A/N: This is my first Mentalist fic ever! I have wanted to write this story for quite some time, but I haven't done it because I wanted to get some more Mentalist episodes under my belt. One of the first episodes of this show I had ever seen was "His Red Right Hand," and it really touched me. The scene between Lisbon and Bosco in the hospital really got me going, but Lisbon never opened up about what happened. I suppose that's what makes Lisbon who she is, but I wanted to explore her side of the story. Here it is! This is a Jisbon friendship piece.
Patrick Jane was incredibly good a reading people. It was kind of his thing. Therefore, he knew his friend and colleague, Teresa Lisbon, was in pain. She had just lost someone that she cared for deeply. Sam Bosco was Lisbon's mentor, and even though she would not likely admit it to anyone, he was a man that she cared for in more than "just a friend" manner. That is why Jane fully expected Lisbon to come up with an excuse to remain at the office after Bosco's funeral. It was her own special way of compartmentalizing things like this. Lisbon had put on her best, stoic front just as she had done at the funeral. Surprisingly, Lisbon allowed Jane to remain in her office with her. Usually, she would have made him get lost, but truth be told, she kind of appreciated his company right then. Jane had lost his wife and daughter to Red John, and now, she had lost one of her best friends along with two other colleagues to the monster as well. Honestly, Jane was one of the few people in the world who could even begin to imagine the pain she was suffering right now.
Jane was quietly sitting on Lisbon's couch in a contemplative gaze. Lisbon was sitting at her desk under the guise of taking care of paperwork. However, Jane could tell that she was just blankly staring at those papers as she played with her mother's cross that she wore around her neck. Eventually, she noticed Jane's gaze, but she was not quite sure what to say to him, so she said nothing.
"It is quite hard to lose someone you love like this," opened Jane. Of course, Jane was the one to break the ice. It was typical Patrick Jane. "To experience the true meaning of psychopathy is an experience like none other. To find the person you love…broken like that is something that is truly indescribable."
Lisbon narrowed her eyes; this was the moment she had been anticipating. "Jane," started Lisbon. "I don't really want to talk about this now." Of course, she had loved Bosco. Although she tried to keep that under wraps because of the moral and professional ramifications it entailed, she knew Jane would be the one who would open this book. Normally, she would have resisted this whole line of discussion, but today was a day that she would not. She could not. She needed this discussion because it had taken everything inside of her to hold things in, to compartmentalize. She was tired of compartmentalizing. She was angry, hurt, and confused as to how her friend could be taken from this world because of some sick, sadistic bastard's game. Jane could read her like a book; that was a lie.
"Lisbon…Teresa, you do realize that it's just the two of us here, and I can read people the way I imagine a child with a high IQ can read a good Shakespearian tragedy. I can see the hurt. I can see the pain. It is nothing to be ashamed of…" Jane was cut off as Lisbon interjected.
"Ashamed? I am not ashamed of anything Jane. I never did anything to be ashamed of because Bosco was not that kind of person. I am not that kind of woman," she responded harshly.
"That's not what I meant, Teresa. Your mutual feelings for each other were clear. You lost someone for whom you cared for deeply. He was a big part of your life. To see him killed like that…well, there is no way to describe it."
This time, Lisbon had picked up on exactly what Jane was saying. This was all Red John. He was the reason for all of this. He took lives in one of the most horrific manners just to satisfy his own personal urges. Lisbon let out a sigh after she walked over and sat next to Jane on the couch.
"Truth be told, I have seen the brutal things that he has done, but I never thought I would be so close to it. You know? I mean, neither Bosco nor his team did anything to provoke him other than handle the case they were assigned." The hurt was evident on Lisbon's face. This did not take a Mentalist to figure out.
"Did you love him?" asked Jane. Lisbon was astounded by this question. Obviously, Jane knew the answer to this question.
"Yes," answered Lisbon hesitantly. "I had fallen for him while we were on the force together, but he was happily married, and that goes against everything I believe."
"And he loved you," said Jane. Lisbon turned her gaze towards Jane. "I could tell in the way that he acted around you." Lisbon's eyes began to water. She couldn't believe that she was going to allow herself to cry in front of Patrick Jane, but those tears had down eventually. Jane had always known the softer side of Lisbon existed. Although she always put on a front of strength and composure, he could see this side of her through her actions. In fact, it was why he admired her so much. Lisbon was possibly the greatest con woman he knew because she put on a front that fooled everyone.
"He…told me at the hospital," Lisbon said through her shaky voice as tears began to fall. Jane reached for Lisbon's hand. He gave her a moment.
"When he killed them, I didn't know what I would do," said Jane. "I felt as though he should have just taken my life, too. It was over. The thing that kept me going was a swift agent who told me that I could not rationalize this senseless killing. It was not my cross to bear, but should I chose to bear it, I should put my efforts into finding this monster because the best thing that could happen was his capture and seeing him brought to justice. Now, I look at that same swift agent who brought me through one of the toughest times in my life, and I tell her that we will catch this son of a bitch. We will bear this cross together."
Jane noticed a glimmer of light in Lisbon's eyes. He understood perfectly what she was going through. Red John had stolen from both of them. He had cheated them of happiness in his sick pursuit to bring a reign of terror on other human beings. Now, it was time for Lisbon to mourn the loss of her friends, colleagues, and the man she loved but could only bring herself to tell him on his deathbed. Tomorrow, however, it was time to stand and fight again. Jane knew he would never have to prod Lisbon to get back into the fight because she understood it, but it wouldn't hurt for her to know that she had another friend left that would stand and fight with her.
Lisbon wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you, Jane." Jane only nodded as he gave Lisbon her hand back. Jane left Lisbon's office and ascended to the attic. The events of the past week had been just as taxing for him as they had been for Lisbon. She lost her friends and colleagues, while he was forced to relieve one of the most traumatic events in his head. While the memory of his wife and daughter's deaths always stayed with him, that red happy face on a wall was always a sick reminder of what had happened to them. Although Patrick Jane had been a con man, he never really cared to see people suffer. He knew that Lisbon would bounce back from this and carry the memory of Bosco with her for the rest of her life. She wouldn't pursue an unhealthy obsession like he did. She wouldn't murder Red John. It was Jane's job to watch over Saint Teresa now. It was his job to make sure that she found peace and happiness. She had to move on from this. This was a promise that he had made to a dying man, and it was a promise he aimed to keep. This was now his cross to bear.