Apparently when I posted this chapter I was done the fic. That does not surprise me. I’d been way ahead of what I was posting, story-wise. I was a bit afraid of writing myself into a corner with the case. Which thankfully I managed not to do.
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Chapter 9
xxxxx
Lisbon was back at the CBI bright and early the next morning. She passed through security quickly. Not too many people were in yet, which always made the process easier. As she walked through the still quiet halls her thoughts drifted back to the evening before.
Bill had taken her to a sports bar not too far from the office. There`d been a basketball game on one of the televisions so they'd spent a large chunk of the evening discussing the game. Then they'd chatted about work. He'd asked her more about the CBI as she'd expected. He was also interested about the Jenkins case and about Jane. Lisbon was used to people's interest in Jane; she'd dealt with the issue for years. Jane's abilities fascinated people. If her experience over the last few days was anything to go by, it was obvious that with his increase in notoriety in the last year that fascination had only gotten worse. Still Lisbon knew the evening could have been worse. Even if he did have terrible taste in basketball teams, at least she could talk to Bill about the job, about the cases. It was a nice change from the norm. Most men she went out with looked nervous at best when they heard about her job. At worst they were intimidated or downright turned off.
All in all the two of them had a good time. Special Agent Elliot was perfectly charming, perfectly witty and perfectly nice. But Lisbon was forced to admit to herself that when it came right down to it something just felt... off. It was nothing she could put her finger on. Nice as his eyes were, sometimes they looked like they were almost devoid of expression. And it wasn't just his eyes. She'd spent a few hours with him now and she still felt like she didn't know a thing about him, beyond a few of his favourite basketball players, the fact that he was originally from New Jersey, was an only child and was apparently considering a career change.
Anne complains of feeling like she doesn’t know him, of never seeing any genuine burst of feeling from him. That is one of Billy Elliot’s problems. He’s all appearances, no substance. He’s completely insincere. And yeah, Jane wears a mask, but he lets it down enough for Lisbon to genuinely get to know him. And in my head, he was wearing it less (at least with her) as the years went on.
Or maybe she was just being paranoid. He'd certainly seemed to enjoy himself. He'd kissed her goodnight at her front door after all. The kiss had been perfectly serviceable, but she hadn't felt even the briefest hint of a spark. Lisbon sighed. It probably was just her. Really, what was wrong with her? A perfectly nice guy, cute, charming, didn't run in the other direction when he heard about her job and pretty obviously interested in her. She should have been thrilled. As it was she was just... meh. He was almost too perfect, too charming. She knew it sounded insane, but it was true. There was just nothing to him.
Still, she'd certainly been on worse dates. While this one hadn't been particularly exciting, it was the best one she'd been on in a while. Maybe she should consider a second date. If he asked her of course.
Lisbon shook her head as she approached her office. She didn't have to make up her mind right that second. It was time to focus on the case, not her rather pathetic love life. Before she could start running through what she had to do that morning her attention was caught by a movement in the bullpen. She stuck her head in curiously. It was rare that one of her team beat her in these days.
She grinned when she saw Jane sprawled on the couch tossing one of Rigsby's stress balls back and forth in his hands. "Please tell me you didn't spend the night here," she told him indulgently.
It must have been a sight that brought back memories, and one that she can’t help grinning at. Because she’s happy he’s back, even if she’s trying not to think about how it’s just temporary. She missed him, and he doesn’t seem to hate her any longer.
Jane sat up when he heard her voice. "Nope," he told her cheerfully. "My insomnia's actually gotten much better in the last year," he admitted. "Still an early riser though, and I had a thought early this morning that needed mulling over."
"Did you?" she asked him as she dropped onto the couch beside him.
Jane smiled at her. It was so easy to pretend that the falling out had never happened when she was sitting so close to him and looking happy. "I did," he confirmed.
Yeah, Jane too wants to pretend that it’s just like old times. I want to knock their heads together and make them work it out. Because their moment at the hospital was enough to break the ice between them. They’re no longer upset with each other, and they both know it. They both also kind of secretly yearn for the past relationship, though they’re not sure the other does. And they have no idea how to get there, because the moment at the hospital wasn’t quite long enough to solidify things.
Lisbon watched him a moment. Finally she nudged him with her shoulder.
"What?" he asked with exaggerated innocence.
She rolled her eyes. "Are you ever going to tell me your thought or do you want me to guess?" she asked him.
He grinned, "No I'll tell you," he told her. "So I was thinking..."
"Yes, you've told me that part already," she said dryly.
He shot her an appreciative smirk, "As I was saying, I was thinking, we've been operating under the assumption that Jenkins was being paid for the information he stole from the law firm right?"
"Yes," Lisbon said slowly. "That's true, but why would he do it if he wasn't being paid for it?"
"He wouldn't," Jane agreed. "But what if he wasn't being paid in money?"
Lisbon's eyes widened in understanding, "You mean like a favour, or a gift or something?" she asked.
"Exactly," Jane said. "But probably not a gift. It's too obvious. If it was something like that you guys'd have found it when you were looking for the money."
"But it could be something like a favour, a promotion maybe, or a connection. It could be a lot of things," Lisbon said with a sigh.
"Still, it gives us something to look for," Jane told her.
"And it probably won't involve going through stacks and stacks of financial records for the eighteenth time," Lisbon added. She leaned back against the couch, deep in thought.
See Lisbon! Look how handy Jane is being. He wants to solve your case for you to impress you! Isn’t that kind of sweet? In a strange kind of way.
Jane watched her out of the corner of his eye. Things were a lot more natural between them since the hospital. Between their brief conversation the night before and then this morning he couldn't help thinking about how much he missed just talking to her. He missed teasing her, missed the way she rolled her eyes and got annoyed. He missed the way she thought, that she seemed to get him, that she was able to challenge him. And most of all he missed the fact that she actually cared about what happened to him. It may have been selfish, but he'd missed knowing that if he'd needed her she was there. He knew he didn't deserve it, but given the way she was acting around him, Jane was beginning to let himself hope that he might be able to at least salvage their friendship.
Lisbon on the other hand was mainly thinking about the case. If Jane was right, and knowing him he probably was, then it would explain why nobody had been able to find any evidence whatsoever that Jenkins had sold the information. After all, how did you track a favour? Obviously when the rest of the team arrived they'd need to have a little team powwow to see if anyone had any ideas, beyond just going through the stacks of papers they already had. On the other hand, if Jane was right they could probably stop sorting through the endless case files that had been brought in. She smiled to herself. It was nice having Jane back, even if it was just temporary. Say what you will about his methods, his insights were usually really helpful.
She was about to say something else when her stomach growled audibly.
Jane grinned, "Still skipping breakfast on Thursdays so you can grab an extra twenty minutes of sleep huh?" he asked.
He is charmed by this. OBVIOUSLY. (Shut up. This is how I work when I write these things...)
Lisbon got flustered, "Yeah well," she started to explain.
Before she could launch into her defence full out Jane dropped a paper bag into her lap. "Here," he told her.
Lisbon glanced at him in surprise before slowly opening the top of the bag. "You got me a bear claw?" she asked quietly, staring down at the treat.
He shrugged. "Didn't want you getting cranky an hour from now because your blood sugar was low," he told her.
She nudged him in the shoulder again. "Thank you," she said. No one had brought her breakfast since, well, since Jane had left actually. Lisbon felt a pang of affection for the man next to her. She'd miss him when he was gone again. But she decided she didn't want to think about that at the moment. Right now, all she wanted to do was enjoy her bear claw.
I feel like sweet little things like this would touch her. I don’t think she gets very much of that sort of thing from people, other than Jane.
The pair sat in companionable silence as the rest of the team filed in. Van Pelt looked surprised at the sight, but didn't say anything beyond a quiet good morning. Cho shot them a considering look and Rigsby didn't even appear to notice. Once everyone was settled Lisbon shared Jane's newest theory and the members of the Serious Crimes Unit divvied up Jenkins' personal papers yet again, in hopes of finding hints of something that looked like a favour.
xxxxx
Lisbon was sifting through papers that she felt like she'd already read five times when she heard a knock at the door. She looked up, surprised when she saw Virgil Minelli in her doorway. "Hello," she said.
Hee. Lady Russell.
"I hope I'm not taking you away from something important," he told her.
"No, I've been staring at these pages for a while now," she told him. "I could use the break."
"Good, I was in the neighbourhood so I thought I'd drop by," he explained.
"You were in the neighbourhood of the CBI building?" she asked, disbelieving.
He sighed, "Okay, I had an errand to run on the other side of town and decided to drop in on my way back. Is there something wrong with that?"
"No," she told him with a grin. It always amused her when Minelli tried to downplay his affection. He did the same thing with his daughters and his wife. Actually, he did the same thing with everyone. "Did you want to grab a cup of coffee or did you just stop by to chat?" she asked him.
Lisbon likes to tease him. I do love their relationship. WHY CAN’T HE COME BACK? AND WHY CAN’T SHE SEE HIM WHEN HE DOES? I love that moment right after he yells at the reporters when she straightens his tie. So damn adorable.
"Oh, no coffee please," he told her. "Doctor says I have to cut back on both sugar and caffeine."
"Alright then," she told him.
He sat down on her couch. "I was wondering if we could change our dinner next week to Wednesday," he asked her. "It's just that this weekend our church is having a spaghetti dinner and Mary really wants to go so..."
Lisbon cut off his explanation. "Wednesday should be fine. It's not a problem."
"Good," Minelli told her. "Speaking of dinners..."
And the prize for the least subtle segue goes to...
Lisbon groaned audibly.
"What?" he asked. "I can't show an interest?"
"Sir..." she said.
"I don't want the gory details Lisbon," he told her. "I was just wondering how it went. All I want is for you to be happy. And maybe leave work a little earlier from time to time."
Lisbon sighed. It was hard to be angry with him when he phrased his meddling as concern. "It was fine," she told him.
"Fine?" he asked. "That's it?"
"Well what else do you want me to say?" she asked.
"I certainly wouldn't go overboard with your praise," he told her.
It’s a fair point. Saying a dinner was ‘fine’ is pretty much kiss of death. It’s so noncommittal. HA HA BILLY ELLIOT. (Did I mention that I just reread the novel before doing this commentary and am kind of mad at Elliot at this point? Because I am. Shmuckface.)
"But I really don't know what else to say," she told him. "Special Agent Bill Elliot and I had dinner together at a sports bar. It was fine. I enjoyed myself."
"What was wrong with him?" Minelli asked.
"Nothing was wrong with him," she told him. "I can't explain. There's nothing to him."
Minelli looked at her closely then he sighed. "I'm sorry Lisbon," he said at last. "It was just that he seemed like a good guy."
"I know," she replied. "I know. I don't know what's wrong with me but..."
"I shouldn't have stuck my nose in your business," he told her. "But like I said, I worry about you. I know what this job is, and I know you, and how hard you work. And I worry about you being lonely sometimes. That's all."
Her expression softened. "I'm fine."
"There's that word again," he pointed out.
She grinned. "Yeah, but it's a different context this time," she told him. "Seriously though, I have my friends, I have my team, my brothers, well, some of them, and I have you. What more could I need?"
Someone not quite six feet tall, blond hair, kind of irritating, strong affinity for couches, used to work with you? *innocent!face*
"Okay," he told her. "I'll butt out."
"I never said that I'd completely given up on Elliot," she told him.
He nodded. "What are you going to do then?"
"To be honest I haven't decided," she replied.
"Well, whatever it is, make sure it's what you want, not anybody else," he told her.
"Yes sir," replied with a mock salute.
Minelli was about to say something else when Jane walked into her office interrupting them. "Lisbon I was thinking..." he said, and then noticing they weren't alone he stopped abruptly. "Oh. I'm sorry to intrude."
Because Jane does just randomly burst into her office sometimes. You know he does. And you know he’d do it out of habit, without even thinking.
"Jane," Minelli greeted the other man tersely.
"Virgil," Jane replied in a similar tone.
Uh oh. SHOWDOWN.
"I wasn't expecting to see you here," Minelli said, his tone clipped and even, forcibly polite.
"Consulting on a case," Jane told him easily.
"Yes, I heard," Minelli said his tone accusatory. "I thought your part in the matter was done." To his utter shock Jane actually looked abashed by the unsaid accusation.
After all, Minelli isn’t pleased. He has put Lisbon in danger countless times, then broken her heart. Though she’ll deny that, and excuse it. Minelli on the other hand, just knows Jane hurt her. Therefore he is generally to be snubbed and shown anger.
"Loose ends to tie up," the consultant said softly.
Because Jane already feels his own guilt. And knows he’s not popular around the building, and knows that he probably doesn’t deserve his second chance. BUT HE’S GETTING ONE ANYWAY. (I’m in an odd mood at the moment, in case you couldn’t tell...)
"I see," Minelli said, his town lightening just a smidgen when he realized that Jane may have been genuinely contrite about what had happened.
"I'm sorry for interrupting," Jane said to him and Lisbon. "I'll come back in a few minutes," he told his ex-boss.
Minelli watched him go, his expression judgemental. He turned back towards Lisbon and saw a remarkably similar expression on her face.
Yes, Lisbon would not be pleased by her boss hurting her consultant’s feelings. She’s awfully protective of him.
She crossed her arms and sent him a glare. "Was that really necessary?" she asked him.
"What?" Minelli asked her. He should have expected the reaction really. She'd always had a soft spot for the unpredictable consultant.
She sighed. "He feels badly enough as it is," she told her mentor. "And it wasn't entirely his fault you know."
"Maybe not what happened a few days ago," he told her. "But what about a year ago?" he asked.
Lisbon looked surprised. "Sir?"
He sighed. "Like I said, I worry about you. And I don't like seeing you upset Teresa," he told her. "There was a time I could have quite happily shot that man out there. You'll have to excuse me if I'm not quite as forgiving as you are. At least not yet."
"Well, he's probably only going to be here a few more days," Lisbon told him.
Minelli decided not to comment on the 'probably' and what it implied. "I'll see you at dinner next week Lisbon," he told her instead. "Take care of yourself. I just want to see you happy," he told reminded her yet again.
The ‘probably’ is telling. She’s secretly hoping that he’ll stick around. Even if she won’t admit it, even to herself. It’s her secret hope.
She softened. "I know," she told him. "I'll see you next week."
As Minelli left he sent Jane a nod. Alright, it was a short nod, but he supposed he could at least be civil to the man, if only for the sake of the woman in the office behind him.
Jane watched Minelli go, his irritation at the other man rising. He knew Virgil was protective of Lisbon, adored her really. And Jane could understand that. Really. (Jane has no trouble understanding people adoring Lisbon) But, but, things were finally getting back to some sort of an even keel between him and Lisbon. The last thing he needed was for her former mentor to stick his nose in and remind her about how dangerous Jane was and advise her to keep her distance. (He doesn’t need someone to screw things up, in other words. He already has Billy Elliot to contend with.) Jane acknowledged that his case wasn't exactly helped by what had happened a couple of days ago. Lisbon was probably relieved that she didn't have to deal with his nonsense all the time anymore. Jane sighed. Great. Just great.
And not only was Virgil probably reminding her of why she was better off without him but he was also actively encouraging her to spend time with picture-perfect Special Agent Elliot. Okay, so Jane admitted he may have eavesdropped just a little before he walked right into the middle of their conversation. Sue him. He hadn't been able to catch everything of course. It was hard to loiter outside an office and not be caught, especially if you no longer worked in the building. But he'd heard Minelli push Lisbon towards that idiot from the Secret Service. Lisbon had been a bit reluctant sure, but who wants to be shoved towards someone by their ex-boss? No. Jane didn't have any confidence in her reaction. None whatsoever.
In my head, Jane didn’t hear all of the bits where Lisbon mentioned not really liking Elliot. He heard some of them, but not her certainty. He did hear all of Minelli’s disparaging remarks about himself. And Minelli, like Lady Russell, is slightly swayed by Billy Elliot’s apparent suitableness.
Not that he really cared who she dated of course, (That is what he is telling himself at this point at least. Mainly because he hasn’t realized the truth) but it was the double standard that bothered him. What did Minelli know about Elliot anyway? Cho certainly thought there was something not quite right about him, and Jane had to agree. Minelli didn't know Elliot from a hole in the wall. Yet Virgil liked him.
Jane sat on his couch and scowled. He knew he was lucky it was so close to lunch and the bullpen was empty, otherwise someone would have almost certainly asked him what was wrong, and then he'd have to come up with a reason that he was sulking on his couch. His old couch that is.
"Something wrong Jane?" Lisbon asked him suddenly.
Jane's head whipped around. When had she started walking so quietly? "Hm?" he asked. "Oh, no. Sorry, passing thought. Don't worry about it."
"You sure?" she asked.
He sent her a smile. "Yeah," he told her.
"Okay," she agreed. She didn't believe him (and he knew it) but she wouldn't press the point. "But if you ever want to talk I'm available," she told him.
Jane stared at her for a second. God she was nice. He wanted to hug her, but he didn't get to do that anymore, and even if he did, she wouldn't like it at the office. "Thanks Lisbon," he said instead.
"Did you need something?" she asked.
"I just told you I was fine," he replied.
She grinned, "I meant before," she clarified. "When you burst into my office unannounced."
"Yeah, sorry about that," he told her.
She waved him off. "It was just Minelli," she told him. "He understands."
"Hm," Jane told her.
He knows Minelli is less than understanding where he is concerned.
"So, what did you want to tell me?" she asked.
"Oh right." Jane paused. "You know," he said eventually, "I've forgotten."
She let out a huff of amusement. "Well if you remember you know where to find me."
"Yeah," he said. "Um, Lisbon?" he asked. She turned back towards him, but before he could say anything his phone rang. "Sorry," he muttered, embarrassed. "Hello?" he asked.
Lisbon paused near the couch, wondering if she should wait for Jane's phone call to be over so he could ask her whatever he'd been planning on asking her. If it was a short call it might be easier, otherwise they'd just be bothering each other every five minutes at this rate. On the other hand it was probably pretty rude to listen in on his conversation. "Oh hey Sophie!" she heard him say.
Sophie? Lisbon thought. As in Sophie Croft? Well now she was curious. Deciding she may as well stick around so they could continue their conversation she surreptitiously leaned up against Cho's desk and flipped open a file, pretending to read its contents but really listening to Jane's conversation.
Because Lisbon quite liked Sophie Croft, and is curious about Jane’s old friends. Naturally.
"Yeah, I'm still in Sacramento," Lisbon heard her consultant say. There was another brief pause. "Yes, I know Harry's coming down tomorrow," Jane said. "I have his truck and he's picking it up then."
Lisbon was surprised at that. She didn't know Jane had borrowed a vehicle. Somehow she just couldn't picture him driving a truck. It just didn't fit with his image in his shiny suit complete with matching vest. She snickered into her file.
It is an awfully funny mental image.
"Wait, you're in Sacramento for a conference?" Jane asked. "Why didn't you tell me? We could have driven together!"
Lisbon looked up, Sophie was in the city? Well that was nice, she thought. Jane would get to see his old friends. You should keep in touch with old friends like that. She wondered what they were planning on doing.
"Actually that sounds great," Jane said as he glanced at his watch. "Where?" There was another brief pause. "Just a second," Jane said. "She's standing right here, I'll ask her." Before Sophie could reply Jane put his hand over the phone and turned to Lisbon. "It's Sophie," he explained, though given that she'd been standing well within earshot pretending to read a file, he suspected she already knew that. But he'd let her have her little subterfuges. "She's in Sacramento and she was wondering if you wanted to meet for a quick lunch. I'm going too," he added as an afterthought.
"Sure," Lisbon said just a little too quickly. "That sounds nice."
She wants to be friends. She wants to meet his friends. Like I said, they both want the relationship back. A lot. They just, they aren’t sure how to tell each other, but they are jumping at any excuse to move things in that direction.
"Great," Jane told her. He put his ear back to his phone, "Soph?" he asked. "She said it sounds great. What time? Noon?" He glanced at Lisbon who nodded. "Okay, we'll see you then," Jane confirmed.
Lisbon walked across the room to give him a bit more privacy as she continued to pretend to read her file. Even though she couldn't hear the other half of the conversation, Jane's portion was amusing her quite a bit.
This is where Sophie says something along the lines of, “So back to Sacramento huh? That was quick.”
"I told you before I left that I was going to Sacramento," he said, his tone defensive. There was another pause. (Sophie: “And you’ve gone and volunteered your abilities to the CBI, have you?”) "Well, of course I'm at the CBI. Where else would I be? I'm here to help tie up loose ends in the case!" he insisted.
There was another pause in the conversation. To Lisbon's utter amazement Jane almost looked… flustered. What on earth had the other woman said? And would she teach Lisbon the trick?
“And with your former team too. Must be just like old times. That must be nice for all of you, catching up and all that. I’m sure they’re pleased to have you there, *consulting*. “
"Soph!" Jane practically shouted. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a consultant. This is what I do, I consult." There was a final pause (Something like: “Of course you do. And how does Agent Lisbon feel about the prodigal son’s return? Perhaps I should ask her at noon.”). "Goodbye Sophie," Jane said right before he hung up the phone. "She'll see us at noon," he told Lisbon.
Lisbon just smirked.
A few blocks away at the convention centre Sophie Croft was toying with her phone, a new and unexpected suspicion taking root in her brain.
Because she’s pretty sure his sudden return isn’t quite so disinterested as he’d have her believe.
Back at the CBI Lisbon put the file back on Cho's desk. She was pretty sure that Jane knew she hadn't been reading it anyway. "What's Sophie doing in the city?" she asked.
"Three day conference apparently," Jane told her. "Apparently she decided to go at the last minute. And now whoever was supposed to speak over lunch has cancelled on her, so she called yours truly as a back-up plan."
"It was nice of her to ask me as well," Lisbon told him. "If you two want to catch up I'd understand…"
Jane shook his head. "No, we caught up a bit a couple of days ago. And Sophie asked about you specifically Lisbon. You're not intruding, so stop thinking you are. Besides, the more the merrier right? It'll be fun."
In spite of Sophie’s teasing, he wants her to go. He likes the idea of lunch with the two women. He doesn’t have that many close friends.
Lisbon smiled self-consciously, "Yeah. Okay." Then she glanced at her watch. "Jane, it's quarter to twelve!"
"I know," he told her.
"Well, shouldn't we get going?" she asked him.
"Probably," he admitted.
She sighed. "Alright, let me go get my coat," she told him. She turned around only to see someone else in the doorway who wanted her attention.
"Hi Teresa," Elliot said as he ducked into the room.
Go away.
"Bill!" she said surprised. "What are you doing here? Meeting with Hightower?"
"Um, no actually," he told her. "I was just in the neighbourhood and I was wondering if you wanted to grab lunch."
Lisbon briefly wondered what on earth was going in on 'the neighbourhood' that so many people seemed to be near enough to the CBI to just drop in. "I'm sorry I can't," she told him. "I've got other plans."
Jane mentally thanked Sophie for not calling five minutes later.
Yes, it really was very convenient timing...
"Oh," Special Agent Elliot said awkwardly.
Lisbon sighed. He was a nice guy even if he was a little blah. "We could do it another time though if you wanted," she offered.
He brightened immediately, "Yeah," he told her. "That sounds nice. I'll give you a call first next time."
"Okay," she told him. When he didn't look like he was about to leave, she added, "I'm sorry Bill, but I've really got to go."
"Right," he told her. "Of course. I'll see you later then."
"Bye," she told him.
Jane was torn between being pleased that she'd turned Elliot down for his company, and being irritated that she'd postponed their lunch instead of cancelling outright. Minelli'd probably talked her into it.
Not quite, though he didn’t dissuade her. She talked herself into it first, even if she’s not super-enthusiastic.
When she got back with her jacket he met her in the hallway. "You know, if you wanted to go to lunch with Special Agent Square-Jaw I'm sure Sophie would have understood."
Because Jane is a child a heart, and can’t resist calling names.
"Oh, now don't you start," she told him. "I'd like to see Sophie again. Besides, I'd already accepted her invitation; I wasn't going to change my mind at last second for another one, especially one made at the last possible second."
In other words, Lisbon would much rather go to lunch with Sophie and Jane than boring old Special Agent Square-Jaw.
"Alright," Jane said. "Then let's go."
He held the door at the end of the hallway for her, and together they headed out to lunch.
xxxxx
TBC