Patrick Jane is invading her mind. She knew from the moment she met him that she would be affected by him. but she never thought that it would be to this degree. She'd been talking to a potential witness/suspect inside their house when it had started to rain.
He'd amazed her, speaking in circles, leading their poor subject further and further down the rabbit hole and gathering more information than she'd expected. But he did that quite often, no matter how many times she told him not to. Though she shouldn't admit it, he was comforting in his deception. She could usually count on him to spin a tale for her, and it meant that sometimes, very rarely, she could indulge in just listening to him.
He spoke fast, and part of her thought that might be to stop the lies and half-truth's from catching up, as long as he spoke fast he could outrun them. he was like a circus performer, balancing atop a precariously balanced chair. if he wavered, if he slipped then the whole illusion would fall apart and he'd come crashing down.
In the end, he was successful, and they left with more knowledge than the unfortunate subject wanted to give out. They glided out onto the wooden veranda of the woman's house.
It happened quickly, so quickly in fact that she couldn't even be sure how it happened.
Perhaps she could blame it on the rain? Instead of her hormonally charged mind being distracted by the sight of Patrick Jane getting soaked by said rain and what fun might possibly be had after such an event.
As she'd stepped down from the veranda her foot had slipped on the slick wood. She'd pitched forward with a startled gasp of air and in a brief second her body had prepared her for the worst. Her eyes blinked closed, her hands coming forward to take the brunt of the impact to protect her delicate head. Hitting the ground would hurt.
Except it didn't.
It was soft and yielding instead of hard and stubborn. Her eyes opened almost instantly and instead of looking at the ground, she was staring into his eyes. those beautiful vibrant eyes that she could see held every inch of amusement he could muster, and a tiny bit of concern. It only took a second for her brain to figure out that he must have heard her gasp and caught her.
How terribly cliché.
His mouth widened in a grin, and a low chuckle rumbled in his chest. Their faces barely inches away. if she were a little braver and a little less rigid she could have leant over and pressed her lips against his.
"Careful Lisbon."
She blinked, the barest brushing of dark lashes against pale skin as he righted her on her feet. "Thank you." she murmured, still caught off guard by his sudden closeness.
"Mind somewhere else today?"
"On the case."
The words were soft and short as she stepped out of his grip and took off towards the car.
God. she hoped he hadn't seen the thoughts inside her mind. despite the fact he claimed psychics were frauds he did have the ability to read people alarmingly well. and he was unbearable enough knowing that she considered him a friend.
She settled herself behind the wheel of their standard issue police SUV. The black sleek design a favourite for most law enforcement officials seemed rather comforting to her. Would he question further? Would this be the moment that he pressed and she fell apart and showed him everything?
But when he joined her in the car he made no mention of her near fall, or her strange behavior. Just turned the conversation elsewhere and had her chuckling within moments.
Authors note: So i hope you're all enjoying this so far :)