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"I refuse."
"Oh, come on Cho."
"You like it so much, you wear it."
Which is how Patrick Jane came to wear the fuzzy green elf hat at the California Bureau of Investigations official Christmas party. Cho was not surprised that it suited Jane so well. Nestled in his mass of blonde curls like a jester's crown, it brought to mind Jane's trickster nature and his ability to both make you laugh and amaze you. If any of them possessed magical skills, it was Jane.
In fact, it was Jane's magic that had transformed the break room into a festive setting. He had obviously rooted around in storage at some point and discovered the table top tree someone had donated long ago which had needed to be put out of it's misery back then. Spindly and missing several branches, it normally looked like it had fallen off a truck and been run over. Now it's bare spots were filled in with bells made from upside-down coffee cups decorated with filigree designs in marker. Origami animals in every different color of copy paper they had hung from a paper clip garland next to red stars made from coffee stirrers twisted together. Jane had probably used the entire roll of aluminum foil in the break room, but stapled to the walls were snowflakes that glittered in the light. How he had managed that had puzzled Cho for a moment until the detective realized Jane had glued real sugar onto them. He made a mental note to bring in more sugar after the holiday. If Lisbon had to drink her coffee black, they would all pay dearly for it.
They had made a toast of remembrance to Bosco and his team when someone had cracked open the wine, and it was odd to see Lisbon wearing the Santa hat that Minelli had always worn, but aside from that, everyone was relaxed and enjoying themselves. He nodded to several other people who were obviously designated drivers, sipping his soda and nibbling on pretzels and cake.
He noticed Van Pelt and Rigsby made very sure neither of them was under the mistletoe at the same time, and decided it was a wise idea. Jane had already caught Lisbon and Marlene from the front desk, and he'd been tracking Cho out of the corner of his eye. Cho had a bet running with Lisbon that Jane would manage to get Charlie from records before the night was out, and his only hope was that Charlie would laugh it off and not take a swing at Jane.
Lisbon finally got tipsy enough get into her role as Santa and began to hand out the gifts, but not before demanding Jane 'do his thing' and predict what each one was. Despite the fact that Cho knew from experience the man could be deadly accurate at this sort of exercise, he watched Jane instead make everyone laugh with guesses of outrageous and ridiculous things. Except for Van Pelt, who really did get a chocolate moose.
The party eventually began to wind down and Cho helped Lisbon maneuver empty cups and plates into the trash. Rigsby was happy to take home the remainder of the cake and Cho had to bite his tongue as the big man opened all the cabinets, muttering "Where the fuck is all the tinfoil?" under his breath. Cho made a mental note to pick up some more foil with the sugar. Designated drivers herded their charges out the door until only the four of them were left. Van Pelt was playing taxi to Lisbon and Rigsby, and Cho had volunteered to make sure Jane got home safe. He had just noticed the elf hat lay discarded when Lisbon asked out loud what he had been thinking.
"Where's Jane? He better not be driving. Santa gives out coal for tha' sort of thing." Lisbon smiled at her own joke, mellowed out by a rather good egg nog buzz.
"Don't worry, I think I know where he went. I'll track him down and get him home. You guys have a good holiday." They waved as they filed out, Rigsby singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer loudly off key to annoy Van Pelt. Turning out the office lights, he shrugged into his jacket and made his way to the stairwell. He climbed to the top and was not surprised to find the door propped open with a heavy brick. Swinging aside the door, he saw the back of his errant elf, quiet and still, sitting on a square structure on the roof. Cho stepped out, careful to wedge the brick in place or he and Jane would spend Christmas trapped up there.
Jane leaned into Cho when he sat down and wrapped an arm around the blonde man, looking out over the city. Despite the glow from all the colored lights strung over most of the houses, the stars still burned brightly overhead. He thought about Jane's magic, how he could make you forget sometimes.
Jane turned his face into Cho's neck, his words softly sobbed. "She always loved the lights."
He stroked Jane's arm, murmering softly back. "I know Love, I know. Now she is one." Cho held him tight, looking up at the stars, wondering if that was what made the pain burn so brightly.
FIN