A/N: I misread the prompt for this one and had to go back and fix it

Disclaimer: I do not own The Mentalist. I own the DVDs but not the actual series.

Prompt:

Could you write an AU in which Lisbon is at some county fair with a date and they pass Jane standing onstage doing a psychic reading kind of sideshow and when he sees Lisbon he calls out to her and convinces her to let him read her mind

It was supposed to have been a normal day. Jack had invited her to the county fair with him … on a date. Teresa hadn't been on a date before, she'd been preoccupied with looking after her brothers after her mum had died two years before. Unfortunately for her, the only way she could guarantee the boys' safety was if they came with her. When she first told her date about that he had looked very put out, but he tried to hide it. Obviously he had wanted to be alone with her.

"Come one Reese!" Tommy yelled as he dragged his older sister through the carnival. The little boy was full of excitement "I wanna go on the merry-go-round"

"Tommy, slow down" she called as she crashed into a rather disgruntled looking gentleman. The force of the impact knocked her to the floor and caused her to release her little brother's hand. "I'm so sorry" she began apologizing "My brother's just a little overexcited. I'm really sorry"

The man just huffed, looked at her disdainfully and hurried his wife and son away from the strange little urchin on the floor.

Teresa mumbled something shockingly rude under her breath as Jack pulled her to her feet.

"You alright?" he asked kindly. He seemed nice. They had known each other for a few years but rarely spoke. When he asked her out she had been shocked, no one had ever wanted her before and this boy didn't know her.

"Yeah fine. Wish Tommy wouldn't run off like that. What if he gets lost?"

"Ugh, Reese would you just stop worrying! He'll be fine" Stan had started his teenage moodiness early "I don't see why we had to come anyway"

"You know why" she hissed, trying to hide the meaning behind their conversation from her date. She could not be certain that her father would not come home in the middle of the day, drunk, and beat her brothers to death. Without her there to take his beatings, they would suffer. "Look, when we get Tommy back you three can go off by yourselves for an hour, okay?"

The younger boy groaned but did not push his luck by protesting.

They found Tommy standing in line for the merry-go-round, apparently the 7 year old had not noticed his siblings were missing or did not care. He was watching as the colourful machine went around and around, the horses dancing in front of him. To a small child the carnival was a magical place.

Teresa took him by his arm and gently (not wanting to hurt him) but firmly pulled him out of the line "Don't you ever run off again Tommy, you hear? You stay with me or Stan at all times."

The little boy looked at the floor, knowing he had done wrong "I'm sorry, Reese."

"There's a good boy. Okay, I'm going to go with Jack for a bit so I want you to stay with your brothers. You can go one the merry-go-round but let Stan and Jimmy do what they want as well."

He nodded and took hold of his oldest brother's hand. A hurt look crossed his face when Stan pulled away, but complacently he took Jimmy's.

"You two look after him. Don't bully him either" she warned them before taking Jack's hand and heading in the opposite direction.

They walked in a comfortable silence. Jack didn't ask about why her brothers were there or why she always cared for them, and Teresa was happy to leave it how it was.

"So, Teresa, where do you want to go? What d'ya want to do?"

She shrugged, not used to having the option to do whatever she wanted. Her thoughts were cut into by a loud, obnoxious voice booming across the carnival.

"Roll up, roll up. Come see Patrick Jane: The Boy Wonder" a man stood on a raised stage just to the left of them, he was beckoning people in. Teresa and Jack stopped to see what this 'Boy Wonder' was.

A young man, not a boy, stepped out onto the stage. Teresa guessed he must have been around 16. His hair was blonde and styled in controlled curls and he was wearing a suit that made him look a lot more mature than he actually was, but it was his eyes that stopped her breath in her lungs. They were piercing blue, a contrast to the seemingly bleak stage area, and now he was looking right at her.

"Hello" Patrick Jane began "My name is Patrick Jane; I am a psychic"

At this Teresa rolled her eyes, her mama raised her Catholic and psychics were a ridiculous idea in her mind.

Patrick Jane tilted his head up slightly and raised a finger to his temple "I'm getting something" he murmured and the eager crowd leaned in closer "T … T …" he fumbled, as if grasping at the name of someone he could not quite remember "Teresa? Is there anyone named Teresa here?"

Jack nudged her forwards and when she didn't speak, he called out for her "Her name's Teresa!"

A huge grin broke out across Patrick Jane's face, of course he had guessed her name right "Well then Teresa" he put particular stress on her name "why don't you come up here and join me?"

She was nudged forwards again and found that she had no option but to go up onto the stage with this 'psychic' boy. As soon as she was close enough he took her hand and pulled her almost into him. He flashed her his 1000-watt smile before turning his attention back to his audience. Up close there was no denying that he was an attractive boy. Teresa mentally cursed herself for thinking such thoughts when she was on a date with another guy.

Patrick let out a quiet chuckle as if he knew what she was thinking "Okay Teresa, I am going to read your mind." He didn't look at her while he spoke, but stared into the audience instead. "I need you to think of a shape. You got that?"

She nodded.

"Now think of that shape inside another different shape"

This time when she nodded her turned fully towards her, his gaze connected with hers. They held eye contact for a good 10 seconds, during which Teresa found her heart racing, before Patrick finally said "Triangle inside a circle. Am I right?"

Dumbfounded, she spluttered "Yes"

The crowd erupted into applause, interlaced with cheering and whooping. Patrick pulled the small girl to his side and took a bow, forcing her to take one too. As they were stood side by side he whispered something that only she could hear. His voice was so different, it was sad and understanding and friendly "I'm sorry about your mom." He hugged her so that her face was hidden from the audience "And I'm sorry about the way your dad treats you"

Teresa pulled away and scurried down off the stage, tears pricking at her eyes and tumbling down her cheeks. She ran straight past Jack in the vague direction of where she had last seen her brothers.

Jack came sprinting after her "Hey Teresa wait up!" but when she did not stop for him, he no longer followed.

Patrick Jane sat in his trailer, his head hanging. His mind was filled with thoughts of Teresa, the young girl he had dragged into his con earlier. When he went to run a hand over his face he was shocked to find that his cheeks were wet from crying. Teresa's pained face would haunt him for a long time.