A/N:
This chapter grew around the pub scene at the start of 6x14 White as the Driven Snow. No case dramatics in this chapter, it's all about the old friendships (the Chigsby bromance is back!) and the gang outside of the office – something we didn't get to see a lot of outside Season 1.
Cho, Lisbon and Jane visit the Rigsby's for the weekend, for a long overdue dinner and drinks catch up. The boys head out afterwards, whilst the girls have their own catch up back at their house. (Side note; I always found it weird that Rigsby and Grace stayed at a motel in this episode, and not at Lisbon or Cho's house – surely they would have room?). Drinks and conversation flow as both sides probe into the Jisbon relationship.
TW: For excessive drinking
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"Jane," Wylie hissed, attempting to wake the snoozing charlatan as he lay arms crossed on his couch. "Jane!" he tried again a little louder, taking a step towards him hesitantly, brown file in hand.
"Wha-?" Jane stirred, "Oh hey Wylie, what's up?"
"Eet-may ex-may ix-nay he-tay iles-fay oom-ray," he hissed under his breath.
"What?" Jane enounced in confusion.
"Eet-may ex-may ix-nay he-tay iles-fay oom-ray," he repeated a little louder and more insistent.
"Wylie, what the hell are you on about?" Jane continued
"Meet me in the file room!"
"Meet him in the file room!"
Wylie, and the neighbouring Lisbon at her desk with her back turned, answered in perfect unison. Wylie turned red in the face. Lisbon rolled her eyes but kept her attention focused on her computer. If they were up to something, which they clearly were, she didn't want to know about it.
"Oh, what was that? Why didn't you just say so?" Jane said with a face, hopping off the couch and striding off with Wylie.
"You know everything, but you don't know Pig-Latin?" Wylie asked exasperatedly
"I only know things worth knowing," Jane combatted.
They slid into the cramped file room designated for their floor. Wylie presented him with the brown file he'd been clutching. "As requested," he started, "Blake Association info, the list from the encryption I broke. But it's supposed to be highly confidential, top secret. I shouldn't even still have a copy. But hey, lookie I do. Go me."
Jane grabbed the file from him with vigour, his eyes darting as he examined the list back and forth.
"And you couldn't give this to me out there why?"
"Well, like I said, I shouldn't even have a copy"
"But you were holding it out there and Lisbon knows we're in here," he asked looking directly at Wylie, their close proximity making Wylie feel increasingly intimidated and awkward.
"I, uh, I thought. Uh. I don't know," Wylie flummoxed.
"Anyway, interesting. Very interesting," he said. "Thanks for this, Wylie."
"No problem, what are you going to do with it?" he asked.
"Nothing, just feeding the curiosity," Jane explained. "Interesting though, very interesting."
"What's interesting?" Wylie asked.
"Everything and nothing at the same time," Jane said, "Thanks" he reiterated, tapping Wylie on the shoulder with the file before hastily leaving the room. Wylie second-guessed even giving him the file. What was he going to do with it? Was he going to get into trouble? Either way, he liked having Jane on the team. As strange and occasionally twisted as he might be, he looked up to him.
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Things had been mildly tense between Jane and Lisbon since the Macy case, it was almost as if they didn't know how to act around each other and didn't know what to say. They were friendly enough, there didn't seem to be any harboured resentment, but they just seemed to be off-beat and out of sync compared to how they usually were. There was an awkward air between them, and although it was undesirable and unwelcome, Jane didn't have the faintest of clues on how to remedy it. Conversations seemed forced, and the absence of their usual daily verbal sparring matches was making the days feel a little empty.
"Jane," Cho approached him with conviction. "Lisbon and I are going up to visit Grace and Wayne this weekend, leaving Saturday morning, be back Sunday afternoon. It's Rigsby's birthday and a week off Maddie's first as well. We also need to consult with the Los Angeles office briefly Saturday. I just cleared it with Abbott, do you want to come with us?"
He thought about it for a split second. A weekend without the crew in town meant they were likely not going to be called into a case and what else did he really have in store for him? The cold retro walls of his motel or random wanderings of the Austin wilderness. And of course, any extra time to spend with Lisbon was always a subconscious motive. Plus, it might actually be nice to see some familiar faces again – the last time he had seen Rigsby and Van Pelt was at the CBI. He was tickled that he was actually thought about in their planning. It had been a while, he'd almost forgotten what it was like to have people actually care.
"Yes, I'd love to come," he replied. "That would be lovely, thank you."
"Okay then," said Cho.
"Thanks for thinking of me," he added modestly.
"It was Lisbon's idea," Cho replied before promptly walking away, leaving Jane with a soft, touched smile on his face.
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They met at a Red Lobster, a humble family-welcoming restaurant chain, a carbon copy of one they had once shared dinner at many moons ago, during Van Pelt's first week with the unit. Lisbon couldn't help but smile at the memory as they walked in and saw their old friends sitting at the table, little nearly one-year-old Maddie sitting in her highchair. They exchanged warm hugs and friendly welcomes before sitting down. For someone that didn't get overly emotional, Lisbon could feel the gravity of the situation tugging on her heart-strings. It had been a tough couple of years. She had gone through some very lonely, alienated times in Seattle, times where she felt so unsure, off-balance and alone. Going through big changes and taking big chances. To be sitting here with her unit, her self-proclaimed family, after a 2-year hiatus and everything they'd been through, and the fact that it all turned out okay. She felt tears urging to creep up behind her eyes as she felt so overwhelmed and thankful for the situation.
Grace squeezed her arm slightly, almost acknowledging exactly what she was thinking. But how could she, she was no Jane. But despite their differences in situations, perhaps she was feeling the same thing.
"Dream team reunited!" Rigsby announced with a big grin.
"Hi Maddie!" Lisbon exclaimed, her attention turning to the highchair, "gosh she's grown so much since I last saw her!"
"Growing bigger and cheekier every day," Grace replied, gushing at her small child.
The familiar pang of jealousy hit Lisbon's heart as she fussed over Maddie, but she squashed it back down to the repressed part of her she kept these kinds of things.
"And Patrick Jane in the flesh, you're looking pretty toned and tanned," Rigsby jaunted at the consultant, "the wanted felon running from the law gig suits you well."
"Thanks," said Jane, "I think?"
"He's not still wanted right?" Rigsby asked Cho a little more quietly, "we're not harbouring a fugitive or anything?"
"No," said Cho, "but then again, you never know with Jane."
Rigsby looked confused.
"So did you get all the charges dropped?" Rigsby asked Jane directly.
"Every last one of them, I'm a free man," Jane swooned, speaking with his hands.
"Wow," said Rigsby, "That's impressive. You outplayed the FBI."
"Like there was any competition," Jane bragged.
Lisbon rolled her eyes and exchanged a bland look with Cho that often came with Jane's nonsense.
"So, the three of you working all together again," Grace started, "In Austin. I can't believe it, just like the old days."
"Not quite, we're missing the better two-fifths of the team," Lisbon mused, "you guys ever think about coming back to law enforcement? Come join us in Austin!" she said, only half-jokingly.
"We have our hands full with this one," Grace said, tickling Maddie under the chin, "and Ben"
"Yeah," Rigsby chimed in, "and it's really a 24/7 job. Plus that one has the tendency to get us into some hairy situations," he said nodding at Jane.
They all sported a giggle.
"Yeah about that," Jane started modestly. "I owe you all an apology. And a massive thank you. I know none of this has been easy on any of you, and things didn't go down the way I planned either. I'm really, truly sorry for all the crap I put you all through. Really, honestly, I am. I was very selfish and one-sided, and you guys always had my back. Always. I couldn't have finished things off without you. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, and sorry again for all I put you through."
The mood around the table swung from a joyous greeting to a more somber tone.
"Don't mention it," Rigsby said after a moment of silence, "it all turned out okay. Better than okay even," he said sharing a smile with Grace.
"Yeah," Grace concurred with her husband, "we're a team, a family. It goes without saying."
"We did what needed doing," Cho added.
Lisbon remained silent, quietly observing the rest of the team, while Jane observed her.
"It just needed to be said. You guys really pulled through for me, for nothing in return. I'm sorry for being an ass, and I'm thankful. For everything," Jane said with a shrug.
Grace shot Jane a loving smile. Rigsby clapped Jane on the shoulder with a reassuring squeeze.
"Well, if you were actually sorry, then maybe you wouldn't be pulling the same shit at work like the old times?" Lisbon joked light-heartedly, bringing the mood back up.
"Oh meh," said Jane dismissively, "I close cases, remember?" he said smirking back at Lisbon.
"Ha ha, I didn't think he would change," Rigsby exclaimed in amusement.
"He asked for an actual army tank in one of the last cases!" Lisbon shared.
"He got arrested in the last case," Cho added, raising his eyebrows and nodding along.
"That wasn't even my idea," Jane defended himself.
"What about getting slapped in the face again? Was that your idea?" Lisbon taunted.
"Not exactly the plan, but it showed she was hiding something," Jane argued, "And we closed that case in an afternoon because of it! Effective police work!"
"And I suppose pretending you were engaged to Lisbon was effective police work too?" Cho asked. Grace spat her drink.
Jane shot Lisbon a charming look, "it got the job done," he brushed off.
She blushed profusely. "So, what are we ordering?" Lisbon asked, picking up her menu and diverting the subject.
"Just like old times," Rigsby chuckled, swapping looks with Grace.
They promptly ordered their meals, full lobsters for the boys, salmon for the girls, Maddie happy to pick off her parents' plates, Jane surprised to see that Rigsby was willing to share food.
"So, how's your business going?" Lisbon asked.
"Yeah, it's been going well, enough to keep us busy for sure," Grace replied.
"It's been going that well, we might even turn a tidy profit this year," Rigsby added.
"So, this business of yours, what do you do exactly?" Jane asked.
"Security," Rigsby clarified briefly, "Cyber and digital mainly, but we may look to branch out as the business grows."
"Good for you," Jane said heartily, engaging in the conversation, but noticeably stealing glances at Lisbon when he could, not as subtly as he thought, as Grace noticed the frequent wandering of his eyes.
Grace went on to share the details of the last case they had, their hacker unsuspectingly turned out to be a nine-year-old boy from prep school. Through the story, Maddie grew incredibly fussy, apparently sick of being confined in a highchair for so long and content with the small amounts of dinner she had consumed.
"I'm sorry," Grace apologised, her story being interrupted again by squawks from her almost toddler.
"Here, may I?" Jane asked, offering to swap seats with Grace so he could tend to Maddie while she finished her story.
"Yeah, sure," Grace said getting up, "thanks, Jane."
Maddie was the cutest little bub, her hair short and wispy, daring to go the colour of Van Pelt's, her eyes dark and bold, much like her father's. Jane distracted her quickly from her whinge with a quick game of peek-a-boo. Lisbon couldn't help but stare at him bashfully as he interacted with the child. He pulled out a quarter from his pocket, and started to make it appear and disappear, much to Maddie's infectious elation and delight. He couldn't help himself but laugh unrestrainedly as Maddie giggled and cooed with delight.
"You're not hypnotising our kid, are you?" Rigsby asked cautiously as the charlatan did presumedly magic things with his hands.
"Of course not, kids just like shiny things," Jane reassured.
"It's true, she does like shiny things," Grace admitted.
"Can I take her out of her high-chair?" Jane asked, his face lighting up.
"Yeah sure, of course"
Jane picked the fussing child up and out of the high-chair and hoisted her up into the air, holding her in front of his face, making the child squeal and gurgle in delight.
Lisbon watched him with a somber grin. Jane was always great with kids, he always had a particular way with them, like he understood them and could connect with them seamlessly. He would have made a great father, she bet he was a great father, until he had that opportunity, that life, brutally ripped away from him.
He sat down and bounced the happy baby on his knee.
"Did you know that your mommy and daddy used to catch big bad guys? Yes, they did," he baby-talked to young Maddie. "And they did naughty naughty things in one of the meeting rooms at work, they didn't think anyone knew, but your Uncle Jane knew"
"Hey!" Grace exclaimed going very red in the face, "don't say things like that to our child"
"Oh, she can't understand what I'm saying," Jane debated, "she's just picking up on my tone, mood and facial expressions, aren't you?" he said switching back to the baby voice, causing Maddie to coo and garble.
Lisbon smirked into her meal. As the boss in a previous work life, ignorance was bliss. But watching Jane with a baby and how radiant they both were, was pulling at her own inner primal instincts, eliciting raw feelings she was largely unfamiliar with. She suddenly found herself daydreaming about what a mesh between her and Jane's genetics would look like, whether they'd end up with green or bluer eyes or something different altogether. Perhaps they'd end up with his curly locks but with her darker hair colour. Perhaps they'd get his charming smile, and her coy dimples. They'd be cute, there's no doubt about that. Her thoughts continued to run away from her as she continued to watch Jane with baby Maddie wistfully, until she finally realised how far gone into her thoughts she was, her cheeks turning red that she'd allowed herself so far down that path.
She hated the awkward air between her and Jane. It brought discomfort to her day, when Jane was usually the one thing she could count on to make her feel comfortable, when he wasn't schematically plotting of course. She did appreciate that the slight distance was good though. She felt she was was nearly as emotionally shunted as Jane was sometimes and she truly needed to sort herself out before she could be fair on anyone.
She was looking forward to a good catch-up with Grace, to enjoy the company of a good friend and let her hair down a little. A little bestie therapy was just what the doctor ordered.
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After dinner had wrapped up and Jane had sneakily paid for everyone's bill, the three boys headed off to a sports bar up the road together to continue the festivities, whilst the three girls headed back to the Rigsby's house to settle the youngest of the group down for the night and have drinks and chats of their own.
"Sorry about that, she's down," Grace said as she re-entered the lounge room and took a seat at the opposite end of the couch. She picked up her wine glass and took a big healthy swig.
"No, please don't apologise," Lisbon insisted, "thanks for letting me hang around."
"Are you kidding? I've missed this, I love the company. Maddie might be cute, but she doesn't make for great conversation," Grace joked in return. "So how are things going with Jane being back?" she probed.
"Oh you know what Jane's like. Same crap, different bureau"
"I can't believe they dropped all the charges just like that"
"Golden boy weasels his way out of another mess," Lisbon mumbled morosely with a smile and a head shake.
"So how are things going between the two of you?" she probed more directly.
"He's annoying me same as usual, but it's been a nice change of pace not being in charge of the unit. Our close numbers are back at a national high."
"You know that's not what I mean"
Her eyes narrowed upon her younger ex-colleague, the red-haired beauty she now considered a friend, and one of the closest and only female friends she had if that. Whilst a part of her wanted to open up, to vent, to get things off her chest, it wasn't something that came easily to her, almost like she didn't know how. She dealt with her problems, her thoughts, and her feelings by herself. And by dealt, she knew she really meant repressed. She didn't like how transparent she was becoming, that Grace was able to tell there was something there, or something bothering her, or even something worth talking about.
Grace smiled at Lisbon's silence and reached down to top up their wine glasses.
"I see the way he looks at you. The way he's looked at you for years, but he doesn't even try and hide it as much now," she commented.
Did he always look at her a way in the past? She'd never noticed. They'd always been close, Grace was probably just reading into things that weren't even there.
"And you're acting differently around him too, but I can't quite put my finger on it. So come on, spill the beans," Grace demanded.
She looked back at her. She was bursting to vent, but she was worried once she opened the gates, there would be no shutting them. She was so mixed up in her own thoughts, such a messed up, confused little girl, it was almost embarrassing to admit to herself, let alone voice out loud. She'd never felt so unbalanced about something in her life, and she hated it.
She sighed and downed the rest of the wine in her glass.
"Yeah, he's been different since he's been back," she volunteered as a start.
"Different, how?" Grace asked tentatively. She knew she was toeing a delicate line with Lisbon and needed to tread ever-so cautiously.
"Aggressive," she said with the one word coming to mind
"Aggressive?" Grace repeated confused. It wasn't a word she'd expect to be associated with Jane, not from Lisbon's mouth anyway. "Really? Jane?"
"Maybe not the right word," she admitted. "Fearless, perhaps. Mischievous. Stepping over bounds he wouldn't dare even try before," she continued.
"Ah," Grace replied in understanding. "And that's a bad thing?"
"Well, it's ridiculously unprofessional for starters. I'm new to the FBI. I'm still trying to build a reputation for myself there to begin with. And all they really see me for is Jane's sidekick. His antics don't help that at all."
"I don't think sidekick is the right word," Grace reasoned. "You're the only person able to reign him in and make him effective. That takes some serious management and people skills. And he can't do much without you anyway. He just sees things differently, you do all the actual policework."
She reflected Grace's words, they were so similar to Walter's. Maybe she did have things the wrong way, maybe people actually saw her for the value she brings.
"It is nice being able to close cases so quickly again. And all cases. Plus Cho now has to deal with all that paperwork and politics, so that's kind of nice," she admitted back-handedly.
"I'll bet," Grace concurred. "So what do you mean by stepping over bounds? What kind of bounds?"
There was no avoiding it. She felt like she was a suspect being questioned. And like they always told suspects, things always turn out better if you just told the truth. But there was something so intimidating about saying anything out loud. It's almost like as soon as it was voiced in words, it was all so definitely real and couldn't be hidden or taken back.
"He's just been very flirty," she tried to play down, feeling her ears go red almost instantly.
"Oh he's always been a bit flirty," Grace dismissed, not happy with her response. "Hello, even I've been on the end of that. The coy looks, the gifts, hell he grabbed my boob when he went blind from that blast." She shook her head. "He's not over the top sleaze, well, apart from fugue Jane. But he's always had that charismatic flirt about him. Especially with you."
"Yes, but he's been much worse," she countered. "And what on earth do you mean, especially with me?"
"Oh come on, don't act oblivious. It's always been obvious. How many times have you been asked if Jane was your boyfriend or not in the past?"
"Yes, but that was only because we worked very closely and well together."
"Hey yeah, I get what you tell people, but I don't know you're trying to pull that with me," Grace said softly, giving her a knowing look. "We've talked about this before," she reassured.
Lisbon sighed audibly. She was right. Of course, she had confided with Grace in the past, a fleeting weak moment she'd hoped she'd forgotten. It was a long time ago, the events of the CBI disbandment still so fresh, and she was several wines in. And she was ever so honest about how much she was broken over the possibility of never seeing Jane again.
"And Wayne and I always thought things would be different once the whole serial killer cloud was no longer hovering over your heads." She paused a moment. "Look, you don't have to talk about any of it, that's fine. Just know I'm here if you ever do need an ear to talk about what actually is going on," Grace said resignedly. Lisbon had always been a closed book, she don't know why she expected anything different.
Lisbon sighed once more, covered her eyes with her hands, and brought her knees to her chest.
"We kissed!" she suddenly blurted out.
Grace gasped and clapped her mouth. "I knew it!" she exclaimed. "Well I didn't know that exactly, but I knew something had happened and there was something there."
Lisbon uncovered her face and cringed really hard.
"Spill!" Grace squealed with joy clapping her hands in gaiety. "How did it happen?"
"God, where to start," Lisbon hesitated.
"From the start, where else?"
"We were at the team bonding retreat a few weekends back," she started.
"So it happened at a work thing!?" Grace interrupted gleefully. Lisbon gave her a glare. "Sorry, please continue."
"I went to his room one evening, just to talk, catch up, I couldn't sleep. And it just happened. Just once, and I left straight away," she tried to justify.
"Wow, okay," Grace said taking in the information, "how was it?" she couldn't help but ask.
"It was nice," Lisbon underplayed before taking one look at Grace's eager and engaged face. "Yeah okay, it was better than nice. It… it…" She hesitated as her thoughts went back to that night on the couch in the cabin to search for words to describe it to her dear friend. The talks, the closeness, his scent as she hugged him. The anticipation, the electricity, the gratification of her lips finally coming up against hers. The heat, the attraction, the trembling, the mind fog.
"That good, huh?" Grace asked with a smirk as Lisbon realised she had lost herself mid-sentence to her little reminiscent daydream, her fingers perched upon her lips as she thought about that evening. She blushed with embarrassment and raised her eyebrows, "Yeah, so I guess it was okay," she said with a grin.
"And what happened afterward?"
"I said good night and left the room. He tried to talk to me about it the next day, but I just kind of dismissed him. I said I don't regret it, but I just don't want to complicate things." She conveniently left out the part where he kissed her so intensely and desperately directly after this conversation, she thought Grace might lose her mind completely.
"Hmmm, okay," Grace said thoughtfully, "so who kissed who first?"
Lisbon lips formed a straight line. "I hugged him, he kissed me"
"And what were you talking about right before then?" Grace poked further.
Lisbon sighed once more and found herself needing to explain the whole, I just need to know storyline from the start. The shopping trip, how she got to dress him, his cheeky shirtless ploy and his torn fingernail, the dress he picked for her, the tension riddled very close encounter in the changerooms that was interrupted. The back-and-forth banter once at the retreat, the way she coyly taunted him to address the issue. Grace hung off her every word in wonder and elation, which just compelled it to all spill out of her. She felt herself giving details and analysing situations in a way she had never really done so herself. It all felt so different talking it through with someone as lovely as Grace, saying things all out loud, airing her mixed thoughts. She began to see how therapy might even be useful in some scenarios.
"So let me get this straight," Grace started, "you taunted him the night before with those words he used before he clearly wanted to kiss you."
"Uh… yep"
"You went to his room late at night to "talk" " she emphasised with air quotes.
"It was just to talk honestly, but yeah"
"You initiated the first physical contact"
"I guess so"
"And then said those words again"
"Yes"
"Hmm, okay, well, I hate to break it to you, but that kiss was totally all you. Your idea. You can't even blame him for that one. Sounds like you were the one stepping on some boundaries," Grace pointed out with a hint of provocative sass.
"Oh, you want to hear about boundaries!" Lisbon exclaimed defensively, before launching into the whole Amaranthine case and Jane's overly intimate antics in a botched attempt to defend her cause. She detailed the fiancé ruse, the kiss on the neck at the expo booth, then his way of hiding in plain sight in all of its spine-tingling glory as he kissed her neck once more. Grace's jaw slowly sinking further to the floor the further she got into the story.
"What the hell boss!"
"I'm not your boss, but right!? The nerve of that guy!"
"Uh no, not that! Why are you guys playing these games with each other? Why don't you just both admit you have these feelings for each other, not just emotionally but clearly quite physically too?"
"I don't want to complicate things, and I don't know if I even want a relationship with Jane. It's all too hard."
"All relationships are complicated, without exceptions, you just work through these things. The payoff is what makes it worth it. You deserve to be happy," Grace empathised. "And I call BS on you not wanting a relationship with Jane. What happened when you moved to Austin?" she reminded.
Lisbon tossed her head back and forth, recognising Grace had a point but not wanting to delve into those bitter memories of that awkward break-up either. "But what if things don't work out?"
"That's always difficult, and that's always a risk. But you can't live your life thinking like that."
"It's Jane, he brings a new breed of difficult and complicated. I don't know if I could deal with that. I'm far from perfect or emotionally stable myself. We would be an absolute disaster together."
"Well, put it this way," Grace reasoned from another standpoint. "How would you feel if he were to start seeing someone?"
She screwed up her face and looked Grace in the eye. With another reluctant sigh, she shared the story of their last case. The beautiful blonde and the nightclub tricks, the friction around her dinner date, her irrational jealousy, his irrational jealousy, and how she ended things as quickly as they started with Nick.
The amusement has disappearing from Grace's face and being replaced with sheer frustration.
"So, what does that tell you?" Grace exclaimed, "And don't forget how I had to bail you away from Walter last month too? It's now clear to me that was probably Jane-related. And that's not like you"
"Walter's not like me, full-stop," Lisbon mumbled in shame.
"Yes, but that's been going on for years, right? It's always been a good solid meaningless outlet for you. You've never had this issue in the past"
She shrugged in agreement.
"Right, so both of you can't stand the thought of the other one with someone else. You've just proved my point more," she said a little quietly. "Honestly, what are you waiting for?"
"You know it's more complicated than that. There's so much history, it's not that simple. You know it's not that simple," she said derisively. "And what if things don't work out and we completely ruin what we have now? I don't want to lose him again either."
"I think you're overcomplicating things," Grace said standing up, "sometimes you just need to not think so much."
"Maybe…" On some levels, she knew Grace was right, but it was all so overwhelming. "Enough about me, gosh," Lisbon said semi-exasperatedly, "let's talk about you." She wasn't used to being so open about herself, but she was right, when the flood gates opened, it was hard to reign things in. Plus, she had known Grace for so long and the wine often helped loosen her tongue. She had a comfortable relationship with alcohol, she had seen the power it had over her father and was more than aware that addiction was thus in her genes. But she could justify the occasional social tipple – she never drank alone, or to take the edge off of an incredibly hard day. And it had been an incredibly straining month indeed, she deserved a good social drink.
"Sure, but we need another drink, yes?"
"Yes please, anything harder if you have it?"
"Uh yeah, I actually have some pretty decent tequila. You keen?"
"Only if you'll have a shot with me," Lisbon teased with a smile.
Grace smiled and shortly returned from the kitchen with a couple of tea cups and a bottle of Jose Sanchez.
"Sorry, I couldn't find any shot glasses, but this will do the trick just fine"
They toasted their cups and downed their first shot. It was smooth for a tequila, but the familiar burn of alcohol down the back of her gullet shed a pain that was comforting. Grace poured another one into her cup as they continued to talk.
She enjoyed seeing Grace's face light up as she spoke about Maddie. Motherhood really suited her, she had changed, matured, and seemed ultimately confident in herself. Lisbon found herself envious but happy for her. They spoke about Ben, and Rigsby's continued contemptuous relationship with Sarah, who had moved to Los Angeles for work, and the married couple had no desire to move to such a crazy city. It has caused such a rift in an otherwise very amicable co-parenting arrangement and made shared custody agreements all the more challenging until they made the decision to settle in Bakersfield.
Lisbon enjoyed talking about and hearing all about Grace's life. She had missed her dear friend and colleague, and it was wonderful to see her so content with a life so full of meaning and normalcy. She appreciated not having the heat on her, especially with Grace's apparent keen interest and diligence on the topic. She kept going at the tequila, at quite more of a pace than Grace who had stopped at her second shot.
There was a faint disgruntled cry from the bedroom. "Maddie's up," Grace stated, "Let me go resettle her, sorry, excuse me."
She looked around the Rigsby living room. Photos of the kids and the couple adorning the walls, a toy box filled with all sorts. As much as she enjoyed her independent life, the way of envy washed over her again. She was nearly 40, she was coming to realise that the concept of having a family was perhaps just a distant fantasy. She was never convinced it was something she overly wanted until she realised that it might be something she never had. She played the parent role in her family from such a young age, she always had to be the responsible one. Then seeing everything Tommy went through having Annabeth as a teenager. The responsibility seemed like a weight and shackle, she had viewed it so stringently as a punishment for remaining oblivious to the adoration and beauty that came with having a family. That kind of life… was probably too late for her now. She had chosen her life path and it was a part of her now, she had made her choice. It was mildly upsetting, but she was at peace with it. At least she thought she was anyway. She took another hearty swig from the tea cup and topped it up again.
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At the sports bar, "Yard House," the boys sunk a few beers as they bantered around the pool table.
Jane bent over and carefully lined up his shot
"So since when have you had a thing for Lisbon?" Cho asked bluntly, causing Jane to uncharacteristically botch the shot completely.
"Are you kidding me?" responded Rigsby, "he's always had a thing for Lisbon. Think about it."
"No way, they used to be like brother and sister. Something changed."
"What kind of brother gets his sister a pony for her birthday?"
"I would. Maybe you're just a bad brother."
Rigsby ignored his snark. "And the amount of time they spent alone in that weird attic room of his upstairs," he raised an eyebrow at Jane. "Don't think we don't know about that makeshift bed you had set-up up there."
"What are you even suggesting?" Cho said shaking his head. "Lisbon's too much of a straight-arrow when it comes to work."
"Ha!" exclaimed Rigsby, "not when it comes to Jane. She helped rob a casino, let us 'Weekend-at-Bernie's' style use a corpse to get a confession, and faked mine and her death, pretended she was high on hallucinogens to trick a suspect … do I need to continue?"
Cho gave a shrug and a nod in agreeance.
"Lisbon and I have always been close, doesn't mean I have a 'thing' for her," Jane defended.
Rigsby and Cho exchanged looks, before whipping their heads in unison toward Jane, giving him the best looks of knowing and disbelief they could muster.
"What?" he asked defensively as they continued to stare him down. "Okay, fine," he relented with wide eyes, realising he was made, and it all was futile. "Maybe a teensy, tinsey thing," he admitted, making a small indication with his fingers.
"Right," Cho answered flatly.
"You know, Grace and I, we always thought you and Lisbon would end up together," Rigsby said thoughfully.
"Huh," replied Jane in a voice an octave higher than normal. "It doesn't matter," he continued "she deserves much better and has made her reluctance crystal clear."
"Well given you've just re-appeared after two years… And let's face it, you were bat-shit crazy in those final CBI months, she might take a little bit more than two and a half seconds to come around," Cho offered.
"Why… has she said anything about me?" Jane asked like a petty teen boy.
"She doesn't have to, Blind Freddy could see what's going on from a mile away," Rigsby flourished. "And yeah, she might have said something to Grace," he supplemented in a mumble.
"She did?" Jane asked, perking up.
"I should not have said that, okay, I did not say that," Rigsby insisted, fearing the repercussions from his wife.
Jane smiled and clinked her beer with him.
"You know Jane," Rigsby said in deep thought taking a swig from his drink, "I could give you some tips."
"You?" Jane scoffed in amusement, "give me some tips?"
Rigsby leaned upon a barstool and looked dreamily off into the distance with humour. He cleared his throat exaggeratedly.
"Love and affection," he began dramatically with a slow wave of his hand.
"Oh god, here we go," Cho mumbled.
"Patrick Jane, master of seduction," Rigsby announced
"- I've never claimed to be that," Jane interjected.
"coming to the student-become-master"
"—that's a bit of a stretch"
"who landed the stone-cold fox of Grace Van Pelt"
"—no arguments there"
"as his wife and forever lover."
"-Ugh, gross," Cho joined in Jane's punctuation.
"for advice in the ways of the female heart and the art of seduction," Rigsby continued with grandeur.
"Are you quite done there? Because you're embarrassing yourself," asked Jane.
"You know, a wise, but slightly evil con-man once told me, the secret to seducing women comes down to two things," Rigsby posed as he held up two fingers dramatically, "love and affection. And I won't even charge you the dollar that cost me to find that out."
"It's simple. What are you offering her? Love and affection. And who doesn't want love and affection?" he continued.
Jane laughed heartily. Yeah sure, Rigsby was mocking him, but it was well-placed and deserved, his own words coming back to haunt him.
"Easy as that, right?" Jane replied.
"Ah yes, because see, women are like toasters. No wait, that's not right. Women are like accordions, men are like toasters," Rigsby went on to detail, much to Cho's snarky enjoyment.
"And this is helping how exactly?" Jane questioned.
"Have you tried staring at the back of her neck for hours on end? That really worked for Rigsby," Cho added, toasting his drink towards Jane.
"Well it did in the end, didn't it," Rigsby said smugly holding up his wedding ring.
"Or giving her a pretty flower at her desk instead of saying how you really feel?" Cho tried again.
"I've actually done that one," Jane admitted blandly, his eyes going a little dead with self-disappointment realising his game had slipped to a level on par with Rigsby.
"Have you tried being honest with her? Told her how you really feel?" Rigsby asked.
"Now if it were only that simple. I mean, how… How do I even put that into words?" Jane stuttered.
"Yo Lisbon," Rigsby acted, "I'm completely, utterly, and irrevocably in love with you. Let's get down," he said before making some vulgar motions with his hands.
"Let's get down? How crass," Jane scolded.
"You know what I mean. Be straight with her about how you feel. Tell her you're hopelessly and madly in love with her, that every breath without her is torture, that she's your soulmate," Rigsby detailed with feeling.
"Don't do that. That's stupid," Cho disagreed passionately. "Just tell her you have feelings for her and you'd like to see if you could make a relationship work. No need to go all Hallmark Shakespearean on her."
"Naur, chicks love the over the top lovey-dovey stuff," Rigsby argued.
"Not all "chicks",' Cho re-emphasized with air quotes, "have you even met Lisbon?"
"You have no idea what you're talking about," Rigsby said, screwing up his face.
"And you do?"
"Look Jane, are you going to take advice from the happily married man? Or the dude that dates pregnant hookers?"
"Who said I'm going to take either of your advice, who said I even needed advice?" Jane interjected.
"And when he wanted someone to go undercover to seduce multiple women, did he come to me or you? Obviously me, I have more game," Cho rebuked Rigsby's low blow, ignoring Jane.
"And she ended up crying on your shoulder by the end of the night. And I'm just as good with that crowd. Remember I landed that smoking hot older woman from the country club, Jackie?"
"Cougar bait. Anyway, you're 1 for 2 in accepted wedding proposals. That's a 50% success rate. A gambling man wouldn't consider those good odds."
"At least I've gotten to a stage of a relationship where proposing is actually feasible more than once," Rigsby retorted.
"A shotgun proposal cos you knocked her up, how romantic," Cho rolled his eyes.
"And when was the last time you were in an actual relationship?" Rigsby countered.
"Listening to you bang on about Van Pelt brushing her teeth is nearly enough to make anyone want to join a ministry," Cho said with disgust.
"Alright, put your money where your mouth is." Rigsby scanned the room conscientiously. "Four women by the bar. First one to get one of their phone numbers wins"
"Really?" Cho asked surprised. "You're married."
"We're just fishing for numbers, there's no involvement, it's not like we're going to call them."
Cho glanced in the direction he was indicating. "Speak for yourself. Okay, you're on," he said, shaking Rigsby's hand.
Jane chuckled and shook his head at the pair.
Rigsby took a deep swig from his beer before setting it down. He stretched his arms and jogged on the spot, like he was prepping to run a race, before slapping himself across the face a couple of times and taking a big dramatic breath. Amused by his buffoonery, Cho and Jane watched as he sauntered over to the ladies by the bar.
"Good evening," Rigsby said to them in the suavest voice he could muster, before trying his hand at a super charismatic grin. "My name's Wayne," he said with a cheeky little eyebrow raise as he leant an elbow across the bar smoothly.
"Hi, Wayne," one of the ladies replied just as smoothly, "what brings you to -"
"I CAN'T DO THIS, I'M MARRIED," Rigsby squawked in interruption like verbal diarrhea before she could even finish her sentence. His face looked like he was about to vomit. He held up his ringfinger on his left hand, before beelining back to his entertained audience with his face bright red and his tail between his legs.
"Shut up," he pre-empted to his guffawing onlookers.
"I have no idea how you managed to convince Van Pelt to date you," Cho managed to ask through his fits of laughter with Jane, much to Rigsby's extreme displeasure, as he sat, arms crossed and mortified, while the pair shamelessly relished in his embarrassment.
"I'd like to see you do better," Rigsby pouted.
"A chimpanzee could do better," retorted Cho, before finishing the last of his beer in a guzzle and striding towards the ladies himself.
Jane and Rigsby watched on in anticipation, as Cho began to talk to the group.
"How do you think he'll do?" Rigsby asked.
"I've learned not to underestimate Cho," Jane assessed, "he has certain adaptability skills, which make him quite surprising."
Hearing a grunt and a squeal, the duo looked on as Cho ended up with a glass of drink straight to the face and a flock of disgusted looks. Rigsby snorted with laughter and clapped Jane across the back. It was like all his Christmases had come at once.
Cho returned to them reluctantly, facing an onslaught of ridicule and mocking from an ecstatic whooping and hollering Rigsby. Jane offered him a napkin lackadaisically.
"So, who won that?" Jane asked cheekily, throwing a further cat among the pigeons.
"Well, I didn't cop a drink to the face, so…" Rigsby suggested.
"You didn't even give them time to, you completely freaked out in 2.5 seconds," Cho disputed.
A glimmer of mischievous brilliance crossed Jane's face. "Give me 5 minutes," he said, before hightailing it towards the group himself.
"You're not part of the bet, it doesn't count," Rigsby called out as he walked away.
They watched on, as Jane managed to be accepted into their conversation. It wasn't long before they got bored of watching and returned to their pool game, occasionally turning their attention to the charismatic consultant charming like he does best, and exchanging eye rolls.
Jane sauntered back to their table, napkins in hand.
"Margo," he said throwing the first napkin down, digits inscribed. "Stana, Casey, and Lisa," he continued, dropping each napkin with a different name and phone number, the last one with a lipstick imprint. "Oh and Jameson, the very friendly bartender, for good measure," he said, allowing the last numbered napkin to drift to the top of the pile. Rigsby and Cho shot their heads in the direction of the bar, to have the cute and flamboyant young gentleman behind the bar give them a delicate wave and flirtatious smile back as he dried glasses. They both looked back at Jane taking a swig of beer, which was unable to mask his smug grin.
"How'd you do that?" Rigsby asked in awe.
"Show off," said Cho, "you only had to get one."
"So remind me again, why are we trying to give you love advice?" asked Rigsby.
"Beats me," Jane shrugged.
"Lisbon's a different breed of woman," Cho supplemented. "She actually knows Jane, so he's already at a disadvantage."
"Well that's a bit harsh," said Rigsby
"No, not like that. He got those numbers with cheap tricks and charm. He can't exactly do that to Lisbon after years of her seeing all his cons and how he operates, she knows him too well."
"Ah, okay"
"He's going to have to be honest with her," Cho explained.
"And there's the rag once more," Jane said.
"I'm surprised you're even encouraging this, Cho, with work implications and all," Jane thought out loud.
"Really?" Cho asked. "Have you realised what you've been like this last week? Lisbon could control you better if you both figure this out."
"Lisbon? Control me?" Jane asked incredulously.
"Yeah, you heard me," Cho replied without missing a beat.
Jane thought about it for a moment and shrugged in mild agreeance. If anyone in the world had any kind of pull over him, it was certainly Lisbon.
"We could be his wingmen, help set him up with her," Rigsby suggested.
"Hell no. I'm her boss," Cho disagreed.
"Well don't look at me, she scares me," Rigsby disputed. "She might be small, but I'm sure she could still take me in a fight and come out on top."
Jane shook his head. "Que sera sera," he said simply to the pair with a shrug.
"I don't speak Latino," said Rigsby ignorantly.
"He said 'whatever will be, will be,' you moron," informed Cho. "He doesn't want your help."
"Fine, have it your way," Rigsby relented, "but you've waited and worked with her for over a decade now, how much longer are you going to wait before actually getting real with her? You just need to go for it."
"He's got a point you know," Cho agreed, pool cue in hand. "He's right."
"Did… did you just agree with me?" Rigsby asked, getting no response. "Raaaaa! The crowd goes wild because Cho agrees with Rigsby, raaaaaaa!" he joked gleefully.
"Just shut up and take your shot already," Cho dismissed as Jane stifled a giggle.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"She's asleep again. The boys should be back soon," Grace pointed out looking at the time, as she rejoined Lisbon. "What are you going to do about Jane?
"Nothing!" she responded, "there's nothing to do"
"Is that what you really want?"
"I don't know what I really want."
"I think you do know, or at the very least, you need to figure that out"
"He has really nice hair, you know?" Lisbon said
"He does, doesn't he?" Grace said with a giggle.
"Grace," Lisbon started, "you're a really good friend, you know that right?"
"Right back at you boss. I like these chats with you, I miss them"
"I'm not your boss. But you are, you are a really good friend. I've not had many female friends in the past. I guess I'm just trying to say I really appreciate you."
"Thanks Teresa," Grace said with an earnest smile.
"You're a good one," Lisbon purred.
"You're a drunk one," Grace giggled back.
"Can I tell you something?" Lisbon continued, "not to be repeated of course," she said, her words slurring slightly.
"Of course," Grace said, reaching out and grabbing her inebriated friend's hand, "You can tell me anything"
"I… I think I'm in love with him," she blurted out before spontaneously combusting into tears.
"Oh, honey. Sweet girl, come here," Grace said sympathetically, shifting next to her on the couch, pulling her into a tight hug.
"I do, I love him, I think I always have, but I shouldn't," she wailed as she ugly cried in Grace's shoulder, "it's Jane for crying out loud! He's a sadistic egotist, a compulsive liar, a professional bullshit artist. And he's the smartest, most brilliant kind-hearted soul, who knows me better than anyone."
"The heart wants what it wants, believe me," Grace said with emphasis and a slight laugh. "You shouldn't feel like you keep having to ignore it. Not that I'm the greatest one to take love advice from."
Lisbon half chuckled, half cried.
"You need to do what makes you happy. And that's the most important thing, is that you do what makes you happy. Okay? Life is too short for anything else. I'm here for you through anything," Grace continued, squeezing Lisbon in their embrace.
Lisbon pulled away and looked at Grace with her big green eyes completely phased with tears, complementing the stark frown her lips created. "You're right. You're absolutely right. You're a good woman. I'm just a mess," she said before exhaling loudly.
"I'm going to use your bathroom," she announced as she stood up and left the room.
She held herself up at the basin, using her two arms to support her as she stared into the mirror. She had trouble focusing. She looked up at the blur of herself, her hair askew, eyes puffy from the tears. She felt queasy. She'd drank way too much. Dammit Lisbon, she thought to herself, get yourself together in sheer frustration. She washed her face. She'd really drank way too much and was making a fool of herself. This wasn't good. She gathered herself and returned to the lounge room. She slumped down on the couch next to Van Pelt and cradled her tea cup of poison once more.
They kept talking, she kept drinking. They reminisced about the evolution of Rigspelt, the early days, the cheeky interview room rendezvous, and how convinced they were that Jane knew.
"Of course Jane knew, it's Jane," Lisbon shouted.
"Shhhh," Grace admonished her, looking towards the bedroom of her sleeping child. "Yeah, I got that in the end, the whole building knew right?"
They discussed Hightower, and she astutely picked up on everything so quickly, and the hot water she put them all in. The heated discussions Grace and Wayne had, and the unfortunate conclusion it all came to where she ended it so neither of them had to give up their jobs in the unit.
"See, not everything is simple," Grace said. "We went through a lot, he even went on to have a child with someone else. Plus there was me with Craig… But, it all worked out in the end. And every step in the journey brought us to where we are today."
Lisbon nodded in thought.
"You can't let fear control your decision making," Grace said with a gentle smile.
They heard footsteps and keys jangling in the lock before the three men emerged through the front door. Grace immediately got up and greeted her husband with a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Did you guys have a nice night?" Grace asked the boys.
"Yeah, it was good," Rigsby replied, "just don't ever play pool with this guy," he said pointing at Jane, who was ambling over to where Lisbon sat.
"Like you haven't learnt that the hard way ten times over already," Grace teased.
"What's that you're drinking there?" Jane said to Lisbon.
"Tea," replied Lisbon as her eyes darted to the side.
"Tea, hey? Wonderful," Jane said taking the tea cup from her hands. He took a big whiff of its contents and recoiled. "Wooo! That's some tea, what kind of tea is that?"
"Tea – quila?" Lisbon offered questioningly.
Jane laughed. "That's good, that's very good," he acknowledged with a grin and a point, returning her cup, which she polished off promptly.
"Maddie behaved herself? You girls have a good night?" Rigsby asked. "I feel bad leaving you home like this"
"No, we had a really good catch up," Grace smiled at Lisbon, who bleakly smiled back at her. "Really good."
Jane offered Lisbon his hand to pull her off the couch with a grin and a sparkle in his eye. A wobbly Lisbon accepted it, mirroring his grin and sparkle, allowing Jane to steady her around the hips as she found her feet. Grace and Wayne exchanged knowing looks.
They said their goodbyes to the Rigsby's before the three Austin residents headed out the door.
The night was still, a lot chillier than what they'd grown used to in Austin. They had a nice home in Bakersfield, a picket fence, a green front lawn, quiet neighbourhood. The streetlights and the unusually bright moon lit up the outside glowingly, even though it was after midnight.
"I told Grace a secret," Lisbon blurted out as they moseyed down the driveway
"Oh you did, did you? Are you going to tell me the same secret?" Jane replied intrigued.
"Maybe, but you can't tell anyone, especially not Jane," she enunciated.
"I wouldn't dream of telling Jane," Jane humoured in response.
"Mmmkay then," she said before beckoning Jane to come closer and grabbing his shoulder roughly as he obliged. "Jane has really nice hair."
"That's your big secret?" Jane asked in surprise and amusement.
"Yeah. Really nice hair. Sometimes I daydream about running my hands through it," she said dreamily.
"Well as long as that's all you're daydreaming about," Jane replied, eliciting a semi-snort from Cho.
"Maybe some other things, but that truth is mine and mine alone," she said as she tapped her nose and pointed at Jane.
"Ok well, I think it's time for someone to go to bed," Cho announced in response as he opened the door to the taxi.
"Drunk minds speak sober truths," Jane mused gently with a grin.
It wasn't a long drive back to the hotel, but Lisbon managed to fall asleep in a very scrappy manner, her arms limp, head at an odd angle with her mouth wide open. The sight even made the normally stoic Cho crack a half grin.
"Wakey wakey," Jane announced as he opened her passenger door, helping her up and out as she stirred.
"You got this?" Cho asked warily as Jane slung Lisbon's arm around his shoulder to support her as they walked towards the motel. Lisbon half-awake shuffled compliantly.
"Yeah," he replied with a tipsy boyish grin.
Cho raised an eyebrow, "Behave yourself."
"Oh, come on Cho, really? What do you take me for?"
"Do I have to answer that?" Cho replied flatly.
"I'm a gentleman through and through," Jane said with a flourish.
Cho gave him a nod and headed off to his own hotel room. He knew Lisbon was in good hands, Jane would take good care of her and it was all a mess he'd much rather steer clear of.
As they reached the floor of Lisbon's room, she had become a little more alert. Feeling embarrassed, she tried to retract her arm away from Jane's shoulder. "Uh sorry," she mumbled.
Jane freed her arm and exchanged it for a grasp around her waist to help keep her steady. They reached her door, Jane retrieving the key card from her purse and held the door open for her to go in.
"Thanks Jane. I mean, Patrick," she said timidly before the open door.
"Patrick, is it now?" he asked
"Well, that is your name," she justified.
"It is indeed," he said smiling back at her.
"Patrick?" she started, taking a step closer to him and indulging herself, running one hand up and through his thick blonde curls, a glassy look in her eye.
"Yes Teresa?" he answered, his head involuntarily leaning into her gentle touch.
She dropped her hand from his hair to his face, faintly tracing her finger across his 5 o'clock shadow, before parking her hand on his shoulder. She softly ran her other hand up his chest, feeling its definition, before placing her other hand on his other shoulder. He couldn't help but revel in her touch, the electricity he felt when he had her full attention like this. She looked him square in the face and tip-toed her face closer to his, a vulnerable but supremely eager look in her eye.
He could smell the tequila on her breath as she leaned in and craned her mouth towards his. Although the temptation was ripe, Jane turned his head quickly to avoid her approaching face and pulled her into a tight squeeze, before pulling away quickly and holding her at arm's length.
"Oh, okay, I get it," Lisbon said looking a little crushed from his rejection.
"No, please," Jane replied a little choked, gently tucking her hair behind her ear lovingly. "I'm a little drunk, you're a lot drunk. We're not in the right frame of mind to be taking any leaps."
She bit her bottom lip and nodded.
"I just want to make sure you got in okay," he reasoned at the open door they were both standing in front of.
She stared straight back at him, before pressing her body against him once more. Not in the same lustful sense that filled her eyes moments before, but in more of a cathartic, helpless collapse.
"I'm sorry," she started.
"What on earth do you have to be sorry for?" he asked as he hugged her back, "I'm the one that owes you a million apologies."
"I've been such a bitch," she slurred.
"No, you've just been human."
"I don't feel so good," she suddenly blurted, a hand springing straight to her mouth as she darted inside and into the bathroom.
Jane hesitated a moment and followed her in.
He entered the bathroom to Lisbon kneeling in front of the toilet bowl. He perched himself on the rim of the bathtub and traced his hands around her hair to pull it all up and away from her face. He held her hair up and rubbed her back as she hurled again.
"I'm sorry," she croaked between yaks, "how embarrassing."
"Shhh," he reassured, "don't stress, I'm here for you," his sentence interrupted with another hurl.
"You're a good man Patrick," she eventually managed to say. "No matter what you try and tell yourself. You're a good man and you deserve all the happiness in the world."
Such a sweet statement caught Jane a little off guard. Drunk minds speak sober truths, he repeated in his thoughts. He knew nothing of the sort was true, but the fact that Lisbon of all people spoke these words intrigued him. She was the one that knew him best out of anyone in the world, but she could not be more wrong. He deserved nothing, and a good man was certainly never a way he'd describe himself, especially all history considered.
After the worst had passed, he helped Lisbon find her toothbrush while he got her a glass of water. Noticing the spillage down her front, he started a hot shower and dug around her overnight bag for a clean change of clothes. He tried to remain gentlemanly as Lisbon stripped unabashedly in front of him, almost forgetting his presence, before clumsily making her way to the shower. He set about laundering her soiled clothes, wondering if it was the appropriate time to excuse himself, or whether he should keep an eye on her. He felt such a compelled urge to protect her in such a state, so hanging around became the obvious choice. He kicked his leather shoes off and curled up into a ball on the couch, as he heard the shower come to a stop. He closed his eyes to try and sleep, or at least give her some decent privacy when she came out.
He listened to her potter around for a bit, until her voice piped up. "You know, there's enough room up here for two," she said cheekily as she hopped into bed.
"Good night Lisbon," he said with a light chuckle. As tempting as her offer was, he didn't trust himself in bed with her. And she was worth far, far more than their first encounter being a clumsy drunken mess riddled with regrets and memory blanks. Their relationship deserved better than that and he was not going to make that part of their story.
Within almost an instant, Lisbon's roaring snores provided the night with its own symphony.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Lisbon woke up abruptly with a piercing headache. The gap in the curtains meant that sunlight was streaking straight onto her face. She blocked the light with her hand as she squinted and sat up. An instant wave of regret hit her. She'd drank way too much last night, and must have made a fool of herself in front of everyone. She had no recollection of getting back to the motel, or leaving the Rigsby's. Ugh, how embarrassing. She was nearing 40 and she drank like a teenager at a frat party in front of dear friends and colleagues who revered her. Dammit Jane, she thought to herself. It was easy to blame him, even though she was perfectly aware it was all self-inflicted. If it hadn't been such an unusual stressful month, she wouldn't have felt the need to drink to excess. She hoped Grace and Cho didn't think any less of her.
She sat up unsteadily and surveyed her surroundings. She had clothes on that she didn't remember getting into. Her eyes stopped at the curled-up figure on the couch in the corner, still fully dressed in his 3-piece suit.
"Good morning," he croaked.
"'Good' is a bit of a stretch, but it is morning," Lisbon moaned, her mouth feeling like sandpaper.
"How are you feeling?" asked Jane, sitting up on the couch.
"Like I've been hit by a truck," Lisbon replied. "You dressed me?"
"Yeah, well uh, you got vomit on your clothes. You did most of the dressing yourself, I did wash your clothes though," he said indicating to the neatly folded stack on the neighbouring chair.
"Gosh, I'm sorry," Lisbon replied, regretful.
"Don't be. All in a day's work," Jane said simply.
Lisbon grabbed her head as it throbbed. "We didn't… right? Did we?" she asked hesitantly
"No," he said with a half grin and a reassuring shake of the head. "Would you like to though?"
She threw a pillow in his direction, as he grinned maniacally.
"Oh trust me, if we did, you'd remember," he said cockily.
Lisbon covered her face with a pillow and lay back down with a flop. She was never drinking again.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Their flight back wasn't until the early afternoon, Grace offering to drive them back to the airport while Rigsby stayed back with Maddie.
She gave Cho and Jane hugs goodbye, before turning to her hungover bestie.
"Good luck," Grace said with a squeeze, as she bid her farewell. "Just be honest".
"Good luck with what?" Lisbon asked, "what do you mean?".
"With what you said last night?"
"It's all a bit hazy," she admitted sheepishly.
"You did put a decent dent in that tequila bottle."
"Sorry, I really don't remember anything past when you had to resettle Maddie"
Grace raised an eyebrow at her.
"Wait, what did I say?" Lisbon asked with concern. "Actually, do I want to know what I said?"
"Of course you don't remember, how convenient," Grace sighed and rolled her eyes. "One step forward, two steps back"
Lisbon looked at her quizzically. "What on earth do you mean?"
"You honestly don't remember?" Grace asked, looking up at Jane waiting a stone throws away.
"I honestly don't have a clue," Lisbon said, blank as ever.
Grace laughed and shook her head. "It's been great seeing you Teresa, really, we should do this more often. Really. I've missed you."
"It has, we should, sorry to be such an intoxicated mess," Lisbon said with a cringe, "I promise, no tequila next time"
"Don't mention it"
"I'll try and make it up here again soon"
"Maybe one day we could even all come down to Austin"
"I'd like that"
She kissed Grace on the cheek and joined Jane on the way into the terminal. Jane took her bag for her and placed his hand on the small of her back as they walked.
Grace watched the two idiots walk off into the airport shaking her head. "I hope they figure things out," she said under her breath before hopping back into the car.
