A/N I have been informed that the previous chapter left a lot of questions unanswered, and I hope this chapter clears a few of them up. I spent two days researching what 'Prudence' actually means, so...anyway... Thanks SOOOOOOOOOOOO much for the great feedback. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: As previously mentioned, if Simon Baker wants to gets his hands dirty with a little bit of building work, my number is...
In the six weeks since Lisbon had shot and killed Red John, nothing, yet everything, had changed.
Rigsby had finally scraped up the courage to ask Van Pelt to dinner. She said yes, obviously, something he still found astonishing each time he asked her after that.
Cho made the effort to smile more.
"Hey, where's Jane?" Rigsby asked suddenly, noting the conspicuous emptiness of the brown leather sofa. Van Pelt shrugged, turning back to her computer screen.
"Who knows?" she murmured. Cho frowned, his eyes flicking between the empty sofa and Lisbon's office. He knew he wasn't the only one to have noticed the sudden distance between senior agent and consultant.
Lisbon was angry. Not at anyone in particular (if Cho had to pick a member of their team, it would be Jane, but even the consultant was relatively innocent this time), except maybe herself.
Nobody knew what had happened in that barn, except Lisbon and Jane. Even the agents higher up the CBI food chain hadn't bothered with an investigation into the shooting. Red John was dead- that was all they needed to know.
The slamming of a file down on a desk signified the boss' entrance, and Lisbon appeared beside them.
"Where is he?" she snapped angrily. The three junior agents shifted uncomfortably.
"Don't know, boss," Cho replied.
"Jane!" Lisbon yelled, flinging open the door of her office. As she had suspected, the man in question lounged lazily in her chair, his feet resting on the desk.
"You know, the sound of your voice is music to my ears," he said with a bright smile. Lisbon glared at him, before sharply removing his feet from the pile of papers on her desk.
"I can't believe you! This is the seventh complaint in six weeks, Jane!"
"You're keeping track?" he replied flippantly.
"You told Mr Lebowski that his wife was having an affair!"
"I did?" he asked in mock surprise. Lisbon punched his arm.
"Jane!"
"What? You don't think he deserved to know?"
"I think she's dead and telling her husband that she was unfaithful did nothing but destroy any good memories he may have had! Besides, it wasn't your decision to make!"
"It was yours," Jane stated, trying to understand.
"Yes, and now he's in with Minnelli, making a formal complaint against you and the CBI," Lisbon said angrily. Jane stood up, relishing in the sudden height difference. She glared up at him, and he smirked infuriatingly.
"He'll drop the complaint. Give him ten minutes to rant about how out of control I am, then you'll go in and apologize for me, and it'll all be peachy."
Lisbon folded her arms across her chest.
"Not this time. You're on your own," she replied harshly. Jane placed a hand on his chest.
"You wound me."
Seeing the barely disguised contempt on her face, he sighed heavily.
"Lisbon, my dear, we both know you can't bear to see me gone," he continued. Lisbon narrowed her eyes menacingly.
"Out. Now."
His smirk faded, replaced by a deep frown.
"Why are you so angry at me?"
"I'm not," she retorted automatically.
"Liar."
"Jane, please..."
He was silent for a moment, and then took a few steps towards her.
"You feel guilty. You can't make up your mind whether shooting Red John was the right thing to do or not. You think that your experience and authority should make this easier, but it doesn't, does it?"
When Lisbon remained silent, Jane pressed on.
"And then you're questioning your ability to lead. You're wondering whether you've become too jaded, too marked by the job to guide Rigsby and Van Pelt and Cho. I think your capacity to foresee the outcome of an event has been knocked, your determination to keep private and professional separate gone, because of me. And that scares you."
Lisbon released a shaky breath, one she didn't know she'd been holding, and folded her arms.
"Are you done?"
"Yes."
"Good. Get out."
After the confrontation earlier that afternoon, Jane had disappeared without another word, much to Lisbon's relief. With the closure of another case, Rigsby not-so-subtly reminded her that it was her turn to buy the case closed pizza.
She dropped the two boxes to the table, having learnt a long time ago that one was just not enough, and watched Cho and Rigsby dive for it hungrily. Van Pelt rolled her eyes, setting plates down on the table.
"Did you get salad?" she asked. Lisbon nodded, sliding the plastic container along the table.
"Is Jane not coming?" Rigsby asked around a mouthful of cheese. The boss shrugged, taking her seat and reaching for her own salad.
"I guess not."
"So what actually happened in that barn, boss?" he asked, and Van Pelt gasped slightly.
"Rigsby!" she hissed. Cho remained silent, waiting to see whether Lisbon would actually answer. The woman in question set down her knife and fork, her brow creasing in a slight frown.
"I made a decision," she began slowly, "and Jane didn't like it."
"He was going to kill Red John, wasn't he?" Van Pelt asked in a soft voice. Lisbon hesitated, before nodding.
"Jane had...a very short space of time, to measure up both sides of his decision, and somewhere along the way he lost track of..."
"Reality?" Rigsby interrupted. Lisbon shot him a glare, her green eyes flashing.
"What would you do if someone you loved had been brutally murdered, and you had the opportunity to get back at them?" she snapped, pointedly looking between Rigsby and Van Pelt. The tall agent flushed, red creeping up into his cheeks. His silence gave Lisbon her answer, and she allowed her features to soften slightly.
"None of us can know what would happen if we were put in a situation like Jane's, but we're all humans. Ethical, moral, compassionate."
Cho felt a burst of pride as Lisbon looked around at all of them, the food on the table forgotten, but he wasn't sure whether it was Lisbon or the compliment he was so proud of.
"I know that each of you would consider the consequences of your actions before you went ahead and screwed up your careers. Except maybe Rigsby," she said with a slight smile, "because we all know he has no self-control."
Lisbon's attempt at lightening the atmosphere was readily received by both men, their previous conversation having gone too close to the personal/professional boundary. Van Pelt, however, wasn't quite finished.
"But how can you say that? Jane didn't consider the consequences. Jane was perfectly content to murder someone without a second thought!" she said heatedly. Lisbon levelled her with a steady stare.
"Yes," she agreed, "he was. But he didn't."
"Only because he's in love with you," Van Pelt retorted quickly, and then her hand flew to her mouth. At any other time, Lisbon would have laughed at the identical owlish expression on all three faces around her. Now she only blinked, cleared her throat, and looked down at her plate.
"Can we not talk about Jane anymore, please?" she said quietly. Cho nodded, glancing towards Rigsby and Van Pelt, but before he could answer, his cell phone rang. He stared at his phone, and hesitantly answered it. Lisbon scowled, knowing exactly who was calling.
"How did you get this number?" Cho sighed. Rigsby sniggered.
"The CBI really is a wonderful thing. Tell Lisbon that I need to talk to her," Jane said. Cho sighed again.
"Jane says…"
Lisbon glared at him.
"I know what he said," she snapped. Hearing her angry tone, Jane chuckled.
"Put me on speakerphone."
Cho hesitated, caught between his boss and the constant thorn in her side, but did as he was asked, replacing the phone on the table.
"I don't really want to talk to you," Lisbon said quietly. Jane sighed heavily.
"I know. I'm sorry about...well, everything, really."
Lisbon didn't know what to say to his apology, her mouth floundering. It had come so casually, she wondered for a moment whether it was just a trick of her imagination. After a second, she found her tongue, hiding her reactions behind a well-placed mask of indifference.
"What do you want, Jane?"
"Have dinner with me," he replied promptly. Had it not been frozen in shock, Cho's jaw would have dropped. Rigsby fought back a laugh, hastily covering his mouth with his napkin. Van Pelt hid a smile behind her hand, and watched a blush creep into her boss' cheeks.
Lisbon blinked, caught off-guard by his casual statement. Did he…he can't be serious?
"It's rude to ignore people," came the annoying voice from beside them. Jumping slightly, Lisbon looked up in frustration.
Rolling his eyes, Cho disconnected the call, sliding his phone back into his pocket. Smirking, Jane glanced at Lisbon, who glared back. When his smirk faded slightly, she felt a soft burst of guilty satisfaction.
"Do you really want to take her to dinner, or are you just being an ass?" Cho asked curiously.
"He's just being an ass," Lisbon said bitterly. Jane shrugged.
"I really want to take her to dinner."
Cho sighed, and reached for his wallet. Rigsby did likewise, and Lisbon rolled her eyes as two crisp twenties landed in Van Pelt's outstretched hand.
"Go away, Jane. We're busy."
Jane rested a hand on her shoulder, and as expected, Lisbon tensed beneath his touch.
"Jane…" she ground out. He frowned thoughtfully.
"Actually, you're busy. Cho's wondering whether you're going to kill me or jump me."
Cho choked on his water, sending droplets flying across the table. His cheeks turned uncharacteristically pink.
"Jane!"
Lisbon buried her head in her hands.
"Pick me up at seven," she said in defeat. Jane nodded, disappearing before she could put the knife on her plate to use. Cho cleared his throat.
"I wasn't really wondering whether..."
"Shut up, Cho."
Giggle. Unfortunately, no, I will not revealing what happens on their dinner date. I shall leave it up to your imagination. Which is dangerous enough, so need I say more? Reviews are love, people. Reviews are love.