Hey, I'm back! I wrote this because ep.3.15 "Red Gold" still irks me somehow- the way Jane never showed his compassion for poor agent Lisbon!

At the same time, this one will be a little bit ANGSTY- no happy peppy fluffy goodness here, so if you're looking for that: you won't find it here! I just want to do something more serious this time.

BUT: I'm still the same writer I was yesterday, so what you'll definitely find in here is SMUT! In later chapters. You're not into that at all- better not read this story.

Disclaimer: the Mentalist is still not mine. I'm just messing around here.

Blood Ties

Chapter 1

Senior Special Agent Kimball Cho was dangerously close to losing his usually infallible composure.

The damn tension was starting to get on his nerves. Seriously.

The boss was driving everyone insane. As did her smartass consultant. Not that the latter was new.

Senior Special Agent Teresa Lisbon behaving like a spoilt brat? Big novelty.

Cho sighed.

And all of it just because those two weren't talking. Hadn't been once since Jane had been released from prison.

Cho had thought about locking both of them into an interrogation room together more than once. Have them yell at each other for some time…then they possibly would be having glorious sex in there for another couple of hours…and then: back to business.

Unfortunately, Cho was a guy who played by the rules. So he had decided to wait until his colleagues came along on their own. But his patience wouldn't last forever.

Right now, Lisbon was only barking short, clipped orders to Jane. Jane reacted with his mocking, smug, "I-so-don't give-a-damn-about-anything" remarks. Though Cho could see the utter sadness in his eyes, sometimes, when he caught his gaze before Jane could slip on his mask. Lisbon got to him. And the fair-haired consultant hurt.

But he wouldn't give in. Cho knew he nurtured an anger of his own- Jane couldn't have let Red John walk away. And Lisbon just didn't understand.

xxMentalistxx

There was no way this could have worked out differently, why wouldn't she see it? That Lisbon still insisted on the necessity of a different outcome, that she still demanded the self-righteous power of the only correct opinion in this case, irked Patrick Jane big time. She thought she was right, and that was it. She'd never stooped to hear his side. Had never even allowed him to apologize for the pain he'd caused her.

He was sorry for that. But he would never feel sorry for killing Red John.

He'd thought about leaving the CBI when he'd been forced to acknowledge that Lisbon hated him. That she made it crystal clear at every possibility that she didn't want him near her anymore.

But the truth was, he was selfish. He couldn't accept that they would part like this. He needed her. Close. Even if a glare was all he got.

He'd so much wanted her to hold him in the loneliness of his prison cell. Every night he had dreamed of her hands on his skin, her lips on his mouth. Finally, he'd felt ready to love again, and the emotions had seared his cold, numb heart. She'd become the center of his universe. He knew she wouldn't be happy about what he'd done. But her hate, her outright refusal to even consider the inevitableness of his deed had shocked him. Which didn't change the facts: that he couldn't leave her nonetheless.

She had worked her ass off to find Red John's gun. Had bailed him out like the fighter she was. And then, she had ceased to care about him. Hadn't been there when he stepped out of the prison doors. Hadn't called him. Hadn't found a word of greeting on his first day back at CBI.

Just once he had seen the earth-shattering pain in the depths of her eyes. It had burned his soul. But whenever he tried to talk to her, she yelled at him or downright ignored him. In any case, she dodged the issue. No word about what he'd done came over her lips.

So he'd retreated. Though the situation between them hurt so bad he sometimes couldn't breathe.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye while they drove through the mountains. She'd pushed her little chin up and hadn't directed a single word at him. Smug little witch. She just ignored everything that didn't fit her view of the world. Okay- he could give as good as he got.

When they reached the crime scene in the mountains close to the Californian border, Cho, Rigsby and vanPelt were already waiting for them, accompanied by the sheriff from Bishop, the town closest to the place where the victim had been found.

Cho reported what they knew:

"Name's Philicia Harton from Boomton, little village some miles from here. Aged 27. Found by a ranger this morning."

Crime of passion. The murderer always killed with 17 carefully inflicted knife wounds, only the last one fatal. But in this case, he'd cut the victim's face so badly she was hardly recognizable.

Lisbon turned to the sheriff, Maxwell Brighton.

"Anything else you can tell us about her, sheriff? ", she asked.

The older man shook his head.

"Unfortunately not, ma'am. The people from Boomton pretty much stick to themselves. Nobody from Bishop ever gets there, far as I know. Philicia came for supplies sometimes, but that's all. Never talked about herself. Very much of a loner, even for a Boomton girl."

Lisbon nodded.

"Jane?", she growled.

"She lost weight recently- hint of stretch marks on her thighs.", Jane said, "bags under her eyes- under considerable stress. The killer stalked her, I would say."

"Maybe she was generally unhappy", Lisbon snarled, voice like acid.

"Meh", Jane said, "I don't think so- she was in love. Got engaged recently."

"Okay…" Lisbon asked, "how can you tell that?"

"The killer left her the cross around her collar, though it looks very valuable", Jane answered, "but he took her ring…you can see the whiff of a line around her ring finger. Very faint, so she didn't wear it for a long time. It had a personal meaning, and the killer knew about it- that's why he took it."

Lisbon scowled at him.

"By the way", Jane remarked, "this dress is not her own."

"Why not?", Lisbon wondered, rolling her eyes at him.

"Bruises on her shins, heavily calloused hands, cuts that should have been treated but never were, extremely short fingernails and a haircut she obviously did herself- this woman was a tomboy. A tight red silk dress that looks as if it is very expensive? Certainly not hers, my dear."

Lisbon cringed at the endearment.

"That all?", she muttered.

"For the time being, yes", Jane shrugged, "maybe her diary will tell us more."

Lisbon looked at him questioningly.

"She's got ink on her fingers", he pointed out," so she wrote with a fountain pen. Most people don't use a fountain pen for filling out forms, so I bet she kept a diary."

Lisbon was still thinking about a smart reply when Rigsby asked:

"Why are we here, boss?"

Lisbon sighed.

"DA asked for our assistance. Because this looks like the deed of a serial that's been active all over California during the last year."

"What's his fingerprint?", Rigsby inquired.

"17 stab wounds, in an exact pattern, like a map. And- a fingerprint", Lisbon said softly and pointed towards a spot on the victim's shoulder.

There it was- a blood red fingerprint.

"Is it his?", Cho asked.

"No", Lisbon answered, "It's always the print of his last victim- I bet it's this time, too. He takes the right thumb of every woman he kills and uses it to make the fingerprint on the next one."

She showed them the bloody stump where Philicia's thumb had been cut off.

"And there's something else", she muttered, "this guy has murdered all over California in the last twelve months- L.A., San Francisco, San Diego, even Mojave desert. But his first victim came from Boomton, too. Just like Philicia Harton."

"So he's back home", van Pelt mused, and Lisbon nodded faintly.

"First thing, we have to question the Boomton residents." the dark-haired team-leader stated, "Rigsby, you go with me."

A tense silence ensued.

Jane crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Sure, if you can do without my assistance", he shrugged.

Lisbon almost winced. Damn, he was right- she couldn't.

"Okay, Jane", she scowled, "you'll go with me- but no funny business. Cho and Rigsby- you have a look at Philicia's home. Find that diary. Jane- let's go."

He didn't smile. And she felt a shiver course through her body when she met his icy stare.

I told you I would get serious this time. But don't be fooled. It will get M eventually, and it will have a good ending. I'm not into evil endings at all.

Please review, so I'll know if I should continue this one! I know this won't possibly get that many reviews, because angsty and smutty is not a popular combination, but for those of you who like that I'm posting it anyway. Tell me what you think!