One shot. Lisbon's Thoughts on Patrick Jane.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Mentalist

Patrick Jane was a flirt, thought Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon, and not just with women. Patrick Jane flirted with the world. It wasn't even all that sexual. The whole thing might have simply been an act left over from the man's days as a "psychic", when people skills where as compulsory as those horrible shiny suits.

Lisbon suspected otherwise.

The three piece suits, the easy charm, and the carefree smile (how could someone smile like that after what he had been through? Seeing the blood of his wife and child dripping down walls surely must have left its mark somewhere). She suspected these were not merely the result of years of careful crafting and practice, but belied an actual interest in other people. Patrick Jane did not want to be alone.

Maybe this was why she didn't reprimand the consultant when his joking occasionally went from amusing to annoying; "You know, senior will often be added in front of a job title to make a person feel like they've been promoted without actually paying them more." Or inappropriate (oh god, he had actually bought her a diamond necklace!).

Because all the suits, all the charm, all the mischievous smiles, were a mask. A modern day suit of armor. Occasionally the real Patrick Jane would seep creeping through the chinks. When he broke down behind a closed door after speaking with the psychic, or when she looked into his eyes and realized that he really was trying, with all he had, to find and kill Red John. It was in those moments that Lisbon saw how close to the edge Jane really was, saw that the façade of charming sanity was just a thin crust precariously sheltering a deep sea of near-madness.

On the other hand, the man was very, very good at his job, and therefore very, very good for her.

Lisbon was very careful not to upset the mask, the armor, the façade, whatever it was that kept Patrick Jane functioning. She was careful with her consultant because he was a necessary part of her team and because (she liked to think) they were friends. So she could only wait, and hope the old adage about time and wounds was right, because Lisbon did not want to loose Patrick Jane.

END