A/N: I can't believe we're already half way through these stories! Thankyou all for reading and reviewing, thanks to you guys I got my highest number of views so far yesterday!

I completely love Lisbon's niece Annabeth, so I wanted to write a story with her in it. This prompt was a bit tricky, but eventually I found a way to include it. Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own the Mentalist :(

Word - 'roundabout' Word Count - 462

The house was bustling with noise as Lisbon set the table. It was rare that she had anyone over to her tiny apartment, and even less common for her little brother to be in town. It had been months since Tommy had been caught up in one of her cases, and she had barely even spoken to him since.

"Aunty Reese!" a young girl's voice called from the next room. Lisbon smiled. Annabeth reminded her so much of herself at that age, only much less troubled.

"Yes Annie?" she called back, finally remembering the nickname her niece preferred.

"You reckon I could come to work with you tomorrow?" she asked as she entered the kitchen/dining room area.

"Why?" queried Lisbon suspiciously.

"It was fun last time. I could help you, Patrick Jane can teach me more tricks and it would be really cool."

"I don't think you leaning any more tricks from Jane is a good idea," Lisbon laughed, remembering the last time. Rigsby had not been impressed when she'd pick pocketed his ID without him even noticing. Jane, on the other hand, had enjoyed it immensely.

"Please," Annie begged.

"Yeah, please," chuckled Tommy as he joined them.

"Why? What are you doing tomorrow?" Lisbon questioned, eyebrows raised.

"Nothin' much," he shrugged. "Just having a break from this nutcase," he joked, ruffling his daughter's hair. She scowled for a moment, but couldn't help grinning.

"And it'd be educational, coz I wanna be a CBI agent when I finish school," Annie continued.

"You don't know that yet, you're only fourteen," Lisbon told her, though she had almost given up trying to change her niece's mind about her future career. She wanted her doing something much less dangerous, and much less time-consuming. But Annie had her heart set on being just like her aunty.

"I do know," she retorted.

"All right, all right, I suppose you can come in just this once, as long as you promise to behave," Lisbon sighed.

"Okay, I promise," Annabeth replied with a huge smile, hugging Lisbon in pleasure.

In a strange, roundabout way, Lisbon was actually glad she'd given in. Even though having Annie there would reduce the chance that she'd get any work done significantly, she was grateful for the extra time to spend with her niece before she left to go back home with her father.

Lisbon turned her attention back to readying their dinner.

'Hey Aunty Reese, you reckon I could borrow some money?" Annie asked.

Lisbon reached into her pocket for her wallet, and was surprised to find it gone. She turned around, and saw Annie, grinning broadly, the wallet clutched in her hand. Tommy burst into laughter.

"I think I'll keep you and Jane separate tomorrow," Lisbon told her with a smile.