Author's note: Thank you all for the kind words and support! I know it seems very Lisbon and Charlotte centric so far, but this will definitely be a Jane/Lisbon pairing fic. My shipper heart could do no less. Even still, how could Jane and Lisbon develop anything without Lisbon and Charlotte having a meaningful connection? And honestly, I can think of no better female role model for a young girl than Lisbon. So even though this is firmly a Jisbon romance, the triad they make with Charlotte is going to be woven throughout.
This chapter is kind of a set-up chapter, establishing a bit of the background of some of our other beloved characters.
Chapter Three
Wayne Rigsby was starving. He hadn't eaten anything in like—he glanced at the clock on the wall—45 minutes. Ugh, why was time moving so slowly? He scowled at the paperwork in front of him before casting a glance to his colleague, Kimball Cho.
Cho had clearly finished his to-do stack and was now leaning back in his chair, more than halfway through his latest book. Without lifting his eyes from the words on his page, he spoke. "Van Pelt left carrots in your right-hand drawer."
Rigsby immediately opened his desk drawer, finding the baggie right where Cho had indicated. Carrots were hardly his first choice, but he was in no position to be choosy. "When was Grace here?"
Cho turned a page. "She stopped by earlier to ask the boss a question. You were in the breakroom."
Rigsby took a moment to remember the delicious donuts he had encountered in the breakroom that morning. "She knows me so well."
Cho snorted. "You're hopeless. She probably just made an extra bag because you two have Ben this week."
Crunching into a carrot, Rigsby shrugged. He knew how lucky he was. It hadn't been a smooth path for the two of them, but Grace was worth every ounce of struggle. The team wasn't the same without her here every day, but being able to go home to her every night soothed that slight ache. Seeing her beautiful red hair spread across the pillow in bed beside him. Watching her gentle and easy way with his son, whom she treated as her own.
"What'd she wanna talk to the boss about? Isn't it her day down with Cyber?"
Lisbon still grumbled about the trouble the two of them had made for her, but Rigsby and Van Pelt knew better. When it came down to it, no one supported them more. She had ended up fighting the regulations and when that wasn't strictly successful, doing some persuasive and passionate arguing on their behalf. It had resulted in Van Pelt getting into a special training course and then on the Cyber Crimes unit, liaising with the Serious Crimes unit a few days a week.
Cho turned another page. "Probably wanted to talk about the kid."
"Oh yeah." Another crunch. Rigsby swallowed. Cho remained glued to his book. "She's excited to be a mentor. Especially that she got assigned a girl. Says there's not enough women in law enforcement. Or tech."
Cho's eyes briefly flitted up from his book to Lisbon's office. "She's right."
Finishing the last carrot, Rigsby glowered again at his paperwork. How early could he get away with having his lunch break?
Lisbon glanced at the clock, then reached out to straighten a pile of files on her desk, lining up their edges. Any minute now.
She tucked a stray pen into the cup near the edge of her desk, then leaned back in her chair. Tipping her head to rest against the back of it, she gazed up at the bland ceiling. A high schooler. Good Lord, what were they all thinking?
Minelli had practically bullied her into agreeing to a placement from the state summer program that distributed high school kids among different agencies. They were placed for two weeks, got a little experience of the job, then enjoyed the rest of their summer doing whatever it was that teens were into now. Lisbon felt a tension headache starting.
Sure, she understood the benefit of inspiring the next generation to do jobs in service to the community. Medical work, the justice system, law enforcement. Worthy professions, obviously. But having some teenage kid tagging along with the Serious Crimes unit? Wasn't that just asking for trouble? It's not like they only dealt with run-of-the-mill petty crimes.
She took a deep breath and sat back up. Well, at least she would mostly shadow Van Pelt, which would keep her in the Cyber unit most days during her time here. In fact, with the way kids knew tech these days, she would probably fit in better there anyway. Lisbon perked up a bit, some of her tension and thus her headache abating. With any luck, they wouldn't even get a homicide during these two weeks.
She wished they had gotten the kid's file in advance, but there had been a last-minute switch so Kyle, the high school student they had originally been assigned, was now going to the DA's office.
A knock on her door and Cho leaned into her office. "Kid's here with her Dad."
Lisbon nodded at him, a half smile crossing her lips. "Thanks, Cho. I'll be right there."
Standing, she slid her phone into her blazer pocket and double-checked to be sure her desk drawer with her service weapon was locked. Practically dragging her feet when she couldn't find any other tedious tasks to perform, she headed to the door of her office. Better to just get it over with. Van Pelt would be up here soon to take the kid on a tour.
She stepped out and saw the backs of two figures standing in the bullpen, talking to Rigsby and Cho. A man in a dove grey suit, the back of his head covered in golden curls, stood with his arm around the shoulders of a slim girl whose long blond hair cascaded down her back. She obviously took after her father as her hair curled gently this way and that. Lisbon walked forward with sure steps. Rigsby's eyes caught hers over the shoulders of their guests, the polite smile on his face a bit fixed.
A few feet away, Lisbon spoke. "Welcome to the CBI. I'm Senior Agent Lisbon."
The two turned to face her and her breath was knocked out of her lungs.
The Red John case might be the purview of Bosco and the Serial Crimes Unit, but she had never forgotten how her own path had stumbled across it. She knew this man's face, even if she hadn't met him all those years ago. She remembered seeing the videos. First of his miraculous abilities and television appearances. That fateful appearance—the one he probably regretted every moment of his life. Later, the PD footage of his statement. She remembered how broken, how empty he had seemed. How…off.
Patrick Jane. Husband to one of the early Red John victims. He seemed so different than that husk of a person from the grainy department video. Assured, body language almost lazy. Slight interest on his face as he watched her reaction to them.
That meant…Lisbon's gaze flew to the girl next to him. Was this…could it be—
Blue collided with green.
Charlotte Jane.