Disclaimer: The Mentalist, its characters and universe belong to Bruno Heller and CBS. I'm only a fan, writing this for love of this TV show and personal pleasure.

A.N.: This is for 1x14 "Crimson Casanova," starting at the end of the episode right after Jane refuses a woman's invitation to join her and a friend at their table, saying he was married.

Loving Him was Red

Casual

Lisbon watched as the pretty brunette in the red dress went back to join her friend at their table and Jane turned back to face the bar, a pensive look on his face as he fiddled with his wedding ring. She siddled up quietly to him until she took the seat next to him.

"Hey," he greeted her with one of his charming smiles.

"Hey," she said, smiling back at him. "Rigsby and Van Pelt are finishing up with the equipment, so we should be ready to hit the road in a few minutes."

"Okay," he replied quietly, and his smile seemed just a little sad then.

"Everything okay?" Lisbon asked, tilting her head a little to the side as she watched him attentively.

"Yeah," he said, smiling at her in a reassuring manner, but she could see the smile didn't quite reach his eyes as it usually did.

"That was a nice thing you did," she commented, deciding to change the subject and not push him any further. When he looked inquisitively at her, she elaborated, "Paul and Kate."

"Oh you saw that?" Jane asked, chuckling quietly.

"I did," she said. "I was about to come chew you off for your impulsiveness yet again, but it looks like for once it was the right move." She glanced back over her shoulder, watching as the womanizer and the waitress were sitting down at a table to talk in a more secluded area.

"He was being an idiot," Jane commented, sighing quietly to himself. "Sometimes idiots like him need a bit of a push."

"Hmm," Lisbon murmured in assent, turning to face him once more. "What would you know about idiots like him?"

"Oh quite a lot," Jane said, and his smile now was a bit self-deprecating. "I used to be like him."

"You?" Lisbon raised a skeptical eyebrow at his words. "A serial, creepy womanizer like Fricke?"

"Well, I like to think I wasn't creepy like him, but yes, once upon a time I could've called myself something of a pick-up artist," Jane admitted with another chuckle.

"I really can't see it," Lisbon said with some wonderment in her voice as she looked at the CBI consultant as if she were analyzing him under a different light─which she was.

Jane raised a rather offended eyebrow at her words and said, "Really?"

"Well no, I mean," Lisbon stammered a little and blushed under his gaze.

She was going to regret this if she didn't measure her words carefully so she took a breath to steady herself. It's not like Patrick Jane wasn't charming and attractive, that much was indisputable. He could probably have his pick of a number of beautiful women if he so wanted to, as was evidenced by that woman who had come up to him without him even making any move towards her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," she said, pushing through her embarrassment to try to explain herself.

"Oh? What did you mean then?" He asked, a particularly malicious gleam in his bluish green eyes.

"It's just─I guess I always think of you as being married, you know?" She gestured at his wedding ring for emphasis. "I can't imagine you picking up women like that for casual one-night stands."

"Ah yes," he said, nodding in understanding. "Well, a long time ago that was who I used to be. And then I met Angela." His smile turned wistful and longing, as he looked down and fiddled with his wedding ring once more.

"I see," Lisbon smiled at this. "So she's the one who managed to reform you from your Casanova ways?"

"Yes," he simply said, looking up at her once more with a quiet smile.

For a moment, some silly platitude such as 'You must have really loved her' crossed her mind, but she managed to keep it in. If there was one thing she knew about Jane was how much he loved his wife. She never knew where was the line when it came to talking about this. He didn't use to talk about his wife or daughter much, and she didn't want to push him as she knew it was a sensitive subject. But he'd volunteered the information on his own and he seemed to be okay talking about it.

Lisbon had been stuck in the moment, trying to figure out how to proceed in this conversation. But just then Cho interrupted them, coming up and signaling them that the team was ready to move out and head back to HQ in Sacramento. They still needed to process the killer and at least start on the paperwork for the closed case.

The two of them exchanged one last smile then they got up and followed Cho back to the parking lot. Lisbon was glad Jane had opened up to her, even if only a little.