Disclaimer: As in the first three chapters, I do not own The Mentalist or any of its characters.
Tales from the Mistletoe
Chapter 4-Rigsby
After helping Van Pelt set up her cookie trays, she and Rigsby had to return to co-worker mode. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze with a smile and then went off in search of Cho before anyone became suspicious of the two of them.
"Hey man, what's up?" Cho asked as Rigsby joined him and Neesa.
"Hey Cho. Hey Neesa." Rigsby said as he grabbed a can of soda from the cooler. "You guys have to try one of Van Pelt's cookies. She made them from scratch and they are absolutely delicious!"
Cho rolled his eyes and Neesa smiled.
"You say that about everything she cooks." Cho stated.
Rigsby took a bite out of his peanut butter cookie before saying:
"Well, that may be true, but these cookies are extra good because I helped make them."
Cho just stared at Rigsby for a few moments.
"You're starting to sound like a cheap romance novel, dude. It's scary." He commented.
"He knows because he reads them!" Neesa joked, laughing as she watched her boyfriend's disgusted expression. "I already got my Christmas present from you, so I can tease you Kimmy."
She leaned over and kissed Cho on the cheek. Cho then put his arm around her waist.
"What'd he buy you for Christmas, Neesa?" Rigsby asked.
Neesa lifted up her hand to show Rigsby the ruby and diamond bracelet from Cho that encased her wrist.
"That's really beautiful, Neesa." Rigsby stated. "I just hope Grace likes what I bought for her."
"I saw what you bought when I went to go pick up Neesa's gift. I have no doubt that she'll love it." Cho said.
"You should give it to her tonight." Neesa suggested. "I know it's not Christmas, but it is a Christmas party."
Rigsby, excited about Van Pelt's gift, considered what Neesa said.
"Yeah. I'll give it to her tonight!"
Later at the party…
A few hours later, Rigsby decided that it was time to give Van Pelt her gift. Currently, he, Van Pelt, Cho and Neesa were chatting with Jane and Lisbon. He excused himself from the conversation (by mumbling something about the buffet table) and motioned surreptitiously for Van Pelt to follow him. He led her up to the SCU floor and instructed her to wait by her desk while he fetched her present.
Rigsby went over to his desk and pulled a tiny white box adorned with a red ribbon from one of the drawers. He then returned to Van Pelt, who had been waiting and watching with a curious look on her face.
"This is our first Christmas together, so I wanted to make sure I got you the perfect present. I hope you like it." Rigsby said as he handed her the box.
She smiled at him as she accepted the gift.
"I have no doubt that I'll love it as much as I love you."
Van Pelt opened the box and gasped. The box contained a silver necklace that had a diamond encrusted heart pendant on it. She immediately hugged Rigsby and said:
"Oh my gosh Wayne! I love it! It's perfect!" She exclaimed. "I want to kiss you, but we're at work…"
Rigsby returned her smile and then pointed up. Van Pelt looked up at the doorway and noticed the mistletoe hanging above them.
"I made Jane hang some there when he and Lisbon were decorating earlier. That way, we could kiss and not get in trouble by blaming it on the mistletoe."
Van Pelt wrapped her arms around Rigsby's neck and Rigsby leaned down to kiss her. Afterward, Rigsby fastened the necklace around Van Pelt's neck.
"So, how does it look?" She asked.
"Gorgeous." Rigsby replied, taking her hand. "I suppose we should we should get back to the party, though, before anyone gets suspicious."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
They began to walk back down to the party, and Van Pelt leaned over to give Rigsby one last kiss on the cheek before they had to return to being "just co-workers" once more.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Up Next: Jane