Title: Red Window

Author: Shannon – shannyfish

Disclaimer: I do not own "The Mentalist" or its characters, Warner Brothers and Bruno Heller do. This is merely for entertainment purposes only.

Rating: R (to be safe)

Summary: Sequel to "Suffering is the Best Punishment". With Lisbon gone, Jane leaves CBI to set out to find her and to kill Red John. He won't let Red John kill his family again.

Warning: adult themes

Chapter 2 – "Risk Everything, Risk Nothing"

Author's Note: Trailer for "Suffering is the Best Punishment"…not sure how I'd make one for this one, but I shall think on it!

http: / www. mega video. com/ ?v = Q581AW2H

(take out the spaces for )

...

"To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing."

– Unknown Author

Somewhere in California

She wasn't sure how long she'd been there. She wasn't sure where she was. All Lisbon knew was that she wasn't in a normal hospital surrounded by her friends. So, she assumed that Red John had taken her…again. Before, though, he'd left her blind and with amnesia and bleeding in the middle of nowhere. This time it was obviously different. She was in a room that was set up much like a hospital. She had lines going in and out of her, there were machines to monitor her progress, and she was actually feeling alive.

Lisbon wasn't sure what to feel. To be relieved that she was alive? Or to be angry that Red John had taken her again? She moved and realized that she wasn't restrained in any way. That was the good news at least. Her room was lit by a window, but from what she could see didn't really tell her where she was. She could see buildings, but they just seemed generic.

Sitting up was more difficult than she'd originally thought. Her side screamed from pain as she attempted to move. She felt her side, where she'd been split open for the second time, and had found that it had been fixed and patched up. They were taking care of her. Possibly even good care of her. Lisbon finally managed to sit up fully and realized that she was really not comfortable. She didn't know how long she'd been hospitalized, if this was a hospital, but she was attached to electrodes, I.V. and a catheter.

Lisbon was ready to see if she could escape. She was sure that even if she were in a hospital, that Red John would be in control somehow. There would be guards. Guards of some kind. It wouldn't matter that she was CBI. She was sure that they would have distributed her photo all over the state and possibly to surrounding states. If she were in any kind of medical facility, they would have already contacted local law enforcement and CBI.

There was only one way though for her to find out where she was…to move and to take a chance. She gently removed the tubes and electrodes from her body, trying to be as careful as possible so that it was as painless as possible. She was in a hospital gown and she had to admit that it wasn't comfortable and it wasn't practical for what she was about to do. None of it was tied together and she felt extremely exposed. She tried to reach back and at least tie one of them but any movement on her one side felt like it was pulling the injured area and caused immense pain. So, she had to deal with her recon without the back tied together.

Carefully, she lowered herself and her feet to the floor until her feet came in contact with the cold tile. She held onto the bed, not really feeling one hundred percent. Eventually, she felt like she could hold her own weight and she cautiously stepped away from the hospital bed. Walking carefully towards the door, she headed towards the wall so that she could lean against it if she needed to.

It took her several minutes, but Lisbon eventually made it to the door. It was a sterile white door with a beveled glass window in the top of it. She supposed it was there for light, but also for privacy's purposes. Her hand hovered over the door handle. She didn't see any shadow on the other side, but Lisbon was still a bit apprehensive about opening it. She was afraid of who was on the other side…or what even.

Pulling in a deep breath, she turned the knob and pulled the door back and open to peek out. What she found surprised her. There was a room that looked like a living room, complete with a pair of couches, coffee table, and a rather large television. There were five men sitting around on the couches eating and drinking and they all stared at her. She recognized three of them as her captors. This was great…just great.

"Look who woke up," one of them said.

"I told you we should have restrained her. The doc is going to be pissed that she pulled everything out," another spoke up.

Lisbon took a cautious step back. She wanted to run. To run for it and hope that they wouldn't run after her. But she hadn't seen an exit in the room that had looked much like a hospital room that she'd been in before. There was really no place to hide and no way to escape. Plus, there was the fact that she had no proper clothing or shoes or a weapon or really anything… She was so screwed.

They got up from where they all sat. One of them moved towards her and she backed up further back into the room. She was scared of what they'd do to her. She was scared to as why she was there. Scratch that, she was absolutely terrified. She couldn't think straight; all she could think was that Red John had her…and he was holding her…there was a reason for this. These guys were keeping her alive and actually taking care of her for a reason. She'd seen what Red John had done in the past and she was even more frightened.

"Please," she started to beg in a whisper. She felt the tears push out of her tear ducts and down her cheeks. She knew that the crying wasn't going to help anything, but she couldn't help but feel emotional. Visions of Red John's work flashed through her head as she continued to back up.

"It's going to be okay, Teresa," the man said softly. "We've taken good care of you," he told her. He stopped in place. "The doctor said that there probably won't be any scars on your neck or side. He's pretty good."

Lisbon stopped when she bumped into a machine. "Why do you have me here?"

"To keep you safe," he said matter of factly. "I know you must be scared and confused…but I'm not going to hurt you."

"You work with Red John," she blurted out, tears still falling. She sucked in breath and tried to steady her breathing. "I know what Red John does."

"That's not going to happen to you, Teresa," he told her. "Red John has promised. He promised me that you would be mine to care for. Mr. Jane even told us that he allowed us to take you in order to help you."

Lisbon shook her head. She couldn't think of Jane saying that. She didn't need their kind of help. "You're wrong… Jane wouldn't hand me over to Red John."

"It was that or he got to watch you die," the one leaning against the doorframe spoke up.

That made a lot more sense. If Jane was faced between letting her die and letting her live, she could see him letting Red John take her if only to search for her after. "What are you going to do with me?" she asked, wanting desperately to still run away, but had the bulky machine behind her keeping her in place.

"He's given you to me," the man in front of her said again, his hands going to his chest. "I promise that it won't be as bad as I'm sure you're thinking it's going to be. I will love you and cherish you and give you all the time you need in order to accept me."

She was his? Really? Her mind reeled back to the case of the twins. Red John had killed one and given the other to Dumar to keep. Dumar had locked her up in a basement where they'd found her scared to death. He'd wanted her as his bride and was locking her up in order to keep her safe from the world outside.

"I won't be locked in a basement like Maya Plaskett," she told him.

"You don't have to be, Teresa… As long as you follow the rules, you can go outside and go on walks and go to the store. This isn't supposed to be a prison sentence… It's just a new life for you."

She still didn't like what he was saying. She didn't want to be someone's wife…well, at least not this way. Lisbon, though, knew that there were alternatives. The one hanging in the doorway seemed to think that she'd be better off tied down and probably sedated. The one in front of her truly seemed to love her, though she didn't know how he could do that since he didn't know her. She also seemed to think that perhaps he was telling the truth. He seemed like a relatively non-violent person. He wasn't one of the ones who abducted her.

"Wha-what's your name?" she asked. If she was going to go along with this, then she needed to get to know this man who intended to care for her.

He smiled at her question. "I'm Simon," he said.

She nodded. "Hi," she said after a moment, a bit hesitant.

Lisbon knew that at the moment that she wasn't being tied up or sedated or any of the other things that could be done to her as a prisoner. They had been kind to her. They had showed that they cared. Now, she had to earn their trust. And she'd look for her chance to escape.

"Now," Simon said. "I'm going to have to ask you to calm down. None of us want to have to restrain you. Plus, I don't think that that will help with your recovery…and you've been healing so nicely."

"Simon," the man from the doorway started.

"Carl, he said that she was mine to deal with. Let me handle this," Simon said without turning to the other man.

Carl looked ticked and left the room, closing the door as he left. Lisbon's eyes moved to Simon who was standing in front of her. He wasn't a bad looking man. He was about 5'10" and he looked about average height. He looked like he worked out, but not obsessively. He had short dark brown hair and blue eyes. His skin was tan and his smile lit his face up. She had to admit that at least if she had to spend time with him, he wasn't hideous and it would make it easier to use him until she saw her chance.

"I…I just wanted my clothes…" she said quietly, letting her gaze drop to the floor.

He wanted to take care of her and this was how she was going to run it. She was going to let him help her. She had to be vulnerable. She needed to be…not herself completely. In truth, she was cold and she realized she was physically shivering a bit. She doubted that it helped that she was practically naked and walking around on a cold tile floor.

"The doctor hasn't said that you should be released from his care yet," Simon said. "I have a whole closet of clothes at the place we're going to live. I didn't bring much for you, for here… This place is only temporary…"

Lisbon nodded. A place where they were going to live…Red John had really set it up for them to be some kind of arranged marriage… Lisbon didn't like it, but at the same time she would make the best of the situation. "I'm just not comfortable in this," she said, pulling at the hem of hospital gown a bit."

"I did bring a pair of pajamas… I bet that would be more comfortable," Simon said. "And a pair of socks?"

She lifted her head, just enough to meet his gaze. "That would be very nice," she told him quietly.

He nodded quickly and seemed pleased by her response. "Do me a favor while I go and get it, will you get into bed so that I'm not worried about you falling?" he asked.

"Okay," she said quietly. She stepped around the discarded tubing and electrodes on the ground and scooted up into place on the bed, being very mindful of her audience and the fact that the back of the gown wasn't tied shut.

…

Gas Station

They were in San Francisco, Lisbon knew that much. She'd been at the house with the hospital room for a week apparently and then she'd been cleared to move. The doctor said that she was healing up great and had given her and Simon instructions for making sure that everything continued to heal as it was. Lisbon was pathetically thrilled to be in a set of undergarments, warm socks, dark jeans, a green blouse, a grey jacket, and boots. It made her feel more human.

She and Simon weren't travelling alone. They were to travel with Ed and Carl and they'd be staying at the house that Simon had been boasting about for about a week or until they felt that she would be okay there with Simon. She really wasn't thrilled about the babysitters. It was going to make everything so much more difficult and drawn out.

Simon parked the car alongside a pump and turned to her. She'd been surprised that they'd been okay with her sitting in the passenger seat. He handed her three twenties. "Teresa, I need you to go in and tell them pump four."

"You can't trust her," Carl argued.

"You can come with me," Lisbon said as she turned a bit to the back.

"Let her go," Ed said. "Not like we can keep an eye on her from here."

Ed was right; the wall that faced the gas pumps was a glass one. They'd be able to see every move she made. This was a test, she realized. There would be no running now. She couldn't alert the cashier. She had to play this like this was any other day.

"Go ahead and take a few minutes," Simon said. "Can you get us all coffees? I'd also appreciate one of those things of the little donuts. You know the ones?"

Lisbon nodded.

"The plain ones," Simon told her.

"Bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos for me," Carl spoke up.

"I'll take a Snickers bar," Ed said.

"Any cream or sugar?" she asked. Lisbon wanted this to go as smoothly as possible. It would end up making Ed and Carl disappear faster.

"If they have some hazelnut cream," Ed said.

The other two didn't want any. "Okay," she said. "I'll be right back." Lisbon got out of the car, as did Simon. She just headed straight for the store at the gas station. When she first entered, she gave the lady the sixty dollars and told her the pump number before telling her that she was going to get some snacks and would be back to collect the receipt then.

She took her time going around the store. She thought about coffee, but she just didn't want it. She had a feeling that bathroom stops were going to be few and far between. And she didn't want to be escorted to the bathroom. Instead, she chose a bottle of water and a fruit punch packet of Crystal Light. She gathered up the Flaming Hot Cheetos in the biggest bag they had, a king size Snickers bar, a roll of plain donuts, and then a bag of honey roasted peanuts. She set them on the counter and then informed the lady that she was going to get some coffees. She took two over at first along with the individual hazelnut creamers. When she headed back with the third coffee, she realized that they had postcards.

I could tell them that I'm okay, she thought.

"They're not quite done pumping yet, it's going to be a minute," the woman said.

"No problem," Lisbon said. She looked over to see that she was still being watched. Ed and Carl were still in the car and Simon was pumping the gas. "Do you happen to have stamps for the postcards?"

"Sure do."

"If I addressed one, could you send it?" she asked. "We're going through town. Not sure where there's a post office…and my husband hates to stop when we're on trips like these."

"Normally I would say no, but you know…I'll do it this time," she said with a smile.

Lisbon smiled back. She carefully moved a postcard with the Golden Gate Bridge on it from where it was in front of the counter alongside gum and candy bars. "Do you have a pen?"

"Sure."

The pen was pushed forward and she was careful not to move her hand much and not to look down for very long. Occasionally, she'd turn towards the car to check on Ed, Carl, and Simon. She addressed it to Jane at CBI Headquarters and put a simple message down. Just enough to know that she was alive. "I really appreciate this," Lisbon said. "I have a friend. He worries… I send him a postcard every once in a while."

"Travel a lot?"

"Yeah," Lisbon said as she slid the postcard and the pen forward.

"Do you need your receipt itemized?" the woman asked. "They're done pumping."

"No, it can be just a total," she said. Lisbon was happy that the woman had asked, just in case they did want the receipt then they wouldn't be able to account for the extra dollar that was the cost of the postcard and postage. After a moment, the woman put a bag with the snacks and her water in it onto the counter and then handed over the receipt and change.

"Thanks," she said. She dropped the receipt and change along with the creamers into the bag and put her arm through the plastic loops and then carefully got the coffees. She was grateful when someone opened the door for her. She carefully stepped down and then walked across the gas station to where the car was parked.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I had to wait for the gas to finish pumping."

Simon just smiled at her. "Yeah, it was pretty close to being empty," he said as he took two of the coffees from her. "You did great. Did you get everything?"

"Think so," she said as she opened the passenger side door and then sat down and closed the door again. She turned and handed the coffee she still had to Carl, since he was so grumpy and then began to hand out snacks. Simon joined them a second later and handed Ed his coffee. Lisbon made sure that Ed got his creamer and then handed Simon his donuts.

"You didn't get coffee?" Simon asked concerned.

"No, I figured water would be better," Lisbon told him.

"You're probably right," Simon agreed and then opened his donuts while they sat there.

"Where's the receipt?" Carl asked.

"Oh!" Lisbon said and retrieved the change and receipt from the bag. "Sorry…it was too much to carry…"

Simon took it and looked it over for a minute before dropping it in the center console. "We all ready?" he asked.

Lisbon nodded as she buckled up and emptied her Crystal Light packet into her water. She shook it and then set it in the cup holder so that it was ready for later when she was actually thirsty. She set her peanuts alongside it. Right now, she was going to sit back and try to be comfortable as Simon drove to who knew where.

They left the gas station and headed for the I-80. Lisbon knew that she really needed to keep an eye on where they were going. After all, she wanted to know where her destination was. It would help her out later.

…

TBC…