A/N: I know this took forever, but I was really struggling with the last third of the chapter and I didn't want to just write something to get it done, I really wanted it to turn out well. I apologize for the wait though. It's always the worst waiting. I do promise though, that I will never leave a story unfinished. This chapter is a little longer than normal, so hopefully that will make up for some of the wait. I hope you enjoy!
Oh, and by the way, I loved all the theorizing about what Jane was up to with Ashley. You all had me cracking up.
Chapter 7
Lisbon lay in her bed feeling tired and weepy. It had only gotten worse over the last half hour as she had taken a sleeping pill in the hopes that she would pass out and be able to get a good night's sleep. The only thing she'd managed to do was make her arms feel heavy and her breathing shallow, but the memory of the night Jane had butt dialed her in the throws of passion, mixed with his confrontation by her car at the office today proved a better stimulant than her sleep aid at knocking her out.
She really wanted to roll over, but couldn't find the energy to do it, and her arms really were feeling weird. Maybe three pills had been too much...
He phone started to ring and she turned her head toward her bedside table and looked at the light shining from the ringing phone, before unceremoniously throwing the arm opposite the table across her body, hitting the book her phone sat on causing her phone to catapult across the room.
She shot up, surprising herself that she'd been able to do it, and watched as her phone hit the wall and landed face down in the carpet. She scrunched her brow and lifted a hand to her face, before sliding out of bed and walking to where it had landed just to the right of her bedroom door. She was just about to reach down for it, when she noticed her arms didn't feel weird anymore and giggled. Her hand shot up to her mouth as the foreign sound came out, and she decided that she needed to look at the side effects of her sleeping pills.
She picked her phone up and walked downstairs and to her kitchen sink where she left the bottle. When she reached it she squinted down at the pills trying to clear the sleepy haze from her eyes, and then shook her head when it didn't work. She felt another giggle come up her throat at the absurdity of her situation, but squelched it before it could leave her mouth. One giggle was more than enough for the night. The month. She just wasn't a giggler. Period.
A nasty image of some blonde, tall, super model tart running her hands through Jane's hair as they kissed popped into her head, and a gasp escaped her mouth followed by a sob. She sank to the floor with the bottle of sleeping pills and phone in her hands.
She cried through heaves all the while trying to rationalize the situation, like she had done a thousand times before. Jane and her weren't a couple when he left and they certainly weren't six months ago when she'd gotten his stupid sex, butt dial. He was a free agent to do as he would and so was she. It wasn't Jane's fault that she'd misunderstood his intentions the night he'd come to her house a year ago, it wasn't his fault that she wasted a year that she should have spent dating other men instead of pinning away for a man who wrote obligatory postcards once month and hardly called.
Her shoulders shook from her cries. And further, even though he swore he'd come back for her, which she believed, he hadn't taken his ring off for her, that'd been for the blonde tart. Or maybe it was a redheaded tart. He had been away a year, there could be any number of tarts. Really, what had she been thinking?
Her sobs subsided and she felt unexpectedly warm. She lowered her face to her tiled kitchen floor and sighed in relief at the coolness of it. She took several comforting breaths and rolled from her side onto her stomach. She firmly decided to never take sleeping pills again, especially when she was feeling emotional. She chuckled at herself.
She could only image how she would look to an outsider, sprawled out on her kitchen floor in her jersey, her hair splayed above her head, eyes puffy and red from uninvited tears, with her phone in one hand and sleeping pills in the other…giggling. She sat up and leaned against her cabinets before chucking the bottle of pills over her dining room table and in the direction of her front door. It landed and skidded to a stop a few feet from the door.
She shook her head resolving to pull herself together. She had all but secured Jane's permanent return to the CBI, even spending her afternoon getting indemnity for him, because it'd been the right thing to do. She was going to have to find a way to work with him. She glanced toward her living room and even though she could see the folder she placed there when she'd gotten home earlier, she could feel it like a lifeline or perhaps a weight on her shoulders. She wouldn't use it unless she had no other option.
She looked at her bare legs and wiped away an errant tear. She also reminded herself that she would have to talk to Jane—tell him flat out that she didn't want a relationship, could never have a relationship with him and ask him to respect her desires for something purely platonic. If he could agree to that then he'd be welcome to stay, otherwise she'd have to ask him to leave.
Neither option would be easy, but it's what seemed fair. Despite his assurances that he loved her and that he returned for her, and despite the fact that logically speaking they hadn't been together when he'd been with Ashley, she still felt betrayed. Plus a life with Jane could never be easy. Really he'd done her a favor, spared her a lifetime of grief.
She moved to stand when a knock sounded at her door. She froze halfway up, inhaling deeply when another knock came. She stood the rest of the way up and thought about who it could possibly be and only one name came to mind: Jane. She hadn't expected to have the conversation tonight, but her resolve was strong at the moment, and so would she be.
She took another deep breath, ran her fingers through her hair and moved toward the door, but tripped into her table. She looked up as the room slowly stopped spinning and chuckled again. Well, this should be interesting, she thought. She pushed herself away from her table and tried to get her footing right as she wobbled before stumbling into the door and opening it with shaky hands. Her arms were starting to feel heavy again.
The door open with some effort on her part and she smothered another giggle with her hand as three Walter Mashburns came into view. She blinked hard, then opened her eyes wide, pleased when the three of him melded back into one.
"Teresa," he said holding up a bottle of wine. "Aren't you looking stunning tonight."
Cho opened the door to the file room and peered in at the mess of filing cabinets, boxes, and other random objects that filled the room. He took a step inside and turned the light on as the door swung shut behind him. He placed his hands on his hips. "Jane? Where are you?"
"On my couch," Jane called back from the corner where Cho and Rigsby had stored Jane's leather siren call.
Cho shook his head. "Of course." He walked over to the corner and looked down at Jane sprawled out with his eyes closed, like he had so often done in the past, and smiled a little at the sight. Red John had always left a tinge of darkness around the edges of their everyday lives, but the team had had good times, had done good things, and seeing Jane like this reminded him of that. Now if the idiot could only figure things out with Lisbon. He frowned again. "When did you find the couch?"
"Same day I came back," Jane said his eyes still closed. "You, my dear friend, have an excellent poker face, but Rigsby and Grace-horrible. I'm sure neither of them have won any card game ever, and that includes go fish."
"Go fish is a game of luck."
"So, you see my reasoning?"
Cho cleared his throat. "Whatever. Have you seen Lisbon?"
"Not since this afternoon," Jane mumbled.
Cho crossed his arms. "What did you do to her?"
Jane shrugged. "Oh, nothing really. I just confessed my undying love for her, told her I'd come back for her and that I wanted to be with her."
"And?"
"She got in her car and drove away. Almost hitting me in the process, too, I might add." Jane clenched his jaw and continued with a razor sharp edge that made Cho feel uneasy, "I wonder if I did something wrong?"
Cho sighed and looked back at the door as he tried to decide his next move. He could stay here and try to cheer Jane up, which was never his favorite activity, or he could find Lisbon and buy her some Chinese to cheer her up. He looked at his watch as Jane sat up on his couch swinging his legs onto the floor in the process. It was late already, but he'd called her a number of times without any response and he was beginning to worry.
He glanced down at Jane who was rubbing the pad of his thumb over the side of his index finger. Jane looked up and made eye contact. "Do you know an Ashley?" Jane asked.
"There's an Ashley who works in the mail room."
"Really?" Jane asked looking a little perplexed.
Cho nodded, making up his mind on the spot. Jane would be fine. "See you tomorrow," he said as he turned and headed to the door.
Jane called after him. "Wait, did you get everyone I requested here for tomorrow?"
"Yes." Cho said right before the door swung shut between him and Jane.
Lisbon honestly couldn't remember how she'd ended up on her couch, straddling Walter Mashburn while kissing him senseless. Not that she really minded; it turned out that all she'd really needed was a good distraction, and Walter was most certainly that. She savored the way his soft lips were running up her neck, the sweet taste of wine on them, and the way his arms wrapped around her back, his hands messaging the muscles there. It was relaxing and comforting, especially the way he would whisper her name between kisses, like she was everything in the world to him.
She giggled against his lips, having long given up on stopping the annoying side effect from happening and gave into them as easily as she had Walter. Although, even in her dazed mind she thought that perhaps she had been the one to take advantage of Walter. Not that he seem to mind. But by the way she had her bare legs resting on either side of his hips, and the way she was pushing his shoulders back against the couch definitely suggested that she'd been a more than active participant.
He pulled his lips from hers and once again started trailing them down her neck. He stopped at the curve between her neck and shoulder and began to suck. She gasped at the unexpected sensation, and her head fell back. She began sliding her hands down his chest and stopped at his belt.
He sucked in a gasp. "Teresa," he all but moaned as her clumsy fingers worked on his belt, "I honestly didn't expect this when I came over."
She stopped toying with his belt and leaned forward to kiss him, then said, "Do you want me to stop?"
He gulped and shook his head, and she smiled wickedly as she looked down to once again try and figure out his belt. She hadn't made any progress yet and she was starting to feel frustrated.
"Can I help you with that?" he asked while at the same time reaching the the hem of her shirt, so he could slide his fingers inside.
She shook her head. "No," she snipped, "I think I can manage a simple belt buckle."
He laughed, but she ignored the urge she had to snap him and glared down at the simple work she just couldn't get her hands to do. "What is this a chastity belt?"
"You are so beautiful," he said while chuckling again. She finally got his belt unlatched and sighed in relief, as he leaned into her and in haled. "Do you smell Chinese?" Walter suddenly asked leaning away from her.
She snorted, then felt self-conscious and leaned her nose down into her shirt, but could smell nothing. She was about to snap at him when she got a whiff of curry. She looked toward the open door, and squinted at the figure looming there. She knew she should yell at the intruder, get her gun, but instead she breathed in the yummy aroma.
"It's Thai," Cho said.
"Agent Cho? What a surprise," Walter announced.
Her head shot up, and she forced herself to focus. The blurry figure in front of her became clear just as he bent down and retrieved her bottle of sleeping pills from the floor where she chucked them. Her head cleared in her embarrassment and she tried to climb off of Walter's lap, only succeeding in falling off the couch, into her coffee table, sending her file flying, and then landed on the floor with a thud.
Walter reached down and helped her into a sitting position with one hand as he grabbed the ends of his belt wit his other. Walter nearly blocking her view of Cho, but not entirely, as he made his way over to her. He sat the take out bags he carried on the table, before lifting the empty bottle of wine.
"How much of this did she drink?" Cho asked Walter.
"Two glasses is all," Walter assured him as he refastened his belt. "I'm sure Teresa knows her limits."
She saw the pill bottle clutched in Cho's hand and watched him grind his teeth before sighing deeply. He was obviously deciding what to do. "All right lover boy," Cho said grabbing Walter's arm and pulling him to his feet. "It's time to go."
"I don't think that's your decision to make," Walter said in a tone that was the most outraged she'd ever heard him.
She felt a sudden surge of anger mixed in with her embarrassment as Cho all but dragged Walter to the door, removed his coat from the coat hanger and shoved him and his coat out the door. Who did he think he was? Her mother! She heard an incredulous whimper from Walter as the door shut in his face and the lock snapped into place. She stood up intent on putting him in his place, but immediately forgot that idea as a pain shot through her head and the room began to spin again.
She was vaguely aware of Cho standing in front of her. "How many of these pills did you take?" She shook her head trying to clear the dizziness, when she felt a firm hand on her arm. "How many Teresa?"
"You going to throw me out too?" She'd meant to sound angry fierce, but she was sure it'd sounded nothing more than pathetic.
"I might take you to the hospital," he threatened.
Damn him, she thought, for knowing just the right thing to say to get her to cooperate when she wanted to be difficult.
She sighed. "I took three, but that was a couple hours ago."
"Then you drank wine, and probably all on an empty stomach."
She glared at him. It was irritating enough having one person know you this well-two was just flat out unfair. "I wasn't hungry. I was tired and wanted to sleep, but I couldn't turn my brain off." She glanced up at him and grinned, her anger melting away. "Those pills have some freaky side effects."
He sighed loudly again. "We need to get some food in you."
The mention of food had her glancing toward the two paper bags he'd brought. "Comfort food," she said in a near whisper.
"Yeah, I figured you could use it." He helped her sit down, before sitting himself. He sat her pill bottle down before opening the bags and unloading the different containers. She watched him, and could feel her eyes filling with tears again. When he handed her some chopsticks she fell into his shoulder, bursting into tears in the process. She could feel him stiffen under her, and could almost imagine the panicked look that must be on his face. A moment later she felt his hand on her back patting it. Like a parent might a baby that needs burping. She chuckled at the thought, then started crying again with a gargled chuckle somewhere in the middle of it.
"You okay?" Cho asked handing her a brown paper napkin.
She pulled away long enough to blow her nose, and noticed a large wet spot on his shoulder before she rested her head on it once again. "I hate these sleeping pills," she blurted out.
She felt Cho's shoulder jump a few times in rapid succession, and it took her a moment to realize he was laughing. She looked up at his smiling face. "What?"
"Didn't you read the warning label?" he asked.
She started to nod. She'd come down stairs in the first place to read the bottle, but when she gotten downstairs she'd collapsed on the floor in a fit of tears instead, and then Walter had showed up and it was all sort of blur from there. Oh, what a night. She shook her head instead.
He reached for the bottle and read the label. "Can cause dizziness, blurred vision, double vision, nausea, a heavy sensation of the limbs, and extreme mood swings." He sat the bottle down and looked over at her. "It also says to take with food and not with alcohol. Still, maybe it wasn't all bad," he said. She looked up at him and furrowed her brow. He continued, "I think you were about due for a good cry."
She smiled lightly then sobered and looked at her fingers. What had come over her? It was very unlike her to take anything without reading the warning label. "I don't know what I was thinking," she said stifling a sob.
"You were thinking about what Jane said to you in the garage."
She glanced up at him and nodded as she wiped away a tear. "Yes. All flipping afternoon, and evening."
"What's the problem?" he asked.
"It's a long story," she said really not wanting to talk about it.
He nodded and reached for a container, popping the lid open to a yellow curried chicken on rice. Her favorite.
Cho woke up to the sounds of a shower running, with a nasty kink in his neck. He opened his eyes slowly and looked around. This wasn't the first time he'd slept on Lisbon's couch, but it was the first time he'd had to carry her to her room after she passed out on a full stomach, and the first time he'd had to check on her every couple of hours to make sure she was still breathing. He sat up and rubbed his hand over the sore muscles in his neck and shoulder, before looking at the mess of take out boxes he hadn't bothered cleaning up the night before.
He glanced up the stairs, happy to hear the shower. If she was well enough to not only take a shower and get herself into it then she'd be fine. He stood up and stretched, before grabbing his shirt and pants from the chair and slipping them back on over his boxers and undershirt. After he was dressed, he started clearing the takeout boxes and taking them into the kitchen. It wasn't until he was on his way back from the kitchen that he noticed the file that he'd seen Lisbon knock onto the floor last night when she'd fallen out of Walter's lap.
He'd ignored it at the time, because he was more concerned about Lisbon after seeing the pill bottle, wine bottle and more than a little dazed look on her face while doing something she'd mostly definitely regret later. Plus, he'd really had to restrain himself from kicking the tar out of Mashburn. He didn't really have a problem with the man, but he doubted that Walter would have missed that Lisbon wasn't herself. He thought he'd better have a talk with him about it later.
He knelt down and started picking up the papers that had come loose when he saw what they were. He looked over a few of the many, then neatly stacked them back into the folder and made his way to the kitchen. He started the coffee machine. His timing was perfect as Lisbon walked into the kitchen, fully showered and dressed for the day, with an expression that was slightly chagrined and partly bold, just as he poured her coffee into a mug.
She took it with a quiet "thank you" and started adding sugar and cream. Cho took his black. He walked to the living room and picked up the folder, and came back into the kitchen with it just as she was taking her first tentative sip. He sat it down, then leaned against the counter, crossing his arms, just before taking a drink of his own coffee.
"You looked in there, didn't you?" she asked after a silent minute.
He nodded. "You knocked it on the floor last night when you…"
She lifted her hand to stay him. "Yes, I remember, thank you."
"What do you want, Lisbon?" He knew he was being blunt, but it had always worked for him in the past and he saw no reason to beat about the bush now. She wouldn't pretend she didn't know what he was talking about. He knew that for certain. They'd become exceptionally close over the last year, but after last night they were almost as close as two people could get and there was no way she'd insult him by lying.
She sat her coffee down and closed her eyes. "That is a hard question to answer."
"Try."
"The things we want aren't always the things we can have, I learned that a long time ago," she brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and looked him in the eye. "I made this because, despite my personal feelings, Jane deserves to have his job back. He deserves to have a place he belongs, and frankly I am done with the bureaucratic nonsense that says he is unworthy of this job, that what he did was unacceptable. He was a hero that day. This is his insurance." She tapped the top of the file a couple times.
"I think it's a good idea," he responded. "I'm just wondering why you would personally do this for him?"
"I care about him and despite his failings, my own feelings about his fidelity or lack thereof, I want him to be near people he loves and who love him. I'll give that to him if I can, provided he can respect the boundaries I put in place," she said. "We're family, you, me, Rigs, Grace and Jane, even if a makeshift one, that means something—doesn't it?"
Cho sighed. "Okay. I'll add my own by the end of the day, and I'm sure that Rigsby and Van Pelt will want to as well."
She shook her head. "No, I don't want you risking your jobs."
He sat his mug down and faced her, resting his hip against the counter. "That's what families do, and you're right we are a family, despite all our failings." He nudged her shoulder and gave her a small smile. "Speaking of which, you're right, Jane does have a lot of failings, but I would personally be hard pressed to believe that infidelity is one of them."
He watched her face drop before turning and heading to the sink. He poured the remnants of his coffee down the drain and sat his mug in the sink, then grabbed his coat from the back of a chair at her table. He stopped just before leaving and looked back at where she was standing in the kitchen. She was studying her feet and looked sick.
"Hey. Whatever it is he did, I think you should discuss it with him," he said. She lifted her eyes to his and he knew she was about to protest, but he cut her off before she could. "For your own peace of mind. Especially if Jane's going to be sticking around."
Jane walked into the bullpen and up to Grace. He stopped at her desk and looked down at her as she worked on the computer. He stood quietly, rolling back and forth on his heels.
It only took a moment for her to look up at him with raised brows. "Jane, what are you doing?"
"Do you think the conference table will be big enough?"
He brow furrowed. "I think so. You said it wouldn't take long, right? So if there aren't enough chairs they can just stand."
"Hmm." Jane started rubbing the pad of his thumb over his index finger. "Do you know an Ashley?"
She scrunched her face at him. "An Ashley lives in my building."
"No." He shook his head. "Rigsby, how about you?"
Rigsby looked up from computer. "What?"
Jane pushed down his irritation and took a deep breath. "Ashley?"
"From the mail room?" Rigsby asked.
Van Pelt looked at Rigsby. "There's an Ashley in the mail room?"
Rigsby shrugged before looking back at his computer. So the Ashley from the mail room had caught both Rigsby and Cho's attention, but not Van Pelt. So, she was probably attractive. Still, he doubted that she was the Ashley to which Lisbon was referring. However, he was running out of ideas and this seemed like his best bet.
"I'll be right back," Jane said as he walked past Rigsby's desk.
Grace slid her chair back and called out. "Wait, they'll be here any minute."
Jane kept walking. "Not to worry Grace, I won't be a minute."
He walked into the mail room and saw two employees. A man and a woman, and headed right to the woman ignoring the man standing just to the left of the woman at the counter with his back turned. She was routing through some envelopes, but looked up and smiled when he walked in.
"Uh, hello?" She had very light brown hair, a little longer than shoulder length, hazel eyes and a lovely smile. She was definitely the woman who had caught Cho and Rigsby's attention.
She tilted her head to the side a little. "Hi," she said sounding very chipper.
"I'm Patrick Jane, I work with the Serious Crimes Unit," he told her.
"Jane, yeah, I heard about you; heard you were back. Your return has certainly caused uproar around here," she said.
Jane felt his brow furrow. "Really? Who's been talking and what have they been saying?"
Her smile faltered. "Oh, I don't know. Just gossipers around the watering hole. You seemed like you had something you wanted to ask me?" she threw in quickly to change the subject.
He normally would've pushed, but he reminded himself that he had come here for a reason. "I did, actually. Do you know Teresa Lisbon?"
She bit her lip and looked up and to the left trying to remember. "The name sounds really familiar, hey Ash," she said looking at the guy.
Jane's brow furrowed. Ash?
"You know her, Heather," the guy, Ashley, said turning around to face her. He sat down a stack of letters he'd been organizing on a trolley behind him. "She's also in serious crimes. She's about this tall," he mimicked her height, "with dark brown hair and emerald eyes."
Heather smiled. "Oh yeah, she's the one you're a little sweet on."
Jane felt his jaw clench as he tore his eyes off Ashley and looked at Heather then looked right back at him again. This was the guy that Lisbon had told him was hot while he'd had her in the trance a few years back.
"Yeah, that's the one," he said.
"You're Ashley," Jane spluttered.
Ashley smiled. "Yeah."
Jane felt himself glaring and could see the sudden confusion on the man's face. He could feel insults building but only let one escape. "You're brunette."
He turned and walked from the room before either of them could respond. He'd had enough of being reminded that there were apparently handfuls upon handfuls of men waiting to take his place should he fail in winning her back, and now he had the added worry that maybe Lisbon had been having a relationship with him. Maybe that's what she meant.
He made record time getting back to the bullpen and went straight to Lisbon's office. He was about to push in when he heard Cho's voice call out to him from the direction of the kitchen. He was tempted to ignore him, but thought better of it.
"What is it?" he said in a slightly snappier tone than he'd meant to. Good thing Cho seemed impervious to it.
"We have everyone waiting," Cho responded, nodding toward the conference table in the bullpen. Jane looked at the group of people he'd requested: Senator and Mrs. James, David Hurt, Stephanie Klein, Celia Brown, Harold Mead and an attorney hired for Harold Mead, most likely by Senator James. None of them looked especially happy, especially Senator James. That suited Jane just fine, because he was not in a good mood himself. Rigsby and Grace were already situated by the table, asking questions and keeping the guests busy. He was sure Cho had already gone over the plan with them.
He made his way to the conference table, then stopped just short and to the right of Rigsby and looked everyone over. Grace was at the far end of the table by the window, standing directly behind Celia Brown. By the wall and directly next to Celia sat Stephanie Klein, Jane had asked for them to be placed together. Next to her was David Hurt, Mrs. James and at the far end of the table sat the Senator. His attorney sat in the chair next to him, across from Mrs. James with his back to the bullpen, Harold Mead sat next to the attorney. Rigsby stood in the open space on the near side of the table behind Senator James's attorney. Cho came to a stop on Jane's left, placing his hands on his hips.
"You must be Mr. Jane," Senator James said. "I trust that you have caught the real murderer of my son and daughter-in-law, and that Harold will be released soon."
Jane turned on him. "Well, let me ask you sir, what's more important to you? That Harold be released or that the 'real' killer of your child be caught?"
Harold sat up straight and looked over his shoulder at Jane. "I already told you, I had nothing to do with either of their deaths."
"If this is to be an interrogation…" the attorney started.
Jane saw David Hurt smile at someone over his shoulder and looked to see Lisbon standing there. She gave Hurt a little wave. He looked back at him and glared. "Where were you when Veronica James was killed?" he asked cutting off the attorney.
David's smile dropped from his face. "I was at the office. I already told Agent Lisbon all of this," he said.
"Can anyone corroborate this story?" Jane said in a fierce tone.
Lisbon came up beside him. "Cool it Jane," she whispered in his ear.
He felt the hair on his neck stand up and felt immediately sick to his stomach on top of angry. He had to wrap this up before his frustration and hostility got the best of him.
Stephanie raised her hand. "I can. He was going over some budget reports."
"Ah, the mistress," Jane replied coolly. "Or at least one of the two. I suppose you can claim to be the younger of the harlots though."
He saw Celia's cheeks flush out of the corner of his eyes, and saw her look down.
"Who do you think you are?" Stephanie snapped.
"Well,I'm not an adulterer," Jane responded. He saw Lisbon clench her jaw. She obviously thought this was getting out of hand.
"Jane!" Lisbon yelped.
He raised and lowered a hand at her. "Hush Lisbon, I know who the killer is."
Senator James stood up placing his hands on the table in front of him. "Do you really?" His attorney raised a cautioning hand at him. "Senator…"
"No, I've had enough of this. If you know who killed my son, tell me. Now!"
Senator James' wife reached out and took his hand. He pulled it away.
"Jane," Lisbon said completely aggravated, "Who did it?"
Jane pointed at the Senator. "Senator James."
The Senator stood tall. "I did not! How dare you accuse me of killing my own son!"
Jane made a cursory glance around the table. "Please, you're a contentious man, that fact proved by your treatment of your wife, and your relationship with your son that was no different."
The Senator stood back from the table and started around the table with much more speed than Jane thought possible. Luckily Rigsby blocked his path.
"Have a seat," Rigsby ordered the man.
Jane continued. "You killed your son. You were embarrassed not so much by the fact that he was unfaithful to his wife, but that he got caught. You had taught him better after all."
The Senator lunged at him, but Rigsby held him back. "I loved my son. I would never have laid a finger on him!"
"Then tell me," Jane spurred, "why are you so sure Harold Mead wasn't responsible for his death, unless you were responsible for it yourself?"
Harold sat up in his chair and looked at the Senator. "It's not true."
Mrs. James burst into tears.
Grace took a step forward. "He makes an excellent point Senator," she said. "You are aware that Harold's fingerprints were on the candlestick that was used to bludgeon in your daughter-in-law's head, right?"
The Senator had long since stopped fighting Rigsby now that everyone was staring at him. He looked sick. "I…I did know that, but he's like a son to me too. He would never hurt my son."
Stephanie snorted. "Please, he was in love with Veronica. If he killed Max, it'd clear the field."
"Look who's talking," Grace muttered under her breath.
Stephanie shot a glare at her. "What was that?" she barked.
Cho crossed his arms in front of his chest. "She's calling you a hussy."
There was a moment of silence before everyone started yelling and pointing at one another. Grace took a step back from the table as Rigsby held the Senator and Harold apart, David Hurt tried to stop Stephanie from going at Grace, and Mrs. James, dropped her head into her hands and started crying.
"Wait to go," Cho said leaning toward Jane. "A real open and shut case."
Lisbon looked at him. "Stop this, Jane. I know you know who did this, just tell me already so we can arrest him and get these people out of here."
Jane ground his teeth, but forced a calm response. "Who is the only calm person here?"
Cho looked at him with a little surprise on his face. "Celia Brown?"
Lisbon and Cho exchanged glances and Lisbon smirked.
"I insulted her just like everyone else, why is she silent?" Jane rolled back on his heels. "Plus she was pretty relieved when I called out the Senator."
"Celia," Lisbon called out over the yelling. No one expected such a strong voice out of such a small woman, Jane surmised, and couldn't help but to look at her. She continued, "Did you kill Max James?"
Her eyes rounded. "No, I…he. No, we were in love. I would never..."
Harold narrowed his eyes at her. "He loved Veronica."
"No, he loved me." Her eyes lit up with fury as she spoke. "He was going to leave Veronica."
"No," Mead and the Senator said at the same time.
She crossed her arms and sunk back in her chair, clearly outraged.
"My son wasn't faithful, but he never would have left Veronica," the Senator said.
Jane stepped forward. "They were talking about running away together. That much is evident from her expression."
Celia looked up at him, almost grateful that Jane believed her.
"Veronica found out, didn't she Celia?" Jane prodded.
She swallowed a lump in her throat.
"And poisoned her husband?"
There was a collective gasp.
Celia nodded.
"You went to her house to confront her, she'd already taken some of the poison she'd given him, but you suddenly couldn't stand the idea of her getting off so easy." He placed his hands on the table and bent down so he could look her in the eye. "You saw the candlestick, grabbed it…"
"She killed Max," Celia seethed.
"And you killed her," he finished for her. "Funny, if you'd shown up ten minutes later, you wouldn't be spending life in jail."
"It was worth it," she replied, tears brimming.
"Was it?" Jane asked in a surprised tone. He stood, then tapped his fingers to his lips and looked at Stephanie. "Mrs. Klein, did Max ever speak of running away with you?"
Stephanie's face lit with joy as she turned and looked at Celia. "All the time."
Celia's jaw clenched and a tear spilled over her hardened expression.
Lisbon nodded at Grace who was standing closest, then looked at Cho. "Get everyone out of here, will you?"
"Celia Brown, you are under arrest for the murder of Veronica James," Grace started.
Jane turned to Lisbon. "We need to talk."
She nodded, then turned heading for her office. Jane followed closely, then shut and locked the door once they were both inside. She turned and faced him, her hands going to her hips, pushing her brown leather jacket back on either side, and exposing more of the white button up she was wearing tucked into her jeans. If he hadn't been so irritated he would have taken a moment to appreciate her.
"That was a hell of a mess you created out there," she said pointing to the bullpen. "Haven't you had enough complaints filed against you this week?"
Jane placed his own hands on his hips, mimicking her. He'd solved the case in less than ten minutes, sure there would probably be some complaints, but he'd deal with that after he dealt with her. "Are you sleeping with the guy from the mail room?"
Her eyes bulged and her chin pulled back. "What?"
"Ashley?"
A look of confusion crossed her face.
He wasn't up for games so he decided to help her out. "Tall, muscular, brunette, you once told me you thought he was hot."
"I didn't tell you he was hot and no, I am not sleeping with him," she said and although she was trying to remain calm, he could tell she was still confused. "Not that it's any of your damned business."
He was instantly filled with relief. He'd picked the wrong Ashley.
He noticed an abrupt change in her countenance, saw her confusion turn to understanding. She stepped forward pointing an accusing finger at him. "Wait, you thought I slept with Ashley?"
He nodded. "The thought did cross my mind."
She shook her head lightly. "Meant that much to you, huh? Wow, Jane. I never thought you could stoop lower than Lorelei."
His brow furrowed as he processed what she said. "You think I slept with an Ashley?"
"I know you did. You accidentally dialed me while you two were going at it, or whatever it was you were doing. Moaning," she lowered her voice and mimicked his tone, "'oh Ashley, you're wonderful, more, don't touch it, just give me a minute,' blah bah blah. It sounded like you had fun, but seeing as you can't even remember the poor girl…here I was thinking you'd taken your ring off for her. Guess that was some other girl. And I thought I was pathetic." She dropped her hand and raised her chin, defying him to contradict her.
Jane thought about her replay and almost instantly knew who she was talking about. He smiled and moved toward her until she was raising her hands to stop his advancement. He grabbed her arms and pulled her to him in a warm embrace. She stiffened in his hold. "Teresa, you silly woman."
He pulled back to explain, seeing hope in her eyes that he was sure she hadn't meant to show. "Jane, what are you doing?" she said exasperated.
He looked into her eyes, and gripped her lapels. "First of all, I never slept with Ashley. She was a waitress at a café in Malibu who made me tea a few times, delicious, mouthwatering, hot tea that she accidentally spilled on my lap two days before I was supposed to call you, you know, the call you never took," he spoke slowly appraising her reaction. He was pleased when understanding crossed her features. "And I took my ring off for me, and me alone. Not some imaginary home wrecker you've made up in your mind."
A combination of anxiety and stubbornness was written across her face, her hands pressed to his chest to keep him from hugging her again. "That's a convenient story, Jane, but you've been gone for a year. How am I supposed to believe anything you say?"
He smiled and was about to respond when something just on the inside of her lapels, on her neck caught his attention. He looked down and saw a dark red mark blazing across her alabaster skin. A hickey. He let her go and stepped back from her. The sickness he'd felt a few minutes ago was back full force. She pulled her shirt back and tried to look down at where he'd been looking. Why would she settle for Ashley when Walter Mashburn was here, eager and willing?
He pointed at the hickey. "Did you sleep with Walter?" he whispered but with so much intensity, she looked up at him startled.
He watched her face as she realized what he must have seen, the hickey having been at too weird an angle for her to see herself, and set her jaw. "If I did, it's my business, not yours." She pushed her shoulders back. "I know I said I didn't want you on the team the other day, but I've changed my mind. You belong here, with us, but not with me. A years a long time Jane. I've moved on."
"No, you got even," he snapped. "And you got your wish, I'm done trying." He turned, unlocked her office door and left.
A/N: We are nearing the end of this story now. I'm thinking one, maybe two more chapters at the most. I'd love it if you would log in and tell me what you thought. Thanks for reading, you're all awesome!
Anonymous Reviews:
Guest: That was a nasty cliffhanger and then I took forever to update. Yikes! and now another one. I hope it wont discourage you too much.
Guest: Thank you! I always try hard to keep them as IC as possible and I'm always thrilled when people tell me they think I'm doing a good job. So thanks for that! I'm glad your enjoying this too!
Guest: Oh man, and it just occured to me that I did another cliffie here too. Sorry. I'm glad you're enjoying it and hope that a second cliffie won't be too much of a turn off for you. Thanks for the review!
Guest: I promise I won't give up on this or any story I start. Thanks for giving me a little prod to get this done.