A silver sedan pulled in behind Cho's big, black SUV, which Lisbon had just noticed was parked in her driveway. An older couple, probably in their early sixties, walked up Lisbon's walkway and joined them on the porch. Jane rose and met them halfway across the porch, speaking softly.

"I'm going to check in with the uniforms and Abbott," Cho said, touching her arm briefly. She nodded. The older woman, who came with the doctor, pulled Jane aside, while the doctor walked over to where Lisbon sat and pulled the rocking chair Cho was using closer to the swing.

"Agent, I'm Doctor Maynard Storm. The lady talking to your colleague is my wife and my nurse, Violet. I'm going to ask you a few questions to determine your current mental and physical status. Answer me truthfully and you'll save us both some time."

Lisbon nodded.

"How are you feeling?"

"I have a headache, but otherwise, I'm okay."

"A headache? Well, I should say so. I was told you were found unconscious. Look at me."

She did so, and he took out a small penlight and shone it back and forth in her eyes. She blinked and turned her head away.

"I know this one's no fun, and we'll be finished in a moment. I need you to look at me."

A moment later, he turned off the light and put it back in his shirt pocket. Pupils slightly dilated, but responsive.

He held up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two." Right. No double vision.

"All right. And what's your name?"

"Teresa. Teresa Lisbon." According to the record, that's right, too.

Jane and Nurse Violet joined the doctor and Lisbon at that moment.

The doctor took her wrist and counted out her pulse. He half expected her to be going into shock, but it seemed her friends took good care of her, and she wasn't. He finished his exam and said, "You have a mild concussion, and you'll probably have a headache for a while, but I think that's all. If you develop any other symptoms, call me." He handed her a business card, and she stuck it in the pocket of her jacket.

"When is it safe for her to sleep, Doctor Storm?" Cho asked, returning at that moment with Jane and the nurse.

"Don't bother, Cho. I've got to be up in a few minutes to get ready for work anyway."

"Nothing strenuous for at least a day, and you should take a nap this afternoon," Doctor Storm interjected.

"I've already talked to Abbott. He wants to see you later on this morning if you're feeling up to it. Says he has a proposition for you." Cho paused and looked at Jane. "Both of you." His eyes went back to Lisbon. "He wants you to eat something first, and rest some more. He's not expecting you until at least mid morning."

"Thank you, Cho," Lisbon said. "You need to get some rest, too."

"I'll be fine. Right now, I need to find out what these subpoenas are all about. I'm going to make some calls this morning, and see what I can find out." With those words, Cho took his leave from them. She watched him walk down the cement walkway to his car, and a moment later, he was backing out. She watched his taillights until they turned at the end of her street, disappearing from sight. The swing started swaying more violently, as Jane sat down next to her.

She looked Jane up and down, and then said, "Well, I'm sure you probably have some things you have to do, huh?"

"He turned back and glanced at her sideways. "Well, I'm not going to leave you here alone."

"Jane, I'm fine," she argued.

"How about some breakfast?" She stared at him. "You aren't really up to cooking for yourself, and we might as well. It's almost six."

That was true, but if she was honest with herself, she didn't want to be alone with him at the moment. Alone together might lead to him asking questions she wasn't ready to answer yet.

"Why don't we go to the diner down on the corner?" She asked.

"Are you up to that?"

"It might help me clear my head a bit. I can't sleep, so I need to keep moving."

"Okay."

She put one foot down from the swing, and when there was nothing really bad that happened from that, she put the other one down and used the momentum it caused, along with the arm of the swing, to pull herself up into a sitting position. So far so good. The next step was to put one foot on the ground, and that meant having to slide just a little forward in the swing. She pitched forward and almost fell. It was only because she gripped the seat tightly with both hands that she managed to stay some semblance of upright.

"Easy, Lisbon." Then his hand was under her elbow. He helped her stand up and immediately let go. She swayed side to side for a moment and then she found her balance.

"I need to clean up," she said, looking at the clothes she was wearing and pulling her jacket more tightly around her, suddenly self conscious.

"Cho and I thought you might say that. Here."

He handed her a paper shopping bag. She opened it and found a long sleeved, black T shirt with FBI emblazoned across the front, and a pair of black twill pants. He led her into her downstairs bathroom, where he already had a small stool situated within reach of everything she needed.

"Where did these come from?"

"They're the extra clothes you keep in your go bag. Cho brought them in for you. While you clean up, I'll wait for you in your living room. If you need help, I'm here."

She closed the door and using the counter for support, she moved over and sat on the side of the bathtub to undress. When she was finished, she lifted her legs and turned them into the tub. She turned the shower on and stood under the hot water, washing quickly because she wasn't sure how long her legs would hold out. She was getting steadier, but was still a little shaky from the events of the morning. Turning the water off, she climbed out of the tub and dried herself, and then sat herself back down on the stool to dress.

Then, she combed out her hair, brushed her teeth, and moved on out to the living room, barefooted. Jane was nowhere to be found. Almost as if her thoughts conjured him, Jane appeared at that moment.

"The diner down the street is closed. Small kitchen fire last night. Come on, I made you some breakfast."

They ate mostly in silence, and when they were finished, Jane made the decision to drive them both into the office. Abbott had said mid-day, but he wasn't the one with a restless, concussed agent, who couldn't seem to rest. Being at work would keep her awake, he reasoned, and it might help her settle down enough to sleep when she was finally cleared to do so. They arrived a little after seven.

(0o0)

"Your team must be getting an early start today," said the security guard, whose name she couldn't remember at the moment. Lisbon smiled and didn't answer, barely registering what he said.

She rode the elevator up alongside Jane, trying to shake off the fatigue that crowded in on her from all sides. Before she had a chance to sit down at her desk, the elevator dinged again and Cho walked in. Abbott was in his office, judging by the strip of light visible under the closed door.

Lisbon sat down at her desk, and opened a browser window, logging in with her FBI credentials. Jane knew the lack of sleep and the concussion were getting to her, when it took her three tries to log in. She pulled up a specific program, and looking at her phone, typed in the number the text message had been sent from. While she waited for it to ping, she pulled up the abstracts of the files of each of the people who died at the hands of Volker. She wanted to refresh her memory on what facts had actually made it into the official records.

Jane sat on his sofa, watching her. He wanted to ask how she was feeling, but her demeanor made it clear that she wasn't much in the mood for talking. Usually, that wouldn't matter, but somehow right now, it did.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard a sound in front of her. She looked up to find Abbott standing there, studying her carefully.

"You three, my office," he said, his gaze taking in Cho, Jane, and Lisbon, and then he turned on his heel and moved off down the hall and into his office, not bothering to wait to see if they followed him.

Exchanging glances, the three followed Abbott into his office. Abbott moved around his desk and sat down, sighing heavily.

"Cho, I want you to take point on the legwork for this case. Find out what telephone those text messages were sent from. It was probably a burner, but we need to know for sure. Then I want you to work with Agents Fischer and Wylie to see if anyone who was arrested in California has made his or her way to Texas."

"We know Brenda Shettrick has."

"See if anyone else came with her, and find out why she was released from prison."

Nodding, Cho left.

Abbott looked at Lisbon and Jane.

"I asked you in here because I want to talk about the summons you received last night. I called California. It appears some of the cases you all solved when you were there are being reopened. You were summoned as witnesses."

Lisbon let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Witness didn't sound so bad.

"I spoke to a lovely lady in the District Attorney's office, a Nicki Weymouth, and you are to be deposed tomorrow morning. You'll fly out this afternoon, stay in a hotel tonight, and make yourselves available to the district attorney for deposition first thing tomorrow. I've requested you be given copies of the paper files of all of the cases involving Volker. The files on the computer are only abstracts, and they don't have all of the information we'll need to fight this."

Jane smiled, knowing this was partly Abbott's attempt to be sure Lisbon took it easy, and also a good way to allow her to be involved in the case, while she wasn't exactly up to full duty yet.