A/N: I woke up in the middle of the night to write part of this, Cat. Damn you.

Thank you to: boutondor, Frogster, DG, yaba, Koezh, phoenixmagic1, Chiisana Minako, anthropologist and Famous4it for reviewing part one and confirming that I'm not going mad. Also to those who have already favourited this. I feel ridiculously honoured that you have that much confidence in me.

DG - no you didn't sound stalkerish, I'm glad you think I've improved too. Sorry, you weren't first though. Thank you for reviewing!

x tromana

Part Two

He was trying not to think about what had just happened.

The moment he nearly got himself killed by a suspect who held a grudge.

It was rather unfair, really. The man hadn't even been responsible for the death of Andrew Watts in the end; he was merely an accessory to murder. But now, because of the fact that he had attempted to kill Patrick Jane, his rap sheet had suddenly grown at a seemingly exponential rate. He was definitely going to jail for a long while.

Well, when he recovered from the gunshot wound he'd received very recently, that was.

Jane wandered into Teresa's office, as she had requested. He still couldn't think of her as 'Lisbon', especially when she had been Mrs. Jane for a while. It may have only been a short while - only ten months or so - but that was besides the point.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Teresa's head whipped around to see who they belonged to. Her eyes narrowed slightly and Jane's heart sank. There was absolutely no need for her to act so frosty around him all the while. He was trying his best to remain as civil as possible, to make life easier for her. Teresa had made it clear just how much she hated having him on her territory, but not only that, as her subordinate as well. But still, she could have had the decency to return the favor, even if she was boiling with rage inside. Though she was the one who had left him, she was still acting like the wronged party, like she was still torn between being unable to stand the sight of him and being hopelessly in love still.

He couldn't help it. The moment he sat opposite her, he smiled.

"You saved my life today."

"Please," she replied with a derisive snort. "Don't make a big deal out of it. I would have done the same for any member of my team."

The grin grew a little wider. She already saw him as a member of her team, albeit begrudgingly.

"But it is a big deal," he shot back, his eyes dancing with mirth. "I don't know of anybody who wouldn't think shooting a man to save somebody's life wasn't."

"I'm not just anybody."

"I know, Teresa."

"I didn't shoot to kill," she added.

"Exactly."

She bit her lip, though not hard enough for it to cause her any real pain. Jane watched her every move, indulging in the way she reacted to his scrutinizing gaze. It seemed to make her feel more uncomfortable than ever, something which was unsurprising.

"Oh, while you're here…"

She paused mid-sentence and immediately started rifling through one of her draws. Somehow, she managed to make her actions seem terribly ominous and it was Jane's turn to feel uncomfortable. He swallowed deeply and briefly wondered if this was going to be yet another attempt to return her engagement ring. Despite only being a civil servant and receiving far less pay than she should considering the risks she took in the line of duty (in his opinion, at any rate), she hadn't asked for a cent off of him when they divorced. He'd been insistent that she kept any jewelry he'd given her though, much to her irritation.

Instead of pulling out a velvet box, she emerged with a form printed on yellow paper and his heart sank. Teresa knew just how much he hated paperwork and she was about to force him to do some. Probably because he'd have had his skull bashed in by a maniac with a shovel if she hadn't been there at the time.

"You need to visit Dr. Gavin," she announced as she surveyed him. "She's the departmental psychiatrist."

"Oh."

"I know you'll just mess around with her, but it's company protocol. And if you want to continue joining us out in the field…"

He quickly snatched the form from out of her hands. Of course he wanted to work with them as much as feasibly possible. It kept his overactive mind occupied; something few other things managed to achieve.

And it meant that he had more exposure to his beautiful ex-wife.

Who was actually managing to make him, Patrick Jane, feel guilty.

Something which was no mean feat at all.

000

Jane sank back into the brown leather of the couch and smiled briefly at Rigsby, who watched him curiously.

By all regards, it was a little too soft for him, but he had to make do. In reality, he would have preferred to lay on the one in Teresa's office as it was a little harder, less forgiving. He knew that if he even dared try that though, she would have given him the head injury he missed out on merely hours ago.

She was still quick to temper, that one.

Still, laying on the couch gave him time to think.

About Red John.

About working for the CBI.

About Teresa.

Admittedly, more the latter than the other two.

She was avoiding talking to him at all costs, except to get his opinion on the current case, whatever that may be. At least she respected that, to a certain extent. Even if she did feel like he was waltzing in and trying to show her how to do her job. Which, obviously, was never his intention. And on occasion, they were beginning to fall back into their old patterns. Baiting one another, bickering, drawing out those little shy smiles that they reserved for one another only.

Jane liked that, even though not being able to touch her was almost like a living hell. It was bad enough that she always stopped speaking rather abruptly the moment she realized what was happening.

Teresa had always withdrawn from him when something scared her in the past. It wasn't that she was spooked easily; with her job she had to have a strong stomach and the ability to hold her nerves. No, it was when something emotional challenged her that she grew worried and shied away. It was the threat of losing her husband to a serial killer (both literally and emotionally) that had sent her packing.

She really didn't know just how much he missed her.

That he would do anything to get her back.

Well, almost anything. He still wanted to see Red John butchered above everything else.

TBC…