Author's Note: Loved the reviews. Thank you!

Disclaimer: Not mine.

CHAPTER 6: Heartfelt Farewell

Grace caught his arm as he was storming down the hall. "Can we see her?"

"I don't know," he mumbled, bitterly shaking his arm from her grasp. "But I just freaked out on her for the second time today."

"Why?" she demanded.

"I'm not sure," he answered honestly. "Long week, I guess."

She sighed. "Jane..."

"I know, I know." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"You're worried about her."

He dropped his hand to his side, lowering his eyes. "I told her."

"That you're worried about her?"

He shook his head. "That she jumped."

Grace's jaw dropped. "You what?" she screeched, arms flying up involuntarily.

"I didn't mean to!" he claimed, shaking his head. "I was... I mean, the doctor was questioning her and I was answering some questions she was asking me. I got myself too worked up and..." He trailed off, hanging his head in shame, something he very rarely did.

Van Pelt clapped her hand to her forehead. "You need to learn to keep your mouth shut."

"I was hoping it would trigger her memory."

"Did it?"

He didn't respond. He just stared at the ground.

She groaned. "Awesome."

"I'm sure it isn't that big of a deal," he commented. "Honestly, what's the worst thing that could happen?"

"She could try again."

"Why would she do that if she can't remember why she tried in the first place?"

Grace huffed. "How the hell should I know, Jane? All I know is that there is a reason the doctors did not want her to know."

"It'll be fine," he assured her, though he was not positive himself. "Where are Cho and Rigsby?"

"Waiting room." She gestured down the hall. "The brothers are there, too."

"Oh, good. She wanted to see them."

"I'm going to try to see her. In the meantime, try not to do anything stupid. Again."

He rolled his eyes as she walked away. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered under his breath. He shoved his hands into his pockets and huffed, making his way to the end of the hall where the waiting room was located. Cho, Rigsby, and the Lisbon brothers were all scattered around the room. When they saw him, they all seemed to perk up.

"Any news?" Luke asked, hope glimmering in his green Lisbon-eyes.

"She's awake," Jane announced, though they all knew that. "She doesn't recall jumping, nor does she recall waking up the night of the incident."

"What do you mean?" James wondered as he carefully closed his laptop and set it aside.

Patrick took a deep breath. "I mean, the day of the incident, she remembers coming home from work, going through her nightly routine, and going to bed. She does not remember waking up. Ergo, she doesn't remember jumping."

Everyone exchanged a look.

"We probably shouldn't tell her then," Rigsby suggested.

Jane looked out the window to the street below.

"You already did, didn't you?" Cho accused in a flat tone.

"Kind of."

"Helpful. Thank you, Jane."

Jane plopped down into a chair next to Cho. "Yeah, I get it. It probably wasn't my place to just blurt it out like that," he reasoned. "But don't you think it's strange that she doesn't remember an event that big, that serious? Or don't you think she would at least remember why the hell she was motivated to... jump?" He nearly choked on the last word.

Cho flipped his novel shut, frowning at the team's irritating consultant. "She suffered serious head trauma, Jane. When something like that happens, you forget things. The mind blocks out painful memories." He paused, glaring at Jane accusingly. "It happened to you, remember?"

"Yes," Jane replied curtly. "And I finally got my memory back, but I needed something to trigger it." He jerked his thumb in the direction of Lisbon's room. "She needs something to trigger her memory. Enter Jane."

"How'd that go for you?" Rigsby asked rhetorically.

He rolled his eyes like an annoyed teenager. Again. "Look, she didn't bail on me when I lost my memory. I'm not going to bail on her. I am not going to give up until she remembers."

Tommy spoke up this time. "Really." It was not a question, but not necessarily a statement. "Then why did you just come storming out of her room? I am assuming you didn't bid her a polite farewell?"

"That's different," Patrick argued, though he knew very well that it wasn't different at all. Damn, he hated when he was wrong. "I am not bailing on her. I just lost my temper."

James opened his mouth, probably to say something that would counteract Jane's argument, but Grace came skidding into the waiting room with a gigantic grin on her face. "She wants to see you all!"

X

Anger. Annoyance. Sadness. Confusion. Irritation. These are the emotions that she had been feeling after Jane stormed out of her room without even a glance behind him at the mess he had just made with her heart. Though she would never confess, she despised it when he was angry with her. Whenever it happened, a terrifying feeling would rush through her veins. Even though she knew it was not likely, she was afraid she had lost his trust, and she would begin to panic. Though he never turned his back on her. Not once.

Now, she was not sure whether he would or not. What did he mean about her trying to kill herself? Was he joking? She didn't find it funny if he was. Or did she honestly attempt to jump to her death and she just didn't remember it?

"Teresa," Dr. Asher said in a soft voice after Jane stormed out. "I am terribly sorry about that."

She waved his apology away. "Was what he said true?" she demanded. "Did I really jump?" Before the doctor could respond, she added something else. "Please, don't try to lie to me. I've had enough of that in my life." She figured a bit of sympathy may get him to confess.

Evidently, it did. Asher sighed heavily, setting his clipboard down. "Yes, Teresa. What he said was true."

"Why would I do that?"

"We're not quite sure. That is what we are trying to figure out."

Her heart sunk. "Anything I can do to help?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, you can try to think of anything that may have been stressing you out."

She laughed humorlessly. "I am always stressed out. Always. I honestly don't see how I could have been more stressed."

"Maybe that was the problem."

Teresa shook her head. "No," she said. "You don't know me. I wouldn't do something like this." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I don't understand how I could do something like this. I have a team filled with wonderful agents and a family that I love more than anything in the world. I couldn't do that to them."

Asher gazed at her sympathetically. "Miss Lisbon." His voice was filled with doubt. "You left a note."

She stiffened in her bed, fist clenching. "I did?"

He nodded. "Mr. Jane has it."

"Oh," was all she could say.

"Not to worry," the doctor assured her. "We are going to get you the help that you need."

She was too exhausted to argue with him, too exhausted to tell him that she didn't need help, she just needed to go home. To get better so she could start working again. She was exhausted, so she just nodded. He excused himself and exited the room.

Teresa was pleased to see Van Pelt's friendly face walk through the door next. She smiled eagerly. "Hey, boss!"

Lisbon held her arms open and let the redheaded agent put her arms around her. "Hi, Van Pelt."

Grace backed away. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better." She smiled.

Van Pelt giggled nervously, examining the injuries that covered Lisbon's entire body. "Yes, I can see that."

Lisbon dropped her eyes, pretending to be fascinated with the designs on her hospital gown. "So, Jane is pretty angry, huh?"

"Can you blame him?"

Teresa winced, but suddenly realized that she really couldn't blame Jane. "Are you angry?"

"I was," she answered honestly. "I mean, I was worried. There was more anxiousness than anger. But now, I'm just glad you're here."

"I'm sorry," Lisbon whispered. She sighed. "I wish I knew why I did it, but I don't. I wish I had an explanation for all of you. But..." She trailed off, sighing and shaking her head.

"But you don't," Grace finished for her. "I know. It's okay."

Teresa couldn't think of anything to say, so she just bit her lip and nodded.

"Want me to get the rest of them? Everyone's here."

"Please." Teresa smiled graciously at Van Pelt. "Thank you, Grace."

Grace smiled back and turned to leave, pausing briefly in the doorway to look at her boss again. "Jane will come around," she insisted. "I mean, it's Jane. He never stays mad at you for long." With that, she turned on her heel and left the room, leaving Lisbon with nothing but her thoughts.

She tried to think back as far as she could remember. She tried to think of anything that may have set her off. A horrible thought occurred to her. Had she been fired from her job and they just weren't mentioning it to her? That couldn't be possible. Her memory went all the way back to the night of the incident. She would have remembered something like being fired from her job. Even if she had been fired, she could not imagine feeling the need to end everything. She had been fired before, after Jane had killed Timothy Carter, and not once did a suicidal thought run through her mind.

Had she been so ridiculously stressed out that she had just decided it was time for the end? From what she could recall, she was no more stressed than she usually was at the time of the incident. Had Jane done something to set her off?

A thought suddenly came to her.

Jane. The note. What had it said? What had she written? She hoped she had attempted to make it meaningful. What in the world had she written? Perhaps it wasn't meaningful at all, and that was why Jane was so angry. Perhaps he believes he, and everyone else, deserved a heartfelt farewell, and he would be right.

"Hey, Reese!"

Her head snapped up, eyes darting to the doorway. Luke was hurrying in, grinning hugely. He had his arms opened wide. Clearly, it was his intention to throw them around her, but then he remembered her injuries and gently put one arm around her.

Lisbon grinned. "Hi, Luke."

Behind him, Tommy and James were lined up, smiling at her. They all had their turn to hug her gently. Even Rigsby and Cho gratefully gave her brief hugs. Grace stood at the end of the bed, smiling at everyone. But Jane was nowhere to be seen.

Lisbon turned to Cho. "Where is he?"

"He needed some fresh air," Cho explained. "He went to walk the perimeter of the hospital." He paused, lowering his voice. "He'll be back. I think he wanted to talk to you alone again."

Before she had a chance to respond, Dr. Ellis swept into the room, clipboard in hand, smiling at everyone. "Hello, everybody," he greeted them. "Mind if I speak to Teresa in private?"

I mind, Lisbon thought to herself. "It's okay," she said to the doctor. "They can stay."

"If you're sure." He looked at her uncertainly.

"I am." She attempted a smile.

"Alright." Rigsby offered Ellis his seat, which was next to Lisbon's bed, and the doctor gratefully accepted. "The blond gentleman, the one who is always here, is he your husband?"

She almost smiled at the words, the one who is always here. "No," she replied. "I'm not married."

"Do you live alone?"

"Yes."

He jotted something down on his clipboard. "The thing is, Miss Lisbon, your injuries make it extremely difficult to move around by yourself, as you already know."

She did know this. She tried to make her way to the bathroom earlier. She insisted on going herself, waving away Caroline's attempts to simply push her wheelchair. It was not pleasant. "You will obviously be needing help at home, even just to move around," Ellis went on. "You will also need someone to drive you to and from physical therapy, your additional appointments and check-ups. You'll need someone to make grocery runs. You get the gist."

Teresa nodded slowly.

Ellis looked around the room awkwardly. "Do you have family that lives in the area?"

"No." She shook her head. "My brothers live out of town."

"But we can take care of you, Reese," Tommy insisted. "We can trade off weeks. We may have to make a few adjustments with work schedules, but I'm sure it wouldn't be much of a problem."

"No," Teresa said firmly. "Don't be silly. You all have your own lives to tend to. Besides, you live hours away. You have friends and family at home."

Grace looked at Ellis. "Can colleagues volunteer?"

"If Teresa is comfortable with the living situation, anyone can volunteer," Ellis explained. "It doesn't make a difference who is helping her, as long as someone is helping her."

"I volunteer," Grace spoke up.

"Boss, any of us would be happy to help," Rigsby said. "And I am sure that if Jane were here, he would be saying the same thing."

Lisbon took a deep breath. "Guys, you all have lives. I don't want them to stop for me."

"The CBI will understand," Grace offered. "You need someone to help you, boss. And I would be happy to do it. Honestly."

"It will be a lot of work."

"I understand that. And still, I will be happy to do it."

Teresa smiled at her. "Really?"

"Truly."

Lisbon looked from her doctor to Grace. "There you have it," she said to Ellis. Then, she turned to Van Pelt. "Thank you so much."

Grace smiled. "Absolutely."

Author's Note: Jane wasn't in this one as much. Sorry about that. Next chapter will be different.