Author's Note- Short, but I figure it's better than nothing.
Disclaimer- If it were mine, this is what would have happened... I think. So it's obviously not.
Her name, shouted at the top of his lungs, shattered the previously grief-heavy air, interrupted the woman in front of her, and stopped Lisbon's heart- all simultaneously. Like a gunshot ringing out and the released bullet taking her before she could react.
Reacting to it was all that she could do.
She was up and out the back door faster than she had moved since she'd found Jane that night in the water. Faster than she feared she would ever be able to move again. It didn't even register that one of the plain clothes detective was right behind her as she hurried through the kitchen where Jane obviously wasn't and sprinted out into the backyard. She hadn't even registered taking out her gun, but there it was in her hand, ready at a moment's notice.
There he was. Jane. Alive at least, though from the look on his face it might be a momentary condition. He tripped a little as he pointed toward the door behind him, at the same time that he was shoving two small girls toward the back door.
Carefully, she herded the girls around her and her drawn weapon, peeking over her shoulder. Their mother was there by now, followed closely by a swarm of police. So she put them from her mind. Meeting Jane's frightened, pale expression, without even questioning him, she went to have a look. Her gun preceded her as she edged into the small room. Her eyes were drawn to it the moment she passed the threshold and except for a quick glance around the garage to clear it, she couldn't look away.
The entire back wall of the building was taken up by a huge, bloody red smiley face.
The detective moved around her, scanning the garage, took one look at the wall and instantly turned a shade of green. "Is t-that... blood?" He looked to her. "Isn't that-"
Lisbon looked around furtively, backing up several steps, taking it all in in one more sweep, and then was back out the door, barking orders. "I want this family in protective custody NOW!" She pointed at the girls and their mother, the father coming to encapsulate his family guardedly in his arms.
The oldest of the girls had already started sobbing in fear and the little one was quick to follow, even as they were hustled away by the other detective and several uniforms.
"Get CSU down here," she spoke to a uniform, then raised her voice to be heard by all. "Cordon off this whole house, I don't want a single solitary thing touched till they get here." She turned back to the garage, where the detective was still staring and swallowing as though he was going to be sick. "Detective. Detective!"
He started and pulled himself back together quickly to step to her side.
"Get the call in and follow up with the first on the scene, I want to know what they saw and when."
Stoically, he nodded, cast one glance back at the garage and hurried to do what she'd said.
While all this had been going on, Jane had sunk onto a picnic seat nearby, gripping his head.
She felt a thrill of worry and fear. "Jane." Her voice was quiet, meant to be soothing, but when he didn't react, she spoke up. "Jane! Are you okay?"
Still, he stared at the ground beneath his feet as though it were holding him steady.
"Jane!"
He looked up, finding her eyes dazedly. "What?"
"I said, are you okay?"
Squeezing his eyes shut, he looked like he was trying to push his headache back with the one hand pressed to his temple. "Yeah, yeah. I'm- I'm fine."
Not buying it, she came to him and knelt before him, dipping her head to catch his eyes, checking the pupils as he looked back at her. Something about the fear and sickness in the blue-green depths made her heart feel like it was in a vice, wanting to grow but unable to find the room, wanting to shrivel but too full. She took a shuddering breath.
Jane hung his head against one hand.
Suddenly, as though acting on a will separate from her own, her fingers were on the other side of his head, brushing through his hair. His scalp was hot to the touch. "Your head?"
Wordlessly, he nodded. He seemed to be swallowing down the urge to be sick.
She needed to do something. This was too much- too much for her and certainly too much for him right now. Honestly, wasn't it enough that he'd died, now Red John had to rear his sick little head? In an effort to soothe, Lisbon spoke softly to him, far softer than she usually did. It made her feel strangely vulnerable, but this was about him right now. "'S okay, Jane. This can wait." Gently, she started to lift up on his arm. He made an attempt at protesting, but she refused to listen. "The kids, the family, is safe. CSU's on the way. Let's get you out of here."
Getting under the man's arm, she draped it over her shoulder and walked Jane carefully back out to her car, giving orders right and left as she guided the silent man leaning heavily on her. A couple unis asked if they were alright, but she waved them away.
Jane wouldn't want attention drawn to himself, not like this anyway. For a spotlight hog, he was surprisingly sensitive about this kind of stuff. What was more surprising to her though was that he didn't try to fight her harder. Normally a wild elephant wouldn't be able to pull the man away. However, she had a feeling he was actually worse than he was trying to let on, so she'd take him to hospital while he was feeling too crappy to put up a fight. Perhaps she was playing dirty, but she really didn't care as long as he got checked out.
Maybe afterward she'd take him back to work, get him to sleep a little more on her couch while she followed up on a few leads she'd gotten off the Listers. It couldn't hurt.
Sliding the consultant off her arm and awkwardly into the car, she closed the door and went around to hop. If Jane got a clear bill of health, she'd be able to focus on this case a little more thoroughly. She might even be able to figure out why this disciple, or Red John, might be targeting this family.
