Ok, back from a couple of days away. Thank you to all the reviewers who let me know what you thought of the last chapter. Very good input. This chapter was ready to go so without delay... here it is. Oh, and I know the Spanish in this chapter needs accents on certain letters, but my keyboard won't let me put them on the words!
The Messenger
Chapter 37
Hola Senor Jane!
Jane settled down for the night, eager for the morning to come. His excitement kept him awake long enough that finally his nurse added a small sedative to his meds to let him relax and get the sleep he needed. Soon he was snoring deeply, the medication shutting down his brain so much that dreams never had a chance to wend their way into his subconscious.
The clatter of meal trays woke Jane with a start the next morning. 'Hospitals were the noisiest place for sick people to be', he grumbled to himself. However, this would be his last day here so his annoyance soon turned to excited anticipation. He managed to get himself to the bathroom with his crutches and got washed as well as possible before his breakfast arrived. It was the usual dreck but he knew a wonderful cup of tea and fresh fruit most likely awaited him at Lisbon's house. He only had time to eat a muffin before a nurse came in to escort him down to the fracture clinic to get his foot put into a walking cast. Jane had never experienced this so he was keen to see what was involved. Every new experience was stimulating for him. The doctor there was kind enough to show him the x-ray of his foot, the broken bone clearly visible. After putting a white stocking on his foot, the technician proceeded to put a fibreglass cast with a rubber heel in the base around his ankle and across his whole foot. It would supply enough support for him to gently walk on his foot once the pain subsided. All in all Jane found the whole procedure educational. He had his choice of a cast in a variety of neon colours, something that would appeal to children no doubt, but he settled for boring old white. The whole thing dried remarkably fast and soon he was on his way back to his room to await his discharge.
When he arrived back in his room in a wheelchair Jane was pleasantly surprised to see Lisbon waiting for him by his bed. She had a mug of Darjeeling tea in her hand for him, and a pastry from Marie's to sweeten the deal.
"Well if it isn't Hopalong Cassidy" she teased him, seeing the large white "anchor" on his ankle.
"It's the latest fashion, everybody wants one" Jane said like a diva, standing up to grab onto the side of his bed.
"The doctor will be in shortly to have you sign your release papers Mr. Jane" the nurse informed him.
"Thank you" he replied, smiling at Teresa as he reached for his steaming tea.
Teresa came over to him once the nurse left and gave him a warm kiss and a hug. "I brought you some clothes, but I see now that the pants won't fit over your cast. Oops!" she said, worried about what he could wear home.
"What about jogging pants?" Jane suggested. "Not very attractive but it's better than cutting up a perfectly good pair of trousers."
"OK. Let me run out to the mall down the street and I'll buy a cheap pair for you to wear for the next few days. Gives you a chance to finish your tea and wait for the doctor. Good idea?" Teresa asked, feeling silly that she hadn't considered how he would get dressed now.
"Good idea...thanks. I'll be waiting…" he said, settling down on the bed to enjoy his pastry. He could get used to this type of service!
Lisbon grabbed her bag and left his room while he ate his snack and sipped his tea. He had almost finished both when his doctor arrived, paperwork in hand.
"Ah good. I see you've been to the fracture clinic nice and early!" he said. "If you get there too late you end up sitting for ages until a space frees up. Ready to go home?" he asked cheerfully.
"As soon as my pants arrive I'll be on my way" replied Jane, covering up his bare legs with the blanket. Somehow now he felt exposed!
The doctor came forward and indicated where Jane had to sign to be released, then lectured him again on the necessity of resting and taking things slowly. Jane solemnly promised to do exactly what the doctor told him to do. Anything to go home with Lisbon! Soon after the doctor left Teresa was back in Jane's room with a plastic bag of goodies.
"I got you two pair of jogging pants with zippers up the sides by the ankles, plus a comfy t-shirt and slippers, even though you only need one…" she laughed. "Then I got some licorice, popcorn, and a board game. I know how quickly you get bored when you can't keep busy" she added.
Jane examined the treasures she had had found and smiled deeply. "These pants are excellent Teresa! Thank you. I may never wear them again when the cast comes off but for now they are perfect. And the game is one I've been meaning to buy anyway, so thanks again. Maybe we can eat those snacks during a movie tonight?"
"Or not...remember the doctor said not too much TV or movie watching until your brain has had a chance to heal?"
Jane looked disappointed. What were they going to do to keep amused? Reading his mind, Teresa came over to him and put her arm around his shoulder.
"Don't worry. I'll find something to keep you occupied" she said with a wicked grin. Jane reached up and wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back, planting a wet kiss on her neck.
"I'll keep you to that promise woman!"
"Well maybe you'd better start with putting your pants on first Mister" she grinned.
Jane stood up with her help and eased off his bathrobe. She gave him some privacy while he got the rest of his clothes on, not wanting to stare at him the whole time. She did catch a glimpse of the black and blue bruises on his chest and back and made a mental note to touch him very gently when they did go to bed together that night. His eagerness to sleep with her had to be tempered with caution after all.
Lisbon tidied up his room, gathering his few possessions while he put on the new t-shirt and pants. When she turned back to check on him, he was dressed and ready to go. She had to admit, the t-shirt was clinging nicely to his muscles, and was a pleasant change from his more dressy attire. She could get used to him in jeans and tight t-shirts! Now they had to wait for a nurse to come back with a wheelchair. Itching to just get going, Jane rang his buzzer at the side of his bed to hurry things along, not caring if it annoyed anyone.
A few minutes later a nurse arrived with a wheelchair, grinning at his antics.
"I was coming for you Mr. Jane. Are you ready to leave this hotel so soon?" she teased him.
"I am ready and yes, hard as it is to leave this wonderful place, my home is calling me" he said to her happily. Lisbon felt a happy little tug in her heart when she heard him call her house his home.
"OK then, let's get you downstairs and on your way" the nurse laughed, smiling at Lisbon. The trip downstairs didn't take long and soon Teresa had Jane loaded into her FBI issue SUV. It was big enough for him to ride in comfortably with his large, casted foot.
"Home Sir?" she asked Jane.
"Soon" he answered cryptically.
"I thought you couldn't wait to get to my house" she said, a bit disappointed.
"Oh I am looking forward to that, don't worry. But I want to make a pit stop on the way."
"OK...where to then?" Lisbon asked, curious to see what he had up his sleeve.
"Can you drive downtown, then turn onto South Congress?" he asked, gazing casually out of his passenger window.
"Sure...but what are you planning to do there?" she asked, not understanding what he needed to do there so soon after getting out of the hospital.
"Just drive and I'll let you know. Don't worry, you'll like it" he grinned mysteriously. They drove for 10 minutes in the mid-morning traffic and finally passed the Capitol building.
"Almost there" smiled Jane.
Lisbon frowned at him, curious as to what he was up to. She turned onto South Congress Street and shot him a questioning look.
"Where do I go?"
Jane sat up and pointed ahead. "Park in the next block, by the church on the left" he instructed her. Teresa did as he said and then turned off the car.
"Now what?"
"Now you help me out of the car and we go over there" he smiled, pointing at the Tex-Mex Taco restaurant they had planned to have supper at those many days ago when he ended up almost dying in a flash flood.
Seeing the understanding in her eyes, he got up on his crutches and hobbled alongside her to the corner.
"I owe you tacos on the patio. Circumstances took that away from us and so I am correcting that right now. I called and reserved a table for lunch on the patio when you were out shopping. I hope you're hungry?" he asked, pleased to have surprised her completely.
"I am actually! I didn't have breakfast and I was just going to make sandwiches when we got home. This is much better! Thank you Patrick" she beamed.
"My pleasure" he grinned, following her across the busy road. The restaurant didn't really have a patio so to speak, but rather had tables and chairs under an extended roof, so that diners could sit outside and watch the craziness of South Congress Street roll by. Hours could be spent munching freshly made nachos and queso with salsa. They were so good it was hard to leave room for the actual meal when it came. And so Patrick and Teresa made their way to the covered sitting area where Jane was warmly greeted by Miguel, who had been told to watch for a tall blonde man walking with crutches, accompanied by a dark haired woman.
"Ah Senor Jane, buenos dias! Como estas?" Miguel asked him, leading he and Teresa to a prime table in the shade.
"Estoy bien, gracias!" replied Jane, impressing Lisbon.
"Ooo, look who can speak Spanish!" teased Lisbon, never good with languages in school.
"I had to make myself understood when I was on the island. My Spanish is 'malo', but I got by."
"Well it's better than mine so congratulations." Teresa looked around and admired the location and the surprise Jane had cooked up for her.
"Thank you for this by the way" she said softly, reaching for his hand across the table. "I thought we would have to wait quite a while to make up for that missed date."
"I kept you waiting long enough. I thought about this the whole time I was stuck out in the desert, so when I found out I was being discharged from the hospital, I made arrangements with Miguel to come here for an early lunch, before it gets really busy."
"It's perfect, thank you" Teresa smiled, then buried her head in the very large menu. Jane followed suit and between them ordered a variety of Tex-Mex dishes that would fill them up for most of the rest of the day.
"Try the fish tacos Teresa, they are fantastic! And the fried pickles, so good" enthused Jane, delighting in the choices available to him.
"We have to save room for dessert though" said Teresa reasonably.
"Yes...yes we do...and for that, we will go over there!" said Jane, turning and pointing across the road to a small ice cream shop on the other side of the street. Judging from the line up, that was the place to buy the best ice cream.
"Amy's Ice Cream. They have 7 standard flavours and hundreds of specialty flavours, depending on when you visit. It is ice cream heaven Teresa!" he informed her.
"And you know this how?" she asked him as their drinks were delivered. Jane looked at her seriously, offended that she thought he wouldn't know about an Austin tradition.
"As I've no doubt told you before my dear...my mind, is a mighty fortress. Information goes in and is trapped there until it is no longer required. Then I set it free to make room for more information."
"You read an ad in the hospital newspaper" Teresa deadpanned.
"Ah yup" he admitted quickly, taking a big gulp of his Italian soda.
"Smart ass" she groused, eyeing the food going by on a waiter's tray.
"So, Amy's it is!" he announced, not at all put off by her evaluation of his fake knowledge.
"First...fried pickles!" Teresa commanded as Miguel brought the first of many plates of food, hot, spicy, steaming and juicy. As they made their way through the lunch, their conversation fell off while they just enjoyed their meal and the ebb and flow of tourists and townies walking by. There was no rush, no hurry to get back to work or anywhere else. After another round of non-alcoholic drinks because of Jane's pain meds, they relaxed and held hands, savouring their 'date'.
"I am so full of food I may not be able to walk back to the car" groaned Teresa.
"Me neither. So I guess we'll just enjoy the day and wait until we can move. Deal?" agreed Jane.
"Deal. Then ice cream!" reminded Teresa.
"Oh woman, at this rate I may not make it home at all!" warned Jane.
Teresa grinned and leaned over to her handsome man. "I love it when you call my house your home. Feels good to hear it."
"Feels good to say it" smiled Jane, mesmerized by her green eyes. Eventually it was time to leave, and Teresa helped Jane up and out onto the sidewalk. The street was buzzing with activity as the locals were out shopping and enjoying a late lunch in the sun, and the tourists were taking photos of anything that moved. A normal day for Austin. Once they were across the road Lisbon made a bee-line for Amy's ice cream shop. Jane hobbled along but sat at a picnic table while Lisbon stood in line for her turn. The list of ice cream and frozen yogurt flavours was impressive, as Jane said it would be. Now hard decisions would have to be made. Lisbon turned to ask Jane what flavour he wanted but was alarmed to see him put his folded arms down on the table top, his head nestled in the crook of his elbow. He was exhausted. OK, no ice cream cones, not today. She stepped up to the window and ordered two small tubs of ice cream to go, which they could eat later after Jane had a nap.
Grasping her heavy bag of ice cream, Lisbon joined Jane at the table and shook his shoulder, rousing him from a light doze.
"Tired?"
"Of course not, just resting my eyes."
"Come on...time to go home and take a nap!" Lisbon commanded her stubborn man.
"I'm fine, really.." Jane protested, but a large yawn gave him away. "OK, maybe a tiny nap, just to settle my stomach" he finally acquiesced.
"So it's your stomach that is tired is it?" she teased.
"Well it is working hard to digest all that food Lisbon" he grumbled, sorry he had worn himself out so quickly. He had overestimated his capacity for activity so soon after being released from the hospital.
"Let's go home. You lay down for a nap and I'll get some things organized around the house. Later on when our lunch has settled, we can sample the ice cream I bought."
"Sounds good."
Teresa eased into the crush of traffic and hit the highway to get home as quickly as possible. Leave it to Jane to plan too much, too soon, after being beaten up, shot in the head and thrown down a hole in the ground. She chastised herself for going along with his lunch plan, but knew deep down that to refuse it would have hurt Jane. He wanted to please her and make up for the stress he caused her when he disappeared. She knew him so well now after all these years. Sometimes it was better to let his plans play out and handle the consequences later.
Fifteen minutes later the SUV pulled up to her driveway and Lisbon walked ahead of Jane to unlock the door. Jane stepped into her little foyer and eyed the sofa over in the small living room. Before he could drape himself across its soft surface, Teresa guided him towards her staircase.
"Bed, now!" she ordered Jane.
"I can sleep on the sofa, listen to you putter around" he protested, to no avail. Strong arms pushed him towards the bottom stair and Lisbon guided him carefully up, ignoring his protests, until he and his crutches reached the hallway upstairs.
"You're a hard hearted woman Agent Lisbon!" he moaned, seeing her throw open her bedroom door.
"Yes I am, but at least I am making you go and lie down in MY bed. You can't honestly deny that you wanted that invitation years ago" she smirked.
As Jane shuffled past her and sat on the bed, he smiled at her and nodded.
"The idea did cross my mind, once or a hundred times…"
Teresa took his crutches and leaned them against the wall where he could reach them if the need arose, then she helped him swing his heavy fibreglass encased foot onto the bed, propped up on two pillows. While Jane shimmied down to get comfy on the large bed, she found a comforter to throw over him while he slept.
"Try to rest OK? This was a big day for you and you don't want to overdue it. When you wake up later we can figure out what to do for supper and have an easy night."
She leaned over Jane and kissed his upturned face gently. Jane raised his hands and brought them up to her cheeks, guiding her face back to his so that he could kiss her deeply.
"Thank you for everything Teresa. You take such good care of me."
"It's my pleasure Patrick. Now, try to sleep" she smiled, pulling away.
As she made her way to the door, Patrick called out to her.
"Is your dance card filled yet?"
Lisbon looked puzzled by the old fashioned reference to 'dance cards'.
"Why?"
"Put my name down for the 'Horizontal Mambo' he grinned lasciviously. "I got rhythm…" he hummed softly, enjoying the blush rising on Teresa's cheeks.
"Will do. The Mambo will be all yours" she smiled, shutting the door softly. Jane sighed deeply and pulled the comforter close to his chin, his tiredness settling heavily on his eyes. He slowly drifted off with a peacefulness only being near Teresa could bring.