Fic Commentary: Persuasion, Ch. 10
Here is Chapter 10, in which things get slowly better.
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Chapter 10
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Sophie sat at a table and kept an eye on the doorway. Soon enough she saw them. The two of them were obviously quite comfortable together now. She watched Patrick open the door for his companion and follow her into the restaurant. The pair seemed friendlier than they had been a few days ago. Not overly so by any means, but still, more relaxed. And she couldn't help noticing that Patrick hovered just a hint closer to the lovely Teresa Lisbon than one usually would to a casual acquaintance, or an ex-boss.
Well, they’ve never been casual acquaintances, or had a mere supervisor-subordinate relationship. Whatever their relationship *is* (and I’ll agree that it’s debatable), it’s more complicated than that.
She smiled to herself. Pat's insistence on rushing back to Sacramento immediately, for the case, was starting to make a little bit more sense.
"Sophie!" Lisbon said pleased. "It's nice to see you. I certainly wasn't expecting to run into you so soon. Thank you for including me in your lunch invitation."
Sophie grinned. "Like I said, any woman who can work with Patrick Jane for years without killing him is worth knowing in my book. I bet you have some great stories."
Lisbon smiled conspiratorially. "You know, I bet Jane was a bit of a devil when he was younger too. We could trade," she suggested.
Sophie laughed. "Deal."
"I should have realized that you two getting to know each other was going to be bad news for me," Jane said, but he smiled as he said it. "Soph," he greeted, kissing his friend on the cheek.
He secretly loves it. He wants them to bond.
"Oh suck it up Patrick," she told him, with a laugh.
"Just don't tell anything too embarrassing would you?" he asked.
She grinned, "I'll promise to at least wait until you go to the bathroom if you'd prefer."
Jane considered the offer. "I'll take it," he told her.
"How are you?" she asked him softly.
"I'll be okay," he told her.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Then she turned to Lisbon, "So Teresa, most ridiculous position he ever got himself into."
She smirked, "I don't know, it's a bit of a tough call. There was that time he managed to get himself stuck on the roof of a barn. It probably wouldn't have been so bad, but the area was experiencing scattered, and heavy, rainstorms that afternoon."
Sophie laughed again, "Not really?"
Lisbon nodded. "Oh yes. He looked like a drowned rat when we finally found him."
"Yes, you were just as sympathetic then as I recall," Jane told her.
Hee. She would not have been sympathetic AT ALL. I can just picture the team when they found him, all trying (and mostly failing) to contain their amusement. Cho probably looked the least amused, but I’m sure he mocked mercilessly with the rest of them.
"I got you a towel," she said defensively. "Besides, it was your own fault for kicking over the ladder."
"I didn't do it on purpose woman!" he told her. "I've told you that time and time again."
"Poor baby," Sophie told him, enjoying the easy dynamic between the pair. "I don't suppose he ever told you about his experiences learning to surf?" she asked Lisbon.
"No," Lisbon said with a shake of her head. "But I think I'd love to hear them."
Jane dropped his head into his hands. He could see that it was going to be a long lunch.
xxxxxx
Actually, lunch with Sophie went by rather quickly. At first Jane thought the near constant barrage of embarrassing stories was a bit much. Then, when he realized that because of it his dining companions were chatting like old friends, he decided he didn't mind so much. He'd missed both women. He'd missed having people to talk to who knew him, who were more than just passing acquaintances. And of course, when he saw how hard Lisbon was laughing at Sophie's latest tale he even briefly considered sharing some of his own less than fantastic moments from the past year, just to keep her happy.
His thoughts were disrupted by Sophie's next remark. "Wow you guys seem to have worked pretty closely together for a while then."
"Yeah," Lisbon said with a shrug.
"Sounds like you made a good team," Sophie prompted.
"I guess so," Lisbon said, her tone slightly more subdued, Jane could tell she was becoming wary, more evasive. He knew what was coming, but couldn't think of a way to stop it in time.
It was inevitable really. Though an unfortunate question all the same. Probing a wound that isn’t healed and all that.
"So why'd you stop working together then?" Sophie asked.
Jane froze.
Lisbon hesitated. "A difference of opinion," she said finally. Then she stood from the table just a little too fast. "I'm sorry, would you excuse me for a minute. I'm just going to head for the washroom."
It would be more painful for her at this point. She feels guilty still, because she hurt him. And she doesn’t want to talk about it. Neither does she want to remind him of the disagreement (since she doesn’t know about his complete mental 180 where she’s concerned), not when things were going so well. So she needs to get out of there for a minute and get herself together.
"Of course," Sophie said. "I'm sorry if I…"
"Oh, no," Lisbon told her. "Don't worry about it."
Sophie frowned as she watched the other woman leave, then she rounded on her dining companion, ignoring his stricken expression. "Alright, what did you do?" she demanded.
"What?" he asked her, trying to look innocent and not just completely shut down. Well, that and resist the urge to get up and run after Lisbon.
He should have run after her. Just run after her and told her he was sorry, and it was alright. And then he could have hugged her, and they would have worked it out. Except that he’s not 100% sure that’s what she wants. And he thinks this is a bit of a setback.
Sophie refused to feel guilty about what she was doing. She didn't care if he was hurt. She was getting to the bottom of this mess. "Don't play dumb with me Patrick Jane! I know you too well. What did you do?" she asked again.
Hee. I enjoy Sophie. She’s not taking any of his crap. She’s seen that the two of them should be friends, and she wants to make it happen.
He sighed, "What makes you think it was all my fault?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. "Just, just let it alone Sophie. Please."
It wasn’t all his fault. That is true. I will give him that.
She got a good look at his face then. She wasn't used to seeing him so serious. Whatever it was, it was much bigger than a petty disagreement that got blown out of proportion. "Pat… if I'd had any idea," she apologized. Sophie had known the question was going to poke into something both of them were ignoring. She'd been trying to help. "I was just curious. I mean, you seem to be getting along so well today that I thought…"
She was trying to make them confront it, but she didn’t realize how big a deal it was.
"Don't worry about it Soph," Jane told her, unbelievably relieved that she apparently wasn't going to make him explain the details. "You couldn't have known."
"You care for her," she told him matter-of-factly.
"Soph…" Of course, just because she wouldn't force him to explain didn't mean she wouldn't interfere.
"Don't try and play me Patrick Jane," she warned him.
"We were close friends," he admitted finally, knowing she wouldn't let up. "And things are finally getting back to..." he trailed off. "Just, just don't push it Soph, I'm begging you," he asked softly.
"Okay," she told him. "But I like her Pat. And I think she might be good for you."
"You have no idea," he muttered under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Not long after that Lisbon returned to the table. "I hate to cut our lunch short," she said. "But we should really get back to the CBI."
"Yeah, I need to get back to the conference as well," Sophie told her.
"It was lovely seeing you again," Lisbon told her.
"Likewise," Sophie replied. "And I'm sorry if I…"
"You didn't," Lisbon insisted, not wanting to talk about it, and not wanting the other woman to feel badly. She couldn't possibly have known.
"Okay," Sophie said, clearly unconvinced. "Well, I hope we meet again soon."
"Maybe we could get together again at the end of the conference," Jane suggested. "I think Harry'll be around by then as well."
"We should all have dinner," Sophie concluded. "The day after tomorrow. It's the last day of the conference; the afternoon ends early so I'll have plenty of time. And bring the rest of those agents of yours," she told Lisbon. "I'd like to see them again as well."
"Alright, I'll ask them," Lisbon promised.
"Bye Patrick," Sophie said. "Try and keep in touch would you?"
"I promise," he told her.
"Good," she said. "And don't do anything stupid."
"I'll try not to," he agreed.
Sophie shot him a small grin, "That's all I ask."
With that they parted ways.
So this whole section with the lunch with Sophie, came out of my secret theory that Sophy Croft might have suspected something was up in the novel. I have no real proof of this, but I’m wondering if she developed some suspicions when Wentworth came to Bath. I would love it if she had. I love her. She may be my favourite of the Austen minor characters. It’s either her and the Admiral or Jane and Bingly from P&P.
xxxxx
Lisbon's team beat her back from their lunch breaks. "Anyone seen Lisbon and Jane?" Rigsby asked.
"Nope," Cho told him.
"Wonder where they went?" the other agent wondered. "I hope she hasn't killed him."
"They have been getting along a bit better lately," Van Pelt said.
"Which was inevitable," Cho replied.
Oh look! It’s the team! Team scenes are fun to write actually. They have a fun dynamic. And I think they totally gossip about Lisbon and Jane when they aren’t around.
Suddenly he heard the pair of them in the hall, and it sounded like Lisbon was laughing. Lisbon breezed down the hallway. "Hi guys," Lisbon called out cheerfully on her way by. "I'll be in my office if anyone needs me. Thanks for lunch Jane."
Jane didn't bother to say anything, just smirked at the three surprised looking agents, grabbed a file off the table and settled in on his couch to read it.
Rigsby turned to Van Pelt and raised his eyebrows in surprise. Apparently Lisbon and Jane were getting along quite a bit better indeed.
Cho smirked. Like he'd said, inevitable.
Heh. Cho totally knows what’s going on.
xxxxx
The rest of the afternoon was spent going through paperwork trying to find something that wasn't money that but could still have been used as payment.
Midway through the afternoon Cho ducked into Lisbon's office. "So boss," he said. "I'm not sure about this, but I keep seeing references to a job posting at the Department of Homeland Security that Jenkins was applying to. Seems he was pretty confident he'd get it. And I was wondering if…"
"If whoever asked him to get him the information has an in with that department," Lisbon finished. "Nice catch Cho. Okay, we're going to need to cross-reference Jenkins' associates with Homeland Security see if we catch anything. Do you have any contacts over there?" she asked.
"One," Cho told her. "But I figure we should also run it past Hightower. She works for 'em. Well, she used to anyway. I'm not sure exactly how that works for her now. Is she still even part of the Secret Service? Either way, she might know better."
Lisbon sighed. "Alright, I'll tell her."
Cho smirked. "Good luck."
Lisbon decided she may as well get it over with. She went to her boss's office and asked if she had a minute. Once she heard the team's theory Hightower was more than happy to help, promising to call an old friend and subtly ask around the department to find out if anyone knew, or was connected to a Richard Jenkins.
Lisbon was pleased that this conversation with her boss went better than they tended to on average. Before she could leave politely however Hightower introduced a new topic of conversation. "So I heard you and Special Agent Elliot had dinner together last night," she said.
Lisbon paused, unsure of what exactly he boss was getting at. "Uh, yes we did," Lisbon admitted. "He asked me after you introduced us yesterday."
"I'm glad," Hightower told her. "As I told you, I'm hoping to lure Bill over to the CBI. The man knows how to deal with the press, garner positive publicity, that sort of thing. And he's moved up the ranks in the Secret Service faster than almost anyone I know. I think he'd be an asset to the organization. Anything you could do to talk up the CBI, show off the city, et cetera, would be greatly appreciated."
Lisbon paused, unsure of what her boss was asking. "Uh, ma'am?" she asked. Was her boss trying to pimp her out to lure in a potential new employee?
Heh. This would be quite possibly the most awkward conversation ever. Especially since I wrote this fic during the summer hiatus between S2 and S3, so Lisbon and Hightower weren’t friendly yet.
Hightower laughed. "I'm not asking you to do something you don't want to do or that makes you uncomfortable Lisbon," she told her. "Just, I don't know, keep it in mind. He's a nice guy. But I'm not going to force you to have dinner with him if you don't like him. I just thought since the two of you had gone out already…"
"That if we went out again I should be positive, not complain about the worst parts of the job," Lisbon concluded.
"Exactly," Hightower told her.
"Well," Lisbon said, now absolutely desperate to leave the office. "I'll keep it in mind like you said, but I don't even know if we'll be seeing each other again."
Hightower just smiled the cryptic smile that Lisbon hated so very much. "Okay, thanks Lisbon," she told her. "I'll look into the Jenkins thing for you."
That all-knowing smile was obnoxious. It just WAS.
"Thank you Ma'am." Lisbon said before practically running from the office.
What in the hell just happened? She wondered to herself.
xxxxx
Lisbon walked into the CBI the next morning optimistically. She was certain that the team would be able to figure out if the information had been compromised now that they had a plan (thanks to Jane). She hoped so at least. Hightower had been hinting earlier (before she started potentially encouraging her female agents to sell themselves to attract members of the Secret Service) that if the Serious Crimes Unit hadn't made any significant progress by the end of the week, the case would be turned over to another, less high profile, team.
Lisbon hated leaving things unfinished and was hoping that she'd at least be able to say the SCU had figured something out. They hadn't found a connection between Jenkins and the Department of Homeland Security yet, but Lisbon was still optimistic. It was early days. And both Hightower and Cho were going to ask around.
She greeted her team plus Jane before going into her office to check her e-mail and get start her day. Suddenly she heard a knock on her office door. She had a personal delivery.
Apparently someone had sent her a bouquet of mixed flowers. She thanked the kid who'd brought them to her and grabbed the card.
"Teresa, I was thinking of you. Hope to see you again soon, - Bill," it read.
She smiled as she looked at her flowers. Well this was unexpected, and really quite nice. Then she frowned slightly. But wasn't it also coming on a bit strong? They'd only been to dinner once and he was already sending flowers? She hadn't thought the date was spectacular. Could he have felt differently? Or was there something else going on? Good Lord, what if Hightower had given him a hint? Or even sent the flowers herself?
Lisbon forced herself to calm down. Seriously what was wrong with her? Someone sends her flowers as a gesture and she second-guesses it? Bill was just trying to be nice! She'd been promised herself she'd give him another try. If he called and asked her to dinner again she was going to say yes, and that was that.
With a decisive nod Lisbon shot another glance at the flowers. They were lovely, if a bit over the top. She glanced towards the door. She was unsurprised to see four people loitering right outside her office.
"Oh, just come in!" she said in exasperation.
Okay, so someone needs to send Lisbon flowers on the show, just so this can happen. Come on, fun!times
Sheepishly her team (plus Jane) filed into her office one by one.
"Oh they're beautiful Boss," Van Pelt said immediately.
"Yeah, they are nice," Lisbon admitted.
"So who sent them?" Cho asked, as usual deciding there was no point in beating around the bush.
Lisbon blushed, "Agent Elliot," she admitted. May as well just say it. After all, they'd never leave until she admitted it, or until Jane stole the card.
Van Pelt awed. Rigsby smirked. Cho's facial expression didn't change. Jane looked… indifferent? Lisbon wasn't sure. She couldn't quite read his expression.
"Nice flowers," Cho said at last.
"Do women like that that sort of thing?" Rigsby asked. "I mean, really, flowers after the first date?" he clarified after four pairs of eyes swung towards him in disbelief.
"Depends on the woman," Jane told him with a shrug. "Remember…"
"Yeah, yeah," Rigsby told him. "Love and affection, I know."
Such a fun episode. Don’t remember the episode title. I refer to it in my head as “The one where Jane sings a shanty.”
"I told you if you had to pay for it you'd remember," Jane reminded him.
Lisbon decided she didn't want to know.
"Alright, well if everybody's done gawking at my flowers, could we please get back to work now?" she asked in an attempt to get her office back.
Amid a chorus of muttered "Yeah's" and "Sorry Boss's" her team filed back out of her office. "They really are lovely Lisbon," Van Pelt told her. "Very romantic."
Lisbon sighed. "Yeah, they are."
When her team was out of sight Lisbon sat back down at her desk and grabbed a folder, her face stretching into a grin.
From his hiding spot near her doorway Jane frowned.
So I just realized, Jane spends a lot of time lurking outside Lisbon’s office in the second half of this fic. It’s kinda funny.
He walked back to the bullpen and flopped down on the couch. This was really not good.
Apparently he was an even bigger idiot than he'd originally thought.
He'd realized that he'd been pretending he was still a part of her team for the entire case, that he'd missed belonging with a group of people. And he'd realized that he needed her, that she was fabulous at her job, that he trusted her with his life. And then he'd realized he'd missed her horribly, that he desperately wanted their friendship back.
Now that he wasn't angry anymore he'd realized that Teresa Lisbon was his best friend.
BEST FRIENDS.
Also, it was entirely possible he was in love with her.
Because that’s entirely possible, in the future. If the show would stop being irritating and stop having Jane commit murders
He wondered how long it'd been. It had to have started before Red John. His feelings were probably part of the reason why he'd been so hurt by her betrayal in the first place. He must have been in love with her since before their falling out. He'd just been in denial. After considering the issue for a few minutes Jane realized that he'd probably never be able to pinpoint the exact moment. It'd most likely been coming on gradually. The two of them had been spending an awful lot of time together by the end.
I can very easily see the two of them refusing to admit that they care about each other, because of all the other complications in their lives.
Also, Pride and Prejudice reference. When Jane asks Lizzie how long she’s loved Darcy, “It’s been coming on so gradually, I hardly know. But I think I first mistaked it for seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.”
He was an idiot for ever telling himself that he'd come back to the CBI because the case was interesting. It was, but there were always interesting cases. No, he'd been intrigued by the case originally, but his interest had practically doubled when he'd found out who was taking lead in the investigation. Subconsciously he'd wanted to see her. Maybe selfishly originally, to show her that he didn't need her, that he'd moved on, that she hadn't affected him in the slightest. That he could forget her. But like he'd said, he was an idiot. In the end he'd just wanted to be near her again.
Well, all of his subconscious motivations had just gotten a massive kick into his conscious mind.
Because it appeared he had competition.
Competition who sent Lisbon flowers that made her smile prettily to herself.
And his competition was also undoubtedly less objectionable a romantic partner for the lovely agent than himself. Everybody liked Elliot after all. Hightower was all for it, and was clearly doing everything she could to promote the friendship between Lisbon and the newcomer. It appeared she had a new favourite, while Jane, an old favourite, had been forgotten. Minelli's preference was even more obvious. After all, he'd made his opinion clear. Jane had seen the look in the ex-director's eyes. He'd wanted Jane as far away from Lisbon as possible.
And Jane couldn't even blame him. After all, as just her consultant, Jane was dangerous to Agent Lisbon.
Even Rigsby and Van Pelt at the very least seemed positive towards Elliot. Well, Jane amended; Rigsby probably didn't care one way or the other. But Jane was pretty sure Van Pelt liked the idea of the other man at the very least, if the gushing over the flowers he'd seen earlier was anything to go by.
Only Cho was the last holdout, and the agent hadn't actually said anything negative, just promised to look into Elliot for Jane.
Sure, Jane'd always been suspicious of Elliot himself, but he could hardly trust his own reaction anymore. His subconscious would almost certainly have hated any new man in Lisbon's life, good reason or no.
Well, that’s true. But as it turns out, you did have a good reason Jane, so don’t give up hope! Besides, GUESS WHO SHE LIKES BEST? Go ahead, *ask* her.
So he guessed the question became, what, if anything, was he going to do about it?
And did he even have the right to do anything? After all, if she was happy... Even though he was in love with her, there was no guarantee she felt the same way at all. She was fond of him certainly, didn't want to see him dead absolutely, but that was a far cry from in love with. And after the last year, he wasn't sure he could justify shoving himself into her life. Especially since there was also no guarantee that the relationship would work.
But on the other hand, there was no guarantee that she and Elliot would work either.
And back when they were friends, he and Lisbon had gotten along quite well. Maintained the friendship and the working relationship without any major hitches for years. Sure, they'd had a few fights, the odd screaming match, a couple of day long sulks, but they'd always found their way back to each other. They'd just... worked.
I feel like the screaming matches mainly consisted of her yelling at him, while he stood there maddeningly smirking at her, and saying supremely irritating things, and the sulking was mainly him towards her. I can see Jane indulging in a fit of the sulks. But they’d have different styles of showing their displeasure.
And now that Red John was gone, there was no good reason to keep the relationship strictly platonic anymore.
Yes, because I conveniently killed him off. As I am prone to do.
But still, after all he'd put her through…
Jane sighed. This would require some careful thought, and quickly. Elliot appeared to be circling, and the man had made his intentions absolutely clear.
If Jane wanted to get into the game he needed to make a move.
xxxxx
TBC
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Chapter 10
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Sophie sat at a table and kept an eye on the doorway. Soon enough she saw them. The two of them were obviously quite comfortable together now. She watched Patrick open the door for his companion and follow her into the restaurant. The pair seemed friendlier than they had been a few days ago. Not overly so by any means, but still, more relaxed. And she couldn't help noticing that Patrick hovered just a hint closer to the lovely Teresa Lisbon than one usually would to a casual acquaintance, or an ex-boss.
Well, they’ve never been casual acquaintances, or had a mere supervisor-subordinate relationship. Whatever their relationship *is* (and I’ll agree that it’s debatable), it’s more complicated than that.
She smiled to herself. Pat's insistence on rushing back to Sacramento immediately, for the case, was starting to make a little bit more sense.
"Sophie!" Lisbon said pleased. "It's nice to see you. I certainly wasn't expecting to run into you so soon. Thank you for including me in your lunch invitation."
Sophie grinned. "Like I said, any woman who can work with Patrick Jane for years without killing him is worth knowing in my book. I bet you have some great stories."
Lisbon smiled conspiratorially. "You know, I bet Jane was a bit of a devil when he was younger too. We could trade," she suggested.
Sophie laughed. "Deal."
"I should have realized that you two getting to know each other was going to be bad news for me," Jane said, but he smiled as he said it. "Soph," he greeted, kissing his friend on the cheek.
He secretly loves it. He wants them to bond.
"Oh suck it up Patrick," she told him, with a laugh.
"Just don't tell anything too embarrassing would you?" he asked.
She grinned, "I'll promise to at least wait until you go to the bathroom if you'd prefer."
Jane considered the offer. "I'll take it," he told her.
"How are you?" she asked him softly.
"I'll be okay," he told her.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Then she turned to Lisbon, "So Teresa, most ridiculous position he ever got himself into."
She smirked, "I don't know, it's a bit of a tough call. There was that time he managed to get himself stuck on the roof of a barn. It probably wouldn't have been so bad, but the area was experiencing scattered, and heavy, rainstorms that afternoon."
Sophie laughed again, "Not really?"
Lisbon nodded. "Oh yes. He looked like a drowned rat when we finally found him."
"Yes, you were just as sympathetic then as I recall," Jane told her.
Hee. She would not have been sympathetic AT ALL. I can just picture the team when they found him, all trying (and mostly failing) to contain their amusement. Cho probably looked the least amused, but I’m sure he mocked mercilessly with the rest of them.
"I got you a towel," she said defensively. "Besides, it was your own fault for kicking over the ladder."
"I didn't do it on purpose woman!" he told her. "I've told you that time and time again."
"Poor baby," Sophie told him, enjoying the easy dynamic between the pair. "I don't suppose he ever told you about his experiences learning to surf?" she asked Lisbon.
"No," Lisbon said with a shake of her head. "But I think I'd love to hear them."
Jane dropped his head into his hands. He could see that it was going to be a long lunch.
xxxxxx
Actually, lunch with Sophie went by rather quickly. At first Jane thought the near constant barrage of embarrassing stories was a bit much. Then, when he realized that because of it his dining companions were chatting like old friends, he decided he didn't mind so much. He'd missed both women. He'd missed having people to talk to who knew him, who were more than just passing acquaintances. And of course, when he saw how hard Lisbon was laughing at Sophie's latest tale he even briefly considered sharing some of his own less than fantastic moments from the past year, just to keep her happy.
His thoughts were disrupted by Sophie's next remark. "Wow you guys seem to have worked pretty closely together for a while then."
"Yeah," Lisbon said with a shrug.
"Sounds like you made a good team," Sophie prompted.
"I guess so," Lisbon said, her tone slightly more subdued, Jane could tell she was becoming wary, more evasive. He knew what was coming, but couldn't think of a way to stop it in time.
It was inevitable really. Though an unfortunate question all the same. Probing a wound that isn’t healed and all that.
"So why'd you stop working together then?" Sophie asked.
Jane froze.
Lisbon hesitated. "A difference of opinion," she said finally. Then she stood from the table just a little too fast. "I'm sorry, would you excuse me for a minute. I'm just going to head for the washroom."
It would be more painful for her at this point. She feels guilty still, because she hurt him. And she doesn’t want to talk about it. Neither does she want to remind him of the disagreement (since she doesn’t know about his complete mental 180 where she’s concerned), not when things were going so well. So she needs to get out of there for a minute and get herself together.
"Of course," Sophie said. "I'm sorry if I…"
"Oh, no," Lisbon told her. "Don't worry about it."
Sophie frowned as she watched the other woman leave, then she rounded on her dining companion, ignoring his stricken expression. "Alright, what did you do?" she demanded.
"What?" he asked her, trying to look innocent and not just completely shut down. Well, that and resist the urge to get up and run after Lisbon.
He should have run after her. Just run after her and told her he was sorry, and it was alright. And then he could have hugged her, and they would have worked it out. Except that he’s not 100% sure that’s what she wants. And he thinks this is a bit of a setback.
Sophie refused to feel guilty about what she was doing. She didn't care if he was hurt. She was getting to the bottom of this mess. "Don't play dumb with me Patrick Jane! I know you too well. What did you do?" she asked again.
Hee. I enjoy Sophie. She’s not taking any of his crap. She’s seen that the two of them should be friends, and she wants to make it happen.
He sighed, "What makes you think it was all my fault?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. "Just, just let it alone Sophie. Please."
It wasn’t all his fault. That is true. I will give him that.
She got a good look at his face then. She wasn't used to seeing him so serious. Whatever it was, it was much bigger than a petty disagreement that got blown out of proportion. "Pat… if I'd had any idea," she apologized. Sophie had known the question was going to poke into something both of them were ignoring. She'd been trying to help. "I was just curious. I mean, you seem to be getting along so well today that I thought…"
She was trying to make them confront it, but she didn’t realize how big a deal it was.
"Don't worry about it Soph," Jane told her, unbelievably relieved that she apparently wasn't going to make him explain the details. "You couldn't have known."
"You care for her," she told him matter-of-factly.
"Soph…" Of course, just because she wouldn't force him to explain didn't mean she wouldn't interfere.
"Don't try and play me Patrick Jane," she warned him.
"We were close friends," he admitted finally, knowing she wouldn't let up. "And things are finally getting back to..." he trailed off. "Just, just don't push it Soph, I'm begging you," he asked softly.
"Okay," she told him. "But I like her Pat. And I think she might be good for you."
"You have no idea," he muttered under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Not long after that Lisbon returned to the table. "I hate to cut our lunch short," she said. "But we should really get back to the CBI."
"Yeah, I need to get back to the conference as well," Sophie told her.
"It was lovely seeing you again," Lisbon told her.
"Likewise," Sophie replied. "And I'm sorry if I…"
"You didn't," Lisbon insisted, not wanting to talk about it, and not wanting the other woman to feel badly. She couldn't possibly have known.
"Okay," Sophie said, clearly unconvinced. "Well, I hope we meet again soon."
"Maybe we could get together again at the end of the conference," Jane suggested. "I think Harry'll be around by then as well."
"We should all have dinner," Sophie concluded. "The day after tomorrow. It's the last day of the conference; the afternoon ends early so I'll have plenty of time. And bring the rest of those agents of yours," she told Lisbon. "I'd like to see them again as well."
"Alright, I'll ask them," Lisbon promised.
"Bye Patrick," Sophie said. "Try and keep in touch would you?"
"I promise," he told her.
"Good," she said. "And don't do anything stupid."
"I'll try not to," he agreed.
Sophie shot him a small grin, "That's all I ask."
With that they parted ways.
So this whole section with the lunch with Sophie, came out of my secret theory that Sophy Croft might have suspected something was up in the novel. I have no real proof of this, but I’m wondering if she developed some suspicions when Wentworth came to Bath. I would love it if she had. I love her. She may be my favourite of the Austen minor characters. It’s either her and the Admiral or Jane and Bingly from P&P.
xxxxx
Lisbon's team beat her back from their lunch breaks. "Anyone seen Lisbon and Jane?" Rigsby asked.
"Nope," Cho told him.
"Wonder where they went?" the other agent wondered. "I hope she hasn't killed him."
"They have been getting along a bit better lately," Van Pelt said.
"Which was inevitable," Cho replied.
Oh look! It’s the team! Team scenes are fun to write actually. They have a fun dynamic. And I think they totally gossip about Lisbon and Jane when they aren’t around.
Suddenly he heard the pair of them in the hall, and it sounded like Lisbon was laughing. Lisbon breezed down the hallway. "Hi guys," Lisbon called out cheerfully on her way by. "I'll be in my office if anyone needs me. Thanks for lunch Jane."
Jane didn't bother to say anything, just smirked at the three surprised looking agents, grabbed a file off the table and settled in on his couch to read it.
Rigsby turned to Van Pelt and raised his eyebrows in surprise. Apparently Lisbon and Jane were getting along quite a bit better indeed.
Cho smirked. Like he'd said, inevitable.
Heh. Cho totally knows what’s going on.
xxxxx
The rest of the afternoon was spent going through paperwork trying to find something that wasn't money that but could still have been used as payment.
Midway through the afternoon Cho ducked into Lisbon's office. "So boss," he said. "I'm not sure about this, but I keep seeing references to a job posting at the Department of Homeland Security that Jenkins was applying to. Seems he was pretty confident he'd get it. And I was wondering if…"
"If whoever asked him to get him the information has an in with that department," Lisbon finished. "Nice catch Cho. Okay, we're going to need to cross-reference Jenkins' associates with Homeland Security see if we catch anything. Do you have any contacts over there?" she asked.
"One," Cho told her. "But I figure we should also run it past Hightower. She works for 'em. Well, she used to anyway. I'm not sure exactly how that works for her now. Is she still even part of the Secret Service? Either way, she might know better."
Lisbon sighed. "Alright, I'll tell her."
Cho smirked. "Good luck."
Lisbon decided she may as well get it over with. She went to her boss's office and asked if she had a minute. Once she heard the team's theory Hightower was more than happy to help, promising to call an old friend and subtly ask around the department to find out if anyone knew, or was connected to a Richard Jenkins.
Lisbon was pleased that this conversation with her boss went better than they tended to on average. Before she could leave politely however Hightower introduced a new topic of conversation. "So I heard you and Special Agent Elliot had dinner together last night," she said.
Lisbon paused, unsure of what exactly he boss was getting at. "Uh, yes we did," Lisbon admitted. "He asked me after you introduced us yesterday."
"I'm glad," Hightower told her. "As I told you, I'm hoping to lure Bill over to the CBI. The man knows how to deal with the press, garner positive publicity, that sort of thing. And he's moved up the ranks in the Secret Service faster than almost anyone I know. I think he'd be an asset to the organization. Anything you could do to talk up the CBI, show off the city, et cetera, would be greatly appreciated."
Lisbon paused, unsure of what her boss was asking. "Uh, ma'am?" she asked. Was her boss trying to pimp her out to lure in a potential new employee?
Heh. This would be quite possibly the most awkward conversation ever. Especially since I wrote this fic during the summer hiatus between S2 and S3, so Lisbon and Hightower weren’t friendly yet.
Hightower laughed. "I'm not asking you to do something you don't want to do or that makes you uncomfortable Lisbon," she told her. "Just, I don't know, keep it in mind. He's a nice guy. But I'm not going to force you to have dinner with him if you don't like him. I just thought since the two of you had gone out already…"
"That if we went out again I should be positive, not complain about the worst parts of the job," Lisbon concluded.
"Exactly," Hightower told her.
"Well," Lisbon said, now absolutely desperate to leave the office. "I'll keep it in mind like you said, but I don't even know if we'll be seeing each other again."
Hightower just smiled the cryptic smile that Lisbon hated so very much. "Okay, thanks Lisbon," she told her. "I'll look into the Jenkins thing for you."
That all-knowing smile was obnoxious. It just WAS.
"Thank you Ma'am." Lisbon said before practically running from the office.
What in the hell just happened? She wondered to herself.
xxxxx
Lisbon walked into the CBI the next morning optimistically. She was certain that the team would be able to figure out if the information had been compromised now that they had a plan (thanks to Jane). She hoped so at least. Hightower had been hinting earlier (before she started potentially encouraging her female agents to sell themselves to attract members of the Secret Service) that if the Serious Crimes Unit hadn't made any significant progress by the end of the week, the case would be turned over to another, less high profile, team.
Lisbon hated leaving things unfinished and was hoping that she'd at least be able to say the SCU had figured something out. They hadn't found a connection between Jenkins and the Department of Homeland Security yet, but Lisbon was still optimistic. It was early days. And both Hightower and Cho were going to ask around.
She greeted her team plus Jane before going into her office to check her e-mail and get start her day. Suddenly she heard a knock on her office door. She had a personal delivery.
Apparently someone had sent her a bouquet of mixed flowers. She thanked the kid who'd brought them to her and grabbed the card.
"Teresa, I was thinking of you. Hope to see you again soon, - Bill," it read.
She smiled as she looked at her flowers. Well this was unexpected, and really quite nice. Then she frowned slightly. But wasn't it also coming on a bit strong? They'd only been to dinner once and he was already sending flowers? She hadn't thought the date was spectacular. Could he have felt differently? Or was there something else going on? Good Lord, what if Hightower had given him a hint? Or even sent the flowers herself?
Lisbon forced herself to calm down. Seriously what was wrong with her? Someone sends her flowers as a gesture and she second-guesses it? Bill was just trying to be nice! She'd been promised herself she'd give him another try. If he called and asked her to dinner again she was going to say yes, and that was that.
With a decisive nod Lisbon shot another glance at the flowers. They were lovely, if a bit over the top. She glanced towards the door. She was unsurprised to see four people loitering right outside her office.
"Oh, just come in!" she said in exasperation.
Okay, so someone needs to send Lisbon flowers on the show, just so this can happen. Come on, fun!times
Sheepishly her team (plus Jane) filed into her office one by one.
"Oh they're beautiful Boss," Van Pelt said immediately.
"Yeah, they are nice," Lisbon admitted.
"So who sent them?" Cho asked, as usual deciding there was no point in beating around the bush.
Lisbon blushed, "Agent Elliot," she admitted. May as well just say it. After all, they'd never leave until she admitted it, or until Jane stole the card.
Van Pelt awed. Rigsby smirked. Cho's facial expression didn't change. Jane looked… indifferent? Lisbon wasn't sure. She couldn't quite read his expression.
"Nice flowers," Cho said at last.
"Do women like that that sort of thing?" Rigsby asked. "I mean, really, flowers after the first date?" he clarified after four pairs of eyes swung towards him in disbelief.
"Depends on the woman," Jane told him with a shrug. "Remember…"
"Yeah, yeah," Rigsby told him. "Love and affection, I know."
Such a fun episode. Don’t remember the episode title. I refer to it in my head as “The one where Jane sings a shanty.”
"I told you if you had to pay for it you'd remember," Jane reminded him.
Lisbon decided she didn't want to know.
"Alright, well if everybody's done gawking at my flowers, could we please get back to work now?" she asked in an attempt to get her office back.
Amid a chorus of muttered "Yeah's" and "Sorry Boss's" her team filed back out of her office. "They really are lovely Lisbon," Van Pelt told her. "Very romantic."
Lisbon sighed. "Yeah, they are."
When her team was out of sight Lisbon sat back down at her desk and grabbed a folder, her face stretching into a grin.
From his hiding spot near her doorway Jane frowned.
So I just realized, Jane spends a lot of time lurking outside Lisbon’s office in the second half of this fic. It’s kinda funny.
He walked back to the bullpen and flopped down on the couch. This was really not good.
Apparently he was an even bigger idiot than he'd originally thought.
He'd realized that he'd been pretending he was still a part of her team for the entire case, that he'd missed belonging with a group of people. And he'd realized that he needed her, that she was fabulous at her job, that he trusted her with his life. And then he'd realized he'd missed her horribly, that he desperately wanted their friendship back.
Now that he wasn't angry anymore he'd realized that Teresa Lisbon was his best friend.
BEST FRIENDS.
Also, it was entirely possible he was in love with her.
Because that’s entirely possible, in the future. If the show would stop being irritating and stop having Jane commit murders
He wondered how long it'd been. It had to have started before Red John. His feelings were probably part of the reason why he'd been so hurt by her betrayal in the first place. He must have been in love with her since before their falling out. He'd just been in denial. After considering the issue for a few minutes Jane realized that he'd probably never be able to pinpoint the exact moment. It'd most likely been coming on gradually. The two of them had been spending an awful lot of time together by the end.
I can very easily see the two of them refusing to admit that they care about each other, because of all the other complications in their lives.
Also, Pride and Prejudice reference. When Jane asks Lizzie how long she’s loved Darcy, “It’s been coming on so gradually, I hardly know. But I think I first mistaked it for seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.”
He was an idiot for ever telling himself that he'd come back to the CBI because the case was interesting. It was, but there were always interesting cases. No, he'd been intrigued by the case originally, but his interest had practically doubled when he'd found out who was taking lead in the investigation. Subconsciously he'd wanted to see her. Maybe selfishly originally, to show her that he didn't need her, that he'd moved on, that she hadn't affected him in the slightest. That he could forget her. But like he'd said, he was an idiot. In the end he'd just wanted to be near her again.
Well, all of his subconscious motivations had just gotten a massive kick into his conscious mind.
Because it appeared he had competition.
Competition who sent Lisbon flowers that made her smile prettily to herself.
And his competition was also undoubtedly less objectionable a romantic partner for the lovely agent than himself. Everybody liked Elliot after all. Hightower was all for it, and was clearly doing everything she could to promote the friendship between Lisbon and the newcomer. It appeared she had a new favourite, while Jane, an old favourite, had been forgotten. Minelli's preference was even more obvious. After all, he'd made his opinion clear. Jane had seen the look in the ex-director's eyes. He'd wanted Jane as far away from Lisbon as possible.
And Jane couldn't even blame him. After all, as just her consultant, Jane was dangerous to Agent Lisbon.
Even Rigsby and Van Pelt at the very least seemed positive towards Elliot. Well, Jane amended; Rigsby probably didn't care one way or the other. But Jane was pretty sure Van Pelt liked the idea of the other man at the very least, if the gushing over the flowers he'd seen earlier was anything to go by.
Only Cho was the last holdout, and the agent hadn't actually said anything negative, just promised to look into Elliot for Jane.
Sure, Jane'd always been suspicious of Elliot himself, but he could hardly trust his own reaction anymore. His subconscious would almost certainly have hated any new man in Lisbon's life, good reason or no.
Well, that’s true. But as it turns out, you did have a good reason Jane, so don’t give up hope! Besides, GUESS WHO SHE LIKES BEST? Go ahead, *ask* her.
So he guessed the question became, what, if anything, was he going to do about it?
And did he even have the right to do anything? After all, if she was happy... Even though he was in love with her, there was no guarantee she felt the same way at all. She was fond of him certainly, didn't want to see him dead absolutely, but that was a far cry from in love with. And after the last year, he wasn't sure he could justify shoving himself into her life. Especially since there was also no guarantee that the relationship would work.
But on the other hand, there was no guarantee that she and Elliot would work either.
And back when they were friends, he and Lisbon had gotten along quite well. Maintained the friendship and the working relationship without any major hitches for years. Sure, they'd had a few fights, the odd screaming match, a couple of day long sulks, but they'd always found their way back to each other. They'd just... worked.
I feel like the screaming matches mainly consisted of her yelling at him, while he stood there maddeningly smirking at her, and saying supremely irritating things, and the sulking was mainly him towards her. I can see Jane indulging in a fit of the sulks. But they’d have different styles of showing their displeasure.
And now that Red John was gone, there was no good reason to keep the relationship strictly platonic anymore.
Yes, because I conveniently killed him off. As I am prone to do.
But still, after all he'd put her through…
Jane sighed. This would require some careful thought, and quickly. Elliot appeared to be circling, and the man had made his intentions absolutely clear.
If Jane wanted to get into the game he needed to make a move.
xxxxx
TBC