A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay in posting this chapter but as some of you know, my dad spent most of January in hospital and unfortunately he had to go back in again this week and I just haven't had enough time at my PC to work on the story I'm afraid.

That said, it's here now and I hope you all enjoy this instalment.

A huge thank you to all that have reviewed so far, I shall be getting back to those reviews that I can at some point today but I fear it will be the most cursory of thank you's but I like to reply personally to all the comments and I will do :)

CHAPTER 10

"Despatch confirms that back up's on its way," said Warner as he ended his call and looked over at Grace. "They're sending an ambulance too, just in case."

Van Pelt nodded then focussed on her laptop trying to quell her growing alarm. The little dot representing Jane's phone didn't seem to be moving anymore.

"Maybe he just dropped it," Warner suggested as he navigated a tight bend.

"I hope that's all it is," Grace replied with apprehension. She couldn't understand what was going on. Lisbon's dot was as erratic as Jane's was stationery. "How long before we get there?"

"Only another couple of minutes," he answered as he turned off the trail and onto the track that led to the cabin. "It's just up here."

The ground was bumpy and Warner was forced to slow a little. As frustrating as it was when they were so close, Van Pelt remained quiet and kept her eyes glued to the screen, worried that if she looked away even for a second, the connection might be lost somehow.

There had still been no reply from Cho or Rigsby and she hadn't been able to contact the Sheriff either. The fact that Warner had told her that Newland hadn't radioed in for help was also a concern. She just wished she knew what was happening.

"That's Sheriff Newland's car," exclaimed Warner in surprise as he pulled up behind it. "I don't see him though."

Grace looked up with a frown and glanced around the area. He'd obviously stopped for a reason and the GPS was pointing to Lisbon and Jane being directly ahead. She debated whether to try Cho again then decided that time was of the essence and put the laptop onto the dash.

"They should be a little further up the track. Maybe Sheriff Newland has found them but hasn't had a chance to radio it in yet," she said hopefully. "Let's take a look around and see if we can find them."

Warner nodded his assent and they both got out of the car. Grace pulled out her gun and cautiously set off along the track, walking past the other vehicle and beyond with the deputy keeping close by her side.

xxTheMentalistxx

Jane awoke with a start. Something had disturbed his sleep but he couldn't immediately pinpoint the source. He opened his eyes and blinked blearily as he groggily tried to get his bearings. Trees, trees and more trees…and a God awful throbbing in his side. He let out a low groan of displeasure. It hadn't just been a bad dream after all; he really had been shot.

Despite his pain, he still managed a small smile to himself. At least if that part was true, then the kiss Lisbon had planted on him and those words she'd said must have happened too. Silver lining, right there.

The woods suddenly echoed with a loud gunshot snapping him back to acute awareness more effectively than a bucket of freezing cold water over his head. He drew in a sharp fearful breath as he automatically tensed. Subtle though the inadvertent movement was, it still provoked a dart of pain from his injury causing him to clutch at his side with a grimace and bite down on his lip to hold back a groan.

Squeezing his eyes closed, he hoped against hope that the shot hadn't been meant for Lisbon but his brain just couldn't seem to come up with any other plausible explanation no matter how hard he willed it to.

Panic began to well in his chest at the thought that she might be lying hurt, or worse, nearby and his not being able to do anything about it. He wasn't a man who believed in signs or omens but right at that moment he would give anything to have some indication that Lisbon was still alive and well.

The sound of rustling leaves and the snap of a twig suddenly alerted him to the fact that someone was slowly approaching. His eyelids flew open in alarm. If it was Lisbon, he was sure she would've spoken to him by now, but this person was close and getting closer every second. He futilely looked around for something…anything to protect himself but there was nothing would do much against a gun. His heart picked up its rhythm as the dire situation he was in hit home. He was the proverbial sitting duck.

"Hold it right there."

Jane almost laughed out loud in relief when he unexpectedly heard Lisbon's voice ring out strong and clear and very, very much alive. Her timing was as impeccable as always. His respite was short lived however when he heard the rest of the exchange and then the Sheriff threw in a sudden curveball that even he hadn't seen coming.

Naturally, it explained a lot of things but that was hardly useful when Lisbon was in serious trouble. He looked around on the forest floor again and saw just what he was after a couple of feet away. It would hurt like the devil to reach it but it was just the distraction he needed.

xxTheMentalistxx

Lisbon stared first at the Sheriff then at Zack and back again. She knew that she was only going to get one chance to try something so she had to make it count. She decided that Zack would be her target and hoped that if she moved quickly enough, Newland's parental instincts would kick in again and he wouldn't chance trying to shoot her in case he hit his son.

Her heart began to thump as the adrenaline started to thrum around her body making her breathing speed up. Just as she was about to launch herself at Zack, a loud cracking sound of wood splintering seemed to echo around them.

All three of them started in surprise and Zack immediately spun away trying to figure out what had caused the noise.

With Zack's back turned, Lisbon recovered quickly and promptly grabbed her chance. Without a second thought, she swung her rifle and hit the unsuspecting Sheriff hard on his wrist. He let out a yell of pain and surprise as his arm flew outwards from the impact and the pistol slipped from his grasp. The action flung the handgun in a high arc through the air to be lost a few feet away in the undergrowth.

Zack turned at the commotion and levelled his rifle, but Lisbon was already upon him having launched herself at the younger man as soon as she'd disarmed the Sheriff. She bodily charged into him, causing him to fall backwards and his finger reflexively jerked on the trigger from the impact. The bullet sliced through the air then struck the Sheriff in his right shoulder extracting yet another agonised roar from the injured man.

Lisbon and Zack landed on the ground in a tangled heap, the young man's rifle jolted out of his hands from the force of the hard fall. It skittered away across the leaves as Lisbon quickly pushed herself up and off him still holding onto her own rifle for dear life.

Zack immediately kicked out his leg and swiped her feet from under her, making her fall heavily onto her back. Her arms flung out but this time she couldn't quite keep a grip of her gun and it bumped from her grasp as she felt the breath literally knocked out of her from the fall.

Zack was on top of her in an instant, straddling her slim thighs as he pinned her arms above her head with a grin. His gaze raked down her body then he leaned in close to her as she struggled ineffectually underneath him, trying to buck him off.

"Makes me feel real good when you move like that," he told her, panting slightly as he pressed down upon her body even more.

"Stop messing around and just kill her, Zack," his father ground out from where he sat on the ground nearby, grimacing in pain. "I need to get to a hospital."

Zack glanced over at his father unconcernedly then turned back to Lisbon dipping his head even nearer to her as if to give her a kiss. Lisbon's lips curled back in disgust as the young man's breath fanned across her face in hot, rapid bursts. She hated the feeling of helplessness that their position invoked and it fuelled her anger, inciting her to jerk her head forward in a purely instinctive action and cracking him hard in the face with her forehead.

Zack immediately cried out then let go of her arms and sat back, cupping his bleeding nose. Ignoring her own pain from the violent contact, Lisbon quickly clasped her now free hands together then brought them down in a swinging arc to land squarely on his groin.

"You bitch!" he yelped as he placed a hand against the now throbbing area.

Lisbon easily pushed off the incapacitated man then turned over and scrambled up onto her hands and knees. She quickly lunged for the gun but Zack was made of sterner stuff than she'd anticipated and just as her fingertips touched the cool metal for the briefest of seconds her head was suddenly wrenched backwards as he grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her up.

She let out a little cry of pain as her hands went to her head to try and ease the ripping feeling of it being pulled out by its very roots. He let her go and she caught a fleeting look of his furious expression before he slapped her hard across the cheek with the back of his hand. Her head snapped to the side from the force of the blow and she staggered slightly as her senses swam. She lashed out at him blindly but when he hit her again, fist connecting solidly with her jaw, she went down, struggling to stay conscious.

After a few moments, Zack came and stood over her, moving to straddle her petite frame as his now procured rifle dangled casually from one hand. He stared down at the groaning brunette emotionlessly, blood streaked across his face from where he'd carelessly wiped at his nose and his eyes still watery from the dull ache that was emanating from his groin.

Lisbon desperately tried to fight through the foggy cloud that had wrapped itself around her brain and make one last ditch effort at an attempt to grab the gun but her body felt like lead. It took every ounce of willpower she had just to lift her hand only for it fall back to the ground as she channelled everything she had into just clinging onto consciousness.

Silently, Zack raised the rifle and Lisbon's eyes slid shut. She didn't want her last image to be of him, she wanted it to be of Jane, smiling and golden. A small smile touched her lips as her mind conjured up just the memory she wanted then, suddenly, a shot rang out, then another.

Lisbon gasped and tensed, waiting for the ensuing pain to encompass her body…but nothing happened. She heard a grunt then a thump then running.

"No!" the Sheriff exclaimed, his drawn out voice cracking in misery.

Slowly, she opened her eyes in confusion. Instead of seeing Zack standing over her, it was a very worried looking Van Pelt who was just holstering her gun.

"Are you OK, Boss?" the redhead asked urgently as she dropped to her knees by the brunette's side and began checking over her.

"I…I think so," Lisbon murmured as she attempted to move, the reprieve from certain death was a little disorientating and she needed a few moments to gather her wits about her again. "What happened?"

Van Pelt helped her to sit up and she saw Zack lying at the bottom of her feet, one bullet hole to his chest and another to his head.

"I shot him," the junior agent explained. "He was going to kill you."

Lisbon nodded and gave her a grateful, albeit small, smile as a thousand questions raced through her still slightly foggy brain but she pushed them all aside for later. Right now, she needed to get to Jane.

"Thanks. Great shooting, Grace. Now, help me up," she ordered, grasping Van Pelt's arm.

"But the blood…you're hurt, you should stay still," the redhead told her as she pointedly stared at the dark red stain on the brunette's top.

"It's not mine," she said her voice laced with trepidation.

Van Pelt's eyes widened in alarm as she realised what that meant and hurriedly helped her boss to stand. As she'd feared, Jane hadn't just dropped his phone after all.

Head throbbing, Lisbon swayed slightly as dizziness overcame her for a moment. When the spinning sensation had abated, she glanced over and saw that Deputy Warner was standing near to the Sheriff, his gun trained on his superior even though his face still displayed the visible shock of hearing the man call out so unhappily at the demise of a murderer and was now in tears.

"Be careful, he's in on it," the brunette cautioned as she walked unsteadily by. "That was his son."

Warner swallowed hard and nodded in acknowledgment, his grip tightening around his pistol as he looked back down at the broken man before him. He'd never have suspected him to be a part of something like that in a million years.

"Oh my God," Van Pelt breathed as Lisbon made her revelation. "No wonder he was so keen to search for you here. He knew where you'd be."

Lisbon felt better now that she was walking and sped up her pace. Her desire to get to Jane was all consuming but as they rounded the tree where she'd left him, she pulled up short with a gasp. Instead of propped up against the trunk, the consultant now lay on his front, a large broken branch clasped in his right hand. It was he that had caused the distraction in the first place she realised as her stomach gave a sickening lurch. But what had it cost him?

"We need an ambulance," Lisbon choked out as she hurried to Jane's side.

"One's on its way," Van Pelt told her. "It should be here soon."

Lisbon nodded then, almost hesitantly, reached out and placed her fingers to her consultant's neck checking for a pulse. A horrible dread gripped her heart as she couldn't find anything at first but then she moved her hand slightly and there it was…faint, but definitely there. She sagged in relief and felt the first trickle of sudden tears roll down her cheeks as she sought out his free hand and gripped it tightly.

Its coldness shocked her but then in the far distance she suddenly heard the welcome sound of the emergency vehicle sirens. The tears continued to run unchecked down her face as she stared down at the man she loved.

They'd won and everything was going to be fine. She refused to think otherwise.

She couldn't lose him now.

END CHAPTER 10

A/N: Thank you for reading, always keen to know what you think please :)