Thank you all of you lovely people that take the time to review. You make it all worth while. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. Stay tuned, cause things are only getting started.
Jane followed Lisbon down the stairs and out the front door into the fading sunlight. She was now back in full Lisbon mode. Jacket firmly resting on her shoulders, her fedora pulled down over her face, and her glasses hiding those beautiful green eyes that Jane felt himself wanting to get lost in more than he would like to admit. The 'incident' in the office had definitely taken them both off guard, but even their admission of mutual physical attraction still felt a little foreign to him. And he was certain that it was even more so for her. It wasn't as if he had been gone without companionship since his wife had died. He had been in few light sided relationships, but nothing really worth pursuing.
The women he had previous kept company with had all been basically of the same mold. Most soft and delicate, needing someone to hold their hand and protect them. And they were all looking for the same thing; a husband to take care of them. That had been Jane's downfall in all of those relationships. He had never been able to commit to a single one of them. Lisbon was different. She was strong and intelligent, had ambition, and she most certainly did not need anyone to protect her, as she had proven time and again. But Jane was quickly coming to the indisputable conclusion that if she was ever in the need, he would do anything that he could to protect her.
His thoughts were interrupted when Lisbon turned suddenly to face him. Her brows furrowed giving her a look of someone with a lot on her mind. Jane didn't have to be a psychic to figure out what was bothering her.
"Look, Jane..." she started, but she never got to finish her thought.
"Mr. Jane!" They both turned to see Mouse barreling toward them, followed by a taller fellow not much older than the twelve year old. "How are you feeling?"
Jane rubbed his chin gingerly. The tell tale bruises were still there and his eye was still a little swollen, but overall, he stole a glance at Lisbon and grinned, he was feeling pretty good. "Not too bad kid."
"I was going to come over this morning, but..." his eyes dropped. "Dad got kinda sore that I was out so late."
Jane nodded silently and Lisbon was pretty sure that she saw a flash of anger in his eyes. She remembered what Jane had told her about Mouse's father, and she was certain that she understood what his father's definition of being 'sore' really meant. The boy had no visible marks on him which led her to believe that he did a really good job of covering them up.
"I never got to thank you for helping me." Jane finally said.
"It was nothing." The boy said. "But I couldn't have done it without Christian." He motioned to the taller boy who shrank back slightly. Clearly he liked to go unnoticed as often as possible.
Jane smiled. "Thank you, Christian." Then he suddenly squatted down to their level a decidedly excited look on his face. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a set of keys. "You know what? Just the other day, I bought a very large bag of those orange flavored candies that you like so much." Mouse's eyes lit up as Jane handed him the keys. "Let yourselves into the shop, the bag is behind the counter by the moon rocks."
Mouse grinned from ear to ear and nodded. "Thanks, Mr. Jane. Come on, Christian!"
Lisbon couldn't help but smile as the two boys darted away excitedly, skipping down the street. She watched Jane as he stood up to his full height. He blushed deeply when he noticed her gaze. "That was very sweet." She said simply.
"Well, you know..."
"He adores you."
"And I him. He's my best friend." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sounds pretty lame, huh?"
She shook her head. "Not at all." He granted her one of his patented smiles that sent chills up her spine and back again. This would never do. "Speaking of your shop." She said suddenly. "Do you ever plan on going back to work?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I find working with you much more diverting." She raised an eyebrow, and he realized how his remark could be construed. "All I meant was that police work is much more diverting. Jeez, Lisbon, you have a very dirty mind."
She wrinkled her nose at him. They really needed to discuss what had happened upstairs. But even as she opened her mouth...
"There's a good steak place over on Sixth Street." Rigsby was saying as he and Cho pushed through the front door and made their way to join Lisbon and Jane.
Cho nodded his head. "Sounds good to me. What do you guys think? Steak?"
Lisbon sighed. It would have to wait. "Sure, fine. Whatever you want."
Somewhere in the distance, they could hear a dull thunder rolling across the sky.
"Think it's gonna rain?" Cho asked.
Jane glanced up at the darkening sky; not a cloud in sight. He shook his head. "My guess would be...no."
**************************************************
Twenty minutes later, they were seated by the street, on the patio of the local steak house, enjoying the cool evening and the even better steaks. There had been little talk of the case. Mostly because they were at an impasse at the moment. Cooper wanted a deal to talk, but they knew who was really responsible for Sarah's death. And Daniel Harmon had done a good job of shielding himself from investigation.
Jane was entertaining Cho and Rigsby with mind reading tricks (parlor tricks really), and they seemed to be drawn into his little world of magic and mysticism. Well, only partly. They were both intelligent men and knew that it was simple case of smoke and mirrors, but they found it fascinating just the same.
Lisbon picked at her half eaten filet mignon , mostly just pushing it around on her plate; not really paying attention. She was frustrated that they had to walk on eggshells around Harmon, but Minelli had made his orders crystal clear. Harmon was close to the Governor so they had to be very careful when investigating them. Then there was Jane. Things had gotten way out of control in her office, and while the outcome with Rigsby and Cho had definitely been cathartic, she had let her guard down, and that could prove dangerous.
"Hello?" Jane waved his fork in front of her face. "You in there, Lisbon?"
"Yeah, just thinking about the case."
Their attention was taken from the conversation when they heard harried voices coming from down the street. As they turned to look, they saw uniformed police officers moving quickly toward them.
"Agent Lisbon!" They called, seeing her from the street. They hurried to them.
"Yes?"
"We were sent to find you." The younger of the officers breathed deeply. "there's been another bombing."
"What?!" Lisbon's eyes were a big as saucers. "Where?"
The older of the two glanced uneasily at Jane. "Mr. Jane's store."
Lisbon watched as Jane paled and looked like he might pass out as he stared at her. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely a whisper. "Mouse."
Realization dawned in Lisbon expression. "Oh my God."
Before either could explain to Cho or Rigsby, Jane jumped out of his chair, and easily leaped over the low rail that separated the restaurant's patio from the sidewalk and darted down the street; Lisbon at his heels. Rigsby and Cho quickly dropped money on the table and hurried after them.
By the time they arrived at the scene, the fire department was already working on dousing what was left of the flame. The building was nothing but rubble. Rigsby and Cho went straight to the fire chief to question him.
"Mouse!" Jane screamed as he tried to push his way past the barricade of police and fire personnel. Lisbon grabbed him from behind.
"Jane, don't." She said loudly over the barrage of noise and chatter. "Just wait. Let them do their job."
He looked around at the scene his eyes wide, but he wasn't seeing anything. Everything was a blur as the quick movements of the emergency crews whizzed around him. He felt like his knees would buckle at any moment. It was his fault. It was all his fault.
Lisbon grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him roughly. "Jane! Look at me!" He lifted his head and focused on the face in front of him, but he couldn't bring himself to speak. "Jane."
She was pointing at something. He followed her gaze to see two medics loading a small body onto a stretcher. Jane pushed himself away from her and hurried over to them. His breath caught in his throat as he approached, mentally preparing himself for what he would find. When he reached his destination, the knot that had twisted in his stomach suddenly released. Mouse was moving. It was a slow, unconscious movement, but a movement just the same. He was alive.
The small boy lay with his eyes closed, moaning softly. He had a large, bloody gash across his forehead and his arm lay across his stomach at an awkward angle. His entire body was covered in black soot. Jane pushed a stray hair out of the boy's face.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered. He was wasn't sure if Mouse could hear him, but he needed to say it just the same.
"Sir, we have to go." The paramedic said quietly.
Jane nodded and backed up as the medics lifted the stretcher and walked quickly to the waiting car. Lisbon approached placing a hand on his shoulder. "Come on." She said gently. "We'll follow them to the hospital." He gave her a numb nod, and didn't move as she left his side briefly.
"Rigsby, Cho, stay here and find out as much as you can, then meet us at the hospital." They both nodded. Then she found the fire chief. "Chief, we're going to assume that this related to the other bombings as of late, so we'll take over the investigation. My men will need your complete cooperation."
The older man nodded. "Of course, Agent, whatever you need."
She gave him a thin smile. "Thank you."
Jane was still standing where she left him, staring at the spot where the ambulance had only recently pulled away. Taking a deep breath, she took his hand in hers and guided him toward one of the police cars that had responded to the call. He got into the front passenger seat, and, after speaking briefly to the owner of the car, she got into the driver's seat and pulled out into the street.
*******************************
Jane hated hospitals, although he couldn't really think of a reason that anyone would like them. They were cold and sterile and had the distinct aura of sickness and death. And, of course, they reminded him of that fateful day when his wife had been brought there. It had been that very hospital where he had sat for what seemed like an eternity, silently waiting for his wife to die; already mourning the loss of his daughter. He hated hospitals.
He was very aware of Lisbon's presence by his side. She took control as soon as they walked into the emergency room – asking questions, finding out what Mouse's status was – he was very grateful. They learned that Mouse had thankfully not taken the full brunt of the explosion, scraping by with a large cut on his head, a broken arm, and various other cuts and burns. He was very lucky to be alive. Jane had been allowed to see him briefly, but the boy was still sleeping. Now they sat quietly in the row of very uncomfortable chairs right outside of his door.
Lisbon watched Jane sadly. She could only imagine what was going through his mind. He had lost his wife and child, and almost lost his best friend. She smiled at that last thought. Mouse was truly Jane's best friend. They looked out for each other. She knew that somewhere in the back of Jane's mind that Mouse was like his own, and she had the sneaking suspicion that Mouse felt the same way. As she gazed at him, she saw the pain etched in his handsome features, yet she didn't know what to say to comfort him. She silently cursed herself for not being more competent at the whole comforting thing.
She was torn from her thoughts by a loud noise at the end of the hall. A man and woman were talking wildly to one of the nurses. The man was obviously dominating the conversation while the poor nurse tried to explain the situation.
"Where the hell is he?" The man was practically shouting, moving quickly down the hall toward them.
"He's in this room, sir." The nurse hurried ahead of him to open the room where Mouse laid sleeping. "He's resting right now, so please try to make as little noise as possible."
"Don't tell me how to deal with my own son." The couple breezed past Lisbon and Jane, without regard, and quickly closed the door behind them.
Beside her, Lisbon heard Jane let out a breath. "Lovely parents." She commented.
Jane rested his head against the wall behind him and closed his eyes. "I told you." He said simply.
She nodded then looked up again as another pair moving toward them caught her eye. It was Rigsby and Cho. She stood up to greet them.
"How's the boy?" Cho asked.
Lisbon sighed deeply. "No worse for wear. Bumps and bruises and a broken arm. Nothing that he won't live through."
Both of her agents glanced at Jane, but she only shook her head. "What did you find out?"
Rigsby launched into their findings. "The bomb was set up to trigger when the door was opened, and blow when the door was closed again." He lowered his voice. "Whoever it was definitely wanted Jane to be inside when it went off."
Lisbon chewed on her lower lip. "How did Mouse get out?"
This time Cho spoke up. "We talked to his friend, Christian. According to him, Christian waited on the street while Mouse went inside. Only Mouse left the door opened when he went inside and didn't close it again until he left. So he was just on the other side of the door when the bomb went off."
"He was very lucky." Rigsby added.
Lisbon nodded. "Okay, wait over by the nurse's station. I'll get Jane and we'll head back to the office. This stops now." They both nodded and walked away. She turned back to where Jane was still sitting. As she watched him, she felt an overwhelming feeling of anger welling up. Someone – it wasn't hard to conclude who – had tried to kill Jane. That was unacceptable. That was personal.
Before she could get his attention, the door next to him opened again and the couple walked back into the hallway. The woman was weeping silently, but her husband made no move to comfort her. Instead he kicked Jane's foot, causing him to look up into the man's angry face. Jane calmly stood up to face him.
"You're Patrick Jane, yes?"
Jane nodded.
"You son of a bitch. It's your fault that my son is laying there in that room." He waved his hand awkwardly toward the room.
The woman placed her hand gently on his arm. "Joshua, please." she pleaded. Never looking at her, he pulled his arm from her grasp.
Suddenly, Jane's whole demeanor changed. He was mad. "Really. Maybe the fact that he has a lousy, deadbeat for a father who would rather get stinking drunk and use him for a punching bag than treat him like a real son had something to do with it."
"It was you." Mouse's father pointed a finger at him, his face scarlet with rage. "Hanging out all the time with a young kid. What are you some kind of pervert?"
"How about this?" Jane didn't flinch at the man's words. "He would rather spend time with a total stranger than have to go home and face the two of you." He sneered. "The two of you are pathetic."
Mouse's mother cried out now, sobbing uncontrollably. Jane felt a twinge of guilt at marking her with his anger, but she was as much to blame for doing nothing as the father. Joshua stepped forward. He and Jane were about the same size and build so now they stood nose to nose.
"I outta knock that smug look off of your face." Joshua ground through his teeth.
It was at this point that Lisbon decided to step in. She pushed a wedge between them, facing the angry man. "I suggest that you rethink what you are about to do here, sir. Or I will be forced to arrest you."
Joshua laughed as he looked down at her. "Oh yeah, you and who else little man."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Rigsby and Cho appeared behind them, standing just over Jane's shoulder. The man paled as he looked from Lisbon to Jane and then to the two large, pissed looking men standing behind them. For his part, Jane couldn't help but give him a sardonic grin, raising his eyebrows at him.
With his anger quickly deflating, Joshua backpedaled quickly. His wife put her arm around him and guided him back into their son's room.
Lisbon turned to Jane. "You certainly have a way with people."
He merely shrugged before turning to Rigsby and Cho. "Thanks." he said simply.
Cho gave him a small smile. "Anytime."
"Okay, everyone, fun's over. Let's get back to the office and see if we can't get this figured out. Harmon may have just made the mistake that we need to put him away."
Dum, da dum dum....8P
Up next...Grace is back, and Jane comes up with a crazy idea to bring Harmon down (oh course). So crazy, it might just work.
