A/N: Thank you to everyone for all the amazing support for the last chapter; it really made me smile. I'm so pleased that you are enjoying this story :-)

Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist.

The following morning Teresa was busy straightening up her living room when she heard the doorbell ring. She looked at the clock and saw that it was only 9:50am; she wasn't expecting Patrick for at least another ten minutes. She opened the front door and was greeted by her best friend, Grace Van Pelt. "Hey Teresa!" she said in her usual chirpy tone.

"Grace? Is everything alright?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I just stopped by to give you this," she told her holding out an envelope. "I was going to come by on Friday but Wayne and I are going away this weekend and I needed time to pack, so I thought I'd drop by today."

Teresa frowned a little "Oh Grace, you didn't have to do this for me again." She said as she invited her in.

"It's the least I can do, after everything you've done for me. I mean, you helped me and Wayne get together, and he's just the sweetest guy I've ever known!"

"Thank you." She said softly, her voice filled with gratitude.

Grace gave her a quizzical look, "Teresa, is something wrong?" she asked.

"No, why?"

"Well, you've been cleaning up….." she said as she looked around. "you only do that when you're upset?"

"Actually, I'm expecting someone. He'll be here shortly." She told her.

"He?" Grace inquired, her interest now peaked.

Teresa felt a slight blush creep up her cheeks, "It's not like that. He's my new neighbor, he's coming over to help me with something."

Grace raised an eyebrow, "That something would involve the two of you in…"

"No!" Teresa interrupted, her face getting hotter. "He's helping me with my novel." She explained.

"The love scenes?" Grace asked, almost giggling.

"Grace!"

"Okay, okay. I'll stop! So what's he like?"

Teresa thought about this for a second before saying, "he's….he's kinda nice. I was helping him unpack yesterday and he made us lunch – he can really cook!"

"Hmmm so far so good," Grace said. "What's his name?"

"Patrick."

"Patrick what?" Grace asked.

"I don't know. I only just met him. But.."

"But what?"

"When I was over there helping him I accidentally opened a box full of his personal stuff, you know like old trophies? He said they were things from his childhood and that he was embarrassed to let anyone else see them, which I completely understand….but the thing is, we were getting on fine before that, but afterwards…he started acting a little strange!"

Grace frowned, "Strange like how?"

"He kept staring at me the whole time; I think he was really upset."

"Did he say anything?"

"No, neither of us did, until I made to leave and he tried to apologize. We had some tea and talked a little. We kinda went back to normal after that, but it was a little creepy!"

"Be careful Teresa. After what happened with Jack…"

"I know," she said, unconsciously hugging herself in the process.

"I better go, get out of the way before your neighbor arrives, but if you ever need anything, just call okay?"

"I will. Thanks again Grace, for everything. I'll pay you back soon, I promise. Patrick's really good, I'm sure this book will turn things around!" she told her.

"No problem Teresa. It's okay really. Take care."

Teresa nodded, "Say hi to that boyfriend of yours for me!"

Grace smiled, "I will." She gave her best friend a hug and said goodbye.

After closing the front door Teresa slowly walked into the kitchen where she was startled by a male voice. "So, I'm really good am I?" He asked, a huge grin on his face.

"Patrick!" she exclaimed, her voice rising in pitch.

He smiled, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

She looked at him as he leant against the door frame, his arms crossed but relaxed. "How did you get in here and how long have you been standing there?"

"Oh not long, just got here, and the door was already opened. That's not very safe." He explained.

"It's hot, I needed some air so I left it opened and besides no one usually jumps over the fence to sneak in!" Her voice was calm but it was clear she was a little annoyed.

Patrick kept the smile on his face as he walked towards her. Damn she's cute when she's angry! He thought and quickly pushed the thought aside.

Teresa felt her anger melt as he came closer to her. Damn, that smile will be my undoing one day! She thought and then crossed her arms and scowled in an attempt to stop the blush she felt from showing on her cheeks. "Let's go into the living room," she said, attempting to keep a business-like tone in her voice. "I have the laptop all set up." She began to walk towards her desk. "I had a great idea last night about what happens next…"

Patrick grabbed her arm mid-stride. "I have a better idea, let's go to the park!"

Teresa looked at him askance, "Patrick, you promised you'd help with the novel!"

He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face him. "And I will. That's what I'm here to do."

Her hands now moved to her hips and she glared at him, "Going to the park isn't helping!"

He smiled, "On the contrary my dear, what better place to be inspired than one where you're surrounded by nature, beautiful greenery, clear blue skies…"

"Patrick!"

"Teresa, don't tell me that you'd rather be stuck in here on a day like this? It's like an oven in here! I don't know how you'll be able to concentrate!" he could see that she was still reluctant and he smiled at the little pouting expression on her face. "Look, try it for an hour, if you still want to come back here and write then that's what we'll do, okay?"

She sighed in defeat, "Fine." She relented and Patrick smiled.

They arrived at the park half an hour later; Patrick had decided to take the scenic route and had added an extra twenty minutes onto the journey. They got out of Patrick's car and he took out a little picnic basket and blanket from the back seat. He then led her to a quiet shady spot under a tree. Patrick spread the blanket on the grass and gestured for Teresa to sit down. He took his place opposite her and leant backwards on his hands, taking a moment to take in his surroundings, smiling as the warm sun caressed his face. "Isn't this so much better than being inside?" he asked as he turned to look at her and he saw that she was glaring at him again.

"You realise that the drive counts as part of the hour." She told him and he laughed.

"Take a look around you Teresa!" he encouraged. "What do you see?"

"Trees…grass…kids…"

"Look beyond the obvious!" he encouraged.

"Just how is this supposed to help me write?" she asked, unable to keep the irritation out of her voice.

"We are grumpy aren't we? Not a morning person I take it?" he teased.

"I haven't even had my coffee yet!"

"You don't need all that caffeine, it's not good for you, just relax, enjoy the sunshine." He soothed.

"I am relaxed!" she insisted and Patrick laughed and he took a deep breath. "It's the beauty of nature. Look at this," he said as he picked a flower from a nearby bed "This place is so full of life, energy, how can you not be inspired here?" he gave the flower to Teresa and she sniffed it.

"I guess so." She agreed.

"The reason I brought us here is so that you can relax a little. You're too tense, it's hard to think when you get like that. Here, have some juice." He took out two bottles of orange juice from the picnic basket and gave one to her. She took it and smiled in spite of herself.

"Thanks." She couldn't help the little sliver of happiness that crept through her heart at the gesture. She watched as took out some bagels and some fruit and set them on two plates. He had gone to the trouble of packing them a picnic breakfast. She wondered how he had known she hadn't eaten yet. "I'm sorry." She almost whispered.

"For what?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

"For being a pain in the ass."

"Meh. Don't worry about it." He replied and then opened the bottle and sipped took a sip. "Have some food, low blood sugar could be the real cause of your crankiness!" he teased and winked at her.

"Don't call me cranky!" she told him in a serious tone but her eyes revealed the playful intent behind the comment.

Patrick waited for her to start eating before he did so too. He watched as she took a big bite out of the poppy seeded bagel and began to chew enthusiastically. "These are my favorite!" she said in between bites. "How did you know?"

He grinned and shrugged, "Lucky guess." He replied mysteriously as he ate a strawberry. He began to feel himself relax for the first time since that awkward moment in his kitchen the day before. He was glad that she didn't seem to hold it against him. His felt his gaze drift towards her face and he noticed how the green of her eyes sparkled in the morning sun and how her whole posture had changed in the last few minutes. She almost seemed like a different person. I must remember to bring some food by whenever I come over! He mused.

His eyes wandered lazily to her hands, "So, is there a mister Teresa?" he asked, already guessing the answer by the absence of a wedding ring.

Teresa suddenly stopped eating at shook her head, unable to meet his gaze. "No," she told him, and then added, almost as an afterthought, "there was once, but...it didn't work out."

"I'm sorry." He said his eyes still fixed on her.

"Don't be, it's not your fault." She tried to smile but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Boyfriend?" he asked.

"No, no boyfriend right now. Why are you so interested in my love life Patrick?" She teased.

"Just wondering." He picked up another strawberry. "Here, try this, they're really sweet." He told her as handed her the piece of fruit. Teresa took it from him and savored the sweetness as a little bit of juice trickled down her chin. Patrick took out a napkin from the basket and gave it to her.

"Thanks," she said, "so, what about you? Is there a Mrs Patrick?"

"No," he began, "never been married."

"Really?"

"You sound surprised?"

"A little," she admitted. "Girlfriend?"

He laughed, "Why are you so interested in my love life Teresa?"

"Oh, just wondering!" she mimicked and smiled.

Patrick took another sip of his orange juice. "No girlfriend either."

Good to know. Teresa thought but kept this to herself.

Patrick watched as a crimson blush slowly colored her cheeks. That's interesting… he thought.

"Patrick!" Teresa whispered, eyes wide. "Don't move! On your arm, look!" she indicated. Patrick turned to look at what she was pointing at and saw that a small butterfly had landed on him. "Oh, it's beautiful!" she moved in closer to have a better look.

He gently picked it up and held it in the palm of his hand. "See Teresa, this is what I'm talking about! The wonder of nature! How the smallest things can affect us so profoundly. Life is like that too. Sometimes, it only takes one small thing to change everything!"

They both watched in awe as the butterfly flapped its wings a few times before flying off into the air. Teresa suddenly grabbed Patrick's arm in excitement as a wave of inspiration hit her. "You've just given me an idea!" she exclaimed as she hurriedly got the laptop out of her bag. She stopped for a moment and looked at him, a gleam of mischief in her eyes. "Wait, just now...you didn't think it was a spider on your arm did you?" she asked, remembering the look on his face.

He lay back on one arm, resting his head on his hand. "Off course not! I could tell by the way you were whispering. If it was a spider I'm sure you would have screamed like a little girl!"

"Hey!" she gave him a gentle kick and he rubbed his leg, pretending that it had hurt. She smiled as she began to type.

They had ended up spending the next three hours in the park and then Patrick took her for a walk by a pond where they fed the ducks and Patrick made ripples in the water with his fingers. They talked about the ripple effect in life and Teresa made notes of a few more ideas. They then had lunch in a small cafe and by the time Teresa got home it was late afternoon. She smiled as she said goodbye to him and walked through her front door. She was in the best mood she had been in a long time. She couldn't remember the last time she had spent the day just having so much fun. She felt so inspired and energized as she sat at her desk at opened up her laptop. She couldn't figure out why she felt so happy, maybe it was the fresh air and sunshine, maybe it was the fact that she had been surrounded by so much natural beauty. Maybe it was the company? She thought.

It was 11pm when she had finally decided to call it a night. She was still happily humming to herself as she brushed her teeth and got ready for bed. She had made good progress today and was finally starting to feel as if things would begin to turn around for her in her writing. She loved her little semi-detached home and hated the thought of having to move out if she couldn't afford to pay her mortgage. Once she had changed into her nightclothes, she turned off the light and got into bed. As she rested her head onto the pillow she began to feel the tiredness take over and she was knew that she would soon fall asleep. She smiled, pleased at the prospect of finally getting a good night's sleep without having to turn the TV on for soothing background noise. She felt her eyes begin to close but just as she was beginning to relax she heard a muted crashing sound. She sat up, startled, put the light on and went to the closet to retrieve her baseball bat. This is it! She thought, I'm actually being burglarized! She cautiously headed for the door, phone in hand, ready to dial 911 when she heard another sound. She stopped walking and listened and heard it again. It was a quieter sound, like an animal whimpering and she realized that it wasn't coming from her house at all, but from next door. Patrick's house. The wall that separated their two bedrooms and never been very soundproof. She put her head to the wall and listened and it soon became clear that he was crying. He must have been sitting very close to the wall for her to hear him, she thought. Suddenly there was a thumping noise and Teresa instinctively pulled her head away. Patrick was hitting the wall. Her happy mood soon evaporated, only to be replaced by one of worry as she sank to the floor and listened to him cry. She stayed like that until sleep finally took over, the last conscious thought on her mind was concern for her new friend.