So, I decided to type this idea out. You will not believe how many good ideas come from watching late night TV before turning in for the night. I mean, yeah. You wouldn't. So, I typed this, and then I started to type the second chapter. I really am enjoying my darkening muse. Hehe. This will unfold itself as we go, and will make more sense after a while.

Timeline: I think this is set in about two years. That is when I see Jane getting his revenge on Red John. I'm not sure why, but that is when.

Special thanks to OutCold and JollyRancher543321 for the early encouragement. :)

Disclaimer: I probably won't ever, ever, ever, ever own something as great as CBS. I mean, I adore that network. Well, besides what they did to CSI. Grr, still angry over that. Anywho.

Everything was in slow motion. Every step they took seemed to take a million years. As they ran, a shot rang out. Rigsby held his arm out, and they all stopped. It was hard to tell where it came from, until another one rang out. Cho turned, running down the pathway in between the two abandoned houses. He knew where they were now. As he turned the corner, he could hear heavy breathing. And someone mumbling. The world seemed to stop as he heard a broken sob, a woman's sob, and then cursing. Holding his gun against his chest, he kicked the door open.

No one.

Walking down the hall, he searched for his boss. He wanted to yell out, but something in the broken sobs echoing through the house stopped him. She wouldn't hear him even if he tried. He motioned for Van Pelt to follow, and Rigsby checked off rooms as they walked. Finally, after searching the whole downstairs, Cho looked puzzled. He was sure they weren't upstairs. On a whim, he kicked the rug off the floor and there it sat. A trap door.

Throwing it open, Rigsby went first. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, causing Van Pelt to bump into his broad shoulders. Cho pushed them, but then he stopped at the sight as well. He heard the local police up stairs; yelling clear and bring paramedics. It got quiet as the three agents stared at the dead serial killer himself, a bullet hole right between his eyes. He looked as if he had had smile on his face as he died, and Cho hoped it wasn't for the obvious reason. They walked around the concrete wall, and instantly Van Pelt hid her face behind Rigsby's back. The male agents just stood there, neither moving nor trying to move. A local LEO made a huge ruckus coming down the stairs, walking up behind the three CBI agents. He didn't bother asking what Van Pelt's problem was as he walked around Rigsby.

"What's wrong?" The man asked, and then he saw the scene. Grabbing his walkie-talkie, he radioed for a bus. And fast. Finally, Cho moved, though it was slow. Time had stopped, he was sure of it. Because, only when time stopped could the scene in front of him be real. As he reached his boss and the curly haired consultant, he put his hand on her shoulder. She was shaking, her body wracking with sobs that obviously hurt. She shoved his arm away, telling him no. He knew why she was saying no, and it made the scene hurt his heart.

"Lisbon, you need to get up. You arm is hurt." He said, and she sobbed even more. He tried to pull her away, but she yelled out.

"Leave me alone!" She yelled, and Cho shook his head. He grabbed her waist and pulled her away from Jane, and she screamed at him to let her go. Paramedics hoisted Jane up onto a stretcher, and he was moved out of the basement. Lisbon kept kicking and screaming as Cho held onto her small form. She held out her arms towards the stretcher being moved up the stairs. Tears formed in his eyes at the obvious distress of his respected boss, but he pushed them back as she struggled against his arms.

"No, no, no, no!" She gasped, tears falling from her closed eyes. Two more paramedics walked down, and the one instantly reached into his bag. Lisbon kicked at him as he sedated her, and it took a couple minutes before she lay limp in Cho's arms. The paramedics hoisted her up onto another stretcher, and soon they were out of the team's sight. More LEO's ran around upstairs, but in the basement, no one moved. Cho finally came to his senses, and he ran up the stairs catching the paramedics as they hoisted Lisbon into the back of the ambulance.

"Where are you taking her?" He asked, and the paramedic looked at him.

"Santa Rosa Memorial." He said, and the ambulance doors shut.

--

As Cho turned into the half empty parking lot, Van Pelt finally opened her eyes. Small tears were trickling down her face, the sight of her dear friends still burned in the back of her eyelids. Rigsby had his arm around her shoulders, keeping her close to his side. As Cho parked, Rigsby opened the door and practically pulled Van Pelt out of the car. Her legs didn't want to work, but she forced her feet to move forward. She let Rigsby wrap his arm around her waist, as she was too unsteady to walk alone.

They entered the building, and the crisp air blew on their back as they walked past the air conditioner. The receptionist looked up at them as they entered, a confused look on her face. Cho then remembered that his white button up shirt had blood on it. He smiled half-heartedly at her, and she grimaced.

"Teresa Lisbon was admitted." He said in his monotone. The woman looked at the paper, going over the patients.

"Yes, she was moved from emergency to the West Wing. Right now, she is under observation, but you are all welcome to go up there. Third Floor, room W263." She said, glaring at the angry red stain on the Asian mans shirt. He nodded his thanks before motioning for Rigsby to follow him. The receptionist watched as the big man gently led the smaller red head away from the desk. She wanted to ask them if she was okay, but decided against it.

As they waited for the elevator, Rigsby rubbed Van Pelts back reassuringly. People walking past them stared at the three, some scowling and others throwing apologetic glances. Rigsby didn't get why people were scowling at them; what did they do wrong? As the elevator dinged, they filed in and stood in silence. Van Pelt hit the second floor button, finally moving on her own. She moved her hand up and down Rigsbys' back, reaching over and gently squeezing Cho's hand with two fingers.

Walking out of the elevator, they all stopped at the sign above the opening to the hall they had to enter. Van Pelts tears returned, and she turned her body into Rigsby. He looked at Cho, and the men shared a look.

Mental Health Unit didn't sound very comforting.

Cho found room W236 quickly, and to his surprise, a nurse was outside the door. She smiled at them as they walked over, her eyes going over Cho's shirt. He shrugged.

"Are you friends of Miss Lisbon?" She asked, and they nodded mutely. She smiled in an overly sweet manner back at them, turning over the paper on her clipboard.

"Why is she here?" Cho asked, and the nurse looked behind her through the window into Lisbon's room.

"As she had to be sedated at the scene, they decided to bring her to Mental Health. One of the paramedics said she should be watched over, for safety. She's already tried to get up and walk out once."

"She doesn't like hospitals." Rigsby said, and the nurse nodded.

"So we thought. Do you know if she has any health problems or issues we should know of? We didn't get that good of a history." Reading her nametag, Cho saw the woman's name was Violet.

"Nothing, as far as we know." Rigsby said, rubbing Van Pelts back as she shook. Violet nodded at him, and a doctor walked up to the group.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Benick. I am in charge of Miss Lisbon. I need to ask, but do you know of her boyfriend or significant other?"

The three agents stared at the doctor, and Van Pelt stopped shaking. She turned so she was completely out of facing the doctor, a hard look on her face. Cho almost stepped back at the look.

"No, why do you ask?" She snapped, and the doctor took a small step back. He looked down at his chart, and then he handed it to the red head. Rigsby and Cho looked over her shoulders, reading what she was reading.

"Wait." Cho said, picking the chart out of Van Pelts hands. He stared at the results in front of him.

"We were going to give her an x-ray, until she said no. So, we checked." Violet said, tilting her head at the agent's reactions.

"She's-wait. That is… how the heck?" Rigsby said, looking at his boss through the window. Van Pelt shook her head, not believing it.

"She can't be pregnant." She defended, and the doctor shook his head.

"I assure you, she is." Dr. Benick said, taking his chart back. The group looked at Lisbon, watching as she stared at her right arm. It was wrapped up in a bandage, and propped up on a pillow next to her. Cho made to move into the room, and the doctor let him.

He moved over to the bed, noticing the distant look Lisbon had in her eyes. She looked lost, hurt, and depressed. Nothing in the way she looked showed her usual self, and Cho guessed it wouldn't for a while. He sat down in the chair, gently taking her uninjured left hand. She turned to look at him, and then she looked back at her right hand.

"He's dead." She whispered, and Cho nodded. He forgot to ask where Jane was.

"I know." He said, and she sniffed.

"Did the doctor tell you?" She asked, and Cho nodded.

"He just did. Van Pelt doesn't believe him, and I think Rigsby is a little confused. But, what is new?" He said, and a small, heartless laugh escaped her lips. Through the window, Van Pelt and Rigsby watched as their boss and coworker talked. Van Pelt felt more tears leaving her eyes, and Rigsby wrapped his arms around her.

"This isn't good." Van Pelt whispered, and Rigsby nodded.

"I know, but it's alright." He whispered.

Cho could hear the sniffling of Van Pelt, and he decided to ask.

"You know, we don't know how." He said, and she looked at him. Her usually composed face left little to wonder about as every emotion possible passed across her face. She bit her bottom lip, closing her eyes and letting out a long breath through her nose. As she turned away again, she whispered the words again.

"He's dead."

Cho nodded, understanding. She wasn't going to come out and say it, but in her own way he told her. As he squeezed his bosses hand, he stood up and moved out of the room. When he walked out, he shut the door and looked through the glass. He put his hand on Van Pelts shoulder, his heart sinking to the ground. He then saw his boss start to shake violently, and the doctor rushed in to see what was wrong. He didn't hear the yells as nurses ran past him, hurrying to sedate the now panicking Lisbon. Van Pelt went to move away from the window, and Rigsby turned so he was blocking her view. She hid her face in his broad chest, soft cries emitting from her. Cho took one last look at his boss before turning around and putting his back to the scene. He turned to look at Rigsby, and they both seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Where is Jane?"

Both men looked at Van Pelt's shaking form, and Cho shook his head.

"He's dead. He is probably down in the morgue." He said, and Van Pelt started to shake uncontrollably. Rigsby whispered softly in her ear, rubbing her back. Cho decided to leave them alone, and he walked over to the nurses' station.

"Hi, excuse me. I was wondering if you could tell me where they might have brought the other body that came with Miss Lisbon?" Cho asked, and the nurse looked at her computer.

"Name?" She asked, and Cho rallied off the name. She shook her head at the screen, and then looked apologetically at him.

"I'm sorry, but there is no record of a Patrick Jane, decease or alive." She said, getting up and walking away. Cho stared at where she had been for a second, before turning to look at Rigsby and Van Pelt. It took all of his will power to walk back over and tell them the unnerving news.

And as he said what the nurse told him, Van Pelt truly lost her fight with her sobs and Rigsby escorted her to the bathroom. As Cho looked at his boss, now sleeping off the sedative, he wracked his brain for an answer.

Sadly, none came, and he decided to figure it out.

I'd love to know what you thought of this first installment to this story. The title is taken from a song by Journey, called Ask The Lonely. It's lyrics are pretty good to this story. If you can, listen to that song. It's really great. Anyway, the next chapter will be up soon. This was mainly set up, so you get what is going on and that kind of stuff. :) Reviews would make me very happy, since my muse has sucked all of the happiness out of me.

Izzy.