Author's notes:

Thank you to Sue Shay for helping me to revise this chapter! Being able to work with, learn from, and laugh with two great writers and friends, Sue and make-mine-a-kiaora, is a priceless treat. Be sure to check out Sue's latest updates to her 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 21: I Remember You

"Jane?"

Somewhere in the distance Patrick Jane heard a voice, a familiar one calling to him. Where was he? Nothingness surrounded him.

"Jane."

A sensation of pain overwhelmed him. In response, Jane set his mind to work to wrest control of his thoughts back from the pain, but the feeling of floating in a void kept his mind from gaining complete control.

"Jane!"

The voice focused his attention. It was that voice, the one he had come to know so well over the years, and the strength behind it gave him a foothold in his journey. Her voice had summoned him, he responded.

His eyes opened to a blur of whiteness. At first it shocked him, but then he began to focus on what was around him. Tubes and wires filled the foreground, and beyond them was a solid white ceiling. The smell of something antiseptic filled his nostrils. In the background he heard the low hum of a machine accented by a steady beep. Jane realized he was lying in a bed in a hospital.

A quick scan of his surroundings revealed a typical hospital room with one exception: a folding cot sat alongside his bed with someone asleep on it. His heart leaped when he saw it was Teresa Lisbon, and he noted that the pace of the beeping machine increased as well.

The change in the beeping sound roused her. Her eyes fluttered open, and they looked at each other.

"You're awake!" She rubbed her face as she swung around to sit up. When she did, Patrick noticed what she was wearing - his old gray shirt with the frayed collar.

He felt her reach out to touch his arm, and the beeping of the machine speeded up more. Then her hand clasped his own, bringing warmth to his spirit. It was the same warmth he had felt before he woke up. He was back, and she was waiting for him.

"Hello, Ter-err-Lisbon. You're looking well."

Lisbon smiled.

"Hello…Jane. You look like crap, but it's good to see you awake again."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, nothing major, just some scrapes. You on the other hand had us all scared. You've gone through more blood than Dracula. Luckily your blood type matches half the CBI personnel. They've been lined up to donate since you were brought in. Even Cho donated."

Jane conjured up the image of an expressionless Kimball Cho seated at a table, still as a statue with his arm extended, as he was giving blood - while reading a book.

"So I guess Cho and I are blood brothers now!" He noted the chuckle he produced in Lisbon. "How long have I been like this?"

"You've been unconscious for five days. Part of that time was controlled in order to let your body heal before you had to deal with the pain. It's funny - I was just dreaming that I called out to you to wake up."

She dreamed that too?

As Jane started to shift in the bed, a bolt of pain shot through the length of his body. A low moan escaped his mouth. Lisbon gripped his hand tighter to still him.

"I guess I still have some recovering to do."

"Yes indeed. The doctors say you should make a full recovery but it will take a while. How long depends on how well you follow instructions," she said with a laugh that cheered his soul.

"Lisbon, I'll do what I'm told. I'm a changed man."

Her eyes danced as a dimpled grin formed on her face.

"I'll believe that when I see it."

"No, honestly, I'm…" Jane's voice trailed off. He didn't know how to talk to this woman any more. He shifted gears to another topic. "Red John?"

No further words from him were needed. Lisbon squeezed his hand as she spoke.

"That bastard is no more. A butcher knife through the neck will do that."

"I never expected him to be Red John."

"Me neither. It was a shock."

"What's happening now?" Jane asked.

"All that's left is rounding up the rest of his followers. Certainly that's no small task, but we've made a lot of headway. Cho's been leading the charge. So far we've identified and arrested twelve more of them. Every law enforcement agency in the state is working on it."

"He killed so many." Jane shook his head.

"How he ever got them to do all they did for him I'll never understand. By the way, we determined you're the one who took out Lorelei Martins."

"The agent's gun only had one bullet left."

"You made it count."

As they talked, conflicting thoughts raged inside him. He wanted to know about Lisbon, who she was now, what she knew. He feared hearing what he didn't want to hear. Finally he couldn't take it any longer, and the words spilled out of his mouth.

"Lisbon, how much do you remember from when you were in your fugue state?"

In response she released his hand, and he felt like a boulder dropped on his body. The pain that his mind had fought to keep at bay now returned with a vengeance, and his will to fight it ebbed. He surrendered to an agony that hurt deeper than any knife or bullet wound ever could.

Then a miracle happened. Lisbon sat on the bed beside him, and she rubbed his shoulder. The torment of an instant ago left, replaced by her healing touch. As she got closer, her familiar scent of cinnamon greeted him like a long lost treasure.

"A lot of what happened is a blur," she said.

"Oh?" Jane saw something flicker in her eyes.

Lisbon cupped Jane's cheeks in her two hands.

"But I remember this," she said as she brought their lips together in a kiss, at first a mere brush but then an insistent joining by them both. The pain left him, replaced by a tingling of joy that surged through his entire body. They lingered in the kiss a good long while. Jane closed his eyes, fearing to open them and find that this paradise was but a dream. But when he felt her pull back to break the kiss, he finally did open his eyes to see her own glistening with wetness.

Lisbon took both of his hands in hers. She squeezed his finger three times.

"I love you too, Patrick."

To be continued.

Author's notes:

Notes in Chapter 1 cover the song "I Remember You." Another favorite recording is Ella Fitzgerald's version on her album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers. Readers interested in the songs and movies mentioned in this story can check out a Youtube playlist titled "Mentalist - I Remember You - playlist for fanfic story."

There's one more chapter to wrap up the story. Its title is "Let's Begin."

Thank you for reading, reviewing, and favoriting this story!