Fic: New Beginnings and Old Endings, Chapter 9 (SGA/The Mentalist, Evan Lorne / Patrick Jane)
Title: New Beginnings and Old Endings, Chapter 9
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis / The Mentalist (Crossover)
Pair: Evan Lorne / Patrick Jane
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Summary: Lorne is trying to settle into his new life, but it`s really not much calmer than his old one. Wrong place and wrong timing lead to a chance encounter in the middle of a crime scene.
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Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 (NC-17) Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Evan grinned at his own reflection and re-set the fake moustache. Little bit of wax to curl up the ends and he would look like a stereotypical movie villain. He picked up the small note and re-read it once again, then flipped it over and read the other side.
PS. We got a new case, but call me when you’ve tried the moustache.
Under the short sentence was a phone number.
It had taken a while before he had even noticed the writing on the other side, but it had taken his thoughts into an unpleasant direction. He had avoided contacting his family ever since he had come to Sacramento, and he had postponed it every time it had crossed his mind.
He looked down at the note, and let his conscience nag at him for a few minutes. Once the guilty voice had died down, Evan sat down on the edge of his bed and picked up the phone. He tapped the familiar number and hoped the old one was still valid.
After almost a minute, the call was picked up.
“Hello.”
“Cathy?”
“Who’s there?”
“The one, who used to confiscate your Barbies when you got too out of control.”
“Evan?” The person in the other end sounded stunned. “It is you, right?”
“Yeah. Why are you answering mom’s phone?”
“She’s outside with the kids.”
“How are they?”
“Mom’s fine, I’m fine and the boys are… Well, fine when they’re not too busy being overactive, whiney, demanding, loud or temperamental.”
“Just like their mom…”
“Remember what I did when you hid my Barbies?” She chuckled. “Almost a minute.”
“What?”
“We’ve been talking for almost a minute, this is the longest conversation we’ve had in years. So what’s up? Do you need a kidney or something like that?”
“My kidneys are working fine, thank you very much, and can’t I just call my family without you questioning my motives?”
“Nope, so spit it out. Are you still in Colorado?”
“No, I’m…” Evan’s hands were sweating and he grabbed a getter hold of the phone. “That’s actually why I’m calling, I’m in California.”
“You’re here?” The shock was audible in her voice.
“Not in San Francisco. I’m in Sacramento.”
“Why Sacramento? Or is it that hush-hush stuff again, that you can’t talk about?”
“Nothing like that. I left the Air Force.”
“You left?”
“They offered me an honorable discharge and I accepted.”
“You left?”
“Yeah.”
“You really left-left?”
“And then I turned left, why are you repeating that?”
“How many times did we tell you to get out of there while you’re still alive and got all your limbs intact? Or are they all intact?”
“They’re all right here.”
“What about…?”
“What?”
“Remember that old war wound Mr. Thornton from next door always wanted to show off when we were kids?”
“Yeah, I remember…” Evan grimaced at the memory. “Everything’s fine and in working order down there too.”
“Anyway, we’ve been telling you that ever since you joined, and now you just left and didn’t even tell us. And it’s not like you don’t have our numbers, even mom has a cellphone now-”
“Cellphone? Didn’t she always say she wouldn’t get one as long as her landline works?”
“Think back: How long ago was that?”
“Did you teach her how to use it?”
“Yeah, and I even got her to try e-mail.”
“Mom uses e-mail?”
“You don’t need to sound so surprised and you still haven’t said why you left the Air Force.”
“It happened pretty fast-”
“And why are you in Sacramento?”
“I… It’s… If I told you I saw a man stabbed to death and I had to stay for the investigation, would you stop asking why I was here in the first place?”
“Stabbed to death?”
“Yeah. Wrong place and wrong time.”
“You or the guy, who got stabbed?”
“Both of us. But they caught the guy, who did it.”
“How much do you get for a stabbing?”
“Death, and he handled it all by himself. Can you go and get mom on the phone?”
“One more question.”
“What?”
“When are you coming here?”
“I don’t know, I was planning-”
“Wait a minute.” His sister’s voice disappeared for a while, then it was replaced by another, lower and older voice.
“Who’s this?”
“Mom? It’s me.”
“Evan? Where are you calling from, are you coming here?”
“Yes, Sacramento and yeah.”
“When?”
“Soon. I don’t know when exactly.”
“Are you on a leave?”
“No, I was honorably discharged.”
“You left the Air Force?”
“Mom, we already went through all that with Cathy. I left and I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Well, why are you in Sacramento?”
“We talked about that too.”
“And you don’t want to talk about that either?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I’ll get back to that when you get here.”
“Mom-”
“When, not if.”
“I was going to come, but-”
“I don’t care. If you’re in the same state, there’s no excuse not to come home. Or do you have a new job there that you can’t leave?”
“No-”
“Good. Then you’ll call me when you get here? We’ll come and pick you up.”
“Sure, mom.” Evan sighed. He knew better than to try and argue with the females of his family. “I’ll gotta tie some loose ends here, but I’ll call you soon.”
“When is soon?”
“Tomorrow?”
“And you’ll be here when?”
“Hmmm… The day after?”
“Lovely, we’ll see you then. I have to go now, I think the boys are up to no good-”
“Can’t Cathy handle them herself?”
“She read some book about parenting and I’ve had to take care of discipline ever since.” Her statement was accompanied by a loud crash of glass somewhere in the background. “I’ll have to go. Bye bye honey.”
“Bye, mom.” He said, but he was already talking to a dead connection. He put down the receiver and leaned back to lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling and pondering the situation.
He was going home.
That part of the situation he could handle. Other factors would require more pondering.
He didn’t consider himself to be pathetic enough to stay in Sacramento just waiting hopefully if a certain blond, grieving widower decided he wanted to try the other side of the fence. But he also wasn’t sure if leaving Sacramento would look like he was giving up all hope.
He was so wrapped up in his mental pep talk, that he jumped up when the phone started ringing. Lorne picked up the receiver and cleared his throat.
“Lorne.”
“So it is you.”
“Yeah, it’s me.” Evan grinned as he recognized the voice. “I don’t have roomie, so there not much room for error.”
“If I wasn’t in such a good mood, I would sic the cops on that receptionist, who put my call through. He was already high when I left that little gift for you, but now he could hardly even speak.”
“He wasn’t that bad when I saw him… Are you sure?”
“I’ve seen enough dragon chasers to know the signs.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“People are my specialty.” Lorne could almost hear the grin that accessorized the statement. “But I’m too busy to bother with that kid. If he’s like that everyday, he’ll get fired soon enough anyway.”
“How’s your new case?”
“Better than I thought. We don’t have the whole picture yet, but we’re making progress. That’s always a nice place to be.”
“I know the feeling.” Evan leaned back on the bed, propping his head against the pillows. “I made some progress too.”
“On what front?”
“Personal. I did some shopping, clothes and stuff like that. I look like a civilian now. Even you couldn’t tell I’m just off the Air Force.”
“It’s not just about the clothes, it’s about how you carry them. I could still tell.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. But if you were in your old clothes, anyone else would say you look like a beach bum gone haywire.”
“My clothes weren’t that bad.”
“It’s the sign of people coming back from the service.”
“That’s what they said at the store. It was kinda nice to blend in to the crowd without the uniform.” Evan chuckled. “And I called my mom and sister too. That was another step forward.”
“Yes, mother Elizabeth and sister Catherine and two nephews.”
“How the hell did you know that?”
“I’ve read you file, remember? Or as much of it as we got. How long has it been since you’ve talked to them?”
“Couple years… I said I’d go visit them.”
“When are you going?”
“The day after tomorrow.” Evan hesitated, but couldn’t help continuing. “I could postpone it for a while if you… if you want.”
“No, actually I think that a really good idea.”
“It is?” The sense of disappointment was harder to swallow than Evan would have predicted.
“Yeah. I think it would be good for both of us to think where we’re going. You’re just out of the Air Force and you’re re-connecting with your family, and I’m… I’m trying to ease back to… normal life, I guess. Dating hasn’t really been on my list of priorities for a while and… It’s hard to get back in the saddle.”
“I can imagine.”
“How long are you going to stay with them?”
“I don’t know yet. I don’t even know where I’m going to be living, it’s all pretty much open for now.”
“When you’ve done visiting them, at least for a while…” Jane’s normal confident tone was becoming a bit uncertain, and his voice lowered. “Maybe you could visit me.”
“Visit you?”
“Like I said we both need to consider some things, but… I got a perfectly good guest room, and when we’re done you could come here so we can compare notes.”
“Should I take notes?” Evan grinned from ear to ear.
“No, I mean… This isn’t easy.” He stayed quiet for a while. Only the faint sound of breathing indicated that he was still in the other end of the line. “But I’m trying. I want to try.”
“That’s…” Evan tried to wipe of the embarrassing smirk off his face, but couldn’t do it. “I’m not trying to push you or anything-”
“You’re not. At least not too much.”
“Am I gonna see you before I leave?”
“I’m busy with the case, but I think I’ll get out of here sooner or later, probably before seven. I could introduce you to some of Sacramento’s best steaks.”
Chapter 10