(A/N): Okay, this is an AU from the end of 7x10 and definitely AU for 7x11, based on Jane running away in his silver bucket. I like this idea, but I have no idea if it is particularly coherent or good or anything, so please let me know what you think.
I do not own the mentalist or its characters, but I do own Fliss, Felicity, William and Georgia, though I guess Fliss and Felicity are kinda the same. Never mind, you'll figure it out by the end of this fic.
HeavenSkye x
Future
"Nice morning, isn't it?"
Jane looked up from his perch on the steps of his Airstream to find a teenage girl about fifteen stood in front of him, smiling gently. She was about five foot tall with long brunette waves reaching her lower back, pulled away from her face by a white bandana rolled into a makeshift Alice band. Her eyes were a clear sea green, standing out in her lightly freckled face. She wore a violet coloured tank top with a white skater skirt and nude ballet flats, a white linen tote bag slung over one shoulder, a pair of sunglasses in her hand. Jane shrugged, eyes squinting as he took in the person stood before him.
"I guess. What's your name?" He asked hoarsely, feeling his voice catch in his throat, a mixture of dehydration and emotion. It wasn't exactly a cool day, after all. He was parked in a secluded trailer park, a place that definitely was for loners.
"Do I have to tell you?" The girl deflected.
Jane shrugged. "Not really."
"Then I won't." The girl decided as she stepped closer, still smiling at him, something Jane found a little unnerving.
"Why are you here? Surely your parents told you about 'stranger danger'."
The teenager shrugged, putting her sunglasses into her bag. "Sure they did, but I like to figure things out for myself."
"Oh, really? And what have you figured out about me?" Jane asked curiously. The girl shrugged again.
"You're unhappy. Something happened that made you doubt something or someone, so you ran from it. If I had to guess, I'd say it was someone. Your wife, maybe." The girl pointed at his ring. Jane twisted it around his finger guiltily.
"No, no. My wife's… gone. Dead." He clarified. The girl's face dropped, showing sympathy and guilt.
"Oh I'm so sorry! I speak without thinking sometimes! Oh, I'm such a klutz!"
"Please, it's no bother. She's been gone a long time now. You were right though, I am running. My girlfriend was in danger, and I can't face it. Not anymore."
The girl walked up beside him, sitting next to him on the small steps, her bag hitting the floor with a thud. "How long have you known her for?"
"You ask a lot of questions without providing answers for my questions." Jane pointed out. The girl sighed.
"Okay. Fine. My name's Felicity, but everyone calls me Fliss." She admitted slowly.
"Fliss. Well, its half a name but it's a very nice one. Your parents chose well."
"Thanks." She gave him a wry grin. "Now it's your turn. How long have you known her?"
"About thirteen years."
"And you've been together how long?"
"A few months."
"You said her job was dangerous."
"She's a cop." Jane felt the need to clarify. Fliss nodded softly.
"How long has she been a cop?"
"I'd say about twenty years or so." Jane gave her his best guess, not actually sure as Lisbon hated talking about herself, sometimes more so than he.
"So, she's been a cop the entire time you've known her then?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"She ever been in danger before you got together?"
"Where are your parents? Aren't you a little young to be wandering trailer parks by yourself?"
"Deflection gets you nowhere." Fliss told him with a laugh, a laugh that sounded eerily familiar to Jane, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Though from your deflection, I can assume she has been. Different question. Can you be a cop's wife?"
"I'm sorry, what?"
Fliss rolled her eyes. "It's an expression. The cop's wife is names as such because it used to be just wives who would sit at home waiting for the phone call, knowing they hated what their husbands were doing, but unwilling to ask them to choose, loving them enough to accept the inevitable."
"Oh. I… I don't know. I do love her though. That's what makes it so hard."
"No-one said it would be easy." Fliss pointed out. "Do you love her enough to allow her to be happy?"
"Of course I want her to be happy!"
"That's not what I asked. Do you love her enough to let her be happy?"
"Yes, of course!" Jane exclaimed, a little offended that the girl even had to ask. Fliss nodded, though she raised an eyebrow at his tone.
"It sounds like you're letting fear take over. You're not living. Yes, your girlfriend is in danger, but isn't everyone? She could get run over by a bus, or a piano could fall on her head, anything could happen. There are no guarantees in life. It sounds to me like you're not even living."
"Now wait a minute!" Jane leapt to his feet. "Who the hell gave you the right to question my choices in life?!"
Fliss stood too, arms crossed over her chest, looking half irritated, half smug. "You tell me. You're the supposed mentalist."
"I never told you that."
"Spooky. So how did I know?" Fliss asked with a grin. Jane stared at her in shock.
"Charlotte said that. She was… a hallucination."
Fliss shrugged. "Guess you don't always get what you want when you take hallucinogens."
"So you're a hallucination too."
"Well, you've certainly experienced it before. But you haven't learnt. I'm here to try to help you in a way my sister couldn't."
"Your sister? No, my wife and I only had Charlotte." Jane denied instantly.
"I know. I never said I was her full sister, did I? Look, dad, this is the third time you've taken this shit. The first time, you saw Charlie. The second time, you didn't see anything. The third time, you've got me. It's kinda like A Christmas Carol, in a way. The past was Charlie. Your present back then was nothing, not really. Your potential future would be me."
"And now you're a ghost?"
"Nope. I am your subconscious, for now. Part of you knows how unreasonable and stupid you're being, but you're denying it. You need all the facts." Fliss told him reasonably. Jane frowned.
"So, you would be a child between me and Teresa?"
Fliss grinned and gave a little twirl. "Yep! Felicity Hanna Lisbon-Jane, better known as Felicity Jane or Fliss Jane."
"Wow, well…" Jane trailed off, not sure how to take it. Fliss grinned.
"I know, bit of a shock right? Look, I'm not saying that your fears are baseless or anything, but really, your solution is crap."
"Language, Felicity." Jane reprimanded automatically. Fliss rolled her eyes at him.
"Whatever. Look, to quote my sister in a roundabout way, they're dead. There's nothing you can do for them now. But you're overlooking the one woman who has stood by you through the worst. You need to start dealing with that."
"I deal with that every day." Jane repeated the words he'd spoken to Charlotte so long ago. Fliss glared at him, causing Jane to smile a little at the very clear resemblance Fliss had with Lisbon at that moment.
"Maybe that's the problem. You're so focused on the past that you can't see the present or the future."
"As long as she's part of the FBI, we won't have a future."
"Because she's gonna die automatically?"
"Look, I wouldn't expect you to get it."
"Hello, figment of your imagination. I understand you better than yourself." Fliss glared at him again, coming to stand face to face with him. "Your big solution was to run away. do you really think that's gonna help in the long run? What happens when you do get that supposedly inevitable call? You think it'll be easier? Or will it be worse that for a second time you've lost the woman you love without so much as a goodbye?"
"Stop."
"Why should I? I'm just voicing what you're too scared to." Fliss glared at him once more before moving away and picking up her bag. "You need to go home, to mom, and listen to her. Really listen. Otherwise, I'll just stay as part of your imagination, never to be anything more."
She started to move away, only to be stopped by Jane's voice. "Wait. What do I do?"
She turned to face him, immediately feeling sorry for the broken man stood before her. "I can't tell you that dad. You have to figure that one out. I can only tell you what I know."
"What's that then Fliss?"
"If you make her quit, if you make her choose, then she'll resent you. Maybe not straight away, but she will. Same result if you try to drag her out of the field or push yourself in front of her like you did with the guys that killed Michelle." Fliss ignored Jane's flinch at the mention of the deceased agent. "You've left, which has already played on her worst fears where you're concerned. You've already left before, and she's terrified that you'll do it again. And look what you did."
"I had to get away."
"And there you go, the crux of the matter."
"What?"
"It's all about you. Your fears, your wishes, your demands. What about her? It takes two, you know."
"Felicity…" Jane stated warningly. Fliss shrugged.
"All I'm saying is think about it."
"You know, you're not as blunt as Charlotte was."
"Charlie was more focused on getting you to realise your feelings for mom than anything else. I'm trying to get you to not completely screw it up. There's a difference in that. Plus, I am half you, half mom, dad. I'm much more stable than you." Fliss stuck her tongue out playfully at him before turning serious. "Look, I know you're scared dad. But really, are you willing to give everything up just for the mere possibility that she could die?"
"I'm not giving everything up."
"Yeah, okay." Fliss responded sarcastically. "That's what you call running away and hiding in a place where everyone else is just as messed up as you."
"Fliss, please. If it was just a possibility, then I don't think it would be as bad."
"So, it's a probability instead of a possibility, who cares? Everyone dies dad. It is the circle of life after all."
"You're far too young to know about all of this."
"Not real, remember?"
"Not my point."
"But a relevant one nonetheless."
"Semantics."
"Bullshit."
"Language, Felicity."
"Aw, shucks. Can't take a little backchat? Too bad. You need a good kick in the ass."
"Look, it's not as simple as you're making it out to be."
"Because you're making it more complicated than it has to be."
"It's a very real issue."
"I agree."
"See? That's why I can't go back. If she chooses to join me well…"
"I said I agreed it was an issue, but not what the issue was. I think it's an issue because you're making it an issue."
"So you don't think I need to deal with my past before making the most of my future?"
"Oh, I do, but you're not dealing with it. You're hiding behind it."
Jane made to answer back when a chime sounded from Fliss's bag. Quickly, she pulled out a phone and looked at the screen with a smile before looking back up at him, still smiling. "It's time for me to go."
"No, you're coming back."
"Not like this I'm not. Don't take any more Belladonna. Promise me that, dad."
Jane found himself nodding at Fliss's pleading expression. "I promise." He told her sincerely.
Fliss nodded with another smile. "I love you dad."
"Love you too Fliss." Jane responded. The roar of a motorbike engine caught his attention, and when he turned back to look at Fliss, she'd gone. Immediately, he moved back into the Airstream, throwing the remaining Belladonna straight into the trash, fulfilling what he'd promised Fliss. Then, he sat down with a notebook and a pencil, determined to figure out what the girl had been trying to tell him.
…
Ten Years Later…
"Dad, Georgia's stole my teddy bear again!"
Jane grinned as eight year old Felicity Jane ran into the kitchen, her long brunette waves flying out behind her as she pouted up at her dad. "Sweetie, Georgia is two years old. She doesn't know any better, you know that."
"But she stole Mr Bear!"
"Felicity, can you please share Mr Bear just for a little while?" Lisbon asked tiredly as she too walked into the kitchen. Felicity looked between her parents before sighing and crossing her arms.
"I guess so mommy. Do I have to?"
"Yes." Lisbon told her firmly. Felicity sighed again but nodded.
"Okay, but I want it back later please." Felicity told them just as her five year old brother ran into the room.
"Fliss, come play soccer with me? Please?" William Jane asked his big sister hopefully. Felicity turned to William with a wide smile.
"Of course, Will. Dad, mom, can we go play on the street for a little while?"
"Sure." Jane told them, knowing Felicity would look out for William. She definitely had the same protective gene that Lisbon did.
"No further than the sidewalk on our side of the street please kids." Lisbon told them. Both Felicity and William nodded as they ran from the room, yelling to each other about where they'd last left the soccer ball.
Lisbon smiled up at Jane as he wrapped an arm around her waist and placed a quick kiss to his wife's lips. They'd been married for almost ten years and had three beautiful kids. "They're growing up so fast." Jane whispered. Lisbon nodded.
"I know. But I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Me either."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Jane moved in for another kiss from his wife when they heard a crash and three voices yell out. "DADDY, MOMMY!"
They shared a knowing laugh as they both moved to the door to find out what had happened this time. After all, there was no rest for the wicked, but they wouldn't change it for the world.
The End.