A/N: Thanks to EVERYONE for reviewing, alerting and all other ways of letting me know that you liked 'Red Jealousy': I LOVE YOU!
Meanwhile, I have a different beta-reader. She's absolutely AMAZING, I love you Tiva-Jisbonxxx, you are my angel (L).
Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist, all I own is this story and Mia and Ryan. Well, their names :D.
"Well well, if that isn't the almighty Patrick Jane. How are you?" Virgil Minelli asked, his voice, just like his face, old.
Jane shrugged. On this reunion with Minelli, he saw little to no children. Either nobody had children, and were all married to their jobs, or Jane and Lisbon were the only ones who brought their children with them. Well, their children brought them.
"I'm fine, Virgil, thanks for asking," Jane said, smiling his usual 1000-watt smile.
"Those two little kids: Are they yours?" Minelli asked, looking over at Mia who was performing a magic act for a few people and Ryan who was texting with someone.
"Yeah, they're mine," he said, proud, and Minelli laughed.
"They are absolutely adorable. They are really mini versions of you and Lisbon," Minelli said, and Jane frowned.
"I never told you that Lisbon and I had kids?"
"No indeed, but I have eyes, Patrick," Minelli said, and laughed. Jane shrugged.
"What can I say? We are very good at our jobs."
"Hey Virgil!" Lisbon said, as she joined Jane and Minelli. Jane swung his arm around her waist.
"You still with the CBI?" Minelli asked, and Lisbon smiled.
"Of course! Wainwright wanted one of us to leave because of our relationship, but we showed that we could be professional when needed, and he let us both stay," she explained.
"Unbelievable. I mean, I saw something was going on between you two, but Icouldn't expectthisto happen," he said, motioning to the way Jane held Lisbon in his arms, protectively. Jane and Lisbon looked at each other, and smiled.
"I want to go home, I don't like it here," someone suddenly said behind them, and they turned around. There was Ryan, his phone in his hands, annoyed.
"Ryan, put your phone away! It's rude to do that in a big group!" Lisbon exclaimed, and Jane walked away with Minelli.
"How old are your kids now?"
"Mia is five and Ryan is eleven. But he acts as if he's seventeen," Jane said, and sighed.
"Well, good luck with him then. Does he already know what he wants to do?"
"Yeah, he wants to be a cop at the CBI. Don't know why," Jane said, innocently, and Minelli laughed.
"Yeah, I wonder why!" he said, and Jane smiled.
"And Mia?"
"Mia... Mia is a special girl. I'm not sure what she wants. The one moment she wants to be a ballerina, and the next moment she beats up her brother. Or me."
"Maybe a boxing ballerina?" Minelli said, and they both laughed.
"Daddy?" Mia asked, and Jane turned around.
"Yeah, Sweetie, what's wrong?" Jane asked, and kneeled down beside her.
"Are we going home? I'm tired...," she whispered, and Jane nodded.
"Yeah, of course Mia. But I first want you to meet Virgil Minelli, mommy and daddy's former boss," he said, and waved at Minelli to come closer.
"Hello! And who are you?" Minelli asked, offering his hand for her to shake it. She did.
"I'm Mia Cassandra Jane, I'm five years old. Nice to meet you sir!" she said,and Minelli laughed.
"What a fine young lady you are. So polite! Maybe your dad can learn from you," Minelli whispered, on which Mia nodded enthusiastically, and he heard Jane gasp.
"Excuse me? Of course I'm polite, Virgil!" he exclaimed, and Mia laughed.
"No, you're not!" Mia exclaimed, and Jane acted as if he was really hurt.
"Yes I am!"
"No!"
"Yes!" Jane exclaimed, and lifted Mia up, like a human handbag. She yelled and screamed and laughed.
"Bye Virgil!" Jane said, and walked away, with Mia under his arms.
-YulianaHenderson-
"Mummy, can you read me a story?" Mia asked, as she saw Lisbon walked in the hall. Lisbon entered Mia's room.
"Of course, honey. What story do you want me to read?"
"Not one out of a book. Can you tell me the story about Charlotte?" Mia asked, and Lisbon froze.
"Excuse me?"
"The story about Charlotte, and Angela. Ryan told me about them. But I don't know who they are. Can you tell me?" she asked, and Lisbon swallowed.
"I'm not sure I ca-"
"But mum!"
"Okay, I'll try!" Lisbon said, and sat down on the edge. "You see, long before Daddy and I met each other, Dad met Angela. She was a beautiful woman, and Dad fell in love with her. Then one day, they got a beautiful daughter, Charlotte. Angela and Dad were really happy. But they didn't have enough money to take care of her. So Daddy decided to become a psychic. Do you know what that is?" Lisbon asked, and Mia nodded.
"Okay, so Daddy became a psychic, but a fake psychic. People asked him for TV shows. Then there was this one presenter who asked what he thought about Red John, a serial killer who had killed a lot of women. Daddy told them that he didn't like him, and that what Red John did was wrong. In the evening, when he came home, it was completely silent. He walked up the stairs, to go see how Charlotte slept, and if Angela was already asleep, but there was a letter on the door of their bedroom. It said some nasty things about Daddy, and when Daddy opened the door...," Lisbon said, but stopped. She swallowed, and covered Mia's hand.
"... then Daddy saw Charlotte and Angela. They were dead," Lisbon said, quietly, and Mia's eyes widened.
"That's mean!" Mia exclaimed, and Lisbon nodded.
"Indeed. Red John killed them. Since then, Daddy is really angry at him," Lisbon said.
"Don't tell Daddy that I told you this. It's really difficult for him. Promise me, Mia," Lisbon whispered, and Mia nodded.
"Do I need to read another story? So that you can sleep well?" Lisbon asked.
"Yes please..."
"Okay. Shall I read one of your poems?" Lisbon asked, and Mia shook her head frantically.
"No, Iwant to read something!" she exclaimed, and jumped up to get the book full of poems. Lisbon smiled. Yes, she was five. And yes, she could already read. Lisbon had been stunned of that, but Jane wasn't. He told her he could read when he was four.
"Okay, which one are you going to read?"
"A nightmare of a dream girl!" she exclaimed, as she turned the book open at her favorite poem.
"Again? Why?" Lisbon said, pouting, and Mia laughed.
"Because it's true! Okay, can I start?" Mia asked, and Lisbon nodded.
"Of course you can," she said, and pulled her legs up to her chest. She enjoyed seeing Mia so happy.
"I'm every boy's dream.
I've got beautiful curls
and an angel-like face.
I'm the best of all girls.
I've the prettiest dresses
in the whole darn school
and the best bathing suit
in the whole darn pool.
I've got kissable lips
and a cute little nose.
I've got rosy red cheeks
and impeccable toes.
I've the brains of a genius
and the wit of comic,
not to mention my thin little,
tight little stomach.
I'm every boy's dream.
That's why I don't get
why no boy has fallen
in love with me yet."Mia read, not one single time stuttering, or repeating the sentence because she couldn't read it. Lisbon smiled.
"And why is nobody in love with you?" Lisbon asked, as she took the book out of Mia's hands, placed it on the shelf above her bed, and tucked Mia in.
"It's because they are jealous!" Mia exclaimed, and Lisbon laughed.
"Of course they are! Now, good night, little princess!" Lisbon said, and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Good night mummy! Give daddy a kiss from me!" Mia said, and Lisbon smiled.
"Will do," Lisbon whispered, and got up to turn off the lights.
"I love you," Lisbon said.
"I love you too," Mia whispered, and closed her eyes. Lisbon turned off the lights, and closed the door behind her. She entered their bedroom, and lay down next to Jane.
"Ryan's asleep?" Lisbon asked, and Jane shook his head.
"No, he's chatting with that Jesse boy again," Jane said, and Lisbon sighed. She was really becoming worried about Ryan. Staying up all night to chat with someone was not good for him. He was still eleven, and he needed a good night's rest.
"Mia asleep?"
"Like a rose," Lisbon said, and placed her head on his chest.
"A rose? Roses don't sleep."
"You know what I mean."
"No, I don't, actually," Jane said, and Lisbon kissed him.
"That one's from Mia. Now, be quiet and go to sleep," she ordered, and Jane stroked her hair.
"Yes Boss..."
-YulianaHenderson-
"And now, to introduce our favorite psychic: Patrick Jane!" Hugh Terhaar exclaimed, and Jane walked on the stage. He waved at the public, and sat down.
"Hugh, to be honest, I'm not a psychic."
"Yeah, we know, but what doyouwant to call it then?" Hugh asked, and Jane smiled.
"Let's just say that I'm a consultant with the CBI," Jane said, and Hugh laughed.
"Yeah, okay! So, today, it's been fifteen years since the horrible event of your wife and child. Do you want to say anything about it?" Hugh asked, and Jane swallowed.
"No, thank you."
"Okay, I understand. Can you tell us anything about the things you found out since then about Red John?"
"Well, we didn't find out a lot. We only found out that he's still hunting for people, for families to destroy. He's still haunting me too, that's for sure," Jane said, and Hugh nodded.
"Does that scare you? I mean the fact that he's still following you? Because, like we all know, Patrick Jane has a lovely family right now. Do we have pictures of them?" Hugh asked, and on the screen behind him appeared the faces of Lisbon, Ryan, and Mia. The audience clapped, and Jane smiled. He was proud of them,and of himself, for having them.
"How old are they?" Hugh asked, and Jane coughed.
"Well, Mia is five, Ryan is eleven and my lovely girlfriend is 49. She'll hate me for saying that, but admit it: She doesn't look like she's49," Jane stated, and Hugh shook his head.
"Indeed! But, to come back to my question: Does it scare you that Red John is still on the run?" Hugh asked, and Jane nodded.
"Yes, it does. It's moments like these that I really have to watch out that I don't say anything stupid, like the last time fifteen years ago. There are moments that I get home, and I'm afraid I will see them brutally murdered. But to be honest: I don't think it's ever gonna happen. I mean, if Red John wanted to kill them, he would've done it already," Jane said, and the audience clapped.
"Patrick Jane, people!" Hugh exclaimed, the audience clapped and cheered and the cameras went off. Hugh turned to Jane.
"Thanks for that, Patrick. That was some good stuff," Hugh said, and Jane smiled.
"Always happy to be of service! But I'm going home now, Lisbon almost begged me to be home early," Jane said, and Hugh smiled.
"Of course, Patrick! Good night!" Hugh exclaimed, and Jane left the studio.
-YulianaHenderson-
"Stupid traffic," Jane cursed. He hated traffic jams. Especially when Lisbon had asked him to be home before the children were sleeping. He looked at his cell phone. Three missed calls, from Lisbon. He frowned.
He dialed her number, and placed the phone on his left ear, his right hand resting on the steering-wheel. The phone rang three times, before Lisbon picked up.
"Patrick? Patrick, where are you?" Lisbon exclaimed, and Jane froze. Why was she panicked? She was never panicked.
"I'm in the car on my way home, why?" Jane asked, regaining calm, and he heard Lisbon almost crying.
"When I heard something in the kitchen, I went to look, but I saw nothing. I just wanted to check on the kids, but they weren't there anymore!" she cried, and Jane almost dropped the phone.
"Hang on, Sweetie, I'll be home soon! Just don't panic!" he exclaimed, almost panicking himself. Yep, he knew that this could happen, and yet he still was surprised. He thought Red John wouldn't do this. He hadn't saidthatmany bad things in the show. He assumed it was a case of 'the last straw breaks the camel's back'.
He heard Lisbon crying on the other end of the conversation, and it broke his heart. She really cared about Mia and Ryan. Of course, he did as well, but they wereher angels, her big prince and little princess, her life. And he cared about her.
"Patrick...," she whispered, and Jane hit the horn. Damn traffic jams!
"Teresa?" Jane asked, entering the house. It was really quiet, and it scared him.
But he hadn't even finished his thoughts when Lisbon ran into the hall, and flung her arms around his neck.
"They're really gone!" she exclaimed, and Jane rubbed her back. With Lisbon around his neck, he walked to the kitchen, and looked around. He then saw a note on the counter. He took it, and read it:
Dear Mister Jane,
I warned you. Fifteen years ago. 'I don't like to be slandered in the media.' Yet you still do it. I want you to stop.
To show you how wrong it is to mess with me, I took your lovely children. This time, I left your wife, or girlfriend, whatever you want to call it, out of it. Maybe she can help find them. Or not.
Come and get me, if you can.
RJ"
He dropped the letter, and placed his hands on Lisbon's lower back.
"We'll find them, Teresa, I'm sure of it...," he whispered, knowing he was lying, because if would be a hell of a job to track Red John down. But he was determined that he would find his children this time, and that he would save them.
A/N: What did you think? Let me know! :D