She got up and told Jane senior to do the same. She got her purse from Patrick and retrieved her service weapon from it aiming it at the vile man before her.

"Let a girl do your dirty work now, Paddy? How pathetic," the older Jane taunted his son and cackled.

"Alex Jane, you are under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon. Anything you say from this point on can and will be used against you. So shut up if you know what's good for you," Lisbon told him with cold anger in her voice.

But Alex obviously didn't know what was good for him as he continued to slight his son. "Told you I would get you for your disrespect. You should have just given me what is my due. Well, you always needed a hard hand. Now tell that little pet cop of yours to quit this ridiculous farce."

"Patrick, call SacPD," Lisbon ordered, but he still seemed to be in a state of shock, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Damn it," she mumbled. "Mr. Jane, get down on your knees," she ordered Alex, but the man just laughed into her face. "This is not a joke," she added sternly, aiming her Glock pointedly at him. "Get down on your knees or I'll make you do it. Your choice."

A small crowd had gathered around them and a few screams of terror had been audible, when Lisbon had pulled her weapon. This at least led to them holding a distance, but nobody seemed inclined to help either.

Reluctantly the older Jane followed her orders. When Lisbon was sure that the man wouldn't be able to get away without problems, she took her cell phone and called SacPD on their direct line. "This is Agent Lisbon, CBI. I'm currently at the Sacramento fair ground. I've just arrested a man who attacked CBI consultant Patrick Jane with a knife. I need you to send a car and get him off my hands…. No, we're not working on a case… Yes, that sounds good. I expected you to have a squad car close by… We're situated in front of the portaloos… Thanks, Officer."

"Come on, cutie. It's time to call this off. This was just some family business. A misunderstanding. Paddy, tell her to stop this nonsense or you'll regret it!" Alex Jane demanded.

"Shut up, Mr. Jane. Attacking a member of Law Enforcement is a felony. And it was an armed one at that. I saw you aim for his abdomen. Making further threats isn't helping your case," Teresa told him sternly.

Around them, the crowd had grown. She spotted a few carnies but for the most part they were regular visitors. She ordered them to get lost but nearly everyone stayed. Fortunately at this point four uniformed cops appeared at the scene. Two of them chased off the gapers with some well aimed threats about prosecution and obstruction of justice. The other two came over to Teresa.

"Agent Lisbon?" one asked, and she nodded and showed them her badge. "I'm Officer Davis, SacPD, this is Officer Markie. What do we have?"

"Hello, Officers. White male offender, name Alex Jane. Attempted armed assault. Tried to stab my consultant in the abdomen with the knife over there." She pointed at the bladed weapon, which had been lying on the ground some feet away from her since she'd taken it from Patrick's father. "I don't have an evidence bag with me right now so I just left it there," she explained.

Officer Markie retrieved a bag from his pocket and went over to secure the knife, while Davis grabbed Jane senior's arm roughly and pulled him up on his feet. "Come with me, scumbag."

"Stop!" Alex demanded. "This is just a misunderstanding. He's my son."

"You can tell us all of that drivel at the station house. Now shut up and move," Davis ordered and pulled the resisting man away, helped along by Markie.

"You'll regret this, Pat, I swear! Just you wait and see. This isn't over!"


Now that the immediate danger was averted, Teresa had time to step over to her lover, who'd also been approached by the other two officers some time ago.

"Sir, are you alright? You don't look so well. Are you hurt?" one of them asked. "Name's Keen, by the way. My partner here is Burton. Are you with the CBI as well?"

Patrick looked blankly at them but collected himself after a moment. "I… I'm alright, I think. Jane, my name's Jane. And yes, I'm a consultant with the CBI."

One of the officers, Burton, gave him an encouraging pat on the arm, sensing that he was in a state of slight shock. Patrick cried out in obvious pain just as Teresa reached his side.

"Patrick, are you hurt? Did he actually hit you? I couldn't really see. I thought he'd missed," she asked with deep concern, taking a hold of his arm gently.

On closer inspection there was a large tear visible in the fabric of his suit jacket. Lisbon motioned for him to take it off, so she could take a better look at the damage. He complied, groaning when the sleeve made contact with the arm underneath. With the dark jacket out of the way, it became obvious that the knife had pierced him. The right sleeve of the formerly crisp white shirt Patrick wore was soaked with blood.

"Looks like a pretty ugly stab wound. Probably needs some stitches," Officer Keen announced. "There's an ambulance stationed by the entrance. We should get your partner there, Agent Lisbon. He seems to be in some kind of shock as well."

Teresa nodded. "Patrick? Look at me," she said kindly. When she caught his eyes, she continued. "You've been hurt but I'm taking you to the paramedics now. Everything will be fine, okay?"

"Okay," he answered warily, looking lost and scared.

At that point Teresa decided not to give a damn about being watched by SacPD officers and took hold of Patrick's left hand, intertwining their fingers. "Come on, I'm right here with you."

Keen and Burton cast her strange looks but didn't comment on the unusual behavior. They decided to follow because they still needed a statement from the victim and the witness.


A paramedic met them at the door of the ambulance. The man in his fifties introduced himself as Doctor Jenkins. He got the basic facts and took in the sight of the injured man and reacted immediately. "I'll take care of him. I hope I have all the equipment to deal with it here, but I'm quite sure. Come along, Mr. Jane. We'll have you fixed in no time." He pulled Patrick with him resolutely but in a gentle way, and Lisbon felt reassured that her lover was indeed in capable hands.

Officer Keen addressed her when both the doctor and Jane had disappeared from sight. "Now, Agent Lisbon, while we wait, can you give us some details about the assault?"

"I was using the facilities when I heard Patrick Jane, my consultant, shout my name. I had been about to leave anyway, so I rushed out and saw a man with a knife attacking Jane, who jumped out of the way - well nearly – at the last moment. The stab had been clearly aimed at his abdomen. I tackled the attacker, secured him, and called SacPD." She stopped a moment to catch her breath.

"You should probably be made aware of the fact that the perp is actually my consultant's father. They met earlier today for the first time after over twenty years of total estrangement. By chance, I might add. The encounter didn't end very well and the offender threatened my colleague. But I never ever expected him to actually land a sneak attack at his son."

She paused again. With a very serious expression she continued, "And I want to add that it was completely unprovoked. Patrick didn't instigate any of this. He kept his cool during their earlier conversation. If need be, there are several additional witnesses to confirm this. Alex Jane was aggressive right from the start and tried to get to his son by force. He demanded money from him because he said he had gambling debts. My colleague refused to give him any, which led to an increase in hostility. But Patrick managed to defuse the situation, or so we thought."

"Thank you, Agent. Could you give me the names of the other witnesses, please?"

Teresa did so, realizing in the process, that she didn't know their surnames. "We'll have to wait for Patrick to fill in the blanks," she said, just as Andy came running towards them at full speed.

"Teresa, is it true? I just heard, the bastard's been arrested for attacking Rick. Is he alright?" He panted, out of breath from running.

"I think so. He has a stab wound on his arm. The paramedic's just taking a look at it. But it could have been much worse. Alex aimed for his stomach," she explained businesslike, feigning a calm she absolutely didn't feel.

Andy seemed to look through her act and pulled her into a hug. She was very thankful because it was just what she'd needed at that point. She was able to compose herself again and stepped back. "Officers, this happens to be one of the witnesses. He'll be able to give you the exact names of the others," she said. "It's about the earlier encounter with Alex," she clarified to Andy, who nodded.

At that moment, the door of the ambulance opened and the doctor stuck his head out. "Agent Lisbon? Would you come inside for a moment, please? My patient is asking for you. Urgently, I might add." The last part conveyed a bit of irritation. This caused Teresa to release a sigh of relief. If Jane was already annoying the paramedic, he was obviously recovering nicely.


She followed Jenkins inside. Patrick sat bare chested on the stretcher and started to complain the moment he caught sight of her. "Lisbon, that man wanted to cut my shirt into pieces. It's a good one. The best I own," he whined.

"Mr. Jane, as I explained before, it already has a big tear from the knife that stabbed your arm. I brought Agent Lisbon for you. Would you please cooperate now? You are losing blood. And it's completely unnecessary at this point," Doctor Jenkins tried to reason with him.

"Doctor, would you give me a minute alone with him? I promise you, he'll be well-behaved afterwards," Teresa asked.

The doctor smiled at her. "Anything it takes, Agent. Anything it takes…" he conceded. "Good luck…" He stepped into the back of the car to give them some privacy.

"Patrick, what the hell are you doing? He's only trying to help you. You have a four inches long slash on your arm, which needs to be seen to. I know you hate doctors. But please, don't make this difficult," she pleaded.

He pointedly avoided looking at her by staring at his lap. She wouldn't allow that. Stepping closer so she was standing between his dangling legs, she cupped his cheeks and forced him to look up at her. "I'm worried about you, love. Please let the doctor help you. I'll stay if that makes it any easier, okay?" she asked gently, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs.

"He said I was disoriented, Teresa. Please don't let him take me to a psychiatric ward. I promise I'll be good," he begged her, looking defeated.

"Patrick, nobody wants to take you anywhere. You are in a slight state of shock. That's normal after such an attack. The doctor only assessed your medical status. Don't worry, love. I'll be here the whole time and the only place you'll be going is home with me. Okay? Can we get you fixed now?" she inquired carefully.

He nodded with a small hopeful smile. "Home? We'll go home afterwards?"

"Yes, imp. Home." She pecked him on the lips and let go of his face before she called out to Jenkins. "Doctor?"

The man came back into view. "Ready to proceed, Mr. Jane?" he asked.

Patrick had calmed down immensely. He trusted his lover and felt reassured that he wouldn't end up at a place he didn't want to be at. So he nodded in Jenkin's direction. "I'd like to apologize, Doctor. I might have misread the situation, which made me overreact. I hope you took no offense."

The paramedic smiled at him. "No problem. You're in quite a state right now. Some irrational behavior is to be expected."

"Thank you for your understanding. Actually, it would help greatly and we would avoid further misconceptions if my colleague was allowed to stay. Would that be alright?" Jane inquired.

The other man laughed. Starting to clean the wound and preparing his instruments, he spoke with amusement. "You are a sneaky one, aren't you, Mr. Jane? Got me right where you wanted me. I'd say your status has just improved from disoriented to astute. But no problem, your girlfriend can stay."

"He's a perceptive one, Lisbon. I think I could actually like him." Patrick grinned in Teresa's direction.

She had taken a hold of his left hand. No sense containing themselves considering the good doctor had seen through their act anyway. "How deep is it, Doctor?" she asked.

"Fortunately not too deep. I'll actually be able to glue and tape it instead of stitching it. It might take a little longer to heal that way, but it won't leave such a visible scar. Is that acceptable, Mr. Jane?" he inquired.

"Sounds good to me. Anything to avoid a needle piercing my skin repeatedly. How long until I'll be able to use my arm and hand again?" Patrick asked.

"Oh, you can use your hand immediately after we're finished here. I'd avoid it at least until tomorrow to give it a rest, and it will hurt like a bitch at first, but there's no medical reason not to use both your hand and arm. But you have to keep it dry. That's very important. And I'm afraid, you'll have to see a doctor daily for the next five days to change the dressing and check the wound. Since I'll glue it, the possibility for infection is higher than with normal stitches," Jenkins explained. "Do you want me to numb your forearm before I continue? The gluing will be quite painful but I gathered that you're not too keen on needles."

"No injections necessary. Just give me a moment to collect myself, Doc," he answered. He closed his eyes and took some very deep breaths, slowing down his heartbeat and slipping into a meditative state. Two minutes later he announced that he was ready for the procedure. He kept his eyes closed and seemed to be far away.


TBC


A/N: I have no real medical knowledge apart from some research, so I can only hope my descriptions aren't completely absurd. In case the treatment seems a bit off, I claim poetic license and pray that all you health professionals out there can forgive me my incompetence...


I haven't gotten many reviews on this fic lately and as I'm a bit unsure about writing "action" instead of private moments between Jane and Lisbon, I'm actually even more interested in your opinions. So feel free and encouraged to drop me a line.