Patrick Jane sat in his daughter's bedroom, staring at the hideous red smiley face daubed on the opposite wall. They had been so close. So damned close. And now Red John had got away again. He could still hear the roar of the shotgun as he shot Sheriff Hardy, still smell the blood in the air. He shuddered. The only person Patrick considered he had the right to kill was Red John, yet it was Hardy that was dead. It seemed as though there was nothing Patrick could do to escape the blood.

The shrill ring tone of his cell jolted him out of his increasingly dark thoughts. Lisbon was worried about Van Pelt – the young agent had taken a few days leave to go home and visit her family but was a day late in coming back to work. Since she hadn't let Lisbon know about this change in plans, the senior agent was understandably concerned.

"Still no news of Van Pelt?"

"None. Rigsby and Cho haven't heard anything either. Pack a case."

"Wait, what? Where are we going, Lisbon?"

"I cleared it with Minelli. We're going to find her."

"Oh." It occurred to Jane, as he hurriedly stuffed a few clean shirts in a case, that Lisbon really did think of herself as the Team Mom and acted accordingly. He hid a smile; Lisbon would hunt down and kill anyone who hurt one of her team, but if this turned out to be Grace being an idiot, she was in for a dressing down that would make the toughest man cry.

The team met up at Sacramento International and Lisbon handed out their tickets. Jane frowned. "Doesn't Grace live in Iowa? You know the place; it's flat and famous for gullible women?"

Lisbon ignored that remark. "She does live in Iowa. Flight records show that she flew to Cleveland with her cousin Marissa, shortly after arriving back at home though. So, we go to Cleveland."

They landed several hours later and stepped out into a cold, clear morning. Cho and Rigsby were dispatched to hire a car, leaving Jane alone with Lisbon for the first time. "Cleveland. Lisbon, I hate to mention this, but Cleveland is where Buffy Summers and her friends have one of their schools."

"I know. Believe me, I know. I'm just hoping that's a coincidence. Don't say anything to the boys until we know if they're definitely involved."

"Lisbon, trust me when I say I am in no hurry to explain Buffy Summers to anyone. I like being thought of as sane."

"Jane, no one here thinks you're sane." Lisbon softened the words with a smile. He smiled brightly back at her and she sighed. "You know, if you do ever want to talk about it…"

"About what?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I don't need to talk about it – Hardy was going to kill you, so I killed him. All good, OK? Ah, there's Rigsby with the car!" He strode off before she could say anything else, the smile faltering slightly while he was out of sight of the team. It was firmly back in place by the time he got into the large vehicle Rigsby had hired.

"Where to, boss?"

"Cleveland PD have been good enough to extend us an invitation to use one of their offices as our base." Lisbon directed them through the busy streets to one of the police stations in the leafy suburb of Lakewood. She left Cho and Rigsby to set up their equipment and computers while she went to meet and greet Lieutenant Daniels. Jane, under strict orders not to annoy anyone, was left under Cho's watchful gaze.

"I really do appreciate this, Lieutenant."

"Don't mention it, Agent Lisbon. I'd do the same if it was one of my people who'd gone missing." He hesitated, then took a deep breath and continued, "I have to ask, are you likely to go near the Kendra Young International School for Gifted Girls run by the Watchers?"

Lisbon arched one eyebrow at him. "Not that I know of, no."

"If you do, there are a few rules you need to be aware of. Do not ever speak to any of the girls without one of their guardians being present. I really, really mean that. Do not, under any circumstance, make any of the girls upset, and God help you if you make them cry. Oh, and do not, under any circumstance, leave any of those male agents alone with the one they call Faith."

She fought and failed to hide a smile. "I wouldn't speak to a child without an adult present anyway. Who's this Faith character?" She didn't remember hearing the name from Buffy or her friends.

"She's…" the Lieutenant hesitated again, "she's different. But the one you really need to watch is Xander Harris. Keep an eye on him."

Lisbon blinked. Xander Harris had been the nice, welcoming, slightly goofy member of the group she had met six months ago. If anything, she'd have said he was the least dangerous of them all. "I'll bear that in mind," she said with a small laugh.

"Agent Lisbon, I'm not kidding," Lieutenant Daniels said with deadly seriousness, catching hold of her arm to emphasise his point. "Do not upset these girls. Xander Harris is not a man to be taken lightly."

"I get it, Lieutenant, but all I'm interested in is finding my missing agent."

"We'll give you any help you may need," he reassured her. Lisbon sincerely hoped she wouldn't require any help. The ideal scenario would be to find Grace quickly, in a safe situation, and then spend the next six or seven weeks yelling at her for worrying them all. Ever the realist though, Lisbon doubted it was going to be that easy.


A/N: Just a quick note - I forgot to mention that this is set immediately after Christmas, just before the schools go back. This is vaguely relevant, I promise.