REVELATION

Chapter 11

The next day Booth couldn't make it into the hospital in the morning to see Brennan because of a new case that he had been given by Cullen himself. He called her up to let her know that he would see her in the evening and that Cam had given him Wendell to work with. Since Hodgins was picking up Angela today he gave him Brennan's key so he could take some of their clothes over to her apartment before he brought his wife over.

Before Angela and Hodgins left they went over to see Brennan. Her Doctor was in her room so they had to wait a few minutes until he came out. As soon as they saw him leave Hodgins pushed Angela's wheel chair into the room. "Good morning Sweetie. I wanted to come over and say goodbye before we left. When are they going to let you go home?" Angela asked.

"My Doctor said that I was recovering nicely and I could go home tomorrow but I had to take it easy for the next two weeks at least. Have you moved your things into my apartment yet?"

"Yeah, I took some of our clothes over this morning so that we could have something to wear. If you don't mind Dr. Brennan I am going to hire a practical nurse to stay with you two while I'm at work." Hodgins asked as he took a seat in a chair on the other side of Brennan's bed.

"That won't be necessary Jack; I've already hired someone for the next two weeks. I was told that I couldn't do any bending for at least the next week and I'll need someone to help me with the bandages and so forth. I was told by the head nurse on this floor that they have a group of nurses that do part time work taking care of patients at their homes. I've already talked to two of them and one of them will be coming home with me tomorrow. Her name is Nancy Fredrick, the other one is Theresa Milner. Mrs. Fredrick will be coming home with me on Tuesday and Ms. Milner will take over Saturday if Booth can't come over."

"Okay then we will be moving over this evening, if that's alright with you? Since Booth has a new case I have to be back at work on Tuesday morning. Mrs. Davis, our cook, is going to go over to your apartment in the morning and stay with Angela and do the cooking until you are released."

"That's fine Jack. Tell Mrs. Davis that she will have to bring the kind of food you eat since I am a vegetarian. I only buy meat when Booth is going to be with me for meals."

"I already checked out your refrigerator and I had to throw some things out that had gone bad. I'll bring something for us to eat tonight and tomorrow morning. I'll see you tomorrow. Let's go Angela and let Dr. Brennan get some rest." Hodgins told his wife.

"Are you're going to be alright Sweetie?"

"Yes, I think so. I asked Sweets to stop by today. I told him that I wanted to continue to have our sessions on the subject that I told you he was going to help me with."

"Okay, be good so that you can come home tomorrow. Goodbye." Angela said as Jack wheeled her out.

Brennan turned the television on and tried to concentrate on the movie that was currently on. Her mind started to wander though and before she knew it she was reliving the rape again. After crying for the next 15 minutes she fiercely wiped her tears away. 'I have to stop dwelling on this or I'll never be able to get over it', she told herself. She was now starting to force the experience into a small box in her mind where it wouldn't constantly assault her thoughts.

Booth had brought over a writing pad for her to use if she wanted to make notes on thoughts she may come up with for her current novel. She had tried to get him to bring her laptop but he said that it would be bad for her eyes since her eyesight hadn't returned to normal yet.

Brennan had just started to develop a story line for her new novel and was just in the basic planning stage. She had been sitting and staring out the window trying to come up with an idea when Sweets knocked on her door.

"Dr. Brennan, may I come in?" He watched her eyes light up at the sight of him.

"Yes, yes, please come in. I was just trying to come up with an idea for my new novel. Please come and have a seat."

He was surprised at her reaction to him. 'She must be bored out of her skull to be so happy to see me.'

"How are you doing today?" Sweets asked.

"Much better, thank you for asking, my eyesight has improved to the point that I can see people's faces more clearly. I don't have to wait for them to say something before I can tell who it is."

"How are you sleeping? Are you still having nightmares?"

"How did you know I was having nightmares?"

"Booth told me that every time he is with you when you're sleeping you wake up screaming and crying."

Brennan turned away from him. She didn't want him to see the tears threatening to spill over. After a few minutes she felt she could control herself better.

Sweets waited for her to say something.

Brennan continued to look out of the window when she began to speak. "You know how you are always saying that I compartmentalize everything?"

"Yes, I remember. Are you trying to do that with the memory of what you went through?"

"Yes, but I'm not being very successful. When I am awake and busy talking or listening to someone I can more successfully put those thoughts away and ignore them. When I am sleeping or I am alone though they leak out of that box and seem to consume my every thought and populate my dreams. I want to go back to work as soon as possible so that I can keep my mind busy so that I won't think about it anymore."

Sweets leaned forward in his chair so that he could more clearly hear her. "That isn't a good thing to do Dr. Brennan. You need to confront what happened to you, bring it out into the light of day, examine it and inspect it. Look at it like it was a body that had been found. See it as a body that is lying on the steel table in your lab. Inspect every square inch of it for any marks. Only after doing this can you safely and securely store the remains of this nightmare into a box that you will be able to close tightly."

"I don't think I can do that yet. I know that I will have to testify at the trial so I've been trying to remember everything. I think that the heroin they gave us is what is making it hard for me to remember. When I try thinking about it, it's like looking at it through a fog. I can remember everything clearly up until they gave us the heroin. Sometimes I get a headache just trying to remember it."

"Do you think you might be trying to suppress the memories?"

"Maybe, I don't know. Angela has told me that she remembers everything, even as to how many men had their turn it her. She said that when she remembers what happened….it's like looking at everything in slow motion. She even remembers what the men, that were holding her down, looked like."

"Everyone is affected by drugs in a different way. I've talked to her about the rape and she said that she smoked marijuana when she was in college, but she hasn't had any in a long time. She thinks she remembers more of what the men looked like because she is an artist and is more inclined to observe peoples features more closely."

Brennan smiled at her memories of Angela trying to get her to try some of the marijuana when the people in her dorm were having a party. "I never could see the logic of using mind altering drugs. I drink more now than I used to though. Booth and I usually celebrate the closing of a case with a few drinks."

Sweets thought he would take a chance and pull the conversation back onto her rape. "Are you afraid that Booth won't want you anymore as a sexual partner now that you've been violated by so many men?"

"No, Booth doesn't think like that. Besides he has taken classes in how to handle rape cases and the psychological effect that rape has on a woman. He is being very careful with me and always waits for me to make the initial contact."

Brennan was quiet for a few minutes. "I don't think I would want to live if he was to reject me."

Sweets was surprised by her statement. "Do you feel that your parents and brother rejected you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I know that it isn't logical but I feel that they must have seen or felt that there was something wrong with me and wanted to get away from me because of it."

"Do you still feel like that even after your father explained to you why they had to leave you and your brother?"

"Like I said, I know it isn't logical, but I can't get rid of this feeling. With Booth I feel more secure in the knowledge that we have been together through so much and we never abandon each other when we're in a crisis. We always watch each other's back and support each other through good times and bad times. I've cried on his shoulder many times and he has even cried on mine a couple of times."

Sweets waited again to see if she would continue.

"I would like to ask your father and brother to come over to your apartment tomorrow so that we could discuss what was going through their minds when they decided to leave you. They aren't releasing you until tomorrow, right?"

"Yes."

"I am going to see if your father and brother can meet over at your apartment at 4 in the afternoon. Would you like Booth to be there also?"

"I don't know if he'll be able to make it. He has a new case he's working on with Wendell. If he can make it, then yes I would like for him to be there."

"Before I leave Dr. Brennan I would like to ask you about something that seems to have changed with the way you think about Booth."

Brennan just looked at him and smiled. "You're curious about my willingness to take a chance with having a personnel relationship with Booth."

"Yes."

"When Booth stopped by to see me yesterday we had a conversation about what happened at the hearing Saturday. During the conversation he told me how he reacted when the medics were taking care of Angela and I. He said that Ortiz caught his eye and he started to go after him but Agent Hopkins had stopped him. He said that Hopkins had to push him up against the wall to make him listen to him because he could see that Booth had lost his ability to think clearly. When he told me that, I guess you could say that I had an epiphany. At that moment I felt a warm feeling in my chest. At first I thought it was nothing but the chemical reaction I was having when I heard what Booth had almost done. I believe I had what is called a revelation. I suddenly understood that love had to exist first in order for the chemical reaction to take place. At that moment I understood what Booth and Angela have been trying to make me understand."

"Then do you understand why or how your father and mother could leave you as they did?"

"I haven't even thought about that yet. My mind is too busy thinking about the rape." Brennan rubbed her eyes carefully.

"Okay Dr. Brennan. I am going to leave now but before I leave I want you to consider something for awhile, it will give you something else to think about. Is it possible that your mother and father could have loved you and your brother so much that they were willing to never see you again in order to keep you and your brother safe?"

Sweets turned and left without saying anything more. He stopped at the nurse's station and asked if Dr. Brennan's physician had prescribed any sleeping drugs for her.

The nurse checked Dr. Brennan's chart and saw that her Doctor had prescribed something to make her sleep if she had a problem. "Yes he has but it was to be given only if she was having trouble sleeping."

"Okay, I am Dr. Brennan's psychiatrist. I want you to give her some medication tonight so that she can have a full nights rest. I believe she is having a hard time sleeping because of the rape. She's trying to remember everything that happened during the rape so that she will be able to give a statement to the police and when the men that did this to her and Mrs. Hodgins go to trial. Thank You."

As Sweets left he saw Booth getting off of the elevator with a man and a woman.

"Hey Sweets, have you been talking to Bones?" Booth asked.

"Yes I have. Are you two here to get Dr. Brennan's statement?" Sweets addressed the other two agents.

"Yes, Dr. Sweets, how are you doing?" Special Agent Hopkins said as he shook Sweets hand since they knew each other no introduction was needed. When Hopkins let go of Sweets hand he turned toward the woman and said "this is Agent Denise Rodgers."

Agent Rodgers shook Sweets hand and smiled at him.

"May I ask how she is doing today?" Hopkins asked.

"Not too bad. Don't push her though or she might lose her temper and say something that will make your head spin around." Sweets smiled at the two Agents.

"I suggest that Agent Rodgers do most of the questioning. Try to hang back a little Agent Hopkins, don't crowd her. Stay close to her Booth; she is starting to compartmentalize things. I've already talked to her about it and told her that she needs to put it out on the labs steel table and examine everything closely just like she would do with a skeleton."

Sweets looked directly at Booth. "If we let her compartmentalize the rape too soon she will have a nervous breakdown sooner or later because it will not go away if she tries to push it into a box that she thinks she can lock away. Just like a body that has been found in a container after a long time, the decomposing body will start to leak out a little at a time until it bursts the seams of the container.

"She doesn't have Angela to talk to everyday anymore. Angela was good for Dr. Brennan because she made her talk about the rape. I think that Angela is handling the whole thing a lot better than Dr. Brennan."

"Why is that?" Booth asked.

"Because Angela is mad at the men that raped her just as Dr. Brennan is, the difference between them is that she expresses her anger, whereas Dr. Brennan doesn't. Just to let you know Booth I will be seeing her tomorrow at her apartment but I'll be bringing her father and brother also. If you can make it Dr. Brennan has asked for you to be there also. Goodbye." Sweets left and headed FBI Headquarters and make calls to Dr. Brennan's father and brother.

Booth led the way into Bone's room. He raised his hand up to let Hopkins and Rodgers know they were to wait outside of the room while he checked on whether Bones was ready to accept visitors.

"Hey Bones, are you up to receiving visitors right now?"

Brennan looked up as soon as she heard Booth's voice. "Yes, come in." She said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"What's wrong, did Sweets upset you?"

"Yes but it was only on something that I needed. Don't concern yourself with it any further. Do you have someone else with you?" Booth signaled to the two agents to come in.

"Yes, Special Agent John Hopkins and Agent Denise Rodgers. They have come to get your statement." Booth introduced them and each one stepped forward and shook Brennan's hand.

"Are you up to this Dr. Brennan?" Agent Rodgers asked.

"Yes I'm ready. I've been thinking about it and trying to remember everything. Go ahead and ask your questions." Brennan said as she pulled herself up straighter and busied her hands with straightening and smoothing out the sheet and blanket. Booth went to the other side of the bed and pulled a chair up closer so that he could sit and hold her hand if she needed him.

As Sweets had suggested, Agent Rodgers started with the questions after pulling out a recorder and placing it on the table that went over the hospital bed. She said her name and Hopkins name along with the date and time.

"Dr. Temperance Brennan, will you please tell us what happened to you on Friday and Saturday of last week."

Brennan proceeded to recount the events that led up to Angela's and her rape by the Salvadoran gang. When she came to the actual rape she stopped. Tears started to gather at the corner of her eyes. Booth offered his hand to her and she grabbed on to it and held on tightly.

Hopkins and Rodgers looked at each other. Hopkins knew that Rodgers was wondering if they should continue. He nodded his head in encouragement. Rodgers looked back to Brennan.

"Dr. Brennan, would you like to take a break?"

"No, I want to get this over with."

"You said that Ortiz was beating you after his men were able to restrain you."

"Yes, he repeatedly struck my face and stomach. By the 5th time that he hit my stomach I felt a sharp pain. I was afraid that his beatings had caused me to have a miscarriage. Because of the pain and my concern for the fetus I remember crying out 'My baby'. My eyes were already swelling from the beating so I couldn't see his face, but I could swear that I could hear him laughing." Brennan felt Booth hold her hand tighter as he put his head down to hide his own tears.

After a few minutes she was able to continue. "After he hit me a few more times my knees gave out and if it wasn't for the men holding onto me I would have collapsed to the floor. I heard Ortiz walk away and tell the men to strip my clothes off and put me on the table. He told the others holding onto Angela to do the same to her. He told one of his men to give us some heroin so that we wouldn't resist them any further. I could hear them starting to take Angela's clothes off but she was fighting back. I heard a man cry out in pain than I think they knocked her out. She told me later on that she had scratched one of the men's face and had missed one of his eyes by only a fraction of an inch. The next thing I knew they had me on a cold metal table and they had given me a shot of the heroin. In my weakened state I was very susceptible to the drug and it overtook me very fast. The last thing I remember clearly was Ortiz standing at the end of the table and two of the other men holding my legs up and apart. I felt him enter me. He did it so hard that I could easily feel the blood coming out as he would withdraw then push in harder. Just before I lost consciousness I knew with complete certainty that his actions had killed the fetus."

"You said before that you could hardly see because he had hit you in the face so many times."

"Yes." Brennan said as she wiped her tears and blew her nose.

"If you couldn't see then how did you know that it was Ortiz forcing himself on you?" Agent Rodgers asked.

Brennan took a minute to answer. "He repeated something he said to me when we were interrogating him at FBI headquarters, 'I told you that a bitch like you just needed a man like me to teach you how to behave. The beating was the beginning of the lesson and now I am completing the lesson'. Then he slammed into me so hard that it pushed me back up the table a little."

"Do you remember how many other men had their turn at you?"

"I vaguely remember 4 or 5 more men. I think I was going in and out of consciousness. I do remember some of the men roughly grabbing my breasts and biting and sucking on them real hard. The next thing I knew I felt Booth putting his jacket over me and calling for the paramedics."

"Thank you Dr. Brennan. This will help us put Ortiz and his men away for a long time. Get some rest now." Agent Rodgers gently put her hand on Dr. Brennan's and gave it a light squeeze. She put the recorder back into her purse and she walked out with Hopkins following her.

Booth got up and sat on the side of the bed and just held Brennan while she cried her eyes out. After almost 30 minutes she finally fell asleep in his arms and he gently laid her back down and covered her carefully with the blanket. Before he left he gave her a light kiss on her forehead.

TBC…