Hey there. Sorry this is late I meant to have it posted by Thursday but it didn't happen. I know I said this chapter would have case fic in it but not being from California I want to do little more research about the area before I start writing on it. Many thanks to Fountainous Quill for her reviews and especially Jisbon 4ever who reviewed every chapter.

The Mentalist = Not mine

Coffee, Tea or Me?

Lisbon picked up her coffee mug and looking into the dreg filled bottom gave a huff of frustration. This was her second refill of the morning and it was barely 9 am, it should have lasted her at least another hour. She weighed the pros and cons of sitting in her office coffee less versus potentially running into Jane if she got up for another refill. "Well if I sit here for much longer with nothing to do and no coffee to drink I might end up chucking my stapler out the window but if I run into Jane in the kitchen while he's making his tea he'll probably make some comment about my looking a little haggard and proceed to tell me what I spent the weekend doing." "Ugh, well I'll have to face him eventually." "I can't avoid him forever or everyone will figure something is wrong." "Not that there is anything wrong, I mean you just figured out your falling in love with your borderline unstable, emotionally unavailable consultant." "Other than that though everything's peachy!" "What's your problem Teresa, you have something against making things easy for yourself?" "Why can't you just fall for a nice, normal, available guy?" "But no, if you did that there wouldn't be any obstacles to a relationship so you pick the broken ones or the married ones to fall for." Decision made she grabbed her mug and giving herself one last pep talk, "come on Teresa you're a big girl, this isn't the first time you haven't gotten your happily ever after, just suck it up and move on," she stood and walked purposefully out of her office and towards the kitchen. She may not look her best but it was nothing she couldn't blame on a sleepless night, she was confident that no one, not even Patrick Jane could figure out the thoughts that kept her awake and had caused the slightly purple smudges under her eyes.

Jane took a deep breath, inhaling the fragrant steam coming off the perfectly prepared cup of Assam. "So far so good," he thought. He'd been at work for all of 15 minutes and he hadn't seen hide or hair of Lisbon. He'd walked in this morning said hello to Grace who was already busy with work, although what she could be working on was a mystery to Jane seeing as they hadn't had a case in weeks. Setting his new Sudoku book on the battered leather couch, he'd shrugged out of his suit jacket and strolled over to the kitchen for his morning tea ritual. "Yes, it looks like it's going to be a perfectly normal, boring Monday morning." "Well at least for everyone else." "I'm fairly sure no else on the Serious Crimes Unit woke up this morning and realized they were falling in lust with their boss." "Which isn't surprising since Rigsby's still in love with VanPelt, Cho is thinking about asking Elise to move in with him and VanPelt… well maybe VanPelt?" Jane almost snorted out loud at the thought of the straight arrow VanPelt harboring same sex tendencies. "Well a man can dream right?"

"Ah, what does a person have to do to get a nice ennui breaking murder, besides commit it himself?" "Is it selfish and morbid of me to want someone to die just to keep my mind off my person problems?" "Yes." "Do I care?" "No." "Not if it was a bad person who totally deserved to go." "But really, it would be much easier not to think about my problems if I had an interesting case to think about." "Although the fact that I'm trying not to think about it means I'm thinking about it, right?" "Wait, huh?"

Jane shook his head at his slightly convoluted thoughts and turning to walk back to the bullpen almost groaned out loud at the sight that greeted his eyes. There stood Teresa Lisbon, hair curling around her shoulders, black jeans molded to her no doubt fit and taught thighs and the usual sensible loafers on her feet. Nothing unusual there, what drew his attention was her top half. If asked before Jane would have said Lisbon's color was dark green to match her eyes and play up the paleness of her skin, but that was before he'd seen her in dark plum purple. The snug, ¾ sleeved sweater was very thin and almost sheer. The lace edge of the black tank top she'd worn under it to preserve her modesty peeked over the top of the v neck and the color accented the creamy undertone of her skin. Gathering his wits and trying to keep from gaping at the little bit of cotton and lace that was supposed to cover her chest and instead succeeded in drawing attention to it. "Morning Lisbon!" he chirped brightly to cover his momentary lapse, "Is that a new outfit? It's very becoming."

Lisbon just rolled her eyes at his excessive cheerfulness saying "Ugh, its way too early for you to start Jane." "Can't you just go away until I have my second cup of coffee?" "And no it's not new."

"Liar." "That's at least your third, no.. fourth cup of coffee Lisbon" "You know if you'd spent the weekend relaxing instead of cleaning your apartment and working on cold case files you wouldn't be so grumpy and you might not have those dark smudges under your eyes." "Finally got those boxes unpacked from when you moved in, huh?" "Is that where you found that delightful top?" "It only took what two years to finish?" The only response he got was a glare and a "Bite me Jane," before Lisbon grabbed her newly filled mug and marched right back to her office, she just managed to restrain herself from slamming the door and instead closed it with a firm, resounding click. Jane grinned to himself, he just found out that bantering with his boss was not only entertaining but it took his mind off of other baser thought about her. He walked over to his couch and plopped himself down for a well deserved nap. "Jane," (he'd been hearing it for so long he'd even started to refer to himself that way) he thought to himself "you're a master manipulator of emotions, yours and everyone else's." "Everythings going to be just fine." Smiling slightly he settled down comfortably, hopefully they would get a case before he ran out of things to think up to torment Lisbon, or she got fed up and shot him.

It was an hour later the two remaining members of the team Rigsby and Cho had arrived and everyone ( excepting Jane of course) was being, somewhat productive when Lisbon walked out of her office to announce "We've got a body." Seeing her team jump up with a little more enthusiasm than the situation called for, made Lisbon smiled slightly. "Go home, pack your warm socks, we're headed to Mt. Shasta." "Apparently you made an impression on the local sheriff last time we were there Jane because he specifically requested our team."

"Really," Jane said, getting up and gathering his stuff like the other three agents in the bullpen, a curious look in his slightly sleepy eyes.

"Wait, Sheriff Jones, didn't that guy try to punch you in the face last time we saw him, Jane?" asked Rigsby.

"Yeah he did," Lisbon laughingly replied, "but apparently all is forgiven." "He said you might find this one interesting, Jane, something about a body, a pit and some snakes?"

"Sounds like something out of a story by Poe," said Cho.

"Uhhh… did you say snakes boss," asked Rigsby nervously.

"Is there a problem Rigsby?" /Jane/

"Big guy's afraid of snakes," replied Cho, trying to keep a straight face.

"Am not!" retorted Wayne.

"Children!" "I'll see you back here in an hour!" Lisbon yelled, watching as the group of four walk onto the elevator, the two men still jeering at the big agent. She shook her head as she walked back into her office, she had a great group of people but sometimes she couldn't help but feel like she was a kindergarten teacher and not the head of a an elite crime fighting unit. Lisbon sat and giving a small sigh relaxed for the first time all morning. She had an hour until they came back and since she always kept an overnight bag in the office she had nothing to do but enjoy the peace and quiet until Jane and the team (but mostly Jane) came back to distract her.

Thanks for reading, hope you like it so far. If you do review and let me know, if you don't review anyway and tell me what you hate about it.

Chapter 6 preview:

"Sheriff Jones, good to see you again." "What have you got?"

"Agent Lisbon, Mr. Jane, pleasure to see you, wish it was under better circumstances." "Well it's just what it looks like." "Male DB (dead body), naked, in a hole about 15 ft deep by 10 ft wide, looks to be between 18 to 30 years old."

"Are those..?"

"Snakes?" Said Sheriff Jones brightly, "yes sir, Agent Rigsby, I'd say 150 maybe 200 of them."