Warning: Jane angst again... I'm giving him a bit of a hard time right now, the poor guy...
She left him and went looking for Patrick.
"Van Pelt? Did you get Jane on the phone?" she asked.
"No boss. It's going directly to voicemail. But Rigsby checked: his car's still in the parking lot," the young woman answered.
"Well, let's hope he's in the attic then," Teresa said with a sigh. "I'll be up there if you need me. And should Elisa and Jonathan Jane show up, please call me at once."
Grace nodded.
Lisbon went up to her lover's favorite hide-out, but to her chagrin she found it empty. She cursed and went down again. She reached the bottom of the stairs just when the lift doors opened and revealed Patrick's grandparents. They spotted her at once and greeted her warmly. But Elisa's keen observation skills detected Teresa's agitation at once.
"What's the matter, dear? Something wrong?" she inquired.
Lisbon led them in the direction of her office, helping the limping lady along. "Something happened. Your son Matthew popped up here a while ago."
"Oh, but that's nice, isn't it?" Elisa asked. "Bet he couldn't wait to meet his nephew. He's always been a spur-of-the-moment kind of person," she added, pride and affection for her son visible on her face.
Teresa squirmed with discomfort. "Mhm, it wasn't nice actually. Rather the opposite." She took a deep breath and decided to be frank. "He attacked Patrick both verbally and physically in front of all his colleagues. Accused him of being a fraud and of wanting to destroy your family. And banned him from contacting you. Threatened him even, to be honest."
Both Janes looked at her in open-mouthed shock. Jonathan was the first to compose himself. "Where is he?" he asked with concern.
"I have him in my office. We had to subdue him, I'm afraid," Teresa explained carefully.
"Not Matthew, Teresa. Where's my grandson?" Jonathan inquired impatiently.
Lisbon blushed a little. "I… I don't know. I was just trying to find him. He disappeared right after the confrontation. And I had to deal with your son first. I'm sorry, but I'm the leader here. I had to do my duty. I have no idea where he is. His car is still here though, so I hope he's still somewhere in the building." Her distress was obvious in her voice.
Elisa patted her arm kindly. "Why don't you and Jonathan go and search for Patrick, while I set our son straight? He's always been a hot-head. But this? I'm so angry. He'll rue the moment he decided to rush in here, I promise you that, Teresa. Now lead me to your office and then get me my grandson back."
Lisbon helped her along, opened the office door and guided her directly to the sofa. She left again at once, eager to find her lover and convinced that the feisty old lady would do a fine job all on her own.
"Now Teresa, where should we look for him?" Jonathan asked anxiously.
"I have no idea, to be honest. He wasn't at his usual hide-out. But that was only the first place I managed to check out. Maybe it's best to do this systematically and start in the basement."
This turned out to be a good idea because they found the missing consultant down there in the last place Lisbon would have ever expected him to be: the gym. Apart from him, it was totally deserted at this time of day. He was working a punching bag with fierce determination. The sight was so completely alien to her eyes, she squinted with disbelief at first. He wore a blank mask and only his angry punches betrayed his real state of mind. His outfit consisted of his usual suit-pants, a black CBI t-shirt and boxing gloves. Sweet was covering his brow and at second glance she discovered to her great dismay, that blood was running down his right arm.
"Patrick, stop!" she exclaimed stepping closer to him. Jonathan decided to remain in the background for the time being.
The consultant flinched because he hadn't noticed her presence before. But his surprise was only short-lived and he resumed his activity. "Go away, Lisbon. I'm busy," he said neutrally.
"You're bleeding, Jane. You've reopened the slash on your arm," she stated, forcing herself to stay calm.
"Who cares," he replied with a shrug. "It's a sweet little family-present after all," he scoffed. "The only one I'm ever going to get. So I should better make the most of it." He laughed coldly.
"That's complete bullshit, Patrick. Stop it. Your grandparents want you to be part of their family…" she started.
He interrupted her. "Yeah, well maybe I don't want to be part of theirs."
"Of course you want to. Just because that ignorant uncle of yours showed up and spouted a bunch of lies…" she tried again.
"No, Lisbon. This was a bad idea right from the start. I'm not family-material, okay? I'll abide by his wishes. It's better that way. I won't destroy another family." He punched the bag furiously with each word. "Disgusting, miserable piece of scum." Angry tears escaped his eyes. "I hate this!" He exclaimed. "Why does it always have to end like this?" His punches became more and more erratic until he finally stopped and sank down on the mat in an exhausted crouch.
Strong arms enveloped him from behind and pressed him into a sturdy chest. "This time it won't end like this, son," his grandfather said with complete conviction. The oldest Jane had approached in a hurry when he'd seen that things were getting out of hand. He had taken a seat behind his grandchild and held onto the distraught man in a firm but tender way. "I've got you, Patrick," he said soothingly.
"Please sir, you shouldn't be here," the younger Jane pleaded. "Your son is right. I'm not worth it."
"Nonsense, Patrick," the old man insisted.
With great effort the consultant composed himself. It took a lot out of him, but he freed himself from his grandfather's grip, stood up and said with cold calm, "I asked you to leave, Mr. Jane. I don't think we have an appointment. I'm a busy man. We're in the middle of a murder investigation and we can't share details with the relatives of a victim anyway. Agent Lisbon will be kind enough to follow you out. I can assure you, we'll do everything in our power to find the killer of your son, sir. If you would excuse me now? I need to take a shower and get back to work."
He turned to leave.
"Remarkable. Truly remarkable. I must compliment you on your formidable self-command, Patrick," Jonathan said completely unperturbed by the display. The younger man had stopped in his tracks. "Unfortunately for you, this won't work with me at all, my boy. I'm a psychiatrist. I've studied the human mind most of my life. Whatever you'll come up with won't faze me in the least. I've accepted you into my family and I'll stick by you from now on, no matter what. That's how families work, Patrick," he explained calmly.
"Yeah sure. So Alex wasn't family I assume? Or at least it obviously didn't apply to him, because I sure as hell NEVER heard anything about you and your picture-book-family from him," the young Jane spat.
His grandfather looked at him with a sad expression. "I assure you that we weren't the ones who cut the ties. I have no way of proving it to you, so you have to take my word on it, but Alexander left us and prevented any further contact. We tried to find him many times, even hired a private investigator at some point. But you know your father, Patrick. He was a clever and sneaky man. He didn't want to be found and he accomplished that."
He paused for a moment. "I'm not saying that we are the perfect family. Something like this simply doesn't exist. But we love each other and take care of each other. Sometimes we do it in stupid ways like you witnessed today, when your uncle decided to act without thinking. But usually our hearts are in the right place."
He stepped closer to his grandson, deeming him at least a bit more accessible, and put a hand on his uninjured arm. "And Matthew will come around, I promise you that. After your grandmother is through with him, he'll see reason." He searched out the other's eyes and added softly, "You won't destroy my family, Patrick, you'll enrich it."
The blond man blinked back tears furiously but couldn't stop two from escaping. He looked at the old man with such yearning, it nearly broke Jonathan's heart. He pulled his grandson into a hug and reassured him further. "You'll always have a place with us from now on. And your girlfriend as well. Now I suggest, you clean up a bit and see a doctor. That arm of yours doesn't look good. Okay?"
Patrick nodded against his chest. He was released shortly after and trudged off in the direction of the changing rooms without a word.
Jonathan Jane turned his attention towards Teresa. "Has he ever gotten any real professional help? He seems so wounded and yet so strong." He sighed.
"I really don't think it's my place to tell, sir. He's very private and we should respect that. Maybe he'll get comfortable enough around you at some point and divulge more about his past. But I won't betray his trust. It's very hard earned, believe me," Lisbon replied.
"Thank you for your candidness, Teresa. I guess, it's just my professional curiosity rearing its ugly head. Well, that and genuine concern for my grandchild. I promise, I won't pester you again. He'll talk when he's ready. In the meantime we'll just have to continue to show him how much we care about him. Right, my dear?"
She nodded. "Sir? May I ask you something?"
"Of course, anything."
"You really plan to keep your promise and accept him into the fold, don't you? Because if you aren't 100% serious about this, I would have to ask you to get the hell out of here. If you let him down, I'm not sure I'll be able to put the pieces back together again. I love him with all my heart. I won't allow you to hurt him," she declared.
Jonathan looked at her with seriousness. "I give you my word, Agent Lisbon. I will do everything in my power to stay true to it. I might only have known him for less than a day, but he already has a place in my heart. He is special, I can see that. And precious, both to you and to my wife and me."
He smiled fondly. "You should have seen her yesterday evening. She was so happy. I mean, we are rather contented people in general, but this news was really great, as strange as it might sound to you, considering that you had to inform us of our son's death. But Alexander has been a sour spot for all of us and for so many years. In a way, it was actually a relief to finally know something definite about his fate." He swallowed audibly. "And then to learn that he's managed to create something so beautiful. And having a chance to get to know our grandchild – it's like we suddenly got a chance for some kind of reconciliation after all these years."
He searched her eyes. "We won't spoil this, I promise you that. And we'll set Matt straight as well. He won't come near Patrick until he's seen reason and is willing to apologize wholeheartedly. I'm truly sorry he hurt and humiliated him in front of his colleagues. It's unforgivable. But I hope we can all work through it. As family."
Lisbon nodded but had to warn the older man. "I'll see what I can do, but you are aware that there were 15 or 20 witnesses, most of which are law enforcement officers, who saw your son attack someone they will deem one of their own? Patrick might not have too many friends in the DA's office, but most of the staff here like him well enough."
Pride was visible in her face as she continued. "He might act like a jerk at times, but he closes cases and he's always willing to assist the other teams. He is a very capable interrogator. An expert when it comes to cracking tenacious perps. And you should see him with the maintenance crew. I'm sure, half the female cleaners are in love with him, and some of the male ones as well, come to think of it." She smiled warmly. "He can be very charming and courteous. He has a way with people, when he's not out to annoy them. There's a reason he was so successful playing crowds in his former life. And you should see him at our charity balls. I'm sure he's raised more funds for the CBI than anyone else in the history of the Bureau."
She paused, pulled her thoughts back to the more serious matter at hand, took a step closer to the older man and looked at him intently. "So you will understand that there are a lot of people who won't like the fact that he was humiliated like that in public. And frankly, before I see with my own eyes that your son is truly repentant, I'm not willing to hush this up either," she concluded with a determined expression.
"I understand that, Agent. It's your prerogative as a leader to take care of your own. And Matthew brought this onto himself. If he has to pay the price for his foolishness, then so be it. But if at all possible, I would like to avoid this ruining his whole career. You know he's a district attorney, don't you?"
"All the more reason for him to know better, sir. But I'm pretty sure Patrick won't press charges, if that is any consolation," Teresa answered.
"No, I won't," Patrick agreed. He'd reentered the gym after a quick shower and had heard most of the last part of the conversation. He was dressed in his usual three-piece-suit again. "Probably had ADA Ardiles as his source of information. Can't blame him in that case. And let's be honest here. He wasn't too far off the truth in his description of me. Though he's dead wrong about the rest. My intentions towards your family are pure, I assure you, sir."
"Don't call me 'sir,' please. I'm your grandfather. No reason to be so formal. Jonathan will be fine until you're comfortable enough to use something more familial. And though I do not know how my son described you, I'm sure it wasn't even close to the truth. But I appreciate the fact that you are willing to clear this up without involving the authorities," Jonathan said with warmth and a friendly wink at Lisbon.
"As I said, I'm not out to harm your family. I'll keep my distance. I promise you that. Maybe, if it's alright with your son, you'll allow me to attend Alex' funeral. I think I would like to get some kind of closure."
"Don't be ridiculous, Patrick. What's this talking about keeping distance? Complete nonsense. We're not going to let you out of our clutches again, my boy." He approached his grandson and stood before him, taking him in with his full attention. "As a matter of fact, we'll be staying in Sacramento for a while, so we'll get the chance to spend some time with you and to arrange the service for our son, for your father, together. If Matt doesn't accept that, then I'm afraid he'll be the one who has to keep his distance for a while." He patted Patrick's left arm.
"Jane? How's your arm? You should see Gloria," Lisbon chimed in.
"Yes, yes. I'll do that. Don't worry, I'm fine. Why don't you take Jonathan up to wherever Elisa might be? I'll be by later." Patrick tried to assuage her.
"Oh yeah. That's really reassuring. If I had gotten a dime for every time you said you were fine when you obviously aren't, I'd be as rich as Walter Mashburn by now," she muttered.
"Ah, but then again, you wouldn't have managed to accumulate such riches. You would have spent it all on perfectly charitable causes," he teased her.
"Yeah, like your hospital bills…" she teased him back.
He chuckled and stepped over to her. He bent down to her and whispered in her ear, "I'm alright, Teresa, really. I'll be a good boy and let Gloria fix me up. Just go upstairs and please don't worry." As an afterthought he breathed a quiet "Love you," in her ear, before he nodded in Jonathan's direction and left the gym.
TBC
A/N: Thanks for all the nice reviews I got for the last chapter. I really appreciate it. And to those who think they're not good at the whole giving feedback stuff - a simple word of encouragement helps as well. For me it's just nice to know that people read and enjoy what I'm posting.
