A/N: As always, a HUGE thank you to all those that took the time to review the last chapter, I'm really, really grateful. Here's the next chapter - I know some people are expecting some big things so I hope it's not a total disappointment!

Onto...

CHAPTER 11

Sarah walked in and stood nervously in the middle of the room. She knew she wanted to do this but she was still fighting the urge to keep her distance from the consultant as well. Her headache was present, as always now it seemed, but during the past few hours when he'd been in danger she'd somehow managed to overcome the pain and her irrational feelings.

Maybe it had been the adrenalin; maybe it had been the panic but whatever is was, it wasn't helping her now. As she stood there looking at him watching her, she could feel everything starting to crowd in on her again and she glanced at the door wondering if she could tell him she'd made a mistake and just leave.

"I won't stop you if you want to go," Jane told her quietly from where he still stood by the door, cup in hand.

Her eyes widened in surprise that he seemed to know what she was thinking. His own face was impassive, not allowing her the same dispensation. She warred with herself for a couple of moments then took a step towards the door only to stop when she saw a flash of something cross his features that took her a few seconds to recognise.

It was hurt.

Her heart gave a little lurch at the thought of upsetting him and she found herself shaking her head.

"No. I…I want to stay," she declared, firming her resolve.

He nodded then looked down and the barest of smiles touched his lips as he walked towards her and asked, "Do you want some tea? It'll help you relax."

Sarah nodded and he moved passed her to the maker. He switched it on again then drained his own cup and placed it down by the machine. He reached out for another cup and it was then she noticed the long, thin scar that adorned the top of his right forearm.

"How did you get that?" she asked without thinking. Realising what she'd said she immediately backtracked adding contritely, "I'm sorry, it's none of my business."

Jane paused in what he was doing and looked down at his arm. He'd almost forgotten about the scar. Yet another reminder of his obsession with Red John and therefore his family's deaths, but this was a permanent physical one rather than mental. The killer had impacted upon his life in so many ways…was still impacting on it. He wondered if he'd ever be truly free of all the binds that tied him to the evil murderer.

"It's fine," he said, shooting her a smile before explaining, "Just a little accident I had a while ago. My own fault."

She nodded but didn't really believe him. The injury looked more recent than 'a while ago' as he'd claimed but she remained silent. He had his reasons for not telling her and she had to respect that. She watched him place the teabags in the cups and then he turned to face her.

"So, how are we going to do this?" she asked, shoving her hands into her jeans pockets so that he wouldn't notice they were shaking. "How do you find the trigger?"

"Usually it's a pressure point on your body that I have to find. Sometimes it's a word. On the odd occasion it can be both," he told her as he folded his arms and leaned back against the table that supported the tea maker. He tilted his head to look at her assessingly then predicted, "In your case, judging from the way you pull away whenever I touch you, I'd say it's a physical thing."

"A physical thing?" she repeated, reddening slightly at his answering nod.

"Yes, he's planted a suggestion that automatically makes you want to keep away from me so it makes it harder for me to search out the trigger; but there are ways to get around that."

"What ways?" she asked curiously.

"I can put you into a light trance," he replied casually, as if it wasn't a big deal.

"You mean hypnotise me again?" she queried in surprise. "You can do that? Will it even work?"

"It's not hypnotism, just a relaxed state so that it stops you from getting too agitated when I begin," he assured her with a small smile. "It was kind of my job before I joined the CBI."

That intirgued her and she wanted to ask more but she had a feeling that now wasn't the time. She sighed, not liking the idea of agreeing to his suggestion but knowing she really didn't have any other option if she wanted to get back to who she supposedly really was. It was all so infuriating and frightening and everything seemed to be spiralling out of her control. Irrationally, she had the childish urge to stamp her foot in frustration.

"Why me?" she suddenly blurted out irritably. "Why am I so special that Red John did this to me?"

Jane was surprised by her question and not quite sure how to answer it. He couldn't tell her that it was because the sadistic murderer knew that he loved her. When he said those words to her again, it'd be to the real Lisbon.

"He knew that it'd do the most damage to the team if you were gone," he explained. It wasn't a complete lie; it just wasn't the complete truth either.

"The team?" she queried dubiously, "But what about you?"

For some reason the feelings that he brought forth within her, especially after a dream, seemed to hint at more than just him being a team member. There was also the odd comment he'd let slip that implied something deeper too. Not to mention the way he looked at her sometimes.

"Me? I don't know what you mean," he denied blithely before turning around and busying himself with their almost forgotten tea. "Why don't you sit down and I'll bring these over."

She looked at one of the more comfortable looking chairs and did as he requested. He came over with their drinks and handed one to her with a smile before grabbing a nearby chair and sitting down opposite her.

"I don't believe you," she stated quietly, the words hanging heavy between them. "Those things Harding said, the way you've acted towards me, my dreams, the way I feel…if I can't trust that you're telling me the truth about this then how can I trust you about anything else?"

Jane looked at her troubled face and let out a sigh. He knew he was going to have to give her some kind of honest explanation if he wanted her to relax enough for it to work.

"Red John killed my wife and child because of something I said that he didn't like," he began quietly. Ignoring her sharp intake of breath he continued, "That's how I came to the CBI and where I first met Lisbon…you…and the team. We've been through a lot together over the years and I'd be lying if I said that we hadn't grown close but…there's never been anything more between Lisbon and myself than friendship."

Sarah was shocked and saddened by what he'd told her and immediately felt sorry for pushing him like she had. Staring at him compassionately, she gave a little nod then placed her cup down on the floor by the side of her chair.

"OK, I'm ready," she told him as she sat back up. Taking a deep breath, she settled back into the seat and waited nervously for him to begin.

Jane could see the tension radiating off her rigid body. Her hands gripped the armrests so tightly her knuckles were turning white. He leaned back into his own chair and casually crossed his legs. Seemingly completely at ease, he picked up the string of his teabag and slowly began to dip the enclosed leaves up and down in his cup. He set an unhurried, methodical rhythm that drew Sarah's apprehensive gaze.

"Before we start, I think I'll just drink my tea," he said, his voice taking on a soft hypnotic timbre as he attempted to help her to calm down. Up and down the bag went; up and down while he continued to speak, "It's all in the amount of times you dip the teabag into the water…ten…nine…eight…nice and relaxed now, Sarah…seven…six…that's it…good."

He saw her hands loosen their death grip on the armrests and noted that she slumped more comfortably back into the chair. He stopped what he was doing then put his own cup down on the floor before sitting forward and looking deeply into her languid eyes.

"How do you feel?" he asked, still staring at her.

"Good," she said with a smile. "And a little tired."

He nodded then, happy that she was ready, he slowly reached out with his hand.

"OK, Sarah, I'm going to try and find the trigger now," he clarified as he gently laid a hand on her left knee.

She nodded but despite her compliance, he could feel her tense up slightly at his first touch. He stayed still until she relaxed again then gave her knee a gentle squeeze. After a moment, she shook her head and so he moved his hand to her right leg.

Sarah tried hard not to tense up this time and almost succeeded but she could feel a tiny bubble of panic beginning to bloom within her chest. Dampening it down, she forced herself to focus on Jane's face and listen to his soothing voice.

"It's alright, Sarah, stay calm, you're doing really well."

He took his hand away from her leg and she felt as if she could breathe again. Seconds later he took hold of her right wrist and started running his hand slowly but gently up her arm, subtly exerting pressure at different points as he went. The pounding in her head began to grow stronger and her breathing deepened as she tried to control the fear that threatened to take hold making her body go rigid with fright.

"No," she objected, as his hand reached the top of her arm. "Stop, please."

He gave her shoulder a firm squeeze then let her go and pulled back.

"Sarah, look at me," Jane instructed to the now heavily panting woman. He needed her to try and get her emotions back under some kind of control. Moving to the edge of his seat so that he were closer, but careful not to touch her, he repeated in a firmer tone, "Look at me."

She finally managed to do as he asked, latching onto his voice like a drowning man at sea would a piece of driftwood as she tried to calm down. Her headache slowly subsided a little and she felt some of the tension ebb from her body as she gained a hold of herself once more.

"I don't think I can do this," she whispered with a shake of her head. "It's too much."

"Yes, you can," he told her with a nod. "You're strong and brave and you will do this, Sarah, do you hear me?"

She stared back at him for a few moments gaining strength from the encouraging look on his face and finally nodded.

"I'm going to try your other arm," he said, gently taking hold of her left wrist. "Just relax. I won't hurt you. You're perfectly safe."

He continued to speak as his hand glided slowly over her heated skin but the panic returned in full force and her breathing almost immediately started to come out in short bursts. The throbbing of her head increased, drowning out his calming words as she fought an inner battle with herself just to remain seated. When he reached her shoulder she couldn't stand it any longer and lashed out at his hand, knocking it away as she suddenly stood up.

"No! Don't touch me!" she cried out.

Although taken by surprise, the consultant also stood seconds after she did, his action bringing him so close to her that they bumped lightly against each other. Sensing that she was about to bolt, he grabbed hold of her shoulders and looked down at her panicked face.

"Please, just let me try one more time," he all but begged. "Please."

Sarah stared back at him seeing the desperation, the need in his cobalt eyes and knew she had to try and do as he'd asked. Her heart was thundering in her chest, her breathing erratic as she blindly clutched at his shirt and nodded in an attempt to not run away. Being this close to him filled her senses and her inner struggle became an all out war as she did her best to remain strong. But try as she might, something within her was winning and she could feel herself failing.

Jane felt her begin to pull away and quickly grabbed her around the waist with one hand as his other slid up to the back of her neck and into her soft hair. The movement brought them impossibly closer as his fingers sought out the last pressure point. It would be just like Red John to use the one place that he thought it unlikely Jane would ever be able to touch.

They stared at each other intently, their breaths mingling, his breathing as harsh as hers now from the emotions that were spilling forth as he found the spot he was searching for at the base of her skull and gave it a delicate push.

Afterwards, he'd never be quite certain of who closed the short distance between them first but all he knew was that suddenly their lips met in a heated kiss.

Her arms slid up around his neck, pulling him closer as she opened her mouth to allow him entrance. Their tongues clashed eliciting a small moan from him as he clutched her even more urgently to him.

A sudden loud knocking at the door brought him back to his senses and to the reality of what he was doing. He wrenched his mouth away from hers, an apology ready on his lips for his actions.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he muttered, not able to meet her eyes as he released his bruising hold and almost thrust her away as he stepped back to put some distance between them.

Breathing heavily, he couldn't believe what he'd just done. It felt like a betrayal of his own heart to have kissed Lisbon when it wasn't really her. He knew he could make up all kinds of excuses as to why it'd happened but it would nevertheless be wrong. He touched shaky fingers to his still tingling lips and looked up as the knocking came again. Still not looking at Sarah, he mumbled something about seeing who was there and walked away. He pulled open the door and saw Cho standing on the other side.

"Hey, I saw your lights on and thought I'd check on you before I went back to the hospital," the agent said then frowned when he saw the consultant's flushed face and stepped across the threshold and into the room. "You OK?"

Before Jane could answer, Cho noticed Lisbon standing in the middle of the room. He saw that she, too, looked a little dazed and flustered and his gaze slid from one to the other consideringly.

"Sarah couldn't sleep so I offered her some tea," the consultant lied smoothly when he caught the direction of Cho's gaze.

"Huh."

"I also came to ask Jane if he could break what Red John had done to me," Lisbon announced, her face impassive.

Cho turned to the consultant with a frown.

"I thought I told you…" he began censuring the blond only to stop as it dawned on him what Sarah had said. He looked back at her, a small rarely seen smile playing on his lips as he asked hesitantly, "Lisbon?"

She nodded, a smile suddenly blooming on her lips as she wiped away an errant tear that had fallen down her cheek. She looked over at Jane and saw that although his own eyes were brimming, he was also sporting the megawatt grin she loved so much. Without caring what Cho thought, she walked over to the blond and lifted her arms. There was a momentary look of trepidation as if he wasn't quite sure of what she was going to do then relief filled his gaze as she pulled him in for a warm hug.

The consultant wrapped his arms around Lisbon tightly and closed his eyes with a smile as he rested his head against hers and relished the feel of her in his arms once more. For a moment he'd thought that she might punch him on the nose for the kiss they'd shared but he was pleasantly surprised he realised she wanted a hug instead. He had no doubt they'd have a conversation about what happened later but for right now he was just eternally grateful that the woman he adored more than life itself was actually back.

"Thank you, Patrick," he heard her whisper.

"You're welcome, Teresa," he murmured in reply.

Cho watched the pair with an indulgent smile and happy heart. Now that Red John was out of the picture, he hoped that the pair would actually make a go of things. From where he was standing it certainly looked as though they could finally be on the right track.

END CHAPTER 11

A/N: Let me know what you all thought - I can take it (I hope) ;) Just the Epilogue to go - makes me kinda sad as I've really enjoyed writing this :/