Part 9
xxxxx
Lisbon walked into the bowling alley with every appearance of confidence.
She wasn't actually late... Okay, technically she was, but only five minutes. She'd been trying to get her living room tidied and had lost track of time. Oh well, she was sure it wouldn't make much difference. As long as her team hadn't given her up as a no-show. She scanned the room quickly.
"Boss!" she heard a voice call to her.
Lisbon turned gratefully to greet a smiling Van Pelt. She noticed Cho and Rigsby had already arrived as well. "Hey guys," she said pleasantly. They returned the greeting. "Sorry I'm late, got a bit distracted earlier."
"Don't worry about it," Van Pelt said cheerfully. "You're barely even late. And you beat Jane."
"Well," Lisbon said with a shrug.
"Anyway, I'm just glad you came," Van Pelt admitted, still quite cheerful.
"Yeah," Lisbon said awkwardly. "Sorry I couldn't come before but..."
"Oh, that's okay," Van Pelt hastened to assure her. She would have said more, but the rookie agent started to worry that she would make her boss self-conscious, so she dropped the subject. "We were just getting our shoes," she said instead.
"Makes sense," Lisbon agreed. "I may as well grab mine while we wait for Jane."
"Okay," Van Pelt said. "We'll be here."
Lisbon nodded and wandered in the direction of the shoe rental.
"You've got to calm down," Rigsby told the woman next to him. "You're gonna freak her out."
"I'm calm!" Van Pelt insisted. "I was just being friendly," she explained.
"You were starting to get the crazy eyes," Cho told her.
"Shut up guys. I just want her to have a good time," Van Pelt said.
"She will," Rigsby assured her. "If you calm down."
"Alright," Van Pelt said. "Hey, is that Jane?"
"The blond man in the three piece suit homing in on Lisbon like a beacon?" Cho asked.
"Right," Van Pelt acknowledged. "Silly question.
xxxxx
The line for bowling shoes was quite short. It took barely a minute before Lisbon was leaning against the counter waiting for the attendant to hand her the right size. Suddenly a second person dropped against the counter next to her.
"You made it I see," Jane said, his eyes twinkling.
"I told you I was coming," Lisbon replied somewhat indignantly.
"That you did," Jane agreed. "And even if you hadn't mentioned that, even at this distance Van Pelt's overall air of nervous pleasure would have given it away."
Lisbon muttered something unintelligible into the counter.
Jane leaned backwards against it after giving the kid behind it his shoe size. "They're just happy to see you," he assured her. "There's no need to be embarrassed."
"I'm not embarrassed!" Lisbon insisted.
Jane grinned, then he looked at her more closely. "No," he said slowly. "You're not are you?" His expression softened. "No need to be nervous either dear, we'll get you through it."
"Shut up," Lisbon said, before flouncing off with her shoes.
Jane grabbed his own shoes and set off after her.
The five of them gathered around a set of lanes. Jane arrived to hear the tail end of a conversation about the revised teams.
"Van Pelt, you guys can have Lisbon," Rigsby told her.
"You sure?" Van Pelt asked. "You don't mind uneven teams?"
"Nah it's only fair," Cho agreed. "You two need all the help you can get." Rigsby nodded at his teammate's show of confidence in their own bowling prowess.
Van Pelt sent them both a withering look.
"How'd you pick the teams?" Lisbon asked curiously.
"Flipped a coin," Rigsby told her. "Van Pelt lost."
"Yeah, Jane's terrible," Cho added.
"Really?" Lisbon asked, with what Jane personally considered to be far too much excitement.
"There's only so much Van Pelt can do with that much dead weight on her team," Cho explained.
"He gives it his best effort though," Van Pelt said cheerfully as she entered their names into the computer.
Lisbon sat down to tie her shoes. "Well, I can't wait to see this."
"I'm not that bad," Jane said with a wave of his hand.
Three pairs of eyes stared at him in disbelief.
"Okay," he amended. "Maybe bowling's not my forte. I guess I'm a little rusty."
"I assumed you'd never bowled before," Cho told him.
Rigsby and Lisbon both snickered.
"Everyone's a critic," Jane said petulantly.
"Now I'm really sorry I didn't come earlier," Lisbon told him with a grin.
Jane slumped into a chair beside her while Van Pelt and Rigsby got up to bowl. He perked up momentarily though. At least Lisbon was having fun.
After a few frames Lisbon had settled in a little. She had to admit she was glad she'd decided to come. Relaxing with the team was a good idea. And bowling was something everyone could do, even if they couldn't do it well. Her three agents were holding their own though. Cho was actually quite a good bowler, something that didn't surprise Lisbon in the slightest. Rigsby was decent. He and Grace were fairly evenly matched. She was pretty good herself, though not as good as Cho. Jane on the other hand, was truly terrible. As in, it was an event if he managed to knock down more than two pins at once terrible.
"Hey Jane, we can see if they'll put in the bumpers in for you if you want," Rigsby called out to the consultant after yet another gutter ball.
"Aren't you afraid that'd give the rest of us an unfair advantage?" Lisbon asked, taking a sip of her coke.
"No," Cho said. "You and Van Pelt rarely have balls that end up in the gutter before the end of the lanes so it probably wouldn't alter your scores too much."
"Ah," Lisbon replied, grinning.
"Good try Jane," Van Pelt said encouragingly, having apparently taken on the unofficial role of team captain. Not that Lisbon minded. As Rigsby had said, it was Van Pelt`s team. It seemed only fair given that the whole thing was her idea in the first place. Besides, it was nice to let someone else do all the organizing for a change.
"Yeah, you came really close to hitting one down that time," Lisbon added.
"You're enjoying this," Jane accused her.
"Absolutely," she said. "Something you're not irritatingly good at? You have no idea how happy I am right now"
"Well, I'm glad you're having a good time Lisbon," Jane told her. "But that's not what I meant. I meant this, in general" he said, gesturing around the moderately busy bowling alley.
"Yeah," Lisbon admitted. "I guess I am."
"They're happy too. I can tell," Jane assured her.
Lisbon looked at him, obviously amused. "Can you?"
"Yup."
"Well, at least you're better at reading people than bowling," she said after a moment. "And Rigsby's just happy because I bought the last round of fries," she shot back as she got up to bowl.
Jane smirked as he watched her go. He looked around. "How's it going Cho?" he asked across the group of chairs.
"Good," Cho agreed. "You?"
"Can't complain," Jane said with a shrug.
"Kind of mad I missed that last strike though," Cho added as an afterthought.
"There's always next time," Jane said cheerfully.
"I guess," Cho agreed.
"Speaking of next time," Lisbon said walking up to them. "You're up," she informed her consultant.
"Oh excellent," Jane said rising gratefully from his chair. "I'll do my best for the team ladies," he told his teammates. "But I can't promise anything."
"I can give you tips if you like," Lisbon offered.
"Is this going to turn into one of those things where you stand behind me and guide my arm while we both try and ignore the sexual tension simmering between us?" Jane asked.
"No," she replied with an amused snort. "But I suspect this is going to turn into me mocking you from about five feet away while I continue to take a perverse sort of pleasure in your not being good at something," she admitted.
"Ah," Jane replied. "I see your teaching method is based on positive reinforcement and raising self esteem."
"You don't need any more positive reinforcement," Lisbon shot back. "Now this time when you throw the ball, try and actually look at where the pins are."
"Oh, is that what I've been doing wrong?" Jane asked, cheerfully sarcastic. "Why thank you Lisbon. You've been so very helpful."
"No problem," Lisbon said as she watched him walk up to the lane. "Please tell me there was nothing riding on the outcome of these games when you first played," she asked Van Pelt.
"Not after the first one," Grace informed her with a smirk. "Teams were so unbalanced the guys felt bad. So we only had to buy the one pizza."
"Well that's something at least," her boss agreed.
Both women winced as Jane threw another gutter ball.
"You think he's doing it on purpose?" Van Pelt wondered.
"The thought had occurred to me," Lisbon admitted. "But what would be the point?"
"Does he need one? Maybe just knowing something we don't?" Van Pelt suggested. "Jane always likes that."
"Yeah," Lisbon agreed. "But you'd think the pleasure of the secret would be cancelled out by the sheer humiliation of this."
"True," Van Pelt admitted. "Hey, he hit a couple down this time!"
When Jane turned around in triumph both women were all smiles and encouragement. He smiled pleasantly at them. "Thanks so much for your support ladies," he told them. "And as to whether or not I'm faking, well, I guess you'll never know."
Lisbon looked at him. "He's not faking," she said after a minute. "He's really just terrible."
Jane looked surprised at her observation.
"How do you know?" Van Pelt asked.
"I didn't," Lisbon said. "But he looked surprised when I said I did, so now I really know that he's not faking. If he was faking he'd have covered better," she explained.
"What?" Jane asked, somewhat amused.
"She's right," Rigsby told him as he walked up. "I got another round of drinks," he said handing them around.
"Thanks," Van Pelt said, grabbing her sprite. "It's too bad," she admitted. If he wasn't faking we could've had a ringer."
"Yeah," Cho agreed. "You missed out on potentially winning a whole pizza, if we were still playing for anything at all."
"Better than nothing," Van Pelt said with a shrug.
"Y'okay?" Lisbon asked, nudging Jane in the shoulder as Van Pelt went to take her turn.
"You mean, is all this mockery wounding my delicate ego?" Jane asked. "I'm surprised you're asking Lisbon," he admitted. "I'd have thought you'd know how self-sufficient my ego is."
"Well, that's true," she agreed. "But I thought I'd better double check."
His eyes twinkled at her. "That's very considerate of you Teresa. But, I'm fine," he assured her. "Don't worry."
"Okay," she agreed before congratulating Van Pelt on a spare.
xxxxx
"I see Lisbon's turned the team's luck around," Rigsby said after the first game ended. "Don't know how the scoring's going to work now."
"Yeah, three against two seems kind of unfair," Van Pelt admitted.
"We could just include Lisbon and Van Pelt's scores next game," Cho suggested. "Guys against girls."
"And what am I?" Jane asked, "The poor patronized consultant?"
"You can be the cheerleader," Lisbon told him. "You're certainly pretty enough for it."
Rigsby was unable to contain the snicker into his beer. Lisbon grinned and handed him a napkin.
Jane appeared to be far too surprised to be offended.
Van Pelt looked at him appraisingly. "I don't know boss," she said. "He's got the looks, but the outfit needs work."
Lisbon glanced over. "We'll get him pom-poms for next time," she said with a shrug.
"Oh! Can they be pink ones?" Van Pelt asked.
"They can be any colour you like," Lisbon promised her. "You're team captain after all."
"You bring the pom-poms I'll bring the video camera," Cho suggested.
"Sounds good," Van Pelt agreed.
"Hey, when'd you get so good at the whole bowling thing Lisbon?" Jane asked, smoothly changing the subject, in his opinion at least.
Lisbon shrugged. "My parents used to take my brothers and me," she said with an air of studied indifference. "But I haven't been in a while." She walked up to take her shot as Van Pelt glared at Jane.
He raised his hands up in defence. How was he supposed to know? He was always telling them that he wasn't actually psychic. And how was he to know that bowling of all things would bring up potentially painful memories for their very private boss who'd just decided to start opening up again?
But Lisbon didn't seem to be too affected. After her turn she plopped down in the chair beside Jane again. "Hey," she said with a grin.
"Still having fun?" he asked her curiously. She seemed lighter, happier.
"Yeah," she admitted, nudging him in the arm. "Thanks for not giving up on me."
"Never," he told her. "We'd never give up on you."
"Well, maybe not right away at least," Lisbon said dryly.
Jane looked concerned.
"We can talk about it later," Lisbon promised him. "You know," she said after a minute. "Something like bowling, guaranteed to put me in a better mood than say, I don't know, hypnotizing the entire floor to wish me a good morning in an overly cheerful voice followed by a random animal noise. More trouble than it's worth. Simple really is best sometimes you know."
"Alright, that's it," Jane said. "You're seriously going to need to tell me..."
"What are you doing after this?" she asked.
"Well, nothing originally," Jane said. "But now I imagine I'm going to be doing whatever you're about to suggest."
"So, coffee at the place down the street?" she filled in.
"Do they have tea?" he checked.
Lisbon smirked. "Yes, Jane, like almost every coffee shop ever, I suspect that they do. And if they don't then we'll just have to find another, one that will even put the milk in first."
"You always put the milk in first," he remarked.
Lisbon shrugged, "Can't stand your whining if I don't."
"No, you just like doing things for people," Jane corrected. "When you're not cranky."
"Shut up," his companion said good-naturedly.
"Speaking of cranky," Jane added.
"Go take your turn," she ordered. "And remember, throw the ball straight and see if you can maybe hit one of the pins."
"Maybe if I had a little incentive," he suggested.
"Like what?" she asked suspiciously.
"I think you should buy me a cookie if I hit at least three pins down," he told her. "To go with my tea."
"I'll buy you two if you hit them all down," she promised.
He knocked down four. She gave him an exaggerated smile of praise, rolling her eyes when he demanded that his cookie be double chocolate chip.
xxxxx
Near the beginning of the third game Jane sat back and looked around. He liked to separate himself from the action from time to time. Made it easier to observe, to distance himself a little. He still hadn't figured out how that was going to work yet. He didn't want to pull back now, not when Lisbon was just starting to look happier. And he didn't want to make the team suspicious or worried, but he also needed to keep them off of Red John's hit list. It was going to take a delicate balance, and one he wasn't entirely sure how to achieve. That was why it was better to sit on the sidelines from time to time.
Cho and Van Pelt were both up bowling. At the moment they appeared to be discussing the likelihood of Grace picking up a spare. Cho didn't look optimistic, but Grace was certainly determined, which could count for a lot. Lisbon and Rigsby were sitting across from him arguing about baseball. Well, he thought it was baseball. It was definitely a sporting event of some kind that he personally didn't care about. Whatever it was, they both had very decided opinions but they also seemed to be enjoying themselves. Actually Lisbon had been cheerful for most of the evening. Ever since that night at the hotel she'd been... different. Jane could see her actively trying to reconnect with the people around her. It was... endearing. He knew her team had noticed a difference, though none of them had said anything to her, or to him actually, though he suspected they'd discussed it amongst themselves.
He wondered what had happened to prompt the change. Because it was clear something had. She was chatting with Van Pelt, checking in with Cho, and keeping a sporadic sarcastic commentary on the proceedings with Rigsby.
"What do you want to bet Cho's bowling form is absolutely perfect," Lisbon said to Rigsby, apparently tired of discussing baseball stats.
Rigsby watched his teammate bowl with a smirk, "Think he practices in front of the mirror at night?"
"Either that or he goes down to his local bowling alley to get some lane time in," Lisbon replied.
"Where he's a local legend, and the other bowlers are intimidated by him. That Asian guy who always bowls in the end lane but never speaks," Rigsby added.
"Our Cho's got a whole secret life," Lisbon said. "Think he owns his own ball?"
"Black," Rigsby guessed. "With The Cho engraved on it."
Lisbon nodded with a grin.
"I don't own my own ball," Cho told them as he walked by, but Jane could tell he was amused.
"Then where did you learn to bowl?" Rigsby asked curiously.
"I was in a junior bowling league when I was younger," Cho told them. "Our coach always said form was the most important thing."
"Really?" Lisbon asked, seeing as Rigsby was too busy grinning like an idiot to reply.
"Yeah," Cho replied. "It's your turn."
"How's my form?" she called over her shoulder as she grabbed her ball.
"You need to keep your shoulders a little straighter when you release the ball," he told her.
"I'll see what I can do," she replied as she headed over the lane.
"So does this mean you own a bowling league shirt?" Rigsby asked his partner.
"My Mom threw it out," Cho admitted. "Course it fit me when I was twelve..."
"Right," Rigsby replied.
"Is it just me, or are those guys over there looking at us a little strangely?" Van Pelt said, gesturing to a group a few lanes over.
"They've been watching us for a while," Jane informed her, as he waved cheerfully to the group, all of who either looked away quickly or waved awkwardly back. "I suspect they're wondering why we're here. Especially since we've had a run in with that tall gentlemen on the left before. That murder at the park a few months ago if I'm not mistaken. He was innocent of course, though I suspect he's not entirely law-abiding."
"I thought he looked familiar," Van Pelt said after a minute.
"Yeah, well, they don't need to stare at us like we don't belong here," Rigsby said. "We've got as much right as anyone to kick back with a couple hours of bowling."
"Maybe they're worried we're all undercover," Jane said cheerfully.
"Or they just don't like us because we questioned some of them and put one of their friends in jail," Cho suggested.
"Well, that's possible to," Jane said. "Much less fun though."
"Just ignore them," Lisbon advised, joining the group.
"I hate when people look at me differently when they find out I'm a cop. It's not just criminals either. Other people do too," Grace remarked.
"Actually, you probably get a double dose because you're a cop and a woman," Lisbon told her. "It's unfortunate, but you get used to it."
"It ever bother you?" Van Pelt asked.
"I can't let it bother me," Lisbon said gently. "Just gets in the way. I just pretend I don't notice it and move on. Comes with the territory."
"Plus, some people just don't like cops," Jane said cheerfully.
Lisbon rolled her eyes.
Van Pelt pouted, "It still sucks."
"Yeah," Rigsby agreed. "We protect the public. We're the good guys."
Jane caught Lisbon's eye and smirked. "God Bless us every one," he said before going to take his turn.
She laughed, as he'd expected her to.
She found him again after his turn. "You seem to be enjoying team bowling night," Lisbon remarked.
"What's not to like?" Jane asked. "Greasy food, good company, even the bowling itself can't ruin the experience."
"Yeah, it's nice being part of a team," Lisbon agreed.
Jane glanced at her in confusion. "You were always part of a team, Lisbon," he told her.
"I know. It's my team," she agreed. "But actually I was talking about you," she told him.
"What? I don't..." he said in confusion.
"I need you to work with me," she told him softly. "With all of us. I... well, I want you to as well. You can still be Jane too, but... Just think about it a little, okay?"
She got up to leave but he grabbed her hand to stop her. "I always try to..." he whispered.
"I know," she said. "But sometimes it doesn't quite work out."
"Sometimes it's better to be a cheerleader on the sidelines than to try and go for a strike you're ill-equipped to make?" Jane asked, smile back in place
"Something like that," she agreed with a grin.
"My being on your team may not be the best idea," Jane told her. "I'm certainly pulling you and Grace down tonight."
Lisbon shook her head. "You're our unofficial cheerleader," she corrected. "We need you."
Jane smiled softly. "You don't need me."
"Like having you then," Lisbon amended.
"For comic relief," Jane said dryly.
"Among other things," Lisbon admitted.
"This part of the new Lisbon?" he teased.
"Absolutely," she told him.
"Okay," he said.
"Okay?" she asked.
"I'll think about it," Jane told her seriously. Then more cheerfully, "Have to consider wardrobe stipulations and vacation clauses before I approve my contract."
"Go bowl," Lisbon told him.
"Yes ma'am."
Lisbon sat down and smiled to herself. It was a start.
xxxxx
"Alright, well, I should be going," Lisbon said as she reached for her jacket. "See you guys at the office."
Her colleagues responded with a chorus of "Later Boss," and "Night Boss."
Lisbon stopped, turned halfway back around and placed a hand on Van Pelt's shoulder. "Oh, this was a really good idea Grace. I had fun. Thanks for organizing it," she said somewhat quickly.
Then with a final wave, she shoved her hands in her pockets and walked towards the exit.
Jane grinned his mile-wide grin, patted a stunned-looking Van Pelt's arm, said a quick, "Good job Grace," and bounded after Lisbon demanding the cookie she'd promised to buy him.
She paused, glared at him indulgently, and waited for him to catch up.
Then they walked out together.
The other three watched them go.
"I told you she'd come eventually!" Van Pelt said to Rigsby suddenly.
"Hey, I always hoped you were right!" Rigsby said defensively.
"And she did think it was a good idea," Van Pelt repeated.
"It was a good idea," Cho said, his voice completely deadpan. "Now that Lisbon's back maybe she can figure out what's going on with Jane."
"Yeah," Van Pelt said with a sigh, as she put on her coat.
"How long before she's up in the attic after him?" Rigsby asked.
"She'll be up there next case," Cho replied confidently.
"I'm just glad one of us doesn't have to talk him down from there now," Rigsby said.
"I hear that," Cho replied. With that the three agents left the bowling alley as well. It'd been a tough year, but the team was fighting their way through, one bowling match at a time.
xxxxx
