Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with The Mentalist in any way and make no money from fanfiction.

With thanks to Sue Shay and Cumberland River Relic for their critique of this chapter and for their friendship and support. Check out their latest stories – Sue's 'Mentalist 2pt0 drabble collection' and CRR's 'Blue Turtle'.

Lone Star State

I grab the vacant stool next to the bar and motion for a Lone Star, the first bottle of several that I expect to drink tonight. It's rare that I hit the booze – saw far too much substance abuse when I worked narcotics - but, for once, it's needed.

At times like this, I wish that I still worked with Rigsby and van Pelt. For all their on/off romance was tough to deal with, it was a breeze compared to this.

Why does everyone think that I should do something about it? OK, not everyone. Wiley hasn't laid it at my feet yet. But Fischer… She's made several attempts. What do I think of Lisbon dating? How does Jane feel? Why doesn't she ask him herself?

And then today, to top it all off, Abbott had a go. Had I heard the rumours about Lisbon moving to DC? How did I think Jane was going to take it?

Pah!

I care about Jane. I really do. He's been my co-worker for over a decade, and any team that goes through the hell that we did with the Red John case becomes close. It's inevitable when you're living and working in mortal peril, watching each other's backs the whole time. To this day, I don't understand why McAllister didn't target the team. Maybe taking Lisbon out would have prematurely ended his game with Jane, but the rest of us were softer targets and he knew it.

But, for all I like Jane, my loyalty is, and always will be, to Lisbon. She is a dedicated and courageous cop and a first rate leader. She is fair and loyal and she has my respect. Jane, on the other hand, sometimes has my respect. I do kinda trust him not to endanger my life or career, at least not intentionally, but that's as far as it goes.

Jane brought all this mess on himself, if you want my opinion.

His obsessive pursuit of Red John was one thing. I got that. And I stood by him in his desire to kill the son-of-a-bitch. It was the right thing to do. And all the Blake Association crap? That wasn't Jane's fault or anyone else's. I mean, I'm glad that the truth came out and the Bertrams of this world got what they deserved.

My issue isn't with any of that, nor with Jane fleeing to Venezuela. He had to. And I understand from something Lisbon said when she first came to Austin that he kept in touch with her as much as he could under the circumstances.

No, the problems have arisen since Jane got out of detention and Lisbon joined us.

Knocking back the dregs of my bottle, I ask for a second. Either the clock behind the bar is slow, or I've only been here fifteen minutes. It's going to be a long night.

Very simply, Jane has failed to learn from the worst events of his life. His mentalist skills are beyond comprehension, but where he's blind, man, he is blind. Insulting a serial killer on television wasn't smart by any definition. And no, he didn't deserve the tragedy that followed. But he was still stupid. He let arrogance and a need for power obliterate any common sense that he might have had.

And Jane now? He's become obsessed with status again. From the day he joined this team, he's been determined that it would be on his own terms. But he's gone too far. He treats Fischer like she's just a janitor sometimes. Gives her no respect at all. And he's been butting heads with Abbott from the start. Abbott seems to have kept nominal control by playing out all the leash he can find. But I think he knows now that he's Jane's handler only in name. Jane does what the hell he wants.

And where does Lisbon come into this? This is what I could kill Jane for.

It doesn't take much gumption to realise that Lisbon was going to feel insecure, offered a job only as one of Jane's demands. She's one of the most professional people I know, and, more than anything, she needed the chance to prove herself on her own merit. But she was tossed from pillar to post. Jane was back, then he was gone, then in a cell, and then out again. And all the time, she was left hanging.

It was obvious back then that she felt something for Jane. I escorted her to that interview room to wait for him when he first came back to the US. I'd never seen her so happy, so relieved. If he hadn't have ended up in detention, disappointing her once again, they'd have both been heading for the nearest hotel room. I'm sure of it. And I wanted it to happen. For them to finally be together.

But then Jane had to play the fool. Though the incident with the spray paint did bring Wiley onto the team, and he's proving an asset. But at some point in that case, I think Lisbon began to lose patience.

And that's not to mention the Krystal Markham affair. Jane's height of idiocy! Yeah, sure Lisbon realised it was a ruse, but not entirely. Something broke inside her that day. I watched the despair settle on her shoulders like a lead blanket, and I think she finally decided that Jane was never going to see her as a woman. Not even after she moved half way across the country to be with him again.

Jane really should have figured enough was enough when it was me who had to find him a towel and some spare clothes after his dip in the harbour. Lisbon just walked away.

So, what do I think of this Pike business? It bothers me. I don't object to Teresa finding love. I welcome that wholeheartedly. She deserves to have a home and family if that's what she wants. But she's gone into it too much. All the flirting in the office, and her sneaking off for long breaks with Pike. It's not professional, and it's not Lisbon. I can't work out if she's hurled herself into rebound so hard that she's lost the plot, if she's trying too hard because she thinks her time to have kids is running out, or whether part of this is aimed at Jane.

It all makes my head hurt.

But Jane and Lisbon are both adults. It's up to them to sort it out.

I just hope that they do. An abandoned Jane crying into his beer is not something I want to see. Neither is a reckless consultant with nothing to lose. Saw too much of that in the early days. And it might not be just himself who he gets killed.

Why is Jane so blind when it comes to his personal feelings? Lisbon too?

Uuurrrrgggghhhhh! Maybe I should lock them both in a detention cell.

But enough. I'm not going to ruin my Friday night thinking about them.

It's time for a game or two of pool, I think. Then I'll pick up some take out from the Thai place round the corner and head home. Finish the book I'm reading. At least that should come to a good, satisfying resolution.

We're not on call this weekend so I should have some peace. At last.