A/N: Guys, I don't want to seem annoying by moaning at you all, but I work hard to write long and decent chapters for you guys, and barely any of you bother to even review! The less reviews I get, the less likely I am to continue, so please just leave me a sentence or two just so I know I'm not writing this story for nothing (:
Thank you so much to those of you that have reviewed; you guys are awesome :D
Right here, right now,
Stand my ground and never back down.
I know what I believe inside,
I'm awake, and I'm alive.
Booth
The anger that bubbled up inside of me while Bones choked out her painful story was the most ferocious and blinding emotion I had ever experienced.
As soon as I was far enough from Brennan's room that the sound wouldn't carry, I slammed my clenched fist into the dry wall with all my might, tears of fury and guild starting to sting the backs of my eyes. 'How could I have let this happen?' Was my preliminary thought, but I quickly realised that pinning the blame on myself wasn't going to help anyone in the slightest- there was a sick, twisted bastard out there who had dared to lay a finger on my Bones; and for that I would make him pay.
The shock of it all was only just beginning to sink in, and the sick, heart-thumping feelings that coursed through my bloodstream were not dissimilar to the way you feel when you accidentally miss a step, and fear you will fall for a moment.
Of course, these feelings were magnified greatly beyond a simple adrenalin rush, and my head was spinning as I sank to my knees, only vaguely aware of the hand that had been placed on my shoulder.
"Booth? Are you okay?" Angela knelt down beside me, her eyes reddened from crying so much, which wasn't surprising considering the night she'd had.
"How can you..." I swallowed as my voice threatened to crack. "How can you even give a crap about how I'm feeling when Brennan's just been..." Raped. Just been raped. My voice trailed off again as I struggled to say the 'r' word without breaking down. A lone tear slid down Ange's cheek.
"The nurse gave her a sedative to relax her." She said, as if that made it all better. "She's sleeping now, so she doesn't have to deal with it all right this minute." I looked up, my gaze falling into her teary brown eyes that usually held so much warmth and happiness.
"So when does she have to deal with it?" I asked, getting to my feet and turning away. "When she wakes up screaming from the nightmares she will undoubtedly have? When she has to come face to face with that bastard again if we every get to court? How about when the story gets all over the news and people know her name for all the wrong reasons?" Angela put a hand on my shoulder.
"Booth, you and I both know how resilient Brennan is. She will get through this, it just..."
"Takes time." I completed her sentence for her, finally allowing my voice to crack; and angrily wiping away the tears that fell down my cheeks like droplets of rain from a storm cloud. Ange stared at me for a second, before enveloping me in a tight hug, burying her face into my chest and sobbing freely.
Seconds, minutes ticked by with us hugging each other, crying over everything that had happened, and secretly revelling in the fact that both of us knew how the other felt.
"So how may I help you?" The Accident and Emergency's head of department -Mr. Roth- had a friendly tone and a reassuring smile, two qualities that I was not interested at that time. I held up
"I'm investigating the sexual assault and battery of Doctor Temperance Brennan." The words were still hard to say, and the Mr. Roth's smile faded as soon as the words had left my mouth.
"Ah, yes. I have been informed of a rape case in the ED tonight. Such a terrible thing to happen..." I nodded, trying to rush through the niceties to get more the information I needed.
"Yeah, I know. Listen, I need to see her medical files so I can get a full investigation on a way."
"Of course. Do you have a warrant?"
"No. However, I do have..." I reached into my inside pocket and drew out a piece of paper -folded twice so it could fit- and placed it on Roth's desk.
"...A document signed by Doctor Brennan herself giving me the right to have access to all her medical files." Roth nodded, and shuffled through a pile of neatly stacked files that were sitting to one side of his desk.
"I actually took the liberty of reviewing this case when I first came into work this morning." He said, pulling out a fairly thick file with 'TEMPERANCE BRENNAN' printed across the top. "If you do catch the perpetrator, you should have sufficient evidence to convict him purely from the information in this file." He held it out to me, and I took it with a hasty nod and a muttered 'thanks'. As I turned to leave, Roth spoke again.
"Oh, and Mr. Booth?" I turned back to face him, and he took off the glasses and placed them on the desk, sighing. His voice softened as he spoke. "When you see Ms. Brennan, please let her know that all the staff who know about this are praying for her.
'Bruising to ribcage and lower back' I muttered to myself as I read through the notes, not daring to look at the photographs attatched. 'Small marks that appear to be caused by the attacker's fingernails also on patient's lower back. Ligature marks to both wrists, suggesting the patient was bound. Light bruising to jaw, suggesting she was also gagged, along with heavier bruising around left eye that is consistent with someone who has been beaten.' I clenched my fist angrily. 'Abrasion to forehead, and a split lip; both of these had ceased bleeding by the time the patient came to ED, and didn't appear to need stitching. The patient appeared to be experiencing shock, and seemed to be struggling with her emotions.' Struggling with her emotions? 'The patient agreed to undergo an internal examination and was administered fluids and Pethidine, an analgesic to help ease her pain.
'The patient had bled vaginally from the alleged assault; swabs of blood were sent for further tests and came back from the laboratory positive for semen, along with internal swabs that had also turned positive. There appeared to be some vaginal tearing and bruising, along with minor internal injury- the patient appeared to have struggled, but the marks on her skin suggest she was held down as the perpetrator penetrated her vaginally. The patient was given emergency contraceptives, and a sample of blood was taken to complete a toxicology screen- this later came back positive for the alcohol and the anaesthetic Ketamine. The patient appears to have either willingly taken the drug, or have had her drink spiked.' Ketamine. Also known as Ket, Special K, Kit Kat, Purple- or a million other things, this drug could be the reason that Bones had very little recollection as to how she came to be in the bastard's car. I snapped the file shut, and slid my cell phone from my pocket.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Cam?"
"Seeley, you'd better have a good excuse for being late. Are you with Doctor Brennan and Angela?" I cleared my throat.
"Yeah, and I need you to do something for me."
"Mmm?"
"Tell the team we've got ourselves a new case."
"Are you at the crime scene?"
"Not quite. It's a sexual assault case." There was a slight pause.
"But we investigate murders, not sexual assault. By the time we come by the remains, they're usually too decomposed for us to determine any traces of rape."
"I know. Just tell them, will you?"
"Seeley, is everything all right?" I was struggling to keep the immense anger I was feeling out of my voice.
"It's Brennan."
"What?"
"She was attacked last night!" I exploded, still clutching Bones' medical file with an iron grip. Silence.
"Is she okay?"
"No, of course she's not 'okay'! Look, I just need you and the team to get down here as soon as possible, okay? We'll catch that bastard."
"Of course, we'll come right away. Listen, Seeley?"
"What?"
"Don't do anything… Hasty, okay? I know it's awful, but Brennan probably needs you to just be there as a friend right now, not as her superman." I mumbled a 'goodbye' and hung up, trying to resist the urge to hurl the phone halfway across the room. Brennan stirred under the sheets of her hospital bed, where she had been sound asleep for the past couple of hours. The nurse had convinced me that right now, nothing could wake her, so I was free to pace up and down the room as I pleased.
Angela had gone home to take a shower and grab a cup of'real coffee'; according to her the stuff hospitals sell would serve better as toilet water.
Personally, nothing could make me leave Bones' bedside, but I was hardly surprised at Angela for wanting some space. After all, she'd been reluctant to leave in the first place, and she said she'd be back as soon as she could.
I took a seat by Brennan's bed, and took her limp hand in my own, caressing her skin with my thumb. I began talking to her, just so I knew that if she was even vaguely conscious, she'd know that she wasn't alone.
A/N: I swear to God, if I don't get many reviews again I'm putting this one on hold for a while :P
Thanks for reading, sorry for any mistakes- I didn't have time to go through it carefully.