A/N: Please don't hate me. I know it's been a while since I have updated, but I have just been suffering a serious case of writer's block and it has taken me a while to get over.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Chapter 17: Broken Promises

By the time she was finished telling him everything, she was near hysterics and he looked utterly confused. They were seated on the edge of her bed, his hands gripping her arms and holding her firmly down in place so she wouldn't throw herself to the ceiling. Her eyes were wide and desperate and her lip was quivering throughout the entire story. She was so afraid that it broke his heart. She tried to break loose from his grip but he never let her go. Not once.

Jane's mouth was set in a hard line, and his grip tightened around her arms. "Red John?"

"Yes!" she wailed.

His mouth fluttered open then snapped shut, like a fish. He stared at her for a long time before finally speaking up. "Teresa, I wasn't taken by Red John," he whispered. "I mean… I think I would have remembered that. Don't you?"

"I don't know!" she exclaimed, groaning in frustration. "I'm obviously losing my freaking mind. This probably has nothing to do with Red John."

"No, no. That isn't what I am saying."

"Well, that's what I'm saying." She looked away from him, down at the carpet, embarrassed. "I'm sorry I woke you," she apologized. "Go back to sleep."

"No."

"Please."

"I'm not saying that I don't believe you," he explained quickly, as she tried to wriggle free again. "I'm just saying that I wasn't taken. Whoever you heard on the phone, or in the woods, it wasn't me." After a few seconds of unbearable silence, he sighed. "Will you please look at me?" He was practically begging now.

Her sorrow-filled green eyes slowly moved to meet his.

"Red John is smart," Jane began, feeling silly for stating the obvious. "It could have so easily been him that night."

"But why break the pattern?" she asked, staring deep into his eyes. "Why switch methods? He has never done anything like this before."

"He probably thought that the fall would kill you," he said bluntly, averting his eyes. "He probably thought that the suspense would kill me."

"But it didn't kill me," she pointed out. "Why didn't he kill me after I survived?"

"Because you didn't remember," he murmured, speaking to both Lisbon and himself as he begun to put the pieces together. "You didn't remember, and he knew that the suspense would kill you, too."

"But what if my dream was really just a dream?" she asked, shoulders slumping. "What if it was just a nightmare and Red John had nothing to do with this? What if I am seriously losing my mind?" She let her eyes flutter shut and she shook her head. "This doesn't make any sense," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," Jane said firmly, finally releasing her. "This isn't your fault, Lisbon. I don't understand why you keep apologizing to me."

Lisbon opened her mouth to speak, when three brisk knocks on her front door downstairs brought her voice to a halt. She looked up at Jane with wide, confused eyes. They both looked over at her clock.

"Come on," he whispered, standing up from the bed and pulling her with him.

They crept down the stairs, and as they made their way toward the front door, they discovered that someone had slid a note underneath Lisbon's door. Jane didn't need his speical skills to figure out who the sender was.

"Oh my God," Lisbon breathed.

Jane nodded stiffly, bending down and retrieving the folded piece of paper. Taking a deep breath, he unfolded it.

Agent Lisbon,

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on getting your memory back. How exciting that must be for you! After all those sleepless nights and hypnosis sessions, I am willing to bet that you are absolutely ecstatic! I know I am. What makes all of this so great is the fact that Mr. Jane is reading this over your shoulder, no doubt. Be a dear and pass on a message for me, will you? Tell him that it has only just begun.

-RJ.

Anger boiled inside of him. Knowing damn well that there was no point in trying to chase after Red John, for he was almost certainly gone, Jane shoved the note into Lisbon's waiting hands and turned toward the staircase, taking two steps at a time until he reached the top. Jane stomped around Lisbon's bedroom, ripping open drawers and shoving her dresser and nightstand aside. He dragged a chair toward the window, stepping up onto the chair and feeling around the top of the curtain. When he came across what felt like a wire, he grasped it tightly and ripped it from its place. When he pulled his hand back, he found that Red John had indeed bugged Lisbon's bedroom.

And now he was furious.

He resisted the overwhelming urge to shout, cry, and hit something. Every bone in his body was screaming for him to hunt down the bastard and kill him. Of course, he always felt like this, but usually not this intensely.

But then he turned and saw her standing in the doorway, clutching the note, terrified, and he knew he had to keep it together.

For her.

She finally spoke up. "He was listening." It wasn't a question. It was a simple statement.

He cleared his throat. "Yes."

"He was here."

"Yes."

"When?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"I don't know," he confessed, dropping his eyes. "Most likely when you were in the hospital."

She just nodded.

"I'm so sorry," Jane breathed.

"For what?" Lisbon's voice was empty. "It's not your fault."

"Like hell it isn't." Suddenly, he cursed himself for losing composure. Keep it together, moron. "It's okay. We'll get him. Soon." Jane took a step toward her. "I promise you."

"Okay."

"You don't believe me."

"Not really," Lisbon admitted, almost apologetically.

"Why not?"

"You know why."

It was true, he did. She didn't believe him because he had made so many broken promises over the years. So many times he had sworn to catch Red John when he hadn't. So many times he had promised to change and he hadn't.

"I promise you," he whispered, taking her hand. "We'll get him."

A/N: I know, not very exciting. But will you please review anyway? :)