I'd like to use the opportunity to once again thank my beta firstdown for all the time and effort she invests in this story. I'm really, really thankful and I can't repeat often enough how much I appreciate her input.
Warning: This chapter isn't entirely angst free...
When Lisbon's alarm went off at 6:30 on Wednesday morning, Jane groaned in annoyance. He'd just managed to get into one of the few nice dreams he was granted once in a while and considering that he'd only slept about two or three hours, he was by no means well-rested either.
Teresa stopped the alarm and got up, leaving her grumpy lover behind. She'd taken one look at him and had known that his night had been way too short. She could give him another half-hour while she was in the shower, but couldn't allow him much more because she needed him at work.
She got into the shower and reflected on the situation some more. On the one hand, it pained her to force him out of bed, because she knew he desperately needed more rest, but she had promised herself that she couldn't let her personal feelings interfere with her job. Though she had to admit that she was balancing on a knife's edge on that point anyway, because as a team leader she also had a responsibility towards each member of her unit. And technically speaking, Patrick had a right to both sick and bereavement leave right now.
So it was with a very bad conscience she woke him again forty minutes later. That she cushioned the blow with a cup of tea didn't make it much better in her opinion. She sat down on the edge of the bed and tousled his hair, bent down and pressed a kiss on his cheek, and whispered a quiet "Good morning" in his ear.
"Dunno 'bout good," he slurred drowsily. "'m tired."
He wiped the sleep out of his eyes with the backs of his hands, and though she had seen him doing that before quite a few times, when he'd been roused from a nap on one couch or another, she found it especially endearing right now. He looked up at her with bleary eyes and stretched like a cat. "Do I really need to-," he yawned, "-get up?" he asked.
"Yes, Jane. No lazing around. We have a job to do. There's a suspect to crack and leads to follow," she said energetically, though inside she felt awful for treating him like that. "Come on, hurry! It's already a quarter past seven. Are you able to drive today? I'd like to leave for the office soon. I'd rather not wait for you to get ready."
"I'm up, I'm up, Lisbon." He sighed deeply, propping himself up into a sitting position. "Do I smell tea?" he inquired, his sight still a bit fuzzy.
"On the night stand," she answered with an eye roll.
He got the mug and took a big mouthful, moaning in obvious delight. "Thanks, Teresa. Ah, and yes, I'll take my own car to work. Don't let me keep you, Miss Eager." He grumbled a bit at the last words.
She pecked him on the lips and got up. "I'm sorry, Patrick. But since we left early yesterday to get to San Fran, there's a lot of paperwork waiting for me."
"Yeah, yeah. And as usual, it's completely my fault. I know." He sighed heavily.
"That's crap and you know it," she huffed. Changing to a friendlier tone she added, "I'm really sorry, Patrick. Especially for forcing you out of bed. I know, you should actually be on both sick and bereavement leave right now. But I really need you at work."
He laughed humorlessly at that. "Oh please, Lisbon. We both know that there is no such thing as leave mentioned anywhere in my contract anyway." He got up fully. "Don't worry, I'll be in as soon as possible."
She looked at him in honest confusion. "What do you mean, there's nothing about leave in your contract?"
He walked over to her and pecked her on the cheek. "You seem genuinely surprised," he stated. "Haven't you ever read my contract?"
"No, not really, to be honest," she admitted sheepishly.
He chuckled. "Wow, I'm astonished you don't already know it by heart. That's very unlike you."
"Guess you're right. But I decided a long time ago to leave everything concerning your employment to the powers that be," she replied a bit defiantly.
He chuckled again and pushed a stubborn strand of her hair out of her face and behind her ear tenderly. "I don't have the slightest idea why…" He pressed his lips to hers in a sweet kiss, before he suddenly turned her into the direction of the door and gave her posterior a light slap. "Off you go, Agent Lisbon. Van Pelt's already on her way. Can't let her beat you."
She turned her head, glared at him, and marched out of the room.
He followed her for a moment on his way to the bathroom and when she'd reached the bottom of the stairs he shouted at her retreating back, "There's a good little soldier."
She replied, shouting from the entrance door, "If you're not at work in an hour, I'll put you on report, Mister."
"Nice try, Lisbon. But think about how much additional paperwork that would cause," was his answering cry. "And Lisbon? You do remember that it's Grace's birthday today, don't you?"
"Crap," she grumbled. "I totally forgot." She went back into the living room and opened the chest of drawers, got out a nicely wrapped box and finally left her condo.
She was very thankful that Jane had reminded her. Being in a relationship with him obviously had its advantages. Before, she wouldn't have put it past him to explicitly NOT remind her, just to enjoy her embarrassment when she appeared at work without a present, even though she'd bought one ages ago. He could be a total jerk like that sometimes…
Lisbon's morning started with reports and a lot of coffee. She worked in deep concentration, hardly noticing when someone - presumably her lover - came by and put a bear claw and a fresh mug of coffee in front of her. She only nodded her thanks and went on working, taking bites in between. When she looked up again about two hours later, she realized, that Jane actually sat on her office couch, deeply immersed in some case files she'd left out for him, mostly containing the initial interviews with Keen conducted by Cho and Rigsby.
Perceptive as he was, he seemed to sense her gaze on him immediately and raised his eyes. "Ah, the paper-monster spat you out again. Welcome back," he teased.
She smiled warmly at him. "Thanks for breakfast."
"Don't mention it. How about a real break now, though? The birthday girl's eager to gather the team around her for some coffee and cake and a moment of quality time. I know we're in the middle of a rather important case-" he winked at her, "-but I think, we should sacrifice a bit of our precious time for the living instead of the dead."
Lisbon got up from behind her desk and went over to her consultant. She held out a hand to pull him up, all the while examining him with a critical look. "That was weird, Jane. Is that really you?" Her eyebrows disappeared behind her bangs. "Maybe some aliens have taken over your body or something." She narrowed her eyes now. "Yes, that must be it. Because the Jane I know…"
He interrupted her. "Yeah, that just shows, what you know…" He grabbed her outstretched hand and got to his feet. Deliberately overbalancing slightly, he landed in her arms and she was forced to hug him to keep them both from falling over. He returned the gesture for a moment, relishing in her closeness.
"We shouldn't do this here at the office," she mumbled into his chest.
"You just caught me because I'm too clumsy to stand on my own two feet, Agent. Nothing wrong with helping out a colleague," he replied casually.
She pushed him away. "Yeah, right. Absolutely no other intent behind it, Jane." Sarcasm was clearly audible in her voice. "Come on. Our team is waiting."
The Homicide Team of CBI's SCU gathered around a table in the bullpen for a short celebration of the birthday of their youngest colleague. Grace received small gifts from her teammates and was especially delighted when she discovered the chocolate truffles Jane had made for her. She squealed and pulled him into a hug, starting to pester him with questions about the confectionary they came from again. He of course evaded her inquiries as usual, but his cheeky girlfriend finally exposed him.
"Grace? You should really stop bugging him. He can't tell you because he didn't buy them," she started to explain. Patrick cast her dark looks and shook his head vehemently, trying to stop her from betraying his secret. But she didn't back down. "No, Patrick. I'm going to tell her. You're being ridiculous."
The rest of the team watched them with puzzlement. "Tell me what?" Grace asked astonished.
"That he made them himself. From scratch," Teresa stated.
"No way," Rigsby exclaimed.
"Yes, he did. I actually saw him doing it, so there's absolutely no room for doubt here," Lisbon elaborated.
All eyes were suddenly on Jane and he looked incredibly uncomfortable and embarrassed. And his expression turned downright mortified when Grace gave him a peck on the cheek and called him sweet.
"I'll seriously kill you," he hissed in Lisbon's direction, causing general laughter amongst his teammates.
"We already knew what a softie you are anyway, Jane," Cho informed him.
"Gee thanks, mate, that makes me feel a whole lot better," Patrick answered sarcastically.
"You're welcome," Cho deadpanned.
"I want some too. For my birthday," Rigsby chimed in.
"Same here," Cho added.
"Why don't I just quit this irrelevant job and open my own confectionary," Jane muttered.
"Wow, do I see chocolate truffles for free and less paperwork in my future? I'd have to say: go for it," Lisbon teased him.
"Hahaha, aren't we all funny today," Patrick grumbled.
"How did things work out with your relatives yesterday, by the way?" Grace inquired, attempting to change the subject because she could feel that Jane really was uncomfortable. And after his sweet gesture, he deserved a break in her opinion.
Lisbon and Jane shared a bit about the events from the previous afternoon and the consultant genuinely thanked Van Pelt for her good research work. She was ecstatic about Patrick's newfound family and clearly expressed her happiness for him. Even the male members of the team shared in the good news and patted him on the back. And though he was rather embarrassed again, Teresa could see a real smile on his face that reached his eyes and warmed her heart.
She had still to be the fun killer and order everyone back to work shortly after – the sufferings of being the leader. She'd almost reached her office door when a man stormed into the bullpen.
"Patrick Jane?" he asked in agitation.
The consultant, who'd just taken a seat on his brown leather couch, got up again to meet the visitor. "Yes. How can I help you?" he inquired.
The man came closer, invading Jane's personal space. He was clearly bigger than Patrick and had a threatening physical presence. But Jane wasn't that easy to intimidate. He stood his ground, even though the other man was obviously enraged.
"Listen, you little bastard. You stay away from my parents or so help me God, you'll regret it," the intruder spat out.
"Wow, okay, calm down. Let's discuss this like adults. I don't even know who you are." Jane tried to calm him.
"You little shit," the tall, black-haired man continued without taking heed of Patrick's words. "They are kind and good people. And I won't allow you to play your ruthless games with them. I have a lot of friends in the DA's office here and I know all about you. You're nothing but a fraud. A random circus act. A hellbender. And I don't want you near my parents. Understood?"
Jane just stood there at a loss for words. He had a good idea now who the other man was. He was actually surprised he hadn't recognized him at once from the photos he'd seen just yesterday. But with the enraged expression he looked changed. Reminded Jane of his father in a drunken rage, to be honest. And it was mostly this last realization that paralyzed him. And he wasn't the only one. The bullpen was full of agents and other staff from different units, and they all stood there and gaped at the scene in front of them.
"Answer me, you miserable bastard. I want your promise – not that it is worth anything – that you'll stay out of their life. We don't need you. We're perfectly happy. Your father caused this family enough harm. Do you have any idea how much they've suffered already? And now you think you can just crop up, worm your way into their home and destroy what little peace they've managed to find?" The man continued raging.
When Patrick just stared at him in bewilderment, the angry man grabbed the lapels of his jacket. "Do you understand me? We don't want or need a clown like you in our family! Nobody wants you. Is that clear?"
He violently shook Jane, nearly lifting him off the ground, as Cho and Rigsby jumped in to help their friend. They'd subdued the attacker in no time. Lisbon, who'd come back into the bullpen in the middle of the angry man's rant, walked over and ordered, "I want him in cuffs. Take him to my office."
When she looked up to check on Jane, she realized that he had disappeared. "Damn!" she grumbled. "Van Pelt? Did you see Jane leave?"
"No, ma'am. Sorry," she answered shame-faced.
"Try calling him. I have to take care of this," Lisbon said with a sigh. She'd much rather go and find Patrick, but this was work and right now she had to question a man who'd attacked a member of her team.
Lisbon entered her office, where her two male team members stood on either side of the handcuffed man they'd placed in the visitor's chair. She motioned for Rigsby and Cho to and addressed the tall man sternly, "Matthew Jane, I presume?"
"Yes. How did you know?" he asked. He'd calmed down a bit by now.
Ignoring his question Teresa continued, "I'm Senior Agent Lisbon. As a lawyer you know, that I could arrest you for attacking a member of my team, Mr. Jane. What the hell were you thinking, coming here and assailing my consultant like that? And in front of his colleagues? Don't you have any shame?"
"I just have to protect my family, Agent. And after my father called me last night, I made a few inquiries this morning. Imagine my surprise when I found out about this charlatan you call a 'consultant.' I simply had to act," Matthew Jane explained.
"Mr. Jane, listen carefully. This man you just called a 'charlatan' happens to be the best detective in this state. I'm afraid your research has been very flawed if you didn't realize that. And incidentally he's my friend. I won't allow anyone to insult him like that. Do we understand each other?" Lisbon said, her voice cold with repressed anger.
Jane bent forward in his chair and cast her an intent look. "Friends? He actually has friends? With the way he acts, one would think he only had enemies… Now Agent, can you please release me from these ridiculous handcuffs? I won't try to run."
"You think further insulting Patrick will make me release you? Think again. You will sit here with these handcuffs until your parents have arrived, which will be in approximately 25 minutes. And then you will explain to them what you just did to their grandchild. You know nothing about your nephew, Mr. Jane. Nothing," she hissed.
"My parents are coming here?" he asked a bit nervously.
"Yes. I talked to them earlier. They want to take their grandson out for lunch. I'm sure, they'll be delighted about this nice little family reunion. If I were you, I'd write my will now. Elisa is going to rip you a new one for that stunt," Lisbon advised him.
"You know my mother?"
She nodded.
"Oh no." A look of realization crossed his face. "You are Teresa, aren't you?" he inquired worriedly.
She nodded again. "Now I'll leave you to your own devices. And don't even think of leaving this office. I'll have an officer watching the door."
TCB
BTW: I would really appreciate some feedback. It's been a bit calm on that front lately, so to speak...
