A/N: Yep, so Verdigris fell by the wayside again. I'm sorry about that. I think I have the rest of the plot sorted and it's only another 2/3 chapters long. Which I guess is a good thing, maybe? At least the end is in sight now.

Thank you to: amarilis24, Kaoh, AngryLittlePrincess, lolly2222, Jisbon4ever, Rach112 and Ebony10 for reviewing part seven. (Apologies, Ebony10, for making you hang on for so long!)

x tromana


Part Eight

Jane watched as Lisbon stalked back to her office, not even bothering to watch him open the envelope.

In reality, he didn't have to open it to know what it most likely contained. If it wasn't some notes on one of their cases, then there were only two other possibilities. Lisbon had already obliquely implied that she wasn't going to ask for him to be removed from her team any time soon. That was something Jane was infinitely grateful for; he simply did not want to work with anyone other than Teresa Lisbon. It just seemed unfathomable and besides, she herself was convinced that nobody else would have him, anyway.

That left one other thing.

And that meant that she wasn't wasting any time, clearly.

He didn't bother opening it on his couch, not with Rigsby and Van Pelt watching his every move. They were both almost as angry as Lisbon was at the fact that Cho had been shot. And he knew they weren't idiots; they had probably seen the cracks in the relationship which had become infinitely more obvious since then.

But he wasn't sure if they'd worked out that Lisbon had actually left him yet.

Van Pelt was notoriously optimistic and a romantic at heart. She had loved it when they had announced they were dating and been thrilled to be a bridesmaid at the wedding. Even now, she still dropped hints about whether or not they were considering children and the like. Rigsby, out of respect, was far more likely to keep his thoughts to himself.

And if they hadn't, that was something he'd rather keep to himself, or at least, until Cho was released from hospital. After all, he was determined to prove to her that he was still worth the effort. That he wasn't ready to give up, even if she was.

So, he followed her directly back into her office and she scowled the moment he slammed the door shut. He couldn't blame her for reacting as such; she did wear her heart on her sleeve. However, Lisbon also couldn't have seriously expected him to just lie down and take the divorce proceedings willingly, could she?

He'd said just how sorry he was often enough of late, just how much he wanted to make it up to her.

It simply hurt him to know that he might have realized just what she meant to him and how he needed her too little, too late.

However, he was also more than aware that she was worth fighting for. And there was enough life left in this old dog yet. And Lisbon was as stubborn as they came, so he knew that he was most definitely going to need that fighting spirit.

"What do you want, Jane?" she said snappishly.

"You know what I want."

"Can't you see I'm busy?"

He took the seat opposite her and he knew that simply annoyed her further. Then again, she was in one of those moods where if anyone did anything, it was liable to irritate her one way or another. Just one look at her told him that, though she had been able to get some sleep since the shooting, it hadn't been all that restful. Besides, being drained emotionally had all kinds of effects on people that even sleep couldn't help. Jane was desperate to reach out at her, to hold her, to kiss it better, if at all possible. However, he also knew that if he were to dare to do such a thing, it would result in a slap, or more likely, a punch to the nose.

And his nose had taken far too many hits of late. He was trying to cut down on making people resort to physical violence when dealing with him. Of course, that was going abysmally, but that didn't matter.

"Jane."

"Yes, my dear?"

"Do you have any information on a case?" she seethed, ignoring the fact that he had cheekily slipped in the term of endearment.

"No, but I have information on this."

He slammed the envelope back down on her desk and she just stared at it. The silence between them became painful; it would have been possible to cut through it with a knife. Even so, Jane continued to stare his wife down, daring her to be the one to break it. He knew she was confused, wondering why he was handing it straight back to her without even bothering to take a look at it.

"What the hell do you mean, Jane?"

"I don't want to divorce you, Teresa."

"Jane?"

"Yes?"

"Don't make this any more difficult than it already is. Please."

xxx

Lisbon shivered as she wrapped herself in the thin sheets. It was good of Cho to offer her the spare bedroom in his house, even though she knew he had an ulterior motive. Even so, she was more than aware that he was being a little too hopeful if he expected to be released from hospital within the next couple of days. However, when he was allowed to leave, she was more than happy to offer him the support he'd require. After all, at this moment in time, she knew that they could both do with a friend.

It was funny. Now that she finally had the time to sleep and relax, she simply could not get to sleep. Her stomach was tying itself in knots and she had the desperate urge to vomit. However, she ignored it and instead, screwed her eyes tightly shut. She needed to sleep, to relax. To allow her body to recover from the physical blows she had delivered it recently. Even so, it seemed like her brain was deciding to be contrary and ensure that sleep continually eluded her, despite the fact that now, she needed it the most.

She couldn't let herself get into a state. Lisbon knew all too well the damages that too little sleep could do to a person. Her husband - ex-husband - had lived with insomnia for as long as she had known him. It had always hurt her to see Jane in such a mess, especially as she knew there was so little she could actually do for him. If she could have waved a magic wand to make him feel better, then she would have done so. However, Jane had always pushed her away, despite the fact she had been more than willing to stick by him through thick and thin. She'd always known that he had barely been a husband to her, that she could count the number of times they had been physically intimate with one another on just the one hand, but it didn't stop the painful ache inside.

Why did it have to end this way?

In reality, Lisbon knew the answer to that question. She couldn't keep holding her breath and waiting for Jane to be on the same page as she was. It was stopping her from living her own life, draining her of all her energy. Handing him those divorce papers had been a double-edged sword. On one side, she had felt freer than she had done so in such a long way. However, she had also wondered if she were giving up all too easily. If she hadn't fought enough for him…

It didn't help that he was planting silly thoughts in her head either. The actions he'd taken with the divorce papers in the office, for a start. She was just relieved that he hadn't done anything ridiculous like trying to shred it or tearing them into a thousand tiny pieces. After all, Patrick Jane was famed for making a scene.

Then again, there was still time for him to act in such a way, she surmised.

She just hoped that he wouldn't.

Muttering incoherently, she tossed on the unfamiliar mattress. She needed to sleep; she had a long day tomorrow. First, she had to go and testify in a couple of court cases and then, she wanted to drop by at the hospital to check on Cho's prognosis. Apparently, she had also been booked into see the departmental shrink, as was protocol after a shooting. Given previous incursions she's had with a psychiatrist that was naturally, something she was dreading. And then, there was that open case that was irritating her. Lisbon felt like there was something that she was missing, something which should have been obvious but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

On top of all that, she had to face Jane. Again.

She sighed. It was going to be a long day.

Especially if she was going to be running on empty.

xxx

Jane spent much of the night reading through the papers.

Lisbon had 'kindly' stuck post it notes throughout, indicating where he needed to sign before they were filed off. It was like she couldn't even trust him not to screw that up.

Of course, he still had no intentions whatsoever of actually signing. Instead, he was more than happy to just sit on them and carry on trying to find a way to make everything right between them. No, not right, but better than it had ever been before.

He'd always loved her, deep down. However, the fact that he had never completely closed the door on his first wife had always prevented him from being able to commit fully to her. It had taken a near-death experience for him to realize exactly what he nearly lost and he hated himself for it.

Because, in a roundabout way, it had pushed her over the edge.

He still felt incredibly guilty about his first wife. It didn't help that, now, all of his emotions to do with her were tied up with Red John. Jane knew that he needed to somehow dissociate himself from the serial killer in order to actually move on. For the first time, his quest for revenge felt like a game for fools and madmen. That was something that Lisbon had been trying to tell him for years. And yet, he had always closed his mind to the concept until now.

Red John had already cost him too much of his soul. Too many people had already paid the ultimate price in order to try and bring him down.

It was faintly surprising that Lisbon hadn't been amongst that number.

Maybe Red John had known just how unhappy their relationship had truly been and had somehow decided that that was punishment enough?

Maybe she would be in even greater risk should they reconcile and do things properly this time?

Jane shook his head. It definitely wasn't worth thinking like that.

It confused matters for a start.

And besides, if they lured Red John in, then it would make it all the easier for Lisbon to apprehend him. To get him in front of a judge and jury and seek closure in the legal way. Jane smiled slightly. It was strange just how good that thought felt.

That would result in not just closure for himself, but for all the other families that had been blighted by Red John.

He wasn't the only person that had suffered. Somewhere along the line, he'd forgotten that.

With a strange sense of strength, Jane found that he was unable to sleep. Instead, he hauled himself out of bed, changed and headed straight to his beloved car. Working almost on autopilot, he drove directly to the cemetery where his wife and daughter were buried.

Jane knew that this wasn't going to be the last time he visited; he couldn't cut them out entirely.

However, it was going to be the first time he saw them with their chapter firmly behind him.

He couldn't let them affect his future quite so much, not anymore.

After all, a ghost could never compare to a woman who was willing to give him everything.

Well, provided he could prove to her that he was worth everything once more.

TBC...