A/N: Right, I'm sorry for the slow update. It's for two reasons: one, I wanted to get Pretty Lies completed and now I have and two, I also want to update this and Inside at the same time - so that plot points and the like are revealed at the same (or at least, similar) times.

Anyway, thanks to: phoenixmagic1, yaba, boutondor, lisbon69, Sarcasm-the Lowest Form of Wit, Divinia Serit, Koezh, forthecoast, Ebony10, WildDaisies10 and Viktorija for reviewing part one and special thanks to Crackle for betaing. You're mad. *hugs*

Hopefully the next update will be up a little quicker, but best laid plans and all that...

x tromana

Part Two

When Bosco finally awoke from his deep sleep, he was in a rather calm mood. He smiled slightly as he could feel the solid weight of his wife pressed against his back and the sound of his son's television was blaring far too loudly considering it was just past six a.m. As her warm breath tickled his neck, he buried his head back into the pillow, wishing that he could indulge in just five more minutes of this comfort. For the first time in a good month or so, he felt calm, contented, which was saying something considering just how annoyed he'd been the night before. Amanda mumbled something in her sleep and he sighed. He really wasn't in the mood for work, but he couldn't spend all day in bed with his wife. Besides, she had work to do as well. Briefly, he considered taking some leave. He still had plenty left to take and soon, Minelli would start applying the pressure for him to take it before the next financial year anyway.

He showered quickly and within an hour, he was saying goodbye to the kids and heading to work. Though he was in a good mood now, part of him had a feeling that it was likely to go horrendously wrong. But then again, when your career specialized in dealing with death, that was always a probable outcome. Either a bad case could crop up or Jane would come and start skulking around.

It didn't surprise him when, three hours later, he spotted Teresa Lisbon bickering with the blond thorn in her side. As usual, things were getting relatively heated between the pair and Jane was arguing vehemently about just how 'easy' their case appeared to be. When Lisbon acknowledged his presence, he grinned and nodded in response, uttering her name. As she smiled back, he couldn't help but feel that rush of warmth run through his veins. She was a fiery woman and women with that kind of attitude always had that affect on him. Mandy, when riled, was exactly the same, though generally she had been a more calming influence of late, but that was probably a good thing. Especially for his blood pressure when his doctor had been growing particularly concerned about.

Still, he didn't have the time to worry about Lisbon and her problems with Jane. He had his own team and own cases to worry about. Starting with that Grimshaw case. As he rounded the corner to his office, Bosco pulled a face. Really, it didn't need the CBI's involvement at all. Local officers were more than qualified to deal with petty squabbles such as this but because of politics, the case had landed on his desk three weeks ago and now he had to deal with the trivialities. And paperwork. If there was one thing Bosco disliked more than Patrick Jane, it was paperwork. But at the moment, especially according to the gospel of Minelli, both were necessary evils to get his job done.

"Boss, I bought donuts."

Bosco grinned as Hicks proffered the box - the younger man knew exactly how to please his boss, especially when it came to subverting Mandy's plans for dieting. And it was just going to be the pair of them for today, especially as this was the kind of thing that really didn't need all their attention. The rest of his team were in archives, checking yet again for any details they may have missed when it came to Red John. Bosco was slowly beginning to understand just how easy it was to become obsessed with the serial killer. Though he tried to remain objective, and thought he was doing a pretty good job at that, the number of killings meant that there was a surprisingly vast amount of information to absorb. Therefore, it wasn't uncommon for him to spend the night tossing and turning, trying desperately to work out the links that others before him had failed to see. Mandy worried too; the case was high profile, risky and she hated the thought of her husband being the lead agent on a case involving such a dangerous serial killer.

"Why would he attack the Burchams?" Hicks mused out loud, a crease appearing between his brow as he grabbed another chocolate glazed donut just before Bosco took it. "What's the link?"

"I think it's something to do with the kid, Troy."

"Only Daddy won't let us speak to him."

"He wants the case solved but won't give us access to everything we need," Bosco growled and he paused as his cell phone rang out. He held up an index finger to indicate that he needed a minute or so before pressing a button on the piece of technology. "Bosco."

Hicks cocked his head quizzically as he listened to half a conversation. Going by the soppy grin on his boss' face, he was speaking to one of three people: his wife, his daughter or Teresa Lisbon. He knew that Bosco had mentored Lisbon back at SFPD and because he had a respect for the woman, that meant Hicks automatically did too. It didn't take him long to work out it was the latter as Bosco gruffly asked him to make himself scarce in ten minutes time so that he could talk to the petite senior agent in private. From what he could gather, it seemed that their wires were going to be crossing with SCU again and Hicks couldn't be sure whether or not that was a good or bad thing. And he had to go and collate reports with Rebecca while Bosco made time for Lisbon. While their secretary was pleasant enough, there was still something about her that set him on edge.

It didn't surprise Bosco that Lisbon was as punctual as ever. He'd specifically dug out some case files to show her and couldn't help but smile as she frowned prettily while studying them. The woman really deserved somebody who would look after her, but her stubbornness had scared away pretty much any suitor. Apart from Jane, of course. Even if the blond wasn't looking for another relationship, those two were dangerous together and if, when, something happened between them, Bosco wasn't sure whether he wanted to be around to aid Lisbon or just out of danger altogether. When he finished informing her about everything he already knew about Grimshaw, she seemed as appreciative as ever and stood to leave.

He couldn't help but ask about Jane. Bosco didn't mean to sound so abrasive when it came to the man but the words just kind of slipped out. The amiable expression on the woman's face immediately hardened and he barely got an answer before she stormed out of the room. Part of him didn't regret asking, he'd been generally curious. Everybody at the CBI knew that Jane had been passed from department to department like a hot potato before he had been placed in Teresa's team. He wanted, needed, to understand how and why she could tolerate him. The man was an egotistical jackass who cared little for his responsibilities and even less for everyone around him.

The rest of him, however, felt terribly guilty for lashing out at somebody who genuinely didn't deserve his anger. Somebody who he genuinely cared about and really, all he wanted to do was watch out for her as he had done in the past.

He'd had a shrinking feeling something was going to go wrong and suspected that it had just happened.

TBC…