A/N: Just some shameless established Jisbon family fluff. But it's ok because JISBON IS CANON and nothing hurts, well except for the months and months of waiting for the next season, but that's what fics are for right.

Disclaimer: I own only the monsters of my own nightmares, the beautiful dream that is The Mentalist does not belong to me.

"Peter what are you doing up? It's way past your bedtime." Motherly concern shone through as the little boy put his left thumb in his mouth and clutched his teddy bear monkey a little closer to his chest.

"Couldn't sleep." He said and yawned.

"Come over here champ." His dad said and patted the patch next to him on the couch. The boy didn't hesitate but went over and climbed up. Snuggling into his father's side and tugging himself under the protection of his strong arm. "Was it the monsters again?"

The boy nodded bright eyed and serious.

"You wanna sit here with us for a little while?"

He nodded again.

Teresa who was situated in the armchair across the coffee table looked at her two men. The boy a delightful mix of the two of them, with his sea blue eyes and adorable black curls - that by the way were getting a bit long, he really needed a haircut soon - she took in his soft baby features, there were still some left in her now 3 year old son, but he was growing up way too fast, she thought.

"Hey Ms. brooding over there, stop thinking so hard. I know you wanna come sit over here with us."

She smiled, no need to argue there, then got up and went over to sit on the other side of their kid. Who was already getting drowsy due to being safely surrounded as he was by warmth and love.

Patrick leaned over and cupped her face with his free hand, stroking her soft cheek with his thumb urging her forward, as close as possible with a sleepy 3 year old between them. They kissed, to the jubilation of the thousands of nerve endings in their combined lips.

The boy stirred. "Tell me a story." He said half asleep already, eyes barely open.

They looked at each other for a brief moment then Patrick started fabricating a tale: "Once there was a boy who liked a girl."

Teresa couldn't restrain herself so she interjected. "And the girl liked him too." This made Patrick smile and nod in confirmation.

"But..." Dramatic pause "..the boy was so afraid that the monsters would take the girl away from him that he didn't tell her how he felt. The girl was much braver than the boy and knew how afraid he was so she helped him hunt down the monsters. Asking for nothing in return but friendship. They looked everywhere together, in the closet, under the bed, in the fridge, behind the toilet, under the lampshades, between the pillows, inside the chimney and in the sink and soon all the monsters had been chased away. But the boy was now so used to being afraid that he continued. And the patient girl still tried to help. But then one day a new monster appeared, and it wanted the girl."

"A kinder kind of monster." Teresa emphasized looking at him sharply.

"A much kinder monster." Patrick corrected himself. "..in fact it was a cursed prince who tried to take the girl away from the boy, because he thought that such a brave and kind monster hunter as the girl had become could break the curse. The girl wanted to help the prince, just as she had the boy. And that was when the boy realized he had to tell the girl that he loved her, before she disappeared, fell in love and became the monster's princess in a land so far away he might never see her again."

"So did he?" Peter asked having been perked up by the story, which hadn't been the intend. Now he would be so hard to put down, and get up in the morning.

"Yes, the boy followed the girl to the dragon express. And all by himself he battled the terrifying, fire breathing dragon that was going to take her away to the cursed prince." Patrick made a few fencing moves in the air with his free hand. "And then he finally told her that he loved her."

"And luckily for him she felt the same way." Teresa said feeling the nostalgia burning behind her eyes.

"And they all lived happily ever after." Patrick concluded looking straight into the eyes of his wife.

"But what about the prince? Was he still cursed?" The boy asked, making Patrick shift his gaze from one set of eyes to another, to the little form at his side that questioningly were looking up at him.

"Ahh.." Patrick smiled impressed by his child's observation of a lose end. "You see Peter, the only thing that could actually break the curse which had made the prince a monster was a true love's kiss. And since the girl loved the boy she wasn't the prince's true love. The prince had to search for a bit longer until he found her, but eventually he did and they got married and had lots of little princes and princesses."

"So the boy and girl didn't become a prince and a princess in the end?"

"No baby. Very few people do." Teresa said matter of factly as she lovingly ran her fingers through his soft curls. "But that's not important. The only thing that really counts is that they love each other, no matter what."

"Okay." The boy accepted without any scruples.

"And..." Patrick added "that it doesn't pay to be afraid of monsters. You have to battle them head on, but it's okay to bring someone along to help you. So what do you say champ, should we go upstairs and fight the monsters together?"

"I want mom to come." Peter pouted adorably.

"Okay fair enough." Patrick conceded. "She is probably the better choice when it comes to hunting down monsters anyway."

Teresa got up. "Okay honey, kiss daddy goodnight."

Peter reached up and caught his dad's head between his chubby hands, bringing it down he kissed him on the cheek. "Night dad."

Patrick enveloped his son in a hug and kissed him back. "Night, night champ. Love you."

"Love you too." The boy added while - remembering to take his favorite toy monkey with him - he hurriedly crawled down from the couch so he could follow close behind his mom as they went up the stairs. Patrick smiled at the image of his little family. Their little boy who adored his mother, as much as he did himself, cradling his monkey while his small tired feet tried to keep up with his mother. This was the image of happiness.

When they came to his room, clearly marked by the colorful letters on the door spelling his name, Teresa walked in and turned on the lights. She then proceeded to look under the bed and in the closet, while Peter stood at the door timidly peering in.

"You forgot to check the lampshades." Peter said, so she dutifully checked them too. With no monsters in sight she got Peter inside, and tucked him and Mr. Fitz (the toy monkey) into bed. After kissing him a few extra times she turned on the bunny shaped nightlight and turned off the overhead lights.

"Mom?" Peter's voice questioned as she was about to leave.

"Yes."

"Will you stay?"

"Of course I will." She went over and lay down next to him on top of the covers.

A few seconds of silence went by then Peter asked: "You love dad, right?"

"Yes sweetie, very much."

"And he's not afraid of the monsters."

She thought for a second, then answered: "No he's not, but he used to be."

"He did?!" The surprise was clear cut in the little voice.

"Yes."

"But..." He hesitated. "What happened?" She had to smile at the sheer wonder at realizing that his dad wasn't perfect.

"He found something to fight for, someone to fight with." She said thoughtfully.

"Just like the boy." Peter exclaimed, happy to have found a parallel.

"Yes, just like the boy." She smiled out into the bunnylight illuminated darkness.

Peter's voice grew softer. "And you loved him before too? When he was scared."

"Yes." She assured her son. Even when Patrick annoyed her, she'd always loved him, and she still couldn't explain it.

The next question came out even more cautiously. "So you love me too. Even if I'm not brave." And she could have sworn she heard a hint of Patrick's insecurity in the boy, what was it with the men in this family that made them think they didn't deserve to be loved. She really had to remedy that.

"Oh yes baby, I'll love you always and forever, no matter what, and so will your dad. We'll love you when you're scared, when you're happy, when you're sad, when you're alone, we will always love you. Don't ever question that or stop believing it." She said and added. "And you don't have to be brave right now, you'll be that and so much more in your own time. And you know what honey, you can only really be brave by being afraid. Real courage isn't being fearless, it's being scared and still facing your fears. But you'll have all the time in the world to learn that." She brushed a few curls away from his face. "Now you have to go to sleep."

He snuggled deeper into the bed. "Okay. Love you, mom."

"Love you too, monkey." She said and kissed him on the forehead. "Sleep tight."

He closed his eyes and was off to dreamland within minutes.

Just outside the door she found Patrick. "So did you chase the monsters off?" He asked.

"All gone." She said and smiled.

"Good." He said and took her in his arms swaying her slightly, as if dancing to a melody only he could hear.

"Patrick?" She tried.

"Mhm." He replied still lost in the moment.

"I want another."

"Another what?"

She gestured towards the room she just exited. "Another one of those."

He smiled warmly. "Ah you mean another one that thinks you're the coolest monster chaser in the house."

Now it was her turn to smile. "Yes, exactly." There was a brief moment of hesitation and anxiety in her eyes. Even after all this time, even after Peter, a part of her still feared his reaction to having kids. He hated himself for that, but he wouldn't lie, it had been hard, that however didn't mean he would trade Peter in for anything. From the moment he'd been born he'd felt nothing but love for him and his little family. And if Teresa felt ready to expand their family, he was too. He could never deny her anything, and he loved being a dad, besides she had shown him that there was plenty of room in his heart to love other people. And he wouldn't mind adding a little princess to the mix, a little adorable mini Teresa.

"Okay let's do it." He blurted out.

"You sure?" She sounded a little taken aback by the sudden enthusiasm, so she flusteredly started babbling: "I just, I thought, I think it would be good for Peter too, and, and..."

Though she was being all adorable, being flustered like that, he interrupted. "Absolutely, I'm sure." He didn't need any more convincing anyway. And the bright smile he got in return was more than payment enough. However he couldn't resist messing with her just a tad. "Under one condition..." He said.

"And that is?" She asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.

"I'll get the title of chief monster hunter."

Her smile returned. "Arh I don't know about that, I don't think that sounds very fair."

"Okay, okay I'm willing to compromise, how about director in charge of monster slaying." She crooked her head. "Or.." he held out a finger "or special agent..."

"How about..." She cut him off, taking hold of his still outstretched finger and poking it back at his own chest. "You give me a kid more, I'll keep the title as the coolest monster hunter and then you can be my monster hunter consultant."

"Deal." He said and kissed her.

No monsters would ever again find their way into his house. As long as they had each other, there was no reason to be afraid.

A/N: As you can see I'm still not over the finale.

And I'm not familiar with the speaking patterns of 3 year olds, but with those genes he's bound to be an intelligent child right, so I hope you'll forgive my ignorance.

Calling them Teresa and Patrick feels weird, but they can't keep calling each other Jane and Lisbon now, well they could, argh whatever.