Thank you so very much to those who reviewed the last chapter. I am somewhat new to this fandom, but this is an idea that I have had in my head since around episode 7 of season 7. Thank you kindly for the warm welcome and I hope anyone reading enjoys this story.

"Agent Lisbon," Swain found the woman she'd been searching for standing in the break room, talking to the man known as Patrick Jane, who Swain had definitively decided was her boyfriend. Patrick Jane presented as a classic gentleman – dressed in a grey suit and vest, white shirt but no tie. He was sipping his drink out of a blue cup and even holding the saucer.

Swain acknowledged Mr Jane but continued speaking, "We have some news."

Teresa turned to face her, putting her black cup down on the bench and shoving her other hand into her front pocket of her dress pants. "What news?"

Patrick continued to sip his drink while Swain answered. "Agent Wiley's research into assets owned by the suspect came up with a wheat mill business that went bust a few years ago. Hatcher's father owned the company which doesn't seem to operate but it does still have a lease on the building. Locals say it looks abandoned but there may be some occasional activity at night."

Patrick paused a moment, holding his cup to his lips. "You think they're using it for something?"

"They could be."

Teresa looked skeptical. "It's a little too obvious, isn't it?"

Swain shrugged, "Worth checking out. We'll go after daylight though, which is in about an hour. That work for you?" At Lisbon's nod, Swain finished, "Suit up then. She left the couple alone in the kitchen.

After Swain left, Jane looked at Lisbon. "I'm going with you."

She looked at him with a mix of adoration and irritation, but was too tired to argue with him, "Fine."

The building was dark when the police arrived. The police cars light up the night with their blue and red lights. Whilst the team had cause to believe that Hatcher (and perhaps other persons) had been or may be at the premises, there had been no real emergency so the sirens had remained switched off on all three cars which pulled up in a semi-circle. Nevertheless, given the circumstances, and by way of caution, all personnel where vested – except, of course, Patrick Jane, who was apparently bullet proof.

Agent Lisbon stepped out of one of the vehicles, weapon at the ready and jogged out to follow several other police who had intended to enter the building. Jane, of course, tagged along behind her.

"Hey," a member of the white collar team who had not been acquainted with either of them turned to see them and gestured at Jane. He spoke in a loud whisper, "Back in the car. Now."

Lisbon responded with chagrin, "Don't bother." Off his look, she added, "Trust me."

The Agent spoke to Jane: "At least put a damn vest on." He then turned toward the building.

They split up – one group carefully checking the bottom of the building, one group carefully trotting to the top, and another the sides and front. Lisbon and Cho, with Jane – now in a vest – following behind, took the bottom. The building was dark so they opened their flash lights to give themselves some light.

"Not a whole lot here," Cho reported glancing behind him at Lisbon. It'll be easier to come back in the morning when it's light." He was cut off with a sudden movement and blow to the head.

Before either Lisbon or Jane could even consider their evasive action, they had been forcibly taken by the arms and silenced by at least two other assailants.

Agent Abbott noticed Swain through the window of the spare office on his way back from the tea room. He popped in, "I thought you were out with the rest of the team?"

She was standing at her desk with a set of head phones over one ear, "I was but I wanted to go through the person of interest interviews once again to see if we missed anything. There might be some other angles to take the investigation. I doubt they'll find much at the building in any case."

Abbott nodded, "Fair enough." As he went to leave, she called after him, "What's going on with those two – Lisbon and Jane?" Swain asked him.

He shrugged, "I have no idea."

"You mean that you know exactly what is going on except that it is none of my business."

He smiled slightly, "Very good."

She took her headphones off and called after him again, "Is he going to be a problem?"

"He, who?"

"Mr Jane. Is he going to be a problem?"

"How would be he be a problem?"

"It looked like he was asking her not to work with us."

"Oh no, that's just Jane. Don't worry. Lisbon is not going to be taken off the case. He's not her boss. I am." He paused a moment, "Well, Agent Cho is now."

"Why does she work with her husband anyway?"

He paused, raising an eyebrow, "He's not her husband."

"No? But…"

Abbott knew precisely what she was thinking, "He wears a wedding ring from his last wife. She was murdered. Along with their young daughter."

"Oh my goodness."

"Yeah." He glanced behind him in the office. There was no one there at this time of night but he entered and closed the door anyway. "I guess… he's afraid of going through that again."

When Lisbon came to, she was in another part of what she quickly assumed was the same building, only underneath - judging by the brick walls and the strong smell of damp dirt. It was just as dark, but a small bulb several feet away in the middle of the room gave off a little more light. She was lying in her side so she sat up, noticing that Jane was awake just behind her and being pulled to stand by a much larger man - about 6 foot, but wide and wearing brown pants and a leather jacket. Lisbon would come to know this man as Mason Lake.

A presence behind her gave her cause to reach for her weapon. The holster was empty. Someone grabbed her upper arm tight and pulled her up – another man. Before she could turn to get a good look at him, she heard Jane call out to him from behind her, "Hey," he called, very un-Jane-like, "Leave her alone!" almost immediately, she heard him cry as he was struck in the stomach.

"Hey! Stop!" She allowed herself to be pulled up by the smaller man beside her but tried to turn to see if her partner was alright.

A new voice greeted them: "Enough."

Douglas Hatcher stepped out towards them, dim light bouncing off his thin face. The years had not been kind to him. His once boyish features where now gaunt, his previously thick black hair was now thin and stringy, cut short but hanging down to the nap of his neck, and his eyes were black - darker than she remembered.

"Hatcher." She stayed calm, pushing down a sudden shiver at the sheer malevolence of Hatcher's presence.

"Agent Lisbon, now with the FBI I see."

"What do you want?"

"Straight to it, huh? I like that. Well, first of all, thank you so very much for coming straight to me. I sent invitations to seven officers and you were the one to arrive, after less than a day. Much appreciated."

She said nothing and neither did her partner so Hatcher kept talking. "Okay - I need this from you, Lisbon: in evidence, you hold a dozen stones taken from me seven years ago. I know they've not been destroyed because you've not been able to obtain convictions on the related charges. I need those stones back."

"Why." She did not phrase it as a question.

"Because they will open something worth a lot of money... which I need to open to avoid execution by a group of people much more dangerous than me."

Jane and Lisbon stole a glance at one another. "What makes you think the FBI will let you have it?" she asked him.

"They won't." He approached her. "But you – you will get it for me."

"Or else what."

"Or." He turned and walked back toward the light. She could see the room looked it might have once been used as a tool shed or a cellar – a lonely wooden bench lay across one side and in front of her, she could make out a stack of chairs, piles of wood and boxes. Hatcher grabbed a wooden chair, pulling it along the dirt floor under the light into the middle of the room, "I will make you suffer."

Jane spoke "Don't." He forced out. "Leave her alone. Take me."

"Jane, hush." She told him gently. At the same time, Hatcher spoke to his partners, "Shut him up."

He then took a hold of Lisbon's arm to pull her toward the chair. The man who had held her let go. As he did so, she cast a glance behind her at Jane to watch the two of them force Jane into a seated position. Lisbon got her first good look at the man how had stood behind her. She noticed that the other man was at least half the size of the bigger one – about Jane's height, brown hair and white skin with what looked like acne scarring over his face. He was wearing jeans and jacket with brown work boots. She would later identify him as Eric Brandt.

"Let him go." She referred to Jane. "He doesn't need to be here."

"Of course he needs to be here." Hatcher turned to the other men, "Pull his chair over here."

As they did so, Hatcher directed Lisbon into the chair he'd brought over, cuffing her to it. She glanced up and noted Jane had been gagged with a thick cloth, which probably used to be a red bandanna.

Both of them sat semi-facing one another in the middle of a cool underground cellar, under what seemed to be the only source of dim light. To make matters worse, Hatcher dragged over a black suitcase and opened it.

Lisbon's stomach dropped and all moisture left her mouth. Inside the bag were a whole lot of silver instruments which it looked like a dentist might use, only more cruel.

It was literally like a classic torture scene from a James Bond movie. And Jane was about to witness it. She watched him struggle against his bonds while she sat calmly. He was never one to remain stoic or hide his emotions in such circumstances. She cast him a deeply apologetic look, only falling short of mouthing an apology.

Hatcher selected an instrument out of his bag which looked across between a thin knife and a screw driver, only longer and much thinner. He held it up so they could both see it and addressed Lisbon. "When applied to the right pressure points and bundle of nerves, this causes agonising pain to the victim's entire body."

He walked closer to her and knelt down in front of her. "I know because I've had it done to me. I know how to use it as well, so help me God." He sounded almost apologetic.

She swallowed but focused on her breath to calm herself, blocking out Jane's struggles and muffled yells.

"So, either my stones... Or, I make you cry and beg and suffer like never before."

She spoke calmly "You might find there will have to be a third option."

After Abbott entered her office, Swain was quiet for a moment. "So you think that Mr Jane is afraid of losing a loved one again."

Abbott leant against an armchair in the room, "Of course. I would expect so."

She folded her arms, "Don't you think someone should tell him that's not what he needs to worry about?"

"How do you mean?"

"The note wasn't directed at him. It was directed at her."

He looked at her blankly so she decided to spell it out for him. "How do you think Hatcher plans to hurt her?"

"You think they're going to go after him?"

She nodded, "She's in love with him, right?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"Then – almost certainly."

Hatcher chuckled, "Lisbon, you're not listening to me." He glanced at Jane, "I think you're really upsetting your boyfriend here. He is your boyfriend, right?"

She didn't answer so Hatcher continued, "On the other hand, you… you're really calm." He played with the tool. "Interesting."

He stood up. "I think I know why." He looked at her. "You don't fully appreciate what I'm going to do to you." Glancing over at Jane, he said, "But he does."

He strolled over as Jane renewed his struggling. "It's happened to him before." Hatcher crouched in front of Jane and looked into his eyes. Suddenly, Patrick Jane calmed considerably, almost stilling.

Hatcher nodded, "Now you understand," he said to Patrick. Without looking back at Lisbon, he put a gentle hand on Jane's left shoulder, as if Jane himself might do to calm a witness or suspect, "Breathe." He instructed before pushing the instrument into the same shoulder.

Patrick screamed through his gag in agony. Lisbon cried out, "NO!" She began to struggle in her cuffs, "Leave him alone! No, stop!"

Hatcher chuckled, walking back over to the bag and selecting another instrument which looked much the same. "Take out his gag; I want her to hear this."

Lisbon could see that Jane seemed to be in blinding pain. "No, stop! Please!" Her voice broke, "Alright. I'll get you the stones. Just, please... please don't hurt him."

Jane still writhed on the chair before them, biting into his gag but semi-coherent. The two men stood behind him, not yet having removed it as initially instructed. Hatcher smiled, "There. That didn't take long." He reached up to wipe a tear off her face. "Not long at all."

"Please." She looked at the man she loved across from her, "You're hurting him."

Hatcher paused but then turned to retrieve his tool from the consultant's shoulder. Patrick gave a yelp as it was removed but Teresa could see his entire body relax as Hatcher walked away, clearly in a lot less blinding pain. She swallowed. For a moment, the room was filled only with Jane and Lisbon's heavy breathing.

Hatcher then spoke, "I'm going to let you go." Lisbon let out a sigh of relief. "Just you. The gentleman stays here."

Her throat filled up and she felt her eyes sting with new tears but she pushed the feeling away. When she spoke, her voice shook, more vulnerable than she'd ever sounded, "You could let him come with me, as a gesture of good faith."

Hatcher smiled, "Agent Lisbon, my gesture of good faith is having my tools in my suitcase instead of in your loved one." He leaned up to her ear, "Don't think I won't make a man cry." She shuddered involuntarily.

Hatcher stood up, "I'll have a cell phone delivered to you. You can contact us that way." He turned to the two men, "Put a bag in her head and see her out." They started towards her as Hatcher walked away. Suddenly, he turned in his heel, "Oh wait, one last thing."

He walked over to Jane who was still gagged and reached toward his face. Jane pulled back only slightly as Hatcher wiped two fingers over Jane's face. He came back over to Lisbon. "I want you to have something before you go." He knelt down before her and brushed his fingers over her lips. She tasted salt. "When I promise to make you suffer, I mean it. Now, get me what I want."

I absolutely adore the dude in distress/ man in peril and I'm a big sucker for hurt/comfort so I have been thinking about this as a possible scenario ever since episode 7 or thereabouts. I do not think that Lisbon needs to quit her job for this relationship to work… but I do think that perhaps she needs to act more cautious, as though one would if they had a family to come home to. I do think that if her job were to put him in danger, she might come closer to his way of thinking, so I wanted to explore that a little. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Just a quick note about this chapter: I have taken a little bit of artistic license as I note there are literally only about three wheat mills in Austen, but for the purposes of this story, please just assume that it all makes sense.