Disclaimer- They are like little action figures I do not own, but have the incisive need to play with. CBS owns them. Mr. Heller made them. No money is, was, or ever will be made from this.

[Chapter 17]

"Did you hear?" Cho asked Rigsby as they drove to the courthouse for sentencing. They had swung by and picked up Cho from his house and a freshly pressed suit for Jane.

"No what?" Rigsby asked.

"LaRoche stepped down." Cho informed him.

"What really? I thought he liked being head agent."

"He only saw it as a temporary position. They reinstated Hightower as temporary head agent."

"Temporary?"

"Yeah temporary. There's apparently some backlash on how she handled the whole Todd Johnson incident. I hear they're looking for new candidates for her job, and the she's going to be demoted. Allegedly."

"Wow, do you know who our new boss will be?" Rigsby asked.

"No."

The pulled up to the courthouse.

"You ready?" Cho turned to Jane who was quiet in the back seat.

"As ready as any man walking into the gallows," Jane answered.

Cameras snapped and reporters pushed microphones into Jane's face as he exited the car. Local law enforcement tried to keep them at bay, while hurrying them along inside the court house. Rigsby and Cho walked with Jane between them, repeating the words 'no comment' to every question asked.

They found Lisbon and Sawyer waiting for them inside.

"You're here."

Lisbon reached up and slapped him across the face. She glared towards Rigsby, Cho and Sawyer, who took that as a hint to quickly move away. Court security even decided not to intervene.

"Much better," she let out a cleansing breath.

"I deserved that," Jane rubbed his face. "I'm actually surprised you didn't do it sooner."

"Must be the anger management classes," Lisbon said. "My counselor says I shouldn't keep thing bottled up inside. I should let things go."

"I can't let this go. It's like Red John ripped out a piece of my soul. I've tried to fill it with other things, but they just don't fit."

" 'They just float away or disappear...' "

"You read my journal."

"You left it on the table."

"That's the one thing I never wanted from you. The one look I never saw in your eyes," Jane frowned. "Please don't, this is my fate. Don't pity me."

"Jane."

"I know Angie would not approve, if she knew I did this. I know this is atonement for my arrogance. I know helping you solve crimes will never tip the scale in my favor."

Lisbon thought about the million dollar house, all pretty and shiny on the outside, and the dark and empty house on the inside.

"So stop. Get away from it all. Red John. Take a break. There has to be other things you want to to in life," she said.

"I can't. This is the only thing that drives me. Without this I have nothing."

"Jane you have plenty. You're just to stubborn to see it. Cho said you were gone and I went looking for you. The only place I thought you'd go was Malibu."

"I was hanging out with Rigsby. Cho doesn't own a TV and it was a little too quiet there," Jane explained. "Did you know that Rigsby plays the guitar? Plays quite well actually."

"Mr. Jane?" Sawyer called to him. "Let's go."

"You can't say that I didn't keep thing interesting."

"Interesting is not the word I would choose..."

"Why Lisbon-"

"Mr. Jane, please," Sawyer motioned him towards the court room.

"Thanks Lisbon. I have to go."

"I know. I'll be in the gallery with Rigsby and Cho. Good luck."

He sat in his chair and stared down at the faux mahogany table in front of him, waiting for the judge to finish speaking on the charges. Jane looked up when Sawyer nudged him and sentencing began.

"Mr. Jane is sentenced to three thousand hours of community service and will be released into the custody of12th street halfway house until other housing arrangements can be made. The court also mandates that the defendant also receive six months of counseling."

Jane shook his head.

"Is there a problem Mr. Jane?"

"Yes your honor..." Jane spoke as his lawyer glared towards him to shut up.

"Sit down now!" Lisbon scolded behind him. "Shut up."

"Your Honor if I may speak?" Rigsby stood up from his seat in the gallery before Jane and Lisbon could begin their argument.

"And you are?"

"My name is Wayne Rigsby. I am an agent with the CBI."

"What is it Agent?"

"Thank you ma'am. He will be staying with me. The halfway house isn't necessary."

"Rigsby?" Jane questioned.

"I got to take care of the team," Rigsby said. "You are part of the team. My home office has futon. You can stay there. Plus, I have TV."

Later that evening, Lisbon sat in Hightower's office and watched as her boss placed the photos and portraits that were previously packed away back to their spot on her desk.

"Are you sure?" Hightower asked.

"Yes. This is our case. We will see it to the end, the very end. We will find Red John and his associates. No matter what."

"The evidence we found at Finkle's is being turned over to the FBI. The house alone will keep them going for months. They're in the process of identifying the bodies. And they are trying to save face after the whole O'Laughlin fiasco. It doesn't look good on them that one of their own was working for a serial killer. They promise to keep us informed."

"That's good."

"I guess the first act as Special Agent In Charge is to reassign your team back to the Red John case."

"And my consultant?"

"Does he want to come back? Do you even want him back?"

"Yes. We are a team. He'll keep going until he catches Red John."

"That's good to hear," Hightower continued. "Though I may be bias. He, in the end, saved my life."

"Yes ma'am."

"And he did find the mole."

"Yes ma'am."

"You can have him back, pending the psych evaluation. Mandatory. Bertram tacked on another six months to the sentence."

"Yes ma'am."

"You can talk to me you know. I am your superior, but I do consider you a friend. You know he'll just tell the psychiatrists what they want to hear, but I know you'll have a better gauge on his mental state."

"Yes ma'am."

"But be warned, the next crime he commits, the DA will seek the maximum penalty, even if it's jaywalking."

"I know."

"Keep a tighter leash on him."

"I'll try."

It was a few days later and Jane sat on Rigsby couch flipping through the paper trying to find a new place to live. Apparently having a serial killer draw a bloody smiley face in a mirror, smashing said mirror, then have cops swarm the place was enough to get you evicted from your current housing and your security deposit kept by management.

"Are you going to mope on my the couch all day?" Rigsby called from the bedroom as he got dressed.

"You know I hypnotized you. You don't have to be nice to me," Jane informed him. "I told you, you needed to take care of the team."

"And you are part of the team," Rigsby said as he hurried into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. "Besides, the Boss told me about that."

"Did she now?"

"Yeah, before you went to court the first time."

"Oh."

"Hurry up and get dressed. We need to go."

"Where are we going?"

"To work." Rigsby tossed him his consultant id. "We are re-assigned the Red John case. You coming or what?"

"Welcome back," Lisbon told Jane as he poked his head through her office door.

"Thank you Lisbon."

"Oh and Jane..."

"Yes Lisbon?"

"You owe me a new set of dishes."

He stepped further into the office and sat down across from her. Jane tilted his head slightly and gave her a puzzled look. "Uh, sure Lisbon. Can I pick the pattern?"

"You can help pick the pattern," Lisbon smiled. "Jane promise me one thing."

"Yes Lisbon?"

"No more guns."

"I swear no more guns," he repeated with his right hand up. "Scouts honor."

"Do you really?"

"Yes. No more guns."

"Okay good…"

The next time he caught up to Red John, Jane swore to himself that he would kill him with this bare hands.

The End, for now.

First off-

Thank you to everyone who left a review. Thank you to everyone who story alerted, added to their favorites, and read this to the end.

Thank you!

Thank you! :D

I finally made it to what I perceive as an ending.

I know I didn't resolve a few things. My brain plays the stories I write like episodes.

There is a next episode. I've got 2 chapters down, though I'm not quite sure if I like them or not and that's why they are not posted yet. I'm still debating on the title. I've got the plot, like Grace's return, the photos significance, community service, a case, some repercussions and such.

I also gotta keep up with my new years resolution of writing for at least an hour before I'm a Gangsta in Space dealing with ethical climaxes or saving the mall with duct tape and such. You get me? :D

Thanks for reading.