Time for Agent Shaw to have a little chat with Karen Delfs about her involvement with Gerald. Things are about to get heated...

PS: Super important A/N below.

The tension in the conference room was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Licking her lips, Karen stiffened her spine to hide her nervousness. "Why are you asking me about him? What's going on here?"

Putting her hand on her hip, Genny paused for a moment, enjoy the woman's discomfiture. "We arrested that piece of crap today."

Confused, Karen glanced at the pictures again, noting the crime scene photos of what looked like a lab and someone's apartment. Once again, she flinched when she saw the ones of a woman's throat and arm. Several large dark bruises were evident in both photos.

"He did all this?" At Genny's nod, Karen continued. "So am I here to help you with a profile on how to get him to confess?", Karen asked happily. "I knew it would be just a matter of time before Aubrey realized how much he needs me in Major Crimes-"

"No.", Genny said quietly, waiting for the next obvious question. When it didn't come, she pressed forward. "Aren't you curious as to why we arrested Gerald?"

Karen examined the photos again. "Well...from these two pictures, I'm assuming that it's because he vandalized another place and a woman was also attacked. Definitely fits his MO."

When she heard nothing in response, the profiler looked up to see the agent watching her intently. "What's the problem? Lack of evidence? I know you just said you didn't need a profile, but I can help you get that prick to confess in a heartbeat."

"Before I tell you what's going on, can we go over that time you and Gerald were together at Franklin's back in October?" Genny pursed her lips slightly, pretending to be confused. "Now, did you two arrange to meet there or did you just run into each other by happenstance?"

'Why the hell is she bringing that up now? We took care of all that already.' Not understanding the switch of subjects, Karen nonetheless recovered quickly. "Genevieve, like I said before, I stopped in for a drink and Gerald was moping at the bar. He wasn't someone I had expected to see in my neighborhood tavern."

Genny nodded. "So you didn't get ahold of him ahead of time by phone...text...or any kind of social media, right?"

Karen felt a knot form in her stomach but kept her cool. "Uh no. Total coincidence. How the hell would I find Gerald Maxwell on Twitter?"

'She immediately went for Twitter...interesting.' Genny kept the smile to herself. "Okay, now tell me again what happened after you saw him."

Karen rolled her eyes. "We've already talked about that, but fine. I sat down and said hello. He didn't remember me until I mentioned Daisy Wick-Pixler's wedding. Seeing he was so upset, I asked him what was wrong. He responded with a wicked case of verbal diarrhea about how Jessica had broken his heart and how Aubrey had humiliated him recently, so he was feeling no doubt quite horrible. I felt sorry for the guy, so I bought him a drink."

"Did you talk about anything else?", Genny asked before sipping her coffee.

Karen debated with herself for a moment before cautiously answering the question. "Obviously, we talked about Jessica and how she'd fucked up both our lives. After he whined about Aubrey tearing him down with that bitch's encouragement, I said she was talking smack about him to everyone. When he asked how, I told him about her shooting off her mouth about pressing sexual harassment charges against him and how she'd stolen Aubrey from me. He was pissed, but he chilled out before we went back to my place to have sex since I lived about six blocks away. Now, what does all this ancient history have to do with why Gerald Maxwell was arrested today?"

Genny tapped her foot as she purposely dragged out her answer. "Well...we found Ashley Anders unconscious in her apartment this morning in front of her stove. Luckily the two agents who found her were able to save her, and she's at the hospital right now."

"Gerald Maxwell's girlfriend? They seemed to be an odd match whenever I saw them in pictures or on the news, but different strokes for different folks." Karen shook her head. "She must've been scared about those bomb threat charges she was facing, and she could get real jail time unless you can prove it wasn't her. I guess it was just too much stress for her to handle, so she decided to take the easy way out. That is so sad…"

"No, we don't think that she tried to kill herself.", Genny responded calmly. "From what Ms. Anders told us at the hospital, and given the evidence we've collected from her apartment, we can prove that she was drugged several hours before, while she was with Gerald. When she was unconscious, he somehow moved her in front of her gas stove and turned it on, setting the scene to make it look like she had committed suicide."

Karen's eyes bugged out in surprise. "That's awful. Gerald Maxwell is sick. Very sick. Can you come up with a motive?"

Genny waited for a moment, letting the truth sink in. "We think he did it so he could gain access to the Jeffersonian's Medico-Legal Lab."

"Why on earth would he want to go there?", Karen asked, getting a bad feeling about the turn the conversation was taking. "I thought he was fired...and banned from the museum. Going back there would be stupid."

"You really don't know what happened over there today, do you?", Genny asked.

"Well, there was something John was watching on the news about people being attacked at the Jeffersonian….oh shit…" Realization hit Karen's face and her mouth dropped in shock. "...that was Gerald Maxwell?"

"Yes, Karen. At 9:30 this morning, Gerald Maxwell, using Ashley Anders' badge, broke into the lab and attacked five people. One person is in critical condition, three are in serious condition, and one is being held overnight for observation. There were no fatalities, although the one in critical condition is touch and go right now."

"I didn't realize...John was watching it but I turned off the television...oh my…"

"He convinced one of his other girlfriends to lace the coffee of the two security guards working in the lab itself. We're pretty sure she used eye drops...enough to make sure they were incapacitated. With them out of the way and having Ashley's badge to gain entry, he was able to slip in through an employee entrance and get into the lab through the intern locker room so he could escape detection."

"Why were five people at the lab? I thought it was like...deserted on the weekends."

"Well, Angela was working on Ashley's case. She found one of the security guards unconscious in a bathroom, covered in vomit. Slipping on some that had flowed on the floor, she hit her head on the sink and then landed on the floor pretty hard. Dr. Oliver Wells was a last minute addition to the intern schedule today, and he was found severely beaten in a store room near the basement, where Jessica Warren was also attacked."

"Oh my...I hope everyone is alright." Karen studied her nails, avoiding Shaw's glare. "That's awful…"

"You care if Jessica is all right? Or Angela?", Genny asked calmly. "That's a first."

Karen looked stricken. "Yeah, I hate Jessica, but I don't want the bitch assaulted or dead...nor anyone else there, even that know it all Angela Montenegro. What kind of a person would wish that on anyone?"

Genny nodded as she considered the profiler's question. "I don't know, Karen. Who do you think?"

Not liking the pointed comment, Karen cleared her throat. She glanced at the photo of Limbo again, taking in the chaos of the place before looking up at the agent. "Has Gerald...said anything about why he...did this...horrific thing?"

'Karen is looking a little bit pale. Good…the bitch needs to sweat.' Genny held back a smile. "Yeah...he said it was distress from his father's death that caused him to snap and go after Jessica. Everyone else were at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Of course Jessica is involved.", Karen muttered. "Did he do anything else?"

"Funny you should ask that, Karen." Genny pulled papers out of a folder and gave them to the profiler. "We found evidence today proving that he made the January 6th bomb threat to the Jeffersonian."

"Wasn't that the day of that Governing Board hearing? The one his father got kicked off from due to him bribing women Gerald sexually harassed?"

"Yes it was. Furthermore, Gerald was the one who purchased the burner phone the day before and charged it to Ms. Anders' credit card. We also discovered at that same store visit he purchased the items used to make the two security guards sick."

"Wow...he was a busy boy these last few weeks."

Genny nodded. "Tell me, Karen, do you think Gerald just snapped...or was this something that he had planned?"

Not sure what Genny's point was, Karen took a breath. "I don't know him well enough to say for certain. However, in the last several weeks, Gerald has exhibited several narcissistic characteristics. It's very obvious that his issues with Jessica have exacerbated them."

'Always coming back to Jessica.' Genny thought. "Really?"

"Yes. I concur with your theory that he used that Ashley girl and tried to get rid of her when he didn't need her anymore. The bomb threat was probably meant to stop his father from losing his Board seat, but just in case, he used his girlfriend's credit card to cover his ass. Until now, the explanation of emotional distress leading to today is plausible. However, if he purchased whatever substance was used for poisoning the guards at the same time as the phone, which was before Harold Maxwell's death, then that argument is moot. Then, there's whom we assume was his main target...Jessica."

Karen paused. "Should I continue? I know you're friends with the twit, so you may not like what I have to say."

"Please, Karen. Go right ahead." Genny nodded, fighting not to tell off the woman in front of her. "I insist. This is nothing personal, after all. Right now Jessica is not my friend, but one of five victims of a horrific crime today."

"Good for you for seeing that distinction, Genevieve. She has too many people babying her." Karen sat up before continuing. "It's obvious that Gerald sees Jessica as the root of all his troubles, which for the most part, she was."

"I have to agree with you there, Karen.", Genny said without emotion.

Feeling relaxed, Karen continued. "This is just speculation on my part, but Gerald probably surmised that killing Jessica would not only lead to all criminal charges against him being dropped but also rid him of the person whom he considered the bane of his existence. That twit definitely led the wrong boy on. Aubrey has his hands full with her for sure."

Karen pulled a Bluetooth speaker, a bag of Fritos, and a banana out of her bag until she found a bottle of water. Opening it, she chugged a drink before continuing.

"You know, he didn't seem crazy at the Pixler wedding a few months ago. A little egotistical before and after he got all wastie face, but he seemed alright. He's definitely fallen down the rabbit hole of crazy since then...but in my opinion, he's still not legally insane."

Genny leaned over the table with her palms on it. "So you agree with me that the chances of him doing all this because of his father's death made him snap are nil?"

"Yes, Genevieve, that's what I just said. Jessica's attack was obviously planned, probably weeks in advance. People like Gerald have fragile egos...like a house of cards. One bump and it can fall apart. Some will do anything to get revenge for a perceived slight that sounds minor to most people...sometimes they will wait weeks...months...even years."

Genny nodded. "So, do you think it was one incident with Jessica in particular that pushed him over the edge...or several things…"

"Genevieve, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I don't know him well enough or all the details about the case, to make a true assessment.", Karen said.

Genny sat down, gesturing for the profiler to continue. "But you're familiar with Gerald's actions the last few months. Your best guess...it's off the record."

"It would be easier to just work on a profile for his case, but alright." Karen relaxed a bit. "He's probably exhibited these tendencies for years, but he's used his charm and his family's money to cover up any past peccadillos I'm sure he had."

"Already figured that one out, Karen."

"You don't have to be so snippy.", Karen bit back. "As to what I think pushed him over the edge? I think it was Jessica leading him on for two years and flaunting her relationships with other men, including Aubrey. Obviously the mixed signals that she sent Gerald affected him more than anyone realized. Of course, while she shouldn't have been beaten up and almost murdered, her chickens have come home to roost."

Genny crossed her arms, arching her eyebrow at the profiler. "Is that right, Karen?"

"Yes. Jessica being easy with men is a big example. I mean...when a girl flashes her hoochie skirts and panties at any man who breathes, someone is going to get the wrong idea...not that it's right for a man to take advantage of that, of course." Karen took another drink of her water. "Add to that how she stole Aubrey from me after leading Gerald around, then in turn tried to steal Steve from me, too. She has to have all of the men's attention until it's no longer convenient. No one should be assaulted, but Jessica earned herself a hard lesson. I would've preferred it be something like her being fired from the lab and leaving DC, but the universe is sometimes a nasty bitch."

"I see." Genny pulled the rest of the photographs out and laid them out on the table.

When Karen saw the images, she visibly flinched. "Oh my God...who is that?"

"Those are more photos of Jessica taken at the hospital. As you can see, the assault was particularly vicious." Genny waited a moment. "He even relieved himself on her."

"He...peed on her?" At Genny's affirmative nod, Karen felt very nauseous. "That is...ugh...awful."

"Why do you think he would do something as disgusting as that?", Genny asked, noting Karen's last answer. "That's pretty specific, don't you think? From my experience, something like that is usually done to send a message to the victim."

'No...no it wasn't me...no...no...I didn't do this.' Karen warred with herself. "He obviously wanted to humiliate her, not just rape and kill her. Perhaps it was from Aubrey making him wet himself at the Halloween Gala last fall..."

Genny decided that she was done playing cat and mouse. "You're not going to come out and tell me, are you Karen?"

Feeling a chill down her spine, Karen gulped as she struggled for an answer. "Well…"

"I know the truth."

"You know the truth...about what?", Karen replied quietly.

"I know about all the lies that you've told Gerald and his father about Jessica." The petite woman stood up, placed her hands on the table and bent forward. "Why did you tell Gerald that Jessica was going to set him up for sexual harassment charges? Why did you lie about her spreading rumors at the Jeffersonian that he was gay, impotent...and that he liked woman urinating on him?"

Karen wanted the earth to swallow her whole as what she had feared became reality. She tried to speak but no words came out, which infuriated Genny more.

"What possessed you to go to a man with whom Jessica has an antagonistic history with and fill his head with lies about her?", Genny raged. "You're an FBI profiler who is trained in deciphering the human mind. You just said yourself that he's narcissistic, so what the hell went through your mind when you decided that egging him on about Jessica was a good idea?!"

Trying to defend herself, Karen pushed her point. "I didn't tell him to assault her-"

"No, you didn't, but what you did was worse. You played on his ego...his insecurities...his family's connections to the Jeffersonian...all so they would get rid of Jessica, your scapegoat for all that goes wrong in your life." Genny paced back and forth in the conference room. "I knew you were pissed about Aubrey choosing Jessica over you, Karen. I knew you resented her because she was friends with everyone at the lab while they barely tolerated you. I even knew that you were jealous of her, but...you're almost as sick as Gerald is."

"I didn't want him to hurt her! I didn't want Jessica raped! I just wanted her gone, damn it!", Karen yelled. "Why couldn't she just leave? Why couldn't she just walk away from Aubrey after breaking up with him?"

"Aubrey and Jessica broke up because of a terrible misunderstanding, not because the love was gone. They're best friends, Karen, and they were both miserable without each other."

"But-"

"Your interference made it harder for them to even be close enough to talk to each other so they could work things out. If it wasn't for your crap, Aubrey and Jessica would have probably gotten back together a lot sooner than they did."

"I was Aubrey's friend when he needed one, and we were getting closer. It wouldn't have been long before he realized that we could be more than 'just friends' in time. However, that bitch changed her mind and took away my chance at happiness!"

Genny didn't say a word as she listened to the profiler's tantrum.

"The day I met Aubrey in the hospital after he survived that bombing and he said I was like Clarice Starling...I sensed a connection between us. He was kind, funny, smart...he was perfect. Sure, Jessica visited him in the hospital, too, but they were friends that did stupid, childish things together, like watching Dr. Who episodes and talking about that Star Wars movie stuff. They were in different phases of life. I mean, she's a damn college student five years younger than him. I know I'm older than him, but I'm ready to settle down. Aubrey and I were perfect for each other..."

"Really?" Genny was scandalized. "Are you serious?"

"Yes!" Karen jumped out of her seat. "Don't you see? My profiling skills...his FBI talent...we would be like Booth and Dr. Brennan. We have a connection together, but he couldn't see it. I know he acted annoyed with me when I ate his burger after working our first case together, and I know that he always seemed to blow me off when I tried to talk to him, but he was just playing hard to get. I saw the pictures he posted on his Facebook with him and Jessica doing their weird science fiction stuff, but I knew he would get bored with her eventually. I even researched his file and his father's case so I would know everything about him when he was ready to take the next step with me."

"Wait...you studied up on his father before the Frank Kwiakowski case? You read Aubrey's jacket?", Genny asked, astonished at the woman in front of him. 'Crazy ass bitch.'

"Yes, Genevieve. Aubrey and I were meant to be, so I wanted to get to know him better. I waited for the phone call to work with him again so I could ask him out, but he was always too busy for me. Then I found out that I was getting transferred to Kansas City and I was so pissed, but I decided to go for broke. I found Aubrey the next morning in Booth's office and I finally asked him out, first for coffee, but he was like 'I already have coffee.' Silly boy, so I asked him to go out with me that night. Booth helped him along when he played dumb, but I knew he wouldn't turn me down, and he didn't. It was going to be awesome...finally, a date with Aubrey. Kismet."

Genny rolled her eyes. "He's told me about that, Karen, and it wasn't kismet, but an ambush. He didn't want to hurt your feelings in front of Booth, but he didn't want to go on a date with you either. You gave him an impossible choice, Karen. What you did was terrible."

"No, it was smart, because we would finally have our date. Sure, he seems more like a vanilla sex man, but I would loosen him up and then we'd have an amazing night together. We would do the long distance thing for a while, but eventually I would get him to join me in Kansas City. It was a perfect plan."

"But when you two were alone, he told you that he couldn't go out with you because he was dating Jessica...so you humiliated him by first immediately bringing up his father and his crimes, a sore spot with him. Then, to twist the knife, you also burned him in front of a suspect because you were pissed."

"I didn't mean anything by what I said-"

"Yeah, you did. I'm a woman, too, Karen, and I know how you were thinking. You wanted to punish him for hurting you. No way did you not realize what you said when you said it. It was intentional, and you know it."

"Well, you don't accept a date and then break it. It's rude."

"Once again, you ambushed him with Booth there and his choices were accept and break the date later, accept and go on the date but lie to his girlfriend, or turn you down in front of his boss. Aubrey did you a favor, Karen. You were the one who was rude."

"I never-"

"When you got Aubrey alone later on, you played it off as if you just wanted a one night stand, but you weren't going to be satisfied with that, were you, Karen?" Genny nodded as she saw the flash of anger in Karen's eyes. "You got lucky when you were transferred back to DC. Of course, you still wanted Aubrey, but there was that issue with him being happy in his relationship with Jessica."

"I was around her ten minutes and I knew right away that she wasn't the one for him. She's flighty, has a big mouth, and is a major commitment phobe. I was patient, though, and when she took that class in Scotland and his father came back, it was perfect. I was his friend and there for him. Then she came home and took over again...and I realized that all that I needed to do was play on her insecurities...and his. Each would realize that it would never work between them and they could break up amicably. I would have been okay with them being friends."

"When Aubrey's offer to transfer to LA came up, you pushed all the right buttons with both of them. Then, when Jessica broke up with Aubrey, you saw your chance."

"I didn't jump in right away. Jessica was very upset and didn't want to speak to Aubrey, but I knew he needed closure. I tried to stop him from going to her, but he was determined, so I figured that after she told him off, he would let her go. That was what was supposed to happen."

Genny smirked. "But that's not what happened, was it, Karen?"

"No, that clean break she wanted was bullshit because instead of telling him off, she gave him enough hope of a future reconciliation that he decided to give her time. I knew it was time to bring out the big guns. Starting the next day, I visited him every day during lunch and perhaps I said a few things to make people think we were together, but I needed to level the playing field…"

"The rumors that you two were having sex in his office every day during lunch...Aubrey was too caught up in dealing with his break up with Jessica to see what you were up to. Jessica heard them, which led her to think Aubrey didn't love her anymore."

"Aubrey and I had dinners and lunches together and we talked...albeit about Jessica, but we were getting in quality time. My efforts to get him to be with me were taking longer than I had planned, but after ignoring him for two weeks, I knew he was mine."

"But he wasn't yours, was he?"

Karen ground her teeth in frustration. "When Vacchio's body was found and she snubbed him at the crime scene, Aubrey came back to Major Crimes and wallowed in self pity about how she was mean to him. I mean, seriously, it was like he didn't notice me at all. So, I had to kick it up a notch…"

"Getting Aubrey to take you to Daisy Wick's wedding, then rubbing it in Jessica's face...which led to her asking Gerald Maxwell to be her date.", Genny stated.

"It was perfect...Aubrey would see her with a rich, handsome man and he would move on right? But, things got messy because her idiot date got drunk and we had to take her home. I knew something had happened when Aubrey walked her to the door, because he was very upset when he returned to the vehicle. He wouldn't tell me what happened, so I tried to comfort him by offering my company for the night. Instead of appreciating my invitation, he rather harshly turned me down."

"Ahhhhh, I bet that pissed you off when he rejected your offer of rebound sex."

"It wouldn't have been rebound sex, but comfort that would lead to a better relationship for him. Of course, him turning me down was a small setback, but I didn't give up. I just needed to bide my time…so I made him lunches so we could spend time together like we had been doing but suddenly, he was always gone…"

"I remember the lasagna and how it stunk up the break room all day.", Genny said with a smirk. "The reason Aubrey was always gone because he was trying to avoid you, Karen. Between you stalking him and Booth cluing him in to those rumors about the two of you, he wanted to discourage you as much as possible without being mean to you. Obviously, you can't take a hint."

Karen gave her a nasty face. "No, he was scared of falling for someone again, which is a natural thing. As much as I tried to be patient, I was tired of him taking me for granted. When Jake asked me to go work a case in Seattle, it was perfect. Aubrey would realize that I wouldn't be around forever and that he needed to put Jessica in the past so we could be together."

"Yeah...but when you returned, he still didn't bite…"

"No. I tried calling him when I returned but he didn't answer. When he finally answered my text, he said he was with an ex-girlfriend. I didn't put two and two together until a few days later when on my way home from work, I saw Aubrey with that red headed twat coming out of the Royal Diner. They linked arms and looked all...lovey dovey. It was disgusting, to say the least."

"I think it sounds nice. Jessica told me one day that after Aubrey got advice from Booth the day after Daisy's wedding and after she confided in Dr. B and Angela, they had finally talked to each other about what happened and what went wrong. They came out of that discussion deciding to fix their friendship with a goal of eventually also fixing their romantic relationship. It took time and patience, but they worked through all that pain and found each other again."

"Yes, the amazing 'I fucked up talk' that I heard about at Aubrey's birthday party.", Karen spat out. "That jealous bitch probably flashed her hoo ha at Aubrey and he got caught up in the sexual excitement."

"Karen, if it was just sex, they wouldn't have worked so hard to get back together or been as successful at their relationship as they've been this time around-", Genny said before being interrupted.

"No...no...Jessica dumped Aubrey...right before a firefight...putting his life in danger. I cooked for him...put up with his cat who was never nice to me...listened to him whine about that redheaded crotch. She just swooped him and took him from me. It wasn't fair, Genevieve. Jessica threw him away! He was mine! It was my turn!"

"Aubrey is a flesh and blood man, Karen...not a damn ball to be shared between schoolmates at recess.", Genny said, disgusted with the woman in front of her.

"I wasn't going to let Jessica just waltz in and take him away after all the work I put in. I tried to get her to back off-"

"Oh yeah...your visit to the lab. I heard all about that.", Genny laughed. "You not only brought Aubrey and Jessica closer together but you also got yourself banned."

"Misunderstanding. I tried to be friends with everyone at the lab, but Jessica got them to hate me. I don't understand why they like her so much…"

"Maybe because Jessica is...I don't know...a genuinely nice person?"

"No, she's a two faced little snake. After making me look like a fool, she then humiliated me by not inviting me to Aubrey's birthday party."

"Because she knew Aubrey wouldn't want you there. He had to move into Booth's old house to get away from you after you broke into his apartment. Remember?"

"I thought he was in danger, Genevieve. What did I get for my concern? Irritation from Aubrey. How rude was that?" Karen exhaled slowly. "When I'd overheard Jessica and Booth talking about how she was going to just ditch Aubrey on his birthday, I couldn't let that stand. I just wanted to be with my friend."

"Which is why you tried tricking his elderly landlady for the address before conning it out of Charlie Burns."

"Do you know how humiliated I was when I showed up at Aubrey's new house and saw everyone there? Everyone was invited except me, and it was so hard to be there while everyone looked at me like an intruder."

Genny shook her head at Karen's inability to see reality. "Maybe you should have left, Karen, and spared yourself the pain...or been appreciative enough to avoid making snide comments about Aubrey's gifts, food, or guests. You put your foot in your mouth with that shot about the kids being there."

"No, I was Aubrey's friend, too, and I had a right to stay. He deserved better than some cheap ass barbecue junk and recycled gifts. Of course, Jessica was territorial with him all night. At least he got to open my gift for him without her going all nuts."

"Yes, after he graciously let you stay, you repaid his kindness by embarrassing him with a gift of underwear for his birthday in front of his girlfriend and guests! That was so inappropriate in so many ways. You're lucky Aubrey didn't file a sexual harassment complaint after that...although I tried to convince him to."

"You need to mind your own business-"

"Enough, Karen. We're not here to debate your delusions about Aubrey. Now I want to know exactly when you arranged to meet up with Gerald at Franklin's I'm sure you remember. If not, I can ask Gerald for the date." Genny saw the other woman open, then close her mouth. "Being open about everything will serve you well right about now."

Karen glared at the other woman. "The day after Aubrey's birthday. The way Aubrey just...let me go home and then Angela being nasty to me because I didn't jump when she said I was blocking the driveway…I didn't deserve that."

"Her husband is paralyzed, Karen, and she's also pregnant. The fact you had a fit when you were asked to move your vehicle because you wanted to flirt with a man who was not interested only makes you less sympathetic. Now on with it."

Karen exhaled haughtily. "Well, Aubrey called and asked me to come in at 7:00 Monday and I couldn't wait because then I could talk to him alone. I knew that once Jessica was out of the picture, Aubrey's head would be on straight. However, that brat got too big for her britches and needed to be taught a lesson...and I thought it might even the playing field for me once again. For that, I met up with Maxwell at Franklin's."

"Met up with him?", Genny asked. "Or did you track him down on Twitter?"

"I found him on Twitter and after a few tries, got him to meet me. I had to listen to him brag all about that Thrace thing, but when he finally shut his trap, I told him that Jessica was fixing to set him up with sexual harassment charges. I figured he would use his influence to get her fired. She'd be gone...no muss, no fuss."

"And after that?", Genny asked.

"You know we went back to my apartment and screwed each other.", Karen bit back. "Mediocre at best, but it had been a while."

"Karen…"

"He left around 1:30 in the morning, and then less than six hours later what was supposed to be a nice breakfast for Aubrey and me turned into an ambush where you got to listen to Aubrey give me hell when he wasn't bragging about his breakfast with that bitch."

"You were the one who brought the bear claws, Karen.", Genny said with a smile. "Those were amazing by the way. Thanks."

"Luckily for me, right after that horrid meeting, I had met Steve. I wasn't happy to see Jessica was still around because that meant Gerald had messed up. But, I decided that I would be the bigger person and be polite to Jessica. After all, it was merely a matter of time before she would dump Aubrey again and he would see that I was right."

Genny held back her comment. "Yeah, but Jessica didn't dump Aubrey, Karen. In fact, she took him home to meet her family for Thanksgiving."

"I felt sorry for Aubrey since she made it obvious she wanted Steve because I had him. Obviously, the rush of having Aubrey back must have been boring her, but that was too bad. Then, she made me look stupid on Thanksgiving in front of the group."

"Oh, when you insinuated that she was a slut because she hung out with friends who just so happened to be male, including the husband of Lab Director Camille Saroyan? And then Aubrey turned it back on you?"

"I can't help his naivete, but the pathetic stuff she did, like sitting on his lap when I was asking Aubrey to help translate the football game for me...it was just so...blatant..."

"Yeah, because you wouldn't let a seven year old girl sit with her Uncle Aubrey. Feeling threatened by a child, Karen? Pretty sad."

Karen ignored the agent's implication. "That jealous little twat had everyone at Booth and Dr. Brennan's house wrapped around her finger, and they were too stupid to realize it. I just wanted to be with my friends because Steve had barely talked to me while he was in Wisconsin, but Jessica ruined that, too."

'Because he was with Mitzi', Genny realized. "So...obviously, you went to Gerald-"

"No, I went to Harold Maxwell's office the next day. I needed to use the big guns to get Jessica out of town. No internship...no school...she would leave DC and she would be out of my hair. When Mr. Maxwell graciously let me see him, I told him that Jessica was still going to sue his son for harassment. To light a fire underneath those men, I also added that she was also telling people at the Jeffersonian that his son was gay and impotent. Harold was pissed off...so pissed off. He said, 'no little cunt would wreck what he and Gerald had worked years to accomplish'."

"Did it occur to you that maybe it wouldn't end at firing her, Karen?", Genny said. "Surely you had to know you were crossing a line…"

"Jessica crossed a line when she humiliated me at the hospital after Aubrey was shot. Saying those awful things about Steve...about me...because I had the guts to speak the truth instead of protecting her delicate sensibilities? I'd had it with her being mean to me."

"On the contrary, Karen, she was very tolerant of you, considering the situation. She put Aubrey's needs ahead of her own so he would have all the support he needed. She tried to avoid a fight but you pushed her too far with all that stuff you said. Frankly, I would have kicked your ass sooner."

"So she steamrolled over you, too? God, what is with you people-"

"Enough, Karen. Back to the question."

Karen exhaled forcefully. "I wasn't going to let Jessica get away with those awful things she said. I didn't get why she wasn't fired yet, so I decided to try one more time and I knew exactly what to say to push Gerald and Harold Maxwell to get rid of that bitch."

"That he liked women to pee on him...to humiliate him.", Genny said quietly. "You used what happened at the Halloween Gala."

"I knew she would be fired then." Karen took in a shaky breath. "I didn't know at the time about what had happened to her apartment...because you wouldn't tell me when I asked, remember? If I had known, maybe I would have acted differently."

"No...you're not turning this around on me, Karen." Genny pointed at the other woman. "Jessica's case was none of your business. You had no need to know."

Karen began biting a nail. "I didn't know what he had done to those other women...or that he threatened her on his first day back at the lab after his suspension. if I had known all that, I would have never..."

"Didn't it ever occur to you that your little game might have serious consequences beyond your perfect bow tied intent of getting Jessica to leave town?", Genny asked. "I mean, she has family here and there are other anthropology programs in this area. What about then?"

"But she would be out of Aubrey's orbit.", Karen said desperately. "What Gerald did to her was terrible, but he was arrested and going to get tried and convicted for what he did, as he should. I didn't tell him to do all that stuff. I'm not crazy. I never wanted Jessica or anyone else hurt. I just wanted what was mine." Karen slammed her hand down on the table. "AUBREY WAS MINE, DAMN IT!"

'I've let her whine long enough. Time to Karen to see reality.' Genny kept her cool as she held up a photo of Jessica's bruised neck. "Well, your great plan backfired, because instead of getting her fired, this is what Gerald did to Jessica. See all those bruises? Those were his hands as he choked her while he tried to pull her pants and panties down."

Next she held up the pictures of Jessica's arm, back, and legs as well as of her face. "These are all the bruises she got when she fell down the stairs. This next photo was after he punched her."

Grabbing the photo of her ribs, Genny held it up to Karen's face. "These are from Gerald shoving her into a light table with extreme force. She has two bruised ribs...miraculously she didn't fracture or break anything."

Before Karen could look away, Genny held up photos of the crime scene of Oliver's assault. "This is what he did to Oliver Wells when he had the misfortune of entering the store room while Gerald was there. Our suspect used a hammer to beat him seven times in the head and then left him there to die. The irony is that Dr. Wells was supposed to be working in another work area outside of the lab, but due a last minute schedule change, Dr. Hodgins let him work with Jessica instead."

Genny grabbed another crime scene photograph. "Here is where Angela found one of the security guards unconscious. See that fluid? That's vomit. The light wasn't working, so she tripped and fell in it, hitting her head against the sink before landing hard on the floor, which endangered the little boy she's carrying. We found the other security guard in a similar state in the Bone Room where Dr. Brennan and her interns examine remains. He had also vomited and lost consciousness when his heart rate fluctuated all over the place, thanks to the Visine slipped in his coffee."

When the profiler looked away, Genny shoved the first picture Karen looked at back in her face. "This is Modular Bone Storage, or as some of the squints call it when Dr. B isn't around, Limbo. It's a large storage facility in the basement where the lab keeps unidentified remains. This is where Gerald assaulted Jessica. Let me tell you all that happened."

Genny came around and leaned against the table next to Karen. "Jessica was working with Dr. Wells, who had left to get something called Mikrosil for a bone he was examining. When he was gone for an extended period of time, she became irritated because he'd left his set of remains out, which is a big no no for Dr. B. Of course, she didn't know at the time that Oliver was severely injured, two security guards were poisoned, and that Angela had fallen and hit her head when she slipped on one guard's vomit."

Crossing her arms, she continued. "Deciding to find her fellow intern, she went to investigate. When Jessica reached the top of the stairs, Gerald sucker punched her and she fell down fourteen marble steps until she landed back onto the room's concrete floor. Gerald followed her downstairs and before she could get away from him, he urinated on her while taunting her. Then, after she kicked him in the face and stopped her escape, he tossed her like a ragdoll into a lab table, bruising two of her ribs and getting the wind knocked out of her again."

"I don't need to hear it…"

"She was in a great deal of pain, but still she tried to get away. He caught her and proceeded to punch her a second time and she landed onto a door. When she tried to get away again, he kept hitting her. Not only that, he ripped at her clothes, telling her that she owed him and that he would prove to her that he wasn't gay and could always get it up."

Genny saw Karen turn pale but continued to speak.

"She managed to hit him in the groin and claw him severely. For that, he threw her on the floor and cruelly ripped the necklace she was wearing off her, even though she begged and pleaded for him not to."

Karen couldn't keep her mouth shut. "Some guy is trying to rape her and she's concerned about some stupid necklace. Nice priorities, Jessica."

Genny couldn't quite hold back her irritation at the profiler's thoughtless comment. "Aubrey gave her that necklace for Christmas as a token of his love and affection for her and she wears it almost every day. He obviously did it to torture her when he saw how scared she was."

Karen didn't want to acknowledge the pangs of jealousy that she felt. "Well, still...I'm sure she'll get over it. Now let's move on-"

"He then strangled her on and off while telling her how much the power turned him on before detailing his plan to rape and then kill her. He was about ready to pull her pants off and penetrate her when Aubrey arrived and fought him off. Steve and I arrived behind him and we arrested the creep."

"I...I...that's horrible…"

"If it wasn't for Aubrey showing up when he did, Jessica would be dead right now, Karen. Gerald was that close to killing her. Look at that place, Karen! I can't even imagine the terror she went through because she didn't know that Aubrey would find her. All she knew was that she was probably going to die there...on a cold basement floor with the last thing she would see is a pair of hard, cold green eyes staring at her."

Genny could see Karen was shaken, but she wanted to make her point crystal clear. Grabbing the photos of Jessica's injuries again, she shoved them in the other woman's view.

"Look at these photos, Karen. Two bruised ribs, a laceration to her right temple, a black eye, split lip, bruises all over her face, arms, and her hips and legs from her fall, her throat swollen and marked with that son of a bitch's fingermarks where he cut off her air and blood flow. Look at all this...this started because of you!"

Karen looked at all the pictures and shook. "I didn't want anyone hurt...I swear…I was just sick of that cunt taking everything from me..."

Genny had to breathe for a minute to avoid slapping the woman in front of her. "You will never refer to her as a cunt again, do you understand, Karen? She is a victim of a monstrous crime and she deserves our sympathy and understanding, not petty name calling."

Genny saw the profiler start to cry, but it only made her madder. "Quit the fucking tears, Karen, because you know what you did."

"I didn't want anyone hurt...I didn't know that he would go after her like that..."

"Aubrey had his suspicions about you, but he didn't push them because he had no proof...and deep down, I'm sure he was still ashamed of how he treated you a few months ago. Who wants to know that their actions could lead to someone they love being hurt?"

Getting no answer, Genny was surprised. "Wow, Karen? No response on how Jessica started all this? It's different when you actually consider Aubrey's feelings, isn't it?"

"Aubrey didn't make Gerald do what he did…"

"No, he didn't...and neither did Jessica. However, the boss is going to blame himself for not putting a stop to your meddling sooner. Honestly, I don't think it would have mattered even if he had filed a report of sexual harassment back in October, but he will. Then there's Jessica, who is going to be second guessing every situation with Gerald and wondering what she could have done different. Essentially, you've traumatized not only the woman you point at as the blame for all your problems...but you've also traumatized the man you say you care about...even love. That's not love, Karen...that cruelly punishing two people who had the audacity to not give into your temper tantrum."

As Karen thought about what Genny said, the reality of the situation hit her. 'Was I punishing Aubrey? No...I love him...but he wouldn't be with me...if he were with me, Jessica still would have got into trouble...of course...wouldn't she?'

Genny saw the gears running in Karen's mind. Not ready to let go of her own anger, she pressed forward to twist the knife further. "Now, it's time for you to face what you did...especially because now I have to come up with how I'm going to tell Aubrey and Jessica everything."

Karen lost all color in her face. "You can't…"

"I have to, Karen. He's my boss. Jessica is the victim and both are my friends. They have a right to know. Also, because after we arraign Gerald tomorrow morning, it will be on every television station, every newspaper, every news blog...Twitter...Facebook...Tumblr..."

Genny slammed the photos down. "Jessica's life...Aubrey's life...Oliver Wells...hell, even Gerald Maxwell's...will never be the same again. Congratulations, Dr. Delfs. You got one over on a college intern who had the audacity to be the woman James Aubrey is in love with. You also showed Aubrey what happens when he's obstinate instead of just giving you what you felt you were entitled to, which was to be his lover and girlfriend. Hope it feels good."

'I just wanted Jessica fired...I didn't want her hurt...I didn't want Aubrey hurt, either…' Karen fought back tears. "I can't believe I was so stupid…I'm so sorry….I swear I didn't want her hurt...or anyone hurt."

Genny's patience had reached an end. "I don't want to hear your whining. There will never be enough apologies for what you started. Never. You get to live with that. Just know that when Aubrey finds out his suspicions that you helped start all this...shitstorm were correct, he is going to come after you. You'll be lucky to have any sort of career when he gets done."

"In time, Aubrey will forgive me...he will…", Karen said quietly.

Genny shook her head. "James Aubrey is a very nice man who cares about people and from what I've seen in the four months I've worked with him, he doesn't believe in holding grudges. However, you went after his best friend...the woman he loves. You crossed a line with him, Karen. Don't bet on that forgiveness anytime soon."

Genny felt the urge to slap the older woman, who was sobbing at the table. "Now get yourself together, because Ms. Julian will be here soon to question you...and if you think I was mean to you, you've seen nothing yet."

She was almost out the door when she stopped and turned around.

"By the way, my name is Agent Shaw. Only my mother calls me Genevieve. I know you've done it to irritate me in the past, and it ends now or the next time I'll knock you on your ass."

The agent didn't wait for an answer from the despondent profiler as she stormed back to her office, dreading what she had to do.

"I'll tell her and Aubrey tomorrow. Jessica has been through enough tonight."

Before she could sit down and collect her thoughts, Caroline came into the office. "Is she ready for me?"

"Yes, ma'am." Genny pulled out her voice recorder. "Do you want to hear it before going in to talk to her? It was...pretty interesting to say the least."

The US Attorney sat down and the women listened to the interrogation. By the time it was completed, Caroline was angry.

"That bonne a rienne...I would love nothing more than to smack her upside her stupid head and throw her in jail."

"Is there anything we can charge her with, Ms. Julian?", Genny asked, hopeful. "What she started was...I have no words."

"No, unfortunately, because if he is declared sane enough to go to trial, any later charges we try to put on Karen Delfs will be thrown out. A defense attorney on his or her first day will give the point that Gerald was of sound mind and body when he chose to go after Jessica and those other people, and he was not forced to do so by her. While rusty on my civil law, it's possible Jessica could make a case to sue her for punitive damages later down the line,, as could everyone else affected today." Caroline shook her head. "I'm sorry, Agent Shaw."

"I know...but it was worth a shot."

Caroline smiled. "Indeed. Now, it's my turn."

Genny watched the formidable woman walk towards the conference room. "Oh Karen...you're so screwed."

Getting the files together, the ASAC went back out into the bullpen where Agents Bower, Haggarty, Thompson, Bell, and Casper were working while pretending not to spy on what was going on in the conference room. Knowing it was time to rein them in, Genny called everyone to order and moved them into a huddle.

"Okay folks, I know we all want to know what's going on in there, but we need to focus. Now I need to know where everyone is with their parts of Gerald Maxwell's case. We need to put our findings together for SAC Booth, who will be overseeing everything regarding this piece of shit. He'll be back later wanting an update. Let's start with you, Bell. What all do we have regarding Ashley Anders?"

Genny took copious notes while mentally preparing herself for a long night.

Okay, as promised, super important A/N:

Bonesology is doing a super cool Christmas Challenge this year. Check it out on Bonesology's website or check out Bonesology's Tumblr and Twitter pages for details. It's going to be a real fun one this year and there's still plenty of time to start.