Fascinating, brilliant story! Thank you so much for sharing! 'Fugue in Red' is one of my favourite episodes, thanks for extending it in this way.

I think you have an uncanny way of capturing perfectly the inner workings of both Jane and Lisbon during this episode. Jane is very in-character in your story, even when Jane is not 'himself' during his fugue.

The additional details you add which take place during the episode read as very 'authentic'. Of course a concerned Lisbon would seek the help of the only psychiatrist that Jane ever described as 'good'. Your characterisation of Sophie Miller and her tense interactions with Lisbon are dramatic and believable. I always thought the pivotal moment of the episode was Jane's reaction to Cho's 'you're a hustler', in the show Jane seemed more compliant to the CBI before that point and seemed only to want to get away from them afterwards. I particularly liked how you wrote the inner Jane at this point, explaining why that might have been the case.

There was a huge gap in canon between the end of this episode, where the memory of the deaths of his wife and child come back to him in one devastating moment, and the beginning of the next one when all is back to normal. The last few chapters of this story, where you cover the drive down to Malibu and the aftermath of Jane recovering his memories, are dramatic and intense and beautiful and believeable. Of course Lisbon would go to a firing range after church - what else are Sundays for? And of course Jane would want to buy appropriate gifts to mend fences and apologise to the team for his behaviour during the fugue.

Finally I love your phraseology: 'swallowed a cat', 'feral Jane', 'Gingersnaps' 'involuntary treatment for the seriously screwed up', 'the onslaught of thought'. Well-crafted prose is always a joy.

Thank you, once again. It was an excellent read.

Really fun chapter. Loved Jane's interactions with everyone, and the way you wrote his inner thoughts in italics. Works nicely and makes it easier for the reader to quickly keep track of Jane's thoughts versus his external speech. Enjoying this so far! :)

Loved the way you used the exact dialog from the show when Lisbon speaks with Jane. :)

Really cool first chapter. :) Like the description of the room and the small details you added to help the reader visualize the scene. Jane's better at dealing with doctor types than I am, but I identified with his impatience. Excited to read the next chapter.

I never read this story of yours, it was so good. Reading the stories again here, I want to write again...see you soon.

Donnie

Approximately four hours of intense reading later...
I don't exactly know where to begin. Let's start with the easiest part: I really like your style. This curt, clipped tone of yours may be a bit unusual at first but I find it very expessive. You prove you don't need many words to make the reader get your meaning.
Regarding the content: It was most fascinating to read the episode from both Jane's and Lisbon's detailed POVs. It showed how much was left out in the original draft. I especially liked you bringing Sophie Miller back in. It made sense to include her when something like this happened to Jane.
Your portray of both characters' emotions was detailed and precise. His struggle to decide if he wanted to remember of rather stay in the peaceful dark was very intense, as was her inner turmoil about his change in attitude.
What surprised me was the decidedly romantic take on their relationship. I didn't interpret the show that way, at least not up to this point. Although I do know that that they'll confess their love for each other about one and a half seasons in the future. Always enlightening to see a different interpretation!
And last three things I especially wanted to point out. First, her reaction in the hospital after he told her he'd quit. Excellent work there!
Second: The scene in the car on their way to Malibu. It gave a great insight in his relationship with the other three agents.
And third, last but not least, I really liked the ending, his attempt at mending fences with all four team members. Touching!

This is a really lovely story. I love seeing things that might have been as they were never shown to us. Your take on J & L in this episode. I particularly love seeing the innermost thoughts of these two crazy kids as well as seeing Jane staying with Lisbon! I could really imagine them thinking/doing these things during that time. Thank you for writing it!

Thank you for a great read!
I particularly liked your explanation for Patrick's awful "are we sleeping together"-question. I always felt they put that one in for shock value only. But with your explanation it makes so much more sense, and that will be, from now on the way I understand

Woooo. Thought I would pop in read the first chapter and when I looked up I had read it all! Love it. Thankyou for writing. Terrific on all fronts.

I loved loved loved Jane's "restitution" - he is so good at knowing everyone, and these are perfect.

I can totally see Cho being a whiz bang interior designer.

Jane and Lisbon's musings are always a delight.

I enjoyed the idea of Lisbon teaching Jane proper gun basics, and lovely the imagery of the bird, and noting that at least the bird is catching dinner, as opposed to RJ.

Also, nice call back to "she knows the worst parts of me and still loves me."

Interesting choice of having LIsbon make Jane punch a bag. Not absolutely sure he would have done it, but I sure as hell would have enjoyed watching!

Preach it on the tomatoes, Jane! You have righteous anger.

(Back from a 6 week ff hiatus - it's fun to have more than one chapter to read at a time). Onward...

At last. It's taken me so long to catch up since my holiday, but I'm just about done. Didn't even realise at first that I'd missed two installments of your story while away being roasted under a big blue sky in France, so it was a double treat.

I won't go into details as it would be unfair to try to cherry pick highlights. Suffice to say, your 'Fugue' was, as all your stories are, supremely satisfying in it's depth, understanding of character and in it's ability to emote. It did what good fanfic is all about, filling the gaps, speculating and embellishing what was a great episode in a way that popular TV inevitably doesn't have the time or will to do.
It's through quality fanfic that we grow to know and love (or not) the characters and their lives in a much more fulfilling way. This was one of the best.

A very lovely ending to your story. Of course this means you need to start another. I am insatiable when it comes to your writing, like Jane and tea!

Really enjoyed this encounter! Helped to see how the giant leap from the arrogant , insulting, slick fugue Jane back to Lisbon's, Jane's & the team's usual odd normal in the next episode occurred. All the stumbling steps of love and forgiveness, relearning & redefining the relationships were well played out. This included an understanding of RJ and how they communicate about him; a new level of trust and sharing so important for them to survive the eventual confrontation.