A/N: Okay, I felt cruel leaving you all on that cliffhanger for too long. I still can't quite believe the response I had to it either! I've slightly changed my plans - I think I'm going to focus on trying to get this finished now so that I can really focus on my Secret Santa and Unbound for a while. I find having two multiparters going on at once a bit stressful - especially trying to balance the writing of them both. But don't worry - I won't disappear entirely when it's done. I hope - I'll try and do some more of 50 Things and I have a few things I want to write for other people too. Woo!
Thanks go to: Divinia Serit, Ebony10, Sophie Fatale, celticgina, Viktorija, mtm, Frogster, Penelope Louise, Chiisana Minako, cureless, Smudje, CharmedNightSkye, Jadestar1981, anabella, Fallen Angels of Love, mwalter1, yaba, Tabitha of MoonAurora and HOUSEMEDFanForever. I'm really glad you're all enjoying this still!
For yaba - who always reviews so enthusiastically. It means a lot to me.
x tromana
Part Eight
"Sit. You're going to wear a hole in the linoleum."
Grace Van Pelt tugged at his sleeve and it took him a good five minutes to notice that she was pulling at all. Eventually, he complied, much to her relief. Patrick Jane's incessant pacing was beginning to drive her nuts, especially as he had been acting as if he was the only one who was concerned. She wasn't much enjoying babysitting him either, but someone had to do it and it never surprised her whenever she pulled the figurative short straw. Cho had taken charge in the absence of their boss and had insisted that Van Pelt accompanied him to the hospital - as much for his sanity as anybody else's. Jane had insisted upon following the ambulance there and he had been in no fit state to drive himself. After all, it was apparent from a single glance at his haunted features that he blamed himself for the whole sorry scenario that they found themselves in.
"If I hadn't…"
"Jane."
"I should've…"
"Jane."
"She's always saying…"
"Jane!"
"…what?"
"Stop speaking like that. We can't change the past."
Jane sighed and Van Pelt's hand migrated to his knee, which she gave an affectionate squeeze. Turning slightly, he gave her a watery smile before glancing at his watch. Someone should be with them soon. Someone who would tell them that Lisbon was going to be alright, that she's just suffered a cracked rib or two and thank goodness she had the common sense to wear her Kevlar vest. It was a shock to him, but then again it was a shock to all of them, seeing the seemingly infallible Teresa Lisbon being wheeled away on a stretcher, fighting desperately against shock and adrenaline. Jane, particularly, had hated seeing her quite so fragile, yet again. It was worse than the feigned breakdown because this time, it was real and it was entirely his fault rather than somebody else's.
Meanwhile, Cho was spending his time glowering at Blaise Porter, who still hadn't given a reason for not only his presence at Devlin Kennedy's apartment complex, but for firing a shot at Lisbon. Instead, he took yet another cigarette out from the packet and with a considerable amount of dexterity, especially as he was still handcuffed, managed to light it and suck in a deep breath. Through the hazy smoke, he leered back at Cho, who seemed entirely nonplussed by his whole charade. All he was looking for was answers, for the deceased and especially for Lisbon and he didn't care how long it took to get this bastard to speak. It was still disconcerting that he hadn't heard anything from Van Pelt and Jane yet, though.
"So," he drawled, after taking a drag on his cigarette. "You don't talk much."
"Only when necessary," Cho replied. "Why'd you shoot at my colleague?"
"Needed a way out," Porter answered with a shrug, stubbing out the butt by placing it firmly on the table between them. Cho ignored his actions, but knew that it was going mark the object permanently. "Wouldn't you have done the same in my position?"
"No."
"Really?" the drug dealer asked skeptically.
"Yes."
"Well, you're all fun and games aren't ya?" he grumbled. "Where's the ravishing red head? Or the little spitfire? She was fun."
"In hospital. Because of you."
"Shame."
Cho stared at the door from Rigsby's first knock. Eventually, he beckoned the other agent in, with just the slightest hint of a smile. Rigsby appraoched quickly and placed an evidence bag on the table between Cho and the suspect. The Asian agent noted, with interest, that it held a gun. Porter eyed it blankly; it wasn't the one he'd used to shoot at Lisbon and Jane, so he, like Cho, took to gazing at Rigsby until the taller man got the hint and decided to expand on the information he had.
"Oh… we found it in a dumpster near Kennedy's house. It's definitely the gun that was used to shoot Kennedy," Rigsby muttered. "Have I said how much I hate dumpsters lately?"
"Had it run for prints?" Cho enquired.
"Yes." he replied quickly. "We're still waiting for the results."
"Good," Cho nodded. "So is this what you were skulking around for? Knew that we were hot on your trail so you had to try and get to the evidence before we got our hands on it?"
"Never seen it before in my life."
"I wouldn't lie, Mr. Porter…"
"Fireball."
"Mr. Porter," Cho repeated. "What with you attacking Lisbon, you're already looking at a very long sentence."
"You can't nail this on me," he hissed in response. "Because I didn't do it. But I do have information."
"Well?"
"It'll cost you."
"It always does," Rigsby sighed, leaning onto the table and glaring at Porter. This man had sent his boss to hospital, so he wasn't in the best of moods with him. "I'm sure we can come to some agreement."
"I want…"
"It'll depend on what you tell us, of course," he added smoothly and Cho nodded in agreement.
When an orderly tentatively entered the waiting room, both Van Pelt and Jane sprang to their feet. The poor woman looked a little frazzled and intimidated by their immediate cornering of her though. She breathed out a ragged sigh of relief, it could have been worse after all. She could have been bringing bad news, after all. But their friend was already on the road to recovery and driving other members of the hospital staff up the wall. Despite having been in for a mere few hours, she was already desperate to be up and out of the building as soon as feasibly possible. After explaining what had happened to the two CBI employees, she wordlessly lead them through to Teresa Lisbon's private hospital room, where the brunette was sitting upright, arms crossed irritably and glaring at the IV drip that had been attached to her left elbow. As her visitors approached, she untangled her arms and allowed them to rest beside her. Van Pelt, beaming, immediately took to the chair to Lisbon's right and stared intently at her. Jane, however, hung by the door, seemingly nervous about the idea of actually entering the room.
"I'll leave the three of you to it," the orderly murmured.
"Yes, thank you," Van Pelt replied gratefully. "Thank you so much. How are you feeling, Boss?"
"Bored," she complained promptly. "They won't even let me know when I can leave."
"They probably don't know yet."
"Do my brothers…"
"Know? Yes," Van Pelt assured her. "I asked Minelli to call them. They're all on their way."
"Thank you."
The red head instinctively took hold of Lisbon's right hand and twisted her fingers around the older woman's. She smiled slightly when Lisbon didn't pull away, relieved that, for a change, her boss was willing to accept some form of comfort, even if it was only something as simple as holding hands. She was at a loss as to what to say however; there was no way that Lisbon was going to start saying how she actually felt. Even Van Pelt knew that the woman was notorious for covering up her emotions. In fact, the biggest display of feelings she'd ever seen demonstrated by the brunette she had since found out had all been a very convincing piece of acting. After a short while, she promptly let go of her hand with a sigh and stood. There wasn't much more she could say or do and frankly, she wanted to update Rigsby and Cho on Lisbon's condition. Though they would both be putting a brave face on it, Van Pelt knew that both of them would be desperate to know what was happening. As she passed Jane, she leant in conspiringly, to whisper in his ear.
"Talk to her," she murmured. "It'll do you both good."
Jane nodded apprehensively and Van Pelt smiled as she closed the door behind herself. Lisbon scowled at him as he tentatively approached her and took the seat that the red head had just vacated. Silence, excepting the regular bleep emitted by the heart monitor, enveloped them and they were both too stubborn to be the one who broke it first. She let out a ragged sigh and Jane jumped at the sound. Slowly, he edged the plastic chair closer to her and in response, she turned to face the machinery rather than gaze upon his worried expression for a moment longer.
"Lisbon… Teresa, I don't know what to say…"
"Then don't bother," she snapped, wincing as her injury caused her discomfort. "What's the point, anymore?"
"Are you in pain?"
"I'm fine."
"Bullshit."
"Just leave me alone, Jane."
"I can't do that."
"Don't you think you've done enough damage?"
Rigsby grinned when he caught up with Cho in the SUV. Hearing from Van Pelt always made him smile, but this time she had also been the deliverer of good news. The whole team cared about Lisbon and it was a blessed relief to finally hear that she was well on the road to recovery. Cho smirked at him as he placed the key in the ignition and started the engine.
"What are you so happy about?"
"Good news?"
"Lisbon?"
"Yeah," Rigsby beamed. "She already wants out. At the moment, she's glowering at Jane while Van Pelt's waiting in the car for him."
"Sounds like Van Pelt's in the safest place right now. I wouldn't want to be stuck in a room with those two. Not in the mood they've been in."
Rigsby nodded in response and quickly started rooting through various compartments. The drive wouldn't be too long, not considering the journeys he'd grown used to since joining the CBI, but snacks always helped when traveling. Besides, he had just felt the slightest twinge of a rumble start in the cavernous pit that was his stomach and if he didn't eat soon, he'd have to ask Cho to pull over and stop for something to eat. And Cho was about as reluctant to stop for food as Lisbon was. He grumbled under his breath when he came across nothing, realizing that there was nobody who would consider stocking up the cars and refrigerator with stuff to eat. That appeared to be another of those little jobs that Lisbon took control of and nobody really thought about it until she wasn't around to do so. Rigsby grumbled under his breath and Cho didn't bat an eyelid. He just had to hope that not only would the arrest go swiftly and smoothly when they got there but that he'd also be able to find a vending machine to get some chips or something too.
Still sitting in a hospital chair and growing incredibly sore in the process, Jane was getting increasingly bored of being ignored yet again. He'd already told Van Pelt that he was ready to leave. Twice. But both times, she had seen through him and sent him straight back to Lisbon's hospital room. He had a feeling that if he went and bothered her for a third time, that she would come back with him and bang their heads together literally in attempt to get them to start talking properly. So instead, they continued to sit in the same irritable silence that had enveloped them each and every time they had gone through this charade.
"Lisbon…"
"What now, Jane?" she seethed. "Why don't you just go home?"
"Van Pelt won't take me," he shrugged. "And before you suggest it, I don't have any money for a cab either."
"That woman…" she hissed.
"Yeah."
"I'm so-"
"No you're not," she interrupted. "You never are. I don't think it's physically possible for you to feel sorry for any of your actions."
"Now you know that's not true; you're just angry."
"And I damn well have every right to be!"
"Unless you talk to me, there's nothing I can do about it!"
"What more can I say? You know everything about me, Jane. Everything. And I don't know if or when you're going to use it for your own needs," she growled. "And what do I know about you? Nothing. You're constantly hiding behind a façade, so the Jane I'm used to is essentially a lie."
"I can talk. I can tell you the truth."
"Go on then."
TBC...
