I want to apologize for the previous chapter, I know it was dumb. Really, the story could have gone without it, but I wanted to show Jane and Lisbon interacting more before the big event. In particular, let me address the birthday thing: I know. I know, I know, I know. There is kind of a reason for it happening that way, but the main reason I decided to go with it was to give Lisbon a reason to make that "We're in it together" speech - without that, I was worried the conversation might make it seem like their relationship was on the rocks, which it very much is not. Also, I freely admit that it might have been a copout on my part: "Should they attack when Charlotte Grace is the same age as Charlotte Anne to the day, or on the anniversary of the day Red John killed Charlotte Anne? Ah, screw it, I'll just make it both." For what it's worth, the birthday thing will never be brought up again, and also, as a commenter on the previous installment pointed out, my series has been nothing if not full of very extreme and highly unlikely situations, and there will be more; please take it as one of those, and bear with me.

Speaking of which, *****READ THIS*****: Some people have been posting reviews that make it clear they have not read the previous installments in this series. THIS STORY WILL NOT MAKE SENSE IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS, I cannot make that clearer. In particular, comments about Lisbon having a sister are not valid if you haven't read the previous installments. Please read stories in order. Thank you.

Also, for anyone who HAS read the previous installments but might still be wondering: Jane readily agreed to name his new daughter Charlotte when Lisbon told him about the promise she made; if anything, SHE was the one who needed convincing. Why would he do this? Because he is utterly determined to leave the past in the past, as determined as he was to bring Red John down before, and he agreed to the name as a way of sort of challenging himself to stick with it - after all, if the past doesn't matter, there's no reason NOT to name her Charlotte, is there? You might still say that's out of character for him, but we've all seen how Patrick Jane gets when he's thoroughly determined to do something, logic and reason go out the window in the face of his stubbornness. I can relate.

Moving on…

Grace Van Pelt sat at her desk, trying hard to focus on her job and failing. By now, the threat against Patrick Jane's family was a statewide sensation, there was no one who didn't know, and the knowledge that she could help weighed heavily on her.

But how to say it without breaking her deal with Bertram?

"Van Pelt," came her boss's voice, snapping her out of her mental debate. She looked up. "Any luck tracking down Jack Fisher?"

"No, Boss, still looking," Van Pelt replied.

"Alright. Keep me posted."

Van Pelt nodded, internally warring with herself. Before Lisbon left the room, she blurted, "Hey, Boss?"

Lisbon stopped and turned back. "Yeah?"

"Um…" Van Pelt stood, nervous but certain that she couldn't keep her silence. "Can I…talk to you? In private?"

"…Sure…" Lisbon said slowly, and gestured for her to follow.

In Lisbon's office, Van Pelt's boss asked, "What's this about?"

"It's about…um…" Van Pelt gestured awkwardly. "…you know…the thing?"

Lisbon raised her eyebrows.

"…You know…with Red John's friends," Van Pelt managed at last.

"Oh, that," Lisbon said, nodding. "Listen-"

"Do you have any idea what you're going to do?" Van Pelt asked in a rush. "What you're up against? Anything?"

"I appreciate your concern, but it's not something you need to worry about," Lisbon told her diplomatically. "We're working on it."

"I could get information for you," Van Pelt said.

Lisbon blinked. "How so?"

"I…know a guy…" Van Pelt replied evasively.

"You know one of Red John's friends?" Lisbon asked.

"I didn't say that!" Van Pelt answered quickly.

They stared off for a moment; it was all Van Pelt could do to not fidget under her boss's gaze. Then, slowly, Lisbon smiled.

"Let me guess," she said; "they told you that if you tell anyone about their allegiance to Red John, they'll tell management about you and Agent Rigsby."

This brought Van Pelt up short. "Jane told you?"

"Hey, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me," Lisbon stated. "I knew. I saw no reason to bring it up because it didn't have any impact on your ability to do your job."

"But…I…"

"Van Pelt, rules exist for a reason," Lisbon sighed, "and if Jane has taught me anything, it's that if the reason isn't valid, the rule shouldn't be valid either. The reason workplace romances are forbidden is because there is concern that it would have a negative impact on your ability to do your jobs to the best of your abilities. You and Agent Rigsby have done an impressive job of keeping your personal and professional lives separate, I have seen no impact on your work ethic, and you didn't force me to acknowledge it, so I let it slide." She hesitated, then added, "But, I doubt anyone above me would see it that way, because rules are rules. If someone is holding that over your head, I completely understand you wanting to keep their secret, and I wouldn't ask you to do otherwise."

"But maybe I can get information for you," Van Pelt said, deciding to set aside the issue of her relationship with Rigsby for now. "May I?"

Her boss thought it over. "If you can get information without putting yourself in jeopardy," Lisbon finally said slowly, "then…yes, that would be appreciated."

Van Pelt didn't need any more. "I'm on it," she said, and strode out of the room.

~o~

Part of her hoped Director Bertram would be somewhere other than his office when she rounded the corner, but there he was, sat at his desk doing paperwork. She took a deep, steadying breath, then put on her cop face and opened the door. "Director Bertram."

Bertram looked up. "Agent Van Pelt," he greeted, sitting back. "What can I do for you?"

"I think you know," Van Pelt replied coldly.

He chuckled. "You're going to have to be more specific."

Van Pelt crossed her arms. "What's going to happen to Jane's family?"

"Ah." Bertram smiled and tapped his pen on the desk. "Agent, I thought we had an agreement-"

"That agreement is null and void if you're about to kill my boss and her child," Grace snapped. Then she smirked and added, "Besides, think of the state of the city right now. Everyone's on a witch hunt for Red John's friends, hoping that they might be able to do their part to help the great Patrick Jane. If I told everyone you're one of Red John's friends, they'd tear you apart in seconds. Do you really think anyone would listen to a single word you had to say?"

The pen stopped, and Bertram frowned. Leaning forward, he asked, "Are you willing to take that risk?"

An hour ago, Van Pelt hadn't been sure, but the knew knowledge of what sort of boss - and friend - Teresa Lisbon was had banished her doubts. "Yes," she replied.

"…I see." He sighed and sat back again. "What do you want from me? I assume you want something, or you'd already be telling the world."

"What's are you going to do?" Van Pelt demanded. "Is the threat real, and if so, what are you all planning on doing?"

"And if I tell you, you won't turn me in?"

"We'll see."

Bertram paused, apparently weighing his options, then spoke. "Yes, the threat is real," he began. "Dove told us years ago that when the opportunity for revenge arose, we'd recognize it, and, well, you can't get much clearer than what we've been given. It's kind of spooky, isn't it, all the things about the new Jane kid? So we're going to. Individually, we might not be much compared to RJ's demon, but working together, we can do what he did."

"And you'll all be working together?" Van Pelt pressed. "All of you?"

"Of course!" Bertram exclaimed. "No one loyal to RJ would miss this for the world!"

Her blood ran cold. "How many of you are there?"

A chilling smile crossed Bertram's face. "A little over eight hundred," he replied. "All of us, converging on the Jane household at once? There's no way they'll be able to fight us all off."

"So you'll just get in a gunfight, ready to die?" Van Pelt asked.

"A gunfight?" Bertram repeated. "No, no, RJ didn't kill Jane's family with a gun, why should we? We're going in with knives. It's only right."

"Only right?!" Van Pelt cried. "You're really going to commit murder - kill your own agent - over this?!"

"It is…unfortunate…that Agent Lisbon happens to be the…woman, in this situation," Bertram conceded. "But, she chose the Fool. You know, it's actually kind of poetic that it's her - RJ loved Agent Lisbon, and once he finished his great work and saved the world, she would have been his queen. Instead she took him down and married an idiot. That's on her head."

"Great work?" Van Pelt repeated. "Director, with all due respect, how can you possibly believe that? Red John was a monster, and the world is a much better place without him. He wasn't going to save the world, he wasn't in a symbiotic relationship with a demon, he was just evil!"

"I understand why you think that, but you only saw that side of him," Bertram said. His tone darkened as he added, "That's the only side of him most people saw. RJ could have been a hero, he could have saved everyone; instead, due to Patrick Jane's selfish, narrow-minded actions, he will only ever be remembered for the monster he lived with and hated as much as everyone else does. His name is forever tarnished, and all the good he could have done will never happen. That. Can. Not. Go. Unpunished."

Van Pelt shook her head. "I'm not going to argue the point, Lisbon says there's no reasoning with you people," she said. "Instead, give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn you in."

"Because it won't do any good," Bertram replied readily. "Agent, I am one of over eight hundred people, a drop in a bucket. Getting me out of the picture won't help them at all. And nothing you say can convince me to give up the names of any of my compatriots, so don't even bother going there. I've told you what I know in good faith, now keep your end of the deal."

For a long, tense moment, Van Pelt glared icy daggers at the director of the CBI. Then, with nothing more but a grunt of disgust, she turned and left.

~o~

"Eight hundred people," Lisbon repeated softly.

They were in Lisbon's office, and Van Pelt had just finished passing on everything she'd managed to learn, without mentioning her informant's identity.

"Yes, ma'am," Van Pelt replied, "all ready to die for a chance to kill you and your daughter."

"With knives," Lisbon said, more to herself than her agent. "Well, it could be worse. We could have over eleven hundred people coming at us with guns."

The morbid joke wasn't worth even a chuckle.

"Thank you," Lisbon told Van Pelt after a moment. "We know a lot more than we would have without your help."

"Will it be enough?" Van Pelt asked. "Is there something more I could do? Something more the team could do?"

"I'll talk it over with Jane," Lisbon said. "We still have time to make a plan." She sighed. "For now, get back to work on the Murdoc case. Red John's friends aside, we have a job to do."

"Yes, Boss," Van Pelt said, and she left.

Lisbon watched her go, almost wistfully. The young agent reminded her of her when she had been starting out - a hard worker, eager to impress, determined and even ruthless at times but never losing sight of her humanity. Van Pelt's only real problem was that she got a bit flustered around people with more power than her, but that was getting better every day; overall, she was an exemplary agent. The main reason Lisbon hadn't moved to grant her a promotion yet was that she still had more to learn, but maybe the fact that she would be impossible to replace was influencing that decision too.

If I'm still alive a month from now, I'll see about getting her moved up, Lisbon decided. She's earned it.

Filing away the information her agent had obtained for when she met with her husband that night, Lisbon refocused on her work. And maybe, just maybe, she was glad for a reason to not think about what Jane was going to say to all of this.