Cath Trilogy: Hey Jane

“That’s not funny,” Jane hissed as Rhys came into the room with a cup of coffee, some milk and a basket of sugar. She still looked angry as she said, “Thanks.”

“What happened?” Rhys asked with anger playing at his tongue as well. He knew something was really wrong when Jane didn’t even touch her coffee after she had put it on the table. “Why did you ask me to get you coffee? I know you don’t like coffee.”

“I needed to ask him something. It doesn’t concern you,” Jane added.

“What did you tell him that you couldn’t tell me. Do you know him from something?” Rhys asked.

“It doesn’t concern you,” Jane repeated and stood to put away her plate of barely eaten breakfast.

“Jane, what’s the matter?” Rhys asked her. “Ever since Aubrey assigned us to this case, you’ve been acting really weird. It’s like you’re digressing. Is it something that happened or something I said?”

Jane swallowed and looked at Lucifer who was too busy looking shocked to actually hear their conversation. “It really doesn’t concern you,” Jane looked at the ground.

“We’re working this case together. This is both of us, not just Jane, not just me, we have to work together so that I don’t lose you.”

Jane thought over his words or a moment before saying, “Okay. Do you want to know my connection to this case? The connection that only I know.”

Rhys nodded.

“I knew his profession because he is my grandfather,” Jane pointed to Lucifer. “Until last night, I thought I was the only witness of the Prentice Family Case.”

Rhys just stared at her. His mouth worked to make words, but he couldn’t seem to be able to make the sounds. He eventually was able to say, “You’re Catherine?”

“Yes, that was my name before...” Jane didn’t have the chance to finish her sentence before she was having the life squeezed out of her by Rhys. His arms wrapped around her waist, and their height difference caused her feet to be lifted off of the ground,

“I’m so glad that you’re okay,” Rhys said and pulled her away, showing the tears that pressed against the ducts in his eyes.

“I hope you can forgive me for not telling you,” Jane looked at the ground.

“Done and done,” Rhys smiled. “Now Lucifer, let’s solve some shit.”

A second man had appeared while Jane and Rhys had been talking. The second man had an Irish accent, and his back was to both of them. He appeared to be in his 20s given his posture and his head of thick, dark brown hair. “What is it Dad? I was in the middle of grading tests,” the Irish man rubbed the back of his neck and ran a hand through his hair.

“Well, there is something that happened,” Lucifer pointed behind the man at Jane.

“Really, this couldn’t have waited until tomorrow?” The man said as he turned around.

“H-how did you get in here?” Jane stammered, and her knees wobbled.

The man looked at her for a moment before nearly choking out, “Cath.”

“Who the hell are you?” Rhys asked and stepped in front of Jane in a heroic gesture.

Lucifer stood as well in case something went wrong. The new man blinked, “Mr. Khan?”

Rhys’s hand went to his gun and he said, “How did you get in here?”

The new man’s face went more pale than it already was, and it accented his freckles. His jaw dropped as if he couldn’t think of an answer. “My name is William Prentice.”

“Lies,” Jane grabbed her own gun and pointed it directly at the man’s chest. “You’re not him!”

“Cath, it is me,” the man tried to convince her.

“He’s dead. He died protecting me, and he held me and told me...” Jane was cut off.

“You’re my strong little girl, and you’re going to get out of here,” William Prentice told her what were thought to be his last words.

“You can’t be,” Jane just stared at him. “It’s impossible.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Rhys couldn’t move. No one had died that night all those years ago. It was making him feel uneasy. He was brought out of this state of shock when Jane’s hand collided with William’s cheek. The sound vibrated the entire room, and everyone was in an advanced state of shock.

William continued to stare at her and raised a hand to his cheek to make sure that it was real. “You’re stronger,” he remarked.

Jane had tears flowing down her cheeks as she dug her face into William’s chest. “Dad,” she cried. She couldn’t hold back her sobs now as her father ran his hand up and down her back, and tears of his own choked him.

Rhys and Lucifer stood apart from the father and daughter. They were both still trying to find out what was going on and how any of this was possible. Just the other hour, they thought that one of them had been dead and gone. Now, the people they missed were reunited with a thousand questions still running through their mind.

“Aubrey won’t believe it,” Rhys said and laughed.

Jane and William finally pulled away from each other laughing and crying. Smiles were on both of their faces that Rhys and Lucifer hadn’t seen in years.

“How are you alive?” Jane asked and shook her head in disbelief.

“That’s a bit complicated,” William bit the inside of his cheek as though contemplating one of the most important decisions of his life.

Jane smiled at him with a sort of unimaginable shock and joy.

“Tell us in a bit,” Rhys told him. “Right now, we have to tell Aubrey about this.”

Jane nodded and reluctantly left her father’s side to conference with Aubrey.

“Okay, what!?” Aubrey said when Rhys and Jane finished explaining the events of the past two days. Jane and Rhys stayed quiet while Aubrey thought. Rhys had to put a finger to his lips to keep her from saying the entire story again. Aubrey took an audible breath before saying, “You two, come back to L.A.. Bring Lucifer and William.”

Rhys protested, “But, we need to catch Adam, and I would feel bad if I didn’t go to Danny’s funeral.”

Aubrey took a moment to think before saying, “Okay, when is the funeral?”

“This saturday,” Rhys told her.

“So two days, perfect. Come back in three days with walking dead and the most perverted detective of London.”

“Wait, what did you just call Lucifer?” Jane asked. They had told Aubrey everything besides Jane being Catherine.

Aubrey made a gagging sound as if she had said something that she shouldn't have. “I say a lot of things about hypersexuals. Lucifer makes it onto that list,” she tried to sound smooth.

“He’s a sex addict?” Rhys asked.

“He prefers hypersexual,” Aubrey said in a sardonic tone.

“I sense history,” Rhys smiled a bit.

“No!” Aubrey said defensively then screamed at the two detectives, “Get back to work!”

“Yes ma’am,” Rhys and Jane said in unison and Rhys hung up.

Jane looked at Rhys and started laughing. She fell to the floor barely able to take in a breath, her side began to ache, and she began to hiccup. All the while, tears welled up in her eyes and her high-pitched laughter filled the room.

“What’s gotten into you?” Rhys asked and smiled at her.

“Of course my boss had an affair with my grandpa. Why not?” She laughed harder. “That is the most normal thing that I have learned in the past two days.”

“Come on let’s go back to your dead dad, and your sex addicted grandpa,” Rhys held out his hand for her.

“Wait, ew!” Jane exclaimed. “Ew, my grandpa had sex with my boss.”

“Try not to think about it too much,” Rhys took her hand and pulled her up off the ground.

Jane sighed and put her hand to her head, “God, my life is weird. Know what else is weird. My dad looks about as young as me,” I know he was relatively young when he conceived me, but he should be at least fifty. My grandpa should be eighty to ninety, but he looks ten years older than my dad. I mean it’s possible to conceive that young, but Lucifer adopted my dad when he was 29.”

“Yeah, that is weird,” Rhys furrowed his eyebrows. “How did he get here so fast. His accent is thicker, and he said he was grading tests.”

Jane worked her tongue at her teeth and ran a hand through her hair. “Well, we have a few question to ask them.” Suddenly, she stopped. Everything that they had been talking about seemed perfectly rational. Nothing was strange. Rhys had the same epiphany, and the two of them talked about Adam. William and Lucifer escaped their minds.