A/N: This story is set in the time they were working at in the CBI. Please read and review :-)

Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist.

Patrick Jane had to fight a wave of nausea as he stood beside his colleagues at the crime scene a little after 3pm in the afternoon. There before them lay the body of a once wealthy Sacramento teenager, now a disfigured corpse on the ground. His hand went to his stomach which was currently churning as he stood beside Cho who was listening to the coroner give an estimated time of death as sometime after midnight that day. When he had finished Patrick turned to Cho and said, "I think I'm gonna take a walk, get some air."

Cho raised one eyebrow at him, "But there's plenty of air here, we're outside."

Just then another wave of nausea hit him and his hand flew to his mouth as he turned and quickly walked away.

"Hey where did Jane go?" Lisbon asked Cho a few minutes later.

"He went for a walk in that direction." He told her pointing towards the luxury mansion behind them.

"He didn't look so good this morning," she said, "think he's coming down with something."

Cho nodded, "He did look a little green. Maybe he went to make himself some tea, you know Jane."

Lisbon nodded, a small smile on her lips. "I better go see if he's okay. I want you and Van Pelt to continue to canvass the area." He nodded his acknowledgement to her and with that she began to walk towards the house in search of her consultant.

When she got to the entrance there were uniformed officers everywhere. She flashed them her badge and they let her go inside without fuss. She looked around at the opulent surroundings as she walked over to the kitchen but could not see Jane anywhere. "Jane?" she called but got no answer. "Jane!" she tried again. After getting no response she continued to wander around the house. As she entered the large living room she saw Wayne Rigsby standing by the fireplace talking to a young woman who couldn't have been more than fifteen. She approached the two of them.

"Hey boss," Rigsby greeted, "This is Alex Waltham, she's the victim's neighbor." He informed her.

"Hi, I'm Agent Teresa Lisbon," Lisbon greeted the young woman who was tightly clutching at the sleeve of her cardigan.

"Hello." She replied, letting go of her sleeve to shake the agent's hand.

"She was just telling me about the victim." Rigsby explained.

"Yeah," she began, now looking at Lisbon, "it's like I was telling agent Rigsby, Callum had a party last night, it was a small thing, just a few of his close friends."

"Were you there?" She asked but miss Waltham shook her head. "No, not really...I mean Callum invited me but…"

"But what?" Lisbon asked.

"Well...I knew who else was coming."

"What do you mean?" Rigsby asked, taking notes.

Miss Waltham went silent for a moment, debating whether to say anything further.

"Go on," Lisbon prompted.

"Well, let's just say they're not the kind of people I would feel comfortable hanging out with."

"Were they into anything sketchy?" Rigsby asked but she shook her head again.

"No...not really, I mean they aren't like drug dealers or anything...at least I don't think they are. They're just a little off, you know?"

"Off like how?" Lisbon asked, her curiosity growing.

"You know, they're kinda into weird things, like the occult and stuff like that."

"The occult?" Lisbon asked, "You mean like satanic rituals?"

"I don't know, maybe. I never spent enough time around them to find out, but they were always talking about death, it creeped me out!"

"So you knew the victim well miss Waltham?" Rigsby asked, "You were friends?"

"You can call me Alex." She said. "We all go to the same school. Callum's in my English class." She paused then, "I mean he was in my English class. We used to talk. God I can't believe he's dead!"

"Was Callum into the occult too?" Lisbon could tell that this girl was really nervous talking about that subject.

"I don't think so, at least he never told me that he was but I guess you never really know what's in a person's heart. He wasn't creepy like some of his friends, he just seemed normal, you know?"

Lisbon nodded. "Can you give me the names of these friends who were at the party last night?"

Alex hesitated.

"It's alright," Lisbon assured.

"Kevin Montgomery, Stacey Richards, Brian Colby and Leighton Cruz." She told them, "At least that's all I knew about." She paused and then added, "Stacey and Brian were cool but there's something not right about the other two."

"You think one of them might have killed him?"

"I don't know agent Lisbon," she told her.

"Thank you for your time miss Waltham. If you think of anything else please give us a call." She handed Alex he CBI card and then walked out of the living room; Rigsby followed behind. They stopped just inside the main entrance. "Try and track down those four kids and bring them in." She told him.

"Yes boss."

"I'm going to try to find Jane."

"I think I saw him go upstairs." Rigsby said.

"Thanks." She told him and then began to head in that direction.

"Jane?" She called as she climbed the dark mahogany staircase, "Jane are you up here?" Still she got no reply. Once she had reached the top of the stairs she turned right and began to make her way down a long hallway which led to three bedrooms and two bathrooms. "Jane where are you?" She noticed that the first bedroom on her right was open so she peered inside. "Jane?" This floor of the house was much more quiet compared to downstairs. All the officers and forensics team were busy in the garden where the victim was found, they hadn't begun to comb through this floor as yet. Lisbon continued on to the next bedroom when she heard a crash from the opposite end of the hallway. Her hand quickly went to her gun and she quickly made her way towards the sound. Just as she approached the top of the stairs she saw a teenager come running out of another bedroom and towards her, blood all over his clothes. "Stop!" she ordered but he ignored her, looked right passed her and continued running till he reached the stairs. He stood there for a second before trying to reach for the bannister. He missed. Then his legs gave way and he fell down the stairs until he stopped at the bottom, his body lifeless. Lisbon stared at him in shock for a second or two before she heard another sound coming from the same room the kid had run out of. Noticing that the teenager was now being tended to by some police officers downstairs, she advanced towards the source of the sound; her gun drawn, her senses on high alert. As she approached the doorway she heard a male voice but she couldn't make out what he was saying, she listened and realized that he was whispering something. She took a breath and entered the room but her heart almost stopped at what she saw before her.

Patrick Jane was lying on the floor, covered in blood.

"Jane!" She called as she ran toward him, "Oh my God Jane!" She knelt down beside him.

"Boss!" Rigsby said as he too entered the room, "What happened?"

"I don't know, he's alive but his heart rate is erratic. Get those paramedics up here now." She ordered and Rigsby did as he was asked.

xxxxxxx

Jane awoke some three hours later in the hospital. As he opened his eyes he instantly felt something warm squeeze his hand. He blinked, trying to clear his vision and after four attempts he finally saw the silhouette of a woman. He tried to speak, tried to move but found that he couldn't do either. "Jane?" He heard the woman say. "Jane can you hear me?" He thought he recognized her voice but his mind was so foggy at that moment that he couldn't remember...much of anything really. He tried to think. His name is….no good, it just wouldn't come back to him. "Jane?" She said again and as his eyes finally began to focus he saw that the woman with dark brown hair and a concerned look on her face was in fact talking to him. As he saw her he couldn't help smiling. There was something about seeing this particular woman that made him happy inside.

"Hey," he croaked; his voice affected by the parchness of his throat. He felt the woman squeeze his hand a little tighter.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

He stared into her eyes for a moment and then something came to him "Lisbon."

"I'm here. You're going to be alright."

Suddenly a flood of memory hit him like a tidal wave and everything became clearer in his mind. He found the strength slowly come back to him as he tried to lift himself up into a sitting position. "Wh...what happened?" He asked.

"The doctor said there was no physical trauma but you have a slight fever, he said you must have fainted." She explained.

"Blood." He said, "I remember blood...all over me?" He looked at her questioningly.

Lisbon paused before saying. "Do you remember anyone else in the room with you?"

Jane thought for a moment. "Yes, a boy, maybe fifteen years old. I wanted to ask him about the murder but….I can't remember what happened after that."

"It looks as if he took his own life, at least tried to. The blood we found on you was arterial spatter; he had cut himself. He would have died of exsanguination if he hadn't fallen down the stairs and broken his neck."

"He's dead?" he asked.

"Yes." She confirmed.

"Why did he try to kill himself?" He asked.

"We don't know yet. The girl who lives next door; Alex Waltham has identified him as Leighton Cruz. He was a friend of the victim. We think he might have had something to do with the murder, maybe he felt guilty and that's why he did it. We're trying to get in contact with his parents now. But you don't need to worry about that right now. The doctor has cleared you to leave so I'm going to take you home."

xxxxxxx

After getting dressed Jane followed Lisbon to the hospital parking lot and they both got into her car. She started the engine and began to drive towards the motel that Jane was staying at but part way through the journey Jane began to feel faint once more. When they stopped at a red light Lisbon could see that he was turning pale. She looked out of the window at the darkened sky - it was getting late and the motel was still another half hour's drive away. As the lights turned green she made a decision and took the next right and drove toward her own apartment. When they arrived there five minutes later Lisbon helped Jane out of the car. Her arm around his waist for support, she helped him inside and sat him down onto the couch. She put her hand on his forehead, he was still warm. "Stay here." She told him and then went into the kitchen. When she came back she handed him a towel which was wet with cold water. "Here, put this on your head and lie down for a bit okay?" Her voice was soft and gentle and Jane found himself begin to relax at her touch. She helped him out of his shoes and he lay down on the couch. He fell asleep almost instantly.

It was about two hours later when he woken up again. Lisbon was sitting in an armchair next to him, watching him as he sat up. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Headache," he said.

"I left some Tylenol for you over there." She told him, pointing to the coffee table. "Take some. I'll go make you some tea." She smiled as he nodded and then walked off towards the kitchen. She was just about to boil some water when she heard a crash come from the living room. She put the electric kettle down and rushed into the living room. "Jane are you okay?"

Her consultant looked up at her, a sheepish looked on his face. "I went to reach for the glass but my hands were shaking a little, it slipped and broke. I'm sorry Lisbon."

Relief washed over her. "It's okay Jane, it's okay. Accidents happen." She went over to the broken shards on the floor and began to carefully pick up all the bigger pieces.

"Here let me help." He said.

She was about to pick up a shard lying next to Jane's arm on the coffee table, when he moved and the piece he was holding cut her finger, causing it to bleed a little. "Ow!" she said and dropped the piece she was holding.

"Oh my God Lisbon, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," She said and then stood up to get a band aid. Jane stood too and reached out for her hand. "Let me see." He said quietly.

Lisbon watched as he took her hand, examining it. He gently ran his index finger along hers and then tenderly rubbed her palm with his thumb. "Doesn't look like a deep cut." He said and just as she was about pull her hand away his grip tightened a little as he moved her finger toward his mouth.

Lisbon was stunned as his lips parted and he put her finger into his mouth, his eyes fixed on hers. She watched as his pupils dilated with desire and her heart rate quickened when she felt him gently suck the digit. It took a few seconds before she found her voice. "Jane." She said and she pulled her hand back. She looked at him for a moment before walking swiftly away. She walked into the kitchen and applied a band aid to her finger. Then she picked up the dustpan and brush to sweep the rest of the pieces up. She took a deep breath and then walked back into the living room but almost dropped what she was holding. She watched as Jane dipped his finger in the droplets of blood on the coffee table and put it into his mouth. "Jane," she asked. "What the hell are you doing?"