Hallucinations and Dreams

Teresa had woken up in the waiting room to find the Rigsbys in the seats beside her.

"Wayne! Grace!" She hugged them both mightily. "Thank you for being here - it means so much… to both of us!"

"It's what you do for family, Boss," Wayne said, smiling.

"Well it's greatly appreciated - you're both a sight for sore eyes. He's got a rough road ahead, but the doctors are hopeful and so am I."

The friends chatted happily about old times, and the Rigsbys shared how their children were doing.

Lisbon wanted so badly to tell them her news, but she refused to tell anyone before she told Patrick, so held her tongue.

Instead, she shared about the dream she'd just had:

"You'll never believe it! Of all people, Jane's first wife Angela came to see me!"

It was a comforting dream that she was happy to revisit - realizing how odd it may have seemed, being visited by your husband's first wife.

"It will be okay, Teresa." Angela said in the dream. "Thank you for taking care of him."

Lisbon reached out to her and pulled her in for a hug.

"Thank you for taking care of him first!," Teresa said, "I'm so glad he had someone watching over him after his Mom died, and I'm so thankful that you two had each other as escape partners!"

They both laughed at that.

"Angela, I hate seeing him in such physical pain, and I wish I was strong enough to tell him he didn't have to struggle anymore, to just let go - but I can't stand the thought of living without him," she said through new tears.

"Of course not, dear! You've barely had a chance to know each other, let alone be together! But don't worry Teresa - it's not his time yet. In fact, you both have years and years left!"

As she finished her story about the dream, she realized her friends must be hungry after traveling so far.

"Why don't you both grab a bite to eat? I'm gonna head down to the chapel for a bit - put in a good word for my favorite troublemaker, if you know what I mean!" She winked and laughed as she started toward the chapel.

She thought how the very presence of the Rigsbys was like an answer to prayer in itself - she had so needed their friendship and conversation to take her mind off things even for just a little bit.

After a few minutes, she reached the room, and crossed herself as she entered. She kneeled at the altar, as the seriousness of Jane's condition hit her full-on. Relaxing into the holiness of the place, she allowed her tears to flow freely, as she sobbed and prayed:

"Father, please heal his wounds. All of them. Past and present.

Dear God, please don't take him yet. We've only just found each other. I want to spend my whole life with him. I want to make up for the many years we've lost. Please! Please don't tear him away from me now! Please don't rob our child of such a wonderful father! Please!"

She continued praying silently, and crying uncontrollably, for the longest time. She couldn't lose him now, she just couldn't!

Later, as she was standing at the ladies room sink, rinsing the tears from her eyes, and trying to rid her face of the redness from crying, one of the doctors found her - Jane was out of surgery, breathing on his own, doing well, considering the trauma he'd suffered, and she could see him now if she liked.

She dried her face and hands immediately and walked swiftly to his recovery room.

She wasn't prepared to see him like this. Memories of his near-drowning swirled in her mind - he won't forget again will he?!

But this seemed so much worse. He was hooked up to so many machines. He looked so pale. She tried not to think about how similar the setup was to Bosco's, as she gently kissed his forehead, sat close to him, and held his hand.

"Oh, Patrick, what have they done to you?" She sniffed. "I know how hard you must be struggling - maybe you're even with Angela and Charlotte right now. I can't imagine how hard it would be for you to leave them again."

She bowed her head, holding his hand between hers as she folded them to her forehead.

"My truest love, you know I'm strong enough to live without you, so, if you're just too tired of fighting, I understand. You've struggled so much your whole life… I wish I could take all of the pain & suffering away - And you, of all people, don't deserve to have such physical pain piled up on top of that."

She exhaled shakily, before adding,

"But please know that I don't want to lose you." She couldn't stop crying now, at the thought of it.

"I'd be so lost without you, Jane! And -"

She almost couldn't think it, let alone say it out loud,

"I don't want to raise our child alone!"

Her desperation and tears were more than his unconscious mind could take.

Slowly coming to, he focused on her beautiful face, as his lips turned up into a morphine-induced smile.

With a tearful sigh of relief, Lisbon mustered her self control, and whispered to him "Hey! It's good to see you!"

"Hey, yourself! It's wonderful to see you!" He replied cheekily.

Then, he whispered with a furrowed brow, "So… are we sleeping together?"

Lisbon froze, a stunned look on her face, feeling deja vu over hearing him replay the same line he used on her when he'd lost his memory.

After a short minute, he grinned and said 'aaah, gotcha!' And laughed for a split second before wincing in pain from the effect the laughter had on his wounds.

"Jane!" She playfully snarled, rolling her eyes at his trick. Then she held his hand tightly to her cheek and kissed his palm. "You had me there for a second! But honestly Patrick it's such a relief to see you joking around. You scared the hell out of me, getting shot like that, love! Never ever do that to me again!"

"Yeah, the bullet holes weren't part of the plan," he whined, "But just now, I couldn't resist joking with you - You're so adorably cute when you're angry!" He grinned, as she rolled her eyes a second time, smiling at her beloved trickster.

"Now, what were you just saying, Teresa? Our child?!" His eyes were big as saucers, as he anxiously waited for explanation- wondering if he'd actually heard her say those words or if he'd been hallucinating again.

"Oh yeah, that!" Lisbon stood & smiled demurely.

"Do you remember the hurry I was in as we left work last night?"

He nodded.

"Well the reason for that is because I'd planned a genius, very 'Jane-like' surprise at the house for you." She put her hand to her stomach and splayed her fingers across her blouse there.

"I want to retain some of the surprise so I'll keep the details a secret, but the big reveal was that I am - we are - pregnant!" She smiled the biggest smile he could remember seeing on her, eyes sparkling as his face began to light up at the realization.

"You are?!" He said, in disbelief.

"I am!" She smiled, twisting back & forth in anticipation.

"Teresa! This is! - I'm so! - You are absolutely beautiful right now!

And, I cannot wait to love this precious child we've created together!"

Even partially lucid, his eyes were fully alive, sparkling at the wonder of what he'd just been told. Then he began to leak happy tears.

"Thank you, Teresa. Thank you for choosing me… for loving me… for giving me - giving us - this second chance."

She leaned against the side of the bed so he could touch her stomach, and so she could lean down to cover his beautiful face with kisses. His hand didn't move from her navel for the longest time.

"Thank God you're alive, Jane - I was sick with worry!"

"I'm glad to be alive. It hurts my heart that I worried you so, Teresa."

He reached for her hand.

"By the way, Angela and Charlotte say 'thank you' for taking care of me, and for loving me. They are so happy for us, and they really love you, too. Angie says she can't wait to meet you - but also that you should take your time!" He winked & chuckled.

"You saw them?! I wondered if you would! I'm so happy for you, Patrick!" Her mouth hung open in amazement.

Then she told him how she'd been visited by Angela, too, in a dream, and explained the whole story - including how Angela had said that both of them had many years of happy life ahead of them yet.

"Really?! She promised that she'd visit you in your sleep and calm your fears. I wasn't ready to leave them yet, but couldn't stand the thought of worrying you any longer," he confessed.

"Wow! It actually really happened! That is amazing, Teresa!"

He looked into the air with bewilderment at the thought. How had it happened that a drug induced hallucination from his unconscious mind had actually followed through on a promise to visit a completely separate person's consciousness in a dream?

"No need to work that brain of yours too hard over this mystery right now, love. It's enough to know that you're alive, we're going to be parents, and that the extended family are happy for us," she smiled, massaging his hand tenderly.

"Plus - you need to build up strength so I can finally spring the full surprise on you!"

Jane looked a bit frightened at that - fully knowing how he'd played tricks on her in the past. Perhaps he was due some payback? He laughed in admiration at her wiliness.

"And you'll also need your full strength so we can properly celebrate!" She winked seductively, prompting him to sit up fully, pulling her in for a long, deep kiss.

"Jane! You're supposed to be resting!" She chastised as he laughed, then winced in pain again.

"Sorry - couldn't help it!" He grinned, as she kissed his forehead.

(author's note: okay, this is the last chapter I'd originally written for this story in October, but I'm hoping to add a few more and at least find out what Lisbon's surprise at the house looks like. And I'm not sure who is behind the shooting yet, so hopefully that comes to light, too! Until then - hope you enjoyed their adventures now that they're back in Austin, and are expecting!)