A/N: Hello again! This is the BIIG AU story I was talking about the other day. This, however, is a different AU compared to the other AUs I have written, in that the characters are the same in the show, and it's the same setting, just a different path. So, perhaps not really AU, but I don't know what else to call it.

Right, so when Jane left after Red John and called Lisbon to say that he was going to miss her, I instantly yelled 'BUT YOU COULD TAKE HER WITH YOU YOU IDIOT'. Then he spent two freaking years writing her letters while he could still have easily asked her to come over, and I think she would have done it in a heartbeat. Thus, this story was sort of brooding ever since, so imagine how long I've been thinking about it. Then, I started watching Narcos and fell in love and the idea grew of having Jane and Lisbon in a different setting, away from the shit storm that Abbott had caused, and see what could come of that. This story is the fruit of those labors!

At times, this fic might be OOC, but wouldn't you agree that after Red John died, every character had moments where they acted unlike themselves?

Also, I'm scared of uploading this. It is, like so many other fics, sort of my baby.

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

'The Door to Peace'

Chapter 1

Of course she knew who was trying to call her. Everything within her wished she could defy the agents who held them arrested, wished she could pick up the phone and tell him that she was there for him. But alas, the entire world around her had fallen apart, and she couldn't do the one thing she believed she was created for - protect Patrick Jane.

She got her phone back eventually, and the first thing she did was check his voicemail message.

"Lisbon. It's over. It's done. I just want you to know that I'm OK and I'm going to miss you."

He was leaving. She had always known that this would happen, that it was a possibility anyway, but now that the moment was there, she got scared. She wanted to keep an eye on him, make sure he was okay, but he was leaving and she didn't know where to.

She tried calling him back, but he wouldn't answer her. Perhaps he had thrown away his phone to try and keep people off his trail? She knew that even in the most trying of times, he was always on top of his game, and he always knew what he was doing.

In any case, she had to find him, ASAP. If she didn't, and she learned later on that something bad had happened to him, she would never be able to live with herself. So she went looking for him, in all the usual places, even some unusual ones, but there was no sign of him, not even a vague hint of his presence.

She wouldn't give up, but she had to think straight, so she went home to come up with a plan to find him.

She should have been surprised at who was sitting on her couch, after all her thinking she knew the best option for him was to run away to safety, but she would be lying if she said she had expected a different outcome.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded, barely meeting her eye. "Never better."

He always praised himself for being a closed book, but she had known him for far too long now. She knew this was a cover-up.

She sat down beside him, making him look at her. His eyes seemed lifeless, like two mere marbles staring back at her. She expected there to be blood all over him, but she only found sweat and most likely tears. It made her wonder how he had killed him.

"I thought you were leaving," she stated, mostly to distract him.

"I am."

So why was he still here? It didn't matter. She had to clean him up before he left, so that he got a better start of the rest of his life. She was scared that she would never see him again, so this was the least she could do for him.

"I wanted to say goodbye."

She nodded. "I appreciate it."

She guided him to her bathroom and left him alone then, not too far away in case he needed something.

He emerged from the shower eventually, obviously looking better than before. There was a color to his cheeks again and his eyes were almost as they used to be.

"I'm leaving," he whispered, "and… I would like it if you came with me."

"Come with you? Where to?"

"I don't know yet. I just… I know I'm not safe here. But I don't… want to be alone. No, that's not true. I just don't want to part with you."

"And why is that?"

He looked at her, but shook his head after a while. He wouldn't give her an answer, she knew that.

"Just… would you please come with me?"

"I… I have a job here, Jane… I can't just up and leave." But she quickly realized that she didn't have a job anymore - the CBI, the place where she had felt so at home the past decade or so, where she had found friends who were like family, had fallen apart. There was likely no possibility for her to go back to that life.

"I understand." He nodded and looked away. There was something in his face that made her insides constrict. Perhaps he just needed a friend, someone to help him through his nightmares. She hoped that he could find peace now.

He stepped toward her, and surprised her when he hugged her tightly.

"I really am going to miss you."

He was really saying goodbye.

"Will I ever see you again?"

"I don't know."

She pulled away slightly, to look at him. He was her best friend. In all of her life, she had never known someone like she did him, and she knew meeting him was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. To think that she might have to spend the rest of her life without seeing this face was impossible for her to fathom. However, she had to deal with it. What he was asking of her was basically impossible.

"Please be safe. Whatever you do, just take care of yourself."

He returned her look, and she felt him stare into her soul, touching places that were long hidden from sunlight or human contact. She was going to miss him, more than she would admit to anybody. Surprisingly, she found herself getting a little emotional. They had been friends for so long, she didn't know how she could live without him.

"Thank you, for everything," he whispered. He kissed her cheek, his hand in the back of her neck, and internally she broke but she wouldn't let it show. He needed to do this, she knew, to close this chapter and move on to the next. Who knew? Perhaps he would find a lady who would move on with him, make him happy.

He turned around and grabbed his things, not much, just a small bag with undoubtedly his clothes.

Everything within her told her to act. When he stepped through her front door, he would be gone. There was no way to know for certain whether he would ever come back, and he was her best friend - how could she live without him?

Dammit, Teresa Lisbon, this wasn't a proposal or anything. He's just asking for your company in this for him trying time. He knows that you are probably the only one who can help him.

He looked at her again.

"Don't worry about me."

That was exactly the thing. He could say a thousand times that she needn't worry, but it was in her veins to worry for him. Perhaps it showed on her face, because he cracked a small smile.

As he opened the door, she made up her mind. She grabbed a bag, packed a few items she might need and joined him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, realizing that he might again ruin her life by tearing her away from what she deemed comfortable and familiar. But it had always been like this, from the day they had met. Undoubtedly, it was an unhealthy pattern, but the universe had showed her that she couldn't let go of it, because he would be left alone, by himself, and it had rarely turned out well.

She shook her head.

"There's no use in deciding who's to blame."

She had to keep an eye on him, or she would forever wonder what he was doing. Perhaps then this action could be filed as selfish.

Together, they walked away from this apartment, her apartment, where she had lived for years on end, and she didn't know when she would see it again, if she ever would. Then again, she would rather never see her apartment again than the man who was currently walking beside her.

A/N: This is basically how this story is going to be! I hope you like the beginning, and I'll try and upload regularly. I strive for once a week, unless people really want to have it more frequently. Anyway, let me know what you thought in a REVIEW, thanks so much for reading, and see you next time!