Follow-up to Punishments - with thanks to SpaceAnJL
Consequences
Lisbon sent Jane off with an angry glare. She would calm down, eventually. But she hated seeing any of her team - including Jane suffering. This time it was worse simply because the blame could easily be placed on the consultant. If he hadn't put Van Pelt in the line of fire. If he hadn't roused the anger of the hot-headed suspect. If he…
She shook her head. No point thinking like that. Grace was going to be okay. Time to raid Jane's tea cupboard. Tea always settled her frazzled nerves.
Rigsby wasn't really one for breaking rules. Not usually, anyway. But this was different. Lisbon may have said she should make a good recovery, but that wasn't good enough. He needed to see the red haired rookie for himself. His boss would understand, surely. So, once he cleared away the paper mountain he'd created and he was fairly certain no one was watching, he grabbed his jacket and made for the elevator.
"Rigsby!" Jane exclaimed. "You're going to see Van Pelt, aren't you?"
This was not the moment he wanted to see the cheerful smile of Jane. In fact, it would have been better by all accounts if he hadn't seen Jane at all. As far as everyone was concerned, it was his fault that Van Pelt was lying in a hospital bed. Rigsby just glowered at him.
"Oh come on, it's hardly a surprise. You can tell me."
The doors of the elevator finally closed as Rigsby clenched his fist. If one more word came out of that, that bastard's mouth, Rigsby knew he wouldn't be responsible for his actions.
"She…"
Jane was sent reeling into the back wall. The fitted mirror even shook slightly. Checking his nose tentatively with deft fingers, he glanced at his reflection. Yeah, there was blood alright. He wasn't surprised that Rigsby had taken a swing for him, but it had still taken him off-guard. After all, the Agent was incredibly protective of Grace, to phrase it lightly, and everyone had been pinning the blame on him. Okay, he did wilfully lead her into a particularly dangerous situation, though nothing out of the ordinary for an Agent of the CBI. Really, it was the suspect who'd taken the actual shot at her and landed her in hospital.
The elevator door clicked open. Rigsby cleared his throat and strolled out as if nothing had happened, leaving Jane ever so slightly dumbfounded. He was in half a mind to go straight back upstairs and tell Lisbon what had just happened. Then again, he would probably just get thumped again. Actions and consequences and all that. Instead, he left the CBI building relatively quietly.
Today, he'd let Rigsby sneak in to see the woman he loved. Maybe tomorrow, he'd pop into the hospital to see how she was doing. He did, after all, have a good month with absolutely nothing to do. He wondered how quickly he could break Lisbon - and the rest of the team's resolve when it came to his suspension. With a grin, he left. Maybe first he'd have to find a medical kit to strap up his bloodied nose…
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