You can't hypnotise a hypnotist.

"Why is it that when you spring a trap, it's never in the middle of the day?" Lisbon was complaining about the lack of sunlight.

"That's not true." I protested. "That gold prospector was caught in the middle of the day."

"Actually he wasn't caught." Lisbon shook her head. "He was shot. And I wasn't even there."

Okay, I'll give her that.

"What about Willis, the souvenir shop owner?" I reminded her.

"The one you lured to the lake?" She asked for confirmation.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Okay, so we've made a couple of arrests in the middle of the day." She allowed. "But usually, we're in a place that's much more crowded."

"Why's that?" I laughed, knowing her answer already.

"You love an audience too much." She smiled despite the fact that she was supposed to be upset with me.

"Right now we actually have a much larger audience than usual." I teased her. "What's the most number of humans we've made an arrest in front of? A hundred maybe, not even that. Right now we have thousands of birds, insects and small to medium sized mammals and reptiles watching over our little hike."

"This is the part where I'm supposed to ask you 'Are you sure this is going to work' with a look of disbelief on my face but I'm not going to bother because you always make it about money." She shook her head.

"No I don't." I had to counter it because it wasn't a completely accurate assessment. "People stopped using reason to win arguments ages ago. The standard for conflict resolution now is the bet so as long as it is statistically the most common substitute for logical reasoning, I will continue to make money from our disagreements."

"Shh." Lisbon was tense. She had one hand on her gun and the other hand pushing back toward me in a protective gesture.

I am very alert. I've been trained to be very aware when I'm reading my environment. Now people, they're easy to read. I can see their intent before they ever get around to speaking about it or demonstrating it. However, I don't yet quite have the sixth sense that some of the agents have where they can sense movement and danger from miles away like a snake stalking its prey.

My only defence is that I knew what the danger was going to be since I was the one that planted the idea for Burke to come here tonight. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I couldn't sense the man like Lisbon could. And I couldn't defend myself instinctively like she could. I could talk my way out of it. I could reason; I could apply hypnosis; but physically I was no match for the men we were up against. Now, if Lisbon wasn't with me, would I still be doing this? Would I still go into the bear's den regardless? I probably would. Just because I've already set the scene in motion and I wanted to see how it would play out.

And Lisbon? She would follow me. She doesn't question it; her impulse to follow me into whatever situation, even in those circumstances when she personally thought the situation that I got myself into was very stupid. I do. I ask these questions because I've not been able to trust anyone for a long time. But I know that I can trust Lisbon. What if it were the other way around? If Lisbon was the one headed blindly for a serial killer, would I go chasing after her?

That depends; however, unlike Lisbon, I know that there's not going to be a happy ending. She understands what I'm trying to do, to an extent. But she can never truly understand because we have a very different understanding of revenge and of forgiveness. It's been almost a decade now. But the desire for what I wanted to do – what I still want to do now – has not faded with time. Lisbon would have been able to move on because she's stronger than I am.

"Jane!" Lisbon was shouting.

"What?" I ask her, my head a little dizzy.

"You... doesn't that hurt?" She was still yelling.

A searing shock ripped through my shoulder like my nerves were on fire.

"It does now." I said calmly. I suspect that I may be in shock. "Thanks for bringing my attention to it."

"It's not funny." She glared at me.

"I..." I'm feeling dizzy again. "I might need to sit down."

"You do that." She said more gently this time.

"What are the odds?" I laughed.

"Don't talk." She said as she took off her jacket and tied the sleeve of it tightly around my left shoulder.

Lisbon and I had sprung on criminals countless times before. Usually the gun in her hand is enough as a deterrent. She has had to shoot with it once or twice before when we came across unfortunate souls who were just not scared of pistols. However, I don't think we've ever come across a situation where the other guy has shot back; after he's already been shot I might add. Lisbon makes a direct hit; he falls backwards but not before releasing his own trigger and sending a bullet into my shoulder.

"Jane." She said loudly. "Listen to the sound of my voice. Listen... you can hear the river; it's very soft but you can hear it. Concentrate on the river. Let it wash away your pain."

At this point, I could sense two things. First: I must have been losing a lot of blood because I was suddenly feeling exhausted. Second: Lisbon was using suggestion on me. Internally I was applauding the fact that she was doing it right (for all the protests she had made about my use of suggestion on the job, she had actually learnt enough to apply it herself).

"Lisbon." I spoke softly because I didn't have a lot of voice left.

"Hush." She replied instinctively. "You're going to be okay."

"Lisbon..." I left the sentence hanging and waited.

She fell silent and met my eyes.

"You can't hypnotise a hypnotist." I told her.

"Yes you can." She was adamant. "Let go of your huge ego for a moment and don't fight me."

I was right about her being strong.

"Don't fight my words." She said as she pulled out her cell phone. "Listen to me Patrick Jane."

I was listening; no hypnosis needed.

"You stay here. You do not close your eyes; You do not go to sleep. I am going to find us some reception." She waved her phone at me. "When I come back, you had better be alive!"

"Yes mam." I nodded.

I don't quite remember what happened next but I do know that I woke up in the back of an ambulance so she must have found her reception.