Sorry it took me so long to post this, my kids and life kept interfering but mostly my kids.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist but I wish I did.

The Drive In

Patrick Jane liked to think of himself as an observant fellow, it was after all his job, what the fine State of California paid him to do. So it irked him to have to spend his commute wondering how the hell it had happened. This was valuable time he could be spending thinking up tricks to wow the gullible Van Pelt or ways to win money off Rigsby. He tried to think back to the last couple of weeks, had he done anything different? Had anything unusual to eat or drink? "Maybe it was that new blend of Oolong that I bought at Whole Foods?" he wondered. "Nah, that's silly."

It had been a typical weekend. The last few weeks had been slow; criminals having apparently decided that it was too hot to commit any crimes. "Well, any serious crimes anyway" Jane thought facetiously. Which seeing as they were the Serious Crimes Unit kind of left them at loose ends. Lisbon had even dismissed them early on Friday since they were off this weekend and it was so slow. "Ah there it is again," Jane thought, "I've completed my little thought circle and I'm back where I started or with whom I started I guess, Teresa Lisbon." Not that he was having any problems with Lisbon which he supposed was concerning in and of its self. No she had been positively benign lately. He tried to think back to the last few weeks, had Lisbon's passivity started before or after their last case. Their last case, a Red John case, thinking of the killer was enough to distract Jane's mind from his boss, but only for an instant. Which he would have found interesting if he had stopped to consider it, but his brain having completed another of the little thought circuits it had been running lately had arrived at its chosen destination of Teresa Lisbon again and was not budging.

Jane mentally reviewed Friday's mostly boring events. He had as usual spent the day lying on his couch, napping or just staring at Elvis the ceiling stain. Cho had finished rereading Orwell's 1984 and was trying to decide what to start on next. Jane's suggestion of the latest Twilight novel had earned him a snort and a "he's probably already read it and bought the poster" From Rigsby. The aforementioned Rigsby was keeping busy IMing his new flavor of the week, Krissy with a K, Jane thinks her name is, in between trips to the kitchen to try wipe out the fridge's population of snack sized yogurts. As usual Lisbon and Van Pelt were being annoyingly dedicated, doing their paperwork, but even they seemed to be running out of things to work on. Thinking of their fearless leader had made Jane look through the open blinds into her office where Lisbon had been closeted all day filling out forms. "Probably using this brief respite to catch up on all the complaints about me" he thought with a smirk. She was currently sitting lost in thought, a pen in hand. She was twirling a lock of her hair in her left hand; it made Jane smile slightly to see his normally tough boss display such a girlish habit. "It's gotten a lot longer" he noted absently, "It looks good on her." As Jane watched Teresa took the dark silky lock in her fingers, absently brushing it back and forth across her bottom lip. Jane continued to watch the progress of the errant lock of hair as it continued it's back and forth motion across Lisbon's mouth only this time it took a detour down her chin to caress her neck and ended in the same back and forth motion this time across her uncharacteristically uncovered chest. As a concession to the hot weather Lisbon had taken off her jacket as soon as she'd walked in this morning, she'd followed with rolling up the sleeves and unbuttoning the top four buttons of her grey dress shirt, leaving her creamy skin and the top of her white tank top exposed. He watched as she closed her eyes and sighed, he wondered if she was imagining it was a lover's touch. "His mind was suddenly filled with images of his hands and mouth following the same path as the little mahogany curl." "Only I wouldn't stop at her chest," "wait what? Where did that come from?" Jane had abruptly looked away, clearing his throat and adjusting his position on the couch, hoping no one had noticed what he'd been staring at the last several minutes.

He could truthfully say that it was the first time he had thought of Teresa Lisbon sexually and it had worried him. He knew in an abstract way that she was attractive, fellow CBI agents, other cop's and even suspects mentioned it often enough. It had even occasionally occurred to him, even though she wasn't his type (he preferred his women on more statuesque lines) that she had some beautiful features, her hair, darker than his wife's honey brown but just as soft looking, ivory skin that looked even creamier when he managed to bring a light pink blush to it and most of all her jade green eyes. He also knew she was more than just a colleague and if pushed would probably admit to being fond of her. He had proven that when he'd killed for her, sacrificing not just Hardy's life for hers but any information Red John's accomplice might have given him about the killer. Afterwards he'd had to admit to himself that there were some people he probably wasn't willing to sacrifice to catch Red John, Lisbon was one of those people and the rest of the Serious Crimes team, maybe, but especially Lisbon. He consoled himself by thinking it was a purely platonic affection, fraternal even, though he didn't, as far as he knew (he wouldn't be surprised if his father had littered the Midwest with more than just victim's of his con's), have any siblings.

That explanation had temporarily satisfied his inner monologue. When Red John had used Rebecca to take out Bosco's team he'd felt justified in his concern for her and his deathbed promises to the man had only cemented his determination to look out for her. After all even Bosco, who Jane was pretty sure hated him, had thought Lisbon needed someone to care for her, and that Jane was the best person to do it. By the time of their trust fall and his promise to her to always save her, he'd been willing to admit, though only to himself, that he might even, sort of, almost, love her, maybe, a little, well as close to love as someone as selfish and damaged as he could get. He loved her, you know like a sister, and he was determined not to fail her like he had his family. The sibling defense as he liked to call it had only worked for a while and when the first dirty thought had reared their ugly heads that Friday he wondered if maybe he had to rethink this whole Lisbon's like a sister thing. Because even Jane with his disregard for social conventions knew wondering what your sister looks like naked was a no-no and well he couldn't help but think "she's not really my sister." The whole thing had bothered and confused him so much that it had driven him from the CBI building early on Friday.

When his wife was murdered he'd sworn to himself that he would never feel for any other woman what he'd felt for her. He would never feel that combination of wanting and love for anyone else ever again. He'd tried not to get attached to anyone but humans are after all social creatures, he'd eventually begun to feel fondness for the people and yes the women around him. Lisbon was after all Lisbon loyal, selfless and Van Pelt she was adorably naïve and affectionate, like a new born kitten. And yes he occasionally felt lust he was, after all, a reasonably young, straight man, it was biology. But he'd sworn never to combine the two; he'd never have what he'd had with his wife again. He'd never try to replace his lost family with another and certainly never think about it before he caught and killed the man responsible for their deaths. It hadn't been a problem all these years even with Kristina Frye, his first date since his wife's murder, sure she intrigued him and she was physically appealing but they were too much alike for him to ever fall in love with her. Lisbon was a whole other story she'd slowly wound herself around his heart through the years and he hadn't worried too much because after all she wasn't his type, she wasn't anything like his wife. His body's reaction to her soft sigh on Friday told him it didn't care if his consciousness had caught up with it. He'd hoped that at weekend spent at his house with the Red John files and way from the source of his confusion (Lisbon) would put things back in prospective. So he'd skipped his usual Friday routine of lingering either on his couch or if he got bored on Lisbon's, making small talk and waiting until she decided she'd accomplished enough for the day. He would then jump up and inform her that he would walk her to her car, which usually made Lisbon smirk and ask sarcastically "who's the one with the gun?" He'd let her grumble when he held open the office door and pushed the elevator button for her. Resting his hand at the small of her back and gesturing with his left for her to precede him, he would just stand there, holding the elevator door, 1000 watt smile in place until she relented and went ahead of him. She may roll her eyes at him but he knows that she secretly likes his chivalry.

This Friday however he'd jumped up as soon as she'd informed the team they could go home early, saying "I have some errands I need to take care of so I guess I'll see you on Monday." She'd given him a penetrating look and for the first time in a long time it was Patrick Jane trying not to squirm at the thought of someone else being able to read his mind. "She's probably just concerned I'm going home to pore over the Red John file again." Which he totally was but only because he was trying to stop himself from wondering if she tasted as delicious as she smelled. "Stop that!" "What's wrong with you?" He lectured himself. "Okay," She said, the little crease between her eyes giving away her concern, "see you Monday, have a good weekend." He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile and strolled to the elevator. "Maybe he would stop at his favorite café before heading home; he had a sudden craving for something sweet." "Hmmmm, something with vanilla and…. cinnamon?", "A chai maybe?"

So he'd spent the weekend at his house in Malibu, pouring over his notes on the serial killer known as Red John. Occasionally sleeping on the thin mattress on the floor in what used to be his and his wife's bed room, small leather bound book of Blake's poems in his hands. This time however neither the verse recited to him as a clue by the killer nor the macabre reminder of what he'd lost painted on the wall in his wife and child's blood was enough to refocus his thoughts. And in what he saw as the ultimate betrayal instead of the dreams of his family, happy and smiling in life or bloody and cold in death that usually greeted his sleep, he dreamt of sweetly scented skin and green eyes gone soft and vague with pleasure. He'd woken gasping her name and embarrassingly sticky.

He'd taken his time showering and getting ready. Trying to rationalize the dream away, he had been celibate since his wife's death, close to 7 years, that was a long time. Besides he had found women attractive since then, the beautiful murderous widow, the call girl from the bar, Kristina but he had to admit it had never been like this. They hadn't invaded his thoughts at all hours and certainly not his dreams, especially not that kind of dream, he hadn't had one of those since he'd been a hormonal teenager. By the time he was ready and climbing into his little blue Citroen he'd given up trying to rationalize and moved on to trying to find a solution to his little "well not really little more like above average too impressively sized" problem.

As he pulled into the CBI parking lot he had to admit that he was no closer to a solution so he would do the same thing he did when he came upon a rule or regulation he didn't care for. He would ignore it. Everything would be just fine and eventually it would just go away, like it had never happened. After all he was Patrick Jane and as good as he was at lying to other people he was even better at lying to himself.

Hope you enjoyed it. I'm going to try to post the next chapter this week. It will get into the actual case part of the fic. Reviews would be awesome. }:P