Author's notes:

Thank you to the great writer Sue Shay for her beta-reading, insight, and encouragement on this and other projects! Without Sue's help I would not have undertaken this story. Are you looking for a Patrick-and-Teresa story with warmth, humor, and romance all rolled into one engaging package? Then look no further than Sue's current story, "Ready or Not!"

I do not own the TV show The Mentalist and get no compensation from it. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only.

Notes on the chapter title follow the end of the chapter.

Chapter 2: Walking After Midnight

"Lisbon! Lisbon! Come out, come out wherever you are."

Patrick Jane cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted the words. Lisbon would make him pay for yelling that out loud, but something about being outdoors in the woods at night made him think of the children's game of hide-and-go seek.

"The Boss went looking for you over that way," said Cho as he motioned to a trailhead. "She wanted to walk through the crime scene with you."

The extra bit of terseness in Cho's clipped words spoke volumes. It let Jane know that Lisbon wasn't pleased about his wandering off.

"Thanks, Cho. I'll track her down."

"I don't wanna be around when you two meet up again."

Jane waved Cho's warning off. He knew what would happen. In a few moments they would meet up again, Lisbon would chide him for going off on his own, and then he'd provide her with some brilliant insight that would move the case forward. Three or at most four days later the murderer would sit in the interrogation room and spill out a confession under the stern eyes of Kimball Cho. On the other side of the mirrored glass, Lisbon and Jane would watch the suspect unravel into a heap of self-pity, pleading for a mercy that would never come.

Once again, Jane would solve the crime and wrap it up in a neat bow for his boss. While he'd catch a nap on the couch in her office, Teresa Lisbon would add the case to her team's solved list in the database. That action would move their case-closed rate one notch higher. Then the monthly report that showed the case-closed rates for all the CBI teams across the state, the one that Lisbon said she scarcely looked at but in fact studied like an actuary, would show her team on top yet again. And it would all be because of the brilliant mind of Mr. Patrick Jane.

OK, that was too much for even him to believe. The truth was he did help Lisbon's team, and he made a big contribution to the case-closed rate. But everyone contributed, regardless of how big or how small a role they played.

"Lisssss-bon," Jane called out as he walked down a path in the woods. The moonlight peeking through the foliage at the top of the forest created moving shadows as a light breeze wafted through the leaves. The chill that blew across the exposed back of his neck made Jane pull his suit jacket tighter around his chest.

Jane's idle thoughts returned to the team. When he pondered the team's sterling record, the single person most responsible for their success was Teresa Lisbon herself. She kept things together, focused their efforts, and pushed the right buttons to get the job done. Most important for Jane though, she spent time with him.

"Lisssss-bon. Come out, come out, wherever you are," Jane yelled again, certain that she would scold him without mercy when he found her. He noted that he was deeper in the woods now, thick with the smell of falling leaves.

Lisbon had a first-rate mind on a par with his own. Oh how he loved it when they were working a case and bouncing theories off each other. Some of his favorite memories over the years were when he and Lisbon passed the time on a long trip by talking about a case, why one idea was better than another.

"Lisssss-bon. I give up. You can come out now," Jane said with a tinge of defeat in his tone. The din of noise back at the crime scene had diminished to faint whispers of human voices and the scattered sounds of car motors.

Jane amended what he had thought a moment before. It wasn't merely solving cases with Lisbon that made him happy, it was any time he spent with her. He enjoyed the small moments they shared each day: visiting a fruit stand on the way back home from a case, sharing a card trick, or simply being near each other in his car or her office. Jane admitted to himself that his world now revolved around Lisbon. She anchored him - gave his life structure, purpose…meaning. Even his quest for Red John was something that Lisbon had channeled to good effect.

"Lisssss…"

Jane had started to call out again as he approached a small lake, but an object about twenty feet out from shore caught his eye. A dark, indistinct shape, at first he thought it might be a log floating among the ripples of water. Moving closer, he could see it was covered with fabric of some sort - clothing. Jane felt fear welling up inside him that no self-control technique could quell. He quickened his pace to reach the edge of the lake.

In a gentle rhythm, the object bobbed about as water lapped around it. It began to rotate, and Jane glimpsed the light color of flesh come into view. As the object turned further, Jane confirmed his fear - it was a human body. Then the body fully turned over and it took every power within him to keep panic at bay when he saw the face.

"Lisbon! Lisbon!" Jane cried as his voice broke.

Lisbon gave no response, her body just floated atop the water.

"Help! Help! Cho! Anyone! Man down!"

Without a thought, Jane jumped into the water. For a moment, the chilly lake engulfed him. He hadn't realized how deep the water was at that point, and water surged into his mouth and nose as he sank. For a moment Jane fought to gain control of his movements. The coolness of the water served one good purpose - it shocked him out of the fear that had begun to run rampant. Raising his head above the surface again, he spit out water then began a slow swim.

"Lisbon! Lisbon!"

His eyes tried to discern some stirring from Lisbon but the only movement came from the up and down motion of the waves as they lifted and dropped her body.

"Teresa! Teresa!"

Still no response.

"Teresa, please! It's Jane. It's Patrick. Please say something!"

At last Jane had arrived at her body. With his arms encircling her, he lifted her to him. The limpness of her arms and legs was like that of a rag doll.

"Help! Help! I need help medical help back here right now!"

Jane half-walked, half-swam against the heavy resistance of the water. It felt like a great weight was holding him back. Slowly, too slowly, he fought his way toward shore.

"Help! Help! Need medical help right now." Jane's voice cracked with anguish as he yelled. He knew that not all of the wetness on his eyes came from the lake water.

Jane felt no movement from Lisbon's body whatsoever. He turned his head slightly to look at her as he carried her. In horror he saw that her face had a blue tinge.

"No! No!" Jane said as he began to sob in earnest.

Despite his fear, despite the terror that crowded out his other thoughts, Jane struggled on. The water pressed against each step but Jane pushed back with a single-minded focus.

"Help! Help! Lisbon needs medical help now!"

Jane and Lisbon were beside the shore, at a point where a gradual slope led up from the water. Gathering Lisbon tighter in his arms he lurched onto the mix of sand and grass. Jane summoned the last of his strength to shift Lisbon off his shoulder then gently lay her body on the ground.

He couldn't lose Teresa, he had already lost so much that was dear to him in life. Now her too? Seeing her lifeless body in front of him ripped apart his soul in a way he hadn't felt since the night he came home to find his wife and daughter slaughtered.

He heard shouts. Raising his head he saw Cho closely followed by two EMTs. Help had arrived. One of the EMTs, still at a distance, looked at the body Jane was holding in his arms and reached for his communicator.

"Water victim. Need full kit, stat!"

Pain that seared deep into his soul washed over Jane as he clutched Lisbon's limp hand.

To be continued.

Author's notes:

Written by Alan Block and Donn Hecht, "Walkin' After Midnight" [the title of the song drops the "g" from walking] was a hit single for Patsy Cline in 1957. It is contained on numerous greatest hits albums of hers. The narrator of the song searches for someone in the middle of the night, which certainly fits Patrick Jane's actions in this chapter.

Readers looking for a 21st century update of the song in addition to Patsy Cline's original can check out the version recorded by the band "Girl In A Coma" on their 2010 album Adventures In Coverland.