The Mentalist - What if?

Chapter 15

Just two weeks later, Lisbon was putting some freshly washed baby clothes away in the nursery when she felt a gush of water between her legs followed by a lengthy groan.

"No, no, not now" she grimaced; she'd sent Jane out to get some supplies, insisting she'd be okay for a short while. Gripping the unit, she thanked herself for putting her phone in her pocket before pulling it out; starting to find James number, another contraction hit causing her to drop the item to the floor. "Oww"

Struggling to pick it back up, she slid down onto the floor and rested against the wall; when the contraction had passed, she took the opportunity to grab her phone again. Shed barely let it ring on the other end before she heard the front door shut and the familiar ringtone playing.

"Jane" she groaned, another contraction hitting. "Jane, please"

Hearing her sobs, he quickly dropped the bags and ran into the nursery, seeing her in the situation she was in, knelt in front of her and held her hands.

"Talk to me, did your waters break?"

"It hurts" she nodded, tears streaming.

"How long?"

"About...twenty minutes but...I need to push" she groaned. 

"You can't push yet"

"I have to"

"Okay, I'm gonna call an EMTS"

"She's coming now Jane" she cried, lying down but propped against the wall. "You...You have to do it"

Placing a pillow behind her head, he helped her to slip her bottoms and underwear off before checking; seeing she was already crowning, he rolled up his sleeves and looked at her.

"I'm gonna be right back, try not to push"

Whilst on the phone to the Emergency Services operator, he quickly grabbed some warm water and towels as well as washing his hands thoroughly; back with Lisbon in less than 2 minutes, he allowed the operator to guide him via speakerphone.

As their daughter slid into the world, Jane caught her, her cries ringing through the room as he wrapped her in a blanket; within minutes, the EMTs were there and took over. As a precaution, they took them both to the hospital where they were given the all clear; left alone in the private room, Jane sat on the edge of the bed as Lisbon held her daughter in her arms.

"She's perfect" she smiled, running a finger against her chubby cheek. "I can't believe she's actually here; there were so many times i thought i'd lost her or...the drugs. Jane, what if...?"

"The doctor said there is no obvious signs at the moment; everything looks good. She'll have to have regular check-ups with a peadiatrician to monitor her progress but for now, let's just enjoy her..."

Nodding, she looked back at her daughter before gently placing her into his waiting arms; tiredly, she leant against the pillows as she watched the scene in front of her.

In the whole time she'd known Jane, despite his appearances, she'd known how hard he'd found not been a dad anymore; the look on his face now was more than an affirmation he would do a great job with her little girl.  As she drifted off, Jane carefully stood up and pulled the blanket over her before taking a seat in the window, careful to not disturb the sleeping child in his arms; taking in a good look, he could see she was the spitting image of her mom.

"Well, you made it into the world safely little one; you gave your mom a scare. Let you in on a secret, she's terrified of been a mom; of losing you or not been able to give you everything you need or want. Truth is, your mom is the one person who I know will give up anything to make sure you were okay; she hasn't had an easy time of it lately. She's been feeling sad and upset and emotional but she's the best person I know; she's beautiful and funny and best of all, she lets me hang around, even when I'm annoying her. You'll get used to me, I have annoying quirks habits but...I'd give anything for your big sister to be here with us"

Unbeknown to Jane, Lisbon wasn't fully asleep and was listening in on his one-sided conversation.

"Hey" she said, opening her eyes to look at him, waiting for him to turn to her. "Come here"

When he was settled next to her, she took a quick peep at her daughter before looking back at him.

"Thank you..."

"For what?"

"Everything, but especially today; you kept calm and brought our daughter into the world. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come back when you did"

"One question, when did your contractions starts?"

"Last night" she admitted.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I thought they were Braxton Hicks again; my waters hadn't broken. They weren't too bad so I didn't think it was the real deal..."

"You were amazing; she's one lucky little girl...And I'm one lucky man. I know I don't tell you very often and I can be a pain in the a...backside, but you make me a better person"

"Yeah, you can be a pain but you changed my life too; I couldn't have got through all this without you. I know I haven't been easy to live with the last few months"

"It's not important now, this little one is" he grinned, looking down at the little bundle in his arms as there was a knock at the door.

"Up for some visitors?" Grace said, popping her head round with Cho and Rigsby behind.

Despite feeling utterly exhausted, Lisbon stifled a yawn and nodded; as the surrounded the bed, she made no effort to sit up and within minutes was fast asleep. Not wanting to disturb their boss, the team dropped off their gifts and left; not ready to put the new born down, Jane sat back in the chair and held her, not taking his eyes off her once.

Lisbon awoke an hour later when her daughter began crying; she'd already decided to try breast-feeding so whilst she got sorted with that, Jane took the opportunity to go and get a cup of tea. By the time he'd returned, Teresa was asleep again and baby Lisbon was settled in the plastic cot, also asleep; settling back in the chair, it was long before he too was asleep.