Rose Meteor Shower

A/N: I know I should be finishing my other fic, 'Race For Red Trophies', but this idea wouldn't leave my mind, so I decided to toy with it, and see where it went. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter one

Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon sat at her desk, filling in paperwork. It was stuffy inside her office, and Lisbon had her door open to try and get some air circulating. The bullpen outside was deserted, everyone else having already left for the evening. Lisbon was quite content to sit in silence and work, but her door had other ideas. Out of the blue, the door abruptly swung closed. The loud bang made Lisbon jump and scratch a pen line up the page. She stood up and walked over to the door. "That's strange," she murmured, realising that there was no cross-breeze to explain her door shutting so abruptly.

She pulled it open, but it was immediately ripped from her grasp and banged shut again. Lisbon backed warily away from the door. "What the hell is going on?" she asked out loud.

She tripped on the edge of the rug on her floor and toppled over backwards. She caught the back of her head on the corner of her desk as she landed, and a word she very seldom said slipped from between her clenched teeth. "Now, now, Teresa," a gentle chiding voice said. "There's no need for language like that."

Lisbon jumped. She was positive she had been alone. "Who's there?" she asked, standing up.

She turned to face her desk, and jumped when she realised she wasn't alone. Her hand flew automatically to her hip. A blonde woman stood behind her desk, her blue eyes pale under the fluorescent light. But Lisbon realised that there was something off about the woman's appearance. Her skin had an almost translucent quality, and seemed to glow. "I'm very glad to finally meet you, Teresa," the woman smiled. "I've been waiting for this moment for a while now."

"Who are you?" asked Lisbon, rubbing the back of her head gingerly.

"You mean you've never seen pictures of me?" the woman sounded incredulous. "Although, I can't expect Patrick to…"

Lisbon frowned at the woman's casual use of her consultant's first name. "You know Jane?" she asked.

The woman rolled her eyes. "I still can't believe you haven't worked it out yet," she extended her hand across the desk. "I'm Angela."

Lisbon felt herself go pale. "A-Angela?" she stammered. "As in, Angela Jane? What are you doing here?"

Angela nodded. "I've actually been here pretty much since Patrick started working here."

Lisbon looked down at the pro-offered hand, and slowly extended her own. They shook hands across the desk, and Lisbon frowned slightly. "How did I just touch you?"

Angela smiled. "I can become solid, for limited periods of time. Other than that, I pass through pretty much anything."

Lisbon smiled a little, and gestured to her couch. "You want to sit?"

Angela nodded, a small smile on her beautiful face. The two ladies – one living, the other spirit – sat together on the couch. "So," said Lisbon. "If you've been here for the entire time, why choose now to reveal yourself to me?"

Angela's angelic features darkened ever so slightly, and she smoothed down the white dress she wore. "Patrick is slipping into depression again. I need your help to rescue him."

Lisbon blinked. "What could I do?" she asked.

"He trusts you, Teresa," came the reply. "And I know that you care deeply for him."

Lisbon blushed. "I'm sorry, Angela," she said. "But I just can't get my head around the fact that I'm speaking to a woman who's been dead for almost ten years."

Angela smiled gently. "I had to come to you, Teresa. My husband, he's drinking heavily again, and has been considering giving up the search for Red John for good."

Lisbon's breath caught in her throat. Jane had been coming to work recently looking gaunt and drawn. Sure, he kept his game face on, but Lisbon could see the despair in his eyes. Even he couldn't hide it. "Why can't you reveal yourself to him?" she asked curiously.

Angela sighed and looked down. "I've tried, but he doesn't believe I exist – in this form anyway – and so he can't see me. I'm just a gentle strain of music, a whispering breeze, sometimes a ringing telephone. He can't hear me, even if he wanted to." Lisbon's face softened, and she reached out tentatively to pat the woman's shoulder. Her hand passed right through Angela's dress, and Lisbon gasped. She pulled her hand away. "I might not have felt that," whispered Angela, looking down in despair. "But I know the sentiment was well intended. We need to do something, Teresa, before he gives up."

Lisbon set her jaw and nodded. She would help this woman – even if she wasn't alive – in any way she could. "I will help you save Jane, Angela," promised Lisbon.

Angela smiled blindingly in a way that was startlingly similar to the way Jane smiled. Lisbon suddenly frowned and looked around. "Where's Charlotte?" she asked curiously.

Angela smiled almost sheepishly. "She's actually at your house. She finds the atmosphere comforting. And she likes you."

Lisbon smiled. Jane's daughter was at her house; that was a thought she had never imagined entertaining. "Where will you be tonight?" she asked, looking at the ghostly figure next to her.

Angela looked around. "Patrick's in the attic. I thought I would go up and sit with him. He doesn't know I'm there, but it's nice to spend time with him anyway."

Lisbon felt tears pricking her eyes. She felt immensely sad for this woman, knowing that she could see her husband, but that her husband couldn't see her. Lisbon stood up. "I'll get going," she said. "I need time to come up with something. But, Angela, I promise that I will help you save your husband from himself. I promise."

Angela rose to her feet. "I know you will, Teresa. That's why I came to you."

Lisbon blinked twice, and the apparition before her disappeared. She didn't think for a moment that she had been hallucinating, because a final whisper marked Angela's departure. "Thank you, Teresa," the voice faded away.

Lisbon quickly picked up her belongings and left the CBI building, eager to get home.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Back inside, Angela sat on the edge of Jane's poor excuse for a bed and watched him pace the room. He held a half-jack of whiskey in one hand and a file in the other. His mindless ramblings were becoming more and more slurred with every swig he took of the bottle, and Angela felt her sadness grow. Her husband should not be like this. This heavy drinking madman was not the man she had fallen in love with twenty years before. This man was crazy with revenge, and it hurt Angela deeply to see him this way. She stood up and attempted to take the bottle from him, like she would have done in the past, but she couldn't break his grip. "Patrick," she said.

He didn't turn.

"Patrick," she said again, a little louder.

He paused, but shook his head and kept mindlessly pacing.

"PATRICK!" she screamed.

Jane stopped and swung around to face her. He squinted in her direction and took a step closer. "I swear I just heard Angela's voice," he murmured.

"You did, honey," she said.

He squinted harder. "Angela?" he said, looking around the room in a frenzy.

"Patrick, darling, I'm here," she stepped up to him and cradled his drawn face in her hands. "I'm here and I love you."

Jane blinked and his eyes focussed on her face for the first time in ten years. "Angela," he murmured.

Angela stepped back. She could use the alcohol in his system to her advantage, she realised, as he could actually see her at the moment. The whiskey had dropped his guard. "Patrick, you can't give up your search for Red John. You need to avenge our deaths so that we can rest in peace. Charlie and I won't rest until Red John is dead."

Jane nodded. "I love you, Angie," he whispered, despair evident in his voice. "But I'm hitting walls. I can't get through, can't find him. He's…" his voice faltered. "He's too good for me."

"No," said Angela in a tone Jane recognised as finality. "Patrick Jane, you will catch this man and kill him. Do it for me, for Charlie, for Teresa."

Jane started at the last name. "Teresa?" he asked weakly. His hallucination certainly knew which strings to pull.

Angela nodded. "Yes, Patrick. I want you to find this man and kill him. You know she will be the next target if you don't."

Jane nodded, and dropped the whiskey. It clattered onto the floor and poured out through the open top, soaking the floorboards. "I will catch him. He's not too smart for me."

Angela smiled. "That's the Patrick I fell in love with."

She wrapped her arms around him for one fleeting moment, and stepped back. He resumed his pacing, but with renewed purpose. Angela spent the remainder of the night just watching him as he worked.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Lisbon strode into the bullpen the next morning and looked around. She saw Jane lying on his brown leather couch, but he wasn't alone. The pale figure of Angela was sitting on the arm of the sofa behind his head, idly running her fingers through his hair. Lisbon suspected that this was something they used to do before she was killed. Lisbon walked past the couch and smiled at Angela as she passed. Angela stood up and followed her to her office. "Good morning, Teresa," she said, following Lisbon inside.

Lisbon walked to her desk and picked up her phone. "Good morning," she said into the receiver.

Angela nodded, understanding. "You don't want him to think you're going crazy."

"Yes," replied Lisbon. "But I still haven't come up with a plan."

"Not to worry," said Angela. Her eyes shone, and Lisbon raised an eyebrow. "I managed to get through to him last night. Oh, he thinks I was a hallucination, but I managed to convince him to continue the search for Red John. He's not completely out yet, but this is a start."

"That's wonderful," replied Lisbon. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Angela nodded. "Help my husband kill him." her expression turned pleading. "Please."

"I will," replied Lisbon, hanging up the phone.

Angela smiled and walked back through to the couch where Jane lay. She resumed her loving stroking of his hair, and Lisbon felt her heart break for the woman. She watched them a moment longer before turning to her paperwork.

A/N2: So, I hope you are enjoying this so far. Please leave a review and tell me how I'm doing, and what you think of the story. Thanks.