Chapter 12

Thanks for all the follows, reviews and favorites. I really appreciate it. I'm having fun with writing past White Orchids of their life afterwards.

Jane woke up a couple days later after the appointment still amazed at the woman beside him, his wife, his savior. He loved having her home with him now instead of her going to work. He didn't mind taking care of her; it was his job now. After years of hurting her and focusing on his revenge, now she was his everything and their child would be his fulfillment in life. He still couldn't believe the precious gift he was given, marrying his best friend and becoming a family. He never thought this was possible again. Yes, sometimes he got a little too protective and she got annoyed and sent him off with errands. He didn't mind because he knew she was safe at home. She wasn't doing the job he so feared would take her away from him. She stirred a bit and soon woke up noticing his gaze. She turned towards him. "Are you watching me sleep?"

"I've been doing that since we first got together. And now you ask me several months later." Jane reminded.

"I just realized now completely. Someone else is waking up." Lisbon placed her hand on her stomach. "The baby's kicking." Jane placed his hand on her stomach. "She's strong." He smiled and placed his hand on Lisbon's.

"Oh, you know so." Lisbon smirked.

"Yes, but I'm still keeping an open mind." Jane grinned.

"We can easily solve that by finding out." Lisbon stated.

"No, I want to find out when the baby comes. Remember, they didn't know a long time ago. Are you getting impatient, woman?" Jane questioned.

"No, I'm okay. It's just that most people find out." Lisbon stated.

"We're not most people." Jane grinned.

"We're not. This is nice. I thought not going to work everyday would drive me crazy but I kind of like it." Lisbon realized she said taking her hand off her stomach and slowly getting out of bed.

"I like it too." Jane admitted taking his hand back "Oh, your brother called me yesterday."

"Which one?" Lisbon asked. It made her happy her brothers and Jane got along. She was surprised her brothers approved of him so readily. It was great to have Tommy's help a couple months before.

"Stan."Jane admitted.

"Why did he call you?" Lisbon admitted.

"He said he wants to finish helping me with whatever I have left on the house. He apologized he didn't come to help earlier. He's been swamped with other jobs. So, he's going to help me paint, since it's not safe for you." Jane confessed.

"Is his whole family coming?" Lisbon asked.

"No, just him. I believe he did mention he's coming back for the Annie and Wylie's party with the whole family. He's coming later this afternoon."

"Oh,why didn't he tell me?" Lisbon frustratedly said. "I don't have the guest room ready."

"He decided at the last minute." Jane admitted. "I'll get it ready, dear."

"I keep thinking about Alexandra. She must be lonely. She has nobody." Lisbon admitted.

"That was nice of you to offer her a ride. You're always trying to take care of everyone." Jane observing. "So, any other jobs before I go out to the house?" Jane grinned.

"I'm going to put you to work on the crib."Lisbon grinned. "We really need to get things ready. And tell me ahead of time when Stan's coming."

"I'd be delighted to, my queen." Jane grinned. "I'll mention it." Lisbon glared at him at his pet name for her.

"You told me not to call you princess, queen is more fitting for you anyway." Jane grinned getting up. "First, I'll make breakfast fit for one, dear."

Lisbon received a call from Alex, the girl she met at the medical clinic in that morning after the appointment. She was surprised the girl called and didn't expect it. She didn't want to stereotype her but from her experience as a cop, kids in group homes were generally getting in trouble and parents didn't know how to handle them or the parents couldn't care for them. She experienced arresting these kids when she worked in San Francisco before coming to CBI. Those kids were plain obstinate or troublemakers. When she met Alex the girl seemed quiet and nice. She was scared about going to an appointment.

"Hello, Teresa. Is this a bad time?"

"No, I'm just having a good time watching Patrick attempting to put together a crib." Lisbon said sitting on the couch. Jane was in the middle of the floor reading instructions with parts of their new crib. She offered to help but he insisted to put it together by himself. Stan called her and said he was on his way from Chicago to help Jane out. She quickly reprimanded him for not telling her sooner, but she realized she appreciated him with the help.

"Oh, you have all your supplies." Alex noted.

"No, not yet. My niece and friend of ours is planning a baby shower for us. We're getting some things then." Lisbon admitted.

"You said I could call you to talk." Alex said nervously.

"Yes, I did. Do you want us to pick you up? I don't know what the rules are there."

"Sure, Teresa. I like you and your husband. Brenda's kind of tough." Alex admitted.

"Would you like me to pick you up at around noon. We can either go somewhere or pick something up for lunch."

"I'd like that, Teresa." Alex stated.

"See you then." Lisbon said.

"Bye."

"Who was that?" Jane asked pausing his work. He had a couple of sides done on the crib and put the other parts aside. He then got up and joined Lisbon on the couch.

"Alex. She wants to talk." Lisbon admitted putting her phone back in her pocket.

"I'm surprised she called."
"I know. I don't know, she needs somebody to support her. I don't know why I feel the need to talk to her."

"It's because you're a good person and want to to help people and being a sort of mentor to a girl would be a good way to reach out and help someone without being in danger." Jane confessed. He could relax better that way.

"That's why you're happy I'm on maternity leave." Lisbon said a little annoyed.

"I'm not going to deny that, I'm happy you're not working right now. You're not in the throes of danger everyday with your job." Jane confessed.

"I know, but I still love my job, Jane. But I realize now it's not just me to think about. It's you and our child. I want to keep safe for that reason." Lisbon realized.

"You're going to pick up Stan?" Lisbon asked.

"I'll take care of it, dear."

"Tell him, I apologize for not coming. I just need to do this today."

"He'll understand, we'll go stright to the cabin to work. You'll see him tonight."

Lisbon arrived at the home and decided she should go inside. She went to a check-in desk where a receptionist was working. "How may I help you?"

"I'm here to pick up Alex." Lisbon stated.

"You need to be a little more specific. There are several kids named Alex here. Girl or Boy"

"Short, Blonde girl." Lisbon described. She didn't want to label Alex as pregnant.

"Ah, yes, Alex social worker wants to speak to you before. Go ahead and go in the office." Donna the receptionist, pointed to the office and she cally by phone. "Ms. Jennings, she's here."

"Oh, of course." Lisbon stated as she made her way towards a office with the door etched with the name Brenda Jennings on the window. Lisbon knocked on the door. "Come in." A woman's voice yelled to her. Lisbon opened the door and noticed a short haired black haired woman with glasses waiting at the desk. "Hello. You look familiar."Brenda observed Lisbon as Lisbon sat down in front of the chair at the desk.

"How is that so?" Lisbon wondered.

Brenda looked closely at Lisbon. "I've seen you. Why are you interested in Alex Fields? You're the one she met the other day."

"Teresa , she called me today and said she wanted to talk." Lisbon admitted. "I feel sorry for her. She seems to need friends." Lisbon stated. She didn't exactly know the answer she was looking for and why she wanted to help the girl. She didn't know her. Maybe her parental instincts were kicking in from the years looking after her brothers and they were coming back with her becoming a mother in a couple of months. She didn't really know why she wanted to be involved with this girl. She had never done it in the past. Jane was most likely the one involved with children they came across in their investigations. She remembered him connecting to the children, the delight in his eye he would get possibly because he was remembering his own daughter.

"It's hard not to feel sorry for the children here. There's a lot of unfortunate stories here with the kids, including Alex. Some of these kids are on wayward paths and can't all be helped." Brenda described and paused and looked at Lisbon once more. "I know where I have seen you. You were one of the agents that brought down the Blake Association. " Lisbon jumped at the mention. How would this woman know about that? Of course, she would know, it was on the news for several weeks including that Gale Bertram was Red John. Brenda continued. "I used to work in California. You're Teresa Lisbon."

"Yes, I am. Though I'm married now. Does Alex get out of the home much?" Lisbon said getting back to the topic of Alex.

"No, we take care of the children here as best as we can. We're not necessrily a school. We can't give them field trips unless it's needed like appointments for Alex. We have to be very careful with letting them go with just anybody. You seem like a good person. We try to encourage outside friendships at times as long as the person is checked."

"I understand if you have to look into my background more."Lisbon admitted. Lisbon knew there could be a possible background check for people wanting to spend time with a child within the system. She was willing to do one, if needed.

"Yes. You used to work with that psychic,right? What was his name?" Brenda remembered. Lisbon wanted to run now. She didn't want to divulge into the past history right now. It was in the past now, and she and Jane wanted to look to the future instead.

" 's actually not a psychic. There's no such thing as psychics." Lisbon repeated Jane's words she had heard countless of times to people who thought otherwise.

"Patrick Jane. Is that right?" Brenda asked.

"Yes. He's my husband. Can we get back to Alex?" Lisbon asked seriously. They may need to look into Jane and that may be an issue at some point.

"Oh, yes. You met her a couple days ago at the medical clinic." Brenda stated.

"Yes, I did. I offered her a ride." Lisbon admitted. "My husband was there with me as well."

"She told me about the couple she had met at the clinic. Are you still an agent?" Brenda asked.

"Yes, I am, I work for the FBI here in Austin, though at the moment I am on maternity leave." Lisbon stated truthfully.

"You seem like a trustworthy person. I will let you take Alex. How long do you plan to have her?"

"However long she can be gone. I can bring her back anytime."

"Have her back by 8:00."

"I'll do that." Lisbon admitted.

"I'll take you to her room and see if she's ready." Brenda said leading Lisbon out the office. Lisbon followed the woman to the elevator. Brenda pushed the up button and then the women went inside. Brenda pushed the 4 button. "Why do you want to be her friend?" Brenda asked while waiting in the elevator.

"I don't know. She seemed lonely." Lisbon admitted.

"You're right, she is lonely. She doesn't really communicate with the others here or they won't talk with her. Most of the teenagers have discliplinary 's quiet most of the time. She doesn't really talk about how she got into her situation." Brenda admitted. Lisbon didn't really like how Brenda referred to being pregnant as being a situation. It was beautiful experience, even though there were some annoyances she could do without. But she was bringing life to this world. It was her and Jane's miracle she never thought she would have. This baby was definitely a light out of their darkness they experienced through the years.

Lisbon observed the rooms through the building and finally arrived at a door with two names on it. One was Alex's name. Brenda knocked on the door. "Alex, Teresa Jane is here." The door opened revealing Alex. Another girl was in the bed sleeping. "Hi, Teresa. I'm ready." She grabbed her bag and followed the two women out towards the elevator. "You have a good time with Teresa." Brenda admitted. "Call me when you're done." Brenda told Alex. She then turned to Lisbon looked at her. "You won't mind if we check you out."

"No, I don't." Lisbon admitted.

Lisbon led Alex out to her car and both of them got in. Lisbon drove to the a little cafe favorited by her and Jane and the same one she took Annie. Some people looked at them strangely. Lisbon ignored them. "Teresa, where's your husband?" Alex asked.

"Oh, he's working on our house he's been building for us out in the country. He's painting and working on the nursery today. I can't be there while he's painting."

"That's really great. It sounds romantic."

"It is." Lisbon admitted. "Now that I think of it." Lisbon smiled. "My brother, Stan is helping him from Chicago."

"Oh, so I'm disturbing your time with your family now." Alex stated regretfully.

"It's okay. It was kind of a last minute plan for Stan. I need to get out anyway."Lisbon confessed.

" I don't really talk to the kids at the home. Some of them are too wild. A lot of them get arrested."

"I'm sorry."

"I was surprised you are expecting your first baby. Most people have kids when they're in their 20s and 30s. Not that I'm saying you're old." Alex realized.

"It's okay. For years, my job being a cop was my life and didn't have time for a personal life. I kind of put having a family on the backburner. I did have that hope in the back of my mind." Lisbon explained.

"How long have you and your husband been married?" Alex asked.

"A few months. Patrick and I have been friends and colleagues for years. It took a long time for us to realize our feelings. Also there were other complications." Lisbon explained. Like Red John. He was primarily the reason they couldn't get involved until just recently and that both of them were stubborn to say anything.

"Oh, that's great." Alex responded.

"So, if most of the other kids are bad,why are you there? If you don't mind me asking." Lisbon wondered.

"I'm an orphan. I don't have any place to go. My parents died when I was seven. The police think it was gang violence. We didn't live in such a good neighborhood. They put me right away in foster care and homes. I ended up with foster parents who weren't very good. I took care of the younger kids. A lot of the foster parents were doing it for the money. Sme kids went to good families but I didn't." Alex narrated. Lisbon compared this situation like herself taking care of her brothers without parents.

"My mother died when I was 12. My father couldn't handle caring for my brothers and me, so I had to be both mother and father for my brothers." Lisbon admitted. She didn't know why she decided to share so much information to this girl. In the past she wasn't very open about her past because It was too painful. "My dad then killed himself."

"That's terrible. My parents weren't bad people. They loved me." Alex admitted sadly. "I really miss them."

"You had no other relatives to take you then?" Lisbon asked.

"No, my parents were both only children and grandparents weren't around."

Meanwhile, at the cabin, Jane and Stan were painting the nursery and they planned to paint the master bedroom. Jane and Lisbon had chosen green for both rooms because of the nature related theme they planned to do. The two guys had on their old clothes. Jane had finally broke down to buy some work clothes instead of his usual suits while working on the house.

"I was surprised when Teresa said she was expecting." Stan admitted putting a paintbrush in the paint can.

"Well, I was too. She told me the night of our wedding." Jane admitted taking a brush and putting it in the paint can and started painting.

"So, when do you plan to officially move in this place?" Stan asked. "You've done a great job on it."

"I've had some help on it, I hired a couple of guys. Tommy and Annie came a couple months ago. I'll think we'll move into it as soon as possible after we finish the painting and getting the furniture will be selling her house afterwards. I might plan to add on to it at some point, for now I think just remodeling what's here will be good enough for now. I just bought some fencing to try to put around the pond. I know that will a concern in the future when the baby gets older." Jane narrated.

"Wow, that's great. I was wondering about the pond, having four kids, that was my first concern. This is quite the place out here in the country. It seems so nice and peaceful."

It is definitely peaceful. I really wanted to do the work myself on the house. I don't know if Teresa has said anything to you about how we met and about who I was in the past." Jane wondered.

"Bits and pieces of it, but not much. I know you were her consultant for years when she worked in California."

"I lost my previous family to a serial killer because of something I said on TV and I worked with her basically for the reason finding that killer."

"She mentioned that part. I would probably do the same thing. My family is the most important thing in my life." Stan admitted.

"When I lived in Malibu I bought a fancy house with the money I earned from basically lying to people as a psychic. So, this house I want to build it with honest work myself."

"That's a good way to look at it. I know I'm not perfect and haven't always been. I want to honestly remodel my family's house and share that with my family. It certainly wasn't the easiest life with our father, but with Teresa's determination to raise my brothers and me all of us ended up okay. We may not have always kept in contact with each, but we will be there for each other in the end. I'm glad she's getting her happiness in the end with you and your child."

"Where's Teresa now?" Stan wondered.

"She's actually with a teenage girl she met a couple days ago at the clinc. She's pregnant as well and the girl wanted to talk to her. Teresa feels the need to help her and be a friend to her. The girl is in the home and has no one."

"That sounds like T wanting to help people." Stan commented. "She's always taking care of everyone. She really was there for us. I knew she had to strike up on her own. She needed her own life. At first I was upset with her leaving I realized. She likes to take care of everyone."

"That's indeed. She took me in and gave me a job even if it was only because of the nudging of the boss at the time. I know at first she wasn't willing, but she told me to clean up and gave me a purpose which helped me when I realized I could use my skills for good. She's helped me a lot along the way. I know I haven't been perfect to her, but she never gave up on me and I'm very happy with my life with her now."

"I'm glad." Stan responded and the two brother-in law's continued painting as they enjoyed their time together.

Reviews are appreciated. Next chapter is definitely the Annie and Wylie's party.