Disclaimer:Idon'townitatall – I'mjustgratefultobeabletoplaywiththecharacters

AuthorsNote:I'mnotaveryexperiencedwriter – andthisismyfirstMentalistFic – itissetpost4.02LittleRedBook – sotherearespoilershere!

Lisbon pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to stem the tide of the pounding in her head. Things were starting to get complicated and she had so much that she needed to do. She didn't like playing games, but Jane had forced her hand.

She had been with him long enough to have learned quite a few of his tricks. She was also more apt at reading Jane now and anticipating his moves. With that knowledge, Teresa had hatched a plan of her own to conceal her activities from her nosey consultant. What she had to do, she had to do without his interference, after all – it was for his own good.

Shaking her head, she refocussed on the video capture on her screen. She was tracking down the people in the scene one by one, cross referencing them to other crime scenes and pictures. This work had started to take over every spare minute of her time at home. She had to prove to Jane that Red John was dead, and to do that, she was going to have to prove that Timothy Carter was Red John.

The best hope that she had of doing that was to compare all of the pictorial evidence that they had from all of the previous victims, including casual family shots and videos. Timothy Carter had to appear in at least one of them. He had to have been observing his victims. Working out of hours and out of the office made access to evidence tricky, but she had been able to pull surveillance tapes from the convenience store that 'Roy Tagliafarro' may have visited during his brief affair with Rosalind Harker. Something would show. There would be a hit now that they had a face to search for. She was certain.

Of course, the search had to done on the down low. The Red John case was closed, the body dead and buried. Yet Lisbon didn't feel a sense of closure. There had been no court case, no body of evidence, no burden of proof. Is that why she felt compelled to now provide it? Was she merely doing this to salve her own conscience? Or was she trying to build a case so compelling that Jane couldn't deny it? Was this about her or Jane?

Refusing to continue with those thoughts, Lisbon closed the files, ensuring to erase recent activity to effectively scuttle any surface snooping that her consultant was likely to do the next day. Teresa couldn't contain the small smile that lit her face at the thought of Jane and his need to know what was going on in her life. Her grin broadened at the thought of how she was misleading him. Finally, Teresa Lisbon was manipulating the master. He had fallen for her ruse hook line and sinker. Now she just had to keep playing it out before reeling him in.

Letting out a small chuckle, Teresa shut down her laptop and reached for her phone.

Jane passed her darkened office for the second time that evening finally admitting to himself that he found the darkened interior disturbing. He went to enter, frowning slightly when finding it locked, but then quickly and quietly used his skills to remove that barrier and slipped inside.

His eyes scoured her desk and bookcase for any hint for the real reason behind her change in behaviour. A similar search through her desk drawers revealed nothing out of the ordinary, no obvious clues to help him to understand what was going on. Not that there was anything wrong with her change in routine – in fact he should be happy that she was spending less time at work. It gave him more time to work on the Red John case.

He just didn't like not knowing.

Sighing, he sat down in her chair, contemplating what he knew. Too many things had changed since 'that' day and Jane was still working out what normal was. The team as a whole were still working through the shock waves of emotions and fall out that 'that' day was still producing. But they were a strong unit, and he felt confident that they would pull through. Look at what they had achieved as a team to save Lisbon? He smiled wryly as he admitted to himself that he had used the rest of the team in a sacrificial capacity to manipulate Lisbon into fighting to save her own job, but the result was worth it! They were now a team again.

Yet Lisbon's return hadn't provided the solace that he had been seeking. Not only did the stubborn woman refuse to see the truth about Timothy Carter, she was no longer readily available for him to distract and annoy!

Since her return she had been working steady hours, claiming fatigue and therapy sessions before rushing out of the office. He let out a disgruntled huff at the thought. She could have let him help her here. He was more than willing to assist her in her recovery, especially as he still felt partially to blame for it. He closed his eyes as that terrifying moment replayed in his mind, his hand clutching the phone, the silence ringing loudly in his ears as he waited for her response . . .

"Lisbon.Lisbon!Lisbon!"

Herraggedbreathpushingthroughtheline.Shewasgoingtobealright – shewasgoingtobealright – woundednotdead.Relieffloodinghisveins.

He had relived that moment too many times in prison. He guessed that his appreciation of her presence had increased tenfold now.

There was nothing wrong with her wanting to set an easier pace for herself. In fact, she looked rejuvenated, a real sparkle in her eye. The time off had worked wonders for her. But Jane still felt that he was missing something, something subtle. Lisbon had never been able to deceive him and he felt that she had been attempting to hide something from him. He had not worked out what it was as she was presenting him with that intriguing mixture of truth and lies and he was determined to puzzle it out. That puzzle had sent him on this search of her office.

Leaning back in the chair Jane was about to concede that his search had been fruitless when he spotted a small torn bit of paper beneath her desk. She had obviously torn the original and aimed for the waste paper basket, when this little piece had flown off. Retrieving the said piece, Jane scanned it and let slip a triumphant smile. Finally a clue to work with. The message was in her handwriting from the small note pad that she kept on her desk. Armed with a pencil, Jane quickly rubbed the now blank pad to reveal the original message and almost laughed out loud as his trick paid off.

Lisbon had been dating! Of course! How had he not seen it before this? Maybe someone that she had met in therapy? That would account for the mixture of signals he had been detecting.

Happy to have solved the niggling puzzle of Lisbon's deception, Jane slipped the evidence into his pocket and quietly exited her office. Walking quickly away from her door, Jane tapped his pocket affectionately, a smug grin at the thought of the material he had on Lisbon now.