Aubrey has been out of the loop the last couple of days, and with everything that's happened lately, he has a lot of catching up to do. Will his friends help him out? Read on to find out.
Dr. Elias nodded as she examined Aubrey's dressing closely. "Looks good...so far no sign on infection. How's your pain?"
"About a five, but I hate this morphine drip.", the agent replied as he nodded toward the metal pole next to his hospital bed. "It makes me sleepy and nauseated. Can't we try something else?"
"Well, the nurse said you tolerated the liquid diet yesterday. How about we try Norco every four hours instead? It has sedation as a possible side effect but not as extreme as morphine."
"Sounds good to me. Anything is better than that IV crap.", Aubrey responded as the doctor updated his orders on the wall computer next to the bed. "Can I eat real food today, Doc?"
"Bland food.", the petite woman said as Jessica came out of the tiny bathroom, ready for work. "Things like chicken noodle soup, ginger ale, dry toast, potatoes without salt or butter...the Norco can make you nauseated as well, but the lower percentage of acetaminophen will lessen the chance of any complications with your liver."
"Can I bring him a chocolate shake tonight?", the redhead asked, chuckling as she saw her boyfriend's face light up with joy.
"If he feels up to it., that should be fine, Jessica."
"Yes! Ow….". Aubrey groaned as his fist bump jostled his abdomen.
"Be careful, Agent Aubrey, or your bed rest will be extended.", Dr. Elias counseled as she shook a finger at him.
"Nooooo…", Aubrey whined.
"Then be good. I'll see you both later, Agent Aubrey. Good bye.", Dr. Elias said as she walked out the door.
"Real food! Yes! Jess, will you bring me some food from the diner tonight for dinner?", Aubrey asked, flashing his dimples and charm smile.
'Damn it, I can't resist that face!'', the redhead said to herself. "Okay, I can do that, but you have to rest today."
"I promise."
Jessica kissed her boyfriend on the lips. "Because of the crappy weather, I've canceled my SI instruction for today and will be at the lab all day. I'm also going to have lunch with Angela, so will you be okay until tonight?"
"I've got my IPad, Jess…", Aubrey said, noting his girlfriend's attire with a playful leer. "...and since you're wearing that V-Neck emerald green sweater that I like so much and a very lovely short black skirt...I have my imagination."
Jessica snorted. "You're a perv, James Aubrey."
"Yeah, but I'm your perv, and you love me, right?."
"Yes, I do, so I guess I'm stuck with you.", Jessica said jokingly while she pulled on her coat. Grabbing her purse and bag, she kissed him again. "I love you. Behave and I'll see you tonight."
"I love you, too. Bye."
Aubrey watched Jessica walk out the door with a smile on his face. Getting past their fight was easier than he thought. Grabbing his IPad, he turned it on and opened an application.
"Today...Star Wars marathon, baby."
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
At 11:00, Hodgins meticulously dusted Jessica's dresser for prints. He used a special powder for the putty gumming up the drawers, hoping to get a print, but without success. Taking a deep breath to control his frustration, he took a break to focus.
He would get his intern justice. Unfortunately, Justice had been a fickle bitch the last couple of days, as once again, they were stymied by no useable prints on the dresser or in the putty and epoxy mixture used to seal the drawers. On top of that, the statement of the garage attendant…the museum putty, gel, and epoxy mix…per Caroline, all of it was circumstantial. She needed something directly connecting Gerald to Jessica's locker and apartment before she could go forward with any charges.
The scientist just hoped it wouldn't be too late.
Earlier, Dr. Miller had run jars of museum putty, gel, and their epoxies down to the lab for testing, as well as stopping by to update the entomologist with the information that the Antiquities Department was also missing one jar of museum putty, one jar of museum gel, as well as one tube of epoxy mix. Promising to keep in touch, his colleague went back to his department and Hodgins tested some of the substances. To no one's surprise, the chemical composition of the three missing items were a match to the gunk on Jessica's dresser drawers.
Hodgins was deep in thought until a hand waved in his face. Snapping out of his trance, he looked up and saw Angela. "Hey, Angie."
"Jessica and I are going to run to her apartment to get some stuff and pick up some lunch. Want me to bring you back something?"
Needing a break, Hodgins wheeled away from his wife and towards his desk. "If you can bring me something that would be great. I have an errand to run but I'll be back in a while. Do you mind if I take the car?"
"Sure, Honey. Jessica has her brother's SUV.", Angela said before kissing her husband. "Drive carefully, though. It's supposed to be cold and icy later today."
"Same to you, Angie."
Need 2 cancel lunch. Have ton of work 2 do.
Karen put her phone down in frustration. It was the third time Steve had canceled plans with her this week. As a whole, things with her boyfriend had been off since before he'd left for Wisconsin to visit his family. Not calling her when he returned Sunday night, her calls going to voicemail, sometimes going home alone without his Sugar Booger...it was very frustrating.
Last night when they stopped at the Founding Fathers for dinner, he was sullen. After they finished their spinach and artichoke dip, she pushed him until he informed her that he was still annoyed with her behavior at the hospital the night before. After telling him he needed to just let it go, she brought up the younger woman's accusations. It surprised her that instead of laughing it off, the big, tough agent turned pale, but he quickly assuring her that the intern was a liar.
Afterwards, she invited him back to her place to try out her new red furry handcuffs and edible panties that she'd gotten just for him. To her surprise, he turned her down because he was tired and wanted to go home alone...again. Undeterred, she'd suggested lunch instead today and he agreed before they separated for the night.
"Steve, you need to take better care of yourself. I hope you're not getting sick…"
She debated on what to do and decided to surprise her boyfriend with lunch from the Royal Diner. Looking up the website, she ordered their lunch and then left Quantico.
Arriving at the diner a short time later, as she shook the snow from her hair, she saw Drs. Saroyan and Vaziri eating lunch. Waving, she didn't receive a response back from either of them, who seemed to not notice her. Shrugging it off, she paid for her order, took her bags, and walked over to the FBI with glee.
Jessica unlocked her apartment door and entered, followed by Angela. The redhead looked around cautiously, making sure it was as she left it yesterday when she came by with Andie. Satisfied, she visibly relaxed.
"I need to get my dirty laundry around as well as grab some clothes, Angela, if that's okay?"
"Of course, Sweetie. Can I help you with anything?"
The anthropologist shook her head. "No, this won't take me long."
The artist watched the young woman take the short walk towards her bedroom. Sitting down, she looked at the living room wall and smiled at the pictures, noting that several contained Aubrey and the intern together. Deciding she wanted a bottle of water, Angela got up and was about to open the fridge door when she heard Jessica's shaky voice.
"Angela? Can you bring me a gallon sized Ziploc baggie, a roll of tape, and a Sharpie? The baggies are in the third drawer. The tape and pen are in the junk drawer…or bottom drawer."
Unsure of what the young woman was up to, Angela found the requested items and ran them back to the single bedroom. When she got there, she saw a teary-eyed Jessica kneeling on the floor surrounded by what looked like piles of clothes spread out around her.
Rushing over, she put her hand on the intern's shoulder. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"
The redhead looked around and found a pen by her bedside before using it to pick up a gray Jeffersonian t-shirt. "I-I found this while I was sorting my dirty clothes."
Angela noticed how it was bunched up on one side as it was held up. "Jessica, what the hell did you get on it?
"Nothing. I had worn this t-shirt Monday night when Aubrey stayed over. The only thing that I had gotten on it was when I cried and wiped my eyes with it after fighting with him Tuesday morning." Grabbing a Kleenex from nearby, the redhead turned the shirt around so her friend could see the bunched up area. "If I pull it back a bit, it looks like bodily fluid..."
Angela realized what Jessica was saying. "Oh, my God. You think Gerald left this here, don't you?"
The redhead took a deep breath. "Somebody left it here."
Angela opened the bag. "What are we waiting for, Jessica? Get it in here so the lab can test it."
"What if Gerald's attorney says something about me finding this?", Jessica realized as she dropped the shirt in the bag. "What if they think I planted it?"
The artist's face sobered. "You've never had that prick in your apartment, have you?"
"Oh, hell no." Jessica cringed in disgust. "Since I moved in here two years ago, besides my brothers and my dad, the only men who've been here are Wendell, Arastoo, Clark, Curly, and obviously Aubrey. Booth hasn't even been here."
"How many men have been in this bedroom, Jessica?"
Jessica blushed. "Only one."
"Well, unless you stole either his snot, spit, or cum, you've got the person who broke in here.", Angela said. "Obviously, the prick swiped your underwear and jacked off in here before leaving. We know it wasn't Aubrey because he was with Booth Tuesday."
"Of course not. Aubrey would never wipe himself off on my clothes. He does it in the shower..." Jessica trailed off, redfaced as she realized what she said. "Don't tell Aubrey I said anything. It'll really embarrass him. He's really private about that stuff."
"Your secret is safe with me, Jessica.", Angela replied. "Now let's get this sealed and back to the lab. The sooner we nail this asshole, the better it will be."
Taping the top of the Ziploc bag to protect the chain of evidence, Jessica and Angela both initialed the bag and left.
Hodgins got off the elevator onto the ICU floor. Wheeling his way to Aubrey's room, he signed in on the visitor's log before entering, where he found the SAC watching his IPad. Hearing the dialogue, the entomologist smiled.
"Return of the Jedi…classic movie, Aubrey."
Turning toward the door, the agent saw his friend and smiled. "Hey, Hodgins. Yep, the classics never go out of style. Jess prefers The Empire Strike Back, but Jedi is it for me."
"Of course…the Ewoks were awesome.", Hodgins replied as he wheeled his way to his friend's bed. "So, how are you feeling today?"
"Well, I got Dr. Elias to change my meds from that damn morphine drip. I'm still fuzzy at times, and I'm sore, but it's better than being stoned. I'm finally done with the blood transfusions, and I get to finally eat some solid food."
"Not enjoying the Jell-O, huh? Maybe you'll get to graduate to pudding.", Hodgins said with a smirk. "Jessica said you may be going home Sunday."
"Yep… then I can finally help Booth with our case. Of course, I'm stuck at home for a few days, but then we can figure out what the hell happened with that scum Sipoletti. Booth is stuck at home this weekend, too. He's not happy about being stuck on desk duty for the next few weeks due to his shoulder."
"So the doctor's going to just let you go back to work, huh?", Hodgins asked. "Jessica said you would probably be off for a few weeks."
"I'm sure Jess is just being cautious. Dr. Elias says I'm doing much better and I'll be back up and running in no time."
"I'm glad, Aubrey.", Hodgins replied, knowing that his intern would have something to say about that. Looking around, he saw an MSU comforter and pillow on the couch. "I'm assuming Jessica is staying here again tonight?"
"Yeah…I told her not to, Hodgins, but she insists. I'm doing alright and I'm sure that couch isn't very comfortable for her."
"Well, I'm sure she feels better being closer to you than staying with Dr. B and Booth at their house in McLean.", the entomologist said.
Aubrey made a face. "Why would she stay there? Her apartment is ten minutes from here."
Hodgins realized that Aubrey didn't know about Jessica's apartment being broken into. "Oh, you know…she didn't like sleeping alone…you know, with everything that's happened..."
Aubrey gave his friend a surprised face. "Hodgins…what aren't you telling me?"
"Oh…" Hodgins' phone suddenly rang. Checking the caller ID, he saw it was Angela. "It's Angela…my wife. Be right back, Aubrey. I'll just go out here so you can have some quiet and I'm not being rude talking over your movie."
Aubrey watched as his friend wheeled out into the hallway. He listened as the man talked on the phone. "Hey Angie, what's up…you found what at Jessica's…holy crap, that could be what Caroline needs to get that warrant…it has to be Gerald who broke into her apartment Tuesday…I totally see that entitled asshole doing something like that to her…"
Aubrey sat in stunned silence as he continued to listen. 'Jess's apartment was broken into? Wait, she must have told me…right? Shit, I was so hopped up on drugs yesterday that I can't remember what she said. I can't let her know that I forgot…only shitty boyfriends forget things like that.'
Then Aubrey sobered as another thought hit him. 'But I was a shitty boyfriend anyway. Instead of making love to her Monday night, I pushed her into a wall and used her as a glory hole because I was pissed off about my father. I then treated my girlfriend like an annoyance Tuesday morning before she gave it back to me. Then I shut her out again…'
Aubrey's thoughts were interrupted by Hodgins' return to the room. "Angie says I have to get back to the lab, Aubrey. Nice visiting you…"
"Stop right there, Hodgins. You don't get to leave until you tell me what happened at Jessica's apartment Tuesday."
Hodgins didn't want to be the one to tell the agent what was going on. "Aubrey, you should talk to Jessica…"
"I'll talk to her, but if she did tell me something while I was hopped up on meds yesterday, I don't want to look like a dick for forgetting. Be a friend...help me out..."
"Dude…"
Aubrey smiled and played his trump card. "Hodgins…don't make me tell Angela you spilled…"
Hodgins looked up with fear in his eyes. "C'mon, Aubrey! Angie would kick my ass! That's blackmail."
"Yes, it is.", Aubrey said quietly. "But right now I'm more worried about my girlfriend, so spill."
Hodgins knew he was stuck. "Okay…Jessica was really upset when she came to work Tuesday. She was all quiet, which is not like her. Dr. B actually sent her to her office when she broke down crying in the Bone Room. I don't know what happened but…"
"We had a fight, Hodgins.", Aubrey said, feeling sadness erupt in his soul. "Moving on…"
"We got a call about a crime scene out at the Antietam Battleground and Dr. B elected to take Jessica, so they were gone for the rest of the day. The museum closed at 3:00 due to the horrid weather, and I did the same at the lab, so there was no one here when they, along with Dr. Boyd, got back sometime after 5:00."
"Booth must have talked to Dr. B while they were on their way back here.", Aubrey said, relieved that Jessica hadn't been ignoring him Tuesday afternoon. "Keep going, Hodgins."
"Well, Dr. B was going to take Jessica home before getting the kids from our house. Jessica went to get her stuff, but she found her locker had been vandalized. Her phone was destroyed, her coat was cut up, her pictures from inside the door were ripped up, and her purse was missing."
"Wait, her Epi-Pen is in her locker. Did that bastard do something to it? I'm going to find that son of a-"
"No, Aubrey, he left that alone, but there's more." Hodgins said, holding up his hand to interrupt Aubrey's angry retort. "As they were leaving, the security guard found her purse in a trash can outside the lab, also with a big tear in it. Her credit cards and license were all cut up, her...medication was messed with…"
Aubrey's ears perked up at this bit of news, knowing his girlfriend only had one prescription that she kept in her purse. "What do you mean…messed with?"
Hodgins cleared his throat, alarmed at the intensity in Aubrey's expression. "The last pills were missing, along with her keys."
The agent felt a ball of anger in his stomach as he considered what had happened to his girlfriend. "And…"
Hodgins hesitated as he saw the usually easy going Aubrey's eyes go cold with rage. "To play it safe, they called Genny, who met them there with her landlord's grandson. When they got to her apartment, they saw it had been broken into. Jessica was freaked out, so Dr. B insisted she come home with her, and Genny took the case because since it had originated from the lab."
"So Jessica hasn't slept at her apartment since, has she?", Aubrey said quietly.
"No. She spent the night with Dr. B, and then you all were shot Wednesday.", Hodgins answered plainly. "Aubrey, she's been scared to death since you were shot."
"Wait, she's working in Limbo today. She said it was because Caroline wanted to keep her away from the Sipoletti case, but if Genny's working her burglary, the evidence would go to you, Hodgins." When the scientist's head bent down, the agent continued. "…so she's staying away from the main lab because you're working her case, aren't you?"
"Yeah.", Hodgins said. "Aubrey, she probably didn't want to worry you…"
"I know.", the agent replied. "I also know that I was doped up beyond belief yesterday and if she told me, I don't remember. If she did tell me, she can't know I forgot."
"That's possible, too.", Hodgins said encouragingly.
"So what did Angela and Jessica find at her apartment?", Aubrey asked. When he saw hesitation, he pushed the issue. "Hodgins, I want to know."
Hodgins finally relented. "Jessica found a shirt in her hamper that had what looks like bodily fluids on it. She and Angela are heading back to the lab now. Hopefully there's some DNA we can match it to."
Aubrey nodded. "Good. That will help get Caroline a warrant."
The scientist saw that Aubrey was holding back his temper. "Don't be mad at Jessica, Aubrey. She's been worried sick about you."
"I'm not, Hodgins. I'm just pissed right now because there's nothing I can do for her.", Aubrey said with a catch in his voice.
"Yeah, there is.", Hodgins said. When the other man looked up, he continued. "Tell her you love her, and then remember that whatever you guys fought about Tuesday can't be more important than the fact that she has been here since you got shot. She loves you so much that she's trying to keep you from worrying about her. You know how strong willed and independent Jessica is, Aubrey."
"I do. Thanks for being straight with me.", Aubrey said, trying to quell the sick feeling in his stomach. "I won't tell anyone you told me."
"Did Jessica say when she was coming tonight?"
The agent swallowed hard to control his anger. "She said she'd be by after she leaves the lab. I'm still iffy on foods, but Dr. Elias said she can bring me soup and a chocolate shake from the Royal Diner later. God, I miss the diner…"
"I'm sure the diner misses you, too.", Hodgins replied with a smile. "Oh, just to give you a heads up. When you and Booth are all healed up, we're having a party for you guys…"
"Hodgins…"
The entomologist turned his chair to face the doorway. "Don't try to argue your way out of it, Aubrey. It's Angela's decision. See you later."
Resigned to his fate, he smiled. "Bye, Hodgins."
When the scientist was gone, Aubrey stared at the ceiling as a tear fell. Besides Jessica worrying about him, which he didn't deserve, someone had invaded her privacy by burglarizing her home. She must have told him yesterday and he was too hopped up on drugs to remember.
At least he hoped she did. Of course, it would be like Jessica to handle things herself, hating to depend on other people for help.
Then he thought about what Hodgins told him. Bodily fluids on a shirt in her hamper. 'He didn't say blood…he said bodily fluids…no way someone blows snot onto a woman's shirt.'
The last implication caused Aubrey to tremble violently as he tried to control his emotions. His girlfriend's privacy had been violated and there was nothing he could do about it because he was stuck in bed after being shot.
'Obviously, Jessica is scared but she's worried more about me and my stupid ass. How can I help her without letting on that I might have forgotten what she told me about all that shit?'
Suddenly, he realized that he needed as much information as possible. Knowing Jessica, she asked Shaw to sit on the info as well as to not worry him. However, that wasn't going to happen.
Picking up his phone, he made a phone call. "Genny…it's Aubrey. Doing better…yeah, still ready for you to pop by this afternoon…I want to hear how your hearing went…hey, can you bring all the case files so we can go over everything? I want to see what you have on Jessica's case."
Aubrey listened to his ASAC on the phone. "Great…thanks…yeah, see you at 2:30…bye."
Walking onto the 4th floor, Karen smiled at everyone. Stopping at the break room, she noted Shaw was eating lunch with Hunter, whose arm was in a sling, and ignored that their conversation ceased when she entered the room. Grabbing two waters, she turned to them.
"Hello, Agent Shaw...Mr. Geren. You're from the SEC right?"
"Yes.", the blond man replied. "I'm a forensic accountant from the SEC's Enforcement Division."
"Glad to see you're not holding being shot against Agent Shaw." Seeing Genny's irritated expression, Karen smirked as she moved away. "Have a nice lunch."
Karen walked to the bullpen but was surprised to see that Steve wasn't at his desk working. Figuring he stepped into the men's room, she sat in the chair opposite his and started laying out his lunch. When he didn't return after five minutes, she waved when she saw Agents Haggarty and Thompson returning to their desks with take out containers.
"Agent Haggarty, where's Steve?"
The female agent set down her lunch and took her winter coat off. "Last I checked, he was running out to the food truck outside with Candi, one of our new CSIs."
Hearing that he was with another woman, Karen's good mood vanished. "When is he coming back?"
"Not sure, Dr. Delfs.", Thompson replied before opening his can of Coke. "Jill and I were focused on getting lunch so we can work on our own cases."
"Thank you.", Karen replied tersely.
Waiting ten minutes, she started eating her own lunch while Steve's sat unopened. When she was almost done, her boyfriend finally came back into the bullpen with a hot dog and a smile. Seeing his girlfriend, he was unpleasantly surprised.
"Karen, what are you doing here?"
"It's about time.", the profiler said with frustration. "Why weren't you here? Why were you with another woman?"
Steve pulled a large pile of files out of his IN folder and putting it on his desk. "Sugar, I'm entitled to get a fucking hot dog so I can eat my lunch and work at the same time.", he replied defensively, not happy with Karen's interrogation.
"But you don't need some slutty CSI tech to accompany you, because you're my boyfriend. Now, I brought you lunch as a surprise and it's better for you than that disgusting hot dog.", Karen replied before taking it from him and tossing it in the trash.
"What the fuck!"
Karen slid the Styrofoam box and matching bowl in front of him. "Here. There's a turkey club in here and soup. Oh, by the way, tonight you and I are going to see Aubrey and take him some food. I bet he's starving..."
The agent sat down and stared down his girlfriend. "I have things to do later, and they don't involve visiting my boss-"
"They do when his girlfriend is spreading bullshit about you chasing her and other women. I'm not going to take it, and neither are you. Aubrey needs to learn about the lies she's spewing. He's my friend and I need to make sure he gets his head out of her well used hoo ha and do something about it. I'll meet you here at 5:30 and we'll run to Founding Fathers to pick him up a burger, fries, and some other snacks on the way to the hospital."
"Whatever…", Steve replied, not wanting to debate the topic in the bullpen in front of fellow agents.
oooooooooo
Hodgins brought the shirt, still its plastic bag, into the pathology room, where Dr. Boyd was looking at her computer. Wheeling up to the scientist, Hodgins saw she was working on an Excel document. As he got closer, he became alarmed at what he saw.
"Dr. Boyd, what are you doing to the intern schedules?"
The blonde woman turned to Hodgins with a disdainful glare. "I'm fixing the schedule for December, obviously. You and Dr. Brennan took Jessica Warren off the schedule for next week and you're pulling the other interns around to cover for her, which is unacceptable. Pathology needs an intern, too. Dr. Brennan can survive on her own for a day or two...or she can call Dr. Saroyan's husband or that weirdo Dr. Fisher that was covering here today."
The entomologist was incensed. "Dr. Saroyan doesn't feel that Pathology requires its own intern, which is why she doesn't have one for her department. When needed, she utilizes one of Dr. Brennan's or mine."
"That is very unfair to Dr. Saroyan."
"No, it's the system she helped create when Z…" Hodgins stopped himself, not wanting to think of his friend, who was serving his final months in prison. "...when she and Dr. B created the anthropology rotating internship program in 2008 so the students would be more well-rounded in their experience here. In turn, the student has more opportunities in their post-graduate careers, including working in a medical examiner's office or as a crime scene technician."
"At the FBI lab, an intern shadows the pathologist each day, Dr. Hodgins.", Dr. Boyd countered.
"If that's how the FBI chooses to train, that's great. However, our system has been successful for several years with no issues and is part of the reason our graduates are in such high demand in North America and around the world, Dr. Boyd." Holding back a smirk at the woman's shock, he continued. "This schedule was also created for the needs of all the scientists for this lab, not just you. You will stop changing things immediately."
"I'm the pathologist covering for Dr. Saroyan, and she's the director of the lab. Perhaps I should call her and tell her my needs are not being adequately met." Dr. Boyd groused before smiling. "Better yet, I think I will let the Governing Board know my needs are not being adequately met here. I'm sure they will listen to what I have to say, Dr. Hodgins."
Hodgins was fed up with her attempts to undermine his authority, but he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing him lose his temper. "If you feel that way, then you should. However, this lab and its leadership has the support of Amanda Marshall and several other members of the Governing Board. Also, the Jeffersonian had run efficiently with the personnel we have before you came along. We do not adapt to you, Dr. Boyd...you will adapt to us. Now I need this shirt examined for DNA right now."
Not happy with her threat not being taken seriously, she took the bag and tossed it on the desk before going back to what she was doing. "I'll do it when I'm done here."
Hodgins controlled his temper before pulling the power cord from the floor. When the monitor went black, the pathologist turned to Hodgins. "What the hell! All my changes…"
"…are gone, because you have no business changing our intern schedules. Now, test this shirt immediately, Dr. Boyd."
"I'm a respected pathologist, Dr. Hodgins, and you're lucky to have me. I've already had to tolerate disrespect from Dr. Brennan, and others here and it's unacceptable. I-"
Hodgins cut off her tirade. "Dr. Brennan told me about what happened yesterday. In case there was some confusion, I'll reiterate what she said." Hodgins wheeled closer to the desk. "You will not talk down to the interns or other employees here...and contrary to what you think, you were not our first choice, so you're lucky to be here, not the other way around. Remember that."
The blonde gave him an icy look. "I don't have to put up with this at the FBI. I have friends in high places, Dr. Hodgins."
"Well, you're not at the FBI, Dr. Boyd. and I don't give a rat's ass who your friends are. I don't report to them.", Hodgins replied. "Now, either you get over there and pull any DNA from that shirt, or you can go home and I'll take this to your employer, where I will speak to someone about finding us another temporary pathologist...preferably one who is a team player that can adapt to a new environment."
Taking a deep breath, the doctor took the shirt over to the table. As Hodgins plugged in the computer, she opened the sealed bag, she laid it out carefully before gingerly pulling the bunched area open. Taking several samples, she used the centrifuge before placing the samples in the machine. Hodgins watched as she completed the procedure. When done, she added the results to a second computer nearby.
"We have DNA. I've input it into the database, but we have no match."
"Damn.", Hodgins said. "Well, at least it's in there."
"What case do I file it under, Dr. Hodgins?"
"Email me the profile and I'll take care of it. Thanks.", he said before wheeling out of the autopsy room. When he was out of hearing range, he muttered to himself as he wheeled back to the Ookey Room. Going to his computer, he opened up all schedule programs and the electronic binder program.
"I was hoping to not have to do things like this while you were gone, Cam, but I have no choice."
Going through all Word and Excel documents, he restricted Dr. Boyd's access in all programs to READ ONLY. In the case binder program, he did the same as he smirked. He was about to stop when he changed his mind. Going into the master log, he took full access away from most programs except for the ones essential to the pathologist's needs.
"Lets see how much respect you get from that, Dr. Boyd.", Hodgins said before completing the action. When done, he sent out an email to Cam. "Cam, I hope your proposal of getting a part time assistant pathologist next year becomes reality. I'm tired of this woman's shit."
After he sent it, Angela rushed into her husband's lab. "Honey...I think I have an idea to help us nail Gerald."
oooooooooo
Genny arrived on the ICU floor holding a brown accordion folder of case files. After signing in, she entered the room, but stopped when she saw her boss asleep as he held his IPad. She was about to leave again when Aubrey opened his eyes.
"Genny…hey, come on in."
The ASAC walked through the doorway. "Are you sure, Boss? You were asleep. I don't want to disturb you."
"No, I'm all good." Aubrey shook away his sleepiness. "Are those our cases?"
Genny sat down on the chair by the bed. "Yep. Which one do you want to start with?"
"Can we start with Jessica's case?"
The woman exhaled. "So she told you everything?"
Aubrey nodded. "Yeah, she told me last night but I was hopped up on meds and I don't want her to know that I don't remember all the details. I don't want to bug her at work either, so have you found out anything new?"
"Well, I—", Genny started before her phone rang. Looking at the Caller ID, she looked up at her friend. "It's my mom. Do you care if I take this quick?"
"Yeah, I'll just read the file while you're doing that.", Aubrey said.
"Alright, be right back.", the agent said. Handing him the file, she briskly stepped out into the hallway.
Aubrey picked up the file and perused it. When he got to his girlfriend's account of her confrontation with Gerald in the locker room, he became angry, not just at the asshole, but with Jessica as well.
'Damn it, Jess, why didn't you tell me about this? He had his hands on you! No one touches you and gets away with it. Why the hell do you insist on taking care of everything yourself?'
Reading further, he found the account of her slashed tires, including the video and the parking garage attendant's story. Aubrey was angry at being shut out, but pushed it aside as he realized the truth. 'She's independent...but I have no room to talk, since I handle things the same way...I can't be mad at her...it's unreasonable…'
Closing his eyes, he remembered when Jessica came to him for a ride after her Jeep was taken to the shop. What was his reaction?
Being all wrapped up in himself and his anger over his father.
All she'd wanted Monday night was a ride to work the next day and to spend some time with him. She'd blown off his assholeness that afternoon and seemed ready to move past it. What did he do?
Fucked her without any emotion or love and then blew her off.
Tuesday morning she was trying to comfort him as he was frustrated with the Vacchio case. What did he do?
He was a dick to her until she pushed back and told him to leave.
Her locker was broken into less than twelve hours later. Her cell phone destroyed, her personal effects torn to shreds, and her purse was missing. When it was found later, essentials were also destroyed but the person stole her keys and her birth control pills. To make things worse, her apartment was then broken into. When he saw that several pairs of her underwear and her trust fund bank book were the only items stolen, the ball of anger graduated to fury as a few tears fell.
Next, then they found the shirt she wore to bed Monday covered in what was probably that motherfucker Gerald Maxwell's semen. He felt nauseous as he realized that the son of a bitch masturbated in his girlfriend's bedroom...the same room where he and the redhead spent many intimate nights together...which was probably why the bastard did it.
To make matters worse, he used her sleep shirt to clean himself up and then left it behind…almost like another way of making sure Jessica knew who was boss. This wasn't just some prankster or someone after money for drugs. It was personal.
And what was he doing Tuesday? He was focused on seeing his father and got Booth to drive with him through a horrendous storm which caused them to stay the night in West Virginia, while she stayed in town not knowing where he was.
His Wednesday was so focused on Genny's shooting and on questioning Vinnie Sipoletti that he just assumed she was still pissed off at him and had ignored his calls and texts. But she wasn't, because her phone was destroyed and she couldn't call…
Then he and Booth got shot. She was not only scared for her personal safety, but then she had to worry about his stupid ass as well. What kind of man was he?
A selfish asshole…that's who.
And he couldn't help her…because he was stuck in this bed nursing a bruised spleen and gunshot wounds to the abdomen and thigh. That son of a bitch was running around free and Jessica had to constantly look over her shoulder in fear.
Obviously she didn't tell him as to not worry him, but perhaps she also didn't say anything to teach him a lesson about keeping secrets. Once again, his anger at her keeping something this from him was pushed aside because he had no right to be...because he did the same thing.
'Lesson learned, Jessica. I won't shut you out again.'
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Aubrey promised himself that for Jessica there wouldn't be a second time...because when he could, he would make sure Gerald Maxwell, or no one else, would hurt her again.
As he got control over his emotions, Genny walked into the room, keeping the fact she could tell he'd been crying to herself. "All good. Mom just called to tell me that Danny went home early because a water pipe burst at school with the icy weather and the kids are being sent home."
"Glad things are all right.", Aubrey said as his assistant sat down. "Thank you for letting me get up to date on Jessica."
"I'm sorry for not telling you, Boss. I know I should have but she didn't want to worry you while you were here in the hospital."
Pushing his unreasonable anger with his girlfriend aside, he smiled faintly. "I know. I figure she did tell me but I've been so doped up. I just don't want her to know that, you know?"
Relieved, Genny smiled. "I get it. No worries. Now, ready to go over everything else?"
"Sure."
oooooooooo
"So what do you think?", Hodgins asked the person across the desk in the large office. "I know I have access, but do you?"
"Yes I do.", Dr. Miller said. "Let's see what I can find out. Let's make some room first for you both."
After Angela and Hodgins moved out of the way, the antiquities expert moved the desk forward enough for the couple to see his computer monitor. They watched as the PhD accessed a program on his computer before opening another one. Entering in November 29, 2016 as the day requested, the three waited for a moment before a screen with locations and times popped up.
"Scanner 216 is outside the locker room, correct?", David asked.
Hodgins flipped through a few pages. "According to this log Security gave us, yes, it is."
"Well, employee code 74652, which is Maxwell, punched out at 3: 17 PM before accessing the intern locker room at 3:29 PM.", Miller said. "It was used again later that evening to access our employee entrance at 5:22 and then the intern locker room again at 5:36 PM."
Something clicked with Hodgins. "Wait...when I got payroll caught up this morning, Jessica punched out at 5:37…"
"After she and Bren put all the equipment away, Jessica must have punched out like she usually does at the time clock by the intern locker room before going in.", Angela said. "Hodgins…"
"That SOB was in there…", Hodgins began putting the pieces together. "Wait a minute...David, weren't you working late Tuesday night?"
"Yes.", the scholar said. "I wanted to get some things taken care of in case weather prevented me from coming in Wednesday morning. The supply room is next door to this office."
"I'll be damned." Hodgins thought about the layout to Antiquities. "David, your supply room is next door to this office. Do you know what this means?"
Angela caught on. "Since David was still here, Gerald must have stashed that putty and epoxy in the first place he could hide it until he returned to work. That way if he was caught leaving…"
"He wouldn't have her keys or the putty stuff with him and it would be safe until he could get rid of them again.", Dr. Miller added.
"There's only one place Gerald could throw that stuff and leave quickly without getting caught if Jessica was coming in the locker room." Angela said.
"His locker.", Hodgins said.
"Hodgins...will Caroline have enough for a warrant to search it?", Angela replied.
"We don't need a warrant, Angie and we don't have to rush, either.", the entomologist replied. "David, when is his next shift?"
"Wednesday 8:00 - 4:00.", Dr. Miller replied. "However, one of the things I was going to talk about at Monday's meeting was a refresher on the Jeffersonian's policy on locker searches."
Hodgins thought for a second before laughing which confused Angela. "What are you two plotting?"
"Oh, just a little plan for your husband and myself to get rid of a mutual problem legally and in a way that will get his butt tossed in jail at the same time for all his crimes, Ms. Montenegro.", the antiquities expert replied. "I love when a plan comes together."
oooooooooo
At 6:30, Aubrey was highly anticipating Jessica's arrival with food from the diner. He still felt some residual hurt at her for not telling him what happened, but then he realized it was tit for tat as he'd done the same thing to her. Anyway, with him getting shot, she probably was still nervous, and there was no reason to upset her any further.
'Jess and I need to move forward. I can't dwell on stupid, petty issues...she means too much to me.'
Hearing footsteps into his room, he smiled to greet his girlfriend, but instead got another surprise instead. "Karen…hi."
Walking in, she sat down in the chair next to the bed and held up a bag. "Steve is just parking the car, but I wanted to hurry and get this to you while it's still hot."
Aubrey groaned inwardly. "What is it?"
Karen smiled and set the bag down on the bed tray before pushing it towards the patient. "It's a triple bacon cheeseburger with pepper jack cheese, and onion rings from Founding Fathers...just the way you like it. I forgot to get you a Coke from there, so I got you a Pepsi from the cafeteria. I know you prefer Coke, but it's almost the same thing."
'No, Karen, Coke and Pepsi are not the same thing.' Aubrey thought. He usually salivated at what she brought him, but his stomach was still a little dicey from the pain meds and he hated Pepsi with a passion. Most of all, he was also uncomfortable with taking anything from the profiler.
"Karen, thanks for the food, but I have to say no. Dr. Elias hasn't cleared to eat anything besides bland, soft food today because of my surgery, and my gut is a bit messed up from the Norco they have me on for the pain."
Miffed at Aubrey's refusal to take her gift, Karen sat back and crossed her arms. "Are you going to let some bimbo surgeon tell you what to eat?"
"Um, Dr. Elias isn't a bimbo, Karen. She graduated at the top of her class at Johns Hopkins, and Jess's brother Aaron said she was one of the best trauma surgeons on the East Coast, so yes, I'm going to listen to her on what to eat because like I just told you, I don't think I can handle all that food yet."
Karen gave Aubrey a look one would give a silly child. "I remember the man who had a fit when I stole his triple bacon cheeseburger three days after he got bomb shrapnel taken out of his back last year. Now, come on. I went to all this trouble to get this for you."
"Karen…no. Jess is bringing me dinner later."
"What Jessica doesn't know won't hurt her, Aubrey. Now, I'll just take it out-"
"Karen! I don't want the food."
"Fine.", Karen said in a hurt tone before grabbing the bag and tossing it on the floor next to her. "Since you won't take my gift of dinner, we'll just talk instead."
Feeling a sense of dread, the agent steeled himself. "What about?"
"Your girlfriend."
'Oh, good Lord.' Aubrey thought. "Karen, I'm not in the mood right now to hear you talking shit about Jess."
"I'm not talking shit, Aubrey. Jessica said horrible things to me while you were in surgery Wednesday night. They were uncalled for, and she owes me an apology."
Aubrey made himself remain calm. "I'm sure Jessica was stressed out because I was in surgery, Karen. Did you do anything to provoke her?"
"No...she was just being a bitch to me when I told her off for making everything about her. I mean, it was her fault you got shot because you two had a fight. What kind of crap did she throw at you this time?"
Aubrey took a deep breath. wishing for patience, which he was not feeling at the moment. "Karen, what goes on between Jess and me is our business...not yours or anyone else's. As for the other thing, we're not going to go there because I'm sure you won't listen to a word I say. Now, what else did she supposedly do and say to you?"
"She's still jealous of my friendship with you, although once again she denied it.", Karen responded, ignoring the agent's eye roll. "When I confronted her with that and her actions, she bragged about how much sex you two have."
Karen saw the smirk on the agent's face and became frustrated. "An OR waiting room is not the proper place to discuss sexual intercourse, Aubrey...it's very rude, distasteful, and not everyone wants to hear about how magical and creative you are in bed or how frequently you two screw each other. Aubrey, you always blow my concerns off, but the bitch can't stand the fact that I care about you a hell of a lot more than she does."
'Pot...meet Kettle.' Aubrey thought as he recalled their lunch at the diner the month before. Turning to the woman, he kept himself calm. "Karen, don't ever call Jessica a bitch or any other names again."
The profiler became put out at the agent's lack of sympathy. "But she called me names and was mean to me, Aubrey."
Aubrey rubbed his eyes, certain that there was much more to the story and that Jessica was provoked. "I'm not going to scold my girlfriend like a child because your feelings got hurt. You and Jessica are adults, so either work it out or don't talk to her."
"She's the one who's causing trouble, Aubrey, including horrible lies about my boyfriend making several passes at her and him having other girlfriends when she's the one making passes at him." Karen exhaled forcefully. "I'm not going to tolerate your little graduate student going after my boyfriend because she's getting tired of you."
Aubrey's ears perked up as he took a deep breath. "Steve hit on my girlfriend?"
"No, she spouting off lies like that he tried playing footsie with her when the four of us had lunch together at the diner after the Gala. The alleged second time was supposedly after she talked to you Monday when he suggested that she needed to fuck him because…ugh…he could make her squeal. Then, she had the balls to accuse him of grabbing her hand at a crime scene Tuesday and Dr. B is backing her up in this bullshit. She assaulted him at the scene, Aubrey!"
"My agent…who works for me...hit on my girlfriend…", the SAC said with as much calmness as he could muster.
"Aubrey, pay attention.", Karen said as she was talking to a wayward child. "Steve has also been getting mysterious phone calls from an unknown number. He traced it back to some burner phone, but I know it's Jessica. She's always checking him out because she's jealous of what I have."
Aubrey didn't buy any of what Karen was telling him for an instant. Jess was many things, but he knew she was always faithful to him. "Karen, am I just chopped liver? If my girlfriend wanted Steve so bad, why is she with me?"
Karen rolled her eyes at him as she explained her reasoning. "Because after all the work she put in to get you back, she has to put in some time with you before she dumps you again. She's just counting down the days until she can trick me into dumping Steve, but it's not happening. We are in a committed, passionate, and monogamous relationship."
Aubrey wanted to laugh but he saw the profiler was serious. "Okay, fine, so she's just waiting for the right time to dump me so she can steal Steve from you. So then, explain to me why she's spent every night with me since I've been here in the hospital. Wouldn't this be a prime time to try to hook up with him or sleep with another guy while I'm temporarily out of commission?"
"No, because you're her boyfriend and she feels obligated…duh. To not stay makes her look like a shit.", Karen said, as if it was obvious. "Now, tell your girlfriend to quit making goo goo eyes at Steve and spreading lies about him. It's bad enough she's doing it, but she's got some of her little friends to make up stories about him as well. I'm not going to tolerate it anymore."
Aubrey was tempted to tell Karen about Steve and Mitzi, but held his tongue instead. "Karen, you don't know what you're talking about. My girlfriend doesn't lie or cheat on me, and even if by some wild sense of the imagination she did, it sure as hell wouldn't be with Steve Bower. She has more respect for herself than to settle for someone like that."
Aubrey's words felt a slap in the face to Karen. "Damn it, Aubrey, that's enough. Now, I know you need to believe that you made the right choice choosing Jessica over me, but obviously you didn't and you have to accept the consequences. For crying out loud, get your face out of Jessica's overused hooch and realize that she needs to grow up and quit being a slut."
The lanky man was finding it harder to keep his temper in check. "Karen, don't ever call my girlfriend a slut, a liar, or talk about her the way you just did ever again. Yeah, she's a flirt but, if she says Steve hit on her, I believe her. If any of her friends say he did, I believe them, too."
"She's a liar, Aubrey!", Karen said, her voice rising in anger. "It's bad enough she caused you to be distracted before you got shot by picking a fight with you—"
"Enough!", Aubrey shot back, fed up with Karen's rantings. "Jessica did nothing of the sort, and for the second time, anything that occurs between my girlfriend and me is none of your damn business. I was shot because a suspect wanted to commit suicide, and he used Booth and me to do the deed because he didn't have the balls to do it himself. This conversation is over, Karen. You need to leave."
Just then, the ICU elevator doors opened, and Jessica exited, carrying dinner from the diner and her overnight bag. As she went to say hi to the nurses, she saw them looking down the hall before she loud voices coming from Aubrey's room. Eyes bulging and her cheeks turning red, she stomped over, putting her hand up as one of the nurses was heading down to the room.
"I apologize for the disruption and I'll take of it."
Confirming her suspicions by looking at the visitor's log outside Aubrey's room, she heard Aubrey's voice rise as he became agitated.
"Karen, if your boyfriend is hassling interns at the lab, or any other female, it stops now. I will not tolerate sexual harassment from any of my agents. Now get out of my room."
"I'm not leaving until you do something about her—"
Quickly, Jessica entered the room, barely holding her temper. "Karen, what the hell are you doing here? I told you yesterday when you DM'd me on Twitter about visiting Aubrey that you're not welcome here and to leave us alone until you apologize for those offensive things you said to me, to Dr. B, and our other friends."
"Aubrey is my friend and you have no right to keep me from visiting him. He also has a right to know about the shit you're spreading around about Steve."
"I won't have you upset my boyfriend while he's recovering. Now go."
"No, because I was just telling him the truth. It hurts, doesn't it, Jessica?", Karen said. "Steve came to visit Aubrey, too and will be here in a few minutes. Now, when he gets here you'll treat him with respect and stop spreading rumors about him hitting on you, do you hear me?"
Jessica put her purse and overnight bag down on the visitor sofa and walked up to Aubrey's bed. "I will be as respectful as he was when he promised to make me squeal like a real man should since my 'skinny putz' boyfriend wasn't enough man for me."
"You're so full of it. Steve told me that you said Aubrey wasn't enough for you anymore and you needed a real man. Well, you can't have mine."
"I don't want him.", Jessica replied quietly. "Most normal, smart women with self respect and good taste wouldn't want him either. Now, my boyfriend is recovering from major surgery and you're upsetting him, so say your piece and go home."
Karen waved off Jessica's words. "He's fine. He's going to recover...no thanks to you...and I'm not leaving. He's my friend, too."
Aubrey had heard enough. "Karen, leave!"
As always, the profiler was surprised. "But Aubrey—"
"No, get out now. Until you apologize for whatever you did Wednesday—"
"All I did was tell the truth. Dr. Brennan was just on her high horse as always.—"
"Dr. B is pretty tolerant, Karen, and if my girlfriend says you were offensive to everyone, then I won't want to be around you until you apologize. I've asked you politely to leave, and now I'm telling you...get out. Turn around and walk out that door…", Aubrey stated strongly before pointing to the bag on the floor. "...and take that bag of garbage with you."
"But Steve's coming up here and I bought that for you—"
"Meet him at the elevator and toss this stuff for all I care. I can't eat it and I don't want it. As for Steve, he's just lucky I'm stuck in this bed right now, Karen, but I will deal with him later.", Aubrey said with forced calmness. "Now go, before I ask the nurse to call security."
Stiffly, Karen took her bag, got up, and walked around Jessica to the doorway. Turning around, she stared the redhead down. "This isn't over, Jessica."
"Whatever, Karen." When the profiler left, Jessica reluctantly looked at her boyfriend, who had hurt in his eyes. "This is not how I wanted you to find out about Steve."
"When were you going to tell me, Jessica?"
The redhead set the bag and drink tray down on the bedside tray before taking a seat. "Honestly, I wasn't planning on it."
"Why?"
"It's not the first time a man has hit on me, Aubrey and it won't be the last—"
"Steve is not some unknown man, Jessica.", Aubrey said in a restrained tone. "He's one of my agents, and you are an employee of the Jeffersonian. What he did was sexual harassment, and the FBI has strict rules against that. All I have to do is put a note in his file and his career is toast."
"Well, I think he got the message to leave me alone after I had almost broke his fingers Tuesday before he slipped in the mud.", Jessica said trying to bring some levity into the situation, but she saw that it failed as she caught the serious look on Aubrey's face. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I took care of the situation and I didn't want you to get upset, Superman."
"Well, I am very upset at him for being a first class douchebag by hitting on my girlfriend more than once and for calling me a 'skinny putz'—"
Jessica exhaled. "In the event of full disclosure, he called you a 'scrawny nerd' and a 'beanpole', too. Oh, and a 'dick' because you wouldn't help him Monday with Karen...whatever it was he wanted."
"He wants to me to help him dump Karen so he can marry his fiancée."
"Fiancée?" The redhead's eyes bulged. "Steve Bower? Are you sure he said he was getting married?"
"Yep.", Aubrey said before describing what happened in the bathroom Monday morning. When he was done, Jessica was biting her lip to keep from laughing out loud.
"I know it's not funny but...it is.", the redhead replied. "Superman, what's wrong? I know you feel bad about Karen, but she'll survive. Bower deserves whatever he gets because not even Karen deserves to be cheated on like that. If you're worried about me saying anything I won't-"
Aubrey shook his head. "I'm not worried, Jess. I can trust you with that. I'm upset because one of my agents was harassing my girlfriend and she didn't tell me."
Jessica rubbed her face in frustration. "Aubrey, I don't want to fight with you, but I'm going to hit on again at some point. A woman is going to hit on you at some point. I don't expect you to report every incident to me..."
"Why?"
"Because I trust you, Aubrey. I trust you to be faithful and committed to me.", Jessica said quietly. "I trust you to do the right thing by me…always."
Aubrey considered what Jessica had said. Perhaps he did blow it out of proportion. He also still had Gerald Maxwell fresh on his mind which didn't help either. Taking her hand, he looked at his girlfriend. "I'm sorry, Jess. I guess I was feeling a bit insecure."
"Insecure?", Jessica questioned before pointing at the door. "Over that piece of shit? Aubrey, you're ten times the man he is and one hundred times the man Philip Aubrey is."
The anthropologist hit the nail on the elephant in the room. "Jess…about my father—"
"Hush.", Jessica said, wanting to keep the peace. "You screwed up and you apologized. We're good, Superman. Now, let's move on to dinner."
Aubrey felt a little uncomfortable brushing his father and what happened aside, but if Jessica wanted to move on, he could do that. "Okay, Jessica. What do we have tonight?"
Relieved at Aubrey's acquiescence, the redhead grabbed the bag. "For the patient, I have…" Jessica pulled out a Styrofoam box and set it on his tray. "…one large order of fries…"
"Cool…did you get the garlic mayo?"
"No garlic mayo, Aubrey, per Dr. Elias' orders. No salt either, but I did grab some ketchup. Then…one large order of chicken noodle soup, followed by a large Royal Diner chocolate shake and a ginger ale."
"Awesome…"
"For me, I have a Sprite, a chocolate shake, and a bowl of chicken noodle soup.", Jessica said. "If you like, when we're done eating, I brought my Doctor Who box set to watch."
"Sounds great." Aubrey was about to dive into his food with Jessica put her soup aside, stood up, and kissed him. Stunned at the simple gesture, Aubrey smiled. "What was that for, Jess?"
"I'm just glad you're going to be okay. I don't think you'll ever know how much I love you, James Aubrey."
The agent felt a wave of emotion in his girlfriend's simple words. "It will never be as much as I love you, Jessica Warren."
The couple shared another kiss before the redhead sat down. Getting their food, they ate while exchanging glances at each other.