The three of them pulled into the parking lot that bordered the shore of the boat launch ramp. Beside it was a dock lined with several new motorboats that were available for rental. Jane wandered away from Lisbon and headed to the small store beside the dock. He looked down to his bloody hand and torn vest letting out a moan at his shabby state. He stomped into the store and brightened when he saw Rigsby and Grace, who looked surprised at his haggard appearance.
"Oh my god Jane, what happened?"
"Lisbon ran me over." Grace looked shocked, and by the couple's expressions and words, Jane knew that they had not seen the accident happen, therefore did not know he saw them at their beach.
"Really Jane, or are you lying?" Grace asked, knowing this could be something he would make up to stir waters.
"Yes. Why doesn't anyone believe me?"
"i do." Cho said as he walked in behind him. Jane looked back and pointed lazily to him with his hand.
"Yes. Thank you, Kimball."
"anytime."
While Lisbon was out looking about the marina, the team gossiped about his story, and eventually believed it for he had the bruises cuts, and torn vest to prove it. While Jane finished up the tale, Cho paid for a boat and tube to rent and told Rigsby and Grace their plans at which Rigsby let out a loud, "yes!" Before they left the store, Rigsby grabbed several candy bars and popsicles, but as Rigsby and Grace left them already garbed in their swimsuits, Jane and Cho exchanged a look.
"I don't think suits are very appropriate for swimming."
"my thoughts exactly." Cho answered, and the two went to browse if the store sold any swimsuits. They strolled deeper into the air conditioned small shop, discovering a line of suits hanging on the wall. As Cho grabbed one, Jane sighed.
"You know I'm not sure if I really want to even go. It doesn't sound too appealing to me." Cho flicked his eyes to him.
"you're going. im not sitting in a boat alone with them." Jane agreed it was fair enough, and if his vest had not been so torn he would have been less agreeable to removing it in order to wear swimming clothes. As the two men bought and changed into the last pairs of swimsuits available in their size, Lisbon came stomping into the store. Cho left the dressing room first as she entered, and Lisbon stared, looking unsure at the sight of him wearing only shorts, no tie or dress pants.
"Did you uh," she cleared her throat, "buy that here?"
"yes." Cho said pointing to the rack of suits. Lisbon nodded and as she stepped up to the rack, looking unsure about wearing a swimsuit in front of her colleagues, Jane slowly stepped out from the dressing room. Though his exit, or more of his entrance, was greeted by a song. The speakers decorated about the room, let out a strange sounding song that neither had ever heard before, but suited the scene well. Start wearing purple for me now, start wearing purple all your sanity and wits they will all vanish ,I promise. As the foreign almost gypsy sounded music played, Jane and Lisbon simply stared at each other, before slowly looking down to Jane's purple swim suit. Lisbon looked amused but Jane licked his lip tensely holding his torn suit to his chest. Though he had also purchased a t-shirt to go with his new attire, he still felt extremely naked without his vest. He cleared his throat and awkwardly stepped past the bemused Lisbon, handed the cashier a 5, before hurrying out from the building as the wild Ukrainian song continued on its way. As he disappeared, Lisbon smirked to herself.
In a few moments she bought a turquoise one piece suit, and met the team out on the swaying dock, where they were all climbing into a small red boat. Jane was now letting his towel fall over his t-shirted chest and staring silently and straight ahead. The run in with Lisbon in the shop while the shouting voice echoed around them, and most of all taunted his purple suited up vest-less body, had unsettled his ego and created vulnerability inside him. His vest was his everything, and Lisbon took that away. Another reason to scowl upon the agent as she approached the dock.
Though the team tried not to look at Lisbon when she climbed into the boat in her suit, not that she looked bad, or good, they all simply knew doing so would get some sort of retort for her face was still tight and borderline embarrassed for she knew that Jane had already told his tale to all and she knew whose side they were on. Though who everyone did stare at, was Cho.
He had not purchased a shirt for Jane beat him to the last shirt that didn't say "I'm a happy camper!" on it. Each member of the team seemed shocked by how fit and muscled the agent was, always hiding it beneath ironed suits and ties.
"Looking good, Cho." Rigsby said as he leaned back in the boat, watching him drive from behind.
"thank you." He said with a tint uncertainty in his tone. In the bow sat Lisbon, alone, and adjacent to Cho was Jane. His chest still covered with a towel and his face still wore a flat, rather Cho-like expression. Behind him sat Grace and Rigsby, whose spirits seemed rather bright despite the bad happenings of the day.
Cho eased on the gas when they exited the "no wake zone" and to everyone's surprise, as soon as the small buoy wearing a sign vanished, Cho suddenly hit the gas, jolting the CBI members as he began wildly cutting through the wakes of other boats. Cho put a knee on the seat and stood on it as he drove, squinting into the sun, before pressing on the stereo and to even more to everyone's surprise, Michael Buble's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," danced out from the stereo with its happy and lively rhythm. Then, all sat silent at what they were about to and began to witness.
"there goes my baby, she knows how to rock and roll." Cho sang, through a smile. No one knew what to do. Laugh, smile, cry. To see their usual one face, suited up Cho in a swim suit driving a boat was one thing, then to see him smiling and singing nearly made them all bail out of the boat. But the fascination of it held them to their seats.
Jane was staring at him was a half concerned; half amused look in his eyes. "You okay, Cho?" When the agent made no response, but for bobbing his head along with the music Jane just began to chuckle loudly. However at that, Cho's expression faltered and he looked to Jane.
"what." Jane cut his laugh and shrugged.
"Oh its just Lisbon, she looked at me funny." Cho nodded and began dancing in his seat again. Everyone, even Lisbon, noted the type of music that seemed to literally bring Cho to life. Jane smirked and leaned back to Grace whom sat directly behind him.
"This, and alcohol are the only things that bring out that cute little Cho smile." He gestured to the smirk on the man's lips and Grace smiled.
"It's very odd. But I think I like it."
"I do too." Cho's temporary change in manner calmed Jane. As the music went on, he to began tapping his foot and nodding along with the beat, sitting without a vest, and wearing a smile as the wind blew through his curling hair. The man who so rarely smiled that all believed he had a true disorder, was smiling, and with that rare smile made even Lisbon lips begin to curve up, momentarily defeating her stubborn sourness. Though Jane was fully enjoying himself, the feelings he felt against Lisbon still lingered, but were only quieter as his mind plotted silently.
When the song ended, so did Cho's smile as he stopped the boat and looked back over his shoulder at the group. "whos first." Rigsby excitedly jumped up, and invited Grace to ride with him. She looked unsure out at the choppy waters filled with screams, then when her eyes fell to Rigsby's excited expression she sighed before agreeing. The two climbed onto the tube that read "Big Mabel" along the side and resembled a big red couch. Jane switched seats to ski watch, and let the line out, appearing amused by the pair as they drifted away onto the hectic roaring lake. Though Rigsby was grinning, Grace appeared like she was trying to smile, but the fear of tubing with Rigsby chased it away.
"We're clear." Jane said as he plopped the last few inches of line into the water as it tightened above the gurgling motor. With that the boat jerked foreword as Cho hit the gas, and began to speed around the lake like a madman with a chainsaw, the screams boosting the insanity in his hands that turned the wheel. He jerkily swerved and Grace screamed as the two were flown out from the wake, and began slapping and flying against the cresting waves. Jane laughed as they hit a fat bump, and Rigsby's long form went flopping into the sky and when he landed, he launched Grace. His cackle echoed across the water as he caught her and the two managed to stay on the jumping tube.
Cho swerved about and if not for his smiling and singing earlier, this reckless driving would have caught them by surprise, but it seemed that while in a boat, Cho was full of surprises. And so was Jane's mind as he laughed at what his mind had come up with as Rigsby and Grace hit another large bump, making the two scream with joy as Cho whipped them back across the wake. After one or two times around the small lake, hitting many large waves where at one Rigsby was half way off the tube, being sucked into the water. But Grace managed to pull him up, laughing. Even Cho hooted in a cheer at her ability to stay on the tube even over the tsunamis, while pulling a Rigsby from the water.
When they pair singled they wanted to stop, Cho had Jane take over the wheel as he reeled in the pair of tubers. "Wahoo!" Rigsby shouted and Grace grinned at him.
"have fun." Cho asked and Rigsby slapped the water.
"Hell yea!"
Cho smirked and held the tube steady as the pair climbed into the swaying boat. Meanwhile, Jane was studying Lisbon through his sunglasses. She was eying the tube, and Jane knew what was going through her head, so when Cho returned Jane told him he would like to drive at which Cho answered. "don't kill anyone."
Jane smirked. "Oh, I'll do my best. Would you like to tube, Cho?" But Cho's face had morphed flat again and he stared.
"no. i hate tubing." Jane then looked to Lisbon, trying to fight his smile but his curved lips told all.
"Lisbon?" He called. The woman turned to face him as he mimed Cho's seating in the boat on one knee and gestured to the tube. She stared.
"I don't tube."
"Yes you do." Lisbon gave him a suspicious look.
"Not when you're driving with a smile as big as the Joker's."
"Oh come on, I can't help the way I look." Lisbon contemplated and agreed that though he looked suspiciously happy, it was the same expression he would make on occasion while looking at a dead bloody body. She sighed and raised her brow.
"I don't like to tube like that."
"Oh I'll take it easy on you. Besides, that even gave me the willies." Lisbon eyed him for a minute before slowly rising and stepping past him, shooting him a warning look.
"Cho, watch him. He steps out of line, and does anything more than a slow pull, push him out." Cho said nothing as Lisbon took the wet life vest from Grace and buckled it before climbing onto the tube, and carefully settling herself in as Cho gently pushed her off into the ocean of a lake.
"Have a nice ride," Jane said, grinning over his shoulder at her once there was no turning back for Agent Lisbon. The moment the rope tightened, and Cho okayed him to go, Jane let out a laugh as he mimicked Cho's driving and hit the gas hard.
Lisbon's scream disappeared behind them as Jane instantly swerved the boat to the side, making the tube fly and nearly flipping her. At first, Rigsby, Cho, and Grace were amused by Jane's wild driving, but as Lisbon continued screaming orders that were only partly heard, they became concerned when they looked to Jane who simply grinned and laughed at her helpless form from over his shoulder.
"Jane, I think she wants to go a little slower..." Rigsby said but Jane simply laughed as she was flown across the wake, her legs flopping into the air as if they were unattached from her body. "Really Jane…" Jane looked to Rigsby.
"Whose side are you on, Rigsby? The woman," he steered her violently to the right, narrowly dodging another boat creating an even louder scream from Lisbon, "who ruthless ran me down with a car or the innocent victim who was simply taking a bike ride?" Rigsby didn't answer.
As Lisbon continued screaming, Jane groaned when he slowly began feeling guilty for the woman had no control of what was happening. He unwillingly slowed the speed, easing the tension in the boat, though only for several seconds. For as he looked back to see if she was at all happier, he moaned when she violently pointed ahead.
"Oh for Pete's sake."
"Um, Jane!" Grace called as she realized what Lisbon was wildly gesturing to.
"What is it now?" He said as he slowly turned back to face the jumping bow. "Oh no." He didn't know whether to smile or wince at the huge, unavoidable wave that was flying his way. Though as he contemplated how big of a lesson she needed to learn, he missed the time slot where he could have turned just right as to narrowly miss the wave. But it was too late. Inside the boat was silent, but outside, agent Lisbon was screaming, as the tube skipped off the 3 foot wave. All watched in horror, but Jane with partial amusement, as Lisbon was violently thrown from the tube, shouting with a scratchy and infuriated voice.
"Patrick Jane!"