Disclaimer: I still don't own The mentalist, and I still don't know who Red John is :P
She stands still for two minutes, letting the words sink in properly, and letting the shock of realization fade. If this was anyone else, she would have dismissed it in the blink of an eye, but since it was Jane saying this, and since he read minds….. Oh dear Lord!
He waits sympathetically, and, for once, doesn't comment. It's a good thing, because if he had said anything at that moment, she's pretty sure she would have finally turned into an angry wrestler.
Time passes, and the shock fades, and she grumbles and settles for shotgun, again, but the words get stuck in her head, going round and round in loops, like she's on a merry-go-round. She looks outside the window- it's almost morning now, there's that faint morning sunlight that she loves in the rare days when there are no reports of homicides and she knows no one has died. She can see some people already up and on their way to their destination. She tries to clear her head and lose herself in thinking about these people, trying to imagine what their lives are like, what mood they are in at that moment, and what they are thinking. There's that one thing though: she's not Jane, and Jane is not contagious. So all she manages to do is stare blankly at the town and its people while her mind focuses on the one fact that she's trying to blur out.
She isn't surprised when he stops for break-fast at a small shop on the way. She reminds him they need to get back to the office soon, he reminds her that she is hungry and she can't get any work done efficiently with her stomach grumbling. She grumbles more to acknowledge his victory, and steps into the stop, settles down on the first table she spots and starts looking at the menu card instantly.
"We'll have two sandwiches please", he orders, occupying the seat in front of her.
She briefly looks up from the menu to glare at him. "How do you know that's what I would have ordered?"
He shrugs, a small smile etching his features. "I don't know what you would have ordered, but judging by the look of this place, I know that it's the only thing they sell at this hour, so…."
She raises an eyebrow on hearing him admit out loud that he didn't know something, and now she is happy again. Maybe one day she can even get him to admit that he is wrong and she is right. She can feel they're edging closer to that day.
The sandwiches arrive. She isn't pleased with how they smell, or how they look even, but it's all they've got right now, and Jane is paying, so she doesn't complain.
"So…." she begins, as she takes a bite of what she decides is the worst sandwich she has ever tasted in her life, "Did you get any idea on who the killer is?"
He shrugs, his face contorting with distaste at how awful the "food" in his mouth tastes, and swallows it with much difficulty. "I have my hunches."
"Jane!" she heaves a sigh, shaking her head. She knows getting him to say something about the suspects is never easy. Why does she even try?
The drive back to the office consists of them complaining about how horrible the sandwiches were, and agreeing, unanimously for once, never to eat at that place again. It's normal, just like any other day, and she's feels comfortable. She's thankful that the "Jisbon" topic doesn't come up, and there, she just thought about it again.
She steps out of her car, he steps out too, she holds her palm out, wiggling her fingers, and waits for him to hand her back her keys.
He grins, handing it back to her without a fight. "Lovely key-chain, by the way"
She can feel the sarcasm start to drip off her. "And what did you learn about me from it?" She says with a tiny bite in her voice.
"Nothing that I already didn't know about", he says with a shrug. "It just shows that you do like cute things."
She doesn't say anything- doesn't agree, doesn't protest either. Jane is going to study her with the giant microscope in his mind, and prove that he's right anyway. She steps into the elevator quietly, and waits for him to follow.
Once he's in and the door closes, she feels herself getting flushed. This is where they had their first conversation about "Jisbon", and being confined with Jane here, it makes her feel…. weird. She never noticed before that the elevator was so small, and they were so close. It makes her heart race in a weird way. She wonders if he knows, if he has studied her and figured it out. He doesn't say anything though, and she's glad for it, because again, the desire to punch. One day he'd make her land in anger management classes.
"Any suspects yet?" Hightower asks as soon as they step into the Office.
"No ma'am, we're working on it", she says quietly, with a nod, and heads to her team. "Van pelt, keep digging the phone records and see what you can find. Where's Cho?"
"He's interviewing a witness", Rigsby informs her.
She nods his way, heading to the room where Cho is. As she reaches him, she sees the witness walking away, escorted by police.
"Got anything?" she asks Cho, walking inside the room.
"Nothing useful", Cho answers, staring at the files in front of him.
She nods and is about to leave, when she suddenly remembers that there is something that she may want to ask him about. "Cho, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, boss", Cho answers, looking at her expectantly.
She licks her lips, looks around thee room and through the blinds to make sure that no one is around and no around is over-hearing. It feels weird to be asking someone from her team this. But he's the safest person, the only one who can keep his mouth shut. It's her best option to prove Jane wrong and get the thoughts out of her head for good.
"Do the people here think that", she clears her throat. This is so awkward, her eyes refuse to leave the dull black wall. "Do the people here think that something is going on between me and Jane?"
"I don't know", Cho replies in monotone, "is there something going on between you and Jane?"
"No! Of course not!" she protests, and notices that the pitch of her voice has increased now. Her words come out somewhat squeaky. Something tells her she would have failed a polygraph test right now. Weird, right?
"Then why do you ask?" Cho questions.
She rolls her eyes. For a moment she had forgotten that Cho would ask her a hundred questions for each question she asked. What was she thinking again? "Jane thinks", she begins, praying in her mind this doesn't reach Jane. If he knows she's actually been asking people about this, she'll never hear the end of it. "Jane thinks that you guys ship Jisbon", she says, using air quotes around 'Jisbon'.
"Well some of us think you'd be a good couple", Cho admits, getting up and arranging his files. "All of us know that if Jane ever starts dating again it's going to be you." He says, before he leaves the room.
Her eyes are wide with shock. This is a classic example of a fool-proof plan going wrong. Here she was expecting to assure herself "jisbon" isn't real, and now she's left wondering why people think she and Jane can be a couple.
There is no smoke without fire right? So where is this fire coming from?
"Hey Lisbon," Jane enters the room, as if on cue, breaking her out of her thoughts. She feels her face heat up at his sudden appearance, and hopes that he doesn't notice.
He doesn't, thankfully. He smiles and throws a candy bar in her direction.
She catches it, with years of CBI practice, and gives him a confused look. "What's this for?"
He shrugs. "My apologies for making you eat the horrible sandwich this morning." He sends her a grin as he walks out.
She can't help the smile forming on her face, as her fingers fiddle with the candy. Jane can be so sweet sometimes.
Which makes a voice somewhere at the back of her mind wonder- what trouble did he start now?
Another voice in her head answers: Jisbon.
A/N: there's another chapter. Hope you liked it, please review. :) What do you say now? Drop it or keep going?