Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist.

Post-ep to 4x23: "The Crimson Hat," set after Lisbon finishes her interrogation of Lorelei. Jane/Lisbon friendship with a tiny hint of something more.

"How could you do that to me?" Teresa asks, cornering him in her office, her voice a fierce hiss.

He opens his mouth to defend himself, but she doesn't let him get a word out.

"How could you let me go into interrogation blind like that? She made me look like a fool, Jane, all because you couldn't be bothered to share information; she made the CBI look like fools."

Oh.

"I hardly think she made the CBI look foolish," Jane protests calmly. "And you, my dear, could never be made a fool by a woman like that."

She purses her lips tightly and paces back and forth in front of him.

"You're making a mountain out of a molehill," he tells her, resisting the urge to smooth the lines on her forehead with his thumb. "We've still got the upper hand on her."

"The next time we see her, she'll be dead," Teresa says flatly. "That's how it always works. So no, we don't have the upper hand."

"Do you really have so little faith in the CBI's ability to protect her, Teresa?" Jane asks.

The lines on her forehead deepen as she says, "It's not the CBI's abilities that worry me. It's Red John's; he's always one step ahead of us."

"Not always," Jane says. "I made a mistake this time – an elementary mistake, really, I got too caught up in the con, too caught up in what I wanted to be happening – but we almost had him for a while."

Teresa opens her mouth, then rapidly shuts it. She takes a deep breath, then says, "OK, so what was with that kiss on the forehead that you gave her?"

"All part of the plan," Jane tells her simply.

"It was creepy," Teresa retorts. "She's Red John's minion. I understand that you had to sleep with her for the sake of the con, but what purpose did that kiss serve?"

"This is really bothering you, isn't it," Jane says.

"What?" Teresa says. "No. No. It was just weird, that's all."

"It didn't mean anything," Jane reassures her.

"That's what worries me," Teresa says quietly. "What won't you do to catch Red John?"

His eyes darken.

"You know perfectly well what I won't do to catch him," he says through gritted teeth. Stepping closer to her, he adds, "I've been more than clear, I think, about where I draw the line. Unfortunately, Red John got the message too, and he's trying to use my limits to his advantage. He'll be coming after you now that he knows you're my weak spot."

Teresa doesn't back down from his advance. Instead, she says, "He may have already started. He knows things, Jane. Things about me, my past. He knows about my brothers and about Annabeth."

Her voice is steady but her eyes reflect her fear.

"What do you mean?" Jane asks, trying not to show the terror that her most recent words have woken in him.

"Lorelei," Teresa says with a shrug. "After you left, she told me that 'he' had told her all about me and then she made a vague threat against Annabeth."

No. Not Annie. Not that bright, lively little girl.

"What did she say, Teresa?" he asks her urgently. "What were her exact words?"

Teresa frowns and, after a few seconds, says, "It was something along the lines of 'It's a pity I don't have any siblings… I would have loved to play aunt to someone like your Annabeth.'"

"Right," he mutters, only half-aware of what he is saying. "Right. Have you talked to her father?"

"Of course I called him, what do you take me for?" Teresa snaps. "I called Tommy as soon as I left interrogation and warned him. I talked to Annabeth, too, for that matter. They know they're to keep their eyes open. I'd try to get them under some form of agency protection if it weren't for the fact that Red John clearly has 'friends' in all of them."

"Of course," he agrees. "But I had to be certain."

He falls into silence, desperately trying to figure out what this latest move of Red John's means. For he highly doubts that Lorelei would have spilled that bit of information if she hadn't been ordered to by Red John.

What does Red John stand to gain by threatening Teresa's niece? (Beyond the obvious, of course.)

"You realize he's playing us," Teresa says.

"Naturally," Jane says. "The real question is why Annabeth? Why now?"

"No," Teresa says crisply. "The real question is does he mean it and how do we keep her safe?"

"That's two questions," Jane tells her. When it looks as though she might get violent at his pedantry, he quickly adds, "But you're right, of course."

Frowning, he subsides into silence once more.

He has a nasty suspicion as to why Annabeth Lisbon has been targeted, but he'll need to do a bit more research before he's sure.

"I've got a bit of research to do," he tells Teresa abruptly. "Don't worry, I'll tell you if I find anything."

He leans forward and pecks her on the cheek before striding out her office door, hands in his jacket pockets.

"Jane!" Teresa's voice calls after him, sounding supremely frustrated. "Jane, get back here!"

And despite the severity of the situation, he can't help it – he smiles. It's good to know that regardless of what happens, some things will never change.

Teresa Lisbon is both his saving grace and his worst vice, but he wouldn't have it – wouldn't have her – any other way.