A/N: Okay, so maybe, just maybe, I wrote this story to tell you that I'm so busy writing The Great Mr. Jane, like you wouldn't believe. I'm now at chapter seven, I'm first finishing the entire story before posting the rest, so I hope you can hang in there a bit longer but just know, I'm finishing it. It just takes me a little while longer than it usually does for me but hey, that's okay, isn't it?
This fic is dark, in the beginning, but after rain comes sunshine, right? Just hang in there.
Oh, and Jane recognizes Red John but I won't say who it is because that's not important. And anyway, I don't know it so.
And I want to say that I'm so totally happy for Robin! Congrats on your engagement, dearie! You so deserve it!
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.
'This is the end'
Jane had wondered sometimes when he would strike.
There had been countless of moments where Red John could have ended it, could've ended the game and just finish him off forever.
He could've done it after Jane had come back from Vegas. It had been obvious at that time that he felt more for Lisbon than he might have anticipated. Nothing could've prevented that from happening, after all, the elephant had grown out of proportions over the past years already. And he had wanted to tell her, and that thing he had actually told her was just a slip of the tongue, but it had opened a whole new world for him. As though he could see again, after being blind for almost a decade.
When Jane had taken his head out of the sand and had faced the true extent of his feelings. He had pulled aside Lisbon on her way to her office, when no one was there but them, only to push her against the wall with a force that had made her let out a short yelp, before her legs had given up when he had linked their lips. He had brought her home after a short, steamy make-out session, only to continue it at her apartment. They had made love, letting out all their emotions, but they hadn't spoken, hadn't uttered a word that entire night. It had been in the morning, when he had watched her sleep, that he had realized what had happened. He had moved on, had put his family behind him, even though he would never forget them. He had placed a lingering kiss on Lisbon's temple, and had then pushed away from her, taking off his wedding ring and placing it on the night table at his side of the bed. She had watched him do this, and she had been the first one telling him, I love you, and when they were making love again, he had told her too.
When they had found out they were connected through more than just their love – Lisbon was pregnant. They both had felt conflicting feelings, both because of Jane's lost family as well as Red John who was still walking around. They couldn't have been bothered, though – no matter what, they were in heaven.
When their beautiful son had been born, River Noah.
When they had went home from the hospital, to start a seemingly beautiful life.
When they had gotten married.
When Lisbon had become pregnant – again.
Maybe they should've stopped right there. Maybe they should've started to learn to cope with the fact that Red John still had power over them, that he still could've ended it, just like that.
Yet they didn't. They only became happier, and happier, if that was even physically possible. They had found out they were having twins.
But perhaps Jane had always seen that letter coming. That letter that was carefully placed on Lisbon's desk in her office.
You obviously haven't learned your lesson.
His phone started ringing, and so did Lisbon's. She answered her phone, and it only took a few seconds of talking to the person at the other end for Jane to know what was going on.
Red John was winning.
"River's missing."
Yep, Red John was definitely winning.
And he should have stayed with her. She was five months pregnant of two of his children, and though he was sure she wouldn't really die and was still able to protect herself, it would be better if someone looked after her. But of course he was too stubborn and wanted to protect them, without being there.
And so he went off and looked for Red John. His first instinct had been to go to his and Lisbon's house, and he had really thought he would find Red John there, for the final showdown. Instead, he found a smiley face on the wall and one and a half year old River in his bassinet, his arms and legs spread wide out... and his stomach cut open.
Jane's body went numb instantly, but he could still turn around, away from the gruesome sight of yet another of his children brutally murdered by Red John.
This had to stop, he couldn't take it anymore.
He turned back to River, and pressed a small kiss to the boy's forehead.
This had to stop. So he went to look for Lisbon now.
He never found her, for in their living room, he found the man he had never expected to see again, but had known would reappear again. He had been on the top of his list ever since he had created one.
"Poor River, huh?" he said, his voice dark with a little edge to it. Maybe happiness, the thought that this would finally be over, that he would finally win this battle, it probably made the killer more than just a bit happy.
"Where's Teresa?"
"Oh, don't worry, I won't do anything to her, trust me." And that was supposed to reassure him? "No no no, she's too... filled up with beauty to be thrown away now, isn't she? Twins, tsk-tsk, isn't that beautiful?"
"Just do it. Whatever it is you want to do to me, do it."
"Oh, I will, Patrick, I will. I merely wanted to have a look at your face... when you realized that you lost the game."
Jane finally faced the man, having stared into nowhere up until that moment, and a smile spread across Red John's face.
"What does it feel like now, Patrick?"
Jane shrugged, not feeling anything. He was ready to beg the killer for mercy, beg him to kill his life then and there, end it for good. But he didn't.
"Do it now," Jane ordered, and Red John sighed, exaggeratingly.
"Well fine, Patrick, if you ask me to. Any last words?"
"You can walk straight to hell."
"Those are very strong words, Patrick, for someone who isn't strong-"
"You are the one who isn't strong. You are the one that has been hiding behind a name for so long, that's not confident enough to let people know who he is. You are the one that needs people to do your dirty work. You need other people just as sneaky, just as evil as you to make you feel purely evil too. After all these years, it had to come to this moment for me to realize that it was you who was the weak one all the time."
Something changed in the killer's eyes, and it was Jane's turn to smile.
"What's wrong?" he asked, innocently, knowing very well what was wrong.
Anger was now visible on Red John's face, and he lifted his hand, showing the knife he was holding. Jane straightened, putting in view his throat, and he saw the killer approaching, before he felt a strong stinging feeling in his neck. This didn't come from Red John, this came from somebody behind him.
He didn't have time to think about it though – he sank to the floor, clutching at the big gaping wound, feeling blood leaving his body at full speed.
Red John stepped in front of him, the knelt down to get his attention.
"I'm sorry, having to end the game here, old friend. But don't you think it has been going on too long now? I do."
Strangely, the last thought Jane had before he passed out wasn't the fact that Red John had so obviously won, but the question:
What will become of Teresa when I'm gone?
Then, everything went black and silent.
-YulianaHenderson-
Beeping. Heavy sobs. More beeping.
Where was he? Was this heaven?
He carefully opened his eyes, then shut them against the overload of light. Definitely heaven then.
Again, the sobbing. It ebbed like a sea, dying down only slightly, just to be picked up again, to come back even worse than it had the previous time.
That was odd. Did people sob in heaven?
When the person took in a deep breath, he froze.
He recognized that sound. He knew whose it was.
His eyes shot open, and the person was immediately next to him.
When her beautiful face came into his vision, he knew he must be in heaven.
But she touched him, cupped his cheeks, and cried, cried like she had never done before, because he realized he mustn't be in heaven, he was still alive, and she had lost a child, and had almost lost him.
He reached up and took hold of her hand.
"Teresa, I'm here," he croaked, almost inaudible, the bandage around his neck making it hard for him to talk or even breathe. But he still did, for her.
Her sobs worsened, and he longed to hold her, to whisper sweet nothings into her ear, but he simply couldn't, his injuries preventing him from doing so.
Instead, he gently pulled on her hand and made her lay down beside him, her rounded belly pressing into his side.
"River," she sobbed. He hushed her, running a hand through her hair.
"I know, my love, I know." He spoke with a calm he wasn't feeling. He felt the tears in his eyes and that was enough prove to him that he wasn't as calm as he had wanted to be.
"He almost killed you... I almost lost you... Patrick-"
"Shh, it's okay. It's okay." He pressed a kiss to her temple, and just as he was about to whisper more completely stupid words into her ear, he heard a knock on the door.
Lisbon didn't bother composing herself, and neither did Jane.
Cho showed up behind her, his face showing an emotion none of them had seen on him before – relief. Yet Jane didn't know for what, there was nothing to be relieved about.
"River's stable."
Jane froze, and so did Lisbon. Now, she actually turned around, and looked at her second-in-command.
"What?"
"He's stable. They were able to save him. He's kept in a coma, some of his vital organs have been damaged, it's going to take a few more surgeries for him to recover completely but they say he will be fine."
He was... River was going to be okay?
"But... he was..."
"He was unconscious," Cho added, when Jane didn't. "He was still breathing, but you didn't pay attention."
Lisbon grabbed Jane's hand, and he looked at her, her tears of despair replaced by tears of relief.
"When I came home, I found you in the living room... with him. You were already unconscious. Cho had insisted he'd come with me..."
"She shot Red John, I shot his apprentice."
Jane's eyes closed briefly, or so he thought, because when he opened them, he heard the unmistakable cooing of his beautiful son, accompanied by the adorable sounds Lisbon always made to hear these small words River uttered.
And Jane wept, like a little child, for his life had almost ended, but it had started over again. The dark cloud that had threatened to approach him had disappeared, and the sun had entered his life, warming his heart and his soul.
He was free.
A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. My first thought was to end it after the moment where Red John and one of his apprentices had fake-killed Jane and River, but I just couldn't. I couldn't stand it. So I hope you enjoy where I took this story because it was so tough for me to write. But okay, let me know what you think, please! It really means a lot!