Needing A Friend
He noticed her bad mood as soon as she arrived to work this morning. Her shoulders hunched, footfall stompy and the permanent thunderous expression on her face hasn't shown any sign of leaving. The rest of the team think very little of it, she's Lisbon she has her cranky days, and their focus is on making sure they don't do anything which makes her raise her voice at them. Jane is a little more inquisitive, mainly because it is so out of the blue.
They have had a good few weeks. They've solved a handful of cases all without issues probably because he has been on his best behaviour, the monthly departmental meeting was last week, Bertram is on leave so he couldn't have possibly done anything to rile her up and the unit just yesterday was awarded a grant for some more up-to-date tech which has made Van Pelt very happy. There is no work-related reason as to why Agent Teresa Lisbon is sulking... so it must be personal, the thought makes him get up off his couch and start to make a beeline for her office, ignoring the dismayed cries of his colleagues behind him as they try to persuade him that this is not a good idea. They may be right but he's naturally curious and there is also the part of him that wants to make sure that she is alright. She's unlikely to tell him anything but he can try.
He pushes open her office door confidently and strides in, not at all phased by the scowl she sends in his direction, it is a look he has seen too many times before. "So what's the plan today Lisbon? No dead bodies to inspect or crimes to solve?" His brazenness causes her to become disgruntled if her expression is anything to go by, as if this is all some weird dream.
"I'm sorry, are you asking if there is work you could be doing?" She questions in disbelief. "Won't your couch miss you napping on it?" Her snapping is loud and travels through to the bullpen and although the team can't distinguish what is exactly being said, the tone makes them shrink back into their chairs, even Cho seems bemused.
"I do some of my best thinking on that couch." He retorts but in a calm manner, hoping that it puts her at ease. "If we aren't going anywhere, can I get you a coffee? I was just going to do myself a tea."
His offer perplexes her, not because he is usually so selfish, he has got her coffee many times but usually he doesn't ask. Then she realises what he is doing, he wants to know what's on her mind and if there is one thing that she certainly doesn't want is the consultant in her head. "I'm good, thanks." She would actually love a coffee, but she needs him out of her space and annoying some other poor sucker. "I've got paperwork I should really be getting on with." And that's that.
They don't get a new case, and everyone just gets on with their own tasks in a deathly silence because no one wants to bother the boss who continues to stew in her office. Jane drinks tea whilst finishing some sudoku puzzles and then he naps the day away only waking up when he hears Lisbon call, "Rigsby! Let's go!" He opens his eyes to see the tall man nervously scuttling out in pursuit of the brunette who is already waiting by the elevator.
"Where are they going?" The mentalist asks no one in particular.
"They've got a deposition." Grace replies. "I doubt they will be back before the end of the day."
He knows that she will. With whatever is on her mind consuming her thoughts she will want to keep busy and kicking her heels at home won't do that. He understands from experience, it is why he is always at CBI Headquarters. This gives him time though to work out her problem and whilst lying on his couch he can do just that. Personal. What personal problems could Lisbon have?
An issue with her health? There are no indications that this could be the case. Family problems? She has gone through her life with family problems, it is almost normal to her so he doubts that she would be so short-tempered about it. Plus, if something terrible had happened then she would surely now be in Chicago not Sacramento. So it must be a relationship problem, but to his knowledge she doesn't have a relationship, not a romantic one anyway. However, he has a feeling that she wouldn't tell him if she did, she's a very private person after all. Thinking about it though, she has been brighter recently, walked with a skip in her step, she even arrived late to a crime scene and didn't appear her usually well-kept self like she was in a rush getting ready. Maybe because she was at a place that wasn't her own home. If she was in a relationship that has fallen apart then she needs support, to talk about it, not bury her emotions. It wouldn't be good because she would explode, maybe in rage but more likely in floods of tears.
It is approaching evening when she eventually returns, most have gone home but he can be found lying on the couch in her office. She almost tuts on noticing him but instead settles with a roll of her eyes before uttering as she enters, "Is your couch no longer good enough for you?"
"How was the deposition?" Is his response, ignoring her cutting question but to her surprise he moves from his sloth-like position to sit up, swinging his legs round to plant his feet on the floor. He is giving her his undivided attention, a rare occurrence, and even though she is flattered there is nothing she wants more than to be alone right now.
Lisbon doesn't want to cry in front of him. "It was fine." She murmurs as she takes a seat behind her desk, hoping that her shortness will make him leave. It doesn't. "Jane I really need to be getting on with-"
"Paperwork?" He finishes with his brow raised and watches her shoulders slump in defeat. "How about we skip the part where I annoy you into frustratingly telling me what is on your mind, and you just tell me? Maybe I can help. I am a good listener."
There is so much to unpack from what he has just said that she is unsure where to start. It almost humours her that he's very much aware about how irksome he can be but she never realised that he sometimes does that just so she tells him what he wants to know. Thinking about it now, she can recall many instances of it working and he is right, it does make her incredibly frustrated, and she doesn't think she could deal with that at the moment. Him believing that he can help in this situation is nearly as laughable as him thinking he is a good listener. He loves to butt in, he often drifts off when she is briefing him on cases in the car and she doubts that he can help with this when his understanding of the matter is basically non-existent. He was with Angela from a young age and although it ended horribly, she is fairly certain that he has no experience of breakups… but Lisbon is tired, more than tired, exhausted and despite knowing that he won't be able to help, she doesn't know how to help herself. "I was dumped." She states seriously and monotonously, as if it isn't a big deal.
This is because she doesn't want to start crying again so she must do what she does best, lock her feeling away. Jane screws up his expression, not quite believing what he has just heard. "Someone dumped you?" He repeats back to her and if she wasn't so heartbroken then she would definitely find amusement in his manner of questioning. "What did you do? Give him paperwork to do…"
"Her."
"Her." He corrects and they don't say anything else about that, which she appreciates. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I don't know." She admits with a sigh, earlier her answer would be a straight no but now she contemplates that maybe getting it off her chest will help. She actually wants to sleep tonight. The consultant doesn't utter another syllable, he simply observes her internal battle knowing that if she wants to talk then she will, but he also isn't going to pry, despite his need to snoop. "Her name is Danielle…" She starts and he's smiling at her in a way to will her on. "We met in a coffee shop near my house, and I thought things were going well. Really well." Her lips fleetingly turn upwards into a smile when he assumes memories start to hit her, but it is only brief, she is quickly frowning again. "Apparently not." A tear escapes her, and she is immediately wiping it away with the shake of her head. "It is silly. It only lasted a few months."
"It isn't silly." He disagrees straightaway, she shouldn't have to think showing emotion is silly or a weakness. It is probably something that stems from her upbringing. "I'm sorry." Jane wants to help her, be there for her more than anything because that's what friends are for. The longer he has worked at the CBI, the more he has come to realise that isolating yourself isn't wise. He didn't have anyone when he lost his family, no-one. This is obviously not as extreme, but it is still monumental to her. "I will tell you what you need, and it isn't paperwork or this place." He waves his hands out at his surroundings to add to his point.
"A rebound?"
"No. I mean..." He ponders for a second. "Not a terrible idea but I was going to say ice-cream."
"Beer and a rebound would be better." She muses.
"Let's go to a diner, you can have beer and ice cream." He almost leaps to his feet, preparing himself to lead her out of the door and he can see by the thoughtful look on her face that she isn't opposed to the idea – or maybe it is just because she knows that he won't let this go. "Come on!" With a huff Lisbon does what he desires and follows him out. "And I will let you rebound with me if you're lucky." He winks, obviously joking but it makes her laugh.
This is what she needed. A friend.
The diner is bustling with a mix of people. Some families, groups of friends and of course the lone wolfs but it is a pleasant atmosphere, and he senses her immediately uplift. She understands now why this is a good idea, much better than her previous one of bawling in her office, alone, feeling sorry for herself. Instead she has ice-cream, a bottle of beer and… reasonable company. She smiles at the thought whilst gazing at the man sat opposite her, faffing about with a pot of tea.
They may have had their issues, but Jane always comes through for her in the end and she doesn't think she has ever had a friendship so strong. Of course her first decent friendship had to be with a mentalist who's on a suicidal revenge mission. Yes, there are the others, Van Pelt, Rigsby and Cho but she doesn't think she could sit with them, like this, exposing parts of her that she has always kept hidden. "Danielle likes tea." She reveals, bringing his full attention to her once more. "She was impressed that I had some in my house, I said that was down to you."
"You spoke about me?"
"Of course. She listened to me rant about you frequently." She manages to taunt despite her sadness. "She is a good listener. Better than me apparently."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well… if I was a better listener then I probably could have seen this coming. Noticed her change in attitude towards me." She twirls her beer bottle on the table distractedly. "It was out of nowhere. She just said that things weren't working out." She doesn't think she has ever been so heartbroken. "There's probably someone else."
"Not necessarily." He retorts, not wanting her to feel worse than she already is. Digging a deeper hole into the pit of despair certainly is not going to help matters. "People are complicated, feelings change, there is not necessarily some big reason behind it."
"Profound."
"Okay then. She is about to break the law so can't be dating a cop. Better?" His mocking is replied with light chuckle which he takes as a win. "Now eat your ice-cream before it melts."
Lisbon does start to pick up as the evening progresses. They stop talking about Danielle and her heartbreak and instead reminisce about some of the funnier times the two of them have shared together. Things that at the time annoyed the hell out of her but now, in hindsight, they were actually quite funny. All those times she has not allowed herself to laugh, professionalism being her main priority, she is laughing now and it is like music to his ears. Her job may be important to her, but she's come to the realisation that living matters too, having a life outside of work and she is going to make a better effort of remembering that. Jane appears to be wanting to help her start that now. "How about her?" He asks, pointing to one of the servers.
In the past few minutes, he has transformed himself from being her friend to her wingman, pointing out different people in the diner not necessarily trying to set her up but to get her opinion and more importantly cheer her up. "Hm." The brunette hums looking over at the woman who is processing someone's bill at the till whilst biting the end of her pen. "She's cute… not sure I could be with a pen chewer though." He chuckles at this with a shake of his head. "What?"
"Let me guess, you are picky."
"Why would you say that?"
"It just…" He trails, choosing his words wisely. "Wouldn't surprise me."
"I just have… requirements."
"Requirements." He cannot mask his obvious amusement.
"I don't think any of them are unreasonable." She attempts to defend but she knows that she is fighting a losing batter and that much is evident to him by her unsure tone.
"And Danielle met your requirements?"
"She did. She is smart, can hold good conversation, is career driven, listened to me rant about you, cares about her cleanliness and we had a good time."
Jane thinks this over for a second. None of what she is saying is unreasonable, but he is also sure that there is more to it than that, but he knows better than to push. "I'm just saying if you let go a bit then maybe you will feel better and find love." He makes a valid point, but she also can't help who she is, the childhood she had would make anyone uptight. "What about him who just walked in?" Lisbon not-so-discreetly turns her head to gawk at the man dressed in a suit with a strong jawline. They both watch him flash his badge to the manager and the mentalist bursts out, "He's a cop! Perfect."
"Meh, he's a feeb." She isn't sure that she could be with an FBI agent when all the ones she has dealt with have acted pig-headed around them lowly CBI subordinates. "And did he just say he's from the art squad?" She turns up her nose. "I do not want to be talking about art all of the time."
"Is that another requirement?"
"Shut up." And then he moves on, scouring the diner for another unlucky victim.
It was the evening she needed but when she goes to thank him, he is quickly waving her off. "What are friends for?" He shrugs like it is no big thing but actually it is, and it is also an important step in their friendship.
He even picked up the tab for once.
