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 2x06 "Black Gold and Red Blood". This is deviating a bit from the format of the previous chapters, as I'm inserting a sort of analysis to an actual scene of the show instead of creating an extra scene.

Loving Him was Red

Loyalty

"I thought this would teach Jane a lesson. I thought he'd back down or apologize, but he didn't and now it's gone too far. You got to let him go. If you drop the charges the AG won't chase it."

"What if I don't wanna do that?"

A part of Lisbon wondered at Bosco's insistence in prosecuting Jane. Yes, he'd crossed a line. Bugging the office of a state agent was bad enough but he'd also managed to break out of prison─though internally she'd rolled her eyes at her own surprise at this turn of events. Hadn't Jane already proven to be capable of just about anything?─And she understood how many law enforcement agents were against Jane's methods on principle. In fact, Lisbon herself at times had wondered why she'd extended him a hand to work with her that first time and why she still put up with all his bullshit even though he'd always cause her so much trouble. Apart from Cho, who would at times actively indulge in Jane's shenanigans, she was probably the only person capable of handling him─or to be fooled by him into thinking she was handling him, she was never sure which.

Yet it didn't seem like Bosco had been objecting to the crime itself, but more to the fact that it had been Jane the one who committed it. He'd said he would be willing to drop the charges if Jane agreed to leave the CBI and never come back. Why? Jane's request to be kept up to date on the investigation of the Red John case also wasn't an unreasonable one. It all started to sound more like a pissing match than anything else, and frankly Lisbon was tired of this crap. She didn't think asking nicely would have any effect, no matter how much leverage she may or may not have with Bosco, so it was time to step up and bring out the big guns.

"Don't make me go there, Sam."

"What are you saying, exactly?"

"You know what I'm saying. I'll talk about what happened eight years ago."

Okay, so this wasn't so much as bringing out the big guns as getting past that straight to the nuclear option. Mutually assured self-destruction and all of that.

"You'd go there? Really? I don't believe you."

"Believe me. Here I am."

Once upon a time, Sam Bosco was the person who'd invoked her loyalty and trust completely. The man had been her supervisor and he was good police. He'd had her back and saved her life on a couple of occasions as well. She'd looked up to him and strived to be as good a cop as he was. He'd been her role model, teaching her how to conduct herself with utmost professionalism, integrity and honor.

Her relationship with Bosco had been an easy one. They understood each other and worked on the same wavelength; it had been easy for her to walk alongside him and learn in his footsteps. He was an experienced cop, so she'd learned the basics and everything else from him, how to work the streets, how to conduct interviews, how to investigate cases. He'd taught her well and she'd risen quickly through the ranks to the position she now occupied as Special Agent in charge of the homicide and serious crimes unit of the California Bureau of Investigation. She would be eternally grateful to him and everything they'd had together.

Yet, as she'd just said, here she was.

"You would ruin our lives, our careers, over Jane? Does he mean that much to you?"

"He closes cases."

"He closes cases. Is that all it is?"

Lisbon could never begin to explain just what exactly Patrick Jane meant to her. She'd keep hiding behind her 'he closes cases' speech until it would all inevitably blow up in her face.

Nowadays her loyalty was bound to a man so careless and self-destructive that it scared her a little. Her relationship with Jane was the complete opposite of what she'd had with Bosco, and unlike any other relationship she'd ever had, actually. Jane was manipulative, selfish, inconsequential, arrogant and childish, to name but a few of his less favoring traits. He was a conman by nature, so it would be her job not to trust him. But she believed him when he said he'd always be there for her, no matter what. He'd already saved her, once by shooting the man who'd been about to kill her, even though keeping that man alive had been detrimental to him. And another time, when she'd been framed for a murder she didn't commit. As time went by, she couldn't help but learn to trust him and now they got to a point that he was someone so important to her that they'd come to this. So she was honoring her part of their unspoken deal by sticking to him till the end.

"I'm telling you, if you don't let Jane go, I'll talk. That's all. What are you going to do?"

Working with someone like Jane was always a liability, but that party line also existed for a reason. He closes cases. Every single case he'd worked on had been closed. And they weren't minor, petty crimes, either. They were gruesome murders and thanks to him justice had been served. In her eyes, the good outweighed the bad. She wasn't about to stand on her pride until she grew blue in the face just because he managed to achieve something she wouldn't on her own. Lisbon knew her value, she knew her strengths, and one of those strengths was recognizing that he was an asset, he was someone who could help her take criminals off the streets and make sure no victim would go unavenged. So she'd take the heat and handle all the mess that he'd cause along the way, because it was worth it.

After being released and getting back to CBI HQ, Jane had given her a casual yet heartfelt thank you for getting him out, and she'd tried to shy away from that responsibility. Although it had the outcome she'd expected, she didn't want to remind herself just what exactly she'd done to make that happen. However, as usual, Jane had been able to assess the situation correctly as he posed his theory and confirmed it by reading the truth all over her face.

"I'm touched. That you would risk your career over me. That means a lot to me."

"If you're right, and I'm not saying you are, it would mean I broke the trust of somebody I respect and admire for your sake. If it is true, I would hope in the future you'd be a little bit more mature and responsible in your behavior."

"I'm grateful and all that, but let's not go crazy here."

"I should've let you rot in jail."

(Sometimes, she thought that it was also worth it just to see him smile like that. But she'd never admit that, not even to herself, for fear of what that might actually mean.)