CHAPTER 10 – Hospital Denial
Bip…. Bip…. Bip… Bip...
That was the first thing Lisbon heard. She felt extremely dizzy. A pain in her abdomen forbad her to move. She slowly opened her eyes.
At first, the room appeared blurry. All she could distinguish were the blue walls and the white blinds on the glass door.
Her throat was dry and she felt the need to cough. She inhaled deeply. Her lungs felt empty and weak. She needed more air.
"Lisbon?"
That voice was so familiar to Lisbon that she did not have to glance towards the man sitting on a chair near her bedside to guess who it was.
"Jane?" she asked in a fainted voice.
"Shhh…. Do not speak too much. The doctors said you needed to keep your strength." Jane said in a soothing voice. Much too soothing Lisbon thought. It was the first time she could explicitly hear actual care and compassion in his voice.
"What happened?" She said ignoring his previous recommendation.
"Well… you got shot."
"Oh really? It thought the pain in my abdomen was due to the flu."
"I see agent Lisbon is back."
Lisbon was about to retort when a doctor entered the room. He was a tall man, early 40s, and was smiling at Lisbon.
"It is good to see you awake agent. How are you feeling?"
"I feel fine. I mean a bit of pain in my abdomen but apart from that, I am fine."
"That is normal. We had to operate directly when you came in the hospital. The bullet was lodged in your abdomen, but luckily for you, it did not cause any severe internal damage. We still have to monitor you for a few days but you should be fine."
"A few days? Are you sure it is necessary? I am an agent and the CBI needs me on a case."
"I am well aware. Do not worry, two agents will be guarding you door night and day, as according to your superiors, your life may be threatened. However, I am afraid you still have to be monitored. You need to rest. Any physical effort might cause your stiches to open up. You have to be careful."
"But doctor…"
"You heard the man in the white coat with years of training. You need to rest. Do not worry, we are safe here." Jane cut her.
"But…"
"No buts! She is a stubborn one this one." Jane said to the doctor with an amused look on his face.
"Excuse me?! I am the stubborn one?! Look who is talking!" Lisbon retorted disdainfully.
"Well I am not the one refusing to rest after being shot."
"I feel fine!"
"No you do not!"
"Yes I do."
"No."
"Yes."
"No!"
"Well…" The doctor cut them. "I shall check up on you later. I leave you in the good hands of your husband."
"He is not my husband." Lisbon retorted immediately.
"Oh I am sorry …. Boyfriend."
"He is not…"
"Oh sweetheart, let the doctor leave and stop being so fussy." Jane interrupted her in a fake over-caring voice while holding Lisbon's hand. The doctor quickly disappeared behind the door.
Lisbon slapped his hand away and glared at him.
"Look who is grumpy."
"I am not grumpy." She said pouting.
"Oh yes the pout really proves your point."
"I do not pout."
"Hey I did not say you did not look cute when you pouted." He winked at her.
That is when she noticed that Jane was still wearing the same clothes as the ones on the roof. He was however not shirtless anymore, as she clearly remembered them picking up their clothes before going down the ladder. The events which followed were still a bit blurry in her mind.
"Jane how long have you been here?"
"Well I came here when they brought you in, and you know, waited for the surgery to end, and then for you to wake up."
"Have you not gone home this entire time?" Lisbon asked almost shocked by his nonchalant tone.
"Well no. Why? Is that a bad thing? Are you going to sue me for staying with you after a bullet went through your abdomen?" He asked sarcastically.
"No… no… I did not mean… I meant: thank you." She gave him a small smile.
"Yes…. Well… any time." He said with a hint of discomfort in his voice.
"But I am fine now. You should go home and have some rest too. Change, eat. Do not worry about me. I'll be fine."
"No Lisbon I assure you, I am fine. I do not mind staying here."
"Go home Jane. You do not have to take care of me."
"When was the last time I did anything you asked me to do anyway?"
"Point taken but still, I insist. I am in the hospital already. I doubt there could be anywhere worse really."
His eyes suddenly held a very serious look. She was used to him being reluctant to whatever she said but this time it was different. He seemed to have a genuine reason to be stubborn.
"Jane what is it?"
"Lisbon I just can't leave you…" Jane said very solemnly.
"What… do you mean?" Lisbon asked hesitantly.
"You jumped in front of me." He mumbled while lowering his eyes to the floor, almost seeming embarrassed.
"Well I am an agent Jane, that is what I do. I try to save people."
"Yes but it was supposed to be me in this bed." Jane brought his eyes back on Lisbon. He looked so truthful, with a soupçon of guilt in his voice that Lisbon so rarely heard, unless he was talking about his dead wife and daughter.
"Oh Jane please do not do that to yourself. It is not your fault! I was the one who jumped in front of you. If you want to blame someone, blame the police academy for teaching agents to rely on their basic protective instincts."
Her attempt at a joke made him smile. He could not help the way he felt however. Since his wife and daughter had been dreadfully murdered because of him, it seemed like every time he let himself care for someone else, their imminent death awaited.
Lisbon saw the guilt in Jane's facial expression. She took his hand and gave him her best smile.
"Hey I am alright okay. See. All good and alive."
Jane had no reaction and persisted to stare at the floor.
"Jane look at me. I am well. See. I can move."
She flexed her right arm but still got no response from Jane.
"Hey I can even dance for God's sake!" She started to shake her upper body in what seemed to be a traditional Indian dance.
Jane lifted his head up to watch the woman in the bed attempting to cheer him up.
"See!" she said finally stopping her attempt at traditional Indian dancing.
"Yes. I think you would make an excellent contestant for 'Dancing with the Stars'." He answered while trying to suppress a chuckle. However hard he tried, a few seconds later, he erupted into laughter.
"Oh my god Jane! You are such an ass!" Lisbon yelled when she realized he had evidently played with her.
"I am sorry Lisbon but you are an exquisite dancer. Would you mind sharing more of your bodily knowledge?"
She took a pillow and hit him with it. She crossed her arms while glaring at him.
"Oh look who is pouty again? Come on Lisbon. I must admit that what I said was true but your attempt at expressing comfort was more than hilarious."
She refused to answer and just stuck her tongue out.
"How mature. Maybe you could add it in your dance?"
Before Lisbon could throw another pillow to his face, a nurse entered with a tray of food.
"Here is a nice dinner for you."
Lisbon smiled at her. "Thank you."
"Oh I must say Madam you are very lucky to have such a dashing and charming husband."
"He is n…" Lisbon tried to answer but Jane cut her.
"Oh thank you Mandy but I think you are the dashing and charming one." He winked at her while giving him one of his signature smiles. The nurses giggled while walking out of the room.
"Oh Patrick you are so charming and gorgeous and can you please marry me and have my babies?" Lisbon mimicked the nurse in a high-pitched voice.
"Oh Lisbon, no need to be jealous."
"I. Am. Not. Jealous." Lisbon retorted while violently opening her yoghurt.
"Keep telling yourself that darling."
"I have been fake married to you once. I think that is enough for one lifetime."
"Oh yes I will always cherish all our memorable moments on the rooftop where angry men in suits tried to kill us both. What lovely memories!" Jane said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Hum… speaking of that…. So that thing you said before they tried to shoot you… hum what did you mean exactly?" Lisbon muttered while avoiding looking straight at him.
Jane did not answer immediately. He seemed somehow hesitant.
"Hum what do you mean? What did I say? I was kind of hyped up."
"Oh yeah boy me too. I really thought we were going to die this time around."
"Ah see Lisbon, you should not underestimate your own colleagues, it is not very nice of you."
"I wasn't implying that.."
"Ah ah ah but your subconscious had this thought though." Jane cut her.
"No it didn't! I completely trust my colleagues!"
"Denial is not an attractive quality Lisbon."
"I am NOT in denial! Of all the people who work with me, YOU are the one who is the least trustworthy."
"Anger now Lisbon, you'll eventually get to acceptance."
"I am not grieving Jane I am just saying that..."
"You have trust issues?" Jane finished her sentence receiving another pillow in the face.
They were both startled by the sudden voice behind them.
"If I knew you guys were having a sleepover, I would have brought my own pillow too." Van Pelt joked as she walked into the room. Upon her entrance, Lisbon smiled enthusiastically.
"It is good to see you. So sweet of you to come pay me a visit."
Both women exchanged a warm hug.
"I see you are still in enjoyable company." Van Pelt answered while eying Jane.
"That's funny because 'enjoyable' would not be the way I would describe it." Lisbon retorted wittingly.
"The medication is making her fuzzy. Do not take what she says as the actual truth."
Lisbon rolled her eyes. The three colleagues continued to engage in a comfortable discussion until Jane stated it would be good for Lisbon to rest. Although Lisbon tried to prove him wrong, she eventually gave in and let both agents out of her room. Van Pelt and Jane decided to grab a coffee before going back home.
"So how are things at the office?" Jane asked while stirring his espresso.
"Well since the shooting, it has been pretty tense. We are really working hard to find Boccelli. We are on the verge of getting a warrant for his house but with a man this powerful it is never easy to follow common procedure."
"Ah yes influence can be quite the power source."
Van Pelt nodded while taking a sip of her cappuccino.
"Anyway, I wanted to ask your expertise on something as a woman."
The agent frowned at his statement. It was not in his habit to ask for advice.
"Hum… sure as long as it does not involve lingerie because if it is that, I really do not want to know."
Jane chuckled at her reaction. "Do not worry, it is not that. Okay so, what would you say if I told you I love you."
Van Pelt was taken a little aback but flashed him a warm smile. "Oh Jane, that is sweet! I all love you too: you, Lisbon, Rigsby and Cho."
"Okay now say that I tell you that as someone is about to put a bullet in my head and we have recently kissed in a shower, would you still have the same reaction?"
The agent's expression changed suddenly as she frowned once more.
"Jane what did you do?" she asked in a you-better-tell-me-now voice.
"Oh nothing it is just pure speculation really. Hypothetical situation."
"Jane. What. Happened?" She insisted in an authoritative tone.
"Well, let's just say Lisbon and I kissed and then we had to run to the roof to avoid the bad guys and one of them tried to kill me and before I thought he was going to shoot me, I told Lisbon I loved her."
It took a few seconds for Van Pelt to register all the information.
"You did WHAT?!"