Disclaimer: Not mine.

CHAPTER 20: The Two Options

It took her body a couple of minutes to work its way back to reality.

Had Patrick Jane just kissed her?

Twice?

Once on the lips, and once on the forehead?

"Jane? You okay?"

Suddenly, he was right in front of her, his eyes staring directly into hers, his warm hands on either side of her face. Her first instinct had been to pull away but she couldn't make herself because she knew what came next. Her suspicions were confirmed when he leaned down and pressed his warm lips to hers.

Lisbon instantly tensed beneath his mouth. It took her a few full seconds to figure out what the hell was going on, but when she did, she reacted. She softened the muscles in her lips and moved them against his, slowly.

Who knew he'd be a good kisser?

When he pulled away, she kept her eyes closed. She didn't trust herself enough to open them . She knew that he would see the disappointment in them. She was rather surprised when she felt the set of lips that had just been connected with hers press a soft, endearing kiss to her forehead.

"Okay," he whispered in her ear. "I'm really leaving now."

She groaned in protest. She hadn't meant to. The growl coming from the base of her throat just slipped out before she could stop herself.

And he was gone.

Yes. Yes he had.

What the hell had that been all about?

She reached up and touched three fingers to her lips. They were still tingling, still aching for his.

Something wasn't right.

That kiss had been desperate, like he had been afraid of something.

Random.

Not that she was complaining, but it had just come out of nowhere.

Something definitely wasn't right.

He almost never offered to go out and get everyone lunch unless there was an ulterior motive. More often than not, he was sneaking away to meet a potentially dangerous suspect, or a widow that he had pissed off earlier in a case. Every once in a while he would ask her if she wanted to get something to eat, but he usually didn't offer to go out and bring the entire team food. Nothing wrong with that, but it was just the way Jane was.

She snatched her jacket from the back of her chair and hurried to the elevators.

X

The very first thing he noticed when he woke was that his head was throbbing. When he touched the side of his skull with two of his fingers he gasped. It was tender, extremely tender, and must have been the spot he had hit with the table.

The next thing he noticed was that it was dark. However it wasn't pitch black and he could clearly see that he was not in a room he recognized. He was slumped down against a wall, scanning the room with intensity. It seemed to be a garage of some kind. He also noticed that his gun was gone.

The last thing he saw was a man in the corner of the room, pointing a gun straight at him. A woman stood next to him.

He supposed the man with the large gun should have been the very first thing he noticed.

"Hello Patrick," the man said with a smile. "It's great to meet you, face to face, so to speak."

His words sent shivers down his spine. They were so familiar.

The man gestured to the woman next to him. "This is Lorelei."

The woman had short brown waves, pretty features and a warm smile. She waved her fingers at him. "Hello Patrick," she said, echoing the man. "I've heard so much about you."

"She was the one in the rocking chair," the man explained. "I am taking credit for your headache."

Jane got a good look at him. Roughly five foot nine, dark hair, light eyes. Late thirties to early forties. He wore jeans and a sweatshirt.

If Jane hadn't known any better, he would have mistaken him for a normal person.

But he did know better.

"Cat got your tongue?" the bastard asked lightly.

"I have nothing to say," Jane spat back.

Lorelei smiled.

"Nothing?" Red John wondered.

Patrick shrugged a shoulder indifferently. "Well, 'go to hell' goes without saying, so yes. Nothing."

The man chuckled darkly. "Do you know why I brought you here?"

"Yes," Jane replied curtly.

It was Lorelei who spoke next. "Do you mind sharing?"

He shrugged again. "You are going to kill me."

They both laughed this time, and Jane felt goose bumps rise on his arms. "What makes you say that, Patrick?" Red John questioned.

It was his turn to smile. "Both of your identities are out in the open. If you let me go, I would be able to track you down, identify you." He locked eyes with the serial killer. "The last time I saw you, you were covered from head to toe. You obviously didn't want me to see your face. Now, you don't seem to care."

Lorelei giggled. "Adorable."

"I don't have to kill you, Patrick," Red John said with a smile. "I'm a reasonable man. I will let you live. If I let you go, I know you would never find me. You can trust me on that. But what about a change of lifestyle?" He lowered his gun and took a step toward Jane. "You and I are very much alike, Patrick. We are both smarter than most, and we each have our own special set of skills." He crouched down so he was at Jane's eye level. "What if we formed an alliance? What if you and I were friends?"

Jane stared intently into the monster's eyes, the eyes that his wife and child must have stared into the night they were murdered. The eyes they must have looked into and pleaded for mercy. Jane could clearly see the evil in those eyes, the eyes he had wanted to look into for so long now.

"Like I said, go to hell."

Red John stared at him for a moment longer, genuine anger burning in his eyes, before his expression relaxed and he stood again, backing away from Jane. "You can ask, you know."

"Ask what?" Jane hissed.

"Anything," he answered smugly. "You can ask about the night I-"

"No," Jane interrupted.

"Or you could ask why I didn't just kill Teresa with my own hands."

Patrick narrowed his eyes. He didn't say anything.

"Or do you know why?" Red John continued.

"I have my theories," Jane shot back.

Red John and Lorelei stood there, staring, waiting.

Jane fought the urge to roll his eyes. "You knew that the suspense would kill me. You knew that if I couldn't figure out why she did it, it would drive me absolutely mad." He shrugged. "When the fall didn't kill her, and she couldn't remember, you knew that the suspense would torture her, which, in result, would torture me as well." He nodded once. "I've got to hand it to you. Your plan worked."

"Oh, good. I'm so glad." The monster raised his gun and aimed it at Jane. "Alright, Patrick. You have two options here." A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Join us, or die."

Jane glowered at the pistol, and then raised his glare to the man holding it. He smiled back, then puckered his lips and spit.

"So stubborn," the man commented in a sad tone, and Lorelei nodded in agreement. Red John moved his finger to the trigger. "Goodbye, Patrick."

Jane shut his eyes, but they immediately snapped open when a familiar voice echoed through the room.

"You two, standing, put your hands up. Now."

Lisbon.

Jane could see a bit of panic surfacing in Lorelei's eyes. She tried to maintain her composure but failed miserably. She slid her eyes over to her partner, whose expression never faltered. He continued to aim the gun at Jane.

"You, sir, need to put the weapon down," Lisbon barked, as she aimed her own firearm at the man in question.

Red John chuckled.

"And you, ma'am, put your hands up."

Lorelei didn't move. She continued to stare at Red John.

"I'll shoot," Teresa warned.

Red John laughed again. "No, you won't."

Jane's eyes flickered to Lisbon, who was glaring intently at the couple standing in the middle of the room. Her look seemed to say, challenge accepted.

"Ma'am, I'm not going to say it again," Lisbon said patiently. "Put your hands up."

Red John, still under the piercing gaze of Lorelei, shook his head slowly.

Lorelei squared her shoulders, but didn't lift her hands.

And Lisbon, known for keeping promises, pulled the trigger.

As the bullet pierced her stomach, Lorelei let out a little gasp. Her eyes moved from Red John's to Jane's before she fell to the ground.

She was dead.

Lisbon had killed her.

"And you thought I wouldn't shoot," Lisbon bragged.

Red John's expression wasn't what Jane had expected. He didn't seem concerned by the fact that his partner was dead, nor even the last bit shocked.

He seemed amused.

"I will give you one more chance," Lisbon warned. "Put. The gun. Down. Now."

Jane watched Red John move his gaze to Lisbon's for the first time and Patrick immediately tensed up. Red John's eyes were cold, sinister, and motivated. He did not want him looking at her like that.

"You sure you want to keep playing this game?" Lisbon challenged, a hint of playfulness in her tone.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Miss Lisbon."

Lisbon tilted her head toward Jane but didn't move her eyes from the man with the gun. "This game," she explained, even though she knew damn well that Red John knew exactly what she was talking about. "This game where you make his life miserable."

Red John laughed. "I can assure you that I don't try to make his life miserable." He flashed a sly grin. "How are your injuries, Miss Lisbon? Are they healing properly?"

That did it.

Boom.

One gunshot and the bastard was dead.

Jane stared at the two dead bodies on the floor, Red John's girl and Red John himself. He couldn't believe it. His sweet, sweet Lisbon had just shot and killed two people without a moment's hesitation. Sure, she was a cop, and sure, it was in her job description to take down bad guys, but he had never seen her take anyone out with so much enthusiasm. She usually hated it.

He managed to tear his eyes away from the bodies so he could meet Lisbon's gaze, which was fixed on him. She had already holstered her gun, and she took a step toward Red John and kicked the pistol away from the dead man's hand. "I'm superstitious that way," she explained when Jane shot her a questioning look.

"You killed him," he blurted.

"And her," she added. "Who was she?"

"Her name was Lorelei." Jane stood up and brushed the dust off himself, though he looked like hell anyway. "One of his pets."

"Ah," was all she said, understanding.

"Did you follow me here?"

Lisbon nodded sheepishly. "I knew that something had to be wrong. Sorry I was a little late."

Jane lunged for her and wrapped his arms around her. She didn't even tense up this time. She simply relaxed and wound her own arms around him. "You're not mad?" she whispered.

He chuckled and stroked her silky hair. "Not at all."

She allowed herself to relax into him even further. "Good."

"Teresa?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

She smiled. "For what?"

Jane pulled back slightly to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. "For not allowing him to blow my head off."

A/N: Cliché? Maybe a little. :) Oh well. Red John and Lorelei are dead. I added Lorelei and bits and pieces of the script from the season finale, so if you haven't seen the season finale yet, I do not own Lorelei nor do I own a few lines within this chapter. Just a few, though. Anyway, what did you think of the chapter? And what did you think of the entire story in general? I think I am going to have one more chapter, just to wrap everything up, unless you guys think that might be too much. If so, let me know, please! I don't want to completely bore you. Please review! I always appreciate it when you guys review!