Hee me again! So Teen Lisbon appears here; I had fun writing her character, so I hope you'll like her mini-version :D

Thanks to Jisbonforever ;Anna; 24Mentalistlover; Jisbon4ever; chocolatefan; Lauri-mentalist; Izzie1799 for their reviews! Thanks for the alerts and favourites too!

Disclaimer: only Kausner and Mussie are mine xD

Sweet Fifteens-2

Twenty minutes had passed since Lisbon drunk the Backup Time potion. Both men had carried her to the nearest bedroom to make her more comfortable and now, Jane could only wait for her to wake up. After laying her on the bed, he sat on the closest chair and waited by her side.

"She should wake up in an hour or so" Kausner had told him earlier. "I'm going to phone the locksmith for the front door… Call me if she opens her eyes in the meantime, okay?"

The man could have been using that excuse to run away, but Jane couldn't care less. His only focus was the unconscious woman and her welfare. He wouldn't allow himself to relax until she woke up and told him herself she was fine.

He killed time by observing his surroundings. It was a simple room, with not much furniture yet according to the lack of dust and its cleanness, proved to be sometimes used. Jane deduced that O'Brian must have come from time to time to sleep in the room; a thought confirmed later when he noticed men's clothing in the closet –and a polo similar to the one he found at the victim's house in his shelves… A whimper from the woman lying in front of him caught his attention and he stared back at her, not wanting to miss something.

Soon enough, he was forced to admit the potion was not a fraud. Since Kausner left the room, he had noticed the physical changes on her body and features. The wrinkles on the corner of her eyes, of her mouth were slowly withdrawing; her clothes were becoming larger. The adjustments were very subtle and slow, but as the clock ticked it was becoming obvious she was growing younger.

"It's more impressive than with my dog" Kausner's amazed voice surprised him. "I never thought it'd work on humans."

"You got your result here" Jane muttered, not leaving the agent's body from sight. "How do you know she will wake up in her 'fifteens'?"

The inventor shrugged again and replied:

"It's more or less a guess. I first used the BT on plants –it was supposed to be a fertilizer. My daughter was very into gardening so I figured I could come up with something that wouldn't damage her hands –I don't trust those chemical things one bit… Fact is that it grew back to being a seed, and then I started testing it at various doses on various things. I realized the bigger the subject is, the more potion it needs to actually work…. still half a cup of pure BT was enough to turn an old dog into a young pup. Considering your friend's height, weight and age, I deduced age fifteen. That is said, if the effects are the same on humans…"

Jane threw him a sided glance. The man was concentrated on his accidental experiment's result, a.k.a Lisbon's physical changes. The genuine traces of pain caused by Jonathan O'Brian's death had been erased, or put aside for a moment. The consultant believed it was his way of copping, concentrating on something unexpected and denying reality…

"Did… did Jon suffer, when he died?" Kausner asked suddenly, voice tensed and fists clenching under his crossed arms.

…or not.

"He breathed a poisonous gas" Jane replied honestly. "A gas his wife said we could find at your house."

The man nodded slowly, not leaving Lisbon's body off sight.

"I see which one you're talking about. I asked Jon to buy it for me because I wanted to test a few reactions of it with another of my products."

"So you think the gas was already there?"

The inventor shrugged.

"Possible. I've always been a dope with computers and most of my stuff is bought on the Internet. It wasn't the first time I asked him to buy things for me. Check on his brother, I know he and Harrison weren't on best terms lately. Money problems I think."

Jane nodded. Of course, there was the usual motive. Harrison O'Brian had financial difficulties with his business, and his brother's life-insurance was consequential… did the wife had anything to do with it? His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a movement Lisbon made. It was just a light flicker of the lid, but he spotted it immediately and jumped out of his chair to lean closer, surprising Kausner.

"What…" he started, but Jane cut him immediately:

"Hush! I think she's waking up."

-SF-

Teenage Lisbon raised a hand to rub her eyes. She moaned slightly, a sign of protest against the bright light of the window and rolled on the side to hide from it, showing her back to them. Jane had to breathe deeply to control the nerves inside. What if she got out of line? What if she became uncontrollable? Kausner just said she would turn back in her mind and body of fifteen… the stage where she was still crawling under responsibilities of her brothers and abusive father…

"Lisbon?" he called gently. "You're okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, 'm fine" was the sleepy answer.

The alteration of tone shocked him, though he knew she was changed, he had a hard time imagining this was Lisbon's voice. Even if it was familiarly grumpy. When she sighed and curled more into a ball, both men exchanged a look. Waiting for the inevitable 'wake-up' was starting to get unnerving.

Her body suddenly stilled, she rolled back to face them with wide eyes, now perfectly awake. After a few minutes of awkward silence during which Jane knew she was starting to realise she wasn't in a well-known environment, lying on a bed in the presence of two strangers and in a too large outfit.

"Who the hell are you?" she shouted, trying to get up but struggling with her too-large clothes. "What's…what's that?" she glared at her garments then back at them. "Where am I? What did you do to me?"

Before anyone could answer, she moved further back against the wall, fists tightening to control their shaking. She was scared -heck terrified, and who wouldn't? -but he had to admit she hid it well behind anger. When Jane leant closer, she reacted immediately:

"Don't you take one step closer you perv!" she growled, eyes narrowing at him. For a second, he was glad he had taken her gun away.

"We mean no harm agent Lisbon…" Michel started, raising his hands in attempt to calm her. It didn't work.

"Agent Lisbon?" she repeated in disbelief. "That's your thing, playing cops and bad guys? You'll laugh a bit less when I'll call the real cops to arrest you!"

"Why don't you let me talk?" Jane said to Kausner, very conscious that the teenager was panicking even more. "You're stressing her."

"Well you might excuse me, but I'd stressed a bit too if I was ogled by a guy in a three-piece suit right out of my nap."

"As if a weirdo dressed in a white blouse wasn't creepy too" Jane retorted. "Seriously, I am looking for an outcome that will not necessity explaining the use of your… whatever potion…"

"Backup Time" Kausner pointed.

"…and find a more rational and credible excuse for this situation."

"Why not just tell the truth?" Kausner asked, shrugging. "I mean, it's not like we can explain the reason why a CBI agent turned fifteen without explaining the principles of the BT."

"Do you really think that any sane person would accept that?" the blond man retorted. "Tell this Lisbon she was thirty-seven years old an hour ago but is now fifteen because you mistook potions in your fridge, I'm sure she'll be convinced."

"Maybe it looks like an excuse, but it is still true!" the inventor protested, turning towards the teenager, suddenly remembering she was still there and assisting to their debate. For a second, Jane had forgotten too, for the matter. Young Lisbon was staring at them like they were nuts. He couldn't blame her; who would believe such a story without proof anyway?

"You're right. This is the most pathetic excuse I've ever heard" she replied in disbelief. "Seriously, you really think I am going to eat that I am currently an Agent of the CBI of thirty seven and that I drank a creepy potion…"

"Backup Time!" Kausner corrected again, this time annoyed. "Why do people never make the effort of remembering the nam…"

"…that turned me twenty years younger? Please, that's just ridiculous!"

Jane nodded vigorously, glad she followed his idea.

"See what I said?"

Lisbon glared at him in turn, indicating she didn't need the support of one of her captors. Kausner sighed and bit his lower lip a few seconds.

"I can make a demonstration if you wish?" the inventor offered. "If I take Mussie –an experimentation mouse of mine- and make her turn back into a baby, will you believe us?"

Before Lisbon could speak, Jane shot him a perplexed glance:

"You're terrified of rats, but you work with mice?"

"Mice don't scare me" the man replied. "Rats are bigger and dirtier."

Young Lisbon narrowed her eyes at them but nodded, even if unconvinced. Her eyes settled immediately on Jane when Kausner stepped out of the room, leaving them alone. The blond man felt he was under x-rays but held her gaze. He had to admit that, even at fifteen, she was attractive. Her dark hair were falling in a mess around her cute teenage face, her intense green eyes sparkling with a dangerous glint, her slender neck and nice-looking body floating in too-large clothes… He slapped himself mentally, remembering he was not attracted to underage teenagers, even if they were supposedly thirty-seven; and even more if they were Lisbon. The sudden return of Kausner, holding a small box, relieved him a little. At long as he could stop fantasying…

"Young lady, meet Mussie" the man said, putting the box on the nightstand. Inside, a white and brown mouse was moving around, throwing glances right and left, observing her perplexing new environment and the stranger's attention. "You're not afraid of mice I hope?" he added, glancing quickly to the teenager. Lisbon didn't seem at ease, but at least less uncomfortable than her previous encounter with the rat. She scrutinized every single move the scientist made, when he took a small cup, let a few drops of the Backup Time liquid dissolve in the water already in, and put the cup down in the box again. The small creature drank the liquid avidly before immediately dropping on the back, paws up, like dead. Lisbon's jaw tightened and her eyes brightened with fury:

"Did you really need to kill a mouse to prove me something?"

"Patience!" Kausner snapped and waved his arms in exasperation. "You people never have patience for anything I swear! Look at Mussie instead of making up ideas. She's already changing!"

For the second time of his life, Jane witnessed the extraordinary transformation on an adult into child… or in this case, a mouse into baby mouse. When Lisbon realised that he wasn't lying, she flattened herself against the wall even more, eyes wide opened and losing the little self-control remaining.

"What the… What the hell? What happened to the mouse?"

"It grew younger, just like you did when you drank the Backup Time potion by accident" the inventor explained patiently. "Are you going to believe me now?"

But she wasn't really listening; she was too busy staring at the baby creature in disbelief. Her breathing accelerated in seconds and it didn't take long before Jane knew she was going to hyperventilate.

"Lisbon" he called her name, attempting to get her attention; but she completely ignored him, fascinated and terrified by the result of the experiment. "Teresa! Look at me."

This time, she tore her gaze away from the mouse and crossed his eyes.

"Breathe, everything's fine" Jane said on a firm, yet gentle tone. When he put his hand on her forearm, she didn't react violently, just stared at him in mid-surprise. "You're okay?"

Young Lisbon nodded, still breathing quickly but not as much as before. She was coming down from her scare and seemed more receptive to her environment.

"What was the last date you remember; what day, month, year is it for you?"

Lisbon bit her lower lip and hesitated a second before answering:

"September the 3rd, 1988. What day is it today?"

"Ninth of October 2010" Kausner replied gently. "Ask anyone in the street, they will reply the same thing. All calendars too."

She nodded and closed her eyes, breathing deeply to get a hand over her various emotions.

"Where are my brothers?" she eventually asked, waiting for an answer. Jane shrugged; at least that was one question he was anticipating.

"I don't really know. I never met them personally, and you don't mix personal and professional. I guess you'll have their number somewhere at your apartment or at the office… where we work."

Once again, she nodded, perplexity written all over her features. She more or less seemed to believe them, but still doubted. After a few minutes of absolute silence, she asked:

"And who are you?"

Jane grinned and offered his hand. She glanced at it warily before taking it reluctantly.

"Patrick Jane. I'm a consultant for the CBI and your co-worker. Nice to meet you again, Lisbon."

He felt her pulse accelerate and when he kissed the back of her hand playfully, noticed the pinkish shade of her cheeks. Lisbon escaped his sharp and inquisitive gaze by glancing at the inventor.

"And you are?" she babbled, trying hard to keep control –Jane still felt the racing beat of her wrist.

"Michel Kausner, science-fiction author and inventor" he introduced himself cheerfully, the mega-watt smile flashing again. "I am the one who created the Backup Time, the potion that turned you…"

"And you are proud of it?" she cut sharply, eyes narrowing. "Man, each second I'm spending here makes me think I'm getting crazier and crazier! Why the hell did you make me drink that?" Kausner's smile faltered immediately and he lowered his head in shame.

"My mistake" he grumbled, looking away. "I thought it was lemonade." He suddenly frowned, as if remembering something, and excused himself before walking out of the room hurriedly. She immediately turned back to Jane, realised her hand was still in his possession, and pulled away, cheeks still slightly pinkish again. It amused him to see her rubbing her wrist where he had held her, like it was burning.

"You've got creepy friends" she muttered, avoiding his glance. Jane's smile faltered a bit.

"We are not friends. Rather he's a suspect in a murder investigation."

Her eyes grew wide.

"Murder investigation? Then what the hell are we doing in his house?"

"Meh, that's routine, you are I are cops" he reminded her. "Well, rather you are a state agent and I am a mere consultant. But the guy didn't do it so you have nothing to fear."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"How can you be so sure? Do you have any proof?"

He brushed her worries away with a swift gesture of the hand.

"Doesn't fit the profile. And he's too awkward and lonely to want his friend's death. You even agreed with me for once."

Lisbon didn't reply and looked at her outfit.

"So I'm a cop…" her voice trailed off, hesitating between laughing or wincing.

"You have a badge in your jacket pocket. Or your pants pocket. It's genuine."

Fingers hesitantly slipped in the said places, and her eyes widened slightly when she came in touch with the said object. She opened the badge and noticed an image of her older self, along with her name and the three large letters CBI on it. Biting her lower lip, she turned towards Jane.

"This is so crazy" she whispered. "I don't remember anything, it feels like… I'm in outer space you know? Like none of this is real."

Jane decided to make a bold move and sat on the corner of the bed, close to her. Lisbon watched him move with piercing eyes, but didn't say a thing when she felt he was not going to do any suspicious moves.

"Kausner said your state isn't permanent anyway, a few weeks at most" he said softly. "Think of it like a… like a dream. Or an alternative universe; in which you don't have to take care of your brothers; and your father isn't there either. You think you can do that?"

"I guess" she nodded reluctantly. "But I still don't trust you."

"Never asked you to" the blond man replied with a wide –and relieved- grin. "You don't trust me twenty years later; I didn't expect you to do any different now."

She frowned at his words in wonder and he added to cheer her up a little:

"You're always threatening to shoot me. But the edge of your gun will not prevent me from keeping an eye on you until everything goes back to normal."

As he half expected, she narrowed her eyes and growled something incomprehensible. A curse against him perhaps? Once again, they were interrupted by the inventor's return with a bag under his arm. Jane stood up from the bed and watched the inventor pull out a bunch of clothes from his bag and turn towards Lisbon.

"What's that?" she asked, eyeing Kausner's hands warily. The scientist smiled apologetically and handed them to her:

"I figured you'd like to change outfit… those clothes are way too large for you. My wife used to sew for her nieces…" When she didn't gesture to take it, he let the pair of blue jeans and a dark red top fall on the edge of the bed. "It's a bit old-fashioned nowadays but it should do it until you find proper clothes."

The glint of guardedness in her eyes faltered slightly as she picked up the top. At first sight you could tell the size wasn't quite right, but at least it would fit her more than her current clothes. Michel took Jane by the arm and pulled him out of the room to let her change. Once in the corridor, the inventor faced Jane and blurted:

"Listen Mr Jane, I know what I am about to say might be pretentious, but I want to keep an eye on Agent Lisbon too…"

"You just want to follow the evolution of your experiment" Jane pointed out. Kausner pursed his lips a second, as if thinking, and nodded:

"Yeah, that too. But by staying nearby I can control the changes, maybe find an antidote if her state remains the same for too long. I never applied it to human beings, but I did a few theory studies and experiments with human cells. According to the theory, she shouldn't stay 'young' more than two, three weeks tops. If it lasts longer, then I'll have to find something."

Jane pursed his lips in turn but had to admit the man was right. Perhaps he was the cause of this mess, but he was also the only one who could handle any damages to come.

"All right" he agreed reluctantly. "But you won't stalk her all day. I'm bringing her to the office to explain to our boss what happened then at her place. We'll still be there around five I guess. So be sure to show up around that time."

"Yessir" the inventor grinned happily. Jane couldn't help but muse that at least there was someone pleased by this sticky situation.

-SF-

The road drive was silent and awkward, none of them knowing what to do or say. Jane had explained the plans for the afternoon, which included talking to thier colleagues about her current state and taking measures during the period of 'unavailability'. The negotiations lasted at least thirty minutes, but in the end, he won, and she had followed reluctantly to the car.

"I think you're handling this quite good" Jane suddenly said, mostly to break the silence. He hated silence, even more when Lisbon was in the car with him. "You're not freaking out yet."

"Oh don't worry I am freaked out" she replied somehow dryly. "But I'd rather be in this shit than stuck with my father in the same room when he's wasted" When he didn't push further or questioned why, she threw him a sided glance. "You know?"

Jane didn't reply but nodded. He knew about Lisbon's alcoholic father since the case and could hardly imagine how hard it had been for her. He suddenly noticed her repetitive glances towards him. At first, he thought it was just still wary of him and not really believing him, but she was staring in that particular way… when she was dying to ask him something but didn't know how. The action surprised him a little. Usually, older Lisbon would have frown or bit her lower lip before starting talking, but talk nonetheless. He had to remember she wasn't herself anymore…

"Come on, tell me what's bothering you" Jane said pleasantly; knowing that unanswered worries would not speak in his favour. "If you have any questions, shoot."

Lisbon bit her lower lip, hesitating, before muttering:

"Are we going out or something?" her eyes stopped on his ring. "You're married? Oh my, we're having an affair or something?"

Jane shook his head with a slight smile. He was divided between laughing and wincing in embarrassment.

"No, we are not an item" he replied. "And I am not married; my wife… my wife was murdered years ago."

"Oh" was her only reply and he noticed the blush of mortification on her cheeks. Jane couldn't help but ask:

"What made you think we were dating?"

"Well… first you are nice with me, even if I called you a perv and everything… and I thought you were checking me out earlier" she confessed, cheeks flushing a bit. "Since you're kinda hot for a guy your age, I figured I was… attracted to you or something…"

"No harm done" he replied gently, not knowing if he had to feel flattered by the 'your age' thing. Her sentence made him worry though. Was Lisbon really that perceptive of her surroundings? Was she hiding her game better than he thought, or had she just lost her touch with time? He guessed it was a good thing he was a good actor, though it was hard to keep his feelings sealed around Lisbon all the time. In some ways, she was his best friend… and he didn't want to mess with anything they had between them.

The phone rang, and he luckily managed to pull aside and pick up in time. It was Cho.

"Where are you?" the Asian man asked dryly. "I've been trying to contact you for hours. Lisbon isn't answering her phone either!"

Crap Jane thought, eyeing quickly the teenager sighing boringly on the passenger seat. He had almost forgotten the team.

"Lisbon's fine, she's with me" he replied. As he expected, Lisbon's head shifted slightly towards him. She was listening to the conversation now. Before his caller could say anything, he added: "Uh… by the way, Cho? We have a problem."

He heard the sigh on the other side of the line.

"What have you done this time?"

"Nothing! You'll understand when we'll get to the bullpen… Is Grace around?"

There was a short pause, during which Jane supposed the Asian man feared the worst.

"Yes, she is. Why?"

"Tell her to take in O'Brian's brother."

"What about Kausner?"Cho cut in suspiciously.

"Oh, he's innocent" Jane brushed his question away. "Like I was saying, take in O'Brian's brother. Rigsby and you will make him sing like a bird if you give him your killer glare."

"All right" Cho replied reluctantly, yet the blond man knew he'd carry out his 'orders'. "Where are you?"

"On our way to the shopping centre. Lisbon needs some proper clothes."

Another pause. On her seat, the teen stared at him incredulously. A mix of astonishment, wariness and excitement misted up in her eyes, and he knew exactly she wasn't going to complain much more if she was to get new garments. Inwardly, he was glad she had the typical 'teenage instinct' when the word 'shopping' was used.

"Say what?"

"You'll understand once we'll arrive. See you Cho!" he saluted before cutting the line and putting it back in his pocket.

"You're serious?" she asked immediately, eyeing him suspiciously. "You told me we'd be heading to the police."

Jane pointed the clothes she was wearing. Michel wasn't lying when he said they were old-fashioned. In fact, he should have said 'old', period. It wasn't very visible, but to his trained eyes, the small holes and sewing on the side starting to get loose were very noticeable.

"Are you really comfortable with those on? C'mon Teresa, just pick up a pair of pants or a dress or a bikini for all I care, but you can't stay in a… what now?"

Teresa shook her head and sighed. Jane asked again, slightly annoyed she wouldn't speak her thoughts up unless he pushed her to:

"What now?"

"Ever heard of Freud's theory of lapses?" she blurted, eyes narrowing at him. When he nodded his approval, she went on dryly: "You told me to get a bikini. I knew you were just an old perv in the end."

If anyone had read the mangas Chobits or Angelic Layer; I "created" Kausner from the scientist (or that was my original idea :D)

Thank you for reading so far!