Well, here it is, the final chapter to this story!

Thanks again to everyone who have reviewed this story, thanks for the many private messages and comments. I am truly happy that you enjoy my stories and hope to continue posting!

Chapter nine : Epilogue

Less than a week later, the CBI-building was again thriving with activity as if nothing had ever happened. Life went on, even with a mad man trying to poison the entire staff. Every single air duct in the building had been checked and cleaned, all traces removed from the poison.

The water supply system had been cleaned; a new coffee machine had been brought in to make sure that nothing remained of the Antimony. The building was fully cleaned from top to bottom.

The first day Patrick Jane set foot in the building again, he was greeted by his colleagues. "Welcome back, Jane. How are you? You doing okay?"

He nodded at everyone, spoke with them and thanked them for their concern.

No one mentioned the fact they had been being poisoned because of him. They didn't know the reasons behind it all and never would. Ivan had kept his mouth shut since his arrest and would not admit to anything.

As Lisbon guided him to his favorite coach, Jane sat down gingerly and eyed the bullpen. "I've missed this place," he said as Lisbon sat down behind her desk.

"We've missed you," she smiled, opening her laptop.

Lisbon was the only one who knew the truth about Ivan. When he woke up in hospital, Jane had told her what had happened to his wife and daughter.

"She was one of my clients," Jane said. "Coming from a very rich family, lots of money to spend, very gullible, very nervous. She spent a lot of money on me, I have to admit. She always suspected her husband from cheating on her and came to me for confirmation that he was or wasn't loyal to her. I didn't know his name or who he was. I convinced her that her husband wouldn't cheat on her, not with that amount of money on their bank account. After all, he was poor, she had the cash and he had signed a prenup. So in my eyes, reading her nervousness as foolis, that was enough to believe that this wouldn't happen and I persuaded her to cut him some slack in order to save the marriage. But one night she came home and caught him in bed with her cousin. That blew up whatever self-respect she still had and so she decided to punish him with the one thing he adored in life: His daughter."

Lisbon listened quietly as Jane fiddled with the bed sheets, staring down at his hands as he always did when he remembered his past.

"She took the child out, drowned it in the pond and then drowned herself, leaving a note for him to blame him for ruining her life. In the morning he found them floating in the water. I didn't know about all of this until I read about it by chance days later in the newspaper. That was about one year before Red John killed my family. Last thing I heard he didn't inherit a single penny as the prenup had a clause in it about adultery. His cousin had confessed to the affair. I always knew I was blamed because I - according to the family - was the reason she went into shock when she found out about the affair. After all, I had persuaded her to give him more freedom and he had abused that. He must have been brooding about me for a very long time."

"And since you didn't know him, you had no way of knowing he was spying on you at the CBI, planning his revenge."

Jane nodded. "He had changed his name into her family name when he married her, because that name opened many doors his didn't. According to the police, when she died and he lost everything, he returned to his old name. But since I had never met him, that wouldn't have mattered. My past has killed before, Lisbon. I hate that."

"I know, Jane. But that was your past and you are making it up now by helping people out. You should be proud of that."

Lisbon knew her consultant well enough to know he would be brooding over these events for some time. Yet she also knew it wouldn't stop him from returning to the CBI and continuing his work. His quest wasn't done yet and despite whatever feelings he might have over all of this, it wouldn't change that. Unfortunately, when Ivan chose to kill co-workers and friends, he did leave a deep impact. That was something Jane had to deal with by himself. The only thing they could do as a team was to persuade him he was one of them and that they cared.

That morning, as Jane returned for the first time, she watched him get up and head into the kitchen, following from a distance. He walked straight over to the fire to grab his trusted kettle, only to find it gone.

The look on his face was one of hurt and disappointment, until he turned and saw her standing there with a brand new kettle, a big red bowtie tied to it with a small card reading "Happy you're back."

"Surprise," she smiled. "We got a new coffee machine; you're getting a new kettle."

"Teresa Lisbon, you warm my heart," he replied, taking his new kettle from her and gingerly caressing it. "She's a beauty."

"She?" Lisbon laughed. "Are you going to give her a name?"

He smiled. "I always do."

He placed the kettle on the fire, filled up with water, waiting for that typical whistling sound. And when he had made that perfect cup of tea, he closed his eyes and savored the taste.

The End