Thank goodness for half-days! I don't have to go into school until 12 today so I've managed to complete this chapter and post it up for you all! My back-to-school present for you all. This is the longest chapter I've written for this story :D And I think it's pretty good too. Heehee. Well, you'll just have to let me know if you agree with me or not :D Enjoy!

Scarlet Fever

Lisbon awoke from her unconscious state with a throbbing in the back of her head. She went to feel the damage with her hand, but found it tied to the other behind her back. She groaned as she manoeuvred herself into a sitting position. She thought back to what had happened, she'd left Jane at the dinner table to go to the washroom and then she'd been knocked out. Jane! Oh no, what had happened to him? Where was he? Lisbon looked around the small room frantically.

She spotted him in a heap at the other side of the room. First she felt relief that he was there with her and not dead, but then she realized that he was hurt and that they probably wouldn't make it out of this alive. There were no windows and only one door, presumably locked. She managed to stand herself up and hobbled over to the door. She turned her back to it and found the doorknob with her hands and twisted it, only to find that it was indeed locked from the outside.

After several more failed attempts, Lisbon noticed that Jane was waking up. She limped over to him and sat down beside him. She desperately wanted to run her hand through his curls to comfort him, but since her hands were bound behind her back, she could do no such thing.

"Teresa!" Jane exclaimed. "Are you okay? What happened? I just went to see if you were on your way and then I see you on the ground and then some lady puts a gun to my head and tells me to walk to the parking lot and some guy, from the way they interacted I'd say they're siblings, picks you up and put you in the van and then nothing." Jane was rushing to get his words out. He was trying to understand what had happened, the killer shouldn't have attacked them in the restaurant, they weren't even at the hotel!

"I went to the washroom, and then I fixed my hair. A lady came up beside me, asked if we were newly-weds. I said yeah, she left. I left shortly after and then someone hit me from behind." Lisbon said in a hushed tone. She had noticed two cameras on opposite walls and she didn't know if they included microphones. "We're being watched."

"That we are. Hmm. Now what are we going to do about that?" Jane wondered out loud. As he contemplated potential escape plans, Lisbon set her sights on another escape of sorts. Jane looked over at her to see that she'd somehow managed to get her hands in front of her instead of behind her. "Lisbon how did you do that?"

"You remember how Grace got me a yoga mat for my birthday a few years ago? Well I've been using it ever since." Lisbon said. She moved behind Jane to untie his hands, they were bound by intricate knots but Lisbon had always been good with knots.

"Well, that's one way to use your flexibility, not the most fun but useful." Jane muttered.

"Really Jane? Now? You really want to talk about fun ways to use my flexibility now?" Lisbon said. Normally, she'd be trying to suppress a smile at his comment but considering they were trapped in a small room being watched by a serial killer, she wasn't laughing. She finally untied the knot and Jane's hands were free. "Now would you please untie me?"

"Yeah sure thing. Sorry Teresa." Jane said. It took him a little longer to untie Lisbon's hands but he got it after a few minutes. Before se could move away, he surrounded her in a hug. "I was so worried! When I saw you on the ground, it was like my family all over again. I never want to feel that way again, I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me. We're going to get out of this alive and together. The good news is you can pull whatever stunt you think will work without having them sue the CBI or issue a formal complaint." Lisbon said with a chuckle.

The sound of the door opening and slamming shut broke them from their embrace. They looked up to see the woman who had captured them entering the room. They were momentarily shocked; she was wearing a bright smile on her face. Lisbon immediately recognized the woman as the one who had approached her in the washroom. She didn't have an intimidating appearance; she had a short stature and a petite frame. But both Lisbon and Jane knew that appearances could be deceiving.

"Well look at you two! You're all dressed up with nowhere to go. But your clothes are dirty; let me fix that for you." The woman said with a smile. "Give them to me and I'll see it we can't find some clothes for you two to wear while I wash them."

"Um, why?" Lisbon asked. Of all the scenarios she's imagined, this had not been one of them.

"Well they're dirty and I'm sure you don't want to be stuck in dirty. How about you guys change out of your clothes while I find some clean ones? That way you'll be more comfortable changing." The woman said.

"That's awful nice of you, but that's not what she meant. You see Teresa here is wondering why you aren't killing us right away." Jane said, trying to work his charm on this woman.

"Oh, well I have no reason to kill you. You see, my brother kindly pointed out to me that you aren't newly-weds you're not even married! So I have no vendetta against you, no reason to kill you." The woman said cheerfully.

"So then why are we here, um…? What did you say your name was?" Jane said.

"Rose. My name's Rose. And I may not want to harm you, but my brother does." Rose said. "Now I'm going to find some clothes and you two get changed, I see you've managed to get out of your bindings, very good." With that, she left, leaving Jane and Lisbon both very confused.

"What just happened?" Lisbon asked.

"I'm not entirely sure but I do know one thing. That woman is dangerous, but only when her trigger is provoked. And it seems that we did not provoke it." Jane said.

"Then I guess we have her brother to thank for our lives?" Lisbon said tentatively.

"I'm not so sure about that, she said that he wanted to hurt us. And I'm not sure that's any better." Jane replied.

"Right. So what should we do now?" Lisbon asked. She'd been prepared for many hostage/kidnapping situations thanks to her police training but this one wasn't covered.

"Well I don't think we should aggravate Rose, she's clearly unstable so I think we should do what she said." Jane responded. With that, he removed his jacket and shirt along with his bowtie and pants. Lisbon was shocked and just stared at him. He looked really funny in just his socks and underwear. Then she came to her senses and slipped her dress over her head.

"It's cold in here." Lisbon said. She was shivering. Jane noticed this and walking over to her, rubbing her arms up and down to try to warm her up. Jane felt so bad, hadn't he said many times that he would always save her? But there they were, and no one knew where to find them.

"Oh good, you two are ready." Rose said. True to her word, she'd brought two pairs of jeans and two sweaters for them. "Here you go."

They quickly put on the clothes she gave them, grateful for some warmth. They didn't move away from each other, both preferring to stay close to one another and the comfort it brought them.

"Now that you both are presentable, my brother really wants to chat with you." Rose said with a smile. "John! They're ready!" She called out the door.

A sense of dread filled Jane and Lisbon when they heard that. They knew that it couldn't be a coincidence, and they knew that they wouldn't make it out of this in one piece. Even if one of them managed to escape, they would be broken because there was no way that both of them would be left alive.

"Well, well, well. Mister Jane and Dear Teresa, what do we have here? I thought that you would have learned your lesson Patrick, after our previous encounters. But it seems that your foolishness cannot be taught." Said a man who was entering. There was a cold darkness in his eyes, but that was the only thing that made him anything other than ordinary looking. "I thought I had made it clear that you did not deserve to have someone to love. I thought I had made it clear that you were undeserving of anyone's affection. Why then, did you feel the need to put dear Teresa Lisbon in harms way simply so you could love her? Such foolishness. Well, let's see if it cannot be fixed."

"This had nothing to do with Teresa. Let her go and I'll do whatever you want. Please, just don't hurt her." Jane begged. He'd never thought he'd beg Red John for anything when he came face to face with him, but Teresa proved to be more important than his need for revenge.

At this, Red John laughed. It wasn't a humorous laugh far from it. It was the laugh of someone who had a cold, sadistic heart. It was the laugh of someone too troubled to have ever known love or happiness. It was the laugh of the one who would make sure Patrick Jane never knew these things ever again.

"How sweet. Tempting, I'm sure, but I'll have to decline your offer. Now, on to the main event." Red John said. He pulled a knife concealed at his waist and grabbed Lisbon before anyone had time to react. He held her against him, the knife pressed to her throat.

"Don't move Patrick, or we'll have to kill Teresa a little prematurely. You wouldn't to do that now, would you?"

"Let her go. Now." Jane said, he was shaking with fury but he didn't dare move for fear of hurting Lisbon.

"No, I don't think I will." Red John said. He ran his hand that was not holding the knife down her side and then back up again. "Such a pretty little thing, it'd be a shame to waste such beauty."

"You don't rape your victims." Lisbon said. She was scared out of her mind but she'd be damned if she showed it. Forever the strong one, cool and collected. She knew that this would end badly for her, but however badly it was for her it would be a thousand times worse for Jane. And if her being strong for him made it slightly easier, then she'd do it tenfold.

"I also don't kidnap them and keep them in a basement. But here we are." Red John said with a smirk. He continues trailing his hand along her body, moving to intimate places on her body. This sent shivers of disgust down her spine but Lisbon suppressed a shudder. He then suddenly released her and backed away, leaving them in the room by themselves.

"Are you alright Teresa? Did he hurt you? Did the knife nick your neck? I'm going to get us out of here, don't you worry, I will." Jane said frantically.

"Don't go all Han Solo on me." Lisbon said with a smile.

"If I'm Han Solo, who does that make you? Princess Leia?" Jane said with a smirk of his own. His smirk didn't mask the concern in his eyes though, as hard as he tried.

"I prefer to think of myself as Yoda. He's small but he kicks butt." Lisbon said.

"Yes, I think Yoda would be a better fit." Jane said. "About the things that Red John said…"

"Don't worry Jane; I know he's just trying to rile you up. It didn't mean anything." Lisbon said, trying to comfort him.

"He wasn't just trying to rile me up, when he said I loved you." Jane said sombrely. This might be his last chance to tell Teresa that he loved her and he wasn't going to give it up.

"So just because Red John says it, that makes it true?" Lisbon yelled. She didn't like the effect that Red John had on him and she didn't like that Jane seemed to have given up.

"No. But this does." Jane said. He pulled her into a kiss, trying to make her understand what he couldn't say with words. He moved his lips delicately over hers, as if he was afraid to break her. He pulled away when he didn't get a reaction, only to have Lisbon yank his lips back to her own to engage in a hungry kiss. She may have had doubts before but she wasn't letting Red John win, not this time. Her tongue begged for entrance against his mouth and his lips parted in sweet surrender. She ran her fingers through those luxurious golden curled of his. He held her close, his arms around her waist. He pulled away gently and rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you so much Teresa, more than I ever thought possible. I'm not going to let him take you away from me when I've only just found you." Jane whispered against her lips.

"Patrick, I…" Lisbon started.

"I know." Jane said. He didn't want to speak right now. He'd said all he needed her to hear and all he wanted to listen to was the sound of her breathing, healthy and alive.

"How sweet. The lovebirds profess their undying love for each other. It's too bad really, that you have to die. But, 'tis the ways of the world." Red John sneered. He had entered the room without them noticing and was leaning against the wall, knife in hand. He didn't seem wary of them not being restrained in any way. He had even left the door open, confident that they would be unable to get through him.

And that was Red John's second mistake.

They broke apart, glaring at Red John. Lisbon shuffled to the side, but Red John only had eyes for Jane. Lisbon charged at him, tackling him to the ground as she did with suspects. He quickly flipped them over, gaining the upper hand and wielded the blade, prepared to strike. Red John didn't count on Jane reacting so quickly and the knife was out of his hand as Jane snatched it away. Red John was not usually surprised but he seemed to be experiencing it a lot today and Lisbon used this to her advantage. She rolled them over and managed to flip Red John onto his back. She grabbed his hands and held them together while pinning him to the ground. She took out her handcuffs and attached them to Red John. When she had him secured, she yanked him off the ground and walked him out of the room.

"Patrick, go find a phone and call Agent Gray and her team. Let them know our location and that we have the identity of their serial killer. Check to see if she's still here and then see what you can do to keep her here." Lisbon said, easily switching into work mode.

"Just one thing Teresa." Jane said.

"What?" Lisbon asked.

"Where could you have possibly hidden those handcuffs?" Jane said with a grin.

"If you're lucky, maybe I'll show you someday." Lisbon said with a saucy grin over her shoulder. This left Jane bushing as he hurried to find a phone and to find Rose.

"Red John, you are under arrest for murder, kidnapping, assault on a federal officer, attempted murder and for being a sadistic son of a bitch." Lisbon said. "You have the right to remain silent…"

Yay! I liked this chapter :D I don't know about you, so why don't you hit the review button and let me know? There's still another chapter (at least) so this ride's not over just yet. Let me know if you thought it was OOC, I wasn't too sure about how I did on that note. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, put this story on alert, or favourites, or put me on alert or favourites. It means a lot to me so thanks :D So hit that review button and tell me how wonderful I am! :p I'm just joking, but seriously, review. :D