Forgot to mention this takes place in the present so spoilers from all aired eps (up to and including 4x10) apply.

and...

Disclaimer: I don't own any of TM characters (I just enjoy torturing them). I may have issues ;o)


Chapter 2

Melody plopped herself down on the leather chair that sat opposite her mother's large oak desk. The woman sitting behind the desk put down the file she was reading and smiled.

"Really honey, you shouldn't be this wiped out until at least your second or third case." Mrs. Cartwell said.

"You have no idea." Melody rested her elbow on the desk and let her head fall into it, agitating her blonde scalp with her fingertips.

"This is supposed to be a simple case." Her mother insisted.

"Oh, the case is fine; open and shut, just like you said. The prosecution is releasing the evidence tomorrow but I can already assure you, this guy is toast." Melody pinched the bridge of her nose. It was an expression her mother knew well as a sign of stress.

"So what's the problem then dear?"

Melody placed both hands down on the wooden surface and leaned in closed to her mother. "In the fourteen years you have worked in the DA's office, how many times have you heard of an accused murderer pleading guilty?"

Mrs. Cartwell tilted her head in thought. "Well, it's not exactly common but I have heard of clients agreeing to a guilty plea in exchange for something, a life sentence instead of the needle, typically. Sometimes accommodation negotiations are involved as well."

"That's just the thing." Melody explained. "My client doesn't want to negotiate in terms of a reduced sentence."

"What does he want then?" Melody's mother asked curiously.

**Flashback**

"Mr. Jane, you do understand that the state is going to use everything it possibly can against you? This includes more than the single murder charge. They're also looking at other incidents, specifically a ten-year old murder case, if you understand what I'm saying."

Melody watched Jane's fists clench in response and she knew he understood.

"I don't think they have any evidence to make those particular charges stick, but in your case it won't make a bit of difference. What they have on you for this recent murder is more than enough for them to seek the death penalty."

Jane swallowed. "I'm very much aware of that Melody. May I call you Melody?"

"I'm your lawyer. You can call me whatever you want."

He nodded and then mumbled something Melody couldn't quite understand.

"What was that?" She asked.

"I said, it's the very least I deserve." He paused and when Melody looked up from her notes, she was a bit surprised to find her client struggling to contain his emotions. "I uh, I don't remember much but I remember enough."

Melody nodded. "Like what?"

His gaze was turned away from her, not unlike when she first walked into the room. He was trying to hide his rising emotions from her. Melody had to wonder if this was all an act but she had a feeling it was genuine. There was no real reason for him to fake it around her. She was his lawyer after all.

He finally answered her question. "Flashes. Lisbon, tied, no chained to her bed. Me, taking advantage of her, doing things that I always swore I would protect her from."

Jane bowed his head in shame. Melody watched as her client lost the battle to contain his emotions. Silent tears streamed down the man's face and his lower lip trembled slightly.

He kept his face out of view as he continued, grief and guilt evident in his voice. "She was my best friend. My only friend, really. She knew me better than I knew myself sometimes. I tried to tell her, tried to make her understand that being around me was dangerous. I just never realized that I…" At that, Jane lost ability to communicate. The slight tremble became the heaving sobs of a man with far too much regret in his life.

Melody sat in silence as the man cried. She took the opportunity to take a good look at her client's physical appearance. He was clearly gaunt and paler than a man who had only been in the system for a couple of weeks. His blonde hair was in dire need of a trim or at the very least, a little styling to tame the disorder.

She also took note of the gold band on her client's left ring finger. Melody had watched him twirl it around his finger absent-mindedly before his breakdown. The wedding band was the single piece of jewelry allowed to the inmates. Every other possession was removed and confiscated upon arrival. Melody knew her client was a widower so she assumed he kept the ring for sentimental purposes and secretly wondered if the tragedy with his family had ultimately led to his current state. Had the hunt for a murderer turned him into one? If the state and DA were correct in their assumptions, the man before her had been the culprit all along.

Melody's thoughts were halted abruptly as Jane finally managed to compose himself enough to speak.

"Please." He whispered pleadingly for a second time. "I need to do this, for her. Tell the DA I will plead guilty to the murder of Agent Teresa Lisbon under two conditions."

**End Flashback**

"He wants his family and their memory left out of this case."

Melody's mother nodded. "That shouldn't be a too difficult to negotiate seeing as there's practically no evidence that the murders were linked in any way. They're grasping at straws as far as I'm concerned. What else?"

Melody sighed. This is what was bothering her. "My client's second request is that we speed up the process. Hearings, trials, appeals, they can take years. He wants this to be over as soon as possible."


A/N This one was a bit shorter but I felt this next part needed to be split up. Seemed like a good place to stop. Have I scared anyone away yet? No? You just wait (I may be scaring myself away...lol) :D