Hi, I wrote this story for the Paint it Red monthly challenge : "Dreams come slow and they go so fast"

It is mainly a monolog, which may sound a bit special, but it's on purpose ^^

TAG TO 5x02 : Devil's Cherry

Hope you enjoy :)

Red dreams are my reality

"Thank you for coming. I am Doctor Sophie Miller, I called you 2 days ago about our patient Patrick Jane.

I read that you were the first cop to arrive at the crime scene and found him there, lying on the floor, covered by blood and keeping on saying that Red John killed his family.

You never saw him again, so maybe do you need an explanation about his current state and why I asked you to come…

He thinks he's a consultant for the CBI and he keeps on talking about you.

He began to create this new reality right after you found him and a couple of psychiatrists tried to understand what happened to such a wonderful brain and tried to cure him, but to no avail.

As you know, he mocked the serial killer and as revenge, the man abducted him during months.

During all this time Red John changed him, washed his brain, destroyed his sanity.

He locked him in a dream, a reality where his family died and where he is unable to catch the killer.

The thing is his family is very alive and often comes to see him, but he thinks this is just a trick of his mind, a dream. He is so convinced they are dead that he can't even see the obvious!

Oh by the way, he thinks his family was killed 10 years ago, when his daughter was only 6, but his abduction only occurred 10 months ago, and she is actually 16.

He totally lost track of time and reality, such a punishment is worse than death, believe me.

However he keeps on talking to you in his night hallucinations, which is pretty surprising.

Actually, this started just after we allowed him to have a TV in his room.

He was especially excited by investigations on the news.

At the beginning, we thought he was just crazy. He kept on saying he knew who the killer was on every case he saw on the TV, and he needed to tell Teresa Lisbon.

We didn't believe him of course, he is just a man who lost his mind.

But then eight months ago he started to have those imaginary conversations with you out loud during his night hallucinations, and this is when we understood that maybe he wasn't that crazy.

I mean, he is crazy, but the thing is that every time he submits his theory about who the killer is, we learn a couple of day later on the news that he was right.

Maybe should I have called you earlier, I don't know. I didn't want to bother you with this story since the murderers were always found anyway.

However, what I recently discovered made me change my mind.

Patrick behaviour changed. He had always been obsessed with Red John, and this obsession got stronger and stronger with time.

This was very concerning because he was unable to remember who the man is, but he was keeping on trying every night, and this had a very negative impact on his health.

But a month ago, he began to say that he was getting close to catching Red John. That it was a matter of time before he found out who he is.

At the same time, his hallucinations reduced and he was even able to have a quick but real connection with his daughter Charlotte for the first time since we found him.

She told him about her favourite hobby, swimming, and he even laughed happily when she told him she had a little white rabbit home.

She knows he lives in another reality, so she wasn't surprise when he talked about you, even if technically he doesn't really know you.

I tell you all this because then 2 days ago, he claimed he had a list of seven names.

Seven potential Red John.

But something is wrong and he can't find out which suspect is the real killer. It drives him very agitated and he has been asking for you all days long.

This is why I asked you to come and meet him.

Patrick subconscious has been trying to figure out who Red John is, since his abduction.

And the closer he gets to the answer, the more aware of the reality he gets. As if he was slowly freeing himself from the mental prison Red John put him in.

All I ask you is to talk to him about the Red John case. See if he is receptive, if he can tell you more about those seven suspects.

He never talks to me, but since he knows you, asks for you and sometimes connects with people, I thought you were the perfect person for this.

Ask him the names of these seven suspects, try to work with him to reduce this list to one single name.

Give him some information about the Red John case, something may ring a bell in his brain.

I know this is a very unusual request, but I am convinced it is worth a try.

He needs you to know who Red John is and when he remembers, nobody has to know that he helped you, you can take all credit for it.

The closer he gets to catch him, the closer he gets to our reality.

I am convinced that as soon as you discover who the killer is, Patrick Jane will be free from his mental prison."

"How can you be sure I can trust this list? You said it yourself, he is a crazy man"

"Agent Lisbon, he knows who the serial killer is. His mind just occulted this information.

Please, all I ask you is to meet him and try to discover who his seven suspects are and collaborate with him to discover who Red John is.

You are the only one who can help him…"

"Alright..."

"Thank you very much. I will lead you to his room...

Oh, by the way, you can call him Patrick..."

Thanks for reading !
Reviews are very welcome :)