The Demon In Us.
Disclaimer: Still have no rights.
A/N: Special thanks to all those who left reviews and to those on twitter who are always there when I need encouragement
Lisbon felt as if all the air in her lungs had been knocked out her of as Bryant finished talking. She felt her knees start to shake just as Jane placed an arm around her waist and helped her sit on the couch. The voices around the room soon became muffled as her mind kept replaying the words "fingerprints belong to your younger brother Thomas." Closing her eyes she prayed that this was all a dream and that when she opened them again she would be at home. Opening her eyes again she noticed that Jane was next to her trying to get her attention.
"Teresa." Jane whispered.
"Tell me it isn't true." Lisbon pleaded.
"I'm so sorry." Jane said as he took a seat next to hear.
"Agent, take all the time you need." Bertram stated. "The FBI will be taking the case this time around."
"What?!" Jane asked suddenly.
"You are all too involved in the case to make any clear judgments." Bertram explained.
"You are right." Jane said. Bertram looked at him shocked.
"What?" Lisbon asked shocked as she looked at Jane. He couldn't be serious about not working a Red John case.
"He is right. We are too involved." Jane told her.
"But?" Lisbon questioned but Jane waved her off with his hand.
"We will need to ask you some questions agent." Bryant said as he pulled a notebook out of his coat pocket.
"Why don't you give her some time?" Jane glared at Bryant.
"It is important to the case that we find out where she was." Bryant told Jane.
"Unless you consider her a suspect, agent, then there is no need to talk to her at the moment." Bertram told him.
"Fine." Bryant put the notebook away and made his way to the door. "I'll be back later."
"I want you to take her home." Bertram told Jane before walking out the door and leaving the two of them alone.
"Teresa." Jane repeated as he placed a hand on her cheek and forced her to look at him. He noticed the lost look on her face.
"No!" Lisbon shouted and got to her feet. "I refuse to believe it."
"Teresa-" He began to say.
"Don't you dare." Lisbon hissed.
"You need to sit down." Jane gestured to the couch.
"No, I need to find who did this." Lisbon told him.
"You can't work the case." Jane gently told her.
"Like hell I can't." Lisbon started to pace around her office.
"Lisbon." Jane walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her from moving.
"What?" She asked annoyed as she shrugged his hand off.
"You need to go home and call your brothers and Annie."
"Oh God, Annie." Lisbon took her phone out of her pocket and dialed the number for Annie. Lisbon let it ring for several minutes before the other line picked up.
"Annie." Lisbon hesitated as she heard crying on the other end. Her eyes met Jane's and she handed him the phone before walking over to the couch to sit down.
"Annie, it's Patrick Jane." Jane started as he made his way out of the office. A few moments later he entered the office again and closed the door.
"I couldn't tell her." Lisbon was trying to hold back the tears.
"Let me take you home." Jane offered her a hand up but she refused to take it.
"Teresa, please." Jane pleaded with her.
Looking up at him Lisbon nodded and got to her feet. He placed a hand against her lower back and led her out of the office. The other agents in the office watched the two of them make their way to the elevators. Lisbon could hear the whispering all around her but she didn't care what they thought at the moment. As they got to the elevators she saw the other members of the team waiting for her.
"Boss, I'm so sorry." Van Pelt was the first one to say something. Lisbon nodded her head but didn't say anything.
"We heard that they are taking us off the case." Rigsby mentioned as he pushed the elevator button.
"Bertram thinks we are too close to the case." Jane informed them.
"What are we going to do?" Cho asked as they entered the elevator.
"We are going to solve it ourselves." Lisbon spoke clearly as the doors closed.
"She is right but we are going to wait." Jane told them.
"Wait for what?" Cho asked.
"Wait for the right time." Jane replied.
"So that was all an act with Bertram." Lisbon said.
"Yes, he needed to believe that we wouldn't touch the case." Jane told her.
"I'm not going to wait around." Lisbon told him firmly.
"You have no choice." Jane reminded her. "You are going to go home for the time being."
"That is what he would have wanted me to do." Lisbon pointed out as the doors opened. She walked out of the elevator and toward the cars.
"Teresa, you can't work this one." Jane told her once again.
"And you shouldn't have been ever able to work it but I allowed you to. So don't you dare try and stop me." Lisbon told him as she got into her car.
"Where are you going?" Rigsby asked.
"To find answers." Lisbon said as she slammed the door closed and started the car. She placed the car into reverse and pulled out of the parking lot before any of them had a chance to stop her.
"What are we going to do?" Van Pelt asked concerned.
"We stop her before she does something she will regret." Jane stated firmly as he made his way to his own car.
"I got a bad feeling about this." Van Pelt expressed to Cho and Rigsby.
"You're not the only one." Rigsby said as he watched Jane drive out of the parking lot.
Jane pulled into the parking space next to where Lisbon had parked her car. He got out and closed the door to his car before he made his way up to her apartment. Knocking on the door he waited for her to answer but no one came. He knocked hard and once again waited.
"Lisbon I know you are in there so either open the door or I will open it myself." Jane shouted.
The door cracked open and Lisbon looked at him beyond pissed. "That would be illegal."
"I'm not one for following the rules." Jane said as he pushed his way into her apartment.
"Yeah tell me about it." Lisbon slammed the door shut.
"What are you doing?" Jane asked as he noticed her overnight bag next to the door.
"Going to see my brothers." Lisbon told him.
"No, you're not."
"Why don't you tell me where I'm going then?" Lisbon challenged him.
"You are going to go off and try to find Red John." Jane watched as she looked away from him.
"So what if I am?" Lisbon questioned.
"Don't." Jane plainly stated.
"Excuse me?" Lisbon asked shocked. "I thought of all people you would understand my need to do this."
"Oh I understand, but you still can't do it."
"Doesn't that make you a hypocrite?"
"I'm not the one that Red John is targeting." Jane informed her.
"So what?" Lisbon snapped.
"He has been going after you for the past few years and now he has you right where he wants you."
"And where is that exactly?"
"To a point where you mess up and he will kill you." Jane explained to her. "You need to think clearly about this."
"Clearly?" Lisbon laughed. "This coming from a man who goes off the rails every time Red John comes up."
"He will kill you." Jane stated again.
"Not if I kill him first."
"And how do you hope to accomplish that?"
"By finding him."
"And how long have we been trying to do that?" Jane shouted.
"Now we have another reason."
"I won't allow you to do this." Jane hissed.
"Give me one good reason." Lisbon asked.
"Because I will never forgive myself if something happens to you." Jane said sincerely.
"Not everything is about you." Lisbon growled.
"You're right." Jane said as he dropped his head. "But you can't go after him."
"Why?"
"Because you need time to grieve." Jane told her softly.
"I don't need time to grieve." Lisbon pushed back.
"Yes, you do. Let us handle this for you. I promise that the team will keep you informed." Jane pleaded with her as he pulled her into a hug. Lisbon squirmed but he refused to let her go. He finally felt her surrender as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"This is what he wants." He whispered into her ear. "He wants you to disobey an order and go after him yourself."
"I can't just sit here and do nothing." Lisbon told him faintly.
"Go be with your brothers." Jane told her as he broke the hug.
"Jane-" Lisbon began but the knock on her front door stopped her from finishing. They shared a quick look before Lisbon went over and looked through the peephole.
"It's Cho." She told Jane as she unlocked the door and allow he and the entire team to enter.
"What is it?" Lisbon asked as she closed the door.
"We found something on each of our cars." Cho stated.
"What?" Jane asked.
"Here." Cho handed them a white envelop.
"Oh, God." Lisbon said as they took the pictures out of it. The picture was that of Jane and Lisbon sleeping next to each other. It was taken the morning after they had slept together.
"He knows." Jane whispered to himself.
"He has been watching us." Lisbon said shocked.
"He is watching all of us." Cho stated.
"What?" Lisbon asked.
"We found these as well." Cho handed her a stack of photos that showed the team at home, around crime scenes, at restaurants or with family and friends.
To Be Continued...
