I probably shouldn´t be writing another AU...Yet here I am :) I´m blaming it on an amazing song called Police Dog Blues. I was listening to it while walking down the street one evening, daydreaming as usual, and this idea popped into my mind. Anyone who gives it a chance, thank you and I hope you enjoy it :)

Patrick Jane walked to his car, smiling with an ease. Another night, another win. Another casino lost a lot of cash and this particular action made his life a lot easier for the upcoming moths. Or weeks. He wasn´t sure yet. The night was crisp and cool, summer breeze was slowly transforming into fall one and Patrick jumped into his car, started the engine and went for a ride. Not having a faintest clue about his destination, he fiddled with the radio for a while trying to find his favorite station playing soft jazz.

He was a traveler through all his life. First, as a carnie kid, always spending time at different places, watching different faces, playing all sorts of cons with his father, it was all fun and games...until it wasn´t anymore. Now, being an adult, living his life still as a traveler, a certain memory was brought back into the hall of his enormous memory palace.

It all begun one day - a day that started as usually. By practice. And ended in disaster.

One day a dying girl came into his mobile house, and for the sheer desperation, her parents bought a dollar worth piece of bijouterie for ten grand. Since it was really just a piece of junk, she died a month later, despite being exposed to a magical "healing crystal". About a month later her parents came back. They wanted to return the crystal, thanking Patrick and his father for giving them another month with their daughter when doctors only gave her days.

"I...I can´t take it back!" Alexander Jane proclaimed, faking everything that could be faked so easily it made Patrick sick. The man got no compassion, no empathy, no conscience and no shame. The only thing his father had and gave a damn about was greed.

"Take it. So you can help others...like you helped us,"

"But, the money...I -"

"We don´t want the money back," the mother said and sniffled, "we want you to help others with the Crystal. I am truly grateful you gave us those days with her..." she spoke and then broke into painful sobs. Alexander Jane, a master conman, was near her in a second, offering her a napkin which she gladly took.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"It´s all right," he said.

"We should go," the father said and got up, his eyes red and misty. "Be well."

"Uh, before you go...there´s something I would like to talk to you about," Alexander said and Patrick knew nothing good will ever come out of it. His father gave him a warning look, it was just a glimpse, but Patrick could read his father better than anyone.

"Yes?" the desperate woman asked, still clutching the napkin in her shaking hands.

"My son...he could try to connect with your daughter. Try to communicate. He´s been having visions about her since the day you left."

Patrick´s brain froze. His whole body froze. This can´t be happening. One thing was doing a fake reading on a stage, he was not harming anyone, but this? How could he do this to parents who just lost their daughter?

"I can´t," he whispered.

"What?" All three of them asked in unison, all three of them asking for different reasons.

"And why is that, Patrick?" his father was first to ask, emphasizing his name in a well known manner. It could be loosely translated as you are in a big, biiig, trouble boy. His mind raced.

"I need the teddy bear," he whispered, hoping it would buy him some time.

"You could really do it? Talk with her?" the father asked this time, because his wife was lost for words. Patrick shifted uncomfortably, feeling sick to his stomach. "I need the teddy bear she had when you first came in here. It´s...a vessel. If you could...bring it, I might be able to," he lied, barely containing himself.

"We´ll bring it -"

"Tomorrow," Patrick whispered, trembling just for the effect. "The same time as today..., Dad can you give me a glass of water, please?"

Patrick shivered again, this time in his car. There were some aspects of being a Mentalist which weren´t so exclusive - it´s easy to remember if you can´t forget. But what if you want to? This particular memory was one from many he would like to banish from his memory palace, yet he couldn´t.

All of this happened a long time ago. He never get to fake a contact with that poor girl. He left that night. His father, happy beyond words, played poker all night long, and had no clue his under aged son had taken almost all of his stashed money and left without a word. Or an explanation.

Patrick hadn´t seen his father since.

It was not easy, being on his own from such an young age, however he managed. Fake ID was the first thing he obtained. Next thing was work. Without any proper education or skills, he ended up in dead end jobs but money were money. He saved all he could, and sometimes, when times were difficult, did a few readings, leached few marks, played few cons...anything to get by. Years came and went and he was always on the road.

Then, one day, he won a poker tournament with an ease -however, he didn´t won money.

He won a car.

Not just any car. A veteran. A legend

A blue Citroën DS.

A car worth a lot of cash. Truly a lot.

He kept it. Didn´t even though about selling it.

And he drives it till today. He drove it tonight letting the road chose his destination. There has to be another small town in a need for some magic. It´s been some time since he performed and the showman in him started to beg for attention.

Playing poker, visiting casinos on daily basis was fun but not as half as entertaining as having a crowd listening to your every word, cheering at you in the end, believing in you.

Yeah, some small town, where folks don´t have much to do, that´ll do it. He earned enough money for now. Time to have some fun.

Teresa Lisbon patrolled the streets at night again. Another night shift. She lost count on how many she had this month. She drove to the nearest gas station, in a desperate need of coffee. Her partner didn´t mind. Sitting in the passenger's seat, he panted heavily, the saliva dripping out of his mouth, making everything in its reach sticky and slobbery.

"Jesus, Rambler...I know it´s hot, but this is too much. Wait, let me get a towel."

Her partner growled. It was not an evil growl, it was just a growl. Perhaps if her partner wasn´t a dog, but a man, he would say it´s nothing, just let it be.

Lisbon reached for the backseat taking out a black towel used for such an occasions and wiped her partners mouth. This time he minded a little.

"Stop wriggling, you know it won´t help anybody," she muttered under her breath.

The dog remained silent. There was nothing more he could do than to endure this torture.

"There, all done. Now you wait like a good boy and maybe I will bring you a treat, what do you say?" she asked and patted the giant dog on his head. Some people might have said such a dog don´t belong in the car. Or that he shouldn´t be handled by such a petite woman. And he should have a nuzzle and a leash. Or it should be caged. They said it all the time.

Just not to Lisbon´s face. Nobody got the guts.

She went out of the parked car and let the door window rolled down. No one would dare to come near the car while Rambler guarded it.

"Good evening officer Lisbon," the man behind counter, Jack, said and smiled.

"Evening Jack, how it´s going?" she asked politely and took the steaming cup of coffee which Jack handed her. He always knew when Lisbon was coming and had the coffee ready for her before she even went through the door.

"Good, it´s calm night, I could use few shifts like these," he answered and took the bill Lisbon gave him with a smile."How´s Rambler?"

"Drooling all over my car," she replied, "please give me a sausage Jack, and keep the change."

Jack chuckled and handled her said sausage in a paper bag. "Pet him for me, will ya?"

"Will do, night Jack."

"Night officer Lisbon."

Lisbon went back to her car, carrying hot coffee and a greasy paper bag. Rambler was where she left him, guarding the car, slobbering some more. "All right, all right, out with you," she said and opened the door for him. The gigantic dog jumped out of the car and sat nicely by her side, giving her the puppy eyes treatment. It would have worked a lot more if Rambler didn´t look like the impersonation of the Hound of the Baskervilles. "There you go, a sausage from Jack, you like them don´t you?"

Rambler whined. Or at least he tried to. He took the sausage from her hands slowly, and carried it away, munching on it. Meanwhile Lisbon, leaning on her car, sipped on the black coffee with no sugar, no cream. She glanced at her watch. 2:37 AM.

Only three and half an hour to go.

She finished her coffee and let her partner to finish his business in the bushes. Luckily for her, it was just a small business.

"C´mon Rambler, time to go," she said and the dog was back in the car sooner than she finished her sentence. "Good boy, Rambler."

The night went out in its peaceful and quiet way - not a surprise in this God-forgotten town. Nothing ever happened in here, unless some young idiots thought that breaking and entering was fun. Or that stealing is a cool way of wasting their time. There weren´t any cases since she got in here. Nothing important. Sure, in some way, it was good. The lack of crime was in fact in favor for the town - not so much in favor for the cop who wanted to learn and to make a difference.

"At least we got to see the sunrise, huh?" she spoke but her partner probably couldn´t care less for sunrises . She sighed. Time to go back to the station and then to bed.

On the way back to the station, she spied something, or someone she never seen here before. A blue car, really weird looking one, overtook her. She nearly put on the sirens on and went after him when she realized her own speed was way below the limit. "Jeez," she whispered and gave the man driving the blue contraption an apologetic look just as he went by.

One look told her she definitely never seen this man before. She would sure have remembered him. He gave her a microsecond long smile and yet it was enough for a blush to form on her usually ashen face. Luckily, there was no way he could notice it.

Then, just a few seconds later, Rambler barked playfully and she snapped back into reality.

"We´re almost there buddy," she muttered under her breath and drove on cursing all those nightshifts she had to endure.

Lisbon left the "busy" station in her black Chevrolet Impala 69. Rambler was sitting at the passenger seat, drooling on her precious leather seats but she didn´t mind. It just wasn´t his fault, not in this weather.

"Here we are," she stated after a 15 minutes long drive and yawned. As a result, Rambler yawned too and Lisbon chuckled. She left the car, let Rambler out and finally dragged herself indoors.

Her place was tiny, and it was all she could afford. However it was hers and hers only and right now, it was the best damn place in the whole world. It had her bed in it. She fell on top of it, only kicking off her shoes, falling asleep almost immediately. Rambler followed her example, jumped into his own giant basket, made few circles and then settled down. He gave his master one loving look before his eyes closed too.

"Thank you very much," Patrick said to the boy who helped him carry his trunk up the stairs. The boy´s face lit up when he found himself being enriched by a twenty dollar bill.

"Thanks, sir!" he said and left grinning. Patrick couldn´t conceal his own smile. This was not the kind of place he used to stay in the past couple of years. Usually, the place got few more stars to its name. This...this was a small town. With apparently nothing happening around, ever, if the boy who helped him spoke the truth.

But the room was quite nice, he got everything he needed in there and to be honest, a bored little town was all he could hope for now. It´s going to be a piece of cake, bringing a little magic to the folks. He couldn´t wait.

Yet, there was a thing he needed to do before bringing his shinning smile outside.

Sleep.

And shower.

Probably not in that order.

He went to the bathroom humming one of his favorite melodies still smiling profoundly.

Abandoned warehouse , few days before Patrick Jane´s arrival

"I know how much you earn. I also know your wife just got another baby. And, my friend, I know you have been struggling. I am not your enemy. Right now I am your one and only true friend."

"Hold on a minute...you...you actually want me to -"

"Keep a secret. Nothing more. Give me and my associates some privacy...and of course, information, if needed. That is all I´m asking for. And as a reward, I am willing to cut you a deal."

One man stared at each other. One of them looked confident, the other one was sweating like crazy. Sweating and trembling.

"If they find out -"

"We´ll be discreet,"

"But...but, my career would be over."

"You´d be rich. I spoke to my...friends. We are willing to offer you 20% of every sale we make. That is pretty generous."

That was in fact generous. It was way more than he thought they would give him.

"20%?"

"For starters. It may go up. Or down. Everything depends on how well you handle this. So, what do you say my friend, do we have a deal?"

The man who trembled and sweated added a small nod to the mixture of his body signals.

"Great. We´ll be in touch. I´ll see you soon. And here," the second man, the confident one, handed the other man an envelope, "is something for your trouble," he said and smiled.

The first man took the envelope but waited until the confident man left before opening it. He weighted it in his hand at first. It felt heavy. With a racing heart, he ripped the paper just a little bit revealing a hundred dollar bills safely stacked inside.

"Well I´ll be damned," he whispered.

Lisbon´s bed, the present

Lisbon was soundly asleep, dreaming about a giant wet sponge washing over her face. She mumbled something unrecognizable and turned over in her sleep. The wet sponge disappeared in an instance, yet only for a few seconds. What the hell? she thought to herself before the smidgen of awaken brain cells told her that the wet, sticky thing on her face is not a sponge...

It´s a tongue.

"Raaambleeer..."she groaned before opening her eyes and despite the slight anger she felt, a smile appeared on her face. "Hi," she whispered and petted her best friend on his head. A playful bark was his response and Lisbon knew it was time to get up.

"All right, I´m up...I´m up, boy."

Minutes later, a wild looking Lisbon, who only managed to wash her face and comb her hair just slightly went out, accompanied by her giant, evil looking dog.

She was hungry. And tired. And about all, in a desperate need of shower. But there was something as a consistency she needed to follow - it was walkies time for Rambler, therefore anything else could and would wait. A park was the nearest destination she rarely visited even though it was the closest to her house. Too much people in there during the whole day. Today, she made an exception, letting the tiredness and hunger take over her good judgment. Rambler didn´t seem to mind and jumped eagerly by her side, never even thinking about running away from his master.

Patrick Jane spent several minutes watching people around him. First, know your audience. Then, and only then, start performing. His first admirer was a young, shy boy and his mom. He spied them watching other kids playing and deduced correctly that the young man needs some encouragement in making friends.

So Patrick Jane made a friend. And performed.

Few easy tricks for starters, adding a new one every time someone else stopped to watch his little park show, until he made people go "Ooohs" and "Aaaahs" and soon enough the crowd grew bigger and bigger. Kids watched him with eyes big as saucers, mommies smiled a happy relieved smiles, teenagers cheered and few of old couples nodded their heads every time a trick played well.

Yet Patrick felt that something wasn´t right. He knew it just like he knew a day will come after a night. Since the time he was a boy, there was this...sixth sense? Or seventh? He always knew when he failed to fool everyone in the room. Or, in this particular time, in the park. Someone was watching him. Just him. Not the magic he made, nor the tricks he did, but him.

Nothing good ever came out of that.

He surveyed the whole crowd as stealthily as he could, finding nothing and no one until his eyes fell on a figure standing at the back of the crowd.

A woman. Tiny one. With truthfully the biggest dog he ever saw in his whole life - even in his carnie life. She was dressed in black tank top and yoga pants, her hair was a bit of messy, a bit of curly and had a rich chestnut color. Her eyes were green as an emerald and full of suspicion. Her stance spoke volumes about who she was - a cop.

She wasn´t the head turning on the streets type of woman but something about her made him feel all warm on the inside. Something like that had never happened to Patrick before - not with any other woman, or a cop for that matter. It felt oddly tantalizing, even after she came closer and spoke those words, words which lead to problem almost every time he heard them - usually his problem.

"What´s going on in here?"

Few minutes and a lot of people later, Patrick Jane tried to explain his actions to the petite angry-looking officer who just had to show up walking her dog in the same park, at the same hour as him.

"I have not received, nor asked for any kind of compensation. I simply wanted to show the little tykes a few magic tricks, nothing more," he said and smiled, not even realizing how weird it sounded to her.

"Why?" she asked and gripped the dogs leash tighter.

"I am a magician, among other things. It´s what I do."

The woman eyed him suspiciously before speaking again.

"A magician performing for free in the park full of little boys...?"

Patrick rolled his eyes. This was more than amusing.

"And their mothers. And other people. In broad daylight. I´m sorry if I raised any kind of suspicion in you, officer...?"

Lisbon couldn´t keep a straight face even if she wanted to. "How...?"

"I have supernatural powers," he replied, smiling amusingly. "Patrick Jane," he added, extending his hand to meet hers. She hesitated only for a moment before taking his hand. "Teresa Lisbon," she said and the dog sitting by his side whined. "And this is Rambler, but no touching I´m afraid," she added when Jane´s hand almost went over the dog´s head until a loud growl made him stop.

"Oh," he said and quickly put his hand away. "Certainly."

"So...what is your business in this town Mr. Jane?"Lisbon asked knowing pretty damn well that this was the man she saw earlier today. The man who overtook her early in the morning.

"Are you always this curious about all the tourist visiting your town?" he replied still smiling and Lisbon cursed in her mind. To be honest, it was none of her business. For starters, she was off the duty right now and even if she wasn´t, he was not doing anything illegal. At least for now.

"I guess your answer is no, based on the expression on your face. To be honest, I usually get to know person a little better before asking about their business...I´ll advice you to do the same. Wish you a nice day officer Lisbon," he said and tipped an imaginary hat, "Rambler," he added and repeated his action towards the dog. "See you around, hopefully," he said again before leaving a wordless Lisbon alone in the park. She stood there for about a minute, thinking about how idiotic she behaved and blamed it on being sleep deprived for so long.

She and her best friend left the park minutes later, only one of them lost in their thoughts.

Rambler had just one thought right now - food.

Lisbon, not so much. Perhaps she should be on a look out for the mysterious Mr. Jane.

Thanks for reading :) And if I may add, try listening to the song too if you feel like it. I personally like a cover done by Hugh Laurie, it´s truly amazing.