Lisbon had entertained many a thought since the demise of Red John. Two years worth of them to be precise. Dreaming about the day Patrick Jane would inevitably walk back into her life, a trail of devastation in his wake. But never did she expect to fall for another man.

Ok, she maybe she hadn't fallen as such, but she was definitely on the way there.

Agent Marcus Pike. He was handsome, with a strong jawline and big arms which when encircled around her waist made her feel safe.

Safe. That was how she would describe him. He wasn't likely to run off and murder a man with his bare hands, wasn't about to sleep with another woman just to pry information from her about her lover, wouldn't leave her stranded on a beach after all but confessing his feelings for her. Not like Jane.

Jane.

The man she's involuntarily set out to save from a lifetime of depression, to snatch from the grips of grief he'd been infested with ever since they'd met. And the only man she'd ever loved with a passion so deep, one glimpse of his beautiful smile had her falling in love with him all over again within seconds.

And then he'd left her. Again. He killed a man in cold blood – deservedly though it was, and left her at the mercy of the FBI while her career as an agent was torn to shreds in front of her. Left her with nothing, save for a garbled answer phone message that she didn't get until the FBI had interrogated her and her team.

"I'm going to miss you"

But then, out of the blue, the letters came.

"Dear Lisbon.

I hope this finds you well. All is well here. I have my routines. Weather's finally turned. It's a little cooler, far from cold. But the ocean's still warm. And with the warm motion currents comes an abundance of sealife. Just yesterday I watched a pod of dolphins play so close to shore I could almost touch them. They're the kind of things I think you'd enjoy."

And she read one every night for two year straight.

Just when she thought she was over him, there he was, waltzing into her life without a care in the world. Almost as if he'd never been gone.

But he had. She knew it best of all.

At first she was thrilled to see him, his wild beard making him look so handsome she couldn't stop herself from nibbling at her lip – wondering what it would be like to run her nose across the stubble along his jaw...

And then the anger set in. She remembered being stranded on a beach, feeling as if he'd stolen her heart all over again. Remembered seeing the other women he'd flirted with, without so much as a glance in her direction. Remembered Lorelei. That one hurt the most. No sooner had he told her he loved her, there he was rolling around in the sheets with another woman.

Just another lie to add to the count.

So she turned away from him. And found comfort in the arms of Agent Marcus Pike.

She knew he was jealous, it was hard not to notice, but she kept her distance still, hoping that he would leave her be, leave her alone to test the waters of her new relationship.

She knew he'd noticed she'd been on a date, afterall her hair was still straight from the night before, knew he'd realised they'd been dancing because he was there in the kitchenette as she'd been humming the tunes from the Saxaphone Bar in town. And there could be no denying that he knew she'd slept with him, because the minute she walked in he'd simply stared at her before throwing his mug across the sink and storming out of the room.

Lisbon had entertained many a thought since the demise of Red John. Two years worth of them to be precise. But never did she expect to fall for another man.

Because the man she wanted had let her down.

Again.