Finally, another chapter! I'm sorry that it took so long, but what with school and dance starting back up... well, it was a little busy to say the least. But I survived! Yay! So you guys all survived another week of school or work or what ever it is that you do during the week. And here is your reward :p As always, I hope you enjoy it and let me know your thoughts! :D

Scarlet Fever

Lisbon watched Red John carefully as Jane left to phone Agent Gray and her team. She was so glad this was over, and it seemed Jane had rethought the whole revenge plan. Lisbon wondered what this meant for them. Jane had shown her that he loved her and, against her better judgement, she believed him. When he didn't attack Red John, this proved to her that she didn't make a mistake in trusting him. So what were they going to do after they got back to normal? Would they date? She didn't think that 'boyfriend' was the correct term for Jane.

While Lisbon was contemplating this, Red John had gotten out of the handcuffs. He jumped at her, and he tackled her to the ground. He was stronger than she was and he had the upper hand.

"You didn't think it would be that easy did you?" Red John hissed in her ear.

"Wha…?" Lisbon started, but she was cut off by his sweaty hand slapping over her mouth.

"This was all a part of my plan you see. Once again, Jane will return to find that he failed to protect his loved ones. Do you think he will survive this, when he loves you more than he even loved his wife? I don't think so. It will kill him; he will suffer more than before. He will be driven with greater force by revenge. Just. Like. Me." Red John taunted her.

Red John moved to straddle Lisbon on the ground. For a second she thought he would drag out her murder like all his previous victims before she saw that he didn't have a knife. His knife was all the way in the next room, there was no way that Red John would be able to grab it without releasing Lisbon, giving her the chance to get away. She hoped that this meant that her death would be quick.

Red Johns hands enclosed around her throat, squeezing until she couldn't breathe. She hoped that Jane was still on the phone, it was bad enough that Red John was killing her but if Jane had to watch her die… well Lisbon just prayed that he'd stay far away. Her next thought was that she was getting her previous wish; it would be over soon enough.

Red John was watching the life drain from her eyes. He knew that she thought that she was getting a fast death. But he had taken a vow: no death by his hand would ever be quick and painless. He released enough pressure from her throat to allow her one shallow, ragged breath before continuing to choke her. He was going to take his sweet time taking her life, this would take all day if he had that long.

Lisbon realized what Red John was doing, he was torturing her. All hopes of a quick death were erased from her mind and all she could focus on was Patrick Jane. Patrick Jane who was a pain in the ass consultant, causing her trouble at every turn. Patrick Jane who always betrayed her trust, going behind her back for his schemes. Patrick Jane who made her love him for all these reasons and more. Patrick Jane who had better keep his sorry ass in the other room if he knew what was good for him.

Just when Lisbon was sure she was going to die right then and here, she heard the unmistakable sound of a gunshot rip through the air and she felt Red Johns hands go slack around her throat. She gasped for air, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn't get enough. She couldn't even piece together what happened; all she knew was that her new favourite sound was that of a gun being fired.

Jane ran to her side, caressing her cheek and turning her head to face him. She saw the fear, love and relief on his face when he saw that she was alive. She also saw Grace holstering her weapon and Rigsby on the phone calling paramedics. She tried to talk, to ask the burning question on her mind, but found that her throat hurt too much for her to be successful. But it appeared as though the question was burning in her eyes as well, for Jane immediately understood what she desperately needed to know.

"I called Grace and Rigsby right after I called Agent Gray's team. They were in this city on their vacation, just about to return to Sacramento actually. Red John must have known it would kill them to know that he'd taken our lives when they were in the same city so he brought us here. It's a good thing I caught them when I did. I told them we had Red John in our custody and they rushed right over. It must have taken them five minutes to get here. In that time I called Hightower to let her know that we had Red John and when they got here we saw him. On top of you. Choking you." Jane's eyes had tears in them at this point. "I thought I'd lost you, I was so scared. Grace wasn't sure what to do; she knew about my quest for revenge and thought that I needed to kill him. But she didn't want me to, so I let screamed at her to take the damn shot before you died. I was so scared." Jane whispered in her ear. He pulled her into a tight embrace, afraid to relinquish his hold, afraid that at any moment she'd be gone. She must have been too low on oxygen to hear any of this when it happened, but she was glad that she'd been.

The paramedics arrived a few minutes after that to find Jane still holding on to Lisbon for dear life. The managed to pry Jane off of her, but he didn't go far. He accompanied her in the ambulance, whispering apologies and affections to her the whole way. Grace and Rigsby stayed behind to make arrangements for the crime scene to be processed and Red John's' body to be taken care of. They also kept an eye on Rose until Agent Gray and her team arrived.

When they did, they took Rose back to the CBI. Grace and Rigsby stayed at the scene, inspecting the scene as CBI agents do. They had already secured the building when Jane was cradling Lisbon. Grace thought that it was sweet that they had finally given into their feelings for each other. Rigsby hadn't seen this coming; he only noticed the gorgeous red-head to his right. He wanted Lisbon and Jane to find happiness just as much as the next guy, but he didn't think they'd find it in each other. Just then, Rigsby's phone rang, startling him out of his thoughts.

"Rigsby." He answered.

"It's Agent Hightower. I need you and Van Pelt to come back to CBI now. We need to make sure that your statements are in and we need the Red John case to be wrapped up for good." Hightower said. "Don't let Red John out of your sight."

"Will do." Rigsby said. "But Red John is dead."

"Don't tell me Jane killed him, I swear Lisbon needs to control him!" She seethed.

"First of all, Jane didn't kill him, Grace did. He was strangling Lisbon and Jane told Grace to take the shot, which she did, saving Lisbon's life. Lisbon is currently on her way to the hospital and she has more control over Jane than anyone has or ever will have. You'd think that you'd treat your top agent a little better. You are lucky to have her as an agent and now she's in the hospital, not knowing that you value her position at the CBI." Rigsby ranted. He'd had enough with Hightower unfairly threatening Lisbon's job in hopes of keeping Jane in line. He hung up on her before he said something he'd regret.

"I've been waiting for so long for someone to put Hightower in her place." Grace said. "Good for you, Wayne."

"Thanks." He said with a giant smile. Today was a good day, Red John was done, and no one on their team was dead. "We need to head back to the CBI to give our statements."

"Okay, let's go then." Grace said. Once they were in the car, she kissed Wayne on the lips.

"I know you don't like killing anyone, but you did what was right." Wayne said, sensing her discomfort.

"Taking a life always hurts, even if it is that of a serial killer." Grace admitted.

They drove away from the crime scene, away from their nemesis who had caused the whole team grief for years. They were putting the past in their rear view mirror, driving forwards to face the new dawn.

xxxx

Jane was sitting beside Lisbon who was getting checked out by the doctors. She had some bruising around her neck and wouldn't be able to talk for the rest of the day. The doctor was trying to convince her to take the week off, which Jane knew would only turn out to be a few days. She was nothing if not stubborn. He just got off the phone with Grace. They had interviewed Rose and run a complete background check on John Cardinal, Red John's legal name.

"That was Grace. She ran a background check on Red John. He seems to have the same sort of condition as his sister, except that his wife cheated on him and that was his trigger. He then started killing women like he killed his wife, Red John's first victim. He had a high IQ but worked at a job beneath his intelligence level which is why he felt the need to outsmart the police and to play games with me and our team. They sent a team to search his house; they found a journal of sorts with all the details of his murders and who helped him. They're going to arrest all of Red John's friends. They called in a doctor who specializes in Red John's condition and he seems to think that keeping this journal was a side effect of psychosis. It's all over. Finally." Jane said.

Lisbon had acquired a pen and paper and started to write furiously on the pad of paper. She'd already filled ten pages while arguing with the doctor about the amount of time off she needed to take for her injuries.

'That explains why he said that you were fuelled by revenge just like him. He was getting revenge on his wife, each victim a placeholder for her memory, every kill in the name of revenge. Why didn't you kill him?' It said when she was done writing.

"Yes, that does make sense, in a twisted, serial killer kind of way. And I couldn't kill him. Killing him would mean me getting sent to jail and I couldn't leave you, not when I'd just thought I'd lost you. I love you Teresa, and I'm going to stay with you for as long as you'll have me." Jane said, sincerity pouring out of his eyes and words like a waterfall. Lisbon couldn't be bothered to write down what she wanted to tell him. Instead, she launched herself at him, attacking his lips with her own. She wanted him to know that she wanted him around for always, in all ways.

You didn't think I would just leave the Red John thing as I did last chapter did you? :p Okay, I admit, I didn't plan this part when I wrote last chapter but that's just between us okay? ;) I think that I will write one last fluffy chapter after this and then this will be done :( Why do all good things come to an end? (brownies to whoever can name that song and artist WITHOUT googling it! :p )