Chapter 22
Jane's POV
He loved the sky when it turned pink at sunset in California. He pulled over to the shoulder and watched the display until the last hue was gone. This was a good way to end the day after the sale of his house in Malibu; the paperwork was signed today, and that chapter of his life had come to an end. There was no point holding onto the house anymore.
He only had five more months of indentured servitude left with the FBI – then his promise to Cho was done and he was gone. He still hadn't decided where he was going, though. He kept hoping Lisbon would call and say that she'd changed her mind. He's written her text after text but never pressed sent. He'd dialed her number but didn't activate the call. And he's driven his car towards D.C. multiple times only to turn around after an hour or two. He had to stop being selfish and let her go. He couldn't give her what she wanted, marriage and a family. It was too late for him, but maybe not for her if he let her go.
He'd decided to head to San Francisco for a surprise visit with the Rigby's. This would probably be the last time he saw them. He'd be there by tomorrow afternoon – maybe that would lift his mood.
The next day…
Jane had parked his car at the curb excited to see that the Rigby's were home and he'd be able to surprise them. He rang the doorbell and waited. Grace opened the door with her daughter in her arms.
"Jane! Oh my god! What a surprise!" she said excitedly and hugged him. "Wayne – it's Jane!" she yelled.
Jane was smiling at the warm welcome and asked to hold Maddie. Wayne gave him a big hug as well.
"I can't believe you're here! Boss is here too… we're just missing Cho. She's outside watching the grill for me for a minute. She'll be surprised!"
"Lisbon's here?" asked Jane. She was going to be surprised alright he thought to himself.
"Yeah, she's visiting. She had a conference here and stayed a few more days. Isn't that awesome. I wonder if Cho will walk through the door too! Wouldn't that be great, huh, Jane?"
"Yeah, great!" he said with fake enthusiasm.
"Jane, you are not going to believe the surprise Boss has been hiding… this is like so strange that you just showed up like this," said Grace with a huge smile. "We were so surprised too, right Wayne?"
"Oh yeah, very surprised," he replied.
Maddie started to fuss and wanted her dad, so Jane passed her over to Wayne as he followed Grace through the house. He hoped it wasn't a new boyfriend or maybe she was engaged or married. He was not ready to see Lisbon after all these months, but he felt helpless to stop the meeting.
Wayne headed for the patio door and Jane heard him announce his arrival to Lisbon… 'Boss, you're not going to believe who is here.' He walked through the patio doors as she was turning around from the grill to smile at Wayne. Her smile froze on her face when she saw him, and he thought he was going to faint.