Author's notes:
Thank you to two great writers and friends, Sue Shay and make-mine-a-kiaora, for their help with this story! In particular, I want to say again that Sue Shay has advised and encouraged my work since I reviewed the initial story outline with her in May, 2013. Without her help and counsel I would not have pursued and completed this project. Be sure to check out Sue's latest updates to her story, "Ready or Not," and her new project, "Double Drabbles."
I do not own the TV show The Mentalist and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.
Notes on the chapter title follow the end of the chapter.
Chapter 22: Let's Begin
Two months later…
Patrick Jane was a man on a mission as he marched through the CBI building.
After he passed through the metal detector, Jim the guard on duty at the security checkpoint patted him on the back.
"Ouch!"
Jim looked mortified when it dawned on him what he'd done. On a day like today though nothing would sidetrack Patrick.
"Mr. Jane, I'm so sorry. I hope I didn't hurt you when I…"
Patrick's smile put the man at ease.
"I'm fine, Jim. Still just a little sore on occasion. Nothing to worry about."
Being let off the hook, Jim grinned.
"It sure is good to see you back with us. Where you belong."
"I'm not supposed to come back from sick leave until next week, so let's keep this between ourselves." He waved his index finger in front of his lips in a mock-shushing. The two men laughed at the absurdity of keeping his visit a secret. "I've come to see the new Supervising Agent."
Jim nodded as his grin widened, but then a serious look crossed his face.
"Mr. Jane, I've been a regular blood donor since I was old enough to give. I just show up at the yearly blood drive without a second thought. But the minute I found out you and I are the same blood type, I couldn't get to the hospital fast enough."
That stopped Patrick cold. As his lip quivered, he pulled out his handkerchief to dab the side of his eyes.
"Awh, Mr. Jane, I didn't want to upset you. I just wanted you to know how proud I was to help. Until you, I never knew where my blood went. Knowing it went to a hero…and a friend…makes it all the better."
Patrick reached over to clasp Jim's hand.
"I'm indebted to you for my life, Jim. Thank you."
Why can't I control my emotions any more?
Jim switched to a smile again and pointed down the hallway.
"You'd better get on down the hallway. I know she'll be glad to see you."
With a wave Patrick started his walk through the building again. The truth was he missed Teresa even though they had said goodbye at the doorway of their condo only three hours ago. Okay, it was really two-and-a-half hours ago. Patrick had made Teresa late for work. Again.
He called Cho before coming over to CBI, and Cho assured Patrick that he'd clear the schedule for Rigsby, Van Pelt, and himself. When he swung by the bullpen and Cho's new office, the three of them joined Patrick on his journey to the top floor.
When they arrived at Teresa's office suite, they found a flurry of activity. A man wearing a paint-splattered work apron was stenciling her name on the door. Her administrative assistant walked into the outer office carrying a stack of freshly-signed forms. Something else brought a special smile to Patrick: two men in delivery uniforms were sliding a new white couch into her inner office. It was just like the one she'd left behind in her old office.
As the delivery men left, Patrick entered her office with the other three in tow. Teresa looked up from her paperwork. She smiled.
"Well, this is certainly a treat, to see the whole Serious Crime Unit prance in here." With a puzzled look, she focused on Patrick. "I didn't expect to see you around the building until next week." She ran her gaze down Patrick. "And you're wearing your red tie and your black dress shoes."
"I am, and I took the Blue Turtle through the car wash before driving over. I want to talk to you about something that couldn't wait until you got home tonight."
"Well I'm glad all four of you are here. I wanted to share some things with you."
The team glanced at each other nervously.
"You first, my dear," said Patrick.
"The first thing is this." Teresa reached into a desk drawer to pull out a letter and a gift box. Opening the letter, she read it aloud. 'Dear Supervising Agent Lisbon: Congratulations on your new job! Enclosed in the box is a gift from your friends Gladys and Herb in the Tech Department. P.S. - Please note that these are plain; nothing, absolutely nothing, is in them.'"
Opening the box, she held aloft a package of saltine crackers. The four visitors began to snicker as she waved it around in the air.
"There's still a lot I can't recall from my fugue. Can someone explain what this is about?"
Patrick rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"Teresa, you do deserve an explanation, and I'm sure Senior Agent Cho here will be glad to provide it sometime."
Cho muttered "Thanks a lot" under his breath.
With a shake of her head, Teresa put the crackers back in the box and turned her attention to some papers on her desk.
"Two press releases came in this morning."
Glancing over, Patrick recognized the one on top as something that Teresa, Cho, and he already knew about.
She read the first press release aloud: "From the Assistant Attorney General's office: California Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Marcell Lask is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Patrick Jane as a special consultant to the AAG. In this capacity Mr. Jane will work for the AAG; however, he will be on loan to law enforcement agencies in the Department of Justice. His first assignment will be to the CBI's Serious Crime Unit. That assignment will be open-ended with no formal ending date. He will report on a daily basis to Senior Agent Kimball Cho, newly-appointed team leader."
Teresa, Cho, the AAG, and Patrick had worked out the arrangement last week.
"So what does that mean?" asked Rigsby.
"Essentially nothing. It means he still works with our team, but Lisbon isn't in the chain of command above him," Cho said in his usual matter-of-fact voice. For a micro-second, the barest hint of a smirk crossed his lips. "Of course it also means that if I ever get too fed up with him, I can send him back to the AAG's office. Then he'll end up in the Bureau of Weights and Measures checking fuel tanks at gas stations in Fresno."
Patrick shuddered.
"Looks like you're gonna have to be on your best behavior with Cho. He's got leverage on you that I never had." Teresa glanced at Patrick with a wistful look in her eyes.
"Oh, I'll be on my best behavior. Scout's honor and all that."
"I'll believe that when I see it."
Why did Teresa and Cho say that at the same time?
Patrick cleared his throat before gesturing to the desktop. "Moving on, what's the second press release, Teresa?"
She lifted up another piece of paper. From the corner of his eye Patrick saw a school logo at the top.
"It says, 'From the University of Northern California-Sacramento: We are pleased to announce the new, fully-funded Luther Wainwright Scholarship. Given by an anonymous donor, the scholarship will be awarded each year to a promising criminology student.'" Teresa looked up from the paper. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Patrick?"
"It sounds admirable if you ask me. A public-spirited citizen has generously donated the scholarship to help remember a fine law enforcement officer cut down in the line of duty."
"Interesting. That's the exact same wording in the second paragraph of the press release."
"Hmmmm. Maybe I am psychic."
After all these years he still loved to see Teresa roll her eyes.
"So what are you doing here, Patrick? I figured that after I left home in the mornings you sneaked off to the casinos to play blackjack."
"I'm shocked you'd say that, Teresa." Patrick brought his hand across his chest as if in horror. "Next you'll accuse me of skinny-dipping in the pool with some wanton woman at four-fifteen in the morning."
She shook her head.
"I'd never accuse you of skinny-dipping in the pool with a wanton woman at four-FIFTEEN in the morning. Now out with it - why are you here?"
"Because you have me at a disadvantage, my dear."
Teresa raised her eyebrows and leaned forward in her chair. A smile curled around her lips.
"Oh, I like the sound of that. Go on."
"It's because of this." Patrick reached over to tap the emerald engagement ring on her finger. "You have me at a disadvantage. There's no ring on my finger right now. Since I'm between rings at the moment, it feels odd."
Talking about Teresa's ring conjured up fond memories for Patrick from the week before. He had presented it to her when they had gone swimming in the pre-dawn darkness. Of course in the midst of their celebratory kiss they dropped it in the pool. After forty-five minutes of them both diving to search along the bottom of the pool, Teresa at last surfaced in triumph with the ring on her finger. That led to an even more intense celebration. Teresa was two hours late for work that morning.
"You know, it's funny you should bring up the ring. You know what the common response around here was when people saw it?"
"What?"
"'Hey, that looks real!' I assured them it was."
"Nice of you to do that, Teresa. Anyway, as I was saying, you have me at a disadvantage. I was just talking about that with Father McIlwee this morning."
"Father McIlwee?"
"Yes, he and I get together for coffee-and-tea every Tuesday and Thursday."
"You and Father McIlwee get together twice a week?"
"We do. He's a smart man. I enjoy our conversations. We talk about a lot of things." Teresa continued to stare at him with a dumbfounded look. "Well, I couldn't go to the casinos every day. Anyway, I mentioned to him this morning that I'd just picked up our wedding rings from the jeweler. Father McIlwee and I talked about our wedding plans, and I had this intense yearning build up inside me. Long-story-short, I convinced the good padre to marry us today if I can get you over to St. Michael's." Patrick fished a small box out of his jacket pocket, opened it, and set it in front of Teresa. In it were the matching wedding rings they'd picked out.
"Today?"
"Today. And I've brought along our three colleagues here to serve as witnesses. When Father McIlwee finishes marrying you and me, I'll treat us all to lunch at Chez Henri's."
"But what about the ceremony and reception we planned for next month?"
"We can still do that. Anything you want. I just want us to get married today." Patrick said.
"Why?"
"Why? Because you're my last thought before I go to sleep and my first when I wake. When we're apart I miss you and when we're together I celebrate. Long ago my world came to revolve around you. I want to marry you because I adore you. I don't want to go another day, another hour, another minute without us calling each other husband and wife. We love each other, and I want us to start the rest of our lives together now." Patrick stopped to settle his pounding heart. "So, what do you say? Let's begin, Teresa."
Teresa lifted her ring out of the box to finger it. Looking up at Patrick again, she smiled.
"Once this goes on my finger, it's not coming off."
He smiled in return.
"I feel the exact same way."
She got her mischievous look.
"And you ran the Blue Turtle through the car wash?"
"Bright and shiny. Ready to go."
Teresa stood up from her desk, lifted her jacket from the coat rack, and circled around the desk to stand in front of Patrick. Handing the jacket to him, she motioned for him to help her on with it. That done, she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him while she grasped his suit lapel. Then she whispered the three words he loved to hear come from her lips. They exchanged grins, and she nodded toward the door.
"So, just to confirm - the five of us will drive over to St. Michael's, Father McIlwee will marry you and me, and then we'll all go out to lunch. How does that sound, Teresa?"
With a sparkle in her eyes, she took his hand and laced her fingers through his own.
"Perfect, Patrick. Just perfect."
The End.
Author's notes:
Thank you for reading, favoriting, and reviewing the story!
Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach wrote "Let's Begin" in 1933. Ella Fitzgerald recorded her version for the album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook.
Readers interested in the songs and movies mentioned in this story can check out a Youtube playlist titled "Mentalist - I Remember You - playlist for fanfic story."