A/N: For all of you out there who like Jane's grandparents - here's another one featuring Elisa (the rest of the shopping trip), and more family business is coming up in the following chapters.
No warnings.
They started their shopping for real after that, and true to his word, Patrick turned out to be the perfect shopping guide. Like Teresa had assumed, he showed impeccable taste and had an eye for the kind of styles and colors most suitable for the women in his company. Accordingly Lisbon ended up buying three new tops and two pairs of pants instead of one blouse and even Elisa, who'd originally planned to only purchase something suitable for the funeral, went on a real shopping spree.
Then the two women teamed up and persuaded Patrick to buy some casual clothes for himself. To Teresa's utter delight they'd been able to force him into at least a dozen jeans under their critical and appreciative eyes – at least where the younger woman was concerned, though the old lady had made some rather juicy comments as well. He bought the pair both women agreed on, and got a hoodie and a sweater too. At Teresa's pointed look he also grabbed some simple t-shirts in several colors.
The three had a late lunch at the mall and chatted lightly until Elisa said, "Saw you on the news this morning by the way, Patrick. Seems like you nailed the director of the CBI to the cross last night."
The consultant cast an uncomfortable look in Teresa's direction before he answered carefully, "I didn't nail him. He did that all by himself. I might however have provided the hammer."
"But was that smart, dear? Isn't he an important man here in town?" his grandmother inquired.
"Well, the jury is still out on that one. Lisbon thinks I made a big mistake, which will probably cost me my job. I on the other hand am convinced Bertram won't survive this. How was the media's opinion?" Patrick asked.
The old lady perceived the situation at once. There'd obviously been some kind of fight between her grandson and his girlfriend about the matter, so she decided to tread carefully. "Right now it seems like the public isn't very happy with that man – unappealing guy by the way. A lot of questions are being asked too about previous decisions he's made," she provided diplomatically.
Teresa chimed in at that point, "No need to step gently, Elisa. Patrick and I agree to disagree on the subject, don't we?" Her smile appeared a bit forced when she looked at her lover. "So just give us your honest impression."
Mrs. Jane chuckled. "Alright, my dear. In plain words: At the moment they love our Patrick here and hate that politician. They showed a clip from some press conference last week – why didn't you tell us about that, Patrick? – where Bertram promised to use that donation to enhance public security, and it didn't go over well with the press, that he lost the most important witness in such a high profile case." She took a breath and grabbed her grandson's hand gently and squeezed it before she went on, "I'm afraid, they divulged the circumstances of Alexander's murder to the public as well. Got quite a bit of extra sympathy for you, but I'm sure you'd have preferred that particular information to stay hidden."
Patrick had blanched at that. "Damn. I hope, we won't be run over by the media on Monday."
"Oh we will." Teresa sighed. "I hope you're ready to deal with that, Patrick."
He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll do what I have to do. And even if you feel like saying 'I told you so,' I'm still convinced it was the right decision to call Bertram out on his mistakes. He'll go down over this – mark my words." Patrick spoke with conviction, but tried his best not to gloat in any way. Elaborating on his arguments, he added, "His only possible way out would be to try and discredit me. But he can't do that, because whatever he says about me would automatically discredit him as well, since he either condoned my actions or openly supported them at the time. Furthermore, I have public opinion and sympathy on my side. And considering a certain contract, I have some additional leverage over him, wouldn't you agree?"
"Maybe you're right," Lisbon conceded. "I'm still not fully convinced, but you present a strong case – I can admit that much. And I know you have the mind of a strategist – I'm just not sure you're really using it in this instance because this is personal." She cast him a serious look. "But I'll rest my case for the time being. I certainly don't want to fight about this with you anymore. And Patrick? I hope you know that I'll have your back, even if I don't fully agree with your methods."
He smiled warmly at her. "You have no idea how much I appreciate that. You've always had my back ever since we met, and I'm aware of the fact that I not only made it exceedingly difficult for you at times but that there were many occasions where you did so against your better judgment. Thank you, Teresa. It means a lot to me." He bent over to her and kissed her.
"Well, you two lovebirds, I'm happy you seem to have found some middle ground. And I'll make sure to use an extra five minutes on my hair on Monday for the cameras," Elisa said slightly amused. But then she turned serious. "Can't say I'm that happy about this whole affair turning into a public event, but it can't be helped I guess. But in light of this you might want to rethink your position about the funeral, Patrick. I know you don't want to say anything but couldn't that be used against you?"
The blond man pondered the question for a moment before he shook his head and answered, "What would I possibly say? I could either tell some outrageous lies about my deep sorrow at the loss of my beloved father, which I could probably pull off but really don't want to do. Or I could stay closer to the truth and risk losing the public's sympathies."
He paused to give the two women the chance to let it sink in, before he started with his real argument. "Not speaking at all on the other hand gives the press and hence the public the opportunity to construe their own perceptions of the truth without me lying in any way. They could either interpret it as me being too distraught to speak or even cope with yet another Red John tragedy in my life, or they could construe it in many different ways closer to the actual truth. Why should I anticipate their decision on the matter?"
After a short moment of contemplation his grandmother said, "That's sound reasoning and I most certainly don't want you to feel pressured into speaking and lying. It will be a short and simple service anyway. Jonathan has agreed to say a few words, I'll play Alexander's favorite lullaby on the violin with my granddaughter Mary accompanying me at the piano, and that'll be it." She patted Patrick's hand.
"Now on to another, though slightly related matter: Matt, his wife Emma, and your cousins Mary and Paul will come to Sacramento tomorrow afternoon. We would like to go out for a family dinner. Are you two free to join us?"
"I don't know," her grandson answered hesitantly.
"We certainly don't have any prior engagements, Patrick. Wouldn't it be nice if your first meeting with your cousins wasn't at a funeral?" Teresa suggested gently.
He sighed heavily. "It's just that I'm not sure about meeting Matthew again. I mean, last time things got a bit out of hand and…", he looked down at his empty plate. "He doesn't like me very much and maybe there'll be another skirmish or something. Not so much chance for that to happen during a funeral…"
"I thought you'd talked, Patrick? Didn't he call you?" Elisa inquired with a puzzled expression.
"Oh yes, he called me. But I have no illusions about him liking me, Elisa. He apologized and all that, and it's alright, really. But why would he suddenly like me? His opinion of me is based on facts that still exist after all. I don't hold that against him, honestly." He pleaded with his eyes for her to believe him. "It's just that you can't force people into liking others. And I obviously rub him the wrong way. So I doubt that he wants his children to meet someone like me."
His grandmother glared at him. "Someone like you? What's that supposed to mean, Patrick? Someone strong, smart, and kind? Or someone hurt, vulnerable, and insecure?"
He seemed very embarrassed at her words and muttered, "More like someone ruthless, cruel, and manipulative."
Elisa rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, dear. Not that same old hogwash once again. You're none of those things – or well, I'll grant you the manipulative part, but who cares? And from now on I never want to hear this nonsense again, son. Are we clear on that?" She said the last part in a tone that didn't leave any room for noncompliance.
Teresa watched the scene and was a bit disappointed she couldn't read her lover well enough to pin down exactly whether he was really intimidated by the strong old lady or only humoring her, but at least he agreed to refrain from repeating those offending words about himself. She decided that it might actually be a bit of both. What she was certain about however was that he was slightly afraid of his grandfather.
Experience had taught her, that as a rule Patrick could relate much better to women than men. This held especially true for persons in a position of power. Though he always undermined any authority figure who dared to bask in their own glory – be they male or female – he worked much more efficiently and respectfully around women. Come to think of it, she herself was actually the best example for it. Madeleine Hightower was another one, whereas Minelli was the only man in a high up position she could remember ever being able to gain Patrick's honest respect – and it had been a hard earned one.
She was no therapist of course but it seemed pretty obvious that her consultant had issues related to his father, the man who'd held absolute power over him as a child and had abused that position in the worst possible ways. She suspected that his constant need to challenge male authority figures derived from this, and provoking them was Patrick's way of staying in a position of power to avoid being the helpless child ever again. She knew this was probably a very simplified description, but she found it rather convincing.
The problem with Jonathan Jane was that Patrick actually wanted the other man's approval and acceptance. Because of that he couldn't challenge his male authority, which automatically left him at a disadvantage - hence the fear he felt. She decided to share her thoughts on the matter with Patrick. Maybe knowing about his defense mechanisms would help him overcome them.
She knew there were other aspects involved as well. His fear of rejection played a major role. But those things were connected: his father's constant rejection had taught him that he wasn't good enough to be loved, or that love came at a high price with a lot of strings attached to make him worthy of it.
Once in his life he'd experienced being accepted unconditionally – when he'd met his wife. That much Teresa had learnt from her peek into his application video during the Erica Flynn case. What she'd seen had touched her deeply back then. To be honest, a few times after she'd watched that scene she'd lain awake in bed at night and allowed herself the secret thought, 'You can have that again. I'm here and I love you in spite of your faults'.
In his mind, he'd killed the only woman ever able to love him like that and that had re-enforced the teachings of his childhood and proved in hindsight that he hadn't been worthy of that kind of love in the first place.
She was only now after nearly ten years of him living with that conviction, slowly succeeding in showing him otherwise, proving that there was another woman who loved him like that, and his friends and family as well. The fact that they had had a rather big quarrel the day before without him automatically thinking she'd immediately break up with him was a very good sign in her book, even though he'd thought she'd ban him from home. Their home… yet another thing that needed to be addressed…
Teresa had been so deep in thought she'd missed the rest of the conversation between grandma and grandson Jane. She came out of her stupor to Patrick saying, "All right, a family Sunday dinner it will be. Ah, Lisbon, welcome back! You have a date tomorrow evening. Handsome guy and his pesky family. You game?"
Elisa cast him an indulgent look and chuckled. "Well you two. I've old bones and you have definitely worn me out with all that shopping. I'll take my leave now."
Patrick offered to carry her purchases to her car and Teresa told him where to meet her again afterwards.
Only when Elisa had left did the two lovers pick out Patrick's underwear. Teresa had already inspected the shop she'd chosen for this important endeavor. When he joined her there, she knew exactly what she wanted him to have. So she insisted on at least six pairs of silk boxers and since he couldn't resist her suggestive look when pointing them out to him, he just shrugged and complied. She got on her toes with a mischievous glint in her eyes and purred in his ear, "That's just such a sinful material, dear. I'm sure, they'll provide the utmost pleasure… down there."
He laughed heartily. "Well played, Lisbon. I'm proud of you. Shall we go home and test the validity of your claim?"
"Maybe later," she answered with a blasé smile and a noncommittal wave of her hand.
He pecked her on the lips and said, "You're really getting good at this. But there's the slight problem of those dilated pupils you got when thinking of me in those shorts - dead give-away. You would still have fooled just about anyone else but me of course." His expression was awfully smug and arrogant and earned him the expected slap on his arm.
They picked up a few other necessities and went home afterwards.
TBC
Reviews are almost like silk boxers - they provide the utmost pleasure... in my heart... ;-)
