Chapter 12.
Over the next month, Jane managed to act normal during the day, but Lisbon who was watching him closely noticed an edge in his interactions with others. He was getting restless and she didn't blame him. The brunette was also nervous, she was expecting the FBI to show up in the CBI any minute.
He was also having nightmares every night since they discovered Sophie's head in the oven. The night right after the incident, he woke her up with his screams. She ran downstairs with her gun expecting to see Red John in her living room instead she saw Jane half sitting on her sofa sweating and breathing heavily.
"Hey," the brunette whispered walking softly to him after she left her gun on the coffee table.
His eyes immediately focused on her and he extended his hand as an invitation. Lisbon took it and the blond pulled her down to him wrapping his arms around her.
"You are okay," Jane affirmed into her ear. He was clutching her tightly and she could feel him trembling against her.
"I'm okay," she repeated softly stroking his back.
After that night his nightmares continued, each time Lisbon ran downstairs to her living room and stayed with him until it was time to get up.
One week after following the same pattern every night, she decided that it would be easier if she just stayed with him in the living room, her couch was big enough for both of them. Jane didn't protest or try to hide his vulnerability as usual which spoke volumes of how awful his nightmares must be.
The consultant was basically living with her.
Jane brought her home from the hospital and he never left. Some of his suits appeared in her closet, his toothbrush and shaving cream appeared in her bathroom cabinet and he started to buy groceries for them. Lisbon didn't know how to approach the subject. Lately, she felt nervous every time that they talked about anything slightly personal.
Today they closed a case: the murder of a housewife that was going with her husband to couples therapy on this radio show that Lisbon liked to listen to sometimes while she was driving. Jane had teased her mercilessly when he discovered the fact.
"What? I've listened to it in my car a few times." She had defended herself when she saw the glint in his eyes.
"Ahh... you're a fan."
"I am not!"
"It's all right, Lisbon. We all have our guilty pleasures. Oh, this must be very exciting for you." The condescending tone in his voice made her rolled her eyes.
In the end, they arrested the killer through one of Jane's crazy plans. It basically entailed that Van Pelt and Rigsby pretended to be a married couple (they practically exposed their dirty laundry on the radio show).
The killer had been Buddy Henning's wife who killed Missy when she found out that they had an affair. A foot fetish caused a death.
"What's going with you?" Jane asked her interrupting her thoughts. He was cooking pasta for dinner while she sat on the couch watching a basketball game. The blond hadn't allowed her to cook dinner after his first week in the house, he announced randomly one night that it was his responsibility now. Lisbon still was feeling unsettled by how natural it felt to shared her home with Jane after they arrived from work.
"Nothing," she answered uncomfortably.
Jane looked up curious once that he heard her voice. Minutes later, he came to the living room carrying their plates and forks with both hands.
"Your brow is furrowed. You have that squinty look in your eye." He looked at her for a moment before the realization dawned. "Ahh... you want to talk to me about the whole foot fetish thing but the catholic schoolgirl in you tells you that it's not necessarily appropriate."
"Thank you," the brunette said accepting her plate and fork. It smelled amazing. Lisbon took a bite refusing to confirm or deny his theory. It was delicious and she closed her eyes for a moment enjoying the mix of flavors in her mouth. Jane was an excellent cooker.
"I mean, "fetish" is a strong word, but everyone has that thing." He continued talking while he sat next to her with his own plate. "It's just... It's human nature."
"I don't." Lisbon denied it immediately before she realized that she had walked straight to his trap.
"Oh, come on, Lisbon. Don't deny yourself that freedom. There's definitely something out there that works for you, that flips your switch."
The agent flushed; she could feel the heat on her cheeks. Jane just described something incredibly similar to what she felt every time that she saw him folding his shirt sleeves but there wasn't any chance of her admitting that so she kept her focus on the delicious pasta that Jane made.
He cast a sidelong look at her. "Like turtlenecks."
Lisbon choked with her pasta.
Jane reacted immediately and passed her the glass of water from the coffee table.
"What did you say?" She asked after drinking half of the glass.
Jane huffed impatiently. "You know that I know that you slept with Walter after the Yuri Bajoran case was closed years ago."
She really couldn't be her luck. Lisbon stood up with the excuse of getting more water.
"You're right. It's inappropriate."
"On come Lisbon, I'm just curious," Jane said lightly but he wasn't fooling anyone. Lisbon could hear something else lurking behind his voice but she really didn't want to name it.
"Curious about what?" Lisbon asked warily against her better instincts while she opened her fridge.
Jane shrugged. "I just want to know what made you go to his room that night," His eyes were fixed on her, making her aware of her movements. "It wasn't the first time that someone hit on you during a case. Why that time was different?"
Lisbon was standing by the fridge dumbfounded unsure of what to answer.
"I don't know," the brunette finally answered after a few seconds. She hesitated unsure of how to explain herself. "I mean... Mashburn was interested and he wasn't looking for anything else but a fun night," Lisbon explained not quite able to meet his eyes as she said it.
Jane hummed. "And he was available, right?"
"I guess," she sighed incredibly uncomfortable. "Why do you care now? You spent the whole case teasing me about it. You introduced me as Mashburn's girlfriend to a bunch of strangers if I recall correctly." She accused him.
"I never thought that you would actually go for it," he admitted frowning to himself, looking down at the floor. "I was shocked once that I discovered that you were hiding in his bathroom."
Yes, Lisbon remembered perfectly that moment; how nerve-racking it had felt. She really thought that Jane was going to open the bathroom door in any second. The guilt that she felt; which didn't make any sense because he wasn't anything else but a friend. Lisbon had been angry at him for forcing himself into that moment but didn't allow him to ruined her night so she pushed away those feelings and went straight to Walter's arms.
"I don't understand why we have to talk about this now." Lisbon finally faced him and found his gaze fixed on her in a way that made her think he had absolutely no intention of letting her out of this conversation.
"I was jealous," Jane confessed and she looked at him incredulous not quite processing his words. "Especially the next morning when I saw his messages on your phone,"
Her mouth fell open. "Wha-? Did you check my phone?"
"You left me no choice, Lisbon," Jane said, utterly without remorse. "I couldn't allow that fling to turned into anything else. I was very relieved once that I noticed that you never replied to his messages or calls during the next couple of weeks. He was very insistent."
Disarmed by the admission, Lisbon paused confused. Was he serious? She leaned back and surveyed him with a gimlet eye. "Why are you telling me this?" The brunette asked, her voice thick with suspicion.
"I know that I'm secretive and controlling," Jane admitted looking at her in the eyes. "And usually we do things in my way but I figured out that if I start practicing... if I'm more honest with you that thirty percent that things that I tell you will eventually increase."
Lisbon didn't know how to respond to this and something warm grew in her chest. He really was something else. Jane was the only person capable of being so infuriating making her wanted to strangle him, and at the same time was capable of melting all her anger. Especially when he'd say something like that.
She took his hand. "Thank you, Jane."
He smiled softly and squeezed her hand. "You're welcome, dear."
Jane woke up before Lisbon as usual but this time he decided to stay a little longer on the couch.
The consultant smiled softly looking at her face. She was restful and her breathing was gentle.
Last night they talked until she fell asleep on her couch; their conversation wandered from favorite movies to silly stories from his carny days, relaxed and unhurried.
Jane discovered these last weeks that he liked talking to her this way. Just talking about silly things, rather than just discussing cases or Red John. The blond loved listening to her laugh, see her smile as she teased him, or watched her enjoy his cooking.
After a couple of minutes of gazing, he stood up deciding not to push his luck, and walked to the kitchen starting the coffee machine. Took a couple of eggs and some bacon for breakfast.
His focus shifted while he went through the motions of making breakfast.
The FBI should be making an appearance any day from now. They would most likely take control over the CBI and investigate everyone who worked there, but he wasn't entirely sure how they would react regarding Red John. He still needed to be there when they stop that monster, he needed the closure.
"Morning," Lisbon said from the couch. She was sitting on the couch wiping her eyes. Jane took a mug from the cupboard and poor black coffee, she was very grumpy in the mornings without it.
"Good morning, breakfast is ready," he announced, she walked with her eyes half close and sat on the chair. Lisbon went straight to the mug and drank a long sip. Jane avoided making a face when he saw it. The woman was addicted to caffeine.
They ate quietly enjoying the calm of the morning. After that, the brunette washed the dishes while Jane took a shower then he organized the living room while she went upstairs to get ready.
It should be surprising how fast both of them developed a routine if you took into consideration that neither of them had lived with another person in a long time but it was easy. They were in sync with each other preferences; Jane knew Lisbon's aversion to cooking and she knew that he preferred taking showers in the morning, so she took hers at night. Tiny things that helped their day.
Jane knew that Lisbon was itching to ask him why he was living with her.
The truth was that he had gotten used to living with her; he loved cooking for her, waking up to see her face while she was sleeping on the sofa, watching her while she sat to watch tv after a long day of work. Jane didn't want to go back to the long-stay hotel. Hopefully, if he kept her mind busy she won't ask anything for at least another week.
"We're going to Napa. You drive." Jane informed her coming into her office while she was finishing the paperwork from the last case. He stood in front of her desk and gave her a paper.
"Homicide bulletins?" She questioned him confused once that she read the title.
Jane nodded and picked up her purse resting on the chair. "Hot off the press. A John Doe in a duck pond."
"Well, that sounds like a case for local authorities," she told him without standing up from her chair. She didn't understand the importance of the case.
"Bingo. Napa."
She finally connected the dots. "That's Sheriff McAllister's jurisdiction. You want to go and investigate a Red John suspect."
"Investigating is your thing. I'd just like to get to know him a little better. Shall we?" He asked her pulling her towards the door. She rolled her eyes but walked with him. After all, they didn't have any new cases and she knew that Jane needed to do something related to Red John.
She quickly informed the team. The drive was quiet. Jane was lost in his thoughts and Lisbon was listening to the music on the radio.
When they arrived at the scene the local police were already working on it. She had to pull the CBI card to take over the scene. She saw the police officer's expression that they weren't happy but no one said anything.
They walked to the body and started to examine it before they were interrupted. "I see the cavalry has arrived."
"Sheriff McAllister." She greeted him.
"Agent Lisbon." He responded walking to them. "What, uh... What brings your crack team to our little slice of heaven?"
Lisbon deflected his question. "Oh, you know, any excuse to get up to wine country."
"Well, we always welcome the help, but I expect I can handle this one," he informed her and she couldn't help to agree with him.
Jane decided to intervene in the conversation. "Well, to be honest, it was, uh, it was me that wanted to come out here."
She looked at him curiously and to let Jane put his play in motion without interference. They'd been working together so long that they were so used to follow each other lead like a well-rehearsed dance.
"Is that a fact?" McAllister questioned him.
Jane shrugged. "Well, more of a feeling. I think there's more out here than meets the eye."
"How so?"
"You don't feel it?"
McAllister tilted his head. "Mm, no."
"What's your take?"
"On what?"
"Our friend," Jane said pointed the corpse. He was obviously evaluating the sheriff's behavior.
"Well, let's have a look," McAllister answered approaching the body.
Lisbon decided to stay in the back of the conversation. Jane and McAllister tried to outsmart each other guessing clues about the victim. The brunette didn't remember McAllister as was so smart as he seemed now.
"But, uh... You don't detect the faint scent of oregano about him?" McAllister asked Jane with a small smile.
Both Lisbon and Jane sniffed a little closer and detected the soft smell of oregano. He stood up against Jane and actually won their small competition.
"That's a leap," Jane said not wanting to admit anything but she could tell that he was a little irritated.
"Agent Lisbon I'm glad to see you safe," McAllister said. "I heard that you had a close encounter with Red John." He was examining her face and she thought that his eyes were playful but once again it could be only her paranoia making her see Red John in every suspect that they met.
In that instance, Lisbon had an idea. Jane was going to hate it but she went for it anyway.
"Oh, It was nothing." She shrugged. "He was too coward to actually do something."
Jane's reaction was immediate. He took a sharp breath and walked to her side taking her by the elbow softly.
McAllister just raised his eyebrows but the brunette could swear that she saw his eyes turning darker.
"We should go the chapel," Jane announced, keeping a tight grip on her arm.
"Thank you for concern, Sheriff McAllister." She answered with a tight smile. Jane started to walk, pulling her along with him.
"What the hell were you thinking, Teresa?" Jane asked him once they left McAllister behind. A muscle ticked in his jaw and he looked away.
"I wanted to see his reaction, Jane." Lisbon justified herself. She pulled away from his grip and observed their surroundings noticing that a couple of members of the forensic team were watching them.
"Let's go to the chapel," she whispered. Jane followed her quietly but he was radiating anger. Once inside they checked that it was empty before talking.
"Do you remember Kristina?" Jane hissed. "You don't play with Red John. You should already know that, Lisbon." Jane said sounding aggrieved, he almost yelled at her which never happened.
"Jane I didn't go to a talk show," Lisbon muttered understanding his concerns. After her kidnapping, he kept her in his sight almost all the time and when they were in the field sometimes he was so close to her that she bumped into him.
"I was reckless and you know it," Jane accused her.
"I was pushing McAllister buttons. What do you think?" She questioned him trying to move the conversation forward.
Jane looked at her incredulous. "You are going to be the death of me, woman."
"Jane."
He looked at her intently until he finally yielded. "Well, he's not as dumb as he looks."
"Well, is he Red John?" She asked him curiously.
"It's too early to say."
"What do you think about his reaction to my comment? I thought he looked pretty serious."
Jane inhaled sharply. "I noticed something too but it could be just common sense. As a member of the law enforcement, you know better than minimize a serial killer." He gave her a pointed look that she ignored. "I need to be alone with him."
"Well, that would not be wise." The brunette answered before she could stop herself.
Jane scoffed. "Oh really? Now you want to talk about wise?" Jane replied sarcastically locking his gaze on hers letting her know that she wasn't off of the hook.
"So how long are you going to pretend to you aren't sleeping with Van Pelt again?" Cho asked him while they were driving to Napa.
Rigsby who was drinking soda almost spat out and looked at his partner surprised. "What?"
Cho rolled his eyes and focused on the road. "This last week she's been using your shampoo and you've been staring at her with a goofy smile longer than usual."
Rigsby looked embarrassed. "We don't want to make the same mistake that we did before. We are going slower this time."
Cho nodded. "Sounds smart. Don't screw it up and be more discreet with your staring."
The tall agent looked at his partner worried. "Do you think that Jane and the boss know?"
The stoic agent shrugged. "They have been very busy with the organization and Red John so there is a chance that they haven't noticed it yet but I wouldn't be sure. You never know with Jane."
They stayed quiet for a couple of minutes before Rigsby talked again. "What do you think of Jane's approach?"
"I'll know what to think when we get Red John."
"Come on, Cho."
Cho sighed. "I guess it makes sense to eliminate the organization first and wait for Red John to show up but I don't think it's foolproof."
"What if Red John doesn't show up?" Rigsby asked noticing that they were arriving at the crime scene.
"Then we're screwed," Cho answered parking the car.
After Lisbon left instructions to Cho and Rigsby once that they arrived at the crime scene, Jane and they went to find the Bonner-Salas wedding party. The victim's family was more worried about the wedding than the death of Larry Kincaid.
Jane and Lisbon took them to the CBI and interrogated each member but apparently, no one saw anything.
"Somebody in that wedding party had to have seen something," Lisbon said annoyed coming out of the interrogation room.
"Love is in the air, Lisbon. These two families are about to be married. They're not gonna turn on each other without a push." Jane explained.
She looked at him suspiciously. "What kind of push?"
"If we want to learn who killed uncle Larry, then we need to clear the air. That means no more playing nice for the happy couple. We need some honesty."
Well. Jane's plan definitely cleared the air between families. The wedding was canceled and all members of the wedding party were fighting each other.
Lisbon sighed. "Nice push."
"Ah, something good will come out of this. You'll see. Can we go back to Napa now?"
She saw one more time the members of the wedding party fighting. "Please."
Two hours later they arrived, Lisbon went to interview the mother of the bride and Jane decided to wander around the forest for a while.
"I thought you were supposed to solve a crime, not, uh, destroy a wedding." said a voice behind him. Sheriff McAllister appeared out of nowhere. His walk was silent Jane noticed sourly.
"Well, I'd say the killer did that," Jane replied causally.
"I'm prepared to marvel at your insight," McAllister commented. "Who's the killer?"
Jane shrugged. "Still working on it."
"Really? I'm surprised. I'd have thought you'd have him in cuffs by now."
Jane chuckled humorlessly. "Oh, I hate to disappoint you."
The Napa sheriff smiled but Jane could see that didn't reach his eyes. "And how is your Red John investigation working out? I imagined that it is more important than ever before to catch that bastard."
Jane tilted his head having an idea of where this conversation was going to but no giving anything away. "what do you mean?"
McAllister walked a little bit closer to him. "Well...now that he set his eyes on Agent Lisbon I imagined that she caught his interest."
Jane felt something heavy in his stomach when he heard McAllister's comments remembering the letter that Red John left.
I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with her.
"I'm sure that you already know the danger that she is in," McAllister concluded his speech. His green eyes were bright and Jane felt a muscle ticked in his jaw.
"Jane. Mrs. Bonner would like to have a word with you." Lisbon interrupted them coming to him.
Jane smiled tightly. "If you excuse me, Sheriff McAllister."
After talking with the bride's parents, Jane finally designed a plan but for it to succeed he needed the wedding to go as it was planned, he took his phone and called Van Pelt. "Grace, I need your help. It is imperative that our young lovers go ahead with the wedding as planned."
"Good luck with that. You ruined a girl's wedding." She replied.
"Yes, and I lack the putty to spackle those emotional wounds." Lisbon who was listening rolled her eyes. "That's why I'm calling you."
"I have putty?" Van Pelt asked sounding offended.
"No, you have life experience. Use it to convince the bride that her "happily ever after" begins tonight."
Van Pelt sighed. "Really?"
"Come on Grace, if that doesn't work you can give her some piece of advice on how to return with your ex." Jane teased her before snapping his cell phone shut.
Lisbon looked at him incredulously with her arms crossed. "Oh come, Lisbon like you didn't know that those two are sleeping together again."
She started to walk to the car. "I don't know anything."
Jane snorted and followed her. "Yeah right because you didn't see them kissing in the Italian restaurant that we visited three days ago."
Lisbon ignored his comment and opened the door. "As their boss, I didn't see anything. I really don't need another thing to worry about now. If they can keep it out of the office I don't need to know anything about their private life."
Jane rolled his eyes but she caught the tail-end of a curious look on his face before he had time to hide it. Somewhere between affection and exasperation, it almost resembled endearment.
Somehow Van Pelt convinced Stacey to go on with the wedding, Jane was the ceremony officer to Lisbon amusement and everything was going according to the plan until the killer Stacey's cousin took Jane as a captive and made him walked on the Church roof. McAllister saved Jane's life making the all situation more confusing.
The next morning she was in her office filing the paperwork went Van Pelt came looking stressed out. "Boss someone is here. I think he is from the FBI." Lisbon stood up immediately and walked to her bullpen.
"May I have your attention, please? Put down your phones and step away from your desks. Now." Said a black man stopping in the middle of the bullpen. All the agents on the floor looked around confused by the sudden appearance of this guy who was giving them orders.
"I'm Special Agent in charge Teresa Lisbon. Who the hell are you?" She asked crossing her arms.
"F.B.I. supervisory Agent Dennis Abbott. Now I repeat, stand up and stand away from your desks... The bureau sent me here from the Austin, Texas, office. To clean up a mess. I am holding in my hand a writ from a federal judge. The F.B.I.'s closing down your organization right now. All of you are relieved from your active duties as of this moment. I'm here to collect evidence. Don't get in my way. Let's go to work, fellas."
A small army of agents came in with boxes.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on here?" Jane asked finally appearing from the kitchen.
"Dennis Abbott, F.B.I. you must be Patrick Jane." He answered with a smile.
Hi
As you can already tell, it took me a while to update this fic. I've been trying to work out if it's worth the time investment, writing this fic. If anyone is actually reading it? It's a pretty slow pace story so I get that's not terribly exciting. I want to finish it, but the metrics are so bad compared to my more recent stuff.
Time is limited now that I'm working full time, so I'd like to write stories that people are actually interested in reading. The two or three people who are invested in this story deserve to know what's going on and my thought process. To clarify, I'm not saying that I won't update this, so please don't be upset. I just want to know if you still have some interest in it.
Thank you!