A/N I'm almost through with this story :o( but I already have another one in the works :o). I'll tell you all about it with the conclusion of this one. Here's the next chapter.

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Part 11

Jane was officially bored. He had sent Lisbon out of the hospital to get some real sleep after assuring her he would behave and not try to spring himself out of the hospital. It was early in the morning but Jane, as usual couldn't sleep. His room was way to quiet. Oh how he longed for the constant noise of the CBI. Even in his bunker in the attack, he could hear the constant bustling of activity in the lower floors of the building. And his couch, how he missed the old thing. It was such more preferable than the hospital bed he was forced to sleep on.

He looked at the room when his eyes caught sight of the crutches leaning against the wall a few feet from the bed. The doctor had told me he would start learning how to use them later on in the day. What was there to learn? Jane had used crutches a few times in his life so how much different could it be this time? He promised Lisbon he wouldn't escape the hospital but had said nothing about going for a stroll. Now, what to do about the monitors and the annoying IV keeping him tied to the bed? The first dilemma was as easy as the flip of the switch. The second was a little bit more complicated and involved pulling the IV out of his arm and then tying off the line so it wouldn't leak all over the clean hospital floor. Jane was just on IV nutrients so he figured it wasn't vital. Besides, if they would just give him some tea and a sandwich, he would be all set.

Now that Jane was no longer tied down, he moved to sit up, a bit too fast. A wave of nausea hit him but eventually passed as Jane waited it out. Slowly he stood, using the bed to balance as he hobbled in the direction of the crutches. Finally reaching his goal, Jane took the crutches and leaned on them for a few seconds, catching his breath. Eventually, he made his way out of the room. Jane was unfamiliar with the hospital since he had only seen inside of his two rooms so he simply let the sounds lead him. Quicker than Jane figured, he began to tire and plopped himself down on the nearest seat he could find. He looked around and was slightly horrified when he realized where he had ended up.

Jane looked ahead of him at the large pane of glass that separated him from the room just outside of the hallway. Behind the glass, rows of bassinets filled the room, each containing a new life. Jane swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. What ill fate had led him to this particular area of the hospital? Jane's attention was fully on the room in front of him so he barely noticed when a man sat next to him.

"Hey."

Jane looked to his right to see the man who was now invading his personal space. The man was taller, with brown hair and glasses. From the content yet tired look in the man's eyes, Jane figured the man was probably a new father. That, and the fact that they were right outside the nursery after all. Jane was in no mood for talking so instead, nodded at the man before averting his gaze, pretending to be interested in something down the hall. Jane really wanted to leave but it was a long way back to his room and he didn't remember any rest stops along the way.

"I hope you don't mind me asking but what happened to you? You look pretty rough man."

Damn. This guy didn't give up did he? "I uh, got in a fight with a rock, well, a couple of rocks actually and the rocks won."

The man looked confused but thankfully didn't push it any further. "My name's Rob. Rob White. My wife's sleeping. We uh, just had our second child, a daughter. I couldn't sleep. Hospital chairs are really uncomfortable."

"Patrick Jane and congratulations."

"Thanks. You have any kids?"

Why did people always have to go there? "No. No children."

"Too bad mate. They're great."

Jane managed a slight nod. Ok, time to change the subject or get out and since Jane wasn't ready to move, he was forced into the former. He was about to ask the man where he could get some food when a nurse walked over to them. Busted, Jane thought.

"Mr. White. Would you like to see your daughter?"

"Sure."

"Ok, give me a minute to get her. I'll be right back."

Not good. Seriously why did these things always happen to him? Could he just walk away before the nurse came back? No. Calm down, he told himself. You've been in similar situations before and handled them just fine. The nurse came back.

"Here's Abigail for you."

Rob took her daughter and Jane watched the interaction between the two. Abigail was awake despite the early hour. Her bright eyes were locked on her father and little hands stretched out to grab his nose. Rob smiled and then looked over at Jane.

"You wanna hold her?"

"No, that's ok." Jane quickly stated.

"Seriously, here. You should hold her." Rob wasn't taking no for an answer.

Jane hesitated before reaching over to accept the offer. Rob handed Abigail to Jane. She looked from her dad to the consultant as if unsure of what to think.

"Hey beautiful." Jane cooed, taking in the innocent life before him. Abigail reached towards Jane's face like she did with her father but instead grabbed Jane's chin. Indescribable warmth flooded him at the slight touch. Jane smiled, surprisingly glad to share this moment with Abigail.

Jane handed Abigail back to her father and then grabbed his crutches, preparing to leave. "I uh, gotta get back to my room before the nurses start worrying about me. Thank you."

"No problem man."

Jane stood up and then turned around to face Rob again. "Take care of her. Don't take a single day for granted."

Rob didn't know what had brought that on but nodded at Jane. "I will." He watched as the strange man with crutches turned away, took two steps, and then stopped again. Before Rob could react, Jane crumpled to the ground in front of him, crutches and all.

"NURSE!"

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End of part 11

So, I didn't think Jane could make it through his entire hospital stay without getting into trouble. What do ya'll think?