Rating: T
Summary: Lisbon was like the flame and he couldn't help but be drawn to her.
Characters: Jane/Lisbon
Arm's Length
There had been another car bomb (that was two too many of late, for Jane's liking) and a little girl had wandered a little too close. Typically, Lisbon had been the one straight into the fray, whisking the girl into safety, but had been showered by shards of glass herself. The paramedics did a marvellous job, treating the girl for shock but they hadn't counted on a little agent with a fiery temper being quite so stubborn. She only agreed to go with them to the hospital when Rigsby reasonably pointed out that if even one piece of glass was left inside her body, it could be enough to kill her. And a blocked artery due to sheer block-headedness wouldn't be a pleasant way to go, all things considered.
Jane had insisted upon travelling with her to the hospital. It amused him somewhat as she glowered at the doctors carefully removing the glass from her back. Even whilst drugged up, she managed to allow her tempers to flare to the extent that it scared the other professionals. Of course, it wasn't just the doctors she snapped at; she wasn't much impressed with Jane being there either. But she had accompanied him when he had been temporarily blinded (and not to mention on other occasions), so it was only fair that he repaid the compliment.
The sun was setting by the time her treatment had finished and much to Lisbon's chagrin, they insisted on keeping her in for 'observation' overnight. Jane knew she wouldn't be best pleased about the fact that he had stayed to watch her sleep off the medication, to see her in such a vulnerable state. The fires he knew she was capable of still burned as she slept, but they were merely embers waiting to reignite come morning.
Outside, the sky was now an inky blackness, broken up by the bright sparks that were stars. He shuffled his chair closer to her bed; somehow feeling safer and more secure by her side. He was like a moth, a creature of darkness. Though nightfall was when they awoke in their millions, moths were still terribly fragile creatures and needed a lot of luck to survive. And safety came in numbers. Lisbon, however, was like the flame. He couldn't help but be drawn to her, however hard he tried to keep her at arm's length. She flickered so brightly and fiercely, that it was unnerving to see her in such a fragile state, even if it was only for a day. He knew that one day, like everyone, her flame would be extinguished. And it terrified him that 'one day' could quite easily be translated into 'soon', especially given her career path.
Jane knew he was a danger to himself as well as her. And that was why he had to remain at arm's length from her, however much it hurt the both of them.
end