A/N – **SPOILER ALERT** Set after the finale so if you have not watched that yet I recommend you stop right here. (In any case, I thought the finale was great and cannot wait until next season.)

My first fanfic so please read and review! I am not quite sure where this is going so any ideas are more than welcome. Definitely a Jisbon centered fic…unless I get some good ideas for the other characters. :)

Disclaimer – I do not own any part of The Mentalist.

Chapter 1

4:17 A.M.

In the warm comfort of her bed Lisbon tossed and turned, haunted by a dream that seemed all too real…

A gun was pointed straight at her, Hardy's finger on the trigger and ready to shoot her right then and there. Lisbon's reaction was nowhere near fast enough to stop him and she realized she was at the mercy of the deranged man. Hardy gripped the handle tightly, grinning down the barrel of the gun at Lisbon.

A shot rang out and Lisbon felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Looking down, she saw that the bullet had met its mark and the front of her purple shirt was now covered with a dark stain. Lisbon slumped to the ground, leaning against the car behind her as everything went black.

Suddenly, Lisbon jolted awake, clutching her pillow in terror.

"It's okay Teresa, you're fine," she breathed out, still in a panic from the nightmare.

She couldn't stop herself from shaking and sat up, hugging the pillow for comfort until the tremors stopped. Lisbon quickly went over the event in her mind, recalling the shock she felt when she realized she was still intact and Hardy was on the ground in front of her, choking up blood.

Looking left, Lisbon saw Jane standing there with smoke trailing from Hardy's gun, a stunned expression written on his face. Frozen where she was, words had failed Lisbon as she gaped at the man who just saved her life. At that moment she had wanted nothing more than to run to Jane and hug him.

"Mmm," she mused as she imagined what that outcome would have been. Feelings began to arouse the fire within Lisbon as she fought to extinguish the thoughts that ran rampant through her mind.

Now fully awake, Lisbon knew she was not going to be getting anymore sleep tonight, so she got up and out of bed. Walking to her kitchen she threw on a robe and tied it around her waist. The fridge was bare; she had forgotten to go to the grocery store due to everything that had occurred.

"Damnit," she muttered to herself as she shut the door. Not only did Lisbon forget to restock her fridge, she had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she forgot something else, something important. Lisbon rummaged through her shelves until she located the loaf of bread she had purchased a few days ago. Popping a couple pieces into the toaster, Lisbon then proceeded to turn on the coffee machine. If she was going to be kept awake by the recent case Lisbon figured she might as well stay up until heading to the office.

Lisbon sighed as she resigned herself to sitting on her couch, waiting for the toast and coffee to finish. Closing her eyes she recalled her conversation with Jane at the beginning of the case.

"Look at the toenails"

"Yeah I see them," Lisbon replied averting her eyes from Jane.

"Painted in her own blood, just like my wife. This is Red John and he wants to make sure I was on this case."

"It's strange, I'll give you that," Lisbon admitted, "but you're jumping to conclusions." Lisbon continued to explain when she was cut off by the sound of a plane overhead. The sight she stared up at made her blood run cold.

A taunting smiley face was drawn in the sky, marking the body of the 19-year-old girl.

At that moment Lisbon knew that her gut instinct was accurate, despite her hopes that it was just another copycat. Red John had struck again. And this time, he was toying with Jane, daring him to seek his revenge.

Lisbon opened her eyes and realized her toast was done. She walked over, poured herself a cup of coffee and applied some jam to her toast, taking a seat at her dining table. Munching on a piece of toast, Lisbon couldn't clear her head of the look Jane gave her upon discovering just how close he had been to Red John.

The mask was gone, anger and hurt were etched in Jane's features as he reminded Lisbon of their arrangement and her betrayal. She wasn't so sure she would be able to defend her actions again. Not after what Jane did for her. Shooting a man to save her life, and not just any man, the one person that knew the identity of Red John, proved that Lisbon was right. He had chosen life, he chose to save Lisbon's life and end the one of the man who was the last known link to his wife and child's killer. And although Lisbon was grateful she was right about him wanting life, she felt uneasy as conflicted emotions ran through her mind concerning the blue-eyed pseudo-psychic.

Letting out a groan, Lisbon finally remembered what she had forgotten to do before heading home. The consultant had shot and killed a man which meant she had a lot of paperwork to fill out. Getting up, Lisbon set her plate and mug in the sink before going to change. Lisbon figured she might as well head over to start on the pile of paperwork that surely awaited her.

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5:42 A.M.

Walking into the CBI Headquarters building early in the morning was not unusual for Lisbon, but she noticed it was eerily quiet as she had never been in before 6 A.M. Nodding to the guards as she made her way past security, Lisbon stifled a yawn. She looked down at her watch and calculated she only managed to get a few hours of sleep. Hopefully today would be uneventful, since Lisbon reckoned the whole team deserved a light day.

Lisbon opened the door to her office and flicked on the light, jumping back at the unexpected sight in front of her. It was Jane, reclined back in her chair, fast asleep.

"Jane?" she whispered.

When the blond haired man didn't move, Lisbon walked over and lightly shook his shoulder.

"Jane." This time with a little more force in her voice Lisbon managed to get him to stir.

"Mmm," Jane grunted. His eyes blinked open and he looked directly at Lisbon, a soft smile spreading across his face. Lisbon felt her heart skip a beat and she realized they were probably the only two in the office.

"Morning Lisbon, you're here awfully early, even for you."

"Jane, what the hell are you doing in my office? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"I wanted to talk to you about the last conversation we had."

Lisbon took a deep breath and walked over to sit down across from Jane.

"I have some things I need to say too."

TBC?

A/N – Thanks for reading my first fic! Please review and feel free to offer any suggestions/ideas. ^^