Return to Sacramento: Chapter 10
Hi guys. Sorry for the long wait. I've been really busy and didn't make much time for writing – sorry. Also, I don't know what's a lot for a leather couch these days, so I converted what was a lot in Rand to Dollar.
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine
Room 513 in the Sacramento Sterling Hotel was one tense place to be right now; despite the three large pizzas that sat half-eaten in the middle of the floor and the cozy set-up, the six adults were absolutely silent. There was no chatting and conversing and laughing, like there was so many times before years ago when similar meals together were shared. And even though Claire was "new" to the case-closed-pizza tradition, she was pretty sure that the tense atmosphere wasn't part of it.
Jess was sitting beside her mother, not paying much attention to the adults, but doing a puzzle by herself. Every few moments, Jane's eyes would flash towards her and fill with a mixture of pride and anxiety.
Tonight was their last night in the hotel, tomorrow night they'll be at the CBI Fundraiser. They'd originally planned to stay another night, but considering circumstances, Jane had decided that driving through the night wasn't that bad. He won't drink at the function – he's never been that hard a drinker, so it won't be that difficult – and then they'd go home. Safe, sound home.
Teresa had made the argument to him that they could just go now. Running from danger wasn't exactly the stubborn and overtly-brave lady cop's style, but it was crystal clear to him that she wasn't treating this like any other case. If things went bad here, she wasn't just risking herself. She could lose her daughter – she could lose everything.
But they had made a promise to Hightower, and though it seemed unimportant now, they had given their word that they would be there.
So no backing out now, they'd decided. They were facing this head-on. They would make sure nothing happened to Jess and they wouldn't let this monster intimidate them or play with them like little puppets.
This was it. He knew it.
There have been many "this is it" moments in his relationship with Teresa – he thought that after years of working together to catch Red John, the show-down in the outlet mall had been it. The end. The great finale to his horrible, heart-wrecking story. Followed of course by the fantastic and blissful sequel that he never expected to have. His amazing new life filled with little happy moments; his best friend, now his wife, and an amazing little daughter. Despite all odds, he had been granted a second chance at happiness. And yes, his new life still had its challenges – for instance, Lisbon still had that quaint little stubborn streak that had resulted and many more than one screaming fight, and parenthood held its own long list of troubles. But those seemed like nothing.
He was happy. Finally, he was happy. He was living in a beautiful home in the city of Los Angeles with an ingenious little daughter who made him prouder and prouder every day and a stunningly beautiful wife who he wasn't only passionately in love with, but who was also his best friend. He worked solving crimes in a job that entertained and challenged him – side by side with said wife of his. He was living the dream.
Maybe he should've known it was too good to be true. For someone like him, good fortune never lasted too long. Once he's been happy for long enough, comes to "this is it" moment and his bloody history rears its ugly head once again.
But he couldn't sit and feel sorry for himself now. Last time it took him more than eight years to get to the point where he could end it. Sitting and feeling sorry for himself would definitely be counter-productive.
So he took another triangle of cheese and grease and munched on it half-heartedly. "Why is everyone so quiet?" He asked.
"Could ask you the same thing." Cho deadpanned.
"Since when is it my duty to keep the conversations going?"
"Since always?" Van Pelt asked, smiling amusedly as she took another bite of her pizza.
"Well, Grace, since you so graciously volunteered... how about you start the conversation. How's life as newly-weds? Have you found an apartment yet?"
"We did. It's really beautiful, you should see it. It's just big enough for two; we're busy furnishing it now."
Jane chuckled lightly. "Wow, that must be frustrating."
"Why? It's fun!"
"I mean for Wayne, my dear." Jane caught Rigsby's eye and his expression clearly showed that Jane was spot-on.
"I remember when Teresa and I was furnishing the house. I wanted this beautiful leather couch that I saw in a catalogue. Beautiful, double-stuffed. It would've gone perfect in our living room."
"It was more than $5000. For one couch." Lisbon said. Her mouth was full with cheesy goodness.
"It's real leather and double-stuffed. A real high-quality piece of furniture. An investment."
"A waste of money."
"You seem to like it nowadays. Especially when I put a movie on, and pour you a glass of red wine, and we start to get a little snuggly, and then I..."
"Okay, you're getting off-topic, Patrick." Lisbon interrupted with wide eyes. Her expression made his signature smile spread over his face. A rare sight these days, Lisbon thought. He's trying to keep up a cheerful front, for Jess' sake, but after so many years of knowing him and three years of marriage, she knows his fake smiles from his real ones. And the only real smiles she's seen since their frightening discovery at Jess' bedside were ones of tragic pride in his little girl's direction. If it wasn't for that, for her ability to notice the sadness behind his smiles, she knows she's probably be yelling at him now. Asking what the hell was wrong with him for making such light small talk in such a heavy situation... "Let's get back to Grace's renovations, please."
"Wait, so you guys did get the couch then?" Grace asked with an amused smile at her boss' obvious discomfort.
"Yes, I convinced her that a decent couch was absolutely necessary for a harmonious living environment when living with me. And I bought it myself; my contribution to the house."
"It's so hard to find a decent couch. Or living room set for that matter. I mean, we just got married so our budget isn't exactly that huge, and it's a smallish apartment, but I still want it to look..."
"Yes, I understand."
They continued with mindless small talk about finding the right furniture and the importance of the right wallpaper for a while, each couple telling their own stories, and somewhere during that conversation, Lisbon noticed that Jess was yawning an awful lot.
"Hey sweetie." She whispered to Jess, who was now almost done with making her second puzzle. "You tired?"
"No." She stubbornly insisted and crossed her arms. "Daddy said I could stay up late tonight."
"Yes, but now it's bedtime and you're yawning. Are you sure you're not tired?"
"Yup." Another yawn. "Not tired at all."
"C'mon." Lisbon said with a small smile and picked Jess up and carried her over to the king-sized bed where they would all be sleeping tonight. She kissed her little forehead as Jess started dozing in her mother's arms at the comfort of her body heat and gentle hold.
"Mommy?" She whispered softly in her ear.
"Yes, baby?"
"Why are you and Daddy so sad?"
"What?" Lisbon pulled the covers of the bed back and gently placed Jess down on the mattress, tucking her in.
"You and Daddy. You're sad and nervous... And this morning you were crying, and Daddy was crying too."
Lisbon sighed heavily. "Uhm, well, sweetie..." She searched hopelessly for the right words, but found none. "It's complicated. But I don't want you to worry about that. Everything's going to be fine."
The little girl, tucked in under the creamy white duvet, donned her mother's frown. "Promise?"
"I promise." Lisbon said in a soft voice, bending down to gently kiss her daughter's forehead.
She moved to go back to the team who sat, conversing now, on the other side of the room, but instead she took off her shoes and lay down beside her daughter.
She fell asleep, many sleepless hours later, stroking Jess' curly hair with her arms wrapped protectively around her greatest treasure.
This chapter was supposed to go very differently... but it turned itself into another fluffy in-between chapter.
Next chap: Probably in RJ/RJ's accomplice's POV (Hmm, didn't think I'd give it up that easy, did you?)
Much love, Zanny