hi.

So I've been awkwardly away for over a month...and I really don't have a good excuse (unless you count endless personal issues that have come up time and time again). Well, I do have good news. I'm officially done with high school on Friday (graduating too!) and can't wait to wave bye-bye to that high school. Seriously, I'm tired of wearing them hideous uniforms and being forced to write superfluous amounts of papers for a stinking grade. And I've also been distracted by Twitter..it's so addicting and I really need to avoid it for a little bit.

Okay, so I'll like to thank those who subscribed and the one person who favourited! You guys rock and are amazing!

MentalistLover: Thank you so much!:)

BrightLights: Twitter is addicting. I don't advise getting one unless you have a lot of free time on your hands. Thank you so much! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own The Mentalist or its characters. I only own Kaitlin Stark...and she's only mentioned in here.

Chapter Nine: Interim

Coffee. She needs coffee like a fish needs water.

One of the few drawbacks that Lisbon can easily indentify about being pregnant is the inability to consume caffeine. She would drink decaf, but really, who drinks that crap? Drinking decaf coffee is pointless when what you are craving is indeed the caffeine. The second drawback has to be the fact that she can hardly ever sleep a good solid eight hours without getting up during the wee hours of the morning to relieve herself or to change her sleeping position to accommodate the baby more comfortably. She guesses that this is normal when one is eight months pregnant…especially with Patrick Jane's baby.

Resting her fingertips against her forehead and lightly massaging, Lisbon sighs and slips her eyes shut. Over the past four days she and the team have been pouring over every slight detail about Jane's trial and if they can even possibly get him out of prison. Preferably before the baby is born. She has a good feeling about this, but she also knows that this reopening will be an emotional rollercoaster and extreme stress. The latter is unwelcomed and deeply annoys her doctor. Lisbon personally thinks the notion of her son not having his father present is far more important at the moment. Whenever she gets home, she is sure to drink that pomegranate juice, her latest craving, to calm her nerves and move into her bathroom to take a long bath. It lowers her blood pressure and takes out a large portion of stress from the equation.

"Boss," at the sound of the young rookie agent's voice, Lisbon removes her fingers from her forehead and continues to rest her elbow on the table. She looks over at her door frame as Grace moves into her office with a tan folder in her hands, "I think we may be almost done gathering the evidence."

Lisbon feels for Grace, Cho, Rigsby, and Stark. The four of them have all been working rigourously at trying to get Jane from jail before she is to give birth. In just a few days, they have made a couple of all-nighters and have pretty much lived at the CBI. Whenever she offers to stay along with them, they always decline and send her home immediately. She is greatful to have them, and she does not know what her life would be like without her team.

She smiles at the redhead, "Thank you, Grace," and takes the file from the rookie with an extended hand.

As the young agent turned to head back out the door, Lisbon spoke up. She knows that Grace – and everyone else – deserve this more than anything right now. "Grace…I think you should go home. The guys and Stark too."

Grace turns around and places her hand on the door frame, "Uh, boss, you don't have to-."

Lisbon shakes her head, "This isn't a suggestion, Van Pelt, it's an order. You all have been working so hard lately and I really appreciate it," her voice chokes up in her throat as an overflow of gratitude and the feeling to cry washes over her. Damn these pregnancy hormones.

"Boss…"

Grace takes a couple of steps towards Lisbon, but the dark haired woman holds up her hand, "Go home. Now," she forces a smile in hopes of staunching the tears from flowing freely down her cheeks. Lisbon could feel them on the edges of her eyelids.

The rookie nods, "Yes boss," bowing slightly, she turns back towards the bullpen to hopefully tell everyone out there to stop whatever they were doing and for them to return to their homes and cozy beds.

Tomorrow she would go talk to Jane and review what they had been working on. Hopefully Jane will be out of prison within the next couple of weeks.

Sighing to herself, she sets the folder down on her desk and opens it up. She picks up the first sheet and turns it over – it really is of little importance. The folder itself is very fat, and that is because it gives a very detailed report on Jane's background and his relationship with Red John. It also contains a large number of high-resolution photos on glossy printer paper with crime scene photos of his family's murder and where they found Red John. Also, there is a single shot of the blood on Jane's hand and another of the blood she had on her shirt and neck.

She shifts in her seat and instantly remembers the crime scene detectives taking those pictures. They had seen the albeit light blood stains on her body and quickly questioned her and took pictures. She told them a lie as to how the blood got on her body knowing that it would not bode well for either her or Jane if she mentioned that they had sex in the back of that Chevy Traverse.

Flipping over to the next paper in the file, she sees a report in full detail. Looking up at the date, she smiles seeing that it is very much recent. The report states all about the time discrepancy and that it gave Jane time to be there, coat himself with the deceased Red John's blood, and say it was he who had done it. It also states in bold letters that Jane is notably egotistical and would no doubt want to take the blame for killing a man he had been trying to kill for several years even if he hadn't done it. Then in a single line, the report requests that it be noted that Jane had not been thinking clearly at the crime scene and during his trial.

Lisbon smiles and leans back into her chair. No doubt this was the work of predominantly Cho and Stark. Rigsby and Grace had probably stood around and maybe offered a couple of points or details to help typing this report along, but there was only one person this thorough on her team – Cho – and no doubt he asked for Stark's help.

She places her hand on her eight month pregnant belly and lightly strokes it. Baby Jane kicks her in response.

Lisbon sits in her usual mounted-to-the-floor chair with her hands resting on top of a metal table. Her foot is tapping a mind-numbing rhythm on the floor beneath her as she waits impatiently for Jane to arrive. Today there are not as many people trying to visit their loved ones, and she is kind of all right with this. Once in the visiting room, she enjoys hearing the chatter of everyone around her. It drowns out her conversation with Jane to the outside world and makes her feel like it is just them and removes the worry that someone could be eavesdropping. Hence why there 'usual spot' is also more towards the corner.

She instantly perks up when the loved ones enter the room, and she can easily pick out Jane from the crowd. In the past few months he has rarely gotten a hair cut, and his wild blond curls have become an easy way for her to identify him over a large throng of people. Luckily he has been shaving.

He smiles when he sits down across from her, "Teresa, where have you been? I've missed you and Junior."

She shifts slightly and tries to lean forward, but is blocked by her belly, "I've been trying to get your ass out of jail," she smiles and his barely falters, "We did find Red John's letter. Stark, your lawyer, should come by tomorrow and discuss with you about the case. Hopefully you'll be out of jail before he's born," she gestures downwards towards her swollen belly.

He becomes serious in a matter of seconds, "How long until I need to be in court?"

She shakes her head, "I really don't know. That's why Stark has to come by. She's dealing with a couple of things about this case today. Hopefully in the next week or two."

He nods, "She's a good lawyer, Lisbon, Hightower should have made her our ally a long time ago," he smiles, "She sure does keep the boys on their toes."

"Hush. Like I said, hopefully you'll be in court in the next week or two and out before he's born."

His smile vanishes completely, "I really missed you. I miss seeing you everyday," he wants nothing more to reach across the table and stroke his hand down the side of her cheek and kiss her senseless. He wants nothing more to leave this prison and make love to her over and over again until they can take no more.

Lisbon stiffens slightly and feels some anger rise up inside her, but pushes it back down. "I miss you too." Because she said that, she now feels tears bubble up on the corners of her eyes. For the umpteenth time this week, she damns her pregnancy hormones.

The sudden thought that Jane has indeed been missing out on a large portion of her pregnancy thus far sends the tears flowing freely from her eyes. She feels everyone in the room turn to look at her and she suddenly feels naked. With only one thought she has been reduced to a sobbing and wallowing mess in a public area.

Jane looks around the room and gestures with his cuffed hands towards her abdomen, "Uh, she's pregnant," several people nod, "Hormones."

Her tears have been forgotten and she is now boiling in her seat. Slight rage bubbles up and she feels the need to either do bodily harm or shoot this infuriating man. Hell, she now feels like hitting him over the head with the chair that she is currently situated on. Multiple times. She has come to the conclusion that he deserves it after all these months of putting her through hell.

Oh, the very thought of hitting him multiple times is the most appealing.

Well, the next chapter is already named (go me!) and hopefully will be out soon. After Friday I have very little excuses as to why stories aren't being updated. I'm trying to update "Once Lost, Now Found" next because I've been trying to get that one done for over a month...but can't find my muse :(

Oh and I hate pomegranates...it's Lisbon's latest craving.