Don't Wish, Don't Start (1/1)
Title: Don't Wish, Don't Start
Author: tromana
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Jane/Lisbon
Summary: Lisbon had had to keep her anger in check during the case. An AU episode tag to 1x01.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Spoilers: None
Notes: Written for 15genres1prompt. Genre: Alternate Universe. And gosh, I want to return to this 'verse again one day.
Don't Wish, Don't Start
When she got home, it couldn't have come a moment sooner. She wasn't just angry; she had gone far beyond that. Lisbon had had to keep her anger in check during the case, to allow it to simmer just below the surface. Now she was back at home, the rage was bubbling furiously and she had irresistible urge to do something destructive. However, it was gone one a.m. So that would have to wait until the morning. An early session down at the range would be enough to get her straight again, but for now she would have to cling onto the modicum of self-control she had left.
The origami frog he'd made her was still in her jacket pocket. It was such a silly, pointless gift and yet he had deemed it an appropriate present. Why? It was just a mindless piece of folded paper and more annoyingly, it had taken her off guard and made her jump. The bastard. He'd explicitly done it to ruffle her feathers, to make her seem unprofessional and nervy. And as if it made everything better. It didn't; far from it, in fact. She was still angry.
It wasn't just the fact he had weaseled his way into the case despite his being on suspension. Nor was it because he'd lied to her about the case and how he was going to solve. It would have been a lie if she'd said that his morally and legally dubious methodology hadn't angered her once again. Of course it had; it made a mockery out of the CBI. She was proud to be a senior agent for the bureau and loathed his immediate lack of respect for it.
No what had annoyed her the most was a single line. Just one claim. It had shaken her to her very core when he'd said it. Even now, days afterwards, when theoretically she should have forgotten about it, his voice and the words lingered on in her mind.
Red John is mine. That was what he'd said. And that was what had led to her being so furious with her wayward consultant.
Red John didn't belong to anyone, least of all Patrick Jane. He was a dangerous serial killer who had blighted the lives of many people. Bringing him to justice was the highest of her priorities.
It was also the reason she had applied for the serious crimes unit vacancy when it had come up.
Minelli had been very reluctant to give her the position. It wasn't because of her capabilities, or lack thereof - he knew she was more than able to carry out the job. Lisbon had been working her way through the ranks at the CBI for a while and he knew she was the most qualified for the position. The problem was one specific case that came as part and parcel with the senior agent of the SCU job.
Red John.
He knew that Lisbon was connected to the case and he didn’t like the fact that her bias could possibly color her judgment. Whenever agents were so closely ingratiated with cases, Minelli had always tried his utmost to keep them separate from the problem case. He didn’t want their history, their lives, to cause problems with their work. Biased agents sometimes went too far if they felt too passionate about a case because of links, one way or another.
But Lisbon had been the best one he’d interviewed for it. They’d both known it. And she was determined to have the job, too. She used all of her powers of persuasion to ensure that she got precisely what she wanted. It had taken a lot of convincing that she wouldn’t step out of the boundaries, when it came to the Red John case. That she would work to the letter of the law and wouldn’t let her history or links cloud her judgment. They both knew it was easier said than done, but if anyone was capable of keeping such a promise and remaining level-headed, it was Teresa Lisbon. And six months after she had been appointed, Minelli had told her that he'd been glad she had persuaded him to take a chance on her.
But things had changed since then. Patrick Jane had come back into her life just two months ago and had promptly turned everything upside down once more. He was like a destructive whirlwind, determined to leave chaos in his wake. The man had no concept of professionalism and boundaries. The fact that he was only working for the CBI to solve the Red John case was something he’d made blindingly obvious and that worried her. He didn’t have the self-control she put in place for herself. Jane didn’t care how the Red John case was dealt with, just so long as it was. The law had no meaning in his eyes. He was on a personal vendetta, making it his quest to ensure that Red John was dealt with, one way or another. Worst of all, Lisbon had a shrinking suspicion that Jane would willingly break the law in order to try and find closure for the death of his family.
And his recklessness was beginning to have an effect on her, too.
Because she had just as good a reason to be as passionate about the Red John case as he did. But of course, being Patrick Jane, he forgot that her brother had been slaughtered by the serial killer. He was so fixated on the fact his family had been victims, that he forgot there were other people who were in the same state as he was. That she, too, was looking for closure when it came to the death of her brother.
Joseph Lisbon hadn’t even been an intended victim of Red John. That was what was so galling about his death for her. That, and the only reason he’d been in the vicinity at all, was because he had chosen to be a cop because he’d wanted to follow in her footsteps. It had been sheer chance that he’d been the first responder to that Red John murder. The fact that Red John had returned to the scene, presumably because he’d made a fatal error, had just been Joseph’s misfortune. Why else would Red John have returned, if it hadn’t been because he’d left some clue behind?
Every day she had asked herself several questions. Why had Joseph had to choose to be a cop too? Why hadn’t she persuaded him to choose some other career? Why did he have to have been on call that night? Why did Red John have to make a mistake? How did he manage to overcome her brother?
Why did he have to die?
Was it her fault?
Lisbon found herself staring at a picture of him, one of very few she had up in her apartment. It was on his graduation day. Joseph had been so proud of himself that day, and justifiably so. Being a cop was something he’d dreamed of ever since she had been accepted into the academy. He was going to make a career out of it, follow in her footsteps. She and her other brothers, James and Tommy, had all managed to attend it as well. In fact, his graduation was probably the last time they’d all been together, alive. The next time she had been reunited with James and Tommy had been at Joseph’s funeral. Not for a moment had Joe believed that the career of his dreams would result in his death. Nor would he have imagined just how much it would have broken his elder sister’s heart.
Her hand slipped into her pocket and she drew out that damn origami frog. Without a second thought, she wrapped her fingers around the paper creation and crumpled it up. Then, she dropped it in the trash can, not even bothering to look at it.
Of course a paper frog wasn’t going to be enough.
Not for something like that.
Author: tromana
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Jane/Lisbon
Summary: Lisbon had had to keep her anger in check during the case. An AU episode tag to 1x01.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Spoilers: None
Notes: Written for 15genres1prompt. Genre: Alternate Universe. And gosh, I want to return to this 'verse again one day.
Don't Wish, Don't Start
When she got home, it couldn't have come a moment sooner. She wasn't just angry; she had gone far beyond that. Lisbon had had to keep her anger in check during the case, to allow it to simmer just below the surface. Now she was back at home, the rage was bubbling furiously and she had irresistible urge to do something destructive. However, it was gone one a.m. So that would have to wait until the morning. An early session down at the range would be enough to get her straight again, but for now she would have to cling onto the modicum of self-control she had left.
The origami frog he'd made her was still in her jacket pocket. It was such a silly, pointless gift and yet he had deemed it an appropriate present. Why? It was just a mindless piece of folded paper and more annoyingly, it had taken her off guard and made her jump. The bastard. He'd explicitly done it to ruffle her feathers, to make her seem unprofessional and nervy. And as if it made everything better. It didn't; far from it, in fact. She was still angry.
It wasn't just the fact he had weaseled his way into the case despite his being on suspension. Nor was it because he'd lied to her about the case and how he was going to solve. It would have been a lie if she'd said that his morally and legally dubious methodology hadn't angered her once again. Of course it had; it made a mockery out of the CBI. She was proud to be a senior agent for the bureau and loathed his immediate lack of respect for it.
No what had annoyed her the most was a single line. Just one claim. It had shaken her to her very core when he'd said it. Even now, days afterwards, when theoretically she should have forgotten about it, his voice and the words lingered on in her mind.
Red John is mine. That was what he'd said. And that was what had led to her being so furious with her wayward consultant.
Red John didn't belong to anyone, least of all Patrick Jane. He was a dangerous serial killer who had blighted the lives of many people. Bringing him to justice was the highest of her priorities.
It was also the reason she had applied for the serious crimes unit vacancy when it had come up.
Minelli had been very reluctant to give her the position. It wasn't because of her capabilities, or lack thereof - he knew she was more than able to carry out the job. Lisbon had been working her way through the ranks at the CBI for a while and he knew she was the most qualified for the position. The problem was one specific case that came as part and parcel with the senior agent of the SCU job.
Red John.
He knew that Lisbon was connected to the case and he didn’t like the fact that her bias could possibly color her judgment. Whenever agents were so closely ingratiated with cases, Minelli had always tried his utmost to keep them separate from the problem case. He didn’t want their history, their lives, to cause problems with their work. Biased agents sometimes went too far if they felt too passionate about a case because of links, one way or another.
But Lisbon had been the best one he’d interviewed for it. They’d both known it. And she was determined to have the job, too. She used all of her powers of persuasion to ensure that she got precisely what she wanted. It had taken a lot of convincing that she wouldn’t step out of the boundaries, when it came to the Red John case. That she would work to the letter of the law and wouldn’t let her history or links cloud her judgment. They both knew it was easier said than done, but if anyone was capable of keeping such a promise and remaining level-headed, it was Teresa Lisbon. And six months after she had been appointed, Minelli had told her that he'd been glad she had persuaded him to take a chance on her.
But things had changed since then. Patrick Jane had come back into her life just two months ago and had promptly turned everything upside down once more. He was like a destructive whirlwind, determined to leave chaos in his wake. The man had no concept of professionalism and boundaries. The fact that he was only working for the CBI to solve the Red John case was something he’d made blindingly obvious and that worried her. He didn’t have the self-control she put in place for herself. Jane didn’t care how the Red John case was dealt with, just so long as it was. The law had no meaning in his eyes. He was on a personal vendetta, making it his quest to ensure that Red John was dealt with, one way or another. Worst of all, Lisbon had a shrinking suspicion that Jane would willingly break the law in order to try and find closure for the death of his family.
And his recklessness was beginning to have an effect on her, too.
Because she had just as good a reason to be as passionate about the Red John case as he did. But of course, being Patrick Jane, he forgot that her brother had been slaughtered by the serial killer. He was so fixated on the fact his family had been victims, that he forgot there were other people who were in the same state as he was. That she, too, was looking for closure when it came to the death of her brother.
Joseph Lisbon hadn’t even been an intended victim of Red John. That was what was so galling about his death for her. That, and the only reason he’d been in the vicinity at all, was because he had chosen to be a cop because he’d wanted to follow in her footsteps. It had been sheer chance that he’d been the first responder to that Red John murder. The fact that Red John had returned to the scene, presumably because he’d made a fatal error, had just been Joseph’s misfortune. Why else would Red John have returned, if it hadn’t been because he’d left some clue behind?
Every day she had asked herself several questions. Why had Joseph had to choose to be a cop too? Why hadn’t she persuaded him to choose some other career? Why did he have to have been on call that night? Why did Red John have to make a mistake? How did he manage to overcome her brother?
Why did he have to die?
Was it her fault?
Lisbon found herself staring at a picture of him, one of very few she had up in her apartment. It was on his graduation day. Joseph had been so proud of himself that day, and justifiably so. Being a cop was something he’d dreamed of ever since she had been accepted into the academy. He was going to make a career out of it, follow in her footsteps. She and her other brothers, James and Tommy, had all managed to attend it as well. In fact, his graduation was probably the last time they’d all been together, alive. The next time she had been reunited with James and Tommy had been at Joseph’s funeral. Not for a moment had Joe believed that the career of his dreams would result in his death. Nor would he have imagined just how much it would have broken his elder sister’s heart.
Her hand slipped into her pocket and she drew out that damn origami frog. Without a second thought, she wrapped her fingers around the paper creation and crumpled it up. Then, she dropped it in the trash can, not even bothering to look at it.
Of course a paper frog wasn’t going to be enough.
Not for something like that.