Hello again! So, I couldn't resist starting another story immediately! This one is going to be a little different. First off, it's set in the future, so there will be spoilers for Seasons 1 and 2. It's going to be a multi chapter fic, and I hope y'all enjoy it! This chapter's more of an introduction, so y'all can see the format of the story! It's Jello of course, and I promise it'll get more interesting! It will be rather fluffy.

This story is written for the JelloForever Forum's October Challenge. Prompt- Frozen in Time

Disclaimer- I don't own the Mentalist, but I sure enjoy playing with the characters Mr. Heller has created! Anybody you don't recognize is someone I made up!

Chapter One

"A picture's worth a thousand words, but you can't see what those shades of gray keep covered. You should've seen it in color" -Jamey Johnson, In Color

Shutterbug- an amateur photographer who especially enjoys the hobby

The wooden stairs creaked as she slowly made her way to the second floor, lost in thought. She pushed open the door to the spare room. It had been turned into storage after their first two children had moved out. Now her baby was heading off to college. It was a thought that left her slightly nostalgic and she yearned to locate a specific box she had packed up long ago. She was certain it was tucked away in a corner of the room.

Looking at the mess within she sighed and got to work carefully flipping through boxes until her hand touched worn leather. She smiled and grabbed the whole box, pulling it towards her spot on the floor. She slowly lifted out the old leather scrapbook and lovingly ran a hand over the cover as she placed it in her lap. Wiping off the thin layer of dust, she opened it to the first page.

She stared at the old photograph that had been taken roughly 20 years ago. The colors were faded and the edges were starting to wrinkle, but they were all there: Wayne Rigsby, Grace Van Pelt, Kimball Cho, and Patrick Jane. It was their first team photo and the photographer had captured the moment and her own annoyed expression perfectly. She chuckled as she thought back to that day.

"Where the hell is Jane?" she asked as she looked at her watch.

The CBI had recently hired a new public relations and marketing manager who was determined to change the image of the Bureau. The first order of business was a required team picture. Apparently, the public needed faces to put with the names to improve local relations. The agents all thought it was a load of crap.

She looked over at her team and hoped Minelli knew what he was doing. She took in the slightly wary expression of her new rookie and hid a smile. The poor girl looked scared out of her mind, but was doing her best to present a calm front. She made a mental note to lighten up a bit. She knew how hard it was to be a female rookie in a man's job.

Five minutes later, Patrick Jane finally rolled in with an innocent expression on his angelic features. Her eyes narrowed and Cho muttered something to Rigsby about a storm brewing. She couldn't hear Rigsby's answer, but she quickly shot them a glare. They quickly concealed their smiles and muttered apologies. Jane just smiled.

She opened her mouth to tell him off, but was immediately interrupted by the arrival of the photographer who quickly arranged them with a practiced eye. Of course, Jane ended up right behind her. He casually brushed up against her letting his fingers lightly brush against her side. She whirled around and glared at the insufferable man, as the photographer grumbled loudly for them to stay in place. As he lifted the camera and began to count, Jane lightly ran his hand down her ticklish side once more.

"Do you want to keep that hand?" she muttered under her breath as Jane laughed softly. Cho shot her a quizzical look, and she silently shook her head as they focused on the photographer once more.

"Lisbon," he drawled in a soft whine. She stopped herself from rolling her eyes as the camera flashed, but she dreaded to see her facial expression. Luck had it that the camera caught her annoyed expression-something that still amused the team to this day.

"What's so funny?" a voice asked from the doorway, pulling Teresa from her thoughts. She looked up into the questioning blue eyes of her youngest daughter. Eleanor was the spitting image of her father with her blond curls and ocean-blue eyes. Patrick always laughed and joked that although she had his looks, she had her mother's fiery temper.

"Just some old memories, Ellie," Teresa said warmly.

"Can I see?" Ellie asked much to Teresa's surprise. With a smile, she patted the floor beside her, and waited for her daughter to clear another space out. Leaning over her mother's shoulder, she giggled at the old picture.

"Is that you and dad?" she asked with a grin. Teresa nodded as her finger trailed down the side of the photograph.

"Do you want to look through them with me?" Teresa asked hesitantly. Eleanor had never shown much of an interest in her parents' past. Along with her older sister and brother, they heard stories but the Jane family wasn't one to dwell on the past. They lived for the present and made their own future.

"Sure," Ellie replied as she leaned closer to her mother.

Teresa smiled and stared at the team photo one last time. She never would have guessed that that picture would have started Grace's habit of carrying a camera to capture team memories. When she was forced to retire due to injury, they surprised her with a gigantic scrapbook filled with pictures and newspaper articles from their time as a team, frozen forever in time.

She had always kept it nearby, but it had been briefly misplaced when they moved. Flipping to the next page, Ellie burst out laughing at the next picture while Teresa just shook her head. She was glad it was early in the afternoon. She had a feeling this was going to take a while.