A/N: Thanks to Phish Tacko for beta'ing this! Go read her stuff!

Ch. 51

While Sweeney was being poked and prodded to check for injury, halfway across the world, Ichabod was also in a hospital. The main difference was that he was cowering in the corner of the room, shaking.

No one had been able to figure out what was wrong with him. He wouldn't talk. Just kind of stared at the walls, and whimpered if anyone got too close.

The doctors had no idea what was wrong. The nurse had found him that way when she made her morning rounds. The man who'd raped him had slipped out that night, and had subsequently been caught by hospital security, but no one knew that he'd been in Ichabod's room.

Now, three of the doctors were in the room, trying to get him to talk, or at least move from the corner.

"Mr. Crane, can you please tell us what's bothering you?" One asked.

Ichabod quickly shook his head 'no', and curled up even further into himself.

The doctor sighed, frustrated. They'd been there for at least twenty minutes, which felt like hours for the doctors.

"Go get the psychologist," He finally said. "Maybe he can get through."

The other doctors nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Ichabod in his spot.

00

It didn't take the psychologist long to figure out a theory on what'd happened. All he'd had to do was flip back the blanket on Ichabod's bed, revealing a massive blood stain. It had confirmed his original thoughts. Ichabod was exhibiting what he considered to be classic signs of someone who had been assaulted.

Not wanting to threaten Ichabod any further, the doctor kneeled down to get on eye level with the man.

"Ichabod," He said softly. "I need to talk to you."

Ichabod looked at him, but said nothing.

"Are you in any pain?"

Ichabod shrugged.

"The reason I'm asking is because it looks like someone hurt you. Did someone come in and hurt you?"

No answer.

"Since you're pregnant, we have to examine you to make sure that the baby isn't hurt. Do you understand?"

"Yes. And no exam." Ichabod stared straight at the psychologist, as if daring him to challenge him.

"But the baby could be hurt."

"You don't even know what happened."

"I have a pretty good idea, and if I'm right, you need to be checked out. We can give you something to calm you, if you want." The doctor reached out to touch Ichabod's shoulder reassuringly, but Ichabod instantly jumped back to get away from him.

This was definitely going to be harder than he thought.

00

It was obvious to the psychologist that Ichabod was threatened by him. He was likely threatened by anyone that he didn't know well. Thus, to get his patient to talk, he figured he should get someone non-threatening.

At first, he thought about calling Ichabod's wife, but then he wondered if that might be a bit much for Ichabod to take right then, having to admit to his wife that he'd been raped. Maybe it would be better for him to have a friend there, instead.

One of the nurses mentioned the boy that'd been sitting with Ichabod when he'd come in. He'd signed in as Jonathan Masbath Jr., and had left his cell phone number.

Even though it was early in the morning, the boy promised to come down to the hospital as soon as possible when he'd heard what had happened.

So, there he was, twenty minutes later, wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. It looked like he'd just rolled out of bed and thrown some clothes on to get there as quickly as he could.

"Where is he?" Masbath asked.

"He's in his room. In the corner. I was hoping that if he saw you, he might come out. Talk a bit. I've heard that you're rather close to him."

"I take care of him during the day while his wife is at work. I suppose you could say that we are friends, yes."

"Good. Alright, ready to go in?"

Masbath nodded and followed the doctor down the hall to Ichabod's room. The doctor knocked a few times before entering.

"Ichabod, I have your friend here. Masbath. Do you remember him?"

Ichabod was still in the corner. He glanced up at the doctor and his friend and nodded.

"He's here to help you."

Ichabod cast his gaze back down at his hands.

"Sir, I just want to help you," Masbath started, taking a step closer to Ichabod. "I'm not going to harm you at all."

Ichabod didn't shy away from him. That was a good sign.

Masbath took another step closer to him.

"Do you want to talk?"

Ichabod shook his head when suddenly, he began to feel tears stinging his eyes. For some reason, he was crying. He couldn't control it.

Masbath frowned and got down on his hands and knees. He crawled over towards Ichabod, and sat next to him. He looked at the constable, and, seeing him start to cry harder, opened his arms. It surprised the doctor how quickly Ichabod launched himself into Masbath's arms, hugging him. He rested his head on Masbath's shoulder and continued to cry.

For his part, Masbath held Ichabod firmly, gently rubbing his hands up and down the older man's back as he cried.

After a few moments, Ichabod finally spoke.

"God, Masbath... it was so terrible. You have no idea."