A/N The address I mentioned in the fic is entirely fictional. More chapters will be longer this is just the prologue so to speak.

The day had started out as most pretty much do when the CBI unit was in the midst of an open case. Once everybody had arrived at the office lead agent Teresa Lisbon gave a quick briefing and handing out of assignments. "Van Pelt, I need you to go see if we can finally interview the witness Joanne Kaminsky," she told the younger woman.

"That's in a pretty bad part of town. You want me to go with you?" Wayne Rigsby asked.

She gave him a smile and replied, "No. I think I can handle this by myself."

"Rigsby, I want you and Cho to come with me with while we track down a new lead on a suspect," Lisbon told the agent.

"Um, okay," he answered.

Patrick Jane had been on the couch listening to the conversation going on around him. When nothing was said concerning who he was going with or where he made his own decision. Looking straight at the red headed agent he said, "I'll go with you."

"I can manage this on my own, Jane," Van Pelt replied firmly.

Lisbon spoke up, "Oh let him go with you. "

"All right," Van Pelt replied somewhat reluctantly.

Giving Patrick a stern look the senior agent admonished, "Don't give anybody a hard time."

"In other words behave," Rigsby elaborated.

Patrick gave them all a look of feigned innocence before triumphantly following Van Pelt out the door.

"Now you let me do all the talking," the agent stated.

Patrick smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm along to keenly observe."

She sighed. Keenly observing was all right. It was voicing those observations that were often the problem.

"You know we'd get in sooner if you'd let me pick the lock," he suggested after several attempts of getting no one to answer the door.

"No. No lock picking. She's a witness and not a suspect," Van Pelt reminded him. "Ms. Kaminsky, please open up."

"Okay. I'll just step back and watch you for a bit," the blonde man decided.

"You do that," Van Pelt replied.

Patrick was still watching Van Pelt pounding on the door when out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of something metallic. It took his brain only seconds to register the fact that he was looking at a gun barrel pointing in their general direction. Without even pausing to realize that he was about to do something very dangerous he shouted, "Grace! Look out!" As he was speaking he shoved her to the sidewalk.

"Jane! What the—" Van Pelt began as she felt herself being shoved. It was at that instant she heard gun shots ring out.

Patrick felt the first bullet harmlessly graze his arm a relatively minor wound. It was a second shot that caught him in his left chest as he dove for the sidewalk. Feeling the darkness begin to close around in around him his last conscious thought was As long as Grace was safe then it had been worth the sacrifice.

By the time Van Pelt was able to draw her weapon and get into a position to fire the gun shots hat stopped leaving for just a moment an ominous silence. Suddenly remembering that she hadn't been alone, she called out, "Jane!" As she got to her feet weapon in hand and looked behind her, she saw the reason for his silence.

Patrick was lying motionless and bleeding on the sidewalk, his shirt and vest already stained red. Moving to his side she pressed her fingers to his neck relieved to feel a weak rapid pulse beat which she knew without medical attention wouldn't be there for long.

Pulling out her phone the young woman quickly dialed 911. "I Need police and EMS at 1248 W Arcadia. Shots fired," she told the dispatcher.

"Is the area clear?" the dispatcher asked.

"Yes…I think so. I don't hear anymore. Please hurry," Van Pelt replied willing herself to remain calm.

Dropping her phone she pulled off her jacket and pressed it against Patrick's wound in an attempt to control the bleeding. "Stay with me, Jane. Just stay with me," she pleaded.