Broken Bones

Episode 7 "The Girl in the Fridge" Part 3

We came back from the hospital with me stitched up again as Temp and I are sitting on her couch as she still feels down. Boss then comes in and asks, "Trail going badly? You don't usually cram at the last minute." I watch as Temp sighs, "The jury likes Michael better than they like me. Apparently, that's a problem. Are they stupid?" I nod without hesitation. "Yes. If they like Michael more then you, then they are stupid. No question asked. I mean he did cause me to rip all but one stitches on my hand. Ah, people this week really wants to test my limit." Boss chuckles a bit at my statement but looks back at Temp. "Compared to you, yes, they are stupid. However, compared to you, most of the world is a little stupid." I nod as he continues, "You have many skills, Temperance. Not one of them includes communicating with the average person on the street. Which is exactly what juries are made of." "I'm a better forensic anthropologist than Michael Stires." "Which is why, three years ago, I hired you instead of him." "Michael applied for this job?" "Yes." I then pipe in "Boss you just made my day brighter. Now I feel I could get three weeks of paperwork done before the following week." "That would make my day as well Venus. I am honored to boost your energy." I nod as Temp continues, "His credentials are better than mine." "Yes. But... you are the more rational, reasoned, empirical scientist. And you care. And, if he tries to convince you otherwise, tell him to go to hell." I then quickly add in, "Or you could just tell me to bring him to hell. Just one word sis and I will do anything you ask, except anything that has to do with bugs or snakes." Boss nods at us as he says one more thing, "Also Venus, we would not like to see you loss any more blood than you already have." I nod, "You got it Boss. Your wish is my command." He nods and leaves.

It was the next morning and we arrived at the court a bit early so Temp could get prepared. I was standing next to Temp when we hear, Dr. Stires coming over. I step in front of Temp as he speaks, "Is it safe to approach, Dr. Brennan?" Temp answers as I did promised Boss that I wasn't going to lose any more blood. "Don't charm, Michael." "I think you're taking this too personally." "You think I should be more rational?" "Yes." "Go to hell." "Look, you're not the only one with a jury consultant. The difference is, I listened to mine. He told me to create reasonable doubt. That's what I did." "This one isn't about winning a pasta dinner or showing up your former student. It's about putting two people away who murdered a 19-year-old girl." "Tempe, you can't personalize the work." "Do you remember in Central America, standing in a mass grave being guarded by soldiers? We knew that they were probably the same soldiers who killed the people we were digging up. I was just a student. I was scared. I turned to you, and I asked, "What do we do?" "That was a different place and a radically different context. You said, "We tell the truth. We do not flinch. You flinch, Michael. Now if you try to stop us, I will give Ven the word to put you in hell." He looks down at me as I say, "Yeah, you don't want that Dr. Stires. I have seen much and done much more then you could ever imagine. So don't even try." At that Temp left and I followed right behind her.

We make it inside the court room as we see the others. We walk up to him as Temp asks, "Am I testifying?" Everyone nods and I smile. We are sitting as Temp is on the stand talking. "Only a prolonged struggle, not sexual activity, would cause the tearing of the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle on the distal portion of the bone..." Mr. Levitt then cuts her off "So, in lay terms." "The muscle avulsed." "She pulled a muscle." "Because she was immobilized." "Tied up." "Yes. These conditions have to be contextualized. The inflammation on both the ilium and..." I see that Mr. Levitt looks at Booth and he gives him a nod. I give a questionable look at Booth as he offers his hand to me. But none of the less I take it, knowing he planned something. I look back as Mr. Levitt calls out Temp. "Dr. Brennan, why did you become a forensic anthropologist?" "I beg your pardon?" "There must be some reason you chose this field out of the hundreds of other careers someone of your intelligence could have chosen. Was there some emotional reason, perhaps?" "Objection. Relevance, Your Honor." 

Temp then speaks up again as I looked at the scene in confusion. "I don't see how this pertains to the case." Mr. Levitt continues, "Dr. Brennan is cold, distant and alienating, Your Honor." "Hey...!" "I need the jury to understand why she's so cold, so that they might be willing to accept her testimony." The lawyer then cuts in, "Her personality issues are not relevant to this case." "They opened up this line of questioning, Your Honor. When Dr. Stires was on the stand, he wondered why Dr. Brennan became a forensic anthropologist, so the defense must have thought it had some relevance then." The judge speaks up, "Sorry, Mr. Meredith. You did raise the issue. Overruled. You may continue, Mr. Levitt." "Dr. Brennan, your parents disappeared when you were 15, and no one's ever found out what happened to them. Isn't that correct?" 

I squeezed Booth's hand as Temp looks over at Booth for a few seconds and then at me as I give her a small nod telling her it was okay. The judge looks at Temp, "Please answer the question, Dr. Brennan." "That's correct." "It must be very painful. Plus, you got separated from your younger sister who was just 5 years old at that time not to long after your parents disappeared, correct?" "Correct." "Is it fair to say that you have been trying to solve the mystery of their loss your whole life?" "Do I want answers? Yes. As to how that has affected my behavior, which I assume is what you're trolling for, I don't put much stock in psychology." "Is that why you wrap yourself up in technospeak? So you don't have to feel how these victims remind you of your own parents?" "How I feel doesn't matter. My job doesn't depend on it." "But it's informed by it. Or are you as cold and unfeeling as you seem?" I look at Temp with a bit sad eye as I am still gripping onto Booth's hand with my good one. Temp then speaks "I see a face on every skull. I can look at their bones and tell you how they walked, where they hurt. Maggie Schilling is real to me. The pain she suffered was real. Her hip was being eaten away by infection from lying on her side. Sure, like Dr. Stires said, the disease could contribute to that if you take it out of context. But you can't break Maggie Schilling down into little pieces. She was a whole person, who fought to free herself. Her wrists were broken from struggling against the handcuffs. The bones in her ankles were ground together because her feet were tied. And her side, her hip and her shoulder were being eaten away by infection. And the more she struggled, the more pain she was in, so they gave her those drugs to keep her quiet. They gave her so much it killed her. These facts can't be ignored or dismissed because you think I'm... boring or obnoxious. Because I don't matter. What I feel doesn't matter. Only she matters. Only Maggie." I was ready to tear up as Booth hands me a tissue.

I waited outside for Temp as she comes out and I immediately grab her hand and as she carries a file on her other hand. We then hear Dr. Stires coming from behind us, "Tempe, Tempe. Tempe, I'm sorry. What can I do?" I stand in front of Temp giving the two a distance as I say, "You could leave her alone, Dr. Stires." I grab her hand again and we walked away as we hear Booth coming from behind us. "Bones, Blueberry... Costello's are trying to cop a plea to a charge that won't mean death penalty. They know they're going down." I was about to ask something, but Temp cuts me off "You had no right. There are things that are private." "Yeah, maybe you're right. But you know what? This was my case, too. All right? So, nothing personal?" Temp says nothing as I pat Booth on the back saying that it was okay.

We are now in Temps office as today was a week for all of us. Angie walks in, "Guilty on all counts." I nod as Temp speaks, "Yeah." "So he owes you another dinner, huh?" I pipe in, "Not if he gives me a new fresh pair of stitches on my body. I already lost to much blood for him." Temp shakes her head and answers, "No. I won't be seeing him anymore." Angie sighs a bit, "Sorry." "I was foolish to be so open with him. It was irrational. You know how you get when you're tired." I nod as Angie speaks, "Yeah. You both want to go out, grab a drink?" Temp then looks at her, "Um... I think I just want to work." I then add in, "I am still underage, plus I am on a mission to finish 3 weeks of paperwork before the following week, and I am on the second week. Gotta burn all my energy on this." Angie nods, "Okay." And then she leaves as Booth walks in. "Hey, Bones, Blueberry." "Yes Ranger?" Temp then adds in, "I'm not feeling very forgiving." "Yeah, I know. But we have a case." I look at the two and I chuckle. "Go on Temp, I will finish your work here. I have a hand injury as you can see, and I don't think Boss would appreciate it if I ripped my stitches a second time." She nods and grabs her jacket as I waved both of them off. I chuckle and get back to work.

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DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN "BONES". IT IS OWNED BY JOSEPHSON ENTERTAINMENT, BY HART HANSON. I ONLY CLAIM MY CHARACTER VENUS BRENNAN. I ALSO DON'T OWN ANY OF THE IMAGES. THANK YOU.