"I don't know what happened," Teresa said, but it came out as just a whisper.

"Shh. It doesn't matter. Just a panic attack," he said softly. He rubbed her arm. Comforting.

"It's my neighbor's house," she said, feeling like she needed someone to know. She needed someone to listen. "I came here on the bad days when I couldn't handle my Dad. That happened more often than you'd think. That closet...that was one of the worst days. I had to hide in that stupid closet for hours."

"You shouldn't keep it all locked up inside you like that. That's the worst thing for you," he said, staring blankly at the wall in front of him.

Lisbon gave a sad chuckle and wiped the tears that irritated her cheeks. "If you haven't noticed, I don't really like to talk about my problems."

Jane looked at her and smiled. "I've noticed."

The moment quickly passed as her CBI visage came flooding back in to her, and she realized she was working a case. She stood up.

"Crap, we have to go"-

Unexpectedly, Patrick pulled her back down on to the bed and Lisbon furrowed her eyebrows at him, her usual frustration seeping through.

"The people downstairs are perfectly capable of handling it without you," Jane said, not seeming to realize or care that he just man handled his boss.

"Jane"-

"Lisbon. Would you just relax? For five minutes?"

He said it with such conviction that she actually gave in and let her shoulders relax. She let out a sigh.

If anyone knew how she was feeling right now, it was Jane. She wasn't a therapist, but she knew full well that any traumatic experience was likely to cause panic attacks. She was sure that he'd had plenty.

Teresa felt as if a weight had dropped in to her heart and stomach. She could breathe, but not as well as she would like. She couldn't keep out the memories that fled back to her mind with every glance at the room around her, and she knew she would feel ashamed later on, even if she didn't now.

"Don't be ashamed of it," said Jane, reading her mind.

"I'm a CBI agent. I shouldn't be so god damned weak,"

Jane almost seemed to get mad at that statement. "Lisbon, look at me," he said, almost harshly. She did.

"You are not weak. In fact, if you were calm and collected when you walked in to this house, I'd be concerned that you weren't even human. You've gotta stop crtisizing yourself with everything you do."

Lisbon opened her mouth to speak, but Jane kept going.

"One day, if you keep letting all these bad feelings stay locked up inside you, you're going to break. You're going to break, just like I did."

Lisbon let her mind wander back to the moment with Jane in her office, when he'd told her about his time in the hospital. She figured taking his advice wouldn't be such a bad idea.

"Okay," she answered, but it came out as a pained whisper. He put his hand on her back as she stared at the closet in front of her.

"Jane!" someone called from downstairs. The two looked at each other, and Lisbon made a motion with her head as if to say go on.

But Jane shook his head. Lisbon opened her mouth to retort, but he shushed her.

She felt his comforting hand on her back and decided she didn't have the energy to argue.

Lisbon continued working the case after that. She was stubborn, and she knew that, but working was just in her blood. It kept her mind off things.

She did more paperwork that night.

But, finally, she couldn't hold it off anymore, and when she got home, she cried. She cried harder than she'd had for years and years. She cried for her poor Mom. She cried from memories of Patty. She cried from memories of her house and Patty's closet and her brothers and the beatings...

Teresa lost track of time. She relished the feel of the tears from her eyes. It felt better, just like he said it would.

Once, she even tapped Jane's number in to her phone and let it ring once before clicking it off again. She'd done this several times.

Each time, she hung up. Because she may have been in a tough place, but she was still the same old Lisbon that she always was, and she got through it how she always did - alone.

Author's Note: There you have it! I know this probably isn't the happy ending you were all expecting, but I really like to stay close to the characters' personalities, and I think you can all agree that our little Teresa Lisbon would stay strong after something like this. I hope you enjoyed this story, and that it didn't disappoint you. Thank you for all the lovely reviews and favorites. You guys are the best!