So what do we think of the Cherry Cola chapters? They're obviously not episodes; just original pieces of Ronnie's story. Any thoughts? I'm dying to hear!

Ronnie's heartbeat pounded in her ears. Cho's blood dried on the skin of her hands and clotted under her fingernails.

The smear of blood still stained the wall where he'd been sitting after he fell.

The EMTs had helped him out of her apartment fifteen minutes ago, and yet she still sat on her knees next to where he'd been sitting.

"I'm so sorry, Cho," she'd chanted, pressing her own sweatshirt to the hole in his side. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."

He'd closed his eyes and thrown his head back, the little cut on his cheek dribbling blood into his collar.

"I'm so sorry." She'd been crying.

She'd shot him.

Cho. Her partner. Her best friend.

Her mother had walked into her house and regained control over her with three little words, and she'd shot her own partner.

"I didn't mean to, Cho."

His hand closed over hers, and then he was staring into her eyes. "Come with me to the hospital."

"What?"

"You can't talk to anyone yet. Come with me to the hospital."

Ronnie shook her head, confused. "I have to wait for Lisbon. I shot you, Cho. It's over."

She'd be fired. She'd be charged. She'd go to prison.

Carla Masters won.

Cho didn't let go of her hand. "Don't talk to anyone, Masters."

That's when the paramedics arrived. They'd taken him away and offered to let her ride to the hospital with him.

She'd refused.

She was the one who shot him. She had to wait for Lisbon.

the MENTALIST

"Ronnie, are you okay?" Jane was the first person in her apartment after the local police cleared out. He found her exactly in the same place, shell shocked.

He entered her line of sight when he knelt in front of her, one hand on her arm and the other pushing hair out of her face. "Ronnie? Can you hear me?"

She blinked, sucking in a breath like she'd been holding it.

Jane was in front of her, holding her face in his hand, and Lisbon's face appeared over his shoulder.

"Masters, are you hurt?" Lisbon questioned, gazing around the crime scene that was Ronnie's kitchen.

Ronnie let Jane help her up scrubbing her hands on her pajama pants. She swiped the backs of her hands under her eyes to clear the tears and shook her head.

Before she could say a word, Lisbon raised her hand. "Don't answer that. Go to the hospital, get checked out."

Confusion crossed Ronnie's face. "No, I—"

Lisbon stepped in closer, eyebrows lowered in earnest. "Don't say a word, Ronnie. I didn't get a chance to get your side of the story. You're at the hospital getting checked out. Do you understand me?"

Go to the hospital. Don't say anything on the record. Regroup with Cho.

"Yes ma'am." Ronnie murmured, turning to find her shoes. She didn't bother getting dressed.

"I'll take you in." Jane said. "Lisbon's got this scene covered."

the MENTALIST

Ronnie was medically cleared by the time Lisbon showed up to the hospital. The boss found her in Cho's room, sitting guiltily by his bed as he came around after surgery.

"How is he?" Lisbon asked.

"The doc said they just had to stitch him up. The bullet bounced off his vest and grazed his ribs. He'll bruise like hell and the stitches have to come out in six weeks but he'll be okay." Ronnie reported. She still wore her bloody pajamas, a detail that didn't escape Lisbon.

"Obviously." Cho's groggy voice interjected. "It's my own fault."

Whatever he meant by that struck Ronnie as remarkably wrong.

"Tell me what happened, Cho." Lisbon ordered, shooting Ronnie a warning look that clearly said to keep her mouth shut.

Ronnie did.

"We've been on the alert since the last break in. We needed a contingency plan if it happened again." Cho said, also giving Ronnie a quieting look. "I was downstairs and watched her crawl up the fire escape. Ronnie's job was to find an in with her mom, which we figured we could manage by making Carla think she still had some protective instincts in play. I was supposed to give her a clear shot of my vest, but I got myself out of position."

Ronnie's mouth fell open at the utter BS that was his story.

Lisbon, however, nodded. "I'll write it up. Let me know when you're cleared to leave. Ronnie, stay with Cho until then. We'll check in on Carla Master's processing and get her transferred over to the CBI for questioning."

Ronnie got up as Lisbon turned to leave. "Boss, wait—"

"Ronnie." Lisbon raised her hands to silence her officer. "I understand that things got out of hand. I understand there is more to this. I also trust my best agents to have an accurate assessment of the events." She leaned in closer. "If Cho thought you needed to be reprimanded, he would have told me. I'm willing to extend some grace for the moment. We'll see how this shakes out."

Ronnie didn't say a word as their boss headed back to the CBI, leaving her alone with the partner she'd shot.

"Masters." Cho called gruffly.

She'd shot him in her own kitchen at the behest of her mother after years of free will. What excuse could there be for that?

"Ronnie."

The young woman turned, tears in her eyes. "I don't know what happened, Cho."

He nodded to the seat she had been sitting in. "Sit down, Ronnie."

She crossed the room and sank down in the chair, her eyes pinned to the place he'd been shot. "I don't know what happened."

"What I said to Lisbon is what happened." Cho responded, cocking his head to catch her gaze. "Listen to me. What I said is what happened."

The tears slipped over her cheeks. "Cho."

He reached out, grimacing at the strain, and laid is hand on her shoulder. "The meat grinder that that woman put your brain through did not leave you unaffected, Ronnie."

She scooted closer to lessen his reach. "I don't understand."

"You were a kid, Ronnie. She screwed up your entire development. When she told you to shoot me—" he shrugged, and then regretted it. "You reacted the way your brain learned to as a child. You and I need to put some work into retraining your reflexes, for sure. But that's all it was. I'm the one who was hurt by it—I don't blame you for it. Let it go."

Ronnie slumped as more tears fell. "I'm so sorry, Cho."

His hand moved to the back of her neck. "I know, Ronnie."

"Thank you for protecting me." She gestured to where Lisbon had been standing, and he just shrugged again. "You're a good cop. Long way to go to make detective, but you're a good cop. I may have made up the plan, but it's still a good one. We'll use your slip-up to get some of her trust. When we get her to CBI we'll send you in with a crisis of identity and let her try to get into your head. We might be able to find her operation and get something incriminating enough to charge her with."

Ronnie nodded. If nothing else, it would give her a chance to redeem herself. Her eyes found Ronnie's side again. "I'm so sorry, Cho."

His eyes softened. "Come here." With the hand on her neck, he tugged her down to his chest and wrapped his good arm around her tightly.

the MENTALIST

"I told you you belong with me. In my world." Carla said smugly, her hands chained to the desk. Her eyes tracked Ronnie as she slipped into the room and sat before her mother.

Carla looked over the pajamas that still had Cho's blood on them. "I didn't think you'd actually shoot him."

Ronnie rolled Cho's words over in her head, reminding herself of his instructions. Keep it personal, don't try to convince Carla of anything. She would be able to identify false sincerity in a second. "Why me?"

Carla frowned in confusion. "Why you, what? You're my daughter."

Ronnie's fingers played absently on the tabletop. "I know. That's what I mean. You hurt me. You put me in the line of fire every day of my life. I'm your daughter. Why couldn't someone else have been your shield?"

More tears threatened to pool in her eyes but she blinked them back.

Carla watched her struggle to compose herself. "I wanted you to be strong and capable of anything. I think we both know that you are."

Ronnie swallowed a hard lump in her throat. "You used me."

Carla shrugged. "People use people, Veronica. The sooner you learn that, the stronger you become."

The young woman ducked her head, hands clenching into fists. "What do you want from me, Mom?"

The handcuffs rattled as Carla lifted her hands to reach for her daughter. "Baby. You grew up so strong. Think about it. My empire, my network—it's all so meaningless without someone who matters to me."

Ronnie scoffed. "What about one of your boyfriends? They seem to keep you company."

Carla managed an identical scoff. "Didn't you find out this morning that family overrules boys?"

Struck by guilt all over again, Ronnie sank in her chair, one hand rubbing her neck. "What are you talking about?"

An evil glint entered Carla's eyes as she leaned in. "When you chose me over your man, I knew we were back. Family is something special."

"My man?" Ronnie heaved a sigh. "No, mom, he's my partner."

Carla's eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Honey, I've been stalking you for months. If he's not your man, he's nobody's."

Considering the man in question was behind the one way glass currently listening, Ronnie blushed and waved the topic away. "Okay. Whatever. You came into my apartment and confronted me face to face for a reason. What do you need me for?"

Carla glanced at the glass and then the camera in the corner and scoffed. "Yeah, we're not talking about this here."

Ronnie slumped forward on her elbows. "The camera is off. The team doesn't know you're here yet. I'm on my way out of the building and straight to the street for shooting my partner—so you give me something to work off of or you sit here and rot. At present, I still have my innocence. If I'm going to give all of that up again, I need some promises."

Carla smiled, examining the camera without the light on, the pajamas that indicated that Ronnie wasn't working in an official capacity, and the one way glass that only showed her own devious expression back to her. "There's a new shipment. Fifty girls. Ten thousand a head. They're currently in the hands of Lopez's guys, and you're the one with the badge to get them out of my way."

The door swung open, revealing Lisbon and Cho. "And that's life without parole. Thank you very much, Agent Masters." Lisbon smiled smugly.

Ronnie got up from the table, basking in the glow of Carla's betrayed glower. "It's been real, mom."

Carla slammed her hands down in rage. "You can't just turn your back on family, Veronica. You owe me."

Ronnie managed a brief lapse from the mind numbing guilt consuming her to turn back and shrug helplessly. "Actually, I happen to owe my man a lot more than I ever owed you. So...enjoy prison."