Jane is awake and sitting up in the hospital room. He doesn't seem happy. He looks at the tray of food the nurse delivered for breakfast, and makes a face as he moves the scrambled eggs around. He dips his finger in the tea and finds it tepid - not hot as tea should be. The worst thing is the small muffin. It's a bran muffin, which he hates.
He moves the tray aside and sighs, closing his eyes. The door opens and his daughter runs full speed to his bed, followed by Lisbon who is holding a box of takeout food.
Casey jumps up and down, she's so happy to see him. "Daddy, I picked out a breakfast for you. Mama said you would love it." She looks at the food on the tray and her face scrunches up. "That doesn't look good." Jane agrees but is too busy leaning over to kiss his daughter to bother commenting. That food deserves to be ignored and quietly thrown away. Lisbon comes to the other side of the bed, gives him a kiss and sets the box in front of him.
When she opens it his eyes light up. "You went to Marie's!"
"Marie made it for you herself." She replaces the hospital tray with the takeout food, then reaches in a large bag she brought and takes out a travel mug. "Earl Gray for your breakfast tea."
Casey stands on tiptoes to put a package on the bed. "I picked out a blueberry muffin for you."
"My two girls have had a busy morning it seems," he smiles and Lisbon gives him another kiss, glad to see him feeling so much better.
Casey attempts to get on the bed, but doesn't make it. After glancing at Jane to be sure it's okay, Lisbon lifts her up and sets her next to him. "Remember what I said Casey. Be careful when you're on the bed with Daddy."
"I will Mama…I don't want to hurt Daddy again." The adults look at each other.
"Can I have a bite of your muffin when you get to it? I love blueberry muffins," she says hopefully.
"I'm glad you asked, sweetheart. With all this food I might be too full to eat the whole muffin," Jane says taking a bite of the scrambled eggs. He actually moans in pleasure at the taste. "Marie makes better eggs than I do."
"I saw the doctor before we came in. He says you can go home tomorrow as long as your foot and leg show no sign of infection. It'll be good to have you home with us," Lisbon says sitting in a chair by the bed.
"Does Cho know any more information about-"
Lisbon cuts him off. "No, nothing new. Wiley is going through the files looking at the history of the cabin to see if anything comes up about it."
Casey moves closer to her father, her head on his arm. Jane looks down at her, surprised at how sad she looks. Lisbon shakes her head not knowing what is wrong. Casey came in a very happy child and now is almost in tears. Jane pushes the tray further down the bed away from him and Casey. He puts his arm around Casey, hugging her to him.
"Do you want to talk to me about why you're so sad?" Casey shakes her head 'No,' and puts her thumb in her mouth.
"I thought you're a big girl and didn't want to suck your thumb anymore?"
Casey wipes the tears sliding down her cheeks. She moves away and kneels on the bed facing her father. "Daddy." She stops and looks at her mother.
"What do you want to say, Casey?" Lisbon says gently, holding Jane's hand. They wait as Casey struggles to talk about what upset her.
"Daddy, I did something you told me not to do…and it brought the bad man to our house and he hurt you because of me." Casey's crying. "I'm sorry, Daddy." She covers her eyes and puts her head down, crying even harder. Jane motions to Lisbon to bring Casey closer to him. She moves Casey beside her father. Jane lifts her head up gently with his hand under her chin. Casey chokes out, "Remember when those men came and they cut down that old tree with the swing on it?" Jane nods. "You let me come and watch. When it was over there was a big hole in the ground. You told me not to play around it, because I might get hurt." The rest of her confession tumbles out, almost too fast to understand. "The next day you were busy and I went out the back door and you didn't see me when I went to look in the hole to see what was there that might hurt me, but there was nothing." She is trying her best not to cry. "I jumped in and thought it would be a good place to hide and then I saw it. It was almost uncovered, and I moved the dirt around so I could see. It was a dirty bag, but it was easy to open and there was a lot of money in it. I remembered what you used to say about money - that it doesn't grow on trees. Daddy, it grows under it and maybe you didn't know that. That's what the man wanted, he saw me with the bag throwing money in the air. I was somewhere I wasn't supposed to be, the old driveway. When he stopped his car I got scared and ran away." She throws herself at her father, jostling his wounded leg, but he is too concerned about his daughter to care. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't know it was his, and he hurt you." Jane scoops his daughter in his arms and holds her. She's crying again and he looks to Lisbon for help.
Lisbon pats Casey's back. "Sweetheart, it wasn't your fault for what happened to your father."
"Yes it was! Daddy told me not to go to the tree and I did."
Patrick cradles her against his chest. "Casey, I'm glad you told me about the bag now and I'm not mad at you. I'm disappointed you didn't listen to me." Her face crumples. It's all he can do to continue when she looks like that. "Your mom and I have rules for you so you don't get hurt." Her crying wanes. Lisbon hands him a Kleenex. He wipes Casey's face and has her blow her nose.
"Daddy, I'm sorry."
He just holds her until she stops crying. After a few moments he looks down and finds she's fallen asleep. Lisbon moves to take Casey but he shakes his head. "She can sleep here, she's not hurting me. What are we going to do with your daughter, my love?"
"Patrick, she is all you, always exploring things, getting into trouble and then telling us way after the fact," Lisbon counters, smiling.
"Maybe but she got all the good looks from her mother." With that Jane closes his eyes and takes a nap with their daughter.
Lisbon takes out her phone and calls a number. "Cho, I think we know why the man was at our house, and where the money is that he wanted. Meet me in Jane's room later this afternoon. He and Casey are taking a nap right now. See you then."
Later, the Rigsby's stop by to visit with Jane. Casey sits on a couch with her mother as Lisbon reads to her. Grace notices Jane trying to stay awake.
Grace goes over to Lisbon. "Okay, Casey. Wayne and I are taking you to dinner at a fun place you're going to love. Go say goodnight to your father." Casey gets up and goes to the bed. Rigsby lifts her onto the bed next to Jane.
"Good night, Daddy. I love you a whole lot." She gives him a big kiss which Jane rewards with a huge smile.
"Be a good girl for your aunt and uncle and sweet dreams to my girl." He kisses her on the forehead.
After Rigsby sets her on her feet she waves to Jane and runs over to Grace and Lisbon. "Mama, will you let me be in your bed tonight?"
"If your aunt and uncle are awake when I get to the hotel I'll come get you."
Casey hugs her and joins Grace and Wayne. She waves goodbye and the three leave just as Cho arrives.
Cho stops at the door and hugs Casey and kisses Grace on the cheek. "Just a handshake for you, Rigsby," he warns brusquely, ensuring his old partner doesn't even think of hugging. They shake and Cho goes into the room. Lisbon is standing by the bed so Cho goes to the other side. "How're you feeling, Jane? You look a lot better."
"My lovely nurse gave me a nice shot that seems to be working." He gives a silly grin. "Will you be here when I wake up, my lovely wife?"
"Of course I will. You rest. Cho and I will meet here while you sleep." She bends down and kisses Jane. "I love you."
Jane tries to say something more, but he sighs, closes his eyes and is asleep. She pulls the blankets higher on him and turns off the light over his bed. She and Cho go sit on the couch.
"Wiley did some good work today. Seems your land once belonged to James Burton. He has been in and out of prison since he was a kid. He and a partner robbed a bank ten years ago. His partner decided to take the money for himself. He was found later in his car, beaten to death. Burton was arrested a few days after. He was charged for the bank robbery; not enough to show he killed his partner. The police tried to make a deal - less prison time in return for the money, but Burton said his partner took it. Claimed he didn't know where it went. He's been out of prison for five months."
"His partner probably told him where it was before he died. Burton likely beat it out of him." Lisbon looks over at Jane. "Casey told us she found the money under a tree we had removed. She said the man who hurt Jane wanted his money back."
"Burton knows the bag has to be there, and knows that Casey has it hidden. Did she tell you where?"
"The day she first saw him she ran into the house. Burton must have panicked and left. I bet Casey has it in her safe room. So do you have a plan, Senior Agent Cho?"
"Do you think Casey could point him out in a line-up? If she could do it - and I'm sure Patrick could pick him out - we can arrest him. He'd get prison for life on his third strike."
"I know she saw him a couple of times, but both times she was scared. I'm not sure if she could do it." Lisbon shrugs her shoulder uncertainly.
They both turn at Patrick's voice. "Casey can do it. She has a memory palace and she's like a sponge putting things in it." Very sleepy, he adds, "She's my daughter," before drifting off again with a smile on his lips.
Some weeks later the Jane's and Cho are waiting outside a courtroom. Casey is playing with her father's phone not at all concerned that she'll be going in to testify.
The bailiff comes out of the courtroom. "Casey Jane?"
Jane and Lisbon look over at her as she gets up. "Ok, Mama. I'm ready."
Lisbon takes her by the hand and follows the bailiff into the court. He takes Casey to the witness stand, helps her into the chair, and walks away.
"Casey, my name is Judge Harris and those two men sitting at the tables are going to ask you some questions. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, sir."
Very seriously the judge asks, "Do you promise to tell the truth?"
"Yes, sir."
The prosecuting attorney approaches Casey and smiles. "I'm only going to ask you two questions, Casey, and I want you to think before you answer."
"Okay."
"Two days before your father was hurt, you saw a man near your home, and he tried to take you. Do you see that man in the courtroom?" She points quickly at the man sitting at the other table. "Thank you. Do you see the man who hurt your father in your home?"
"Yes, he is the man sitting at the table. He looks mad like he did the first time I saw him. I remember seeing him out my bedroom window the day he hurt Daddy. I have bad dreams about him. Mama says I wake up screaming," she says looking at the man.
Later that afternoon Cho and the Jane family exit the courtroom.
"Are they going to make the bad man have a time out?" She asks Cho.
"Yes, sweetheart. He's going to have a long time out." He bends down to her. "You were a brave little girl in the courtroom."
"I didn't want him to ever hurt my daddy again." She looks up at Jane. "I promise to always do as you say, Daddy."
Jane lifts her and looks over at Lisbon. "I know you will, just like your Mama does. You take after her."
The four of them walk away.
The End.
