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The loud engine roar of Lisbon’s car echoed in the quiet forest.
The driver’s door flew open as Lisbon stepped out, soiling her leather boots with mud as they hit the ground. “That damned GPS!” she yelled into the air, slamming the car door shut. “How could it fail me, like this?!” she murmured to herself.
Leaving the car behind, in the thick mud and dirt path, Lisbon cleaned the soles of her shoes on the grass while reaching into her pockets.
Desperately, she dialed Van Pelt’s number.
Following the sharp beep of an automated voicemail, Lisbon rushed her words out. “Van Pelt. On my way to the crime scene I got stuck, in the middle of the road…” she looked around herself, realizing she’d taken so many turns while driving mindlessly about the wilderness, there was no way to know where she stood.
She took a few more steps, searching for something within the miles of pines distinct enough to pinpoint her location, but there was nothing.
Lisbon then set off a rapid walk, but still — nothing.
Now jogging between the trees, the scenery seemed to be an infinite loop of green, so confusing and suffocating it made her head ache. “Lost too.”
After the voicemail was harshly cut by a flat three-tone chime, Lisbon became aware of how weak the signal had always been, as the little sign appeared and disappeared rapidly.
Desperate for a better connection, she kept jogging with the phone held high above her head until the battery died, stopping her in her tracks. Well… she could only hope now.
Jane, who had been trailing behind Lisbon, took this chance to catch his breath before saying, “Okay, can we stop now?”
He looked around himself, the car had long been lost and now they were trapped amongst the woodland.
But since the start he had begged her to calm down and stop walking around, she just wouldn’t listen. Seeing as she disappeared into the greenery, he thought it would be better to get lost together than stay safely put, but apart.
Lisbon turned to face him, her jaw only slightly clenched, her posture having long since relaxed. Jane exhaled.
Absolute relief washed over him as he assumed she was no longer mad. A gleam of embarrassment crossed her eyes as she wiped a thin layer of sweat from her forehead.
His shoulders dropped in release. Finally able to lower his guard and act naturally, Jane let out a soft laugh. “Look,” he said, delighted, as he pointed at the ground. A bald spot in the middle of the dense greenwood. “You found us the perfect spot to spend the night!”
Lisbon rolled her eyes. And as if the joke were the last straw, in less than a second, her held-back anger completely snapped. “You have some nerve to laugh…” she murmured, her fists clenching.
Jane flinched, his face twisting in confusion as their gazes locked. “What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about!” she said, her voice rising as one of her fingers pointed directly at him. “You had set up the GPS!”
“Because you asked me to!”
“Yes… but you didn’t want to,” Lisbon yelled, louder than ever. “You messed with it!” she wasn’t sure how… or why he would ever joke in such a twisted way. To be fair, not even she believed what she was saying. Still, harsh words escaped her mouth like a waterfall, unable to be held back.
“And leave us stranded here?” Jane said in all seriousness, gesturing with open arms at the nothingness surrounding them. “It’s not even funny!”
Lisbon’s frustration had spilled into wild accusations. No matter how many logical facts or soothing phrases Jane threw at her to try and rationalize the situation, she was far too lost in her own world to stop and think.
Suddenly, a soft rumble coming from her stomach interrupted the fight, shutting their mouths.
Once silence settled in and the reality of the situation became clear, Jane laughed it off. He had been arguing back with no ill intent, after all. It was simply his desperate need to be right… all of the time.
Lisbon’s face reddened to a concerning degree, though. “What was that?” she said under her breath, her eyes fixed on the ground. God… how she wished the earth could swallow her whole.
Taking a better look at their current surroundings, aside from the dry grass being crushed beneath their feet, a few old pinecones lay scattered among the trunks and small, colorful blossoming flowers.
Near, Jane noticed a thin, clear stream by the faint sound of water droplets splashing. He tried to approach it, interested and a little thirsty, but Lisbon grabbed him by the forearm, stopping him. She had him figured out before he even glanced that way. “Clear doesn’t mean clean, so forget about it,” the Special Agent commanded.
Jane made a theatrical, sad little face, his lower lip pouting out on a look that bounced right off Lisbon, who ignored his puppy eyes with practice.
Anyway. He had also spotted, even closer by, a few lush berry bushes.
He remembered the fierce growls that continued to come out of Lisbon’s stomach, as much as she ignored them. “Well, can we at least have some of these,” Jane said, twisting free from Lisbon’s grasp.
He ran towards the opposite side before she could grab him again, leaving her to try and keep up the pace. Ugh, even toddlers were better behaved.
Jane paused in front of the fullest one, and kneeled amongst the leaves. “They’re quite fascinating, really,” he casually began.
Mhm, Lisbon grunt, as she stood and watched over him from behind. Too tired, hungry and thirsty to care about his rant.
“In ancient myths they were entirely white.” He slid his hand between the branches carefully, so as to get stabbed by the many thorns throughout while pHe remembered the fierce growls that continued to come out of Lisbon’s stomach, as much as she ignored them. “Well, can we at least have some of these,” Jane said, twisting free from Lisbon’s grasp.
He ran towards the opposite side before she could grab him again, leaving her to try and keep up the pace. Ugh, even toddlers are better behaved.
picking the sweet fruit. “But as the nymph Ida gathered them for baby Zeus, she pricked her finger and stained the berries red with her blood permanently.”
By this time, a sunset had already appeared in the sky, making the yellow light dim into the warmest amber. Jane’s own hands were completely stained a deep pink by the handful of berries he’d collected.
“Jane, stop, it’s not safe,” Lisbon called after him, growing annoyed and even more tired from standing for so long. She didn’t dare complain much, though, it wasn’t like she couldn’t sit on the rocks. But as daytime insects went to sleep and the night ones woke to take their place between the cracks, she preferred not to.
Jane lifted one of the berries, its color matching the juices on fingertips so perfectly, they blended as one. “Rubus Idaeus. A safe, wild kind,” he said, all smiles.
When he stood back up, the thought of slapping the dirt off his knees crossed his mind, but he quickly decided against it. He’d prefer to keep his suit a dirty gray, rather than a moist mixture of brown and red.
Just then, the now mostly barren bush shook violently.
Jane jumped out of his skin and nearly dropped everything he held. Thankfully, the shriek got caught half-way in his throat and he scrambled to hide behind Lisbon’s back.
She was able to maintain an unfazed expression, but inevitably, her eyes had widened in terror. The Special Agent in her reached for the gun at her waist and fired two warning shots and whatever there was inside.
Squinting their eyes in an attempt to get a clearer view, they quickly realized the ‘monster of the mountain’ was actually just a little squirrel that had been scavenging for berries, too.
“Well well Snow White,” Jane said, mockingly. He lifted a hand to stop her, but she hadn’t done anything in the first place. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Lisbon.”
Her grip on the handle eased. “I’M the one supposed to be embarrassed here?” she shot back. Jane looked at himself, curled on the back of her jacket and blushed, straightening up.
Lisbon blushed, too, feeling self-conscious. With a lot of effort, she forced the words out of her throat, and whispered, “Jane… I’m —”
But Jane squeezed her shoulder once, brief but reassuring, stopping her attempt at apologizing for the earlier scene. Saving her the trouble — she had tried, and that was more than enough for him.
A smile crept onto his lips. “Don’t you worry about it. I know I can be quite overwhelming… sometimes,” he added, teasingly.
“Sometimes? More like all the time,” she said, having gained her confidence back.
Jane played offended. “Okay now. That was pretty mean.”
Lisbon burst out laughing, and so did he.
Together they approached the quiet stream and crouched beside it, dipping their cupped hands into the cold water to wash the dirt off the berries.
Jane, unable to bear it for much longer, sneaked a few sips by pretending to rinse his face, feeling instantly refreshed. Lisbon did the same, but she wasn’t as good at pretending. Still, they never acknowledged it, nor did they mention it.
After walking back to where they’d first stood, barren and quite clean — the perfect place to sit. They sat and ate, making small talk amidst the pile of pines, under the pale moonlight.
Summer had just begun, Jane hadn’t yet dropped the vest or Lisbon the leather jackets, and nights were especially chilly in these sorts of places.
Eventually, to stop their excessive shivering and after a lot of hesitation, they silently agreed to sleep close so as to maintain what little body heat they had left.
Lisbon lay on the lawn first, and Jane delicately covered her with his huge, double-linen jacket before lying by her side.
Now face to face, the atmosphere was filled with awkwardness, and every attempt at a joke or pun just made everything worse, as they could feel the other’s breath blowing like a gentle breeze in their own face.
“Looking at the bright side…” Jane whispered, ever so quietly. “We’re finally getting to the root of our friendship.” A sly grin popped on his lips.
Lisbon squeezed her eyes closed, fighting back a groan. “Shut up, Jane. One more pun and I’m arresting you for assaulting an officer’s sanity!” Her air blew hot against his cheek, and he fought back a staggered gasp.
He appreciated it when she followed his games — it made for the best memories.
“Uh-uh,” answered Jane, sarcastically. “Don’t play bad cop with me.”
They shared a soft chuckle.
To ease a bit of the tension, Lisbon rolled her body to the other side and curled herself into a little ball.
However, behind her, Jane erased the small space left by pressing his chest against her back. She was startled as he embraced her, his arms wrapped around her waist. “Jane —”
Jane shushed her, “You’re shivering too much… just let me.” His voice didn’t carry a hint of smugness, or playfulness; it was sincere.
And as Lisbon’s teeth stopped chattering and the shivers running down her body melted away, making her feel as though she were lying beside a warm flame, there was no way she could find it in herself to push him away.
As they embraced, fitting into the other’s shape, silence remained loud in their heads and their faces turned red as raspberries.
The sun was rising when the two awoke. Slowly opening their eyes to the rays of sunlight, they realized they were much too close.
During the night their legs had intertwined. Jane now hugged Lisbon from behind, his arms wrapped around her as she held his hands in hers. His blond curls lay beside her dark hair over the grass, and his face rested against the back of her neck, breathing into the faint, familiar scent of her.
They rapidly scrambled apart, struggling to stand, dazed, as they finally came to their senses. Lisbon tried to smooth her hair, passing her fingers along the tangled strands while Jane shoved his arms into his jacket, both clumsily.
In their hearts, a gentle wind of disappointment settled, as they hadn’t wanted to leave the green bed so soon. At the same time, a risky thought crossed their minds. If only the other hadn’t woken up so soon… a deep embarrassment swept through their eyes. What am I thinking about!
From the quietness, a loud yet distant voice sounded, “Lisbon!” … “Jane!”
Both had been slapping the dirt off their bodies, avoiding each other. But as soon as they heard their names being called by a pair of familiar, male and female voices, their heads snapped around.
Rigsby and Van Pelt kept yelling for them into the forest.
Lisbon and Jane ran towards the sounds, calling back in return until they crossed paths with Cho, who’d been examining the perimeter. Across his stone expression, a huge wave of relief flashed before he was immediately pulled into a tight hug by Jane. Lisbon patted his shoulder, giving him a modest hug of her own.
Cho guided them to the CBI SUV, where Rigsby and Van Pelt stood like anchors, still calling out for them. They pulled their lost colleagues into friendly hugs, growing a little flustered and shy afterwards.
“Oh,” Grace exhaled. “I was so worried when I received your message, last night,” she said to Lisbon, letting herself finally relax. “My heart almost escaped my chest!”
Rigsby nodded as if he’d been there and seen it, heard it, before rapidly catching himself. He stole a glance at Jane, who he already suspected of knowing about his secret relationship with Grace — they all did, though, and always chose to ignore him.
The mid-size car was parked on the side of a busy highway, no more than a few miles away from where they’d slept. Jane and Lisbon looked at each other, a quiet shame rising in their chest at the realization.
Everyone got in the car, and as Cho drove off it quickly filled with bad jokes, puns and loud conversation, settling into the normalcy of routine.
All of them would soon forget about this day, never mentioning the accident again. But some nights, when insomnia got too bad for Lisbon, or Jane couldn’t close his eyes without being tormented by the nightmares of his past… remembering that night, and the other’s embrace, made them rapidly fall asleep. As it had felt so comfortable, natural… and just right.