Hi everybody! This is my first The Mentalist story that I published! I wrote a few scenes before, not sure yet if I'll publish them as wel but this is the first finished one and it's rather long for my doing. Anyway, I'm writing a One Shot collection to every episode and this is (obviously) the first one out of it! (I'll most likely write the one for 4x10 soonish, not sure I can wait that long until I'd be there :P)

Mostly Lisbon centered and will be for most of the episodes. It's easier for me but if you want one Jane centered like this, let me know and I'll see what I can do about it ;) There are gonna be some episodes (2x03, 4x10 e.g.) where I'll definitely be writing both sides but for the others it's up to you, readers. Also, you might notice that the addition to some scenes that are my doing and more Jisbon-ish are the only scenes with actual dialogue.

Unbeta'd and my first hooray into the fandom, so please be gentle but honest. English's not my first language and I am actually rather unsure of how it turned out, so all the feedback would be appreciated. *hint hint*

She heard the shots from inside ringing in her ears. It was a reflex to run in but she ran a bit faster than usually, knowing that he was inside. Maybe someone had finally had enough and actually shot him. No, she couldn't think that. It was Jane; chances that someone wanted to shoot him were high but the chances that he could talk himself out of the misery were at least as high. He would be fine; she knew it.

When Lisbon entered the room with her gun drawn, she couldn't help the relief washing over her body. He was alright. She wanted to smack him. Goddamn idiot. She wanted to shoot him herself for making her worry so much. It's not like she could actually help herself. She didn't want to worry about him but of course she did anyway. Besides the fact that he was a member of her team, she liked him. Knowing he was alright, she had to follow the shooter outside to arrest her.

She would never hear the end of this.

What was he doing there? He was still on suspension. He wasn't supposed to be back. Of course Cho had called him to let him know where they would be. She would have done it herself but no. Not this time.

Red John was his? What the hell? She knew it was senseless to argue with him about that particular matter but she would not let him have his way. He was scaring her when he was like that. Talking about Red John. She didn't want him around for this. Besides, he was still on suspension, so she wouldn't let him in anyway. It would eat him. All the Red John cases did and each time it got a bit worse. She would not let him be this obsessed again. She'd do what she could to avoid it from happening.

She couldn't believe it. What a jerk. He had called the boss to get back on the case. Just like that. She heard him approach behind her in the morgue and tried to ignore his presence. It worked rather well until he leaned forward to whisper into her ear. She felt herself shiver and knew he had noticed it. He always did. So, she acted as if nothing had happened and told him to be quiet and listen. They could talk about it later. Maybe. Whenever she wasn't mad at him anymore. Going over her head like that. What was he even thinking? Scratch that. She did like having him around in general; he solved cases and had an extremely useful insight and a strange way of finding out the truth. Plus, she could keep an eye on him that way. No matter how much she wanted him around, she was scared and worried. She'd be careful and looking out for him.

Of course he was right. Seriously, when wasn't he? She had no idea how on earth he knew though. The guy was dead; Jane had looked at him for a few moments and knew. Getting the confirmation only made it worse but at least he wasn't glowing at all. She was grateful for that. He was a pain in the ass when he actually was.

She watched him closely when they entered the crime scene for the first time. This was a Red John case and she was afraid he would drown if she wouldn't look out. She watched his every step, making sure he was alright. When he left the group she wanted nothing more than to follow him but she couldn't and she knew exactly he needed a little time for himself. She didn't like it but she trusted him to come to her if it got too bad.

They eventually followed him and as soon as they entered the room, her gaze was glued to him. He found hers a moment later and she knew he was okay.

It wasn't Red John? She looked at him in surprise and shock. She trusted his words. He would always know best when it came to Red John. So, she listened carefully to his explanation. It made sense; she would have to check it later though. She already knew that he was right. She didn't like that forensics guy. At all. Did he actually think that he knew better than Jane? What an ignorant jerk. She understood Jane's reaction- hell, she thought the exact same- but she couldn't let anyone know that, least of all him. This was about professionalism, not friendship. She decided to ignore the guy and tell Jane to watch it. He probably already figured that she was on his side with this anyway. Again. She smiled at him a little when they were looking at each other once more.

She sighed. So he had been right, just like she had thought he would be. Only that now her team was all over it, too. When everyone was gone and she had a moment to herself, she grabbed her phone and hesitated another second before dialling his number. She regretted it almost instantly. He could be so annoying and childish sometimes. Jerk. She liked the banter, in fact she had thought it was less than usually that day and she had missed him around the two weeks prior. Not that he would find out about that. Ever. She rolled her eyes. He was fishing for compliments now. Really? It was rather unlike him but then again it wasn't. He always tried to tickle on honest reactions out of her. The more of a compliment it was the better. She cursed at him when he started pushing it. Then she hung up. All he deserved. She was smiling to herself, however, when he entered the room. Of course he had only been a few feet away. She knew she wanted him back on the case and he had known and played it, too. She ignored his presence and avoided looking in his direction. It was harder than she thought it would be but she managed just fine until he crossed her view by passing her desk. She grinned inwardly and got back to the file she was working on.

Dinner was entertaining, to say the least. It was kinda nice to see the team together, having fun. Especially the newbie, Van Pelt. The latest addition to her team; she had yet to see what the young redhead could do. Jane was already playing her but she answered him, probably not even noticing what he was doing. She felt almost sorry for the woman. Lisbon watched the act in front of her in silence. She just smiled at the antics of the others. She wasn't sure if she should laugh or choke when Jane talked about Rigsby and Van Pelt. She wasn't blind but there was nothing between them – yet- that would force her into action so it was alright with her as long as it stayed that way and wouldn't compromise their work. She glanced over at Jane and smiled softly, then blushed when he gave her his most charming smile back.

She panicked when she heard about the letter. She'd never been with him faster, not as far as she remembered anyway. He was okay. Thank God. She was so relieved yet still extremely worried. That letter was bad. Very, very bad. She didn't think it was Red John and neither did Jane. She couldn't tear her gaze away from him but as she gave away the tasks to her team, she had to. When everyone was gone, she stepped closer to him, making sure he really was fine. She couldn't even tell if he was lying or not. Not with 100% certainty anyway. It was bothering her. She wished she could read him like he read her. All she wanted was to know for sure she could leave him alone. She told him to get some sleep before she told herself to leave. Once the door was closed, she leaned against it, breathing deeply. She had to get back in. She yelped when suddenly the door opened again and she fell backwards, right into his arms. Nice catch.

"Lisbon?"

"Hi... Where were you heading to?"

"Ah...Nowhere, really. What are you still doing here?"

"Nothing. I..."

"Wanna come in for a while?" He asked, sensing her motives.

She bit her lip and nodded smiling, not wanting to look into his eyes. He grabbed her wrist, threw one last glance around the hallway and pulled her back into his room, closing the door behind him.

"You okay?" He asked, once they were sitting on the bed, where he had been earlier.

"Shouldn't Ibe the one asking you that?" She smiled, "I'm fine, Jane."

"Good! So, why were you still out there?"

"You already know, don't you?"

"Yeah." He tilted his head, a smug smile on his face, "But I'd like to hear you say it anyway."

"Jerk." She said, staring forward.

She knew he was looking at her and she also knew that she was going to tell him sooner or later. Rather later than sooner, though. He watched her before he slowly shifted closer to her. She barely even side glanced.

"Don't worry so much. I'm fine, nothing happened."

"Don't flatter yourself. And what do you mean, nothing happened? That letter is not nothing! Stop thinking everything is a game just for once, will ya?" She shouted, sincerely upset as she jumped off of the bed to stand where she stood before, turning around so she wouldn't face him.

He was a little taken aback with her reaction, so he didn't reply right away. He smiled sadly and reached forward to catch her hands in his and pulled her back to him. The move caught her by surprise and she couldn't catch herself again before she practically landed on him. He somehow remained sitting, with her now on his lap uncomfortably, her hands still in his as he leaned in closer, whispering in her ear.

"I'm sorry."

Her heart skipped a beat. He never apologized and least of all he never actually meant it but she believed him this time. She couldn't tell why, though. Their proximity wasn't helping the matter. She looked up at him once she had steadied herself. She lifted a hand to place it on his cheek before intertwining her fingers with his.

"Jackass." She whispered, leaning her forehead against his, "Thanks."

She didn't know what was going on or how they had come to that point. He raised his free hand under her chin, smiling softly when she looked at him before placing a small kiss to the corner of her mouth. She couldn't help the blush and just as he was about to let go of her, she closed the distance between them again to give him a soft kiss on the lips. She lingered there for a few moments before finally pulling away. She was going to apologize when she saw that his eyes were closed and a tiny smile was playing on his face. She found herself smiling at him.

"I should go..." She whispered and hesitated a brief second, then untangled herself from him and leaving the room again.

She didn't see how he brushed his finger of his lips or how he kept smiling about it.

He hadn't slept. She knew it the moment she had come in and seen him. He didn't look good. It worried her and she was having enough. She fished out her phone to dial Wagner's number, hoping to be able to get Jane an appointment right away. She cut him off before he could even start to protest. Not this time. He would not get out of this one. If she had to, she was ready to drag him there personally. He needed to sleep and she'd do what she could to help him - even getting him to a shrink. She didn't care as long as it worked. He would go – she would make him go. No arguments.

She was going to freak out, again. What had she been thinking? Of course he would pull some sort of trick with the man without telling her or anybody else for that matter. It would get him killed one day. What if Rigsby wouldn't have been there in time? She was happy that Jane was fine but if he ever did something like that again, she just might shoot him herself. She was still in the office, waiting for them to come back. Rigsby had called earlier to give her a short update on the situation and when Jane wanted to talk to her, she was too furious with him, so she hung up. He needed to start thinking about consequences before he went on with his plans. Sooner or later it would get him in deeper trouble than this time. They couldn't protect him every single time, even if they tried. It just wasn't possible and he had to understand that. The sooner the very much better.

Donuts. Did he really think Donuts would make them stop being mad at him? Or the lies about how he didn't want to go there. She was sure her phone call to Wagner was part of his plan somehow and she hated herself a little for falling for it. Even if she would have dragged him there, he still would have found a way to not go if he really hadn't wanted to do so, so she didn't buy his words at all. She just ignored him. Oh, no, he was not going to get away this time. No, she would not let him. He walked up to her, almost humbly but she would not get soft on him. Not again, anyway.

He apologized but he really didn't mean it right there and it made her somehow sad. Why couldn't he be honest about those things? She was as angry as she was sad and she made no point in hiding her anger. He didn't need to know just how upset he had made her.

Placing the frog on her desk he walked off. She stared at it, knowing he was still watching and just as she was about to look away, the frog jumped and made her yelp in utter surprise. She was laughing about it and smiled like a kid at Christmas. She took a little side glance, well aware of his eyes still on her and for whatever reason, she simply knew he was smiling as well. They were good again. For now.

The frog really did make it all better.

So, how was it? Good? Bad? Lame? Want this for Jane? Drop me a line so I'll know how my 1st FF went. :)