It took him a month to come to terms with Red John's death. Not that he regretted it, of course.
He just felt he had failed his family once again. He should have made Red John pay for what he had done. An overdose of sleeping pills seemed far too merciful an end for the serial killer who had destroyed so many lives.
Well, nothing could be done about it anyway. His quest for revenge was over for good.
Jane actually didn't know what to do with his life now.
Red John's passing obviously hadn't brought his wife and daughter back. He was utterly alone, finally devoid of any aim or purpose.
Now there was just one place where he'd rather be.
He knocked softly at the door, wondering if he should have waited till the morning. It was quite late after all.
Lisbon came a couple of minutes later – she was barefoot, and had just her jersey on.
Neither of them spoke as she stepped aside and let him in.
He took a deep breath. "Well, I'm back".
She stared at him for a moment before throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.
As he relaxed against her, Jane felt he owed her the truth. "You know that I would have killed him if I'd gotten the chance, don't you?"
Lisbon didn't loosen her grip. "I know".
On a sudden impulse she stood on tiptoe and tentatively brushed her lips against his. That caught him off guard, and he didn't respond at once.
Awkwardly she pulled away, and was about to apologize when he drew her closer and slowly kissed her back.
It looked like there was indeed some light for him beyond the darkness he'd been living in for so long.
