Chapter 2
Teresa stared at herself in the mirror. "I need to pull myself together and start taking care of things. The first thing I need to do is stop and pick up a pregnancy test to confirm my suspicions. Next, make a doctor's appointment. Then, I need to start eating better and getting some sleep."
The most important thing she needed to do was decide was when and how to tell Patrick. They'd talked about kids but hadn't come to a definitive decision. Patrick had referred her to their conversation after Marcus had confronted him about having a plan for her. He reminded her they'd agreed they knew what felt right and would let that be their guide. If they'd planned this pregnancy because it felt right would be one thing, but it wasn't planned. If it had been planned, Patrick wouldn't have left. She couldn't decide how she felt about the pregnancy yet. If she was honest with herself, she was actually very happy. She just wished their current circumstances were different and she wished she knew how Patrick was going to feel. She also knew she wouldn't tell anyone until after Patrick knew, a father should be the first to know.
Teresa quickly dressed for work with a new, refreshed attitude. Knowing why she was feeling the way she was feeling helped tremendously. As she finished putting her makeup on, she slid her hand down to her still flat stomach, smiling to herself as she turned around.
When she got to work, she walked to her desk and put her purse and the bag from the drug store in her drawer. She walked over to Wiley's desk.
"Did you get an update from the hospital on Gabriel's condition?" she asked, with a renewed desire to get totally committed back to this case.
"He refused to go to the hospital. He doesn't trust doctors." Wiley answered.
"He needs to see a doctor." Teresa said.
"Yeah, we tried." stated Jason.
"You working on a new lead?" she asked.
"This is where Donnie Putnam and Megan Brooks were killed. But this area is interesting." Jason said, pointing at a map on his computer screen.
"What about it?" Teresa asked.
"This area here is known for its red clay deposits. It's less than a mile from the murder scene." Wiley explained.
"Okay."
"Gabriel said something. He had a…a vision after his seizure. He said something about white bones in red clay." Wiley said.
"Wiley? You know Gabriel's not a real psychic." Teresa said.
"I think we should look into this area."
"We can't go on a wild goose chase because of something Gabriel said." Teresa insisted.
Wiley took a deep breath and turned back to his computer. Teresa sensed there was something wrong with him.
"You okay?" Teresa asked.
"Yeah." he answered.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine. This isn't about Vega. This is about a real lead. It wouldn't hurt to look, would it?" Wiley asked.
"Alright. We'll look into it." Teresa said.
Teresa walked back to her desk to make some calls to get a K-9 Unit out to help look around the area Wiley was interested in. She was feeling more like herself and although she didn't really think Wiley's lead was going anywhere, it would be nice to be back out in the field working the case.
Wiley and Teresa met Nicky, the K-9 dog, and his handler at the area Wiley had pinpointed. It didn't take long for Nicky to get a hit. Teresa made calls to Abbott and Cho to let them know they found something and to have crime scene investigators come out to search for more clues. Unbeknownst to Teresa, Abbott had called Jane to get him in on the case.
The crime scene techs had arrived and started excavating and marking everything they were finding. Teresa had a lot of time to think as she walked around the wooded area as the CSI team was busy excavating the bodies they'd found. She'd come to some conclusions. She wasn't going to tell Jane about the baby until she knew where their relationship stood. She wanted him to be totally committed to their relationship because he wanted to be with her, not because she was pregnant. If she told him about the baby, she knew he would commit himself to her but she wouldn't know for sure if it was just because of the pregnancy. Now she just had to make sure she could keep this from him until it was the right time. He had stayed in Austin since she'd had him picked up in Arizona, but he wasn't staying at her house and she wasn't staying at the Airstream, so they only saw each other at the office. It was good they weren't together in the mornings since the morning sickness was the worst when she first woke up. He might figure it on his own and if that happened fine, but she wasn't telling him.
Teresa had been walking around looking over evidence when she saw Jane's Airstream coming down the dirt road. "What's he doing here?" she thought. She walked over to the edge of the tree line to wait for him. She was still angry with him for missing her call last night.
Jane walked towards Teresa and he could tell she wasn't happy with him.
"I know I missed your call last night. I...I…I didn't…I didn't mean too." He said as she glared at him. "I'm sorry."
"What are you doing here?" she asked, attempting to appear nonchalant.
"I'm back." Patrick answered.
"What does that mean exactly; you're back?" Teresa asked a little sarcastically.
"It means I'm figuring stuff out. I'm…I'm figuring it out?" he answered. Then with his most cunning smile he said, "It's good to see you."
Teresa paused for a split second, she couldn't believe he was giving her that smile he knew she couldn't resist. "It's good to see you too." she said, with a smile she tried hard not to show. She felt hopeful that maybe they were on the right path now that he was back.
Teresa was happy Jane seemed to be doing okay and he appeared to be back to the Jane she had been enjoying before Vega's death. Jane helped Wiley figure out who had hit him from behind before they discovered Gabriel was missing. The smell Wiley remembered gave them the clue they needed to find Gabriel.
When they arrived at the Mustang Creek Brewery, searching for Gabriel, Teresa was the last agent in the door. She hoped Jane hadn't read anything into that because she usually was right in the mix with the first people in. She wasn't taking any chances with their child, but she also had to do her job like nothing was going on until she could tell Jane she was pregnant. It was very important to her that he was the first to know he was going to be a father again. Once Cho and Abbott found out, they would immediately take her out of the field.
The next day, after they had found Gabriel's body, Teresa was happy Jane asks her to take a ride with him after work. He said he had something he wanted to show her and afterwards they could grab a bite to eat. They took her car and Jane drove. They headed out of town to an area Teresa wasn't familiar with. They turned down what appeared to be a driveway or narrow road of some kind. She was curious where he was taking her. They came to a stop at the edge of a tree line.
When Jane stopped and stepped out of the car, Teresa got out as well. "I'm going to walk behind you and cover your eyes. I have a surprise for you." Jane said. He got behind her and put his hands over her eyes and they started walking.
They'd walked between several trees she could tell and then felt like they had walked into an open area.
"What is this place?" she asked, as Jane laughed. "Did you buy me another horse?"
"Just a little further." He said as he guided her, still with his hands over her eyes, to the spot where he wanted her to be.
"Okay. Is this a trick?" she asked.
"Breath that air in." Jane said, with a smile on his face.
"Okay. I'm breathing in that air." Teresa said.
They stopped, Jane took his hands off of her eyes and stepped in front of her. He gestured to an old shack with a pond in front of it. "And, walah." he said.
Teresa looked at the shack and back at Patrick. "Jane? What is this?" she asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"It's a little shack that I'm going to renovate. Make some additions. We both knew things had to change. I…I couldn't make you quit and I need something to do." he explained, looking proud of himself.
"So you're going to build us a house?" she half stated, half asked.
"That's right. And when I'm done, if nothing else, we have a place to live. It's a start." he explained
"So you're going to work here, not at the FBI? Your quitting?" she asked, trying to figure out where this was going.
"Maybe. I…I don't know. I haven't decided yet." Teresa looks at him, then at the cabin and back at him. "What?" he asks.
She is trying to figure out what this all means. He was telling her and showing her how he was working things out she guessed. He was showing her what he wanted and needed.
"I'm glad you got it. I am. But, I have needs too." she stated. She needed him to know she was pregnant, but she needed other things first.
"Like what?" Jane asked, stepping close to her, seeming to care about what she needed.
"I need to know you're not going to run away again." she said. 'I don't want to raise this baby alone.' she thought to herself.
"I'm not." he stated, sounding sure of himself.
"I need to know you're committed to this, to us." she tried to explain. 'I need to know I can count on you being committed to me before you know there is someone else you need to be committed to.' she thought again to herself.
"I am. That's why I want to do this." He answered, smiling.
"Okay. And are you going to take off your wedding ring?" she asked, not sure what Jane's reaction would be. "It's just…it seems like you don't want to let go of it." She looked him in the eyes, hoping to see what she needed from him. 'I need you to let go of your past, which includes your ring, if we're ever going to move on as a couple, as a family.' she wanted to say.
"No. It's not that." Jane tried to explain.
"I understand why it's difficult for you." she said. 'But I need you to know it's difficult for me to be comfortable with being a couple, when that ring's still on your finger. You say you're committed to us, but are you 100% committed with that ring still in place?' she thought.
"It's…it's just that I'm used to it." he said, not completely sure why it was suddenly so important to Teresa.
"I know. It…" Teresa's phone rings before she can continue. "Sorry."
Abbott calls needing them to come back to work. There was another body found.
On the drive to the scene where they body was found, they are each lost in their own thoughts. Teresa thought about the cabin Jane just showed her. He seemed so excited about his plans to renovate it so they would have a house to live in. Was he really back and totally committed to her and their life as a couple? She truly needed to know that was the case. She wanted so badly to tell him about the baby. She was becoming more excited about the idea of them as a family. However, he still didn't seem open to the idea of removing his wedding ring. Until he did that, she couldn't be certain he was all in with her. She needed him to be 100% committed if this was going to work. That meant being willing to move out of the past, take off the ring and move into the future with her and their child.
They arrived at the scene and got back to work.
They'd all returned to the FBI offices later that evening. Rick Tork was joining their team since they were shorthanded. They were discussing the killer's interest in psychics in the bull pen, trying to come with a plan to smoke him out.
Tork spoke up with an idea. "Well, if he's interested in psychics, Jane should talk to him."
"Ah…not a psychic dude." Jane replied quickly.
"No but you could fake it, right? We could feed you to the media, say that you can communicate with the afterlife using your spiritual whatever. If he's really into that we can get him to show himself." Tork said as Jane started walking off. "The Son of Sam killer sent letters to two of the writers who wrote about him."
"Hey, this kind of thing can really work." Tork continued, looking around, no one speaking up. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked, noticing Jane was gone.
"Yeah, the last time Jane tried something like that, it didn't go well." Cho answered.
Teresa stood up and headed for the breakroom. "Oh, the wife and kid." Tork said, remembering Jane's past.
"Yeah the wife and kid." Teresa retorted, angry that Tork had not thought about what he was saying. Jane didn't need this right now. They were finally working towards regaining some good footings in their relationship and she hoped this reminder of Jane's past didn't set him back.
Teresa walked in the breakroom and found Jane making a cup of tea.
"Hey? I uh…I meant to tell you we got Gabriel's autopsy reports back. He had oligodendrogliomas. They're tiny little tumors in the brain." Teresa explained, trying to gage Jane's feelings. "According to the coroner, they can cause seizures, blackouts, or delusional episodes."
"Poor kid. No wonder he thought he was psychic." Jane said.
"There's no such thing as psychics." Teresa said, smiling slightly.
"No." Jane said.
"I shouldn't have said anything about the ring. I'm sorry." Teresa stated. 'I don't need him to feel like I'm pushing him. The small steps we've made getting our relationship back on track is more important. If he feels I'm pushing him about the ring coupled with Tork's reminding him of his past, Jane may regress." she thought.
"Teresa please." Jane says.
"Really. Look, you do what you need to. I'm okay. I swear." she said, with new resolve.
Jane smiled at Teresa slightly, but before he could say anything else, Wylie interrupted them letting them know they had a lead in the case.
They drove out to the scene of a man being shot who was mistaken as the serial killer. Everyone was standing around discussing the case with an Austin Homicide detective. She made it clear that something needed to be done to catch the killer. The people of Austin are becoming "freaked out" and the police department's receiving a large number of calls all day. Cho and the homicide detective walk off to retrieve the call log the police used to track calls.
Abbott, Jane and Lisbon stood in the yard of the homeowner discussing the case further.
"Ah, it's a tough situation. The city is in a full on panic and we have no solid leads." Abbott stated.
Jane shook his head, "Okay, well. Ah, do we try Tork's idea?"
"What? No!" Teresa says. She can't believe Jane is even considering this.
"I don't think we can rule anything out." Abbott says.
"Boss!" Teresa say forcefully.
"The guy is not hiding bodies anymore. You know, maybe he's starting to…to like the attention." Abbott explained.
"Do you want him to do to Jane what he did to Gabriel?" Teresa asked.
"Now you know we won't let that happen." Abbott answered.
"You can't promise that." Teresa argued back.
"You know…I appreciate your spirited defense, but…but it's not necessary." Jane says to Teresa and then turns to Abbott. "I'll do it."
"Okay." Abbott says, then turns and walks off.
Jane looks back at Teresa when Abbott is gone, she says nothing to him. 'I can't believe you're doing this. We have a child to think about, although you don't know that.' Teresa thinks to herself. 'Should I tell him about the baby? I don't want him making himself a target, not when they have so much to lose, but she also didn't want to tell him like this, it would seem like an ultimatum. She wanted it to be a happy moment when she told him, not in the heat of a case like this. But was it fair to him to make this decision when he didn't have all the facts about his life? What was she going to do?'
Abbott set up numerous on air interviews for Jane, both TV and radio. Teresa accompanied him to every single one. She didn't want him out of her sight. She tried to talk him out of continuing at the first one. She could tell he was warring with himself and what happened before, not comfortable at all. As the interviews continued, Jane seemed to become more relaxed and somewhat comfortable.
When they arrived at the KPQC radio station, Teresa sat on the couch outside the control room. She was so tired she couldn't keep her eyes open. She didn't know how long she had dozed off for, but Tork woke her to let her know Abbott had sent him to relieve her. She didn't want to leave Jane, but she thought if another agent was with him, he would be okay.
She motioned to Jane that she was leaving and he nodded his head, acknowledging her message. She walked outside, got in her car, and drove towards where the Airstream was parked. She knew she needed to get a bite to eat and try to get some sleep. The pregnancy made the evenings rough with her being so tired all the time. She would eat, shower, and crawl into bed and wait for Tork to bring Jane home. They had spent the night together last night and she knew she had to be with him again to make sure he was safe.
She listened to Jane on the car radio on the drive to the Airstream. He was talking to a caller, Lazarus, who could possibly be the killer she thought and suddenly he was gone. Something had happened. Jane called her as she pulled up to the Airstream.
"What happened with you? I was listening, you got cut off." Teresa asked.
"Yeah, the call was a ruse. He's planning something. You need to get back to the office as soon as you can." Jane said and Teresa could tell he was concerned about her.
"Did you leave the door to the Airstream open this morning?" Teresa asks.
"No. Maybe. Why?" Jane asked.
"It's open." Teresa answers.
"Okay. Stop. Don't go anywhere near it. Don't do anything until someone else gets there." Jane directed Teresa.
"That could take forever. I'm going to check it out." she replied.
"Yeah. Fine, but you're not hanging up." Jane said and Teresa could hear the fear in his voice.
"Jane? We have to go." Tork called, standing by their vehicle. Jane stuck his hand in the air to indicate he needed a minute, more concerned about Teresa than where they needed to be.
Teresa opened the door to the Airstream and stepped inside with her flashlight and her gun ready to face whatever or whoever may be in the RV. After looking around she decided there was no one there.
"Jane?" Tork called again.
"Teresa? What's going on?" Jane ask her when he doesn't hear anything for a few seconds.
"Nothing. There's nobody in here. I guess we left if open." she answers.
"Okay. Get back to the office." Jane says as he walks toward Tork and the waiting vehicle.
"Okay. See you there." Teresa says and hangs up.
Little did Teresa know, she was about to embark on a journey that would put her relationship and future with Jane in danger and make her question whether or not her choice not to tell Jane about the baby was the best one.
When she arrives back at the FBI offices, Abbott is waiting for her as she steps off the elevator and informs her that Jane is missing. She feels like the life has been sucked out of her. She bends over, puts her hands on her knees and takes some deep breaths. She can tell Abbott is worried about her. She excuses herself and quickly makes her way to the restroom. Once inside, she enters a stall and throws up. She sits on the floor in front of the toilet waiting for the nausea to pass. When she's sure she's done, she stands up and realizes she has tears rolling down her cheeks.
"This can't be happening, it just can't. What am I going to do? This guy has Jane. What if he does to Jane what he did to Gabriel? He'd never know he had a child on the way if that happened." Teresa thought to herself. She was so conflicted between her desire for Jane to come back completely committed to her and their relationship before knowing about the baby and Jane's right to know about his child before putting himself in this situation.
Teresa cleaned herself up and walked back out into the bull pen where Abbott had already started the briefing. She stood in the back, knowing she probably looked like hell as that moment. She could see Abbott glance at her with a concerned look.
Cho took over and continued the briefing giving the other agents their assignments in their search for Jane.
Teresa took deep breaths and swallowed several times in an attempt to keep her nausea at bay. Abbott walked up as she stood staring at the screens showing Jane being taken.
"You warned me and I didn't listen." Abbott said to her. "And, I am sorry."
Teresa looked up at him, with many emotions running through her head. Anger and fear rising to the top. She looked up at Abbott as he continued.
"He could have killed Jane, but he took him. So that means he wants something. And there is no one better at exploiting a situation like that than Jane." Abbott explained.
"I hope your right." Teresa said, hoping Abbott say her anger more than her fear. He couldn't even begin to imagine how this situation was far worse than he knew. He had sent Jane into this without knowing just how much Jane had to lose if he couldn't pull off the job.
Teresa went back to the Airstream later that night. She needed to be close to Jane even though he wasn't there and his RV was the best place for that to happen. She took a shower and changed into the pajama top Jane had worn to bed last night. She made up the couch bed where they slept and laid down. She didn't think she would be able to sleep. She pulled Jane's pillow over and hugged it. The scent of his pillow and his pajamas overloaded her senses and she ended up crying herself to sleep.
She woke up when her alarm went off and sat up grabbing her phone to check for any missed calls. A sudden wave of nausea came over her from sitting up too quickly. She laid back on the bed, closed her eyes and willed it to pass. She checked her phone, but there were no missed calls. She tried sitting up again, but slower this time. When everything seemed okay, she got up and got dressed. She wanted to get to the office. Abbott told her to take her time and come in when she was ready, but she needed to get there to see if any progress had been made in finding Jane. She knew she was in for a long day.
