Author's Note: Sorry I didn't post this this morning. The download manager was not working earlier. Thank you yaba, tigerlily124, jisbon-sessed, mtm, Koezh, and Sophie Fatale for reviewing the last chapter. I'm glad I haven't scared everyone away yet ;o) Well, enjoy the next chapter even if it is a tad late.
Ch 8
"Who will give me comfort when it's cold?"
Lisbon woke with a jolt, disoriented as to where she was. Looking down at the object she was lying on, memories of the previous day came flooding back to her. If she tried real hard, Lisbon could pretend that this was a normal Friday morning. She could see Cho coming in first, eager to begin working followed by Rigsby and Van Pelt (five minutes apart of course attempting to hide the fact that they were now an item). Lastly, Jane would walk in with that typical boyish grin plastered to his face and four steaming cups of coffee in his hands. Even though the man preferred his own tea, it was a Friday morning tradition of his to present the caffeinated offering to the team.
Jane. The memory of a dream flashed across Lisbon's mind as she tried to remember the details. She had forgotten about the dream until just now. She had dreamed that Jane had come to visit her in the office.
Lisbon was awakened from her troubled slumber at the slightest touch upon her face. Curiously, she opened her tired eyes to come face to face with the man who had taken the color from her word.
"Jane?"
"Shh," he cooed.
His thumb continued its trail along her cheek, wiping the stil-leaking moisture from her eyes. "Don't cry for me Lisbon. I'm not worth the tears."
"Why Jane? Why did you not tell me what you were up to? I don't need protection from you. We could have gone together…all of us as a team."
"You know you can't stand my banter in the car."
"Right now, I would take a lifetime of your mindless banter over this figment of my imagination that I am being tortured with."
"Lisbon… I need to go right now but I can promise you one thing. Things will look a little brighter in the morning."
"Please Jane, don't go." Lisbon was pleading, "Who is going to catch Red John?"
Lisbon couldn't believe she was trying to reason with an imaginary Jane.
"I am Lisbon. I am. Don't fret," whispered Jane as he leaned in close to place a small kiss on Lisbon's forehead. "Sleep Lisbon"
"Mmhmm…" was the only response from Lisbon as she fell into a now dreamless sleep.
Lisbon glanced up at the clock on the wall and sighed. Dream Jane had been right about one thing. It was a brighter, physically anyway. The rain had stopped and the sun was now shining through the windows of the office. Lisbon almost preferred the dreary rainclouds over the mocking sunlight that greeted her this morning.
Jane's jacket must have slipped off her shoulders when she sat up. Retrieving it from the ground, she remembered that she had left her cell phone and purse in her office. Her team was probably worried about her by now. She would have to call them. Lisbon was a bit shaky as she stood up from the couch and made her way over to the small office. Picking up her phone, she was a bit surprised to find a total of eighteen messages. The first was Cho checking up on her sometime during the reception. The second was Rigsby calling to say that he and Van Pelt were leaving and that they would call her again in the morning. It was the third message that caused Lisbon to drop her phone in shock. She must have still been half asleep because only four words registered in her brain: cemetery, Red John, and custody.
Preview of next chapter: "If he so much as smiles too much, do what you have to."
So there you have the next chapter. One good thing about posting a bit later in the day is that it won't seem as long between this post and the next one ;o). Thanks for reading!
