A/N: Dammit, distracting plot bunny. Well, the sooner it's written, the sooner I can stop worrying about completing it in just over a fortnight. Ack. Right. Back to SSS for today after posting this. And I mean it this time. *frowns at plot bunnies*

Thank you to: boutondor, lisbon69, Famous4it, yaba, The Mentalist Rules, Frogster, Siren Musings, Ebony10, forthecoast, Divinia Serit and Koezh for reviewing part three.

x tromana

Part Four

"What's wrong with him?"

Jane slammed the kettle down with more force than was entirely necessary and both Rigsby and Cho twitched in response. Whenever the blond was in a foul mood, he routinely took it out on unsuspecting crockery and obviously today was no different.

"My lovely ex-wife is still lying to me, that's what's wrong."

"Ex-wife?" Rigsby echoed, knowing full well he sounded like a fool. "I thought she was de-"

"Not her," Jane snapped back and Rigsby recoiled slightly. "Lisbon."

"Lisbon? As in…"

"Yes, as in the boss, Lisbon," Cho clarified for him and the taller man's eyes widened in surprise.

"No way. You and her?"

"What would be wrong with that? I love her and she loves me."

"Loved, Jane," Cho corrected automatically and Jane turned to face him. "She always makes it very clear that it's something that's in the past now."

"And that's how she's lying to me," he answered and stalked away, straight back into the bullpen.

Carefully, he placed the cup and saucer on the floor before flopping down on the couch. Ever since he'd found those letters from Red John, he had been torn between anger, sympathy and frustration and he had nobody who would talk about it with him, least of all Lisbon herself.

It explained a lot though.

The day she left him, she'd looked heartbroken. Same with every other time they had bumped into each during and after the divorce proceedings.

At the moment, she seemed torn between affection and irritation though. Jane had a feeling that trying to remain perpetually annoyed with him helped her to ignore how she actually felt about him.

Not that she'd admit it either way. He'd already tried weaseling that out of her with no luck whatsoever.

But really, what hurt the most was the fact that she never bothered talking to him about the letters in the first place. There must have been another way around it, rather than simply giving up and allowing Red John to control their lives. It was bad enough that he'd taken away his first wife and only child and now…

Now, all he could do was watch Lisbon. Steal the odd guilty touch here and there, whenever he felt like he could get away with it and she appeared receptive to him. But generally she shied away from him.

He hated having a relationship with her that was generally look but do not touch. She may have been afraid of what Red John might do to her, to them, if they tried to reconcile their differences but he was trying his best to prove to himself otherwise.

Footsteps suddenly broke the silence and Jane had expected that. Though they were clearly putting off work, the two male agents on the team had to come and get on with it sooner or later. Lisbon seemed to be matching his foul mood so they were both really keen to avoid a tongue-lashing if at all possible. Chairs scraped across the floor as they both sat down and Jane's peace and thinking time was finally disturbed.

"I still can't believe she was married to him though."

Jane smirked and closed his eyes. Obviously Lisbon was a good enough actress to fool Rigsby into believing she had no affections whatsoever for him. Then again, he was Rigsby, so that wasn't really saying all that much.

000

"No, Jane," Lisbon stated flatly in response to his question. "It's too dangerous."

"Isn't it your job all about going into risky situations?"

"There's a difference between risky situations and having a death wish, Jane."

"But it's the obvious way to flush out Red John."

"Minelli would never approve of it."

"He's approved of plans like this before."

"No, he hasn't," she retorted and Jane looked at her disbelievingly. "It would put us in direct danger - mean we were at risk of being killed by an elusive serial killer who prides himself on the fact that he can run rings around the authorities. What boss would agree to that?"

"But-"

"Being a police officer doesn't mean playing the hero, Jane," she explained patiently, "our safety is the most important thing."

"Is it?"

"Check the rules and regulations if you must. I'm just paraphrasing them."

With one final glare, Jane rose to his feet and stormed out of her office. He'd been so sure that he would be able to convince her. She had been listening to him a lot more of late, even willing to indulge in the odd party trick now and again. Seeing her smile at his little mind games made work a little lighter, a little more comfortable. It gave him something to focus on in between their disagreements.

His plan, in his opinion, was foolproof.

Red John clearly wouldn't be able to resist coming after Lisbon if he found out that they had rekindled their love. That Jane was no longer in a state of misery, mourning for one wife and permanently separated from the other. The murderer, for one reason or another, just couldn't bear to see Jane happy and would have to do something to stop it.

Attempting to carry out the promise that he'd written a while ago, probably just after Lisbon had left him, would be something he felt he needed to do.

To remind Jane how powerful he was.

To prove his skills once again.

To show he was above the law and was unafraid of killing an officer of the law just because he wanted to.

Of course, they wouldn't let her die. Minelli would, no doubt, offer them both the highest level of protection until the serial killer had succumbed to temptation and been apprehended.

Besides, she was a highly skilled individual as it was. She constantly reminded people that she didn't need caring for, that she could look after herself. Jane had no doubt that Lisbon could handle Red John, whoever he was, if it really came down to it.

He would have been lying if he said he couldn't see the dual purpose of his plan. If they masqueraded as a couple, if only for a short while, he'd hope that it would remind Lisbon of what they once had. That she would be tempted to return to what they once had for good.

What they could still have, if only they both had the courage.

But she didn't even dare tell Minelli the idea. And for once, Jane wasn't willing to go in over her head. If they were going to do this, she had to agree to it too.

TBC…