'Till Death Do Us Part

A/N: Once again, thanks to all that reviewed. I'm not replying to reviews unless they contain a question that needs to be answered, just so you know. Oh, and I did look up how long it takes to drive from LA to Sacramento. According to WikiAnswers, it's about six to eight hours, so I guessed that Don would be anxious to get there and said six and a half. :D

I'm also going to say that Don and Megan left LA at around 11 AM, so they would get to Sacramento around 5:30 PM, half an hour before Lisbon's date with Mac. I think there's a bit of a time mess up, but just pretend it isn't there. XD

Chapter 3: Waiting and Worrying

Lisbon was desperate. She'd tried everything from begging Minelli to let her come in today (to which he'd said that it was her day off and he was not going to pay her the overtime) to bringing up just enough courage to raise her hand to knock on Mac's door before fleeing back to the safety of her own apartment.

She did not want to go on a date with Mac Brownfield. Anything but that. Anything.

Now however, she was resorting to begging with whatever cruel fates had decided she needed to get out more.

Maybe Jane put him up to it, whispered a voice in the back of her mind.

Yeah, maybe- She cut off that thought. It was just her sleep deprived brain crying out for attention.

She hadn't been able to get a single moment of sleep the night after sending Jane home. She wasn't one for putting on much make-up (she used the bare minimum to keep herself from looking completely boring at work), but maybe if she used enough, she would be able to cover up the bags under her eyes tonight.

That is, if she didn't chicken out first.

I could pretend to be sick, she thought idly. Yeah. I could come out coughing and apologize and say that I must have caught something at work.

She groaned out loud. She really didn't want to do this.

The sound of loud voices floated through the paper thin walls. Sitting up, Lisbon glanced through the window behind the couch to see who it was.

Two people were walking by, discussing something, a man and a woman. The man had short cropped black hair, and the woman had longer reddish hair. Lisbon didn't recognize them, but then again, she didn't know a lot of the people in the building; she wasn't around enough to.

Dismissing it, Lisbon lay back on her couch and tried to get some sleep before her torture session with Dr. Pain.

"Mac Brownfield!" Don yelled, pounding on the front door. "Open up!"

They waited for a few minutes. Don glanced over at Megan, who shrugged.

He pounded on the door again. "Mac Brownfield! FBI!"

Finally, the door opened a crack and a young girl peered out. "Hello?" she said, looking curious.

Megan knelt down. "Hi," she said. "My name's Megan, and this is Don. We work for the FBI."

The girl's eyes widened. "My name's Megan too!" she exclaimed.

"Really? That's cool." Megan shot her a smile. "Is your dad home?"

The girl shook her head. "No. He's out getting flowers for his date." She giggled.

"That's cool," Megan repeated. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

The girl shrugged. "It might take him a while, but he has to be back by six. That's when his date is." She giggled again.

"Okay," Don broke in. "Can you give this to him when he gets back?" He held out a small card with the FBI logo on it.

The girl nodded and took the card. "I'll tell Daddy you wanna talk to him."

"Thanks Megan," the elder Megan said, smiling.

"Bye." The girl smiled and shut the door.

"What're you thinking?" Megan asked as they turned away, recognizing the look on Don's face.

"He just happens not to be here when we show up?" Don glanced over at her. "I'm not buyin' it."

"I don't know. Why leave the kid?" Megan pointed out.

Don frowned. "That's a good point. Still, a date?"

"Maybe one of the neighbors knows something," Megan suggested.

"Maybe," Don echoed. He narrowed his eyes, looking at something far off.

"What?" Megan asked, following his line of vision.

"Old lady," Don said. His frown changed to a grin. "How much you wanna bet she knows when the date is, who he's taking out..."

Megan rolled her eyes. "Only you. Or maybe Colby."

Don grinned. "Hey, you know you like it."

Megan snorted and headed off toward the elderly lady, a woman on a mission. And that mission was to get away from her boss as quickly as possible.

Don's grin grew wider and he hurried after her.

He sat in his studio, looking up at the photo, then back down at the paper in front of him. He had the basic shape of her drawn, but it was lacking that distinct quality that made her... well, her.

He glanced up at the photo again, then added a sketch of the silky black pajamas, complete with the slippers she had on her feet. That had been last night.

Detail by detail, sketch by sketch, he finally finished. Sighing, he sat back, then stood and used a thumb tack to keep the new drawing on the wall with the others. Then he walked over to the shredder and let the machine do its work. Within moments, the photo was in strips, lining the inside of his trash bin.

He sighed and admired the new drawing, silence descending on the studio once more. He could add color, but he wanted to keep a black-and-white copy of this one. It was the best yet.

He glanced down at his watch, then sighed once again. He would need to leave soon. It was almost quarter to six. He had to be there on time. What would she think if he was late? He shuddered in horror. Well, that was one thing he wouldn't have to worry about. He would be there on time. No matter what.

Still, he cast one last glance in the direction of the new drawing, with its perfect curves, beautiful face, half cast in the shadows of her apartment.

"Beautiful," he whispered, sighing.

A/N: Ooh, into the mind of the beast. :) I know this chapter was short, but it still deserves all of your attention. And hopefully that attention includes a review... *hint hint* :)

Off to take over the world,

Crazy Girl