A/N: Not much holiday cheer in this chapter I'm afraid but hope you like it & all have a lovely break. Thanks again for all your support this year for this and all my other stories, my second Christmas writing FF. It's flown by!

Chapter 36 – Anger & Assumptions

BANG!

Lisbon and Jane crashed through the double hospital doors, their eyes everywhere seeking Cho or Rigsby. Hidden behind four other CBI agents they found the former sitting in a clear glass cubicle waiting room, on his feet as soon as he saw them. Normally expressionless, his lips tightened and he nodded quickly, more than a hint of alarm in his demeanour. He, like the other agents present, was dressed in a T shirt and jeans, their nights off duty activities brought to a close by the attack on one of their own.

"How is she?" Lisbon asked immediately, scanning for Rigsby simultaneously.

"Not good," Cho said with a curt shake of the head. "She's in surgery, doctors aren't hopeful."

She exhaled. Muttered, "Dear god," under her breath, her hand shooting to her cross before she scanned the room again. "Where's Rigsby?"

"Went to call her parents, tell them to get here. Fast."

She nodded and fought against an overwhelming feeling of dread as she took another breath. Focusing on the night's events so she didn't dwell on her emotions instead she asked, "What the hell happened, Kimball?"

"Rigsby ducked out of the bachelor party early. Was afraid we'd ship him to China or something, I guess. Went to her place, let himself in with his spare key."

He briefly glanced at Jane who still hadn't uttered a word since they'd arrived before turning his attention back to Lisbon. "She was lying on the bed, hands and feet zip tied, mouth duct taped, multiple stab wounds to her torso and abdomen. Red John was standing over her with a linoleum knife."

Lisbon glanced at Jane, waiting for the obvious question. When he didn't ask it she did. "He saw Red John, knows who he is?"

"No," Jane chipped in suddenly, finding his voice finally. "He was in disguise, I presume."

Cho nodded. "Dressed all in black including a mask. Took Rigsby a few seconds to realise what was happening. He went to draw his weapon but by that time Red John had exited through a window leading to the fire escape. Imagine that's how he got in. Rigsby got a few shots off but don't know if any managed to hit."

"He had to get back to check on Grace," Lisbon sighed with a nod. "Well let's hope he got at least one into the son of a bitch."

"No doubt."

"Then what?" Jane asked.

"As soon as Rigsby called for an ambulance and put pressure on her wounds he called me. Some of the others who were still at O'Malleys too so we came right by. By the time we arrived EMTs were there but she was unconscious by then. Before then Rigsby said she was mumbling and he tried to keep her awake but he couldn't make out anything coherent."

He shook his head and took a breath, his stoicism in the face of pretty much everything slipping momentarily. "There was a lot of blood at the scene, boss." He shook his head again, clearly recalling all he'd seen. "A lot of blood."

Tears pricked at Lisbon's eyes when she saw her most unflappable agent so clearly affected. She squeezed his upper arm while she looked him straight in the eye. Softly but determinedly, "She's a fighter. She's not going to give up without one so neither do we."

Jane looked at her sideways. She was doing her best to reassure her team member but he could see through the act she was putting on and that she was just as worried as Cho was about Van Pelt's fate.

Cho cleared his throat as he nodded. "Wainwright's taken a team to comb the scene and surrounding area, see if they can find any traces of blood in the alley behind her apartment. You never know, Rigsby might have nicked him and we recover some DNA. We might get lucky."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Well we could use some kind of win, that's for sure." A second later he asked, "Apart from stab wounds any other injuries?"

Cho shrugged, "Doctors haven't said yet, she was taken straight to surgery when she arrived. She was dressed in a nightgown, looked like she was getting ready for bed."

"She wasn't in bed already?"

"Didn't appear that way. Wainwright's at the scene. Call him, he can tell you more."

At that moment Rigsby appeared from around a corner, cell phone in hand and his lips set in a grimace as he ran his free hand through his hair. So concentrated on the phone call he'd just had to make he didn't notice Lisbon and Jane until Lisbon approached him.

"God, Wayne, I'm so sorry-"

"What the hell are they are doing here?" he snapped, barely looking at his boss as he brushed past her and addressing Cho instead. He pointed a long finger at him. "I told you I didn't want them anywhere near here!" he barked.

"And I told you I had to call them anyway," his friend replied evenly.

Rigsby emitted a humourless chuckle and looked at his partner with contempt.

Lisbon, wide eyed, tried again. She hovered at his back. "Wayne...we just wanted to say-"

"I don't give a damn what you want!" he yelled, suddenly swinging around to face her and attracting the attention of the other agents in the small cubicle along with some nurses who were passing just outside of it.

Lisbon jerked back in surprise while he continued his tirade, looking at her and then Jane, who had come to stand beside her by this point. "You did this! You and your goddamned plan to catch him! You made him come after her!"

He concentrated on Lisbon, "I used to look up to you, you know, but you're no better than he is now," he said as he wildly gesticulated to Jane. "Following him along on another cockamamie plan that was never going to work."

Lisbon shook her head furiously. "But it wasn't even Jane's-"

"That's enough," Jane said to Rigsby before she could finish. "Stop talking to her like that."

The taller man towered over him. "No, it isn't nearly enough," he told him coldly.

Lisbon butted in, "Wayne, if I'd thought there was even a chance he'd come after Grace like this-"

"What, what would you have done boss, huh? Protect her?"

"Of course-"

He sneered, "Why? I might have caught him for you tonight. Then you two could have sailed into the sunset together like you've always wanted." Flippantly, "Sure, Grace may have died but what's another death if it catches Red John, right?"

He pointed at Jane. "That's what you think, isn't it?"

Jane replied calmly, "No."

"Really? Because it's Grace? What if it was someone else? Someone you didn't know who had to die to catch him. You'd let them die in a heartbeat you cold son of a bitch-"

"You're wrong," Jane interrupted. "And hypotheticals and letting off steam at the two of us isn't going to help Grace. Neither is it what she'd want you to do."

Rigsby huffed and took a breath. "Don't tell me what my fiancée would want-"

"She wouldn't want you to act like an ass, that's for sure."

Before Cho or Lisbon could intervene, Rigsby landed a loose punch to Jane's nose, making him topple back a few steps.

"Jesus, are you okay!?" Lisbon asked Jane, as she went to touch it while Cho grabbed hold of Rigsby and pulled him out of the way. She shook her head at him. Quietly, "Jane, what the hell were you thinking baiting him at a time like this?"

He patted his nose to check it wasn't broken then nodded over to the distraught fiancé who Cho had now managed to make sit down in a plastic chair a few paces away. Now he'd expelled his anger he sat with his head in his hands, his shoulders moving up and down as he sobbed. "I needed that to happen," Jane told her. "He had to let his anger out before it ate him up. I was just helping him release some of the pressure in a healthy and controlled manner. Better he take it out on me than you or the doctors or nurses here. And better he be angry at me than at himself. He blames himself for leaving her alone tonight, that much is obvious. While he's mad at me he won't think too much about that."

She could just about see his twisted logic but rolled her eyes. "I'd hardly call antagonising him to punch you healthy. And you shouldn't have done that to protect me. I more than deserved what he gave me."

As he was about to speak Cho squeezed Rigsby's shoulder and walked over to them. "Look-"

"We'll leave," Jane said, noticing that while Rigsby's temper had been diffused for now their presence was not conducive to it staying that way. Lisbon was staring ahead at Rigsby, gauging whether she should make another attempt to engage with him. "He's not ready to talk to us yet, Teresa," Jane said at her side gently. "Not yet. And there's nothing we can do for her if we stay here."

She looked up at him as she chewed on her bottom lip and then at Cho. "Jane's right," he agreed. "She's going to be in surgery for at least another couple of hours. I'll stay with Rigsby, keep you appraised of any news."

"Kay," she sighed. "Okay." Louder, "As soon as you hear anything about her condition-"

"I'll call you."

She nodded and sniffed, taking a breath as she looked around her. "You need me to assign you a couple of extra people to make sure you're all safe here? We know he could come after any one of us now."

He shook his head and nodded towards the other CBI agents, one of whom was handing Rigsby a cup of coffee. "We're all staying here tonight. And pairing up after that if we go anywhere. We can reassess in a day or two. We trust each other; don't want to introduce a new variable right now."

She nodded, "I understand. Okay, good." Hers was a tight knit team and she certainly could see the value in ensuring they kept it that way. They had no clue who they could trust within Law Enforcement and it could be argued it was riskier to invite more security from relative strangers than not.

"How about you two?" he asked. "You're more at risk than any of us."

Jane answered for her, "We'll pair up too."

"You don't even know how to fire a gun."

"Hasn't stopped me in the past," he reminded him.

He recognised it in her immediately, like a hanger on at a party who wouldn't leave his side.

Guilt.

She'd said barely a word since they'd left the hospital, her eyes trained on the blackness outside as she sat beside him as he drove them away, one hand entangled in her cross, her mouth moving in silent prayer.

"Home, then?" he said after silence had lapsed into uncomfortable tension. She blinked in acknowledgement of his words and furrowed her brow.

"Lisbon?" he tried when no immediate response was forthcoming.

"No," she said quickly, turning in her seat. Resolutely, "I want to go to her apartment."

He stared at her for a moment before concentrating on the road in front of him again. "I don't think that's a good idea," he said quietly.

"I need to see it, Jane. And don't tell me you don't want to go there too."

He shifted a little in his seat. Of course he wanted to go there and investigate. But he wasn't sure if she was ready to face what she would see there. Or if he was ready to see it himself. "I'm sure Wainwright will let us know-"

"We don't even know if we can trust Wainwright. Or anyone else there for that matter. For all we know they could all be Red John's people."

"You're beginning to sound paranoid, you know."

"You're hardly one to talk. And after tonight I have good reason. If Red John had to leave in a hurry then maybe he left something at her place that could identify him."

"It's unlikely. He'd have made sure there was no chance of DNA being left behind before he went near her place. Plus, on the slim off chance he did then he'll already have organised a way for that evidence to be removed. It's a dead end, Lisbon. Even if Rigsby managed to injure him I'm certain he's already taken care of covering that up too-"

"Well I can't just go home and wait by the phone, Jane! I have to do something, damn it!" she snapped, a tear falling onto her cheek that she hastily rubbed off in annoyance.

He sighed heavily. "Fine. We'll go and check it out."

"Lisbon, Jane." Wainwright greeted them dourly as they made their way through the flurry of forensic techs and police officers to Van Pelt's living room where he stood with his hands in his pockets. They noticed a large sheet of A3 paper on her dining room table with names in yellow post it notes placed at various points on it. "Guess she was finalising seating plans for the wedding," Wainwright shrugged with a sigh. Lisbon bit her bottom lip to control herself from falling apart as Jane watched her silently. He went to put a comforting hand on her back but she pulled away when he'd barely made contact and instead concentrated on Wainwright, visibly regaining control over herself.

"Thought you'd both still be at the hospital. Any news on her condition?" her boss asked.

"Not yet," Lisbon replied, looking away, the reaction she'd received from Rigsby still raw. "How about here? Anything found in the alley?"

"No security cameras as expected. Four bullet casings I assume from Rigsby's weapon. We'll get balistics to double check. So far doesn't look like he made a hit. Hard to check for sure in the dark. Maybe by morning we'll get better news."

"Hmm," Jane responded without much conviction, nodding behind his boss at an opened door. "That her bedroom?"

"Yeah. It's...well..." He sighed, "Come on, I'll fill you in."

As he guided them to the bedroom their eyes immediately went to the blood soaked mattress and momentarily stopped them in their tracks. Lisbon took a breath and looked at Wainwright in its place. "So...what happened?" Her voice was shakier than she would have liked.

He pointed to an opened window that led to a fire escape. "We assume he came in this way. No prints, of course."

"Glass isn't broken," Lisbon said as Jane stooped down and stuck his head out to get a better look at the lock on the outside of the window. "Lock's been picked," he said, pointing to tiny scratch marks on the window frame.

"That's what we figured," Wainwright nodded. "We're assuming he waited until she was in the shower before he opened the window and came in."

They stepped back inside the bedroom and their boss pointed to a closet near her bed. "Probably where he hid while he waited for her to finish getting ready for bed."

"Why didn't he wait for her to go to sleep? That's his usual MO," Lisbon said.

"Assume he must have made a noise or maybe she went to fetch something in the closet-"

"No," Jane cut in. "I think what Lisbon is asking is why he didn't wait until she'd fallen asleep to break in."

She nodded, concurring.

Wainwright shrugged. "I-I don't know." He talked to Jane. "You're the Red John expert, you tell me."

"I don't know. Not yet."

"Anyway," Wainwright continued, "he used a stun gun to incapacitate her we're assuming."

"But not without a struggle first," Lisbon said as she pointed to Van Pelt's dressing table where cosmetics, a jar of moisturiser, some hair products and accessories were toppled over. She narrowed her eyes to a spot of red on a wall beside the dressing table. "He didn't just use a stun gun," she added. "He banged her head off the wall here, too." Her expression darkened as anger slowly began to take the place of pain.

Jane nodded as he peered at the same patch of red. "Once she was unconscious he tied her up and laid her on the bed," he sighed, rubbing a hand across his eyes, "then he really got started on her."

Silence enveloped the room for a few seconds before Wainwright cleared his throat. He checked they were alone in the bedroom and said to them, "Look, he's escalating. That much is obvious. With you and your team now in his crosshairs quite evidently. First the double homicide in Florida and now this attack on Van Pelt. Who knows who he might come after next?" He stared from one to the other. "This...on again relationship of yours...somehow I get the feeling it isn't a coincidence in all of this."

Jane's expression remained blank. "What are you intimating, Luther?"

His boss shook his head at his wayward consultant. "I'm saying that if this so called relationship of yours is some kind of play for you to catch him-"

"You're mistaken," Jane immediately interjected. "I'm not saying he hasn't gone after Grace because of what's happened between Lisbon and I again. It's pretty obvious he hasn' taken that particular news...well. But if you're suggesting subterfuge of any kind then you're way off."

Wainwright placed his hands on his hips, studying him intently for any sign of deception. Jane raised an eyebrow in return, almost willing him to challenge his words.

To break the tension as the silence between both men stretched Lisbon said, "Is there anything else you need from us tonight, boss?"

Wainwright took a step back and shook his head as he bit the inside of his cheek, perturbed by Jane's attitude. "No. I've already arranged a security detail for you both."

"We don't want one," Lisbon replied. "I can take care of both myself and Jane."

"Frankly that's not your call, Lisbon," Wainwright told her. "I'm responsible for you both. It's not up for negotiation."

As Lisbon went to object Jane shook his head at her. "Fine," he said to Wainwright. "I hope you've included one for yourself too. Who knows he might come after next, like you said."

"Why didn't you object to the security detail?" she asked him as soon as they reached his car.

"What was the point? His mind was made up. Besides, we'll see them a mile off so if we need to lose them it'll be easy enough. And Red John won't use them to come after us. He'll want that pleasure himself. We're probably the safest from that particular threat than any of our colleagues."

"He could still use them to capture one of us."

Jane shrugged, "True but it would be kinda obvious and would blow their cover as his men. I doubt he'd be that reckless. At least not yet.

"And..." his voice turned softer as they took their seats. "And like Cho said earlier...I'm hardly equipped to give you the same protection you can give me. If they're not his men we might need them." He shrugged apologetically, worry evident in his eyes.

Her eyes misted over for a split second before she averted them, putting on her seatbelt. "I don't need you to protect me, Jane."

As they drove back to her place, Lisbon's eyes barely leaving her phone for news of Van Pelt, she asked him, "Do you think Wainwright's his man?"

"I don't know. I don't...I don't think so, though," he said after a moment's contemplation. "But I didn't see the point in confirming anything about our relationship one way or another. I doubt he'd be discrete if he were questioned by Red John's man. Not if Red John's man is higher up the totem pole than he is."

"Any theories why he didn't wait for Grace to fall asleep?"

"A few."

"Jane," she said sharply, "no secrets, not about this."

"Sorry," he said as they reached her driveway. "Force of habit," he smiled as he turned off the ignition and turned towards her.

"I think...I think he let his emotions get the better of him. I think she was just too...tempting for him. The lure of..." he paused as he chose his next word carefully, "catching her was too great for him to wait until it might have been safer. He would have known Rigsby was at the bachelor party and wouldn't have expected him to come see her that night. Although..." his words trailed off as he furrowed his brow, deep in thought all of a sudden.

Lisbon nodded, catching up with what he was thinking, "If he had a spy at the party he'd have known Rigsby had left it. Would have guessed he'd have gone to her place. Would have known his window for getting to her had just considerably shortened-"

"Which would have added to his hastiness in going after her. If Rigsby snuck out his spy wouldn't have known for sure how long he was gone. Red John may still have felt he had time. For someone else...someone not as...lucrative...not so high a payoff...well he might have stalled his plans for another night but with her, after he'd already seen her-"

"He took the risk," Lisbon finished.

They both took a breath after working through the theory together and nodded to each other, a faint glimmer of hope in their faces. Lisbon said urgently, "I need to call Cho, find out the names of all those at that bachelor party. And I need..." She stopped talking suddenly and blinked rapidly as her breathing quickened.

"What?" Jane urged, frowning.

A tear escaped her eye as she took a deep breath. Softly, "I was...I was going to say that..." She closed her eyes and another tear fell. She palmed it away and swallowed, expelling another breath. Louder, "I was going to say I needed Van Pelt to check their phone records for outgoing calls."

She closed her eyes and sunk back into the car seat as she shook her head, weariness suddenly hitting her like a truck. "God, Jane-"

"This isn't your fault," he said to her softly, reaching over to take her hand from the console between them. "You can't blame yourself for this, Teresa."

She opened her eyes and arched an eyebrow, shaking off his hand and crossing her arms in front of her chest, her posture tightening. "Seriously? You're telling me that?"

He shrugged, "Do as I say not as I do, I suppose. Rigsby was understandably upset earlier. But he didn't mean half of what he said. You can't take it to heart or dwell on it."

"I deserved it. You shouldn't have covered for me. This was my stupid plan, Jane. Not yours."

"That I agreed to go along with. As did the team. And..." he bit his lip but then carried on regardless of the reaction he was expecting to his next words, "And...I don't agree that it's stupid. We now have a lead we didn't have before because of it."

Her eyebrows hit her forehead. "What? So what Rigsby said to you earlier about doing anything to catch Red John-"

He shook his head furiously. Frustrated, he raised his voice, "I'm not saying I wanted this to happen to Grace! Or anyone else, come to that. Jesus, woman, of course I didn't!" He lowered his tone, regaining control. "But it has happened and there's nothing we can do about it. So we focus on what we can do instead. Which is we use it as a way to catch him, if it can help us do that. Otherwise what happened to her is for nothing. We catch him for her." He exhaled, his cadence as soft as she'd ever heard it as he stared intensely into her eyes. "We catch him for all of them."

They locked eyes as a tear ran down his cheek. After a still moment between them she said quietly, "No."

"No?" he whispered in disbelief, the word almost stuck in his throat.

She shook her head, slowly uncurling her body from the seat before she tentatively took his left hand in hers as she leaned forward to face him. "No. We don't just catch him anymore. We put the bastard in the ground."