Thanks so much for all the reviews so far guys, it makes me want to update faster so keep them coming. I hope you like this chapter, it was one of my favourite to write so far.

Disclaimer: Still don;t own the mentalist.

Chapter Eight.

'Hey man I asked if you could order me some chips. What the hell is this?' Rigsby asked Colin in confusion as he stared down at his plate of piping hot fries.

'Um, those are chips my yankee friend,' Colin replied in a tone that was just a little too patronizing for Rigby's liking.

'No they're not, those are fries.' Rigsby felt himself getting annoyed. Deep down he knew that he was just picking on things to be annoyed at because Van Pelt was clearly taken in by his charm and ridiculously over the top posh accent.

'Oh you mean crisps?' Nikki interjected in her usual chirpy self, obviously trying to diffuse the obvious tension that had been brewing between the two men. 'I never understood why you call them chips. Anyway would you like me to get you some crisps? I'm heading back to the bar anyway.'

'No that's quite alright Nikki, he'll make do with what he's got,' Van Pelt insisted before turning her attention towards Rigsby, 'You love fries... sorry, chips, so just deal with it.' She looked at him with eyes that seemed to say, stop acting like a spoilt brat, you're embarrassing me.

Rigsby huffed in defeat and he felt his heart sink a little bit. Ever since they had arrived at the pub Grace had done nothing but sit and giggle like a school girl while Colin indulged her with tales of his family estate and the shenanigans he got up to at whatever over priced private school he went to. He downed another pint of beer, his third in less than half an hour, whilst resisting the urge to teach Colin a few life lessons in manliness.

'I just love the way you guys talk.' Van Pelt squealed, she herself had indulged in a few too many drinks. 'You just sound so elegant and classy.'

Rigsby attempted to distract himself by joining in with Cho and Nikki's discussion. As much as he tried to concentrate, however, he couldn;t block out Van Pelt. How could she be into this guy? He's so not her type, well at least he thought so anyway. If he was being honest, he didn't feel that he knew that much about Grace anymore. Ever since the whole O'Laughlin debacle, they had drifted further apart and it was getting increasingly difficult to understand her. What if she slept with this Colin guy? Then the chances of his heart breaking again were sure to increase and he knew that he could never summon up the courage to ask her out again.

He was broken out of his trance by the sound of Nikki asking him and Cho a question. 'So how are you guys liking London so far?'

'Terrible weather.' Cho replied quickly and in his usual stoic voice. 'But a nice city nonetheless.'

'And of course the lovely company,' Rigsby added, throwing a cheeky wink in Nikki's direction, although in his slightly tipsy state probably looked more like a twitch. In his jealous state he contemplated the idea of using Nikki to distract himself over his issues with Van Pelt and Prince Charming across the table. Maybe he could use a little vacation fling? It couldn't hurt, and perhaps might even make Grace realise what she had lost and then he would have her back in his arms where she belonged. Nikki was attractive, friendly, funny; and clearly up for a good time.

After about an hour of shameless flirting, and many, many pints later, Rigsby felt Cho's hand on his shoulder. 'I think it's time we got you some water Rigs,'.

Without hesitation Cho led Rigsby away from the table and led him out of earshot from the others.

'What the hell are you playing at?' The stoic agent gave Rigsby one of his infamous glares which made Wayne feel like he was a naughty child being told off by a parent or an older brother.

'What do you mean?'

'Oh come off it man, hitting on Nikki like that. It's not cool and you need to stop it now.'

'Why? Because you're into her too?' he attempted to jest. 'Besides she seems quite responsive to me.'

'Okay, firstly she only seems responsive to you because she's a nice girl who doesn't want to embarrass you in front of everyone. And secondly, I couldn't care less if you actually just wanted to have a fling with her. But using her as bait to lure Van Pelt back is just not on.'

'Who are you, Pane all of a sudden?'

'Huh?'

'Oh, i meant to say Patrick but then i started to say Jane; Pane!' Rigsby laughed to himself, confirming Cho's theory about how drunk his fellow agent was. This was precisely why Cho didn't drink; it turns people into complete idiots and Rigsby was living proof of this.

'Right I think it's time to call it a night.' He said before making his way back to the table to gather up his and Rigsby's stuff.

'Oh you guys going?' Colin asked, feigning disappointment, as he was clearly glad at the opportunity to have the beautiful red-haired agent all to himself.

'Yeap, afraid so. I think Rigsby has had a little too much to drink. I'm glad I'm not him in the morning.' He gestured at Wayne who was currently trying to stay upright, swaying back and forth and muttering gibberish.

'I'll help you, besides I'm going to call it a night anyway.' Nikki bolted upright from her chair; she clearly did not want to be left feeling like a gooseberry with Colin and Grace. After they said their goodnight's, Cho and Nikki tried their best to navigate Rigsby, who was becoming increasingly incoherent, down the cold streets of London back to their hotel.

'Are you going to be okay getting home?' Cho asked nikki, while attempting to support Rigsby's tall frame.

'Yeah, I'll be fine.' I only live ten minutes away from the station so i'll just walk once I've helped you drop off this big lump.' She said, gesturing at Wayne.

'No, I'll get you a cab; can't be too careful.' Cho said, ever the gentleman, 'Hey, thanks for playing along with Rigs tonight. As you can probably tell he has some issues.'

'Please, I'm a detective; it wasn't difficult to notice that he's clearly hurting over Grace. Besides I didn't want to give Colin anymore ammunition than he already has. I wouldn't worry about her though. Colin's harmless even if he is a douchebag.'

As they continued their way down past the station, Nikki and cho's conversation was interrupted by Rigsby shouting complete nonsense and pointing in some random direction.

'Hehe, look it's the Bosbin, I mean Loss... Tisbon!'

'What on earth is wrong with you?' Cho was beginning to lose patience with his friend.

'Teresa Lisbon, the boss,' he managed to state clearly as he pointed towards a man and a woman walking out of the station with their arms around each other.

'Man that's not the boss, as if she...' Cho's voice tailed off as he could very clearly see that the woman in question was indeed Lisbon... with Harry's arms around her. The two were laughing and joking, being very affectionate with each other. Much to Cho's relief they had gone unnoticed as he observed his boss in a whole other light. She looked happy, maybe a fling was just what he needed to pull herself out of the foul mood she had clearly been in since landing here.

'oh my god that was so obviously going to happen,' Nikki gasped, 'Talk about fostering better international relations.'

Cho laughed at this statement. As they continued to walk, Rigsby pointed out another strange sighting. Cho was certain that this must definitely be a drunken figment of Rigby's imagination. But lo and behold, there was Patrick Jane sat on a bench having what appears to be a very deep and intimate conversation with DC Samantha Jones. What on earth was going on with everybody? Without wanting to be seen by the consultant, Cho and Nikki got Rigsby back and tucked up into the bed of his hotel room as quickly as possible.

Once they had made sure Wayne was safely asleep, with no danger of throwing up and choking on his own vomit the entered the hallway to discuss the night's events.

'So... you're boss and my boss, Patrick and Samantha, Colin and Grace, Rigsby and well... alcohol. Seems everybody bonded with someone tonight.' Nikki yawned, it had been a long night.

'Huh, it seems that way.' Cho added, although still astounded by the image of seeing Jane that close with somebody. It was a rare sight to behold. Still, he was bummed that he had spent a night in London having to babysit Rigsby. With that thought in mind he made a very bold suggestion.

'So I guess you and I should hook up tonight then.' He stated in a very matter of fact way.

Nikki was clearly not offended by the upfront way Cho just addressed this matter, which he liked in a woman. A small mischievous smile enveloped her lips. 'No strings?'

'No strings.' He confirmed.

'You're place or mine?' They understood each other. None of them wanting to be the only ones on their team not getting any action.

'Well my room is two seconds down this hallway so that seems to be the obvious choice.' And with that, Cho led Nikki to his hotel room. Just because Rigsby wasn;t in the right frame of mind to have a holiday fling doesn't mean that Cho wasn't.

So what do you guys think? The next chapter will focus on Jane and Lisbon and the events leading up to what Cho and the gang witnessed, from Jane and Lisbon's perspective. All may not be what it seems... Please review : )