A/N: Is back from holiday! Well, thank you muchly to all reviewers. Much love. And special thanks to reviewer: handsomerob101 who left absolutely epic review and made me very happeh. :P Oh, and I changed a little bit from chapter 6 if you would go back and just check the end of the last Lisbon/Jane bit. I decided I didn't like the bit about 'said ridiculous hiding place' so I changed it. Believe me, my idea for said ridiculous hiding place was a bit more than ridiculous...it just made me laugh at the time...but hey. Yeah, so check that, then I give you permission to read this chapter ^_^

Chapter 7

Bosco woke in a haze; bright, over-powering lights filling his blurred vision. His head throbbed quietly. He tried to speak, but all he could manage was strained groans of pain. His hand moved shakily down to his thigh, brushing over a tightly wound bandage which absorbed the thick scarlet blood escaping the deep hole in his limb. He heard the steady drip, drip, drip of the IV fluids and saw the heavy bag of A+ blood hanging above him.

Damn.

He felt light-headed as the morphine worked its way through him, numbing the unbearable pain coursing seemingly through his veins, buried in his muscles, flaring with every beat of his heart. He turned his head left and right, searching for his team, trying to shake the drugged up feeling that screwed up his thought pattern. He couldn't seem to remember whether they had been alright or not.

Damn Red John.

He rubbed the base of his palm roughly over his forehead, hoping that it might just bring back some of what had happened. The blip of the cardiac monitor kept distracting him, and it began to pace faster and faster as Agent Bosco felt less and less composed. He needed his memories. He needed to think. And he needed his team.

Damn morphine and blood loss.

Lisbon was suddenly aware of the absence of a certain presence beside her when a soft chill brought the hairs on her arms to stand. As her eyes slowly blinked open, she thought how it had never felt so cold in her bedroom. Everything seemed to feel cold, even if she tried to put on a brave face. Like when Cho had come. She'd tried to act as her usual self, just because he was there...but it didn't make a difference to what was truly in her head.

But pushing those thoughts aside, she came back to wondering where her source of comfort had run off to this time. She propped herself up on one hand and tousled her hair with the other. So, Patrick still didn't think much of leaving her alone then?

Not that she felt that weak as to think that she would always need Patrick there with her if she was to stay sane...but. She wasn't stupid enough to deny feeling vulnerable...

It wasn't as if she hadn't had enough time to think it over before walking slowly, to her locked drawer, to collect her firearm, and spend enough time loading it...

She quickly shook the thoughts away before they set her off again. Her head was so confused. More than a few wires crossed in the jumble.

The thought of wanting to tell Patrick that she loved him was itching at the back of her tired brain as she called the familiar name. The familiar name which had been said so much in a scalding way that even now, it sounded harsh. As if she was telling him off.

Her brows knitted together as she heard a few knocks and scrapes resound from downstairs, before a unsteady reply: 'Ah, ah, Lisbon...wai...wait right there.'

Lisbon slowly pushed herself out of the tangled duvet and blankets and stepped suspiciously towards the door. 'What are you doing Jane?'

'Urm...that...is a very good...question...ah...HA.'

Lisbon felt completely unassured about what the hell that troublesome child of a man was doing down there.

'Jane. I'm coming down.'

'No...don't do that! Not yet...'

Lisbon yawned.

'Look. I find anything else broken and you're gone. I'll shove you out.'

Lisbon was immediately trying to put her armor back on, to look strong again. She just wasn't the person who normally let it all out to someone. Patrick had just happened to be there at her weakest, when she had no better judgement than to snuggle into his arms. It was like she had a natural defence mechanism that was desperately trying to right itself and try to recover everything that had leaked out to the man who was currently downstairs. This was what being an agent was all about. Not showing your true feelings. Acting like the boss. The one in charge. And maybe work had taken so much of her life that it was beginning to leak into her personal life as well. She was too enclosed for it to be healthy.

'Nothing's broken. Promise,' Patrick called back.

And then Lisbon heard padded footsteps rushing up the stairs towards her.

Patrick stood before her. His jacket was gone and his waistcoat was undone, hanging around his torso loosely, creased badly. A massive grin was plastered on his face.

'What's got you?' Lisbon asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

Patrick raised his own eyebrows and flashed his smile.

'What?' Lisbon repeated.

'Turn around.'

'Why?'

'Just...turn around.'

'Jane. Why?'

'It's a surprise.'

'I don't trust you.'

'Yes you do. Remember the trust fall?'

'Jane. One trust fall doesn't mean that I trust you.'

'Come on Lisbon. Humour me. You won't regret it.'

'Oh won't I?' Lisbon groaned as she turned around reluctantly.

'Nope,' Patrick replied happily, slipping an improvised blindfold of tea towel round Lisbon's eyes.

'Oh look! I'm regretting it...'

'Shh. You'll like the surprise.'

Lisbon's shoulders dropped frustratedly as Patrick guided her down the stairs one step at a time. The blonde consultant hummed contentedly the whole way.

'You know that humming doesn't do anything to reassure me about this Jane.' Lisbon narrowed her eyes from underneath the blindfold.

Patrick simply smiled and brought his boss to a halt in front of the door.

'Ready?'

'No.'

'Good.'

Lisbon's tired eyes once again met light as the blindfold was pulled away. She blinked tight. And then she saw the door, wrapped in a thick red ribbon like a present, with a huge bow in the middle. She couldn't help the smile that grew on her face, a mix of surprise and happiness.

'You...got me a new door?'

Patrick nodded, a wide grin plastered on his face.

'Wh...How?'

'By...getting a new door...'

'But how did I not hear any of this?'

'I told the door man to be very quiet.' Patrick grinned.

'Really Jane? A new door?'

'Yup...you like it?'

'Well, yeah...'

Lisbon wanted to hug him. But she wasn't that soppy.

She admired the door. How the pretty colours twinkled off the glass windows. How there was a strawberry resting on top of the bow. How a sparkly new key dangled off the ribbon. It was lovely.

'Thanks Jane.'

'My pleasure. Now...'

'What?' Lisbon asked suspiciously, moving forward and taking the strawberry off the bow and popping it her mouth.

'I've organised a little something for you.'

'Oh dear...' Lisbon swallowed the mound of delicious fruit in her mouth.

Patrick rubbed his hands together in a strangely suspicious way, a mischievous grin on his face.

'Strawberry hunt!'

'What?'

'I. Have hidden strawberries around the apartment. This floor only. Now, I would have left the box in the fridge for you...but where's the fun in that?'

Lisbon narrowed her eyes.

'...And you need to have some fun. It's not good to mope around in the darkness. SO. Strawberry hunt.'

'You are joking. Right?'

'Nope.'

'Jane. You think I want to go on a strawberry hunt?'

'Yup.'

Lisbon had to admit this was making her feel happier, but she really didn't think she could go as far as to raid her apartment for strawberries.

'Are you insane?'

'Most probably.'

Lisbon mulled it over in her head. Did she want to mope in the darkness and therefore only be able to think of her brother? Not particularly. Did she want to play another one of Patrick's games right now? Not particularly. She met Patrick's hopeful gaze. She had to be thankful for what he was trying to do for her. He was just trying to make her happy; even if it was in some of the stranger ways. And for that reason, she found herself searching for the first strawberry. Even if she did feel completely out of character for not putting up a fight. She was in no mood for a fight.

It seemed that she was giving herself whiplash with her own mood swings...depressive...in charge...self-destructive...strawberry hunt...

Minelli charged into the bull pen for the third time that day, another variation of frustration written all over his face.

'Cho, Rigsby, Van Pelt. You're working the Red John case temporarily.'

The three agents looked at each other.

'Why?' Van Pelt enquired, looking surprisedly at Minelli.

'Because Agent Bosco and his team are unable to. Any questions? No, didn't think so.' He fired off, not even giving the team chance to answer. He threw the file onto Van Pelt's desk.

Rigsby whistled loudly as the CBI boss charged out once more in a fluster.

'But we don't have Jane or Lisbon today.' Van Pelt pointed out worriedly.

Cho shrugged. 'We can handle it.'

Van Pelt picked up the case file and scanned the contents.

'Terry Yeoker...and John Hyder. Check them out.'

The younger agent looked up at her two colleagues, who nodded and began tapping hurriedly on their computers, the rhythmic sound of keys being hit filling the air.

Rigsby's cold seemed to have been completely knocked out of him now that Red John was on the agenda. He wasn't in the mood for one now. He couldn't do any more than to concentrate on what he was typing, and that left no room for a cold.

The three agents buried themselves completely in the multiple things popping up on their screens, desperately trying to unearth something.

In approximately thirty minutes, they would come to realise that Terry Yeoker was a name which did not exist and that Red John must have been sat in that now marked interrogation room, when officers and agents sat oblivious throughout the whole building. They would come to conclude that Red John was upping the pressure and reminding them who was in charge, who had control of everything. How he could easily penetrate the CBI, and put deep cracks in its strong stance.

They would come to discover that John Hyder was a name most probably planted by Red John, along with address and any immediate information, that would fool them just enough. They would remember how the notorious serial had hacked into the CBI system and made contact with them.

And finally, they would feel completely helpless as they came to realise how powerful this man really was...in approximately thirty minutes.

Bosco eventually dragged himself out of his morphine enhanced sleep to watch the room swim threateningly. His gaze drifted round until it met a dark figure sat to his left.

'Hey...' Bosco greeted Martinez hoarsely. He could make out a thick cast around his colleague's forearm as he continued to push off the heavy weight of the morphine.

'Yeoker escaped,' Martinez replied bluntly.

'What?' Bosco shot up, causing his vision to swim even more. Nauseous, he collapsed back.

'And left us a present.'

'What kind of present?'

'The dead person kind.'

'Who?'

'Security guard watching the interrogation room, Red John style.'

Bosco slowly processed the information.

'Wait, you're trying to tell me that that was Red John?'

'It would seem so. I don't think it's an impersonation. It's too deep.'

'He was sat right under our noses? And we didn't notice?'

Martinez nodded solemnly, briefly brushing his fingers over the cast as a sharp spike of pain hit the nerves.

Bosco slammed his fist down onto the hard hospital mattress, ignoring the way the bruised hand flared up in agony.

'Damn it!' he cursed.

'Lisbon's agents are taking the case while we're in here.'

Bosco nodded absently, still focussing on the rage he felt at himself. He'd been sat right in front of that bastard, and now he had escaped. With one of the lives of the CBI. He closed his eyes and pushed his head back into the pillow.

'Bastard...' he muttered, slamming his head back again.

After having carried out a search of her apartment thorough enough for a forensics team, Lisbon now sat back on her couch, cradling her strawberries in one hand, feeling a hell of a lot better than she had before. She leant back against Patrick. He sat behind her, contentedly watching how he had struck success in cheering up his Lisbon. She downed another strawberry.

'You know what, Jane?'

'What?'

'You may be an utter ass at times...but I appreciate you staying with me. I don't think anyone else would have really known what I needed. I didn't even know myself...but you, you seem to know me better than anyone else.'

Patrick wasn't completely sure what to say, but he was happy to hear evidence that Lisbon had liked being in his company. And his strawberry hunt had gone down a treat. Surprisingly.

Lisbon felt those three words scratching earnestly at the back of her mind, but she wouldn't say them. She couldn't. It wasn't meant to be. He was too deep in turmoil because of Red John. He wouldn't want her...so that incessant scratching was all it would ever be. She popped another strawberry, hoping that Patrick wouldn't try and read her mind anytime soon.

A/N: Reviewsies pwease? :D xx