Chapter 6, enjoy!

Warnings: None

Unbeta AF

Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter 6

Looks Can be Deceiving

Alejandro was the very definition of looks can be deceiving. He didn't look strong, not like his brother and cousin, who had been built for physical missions for the military. He didn't look fast, he didn't look like he should be a bodyguard what so ever. However, Carlos knew his brother, knew what he was capable of and personally put him in charge of Brittany's safety and only him.

"I don't mean to sound rude, when I say this," Carlos told his brother, as Alejandro looked over the files before him, "But, she will not cope with any other person, you're the only one I know who looks less intimidating."

Alejandro trusted Carlos's gut, and when he first met Brittany, he knew his brother to be right. She was skittish, eyes guarded as both he and Lester met the women in the tiny visitor area of the ward they had been staying on. He and Lester made sure to sit with their backs to the wall, keeping a respectable distance from the women. Jeanne sat in between the four, another buffer and source of comfort, while they got to know one another. She had given Lester a long look, scooting away from the man but when she looked to him, she only looked, she didn't move. That was a start and he would take it. Alejandro spent the week, before they moved into the safe house, going to the hospital and getting the woman acclimated to him. By the end of the week, she was comfortable enough for him to sit close to her, which was great because at the start of the new week, they were moving the women into the safe house.

Stephanie's grandma and Brittany's mother bought some of their things that had been in storage. Books, trinkets things to put them at ease. They each got their own room with an ensuite, Alejandro's room was beside Brittany's attached to one another with a door. He would be living here for as long as the women would and from what Agent Jeanne said, would be a year or so, until they wrapped up the case of Barton Wilkes, dealt with the fanatics and the women were readjusted into society.

Readjusting was going to be a challenge a real challenge. He spent time with the women, both he and Carlos had been there, when Stephanie began to talk about happened to them during those seven months. They had been beaten, starved, tortured mentally and physically before one another. A twisted show and tell that the women faced, often. But most often, they dealt with isolation, locked in the dark until the man came back for more of his 'fun.'

When Jenne had asked if they had been sexually assaulted, Stephanie had shaken her head. Alejandro noticed that Brittany had nodded her head, in agreement but she had been stiff with her answer, looking away when Stephanie said it was such a relief that he had been that 'kind' to them, her shoulders hunched up with tension.

She was lying, but Alejandro would not confront her nor would he push her, not until she was ready and came to them about it. There were other things to worry about.

Brittany had been severely marked by her captivity, as had Stephanie but it seems that Brittany had gotten the worse of it. She disassociated often, had problems with her memory and would distance herself from people, hiding in the closet in her room, with the lights off to calm down. It was even worse for the woman because she was mute, she couldn't just express herself freely. They both would be dealing with PTSD but Alejandro had an inkling that it would take the shorter woman longer to heal and readjust to society.

For now, it was the smaller things they needed to worry about, like her eyes. The eye doctor had examined them and told them that they were weak from lack of usage but there was nothing showing up that would cause them pain. The doctor recommended sunglasses, during the day and if it got worse to come back.

Alejandro drove away from the hospital in silence, looking back in the mirror, from time to time to look at Brittany's silent form, as she slipped the sunglasses on her face, looking outside through the tinted windows of the car. She was hunched up, her hands balled into fists in her lap as she watched the city go by.

Alejandro looked forward but then paused, as the song on the radio went off and the radio host began talking, "If you've been living under a rock, let me bring you up to speed. Barton Wilkes, who was revealed a few months ago to be a-"

"You don't need to hear that," Alejandro said, turning the radio off and looking forward, "People need to be quiet about things they don't know."

"I wish his wife felt how we felt, those seven months," Alejandro heard the text to speech voice, "I know it sounds evil for me to say this but I wish she had spent one day in that place, then maybe she would know what kind of monster she married…"

"It's not evil of you to say that," Alejandro assured Brittany as they made their way down the road, "You went through things that people don't know, nor will they ever go through, you are allowed to voice our frustration."

"Was that a joke?" Alejandro looked back to see a small smile on the woman's face, "I don't want to whine, or cry, it changes nothing but still…she's not the one getting death threats or being called a liar…she's not the one whose life is just..ruined…"

"You're alright," Alejandro said, turning down the road, getting closer to the safe house, "You have a right to be upset and angry, you're right, her life might be in upended but not like yours, Ms. Brittany, you lost seven months of your life."

The two fell into silence, well Alejandro did, before he pulled the car into the garage of the safe house, closing the garage door with a button. He got out and did a sweep of the garage and then helped Brittany out of the car and into the house. Brittany went upstairs to take a nap, while Alejandro did a sweep through of the empty house, before settling in his own room, looking out the window.

It would take her a while, but Brittany could heal from this, her life didn't have to be in ruins but that was battle she would have to face on her own. He knew about pain like that, he knew about isolation, starvation and how it affects you. He fought through it, but he had been trained to fight through it, could Brittany or Stephanie do the same too? He looked over to the door that connected his room with his charge's room and wondered.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Thank you for letting me leave the house, I was starting to get stir crazy," Stephanie said, turning to Carlos, who walked beside her, both of them bundled up for the cold, "It was almost like being back in the bunker again, but this time my isolation was because of me."

Stephanie and Carlos were walking through the neighborhood of the safe house, making their way down the sidewalk and to the small park that was two streets away from where they were staying. They had been there for a few weeks now and Stephanie had begun to feel cabin fever. December had rolled in cold and wet but the Christmas spirit that came with the month was missing from the house. Grandma Mazur had suggested they put a tree up but Stephanie had mumbled it would be too much effort and Brittany still had panic attacks when there were too many people in one room. Besides, neither of them felt like celebrating anything, much less Christmas.

Carlos walked over to Stephanie, who paced the length of the living room, handed her a coat, glasses and things to cover herself up and said they were going to take a walk to the park. Here they were now, outside, with Carlos walking on the outside of the sidewalk, keeping a careful eye out for any danger or unsavory characters.

"You need to get some fresh air," Carlos said as he and Stephanie crossed the street, "And you need a change of scenery as well," he turned to Stephanie and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Still feeling not normal," Stephanie said to the man, her hands tucked under her armpits, "I wish it was easier, you know, getting pass my time in the bunker, Carlos, it's hard to sleep, my memory is shot to hell, and food…well, you've seen how we eat."

Carlos had seen the way that Stephanie and Brittany ate their meals. Brittany ate like she would never eat again, it had Carlos wondering how much she was kept from food. Stephanie ate slowly, taking tiny bites, making meals last over an hour and it didn't matter if her food grew cold and congealed, she ate it all. Both methods of eating were signs of food deprivation, both had Carlos concerned for their mental health. If there was anything he could do to help the women with their mental battles, he would help, even if that was just a walk to the park.

"I'm glad I can be of help," Carlos said, as they made it to the park and sat down on a bench, "I was thinking, Stephanie that you and Brittany could use some self defense training."

"It would be a good distraction, I suppose," Stephanie said, looking from the man and to the trees, "I know my job is still there, and I can come back to it, but…I don't think I'm ready, Carlos."

"Don't worry about your work, Stephanie," Carlos said, as they sat together, "Worry about getting better physically and mentally, and we'll look into self defense for you and Brittany."

They sat in silence and then Stephanie turned to Carlos and asked, "Hey, do you know any good names for a woman? I have a friend who needs a name, and she gave me the task to give her one."

"Oh, well," Carlos said, looking over to the woman, who nodded her head , "Describe her to me, that would help me."

"Hmm, she's wonderful," Stephanie said, a smile on her face, "She's kind and gentle, very gentle. She's smart and intelligent, like, very intelligent. It's almost like she's magical, you know."

"Really?" Carlos asked, raising an eyebrow, "Well, Sweet, magical, kind, does she like sweets?"

"I think she does," Stephanie said, recalling her time with the woman, eating sweets, "I think she loves chocolate."

"She loves chocolate, Swiss Miss," Carlos said, looking at Stephanie and then he added, "Heidi, name her that, she would enjoy that name, it seems fitting right?"

"Heidi, I think she'll like it," Stephanie smiled and leaned back on the bench, "I like it, she'll be happy, with it, thank you Carlos."

Stephanie found that she enjoyed Carlos's company. He was quiet when he wanted to be, but can keep a conversation going. He was patient and gentle, telling Stephanie he knew about the horrors of being held a captive, having been a POW once. He understood why the panic attacks happened or why on some days, Stephanie couldn't get out of bed. It was refreshing to not be judged by the people that lived in the house with her and Brittany. They were all wonderful, to be honest. Carlos, Lester, Jamesa and Alejandro. She knew they would only be around one another for a short moment of time, but it was nice, it was comforting.

"Come on, Steph," Carlos said, as the sun started to dip lower in the sky and the air got colder, "Time to head back to the house."

"Okay," Stephanie stood and followed Carlos, who looked around and pulled Stephanie a little closer to him.

She watched the man look around, with narrow eyes and asked, "Is everything alright, Carlos?"

"It should be," Carlos said, as he ushered Stephanie down a narrow alleyway behind some of the houses, "We'll take the long way home."

Stephanie didn't argue with Carlos as they took a crazy path home but she had the feeling that something spooked him. What it was, she didn't know.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Joe Morelli let out a curse of frustration, when he turned the corner and pulled his car down it. Fuck, they were gone, and these alleyways were like rivers that broke off into smaller streams and cracks. He would have to hope that Stephanie and Manoso would wind up at the park again. The next time they do, he would be on them.

He turned down another street and drove off, thinking about Stephanie Plum. He hadn't seen her in ages, not since the time in the bakery, where he had taken her virginity. She had cried out and beg him to go away but she had been a wispy thing and he had bulked up thanks to football. It was easily one of the best nights he ever had and he made sure the world knew that, by writing about his experience on the bathroom stall of the school. However the next few days after that, Stephanie left Trenton all together, due to a falling out, with her parents, was the rumor. Damn shame he didn't get another taste of her before he left for the Navy.

That wispy girl had grown into a lovely woman, with that same curly brown hair and blue eyes and a figure to match too. When he had seen the pictures of Jane Doe A and B, his heart had thudded with shock to see that Stephanie had been Jane Doe B. It had caused a spark of interest in the man and so he went to Agent Barrows to join the team but Agent Borrows had shut him down and must have gone to his supervisor because his supervisor threatened him, saying if he meddled in the Barton Wilkes case, he would be sacked or worse.

He couldn't help it, Joe thought, tapping his finger on the steering wheel. He saw Stephanie Plum, he sweet face haunted by what she went through and he needed her. To fix her maybe, who knows but he had a connection to Stephanie Plum, and he needed to get it out of his system. Maybe if he spoke to her, it would get her out of Joe's system. Joe drove the car down the road and sighed, this was complicated. How could he get to her, how could he get past Manoso. He didn't know the man personally, but he had heard about him. He was deadly, from what he heard, he would never get to Stephanie, if Manoso was around. Maybe if Stephanie had to go to the FBI to deal with something, he would get a chance to talk to her.

He couldn't wait to talk to her again….

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Heidi is such a wonderful name," the woman praised Stephanie as she looked up from her book, "I like it, it fits me to a tee, Stephanie, thank you."

"You're welcome," Stephanie said to Heidi, as she got comfortable in the field of flowers, "I asked Carlos for help, he said Swiss Miss, and Heidi came to be."

"Swiss Miss?" The woman tilted her head and shook her head, "I do not think I want to know," she smiled softly to Stephanie and then asked, "How is everything else? I know it is Christmas time and you used to love this time of year."

"My grandma wants us to celebrate but…I don't feel like it, I know Brittany doesn't feel like it either," Stephanie closed her eyes and leaned into the hand in her hair, "I just want to hole up in the house and not think."

"Do what is best for you," Heidi said as she played with Stephanie's curls, "But I must warn you, there will come a time where you have to build yourself back up."

Stephanie wrapped her arms around her legs and said, in a soft voice, "I know, and I'm scared, because that means tackling our time in the bunker and though I speak for Brittany, because she's mute, I feel like…other things happened to her, I remember us being separated for a while, down there, and when she was returned, she was just…different. He had done something to her, but she would only shake her head and just say, 'no, no,no…."

Stephanie felt Heidi hug her gently and she leaned against the woman's embrace and closed her eyes, "I don't know what he did with her, but he took her often and she would come back quieter and I don't know...scarred?"

"Do you think the abuse she faced, when she was alone with him was more…dire?" Stephanie looked to Heidi, to see her face set, serious, "Mayhaps there were other things done to her."

"S-she would have told me," Stephanie whispered, frowning but then Heidi sighed and looked to Stephanie with soft eyes, "Heidi?"

"Maybe she wouldn't tell you, but Stephanie, do not push her to tell you, okay?" Stephanie nodded her head, slowly, her eyes closing once again, "You just be a good friend to her and support her, my lovely Stephanie."

"I will, I promise," Stephanie promised Heidi, who nodded her head, a smile on her face, "C-can you tell me more about what we did, when I was a child?"

"Of course, I can," Heidi said, a smile on her face, "Let's talk about how I taught you to swim, my…you sank like a rock the first time you jump into the lake I…."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Brittany stumbled into the bathroom, gripping her right eye, the pain in it great. She let out a silent scream of pain, falling to the tiled floor of the bathroom and curling up in a ball, shaking and trembling. The pain was so bad, she could feel tears pouring from her right eye. She let out a breathless sigh as the pain subsided and she got up, blinking her right eye. She paused seeing that it wasn't tears that had dampen her night shirt, it was blood. She walked over to the sink and over to the mirror.

She blinked away the blood from her right eye and then wiped it clean, dropping her wash cloth, her eyes widening in shock as she slapped her hand over her eye, before lowering it to look at it once again.

Gone was her light brown eye and in its place was an eye that was a sharp grey-white color, almost like neon colored. She blinked, looking at her eye and then began to resume cleaning her eye and face and then she looked at her white eye. What in the hell happened to her eye? What could have done this?

Brittany took off her bloody shirt and tossed it in the trash can. She walked out the bathroom, slid another shirt on and then sat at the end of the bed covering her right eye with shaking fingers. She couldn't show anyone else, she didn't even know what the hell was happening to her eye. She wouldn't panic, she couldn't panic, She just wanted to be normal again!

She got up and walked over to the dresser and opened it, digging through her trinkets to find an eye-patch, one she wore for a costume, ages ago. It would look silly but this idea was better than the glasses. Brittany took off her sunglasses and slipped the pink eye-patch on and crawled into bed, she was surprised that Alejandro hadn't heard her get up and stumble to the bathroom. She cleaned up the blood before she went to sleep so, there wouldn't be any lingering questions.

Was her eye changes were because of…what she saw, before Barton Wilkes died? Because the way he died had been…traumatizing, to say the least, very traumatizing and she didn't even know how she could explain it.

How do you explain that you watched your captor tear themselves apart, with only their hands and nothing else, without look insane?

TBC…

What's going on here? Oh...I wonder what her gifts are?