A/N: A little weird introspection thing.

Disclaimer: I own my own strengths and weaknesses, one of which is loving the Mentalist, but that doesn't mean I own any of it.

When the strong break down and fall apart the weak have to carry the burden.

But if they are unwilling or unable to carry the load, on who then does the burden fall?

What will hold them up? Hold them together.

Keep them from joining the heap of crumpled up bodies.

Will they fail miserably or rise to the occasion?

And what then?

Do they continue to be the strong one, or gladly leave the responsibilities once the other is recovered and then goes back to being weak?

Do they even want to be that frail again?

Is the rush of being strong greater than that of being brittle, or is it the other way around?

Do they feel the pull of gravity, as they spiral from their high horses and land in the dirt?

Will someone pull them up?

Do they wait? Let it go and surrender to their faith.

Or do they take action?

Is it always one or the other, or are they allowed to be both, to waver or to choose?

And what will happen when they do?

xXx

He had never liked it when she cried - which luckily was a rare sight - she was supposed to be the strong one. If she shattered the whole world would surely fall apart.

He didn't know how to pick up the pieces. How could he hold something together when he was fractured himself? You didn't ask someone with a broken arm to lift an elephant, so was it fair to ask someone with a shattered heart to mend someone else's?

Seeing her cry made him feel helpless, but at the same time he wanted nothing more than to fix it, to hurt or eradicate whomever or whatever had broken what he thought of as unbreakable.

Was it fair to her that he put her on a pedestal like this? Could his need for her to be perfect be a catalysing factor in pushing her over the edge?

His self-loathing and self-hatred, of not being good enough or strong enough to protect her from whatever evil that lurked out there, always hit him like an unexpected diagnosis.

This was it. The crossroad. Now was the time to choose...

Strength

or

Weakness

…

A/N: It's not often that we see Lisbon cry or show weakness. When she does it hurts double. Her hormone induced crying in the series finale was what inspired this.