Disclaimer: No infringement intended. I do not own the Mentalist.

A/N: Here is the chapter everyone has been waiting for!! I hope you all like it. I worked my ass off on this one to make it as perfect as I could get it considering the circumstances.

A soft noise echoed from the door of Lisbon's apartment, the woman herself was still curled up under the warm blankets on her bed. The sound became louder, finally traveling up the stairs and causing her to shift. Slowly being pulled from a dreamless sleep, Lisbon groaned and rolled to look at the clock. The numbers winking back at her told her that it was only six in the morning. There was still a good forty five minutes before her alarm went off. Who the hell would be pounding on her door so early?

She thought she'd just wait it out and go back to sleep but then she remembered the note Jane had left. Her eyes flew open as she scrambled out of the bed practically falling flat on her face before running down the stairs. This was just her luck, he'd told her to be up early and she had completely forgotten to set the alarm before falling asleep. Brushing her hair back in hopes to tame it, she jerked the door open still in her pajamas which consisted of an over sized shirt and shorts. It didn't actually cross her mind that it wasn't exactly professional to let him see her in such attire.

"Hey sleepyhead, 'bout time. I've been knocking for twenty minutes."

"Sorry." The aroma of the food he was holding in one hand bombarded her senses. She'd skipped dinner and went straight to bed, her stomach was now making that known. "Biscuits and gravy?"

"Yep." His bright sunny smile left her slightly wary of what it was that he wanted to tell her. There was something in his eyes that told her he was scared about something. Ushering him through the door and over to the table, Lisbon shivered when his eyes roamed over her form. The room wasn't yet lightened by the sun which gave the situation an almost romantic and forbidden feel. Excusing herself she went to get them forks and something to drink.

"So what do you want to tell me? About the case? I know you're hiding something." Initially Lisbon had thought that it would be easier for her to control the urge to kiss him if she wasn't facing him. It seemed like a good enough plan until she heard his voice close behind her, very close. His breath was warming her ear, his chest almost pressed into her back causing her hands to fumble with the mugs she was holding. "Jane?"

"I have something important that I need to share with you but I need you to hear me out. No interrupting."

Jane wasn't sure how he was going to do this, but so far it wasn't going anything like he'd imagined. Firstly he never thought he'd have Lisbon practically pressed into her counter top. He also never thought his voice would sound so unsteady. Then again he hadn't expected her to still be in her pajamas so that might have been a contribution to why he wanted nothing more than to pin her to the counter and forget explaining anything. The woman never could make anything easy on him.

Even now she didn't speak, she just nodded her head and waited for him to continue but he didn't. Instead of verbally announcing to her what he was thinking, he took a step back to clear his head. The scent of her did nothing to help his situation. He gently tugged on her elbow until she turned around to face him, wide green eyes staring up at him. He noted how tired she looked and silently berated himself for picking early in the morning to do this. To end the charade he'd been living. The sun was making itself visible, casting an orange glow over the room and making Lisbon look like a goddess. Messy hair and all.

"I uh, when Red John killed my family I became something. A terrible..."

"No Jane, you're not te.."

"Shh, no interrupting remember? I'm trying to say that Red John was waiting for me. When I got home, read that horrid note and opened that door I never expected him to still be there." Jane knew what she was thinking just by the way her eyebrows shot up.

"You saw Red John? He was there?"

"You really aren't that great at this not interrupting thing. I didn't see him, I don't even remember much. He's far more powerful than I originally thought. He's, Lisbon I know this will sound crazy just believe me please. He's not human. He's this monster..." Pausing to gauge her reaction Jane realized she had no idea what he meant by that statement. She was thinking of 'monster' as in what tons of people considered him. A serial killer is typically labeled a monster. "A real one Lisbon. I know this sounds crazy but Red John is a vampire. That night when I came home and he was waiting, he was there to see my reaction and to...What I'm trying to say is I'm not human either."

Silence settled over the room, the only sound being that of the early morning outside of Lisbon's apartment. Her brow scrunched in confusion and he knew she was trying to piece together everything he'd just said. It was an earfull and he prepared himself for the worst.

"Are you okay Jane? Not human, are you saying you're a vampire too?" Her words were low and calm but Jane knew it was only because she didn't believe him. That much was clear in the way she'd said it. This was what he'd been afraid of. Stepping even further away from her, he nodded solemnly hoping she'd see that he wasn't lying or nuts. "Okay, this isn't funny Jane. It's too early and I don't want to play games."

"I'm not playing games Lisbon. I know it sounds crazy but you have to believe me." Jane was a little shocked himself by the almost pleading tone of his voice, it worried him that she had such a big effect on him. She just shook her head with a somewhat disbelieving smile and filled the mugs she was still holding in her hands. "Teresa..."

"This isn't crazy...this is a dream. I'm dreaming, God I have the weirdest dreams." She seemed completely content with her explanation as she handed him a cup of coffee and tried to move past him and over to the food. Jane set the coffee down, caught her elbow and pulled her flush against him letting down his last barriers. A few steps forward and he had her pinned against the wall. He didn't know what he was going to do if she didn't believe him. This was important, this was something that could ruin their friendship. "Patrick what are..."

He opened his mouth to silence her, knowing the fangs that were now present would do the trick. The words she'd been saying stuck in her throat and her own jaw dropped. He felt her tense and saw the horror that flickered across her face. It wasn't something he wanted to see. No man wanted to see the woman he cared about scared of him. Bringing his free hand up to trace her jaw, Jane silently cursed at the way she tensed even further.

"This isn't a dream Lisbon. This is real. I exist, I'm not human and I can't do anything more to prove it. Believe." The coffee cup she'd been holding dropped to the floor, busting into a million pieces and splattering the hot brown liquid all over the tile. The sound of the shattering porcelain echoed in his ears as Lisbon's shaking hands pushed at his chest. "Teresa calm down."

"Get off me, go! Jane let go." She was struggling against his hold, absolute terror present in her eyes. She didn't notice nor care that his teeth were back to normal and Jane gently pinned her arms above her head. It didn't help with the fear he could still see in her gaze but it was the only thing he knew would work.

"Do you believe me?"

"I-I don't know! Let me go, please let me go." He wanted to, he wanted to make sure she wasn't afraid of him. That she believed and that she knew he was the same as always. He wouldn't hurt her, ever. She needed to know that. He knew it was dumb of him to pin her to the wall, that wasn't something that screamed I-won't-hurt-you but it was the only thing he could think of at the time.

"I need to know that you believe me and that you aren't afraid."

"I, can you please leave?" Lisbon's chest heaved as she tried thinking of ways to get him out of her apartment. She still wasn't sure what to think. Jane had just told her that Red John had turned him into a vampire. What the hell was she supposed to think? It was a wonder that her brain was functioning at all. She hoped this was all a bad dream. Vampires weren't real....were they? The teeth had looked pretty real. Why did she want to believe Jane so badly? It might have been because she feared what the alternative would mean. If none of this was real then that made him crazy and she didn't want him to be crazy. "Please Patrick, I just need to think."

"I'll go but don't be afraid of me okay? I'm the same guy you've been working with all this time and I would never hurt you." His hands released her arms as he took a step away from her and then retreated to the door.

"Wait, you're telling me the truth?" A nod was her only answer and he wouldn't even look at her to see what she was doing but he knew she was toying with the cross she wore around her neck. "I uh, I still think I'm dreaming." He knew that was a lie, she was making up excuses so her world didn't seem so much like a lie. A beautiful cover up of something darker, more sinister.

"You would've found out before the case is over so...See you at work Lisbon." Without another word, Jane slipped out the front door leaving Lisbon alone to think. He walked a few steps ignoring the sun's rays and refusing to let himself run back inside. His words had been spoken now all he could do was wait. He knew he'd either just ruined their friendship or strengthened it but he wasn't sure which one it was. He would give Lisbon the time she needed but they'd have to talk about this again eventually. He had left for one sole reason: she'd been afraid of him. Something he had been scared of. He made a pact with himself that he would continue the conversation later whether she wanted to face the truth or not. He needed her help and trust on this.

Lisbon sank to her knees picking up the shards of shattered glass. This was just too much. She'd been woken at six in the morning to be told there was such things as vampires and that her friend was one of them? The mug of coffee she'd poured for him was sitting on the counter, his breakfast still on the table and suddenly Lisbon felt like the biggest ass ever. He'd brought food for two and she'd kicked him out before they could even discuss things. She knew Jane wouldn't blame her for this but truth was she blamed herself. If this was all true then everything she'd believed in was gone. Everything she'd ever found comfort in knowing had just been compromised. Her pounding heart kept her company as she searched through the food. She figured that after work she'd confront him.

A part of her believed him. A big part and that was the problem or was it? She couldn't just go around saying everything was fine when something like this had happened. A part of her wished she was still sleeping and this was all one big scary messy dream. There was no way he could've faked the teeth though. Her entire world had just been rocked by something that was supposed to only be a fictional character. She didn't know what to believe. Maybe this was all a dream. It'd make things easier if she had only dreamed of the look in his eyes when the fangs had over taken his mouth. She found herself wondering why he'd picked now of all times to tell her something like that. Just another unanswered questions. She had a lot of those now.

a/n: I know it's not particularly happy. There will be more on this particular conversation soon. I'm not going to just leave it there.