A/N: Hello, lovelies! I recently changed my pen name, so I'm not actually new to fanfiction, just new to the Mentalist fanfictioneers! Haha, anyhow It's been a long while since I last wrote. Alas, the writer's itch has struck, and must be scratched... anyways, I'm open to any and all criticisms or encouragements! :))

For this short oneshot lets say it's somewhere in season 4, I don't believe there are too many spoilers if any, but hey. Also, lets assume Lisbon has screwed Darcy over, because I say so. ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist. I'm just a fan who recently got over some serious writer's block and seriously had to release some frustration with these two characters!

Anywho...

"I can't believe you did this to me, Lisbon." Jane stated, as he slammed her office door shut and closed her blinds. Turning towards her calm form he glared. Having already decided to play dumb, she simply blinked owlishly at the man in the three-piece suit. As warranted this elicited a more substantial reaction from the unsettled Consultant. "You know what you did! How could you incite Darcy like that? What if you had failed, do you know what could have happened if you had failed!" Jane's voice was steadily rising and she feared his usual tenor voice might hit falsetto quite soon.

"Of course, I knew, Jane! But, you weren't going to do a damn thing anytime soon and I couldn't let the Feds keep trailing you like that! Sooner or later, they would have found something, to put you away with." She met his blue eyes steadily, refusing to bow down to his ire. He wasn't the only one allowed to make potential sacrifices for the good of their partnership.

"You don't get it. Other than just losing your job, you could've incited Red John, Lisbon! I mean, really, unearthing Darcy's past in order to ruin her career? What were you thinking?" Jane was practically shouting now, and Lisbon was suddenly very grateful to have let the team go early that evening. She refused to meet his gaze now, beginning to chew on her lip annoyed.

Jane knew she had a hot-temper, particularly with him, and yet he kept pushing her. She knew he was trying to get a rise out of spite, but that didn't mean she was anymore capable of controlling her fierce emotions. There was a deeply set monster beginning to boil up in her veins, an old friend she'd been keeping at bay for months. She stood abruptly, throwing Jane slightly off guard.

"Alright, shut up, Jane! Shut. Up." She paused a moment, locking her emotions back down before continuing. "Let's be honest with one another just this once! You're mad because I stopped the FBI from taking you out, you're mad because you have some masochistic belief that you need to be always suffering!"

"You're wrong," Jane began darkly, "I'm furious because of you. What you did. You put yourself in unnecessary danger because you thought I didn't have control over the situation!" He paced back and forth between the filing cabinets and her desk, fidgeting. "Damn it, Lisbon!" He spat.

"Oh, please! Give me a break, Jane! You don't give a shit about me or my safety; you just wanted the game to yourself!" The agent knew it was low blow, but quickly grabbed up her things off her desk and made to leave anyway, "Don't try and disguise it with some fake gallantry." She muttered irritably, again biting back on her tongue.

"How could you say that?" Jane threw himself in front of her door barring her exit, looking truly lost as to how she could think such a thing. Perhaps she should feel badly, but she doesn't.

"How do you think, Jane?" Teresa Lisbon was at her wits end with her Consultant. It was times like these when she truly wanted to shoot him, and not just in the usual cute flirty way. Either they had to get away from one another or she was going to have a breakdown, right here. Briefly, she contemplated how much man handling it might take to get out. A thought that Jane surely saw.

"I don't know, Teresa, that's why I asked! I don't even understand why you can't believe me for once. I've told you numerous times how much you mean to me," Jane's face began to crumble in front of her, the mask falling away. Ordinarily, the Senior Agent would feel like she had kicked a puppy, at that face, but not tonight. "I've told you I'll always save you, that you can always trust me." He finished brokenly.

"This was never about trust, Patrick. This was about the fact that you were a sitting duck, and I couldn't let the damn Feds drown your sorry ass!" Flashing green met stormy blue eyes. Two could play the first name game.

They stood merely dead-eyeing one another the two of them seemingly at check-mate, neither one finding a thing to retort. The seconds ticked by agonizingly slow and soon the cloud of animosity hanging in the room cleared. Both of them now suddenly felt exhausted, and tired of fighting each other.

"We must agree to disagree, Lisbon. I'm always going to be self-deprecating and you're always going to be something I want to protect thoroughly." Jane said quietly, nothing but sad certainty in his eyes.

"That may be, Jane. However, if I have to get used to your protection, then you have to get used to mine as well." Lisbon replied softly, stepping forward to gently pull him from the doorway. Grasping his forearms and again refusing to make eye-contact.

"Mmmmm…" He made one of his usual noncommittal sounds, bringing his hands up to her elbows, linking their arms in a mutual hold. Finally, as blue eyes caught green, he tugged her toward him.

"Jane…" Lisbon sighed, giving in she let herself be held. If only for a moment.

A/N: TBC? Just let me know! Please? :))