Author's Note: This is my attempt to write something that could also be in the show. Spoilers for 7x05 and some BTS photos that came out. Takes canon from 7x04 and departs from there. Rated T for now, but will probably enter M territory later. This chapter doesn't have much Jisbon time, but please bear with me.

Disclaimer: The Mentalist belongs to the genius that is Bruno Heller. I own nothing.

Chapter 1: Sparkling Eyes

Jane woke to the familiar smell of leather and sweat. For a moment, he was lost. He'd expected to find himself in a very different work environment.

Then, as the waking world took in and he remembered, all of his body relaxed. He realized his shoulders had cowered in a defense position. And he knew why. Old habits never died. He had been waiting for the pain to come. Only it didn't.

It was like there was a huge dam around his heart, preventing it from penetration. And as comforting as it was, it was also scary. As if the ghost of the pain was waiting on the other side. Trying to find a hole. Trying to get in.

So far, the dam hadn't let it.

Inevitably, his mind travelled to those dark days, a kingdom he rarely visited nowadays. In that kingdom, this same couch used to hold a whole different meaning. It symbolized his patience, his determination and his persistence. Every time he opened his eyes, the comforting brown leather would whisper the same dull message: "Nothing's been done yet. You still have to catch him".

Then, Lisbon would come in the picture, the only light in that darkness, her very presence reminding him of his humanity, the fact that there were other things to him than his thirst for revenge. He could still be saved, though he couldn't see it clearly for himself at the time.

But Lisbon's faith seemed to be enough for both of them. And in the end, it had saved him. That and the very thought of what would happen to her if she found his dead body. He could never do that to her.

Now the pattern was the same.

Still, different.

He would wake up on the same couch to find Teresa sitting just across from him, her familiar petite figure warming his heart, making him feel normal again. She was his breath.

Yet there was no reason for him to be on that couch anymore. The only reason he had come back was Lisbon. Now she was with him. And the question was: why was he still there?

"You enjoy the mental stimulation", Lisbon had said.

And it was true.

But compared to risking their lives-risking her life-almost every day and seeing death all around, it was nothing. He would choose a domestic life with her a million times. He would choose to be human. Normal. With her.

"Jane".

Abbott was coming out of his office, his eyes slightly amused, an expression of him Jane had gotten used to.

He slowly rose to a sitting position, rubbing the sleep off his face with his hands.

«Dennis. Were you secretly hiding in a corner waiting for my eyes to open?" he mumbled.

"I was actually coming to wake you up. Heard Lisbon used to kick your couch in many an occasion", Abbott commented, smiling sympathetically.

"Yes, she did. Don't remind me", he answered. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"We have a new case. And I think you and Lisbon might like this one", he said.

Jane looked at him questioningly.

"It's in California".

"What are we dealing with, Boss?" Lisbon asked, going through some photos of various crimes scenes that Abbott had distributed to them; her expression growing more and more appalled.

"Yet another serial killer, I'm afraid, Agent Lisbon", Abbott answered, as he waited for the rest of them to settle in their seats.

They were all gathered in the bullpen. Wiley at his computer, Vega and Cho sitting on the front row and Jane… Jane was not there. Lisbon looked around, trying to maintain a casual expression, searching with her eyes.

"I've already briefed Jane as I needed his insights in the situation", said Abbott, answering to her silent question. Apparently, nothing slipped the awareness of the mighty Boss.

Lisbon tried to look as indifferent as she could, which was why she was stunned when someone else asked:

"So where is he?"

It was Vega. And judging by everyone's curious expressions, it wasn't only her that wanted to know.

"I… don't know", Abbott said, a phrase that sounded strange coming from him. "He said he'd be back soon though. Anyway, back to the case".

The screen was showing the grotesque image of a girl hanging upside down from an enormous bridge, the horizon painted with the vibrant orange of a late sunset. Lisbon recognized the place. She had crossed it a thousand times in the past to drive to crime scenes.

"Golden Gate Bridge", Cho remarked. "That's in California".

"Yes, Agent Cho. And since you, Jane and Lisbon are familiar with the place, you'll be the ones travelling there to investigate".

"Ok", Cho said, his face betraying no more emotion than it usually did.

"What makes you think this is a serial killer?" Wiley asked then.

"Good question, Wiley. There have been two other murders following the same pattern. Both happened in the two previous months. The first one was in Blue Lake, California".

The slide changed, switching to the image of another girl chained head down to the anchor of a ship; the irony of a rainbow painted on the sky behind her.

"Greenbrae", Abbott continued, switching to another image. A girl again; this one hanging from the branch of a tree, the rope draped around her ankle. San Francisco Bay was shining in the background.

The screen turned black.

"Always near water. Always a woman hanging upside down", Abbott said.

The room sank in silence, as everyone was trying to grasp the brutality and inhumanness of the murders.

Vega shook her head with reprobation.

"Sir, I would like to join the investigation, if that's ok with you", she said.

"No", Cho intervened.

Vega looked at him defensively, her gaze flickering between him and her boss.

"Sir?"

Abbott seemed to value the situation. Then, smiling courteously, he said:

"If you want to go, then nothing should stop you, Agent Vega".

"Thank you, sir".

Before Cho could say anything, Abbott continued.

"The strange thing about these pictures, though, is that they were found at the crime scenes, probably taken from the killer himself".

"Why would he do that?" Lisbon thought loudly.

"Excellent question, Lisbon".

It wasn't Abbott who had answered.

She whirled around in her seat, startled. Though she already knew who it was.

Still, she couldn't prevent her heart from missing a beat, when she saw him; coming out of the elevator; wearing his characteristic million watt smile.

She hadn't realized she was nervous until now that his presence filled her with a heavenly kind of peace. A silent reassurance that everything in the world was in place and even if it weren't, it would eventually be. She realized she was smiling back at him, making heart eyes. It took all her strength to remind herself that they were not alone. She casually fixed her expression. Jane's smile grew even wider.

"What do you mean?" she asked him, regarding his previous remark.

Jane withdrew his eyes to honor the rest of the team, his face growing serious.

"You'll see", he said enigmatically.

"Jane, where have you been?" Abbott interrupted.

"Ah, you know, shopping", he said, lifting his left hand to show a shopping bag that read "OpticStore" on it.

"An Optics store?" Wiley commented.

"Yeah… In fact", Jane murmured, putting his other hand in the bag and bringing out what seemed like camera lens. "Here", he said, offering one to him.

Wiley took it hesitantly, turning it upside down with inspection, while Jane distributed the rest of them to the team. When he finished, he went to stand beside Abbott, his expression full of enigma and child amusement.

Lisbon felt her patience fade away.

"Are you gonna tell us what these are?" she asked, failing to keep a straight face. Seriously, it was becoming more and more difficult to be angry at him these days.

"Someone's impatient", Jane remarked, his eyes fixing intently on her. She turned her face away, hiding her imminent smile.

Even though Jane being flirty wasn't something new, her reactions to him were. It was them she was most worried about. They were trying to hide their relationship here, not blare it out.

"Bear with me please", Jane requested.

And as they did, sunlight gradually gushed in the room; the sun rising on the horizon.

"Look", Jane said then, pointing at the little gifts he'd given them.

Lisbon did and felt her breath catch.

The crystal glass was now subtly glowing with a color. A very special color.

"Wow", Wiley remarked.

Lisbon turned to look toward his direction, her eyes dazzled.

The rest of the crystals were glowing as well. Each with a different color: Wiley's with green, Vega's with orange, Cho's yellow, Abbott's purple and hers… Hers was blue.

She turned to face Jane again, feeling suddenly emotional. It was then she noticed he was holding a crystal of his own. She didn't know what to make of the color.

It was bright red.

"These are quite delightful, but we have a serial killer to deal with here, Jane. Anything useful you'd like to add to the case?" Abbott asked.

"Ah yes. His killing pattern is rainbow colors", he said.

"Rainbow colors?" Abbott repeated, amused.

Jane nodded, as if his explanation was more than enough.

Lisbon rolled her eyes.

"Oh please", he said as he noticed everyone's clueless expressions, "Blue Lake, Greenbrae, Golden Gate Bridge? You have to see there's a pattern here"

"Could be a coincidence", Cho said.

"Yes, but it doesn't feel like one. I'm telling you for sure, the next crime scene will have to do with orange".

"How can you tell?" Lisbon asked.

"The pictures of course. You asked yourself, Lisbon. Why would a killer take photos of his victims and then leave them somewhere where the police could easily find them?"

Lisbon shook her head. Why?

"It's a puzzle. The photos point to the location of the next murder".

"Yeah right", Lisbon commented.

"Why would he do that?" Cho asked.

"Show us please", Abbott said opening the slideshow again.

"Ok, in the first crime scene, Blue Lake. That glorious rainbow behind the girl. It is the first clue. It's the killer's way of saying "This is the game". Now if you zoom in…" he paused, waving his hands illustratively.

When Abbott didn't respond, Jane looked at him, a waiting expression on his face.

The Boss seemed to come around and quickly did as Jane requested, zooming in the image. It was quite funny to watch. Abbott following Jane's orders, even the small ones.

"Ah, there".

"What?" Abbott asked, dumbstruck.

"Oh come on. The name of the ship. Green Rock…Greenbrae… Anyone?"

"Ah…" It was Wiley's voice. He was reading something at the screen of his computer. Slowly, a winning smile took form on his face. "Jane's right. Says here Greenbrae really means green hillside".

"Thank you, Jason".

"Hmm, interesting theory Jane. But still, it's mere guessing work. We need concrete evidence", Abbott said.

Jane smiled cunningly. Lisbon knew that look. He was waiting for this opportunity.

"Show me the third slide, please", Jane requested.

Abbott did.

"Look at this picture. Does something seem a little strange to you?"

Everyone stretched in their seats, trying to take a closer look.

"It is sunset", Lisbon said finally getting his point.

"Exactly. But we know that the murder happened very early this morning. And as you witnessed just minutes ago, the sun only just rose".

There was complete silence again. Jane had managed to bewitch them again.

"The answer to this riddle is: the sunset is fake. It's an effect created with color filters, these very beautiful crystals I just handed out to you. And for what reason would the killer get in so much trouble, other than to point his next murder location?"

Jane was smiling, his eyes sparkling with the thrill of having just solved a puzzle. He was so beautiful, Lisbon thought. This was Jane. Her Jane. Using his wits and his charm to wipe the bad from this world. She felt an overwhelming pride and admiration for him.

"Why would he reveal the location of his next murder in the first place? Isn't that as good as catching him?" Wiley wondered.

"Well, he's playing with us obviously. He doesn't just kill to kill. He wants the attention, people trying to solve his puzzle".

"So what if someone did solve it? I mean, you just did, right?" Vega asked.

"I guess we will find out the end of the game as we play it".

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Lisbon said.

"Not if we play smart", Jane comforted her.

"How are we gonna do that?" It was Cho who asked.

"Each of his victims appeared on the same day of three successive months. We have to change that pattern. We have to make him want to kill sooner".

"How?" Cho asked again.

"What makes a serial killer change his pattern?"

Lisbon smiled.

"That pattern being figured out", she answered smugly.

"Exactly. We tell the media what we found out. We make a fake arrest, so that he thinks he's in a safe zone. Then we wait for the cake to bake".

"Okay, but we have to find his next location. You said it will be about orange. That could be thousands of places in California", Vega remarked.

"Ah, actually, there are four of them", Wiley told her, looking at the screen of his computer again.

"Excellent!" Abbott said, "Find one that's near water".

"Orange County is. But there is also a city named Orange Cove, in Fresno".

"Could be both. Jane, which one?"

"Orange County", he answered.

"Why?" Abbott asked.

"Disneyland; I think our killer would like the irony of it. In fact, better yet. We make the fake arrest in Orange Cove, making him think we guessed wrong. That way we lure him to Orange County", Jane said; his mind plotting.

"Ok, then you'll need to split. Cho and Vega will travel to Orange Cove and you with Lisbon will go to Orange County. Then you both wait for Mr. Rainbow to show up".

"Mr. Rainbow?" Cho commented.

"If you come up with a better name, Agent Cho, please, do tell", Abbott said, withdrawing to his office.

"So, California, huh?"

Lisbon was sitting behind the wheel, her body slightly turned toward his direction, her eyes searching his face. They had just gotten in the car, outside FBI headquarters.

"Mmm", he just said, lost in his thoughts.

"It's been so long", Lisbon commented; looking through the windshield. "So many memories".

After a while, she turned to look at him again, her hand moving to cover his. He took it and squeezed it gently, returning her hearty gaze.

"I'm glad you're gonna be with me", she said to him; her eyes honest and kind.

At that moment, he loved that woman more than anything in his life.

Then a thought crossed his mind and he realized what she could probably mean. He felt a little twinge in his heart. The last months she had spent there were probably the most awful. She had lost her job and had to deal with the aftermath of his actions. He had never asked her about it. She had never told him either. They both seemed comfortable not talking about the past. Relieved, even.

But not talking about something didn't erase the fact that it had happened. And no matter how many times he had apologized to her in his letters, he would never forgive himself for the pain he'd caused her. So he said to her:

"I'm sorry I wasn't the last time".

"It's okay", she reassured him, stroking his hand with her little fingers; a warm expression on her face.

"So", she said; trying to lighten the situation, "you're gonna help me pack again then?"

"Well, I can't let you die from boredom. I have to entertain you", he teased her.

"Thank God I have you", Lisbon said in that high-pitched voice she did, when she was being sarcastic with him.

Jane smiled, feeling genuinely happy.

A/N: So I hope you liked the case. I was really excited writing about it. There's more of it to come. And California means a lot of characters of past seasons are going to be returning. So keep reading. Also, I decided to keep a mild pace in the Jisbon relationship, so that I can put many sweet moments in there and make it seem more real. (Don't worry, there will be sexy times as well ;)) I would love to have your reviews and thoughts on this. I really need the feedback. Helps me get more creative. (Pleasing others is always a good motivation).

Next chapter: Guess who's being released from prison. Does Jane really have the insights in this case? What will it be like for Jane and Lisbon to be back in California?