Chapter Text
“You said no? Seriously?” Jane sighed and drank another bit of tea, grimacing. He was a bit of snob when it came to eggs and tea, but his (former) brother-in-law, Danny, had insisted on catching up, and tea was the only kind of beverage Jane still drank, especially in an establishment such as the bar Danny had chosen to meet him. He decided to put aside (for now) the cup, pretending to play with the spoon and the semi-cold liquid. It was a good way of distracting himself, both from the baseball game Danny had probably bet money on, and the conversation with the younger man himself. Jane wasn’t liking his tone, but he knew the boy meant well, deep down.
“Ok, Paddy, let’s hear, what crime the LAPD was guilty of?” Danny blocked out the game (a clear indication he had probably bet on the losing team) and concentrated again on his former “relative”. He shook his head, a bit disappointed. Some days- the majority of them, actually- he didn’t know what to do with Patrick Jane. Or how the hell his sister had managed to put out with him for over ten years.
“The assistant chief called me a psych.” He said, and then, whispered “And he was serious. He is into that stuff.”
“Right, because you never passed as a psychic before…” Danny mumbled, more between himself than to Jane. But he knew it wasn’t going to matter anyway; Patrick Jane wasn’t completely normal, and he had probably read his lips or whatever.
“Danny, he is the assistant chief of the biggest police force of the world- the world, Danny” he repeated, underlining the word for meaning and emphasis. “And he believes in psychs.”
Danny closed his eyes, sighing. “Yeah. And maybe he even goes to church. Ehy, you know what? You should call his boss and get him arrested. Throw away the key of his cell, too.” He commented, not bothering to add- again, and to his face- that until a couple of years before Jane would have accepted the job in a heartbeat, psychic or no psychic. Actually, he would have insisted to be called a psych. After all, it was how he had made up his name, earned his fortune.
“There are people around here who have principles, Danny.” Jane retorted, and Danny lifted his eyebrows. They were almost reaching his hairline, because, frankly, Jane was being an idiot, and, on top of that, a hypocrite. “Having principles is a good thing. And I may have developed them later in my life, but I think” he said, moving his hands, a well-known trick from his carnie days to deviate the attention of his audience. “I think that it’s better late than never.”
Danny sighed and almost threw his head on the table. First, Jane was trying to use his tricks with him- which showed how desperate and pathetic he was – and then, he was being unreasonable. “Ok, principles, all right, I get it. But it’s one thing to have principles, and another thing is to believe that you are Prince Charming ready to ride on his white stallion towards the sunset.”
This time, it was Jane’s turn to lift his eyebrows. Danny tended to bring horses in every now and then, because of a secret fantasy he had always had since childhood; unfortunately, he tended to make expressions up, or use them as he saw fit- and almost always, out of context.
“I mean you can’t refuse jobs. It’s starting to feel like you are making some twisted kind of nasty joke of yourself.”
Jane sighed, suddenly sad, filled by a rage that had almost consumed him to the point of death in the last two years. He knew what Danny was talking about, success and fame and money, what they had been both raised to reach. And Jane, a long time before he had had it all- and yet, they hadn’t helped him.
“I am ok right now.” He grunted, crossing his arms, tea forgotten. Even as a plaything, it had outlived its purpose.
“Listen, I understand if you tell me you want a different life, different approach, or whatever. But,” Danny said, his voice low, his eyes almost tender. “You have to survive.”
“I have enough to last a couple of lifetimes. Worst case scenario, I’ll sell my vintage car collection.” He paused, wondering if it was wise to order another cup of tea, just to decide against it. “Besides, this new place I am putting back in order, I think I’ll sell it once it will be ready. Market’s coming around, after all. And one day, I’ll find the right job. It has always happened so far. It will happen again.”
“If you keep refusing job offers, word will spread, and people will stop calling you. And then, when you will run out of jobs, what will you do? Renovate apartments? Or hope that your charm will save you once again?”
“My charm never failed me, Danny Boy.” he chuckled, shamelessly. It was true. He had enchanted men and women alike, even if in the past, he had rarely used seduction – of the mind, of course – to get jobs. His name and his closed-case ratio had always been enough.
Danny sighed, lowering his head. Jane imagined that the boy wanted to say something in the lines of “you are supposed to think about the future”, but he kept it quiet. Danny had probably understood by now that Jane wasn’t ready to get back in the field. He probably would have never had. Jane knew that Danny meant well, but he couldn’t understand Jane had changed too much in the last years. There was no turning back: Jane had come to despise too much what he used to be.
“Paddy…it’s been two years already…” Danny murmured in a low tone.
“Two years, four months, three weeks and a handful of days.” Jane specified. He couldn’t understand Danny. He should have been the one to get it, among all the others. How could Danny believe that, just because it had been over two years, Jane could return to the man he had once been? Angela had wanted more out of life- and he was going to give her that, even if now it was too late for her to witness it.
“Annie would have wanted you to…” Danny started, referring to his late sister with the nickname had forged for her as a kid, when he couldn’t spell Angela or Angie properly.
“Don’t!” Jane jumped, standing, feeling the familiar rage and guilt re-emerge. He knew what Angela had wanted when they had last spoken that morning, but her last words had been forever denied to her husband: because of that job Danny wanted for him to get back in, because of the money and the fame, he hadn’t answered his phone, allowed it to go to voicemail. And because of that, now she and their daughter weren’t any longer. “Can we change subject? Please?”
Jane had lowered his eyes and spoke the word that Danny had so rarely heard leaving his lips; it was time to let it go, now. It was starting to become too painful, and even if he had hated Jane at the beginning, he had also been the rational one, the one who knew that, even if Jane would have answered the call, nothing would have changed in the end.
The remained quiet for a while, Jane again playing with his tea and Danny looking at the screen, lost in the game – his team was winning now, it seemed- and then, Jane cleared his throat. Blushing a little, he showed off an insecurity Danny didn’t knew his brother-in-law possessed.
“The other day I met my neighbor.” He casually said. He didn’t know if he just wanted to get Danny to switch topic or get the man’s attention on this particular subject.
“The woman who put notes underneath your door?” Danny asked with nonchalance, his eyes every now and then on the game; Jane nodded, forgetting that he wasn’t supposed to drink his tea. He grimaced, and put it as far away from him as possible. “Who is she?”
“She’s someone who casually uses words such as “cease” and desist”. What do you think?”
Danny took a big breath, and chuckled. Jane saw that he was doing his best to avoid laughing out loud, and he didn’t dare to think what thoughts were running through the boy’s sordid mind. “She sounds like my grandmother.”
“I know.” Jane chuckled, agreeing for once. Both Mrs. Katherine Anne Ruskin and his neighbor were snobs who liked a refined language, but Miss Lisbon was a lot younger and a sight for sore eyes. He could still remember her, with her dark hair fanning her face, with her “I need to work” attitude. Like work was the only thing important in life… she looked a lot like of his teachers, a stern woman who also happened to be a hot little number.
“So, you don’t get along too well…” Danny said, and Jane chuckled again, with a faraway look in his eyes. Danny was almost positive of the meaning, but he didn’t know if he was supposed to be happy or mad about this sudden new development. “You don’t get along too well, right?”
Jane suddenly returned to Earth, and it took him one moment to remember what they were talking about –whom – and once done, he blushed, trying to put on his best act. He didn’t like that he had been thinking about Miss Lisbon, and in such a way. It was… disrespectful and inappropriate.
“Well, she doesn’t get along with me, that’s for sure. The other day we parted on her promise to sue me in front of the condo corporate meeting. Of course, she decided against it when I informed her that I am the manager, but, you know…” Jane did again that thing with his hands, and Danny felt like slapping him. He wasn’t a child or an idiot, and he didn’t resent the older man for what had happened to Angela and Charlotte.
“Man, I knew that one day your charm would fail you, but to be a fiasco with a woman…” he shook his head with mirth, almost giving himself a high-five for the satisfaction. When they had been younger and women flirted with Patrick, the older man had always made fun of the kid who was always rejected in favor of the more handsome man. “Oh, how low the mighty have fallen…”
“She isn’t my type” Jane murmured, even if it wasn’t completely true. He had never had a “type”, blondes, like Angela, or brunette like Miss Lisbon, it had never been an issue. But Teresa was too controlled and strict, self-centered and… and too much like he had been until Angela’s death.
“Here you are!” A woman hissed at his back, and when he turned, his eyes fell on Miss Lisbon’s frame, and the body he had thought about until a moment before, clad in jog wear. She was crossing her arms, her eyes like fire, showing off her rage. Danny laughed behind his teeth as he guessed, correctly, who the woman was: Jane was definitely not charming this little number.
“The water, Mister Jane,” She accused him, thundering. “I want it back.”
Jane didn’t understand immediately what she was talking about, he was too lost in those flaming eyes and her full -kissable –lips, and he felt the need to reach out and run his hands through her messy curls, free from the restraint of the ponytail she had the last time they met. He wanted to sigh and grunt, hide somewhere and cry. After Angela, he had never desired another woman, and now, here she was, Teresa Lisbon. The same women he had just said wasn’t his type.
Oh, god. What an idiot.
“So?” she repeated, never stopping looking at Jane. “When will I get my water back?”
“Get back what, when?” he asked, distracted by her eyes. They were green, but shifting in nuance, from forest to sea green according to the light and her mood. He hadn’t noticed them the other day.
“Mister Jane, I’d like for you to stop looking at me like I have two heads, and focus on my face instead of my body,” Teresa said, controlled and taking a big breath. “There’s no water in my apartment. I imagine that you turned it off when you installed your tub. Now, as it seems you are done with your job” she said, looking at Danny and at the turquoise cup of tea on the table. “I’d be grateful if you could turn it on now. I need to take a shower. I really need it.”
Jane didn’t think so; she was perfect, and wanted to tell her that messy women made perfect lovers, but thought against it. Danny was there, and Miss Lisbon wouldn’t have appreciated the compliment- she would have probably reported him for sexual harassment, actually.
“Sorry, can’t do.” He said, quoting one of the first sentences he had said to her.
“Why?” she asked, sighing, closing her eyes. Her long lashes were fanning her rosy cheeks, making her look like a sexy Snow White.
“I didn’t turn off the water.” He looked around conspicuously, and lowering his voice he whispered, “Are you sure you paid your bill?”
And here it was, that fire again. “I always pay my bills!” she screamed on top of her lungs.
He lifted his arms, in mock surrender, and at his back, Danny was laughing like a maniac. He was already crazy for that woman- and the healthy effect she had on Jane. Seriously, they behaved like an old married couple more than Jane and Angela ever did.
“Mister Jane, I understand that some people appreciate humor… but right now I am not one of them.” She rolled her eyes, sniffing like a child who just had their candy stolen by a bully. For a womanizer and gentleman (on occasions) like Jane, it was impossible to resist her. “I had a really long day, between the office and tackling a guy twice my size… I just wanted to take a long, relaxing shower and take some pity on my sore muscles…”
Jane grunted. That wasn’t an image he wanted in his head, Teresa Lisbon naked, or struggling underneath a male body… he couldn’t understand why men found lady cops intimidating. They were hot. She was hot.
“Miss Lisbon, I’d like to help you, but I just turned off my water to work on the tub… I fear that if you’ll want to take a shower, you’ll either have to wait for a specialist, or beg someone for mercy.” When he said the words, he smiled a cat got the canary smile at her, who blushed, feeling his words filled with an innuendo that wasn’t lost on her. And he hadn’t meant to make it sound so dirty or proposition to her.
“You know, technically this is your work, I think.” Danny said, drinking a sip of his warm beer. That place was horrible –he wasn’t going to step back into that bar ever again. With the bottle stopped in mid-air, both Jane and Lisbon turned to look at him with a questioning expression. “Well, Pad… Patrick,” he corrected himself before the brunette Patrick was hot for heard the hated nickname. “is the manager. Isn’t it in your job description to make sure everything in the building is in working order?”
A sly grin started to appear on Lisbon’s lips, and Jane immediately stood, shaking his head, no. He wasn’t going to go along with Danny’s plan. Jane didn’t want to start to date, sleep around, or have a relationship. Not now- and especially not with the fiery brunette, and if she dared to ask such a thing to him after having left threatening notes underneath his door for over a month and having accused him of having turned off her water, she was wrong.
“Ok, listen, I have to make sure that everything is in working order only in the common areas of the building, and before you could say anything, Miss I know the law…” he said, turning to her and pointing a finger at the brunette. “No, your plumbing is not a common area.”
Teresa grinned, rolling her shoulders in defeat , and without adding anything, she turned on her heels, and made her way towards the door, when, suddenly, she felt a big, strong, callous hand grabbing her wrist and forcing her to turn; before her, there was “Patrick”, who looked at her like he didn’t know what to do with her, or, strange, with himself. He seemed unsure, kind of lost, but it didn’t do anything but add to his charm, to his character. When he spoke, his voice was low, defeated, and she didn’t understand why.
“I’ll give it a look.” He said, finally, after a long time of silence passed between the two of them. “Just to see what you’ll have to tell the plumbers.”
“If I’m not disturbing you…” she answered, pouting a little like an innocent little child. He grunted as he followed her out of the bar. Yes, he was disturbed- but not because of what she was asking him to do. But of what she had awoke in him- something he had believed to had been long buried, along with his late wife.
As they walked towards home-and the plumber-Teresa wondered what she was supposed to do of Jane. On one side, she thought there hadn’t been a real need of asking him to help her out with her hydraulic issues, as it was the minimum he could do after all the troubles he had caused her in the last months; but Teresa also knew that she had sounded like a maniac when she had accused him of having turned off her water. Looking like a manic, being so out of control and pathetic had never been her objective, it just wasn’t her- not any longer, at least. But, in her defense, Jane had been looking for a fight. He had started the war, slamming the door in her face few days before, AFTER having been all sexy and charming. And now…she had had two terrible days, she was tired and stressed and sweaty, and if she wanted to be mean, so be it- she was allowed to.
And then, there was the other problem, his eyes.
Those eyes that weren’t leaving her body, eyes she couldn’t see, but felt lingering on her body, on the shape the thin nylon of her sport clothes underlined; she had walked past many people on her way there, and yet, she hadn’t given it a second thought. But, not one of the people who had looked at her had been him, her sexy, handsome neighbor who…
She sighed as he walked past her, her eyes going to his arms, and then his hands. On his left, he wore a simple wedding band, yellow gold old with many years. He was married- and yet, she had never heard of a Mrs. Jane. He apparently lived alone. Why? Was he divorced or a widow? Or maybe his work was buying old apartments and renovating them, and he had moved in the building just for a short while, and his wife was back home-wherever home could be- with an army of children. She scolded herself. She wasn’t supposed to think about him in such a way.
When they reached the boiler room, she felt like suffocating. It was too hot, too dark in there, and yet, Jane walked in the tiny room like he knew every step, every corner. A spider’s web skimmed over her skin, and she almost screamed like a child out of fear and disgust. Meanwhile, Jane had reached the plumbing, and was carefully inspecting her section; he hummed, and then, even in the dark, she could see his smile again, that cat got the canary expression she was already familiar with.
“There’s a broken valve.” He paused, and then, he turned to look at her. Teresa had moved from her early position, and was now leaning over him, the tips of her dark hair skimming his skin. He felt hot and cold, his whole body shivered. It had been too long since a woman had been that close to him- and had had such an effect. “Feel free to ask for forgiveness whenever you want.” He said, looking away and clearing his throat. He made to leave, because he felt the need to put some distance between himself and the beautiful cop. It was too soon, he still felt too guilty.
In answer, Teresa started to scream and shout and grunt, all very un-lady like reactions that amused the blonde man. Of course, when she saw that he was laughing, she incinerated him with a look. “It’s not funny! It’s late and I’ll never be able to find a plumber who’ll come right away, so I’ll have to take an appointment for tomorrow, but then, I’ll have to wait for him, losing a morning of work that will result in me being behind in my schedule!” Teresa imagined Ardilles, who had been clear about the fact that the Red John case was her priority, coming even before existing, and co-worker/partner of sort Ray Haffner, who was pushing her to fight for Minelli’s job and move in with him.
“The hell with that….” She mumbled, crossing her arms. It was starting to get chilly- strange, as the room had no windows.
“Hate to sound like a broken record… but those excuses?” Jane asked a bit flirty, lifting his eyebrows, and Teresa smiled- the first honest smile since they had met.
“I’m sorry if I have been insufferable. Usually, I’m not such a bitch.” She said, pouting again. He wanted to sigh at the sight of those lips. They were so full, and seemed so soft… if she had a boyfriend, he was damn lucky.
Or maybe not. He couldn’t understand how a sane man could leave the bed in the morning, given the chance to make love with such an elfin creature. Either he was a saint going through a passion every day, or he was an idiot who couldn’t see what was right before his eyes.
“You are not a bitch. You are authoritative and with high expectations, especially towards the people who work underneath you.” And he blushed as he said so, because maybe the double entendre could be lost on her, but he couldn’t help but having very graphic visions of her, naked underneath him, willingly giving herself to him. “And you had a bad day.”
Their gazes met in the darkness, and Lisbon felt heat radiated through her whole body. He was reading her, and she felt unsure, unprotected, exposed. A sensation she had always hated: she had always been strong an in control. She closed her eyes when the scent of cologne, mixed with tea and sweat, hit her hard, and she imagined…things she wasn’t supposed to be thinking about.
God. How long had it been since she had had X-rated fantasies about a semi-stranger?
“So… Patrick, right?” she asked, rolling on her heels; when he didn’t answer but stared at her, she explained herself. “Your friend at the bar. He called you Patrick.”
“Oh, Danny. Yes. He isn’t really a friend. He is kind of family.” He looked away, and she felt something change in his behavior. Jane stood, and put as much distance as possible between the two of them. Suddenly, it was like she was burning him- and she didn’t like the sensation, the wave of disappointment that rose in her chest. “I was married with his sister.”
“Was” married-in the past tense. She sighed, feeling a relief that wasn’t supposed to be there, but she was unable to stop it, and she hated herself a bit for that. She had been right-there had been a wife-and now, there wasn’t any longer. Jane was probably a widower, maybe had suffered –maybe he was still suffering- for the loss of his beloved; otherwise, she couldn’t see how he could still be in a good relationship with his in-laws.
“I’m Teresa Lisbon. Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise, Teresa Lisbon” he shook her hand. His grasp was strong; his hand was warm and callous. Patrick Jane was a living enigma: his hands belonged to a worker, and yet, his eyes talked of a smart, intelligent and educated man.
His eyes. She gulped down when she looked at them; they were fixed on her lips, and they didn’t stop, even when she left his hand and took a step back. And Teresa swore he was taking a step toward her, closing the distance between their bodies when the sudden intimacy was broken by an annoying, despicable noise.
Her phone. Her life was calling. Her job. Reality.
She took few steps away from him, and answered, immediately in cop-mode. She didn’t say more than a couple of words after “Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon”, and Jane had to smile. Senior Agent. She was probably barely thirty, and was already a senior agent. That woman didn’t seem to have much of a life outside of the job. She closed the call, and turned to look at him, clearing her throat.
“So..” she started, but he stopped her, charming with that grin of his, a magnet for any living being. Teresa was sure that no one could resist Patrick Jane.
“I will forgive you, and start anew.” Jane said, and when he paused, she could see in his eyes that there was a “but” coming – and in fact, few seconds after she had thought about it, he started to talk again, with a smile on his lips. “But only if you’ll offer me dinner one of these days.”
“Deal.” Teresa said, smiling, biting her lips. She looked at him like she was a shy schoolgirl, and felt confused by her own behavior, but then, she mentally shook her head. She wasn’t flirting with Jane; yes, he was an handsome man, but she was dating (sort of) Ray, and she was just being nice. She had been rude, had judged him based on a first impression made while in a bad mood. Besides, he was the manager; it was always a good thing to have someone in such a position as a friend. And he had helped her out as he could. It was only fair, after all.
“Then, I’ll guess that… I’ll see you when I’ll see you?” she added, still blushing, her voice too high, strolling out of the building, ready to get back to HQ and work on the Volker case she had recently been assigned. Jane simply smiled the mega-watt smile Teresa felt already addicted to.
As soon as she was out of eyesight, Jane smiled in triumph. Teresa Lisbon was all about work, but he was going to show her that there was more than that at life.