Work Text:
Working at the CBI most days are fairly hectic, with having to stretch all the resources as far as they go whilst fighting budget cuts, the general public and bad guys. It is a pretty stimulating job but sometimes there are days which are on the quieter side. Those days although are perfect to catch up paperwork and to mentally reset ready for the next taxing case, are also boring.
None of the agents signed up to fill in paperwork and to sit on their asses. They crave the excitement; it is kind of sad really, but they all have their reasons. Occasionally having the time to think is a bad thing.
For Teresa Lisbon it has given her chance to evaluate some aspects of her life, specifically her life outside of CBI which doesn’t really exist. The other day a brief phone call with her brother Stan ended abruptly when he asked about any men on the scene. He didn’t mean to sound so nosy, but he does worry about his big sister being alone because he knows that although she acts all tough on the outside, she gets lonely like everyone else.
That conversation has been on her mind ever since. “Hey Grace…” She drags the redhead’s attention away from her computer monitor. “You know that wedding you went to last week, did I hear you say to Rigsby that your friend met her husband on a blind date?”
On hearing his partner utter the word “date”, a reclined Patrick Jane forces open his eyes having quickly been pulled from kip. He tilts his head to look at the two women convening around the desk and raises his brow out of disbelief. Lisbon never talks about dating. Ever. Especially not at work around people.
She is a very private person. “Yes, I couldn’t believe it!” Van Pelt exclaims in a surprised yet happy tone, “They are so perfect together. Why do you ask?”
There is silence that follows but it is thick with tension and it definitely grabs the interests of the consultant who continues to stay quiet. He knows if he pipes up and says anything, then the brunette will close off and pretend nothing was even said. He wants to hear her say it, he needs to hear her say it. Jane doesn’t really know why. “I’m just thinking maybe it is something I could try.”
There it is. She would really go on a blind date? He is shocked and the brief hush tells him that Grace has had a similar reaction. “That’s cool.” The younger woman keeps her answer short, worried that anything she could say will put her superior off, but she thinks it is a great idea. “I will ask Rebecca what agency she used.”
“Thank you. I’m just thinking… what the hell! You know?”
He didn’t realise how possessive he felt over Lisbon until now. The thought of her dating makes him feel green with jealousy and it is too much. It feels alien to him and dangerous. Why should he feel possessive when it comes to her? They are just friends. Jane feels like his head is spinning. “I think my friend had to fill in a questionnaire and they matched her with Chris. They met at some restaurant that the company booked out for the night. Full of loads of people on their first dates.”
Listening to her friend, Teresa cannot think of anything worse, but she needs to do something because right now she expects to die a hermit. She may be married to her work but that doesn’t mean she has to be alone the rest of the time. “Well, if it worked for Rebecca and Chris…” She shrugs.
“Blind date huh?” The blonde finally voices his thoughts, a little too loudly for his friend’s liking as it draws the attention of Rigsby and Cho. Patrick pushes himself up into a sitting position and swivels around so that he is looking at the woman who is now glaring daggers at him. “Lisbon, you’re not a bad looking woman, why would your date need to be blind?”
“Ha ha.” She sarcastically laughs before leaving the bullpen in the direction of her office.
Having masked his feelings with humour, his eyes follow her out which his colleague, Agent Rigsby astutely notices. Jane turns his head and meets his stare, but it isn’t held as they both awkwardly look away.
For some reason, he senses the need to find out more about her plans to date so he gets up off the couch and trails the invisible path she has left to her office. Her door is shut which is never a good sign especially on a case-free day, he must have really annoyed her.
The man has never been good at knocking, is her first thought when he bursts into her office without warning, and he doesn’t shut the door behind him. What she doesn’t know is he keeps the door open to make this seem like a casual interaction, hoping that she opens up a little to him, but he knows that she is stubborn so it is unlikely. “What do you want?” She snaps, a scowl resting on her features.
“I’m sorry for my joke, it was in poor taste.” He utters a rare apology that renders her speechless. “Are you really going to do it? Go on a blind date?”
“Why not?” Lisbon shrugs noncommittedly, “Van Pelt’s friend isn’t the first success story I’ve heard. Some of these algorithms they use to match people are actually pretty scientific.”
Jane had no idea that she could astonish him twice in one day, especially in such a short space of time. Who is this woman and what has she done with the real Agent Teresa Lisbon? He is just so surprised that she not only would be considering a blind date but to actually believe that there is science behind it… Maybe she is getting sick.
Yes, that is the only reasonable explanation he thinks. “These “algorithms” that you speak of are complete bogus. Marketed drivel to take your money.”
“Then how do you explain Rebecca and Chris?”
“A fluke.”
“Why are you so vexed about this?” Patrick falls silent. He didn’t realise that his voice was raised, and tone aggravated until her question. The possessiveness he feels really showing face. “I am going to give it a go, it is my life, and I don’t know why you care so much. When it goes terribly you can say you told me so but for now, I want to try it.”
Honestly, during her conversation with Van Pelt she felt the desire to give it a go fade away but now, after her interaction with the consultant she needs to go for it. Even if it is just to spite him.
A quick rapt on the glass door interrupts their awkward encounter as Cho thankfully announces, “Boss, we are up.” Before he leaves to return to the bullpen having sensed some tension between his colleagues.
“Thank god.” She mutters and is immediately pushing back her chair to get to her feet.
Lisbon watches the mentalist leave quickly without saying a word to her or glancing back, but it makes her grin. Her understanding is that she reduced him to silence and that is a difficult task when it comes to Jane. She is too pleased to even try thinking about why it happened, and now they have a case so she will likely forget about the whole meet. Duty calls.
--------------------
Nights are eerily quiet. Especially when you spend your nights in a loft space at CBI headquarters thinking about everything and nothing at the same time. At first, his colleagues would question his decision to sleep here but now it is the norm, so they don’t bat an eyelid.
When they are on a case, things are busy, so he doesn’t get bullied by his thoughts but when it is over… they are so loud.
Tonight, he is thinking about Lisbon, and more specifically that unfamiliar jealousy he has found himself experiencing around her. He partially forgot about it but as soon as they closed this case, he overheard her and Grace talking about this blind date business once more.
Van Pelt had found out the name of the agency her friend used and said there is an event at the end of the following week. Apparently, they are taking over some steak house in Sacramento for the night and people will be partnered depending on their compatibility based on a questionnaire.
The deadline is soon for anyone interested and there is a flat fee of $50 which includes a set three course meal and wine. She is probably filling out her application as he lies on his crummy mattress thinking about the entire ordeal. He thought that he knew her but this, a blind date, seems so unlike her and he knows that she will have a terrible time. That’s what he thinks anyway… or maybe that is envy setting in once more.
Jane sighs loudly, although there is no-one around to hear him. He decides that he will not be getting any sleep anytime soon so heads downstairs to make himself a cup of tea in the breakroom.
He watches the tea brew, the bronzed colour diffusing in the water, it is entrancing and unexpectedly makes an idea form in his mind. This could either be really good or go awfully, but he is willing to take the risk. She might even thank him for it. Maybe.
--------------------
The steakhouse is the perfect venue for a blind date event. It is not too big but also not too small, reasonably priced, an open plan space making it easy for the organisers to watch what is going on and it isn’t a big romantic setting. If they held the events at intimate, romantic restaurants then it would feel too forced, and their success rate probably wouldn’t be so high.
The ambience is nice, and Lisbon is definitely glad that she was assigned a later slot for her date. When she arrived, there was already half a dozen filled tables and everyone looks fairly happy. Made a good advert for sure and it meant she didn’t turn on her heels to leave.
She is nervous. More than nervous. Very much on edge and sceptical about the whole experience but she promised herself and Van Pelt that she would give it a shot. Her uneasiness did persuade her to turnup over a quarter of an hour early making her the first, out of her and her blind date, to arrive. Thankfully, a waiter was quick to fill her glass with wine.
Jane is also nervous. During his unsettled night at the CBI the previous week he thought his plan was a great one, to feed his jealousy by also signing up for the event. That isn’t all though. He played the algorithm to try and ensure that he and the agent matched. Now he is here though, any confidence he had has drifted away like it never existed in the first place. “Name?” A man’s voice breaks through his thoughts.
The man isn’t dressed in the steakhouse waiting uniform but instead a navy woollen jumper with a nametag reading: BOB. “Jane, Patrick Jane.”
“Hello Patrick, my name is Bob, and I am one of the organisers of this evening.” He greets him and suddenly it is all very obvious. Bob looks down at his clipboard and scans it for the name of the curly-haired fella stood before him. “You are on table seven, I hope you are happy with your match and any issues just wave me over.”
Table seven. His eyes scan over the room, counting the tables, hoping that when he reaches seven, he will be looking at the back of Lisbon’s head. She may not be facing the door, but he knows that it is her from her uptight demeanour.
He finds it interesting that she has decided to take the seat turned away from entrance, shows she is on edge and doesn’t want to see who her date is until they sit down opposite her. After counting a third time he is quite confident that his plan has worked so starts to walk towards her table, checking the numbers of the tables as he goes.
He is dressed in attire very similar to usual, a suit with a vest, but it is better quality and less ratty than what he would wear to work. As someone who spends his life in suits, it is quite difficult to up his game for special events like a date. However, he wanted to try and make the effort so that Lisbon will see that he isn’t playing around.
Only a few paces away from the table he spots the number seven positioned boldly. It worked. He is her blind date.
Jane takes the final steps and coughs nervously with a, “Er hey.” Her eyes go wide on instantly recognising his voice. What is he doing here?
The brunette turns her head and tilts it up to look at him, a clear expression of puzzlement on her face, whilst she tries to rack her brain for something to say but it is blank. “How…?” Is all she can utter.
Feeling awkward just standing there, the CBI consultant decides to take the seat opposite his partner while not saying a word. Truth is he doesn’t know what to say either. This may have been his plan, but he was concentrating so hard on actually matching with her that he hadn’t really thought of a strategy for when he did.
She scrubs up well, but he knew that from the few times they have been to events together as a unit. Tonight, she has gone for an emerald-green strapless dress that really brings out her piercing eyes. They are particularly piercing in this moment as she tries to comprehend what is happening. “How did you manage this?” She asks, more assertively this time.
“It was all too easy.” The how question he will be able to answer but when she inevitably asks why, that will be trickier. “I knew how you would answer the questionnaire, so I answered mine in the same way to ensure the “algorithm” put us together.”
“I thought opposites attract.”
“And I told you that blind date algorithms are bogus.”
She is stunned, almost to silence, out of disbelief. “You really knew how I was going to answer the questions?”
Now, this is a situation that is more familiar to him, to both of them really. Her being confused about a situation and him having to clarify. It isn’t because she is dumb, because she really isn’t, he is just constantly keeping her in the dark about plans which makes him one of her biggest sources of stress.
Tonight, she was already anxious about meeting a stranger but now her blood pressure has increased because her blind date is with Patrick Jane. She must have sinned in a previous life. “You are very work driven. Your life revolves around the CBI so I knew that would be your main focus when answering the questionnaire, even on non-work-related questions.”
Although she is curious to understand how he answered the questions, she is not a fan of when he goes off on a rant about how transparent she is. As someone who tries to give away as little as possible, she finds it somewhat troubling. “Under profession I put law enforcement, when it asked if I liked my job, I said how it is rewarding and keeps me busy.”
Neither of those answers are lies, because despite how he lets on Jane definitely finds his work worthwhile. “The questions that asked about free time or vacations I wrote that my job is hectic, and free time is rare. The politics question I was reserved in my answer because of working in law enforcement I cannot let my views sway me. That’s what I wrote anyway. How am I doing so far?”
“I didn’t just talk about work.” Annoyance is dripping in her tone and it tells him that he has pretty much got it spot on.
“No…but it would have been your main focus. Am I wrong?” She shakes her head before taking a couple of large glugs of the complimentary wine. “Favourite cuisine I wrote Italian because I know how much you love a decent pasta dish and pizza, although you probably prefer the Chicago kind. Are you close to your family? No. Dog or cat person? Either although you probably prefer cats but owned a dog growing up.”
“I am close to my family.” He sends her a look of scepticism. “You went to a lot of effort.” He shrugs.
The blonde feels nervous and that surprises him. Whilst formulating his plan he was far too busy to really think about what he was doing but now he is here the butterflies in his stomach are fluttering.
When a waiter walks over and offers him wine, he gratefully takes it, and the interruption is perfectly time. They both need a moment or two to collate their thoughts. Him because he needs to work out what to say next and her to grasp what is actually happening. Is she really on a blind date with him? Is this serious? Is he serious?
Taking a couple of sips of the dark liquid, he feels it burn down his throat and makes him feel warm inside. Lisbon busies herself with the menu as she tries to keep herself calm. He notices the slight tremor in her hand and also observes how she grips the menu harder to try and stop it.
Her nerves not only flatter him, but he also finds it reassuring because they are both out of their comfort zone, not just him. He copies her action of reading what is on offer this evening. “They do side orders of Mac ‘n’ Cheese to go with your steak. I love America.” He comments but only receives a slight hum in response.
When his eyes snap up to look at her it is well-timed because she peers up also, meaning their eyes meet and suddenly the air is thick with tension. This all feels very strange, and the silence is making it worse. She hates the awkward silences. Lisbon is one of these people who has to fill them, one of her flaws. “Have you been on many dates since your wife…?”
“No…only a couple.” His eyeline ghosts over his wedding ring. “Sorry I’m so desperately out of practice.”
“Why are you sorry… wait this isn’t a joke?”
The fact that she thinks this whole setup is a joke hurts him deeply. Yes, he himself may not fully understand his intentions for tonight but he isn’t cruel enough to crash a blind date, something he knows that she would find difficult, just to humour himself. “And how are Patrick and Teresa getting on?”
They are pulled out of an intense staring contest by event organiser Bob who is now stood by their table, holding his clipboard proudly. “It’s going good, I think.” Jane replies and she is baffled at his coolness.
“That’s what we like to hear.” The jumper-clad man states as he writes something down on his board. The action makes the law enforcement pair feel like they are subjects in some great big experiment and every move they make will be critically analysed. “Do you think it was a good match?”
“Actually we-”
“It is early days, but it seems like a great match.” Patrick interrupts his date, “Thank you Bob.” After wishing them a good evening, Bob scurries along to the next table to check in there. The encounter has obviously left Lisbon perplexed, evident by her features being screwed up and the heavy silence. “If we told him that we know each other then we would become some sort of story. Alleged proof that their algorithm works.” He clarifies, and immediately she understands.
Neither of them wants to be a story. They are two very private individuals, and they want it to stay that way. “The ribeye with the peppercorn sauce sounds good.” And his attention is quickly back to the menu. “I’m guessing you’re more of a sirloin with garlic butter kind of girl.”
His confidence is back. Maybe, because she didn’t blow her top and tell him to leave or storm out herself. Him being here, has quirked her interests and he would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy that.
The waiter returns to take their order. Jane orders a salt & pepper calamari starter followed by his steak of choice and a side of Mac ‘n’ Cheese, whilst Lisbon goes for baked cheddar mushrooms followed by the sirloin with garlic butter.
He guessed right of course, and when the waiter leaves them to it, he cannot help but have a smug smile on his face… but she is about to wipe it straight off again. “Jane… why did you infiltrate my blind date?”
“Because why not?” She is about to come up with a retort but when their eyes lock, she realises something. He is letting her in. His walls are down, he looks kind of vulnerable and it bewilders her, but luckily for Jane, it stops her from asking anymore questions… for now.
Lisbon wonders how she is going to explain this all to Van Pelt who will be eager to know how it all went. Does she tell her? Wait, does she already know? Somehow, he knew which agency she used and about the questionnaire. Grace wouldn’t do that to her though… not without warning anyway. “Grace didn’t tell me.”
“Wait, how…?”
“Oh please.” He exaggeratedly exhales loudly. “I can sense you thinking at a hundred miles per hour. You are trying to work out how and why I have done all this.”
“Sometimes I think you’re actually psychic.” She doesn’t really, but she knows it is a comment that will irritate him, and she feels the need to get one over on him right now. “So go on then, how and why have you done this?”
“How is easy.” He begins. “I overheard you and Van Pelt talking. Then one night when sleep eluded me, I filled in the application. It was quite fun really. Something to do.”
“Okay… why then?”
Even though he is expecting the question, his expression turns blank mirroring what is going on inside his head. Feeling uncertain with himself is not an experience he is used to, and he definitely does not want it to lay roots within him. “I’m not sure.” He admits, and it is difficult for him to do that. “I felt… a little envious, I guess.”
“You were jealous?” A jealous Jane is not something she has been faced with before and it is hard to process. “Were you jealous because I was thinking about dating and you’re not? Or because… it is me?”
Lisbon watches him blink a couple of times timidly before he mumbles a hesitant, “I don’t know.”
The awkwardness in the air is palpable and would be enough for anyone to make their excuses and leave. If this was a real blind date, then she would do just that but for some reason unknown to her she feels the need to make an effort. Possibly because he went to so much trouble to make it happen, or perhaps because she is intrigued about where a date with Jane could lead.
Watching him squirm uncomfortably is definitely not how she wants it to end. They’ve both paid the fifty dollars, they may as well enjoy themselves. “Maybe we should treat this like a real blind date?” Her suggestion is met with him cocking his head to one side inquisitively, but he still doesn’t utter a syllable. “Hello, my name is Teresa, I’m from Chicago and work in law enforcement.”
“Really?” He grins with a half laugh and she just nods. “Okay… hey Teresa, my name is Patrick and I also work in law enforcement.”
“No kidding!” She acts surprised, “Small world.”
They create a pretence that they have not met before this night, they play make-believe, and it is sort of fun. Asking each other benign questions, chuckling at the forced funny responses and suddenly it is like the CBI and major crimes don’t exist. They stop being Agent Lisbon and Jane, the consultant, and become Teresa and Patrick. It is odd how quickly you lose association with your own first name when people stop calling you it.
The food is great, much better than either of them were expecting for the fee and they devour every mouthful. He is very open to sharing his food, so she happily tries a piece of his calamari and some of the rich Mac ‘n’ Cheese. The warm action catches the eye of the organisers who praise themselves about what a great job they’ve done pairing up the couple at table seven.
To them it just seems like a great success story but what is unexpected to Lisbon is how she would be inclined to agree. It is going much better than she thought it would. “So, Patrick, dogs or cats?”
She thinks back to the questionnaire that she spent almost an hour filling in the other night for her blind date to be taken over by the mentalist. If she weren’t enjoying herself so much, then she would definitely be moaning about the time wasted. “I lean more towards dogs. I was going to get a dog once because my daughter wanted one, but my wife said that we would be the ones looking after it. She was probably right.”
The brunette is thrown by the sudden mention of his family, she wants to keep this blind date charade going but she doesn’t know how to follow. “Don’t worry Lisbon, you don’t have to pretend you don’t know about my family.” And very quickly the simulation is broken.
They empty their wine glasses as some restaurant staff start to clear their plates away. At the mention of dessert they both decline, her because of feeling full and him because he has a feeling that his date has had enough for the evening. They may have had a good time, but Jane didn’t come here, gate-crash her plans, to make her uncomfortable. “I know it may be a little late to say but, you look great. That dress looks lovely on you.”
His compliment takes her by surprise, and she feels the heat hit her in the face as her cheeks redden. “Thank you. I don’t get to dress up often.”
It isn’t just the outfit, it is how she has done her make-up, delicately but still really accentuating her beautiful features, and the perfume she has dripped on her skin. It really suits her. “That’s a shame because you scrub up well. Hopefully there will be more opportunities in the future.”
The hinted invitation hangs there momentarily until she replies with a shy nod and her bottom lip being dragged subconsciously through her teeth. That isn’t a no, he thinks and finds himself smiling.
When Bob sees the pair stand up from across the room, he readies himself with his clipboard to hound them for information or a review of their experience. He watches Patrick carefully help Teresa with her black, leather jacket, so that she can easily slip her arms into the sleeves and jots the action down on the board.
They manage to keep the question-and-answer session down to a minimum, before they walk out together both buzzing thanks to the wine, ambience and great company. “We got him all excited.” Lisbon comments, and momentarily tilts her head in the direction of the event organiser who is now busy with another couple.
“Yes… he lives vicariously through other people’s relationships. Bob needs to find love himself. He is lonely.” She hums. They both can recognise lonely when they see it because sadly it is an emotion they know all too well.
By day they may be surrounded by the hustle and bustle of a busy CBI headquarters, but in general their nights are spent in the solitary confinement that is their own heads. Tonight, has been different though, and in a good way. “This went better than I thought it would.” She admits, “You are in better dating shape then you let on.”
“I will take that as a compliment.” That uneasy sensation is back because it comes to that difficult part of the night when they have to say goodbye. It is always a weird moment at the end of that first date, but to have it with someone you have known for many years makes it even harder. “Did you drive or?”
“No, I need to find a cab.” She casts her eyes up and down the fairly busy street, searching for a taxi that is unoccupied.
“I can drive you home if you want? My car is parked just round the corner.” Jane moves his arms to indicate the direction he is heading in and is confused by the hesitant expression on her face.
Lisbon may not be the biggest fan of her partner’s driving, he drives way too fast for her liking, not being the slight bit bothered that she is a cop and should arrest him for it. However, this isn’t the reason behind her indecision. “In the spirit of keeping up the charade, that would be a bit strange for a first date.”
Ah, of course, the charade. She is obviously using it to hide some sort of insecurity or fear, but he is okay with that, he isn’t going to force her.
However, his understanding nod suddenly falters when it hits him what she exactly said. “First date?” Meaning, there could be more.
“Shut up.” She mutters with a shake of her head, but the coy smile playing on her lips shows him that it is all in good humour; he is grinning once more.
Continuing with the blind date pretence, or so he tells himself, the curly-haired man leans forward and plants a soft kiss on her cheek. She feels him linger there for a moment, a very brief moment but she notices. “See you around Teresa.”
The interaction makes them both blush and what they really need right now is to be able to just leave. Walkaway. Have time to reflect on the events of the evening, but when her phone starts to ring loudly, almost startling them, they both quickly realise that they may not have that liberty.
He hangs around for her to take the call, knowing that it may affect his plans too so remains glued to the spot. “It’s the AG’s office.” She murmurs, after reading the caller ID and he finds himself rolling his eyes – thankfully she doesn’t see. “This is Agent Lisbon.”
Apparently, they have a corpse to inspect. People always get killed at the most inconvenient of moments is what they both think but not for the same reasons. He is worried that perhaps he overstepped the mark with his farewell behaviour whilst she is not looking forward to heading to a crime scene in her dress.
Jane drives them both to the location in his classic Citroen and immediately Lisbon is in work mode. It is like their evening never happened and she is prepping him on the case information. Maybe it is a blessing.
The rest of the team notice their attire and the pair arriving together, but they don’t say a thing. They mentally join up the dots and assess the moods of their colleagues like good detectives should, but the task at hand is too distracting. A body with the back of their head blown off. Very messy.
They examine the area like everything is normal, business as usual, but what isn’t normal is the passing looks. Once they have finished the preliminary inspection of the crime scene, the brunette requests that Van Pelt drives her home so she can change into more sensible apparel.
He watches her walk off. Taking in every detail of her outfit to store in his memory palace to access another time, he doesn’t want to forget this night. Her fierce ankle boots, curled dark locks and the confident slit in the fabric of her green dress, aren’t things he is going to disremember in a hurry.
What he doesn’t see, is her glance back at him when she is safely in the car; whilst she wonders what could be. “So, are you going to tell me what happened tonight?” Grace questions, after firing up the engine.
Lisbon takes one last look and Jane for the night, before the car pulls off as they head to the main road. “There is nothing to tell.”