DISCLAIMER: I donot own the characters.

This is my first mentalist fic. and I donot have a beta-reader, so please overlook my grammatical errors. Constructive criticism is welcome. This fic will be strictly centered around Teresa Lisbon and Red john unlike the original series. There will be jisbon love eventually though I can't really say at which point in the story exactly. Please review generously.

PROLOGUE

Dear Teresa

I was looking foward to see you and now that I have, I must say that you clean up rather nicely. To be honest I admit that I'm quite taken with you since past few weeks.

Why? Oh you see, my old friend and your partner Patrick is slacking and this game of ours is getting old. He's rapidly losing my attention. To be fair he doesn't have what it takes to be worthy of my time anymore. He just wants me dead, which is even less likely to happen than me turning myself in out of sheer boredum.

Now where's the fun in that?

So send him my regards, will you? Tell him, I enjoyed our little cat and mouse game while it lasted. It was fairly entertaining (until recently) and as an appreciation of his devotion towards me, I'm gonna let him live with his guilt and regrets.

But on the plus side, you now have the honor of being my new playmate. You see, I find you facinating. You, Teresa, are an enigma, a paradox and now my new fixation. You must be flattered as you should be because you have been the center of my activities for the past few weeks. And thanks to my research (which proved to be very tiresome mind you) now, I know absolutely everything there is to know about you. Even the things you must have gone greath lengths to hide. Infact I found those revelations very shocking. You, Agent Lisbon, are not the saint Teresa I believed you to be. Your people see you as the voice of law and justice, a strong, fierce, insufferable, strictly professional team leader who is married to her job and has nothing to lose. But they know nothing about your dark secrets, do they? They don't know you, but I do now and for me your dark side just adds to your allure.

When I see you now Teresa, I see a beautiful, delicate, lonely little girl; who is scared, actually terrified of nothing but herself, hiding behind a hard shell to protect herself from her worst fears. So this is what I'm going to do now, I'm going to strip that little girl of her shell and leave her exposed so you will be unhindered to find your true self. I'm going to make you rise above your worse fears, which will surely happen once you have lived through them.

Don't worry Teresa, soon you will become the strong, fearless women you always wanted to be, but right now you have too much to lose-so much more than anyone besides you and me knows. The time will come, Teresa, when you'll have nothing left to lose. Then I'm going to make you mine. Consider what's inside that door a mere starting of a new journey. So better strap in agent Lisbon 'cause you're in for a long unpleasant ride. I'll be seeing you Teresa.

P.S. Tell your partner that although I consider us done, but I will enjoy every moment of his reaction to all this.

-Red John

CHAPTER-1

Teresa Lisbon was walking into her apartment after a yet another tiring day at work. The team had finally closed another case but this time she'd skipped their usual "case-closed" pizza. This case had taken a toll on her and of course it goes without saying that the following paperwork (thanks to their pain-in-the-ass consultant's unconventional and illeagal methods to solve cases) had given her a severe migrane. All she wanted to do this weekend was to throw herself in her welcoming bed and never get up. Or maybe get drunk off her ass.

But no such luck.

She has to leave early next morning for San Francisco in order to attend her best friend's wedding. She couldn't help but smile as she thought of her former colleague and partner. Mark Sawyer, at present an FBI Agent who worked with her in SFPD almost a decade ago, had called her earlier that day out of nowhere and told her he was getting married.

To say she was shocked to speechlessness would be an understatement.

They weren't best friends just because they'd worked together. Like her Mark too had a dark past and an unidealistic upbringing. His trust issues were worse than hers. There was only one person he trusted apart from her. It was their former boss, Sam Bosco. Pain tugged at her heart as she thought of her mentor and how difficult it would be for Mark to not to have him there by his side as the best man on that big day.

Then a chuckle escaped her throat as she was reminded of her reaction earlier today when mark had asked her to be his best man. She'd spilled her coffee all over Jane's ugly-ass loafers. His expression at that moment was priceless. She was pulled out of her thoughts as her phone went off. Ah! Of course, she thought, as she read the name on the screen, think of the devil..

"What is it Jane?", she muttered annoyed. Was it so hard for him to let her have a few moments of peace and quiet?

"Well hello to you too, Lisbon." he answered back cheerfully, unfazed by her tone.

"Was there a reason you called?" she asked exasperated.

"Ah yes, you forgot to wish me goodnight before leaving."

"Well since all you do at nights is brood, plot and plan against Red John, holed up inside that god-awful CBI attic instead of actually sleeping, I assumed my wishes were unnecessary." she responded icily.

Jane didn't respond immediately, shocked by her harsh tone. "Fair enough." he added after a moment.

Lisbon regreted her words the moment they slipped out. "Listen Jane, I'm sorry I didn't mean to say that. Its just that I'm really tired and-"

"I know." He cut her off quickly. He already knew from the dark bruise-like circles under her big eyes that she wasn't sleeping peacefully since past few nights. This case had done a number on her health. She wasn't eating her lunch, staying late at her office going over case-files again and again in order to catch that sadistic son of a bitch who kidnapped his own step daughter. Though she won't admit to anyone but this case had hit too close to home for her because of its similarity with her past.

Past three days she had remained closed-off, fully focused on finding the step father and saving the little ten-year-old girl from that abusing monster. Although he'd been captured and the girl had been saved, there was no evidence of a sense of accomplishment in her demeneor. Not even the slight tilt of her lips and the hint of a dimple which usually shows when she nails a criminal. Also she'd skipped their " case closed' pizza and left with an air of meloncholy around her.

The only incident that brought a smile to her face today was when she'd heard the good news from her former colleague/"best friend"(as she'd put it) and spilled her coffee all over his shoes. Although his favourite pair of Loafers were ruined, but as he pictured her dimples deepening with that beautiful smile that lit up her face and those emerald eyes sparkling with happiness, he remembered thinking at that moment that a sight like that was worth a lot more than just a stupid pair of shoes.

He was pulled back into the conversation when he heard her soft voice calling his name."Hmm?"

"Earth to, Jane! I said I was sorry I forgot to wish you goodnight. I guess my mind was elsewhere. Just like yours a moment ago apparently."

Jane smiled at her dry tone. He was quiet fond of it actually and had missed it these few days. "Its okay Lisbon, I just wanted to check on you. You havent been yourself lately."

"That obvious huh?" Despite her attempts at maintaining a cool proffessional air, she knew her distress at the little girl's situation and pure hatred at her poor excuse of a father was apparent. She had tried to remain calm and aloof but her memories had been haunting her ever since the girl was abducted. It was like the door to her past memories which had been safely closed at the back of her mind had been broken down. Now her mind was constantly filled with the images of her little brothers crying for help as her father beat them or rage filled, cold as stone eyes of her father or sheer physical pain of being beaten herself. Even her subconscious mind was playing wicked games with her through the onslaught of nightmares. She couldn't eat or sleep. All she could do to prevent herself from relapsing in her memories was by focusing on finding that little girl. To save her, the way she wished someone had saved them. So, naturally her feelings had been all over the place. She had been extra irritable, angry, obssesed and at times catatonic.

"Glaringly obvious." Jane's teasing tone pulled her back from her dark thoughts.

"I'm fine, Jane." She scowled unhappilly as it sounded like she was anything but.

"Right, and I'm Wayne Rigsby who loathes eating."

"Point taken, goodnight Jane." She really wanted to go lose herself in the oblivion of sleep RIGHT NOW.

"Goodnight, Lisbon." Jane said softly, all humour gone from his voice. "Have a safe journey and call me as soon as you reach there."

"I'll be fine Jane, don't worry."

"Oh I'm not worried, I'm just making sure I have an opportunity to push your buttons early in the morning."

"Oh yeah absolutely, I don't want you slacking the least bit in your job of pissing me off."

"Precisely! And I have a hunch that you're going to be extra grumpy tomorrow. It'll be a shame to miss that golden opportunity."

"Yeah blasphemy!" She smiled. Somehow Jane always knows how to lighten her mood.

"Goodnight, Teresa." He murmured softly, her name a mere caress on his tongue. It induced a warm feeling inside her.

"Goodnight, Patrick." She responded in the same hushed tone and ended the call oblivious to Jane's accelerated breathing on the other side of the line, in response to hearing the sound of his first name being uttered from the lips of a beautiful women in such a tender voice, again after so many years.

AN: Hints to Teresa's secret are there in the letter. So by all means, guess away. There will be more hints in the following updates. I'll update within a week or maybe sooner I promise. Please review.