A/N: This takes place a short while after the first season of the Mentalist-hence Jane's not-too-positive reaction. If you have any questions, please don't be afraid to ask. :)
Denial
Jane stumbled out the blue doors, his body shaking as he turned to stare at the police box once more. He couldn't for long, though. Shaking his head from side to side, one hand pushed his suit jacket back to rest on his hip while the other worried over his mouth. His feet led him to the nearby pier and he leaned heavily against the wooden railing.
Lisbon looked back at the Doctor for only a moment. He wouldn't be any help, hiding behind meaningless adjustments on his console.
"Oh for Pete's sake." She marched out the TARDIS doors to follow her consultant. When she found him, he was staring out at the ocean, his control seemingly back in place. By his stiff stance and the slight frown at the corner of his mouth, she could tell he was still deeply troubled.
"It's not real," was the first thing he said to her. Lisbon leaned her back against the same railing, crossed her arms, and turned her face to him with a quirked eyebrow. "Yes, I know I saw it. But it can't be real."
Noting the desperation in his voice, Lisbon turned her body towards him. "Why not? You're always taking the 'if you see it, you believe it' approach. What makes this any different?"
"That box…" He could barely spare it an exasperated glance over his shoulder. "Not only is it bigger on the inside, which by the way is impossible, but it's also a space ship and a time machine? I'm sorry, but no." His focus was back on the horizon. He dug his nails almost painfully into the old wood in attempt to control the tremor that had taken him over.
"So why not let him show you?" Lisbon offered in her sympathetic yet logical tone.
Jane chuckled, his voice cracking into a higher, slightly mad, pitch. Lisbon immediately became concerned that he wasn't going to be able to handle this. At first she wanted to get after him. He shouldn't have followed her into the TARDIS in the first place, that had been his own decision. But then, she hadn't exactly been discreet with him on where she would be going. And she hadn't chased him out the second he'd barged in. A part of her had hoped for the best, for his excitement and acceptance. She really should have known better. For all of Jane's eccentricities, he was still only human, and a mentally and emotionally damaged one at that.
"Oh," Lisbon breathed suddenly. If a time machine really did exist, of course Jane would only want to use it for one thing.
He looked over at her, the salty wind tossing his blond curls about. But nature seemed almost like nothing compared to the storm roaring inside his sea green eyes. She could see she had not been far off at all.
"You're right," She said, her voice hoarse from the huge lump that had risen in her throat. "I'll just go tell him you won't be joining us."
Jane nodded and they left it at that.