Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: I'm ALIVE! So sorry for the long long loooooong wait for anything from me. I had a MASSIVE exam to finish off my first year (I hope I passed!) and when I finished I was so drained that I couldn't find any muse to write anything. I honestly thought I wasn't going to be able to write again. But then suddenly this idea came to me and I just had to start it, I was so happy to be able to write again. I know I'm starting a new fic when I shouldn't but I just can't help myself, I'm so excited to be BACK!

I know this chapter is short but it's more of a preview to set things up, next chapter will be longer as the story continues with how Lisbon gets convicted of a crime. Wait until she goes to a real prison...

Someone Else's Sin

Part 1: No One Else to Blame

Chapter 1: The Other Side

Jane was happy to see Cho again, even if he wasn't all that surprised that Cho would find himself working for the FBI. He had a feeling Abbott had recruited Cho himself strictly with the purpose of bringing Jane back into the fold, and of course he respected the man's work ethic and no-nonsense attitude.

But Jane was really eager to see Lisbon. It wasn't a lie for him to say that she was the one he looked forward to seeing and had missed the most. He was honest when he told her that it was the one regret he had about his new life was not being able to see her every day, well that was all about to change.

He opened the door to the conference room, delighted to see the back of her brunette head as she waited for him, no doubt not at all sure what was going on. "Hey," he said cheerfully, knowing she would be surprised to find him there… but glad.

She didn't turn her head; instead she stood up slowly, if awkwardly, from the table before finally turning around to see him.

And he finally saw what she'd been hiding.

Lisbon had handcuffs around her wrists that went along with her dark blue prison issue jumpsuit, there was a badge clipped at her breast that had her name, photo and the prison ID number, 190662.

Here green eyes were filed with a hard edge and coldness he'd never seen there before, and all he could do was gape at her.

"Why do you look so surprised, Jane?" Lisbon asked, a mocking note in her voice, "You've seen prison clothes before."

Two Years Earlier…

Three days.

It had been three days since Jane had killed Red John, since the CBI had been disbanded, since Jane had disappeared leaving nothing more than a short voicemail and a mess behind.

Lisbon, it's over. It's done. Just want you to know I'm okay. I'm going to miss you.

She wished she'd been able to answer his call, wished that she could have had the chance to tell him goodbye, to beg him to stay, to beg him for so many answers…maybe even tell him a few secrets of her own. But wishes weren't being granted, not when so many other problems were happening.

For the past three days she had been lost, adrift, being tossed around like a piece of drift wood in a hurricane. She felt like she was standing down after a bomb had gone off, looking at the wreckage and wondering what to do next. Should she stay and pick up the pieces or just disappear all together to try and find a way to start over? Was that even possible now when so much happened?

The remaining members of her team had gathered at her home to talk and lick their wounds after all of the chaos. Lisbon had always thought that when they finally caught Red John there would be a moment of celebration, a sigh of relief, a time where all of them could sit back and smile and feel better that they had finally captured the monster that had tormented their lives. But that hadn't happened, instead everything had fallen apart.

Lisbon did what she could to keep them calm, to assure them that things would be all right even when she wasn't sure if she believed her own lies. She brought back mugs of coffee from the kitchen to set them down in her living room. Rigsby and Grace were sitting together on the couch, both of them looking like little lost lambs while Cho sat in a chair silent and still but calmer than she felt.

"Have you heard anything from the FBI about the future of the CBI?" Rigsby asked her.

Lisbon shook her head. "I'm the last person the FBI wants to talk to."

"But they are going to need a state police."

"Eventually," Lisbon agreed, "But for now I think the FBI are planning to let local police and leave some of their own men on the ground. Right now they are more concerned with hunting down everyone that was a part of the Blake Association."

"What about the long term?"

She shrugged. "Right now there isn't any future beyond fixing the mess Red John…and Jane, created."

Cho sighed and leaned back in his chair. "So what now?"

"I honestly don't know," she admitted, "I don't think we can hope for the CBI to come back…or for us to get rehired if it does. We need to look at our other options, we all have good records. We'll wind up on our feet." She smiled now, turning to Rigsby and Van Pelt. "Maybe you two should think about finally taking a real honeymoon. You have the time, take a vacation now that it's over, really over."

They smiled a little bit at that idea but it was hard to have any kind of enthusiasm when a big question mark was hanging over their future. There were a lot of questions they all had, but it was Van Pelt who finally asked about another elephant that was in the room.

"What about Jane?"

She felt like crying at his name for a lot of reasons. But she wasn't about to share her secrets with them right now. "He's all right. The FBI hasn't found him, we'd know about that. By now he's probably out of the country and finding some safe place to be." Now another small smile played on her lips. "And it's over…he can finally be free."

But she wasn't free, not from the tangled web Patrick Jane had woven around her. It had only gotten worse after that one secret night and it was unbearably painful now that he was gone.

Lisbon cleared her throat. "It's going to be fine, we are all going to get through this because even if we aren't teammates anymore…we are still friends."

Van Pelt did smile then. "Right, we're family."

The word family was exactly what they needed to hear and Lisbon was certain that this was the turning point and things would get better. They had to.

There was a hard knock at the door and Lisbon hurried over to answer it, not even taking the time to wonder whom it would be. But she sure was startled to see SACPD officers on the other side. "Teresa Lisbon?" They asked, cold and calmly.

"Yes?" Lisbon replied, "what's going on?"

"You're under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, please turn around and put your hands behind your back."

She stood there staring at the officers, not breathing, not blinking, she wasn't even sure if her heart was even beating.

"Ma'am, ma'am."

Lisbon shook her head, hearing his voice over the loud sound of blood rushing in her hears. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Turn around and put your hands behind your back," he told her sternly, "That is an order."

She numbly turned around, complying with his demands. He grabbed her hands roughly and cuffed her, the loud click of metal like a anvil dropping in the room. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening.

The other members of her team were gaping at the events taking place, eyes wide in complete shock. Her mothering instinct kicked in, she ignored the droning tone of the officer as he gave her the Miranda rights she'd long since memorized. "It's going to be okay." She told them, "Call my brothers, let them know what happened." The officer began to pull her out of the door but she said it once more. "It's going to be fine."

That was the worst lie she'd ever told."

It was humiliating being led to the squad car and placed in the back just like the criminals she used to catch. They drove her to the county jail, a place she'd been numerous times as an officer herself. As she watched them drive through the gates she still kept thinking, How is this happening? How is this happening?

She was a cop, not a criminal. So why was she being arrested?

Lisbon was led to booking where she stood in line with two obvious prostitutes and one tough looking black man who was probably high on some kind of narcotic. Finally she was brought to the booking officer where they asked her mundane questions such as her name, social security number, birth date and the all important, reason for arrest. She kept wanting to ask why, why was she being arrested but she held her tongue. She knew enough about officers to recognize that asking questions about her arrest wouldn't help her.

Then they took her aside and had her relinquish her shoes, socks, wallet and all jewelry. It was hard letting go of her mother's cross but she wasn't given a choice. After that she was patted down again before being given a pair of cheap flip-flops and lead to the line for mugshots.

She'd seen plenty of mugshots in her day but she never thought she'd have to take one herself. She honestly wasn't sure what pose to take but smiling just seemed wrong and she couldn't make her lips move that way if she tried. Instead she just sort of stood there with the same bewildered look she'd been wearing for the past couple of hours.

After the mugshots she was led to have herself fingerprinted. One by one each of her fingers was rolled on ink then applied to the paper to go along with her criminal record.

Criminal record. She was going to have a criminal record.

After fringerprinting she was led away from the rest of the group of arrestees and taken to another room entirely. She didn't have long to wonder about the change in procedure because FBI Agent Abbott was in the room waiting for her.

"Ah, Agent Lisbon, nice to see you again," Abbott said. She wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not. "Have a seat."

She sat down heavily in the chair and put her handcuffed hands onto the table. "I should have known that you were behind this."

Abbott shook his head. "I had nothing to do with this."

"Bullshit," Lisbon replied, she never would have said that before but she was wearing handcuffs now, what did she have to lose?

But Abbott looked at her. "I assure you, I was not behind you arresst. Apparently the Governor is under a lot of heat from the Blake Association and is coming down hard on any sign of law breaking among the CBI and any other law enforcement officers in the state."

"And that includes me? I helped expose them!"

"Yes and you also handed your gun and car over to Patrick Jane in front of several FBI agents," Abbott reminded her, "which you knew he would use to kill Thomas McAllister."

"You mean Red John."

Abbott looked up at that name. "That is one of his aliases and whatever his crimes were that does not negate the fact that he was murdered by your friend Patrick Jane."

Lisbon nodded. "And I'm arrested because I supposedly helped him," she leaned back in her chair. "Do you think the jury is going to be concerned with me giving my friend a gun or the fact that the 'victim' was a serial killer?"

"From what I understand, this is not about what you did but rather why you did it."

"Why?" Lisbon repeated, "Why did I help Jane hunt down a serial killer? Do you really want that question asked in front of a jury?"

"Yes, why did you help him? Why did you disobey several laws of the state and put your job at risk multiple times?" Abbott asked her. "From what I have heard, it wasn't any benevolence on your part but something more intimate." She froze at the word intimate but refused to react. "There has been much talk about your relationship with him, many seem to believe that there was something more going on then just coworkers. And considering that two of your teammates carried out a secret relationship—."

"That's not against the rules anymore," Lisbon interrupted.

"— it is not such a big leap to believe that perhaps your relationship with Patrick Jane was decidedly more intimate than what you would have everyone believe," Abbott continued, "And that calls into question every decision you made regarding him."

She gaped at him. "You're saying that I did everything…because I was in love with him?"

Abbott turned the file closed on the table. "That is the idea."

Lisbon thought about it for a long time. "That's going to be tough to prove."

"Very true," Abbott agreed, "But with all the bridges you've burned over the years working with Patrick Jane, don't expect much sympathy with the judges or the district attorneys."

"It's not them I need to be concerned about," Lisbon reminded him, "the jury makes the decision."

Abbott nodded. "And you can take your chances with them…or you could work with me and this can all end right now."

"I thought you said you weren't behind this."

"I'm not," Abbott said. "In fact, I told the district attorney that this was punishing you for someone else's crime…but it wasn't my call. What I do have is the ability to have the FBI push to have this case dismissed, provided you cooperate."

"With what?"

Abbott leaned forward. "Tell me where Patrick Jane is."

She stared at him for a minute. Then she let out a small laugh. "That's it? I tell you where Jane is and you'll let me go?"

"And it all goes away."

She shook her head. "Well then it really sucks for both of us."

"Excuse me?"

Lisbon leaned forward. "I don't know where Jane is."

Abbott narrowed his eyes. "He called you right after he killed someone, you expect me believe he wouldn't contact you to let you know where he is?"

"Jane isn't an idiot…most of the time. He knows that if he tried to contact me you would be able to track him and bring him back."

"Not even to see if you would come?"

"I don't know where he is," Lisbon repeated.

Abbott sighed and pushed his chair back to stand up. "Then I'm afraid I can't help you."

She remained seated while he left her alone and after he was out of the door the officers returned to escort her out. She was taken to the clinic where the humiliation really began.

"Strip it off." The female officer with the name Jones on her uniform ordered.

Lisbon couldn't believe it for a moment but quickly did as she was told. She took off her shirt and pants. She hesitated a little but a stern look told her to move faster, so she unhooked her bra and stepped out of her panties.

Now she had to stand there completely naked while the officer looked her over. She raised her arms when told and ran her fingers through her hair for the same reason. "Now turn around and squat, then spread your buttocks and cough."

Lisbon knew that this was necessary to check for any foreign objects in body cavities, but that didn't make it any less embarrassing. But once she complete the most humiliating task of her life she was allowed to stand up again and was given a set of prison clothes and shoes.

But she wasn't allowed to put them on. First she was taken to a very grungy shower and told to wash her hair with lice soap, even when she informed them that she didn't have lice. Only after the unnecessary shower with cold water was she allowed to get dressed.

The underwear and bra were dingy white and very unflattering but serviceable, the bright orange pants and scrub top were baggy but they fit, she hated putting them on though because it was another reminder of how she had been a cop this morning but wasn't anymore.

"No more lolly gagging," the officer said. "Come on."

Lisbon was taken out of the room and led down a row of cells, actual prison cells. Several inmates hurried to the bars to take a peek with one or two making some comments about her looks, with one being particularly vulgar. But she ignored it, she'd heard worse from other criminals she'd arrested.

"In here," he told her and unlocked one cell where she was pushed in.

Lisbon heard the cell door slam shut with a loud metallic clang, she jumped at the sound and it reverberated in her ears long afterwards. She found herself staring at two other prisoners. One was a woman who was probably in her thirties but looked older with her prematurely aged skin, drugs for sure. Her hair was bleached blonde with dark roots and she gave her a quick glance. "What you in for honey?"

Lisbon didn't say anything, just turned around to look at the bars on the cell. She wrapped her hands around the cold metal and rested her forehead against them while she stared at the floor that designated freedom. She'd been in so many jails so many times.

She just never thought she'd see them from the other side.

A/N: Well I hope you guys enjoy the set up! Part 1 will be about Lisbon's life in prison, Part 2 will be when Jane comes back. But don't fret, Jisbon will happen...that's what flashbacks were invent for ;)