Stay
A Jane & Lisbon Story
By Brown Eyes Parker
Summary:
Jane and Lisbon's budding romance is threatened with the return of billionaire Walter Mashburn. Who will Lisbon choose? The man who can give her empty glamour? Or the one who's been there all along? Inspired by "Stay" by SafetySuit.
Dedicated to:
watchyouwalk (Autumn), because we were IMing one night, and she helped me come up with the idea of Jane and Lisbon's romance being threatened by Mashburn's return. Thanks for being my muse Autumn.
To Jisbon4ever (Laura), just because she's totally awesome, and one of my best friends on (Love Patricia)
Love,
Holly
Disclaimer:
I don't own anything. If I did, I wouldn't even be writing this story right now.
Author's Note:
Sorry I didn't post this on Saturday like I said that I would. The day just got away with me. Plus, it was rainy and dismal where I lived, and none of us really felt good. So, my sisters and I shared a cozy afternoon with our father, and we watched "You've Got Mail".
.
Chapter 3
"So, he expects to come back and just pick up right where you left off?" Van Pelt whispered.
"Yes!" Lisbon whispered back. "And in the same hotel room too!"
"Does he know that you're sort of with Jane now?" She asked, studying Mashburn's text.
"No," Lisbon replied. "I haven't told him."
"Now you listen here Boss!" Van Pelt said. "We all read OMG, right? So, we know that Mashburn didn't go to Europe to escape a broken heart. He had a new model every month while he was there. And now, you're with a man, who probably loves you. So you need to call Walter Mashburn, make an appointment with him in a public place, and then tell him that you are more than a booty call. You know that's why he texted you, right? Because you're convenient? His text says that he's only here for two weeks."
Lisbon sighed. "Give me my phone."
Van Pelt handed it over and smiled at her to encourage her.
"Hello Walter? It's Teresa. . . yeah, I was wondering if we could meet at Starbucks instead of the hotel. Twenty minutes? Okay, I'll see you then." She hung up and smiled uncertainly at Van Pelt. "Well, here I go. . . wish me luck."
"Good luck," Van Pelt said.
.
"So, if you're dating Patrick, then why did you agree to see me?" Mashburn asked, covering her hand with his.
"To tell you what I told you a couple of years ago. It won't work out between us. It was just a one time thing. I even kind of regret it now."
"Come on Teresa. You're saying that you haven't even thought about me once in these past two years?"
"No," Lisbon answered. "Maybe in the beginning I did. It ended though. . . and I know you haven't thought about me either. If those celebrity blogs are any indication."
Mashburn smiled modestly. "I can't find it if women find me attractive."
Oh brother, Lisbon thought. She stood. "I have to go. But it was nice seeing you again Walter."
"Tell me one thing before you go. . . you and Patrick haven't defined your relationship yet. Have you?"
"We have," Lisbon lied. "He's playing for keeps."
Mashburn smirked. "But he's a slow mover, right?"
"It's not a bad quality," Lisbon answered. "In fact, it's a quality that a lot more men could use."
"Ouch!" He pretended to look hurt.
Lisbon rolled her eyes. "Goodbye Walter."
"Teresa, wait!" Mashburn grabbed her. "Tell Patrick that he's a very lucky man."
And then, he kissed her.
"Hey Teresa," Jane said, catching Lisbon when she came off the elevator, and giving her a hug.
"Jane, not in public!" Lisbon reminded him. "Remember?"
"Oh! Of course!" He pulled away and grinned. "So, how's Walter doing?"
"Walter?" Lisbon asked lamely.
"Yeah. Grace said that you had gone to see him. . . to explain about us."
"Oh, he's fine. . . just fine," Lisbon answered, blushing a deep shade of crimson.
"And he was fine?" Jane asked. "I mean, why wouldn't he be fine?"
"He was fine," Lisbon assured him.
"Are you okay? You look a little flushed."
"I'm fine. . . just fine."
"Okay, tell me if you need anything."
"There is one thing. . . Mashburn – I mean, Walter – wanted to take me to dinner tonight. He told me to ask you if it was okay."
"Oh." Jane looked surprised. "Sure, I mean, if that's what you want."
"I don't want to go if you don't want me to go."
Jane shrugged. "I trust you."
Lisbon's mouth dropped open. "Don't you know what happened the last time you pushed me towards him?"
"Yes."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
"Do you want me to be honest?" Jane asked.
"Honesty would be nice, we are in a relationship," Lisbon answered.
Jane licked his lips. "It killed me. It killed me then. . . it kills me now. But—" he stopped short, afraid that if he didn't, he would say something that he regretted.
"You think that I was just something that he needed to get out of his system?"
"I didn't say that," Jane answered.
"No, but you thought it."
Jane sighed. "Forget it."
"I will," Lisbon said, frowning at him.
"Good," Jane said.
"Good," Lisbon echoed.
And then, they went their separate ways without saying anything else to each other.
.
"You kissed!" Van Pelt repeated, her voice decibels higher than Lisbon would have liked it to be.
"He kissed me," Lisbon answered.
"A kiss is still a kiss," Van Pelt said.
"Oh please," Lisbon moaned. "I did not kiss Walter Mashburn back!"
"Then why do you look so guilty?" Van Pelt asked.
"Maybe because I put myself in a position to be kissed," Lisbon replied.
"Are you going to tell Jane what happened?"
"I can't! It would kill him!"
A light bulb went off in Van Pelt's mind. "Now that Mashburn's back, you're confused!"
"No, I'm not!" Lisbon protested. "I do love Jane. . . I love him a lot—"
"If that were true, you wouldn't be having dinner with Mashburn tonight."
In the back of her mind, Lisbon knew that Van Pelt was right. But she hadn't had doubts until Mashburn had kissed her. When he had kissed her, Jane had suddenly become the convenient choice. And this scared her, because just twelve hours earlier she had been sure she was falling in love with Jane. She had been ready to commit her whole entire life to him.
.
"I wouldn't have let her go," Cho said, as he and Jane watched Lisbon leave for her dinner with Mashburn.
"Why?"
"Because. . . she slept with him." Cho said cautiously.
"I know," Jane said.
"And you haven't exactly defined your relationship," Cho continued.
"She knows how I feel about her," Jane said.
"That doesn't always matter."
"I know that I could lose her," Jane said turning from the window. "Any moment, something better could come along and sweep her off her feet."
"So, you have a relationship but you keep your distance?"
"You think I should tell her?" Jane asked.
"Among other things, yes." Cho smiled. "Come on Man, do you really think that you could live your whole life knowing that you lost Lisbon to Walter Mashburn? Do you really think that you could spend the rest of your life knowing that she gave up everything that you have to offer for a man who might not even keep her around for a year?"
"You're right," Jane said.
"So, fight for her!" Cho said. "And in the end – if she chooses Mashburn – well, it is better to have loved and lost, then to never have loved at all."
.
"So, Patrick Jane. . . I really can't believe that he got over his wife and daughter," Mashburn said as he and Lisbon lingered over a glass of wine. "How'd it happen?"
"He realized that he had enough room in his heart for his wife and his daughter, and somebody else," Lisbon answered. "He'll always love them. . . he just realized that it was okay to move on. To love somebody again. His wife wouldn't want him to mourn forever. So, he asked me to go out for dinner."
"You?" Mashburn repeated.
"I was his first choice," Lisbon said. "And he told me everything that I just told you."
"How romantic," Mashburn said sarcastically.
"You really don't like Jane, do you?"
"I don't like anybody who has something I want. And right now, he has the one thing I want more than anything." Mashburn shrugged. "But other than that, I love Patrick. . . I consider him a close friend, for real. He likes me, and that's rare with the men that I usually meet. I think the other ones are threatened by me."
"I'm not a thing."
"I meant your affection."
"Oh," Lisbon said, blushing.
"I want to see you again?" Mashburn asked.
"Um. . . yes," Lisbon replied. "That would be nice."
"Tomorrow," Mashburn said. "I'll pick you up."
"No!" Lisbon said quickly. "I mean, can't we just meet?"
"Oh!" Understanding dawned on Mashburn's face. "We don't want Jane to know!"
"He wouldn't understand," Lisbon said, not understanding why she suddenly had a need to spend time with Walter Mashburn. He's very jealous of you, she added in her head. She stood and smiled. "I have to go, I have a very long day tomorrow. Thank you for the lovely dinner though. . . I haven't had lobster like that in a while."
"I'm glad you liked it," Mashburn replied. "Thank you for coming with me. I hate eating dinner alone."
Lisbon shuffled her feet and studied her hands, unsure of what to do next. She looked up at him and shrugged. "Well, good night Walter."
"Goodnight Teresa," Mashburn replied, rising to go over and kiss her.
She ducked out of his embrace. She didn't need him screwing with her mind anymore than he already had. She needed to think clearly, and she couldn't do that with Mashburn's lusty kisses clouding her brain.
.
Jane was waiting for her when she arrived home, sitting on her front steps and holding a bouquet of her favorite flowers, Lisbon felt little pricks at her conscience. Jane was a wonderful man, who didn't deserve her speculation about who was the better choice for her.
"I was getting worried," he said, standing up to greet her.
"Hello to you too," she replied, not even smiling at him. Her case of guilt was growing heavier. She fished her keys out of her purse. "It's late, I'm going straight to bed. Maybe we can have breakfast tomorrow?"
"Oh. . . sure," Jane answered, holding his offering out to her. "Here, these are for you."
"Oh. . . thank you." Lisbon accepted the flowers. "Um. . . well, goodnight Jane."
"Wait, Teresa!" Jane caught her wrist. "I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. It was immature. It's just. . . I was so jealous. Walt has everything that I can't offer you, and I was afraid that you'd see that. . . and leave me. But I trust you, if you want to be friends with him. . . I can learn to handle that."
Lisbon was caught off-guard. Her sense of guilt was mammoth now. "Oh. . . well, thank you. Goodnight Jane."
"Patrick," Jane reminded her. "We said that we would call each other by our first names when we were alone."
"Right, I'm sorry. . . I forgot," Lisbon said, desperate to get away from him. "Goodnight Patrick. I'll see you in the morning."
"You too. . . sweet dreams."
Lisbon pulled away from him and ran the rest of the way to her apartment. She didn't even look back at him.
.
She kicked off her shoes, and threw her keys in a dish near her door. Then, clutching her flowers, she went and glanced out of her window. Jane was still outside of her apartment, sitting on the hood of car. Sighing, she went to put her flowers in water, then she put a jacket on, and slipped out to see Jane again.
"It's supposed to be really cold tonight," she said. "Are you planning on spending your whole night out here?"
"Do you care?" Jane asked.
She looked surprised. "Of course I do!"
"Then, yes I am going to spend my whole night out here."
"That could come under the category of stalker," Lisbon said.
"So? Who's going to report me?" Jane retorted. "The squirrels?"
Lisbon sighed. "I brought you a blanket and a thermos of your favorite tea. . . since I won't be able to say anything to convince you to go home."
Jane accepted both of the items, and proceeded to get as comfortable as a person could on the hood of his car. "Thank you."
She rubbed her arms to get warmed and nodded, then turned to go. As an afterthought, she turned to look at him again. "By the way, Walter's not coming over tonight. It was the furthest thing from my mind."
"Maybe from your mind, but not from his," Jane replied. "He'll show up. . . and if you want, I'll be here to stop him."
"But wouldn't you be more comfortable in my guest room?" Lisbon asked. "Then, if he called. . . it wouldn't be a lie when I said that I already had company."
"He won't call," Jane answered.
"Go home Jane, if he does show up, I'm not going to let him in."
Jane studied her. "I guess that's true tonight. . . you're too tired. But I really want to stay here."
"Suit yourself then," Lisbon said with half-a-smile. She reached out and squeezed his hand. "Goodnight Patrick."
"Goodnight Teresa," he replied. I love you, he mouthed as she walked away.
.
Jane barely got any sleep that night, he stayed up the whole entire night waiting for Mashburn to show up. But he never did, eventually he fell asleep around 4am. When he woke up the next morning, Lisbon was sitting in a beach chair at the foot of his car, watching him over the rim of her favorite coffee mug.
"Teresa. . . this is a pleasant surprise," Jane said, yawning.
"Jane. . . we need to talk," Lisbon replied, wrapping her hands around her mug in an attempt to get them warm. "I was up half the night thinking. . . and I think. . . I think that we need to take a step back and examine our relationship."
"What?"
"Walter called me last night, and we talked for hours. . ." Lisbon trailed off. "I'm so confused Jane."
Jane rubbed his forehead. "It's too early to have this conversation."
"If I don't do it now, I'm going to lose all of my nerve," Lisbon said.
"What did Mashburn tell you to convince you to take a break from me?"
"Nothing!" Lisbon replied. "And everything. . ." she sighed. "Jane, this isn't about you or Walter. This is about me. Me, and my feelings. Everything's going too quickly—"
"Too quickly?" Jane repeated, laughing bitterly. "Lisbon, I only just took you to meet my father. . . and it's been eight years since I've known you! Too quickly? We haven't even kissed or made love! I haven't asked you to move in with me. . . I haven't asked you to marry me! How are things moving too quickly? In fact, I'd go as far to say that things are moving too slowly—"
"Don't judge me Jane! You have no right! No right!"
Jane slid off the car and tossed Lisbon her blanket. "I'm going home, I don't want to fight. I'll see you later, okay?"
Lisbon took a deep breath and didn't look at him. "I'm not going to work today. I already called in and asked for the day off."
"Then, I'll stay with you. . . if you promise that we won't fight."
"I already made plans."
"With Mashburn?" Jane asked.
"No. . . with Tommy," Lisbon answered honestly. "I was just about to go and see him when I realized I couldn't just leave you without any explanation."
"Lisbon—" Jane reached for her, but she backed away.
"I'm sorry. . . but I have to go." She turned and fled to the safety of her car.
.
"So, let me get this straight. . . you cheated on Jane with this Walter Mashburn character?" Tommy said. "The guy who's always in the tabloids and on the gossip blogs? The guy who always has a model girlfriend?"
"I don't know. . ." Lisbon said. "We had coffee, he kissed me—"
"He kissed you!" Tommy said. "Why? He could have any girl that he wanted. . . and he kissed you."
"Oh, well thank you!"
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. . ." Tommy sighed. "Why did you cheat on Jane?"
"I didn't cheat on him!" Lisbon answered.
"Then what would you call it?" Tommy asked. "You kissed the guy, and had two dates with him – in one day – then you decided to take a step back from your relationship with Jane to see if you should date Mashburn instead? Tessie, I know this guy. . . I don't think he'd keep you around very long. He just wants what he can't have, and once he gets it. . . he's sick of it."
Lisbon bristled. "I don't have to take this from you."
"Then why'd you ask to see me?"
"Because, I needed somebody to talk to!"
"Don't you have girlfriends for this sort of thing?"
"The only women that I have a remotely close relationship is with Van Pelt and Hightower, and they'd be like you if I told them about this. Which is hard to understand with Hightower/ / /"
"So, you want somebody to condone and encourage what you're doing then?"
"A little support would be nice, yes."
"Go back to Patrick," Tommy advised. "Beg his forgiveness, and forget all about Walter Mashburn."
Lisbon laughed sadly. "You make it sound so easy."
"And you're supposed to be the older, more mature one!" Tommy shot back.
"I swear Tommy, sometimes I don't know what I'm doing. Sometimes, I don't have all the answers."
"I don't know. . ." Tommy replied. "I didn't mean it, you always knew what to do when I was young and confused. You knew exactly what to do when my first girlfriend got pregnant with somebody else's baby—" he stopped. "But you're a grown woman, you don't need to becoming to your twenty-three-year-old brother for advice. I know you'll do the right thing."
"Thank you," Lisbon whispered, glancing at her cell phone. "Oh! I have to go now. I have a date with Walter at seven, and it'll take me two hours to get home."
"So, where's the billionaire taking you tonight?" Tommy asked.
"To sing kareoke," Lisbon answered, blushing.
"But you hate kareoke! You say it's for drunk American Idol wannabe's."
Lisbon shrugged. "Maybe I could learn to like it."
"Yeah, I guess it could be easy to learn to like anything with a multi-billion dollars."
"Hey! I thought you were going to let me make my own decision."
"I like Jane," Tommy admitted. "When you brought me to meet him last month, I thought he was the nicest boyfriend that you've ever had. . . and he's very attentive to you and your needs. This Mashburn guy seems to only care about himself."
"Your concern is appreciated Tommy, but I can take care of myself."
Tommy sighed and stood up with her. "Okay sis. . . I'll see you next month then."
"Okay," Lisbon agreed, hugging him. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Tommy waited until she was gone to pull out his cell phone out and dial Jane's number.
"Hey Patrick? Yeah, it's me. . . so, I found out the information you wanted."
.
"Lisbon!" Jane said, joining her as she went into the kareoke bar.
"Jane! What are you doing here?"
"Tommy called, told me that you were going absolutely insane," Jane answered. "I'd have to agree with him. Whenever Van Pelt and Rigsby wanted to sing kareoke as a team outing, you always told them that kareoke was for drunk American Idol wannabe's."
"I could learn to like kareoke."
"You could learn to like anything with a multi-billion dollar fortune," Jane replied. "Even infidelity. You know, you marry the guy and the next thing you know, he's cheating on you with Laetita Casta, but you won't care because you have a—"
"Shut up," Lisbon snapped. "It's just kareoke. Not a marriage proposal."
"Well then, I'm staying."
"Suit yourself, but see if I talk to you tonight."
Jane rolled his eyes. He had called ahead to make sure that he and Lisbon would have a chance to sing kareoke together. He had to pay the guy fifty dollars, but at least he was going to get a chance to sing with Lisbon and try to convey to her that they needed to stay together.
.
"Teresa!" Mashburn said, standing up to hug her. He stopped short when he saw Jane. "You didn't tell me that you were bringing your boyfriend."
"We didn't really plan this," Lisbon answered, avoiding both Jane's and Mashburn's eyes. "He just sort of showed up."
"Oh!" Mashburn turned and smiled at Jane, holding out his hand for him to shake it. "It's good to see you again Patrick. It's been a long time."
"It's good to see you too," Jane said, faking a smile.
Mashburn turned back to Lisbon. "So, I have some bad news. When I asked the guy in charge of karaoke tonight if we could sing together, he said that the people to sing karaoke were drawn at random. Our chances of singing karaoke together are really, really slim. I tried to pay him off to let us sing together, but he wouldn't let me do it."
"Oh, that's too bad," Jane said, feigning sympathy.
"Jane!" Lisbon hissed.
"Oh please Teresa, call me Patrick!" Jane replied. "This is, after all, a special occasion. It isn't every day that I lose a woman to a man with so little charm."
Lisbon blushed. "Jane, please!"
"Do you two need to work out issues or something?" Mashburn asked. "We could postpone our date until tomorrow."
"Oh please, don't play Mr. Nice Guy on my account," Jane said. "You don't have to leave."
"So, you're going to leave?" Mashburn asked hopefully.
"When cars fly, I am," Jane answered.
Mashburn groaned and sat down. It was going to be a long night. There was no way on earth that Lisbon was going to choose him for anything tonight. Not with her boyfriend keeping a watchful eye on her every move.
TBC. . .