Patrick’s reply caused Lara to think about her former colleagues back in Las Vegas, the first US state she moved to from England where she joined the police force before transferring to Miami awhile latter.

Lara found herself thinking about Jeremy Watts a lab tech from the nightshift who suffered from insomnia. Lara had first met Jeremy back when the Las Vegas CSI night shift team let her shadow them on cases so that she could gain some experience for when she transfers to CSI herself.
Yes Lara and Jeremy had quite a bit in common, mostly their problems and inner troubles that caused them to connect and converse in a unique way that others would not understand. Lara had spent many hours hanging out with Jeremy in the lab in the dark night hours and talking to him on the phone in the early, lonely and sleepless Am hours.

Lara was brought back to the present with a weak laugh from Patrick. She looked to see a lizard at his feet and she smiled at it warmly, she did still have a love for all things scaly, “Hey there little fella.” She said as if talking to a dog. On noticing two humans the lizard darted into a shrub at lightning speed.

“Do you miss them a lot?” Lara asked referring to Patricks old team, “Do you miss California much?” She asked casually

As much as she liked her new life here in Miami Lara missed her family and friends back in England. She imagined that Patrick felt the same way about California, but then again maybe he was glad to be out of there, maybe there was something in his past that he was trying to leave behind.

"The pink haired one has about five of them." Patrick said as the lizard decided humans too dangerous. "I'm so used to find one on my pillow almost every morning. And first time I even screamed upon finding a reptile sniffing my face." the blonde told with another laugh, this time more controlled. "I keep finding one with blue ribbon adamantly using my sock drawer as its personal temple of hideout." he finished with more laughing that balanced on slightly hysterical.

Again serious, Jane thought about Lara's questions. She wasn't local either. And obviously missed her previous life. Just like him.
But to Jane there were two, no, more like three lives behind.
One he had at first, another when he met his wife, the next when his family got murdered and he became Lisbon's problem.
Now he had another new life that came with new people and different location.

For the first time in many long years he actually had left the state.
True, he changed city after Red John made changes in his life but he'd stayed in the same state.

With a less surprised expression on his face Jane spoke, "I do miss them, yes. I once lived a life of traveling but then I married. My life was bound to my family and we weren't much going anywhere. And I never needed that, I had wife and daughter and job I loved." and suddenly there was a lone tear escaping his eye and slowly gliding down his cheek. He had never talked about his family like this. Not this open. And nearly a decade has passed. "I don't know I miss California anymore. I liked Malibu, Sacramento was a good place. But I had reasons to be there that I never thought much over. Until the trainee programme was dumped on Lisbon's head. I was wrong about it. It turned out to be the reason I looked over my life and accepted the invitation. It brought me here. Specifically one girl with a past dark and heavy but future bright as sun in front. Obviously some fate decided to kick my ass so I don't do things worse than I was ready to." Patrick finished deeply embarrassed about such outburst of emotions and memories.
He only intended to speak generally. So much for the genius mind some believed he had, he decided to duck tape his mouth shut.

He hid his face in his rough palms and rubbed the slightly sandy skin of his face, feeling the slight stubble on his chin. He'd need a full bath.

Lara found Patrick’s laughter infectious and she began to chuckle herself at his lizard anecdote.
It felt good to sit there and laugh and it was even better to see Patrick’s face bright with laughter in the face of his hot, sweaty, gritty and unshaven condition. For a split second the pair seemed to forget their grimy discomfort and miserable situation in a camaraderie moment of laughter.

Lara had experienced a moment like this before in her military days. Her unit was out in a desert bordering on a small remote village. It was a harsh, dry, hot and sandy environment, her team mates and her stopped for a short rest on a cluster of large rocks, they where hot, sweaty, tires and pushed near their limits, but as they sat there together blistering in the scorching sun they had found something to laugh about. To civilians in normal circumstances a second of amusement would have meant little and would have been quickly forgotten, but for Lara and her team mates the shared moment of laughter was an unforgettable moment of indescribable bonding and fraternal loyalty that would stay with them for life. As unassuming as the moment seemed it became one of life’s memory as significant as a graduation or a first date. For Lara the moment was more than just a memory it was a part of her.

As Lara laughed with Patrick and remembered the parallel moment with her old unit she thought about just how strong human resolve was and how the human spirit could find hope and even a moment of joy in the face of the most difficult situation.

Unfortunately laughing literally turned to crying as Patrick talked about his past. His bright expression fade away and the loan tear that rolled down his face hid not escape Lara’s attention.
Lara’s smile also vanished to be replaced with a more depressed expression, she could see Jane’s deep pain and she sympathise with him strongly enough to feel a pang herself.

The brief moment of joy the pair had shared was replaced with a hushed and gloomy atmosphere.
Lara’s eyes misted up as she looked at the blond consultant sitting with his face in his hands, he was already beat up, dirty and in need of a bath and now he was experiencing emotional distress on top of it all, Lara’s heart went out to him. She wished there was something more she could do for the man and
she regretted asking him the question in the first place.

After yet another awkward space of silence between the pair Lara spoke, “Are you ready to start moving or do you want to rest a bit longer?” She asked, a regretful and low-spirited undertone in her voice.

As she asked the question Patrick felt like some douche. It was supposed to be nothing big about it. He had been ready and placed that perfect text, used on so many curious officers that ever asked why such a bright guy had to bother coming to this live swamp full of mosquitoes and murder mysteries, on top of his tongue one more time- like usual- but somehow ended up coming out so much more personal than anyone else of PD had imagined.
Yeah, because Mich had done it again. With her ribbon-marked lizards and bright beaming.
That girl always tells him to open up and let people in. Otherwise there'll be only a shell left.

Jane felt that lone, deceiving drop of saltwater leaving a hot trail on his tired skin and idly wondered how much it was deemed human consisting of liquid.
Then he made a mental note to count the saline bags they'll pump into him after they get rescued.

They will be rescued. No doubt, not a single waver in faith.
He trusted his friends, his new family, to harass the whole department if needed.
Because they won't give up. They fight.
He did too.

After giving up shortly.
And then conning everyone he met to get what he wanted.
Red John.

He'd told Lisbon he's going to kill him, cut him and watch him bleed. Like he did to them...

And now he was here, with sun and gators, with this kind woman and green lizards.
He's not dead, yet, and he's not imprisoned. He didn't kill Red John.
He left.

"No, I'm fine. We should move on while it's possible." came consultant's reply as he looked up and tried to clean his face of any more deceiving tears. "If you are rested, of course." he added with a con's master-smile, one he had been hiding behind many years.
Jane was doing it again-pushing the past together, piling everything up, fitting it all into box, locking it and stuffing it all into lead safe with seventeen locks, and making sure his attic looks neat again. His memory palace needed to look neat, he will make sure next time to bolt everything if he lets something out again.
Patrick ran a hand through his already messy strands and made the mess more obvious. He tried for a deep breath but ended up coughing, obviously bad idea with all the sand around, he decided partly pondering of other reasons.

Jane wiped his tears and with a fake charismatic smile gave his approval to continue. Lara knew what Patrick was doing, covering his emotions with a smile to guard himself.
It was a defence mechanism Lara had developed and used herself over the years.  

In fact Lara had perfected a look that she termed “The Mask”, a perfectly executed half smile that she could hide anything behind. A mask she put on to veil hurt and hate and to hid vulnerability and fear in order to protect herself in an often harsh and cruel world. The look was a useful tool that served its purpose beautifully but it was equally a burden at times.
It was an uncomfortable and unnatural mask Lara felt that she had been forced to wear throughout her life, much like the movie The Man In The Iron Mask, only hers was a torturous mask made out of flesh that she was forced to put on her own face because of the spitefulness of others.    
     
Lara gave a small smile and a half nod in reply to Patrick, “Let’s get going then while we have daylight.”

Lara continued to mark out a path for Patrick, being sure not to get too close to the water’s edge for safety. After walking another long stretch the heat once again started to become a drain for Lara, she once again wrestled with the idea of taking off her jumper. There was enough shade at the moment to protect against sunburn, but being in a vest would allow her companion to see some of the scars she had on her back and shoulders and that was a dreadful thought to her. As Lara battled herself she began to lose hope of ever finding a way out of the Everglades, the heat and exertion where taking their toll.
Then “Don’t be prideful.” Came her dad’s voice in her head causing her to finally brake, she removed her jumper, tied it around her waist and hoped with everything she had that Patrick would not ask, “Hey, how did you get those scars?”

Lara instantly felt cooler, she tried to push aside her neuroses and instead focuses on her environment. Birds of all varieties chirped and flitted from tree to tree, leaves rustled and of course the river provided the beautiful, relaxing sound of flowing water. Under deferent circumstances this would have been a very pleasurable experience for Lara, but unfortunately that was not the case.
 
Lara just forced herself to keep walking and walking then she saw what looked like the silver lining to the cloud of misery that seemed to be stalking the pair: It was a road! Well a tree lined width of dirt with two tyre track grooves that could be called a road. Lara stopped for a moment almost unable to believe it. “I think that’s a road.” She informed Patrick, a hind of hope returning to her.

Jane wiped his tears and with a fake charismatic smile gave his approval to continue. Lara knew what Patrick was doing, covering his emotions with a smile to guard himself.
It was a defence mechanism Lara had developed and used herself over the years.

In fact Lara had perfected a look that she termed “The Mask”, a perfectly executed half smile that she could hide anything behind. A mask she put on to veil hurt and hate and to hid vulnerability and fear in order to protect herself in an often harsh and cruel world. The look was a useful tool that served its purpose beautifully but it was equally a burden at times.
It was an uncomfortable and unnatural mask Lara felt that she had been forced to wear throughout her life, much like the movie The Man In The Iron Mask, only hers was a torturous mask made out of flesh that she was forced to put on her own face because of the spitefulness of others.

Lara gave a small smile and a half nod in reply to Patrick, “Let’s get going then while we have daylight.”

Lara continued to mark out a path for Patrick, being sure not to get too close to the water’s edge for safety. After walking another long stretch the heat once again started to become a drain for Lara, she once again wrestled with the idea of taking off her jumper. There was enough shade at the moment to protect against sunburn, but being in a vest would allow her companion to see some of the scars she had on her back and shoulders and that was a dreadful thought to her. As Lara battled herself she began to lose hope of ever finding a way out of the Everglades, the heat and exertion where taking their toll.
Then “Don’t be prideful.” Came her dad’s voice in her head causing her to finally brake, she removed her jumper, tied it around her waist and hoped with everything she had that Patrick would not ask, “Hey, how did you get those scars?”

Lara instantly felt cooler, she tried to push aside her neuroses and instead focuses on her environment. Birds of all varieties chirped and flitted from tree to tree, leaves rustled and of course the river provided the beautiful, relaxing sound of flowing water. Under deferent circumstances this would have been a very pleasurable experience for Lara, but unfortunately that was not the case.

Lara just forced herself to keep walking and walking then saw she what looked like the silver lining to the cloud of misery that seemed to be stalking the pair: It was a road! Well a tree lined width of dirt with two tyre track grooves that could be called a road. Lara stopped for a moment almost unable to believe it. “I think that’s a road.” She informed Patrick, a hind of hope returning to her.

Patrick felt rather glad Lara went along with this. He was certain that she'd noticed the smile was as fake as was the so-called metal details in Michelle's hearing aid.
It was just a stupid mask for him to hide his emotions, been there ever since... Get a grip, Jane! Just get a bloody grip of yourself. He scolded himself as would a mother of a naughty child.

He just let the heat drain those dark memories from that night to some other place, equally dark, of his memory palace.

Some time later Patrick noticed Lara fighting the idea to remove her jumper. He could see the micro expressions in her face change until she finally gave in to the nice enough shade.
And quite frankly he'd gladly shed his own 'personal armor', however he didn't. He probably wasn't the most ugly sight to behold, but still, he had girlfriend which he guessed wouldn't mind considering the circumstances.
Not that modesty was something too of an obstacle to get over with.

Jane noticed the scars that were the most likeable reason for Lara keeping the jumper on as long as it was possible. However the blonde respected her enough to not go the usual silly "Where did you get those?" way. No, he was more subtle in his ways and, laugh as you want, respected other people.
After all she didn't outright jumped him with some interrogative 20-question quiz like his other friends had.

He just observed and guessed. Usually aloud, but not this time. This time wasn't a place nor time to jump somebody with questions about something they most likely didn't like to discuss.
Especially when he himself felt like a cotton candy forgotten out on the sunny porch.


Suddenly her voice brought the consultant out of his reverie and Patrick looked at the road-like construction.
"Looks to me like classic Glades' road." he commented, at the same time mentally banging at his high-jumped hope with a frying pan. "At least that's what I saw on that 80-ties cop show the other day. And few other wildlife series." Patrick added with mentally crossed fingers and a silent prayer. He just hoped the road was leading towards the city because, quite frankly, his brain started to feel bit parched and just as well could start rattle around his skull like those dried seeds in some musical instruments.

Lara nodded in agreement. It defiantly looked like a typical Everglades road and on closer inspection it was.
Lara noted how deep the tyre tracks where on the worn road, a good sign that this was an active road. “It looks like this road gets used quite a bit.” Lara said stating the obvious, “There is a good chance that we’ll see a car or even a park keeper.” Lara added in a hopeful tone as she started walking along the dry, dusty road.

Finally, finally they had found a road to follow, a road lined with shade providing trees no less. Finally things where looking up and there was a sense of progress that refreshed Lara’s will and stamina.

Patrick observed the dusty Glades' road. "Yeah, it definitely looks used. Or at least not completely forgotten." he stated more of the obvious. And quite deeply hoped it will lead them to someplace other than the lion's den, to speak hypothetically.

But, as he spotted, this new revelation had made Lara feel better somewhat. So Jane refrained from additional commentary about possible directions they could get to following the road with unknown destination.

Maybe he was the one who had to stay positive. Maybe he was the one getting his mind into the dark area.
No, he had to stay away from that if he wanted to keep within sanity and get back into one piece.

The road, like the everglades they had already trekked through, seemed never ending. But thankfully it was shaded and provided a feeling of bearing and of progress, well for Lara at least. A road no matter how makeshift and pitiable it maybe leads to somewhere right?

As they walked Lara noticed an old discarded soda can near the edge of the road, most likely it had been tossed from a moving vehicle. Admittedly it was not much but it was an indicator of human presence at some point or another.
Farther along the road Lara saw a food wrapper, then not too far from that she noted some light paw tracks alongside boot prints that she could tell where no more than two days old thanks to her military training, no doubt from a man walking a large dog.
These little Indications became more concentrated as the pair went and the road itself became more and more worn indicating use and activity. It was just a matter of time before they run into a truck or car of some kind......hopefully that will be a good thing.

Optimistic Lara point all of her keen observations out to Patrick (though he may well have noticed for himself), she though it may be an encouragement for him as well.

Lara knew that they would be out of here soon, she could feel it. Hopefully they would not have to camp out for the night, though Lara did not share this hope with Patrick just in case, a good leader should encourage not give false hope.
And as unconfident as it made her, Lara felt like she was the “leader” in this environment due to her training and skill set. She just hoped she could continue to do a good job for Patrick’s sake.

Patrick had decided not to tune out what his own observartional mind had pointed at. Imprints in the soil they walked over, some litter dumped at the roadside. Anything, especially the little details, made a feeling of not-so abandoned road. And, heaven, give pity, if that didn't mean there were people moving along at some odd times, packing odd bags and whatever.
Glades were known as a place to do drug and arms deals in a private area with no lurkers. At least that was what Vice told him once he had decided to ask out of a childish curiousity.

And, although more of that occuring and being fought ages ago, he still suspected people did it the old fashioned way.

Paw prints alond with some foot prints nearby pointed out of somebody, most likely a man, going for a walk with his rather large dog. The thought alone made chills run over Jane's back. He wasn't known to favor creepy looking large dogs that most likely only wanted to chew on his limbs.
No, this thought he felt getting too much on his frayed-by-sun nerves that usually could take so much more, so he shook his head, messy curls flying around and making himself dizzy again.

Patrick was thankful that it was Lara with him, of course, he wouldn't mind any of his home-mates either, but this was so much better than a stranger with no idea about where they were and what to do.
Lara had the training, the skils, to lead them out of this jugle and to notice any alligators creeping up. She was the brave one in this company, and she may not like it (as Jane had figured out at one point) but she was the best.

Jane himself felt like he couldn't be considered a survival if he was there alone. A bit selfish, yes, but it made such a difference it almost hurt.
And that she was trying so much for him, to make him feel better, was only better. He'd better start planning out some thank-you dinner because when (no, not if, they definitely will get out, no other possibility was allowed to root in his mind) he's back at home there will be even more thankful folks that would only hug and kiss Lara for helping to keep their beloved Dandelion from gators and whatnot.

He smiled at the thought.

The though of running into the men who had dumped them in the Glades in the first place rested in the back of Lara’s mind, but thankfully the idea of bumping into other degenerates conducting shady dealings had not even entered Lara’s head as it had Patrick’s. Lara had enough to deal with and think about without adding another precarious scenario to the mix.  
Nor was Lara imagining what it will be like when they finally get back to civilization, though she had done that earlier in the day she was now just focusing on the here and now. It has been a long day and thinking ahead to giving statements and tracking Russians was to wearing to keep think about right now.
And again, thankfully, the exhausting picture of dealing with a barrage of thank yous, hugs and kisses from Patrick’s nearest and dearest had not even remotely occurred to Lara, nor did the picture of a warm welcome home from her own 'family behind the badge'. No right now was all Lara was going to think about for the time being, she will think about all that other stuff when it gets here.

And that future might not take that much longer to arrive. Lara heard a bark in the distance, followed by a faint whistle and a mans voice very faintly calling in an affectionate tone, “Here boy”.
“Did you here that?” Lara asked Jane. “I think it came from up ahead.” It was nice to hear another human in the Everglades. Being in such a deserted area for so long maked it feel like they where the only two people on Earth.    
And if Mr. dog walker was up ahead he probably had a car of phone of some kind.

Patrick had, once again, made himself sink deep into his memory palace.
And upon hearing Lara speak suddenly found Jane a bit unbalanced before he tuned in and heard both, his companion and the dog barking along the man's voice talking to it.
He decided it must be the same pair that had left their prints on the ground, and they looked fresh enough.

"Yeah, seems we may have found our dog and his walker." Patrick replied and let a hand through his messy hair. "I guess you're right about the direction. I thought the same." he rubbed his face with a rough skin of his palm and took a deep, although slightly wheezing, breath.

Not that he could ever stop his brilliant mind and vivid imagination from plotting out and creating something his logical, and hopeful, mind did not want to see.
He had tried to come up with multiple scenarios for different occasions, just in case they do, indeed, meet people in this place.

He'd made himself plan various happenings. For each situation trying to predict his own reaction so that when the situation presents itself he'd be prepared to act.
Not an easy task for brain ready to melt and body exhausted by the heat and malnutricion.
But sooner or later he'd been expecting, and readied, for them to run into somebody.

Question was whether they'd be good folks or bad...

Lara was a little cautious as she and Jane walked toward the direction of the stranger’s voice. Evidence suggested that they would encounter a man just walking his dog and nothing more threatening or sinister than that, but given the situation and the location Lara was not taking anything for granted.
“Hello?” Lara called into the distance not receiving a reply. Lara could not hear the man as she and Patrick continued to walk in his direction so she could not gauge how far away from him they were.

Moments later a bush by the side of the road near Patrick began to rustle... then out popped a golden retriever!

“Ooh. Hello.” Slipped out of Lara’s mouth.
The dog stopped directly in front of Patrick, it emanated warmth and friendliness as it looked up at him with a tennis ball happily grasped in it’s mouth and it’s tail merrily waging behind. It was as if the dog was actually smiling.
Moments later came the sound of dry twigs snapping, “Here boy.” soon followed by more rustling bushes. “Hey, wait for me.” With that the Dog Walker himself emerged through green foliage with a smile of his own.
The man looked to be 35-40ish and was of average height and build. He was dressed in blue jeans of a comfortable fitting, a black t-shirt that he has no doubt had since collage age going by the cracked and fading artwork on the front, a well broken in brown-leather jacket, sturdy brown-boots and a worn red baseball cap with a white oval on the front completed the ensemble. Yet the man did not look scruffy, in fact his attire subtly conveyed the friendly and loyal nature he and his dog contain.
The man also had a hearing aid on his left ear possibly explaining why he had not heard Lara’s call.  

The man’s smile momentarily faded with the surprises of seeing the two strangers. “Oh hey there. Don’t worry he won’t bite.” The man reassured with a friendly smile returning to his face.
The dog happily dashed over to his master and dropped the tennis ball at his feet ready to play. The man‘s deep-grey eyes scanned over Lara and Patrick, “Wow, what happened to you two?” he asked in light-hearted tone before he picked up the tennis ball.

Lara quickly put her jumper back on before taking one step closer to the man. “Can you help us?” She asked in a polite, slightly desperate tone. “Sure.” The man replied in a deep heart-felt tone, now taking the pair’s situation seriously on hearing the distressed vibe in the English lady’s request.
The man looked over Lara and Patrick more closely and it was obvious that they had not been having what he would consider a normal day. His eyes stopping on poor Patrick who had obviously been through it the worst, “H-how can I help?”

Patrick couldn't deny to himself feeling a bit more than just politely cautious, he was legally wary towards the possible meeting with the whatever stranger and a dog they were about to meet.
And to be honest, if only to himself in the privacy of his own mind, Jane nearly dropped to the ground as the dog suddenly popped out of the bushes, to be polite. His hand already had made it halfway to his screeching heart as he kept calm exterior and cooed at the well-kept retriever that now stood in front of his, nearly as if the dog had felt something about him. "Hey, doggie!" he only said to the dog, still unsure. But relieved his heart had tampered down it's desperate banging inside his chest. Maybe he truly needed a giant bottle of water, an ice-ful o' bath and a nap for a whole week straight.
However the dog seemed very friendly and eager to make new friends.

And suddenly there was a man appearing from the foliage around. So Jane decided he really was more off his game than usually, which was totally weird and embarrassing to the blonde man who always expected himself appear impeccable and up to his own standards, if only to mislead whatever was with him about his true thoughts and feelings - an old and sometimes bothering habit formed decade ago to save himself from pity and overbearing people.

The man seemed rather well kept, much as his dog, and nothing blinked red as Patrick assessed him. Average male, middle aged, hearing issues, dog probably was his friend and only companion in this place. Possibly some sort of a guide dog if the man suffered at least partial hearing loss, judging by hearing aid, which was one of consultant's recent area of expertise -thanks to Ryan's little sister who had hearing loss.
Moving on Jane noticed man being as friendly as the dog. That lessened the tight knot that had formed in the blonde's stomach.
Of course, he could be sloppy due to the recent adventures but then he decided to trust the dog. Animals couldn't lie like humans, they were always true to anyone.

Patrick smiled at the man as he told about dog. Verbal assurance somehow felt more assuring than whatever assumptions his foggy mind provided.
And suddenly feeling terribly self-conscious, upon the man's scrutiny, Patrick sheepishly said in a hoarse, low voice: "Some water and a phone would be awesome at first." and then tried not to turn crimson in cheeks.

“Sure, follow me.” The Dog Walker replied with heartfelt understanding. “Thank you.” Was Lara’s grateful response to his willingness to lend a hand.
It came as such a relief to finally find another person after trekking through the Glades all day attempting to do just that. It came as an even bigger relief to meet a man kind enough to actually offer heartfelt assistance. Lara had seen some cruel things in her time, especially as a cop. She had witnessed some pretty cold and heartless things from people who ‘did not want to get involved’ and The Dog walker‘s sincere compassion for the pairs situation was refreshing to Lara’s soul. “Thank you God.” She thought giving a silent but genuine prayer.

The Dog Walker patted his hip and the dog imminently took it’s place at his side as he began to lead Patrick and Lara along the dirt road, “I think I have some water in my truck.” The Dog Walker said, “So what happened to you two?” He enquired as they went, it was obvious that the pair had been through a rough time, “Did you brake down? It’s really easy to get lost out here.” he added casually.

“No, we didn’t breakdown.” Lara said, the stressful thought of the days events leaking out in her voice. Lara was tired and did not want to go into it all right now, so she said no more and left it for Patrick to say if he wanted to.

“Oh, I’m Eddie by the way and this is Sam.” The Dog Walker said only just thinking to introduce himself and his companion properly. “I’m Lara.” She responded.

His mouth let out a sigh of agreement to her comment, he suddenly felt somewhat dizzy as he felt the sweat dribble down his neck behind the dress shirt. His mind tapping at the thought of the white growing yellow-ish from the human perspiration.
However there was another thought, more like pointing out, going on: three piece suits were a no-no in Miami, not in a weather much more humid and heated than in Sacramento. And that started to itch at him that he always kept wearing these same clothes no matter what. Maybe he really should start listen to people who tells him how to do better since they were both suffered tragedies in their lives and managed to changed their views to operate better. Okay, Jane, enough of this, grow up some and stop being the idiot in the proverbial barn, he scolded himself again while his feet kept tripping over small rocks and grass tangles.
The roads here were not like the ones in his former city outskirts. And that's from a guy totally a city boy, with so little wilderness time.
Nah, Jane was not enjoying forests and swamps. Nor dark, dingy rooms that held sinister in the shadows.

At Lara's memory he begun trying to twist his own mind for any, knowing full well that brain doesn't function that way nor his own were the most cooperative. However, the feeling of her flashback seemed to recall the weird feeling of something looming in the shadows that slipped in and out of his consciousness.
Unfortunately he couldn't suddenly recall the event that led them to this forsaken swamp and its gators.
Once again his feet missed a step and he went down with a thud and a groan as his head unexpectedly skimmed off the harder patch of dirt. "Ouchy.." was his solemn response to pain shooting through his skull down to his spine. And lookey, that happened to be enough to start a vision, a possible flashback from the night before.
Dark alleyway, high unsettling industrial ceiling and night sky shining through a similar looking door...
Patrick Jane blinked confused. "What did we do in an old factory? he asked, rubbing his aching head and ruffling his greasy mop into a bigger mess and unknowingly staining the blonde with some red from a wound somewhere on his skalp. "And why did I spoke russian to that big hazard-bearer monster idiot of worse fashion sense than a blind bat?" came from his suddenly foggy mind

“This is Patrick Jane. We both work for Miami PD.” Lara added, introducing Jane to Eddie the dog walker.
“We got into some trouble in the line of duty and we need to call in as soon as we can.” She continued, explaining why the pair were in such a mess.

Suddenly Jane kissed the dirt yet again, hitting his head as he landed, “Oh, easy, easy.” Lara said, as she once again kneeled down to help him.

“Are you alright buddy?” Eddie asked as he helped Lara to assist Patrick.

“You where ambushed my Russian counterfeiters, Remember?” Lara replied in response to Patrick’s questions. A touch of concern in here voice that Patrick had forgotten again.

“I found you in an old converted warehouse...then they dumped us.” She finished, saying just enough to hopefully jog Patrick’s memory, without alarming Eddie.

Lara instantly noticed the blood stain in Patrick’s hair as he rubbed his head, “You’re bleeding. Lets get you some help.” She said to Patrick as she and Eddie carefully helped him back onto his feet.
“Maybe you have a concussion after all.” She admitted, not letting her tone inspire any need for deep concern.

The two helped Patrick back to the truck so that he would not fall again.
Once at the Vehicle Lara saw Patrick into his seat and they immediately headed for civilisation.

“Head for the hospital, please.” Lara requested, wanting to get Patrick some medical attention as soon as possible, “Yeah, of course.” Eddie replied, “Here’s my cell. I don’t know if you will get a signal yet though.” he said passing his phone back to the pair.

“Thank you.” Lara replied with sincere gratitude.
She looked to Patrick, “Who do we call?” She asked, hoping he was still able to think clearly, “We have to call in, but if there are cops involved, who do we know we can trust for sure?”

(OOC: Hey there!
It is so great to see this thread going again I was literally more excited to see you had posted than I was on Christmas morning I hope my post is alright, I guess I am a little out of practice myself.)

It was fuzzy for a while but somewhere in his slow-action stained brain a thought, or a nemory occured. It was a case or off duty hours, he was out on the street near some dark alleyways on his way to look for something or someone. Suddenly there was a sound of a scuffle somewhere near and he tried to blend more into shadows. There was some reason he found himself out there in a middle of night. But before any other idea occured he was suddenly placed into a bright white light that scalded his eyes like boiled water. And immediately it felt as if his brain had exploded into million colorful shreds of something shiny.
It was only when a burly man wearing mustache like some would facial masks started to rap on him lightly. Questions were thrown at him at rapid session but ir blurred into a string of vaguely familiar tones as the bully kept his speech.
Only a while later, as it had subsided into a mass of blurred out color splashes, he begun to think of reason behind this stuff. It must have been work related. Probably the same gang stuff from all that time ago Ryan was talking about after one of his bad days. And he'd been kidnapped and tortured by Russians. Only he was made to do stuff after they introduced a little boy, after all that bone-crushing torture.
He now knew ke was being kidnapped by a Russian Mob, soft one as that. The question was whay on Earth he would be susspected as a good hostage if not for a guy who barely can keep his mouth shut and basically had no self-control.

The reality returned to the blonde consultant."I believe there are more guys bad as Ivan had been. But all this time I trusted to H to do all that work to get them away." he spoke up with slight lisp as his tongue struggled to form words into some coherency.

Upon being put into a car and told about driving to hospital he couldn't have been more happy. It meant getting out of Miami-Wild and he so hated wilderness like this.
But at a mention of hospital Jane seemed to regain his oldest part of himself that Lisbon had not once been mad about.. "Oh no no no!" he called out enthusiastically, "Not even a tiniest bit of hospital, my friends. I have a better idea. And other thing that I would appreciate, and my nice companion here, are some piece of a burger maybe. Yeah, me likey a burger piece. Lara you should too, food will do us some good." Patrick Jane announced in a voice that bordered on wisdom of guy his actual age and madness of a guy avoiding to admit he maybe had a concussion and that some help would be a wise thing to have.
On the other hand Jane was never the guy who had anything to do with common sense nor wise thinking. He often got injured or otherwise harmed or almost-harmed because of his less thoughtful actions.
This seemed to be a time of that piece of him coming out and playing Mr Bravery.
That and there were a lady of better judgement next to him, and better prapared persona to meet such situation.
But if Lisbon put up with his messes, Lara may not be happy- sense of logic kicked in, but to the blonde, possibly concussed consultant it was just a voice of reason, wrong one at that...


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OOC note: whoop whoop! Yes I actually made it to here. And gee if I hadn't checked out.
Anyway I believe I was off the topic somewhere *MUSE plays on radio*
So I am a bit distracted and giddy and all kinds of chubby inside because I am soooo happy to find a post here *sings along SMBH like a crazy bird*
Anyway, I feel some current in me so might as well post while the scene is so vivid in my mind

Jane seemed to be pleased at the mention of getting out of the Glades an into a hospital. But then he seemed to suddenly become more lucid and quickly changed his mind, suggesting burgers over doctors.

“No, this isn’t the first time you’ve passed out on me today, and you just hit your head on the way down. That is a red flag, Patrick, you need to see a doctor. I can bring you a burger at the hospital.” Lara replied with a mix of feminine compassion and professional rationality.

She knew that she could not force Patrick to go into a hospital, but it would take a lot of convincing to talker out of taking him to one, considering his condition and everything he had been through.

Lara opened the cell phone and called her commanding officer and told him a little of what was going on, “I’ll explain everything to you face to face...” Lara glanced at Patrick hesitantly, “We should be going to the hospital, can you meet us there?” She asked her CO, a little uncertain if Patrick would gracefully concede to going to the hospital.

After making the arrangements to meet Lara hung up and turned to Jane, “My CO is going to meet us, I know we can trust him. If someone on the inside did help those men to ambush you in that elevator and snatch you right our of a police precinct, then he will help us to figure out how it was and just who we can trust.”

Lara sat back in her seat, momentary savouring the pleasure of feeling the cool breeze from the truck’s air conditioning hit her face as it kicked it.
It felt good to be sitting on something covered in fabric instead of moss, and it felt good to finally be out of the hot sun and on the way to civilization.

Lara turned her head back to Patrick once again, his hair was just a mess and now had blood as well as dirt matting it up. Not to mention that his face was covered in as much stale sweat and grime as hers was.
She smiled gently seeing the smudge of dirt above his eyebrow where he had just landed in the dirt yet again, face first.
She thought that Patrick had handled the entire situation very valiantly for a civilian. A part of her was rather impressed and proud of him, even though she had only known him for a day.

Lara pulled a tissue from her pocket and began tenderly wiping the dirt off Patrick’s eyebrow, “How are you feeling?” Her tone was soft, letting the mentalist know that he could let go of any bravado if he wanted to, now that they where both safe and out of the sweltering wilderness.
She was tired herself and could only imagine how Patrick must be feeling.

Great job, Jane, old man, you made a fool out of yourself and now you feek like a pile of mud thrown out into an owen Patrick Jane, the mentalist from Sacramento, CBI, and a consultant of mind tricks and sleaky criminal stuff. Oh well, he at least tried to behave and hoped somebody would let Lisbon know how good he had been.
But only few know the story behind his childish behaviour and what it kept hidden from the world.

"You know that's not fair. I don't have a concussion, if that's your worry. I've had been hit by a baseball so my head knows what the signs are. Besides I don't recall my last meal and right now a burger sounds just so much better than a hospital I'm really considering to sign out AMA." the blonde announced with a slightest lisp and a wink of a sparkling blue eye. Unless his charm had suffered from the event from last night it should work, he thought to himself with a mentally crossed fingers.

Being so close to getting back in his soft, inviting bed with gentlest of bedsheets was too much to even consider hospital stay.
At her mention the meet he only nodded. It soinded safe enough but still a thought there was a mole inside... amongst one of them, maybe even one of them...
He looked back at Lara, "You think somebody staged all this?"

Not that it was anything new. He'd heard of a mole case few times before. Ryan had told on one rare rainy evening that once they had trouble with FBI snooping around. And another time it was for himself to be the one on the end about troubles with Ry's old habbit and the Russians.
"I'm okay. Just a bit dirty and thirsty. How about you, Lara? How are you holding up?" he finally put back on his Jane-charm and added a smile.


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A/N: you know I love a Jane!whump right *whistles* xD

A tiny smile found it's way onto Lara’s mouth when Jane told her he had once been hit with a baseball.
She understood where he was coming from and she sympathised with him wanting to take a trip to McDonalds rather that to Dade General, but her commonsense said to do otherwise.

“You are a grown man and I can’t force you to go to hospital, but I strongly advise you to. You have passed out more than once, and as I said that is a red flag. You may not have a concussion but you might be suffering from heat exhaustion, and possibly dehydration going by the lisp you have. And just having a glass of water won’t fix that. In fact if you are dehydrated, drinking too much too quickly will just make you throw up and dehydrate you further.” She respectfully informed him.

"You think somebody staged all this?"

Lara looked at Patrick with a touch of concern in her eyes. She could add relapse of memory to his list of symptoms.

She lowered her voice and spoke quietly so that Eddie would not overhear and become alarmed.

“We talked about this earlier. You said you thought the four men that grabbed you from the elevator had a picture of you and that they was in contact with someone from the outside. We figured that they might have gotten into the surveillance system of the elevator or maybe even whole lab somehow for them to be able to grab you like that without being seen, remember?” She asked. She hoped Jane was just tired from the long day they had both had and that nothing was seriously wrong with him.

Lara gave Patrick a warm but tired smile when he asked her how she was holding up, “I’m fine.” She said, resting her elbow on the backrest and gently supporting her head with a couple of fingers. “I might be a little dehydrated myself.”

She was grimy and tired but had not serious health complaints to speak of.

Being told he was a grown man was nothing new to Jane. It was one of Lisbon's favorite song over the years they worked together. And ocasionally few of his new comrades had mentioned such thing. But oh well, he knew that by himself already, just doing it the other way was more fun than the adult way, alas the boring way. So he usually tried to add a bit of childishness into the serious stuff, like other serious proffessions did. He knew few cops that did prank marathons during breaks and heard of some doctors as well.

But this was very serious thing indeed. He understood Lara meant good for him and if he allowed himself a bit of weakness to show he agreed. In this moment of truth Patrick admitted to himself, and in a moment aloud, that he indeed needed Dade General first and burgers after that.

"Yeah, you're right. I suppose this isn't the place nor time to play tough guy. And I do feel rather mistreated by all this adventure." the blonde, dirty man admitted with a sigh and palm over his face, most likely smudging the dirt more on his tanned skin. There was a possibility of a slight sunburn somewhere, he mused.

"Oh." Patrick simply said. He added a mental facepalm. How could he forget his own words actually? Man, he really needed that hospital with all their bells and whistles.
"We need Ryan or his sister. They could help us out. I know they have a knack of sorting such stuff out. Besides the girl can do wonders with computers at lab and her hearing aid may help in finding any bugs if the lab might happen to be bugged by some creeps." this time he managed the whole paragraph without failing at language and for that gave himself a slap on a shoulder, a mental one at that, of course.
"I'm just not getting what exactly we might be needed for. I don't think I can be put into a kidnap-list of some freak-os. I don't even have a full access to lab nor their systems. And I can get around this much mostly by picking locks. I don't hold any vital information about cases either, just all that jazz that comes to mind when I observe people and evidence." another burst of desperate thought eluded from the Dade's consultant. "It must be you. You obviously hold more value than a bugger consultant as meself." he nodded at Lara. The thought begun to settle more and more. Who would need them both if only one held higher rank as an investigator. Jane usually sat behind the double glass along with Michelle and crotched bunch of ideas and theories from what suspects talked.
Lara, on the other part, was doing actual investigation. She held rank and power, by the way she wore knowledge about things and processes. And her strong personality showed training and experience. That was way ahead consultant level, even above CI who had joined recently and obviously wore same confidence, only CI guy was known criminal and retired from FBI by finishing his contract.

For a moment Jane contemplated how much they differed as both being consultants. And how much they both were con-men by how they wore their knowledge of stuff and hid their weaknesses.
Lara was all the way ahead since she appeared to be a pure professional by training, not some street smarts.

"I'm glad you doing better than obviously I do. But I will try to hold on. No need to be a burden in such situation." Patrick said with a sudden seriousness leaking from his eyes. But it last as long as he blinked. Then a slight glaze settled in. And with that he started to humm a bit. Something really quiet and slow in rhythm. Almost like a children song but a sad one.


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A/N: pardon if I get somewhat off-ish. Been a long time since I wrote anything. I miss roleplaying as much as writing fanfiction.
And I am at the end of my data limit lol. But once I get to reply I'll try to put in some looong reply so you don't get bored

Lara nodded in agreement as Patrick said about getting Ryan and his sister to sweep the lab for bugs.
That would definitely be a good place to start in figuring out who had taken Jane and how they did it.

Lara frowned however as she listened to Jane talking about her being the target and holding more value than him.
He was worse that she thought and he was obviously very confused about everything that had happened.

Lara put her hand on him gently, "I think you are confused, Jane." She said gently.
"There's nothing special about me, I'm not even a CSI yet, I'm just an officer. And I definitely was not targeted." She looked him in they eye, softly reminding him of what had taken place, "You had already been kidnapped, remember? They already had you in the hanger, I just happened to stumble in?"

Lara gave a sympathetic smile when Patrick said about trying not to be a burden, "You're not a burden. Truth is having you around made me have to stay calm. If I had been alone I probably would have panicked a little."

She squeezed his hand gently then let go, letting him relax as he sat there humming.

They would be at the hospital soon and they could start figuring things out once they had both gotten some medical attention.

Ooc: Sorry it's taken me so long to reply, I got caught up with a few things. And your posts are never boring

At her saying it was indeed him being taken first and then it was Lara suddenly joining him Patrick had a moment of an inkling of something at the back of his head.
It was short. But the feeling it gave him did a lot more than the flashback itself.

"Right. Yeah. I forgot. Just you seem to have some intuition about surviving outside." Jane admitted. Although it was more meant as a compliment it was also a true he'd experienced on his own skin. And for a guy who's wildlife knowledge borders on National Geographic and Animal Planet channel surfing he'd survived well, for now.

Something had clicked about his mind few moments after her soothing words. Not being burden was such a good feeling that it almost felt fluffly inside.
"Pardon my stuffed mind and cheeky tongue. I promise to behave once we get out of this. I don't do good friends with being outside and even less having spent a day in this jungle and fearing bunch of white teeth grabbing a chunk out of me. Also I sometimes loose my ability control myself in situations that has me not clearheaded. So I am glad to hear I wasn't a burden and to be honest I felt so much safer with you around than if I'd been alone. So I guess I kinda should thank you for stepping in the whole stuff even if by accident. Somebody up there had a fear of me being dead long before they decide to dump me for alligators." the tired and slightly injured man offered a very sincere speech. Though it was a bit altered by his not-so-good health and overheated brain. "And I suppose I shall shut up once. I start to make nonsense even to myself." and with that he not just blushed more than he already was from the heat but also somewhat passed out.


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Hi sweetie. Been forever since I last checked in. Life happened for big time and obviously it made turnabout that I couldn't deal with so I needed to wind my mind a bit. Besides I wanted to see if I still know English
Anyway, excuse my laaaate post and not so long as I wanted. But next time I'll try to come up with something better. Ya know my mind always produce some stuff in background but it always ends up lost and tangled up by the end of the day that I don't get to posting by gazillion different reasons. And for me being satisfied I shall be all concentrated and tidied up.
So here I put the stop to my looong ramble and finally get to bed. Time to daydream some fictional universe until I fall asleep and welcome the next coming day and go through it ok (there is some personal stuff and lots of stuff and whatnots I am not discuss publicly-due to one certain annoying reason that still lives on this planet and trolls around places- but we can chat some by PM if you'd like).
Anyway, see ya next time!

● P.S. I am having a new data plan. So for the next two years I am having more internet per month. Bad news is that my bill is now more to pay lol