A/N: Okay I'm sooooooo sorry for the wait! Real life keeps getting in the way! Thank you guys for the encouraging reviews. I'm barely hanging on...waiting for the show to come back on. The hiatus is killing me. I can't wait for Lisbon's boyfriend to show up! Jealous Jane is quite amusing and Lisbon deserves a boyfriend. Anyway here you go:
"Hey boss, this is for you," VanPelt extended a tall glass of beer to Lisbon. She had dragged Lisbon out to a local bar along with Cho and Rigsby.
Lisbon looked up at VanPelt and her eyes watered. They had just arrived, yet she already felt exhausted. Like she hadn't rested in years. But in reality all she had been doing was sleeping and crying. It was an endless cycle. For the past month she would go to work, suffer throughout the day without Jane, go home, collapse on her bed, and cry. Sometimes she would even think about calling him, but she always chickened out. "Do I look like shit?"
"No boss, just tired," VanPelt responded.
"We're not at work Grace. You can call me Teresa or Lisbon at least."
"I know, but it's too weird."
Lisbon shrugged and chugged nearly half of her beer. Rigsby and Cho sat down to join them at the table.
"Hey boss...hey Grace," Rigsby greeted them.
Lisbon rolled her eyes. She didn't want to be their boss right now. She wanted friends to let loose with.
Cho simply nodded at the two women while setting down three pitchers of ice cold bear.
Lisbon smiled appreciatively at Cho. It had been a while since she was able to relax and forget about work and Jane.
"So what's new?," Rigsby questioned, looking directly at Lisbon.
She looked down and hid her face behind her hair. She didn't want to talk tonight. She simply wanted to listen to everyone else complain about how their lives sucked as much as hers.
VanPelt smacked his forearm with the back of her hand.
"Ouch, jeez sorry."
"How's Ben?" Cho supplied as a conversation starter.
Lisbon quickly finished her beer and began to refill her glass. She could tell Grace and Cho were subtlety keeping an eye on her. She stopped listening to Rigsby's voice. Her eyes traveled to the bar. She could see handfuls of men chatting with busty women. All of the women donned dresses up to their thighs, stiletto heels, and thick makeup. They all looked to be in their twenties. Fun, young, and desirable; everything Lisbon wasn't. Who was she kidding? A thirty-six year old at a bar with her coworkers. What was desirable about that? Jane was right. She was alone.
"How about you, Boss?"
Lisbon turned her attention back to the team. They were all looking at her expectantly. "What?"
"Darts? Wanna play?", Cho asked her.
"Ugh sure."
_20 minutes later_
Lisbon was now slowly starting to feel the effects of her alcohol consumption. Her face was flushed and she felt wobbly on her feet. Rigsby was quite drunk too. He had become more intense and competitive with each game they played. Even Cho started laughing and talking more than usual.
It was Lisbon's turn to throw. She got up and slipped a little, but Grace was there to catch her. "Woah Lisbon," she said with a laugh.
"I've got this." She stood up and threw the dart. It landed surprisingly close to the middle. She felt a warm palm on her shoulder. And hot breath in her ear, "nice one. I didn't know how talented you were with darts." She almost jumped out of her skin.
She swiveled around to look at who the somewhat familiar voice came from.
The man had gray-tinted spiky hair, an attractive face, and wore a suit. Haffner? What the hell was he doing here? "Ray?"
He smirked at her. "Hey Teresa, what are you doing here? Wow It's great to see you." He wrapped his arms around her tightly.
Lisbon was shocked and confused, but lightly wrapped her arms around him and patted his back. "Um...just having a little team bonding, I guess," gesturing to Cho, Rigsby, and VanPelt.
"Ah, I didn't even see you guys. How's it going?," he turned towards the team.
They smiled awkwardly and said hello.
"So I heard about the Red John incident. Are you feeling alright?" His face was genuinely concerned.
She forced a smile, "I'm fine. Just trying to take it easy. What are you doing here anyway?"
"Funny story. I came here with a date. I spotted you guys a little while after we got here and wanted to say hello, but didn't want to be rude. Turns out I was more distracted than I thought," he said pointedly to her.
Lisbon blushed in response. She downed the rest of her drink to fill the silence.
"Mind if I join?"
"Ugh nope. Be my guest," Lisbon sputtered.
The five of them continued to play a couple more rounds of darts.
After a while, they decided to get ready to leave. But first, Lisbon and VanPelt headed to the bathroom.
Haffner waited until they were out of earshot and then turned to the guys, "So where's Jane at tonight?"
Rigsby grumbled and shook his head. Cho sighed, "Jane has been m.i.a. since the Red John incident."
"Damn," Haffner took a drink. "So he just left her alone?"
"Pretty much," replied Rigsby while looking down at the table.
"I always thought Jane was a jackass, but to do that. Wow. So none of you have had contact with him whatsoever?"
"He's been drinking...that's all I know," Cho responded.
Lisbon and VanPelt came back laughing. The guys stood up and joined them in their walk to the exit.
"So Teresa let me give you my number. Maybe we can go out again sometime soon...just the two of us?," Ray looked at Lisbon expectantly.
Her eyes grew wide, "yea, that sounds good." She handed him her phone and he entered the digits.
"Alright. This was really fun. Thanks for letting me join you guys! And hopefully I will see you soon Teresa." Haffner gave her one last smile and headed to his car.
Meanwhile Cho told Rigsby and Grace he would share a cab with Lisbon. He wanted to make sure she got back to her apartment safely.
"Boss, I got us a cab," Cho informed Lisbon.
"Okay," Lisbon smiled brightly at him and thread her arm around his own. Wow, Cho thought. She really was tipsy. Usually she would put up some kind of fight to his chivalrous offer.
They entered the cab and started towards Lisbon's apartment.
"You should definitely give Haffner a chance. He's always had a crush on you."
"Really? I guess I was too busy to pay any attention to him." She turned her head to face the window and to hide the tears threatening to fall down her cheeks.
"He's an idiot," Cho whispered after a minute of silence. They both knew which 'he' Cho was referring to.
Lisbon nodded and put a hand to her mouth. She didn't want to break down crying in a cab with Cho.
The cab pulled up to Lisbon's place. She stumbled out in a hurry, while thanking Cho and the cab driver. She hurried up the stairs to her apartment door and pulled out her phone. She hadn't checked it all night. She wanted to make sure Bertram hadn't called with a case. The screen lit up her dark apartment as she unlocked the door. Four missed calls flashed across the screen. Damn it!, she thought. She couldn't sober up fast enough to work a crime scene. She tapped the buttons to reveal her mysterious caller. Patrick Jane. What could he possibly want? It had been weeks since their fight. And now he wanted to talk? He couldn't have the decency to talk to her in person?
Lisbon tossed her purse and keys on the sofa and walked to the kitchen. She opened the fridge in search of a water bottle. She was bound to have a hangover tomorrow morning. The fridge door drifted shut as Lisbon opened a new bottle. She lifted it to her mouth at the same time that she noticed men's shoes in the corner of her kitchen. They were illuminated by the streetlight streaming in from the window. The shoes weren't just any pair of shoes. She recognized them from somewhere. She continued to look at them, which was when she heard the clank of a teacup making contact with the hard surface of her kitchen table.
Her body then relaxed, realizing it was only Jane. "Damn it, you scared the hell out of me!," she scolded.
"Sorry," the voice replied.
It made Lisbon's blood turn cold when she realized the man in her apartment wasn't Jane. It was Red John.
TBC, what is Red John going to do to her? Please review! :)