closed starter for @compendiumofconstellations who: van pelt and lisbon when: after the red john revelation
It was one thing for Teresa to follow Patrick Jane into his quest for vengeance. As the Special Agent in Charge, she had a duty to her team, to Red John's victims, and to the justice system to pursue the serial killer and try to prevent his continued cruelty. And maybe it was foolish of her to believe there would come a point in all of this where she'd have him properly apprehended and tried by a jury of his peers -- but through years of dogged investigation, it was clear to her that Red John had no real peers. For better or worse. Perhaps Jane counted himself among that number, but... Lisbon didn't like to think in those terms.
What horrified her at the revelation of Sheriff McAllister's wicked secret was just how close they'd been to him without ever knowing. And worse still, how close they'd allowed the team -- and namely, Grace -- to the man without truly knowing. Sure, the plan had been Jane's, but Jane was Lisbon's responsibility. And so were Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt, as much as everyone was a competent agent and adult (Jane... included, mostly).
Grace, to her credit, was always open to Jane's plans. He'd rarely given himself reason to appear untrustworthy. But Teresa knew that the retrospect of a brush with death was not something to brush off lightly. That's why she'd asked Grace for coffee, in this period of unmoored limbo, Jane completely in the wind, unreachable. And as much as the senior agent hated being too vulnerable around her subordinates, this was a rather unprecedented matter for all of them.
"Hey, Grace. How are you holding up? Small question for a big situation, I know, but... I wanted to check in."