Chapter 34 - Decisions

"Salmon or beef?"

Jane stopped the turquoise rim of his teacup from reaching his mouth as he frowned. Turning at Van Pelt's words he took a sip of tea as he eyed her quizzically.

"Your dinner choice at the wedding," she confirmed as they stood in the CBI break room opposite each other. She arched a self satisfied eyebrow. "Since you and the boss are dating now I'm assuming you'll be accompanying her to it. So, salmon or beef?"

A smile crept up on his lips at his colleague's victory in ensuring his attendance at her wedding. "Beef please, Grace," he replied politely. He noted her smile widen as she scribbled his choice on the notepad in her hands.

"How are preparations going? Not long to go now," he enquired.

"Good. We're pretty much there. Or at least I hope we are," she grinned. Her face illuminated with unbridled happiness. "We're still deciding on the honeymoon. Wayne wants to go to Paris but I heard Florence was beautiful. Or maybe Venice. We have a week to go so we'll need to decide soon."

"All good choices."

"Anyway, it doesn't really matter, does it? As long as I'm with Wayne it'll be great."

"He's a lucky man," Jane replied softly, touched by the look of love in her eyes for her fiancé. "Look, I know...I know I didn't exactly roll out the red carpet when I heard the news but...but I am very happy for you both. You deserve this, both of you. I'm glad you found each other again."

"Thanks to you," she replied gently. "I'm not sure we would have if you hadn't given us a little push."

Assuredly, "You would have. Might just have taken you a little longer."

She licked her lips nervously as she went to speak again and checked they were alone. Quietly, "You're a lucky man, too. You know that, don't you? You can't tell me that this whole charade with you and the boss is just a charade. You've been given your own second chance. Don't screw it up this time. And don't let her screw it up either."

As Lisbon entered the break room Van Pelt gave Jane a pointed look before she muttered a greeting to Lisbon and left the two of them alone.

"That looked intense," Lisbon observed as she fetched herself a mug of coffee. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine," he replied, mulling over Van Pelt's words. He watched Lisbon as she stirred the sugar in her coffee before licking the wooden stirrer clean.

"So, you off to the bachelor party tonight?" she smiled, turning to him.

"Hmm?" he frowned.

"Rigsby's bachelor party. It's tonight. I thought Grace was reading you the riot act about making sure he isn't stripped naked and chained to a telegraph pole somewhere."

"Well, one, I'm not going. I'd rather eat my own hand than watch Rigsby and the rest of his cop buddies perform juvenile pranks while getting drunk all night."

She smirked, "Yeah, like juvenile pranks are so beneath you."

He ignored her sarcastic comment and continued, "And two, why would I ever want to see Rigsby naked?" he smiled.

"Yeah, good point." She made a face as the vision came to her mind.

His expression turned from amusement to concern after a moment's reflection. "Your office?" he asked urgently.

She frowned before she nodded in reply to his intimated question, "Yeah, already made a sweep. Why?"

"Let's talk in there."

Ensconced in her office he came straight to the point. "The wedding – how big an affair is it?"

"Uh...quite big I think. Grace's parents are paying for a lot of it. They're pretty well off and she's...well she's their only girl. They want to push the boat out for her."

Jane nodded. Both knew Grace had a sister who killed herself when she was younger although the redhead never spoke of it and imagined her parents would want to make a fuss of their only living daughter on her special day.

"Why?" she asked.

"I take it there'll be lots of cops and CBI agents in attendance."

"I guess...she's popular and so is Rigsby around here. Why, Jane?"

"Red John, of course. He no doubt knows about it. And for all we know he could have some of his people going along as guests. We know it's entirely likely he has followers within the CBI."

A look of horror crossed her face. "Oh god! You think...you think he might make some kind of...statement at the wedding?"

"It's entirely possible, wouldn't you say? He had Bosco and his team killed in this very building, didn't he? He has a flair for the dramatic. And now that his plans for making us fall apart aren't working out for him-"

"So what do we do? We can't ask them to cancel or postpone, Jane. Not when we don't have an actual threat in place."

Glancing through her office blinds he saw Rigsby and Van Pelt flirt with each other as he stood at her desk and handed her a cup of coffee, obvious to a blind man he was hopelessly in love. "You're right, we can't."

"But we can't put them in any danger either," Lisbon sighed. "I can ask Wainwright for some added security for it. I'm sure I can talk him into that-"

"Lisbon, we don't know if he's Red John's man. And even if he isn't then who's to say additional cops or agents won't be."

She huffed in exasperation. "Then what do you suggest?"

"Leave it to me. I'll think of something." When he saw her about to open her mouth he added, "And yes, I'll tell you what it is when I do."

"You better. Should we tell them?" She nodded outside her office as Rigsby walked back to his desk, a grin across his face.

He shook his head. "What for? It's their wedding day and I might be wrong. No point in worrying them and spoiling it before we have to."

"I agree."

"And talking of Red John I'd rather keep the news about Stiles just between us for now too."

"Fine. There's not much to tell them until we know more anyway."

"Good." He smiled in her direction. "How'd you sleep last night?"

She reddened slightly and moved a few files around her desk. "Fine. You?" she replied, picking up a pen with her head down.

Instead of answering her question he asked, "Would you like to go out to dinner this evening?"

"With you?"

He rolled his eyes. "That would be the general idea since I asked you."

She nodded quickly. "Okay. I guess...I guess that would be okay. It would sell this relationship better I suppose if we went on an actual date. Where do you want to go?"

"I'll book us somewhere nice. Wear a dress."

He sat in his Citroen for a few seconds after pulling up at her condo and took a deep breath as he looked in the rear view mirror. Apart from working out a solution to Red John's possible presence and disruption of the impending wedding a lack of a case had left him ample time to dwell on Van Pelt's words to him that morning. He had quickly come to the conclusion she was right, of course. But what to do about it at this precise moment was another matter. Then he'd thought of Lisbon. Fearless. Brave. Unafraid of what Red John may bring to their door. And here he sat in his car feeling that familiar dread of what the man who ruined his life could do to him once again, gradually rising in him as he felt that spark ignite between himself and Lisbon once more. He sighed and resolved he had to somehow get a grip of himself and stop the fear overtake him. He owed her the same guts she'd shown him in their fight against him. He gripped the steering wheel and his wedding ring glinted against a shard of moonlight as a cloud passed overhead. His eyes ran over the worn gold band and he ran his thumb against the back of it. He knew every scratch, every scuff mark. He could pick it out of a line up of one hundred rings of the same shape and size with his eyes closed. It had once represented the love for his wife, their union together cut short far too quickly. Now it had the ability to represent something else. To show his commitment to the other woman he'd fallen in love with. To show her he could be courageous too. In a quick fluid motion he pulled it from his finger and stared at it for a second in his right hand before dropping it into his vest pocket.

After picking up a small bunch of flowers from the passenger seat he exited the vehicle and took a quick glance around. Her street looked deserted, the warm breeze ruffling his hair as he knocked on her front door. After a few seconds she opened it, a vision in a close fitted knee length black dress, her décolletage slightly on show through the V of her neckline. "Wow," he smiled, "you look amazing."

She blushed as he expected she would, increased when she noticed the flowers in his hand. "For you," he said as he handed them to her, his smile widening.

"You got me flowers?" she replied, her dimples on display as she smiled.

He shrugged nonchalantly and put his hands in his pockets as he kissed her cheek. "It's a date, isn't it?"

"Come in," she said, rushing ahead of him to find a vase.

He closed the door behind him as he watched her from the doorway of the kitchen, opening and closing cupboards furiously. "Maybe I should have bought you a vase to put them in too," he chuckled.

"I know I have one here somewhere...Ah! Here we go!" She collected a vase from the back of cupboard and placed water in it before placing the small bunch of white roses and carnations into it. "They're beautiful, Jane. Thank you." She added quickly, "Even if they are just for show," she smiled as she set them on her small dining table.

"Who says they're just for show?"

She ignored his remark and picked up a wrap from the back of a chair. "So, where are we off to? Better be someplace nice if I have to wear heels."

As they were seated in a terrace at an upscale Italian restaurant twinkling fairy lights surrounded them as the waiter took their drinks orders. As they picked up their menus Lisbon gasped suddenly and Jane smiled from behind his.

"Where...where's your ring?" she stammered.

"Hmm?" he asked, feigning ignorance from behind his menu.

"Jane, your wedding ring. Where is it?"

He put his menu down and smiled softly at her. "In my vest pocket."

"What's it doing in there?" she frowned.

"Well nothing much at the moment I'd presume. It is an inanimate object after all, Lisbon."

She rolled her eyes at his attempt at humour. "You took it off?" She paused and then nodded. "Oh, I see. Makes it look more real if you take your ring off while we're doing this relationship thing. Okay...I get it now."

The note of disappointment in her voice was impossible to miss. Nor was the slight tremor of her hands as she picked up her menu again as she tried to compose herself.

"I don't intend to put it back on again, Teresa. Whatever happens in the future."

She dropped her menu after a split second, her brow crinkling. "You don't?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head, his throat tightening with emotion. "Nope."

"Why not?"