Digging up old memories

Chapter 9

Lisbon's POV

She should have known that something was up when Cho asked her out for drinks. They were on the freeway on their way to Jane's place instead. She didn't know how much Cho knew about her fight with Jane a few days ago and she didn't want to give away too much. She tried to keep things light and Cho was as chatty as ever – said no one ever.

"So... how did he get you to help him?" she finally asked.

"He promised to stay on a full year and be on his best behavior," he said steadfastly.

"Well, that's something at least," she said. She couldn't blame him for accepting a deal like that. The team needed Jane and she was pretty sure he would have left once she was in D.C.

She stared out the window at the passing cars. It was almost 9 pm and the sky was starting to darken when they entered the park where Jane had his Airstream. Cho stopped his car a long way from Jane's place.

"What are you doing?" she asked confused.

"This is where I stop. Jane made me promise," he said.

"I can just turn around, grab a taxi and head back home you know," she said obstinately closing the car door.

"Give him a chance. He's trying to do the right thing. I think you'll regret it if you don't," he said gently. Cho knew Jane as much as she did, and his opinion mattered to her. He'd been let down by Jane as much as she had – he knew the score of being in his orbit. She nodded and headed down the path.

The only light she could see as she turned into the clearing of Jane's camp site was a small light inside the trailer. It was otherwise dark, and she could barely make out Jane's silhouette sitting in the chair outside. When he saw her, he stood up and waited for her.

"You made it!" he said cheerily.

"Yes, I did. You didn't give me much choice by enlisting Cho to kidnap me," she said saccharinely.

"Meh, semantics. You're here and that's what matters. Besides, you could have made Cho bring you home – you're a woman of means," he said with a chuckle.

"He told me the deal you made with him," she said evenly.

"He drives a hard bargain. I only offered 6 months at first," he replied.

As she got close to his position, she noticed that he was dressed very strangely. She could see a lot of skin, more than she'd ever seen on Patrick Jane. It was a bit too dark to make out what he was wearing.

"What are you wearing, Jane?" she asked unbelievably.

"Ah – well, that's why I asked you here tonight," he said rubbing his hands together nervously. "Um, I'm going to turn on the outdoor lights, but you have to promise not to laugh."

She nodded with a grimace on her face. What was going on? He turned on the twinkle lights around the awning of his Airstream and that's when she saw that he was dressed in a boy scout costume of some kind. He'd lost his mind. That was the only conclusion that made sense. She looked around and started to wonder who she should call. This couldn't be real. Then she thought she was being pranked maybe and the whole team was going to pop out from somewhere – it might be a surprise going away party.

"Am I being pranked?" she asked still looking around. Maybe that's why Cho made her walk here.

"No. Definitely not. Believe me," he said tightly.

"Okay – what is going on then, why are you dressed like... like... what is that? A boy scout costume?" she said incredulously. "Are you having a breakdown?"