Okay, I am acutely aware that this series is very similar to my Secret Lies series, but it's not at the same time.

Some points:

1. It's an all-episode-tag series. A fic per episode.

2. It's in chronological order.

3. Relationship dynamic is different.

4. I intend to make this series a bit lighter than Secret Lies. It's hard because it's The Mentalist and it's dark, but I'm trying.

Happy reading :)

Cat

~o~

Amalgamation:

01. The Old and the New

~o~

Jane walked by Lisbon's desk and said, "Very pleasant addition to the Serious Crimes Unit."

She looked up and said casually, "Oh hi, when did you get here?"

He smiled at her. "You knew I wasn't going to leave."

She leaned back against her chair, raised an eyebrow and stared at him. "Did I?"

"What was I going to do back in Sacramento?" He shrugged.

"Get some sleep maybe."

He cocked his head to the side. "Funny." He opened his mouth to say more but Van Pelt came back into the room, so he turned around and started watching the video of the murder scene.

"Did you really think he was going to give you a prescription without a consultation?" Lisbon asked Jane as they got in the car after seeing Dr. Wagner.

"Doesn't hurt to try."

She stared at him as he put his seatbelt on. "You should make an appointment. You need to sleep."

He shrugged. "Neh, I'll make one when we get back to Sacramento."

She sighed, but didn't say anything more.

As soon as she and Jane were in his hotel room, Lisbon put water in the kettle and turned it on.

"I really like Van Pelt," Jane said to her as he took his vest off and put it on the chair. "Opinionated and delusional. A very charming young woman, indeed. No wonder Rigsby's got a soft spot for her." He watched Lisbon rummaging through his luggage. "What are you looking for?" he asked her.

She was frowning as she searched through clothes and papers. Finally, a smile spread across her face as she exclaimed, "Aha!" She held up an herbal tea bag. "I knew you would bring me some."

He grinned back at her as he poured the boiling water in a mug. "You're not going to offer me one?"

"You know perfectly well that it's that fruity stuff you hate," she explained, tearing open the teabag and dropping it into the hot water. "You know, you could have given Rigsby and Van Pelt a break. You didn't have to make them so uncomfortable, especially on Van Pelt's first day."

"She can take it," he replied as he started undressing.

"I know she can," Lisbon said, undressing as well. "I just don't like that you're putting sexual tension within my team."

"There's enough of that already, huh?" Jane took her in his arms and dropped her on the bed, making her shriek. "Shh, Teresa, Cho's staying in the room next door."

"Why didn't you call me when you couldn't sleep?" Lisbon asked as she and Jane were driving back to Dr. Wagner's clinic.

"Because you were sleeping. You need your sleep as much as I do, if not more. You carry a gun."

She sighed. "Fine. Why didn't you come to my room then?"

"It would have woken you up," he explained.

"No, it wouldn't have."

"Yes, it would."

"Patrick, you're hiding something from me. I know when you're hiding something."

"Oh look, here we are." Jane pointed out.

She pulled in at the medical center's parking lot and Jane got out of the car. As he walked away, she pulled the window down and asked him, "what time do you want me to pick you up?"

"I'll call Rigsby or Cho."

"You're hiding something," she repeated.

He smiled at her. "Don't worry."

"Hm," she mumbled as she pulled the window back up and drove away. "Like that's gonna help."

When Lisbon walked into her room, overworked and tired, the last thing she wanted to see was Patrick Jane lying on her bed, smiling. "What are you doing here?"

"The good doctor's in custody?" he asked, ignoring her own question.

"Yes, he is. Now go back to your room."

"Teresa, come on."

"I mean it. I'm not in the mood for you tonight," she told him.

They stared at each other for a minute and finally Jane got up. "I didn't want to anger you."

She shook her head, refusing to accept his apology. "I hate it when you keep things from me." She sighed and said softly, "please go."

"I'm sorry," he said when he was at the door.

"I know," she said. "I won't be angry tomorrow."

He nodded and left the room. She dropped on her bed and fell asleep, fully clothed.

Jane walked into the room, a box of doughnuts in hand. He got her favorite: chocolate glaze. "Closed case doughnuts are here," he said to the agents in the room and smiling at Lisbon. She looked up for a brief second and then went back to what she was reading. He looked at Van Pelt who seemed to be ignoring him as well. He once again looked at Lisbon who was completely ignoring him. She was definitely still angry. He looked around the room and said: "I just wanted to get sleeping pills, I swear to God." Lisbon finally looked at him with an expression of complete disbelief. He looked at Van Pelt but kept glancing back at Lisbon as he said: "I didn't even want to go. You know I didn't want to go."

"Right," Van Pelt said as she walked away.

Lisbon went back to reading.

"Yeah, you didn't set Wagner up," Rigsby said as he took a doughnut, "figured it was him days ago."

"You didn't let us tear apart the family in order to satisfy your childish need for drama," Cho pointed out sarcastically, taking a doughnut as well.

"That family was screwed anyway," Jane defended himself. "Don't blame yourself guys," he chuckled. They did not look happy. He caught a paper frog Cho threw at him.

Jane turned around to look at Lisbon. He didn't mind that the team was angry at him as long as she wasn't.

"Don't even start," she told him as he approached her desk. "I'm still angry."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"No, you're not," she retorted.

Jane placed the paper frog on her desk as a piece offering.

"A frog?" she asked. "Well this makes everything better, doesn't it?"

The frog jumped in the air as he walked away. She gave a soft yelp in surprise and he looked back at her. He could tell she was smiling. He was back in her good graces. And into her bed.

In the early hours of the morning, he slipped into Lisbon's hotel bed. She barely stirred as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. She was such a comfort to him. He had just gone to his house in Malibu. Going there unnerved him. It had felt strange to be confronted with his previous life. He still wasn't sure if he had done the right thing, marrying Lisbon. It's not that he didn't love her and didn't like being married to her. He just couldn't truly appreciate his current life as long as he hadn't put his old one in the past. He had to find Red John.

To Be Continued...