REVELATION

Chapter 10

When Booth and Hodgins went back into Brennan's room they found the women talking about what they went through. They could easily see that both of the women had been doing some heavy crying.

"Booth should be very proud of you Brennan. I watched you as you put down 4 men before they were able to get control of you. When you are able to go back to that martial arts school of yours I want to go also. If I had been able to fight like you did maybe we would have been able to get out of there." Angela was sitting in her wheel chair and holding Brennan's hand while they talked. "I don't ever want to feel that vulnerable again."

Booth approached Brennan's bed and went to the other side so he could hold her hand.

"I am proud of her Angela." Booth looked into Brennan's eyes as he talked. "It took a lot of guts to even attempt to stand up to so many men. There were so many men in that room that even I couldn't have gotten out." Booth could see that Brennan's eyes were starting to droop.

"I think we should leave Bones alone for awhile so she can get some rest." He bent over and gave her a light kiss on her forehead. "I'll be back this evening, okay?"

"Okay." Brennan said as she closed her eyes. She was sleeping before they even made it out of the room. Hodgins took Angela back into her room and helped her to get into bed again. All of the crying her and Brennan had done had made her tired as well and she fell asleep after a few minutes. Jack came out and joined Booth who was in the waiting room with two other men in suites.

"What has been done with Ortiz and his men?" Booth asked one of the men. He saw Jack come over to join them. As Hodgins approached he saw that one of the men was John Hopkins.

"So far they have just been put through the process and given their prison garb. Of course the next step is for Dr. Brennan and Mrs. Hodgins to identify them as their attackers. Plus we need their statement as to what exactly happened." Hopkins said.

"They are both asleep right now. My wife will be released from the hospital tomorrow. You can come over to my home tomorrow afternoon at 3. We should be home by then."

"Okay, we can do that. What about Dr. Brennan?" John asked.

"I think you better wait until tomorrow also. She just went to sleep. I think she's still a little spaced out from the anesthesia." Booth said.

"Can you give me your home address Dr. Hodgins?" Hodgins pulled out a Jeffersonian business card and wrote his home address on it and gave it to John.

"I'll let the guard know that you are coming tomorrow. Just identify yourself and tell them I am expecting you."

The two agents left then and Hodgins and Booth left for the afternoon.

Later in the evening they both returned at almost the same time. Booth saw Jack helping Angela to walk around a little. He smiled at them as he walked by and went into Brennan's room. He stopped at the doorway when he saw a stranger standing by her bed. A woman that he had never seen before was talking quietly to Brennan about what she had gone thru. Neither of the women saw Booth so he quietly backed out and went over to the waiting room. Thirty minutes later the woman walked out and stood by the nurse's desk. She pulled out her cell phone and was talking on it for awhile. While she was busy on the phone he got up and walked over to Brennan's room.

"How are you doing?" Booth asked her as he approached her bed. He gave her a kiss on the forehead as he held onto her hand. He took a good look at her this time. He could see that most of the swelling around her eyes had gone down so that you could clearly see her eyes. Her jaw was still swollen and black and blue. Ortiz must have been wearing a sizable ring also because now that some of the swelling had gone down he could clearly see the mark of a ring just above and to the right of her eye. His ring also left a mark just below her left ear. He figured that the same hit that left the mark of the ring on her jaw also probably dislocated it.

As he examined her more closely he could feel his anger at Ortiz making his face become red with anger. When he heard Brennan speak it helped to bring him out of his current dangerous thoughts.

"Physically, I am doing much better. If you would assist me I think I would like to take a short walk down the hall and back." Brennan said. Her eyesight was still a little blurry so she couldn't see how red Booth's face had become. She pushed back the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Booth noticed that all of the needles had been taken out of her arms.

"Are you sure you should get up so soon?" Booth asked as he helped her to stand and put her robe on.

"Yes, the nurse has already told me that I had to get up and take a short walk today. I told her that I would ask you to help me this evening." Brennan said as she held onto Booth's arm as he slowly started to walk out into the hallway.

"Who was that woman you were talking to a moment ago?"

"She is a psychiatrist that Sweets sent over. She specializes in treating rape victims. I told her that I didn't need her. I am sure that she has already called Dr. Sweets and told him how obstinate I was. If Sweets talks to you first tell him that my talks with Angela are helping us both and I don't believe we will need any therapy. If we need to talk to anyone well call him."

Booth could tell that it would be a waste of time to try and talk her into talking to someone other than Angela. He had seen enough rape victims to know that, even though she didn't want to admit it, Brennan and Angela would benefit from a few sessions with a specifically trained psychiatrist. One of the biggest side effects of being raped was the feeling of guilt. The woman often felt that in some way the rape was her fault and if they didn't feel like it after the rape, the justice system would often be successful in making them feel it. Brennan had already told Booth that she was sorry for what had happened and that it was her fault for what happened to Angela and herself. He knew that sooner or later that compartment that she would push these feelings into would burst at the seams. He only hoped that he would be there when it happened.

After a short walk over to the Nurse's station Booth could tell that Brennan was starting to tire because she had stopped talking and was leaning on him more heavily. He managed to get her back to the bed before she could collapse. He had to help her to get into the bed and cover her up. One of the nurses had seen them and came over to check on Brennan.

"How are you doing Dr. Brennan?" The nurse asked as she checked her vital signs on the monitors and made a notation on her chart that she had brought with her.

"I'm hurting a little but I am guessing that is because of the surgery."

"Yes, but you're doing fine for your first walk. Tomorrow we'll get you up in the morning and perhaps Agent Booth can walk you a little further. If you continue doing as well as you are perhaps your Doctor will let you go home in another day or two."

"That would be nice." Brennan said and smiled at the nurse as she left.

Hodgins came in when the nurse left. He went over to the other side of the bed. "You're looking a little better today Dr. Brennan. I can easily see your eyes again."

"Yes the swelling is almost completely gone now. My eyesight is still a little blurry but the Doctors assured me that they would return to their normal acuity within a few days."

"Anyone ask you to autograph any of your books yet?" Hodgins asked.

"Yes, I've signed five so far, including one from the administrator of the hospital."

"Apparently your quit the celebrity here. Right now though I need to ask a favor of you, I am having the mansion remodeled and brought up to the current building codes. I would like to know if we could stay with you for a couple of months while the remodeling is going on."

"Of course you can stay with me. I have two extra bedrooms that you can use." Brennan said without hesitation.

"Good, I'll let Angela know. We'll move in as soon as you go home. I don't want Angela to have to put up with all of the workers. Plus I'll be letting the servants know that they can start their paid vacations."

"Why don't you just take Angela over to my apartment tomorrow and you can move your clothes over on Tuesday, Booth has a key to my apartment and he can let you in. They will probably let me go home either Tuesday or Wednesday."

"Are you sure that you won't mind us being there without you."

"No, not at all, it will be nice to have someone there when I go home. Besides it will be good for Angela and me to have each other to talk to." Brennan looked down and kept her hands busy with folding the top of the sheets down flat. "Besides I am sure that you will now be able to report back to Dr. Sweets that I accepted your subterfuge quiet willingly." She looked back up at him with a smile.

Hodgins' face turned red. He didn't think that Brennan would figure out their secret plan so easily. "You've been hanging around Booth too much. I'll see you tomorrow." Hodgins said as he left.

Booth laughed at Hodgins. "I knew you would figure out what he was doing right away."

Brennan tried to smile but it hurt too much. She put her hand up to her cheek and said "Don't make me laugh, it hurts too much."

Booth smiled at her and held her hand gently. She looked at their joined hands then looked up into his eyes when he didn't say anything. She could see tears starting to pool at the bottom of his eyes. As he blinked one tear found its way down the side of his nose and then down the side of his mouth. He wiped it away with the back of his hand.

"I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you Temperance. I love you more than words could begin to describe. The only example that I could give you to make you understand how much I love you is to tell you that it is the same as when my son was born."

Brennan scooted over as far as she could and patted the bed next to her. "Do you think you could fit up here?"

Booth took his jacket and shoes off then climbed up on the bed next to her. He was careful not to disturb any of the wires they had attached to her. He put his arm under her head and she scooted further down the bed so that she could place her head under his arm and against his chest. For the first time since she was beaten and raped she felt safe. She knew that she had made a terrible mistake in not telling Booth where she was going Friday night. She admitted to herself that it was only because of her pride that she hadn't told him. She also promised herself that she would investigate the strange word that he had given to her on a plaque that he himself had nailed to the wall in her office. He told her that he had ordered it special for her so that she would see it every day and maybe finally practice it. The word on the plaque, in big bold, gold letters was HUMILITY.

She told herself 'I am a very intelligent woman and I can do anything I set my mind to'. She laughed at herself out loud.

"What are you laughing at?" Booth asked her as he kissed the top of her head. It had been a long time since he had heard her laugh.

"Just something that I was thinking to myself."

"What was it?"

"I was just thinking that I wouldn't have gotten Angela and myself into so much trouble if I hadn't been too proud to tell you where I was going. I told myself that I had to start practicing humility, like you tell me all of the time. I told myself that I am a very intelligent woman and I can do anything once I set my mind to it. I laughed when I realized that I had already failed in my attempt to be more humble."

He laughed at what she said and it helped to lighten his mood. He held her more tightly to his side and kissed her head again. "You'll do it Bones. Like you said, you can do anything you set your mind to. If I see you fail at it too often I'll get you a bigger plaque with the word HUMILITY on it so that it will always get your attention."

She looked up at him and kissed him lightly on the lips. He knew her jaw would hurt if he pressed her lips with his so he just accepted what she gave. They both closed their eyes and went to sleep.

They didn't wake up again until the supper tray had been brought over by an orderly.

"Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth, I have your supper."

Booth woke up and slid off of the bed. He took the tray from the orderly and thanked him. They had given them four cups of pudding, a large bowl of cherry jello and a thick broth for Brennan since she couldn't open her jaws to chew. Even though Booth could have gone to the cafeteria to get something decent to eat he chose not to make her suffer anymore by making her watch him eat something good so he just ate the pudding and he thought he would get something on the way home.

"You can go and get something from the cafeteria Booth. I won't mind, besides I don't feel like having anything more than this." Brennan said as she carefully drank the broth.

"That's okay, I'll pick up something on the way home. Tomorrow night I'll bring you something from our favorite Chinese restaurant and a large milkshake. You like chocolate, right?"

"Oh yes, that sounds good."

They ate in silence for awhile then Booth turned the TV on. Both of their minds were busy on other things and neither one was interested in what was on.

Brennan was the first one to break the silence. "What has been happening with Ortiz?" She asked in almost a whisper.

"They were all brought up before a judge yesterday to have the charges read and bail set. The youngest of the group was a young kid of fourteen and he was sent to juvenile court. He had told Hopkins that he was sent outside when the others started to rape you and Angela. He said that he was supposed to watch out for the police. After the arraignment Hopkins told me that before the arraignment he talked to the judge and told him that the boy had seen the FBI coming but he chose not to say anything and in fact assisted them in entering the building. The boy could have been tried as an adult but because he helped us the Judge told Hopkins that he would send him to Juvenile court."

"Has a date been set for the trial yet?"

"Yes, the judge set it for 2 months from yesterday. Do you think you'll be able to testify by then?" Booth held her hand and watched her expression carefully. He was surprised when without hesitation she answered with a yes.

"What about Angela?" Booth asked.

"What about her?"

"Do you think that she'll be able to testify if they want to put her on the stand?"

"I believe I heard you describe her once as "a little spitfire". You don't have to worry about her, Booth. Hodgins will have a problem holding her back though if Ortiz's lawyer tries to blame it on me. Did you know that she almost took one of her attacker's eye out with her nails?"

"No, I had most of my attention on you when we rescued you. The only person that I actually took a good look at was Ortiz. I almost went after him but Hopkins stopped me. He talked to me for a few moments until I regained my sanity. By then Hodgins told me that they were taking you and Angela to the hospital."

Brennan looked at her partner. She felt a warm feeling in her chest for him. Her mind told her that it was just the adrenalin and various other chemicals that were creating the heat.

Dr. Temperance Brennan had another revelation at that moment. She thought to herself, 'I finally understand what Angela and Booth have been trying to make me understand. First there must be love to trigger this chemical reaction, without it there can be no physical reaction. This is why I didn't go with Sully'.

TBC…