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Chapter 13

That morning, Thomas had gone into Elena's room to kiss her goodbye because he was leaving for school. Elena had slept like a bear during hibernation, and she could barely move because her entire body hurt. She just managed to wrap an arm around her little brother and give him a kiss, wishing him a fun day at school. When Thomas had left, Elena grit her teeth and got out of bed. She put on a robe and warm, fluffy socks. She managed to get herself downstairs and glanced outside. Her father's car was gone, meaning he'd brought Thomas to school. Good. Elena went to the guest bedroom and knocked on the door. "Alex? Are you awake?"

Relieved that it was Elena's voice, Alex approached the bedroom door. "Yeah, I am. Did your brother leave for school already? I heard a car, but I wasn't sure." The window didn't look out on the driveway and Mr Booth had made it very clear that Alex wasn't allowed to leave the guest bedroom with Thomas still in the house.

"Tommy's off to school, looks like my dad's driving him. Are you hungry? We can have breakfast. I think I heard my mom in the kitchen."

Slowly, Alex opened the door. "Can we talk first?" He'd had a very bad night. He hadn't been able to take his pills and he felt extremely on edge.

"Sure," Elena said and went inside, closing the door behind her. They sat down on his bed, Elena moving like an old woman. She looked at her friend, waiting for him to start talking.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Alex asked Elena as he looked up at her anxiously. "I mean, your dad may believe that I'm not a murderer, but he knows I use and sell drugs. He's going to put me in jail, isn't he?"

Elena shook her head. "You're a victim in this case, and my dad believes that. He's going to help you get into rehab and you won't have to pay for it. I specifically forbade him to put you in jail. He looks tough but he's actually scared of me, so he won't want to make me mad at him," Elena smiled mischievously. She knew her dad inside and out; as a consequence, she could get him to do what she wanted, though she didn't take advantage of him often. Only in emergencies.

Disbelievingly, Alex looked at her. "Your dad is an FBI Agent. I'm pretty sure he has to do what the law says. Look," he scooted a bit closer to her, "No matter what happens, I just want to thank you." Clumsily, Alex wrapped his arms around her. "You were really kind to me and I will never forget that."

Elena hugged him back. Her muscles protested stiffly, but she needed to hug him back. This meant a lot, coming from him. "You don't have to thank me. I just want to help you. You don't deserve any of the things that happened to you. It's injustice, and it's kind of in my DNA to want to fix these things. Plus, I like you. You're interesting, and nice," she smiled at him.

"I like you, too. I hope to see you again, but just in case... I wanted to thank you." Alex was really scared and his anxieties were heightened by his withdrawal. "How about that breakfast?" he asked her in a lighter tone of voice, though still a bit shaky.

Elena wondered briefly why he thought they might not see each other again. The mention of breakfast was distracting, though. She was starving. "Yes, let's have breakfast," she agreed and manoeuvred off the bed. She went ahead of him to the kitchen, where indeed, her mother had been preparing a nice, luxurious breakfast.

"My poor darling," Brennan chuckled sympathetically as her daughter moved into the kitchen, looking as unelegant as she'd ever done. Brennan wrapped her arms around Elena and kissed her cheek. "Sit down, you'll be taking a hot bath, later." Then, Brennan turned to Alex, looking at him with the facts of his ordeal going through her mind. She reached out and briefly squeezed his shoulder. "Good morning, Alex. I hope you managed to get some sleep." This young man didn't need anyone pointing out his mistakes or being distrustful of him, he needed care. He was just a child, just like Brennan's own children.

"Yes, ma'am. It was very nice of you and your husband to let me spend the night." Alex sat down, bouncing his knee underneath the table as he looked at all of the food. There was bread and toast, eggs, bacon, cheese, jam, chocolate paste, cereal... anything he could think of. There was orange juice, coffee and even tea. He reached for the milk, though. It had been ages since he'd last had milk and it was his favourite.

Elena smiled at her mother as she saw the hungry look in Alex's eyes. "Thanks, Mom. This is better than a hotel breakfast."

Brennan sat down at the table with the kids and grabbed a bowl and some yogurt and fruits. "Eat as much as you like, both of you."

"Thank you." Alex looked up at Elena's mom and gave her a smile. He took two slices of bread and put a generous helping of butter and jam on it. He started eating. This was heavenly. Once his sandwich was finished, he reached for his glass of milk. His hands were trembling so badly that he lost grip on the glass as he put it up to his lips. With horror, he watched the glass slip through his hands, bounce off of his lap, spilling milk everywhere, before it shattered on the floor.

Elena's heart clenched as she watched the horrified look on Alex's face. "It's okay," she said immediately. "It's nothing, Alex. My brother does this all the time."

Brennan felt sorry for the boy. He was doing his best to act normal and polite, but he was physically still addicted and probably suffering a lot without his pills. "Alex," Brennan said as she stood and grabbed something to clean the milk with, "Elena's right, this happens all the time. You don't have to feel bad." Since Brennan was physically the most agile person in the room at that moment, she quickly removed the spilt milk. "There. It's gone."

"I'm so sorry, Ma'am. I really didn't mean to cause any trouble," Alex told her. When he heard the door open behind him, he looked up at them pleadingly. "Don't tell him."

Elena got off her chair and quickly squeezed Alex' hand. She met her dad in the hallway, so no one in the kitchen could hear what she said. "Dad, please, you have to help Alex. He's really not feeling well. Will you please, please, please be nice to him? Please, Dad, help him. For me," Elena begged her father.

Booth frowned when his daughter stopped him in the hallway. "What happened, princess?"

"He's terrified, Dad, please," Elena begged him again. "I don't have a good feeling about this. He needs help. His hands were shaking so badly he couldn't even hold his cup."

"I don't want to harm him, Elena. I believe that Alex had nothing to do with it." Booth gently pushed his daughter's hair behind her ears as he drew her against him. "I'll take into account that he's probably experiencing withdrawal signs. I'll talk to your mom, if she thinks it's too bad, we'll take him to a hospital, okay?"

"Okay," Elena nodded against his chest. "Thanks, Dad," she sighed in relief. "He's just so scared. I hate seeing that."

"Me too, darling. I don't want him to be this scared. Come on, let's go say hi." Booth walked into the kitchen with his arm around his daughter. "Morning, Bones. Morning, Alex."

Alex nodded politely. "Good morning, Sir." Elena's mom had insisted that he had another cup of milk and so he was holding it tightly with two hands, making sure he wouldn't drop it as well.

"Bones? Can we have a word, please?"

Brennan pointed out to the teenagers there was still a lot left to eat, so they should get to it. Then, she stepped into the living room with her partner. "Hi, honey," she said and kissed his lips.

"Hey darling," Booth smiled at her and embraced her. "How are things going with Alex? Elena seemed very worried and anxious."

"I'm not allowed to give you any details, but that boy's been through unspeakable things, Booth. He can't take much more, so be as gentle as you can. He's doing his best to be polite, but it's clear that he feels miserable."

"Both of you - you and Elena know something that I don't, don't you?" Booth said slowly. "Look, I'll be gentle with him, but I'm also trying to solve a murder, Bones. Do you think he's well enough to answer a few questions?"

"I'm not really sure. I guess you could give it a go because what he needs most right now is to hear from you that he's innocent."

"Do you think it's safe? You know, medically?"

"As far as his bones go, yes. Otherwise, I couldn't tell you. Right now his hands are trembling and he's obviously anxious."

"Okay, he's experiencing signs of withdrawal, so the sooner I get him to the Hoover, the better. Come on."

Alexander was alone in the kitchen. Elena was getting his backpack from the guest bedroom. As soon as she'd left, he got up and walked over to the bin. Reaching in, he grabbed one of the pieces of the broken glass and quickly gave it a rinse. He wasn't really going to commit suicide, he told himself, because Elena and her family were trying to help him, but if he would get send to jail instead of rehab, he would use it. He wouldn't survive jail.

Elena got Alexander's backpack and went back into the kitchen. "Don't be scared, okay? You did nothing wrong," she told him again.

"I know," he nodded, feeling oddly comforted by the presence of the broken glass in the pocket of his jeans. Alex approached and hugged his friend, softly kissing her cheek. "Thank you for everything, Elena."

"You're very welcome, but you don't have to thank me. I just want you to get better." She hugged him back, and then her parents entered.

"Are you ready to go, Alex?" Brennan asked him. "Would you like to take a sandwich or some milk with you? We've got plenty."

"No, thank you, Ma'am." Alex stood and grabbed his backpack, waving at Elena as he walked over to her father. "I'm ready to go, Sir."

Booth nodded and walked over to his daughter. He gave her a hug and a kiss goodbye. "Have a hot bath, honey. I'll see you tonight." He kissed his Bones' cheek and walked back to Alex. He opened the door and together, they left.

Elena heaved a deep sigh when the door closed and the car drove away. She turned to her mother and buried herself in her familiar embrace.

Brennan wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her. "You did good, sweetheart, you did very good."

"You, too, Mom," Elena told her. "I'm going to take that bath," she said, "Thanks for breakfast, it was really delicious."

Brennan stroked her daughter's unruly curls. "You're welcome, sweetheart. Your dad promised to be nice. We have to trust him."

Booth drove the car to the Hoover. The radio was playing softly and Alex was sitting next to him. He had noticed the trembling that both of his girls hand mentioned and he decided to try and put the boy's mind at ease a little. "Did you get some sleep, son?"

"A bit," Alex replied, "The bed was really comfortable." He was feeling sick, only now he felt how sick he'd made himself with those pills. He was such a mess; how could he ever get out of this? Would he ever be able to be normal?

"Well, believe you," Booth told him and glanced at the young man next to him. "We're going to have to clear some things up, though. And I need to know what you know, so I can help. So that I can find the person, or people, who are responsible for this. Do you understand?"

Alex nodded his head. "Yes, Sir. I'll try to make it as easy as I can for you. I'm really grateful for what your family's done for me. I understand it's difficult to allow me anywhere near your daughter."

"It is." Booth didn't deny that. "But you haven't given me any reason to regret my decision to allow you into my home and to let you spend time together." Booth parked in the underground parking lot. "That means a lot to me, son. I really appreciate that. If you continue to respect her, then I don't think you being friends with my daughter is harmful for anyone. Ready to go inside?"

Alexander took a deep breath. "I hope so." They got out of the car and Elena's father checked him into the building. Alexander was impressed and intimidated by the solemn building and the bustling of agents. He felt as if his heart was about to give out, he was so nervous.

Booth guided him to one of the interrogation rooms after he had his backpack booked while he was in the interrogation room. Booth read Alexander his Miranda rights. Once he'd made sure the young man understood them, he spoke up, asking him where he was on the night of the murder.

"I was out dealing drugs for my foster dad," Alex replied, wishing this conversation was finished already. His thoughts kept going back to the glass in his pocket. It was strange how reassuring its presence was. It gave him some control, even if it was extreme.

"How long have you been dealing drugs for your foster father?"

"Ever since I moved in with him. No, wait, it was a little bit later than that. He got me started on the pills since the day I met him, and when I started asking for them, he told me to deal for him. I think it took... probably two weeks, maybe three."

Booth nodded, making notes. "At what time did you leave your house, where did you go and at what time did you return?"

Alex started to feel really hot. He felt anxious because he realised he didn't know the exact answer to these questions. "I - ehm, I guess it was... I left when it was getting dark, and I came back when it was really dark." He didn't want to have to think about that night, but he had to.

"Can you be a bit more specific, Alex?" Booth asked him. "This is important. Depending on the accuracy of your answer, we will be able to verify your alibi."

"I really don't remember the exact times. I'm sorry." Alex swallowed, feeling panic rise in his throat. He was going to jail.

"Okay, okay, that's okay," Booth tried to calm the boy down again. "Why don't you tell me what happened that night?"

"I -" Alex paused to clear his throat. He felt really hot, and he was sweating, but he was shaking with cold at the same time. "My foster dad was watching tv. I went out to deal. When I came back, he was gone, but that had happened before, so I didn't think anything of it. I just went to bed."

Booth frowned. "What I meant to ask you, was if you can tell me what happened to you after you left and before you returned. Where did you go? Who did you meet? How many drugs did you sell?"

"I didn't sell anything. I was supposed to sell the pills in the bag that you found in Elena's room, when I accidentally left them at your house." Alex wiped his forehead, trying to be discreet about it.

"What are you saying Alex? That you went out? To what? Wander the streets? If you had so many drugs on you, why not sell them?" Booth leaned forward. "I need you to help me help you, Alexander. Tell me the truth. What happened that night?"

The blood was rushing through his ears was so loud Alex could barely hear Elena's dad. "Is it possible to take a break? I really need to use the restroom."

Booth could see that the young man wasn't able to take much more. He wondered what the hell the kid was trying to hide. Could he have been responsible for the murder after all? "Sure, son, I'll take you."

Alex thought he'd faint as they walked through the hallways, but miraculously, he stayed on his feet. The glass in his pocket was burning, throbbing as if it was alive.

Booth guided him to the restrooms and opened the door. "I'll wait here."

"Thank you, Sir," Alex mumbled before he slipped inside. He could finally take a deep breath, he was finally alone. He went into one of the stalls and took the shard of glass out of his pocket. He couldn't tell Elena's dad about what happened, he just couldn't. He'd die of shame and embarrassment before he could tell it to a man he secretly looked up to.

His hands trembled violently as he lifted the glass to his throat. It could all be over soon. What future did someone like him have, anyway? An unwanted foster kid, a junkie, a drug dealer, soiled and severely traumatised because of sexual assault - he had absolutely nothing to look forward to in life.

Now, Alex felt relieved. It would soon be over. If he died, at least he'd go to the same place his parents went to, wherever that was. His trembling hand pressed the tip of the glass into his neck. He was scared, but he had to do it. His last thought before he gathered his strength and cut through his skin, was that Elena would take care of Ripley for him.

After about two minutes, Booth got worried. He had left the kid alone in there and he had no idea if Alex had any drugs on him. He could be overdosing at this very instant. Booth walked into the restroom. "Alex, I..." His words died in the back of his throat at the pool of blood on the floor. He kicked in the door of the stall and was horrified by the sight in front of him. "Somebody help!" Booth yelled as loudly as he could. He sank down to his knees and jerked his jacket off, pressing it to Alex' throat. He fumbled for his cell phone and called 911.

Who'd seen this coming? How will this affect Elena? Please stay tuned and leave us some more of your wonderful words :).