A/N: Right, so I'm off for the weekend. My first theatre trips (yes, trips. I'm seeing 2 shows tomorrow. So very excited. I've had these booked for months!) since I had my operation. Feels like it's been so long since I last went to the theatre, though in reality, it'll have just been 3 weeks tomorrow. Probably because a lot has happened in that period of time.
Thank you to: watchyouwalk, Kaslyna, xxxBekaForEvaxxx and Famous4it for reveiwing part 13. Also to ch19777 for betaing.
And just a quick note, as a couple of people have asked/implied: the Bosco storyline is just a subplot. Just something to confuse things a little. Because I really don't like to make things simple.
x tromana
Part Fourteen
She pulled away suddenly.
Lisbon was shocked and terribly confused. She felt as though her heart was being torn in two ways. Between Jane, her current love, though also indisposed and Bosco, a man whom she had adored when she was younger. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt either of them. Realistically, she needed to be there for Jane, though she didn't know how she was going to manage that. Not when she was fearful that he might turn around and attack her again. On the other hand, there was Bosco. She still respected him deeply and although she hadn't exactly pushed him away, she hadn't gone out with the intention to seduce him either. In fact, until she saw him for the first time in years during her vacation, she hadn't really given him much thought.
Since then, it seemed like he and Jane were fighting out for who deserved the most attention.
The situation was a mess and it only seemed to be getting worse.
Lisbon stared deep into Bosco's eyes and wished she had Jane's ability to read people with ease. He looked a little hurt, but that was unsurprising. After all, Bosco had just been rejected by a woman he'd been in a long, committed relationship with and now she appeared to be doing exactly the same thing. If only there was a way to make everyone happy, a way that didn't compromise anything, but that was just wishful thinking. She was far too old to believe that dreams came true just because you hoped they would.
"Sam, I'm sorry."
She stood, gathered together her belongings as quickly as she could, all the while avoiding looking at him. Bosco just stood there, slightly dumbfounded, as if he were rooted to the spot. Once again, instead of facing the issue head-on, she was running away, acting as if it didn't exist or were unimportant. Barely minutes earlier, she had been berating herself for the fact, telling herself she should grow a spine when it came to her love-life. Instead, she was just falling into that old habit of avoidance yet again. Why change the habit of a lifetime? She just wasn't ready to deal with it, not yet. Maybe next time, when she felt a little more prepared, somehow she would be able to actually deal with the situation instead of running away.
With one last fleeting glance, she swept out of her office and tried desperately not to feel so guilty about what was happening. It wasn't as if she had much control over the situation, anyway.
xxx
"Yes, thank you very much. That's just what I needed to hear."
Lisbon placed the receiver down and smiled to herself. It was the first piece of good news they'd had for weeks and it felt especially needed, considering what had happened in her office merely days ago. Forensics had finally come up good with regards to the Vargas case. The footprint had been matched to the victim's brother's sneakers, along with DNA evidence collected from the crime scene. It had taken a long while for them to get the answers they needed, but it was better than not getting them at all. Since she had been working with Jane, Lisbon had grown used to a faster turnaround. His methods were generally a lot quicker than those of the scientists holed up in labs. But still, this proved that they, she, didn't need him to close a case, he just helped to speed the process up a little.
"Boss?"
She looked up and smiled briefly when she saw Rigsby loitering at the door. Despite his somewhat intimidating stature, he could be surprisingly nervous at times. It didn't matter too much, he was slowly but surely growing into his own. In a year or so, he would probably be as decent an agent as Cho was. Lisbon remembered what she had been like when she had only been in the force for a year. Skittish, edgy and determined to prove herself. If it weren't for Bosco, she would still have been stuck out in the sticks somewhere. Probably working under a chauvinistic Sheriff who didn't think she was capable of doing the job just because she was a woman. Bosco had been a good boss, a good role model. She wanted to give the same type of leadership to her team now.
"Yes, Rigsby?"
"We have a problem."
"What is it?" she answered, a little more snappishly than she intended.
"The Vargas kid, he's made a run for it."
"Dammit," she muttered under her breath.
"What's wrong?"
"Forensics just got back. The evidence suggests that he did it."
"He did it? Why would he kill his own sister?"
Lisbon raised a skeptical eyebrow. Perhaps the in-depth discussion they had shared about the possible motives of various suspects had been lost on him? It hadn't happened all that long ago. She disregarded it quickly; Rigsby's swift promotion meant he was dealing with quite a bit at the moment. It was something she sympathized with. After all, she had a lot on her plate as well.
"Well that's what we'll have to ask when we find him, won't we?" she retorted as she stood. "Now are you coming to find him or do you want to stay and man the phones?"
"Coming. Definitely coming."
It didn't take them long to track down Phillip Vargas. When he had realized that he'd left behind crucial evidence, he had fled to a friend's house. Cho's interrogation techniques meant that he managed to break down the teen's barriers all too quickly and they were soon standing outside of a small bed-sit. Lisbon tapped on the door patiently, more than aware that she was highly unlikely to get an answer. After a good five minutes had passed, she nodded briefly at Rigsby who squared himself up to the door, ready to kick it down.
Phillip was already waiting for them on the other side. He was also armed.
"Put the gun down!" Lisbon shouted, but he promptly ignored her.
As soon as he saw cops in the doorway, he started shooting wildly. The first bullet missed them entirely and found itself wedged in the door frame. The second clipped Lisbon's arm. She didn't react; she had been trained to ignore such situations until they had been brought under control. Phillip, realizing that he'd actually hurt one of them, dropped the gun in horror and fell to his knees, begging them not to shoot him. It seemed like, despite the fact that he'd apparently killed his sister, injuring a cop was another matter entirely. He hadn't wanted to hurt them, just to scare them away and give him more time to escape again. Cho, unperturbed by the young man's sudden change of heart, cuffed him and dragged him back to the van, as Lisbon instructed. Rigsby, however, turned to face his boss, dialing for an ambulance at the same time.
"Don't," she instructed, not wanting a fuss. Really, all she wanted to do was get back to the CBI headquarters and get a confession out of Phillip. " There's no need. It's only a flesh wound. I just need to clean it up a bit."
"Isn't that the arm you broke a couple of months ago?" Rigsby stated, a little shaken that Lisbon had been injured yet again in such a short period of time.
"Yeah. And?"
"With all due respect, I think it'd be better if you got it checked out. Just in case, Boss."
Lisbon glared at him but eventually conceded. Despite being the boss, it didn't mean she was always right. She looked at her arm to inspect the damage, now that the action had died down. There was quite a lot of blood, but she was convinced that it looked worse than it actually was. Besides, Cho and Hicks would be able to deal with Phillip. And if seeing a doctor would stop Rigsby from fussing, then it was a small sacrifice to make.
xxx
"Patrick?"
Sophie nudged him gently, hoping to wake him. Moments after he'd attacked Lisbon, she had placed him under sedation, for his good as much as anybody else's. Though he'd struck Sophie and orderlies on a couple of occasions, it had normally been accidental. Usually while he was flailing and apparently attempting to get rid of Red John. Never before had he explicitly attempted to take someone's life. There were other patients who had, but Jane had always seemed more sane than them. Like he still knew the boundaries between right and wrong and was more intent on harming himself than anybody else.
Obviously, he had just taken a massive leap backwards.
When Lisbon had left, she had been completely shaken. Sophie would be surprised if she dropped by again; it had been hard enough for her to visit in the first place. Now, she probably thought Jane would attempt to strangle her again and it was safer for her to avoid him at all costs. That was the last thing Jane needed, one of the few people who actually seemed to care about him giving up on him. He hadn't had any other visitors, no family, distraught at the fact that somebody they cared deeply about had gone so far off the rails. No friends dropping by and speaking about how tragic it was that he landed up in a mental institution. Nobody but Lisbon. Sophie had tried to contact others, but had no luck whatsoever. The few people she managed to talk to about him were annoyed with him in one way or another and simply didn't care.
She sighed. This was only making things harder.
Jane finally opened his eyes and looked up at her inquisitively. Sophie remained quiet as he stretched and took in his surroundings, almost as if it were the first time he'd ever seen them. It seemed like he had completely forgotten everything that had happened since he was institutionalized. She immediately recognized the look of horror on his face; one of dawning realization of where he was. Sophie hoped she was wrong, that the minimal progress they had made still meant something.
Otherwise, things were getting worse for him.
"Where am I?"
"You're in hospital, Patrick," she explained softly.
"Oh," he answered and looked a little confused. "Why?"
"You had a breakdown. I'm here to help. Remember?"
"Who are you?"
"Sophie," she answered, trying to remain impassive.
It was just as she'd feared.
xxx
"Nice one," Lisbon said appreciatively after Cho had updated her on the Vargas situation. "Why don't you all go get some closed case drinks? I'll catch up."
"But…"
"I insist," she interrupted, refusing to let them talk her out of it. "You guys deserve a treat. I should have been here to…"
"You were shot at, Lisbon," Cho answered back. "I think you can be forgiven for not being here."
She narrowed her eyes slightly. Lisbon didn't need to be reminded that she had recently had a plethora of accidents. The paramedic hadn't been keen to let her go; the bruises decorating her neck had intrigued him and he'd wanted to check them out. He didn't appear to believe that she'd received them in a hospital and had already been treated for them. Nor did he care that she was actually very busy with work and needed to get back to the CBI headquarters in order to arrest a kid for killing his younger sister. Lisbon hated stubborn medics who never seemed to understand the importance of her work. Besides, she'd been hurt enough times in the line of duty to know how much time was needed to deal with the resulting injury.
"I'll just do the necessary paperwork, deliver it to the D.A.'s office and then I'll be with you. I'm just giving you a head start," she retorted, determined to get her own way. "Besides, you don't really want your boss with you all night, do you?"
Hicks and Rigsby seemed content to take her word for it and soon disappeared. However, Cho lingered behind. He knew what Lisbon was up to; she was intending to send them away. When an appropriate amount of time had passed, she would text him, stating that she had been held up at the office and really, she needed an early night. He knew that she hated cases which involved children. It always seemed like a pointless waste of a life. Lauren Vargas had died simply because her brother had disapproved of the fact that she had a girlfriend instead of a boyfriend. For times which taught tolerance and acceptance, people were still judged terribly for certain lifestyle choices. The young victim had discovered that in the worst possible way. And now, because of his homophobia, her brother was going to waste away in jail as well.
A tough case like this on top of Jane's hospitalization was the last thing Lisbon needed and Cho understood that. However, he also believed that being on her own and dwelling on it would do her no good either. It would be better for her to have a distraction, to enjoy herself, if only for an evening. But Lisbon had a particularly stubborn streak, one which even Cho struggled to talk around on occasion. After a couple of failed attempts to persuade her to join them, he appeared to change his mind. Quickly, he decided that he'd let it go this time, but make sure that she wasn't left alone all night.
Lisbon only discovered what these plans were after an hour of non-stop paperwork. Bosco had walked through the door and his eyes lingered briefly on the bandage on her arm. When he'd stopped by to ask Bosco to drop in on Lisbon, Cho had also briefly mentioned the shooting. They both knew she was lucky, but that didn't stop either of them from worrying. Both men knew she was in a fragile state of mind and that was why Bosco had immediately jumped at the chance to see her. He'd been avoiding her for the past couple of days, embarrassed by the debacle that had happened in her office. Moments after she had rushed out on him, Bosco had regretted kissing her. Not because he hadn't wanted to; he did and would do so again, if she'd let him, but because it was simply the wrong time. He'd known about her relationship with Jane, knew that she didn't know where she stood with it. It had been a tactless and thoughtless move, one driven by primitive instincts which he should have known how to control.
"Hey."
"Hey," she echoed and smiled briefly at Bosco.
"I've brought tequila," he stated and held up the bottle and two shot glasses for her to see. "I thought that if you won't celebrate closing the Vargas case with the rest of your team, you might want to restart an old tradition."
Lisbon smirked.
"Yeah, but you had nothing to do with this case."
"Ah, but I've made a breakthrough with Red John."
"You have?" she questioned, eyes lighting up a little. "What is it?"
"That would be telling. You have your own cases to figure out."
She pouted a little and Bosco smirked. That was a habit she obviously hadn't grown out of and he was glad for it. Lisbon always managed to look rather sweet than irritated when sulking.
"Here, have a drink."
He pushed forward a glass of amber liquid, which she accepted gratefully. Gently, she knocked it against his shot glass before swallowing it in one mouthful. She winced as it burned the back of her throat and watched as he did the same. At least Bosco wasn't attempting to dredge up the past, was letting them move on from it. Right now, she didn't want a heart to heart. In all honesty, she'd have preferred to be at home in bed, but had wanted to make sure the case was airtight before handing their evidence over. However, spending time with Bosco, doing things they used to do in the SFPD didn't seem like such a bad idea.
One drink turned into several and Lisbon soon found herself feeling a little giddy. In her muddled state, she couldn't quite remember why she'd stopped kissing Bosco last time around. She'd had confirmation that her relationship with Jane was going nowhere, that there was no point in her putting her life on hold for something that might not happen. Besides, half of her thought it wouldn't last the distance. Not anymore, not now, they could be a 'normal' couple, relatively guilt-free. She didn't think she could ever imagine Jane in a normal situation again, the picture just didn't fit.
Bosco, however…
He was the polar opposite of Jane. Dependable, reliable, honest. Instead of dragging a loveless marriage on and on like Jane had, he and Mandy had ended it. And he'd always cared about her. Always looked out for her, never once had he let her down.
That was the kind of man her Mom would have wanted her daughter to be with.
Not caring whether or not she would regret it in the morning, Lisbon stood and placed her hands gently on Bosco's face. Then, she rolled onto her toes and kissed him as if he were the last thing that truly mattered to her.
TBC…