'Till Death Do Us Part

A/N: To everyone who was very upset with me for what I did to Cho: Beware of cliches. They are dangerous little things that like to get stuck on the fur of plot bunnies. In this case, there are a lot of those damn little things stuck to my bunny, but never fear! I will not give in. Not to all of them, anyway. :)

Also, to everyone who thought that Lisbon was a little helpless in the last chapter, I promise, once the story's done, I'll go back and fix that chapter. It was a little awkward to write, but I'll get to it as soon as possible. I promise. Enjoy!


Chapter 9: A Rescue?

Joe had been homeless so long that he'd nearly forgotten his last name. Today, he'd gotten $5.37 and a can of beans. He was dead tired, and he hated walking the mile and a half from where he sat everyday to where he'd made his temporary residence: a mattress outside one of the apartment buildings that didn't bother to keep security at night. Right now, at four in the morning, all he wanted to do was curl up on said mattress and go to sleep.

The only problem was, it looked like it was soon to be occupied.

He stumbled back as the man fell through the air and landed hard on Joe's mattress. Joe's eyes widened, and the man groaned.

"Whoa, man, falling from the sky can hurt," Joe warned him.

The man opened his eyes and started to say something, but he was cut off as two other men came running up.

"Cho!" It was the darker haired one who spoke. "What the hell happened? Are you okay?"

"Peachy, Rigsby, thanks," snapped the man on Joe's mattress.

"Where's Lisbon?" demanded the blondie.

The man clenched his fists. "He got her." Suddenly his eyes widened. "Rigsby, go find them!"

"Too late, you know," Joe put in. The three men turned to stare at him. Joe suddenly felt very shabby in his torn jeans and weathered T-shirt. These men were all in suits, and he could tell that at least two of them were packing heat.

"That him?" Joe pointed to a car that went speeding by, headlights flashing.

"Damnit," the Asian growled, struggling to get to his feet.

"Whoa, hold it, stay down!" The darker haired one pushed the Asian back down. "We've gotta call this in."

"Are you mad?" snapped the blondie. "They're getting away! Whoever he is, he's got Lisbon!"

"Wait!" The Asian broke into the argument. "We need to find those FBI agents. Now."

"But how?" Rigsby asked anxiously.

"Ya could call 'em," Joe suggested.

The three men seemed to realize for the first time that the other man was even there. "Who the hell are you?" demanded Asian-boy.

"Joe," he said.

"Nice to meet you," Blondie said absently. "We need to find Lisbon!"

"Those FBI agents actually know what we're dealing with here," argued Asian-boy.

"We need to call it in!" snapped Darker-Hair.

"Uh, 'scuse me?" Joe broke in. "I found this the other night. Maybe it'll help ya?" He held out a card he'd found on the ground the other night. The letters F-B-I were written on the top in fancy lettering.

Asian-boy snatched it out of his hand. "What were those agents names?" he demanded.

"Uh, Eppes?" Darker-Hair said unsurely.

Asian-boy's phone seemed to materialize out of thin air, he pulled it out so quick.

"I need to make a call."


Don was woken at four in the morning by a loud ringing. He groaned and rolled over, feeling on the nightstand for his phone.

"Here."

He opened his eyes groggily to find Megan holding out his phone.

"Thanks," he muttered, snapping the phone open. "Eppes."

"This is Agent Cho from the CBI."

Don struggled into a sitting position. "Can I help you?"

"You came to the CBI office today to speak with Agent Lisbon?" asked agent on the other line.

"Yes," Don said hesitantly. Megan was frowning over at him, and he shrugged. "Why?"

"Something's happened."

In the background, he heard someone snap, "Oh, for God's sake Cho."

He heard a scuffling sound, then another voice came over the phone.

"That bastard kidnapped her."

Don's eyes widened. "Where are you?"

"Outside her apartment building," the other man said.

"We'll be there in ten," Don said, glancing at his watch.

"What the hell happened?" Megan demanded once Don had shut his phone.

"I knew she should have gotten our protection," Don growled, climbing out of bed. "Son of a bitch kidnapped her."

Megan's eyes widened. "How the hell did that happen?"

"Damned if I know," Don muttered. "Come on."


"What the hell happened?" demanded the dark-haired agent who'd been to the CBI office that day.

Cho turned, trying not to hurt his back or aggravate the EMT. In the ten minutes since the call, the building had been surrounded by the CBI and Sacramento PD.

"You're Eppes?" Rigsby asked.

"Yeah," the other man snapped. "Now what the hell happened?"

"He broke in," Cho growled. "Because I couldn't keep my damn eyes open."

"It's not your fault," Rigsby snapped. Jane said nothing.

"I fell asleep," Cho went on, ignoring Rigsby. "He broke in and got to Lisbon. I couldn't get to them in time. We fought, but he threw me over the rail." He jerked his head towards where Joe the hobo was being questioned by another CBI agent, still hovering protectively around his mattress.

"It's not your fault," Rigsby repeated. Cho didn't respond.

"Look, we don't have time to be arguing over who's damn fault it is," Reeves said. "We need to find her. Now."

"Well, yeah, that would be why we called you," Jane snapped.

"Jane, shut up," Rigsby snapped back.

"Why?" Jane demanded. "If Cho had kept his eyes open for a little longer – "

"Man, lay off it!" Rigsby growled.

"Okay," Eppes broke in. "I'm in charge here."

"No way," Rigsby said. "Not a chance. Our agent."

"My suspect," Eppes snapped back.

"Rigsby, just let him handle it," Cho said.

"Look, you'll still get a piece of the bastard," Eppes promised. "But this is my case." Reeves cleared her throat.

"Our case," Eppes amended.

"Okay," Rigsby said, giving in. "Okay. Fine. Your case."

Eppes nodded. "All right. I need to know exactly what happened."


"Here we are."

The car came to a stop. Lisbon dug her fingernails into her palms. Not for lack of trying, she'd been unable to get out of the car.

"Mac," she said calmly. "You need to take me back."

Mac shook his head. "No. I can't. They already want me because of Jeremy. Now though... I- I can't go back. Not now."

"Mac," Lisbon said. "They'll find me anyway. Just take me back."

"No!" Mac pulled out a long knife. "I can't. As long as I have this, they can't hurt me."

Lisbon shook her head. "Mac, it doesn't work like that. They're going to find me, and they're going to put you in jail. Bring me back."

"No!" Mac shook his head violently. "No, shut up." Instantly, his manner changed. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean it. Just, please, just... you need to be quiet. Please." He gently ran his fingertips over the side of her face.

Lisbon flinched. "Mac, why are you doing this?"

"Because I love you, Teresa," he whispered simply. "If we get away, we can be together forever."

"Mac," Lisbon said. "If you love me, you'll take me back."

"Why?" Mac asked desperately. "Don't you want this?"

Lisbon hesitated. She'd dealt with things like this before, although not in this position. She knew how unstable these guys could be.

"I... don't know, Mac," she said finally. "But I know what I do want."

Mac nodded. "Okay. Just one thing."


"We ran up, and Cho was – "

Rigsby broke off as Cho's phone rang.

"Sorry," the Cho apologized. He pulled his phone out. "Hello?"

"Cho?"

He nearly dropped the phone in shock.

"Lisbon?"


A/N: Another cliffie for you! :) Hope the update didn't take too long. I'll be gone on vacation for a week, but I'll try to squeeze in some writing when I can. Review!

Off to take over the world,

Crazy Girl