Mentalist fic: Secret Lies - A Big Heart Isn't Always Enough (Part 4)
Title: Secret Lies: A Big Heart Isn't Always Enough (Part 4)
Author: Cat
Rating: T
Fandom: The Mentalist
Pairing: Jane/Lisbon
Summary: Jane's upset and Lisbon is trying to make him open up.
Spoilers: Red Scare (2x05).
Beta: fading_ripples -- She made me add a third of this fic and it is so much better for it :)
Dislcaimer: All characters were borrowed for non-lucrative purposes.
Author's Notes: I got the idea for this fic from a post written by mere_dil. You can read this as a one shot or as the 4th part of the Secret Lies series: Secret Lies series tag.
~o~
A Big Heart Isn't Always Enough
~o~
Late October 2009
~o~
Lisbon was facing Mrs. Foster while Jane sat on the side, facing Mrs. Foster nonetheless. He liked to appear to be slightly on the interviewee’s side. He appeared less offensive that way.
“There is something else we wanted to talk to you about,” Lisbon told Mrs. Foster after the woman explained her dispute with Victoria Adner. “You weren’t in San Francisco the night of your husband’s murder. You were at the mansion.”
“You know about that.” Mrs. Foster looked uncomfortable, rather than guilty, Lisbon noted.
“Why did you lie to us?” Lisbon asked her.
“I was ashamed.”
“Of what?”
“Of why I was there in the first place,” Mrs. Foster said, eyes blinking.
“Why was that?”
“She was spying on her husband,” Jane answered for Mrs. Foster. “She suspected him of being unfaithful.”
“Yes,” Mrs Foster confirmed, surprised. “How did you know that?”
“Because he’s been unfaithful before.” Lisbon startled a little and looked at Jane. There was definitely more behind Jane’s guess. The tone of his voice and the look on his face were a bit... off.
“Yes. He had an affair about a year ago. He was out of town, and I was caught up with my work, and, “ Mrs. Foster paused and sighed, “it happened.”
“It’s very understanding of you,” Lisbon commented.
“Oh, I was furious, believe me. But we worked on it, counselling and so forth, and I thought I had moved on,” Mrs. Foster explained. “But I hadn’t. I didn’t trust him. So when Allan told me that he would spend the weekend at the mansion and wouldn’t be coming home, I decided I had to go there to catch him in the act.”
“Then no one showed up.” Jane said, staring at Mrs. Foster. He had barely looked at Lisbon since the cheating business came to light.
“No, I felt so awful that I left without talking to him.”
“What time did you leave?” Lisbon asked her.
“Around 10.”
“Is there any way to prove that?”
“Um, I bought gas on the way home,” Mrs. Foster told her and Lisbon wrote it down. “The credit card company will have a record of that, right?”
“Yes,” Lisbon answered. “We’ll verify that.”
“I can’t help thinking that if I had stayed there,” Mrs. Foster began, looking at Jane, “if I had just gone and talked to him, he would still be alive.”
“Hm, most likely you would both be dead,” Jane retorted.
“With the way that I feel, I might prefer that.”
“That feeling will pass,” Jane reassured her.
“What do you know about that?”
“Enough.”
~o~
“How did you know that Allan Foster had cheated on his wife?” Lisbon asked Jane as they drove to Eagle Creek.
“I’ve encountered enough cheating spouses during my career as a psychic,” he answered.
Lisbon shook her head. “No, it’s more than that. I could tell.” She subconsciously slowed down. She waited a moment or two before asking: “Jane, did your wife cheat on you?”
Jane snorted. He stayed quiet for a few minutes. When she glanced in his direction, she saw that he was looking out the window, his eyes staring off into the distance, his mind having gone far away.
“Jane?” she tried to bring him back to reality.
He shifted and took a deep breath, returning to the present. “No, she didn’t. My wife was a loving, faithful woman who did not deserve her cheating bastard of a husband.”
“Oh, Jane,” she said sympathetically. She should have known. So many elements made Jane portray his wife into the perfect woman whom he did not deserve, but him cheating on her was an obvious one.
“Don’t,” Jane said sternly. “I don’t want your pity and I especially do not want it for this.”
She nodded and kept her eyes on the road. These were the kind of moments that reminded her how far apart they really were and how Jane would always keep a gigantic gulf between them. No matter how nice, caring, and understanding he could be sometimes, she couldn’t forget that he was never going to really share, really be with her. No matter how much fun they had or how much comfort they gave each other. They were two people in the middle of a large ocean each standing on their own island.
~o~
“Case closed pizza.” Lisbon heard Jane say as he walked towards her and Cho.
“Case closed pizza,” she confirmed as she helped Cho open the boxes.
She took a piece of paper towel, handed the roll to Cho, and turned to look at Jane. He seemed to be dragging his feet into the bullpen.
“Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.
“Right as rain,” he answered her.
She didn’t believe him for a second, but this was obviously not the right time so she grabbed a piece of pizza, thinking that she would question him later when they would be alone.
“Oh, I have the perfect thing to go with this,” Jane said running back to the kitchen as Lisbon and Cho watched him go.
~o~
Lisbon watched Jane pour her and himself a glass of wine from her couch.
“I’m pretty sure this wine would be considered stolen property. Doesn’t it belong to Mrs. Foster?” she asked playfully. She wasn’t too keen on the theft, but grateful that the wine had a calming effect on Jane. He had been on edge for days and he was much worse tonight.
“It does. She gave me a dozen bottles as a thank you so it’s all legit, my dear,” he answered as he handed her a glass and took a seat next to her. They were each sitting at one end of the couch, their feet propped up on it, meeting in the middle. She tucked her feet beneath his. His feet were always so warm while hers were so cold. She waited a few minutes, relaxing with the wine and the comfortable silence before disturbing the peace.
“Jane,” she said, getting his attention, “what happened tonight? Why were you upset?”
Jane shook his head dismissively. “It’s nothing,” he answered before taking a sip of wine.
“We’re not really a couple, but I would like to think that we’re friends. Sometimes talking helps,” she said tentatively.
“We are friends,” he confirmed and then looked at her sadly, “but I don’t want to be helped.”
Lisbon nodded, sad. “I know,” she whispered. “I just wish you would.”
He reached down to sneak his hand inside her sock to rub her ankle affectionately. “Such a big heart, my Lisbon,” he murmured. Then he said in a louder voice, “come on, let’s start that ghastly movie.”
“It’s not ghastly. Sleepless in Seattle is a classic.”
Jane groaned, but sat back readying himself to watch the movie. He kept rubbing her ankle the whole time and as the movie started, his hand slowly made its way a little further up her leg, halfway to her knee. She tried to ignore the shiver down her spine and the rush of warmth that spread throughout her body.
This was definitely dangerous territory.
~o~
She woke up to the feeling of strong arms holding her body. By the time she completely regained consciousness, she was being swept up from the couch and taken up the stairs. She opened her eyes and saw only dark grey. Jane’s vest. She groaned in protest and wriggled about, trying to get off his arms. Her efforts only made Jane strengthen his hold on her. She decided to give up, sleep calling her, and closed her eyes. He gently laid her on her bed and released his hold of her. He took her pants and socks off. After putting her covers over her, she heard his footsteps going away from the bed.
“Stay,” she said before she could stop herself.
“You’re sleeping,” he pointed out.
Of course he thought she meant sex. They were only lovers. She had no intention of sleeping with him tonight so why was she asking him to stay? Nevertheless, she couldn’t stop herself from insisting. “Just to sleep.” She opened her eyes to look at him, but all she saw was a silhouette standing in the doorframe. “It’s getting cold.” If she had been more awake, she would have been mortified by her lame excuse.
Jane sighed and she thought he was going to leave. Instead, he stepped further inside the room and closed the door. She rolled over, back to him, to leave him room and buried her face in her pillow to hide her smile. She listened as he took his shoes, vest and pants off. The mattress dipped as he sat down next to her. After a minute, he lifted the duvet and crawled in next to her. She turned around and faced his lying form. He was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. He had taken his dress shirt off and looked unbelievably attractive. If she was just a parcel more awake, she would be on top of him right now.
Jane turned his head to look at her. “You should sleep now. My body heat should warm you up in no time.” He said the last sentence with a hint of sarcasm. Trust him not to let that one go. He really took every opportunity to mock her.
She ignored his comment and closed her eyes. “G’ night, Jane,” she murmured.
“Good night, Lisbon,” he said softly.
As sleep claimed her once again that night, Lisbon thought that she could definitely get used to this.
She just had to remember that she couldn’t.
~o~