After watching 4x10, Fugue in Red, I came up with this idea. By no means does this have really any spoilers to that episode, but I decided
"What if Jane consulted for the CBI before his family was killed? And what if Lisbon, new at the time, first met him? What could have happened?" And this came out! After all, Jane did help the police pre-murder. It could have very well been the CBI. Hopefully, you will all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not, by any means, own The Mentalist.

An Unchaste Affair

Prologue

June 3, 2002

The pen in his grip was held in a relaxed sort of way as he signed his name on the bottom of the paper. Once finished, Patrick Jane looked up at Virgil Minelli, a worn man in his early fifties with greying temples.

A couple of months ago, when he had "helped" the local police in Los Angeles, he had gotten himself noticed by Minelli. Minelli had been amazed by his ability to quickly evaluate the crime scene and give a near-accurate background on the murder victim that the elder man had asked for his opinion more than once on the case. Jane eventually found himself staying in a hotel two nights that week away from his family, something he was not sorry for happening.

While working the case, Jane was able to meet the senior agent, Roderick Martin. The man was very stern and Jane found it amusing to mess with him while working the case. Much to Martin's obvious dismay, though. Then there were Martin's two agents, Simmons and Flores. He took a rather immediate liking to both men, seeing as they both loved to be amazed by his perceptive talents and "psychic" abilities.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Jane."

Jane nodded and handed the paperwork over to Minelli. The man took it from him, glanced over at the signatures and nodded back, apparently happy with the signatures.

"I know this consultation work is on an occasional, part-time basis, but if you would ever like to alter your contract, feel free to call me."

Minelli knew that Jane had a profession elsewhere, and that was as a television psychic. He was also quite aware that Jane was borderline celebrity. Through this profession, Jane was not only able to con helpless people out of their money and charm the innocent, but have a tremendous amount of fun in the process. Though, Minelli did not realize that his new consultant was a mere con.

Nodding again, Jane stood to his feet and extended out his right hand for Minelli to shake. Minelli took it in his, gave it a firm shake, and said something about walking him to the elevator. Jane, in his most polite manner of speaking, told him that that was unnecessary and that he could easily locate the elevator.

As both men were on their way out of the office, Jane was rather surprised when Minelli stopped just outside of the door. Taking this as a distraction, and that he could slip away from Minelli, Jane started to make his way towards the elevators alone. Though, he was quite surprised to hear a woman's voice behind him in conversation along with Minelli's.

"Sorry I'm late, sir, but I had to meet with my new landlord."

"That's all right, Lisbon."

Without taking another step, Jane began to turn around on the spot. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a woman standing beside Minelli. Her stature was short and petite, her hair dark and hovered a little bit over her shoulders. She carried herself well and obviously wanted people to respect her in the workplace.

Curious about her sudden appearance, Jane started to come closer to the two people talking. It seemed as if Lisbon was new in Sacramento and her first instinct had been to report to Minelli, but had decided getting her living situation covered was her first priority.

"Will this apartment work?" Minelli asked in good spirits. It was almost teasing, and Jane realized that she had got the short end of a deal earlier before. Hence why she made sure to meet with the new landlord rather than come into work.

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

When she finished speaking, Jane cleared his throat and brought the attention unto himself. The woman, Lisbon, turned towards him and furrowed her brow as if angered at his desire to shift the attention. Looking up, Jane's gaze was caught in hers. Sure, he thought that the woman before him was quite attractive, but he had not expected her eyes to be an olive green. With her dark hair, he would think her eyes would either be dark, which he did not see from afar, or some shade of hazel.

"Ah, Lisbon, I'd like you to meet the CBI's newest consultant," she looked over at Minelli as if questioning his sanity. "Patrick Jane, psychic."

"That Patrick Jane?" she asked Minelli and shifted her eyes towards Jane's form. "Sir—."

Jane watched Lisbon become quiet when she realized that Minelli's face had grown firm, his jaw set. She had overstepped a fine line by questioning her new superior's choice.

"Yes, that Patrick Jane," Minelli said and looked over at Jane in an apologetic manner. "Mr. Jane, I'd like you to meet our newest agent, Teresa Lisbon. She just transferred in from the San Francisco Police Department."

He held out his hand towards Teresa Lisbon and watched as she, with much trepidation, took it. He gave it a firm shake, smiled, and waited for her to have some sort of response similar to the ones he usually received. For example, he rather prided himself whenever a woman would throw herself in his direction. But for some odd reason, the pretty Teresa Lisbon was not doing as expected.

"The pleasure's mine," he said to her, trying to dazzle her with the brightest smile he could summon.

When she began to withdraw her hand from him, she nodded and looked at her boss before responding. "The same."

At that moment, Patrick Jane realized that he had just met one of the most intriguing women he may ever encounter in his lifetime. And he would have great enjoyment in dissecting every single layer and shield that was held in place by this petite rookie.

Sensing that he ought to be gone, he started to walk backwards to the elevators. "I shall see you around, Agent Teresa Lisbon," he smiled at her once more and turned his back. Only once did he turn around and gaze at the curious little woman.

And curious was she indeed.

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