Cassandra Fitzgerald had been murdered, that was determined very quickly - C.o.D. was drowning, but following a stab to the back of the head. Because of this, it also quickly became clear that whoever the BAU was looking for probably wasn't responsible for her death, though there was always the possibility that Cassie had been different because her relationship to the unsub had been more personal or unusual in some other way.

And Todd Pearson? His connections to the victims were no stronger one way than another. In fact, as it turned out, they were the exact same connection: He was a history teacher at a local community college, and many of the victims of the BAU's case - as well as Cassie - had taken his class.

The teams exchanged evidence, giving very little to the BAU, but a great deal to the CBI - a preliminary profile, even, far more than the CBI usually went into the field with, minimal though it was.

Of all the members of the CBI, it was Patrick Jane who worked well with the BAU, following the same lines of logic they did and seeing similar angles on what there was to look at. Lisbon, despite her professionalism, several times found herself protesting what seemed to her to be an unreasonable leap of logic on Jane's part, only for Hotch or another member of the BAU to back him up. After several of these, she felt obligated to protest, "We should focus on the facts, not count on guesswork!"

"Ma'am, criminal profiling is far from guesswork," Hotch told her; "while it may not be an exact science, even preliminary profiles can provide a great deal of insight into who we're looking for. If we turn out to be wrong in some regard, we will adjust the profile accordingly."

Lisbon blushed, and was silent after that.

Though he was more similar in his methods to the BAU than anyone in the CBI, Jane was also very different, and he was able to provide some perspectives on the BAU case that none of the Federal Agents would have thought of, and which were quite helpful. After several hours of sharing evidence, Lisbon felt very overstepped, and Jane seemed to be the one leading the team, as well as the only one with helpful insight on the federal case.

When the time came to finally go out and talk to Todd Pearson, as well as other potential suspects, Lisbon insisted that Jane stay behind; she didn't say it directly, but while Jane working well with the BAU in the office was all fine and good - even a stroke of incredibly good luck - she didn't trust them to take his behavior in the field with the same stride. Jane didn't protest, saying he was tired anyway from hours of talking and wanted to rest on his couch. This did cause some raised eyebrows among the BAU, but there was no fallout for it, and Lisbon and Hotch went to talk to Todd Pearson together, other members of the teams pursuing people of interest in their respective cases.

Finally, Jane on his couch and Garcia at her computers were the only ones not out chasing bad guys. Jane was tired, but more than that, he needed some time to think, and not just about the cases. Crossing paths with the BAU was an interesting development he had never expected…and while Red John was his, and his alone, he couldn't deny that if anyone could help him, it was the BAU. If he could just get them to understand that Red John was his…

"Hey, Patrick?"

Jane was startled out of his reverie before he even really got started by Garcia's voice. He raised his head. "Yes, Penny?" he asked.

She smiled. "What's going on with you and Agent Lisbon?" she asked; apparently, she had nothing to do at that moment, and felt the need to gossip.

Jane managed not to roll his eyes, instead smiling and countering, "What's going on with you and Agent Morgan?"

She laughed, then became interested in something on one of her monitors and started typing at remarkable speed. Jane had a feeling she wasn't done, though, and sure enough, several minutes later - perhaps while she was waiting for something to load or something - she looked at him again and said teasingly, "I may not be a professional profiler myself, but I know you didn't answer my question."

Jane suppressed a sigh. "Lisbon and I are very good friends," he said. "I know I can trust her, and…I hope she knows she can trust me, with most things, at least - maybe not her career…We've saved each other's lives a couple of times…She tries to keep me from doing anything stupid and ending up in jail or worse, I try to do what I have to to catch killers even if it might get her in trouble, we end up splitting the difference most of the time, but I close cases, and in her words, most days, that's enough."

"And the days when it's not?" Garcia asked.

"She never did say," Jane said. He did sigh then, and he said, "She understands me, and I understand her…and we respect each other's virtues and tolerate each other's faults. My faults are a lot more numerous than hers, but she's…she's very tolerant, all things considered. She's a good friend, I'm very fortunate to have her as my boss, and I try to be a good friend to her in return, when I can."

"That wasn't what I was asking," Garcia said.

"I know," Jane said, "but I was answering your question honestly."

"And there's nothing else going on?" Garcia asked.

Jane chuckled in spite of himself, then held up his left hand to show off the easiest way to end this conversation, his smile fading. "In case you haven't noticed, Penny, I'm married," he said.

"Not to her?"

"Not to her," he confirmed, unwilling to say more just then.

But Garcia wasn't done. "And you would never, ever cheat on your wife, is that it?"

"Of course I wouldn't," he said, hoping she would just drop it.

"Huh," Garcia said, and she returned her attention to her computers. After a moment, she said, "Your wife is a very lucky lady, then."

"No she's not," Jane said, a bitter taste in his mouth; "trust me."

He was extremely grateful when Garcia said nothing more and he was left to his thoughts. Still, he couldn't keep thoughts of his wife out of the things he was puzzling over. She would have wanted him to swallow his pride, forget his vendetta, and ask for help - he knew that without any doubt. But…But…

But Red John is mine, he thought, and there was nothing else to it, really - Red John himself had even signed his letters to Jane, "Forever yours". He wouldn't want Jane to ask for the BAU's help - he'd much rather Jane keep it between the two of them. There had been a time when Jane would have felt the same way, too…but after rescuing Lisbon from Red John's clutches, saving her life without seconds to spare…after helping her through her trauma, seeing just exactly what Red John could do to a person, even a person as strong as her…Red John needed to be stopped, there was no denying that, and the sooner the better.

Unable to make up his mind, Jane turned his thoughts to the two murder investigations currently at hand. There, he started to put some things together, make some progress, though he would need to hear from Lisbon and Hotch to confirm some of his suspicions. But even as he thought about the cases, he unconsciously fiddled with his wedding ring, his mission in life set aside, but far from forgotten, as he fell into a doze.

~o~

Hotch and Lisbon did indeed confirm Jane's suspicions, and he told them that, as unlikely as it seemed, Todd Pearson probably wasn't responsible for either murder case. Lisbon stubbornly tried to hold onto her suspicion of him until the evidence ruled him out, but Hotch, upon hearing Jane's reasoning, agreed with him.

The cases proceeded. With the help of the BAU, Jane didn't even have to pull any semi-legal stunts to catch Cassie's killer - between their profiling and Lisbon's team's own skills, they had their man before nightfall. As Jane had predicted, it was not Todd Pearson.

The BAU's case, naturally, took a bit longer; because of the Todd Pearson connection, the CBI was still technically obligated to assist the BAU in their case until it had been closed, despite their end being wrapped up. Lisbon's job was reduced to pretty much nothing as Jane and the BAU, with Rigsby, Cho, and Van Pelt as their errand runners, swept through the case. Jane repeatedly demonstrated his abilities as a "mentalist" - a "master manipulator of thoughts and behavior" many times over - and the members of the BAU, rather than being exasperated like most law enforcers, were extremely impressed with his abilities. With his help, they created a finalized profile of the serial killer they were looking for and, a day later, arrested their man - again, not Todd Pearson.

It had been pure chance that Lisbon's team and the BAU had crossed paths…almost as though it had been destined.

With the cases closed, the two teams shook hands, exchanged pleasantries and formalities, and Jane offered to show the BAU out. In truth, he wanted to be alone with them for a bit - he had made up his mind, and the time had come.