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Prompt #37: Blurt - "Dammit Jane, why won't you listen to someone who loves you?"

Words: 752

How did we reach this point?

That's what runs through my mind. It's the only thing I can think of as I drive to the only place I can be sure Jane would be.

He can't leave. Red John's baiting him, I know it. I know that he knows it too, but Jane's never been clear-headed about anything that has to do with Red John.

But that's not all.

Kristina Frye is dead. Red John managed to reach her in the asylum, leaving legions of his trademark smiley face scrawled in her blood on the white walls of her room. The sight of it had stunned Jane, stopped him cold in a way I'd never thought possible. The master manipulator, the lord of foresight, had not seen this coming.

The shock of his own fallability is what's making him do this. I know it's what's driving him to confront this psycho head-on.

I pull into the motel parking lot, throw the car into park, and race towards his room as fast as I can push myself to go. The door stands ajar, and the sight sends ice flowing through my body. I draw my gun and peek around the doorframe to see if anyone was there.

There he is, packing his few possessions in that little bag of his. I holster my gun and walk inside without knocking. He knows I'm here, anyway.

"Hello, Lisbon."

How did it get this messed up?

"You're not going."

I can't let him do it. I won't let him go up against Red John. There is no good way for this to end, no happy storybook ending that lets him have the life he's been denied these last ten years.

"I am."

"He's baiting you, Jane." But I doubt he cares. His need for revenge always blinded him to the consequences of his actions.

His blue eyes are tired, more tired than I've ever seen them before. "I know."

"It's a trap."

"Possibly."

One will die by the other's hand, and Red John wins either way. Jane's too smart not to know that.

He just doesn't care anymore.

How can I fix this?

I beg, I plead, I cajole, I coax. But nothing works. He's too set on his path, the stubborn man, and nothing will divert him otherwise.

"What about backup?"

"This is my fight, Lisbon. I won't endanger you or the others."

"We're family, Jane!" I shout this because I firmly believe it will shock him out of his funk. The last time he tangled with Red John, his family suffered. He wouldn't do that again. Not to us.

But unfortunately, he's already come up with a response to that. "And that's why I can't. I won't have him come after any of you. Rigsby has his son, Cho has Summer, Grace has her family, and you have your brothers."

"And what? You have no one?" He doesn't talk, but his eyes speak volumes. I bristle. "That's a bold-faced lie and you know it."

"But it's true, Lisbon."

"You told me once never to con a conman. Who's conning who now, Jane?"

How can I make him stay?

His smile is the smile that I despise. I despise it because it's the one he wears when he puts himself down, shuts himself off and denies himself any type of happiness because of what he's done. Ten years after the fact, and he still denies himself the chance to move on.

So, impassioned and infuriated and downright terrified that he won't come back if I don't keep him here somehow, my heart hijacks my vocal cords and shouts out the words I've kept secret for so long.

"Dammit Jane, why won't you listen to someone who loves you?"

The look in his eyes is a mixture of astonishment, disbelief, and terror. His mouth hangs open slightly, stunned by my words, and the terror builds as his head gives an almost imperceptible shake.

For the first time in years, I can perfectly read his expression. Please, don't say that. Take it back.

But I won't. I'll throw away my badge and my conscience and our damn friendship if I have to, but I won't let Jane go.

I can't.

Lisbon-centric is tough to write, so I hope she's not very OOC.

Review please! They're always a treat to read!