Thank you for all of your kind words. They motivate me to write more.

I do not own The Mentalist. This chapter takes ideas from the episode Ring Around The Rosie, which was written by Daniel Cerone.

It was a Sunday night and Jane and Lisbon were lying down together on her couch and watching a movie. Lisbon was curled up into Jane's side and he was rubbing his hand up and down her arm. Between the sound of his breathing and his light touch against her, Lisbon felt like she could stay in this position for the rest of her life. She was amazed of how Jane had managed to ease right into staying with her every night and it felt so normal like it should have always been this way. After everything she had gone through recently, it felt it was worth it since she had gotten Jane. She was quickly taken out of her wonderful daydreaming by the sound of her phone ringing. She saw it was Bertram that was calling so she answered it. Jane watched her intensely as she spoke on the phone.

"What did he want?" Jane asked after Lisbon hung up the phone.

"I guess everyone is worried about the mayor's rally tomorrow so they want as many people there as possible to make sure things go to plan so they are forcing my team to work it also," Lisbon said. "I hate these kind of things. They are so dull."

"Don't they have plenty of beat cops that can do this instead of you guys?" Jane asked. "It feels like a waste of your talents."

"Those cops don't really have the training if something bad actually were to happen," Lisbon said. "They need some people with experience there and since we don't have a major case right now Bertram volunteered us."

"There's going to be a lot of angry protesters there," Jane said. "The mayor has really pissed a lot of people off. I swear Bertram just likes putting you into harm's way."

"Don't worry about it," Lisbon said as she curled up tightly against him again. "I have worked many of these before. They end up being super boring with usually just some random drunk person yelling something stupid in my face."

"What if someone throws a bomb in your face this time?" Jane said.

"Someone may want to kill the mayor, but not me," Lisbon said. "I doubt I will get a bomb thrown into my face."

"Just remember you are not secret service," Jane said. "You don't have to jump in front of him. He's on his own"

"You are so paranoid," Lisbon said with a laugh.

"I don't know why," Jane said. "It's not like working at the CBI has made me realize there are crazy murderers hiding in plain sight waiting to just go off on someone."

"If someone goes crazy, Grace will be there to shoot them," Lisbon said causing both of them to laugh.

"That's horrible," Jane said. "Yet true." Jane leaned down and kissed the top of Lisbon's head and they then went back to watching the movie together.

The next morning Lisbon got up out of bed as soon as her alarm went off so she could make it to the rally in time, but Jane stayed curled up under the covers. She headed to the bathroom to take a shower and decided to let him get a few more moments of sleep before she tried to wake up. When she finally returned from the bathroom, she saw that he was awake, but still lying in bed.

"You going to get up some time today?" Lisbon asked as she made her towel wrapped body over to the closet to get some clothes.

"Staying in bed sounds better," Jane said as he watched her. "Plus, I have a nice view from here."

"Perv," Lisbon said.

"I'm your boyfriend," Jane said. "I can look at you without being a perv because you already gave me permission."

"Boyfriend, huh?" Lisbon asked. They hadn't used that term before to describe that part of the relationship.

"Can I not use that term?" Jane asked. "Do I have to ask you to go steady first?"

"It's just weird to actually hear you say it," Lisbon said.

"I'm going to call you my boo," Jane said.

"Not if you want to keep on living," Lisbon said.

"Shorty?" Jane asked.

"What's wrong with girlfriend?" Lisbon asked.

"It's not funny when I say it," Jane said. "I thought those turns are better than "my ho".

"You are just trying to make me hit you, aren't you?" Lisbon asked.

"I was hoping if I distracted you that you would forget you have to go to work," Jane said.

"I have to go," Lisbon said. "Are you going to come?"

"I'm good here," Jane said. Lisbon finished dressing, walked over and leaned down and kissed Jane on the lips.

"I'm heading out then," Lisbon said. "I'll see you in a couple of hours. I'll call you when it is over."

"Bring me some food when you come back," Jane said.

"Never going to happen," Lisbon said as she headed out of the room.

After Lisbon left, Jane laid in bed for a little while thinking before he decided he was going to go to the rally after all. He had been having bad dreams about Red John going after Lisbon and knowing she was hanging out a place with so much potential danger made him really uneasy. He decided that even though he didn't want to work, he wanted to be as near her as possible to make sure nothing happened.

When he got to the rally, he went to a local a restaurant not far from where Lisbon's team was located so he could keep an eye on them from a distance.

Halfway through the rally, someone discovered a dead body and Lisbon's team was put in charge of handling the investigation into what happened. Once Lisbon saw the body, she immediately decided to call Jane to see if he wanted to help with the case since it was no longer just crowd control and he could assist the team.

"Jane," Lisbon said when he answered.

"You are going to have to speak up Lisbon," Jane said. "It is a little loud here."

"You close to us?" Lisbon asked. She was a little shocked to find out he was near since she thought he would still be lying in bed sleeping.

"Well, that depends," Jane asked. "Are you still on crowd patrol?"

"No," Lisbon said. "We got a homicide now."

"Then I'm close," Jane said as he hung up the phone to head over to her location.

While he was making his way over to the crime scene, Jane noticed a suspicious man standing in a trenchcoat who seemed to be acting really nervous. Something about the guy made Jane feel a little weird.

"Where were you at?" Lisbon asked Jane when he walked up towards her.

"At a local restaurant," Jane said.

"Stalking me?" Lisbon asked with a smirk.

"I wanted to make sure you were safe," Jane said. "Most courts of law would not consider that stalking. And I had to prove you wrong. You said most of these things are usually boring, but bam! Dead guy. Not so boring after all."

"It may not even be related to the rally for all we know," Lisbon said. Jane went on to explain to her about the the man he saw and how he thought this dead body must just be a decoy to divert attention so someone can go after the mayor. Lisbon listened to him and sent Cho and Grace over to go and investigate the man.

"We got to make sure we get this right," Lisbon said to Jane. "The new boss starts today."

"Now we know why you were forced to work this rally then," Jane said. "The new guy probably volunteered you to make himself look like a team player. Probably a good day to not let the mayor die."

"When you meet him, don't be you," Lisbon said.

"What does that mean?" Jane asked.

"Well, first of all, nothing saying things like you just said," Lisbon said. "Second, don't pick him apart and point out every single one of his flaws."

"Don't worry," Jane said. "I'll be saving that for a better time. No need to waste all that good stuff until he annoys me for the first time."

"Which will probably be today," Lisbon said.

"That is true," Jane said.

After the team finished gathering up evidence at the crime scene, they head back to the CBI. While the team was sitting around the office discussing the case and Tibbs, the suspicious man Jane had come across, the team's new boss, Luther Wainwright, walked in and introduced himself. He immediately started talking about the case and guessed the murder victim was probably a photographer. His keen insight actually kinda impressed Jane.

After Wainwright sent the team out to investigate, Lisbon sat down next to Jane on his couch to talk to him once again about him behaving around the new boss.

"I need you to behave," Lisbon said. "He is going to try to be by the book. They all start off the same."

"Once again, you have no need to worry," Jane said. "I will be as well-behaved as a 16 year old boy left alone with his girlfriend."

"That is not reassuring at all," Lisbon said.

"No," Jane said. "But it means for a fun time, though."

"Jane," Lisbon pleaded.

"Look, I will try not to get you fired," Jane said. "Actually, I'm going to head with Cho to watch Tibbs."

"Why?" Lisbon asked as Jane got up off the couch.

"I don't want to sit around all day and be bored with him watching me," Jane said. "This way Wainwright will think I actually do some work around here. Don't worry. I'm not cheating on you with Cho. I still like you better."

"Be safe," Lisbon said as Jane walked away.

A couple of hours later, Lisbon got a call from Cho stating Jane had left the stakeout car to go talk to Tibbs directly. She tried to call Jane to get him out of there, but he ignored her calls to keep playing along with his charade. She hung up her phone and rolled her eyes knowing she will have to yell at him later at home.

After meeting with Tibbs, Jane determined he was a psychopath who was ready to kill. It was late so he headed to Lisbon's house to tell her his findings.

"Tibbs is a murderer," Jane said as he opened up the front door to find Lisbon sitting on her couch." Before Lisbon listened to more, she got up and shoved Jane's chest.

"Ow!" Jane said. "What's that for?"

"What were you thinking going to talk to Tibbs by yourself?" Lisbon asked. "If you really think he is a murderer, you could have set him off and he could have hurt you."

"I wasn't trying to set him off," Jane said. "I was playing buddy-buddy to him. Trying to get to know him."

"If he is crazy like you say then you don't know what could set him off," Lisbon said. "You could say go Longhorns and he is an Aggies fan and he blows your head off."

"Why are you so upset about this?" Jane asked. "I didn't do anything that will make Wainwright mad and Cho was watching the whole time."

"All I'm saying is that you can't be all over-protective of me, but then go and put yourself in harm's way," Lisbon said. "Our relationship has to be a two-way street. Now, I will agree to talk to Wainwright tomorrow about Tibbs possibly being a murderer, but that doesn't mean I am not still mad at you." Jane put a pouting look on his face.

"I'm sowwy," Jane said.

"Yeah, that's not going to work," Lisbon said.

"Sex?" Jane asked.

"Nope," Lisbon said.

"Back massage?" Jane asked.

"Getting warmer," Lisbon said.

"A sexy back massage?" Jane asked.

"That does sound good," Lisbon said.

"Good because I really need my back rubbed," Jane said with a smile.

"You're a jerk," Lisbon said shoving him again.

"You know I am joking," Jane said as he pulled Lisbon into a hug. "And I am sorry I upset you." Jane rubbed his hands up and down Lisbon's back.

"It's okay," Lisbon said. "And that rubbing doesn't count as my back massage."

"It better not," Jane said. "I was expecting you to be naked."

"Likewise," Lisbon said.

The next morning Jane and Lisbon met with Wainwright to convince him that Tibbs is a murderer. Jane tried to convince him to set up a scam to catch Tibbs in the act. Wainwright reluctantly agreed to let them investigate and have the Jane and Lisbon 24 hours to prove Tibbs is a murderer.

After Grace is able to convince Tibbs estranged wife to let them in their home, Lisbon and Jane head over to Tibbs' place to see what they can find. When they entered the home, they found a mess.

"Lacks a woman's touch," Jane said as they entered and started to look around.

"Says the guy who practically lives in an attic," Lisbon said.

"You can come clean it up for me at any time," Jane said with a smirk.

"I'm not your maid or your wife!" Lisbon shot back.

"Well, not with that attitude," Jane said as he looked through some papers. Lisbon wasn't quite sure what to make of that comment.

"Got something," Lisbon said as she opened a closet to discover tons of guns.

"Yeah, that's normal," Jane said sarcastically.

"This guy is going to lose it at any time," Jane said.

"I have a crazy idea," Jane said.

"Do I even want to know?" Lisbon asked.

"Look, Tibbs is going to go crazy," Jane said. "That's a given. What I am thinking is that we replace his bullets with blanks so when he finally does go berserk, he can't really harm anyone. The problem is that I know Wainwright will never approve of this plan."

"You want to go behind his back," Lisbon said.

"Look, I'll totally take the blame if it goes south and doesn't go well," Jane said.

"No," Lisbon said. "We're partners. We're in this together. If I am going to let you do it, I need to be involved to make sure it is done right."

"I'm starting to rub off on you," Jane said. He paused for a moment. "That came across a little dirtier than I intended."

"Either way is true," Lisbon said with a wink.

"Who's the perv now?" Jane asked.

"Still you," Lisbon said.

"Guys can't win," Jane said.

Later, after Grace almost shoots Tibbs at the diner, Wainwright yelled at Jane and Lisbon about how the case was being handled and kicked Jane off of the case. Wainwright left with Rigsby and Cho to go and arrest Tibbs on a weapons charge. Jane and Lisbon stayed behind in his office.

"I wonder if our new boss is in over his head," Lisbon said.

"Really?" Jane said. "I don't."

"Tibbs could kill him," Lisbon said.

"Or he could save Tibbs," Jane said, mocking Wainwright.

"You know this will freak Tibbs out," Lisbon said.

"I know," Jane said. "Wainwright is totally going to send Tibbs over the edge when he reveals the cops have been watching him. So he is doing exactly what I wanted him to do. At least no one should get hurt because of blanks. This way Wainwright is going learn we can't always play by the book to catch murderers. Sometimes it's not the best way to get bad guys off of the street. He will need to learn to take my ideas seriously. You're not starting to have doubts about not telling Wainwright about the blanks, are you?"

"Not if we are right and Tibbs is bad guy," Lisbon said. "Wainwright will look good for catching him on his very first case so he may be peeved, but it will make him look good so he will get over it. If we are wrong and he looks like an idiot, we are totally screwed."

"Faith, Lisbon," Jane said. "Got to have some faith."

Tibbs did exactly what Jane had predicted and went off his rocker when he found out the CBI had been watching him and he was able to escape being taking into police custody. The team ended up heading over to the mayor's party since Jane had seen it circled on Tibbs' calendar. Tibbs ended up pulling a gun on Jane. He tried to talk Tibbs into getting help knowing he would be in far less trouble if he did, but instead Tibbs tried to shoot Jane and many members of the crowd. Fortunately, the blanks he and Lisbon had put in the gun saved everyone's lives.

After the case was over and they finished interviewing everyone, Lisbon headed back to the office to meet with Jane. As she walked up, she saw Wainwright having a conversation with him. Before she could hear what they were talking about, Wainwright walked away.

"Everything alright? Lisbon asked Jane.

"Yeah," Jane said. "I like our new boss. I think we would work well together. I do have a question for you, though."

"What?" Jane asked.

"Do you think I am an antisocial personality?" Jane asked.

"Sure," Lisbon said. "Who isn't?"

"Wainwright thinks I am clinical psychopath," Jane said.

"He said that to you?" Lisbon asked.

"Yep," Jane said.

"And you think everything is alright?" Lisbon said. "That's not good."

"He has only known me for two days, Lisbon," Jane said. "Those tests he loves so much prove absolutely nothing about a person. I could manipulate those tests to make anyone look crazy. Even you."

"I'm not sure if I was just complimented or insulted," Lisbon said.

"It was a compliment," Jane said. "Most people would not picture you as a homicidal maniac."

"I guess that means I have succeeded in life," Lisbon said.

"They didn't call you Saint Teresa for nothing," Jane said. "Now let's head home. If we stay too long Wainwright might come back and try to convince me that I need psychological help. I will say, though, you were right about him. The press is making him sound wonderful for catching Tibbs so he doesn't seem to really mind we tricked him."

"Politics," Lisbon said. "As long as you make the boss look good, they don't care how you do your job."

"And then they take all of the credit," Jane said. "You should one day tell the press how you are the one who really does it all."

"I don't need the credit," Lisbon said. "Knowing I caught a bad guy is good enough for me. That's what helps me sleep fine at night. Not the glory."

"I thought I was what helped you sleep well at night," Jane said.

"You certainly do wear me out," Lisbon said with a smile. "And you are really cuddly."

"When we end up telling the team about us, don't tell them that part," Jane said as they started to head out. "It would ruin my street cred."

"Street cred?" Lisbon said. "You wear a vest."

"You don't like my vests?" Jane asked.

"I love your vests," Lisbon said. "They just don't scream tough guy."

"Do they scream psychopath?" Jane asked.

"That's bow ties," Lisbon said with a laugh as they got into the elevator to head out.

For this episode, I always did wonder why Jane was so close to the rally. It was never explained and I really wanted to know what the writers were thinking.