Chapter 12, enjoy!

Warnings: None

Unbeta AF

Can you keep a secret?

Chapter 12

Coincidences My Ass

Stephanie was one to never believe in coincidences. Certain things, in life, don't just happen because of surprises. Certain acts, happen on purpose, by the will of the other person, and not because of luck. Sometimes luck is a factor but for this situation, for this event, Stephanie had the sickest feeling in her gut, luck had nothing to do with it.

"Stephanie Plum?" Stephanie turned her head, along with James, as a tall, broad shouldered man, dressed in the usual FBI attire of a black suit, walked up to her, "Yeah, that is you, Stephanie, do you remember me, it's Joe Morelli."

James took a half step forward, placing himself between Stephanie and Joe and for that, Stephanie was very grateful. He gave Joe a look and then turned to Stephanie, asking, "You know this guy?"

"No, never met him," Stephanie said, simply, before she turned and began to walk away but Joe's voice stopped her.

"We went to North Trenton High together, you were on the baton team, when you were 16-" Joe started but Stephaine's eyes gleamed with anger and as she turned once more to address him.

"I don't know you!" She asserted, before turning to James, "Please, let's get out of here, I want to do what needs to be done and then leave."

"Gladly," James said, placing a protective hand on Stephanie's shoulder, before all but snarling to the man to, "Fuck off, she doesn't know you."

Stephanie rushed down the entryway of the FBI and into the waiting elevator with James. Thankfully, it was empty. It allowed her to sag against the back wall of the elevator and sigh. She felt James gently touch her shoulder and the older man simply asked, "History?"

"Enough of it," was all Stephanie said, as she and James rode up to Jeanne's office. That was someone she didn't want to meet, at all, ever again, please, let that be a one time thing, please….

"I'll tell Jeanne about it, don't want him surprising you like that again," James grunted, as the elevator doors opened and they walked out, "I didn't like your reaction to him."

Stephanie lifted her bag up higher on her shoulder and walked quickly, with James, to Jeanne's office in the missing person's department. The department was empty, save for a few people, as Stephanie and James walked into the woman's office, finding her looking through files. When Stephanie and James walked into the office, she looked up and said, in a curt voice, "Stephanie, James," she stood up and walked over to the door and closed it, "Thank you for coming, I would have come to do this personally, but the sentencing of Vanessa Wilkes is happening soon, and your victim's response needs to be recorded today. We'll blur your face, and distort your voice, I think everyone needs to hear what you've been through, what you deal with and what you will deal with because of this. She needs to be aware of what she's done, what she could have done…caused so many issues with you."

"Thank you for letting me do this, Agent Jeanne," Stephanie said, taking out her written letter, "I want her to know what we deal with, both Brittany and I, I don't want to see her face, I don't want to see any of her at all."

"That is not a problem," Jeanne said, with a nod, and motioned for Stephanie over to a chair against a blank wall, "Sit here, and when you're ready, we'll began recording."

Stephanie situated herself in the chair and looked at the camera before her, her letter in her hands. She nodded her head to Jeanne and said, in a soft voice, "I'm ready."

Jeanne turned the camera on, James sat in the back, waiting and Jeanne lifted her thumb up for Stephanie to start. Stephanie opened her letter and then began to read the her letter.

"Vanessa Wilkes, I will not lie to you, I do not know you, I've never seen you, I've never got to know you. You are like the vast bottom of the ocean to me, a mystery. Who I did know, that you knew was your husband, Barton Wilkes. I knew him very well, so did my friend. He drugged us, in our own home, used my own car, took my friend and I to the bunker and held us there, for over seven months. For seven months, my friend and I experienced hell on earth. We endured, torture from your husband's twisted mind, we endured beatings, starvation, mental breaks from reality all the way to the point we begged for death, but he would not grant it to us. He refused to kill us, until he was bored of us and to be honest, it felt like he would never get bored of us."

"I write to you not because of your husband and his actions, they're out there in the world for everyone to see. I'm writing to you because of your inaction. For years, so many years, you knew what your husband was doing, what he was capable of doing, and yet, you turned the other cheek, ignored the death of many women, ignored that for years, your husband most likely had women trapped under your feet, while you slept in that house above the bunker. All you cared about was your appearance and lifestyle…that makes you worse than Barton Wilkes, if I have to be honest."

"You had the power to save us, you had the power to stop him before he began but you didn't. You did nothing, you acted as though we were nothing, our lives were nothing, our sanity was nothing. You didn't care, so as long as your had your perfect family. I've had personal dealing with that, a long time ago and it disgusts me how self centered you are, how much…your inaction changed my friend's and I lives. We cannot function in society, have jobs, have friends or families. I spend hours now, making sure all the locks to the house are good, I sleep lightly now, I developed disordered eating, as has my friend, it will take years, maybe even decades to undo what has been done, if possible at all."

"I've been told forgiveness makes you a stronger person, to forgive those who wronged you. However, I cannot give that to you. You have no remorse for what you could have stopped, you only care about you. You are past the point of forgiving, I can't even pity you, you made everything about you. I hope, one day, you figure yourself out, but for me, you will never, ever get forgiveness for me. I hope any children you have do not turn out to be like you, we need less people like you on the planet."

Stephanie folded her letter up and then Jeanne turned off the camera and said, with a soft voice, "You did good, Stephanie, Thank you for your video response."

"It felt good to get it off my chest," Stephanie whispered, wiping tears from her eyes, "I wish Brittany could do the same, but…"

Jeanne nodded her head and then she said, "Would you like some water? And time for you to decompressed?"

"Please?" Stephanie asked and James handed her a bottle of water and she took long gulps, "Can you two go outside, please, I need some…time."

Stephanie leaned back in the chair and let out a sob, covering her eyes and shaking her head. Yes, it had felt good getting that out of her system but that had dragged memories up to the front of her mind. Not just the bunker, but her mother, and Joe. People who actively tried to ruin her life. She had escaped them both, they never got punished for what they had done to her. Helen never got punished for how she treated Stephanie, for how she spoke down to her, for almost blinding her. Joe never got punished for how he stolen her virginity beside a tray of stale eclairs. She never got peace from those incidents, but she will damn well make sure the people who had Vanessa Wilkes on trial would see to it that that bitch would be thrown into jail for as long as possible.

She took a few more moments to compose herself and then got up and opened the door to Jeanne's office, saying in a soft voice, "Okay, I'm good."

"Good," Jeanne said, giving Stephanie a smile, "You did good, we'll edit this video letter today, the courts will have it tomorrow."

"Wonderful news," Stephanie said and then paused as Jeanne gave her a serious look, "Yes?"

"Agent Morelli ran into you, down at the lobby of the office, right?" she asked and Stephanie nodded her head, "Did he do anything, say anything to you that was off?"

"He-he and I have history, and I would rather not see him again, he didn't try anything funny, but," Stephanie bit her lip, "I would like to not see him again."

"Didn't look like he was stalking her in the building," James told Jeanne, who sighed and nodded her head, "But did seem excited to try to talk to her."

"Alright," Jeanne said, "Can't get him for a run in, but if he tries to talk to you again, you've warned him, tell me, I'll get him," she nodded to the two, "You're free to go, relax, go eat something comforting, you've earned it, Stephanie."

"Thanks, let's go get pizza, James," Stephanie said and James perked up, nodding his head, "Let's get enough for everyone at home, and a salad for Carlos."

"So thoughtful of Bossman," James teased and together the two left the Missing Person department of the FBI.

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

"This is one of the most complex of catatonia depression I've ever seen," The psychiatrist said, looming over Brittany's still form, gently lifting her arm up and watching as it fell back listlessly on her side, and she didn't even react, "The medicines have not been working, correct?"

Alejandro looked over to Carlos and then to the doctor and said, "Yes, that's correct," he folded his arms and looked to the man, "She's on a cocktail of antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds for weeks now, and hasn't moved a muscle, hence the I.V, and the feeding tube."

"How did she come to be like this? Walk me through this," the doctor asked, and Alejandro went through what had occurred and the man nodded his head and listened quietly, "I see, I see," He whispered looking at Brittany's still form.

"What can you do?" Carlos asked, as the man looked into Brittany's eyes and then gently pressed the tip of his pen against her fingers and frowned when she didn't flinch, "Are you sure it's this catatonia depression?"

"The symptoms you listed off and the events you stated as well, sounds like a traumatic response to her situation, a deadly combination," The doctor said, as he looked at the list of medicines Brittany was on, "If the meds are not working, I would like to prescribe an alternative treatment."

"What's the treatment?" Alejandro asked and the doctor closed her files, "More medicines, we've had several doctors come and say different treatments but nothing worked."

"It's not medicine, what I'm suggesting is a brain restart," The man said, looking over to Brittany's still form, "via ECT, or Electroconvulsive Therapy."

Alejandro looked to his brother and then frowned, as the doctor explained the procedure. Brittany would be put under and shocked for two seconds. So pretty much-

"Electro shock therapy," Carlos said, earning a nod from the doctor, "Thought that went out with sanitariums?"

"It's a last resort, honestly, and in this day and age, it's extremely safe, she'll feel no pain and she may even have immediate responses to the procedure as well," The doctor said, looking to the men, "She is a prime candidate for this procedure. I do have a question; who is her POA? Or Guardian?"

"That would be me," Alejandro said, raising his hand, "Her parents thought it best I had it, when this started."

"Would you like to try this procedure?" the man asked, and Alejandro sighed, looking to Brittany, "It can be an outpatient procedure, she can be in and out of the hospital in about an hour."

"I-I suppose, if there's nothing else that can be done…" Alejandro sighed and then he nodded his head, "Alright, we'll try it, it better not harm her."

"I assure you, it won't," The man said as he began to discuss the procedure and when Brittany could do it. In the next two days it seemed. When he left the house, Carlos and Alejandro sat and spoke silently to one another.

"I think it's the best course of action," Carlos told Alejandro as they waited for Stephanie and James to return to the house, "Nothing has worked, maybe this will."

"Still," Alejandro, looking at his brother, "It's strange, I hope it works, if we don't' see results, we're going to have to put her in a hospital."

Carlos looked at his distraught brother and then placed a hand on his shoulder. Alejandro was a man who took his job seriously. He ran the Miami branch of Rangeman like a fine tune machine. When he was given a task, he did it quickly and efficiently. He had never seen his brother stumble with anything.

That was until he was task with watching Brittany. After the woman's breakdown, and her non responses to the meds, Alejandro had taken it seriously, spending as much time as possible with the still woman and taking care of her. He hoped that the treatment worked, not just for Brittany's sake but for Alejandro's as well. The two had formed a bond, since Brittany spent so much time with him. It was how he and Stephanie were becoming close, but different, Carlos supposed. The woman was mentally fragile, needed guidance, sadly, most likely from her experience with Barton Wilkes. Alejandro fit that role easily, didn't abuse it and tried to get the woman out of her shell.

Though it may be dark of him to think this, Carlos was glad both women hadn't suffered the same fate as Brittany had. He didn't think bodyguards would fitting for the woman, if that was the case, they would need to be put into a mental center. He didn't think they, the men could handle two people with hairline triggers, through no fault of their own. He didn't think they could handle the highs and lows from both women. He was glad Stephanie was healing the way she was. It felt awful for him to say that, regarding Brittany, but he was glad it was only one person suffering. Silver linings in the darkest of clouds.

Speaking of Stephanie, she and James walked into the kitchen, with pizza and a bag from the salad shop that Carlos went to from time to time. Stephanie smiled to the men and said, "Hey, we bought lunch, pizza for the rest of us and salad for Carlos."

"I'm happy you thought of me," Carlos said, as Stephanie handed him the bag and James placed the two pizza boxes on the table, "How did the letter reading go?"

"It was sort of therapeutic, though, seeing Joe Morelli didn't help," Stephanie said as she grabbed four plates, "Walked into him on the way up, I never want to see him again."

Carlos raised an eyebrow at Stephanie and asked, "He do anything to you?"

"Tried to talk to me, but I told him to leave me alone," Stephanie sighed, as she opened a pizza box and took out a slice of pizza, "History…"

"I see," Carlos said as he dumped his salad on a plate, "Just glad he accosted you in a busy place and not a quiet one, if you two have history."

"Yeah," Stephanie mumbled and then turned to Alejandro, "How is Brittany? What did the doctor say?"

"I signed off on them giving her electroconvulsion therapy, they're going to force her brain to reset and see what happens," Alejandro said and Carlos watched as Stephanie's eyes widened and she looked to Carlos.

"It's the only thing we've haven't tried and the doctor said it would be safe," Carlos reached over and grabbed Stephanie's hand, "I trust Alejandro's choice, he's got a good head on his shoulders, Steph."

"I don't like the idea of my friend being shocked," Stephanie gave Carlos a look, "She's been through enough, she doesn't need more."

"I agree with you," Alejandro said to Stephanie, as Carlos ate his salad, "However, she's-we don't have much, she's already on hardcore meds and not responding, Stephanie, she's dying before us."

Carlos gently squeezed Stephanie's hand as the woman sighed and nodded her head. Alejandro was right, the longer Brittany was in this state, the more she wasted away. Carlos motioned for Stephanie to look at him and said, "She'll be fine…it may even help with her loss of voice."

The table fell silent, after that, and everyone tucked into their meal. After their lunch, Stephanie asked Carlos if they could take a quick walk and Carlos nodded his head and James stood, to join them, as their tail. They left the house and walked around the neighborhood. Carlos looked down as Stephanie grabbed his hand and said, in a soft voice, "Joe Morelli, my history with him, well, it wasn't nice…."

Carlos shrugged and said, "Figured as much," he looked to the woman, who sighed, looked away, a frown on her face.

"That history is more than not nice, he took my virginity, when I was 16, at my part time job," Stephanie said, looking at the passing houses, "I didn't know what in the hell he was doing, but, I didn't want it, but he was so big and I wasn't, I couldn't do anything."

"How in the hell did he even get in the fucking FBI?" Carlos asked, frowning, and Stephanie shrugged.

"The last I heard, he had joined the Navy and I-I hadn't told anyone," Stephanie confessed, "Too ashamed but then he wrote about it on the wall at school, and my mother found out and…that's more history too. Joe Morelli pretty much ruined my life in New Jersey, moved in with my Grandma and we moved to Virginia."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Carlos said, his voice honest, "You shouldn't have gone through that, as a child," Stephanie shrugged and shook her head.

"It got me a good life, well up until Barton," Stephanie said, as they walked, "But, between seeing him, and the letter, it opened old wounds, that I thought were healed."

"He won't mess with you again," Carlos promised Stephanie but she shook her head and hunched her shoulders, "Steph?"

"I don't know, Carlos but I get this feeling about Joe, he seemed so…adamant to talk to me at the FBI," Stephanie said, looking over to Carlos, "What if doesn't stop trying to?"

"You won't be alone," Carlos said, looking to the woman, "I promise you, if he tries, we'll deal with him, and so will Jeanne."

Stephanie smiled to the man and said, "Thank you, Carlos," and the two continued walking in silence.

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

"I do not like that Joe Morelli," Heidi said, as she watered some of her roses, Stephanie watching her from a chair, "He seems off."

"What do you mean 'off?'" Stephanie asked, as Heidi placed the ornate watering can on a table and walked over to the sitting woman, "Like, strange?"

"In a sense," Heidi said, summoning a chair and sitting beside Stephanie, "His eyes are too bright, he's done things, things no one should be proud of."

"Of course he's done things, he sort raped me," Stephanie said and Heidi nodded her head in agreement but she shook her afterwards.

"No, other things, unspeakable things, I do not like the way he feels, I wonder what he has done to gain such an aura," Heidi said, looking at Stephanie, "Do be careful around him, Stephanie, keep close to your friends, please."

"I will," Stephanie said and then she smiled softly, "I did the video letter, like you suggested I do. It..it opened old wounds, but it felt nice to express my…anger to that bitch."

"She deserved it," Heidi said, as she summoned a tea set, "She deserves to know how you feel about her," the woman poured them tea and said, "She is an evil woman."

"She is," Stephanie agreed and then she whispered, "Brittany…she's going to get electric shocks, for treatment, I hope it doesn't hurt her even more."

Heidi shrugged and said, her eyes trained on her cup of tea, "Well, we will see what happens, hopefully something good happens, she snaps out of it and tries to heal, yes?"

"Yes," Stephanie said, a smile on her face, "That's the hope. I miss her, I want her back."

Heidi told Stephanie to drink her tea, while she herself thought about things. Like Joe Morelli and his aura and Brittany and her gifts. As Stephanie told her about the treatment and what it would do, Heidi wondered what a resetting of the brain would do to someone with mental gifts.

They were going to find out soon enough.

TBC….

Let's see what happens, shall we?