A flickering light wakes me up from a blurry dream and i open my eyes to discover that it was, in fact, the curtains flinging around because of the open window.
I let out an irritated sigh before noticing the heavy-weighted arm around my waist, belonging to a cleary still-asleep Patrick Jane. My irritation vanishes immediatly as i breathe him in and notice that, once again, we fell asleep on each other's arms after hours of talking (and lots of sex, too - i'll never get tired of that part).
I will never get tired of waking up in his arms, feeling his scent around me and the way he sleeps so peacefully when he's with me. Three months into this relationship and i still discover more and more about him every day. How he is all lazy and grumpy when he's waking up, but still saves me the most beautiful heart-warming smiles. The way he claims to love tea more than anything, but still takes a few sips out of my coffee every morning when he thinks i'm not looking. But, most of all, i love watching the way he loves me, how he cares for me and is always paying attention, caring, always making sure i'm living my best life. I've never felt more cherished and loved than i feel every single day since the airport life-changing scene.
I knew i loved him, just watching from afar, but i never knew how much i truly longed for him and needed him up until we were in a relationship. He truly changed me for the better, his love changed me - in the best way possible.
"Hey beautiful" he whispers in my ear and slowly kisses my neck in a way that gives me shivers all over my body. The power this man has over me is ridiculous. "Why is that brain working so hard already so early in the morning?" he delays every word in the sleepiest most adorable way, and i chuckle, turning around to face him. Eyes still closed, he pulls me closer, holding me tight around his arms and pressing a chaste delicate kiss to my lips. Then, he opens his loving blue eyes and presents me with one of my favorite smiles. The "i love you" type of smile. The one meant only for me.
God, i sound so cheesy and lame right now.
"Morning, babe" i answer, with the nickname that i recently found out he absolutely adores. I can see the way he melts down when i say it, so i savour every second of it. Again, his eyes seem to sparkle and his grin grows wider as he captures my mouth for a not-so-chaste kiss, instead he gives me the full mind-blowing kiss i found myself addicted to. As the kiss is growing deeper and hotter, hands starting to explore eachothers bodies, reality decides to kick in in the loudest way.
The goddam alarm starts to ring. I mean, yell.
I go towards my table at the office, saying a general "good morning" to everyone, and do my best to hide a smile after Jane winks at me. We're both so stupidly in love that it's hard to keep the secret still a secret. I am not ready yet, though, to burst our love bubble, so secret is the way to go for now.
"Good morning everyone! Jane, Lisbon, Cho, my office please" Abbott says while leaving the elevator and walking to his office. We soon follow him, ready for a new case.
"So, basically..." Cho asks, after we went through the case with Abbott a couple of times. "We have the ex of a serial killer in a mental institution, almost ready to be released back into society, but she won't talk? And he's out there killing again." he sights "We need to work fast. But so many peple tried to get information from this woman already. Why didn't they succeed? It's been four years since she's been located and interrogated for the first time"
"My guess?" Abbott starts, leaning into his table. "None of them could really connect to her, make her trust them. If she loves this man, she won't give him away for nothing, or for any person. It has to be the right people to get this off of her"
"And that would be us" Jane concludes.
"That is what i hope will happen. Because if she gets released, who knows? He might decide to kill her, or take her with him on the next kiling spree. And we will be even further away from capturing him. This man has been on the loose for a long time, twenty victims and counting. We need to solve this immediatly" he takes a deep breath, clearly with a lot of pressure on his shoulders. "This woman's identity and location has been a secret for years, and it must remain like that. I am counting on the three of you to handle this with discretion and effectiveness. Do your absolute best.
"We will, boss." i answer firmly, while getting up and ready to leave. "We will", i whisper, more to myself than to anyone else.
After getting checked and going throught security six times, i begin to understand truly how secret we are talking about. There is no way this murderer could have gone through all of this to kidnap or kill this woman. The chances are he is patiently waiting for her to be released so she can help him - or turn her into another victim.
We don't want to scare the woman, so we agree that Cho will talk to the crew and other patients while Jane and I go talk to Marienne.
I don't know what i was expecting to see, but it wasn't such a radiant person with a warming smile. She looks so sweet and heartbroken, but she doesn't look like the lover of a killer, not at all. Marianne looks at us like we are guests and she is the house owner. She looks happy to have someone to talk to, and offers us a sit next do the couch she's in.
"I am Marienne, as you know. And you two are?" she asks, while pouring tea into the three cups on the table. I grab one as i reply.
"I'm Teresa, and this is Patrick." No last names or titles, we agreed, to make the approach easier and lighters. Titles and badges didn't work on her so far, so why bother? "How are you, Marienne?"
"Oh, darling, you can call me Mary." she smiles widely, although looking like her mind is far, far away. "I am good. Could be better, but at least i can crochet all day and dress up as i want" she laughs and i politely follow.
"Your dress looks lovely" i say, smiling and making sure not to break the eye contact.
"Oh, this old thing? Thank you. It was a gift from a dear lover i had years ago. It's a miracle that it still fits me."
"Really? And how was that relationship like, Mary?" Jane joins the conversation.
"Oh, troubling, as most are. But it was a fun time and he was so sweet to me, i could barely believe that such a handsome man had fallen for a weird creature like me." she laughs, and faces the wall behind us, clearly revisiting a few moments inside her mind. We let her do that for a few seconds before bringing the conversation back.
"And this lover, did he treat you well?" i tiptoe around the question, not knowing yet what her limits are and when she is going to shut us down. "Because you are clearly lovely and deserves to be treated in the best way".
"Oh darling, we had our moments. But in general, he treated me the best. It's a shame he was also so..." again, we seem to loose her inside her own mind and she faces the teacup for long minutes.
"He was what, Mary?" Jane brings her back, with a smile. I fear the question for a second, but when she smiles at him i feel relieved.
"A bit... Violent sometimes, but then he would make up for it with the most beautiful words... And flowers" she smiles again. "He wasn't so nice to other people, but with me he was amazing" her face shuts down, as if she realised she just said something she shouldn't have.
It shocks me how young she looks, how fragile. She's my age, but looks so much younger. I wonder what this man did to her to trap her into some kind of childhood act like this. It must've been really hard.
"I'm sorry" i say, faking a smile. "I'm glad he was nice to you, because you look like a very nice person with the most beautiful heart" i say, and watch as she comes alive again after that one compliment. I imagine she doesn't get many.
"You're so sweet, thank you. It feels good to have a couple of friendly humans around. This people are just not very amusing or fun" she frowns while laughing, which confuses me a little. Her signals are so mixed up. Was has she gone through in this place? I wonder what kind of interrogation they put her through.
"I can only imagine" i smile honestly. "That must make you miss your lover even more... What was his name again?" i tease, very dangerously and wait to see if we've charmed her enough to get this answer already. Her face shuts now, and i fear for our loss.
To be continued...