubt my boss will see it that way." Lisbon replied, imagining his reaction. Their conversation reduced to a gentle silence. Lisbon's green eyes glanced around the room before she turned to Jane and caught him staring at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, shifting nervously under his gaze. Jane tilted his head slightly, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I have an idea of something we could do." He commented mischievously. Lisbon frowned, her eyes widening slightly.

"Jane," she warned. Jane rolled his eyes, smiling cleverly.

"Not that," he replied, knowing what she was thinking. "But I find it interesting that you would jump to such a conclusion." He furthered. It was Lisbon's turn to roll her eyes.

"I wasn't thinking-" She denied, but Jane interrupted her.

"We should pull a prank on our sleeping colleagues, revenge per say." He explained with a devilish grin. Lisbon eyed him skeptically.

"Do you sit up at night just planning new ways to mess with us?" She teased. Jane's smile faded slightly.

"Trust me, that's not what keeps me up at night." He responded in a more serious tone with a hint of irony.

"Sorry," Lisbon apologized. Jane turned his eyes to the fallen house of cards and began to pick them up.

"It's okay," Jane replied. Lisbon reached out and helped him gather the cards. Her hand brushed against his briefly and it made her involuntarily blush. Jane looked up at her again. "You can be my accomplice." He remarked, his smile returning.

"Accomplice?" Lisbon asked.

"Yeah." Jane nodded, his eyes watching her expectantly.

"So if I was to go along with this little prank, what would we be doing?" Lisbon ventured cautiously; wary of Jane's motives. Jane's smile brightened.

"Well, I was thinking shaving cream for Rigsby and maybe we can draw on Van Pelt's face with some eyeliner." He shrugged, a flash of excitement in his eyes.

"What are you? 10 years old?" She asked, repeating a similar comment Jane had directed at Rigsby earlier that day. Jane recognized the comment and laughed slightly, truly enjoying her company.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun and they deserve it for keeping us up all night." He persuaded evenly. After mulling it over, Lisbon simply couldn't resist.

"I have an idea for Cho," she replied with a roguish grin.

"See. I knew there was some mischief in you." Jane announced emphatically, pointing his finger at her before getting to his feet. Lisbon rolled her eyes again.

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