Disclaimer: I don't own the mentalist, I just like to have my fun with the characters.
I like flashbacks on TV shows, especially when they can link characters. Like on my fanfics.
Well, I had a bunch on my idea flashbacks, showing the cast as they could have met earlier without realizing it. Hope you like it!
It is early morning, around four, on July ninth. Patrick Jane is in the dimly lit bullpen, flipping through old photo albums. He is wearing a casual top and baggy sweatpants. His eyes fall onto a picture of a young brunette teenage girl, with a chocolate stain, standing by a dessert cart.
FLASHBACKJane is sixteen and a bit of a rebel. He still has four more years on his carny contract, but he tries things to have the officials let him go early. His latest attempt is to dress all in black and turn into a loner with total apathy. He even has his hair straightened and dyed jet black. He is on break from his Boy Wonder trade. He sneaks around to the lost-and-found bin. There, he comes across a set of motorcycle keys, a Gameboy, a Polaroid camera, a Rubix cube and a He-Man backpack. He 'borrows' the camera and the keys. He starts taking snapshots of random people, thinking it of human nature.
He jumps onto the merry-go-round, to get a fresher aspect. It is also a calm place, serenity for Jane to run away from his troubles. He suddenly notices something very strange. There is a girl, hardly younger than him, followed by three younger boys – presumably her brothers, Jane decides. He jumps off the ride and trails them. He notices another figure chasing them. He detects the fear in the girl's eyes. A fear to which he is no stranger. An aggressive drunk, blood relation.
Jane stares at the girl as she ducks her family under a cotton candy tent. She is wearing a long, loose-fit Oakland A's jersey and a baseball cap with the initials 'TL' inscribed on the back. The two older boys are wearing matching He-Man backpacks, while the girl has on a simple black satchel. She makes a sharp turn and accidentally runs into an ice cream cart. Her satchel catches a nozzle and, as she twists around, chocolate sprays all over the front of her shirt. Jane takes another snapshot. This time, the button is on the blink and it snaps twice.
Soon as he stuffs the first into his Roos, a fist grabs the back of his shirt and forces him back. Patrick drops the camera. He twirls around and hesitantly realizes the man is his own father. This man throws Patrick through the carnival gates and onto the cold pavement, hidden by several tall shrubs. He holds his arms in defense, but ultimately takes the drunken beating.
END FLASHBACK
Jane is brought back to the present by a clamorous crash heard in the stairwell, followed by a string of mild curses. He sets his pictures down and jumps up at the sound. He runs to the origin of the racket, which happens to be none other than Teresa Lisbon.
"You okay?" Jane asks with a hoarse voice.
"Um… yeah," she replies disconcerted. "I mean… what are you doing here? So early?"
"It's…" Jane reluctantly starts. "…a special day."
"Yes, it is."
Jane helps gather Lisbon's things and carries some of the load to her office. She sets her things at the desk then the silent duo shuffle to the kitchenette. Lisbon prepares her coffee as Jane prepares his tea. They simultaneously cease. They share an unspoken bond in their gaze. Jane pours out his tea makings while Lisbon throws out her coffee beans and filter.
"No coffee today?" Jane grimly asks.
"No tea?"
In response, he leaves the kitchenette and begins packing his albums into a box. Lisbon noiselessly watches. She shakes her head when Jane breezes past her without a word. He leaves up the stairs and she turns toward her office. She locks the door and draws the blinds. She takes a folder from the box and sits on her couch with it. She opens to find a photograph of a skinny brunette with spaghetti caught in her braces. The day before her thirteenth birthday party.