Title: Bloodletting
Disclaimer: I still own nothing, aside from James Bertram, Kristina Saffron and Lewis Charles.
Thank you to Guest and Frogster for reviewing! You two are the best!
Rigsby eyed the broth in distaste, as he continued to twirl the spoon within the light-colored liquid. He pressed his back against the headboard and heard the faint sounds of his rumbling stomach, which caused him to rest his head against the headboard also and close his eyes. He was exhausted and all he wanted to do was sleep, but he couldn't; he was expecting Jane to call on him at any minute, and as much as he hated following the orders from the Pirate Captain, he didn't want to provoke Jane's wrath even more.
Although Jane losing Kris hadn't been his fault, Jane continued to act as if everything could be rested on his shoulders. The night watches (from Kris's punishment, prior to stepping onto Cannibal Cove) coupled with Jane's ridiculous requests (his need to have someone watching James and Kris at all moments of the day) meant that he rarely slept more than four hours a night. Rigsby had thought that things would have gotten better on Cannibal Cove, but Jane's bedroom sat next to his and Grace spent most of her spare time with Lisbon.
He went to twirl his spoon again, when someone slammed his or her fist into the door and Rigsby set the bowl aside. He stood from the bed and opened the door with a heavy sigh.
"What Captain?" He kept his gaze lowered. Jane wasn't someone he wanted to deal with, especially if the man was in a temper; and because of the events from weeks ago, Jane's temper was something he never wanted to tempt again.
Rigsby glanced up at the sound of Kris's voice. "As much as I appreciate the respect being shown to your Captain, I can tell you that I'm not the Captain." He watched her cross her arms against her chest. "Can I come in?"
"You're the first mate," Rigsby responded, dully. He had no antagonisms toward Kris; the first mate had only been doing her job and yelling at them for startling Lisbon was something she should have done. Regardless of how the fight had started, Kris had trusted them both to consider someone else besides themselves and they had both failed her and Lisbon. "If you want to come in, go ahead." He returned to his spot on the bed and stirred his broth again, before setting aside the bowl and waiting for Kris to dress him down again. "What did I do wrong, First Mate Saffron?" In the last few weeks of them being on Cannibal Cove together, she and he had rarely spoken five words to each other and most of the words she had to direct toward him had come from Jane.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Rigsby," Kris said and Rigsby glanced up at her in mute surprise. Kris's soft smile spoke volumes and he wondered who had forced her into talking to him, especially as both Grace and Cho had been pressuring him to apologize for his actions. "Much to my surprise, Lisbon approached me earlier about you." Rigsby continued to stare at Kris and held his breath. Stiles had banned them all from being in Lisbon's presence, which had made no sense to him. Jane was an ass, Rigsby agreed to a certain extent, but it didn't mean that all of them were asses toward the ex-first mate. James had spoken on his behalf to Stiles and Stiles had allowed him into Lisbon's sanctuary, only for the ex-first mate to ignore him at his apology.
"Do you blame her for ignoring you, Wayne?" James had asked him, sitting down next to him. Rigsby had glanced at James with a frown. "You not only ruined Kristina's engagement to Patrick, but you also reminded Teresa of her stay on the Red Rum." James' words had made him roll his eyes. Whatever James thought, Kris was better off without the likes of Patrick Jane on her arm. "Teresa only wants her friends happy and she wants to feel safe again, which you threatened by punching Patrick."
"Bertram!" Rigsby had tried to keep his temper with Grace's brother, but his lack of sleep had increased his irritation. "Focus on your own damned relationships. I don't need the help of someone, who left his family behind."
James had leveled him with a frigid stare, which he had ignored. "I did it to protect them from Red John."
Rigsby had snorted. "Some good that did them both! You practically gave Kris to Timothy Carter and you practically gave Grace to your father, so I have to commend you for your brilliant idea!"
He wasn't proud of his comment to James, as James was already dealing with enough. James had to deal with the wrath of Jane, he also had to deal with the moments of emotional insecurity from Grace, who thought he was going to leave her and he had to deal with Kris's cold personality constantly.
"She said you apologized to her, which is more than Jane has done." Kris let out a sigh and Rigsby grimaced. Even prior to her kidnapping, Jane had rarely apologized to Lisbon. It was just something she took and if she had a problem with it, Jane usually somehow found himself facing the barrel of a gun once or twice. "She understands you didn't mean to scare her, but she's still worried that you'll turn out like Timothy Carter."
"I wouldn't!" Rigsby blurted and Kris eyed him. "I'm not Timothy Carter! I would never hurt Lisbon! I'm not the Red Rum, I'm not Red John and I'm not Patrick Jane!" He shot from his spot on the bed and staggered, exhausted from the lack of sleep. "Why in the world would she compare me to Carter, Kris? I'm not…I'm not…" Rigsby collapsed back onto the bed and tried to bury his head in the pillow, before he felt Kris's hand at his back. He didn't pull his face from the pillow; he merely allowed her hand to rub against his back.
"She compares me to O'Laughlin, Wayne," he heard Kris mutter. "It's not something I want to focus on, but I keep asking myself why. What am I doing that Craig O'Laughlin did to her?"
"You're just being there for her," Rigsby quietly reasoned. "Lisbon will eventually heal, Kris."
"I hope so." The uncertainty in Kris's voice unnerved him. Before his and Jane's fight, Kris had sounded so sure about Lisbon's recovery, but hearing that the first mate had her doubts made him fear that he had royally screwed up.
"I'm sorry, Kris. I'm…" He felt her hand rubbing against his back again.
"I know you are," Kris interrupted. "But this isn't your fault, Rigsby." He wanted to argue with her, but Kris continued to speak. "Let me handle Lisbon, you need to handle yourself and your own issues first." Rigsby pulled his head away from the pillow to stare at Kris, who sat on the edge of his bed. "You're exhausted, you're isolating yourself away from everyone, and Grace is worried sick about you. If this is all because of Lisbon, Rigsby…"
"It's not," Rigsby admitted.
"Or," Kris continued. "If any of this involves your conversation with Bertram, I can assure you that he isn't angry with you." Rigsby glanced at her. James had told her about the subject of their fight. If it weren't for how much it exhausted him to smile, he would have smiled at the continuing news that James and Kris were both on good terms and speaking. "I forgive you and he forgives you, Wayne. Get some sleep, okay?" He opened his mouth to argue with her, when she started to speak again. "It's an order, Rigsby. I want you to sleep and I want you to eat properly. You can't keep running yourself into the ground, just because your Captain decides to make it his business to put every hard task on you."
Rigsby nodded, before he placed his head against the pillow again. "Okay. I'll get some sleep." The bed seemed like a good idea and if he couldn't sleep, he'd always find something else he could do in bed. "Thanks, Kris."
"Don't thank me, Rigsby." He heard Kris's voice once more. "You should be thanking Grace, who alerted Lisbon to the idea that Jane was possibly targeting you for what I decided." Rigsby said nothing. "Regardless of what he says, you're not why I decided to end our engagement." Well, he already knew that.
"I'll thank Grace right now…"
"You're going to sleep right now. Grace can wait, Rigs." Rigsby knew Kris was right. He wouldn't be able to smooth over everything with his neglected girlfriend, especially if he were dead on his feet; he wanted to explain himself to her and it made him smile that she had gone through all of this, just for him. "Night, Rigsby."
"Night, Kris."
Rigsby waited until he felt her hand disappear from his back, before he closed his eyes and waited for his thoughts to settle.
He smiled at the feel of Grace's cool lips against his forehead, as he slowly opened his eyes find Grace leaning over him. He felt a lone strand of her hair tickling at his neck and Rigsby used one of his hands to tug gently, which caused Grace to chuckle.
"Good morning, Wayne," Grace greeted, before he felt her lips on his own. He smiled into the kiss and closed his eyes; her kiss, in his opinion, was a cure to every ailment in the known world. Rigsby felt his exhaustion and small pang of hunger fade away, as he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. Grace eventually pulled away and he eyed her with a frown. "Did you get plenty of sleep?"
Rigsby nodded, while he moved to rest against the headboard. Grace moved with him, until she pressed her head against his bare chest and took his hand in hers. He said nothing to her for a moment. "Did you sleep any?"
"Some," Grace said, before she fell silent.
The silence, to Rigsby, felt as if it just wouldn't end. He wanted to apologize to Grace for his behavior, for shutting her out, for being a horrible boyfriend, but he couldn't. He knew he deserved her temper, but the longer he sat in the silence, the more he wondered why Grace had helped him out in the first place. "You're here."
"Good observation, Wayne," Grace commented and Rigsby eyed the top of her head. "Where else would I be?"
"Away from me?"
He heard Grace scoff. "Don't be ridiculous!" Rigsby shook his head. "You're a good man, Wayne. I'm not going to leave you just because you argued with Jane; I'm also not going to leave you, just because you gave Stiles the trouble of finding me an extra room." He watched her head move slightly, until her eyes met his. "I'm not mad at you."
"You should be, Grace."
"Do you want me to yell you at you? Do you want me to tell you how horrible you are?" Grace asked him, scowling. "In the time we've been dating, you've never locked me away or raised a hand toward me."
"I would never lay a hand to you, Grace," Rigsby replied, wrapping his arm around Grace. The mere thought of turning out like his father was enough to turn him away from any potential violence, especially as Grace deserved better than what her father had given to her. "I love you, so why would I put a hand to you?" Grace's scowl became a slight smile.
"Exactly, Wayne. You shut me out for a little while, but this was expected."
"It was?" Rigsby was confused. Cho had called him an idiot for shutting Grace out, especially when she seemed to be the only female crewmember that would even associate herself with him. He hadn't listened, mainly because he wanted to get over his issues with Kris and Jane first. "I'm truly sorry though…"
"I know you are," Grace replied, squeezing his hand. "Lisbon warned me that you'd be temperamental after Kris's words to you. I just didn't think you'd be temperamental toward me." He tightened his arm around her. "I'm not mad at you and I'm not upset with you. I'm just disappointed that you couldn't hold in your temper, especially with someone around whom…"
"I know," Rigsby agreed, regret coloring him again. "I should have never opened my mouth to Jane. I got angry and lost my temper, which caused Kris to strip me of my title." Grace nodded in response and he sighed. "Jane's a good Captain, when he isn't trying to screw us all over." Grace chuckled and he raised his eyebrow in her direction. "You know nothing about him, Grace. He's…"
"…got nothing going for him right now," Grace interrupted. "He ordered you around, because he could get away with it. You gave him all of the power, Wayne."
"Do you know how a pirate ship is supposed to work, Grace?" The Captain was supposed to give orders and the officers were supposed to follow them, no matter how ridiculous the orders seemed. "Jane's Captain, so I follow his every whimsical request."
"Teresa says that you can ignore him." He tried to hide his initial shock at Grace's suggestion, because the Lisbon prior to her kidnapping would have never suggested going against the Captain. Back then, it hadn't mattered that Lisbon was the acting Captain, as she still ordered to everyone to listen to Jane (unless his ideas could have gotten any of them killed). The idea that Lisbon was suggesting a mutiny made him nervous, as why in the world would she even attempt to go against Jane?
Rigsby shook his head. "Ignoring your pirate captain is a sign of mutiny. I may not respect Patrick Jane, but I'm not about to create an uprising on this ship."
"I thought Kris was the acting Captain."
"She is," Rigsby agreed. "The first mate usually is the acting Captain on this ship; however, ignoring the orders from Jane can actually see you off the ship. I'd rather not leave, only because I didn't follow his idiotic rule about something." Rigsby rolled his eyes to let Grace know exactly what he thought of that. "If I ignore Kris, all she can do is scream and recommend a course of action to Jane. If I ignore Jane, he'll throw me off the ship and trust me, you don't want to become a disgraced member of a well-known pirate ship." He watched Grace nod. "Things can be quite confusing around here, I know, but you eventually catch on."
"I'm slowly getting the hang of it all." Grace glanced down at her outfit and Rigsby grinned, seeing one of his white shirts on her. "Of course, I might be doing this all wrong." Her eyes continued to stare at the white shirt and he chuckled.
"You just want me to undress you."
"Is it that obvious?" Rigsby felt her hands press against his chest and he chuckled again. "Unless you mind…"
"Oh yes, Grace," Rigsby teased. "I mind horribly. You're such a problem."
He just hoped that the grin on his face told her that he didn't mind at all.
Jane cautiously glanced behind him, before he threw his fist against Lisbon's door with a smile. While Stiles had banned him from seeing her, he had no problems with going behind Stiles' back; the Governor of Cannibal Cove might have been doing them all favors, but he had no idea what Lisbon truly needed. He heard nothing from behind the door for a moment and he wondered if perhaps Lisbon and Grace had gone off on one of their little "walks" again, but eventually, he heard her light footsteps from behind the closed door.
"I…" Lisbon paused in midsentence, as she opened the door and stared at him. In an attempt to be friendly, he gave her one of his largest grins. "Jane? What are you doing here? Bret said…" Jane shook his head and met her eyes. Coming to stay with Stiles for a while had certainly done Lisbon well, as the woman almost looked as if she were back to her healthy pre-kidnapping weight. The shadows under her eyes were almost non-existent and he could actually see the muscle returning to her body, from where Stiles had apparently thought it was a good idea to train her. He continued to smile, glad to see that his best friend was starting to return to normal.
"I wanted to discuss something with you, Lisbon." He had briefly thought about bringing her a cup of tea, but the thought of sugarcoating things for her made him cringe. Lisbon had been his best friend for ten years and treating her as an invalid wasn't something he was going to start doing, just because Red John had taken and stowed her away for five months. "Can I come in?"
He watched Lisbon nod, slowly. "I suppose it couldn't hurt. Come in." Lisbon stepped back from her bedroom door and Jane followed her into the large room, before he shut the door behind them both and turn to face her. "What did you want to discuss?" He met her soft green gaze again, as she moved to sit on her bed. He continued to smile, before he approached her and took her hand in his own. "What are you…?"
"I should have said all of this at the very beginning," Jane interrupted her, squeezing her hand, "but I'm sorry for whatever happened to you on the Red Rum." Jane watched Lisbon's brows furrow. "I never wanted you to become kidnapped, Lisbon. I know I'm many things, but you have always been more important than Red John." A small smile crossed Lisbon's lips and he nodded with a frown. "I made a large mistake in my treatment of you, Lisbon. I should have been there more for you and…"
"It's okay," Lisbon replied, quietly. Jane shook his head in response; the time he had spent away from most of his crewmembers had made him think. If it hadn't been for Lisbon and her quick thinking skills, his lifespan would have been significantly shorter. She deserved better and he was going to prove that to her, no matter how long it took him. With Kris out of the picture, he knew he could devote all of his spare time to her and her slow-progressing recovery. Stiles could try to ban him from seeing her, but it wasn't going to happen. Lisbon needed him.
"It's not okay, Lisbon," Jane said, shaking his head again. "I destroyed our relationship in my selfish need to vanquish Red John from the world and you deserved better than that." He squeezed her hand once more. "I know I haven't given you much reason to trust me lately, but you should know that you can. I want to help you with what you're dealing with, as you shouldn't be left alone right now." Jane watched Lisbon shrug her emerald-green clad shoulder.
"I was left alone on the Red Rum, Jane," Lisbon answered with a frown. "I'm used to dealing with my own thoughts, as everyone else is too busy." He matched her frown.
"But what about Kris or Bertram?" If Stiles had known that Kris and Bertram were going to be too busy with their duties, why in the world had he isolated her with just them? Stiles had to know that Lisbon needed human interaction, as being stuck in a room could only do so much for one's sanity.
"Kris is the first mate now…" He watched Lisbon bite her lip. "James spends most of his spare time with Bret." Jane continued to frown.
"You'll have your first mate position back again, Lisbon," Jane promised her. Lisbon eyed him; he had many plans for his ex-first mate and one of them dealt directly with her old position on the ship. Most of the crew did disagree with his idea of putting her back in charge of the ship, but he knew that Stiles would have her ready for the position by the time that they departed Cannibal Cove. "Neither Kris nor I have plans of keeping the position away from you, Lisbon. We just want to make sure that you're healthy and happy first."
"I'm fine." Lisbon glanced away from him.
Jane stared at her. "You aren't fine, Lisbon. You're lying to me, because you're frightened of me." She glanced back at him, her eyebrows raised and he smiled at her naivety. "You didn't think I knew?" Her head moved slightly. "Don't tell Kris this, but I can admit when I've done wrong, and I admit that I've been worse than Red John." Lisbon opened her mouth to argue with him, but he silenced her with a look. "I've done exactly what he would have done to one of his crewmembers and you deserve better than the Scarlet Oasis, you always have." Fear crept into her green eyes and he shook his head, before wrapping one of his arms around her shoulders. Could she not trust him anymore? He had shown up, even though Stiles had clearly warned him to stay away. He was risking his own stay on Cannibal Cove by just apologizing to her and she was making things difficult for him, as usual. "I'm not sending you back to the Red Rum, my dear. We managed to destroy their ship and their entire crew, so you're fine. I'm merely atoning for my horrible actions toward you and I hope you can find it within your heart to truly forgive me."
He heard her snort. "You're never truly sorry though." Jane frowned at her words. Prior to Red John's death, Lisbon statement would have been on par. His apologies, especially after his drunken escapades on countless islands, had been meaningless; he would say I'm sorry repeatedly to her and she would accept, only for him to turn right back around and pull the same stunt again. Lisbon had the right to be weary of his words, he agreed, but it didn't mean that he wasn't going to work on changing her mind. "You said you'd put this Red John business behind you after you killed him, Jane. It's been how many months and you're still chasing a ghost?" He didn't answer her question. "It's no surprise that Kris left you. It's no surprise that your crew dislikes you either. You've always put yourself before them all, and they know it."
"I put you first too, Lisbon," Jane argued. "You were the first thing on my mind after O'Laughlin took you. You have no idea how angry I was after…"
"Bedding Kris was the first thing on your mind, Jane," Lisbon said, pulling away from him. He watched her stand from the bed and cross her arms against her chest. "You were drinking heavily that night. You told me to stay with Walter…"
"And you should have stayed with him!" Jane raised his voice. "You should have heeded my orders, but no, you didn't! You ended up being kidnapped, because you refused to listen to the orders I created out of your safety!" He stood and grabbed both of her shoulders tightly. "You knew O'Laughlin was looking for you, Lisbon. You knew that Red John was targeting one of our crewmembers, yet you still left!" He shook her slightly, hoping to get his point across to her. Of all the things that had scared him whilst being the Captain of the Scarlet Oasis, Lisbon's disappearance had frightened him the most. What if he had never gotten to see his best friend again? What if Red John had turned her against him? What if Lisbon decided to leave him? Regardless of how much crap he handed her, he still needed her also. "Red John could have killed you, Lisbon! How much more blood do you think I could handle on my hands, hm?"
"And you didn't tell me that O'Laughlin was the first mate of the Red Rum!" Lisbon shot back, struggling against his tight hold. "I had to find out from O'Laughlin, who used it against me! I don't appreciate being made into a fool, Jane." He stared at her and grasped for words, but none came. "You think you saved me, but all you did was sleep with my best friend and send me back into another hellhole." Jane flinched, as if she had actually backhanded him. He knew it wasn't uncommon knowledge that he and Kris had used her bedroom, but why in the world would she even attempt to continue bringing that up? "I want to be left alone." She tried to struggle from his hold, but he refused to let her go. "Let me go, Jane!"
"No, Lisbon," Jane said. "I'm not letting you go again." Jane moved to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her closer to his chest, which she fought against. "I didn't let you go after O'Laughlin shot you and I'm not going to let you go now, especially when you need a friend."
"You're not my friend, Jane," Lisbon told him. "You lost my friendship after I found out what you and Kris did in my bedroom." He could hear the scowl in her voice and he merely held her tighter. "You lost my friendship after you decided to take out all of your frustrations on me, and honestly, I was going to leave you just prior to O'Laughlin kidnapping me."
Jane glanced down at the top of her head. "Don't speak such ridiculousness. Where in the world would you have gone? It's not like you've made any other friends, aside from our crew." He felt Lisbon stop struggling against him and he smiled gently. "Good girl." Jane continued to hug her. "Kris was a distraction, Lisbon. I needed a way to pretend that you weren't important, as Red John was only targeting the most important individuals in my life; you, of course, were always the person I identified myself with one-hundred percent of the time." Lisbon said nothing. "Red John made an attempt for Kris, Lisbon. I couldn't let him have her either, because she's your best friend and I've always respected that relationship."
"Thank you for not letting him have her then," Jane heard Lisbon say from his arms and he continued to smile. "I was fine, she wouldn't have been." Kris probably could have dealt with the behaviors on the Red Rum more than Lisbon, especially due to the turbulent relationship with her father. "How can I ever repay you for keeping Kris safe?"
"I did it out of the kindness of my heart, Lisbon," Jane said, his smile bright as he hugged her again. "However, I could do with you taking a letter to Stiles for me." Lisbon glanced up at him from within his hold. "I'd take it to him myself, but I've got a few things to do on the ship today. I hope you understand?"
"You're the Captain." Lisbon understood. "The ship and the crew come first, I understand." She nodded. "I'll take the letter to Bret for you, Jane." Jane merely hugged her tighter.
"Thank you, Lisbon." Jane let her go and fished a wax-sealed letter from his pocket, before pushing the piece of parchment toward Lisbon with a giant smile. Lisbon accepted it without any questions and turned on her heels. "I do care about you, Lisbon. I understand why you can't forgive me right now, but I hope that you'll eventually come to see that everything I did was for you."
He watched Lisbon nod, before she disappeared from his sight completely and he couldn't help but laugh at her naivety again.
