A/N: Penultimate chapter. And to quote Avenue Q, it sucks to be me. That is all.

Thank you to: mpenguin15, TwilightLover-CarlisleandEsme, Aeidhryn, anthropologist and Anna for reviewing part six.

x tromana

Part Seven

"I've been called into work."

The look of disappointment on Annabeth's face was obvious. It pained Lisbon considerably, but she had warned her that it might happen the night before. Lisbon had always known that the team might have wanted her back; whenever she attempted to take just one day of vacation, something always happened. It was hardly surprising that they had finally gotten their break in the Stevens case just when she was about to head out shopping with Annabeth.

"Really? But you said…"

"If I recall correctly, I said it's always possible that I'll be called into work, Annie," Lisbon interjected, but Annabeth still looked dejected

"I know, but I wanted to spend time with you."

"I know you did. I'm disappointed too."

"Can't you say you're sick or something?"

Lisbon snorted at the fact Annabeth was actively encouraging her to play hooky. Then again, she often seemed like a strange mix of her father and Jane, so therefore she knew that it was almost something to be expected. Still, it was almost surprising that a teenager was actively trying to spend time with an adult, rather than being pleased at the prospect of free time, alone.

"Next time you're here, I'll see if I can take you down the range," Lisbon suggested and Annabeth cheered up considerably. "Teach you how to handle a gun properly."

"I know how to shoot!"

"Your dad isn't as good as he likes to think he is."

"That's not fair!"

"Besides, it's always good to repeat the basics," Lisbon assured her but Annabeth continued pouting.

Shaking her head, Lisbon rifled through her pockets and quickly found her purse. Pulling out a fistful of notes, she shoved it into Annabeth's hands. The teenager brightened once more, before she counted out the money and frowned again.

"There's only fifty bucks here!"

"What do you think I am? Made of money?" Lisbon asked.

"But that won't cover all the Christmas presents I need to buy!" Annabeth protested, even though she knew her aunt was unlikely to relent.

"It's the thought that counts; you don't need to buy that much," she answered back, before leading her towards the car. "Besides, doesn't your father give you pocket money?"

"Yes," Annabeth said, still sounding a little bitter. "You're right, I guess."

"You're meant to say thank you."

"Yeah, thanks."

Lisbon knew Annabeth didn't entirely meaning it, but given her age, that wasn't surprising. Instead of pushing the issue further, Lisbon prompted her to finish her breakfast so that they could get moving. She had promised Cho that she would get to work as soon as possible and could do without Annabeth's intentional attempts to slow things down.

Once they were finally on the move, the journey to the mall was quiet and unsurprisingly so. Lisbon nervously kept half an eye on Annabeth. It felt like it had been an age since she had last spent an extended period of time, alone, with the girl and yet, she was slowly but surely turning into a young woman. Had it really been fourteen years since Tommy had informed her that not only had he gone ahead with the shotgun wedding to his now-psycho ex, but they had a newborn daughter? It seemed like insanity, really. Annabeth sighed as she stared out of the window. Who knew what went through a teenage girl's mind these days?

Annabeth soon disappeared into the crowd, drifting off in the direction of the Santa's Grotto when Lisbon dropped her off at the mall. She didn't tell Annabeth that that was where the victim had died; Lisbon didn't want to encourage her. The girl got enough of that from her father (and Jane too, in the brief snatches whenever they interacted.) Deep down, Lisbon knew that she wouldn't be able to persuade Annabeth that being a cop wasn't all it was cracked up to be; she was driven to the point of giving herself an ulcer, when she wanted to be. Naturally, as she turned to drive back to the CBI headquarters, Lisbon refused to accept that that was a perfect description for herself too. She was a cop because she didn't know what else she was physically capable of doing and she hadn't even considered the alternatives. Therefore, Lisbon had to be driven, simply because otherwise she'd never have achieved anything. But Annabeth was capable of so much and had the chance to think outside of the box; she didn't need to sell her soul to the government simply to make a living. Not like she had done.

By the time she arrived back at work, Lisbon was mostly back in business mode. There was no point in her dwelling on the things she couldn't change; it would only succeed in making her feel like she was missing out on something. Instead, she chose to feel more optimistic. Being a cop was all she'd ever known, all she'd ever wanted to do and getting close to closing a case was always a good thing. When Cho had called her this morning, he'd sounded upbeat, for himself at least, and a little apologetic, as he'd known her plans. Still, if they could get it closed quickly, there was always the chance she could meet Annabeth for dinner in the evening or something.

"What's happened?"

Cho was the only one in the office and he placed a warrant for the O'Hanlon residence in her hands. Lisbon frowned slightly; had Arden O'Hanlon behaved suspiciously under surveillance? Or was it the daughter, Georgia?

"Juliette Mayer came in this morning. Confessed that she saw Georgia O'Hanlon fiddling with the girl's lunchbox at work the night before."

"Right."

Quietly, Lisbon hoped that if her friend was telling the truth, that she hadn't disposed of any evidence. Then again, half of her found that highly likely. She had visited the girl's home less than twenty-four hours previously and if Georgia was responsible in some way, then her first thought would have been getting rid of any clues. Then again, it could equally have been that the O'Hanlon girl had upset Juliette Mayer and she was looking to scare her. Or that Mayer was attempting to pin the blame on Georgia in attempt to get away with murder. Still, she hoped that something would come of this search. They could do with a lucky break once in a while.

Jane joined them in the van, just as they were about to head out. Lisbon hadn't even realized that he'd been at the headquarters still. As he hadn't been in the bullpen, reclining on his couch, she had simply assumed that he had decided to disappear off with Rigsby and Van Pelt. But then again, Jane hated surveillance with a burning passion and considered it a waste of police (and his) time. Given the option between sitting in a car and doing nothing or sitting in the office and bothering people trying to work, he chose the latter every single time.

"You okay, Jane?"

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You…"

"You're not still worried about that, are you?" Jane asked, almost sounding frustrated at her concern. "Honestly, woman, I'm fine."

She scowled and then promptly ignored him. The rest of the journey was mostly quiet and Lisbon was relieved of it. Though she had told herself to focus on work, her mind was uncharacteristically elsewhere. Lisbon had steeled herself for the disappointment of not spending time with Annabeth, but somehow, that hadn't been enough. Really, she was still resentful of the fact that Cho had called her in. The case was seemingly simple enough, but she did understand Cho's desire for backup. If O'Hanlon slipped through Rigsby and Van Pelt's fingers, it was entirely possible that he could wreak havoc at his family home.

When they were back at the O'Hanlon's home, Jane promptly disappeared. Lisbon had tried to tell him not to go wandering off, but she had known that even if he'd heard her, he probably wouldn't have listened anyway. Instead, she knocked on the door and promptly called out to the inhabitants. Instead of getting an answer, she and Cho heard the distant sounds of a screaming fact. Straining to listen, Lisbon heard them getting increasingly louder. In response, her heart started thumping loudly as the adrenalin rushed through her system; this was at the very least a domestic situation. At worst, it was entirely possible that there were weapons involved. After all, there had been a couple of death threats thrown into the tirade of abuse they'd just been forced to listen to.

"Do you think…" Lisbon said, trailing off and Cho nodded.

She liked the fact that Cho was almost always on the same wavelength

"On the count of three," she murmured and Cho removed his own gun from its holster. "One, two, three."

Cho expertly kicked the door down with ease and Lisbon was first through it. Steadying her gun, she walked through the rooms, making sure each and every one was clear. When she reached the kitchen, however, there were two inhabitants: Juliette Mayer and Henry Cousins. They were both unarmed, but looked fairly shaken up. Wordlessly, Lisbon holstered her gun as Cho entered the room behind her.

"Georgie, she, she…" Juliette stuttered. "I should never have…"

"Never have what?" Lisbon prompted.

"Told you that it's her fault."

"Why?"

"Because she's pregnant; she said she's going to kill herself," Juliette muttered, staring at the ground. "She feels bad."

"Where'd she go?"

"The back yard."

Immediately, Cho exited via the back door and Lisbon soon followed, but not without telling the pair not to go anywhere. If they were telling the truth, then at the very least, they were witnesses. Besides, by the sounds of it, Georgia O'Hanlon needed help more than anything else. Like Amie, she was young, pregnant and not in the most stable of relationships. Unfortunately, it was looking more and more likely that she had also committed a crime in a fit of anger. Something which, naturally, was adding to the stress of her current situation.

Once outside, she saw Cho holding back. Jane was talking to the girl soothingly and the last thing they wanted to do was disturb them. Eventually, when he beckoned them forwards, Lisbon took a few steps closer and observed Georgia carefully. She was obviously distressed and wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. Nervously, she looked down at her hands, where she was holding a bottle of water and a Rudolph soft toy. She seemed almost surprised to find them in her possession.

Meanwhile, in Jane's hands were a bag of mistletoe berries and a knife.

Lisbon snatched the items out of his hands and handed them to Cho, who placed them in evidence baggies. She didn't need him to tell her that he had somehow managed to persuade her to switch items with him, though where he'd been hiding the stuffed Rudolph, she didn't want to know. With practiced ease, Lisbon instructed the girl to get onto her knees, cuffed her and read out the Miranda rights. Stubbornly, she ignored the girl's sobbing. Though Lisbon did feel sorry for her, murder was murder. She couldn't just let her walk away simply because she was pregnant and hormonal. The law just didn't work like that.

"And how did you know that that was going to happen?"

"Eh, it was kind of obvious."

"Care to fill in the gaps?"

"Julie is far to faithful a friend; she liked both Amie and Georgia. It was only natural that she felt wracked by guilt the moment Georgia told her she was responsible," Jane explained patiently. "But after confessing, she felt also guilty because she betrayed Georgia's trust."

"So she gave Georgia the choice to try and escape before we got there with the search warrant?"

"Obviously."

In a way, Lisbon was glad that they had found some answers. At least it meant the day she was meant to be spending with Annabeth hadn't been entirely wasted. However, she also knew that she would have to get Rigsby and Van Pelt to call Arden O'Hanlon back in. After all it was looking likely that he had been attempting to cover up the crime for his daughter, make it appear that the mistletoe berries had somehow gotten into Amie Stevens' system through some other source. And then, they would have to question the both of them. Who knew how long that would take?As soon as they got back to the headquarters, she called her niece. She knew that Annabeth would love the excuse to spend some time with her at work. Besides, if she knew Annabeth well enough, that meant she would probably have spent all the money she'd been given and would probably be getting bored. By suggesting that she spent some time at the headquarters, at least then she would receive some sort of entertainment from Jane until she could sign the case off.

Then maybe, just maybe, Lisbon would have her weekend back.

TBC…