A/N: As Army's nearly finished, I thought I'd start posting this little thing.

This is the last of my fics written in the Summer Secret Santa, for boutondor. Kindly beta'd by Yana. Thank you so much!

x tromana

Title: Déjà Vu
Author: tromana
Rating: T
Characters: Jane/Lisbon
Summary: It was meant to be over. Trust Jane to send them spiraling back to square one again.
Disclaimer: Not mine
Notes: Written for boutondor in the Jello Forever Summer Secret Santa. Beta'd by yaba.

Déjà Vu

Prologue

As Judge 'Dredd' Hildred's final words reverberated through the court room, Lisbon's head automatically sank into her hands. Not only out of embarrassment, but also out of sheer frustration. Of all the cases she had worked on, this was the one that she wanted, no, needed to work out right. Naturally, it hadn't and Lisbon cursed herself slightly. She should have expected this. Before she had even entered the room, hell, the whole court house, she should have known that Red John's trial was never going to proceed and conclude normally. She tilted her head up and smiled weakly at Cho. He nodded and allowed his hand to remain rested on the small of her back. It was a small comfort, one they both needed.

Simon 'Red John' Morton was free to roam the streets once more.

His initial capture had nearly cost the entirety of the Serious Crimes Unit their lives one way or another. Rigsby and Van Pelt had been caught in a fire, chasing down a false lead. Cho had narrowly escaped a fatal injury during a shoot out. His left leg would never regain its full mobility, but he was relieved to have survived, if only because there was nobody else to look after his old mother. Lisbon had found herself at the mercy of Red John's blade and had the scars to prove it.

And as for Jane, well, Lisbon swore it had cost him his sanity. Not that he would believe that of course.

When they apprehended Red John, it was Lisbon who had somehow managed to overpower him and that was despite the fact she'd had a knife held against the vulnerable skin of her neck just seconds beforehand. She had been the one 'lucky' enough to slap the metal handcuffs tightly around his wrists. When she picked up the knife that had nearly killed her barely a month beforehand, she was shaking with blessed relief. That was not something she wanted to relive again, despite the fact she had marks on her abdomen to remind her each and every day. She was lucky. They all were.

Jane hadn't quite seen it that way, however. The moment he knew for certain that Morton was in jail, awaiting trial, his resignation papers hit Lisbon's desk. She had asked him for a reason why he was quitting, but being Jane, he naturally refused to give her a straight answer. She'd tried not to miss him since then, really, she had; unfortunately that hadn't been going all that well. And now, she was going to have to try and contact him and explain that the notorious criminal had been acquitted. Why? Because Jane himself had crossed way too many lines and compromised every shred of evidence they had on Red John.

He appeared to have used every trick in the book from searching without a warrant to hypnotism to death threats. As the list had grown, Lisbon just wanted to disappear into the ground. Jane's recklessness made her look incompetent and she was simply grateful that Hightower could still see her usefulness now that he had left the bureau.

At least Jane not turning up for the trial, apart from when he had stood on the witness stand, was something of a relief. It was probably because Jane didn't want to see the man who killed his family again, even if his ego and confidence levels were like a bottomless pit. Or perhaps he knew just how much he'd compromised the case and couldn't bear to see Red John released once more on his account. Whatever the reason, it meant that she could tell him carefully and give him only the information he needed. Though, she also knew it would reignite his quest for vengeance. That Patrick Jane was likely to attempt to murder Morton this time around.

Lisbon had had to face Morton in court though; she needed the answers. The acquitted criminal paused in front of them and peered down at her and Cho. It occurred to Lisbon instantly that they were both victims who slipped through his fingers. She especially had a price to pay - she was the one who put him behind bars in the first place.

"We will meet again, Ms. Lisbon, Mr. Cho."

As he walked away with his lawyer, Lisbon and Cho shared a glance that spoke volumes. Somehow, they had to catch him again. And this time, they had to make sure it stuck.

TBC…