A/N: So I know not many people read Sweets fanfiction, but that doesn't stop me from writing it. This one was originally going to be just a Oneshot and then I got an idea and this would be perfect for it. There is only one change in the plot and that is that Sweets was never adopted. He stayed in foster homes so he has no family and never has.

Summary: Sweets has a past that no one expected. When a case comes up that brings Sweets' past to the team they are about to find out that their Psychologist is much more than they ever expected him to be. Booth and Sweets grow closer and Booth is rocked by an even bigger secret from Sweets' past that he never expected. With this new information Booth is determined to not only keep Sweets alive, but to show him how to live.

Warnings: Violence, Swear Words, Mentions of Child Abuse, Dead Bodies and Case Talk.

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Chapter 1

It was an early Wednesday afternoon when Booth headed towards Sweets' office. They had gotten a call yesterday for a set of remains and Bones had determined that the victim, thirty-eight year old Jennifer Moore, had been killed twenty years ago. Booth was hoping that Sweets would be able to give them a profile of what the killer would be like now so they could use it against the people that their victim knew twenty years ago. Booth didn't really like Sweets too much, but he had to admit he was very good at what he does. He had done a few profiles for them in the past year that they had known him and they have been helpful in pointing them in the right direction. Things had gotten tense just a month ago when they thought he was the apprentice of the Gormogon, only for it to turn out to be Zak. The last person Booth or any of them would ever suspect, including Sweets. Even after how Booth and Bones had treated him, had even threatened to put him in a holding cell, he still came to the hospital to see how Zak was doing and everyone was handling the situation. They had all been distant from him since then and he knew that the others hadn't really spoken to Sweets much. They all had hoped that it was Sweets that was the apprentice and not Zak. Now that they had all accused him and Booth and Bones had all but arrested him things around Sweets were awkward. They still both had to do sessions with him and when they were stuck he would help them out on a case, but it was clear that Sweets was keeping himself closed off from them. Booth could understand, he would have a trust problem too if two people he worked with had thought of him as an apprentice to a serial killer. The trust had been broken and they hadn't even truly begun to repair that damage. Booth was hoping he could try and repair the damage. It didn't matter that he didn't really like Sweets all that much, Sweets was now in their life and that made him one of his people and he always looked out for his people. He didn't like everyone at the Jeffersonian at first either, but now he had gotten to know them he didn't want to see any harm come to them.

With a determination to set things right Booth had headed to Sweets' office to get him on board with the case and maybe get the trust built up again. Booth walked by Sweets' receptionist and he was about to go in when she spoke.

"Agent Booth, you can't go in there he's in session right now with a fellow Agent." Melissa said calmly.

"Do you know how much longer he'll be?"

"About five minutes if you want to wait."

"Do you know when the last time he had any coffee was?"

"This morning when he came in." Melissa answered with confusion clear in her voice.

"I'll be back then."

Booth headed into the break room to grab himself and Sweets a cup of coffee. He had never done this before, but he knew that Sweets took it black from seeing him ordering it in the dinner. He figured it would be a good peace offering. With the coffee poured he headed back to Sweets' office to see Agent Anderson standing there looking pissed.

"Agent Anderson is everything alright?" Booth asked causally.

"No everything is not alright. What are you here for? Did he screw up one of your cases too?" Anderson asked with seething anger.

"Um no. Sweets is never wrong with his profiles. What happened?" Booth asked not liking how angry the agent was.

"I closed off on a case, even had my suspect arrested all I needed to wait for was for Hacker to sign it off so I could ship her off to jail and Sweets says I got the wrong person. Now all of a sudden she is being released and I'm being ordered to reinvestigate. I got the killer, but the child seems to think he knows more than me. He let a killer go free." Agent Anderson said with anger.

Booth was about to comment when another angry voice broke out from the office as the door was thrown open. Agent Richards stood there with his back to them as he yelled at Sweets who was sitting down in his usual chair.

"You are nothing but a child. You don't know what it is like being out there in the field actually doing something. You think because you sit here all day that you know what it's like to be an Agent. What it's like to have your life on the line. I did everything I was supposed to and now I have to listen to you, I don't think so. There is no way I am letting some little child tell me how I am supposed to live my life when you have no idea what life is truly like. You don't get to take my gun from me you little shit."

"Agent Richards I am just doing my job. Assistant Director Hacker told me to evaluate you after the incident. You are on suspension until I give the all clear one way or the other. Working against me is not going to help you. I'm not looking to take your gun or your badge, but you are not in any state of mind to be working. I'm not going to sign off on your being placed back on duty for you to get someone killed. I suggest you take it up to Assistant Director Hacker if you have such a problem with it. My hands are tied." Sweets said calmly, but Booth could hear the anger and frustration at the situation.

"Why don't you go back and play in the sandbox with the rest of the children and leave the real work to the grown-ups. Before you end up under it." Agent Richards seethed.

"Enough Agent." Booth said now making his presence known to both Agent Richards and Sweets who didn't see him past Agent Richards.

Agent Richards turned to see Booth and Anderson standing there.

"Booth." Agent Richards started, but Booth cut him off.

"You are on suspension from what I have been told Agent. I suggest you get out of here and go back home before I consider taking that death threat seriously and locking you up myself. Get out of here." Booth said with authority to his voice.

"You're defending this kid now?" Agent Richards asked with disgust to his voice.

"That kid has a higher IQ than all of us in this entire building and more education. If you were smart you would listen to him so you could get back to work, which is what he wants as well. He's not here to take anyone's badge from them and he will do everything he can to prevent it. If I hear about another death threat towards him from you it'll be me that takes your badge and not him. Now get the hell out of the building." Booth said with anger.

Agent Richards just gave Sweets one last dirty glare before he pushed past Booth and a smirking Agent Anderson clearly happy that Sweets was getting problems from another Agent. Agent Anderson pushed past Booth and went into the room and Sweets looked at the Agent already having a feeling this wasn't going to go over well either.

"You let my killer go free. I had the case wrapped up and you let my killer go free. What right do you have to question my arrests?" Agent Anderson said with his own anger.

"Assistant Director Hacker asked me to look into the case. He brought it to me, because he had questions. You arrested the wrong person and he agreed with me. He's not about to let an innocent person go to jail. The case is open and he expects you to find the killer. I added my profile into the case for you to use." Sweets said calmly.

"I had the killer and you let her walk."

"Your killer is male. You arrested a female with no motives or access to the cause of death." Sweets argued back.

"Stop trying to do my job. You're not an agent just some shrink playing dress up."

"I'm doing my job and if you had done yours correctly I wouldn't have to stop you from putting an innocent woman in jail. Take it up with Hacker if you're that bothered by it. Now I have work to do so please leave." Sweets said clearly annoyed.

"This isn't over." Agent Anderson said as he headed out of the office.

Booth went and closed the door as Sweets spoke.

"Anything you'd like to yell at me about?" Sweets asked and Booth could hear the hurt and exhaustion in his voice.

"I brought you coffee." Booth said as he went over and handed it to Sweets who was still sitting in his chair.

"You never bring me coffee." Sweets said skeptically as he took the mug and held it in his hands and let the heat warm him up.

Booth sat down on the couch and put the case folder on the table.

"I was getting some so I got you some at the same time. You alright?" Booth asked with concern as he could see that Sweets wasn't looking too good. He was hiding it well, but Booth had a son and he could see the signs of sickness in someone pretty well.

"What that? Just another day at the office. If I had a quarter every time someone yelled at me I would be rich." Sweets tried to joke lightly.

"We'll get to that, but I meant you look sick or run down." Booth said casually trying to hide the concern in his voice.

"I'm fine just tired. Hacker has me doing some extra work and it's a lot of work plus everything else I have to do during the day. I think I have a head cold I just need some sleep and I'll be fine." Sweets said shrugging it off.

"Maybe you should take the day off tomorrow and get some sleep. Or work from home or something."

"Ya I might do that. What brought you by?" Sweets asked as he sat back in his chair and Booth could see he was sick with more than a head cold.

"Oh you're not getting away with it that easily. What the hell was all of that about?"

"I can't tell you about my patients Agent Booth. As for Agent Anderson he arrested a female that he believes is the killer when it was in fact a male. The woman he suspects has no motive or access to the poison that was used to kill her ex-husband."

"Well dead ex-husband usually makes us suspect the ex-wife first." Booth started

"And I would normally agree only they weren't the typical divorce couple. She filed for divorce and both agreed to it. He allowed her to have the house and the car. They worked at the same company and he willingly left it so she could stay there. He found a better job and agreed to pay two grand a month in alimony until she got married again. She started to date another man and he is even dating a man, which is the reason for the divorce. The ex-wife is perfectly fine with it they all go on double dates together even. She was heartbroken when she found out he had been killed and her grief was honest."

"Even if she was lying about being okay with her ex-husband being gay there doesn't seem like a reason for motive in there. She's getting money by him being alive not dead. How was he killed?"

"He was poisoned with a chemical that is only used in high end auto shops. Chemicals that she doesn't have access to and nor does her boyfriend or his boyfriend. There was bruising on his mouth suggesting that the killer held him down and forced the chemicals down his throat. Not something a hundred pound female could do against a one hundred and eighty pound man. So you can see why Hacker had some trouble with the arrest and he asked me to double check."

"Maybe the new boyfriend of the victim has an ex-boyfriend that isn't happy about him moving on." Booth suggested.

"And that is what I suggested in my profile. Hacker let the woman go with a long apology. Hacker has me doing all of the Agent evaluations this year and I have to go through all of their cases in the last ten years and see what ones they received a guilty verdict for. Apparently, there has been an increase in cases turning cold. The Agent arrests the wrong suspect, the case goes to trial and a not guilty verdict is found. The case then is supposed to go back to the original Agent, but the Agent doesn't continue it and it turns to a cold case. There has been a twenty percent increase in cold cases just this year and Hacker is not happy about it nor are his bosses I'm assuming."

"That's a lot of work on you though Sweets plus you have your own patients and profiles for other Agents. No wonder you are tired." Booth said sympathetically.

"It'll be fine it's only for a little while plus I can do it from home on the weekends. What brought you by? Did you need something?"

"Ya, but don't worry about it, you've got enough to deal with." Booth said feeling guilty that he would be adding on to Sweets' work.

"No it's fine I don't mind helping you out. Your cases are usually pretty extreme on the killing meter. What's up?"

"Are you sure?"

"It's fine. What's the case?"

"Twenty year old murder. Victim was found yesterday and the cause of death Bones believes is blunt force trauma. I was hoping you might be able to figure out a profile of what the killer was like twenty years ago and maybe what they might be like now so we can compare the potential suspect."

"Sure I can do that. I'll call you when I have it for you."

"Thanks Sweets." Booth stood up from the couch and headed for the door. Before he opened it he turned and spoke one last time. "You know Sweets don't worry about what other Agents might say. You do an amazing job and I know all you want to do is help people. Screw them if they have a problem with it."

"Thanks Agent Booth." Sweets said sincerely.

Booth gave a nod and headed out of the office and back towards his own. He had other cases he could be working so he was going to do that until they had more on this current case.

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The next day Booth and Bones headed into Sweets' office. Booth had received a text from Sweets saying that he had their profile for them when he was over at the Jeffersonian. Him and Bones decided to go together in case it lead to a suspect. When they arrived Booth knocked on the door before he walked in to see that Sweets was sitting at his chair with files and papers all over the table and the floor. He was clearly busy and overworked, but they both knew that Sweets wouldn't take a break for himself. Sweets looked up as Booth and Bones walked into the room and they could both clearly see he was tired and not feeling well. He looked like he had a fever and he didn't look this sick yesterday when Booth had seen him.

"Dr. Sweets you look horrible." Bones said as she went over to Sweets and placed her hand against his forehead.

Sweets moved his head back, but Bones just moved her hand with him.

"Sweets what are you doing at work? You should be in bed." Booth said calmly.

"You have a fever." Bones said as she moved her hand back.

"I know. I was going to stay home, but I just came in to get some files to work on later when this got dropped into my lap." Sweets said with a hoarse voice before he started to cough. The cough was deep and it didn't sound like a normal one from a cold.

"Have you been to a doctor?" Bones asked clearly worried about the cough.

"No I just woke up sick." Sweets said with a tired voice.

"You weren't feeling great yesterday either though Sweets." Booth said.

"It's just a cold I'll be fine." Sweets said in a dismissive tone.

"Colds don't give you a fever. A fever indicates an infection and based on that cough you could have a chest infection. You should get it looked at Sweets." Bones said.

"I'll make an appointment with the doctor and I'll go I promise. I have your profile for you." Sweets said hoping work would make them drop the subject.

Booth and Bones sat down on the couch and Sweets handed them the file.

"There are four profiles in here though? Why both sexes?" Bones asked.

"Because without knowing what instrument was used to kill the victim I can't narrow it down any further. I gave you four profiles two for each gender of what they were like twenty years ago and what they would be like now." Sweets explained.

"You're usually better than this. Why can't you narrow it down more?" Bones asked.

"Because of the weapon. If the weapon was heavy it could have done more damage with having to use less strength so a woman could have killed our vic. If the weapon was something like a pipe and needed strength behind it to cause the level of damage it would mean a man did it." Booth explained.

"Exactly." Sweets said.

"So we need to get Hodgins working on the type of instrument that was used to kill our victim so we can know which gender killed our victim. Understandable." Bones said.

"Now what the hell is all of this?" Booth asked as he opened his arms to indicate the paper mess everywhere.

"Early this morning an Agent caught a missing child case. He sent me all of the suspects and information on the child to try and narrow down who may have taken her. She's only five. I told him I would look into it and see what I could narrow down for him."

"You should be at home resting Sweets." Bones said.

"I will when I'm done here. Is there anything else you guys needed?" Sweets asked looking to get back to work.

"No that was it. Let me know if you need any help eh?" Booth said as he got up from the couch.

"Ya sure." Sweets said and Booth knew he was just saying it to make Booth feel better.

"Feel better Sweets." Bones said as she got up from the couch and they both headed out of the office.

Booth and Bones headed to Booth's office. Once inside Bones spoke.

"He doesn't look well Booth. He should be at home resting and seeing a doctor about that cough."

"I know Bones, but sometimes cases come up and just like we have to Sweets has to push through. He'll probably stay home tomorrow and I'll go by and check in on him if that makes you feel better."

"Why that would make me feel better I have no idea, but I appreciate the offer. I don't know his living conditions he might live with his parents." Bones said.

"Why would he be living with his parents?"

"He's a millennial, according to Dr. Hodgins that is what they do, they live at home until they are thirty. Dr. Sweets is only recently twenty-three."

"Ok I don't think he lives with his parents, but I'll still go and check in on him. Let's go and run some of the names from our vic's past with the profile and see if any fit it." Booth suggested as he grabbed the file and they headed out.

Booth looked at the closed door to Sweets' office and he hoped that Sweets would feel better tomorrow or at least take the time off that he needed to get better. Booth didn't know anything about Sweets' personal life, but he was hoping that he had a support system to be there for him to help him get through the cases they see. Booth figured he could check in on Sweets tomorrow and if he wasn't in the office he could get his address easily enough from his receptionist to go and check in on him there.

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It was nine o'clock at night and Sweets was finally packing up to go home. He was feeling even weaker and his cough had gotten worse. He decided to take extra files home with him so he could work on some tomorrow and just in case he grabbed the box for the Agent's evaluations so he could bring them home in case he spent the next three days in his apartment trying to recover. He could go to the doctor's tomorrow and see if he had an infection. Sweets grabbed the box and his briefcase and he headed out of the office and down to the parking garage. He put the box in his back seat as well as his briefcase. He closed the door and that's when he was grabbed from behind. There was a tight hand wrapped around his neck chocking him. He squirmed and fought to get out of his attacker's grasped, but he was only dragged further into the darkness. He was all too soon surrounded by three other men all in black ski masks and still being chocked by the other one behind him. The one in the middle walked forward and Sweets could see that he was pure muscle and he wasn't a small man. Sweets tried to get the man off from him, but it only resulted in the hand gripping his throat even tighter. Making it even harder for him to breathe. Sweets brought his hands up to the hand that was wrapped around his throat. The man that was to the left of Sweets didn't like it so he came up towards Sweets and he grabbed both of his hands and twisted them hard and Sweets would have screamed at the pain if he could have gotten a breath. The man used a pair of handcuffs and maneuvered around the man behind him to tightly cuff his hands behind his back. Sweets knew that the cuffs were too tight and it was cutting into his wrists and making his hands tingle and blood starting to come through.

The man in front then spoke.

"You think you're so smart. Let's see how smart you are when we are finished with you." The man said with a dark anger to his voice.

The man then punched Sweets as hard as he could across his face. The blow made his head snap to the right, but it caused the hand around his throat to tighten even more. The man didn't care as he threw another hard punch to his face and then torso. After a good ten punches the man stepped back and the man to the right of him approached with a crowbar in his hand. He swung and hit Sweets to his right side and Sweets could have sworn he felt his ribs crack. The assault continued and even when he couldn't stand up anymore they continued to rain attacks onto him. Eventually the man holding him up by his throat threw Sweets to the ground and they all began to punch and hit him with the crowbar relentlessly. They all called him derogatory words that hurt more than the actual blows. He felt bones breaking and he felt his right wrist slowly breaking from the blows and how he was positioned on the ground. Sweets felt the darkness creeping up on him and when he thought he was going to finally pass out the attack was over. He could feel one of them removing the cuffs from him and with one last kick to his stomach they left him there on the cold and dirty ground bleeding and in a ball of pain.

Sweets couldn't even think straight. He didn't even know what the hell he was supposed to be doing right now. All he could feel was pain, complete and utter pain throughout his body. His mind was foggy with pain and he was so dizzy he could barely see. He knew he couldn't pass out right here or he could be in serious trouble. He had to get up and get to the hospital, but the thought of driving made him even dizzier. Sweets knew he wouldn't be able to drive himself to the hospital as he didn't know what was completely wrong with him. He was in no condition to be driving, but he couldn't call a friend either, because he didn't have any. He had just moved to D.C when the F.B.I. offered him the job to work for them. He didn't really have any friends and he had no family. Sweets started to try and sit up, but as he did the world spun and he fell back onto the dirty and cold ground. Sweets knew he had to do something, but he really didn't want the attention of an ambulance. Sweets carefully moved his left hand to his pocket were his cell phone was. He slowly got it out and he dialed Booth's number. He had noticed on the way to his car that Booth's SUV was still here so he knew that Booth wouldn't take long to come down to him. After three rings Booth answered.

"Agent Booth."

"Booth." Sweets voice was hoarse and it croaked out.

"Sweets? Are you ok?" Booth asked with concern at the sound of Sweets' voice.

"I need help." Sweets said before he went into a coughing fit that caused his whole body to be wracked with pain.

"Sweets where are you?" Booth asked already grabbing his jacket and keys heading out of his office.

"Parking lot, my car."

"You're downstairs?" Booth asked as he hit the button for the elevator.

"Ya" Sweets said weakly and he was losing the battle to stay awake.

"Sweets I'm on my way stay with me." Booth said as he got onto the elevator and hit the parking lot button.

Sweets let out a groan of pain before he passed out and the hand with the phone in it hit the ground.

"Sweets? Sweets?" Booth didn't get a reply and he instantly cursed as he looked up at the numbers going lower and lower.

He ended the call and put his cell phone back into his pocket and waited for the elevator to finally reach the parking lot. Once it did Booth was out of the elevator before the door was even open all of the way. He ran to where Sweets always parked his car as he had a reserved parking space just like the rest of them. Booth instantly thought that Sweets was sicker than they all thought and he had passed out. He had no idea that he was going to be finding something else. He finally arrived at Sweets' car and he noticed that Sweets wasn't in his car.

"Sweets!" Booth called out as he looked around trying to see if he could find him.

He saw the light from the cell phone screen over closer to the wall in the darker part of the parking lot. Booth went over to the light and he was able to make out Sweets' body on the ground. Booth ran over to him and he bent down. He pulled out his cell phone and used it as his light and he was able to see the mess that was Sweets. His face was covered in blood and his clothes were bloody as well.

"Sweets!" Booth called out hoping to get Sweets to gain consciousness. He gently touched Sweets' shoulder and Sweets let out a groan.

"That's it come on Sweets wake up for me."

Sweets opened his right eye and Booth could tell that his left eye was swollen shut.

"Stay with me Sweets. We need to get you to a hospital. Where are your keys?" Booth asked with a controlled voice, but the worry was clearly in it.

"Car" Sweets said weakly.

Booth got up and went over to Sweets' car and he opened the back door. He moved the box off the back seat and put it on the floor. He then saw that the keys were sitting on the driver's seat that Sweets must have just tossed down when he put the box in the back seat. Booth then went back over to Sweets and spoke.

"I'm gonna get you up and into your back seat. We need to get you to a hospital Sweets."

Sweets just gave a groan and Booth bent down and picked up Sweets under his arms to help get him up. The muffled scream didn't go unnoticed by Booth.

"I'm sorry Sweets just hang on." Booth said apologetically.

They got over to the car and Booth got Sweets down on the back seat. He closed the door and got into the driver seat and turned the car on. He then took off for the hospital as fast as he could. Sweets' car didn't have any lights or sirens because he wasn't a Field Agent. Booth was careful not to go too fast, but he didn't drive the speed limit either given the state that Sweets was in. They arrived at the hospital in record time. Booth pulled into the emergency entrance and he got out of the car and opened the back door. He was able to see Sweets' injuries more now that there was the bright lights of the emergency entrance and he couldn't believe how beat up he was. There was even bruising around his neck in the shape of a hand.

"Come on Sweets let's get you inside." Booth said gently.

Booth was able to get Sweets up and out of the car, but the movement caused Sweets to be shaking from the pain.

"I know it hurts, but we just need to get you inside. Hang on Sweets." Booth said gently as they walked into the entrance. "I need help!" Booth yelled as they walked inside.

A nurse came running over to him and she saw the condition that Sweets was in and immediately yelled for help and a stretcher. Another nurse and emergency room doctor came over to them with a stretcher. Booth got Sweets down on the stretcher and he followed them as they pushed Sweets into an examination room.

"Do you know what happened?" The doctor asked.

"No but I intend to find out." Booth said with seething anger.

Booth watched as the doctor went over to Sweets who was still awake and moving around on the bed. The nurses were trying to get him to stay still but he was having a hard time listening. He hated being in hospitals and it always brought up painful memories from growing up. He could feel the panic rising up in him and when a nurse came over to remove his jacket he didn't even think he just pushed her away. This caught Booth's attention and he went over to try and calm Sweets down.

"Sweets calm down it's okay. The nurse is just trying to help. Calm down." Booth said trying to offer some comfort to Sweets. He thought he was just disorientated from being hit in the head.

"Everyone back off him and give him some room." The doctor said recognizing the signs.

The nurses backed up and so did Booth.

"What's his name?" The doctor asked Booth.

"Dr. Lance Sweets."

The doctor went over to Sweets and spoke in a calm voice.

"Dr. Sweets, my name is Dr. Wells I am a doctor here at Memorial Hospital. You were attacked. It's alright, you are safe here. I need to examine you and run some tests. I can go as slow as you need me to. I just need you to relax so we can get your jacket and shirt off. I need you to take a breath and then we will begin."

"Sir I need you to wait out in the waiting room please. I have some paperwork you can fill out." A nurse said to Booth.

"No I'm not leaving him." Booth said with anger.

"Sir please we need you out of the room so we can examine him." The nurse said again as she got Booth out of the room and she closed the door behind them. She led them over to the desk so Booth could fill out some basic information.

"I'm sorry about Sweets. He never acts that way. He must be confused from the injuries." Booth said on Sweets' behalf.

"It's alright it's happened before. A lot of adults have bad reactions to hospitals. It happens when they have experienced too much of a hospital when they are a child." The nurse said calmly.

"A child?" Booth asked getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Child abuse isn't over when the individual is no longer a child. It carries over into adulthood. Your friend's reaction to my friend touching him was perfectly normal and instinctual. A child always tries to hide their injuries no matter how severe they are. It's just ingrained into him. It'll be fine don't worry now that we know we can treat him properly. I just need you to fill these out as best as you can. What you don't know we can get him to fill out later."

"Ya sure. Will he have to stay here?"

"That depends on his injuries. Given his anxiety about hospitals if he doesn't need to stay for life threatening reasons then we can let him go home. We'll work quickly and get him examined and some x-rays done and if everything comes back fine Dr. Wells will let him go home. Once you have those completed just have a seat and when we know something we will come and inform you." The nurse said with a smile as she headed back into the room.

Booth stood there shocked at what he had just learnt. The nurse didn't even think twice about it with what she told him. She had no idea that Booth had no idea that Sweets had been a victim of child abuse much like himself. Booth couldn't help, but be amazed, because Sweets didn't come across as someone that had been abused. He had this innocent look to his eyes that made it really easy for someone to forget that he was twenty-three and not sixteen. Booth couldn't help but be hurt by this piece of knowledge. He didn't really know Sweets all that well and they had obviously had problems. Booth wasn't happy that he had to go into therapy and that automatically made him not like Sweets. It didn't help when he found out that he was just twenty-two and he instantly thought that Sweets was naive and wouldn't know anything about life. Now he just found out that Sweets had been abused as a child. Abused enough to make him have anxiety about being in hospitals. It made Booth want to protect him. The protector and father in him was surfacing and he wanted nothing more than to be there for Sweets and then find the bastard who did this to him. Booth took the forms and headed over to a seat to fill them out. He could have called Bones, but he didn't want to do that just in case Sweets didn't want her here. He didn't know how Sweets felt about any of this so he wasn't going to put him into that position. He also didn't know any contact number for his family so that was something that Sweets would have to answer. Booth filled out the forms as best as he could. With them partly filled out he then went to pacing as he waited for when someone would tell him something on Sweets.

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It was just after two in the morning when Dr. Wells finally came towards Booth. Booth went over to the doctor and he was not happy at being kept in the dark for so long.

"How is he?" Booth asked right away.

"He's going to be fine, but he will be in pain for a good two months. He has six broken ribs; four on his right and two on his left. He has a moderate concussion, a broken right wrist, he has cuts on both wrists from what appears to be handcuffs. They were on very tight and cut into his skin rather deeply we used surgical glue to close the cuts and hopefully they won't scar. He also has multiple deep tissue bruising all over his body. His left eye has swollen closed, he has a crack in his jaw on the right side. He has a long cut on the right side at the top of his forehead. He took twenty-five stitches to close it. He has bruising on his left kidney, liver and stomach. He was strangled and that has caused some very deep bruising around his neck and internal bruising on his wind pipe and vocal cords. It will be painful for him to talk and he will get out of breath easier than normal until the bruising is healed. He does not have any internal bleeding. He does however, have pneumonia and I have given him an anti-biotic to take as well as some pain medication."

Booth couldn't believe the level of damage that was done to Sweets. Sweets could be annoying, but that was only because he wanted to talk about feelings and things that were difficult for Booth to do. He wasn't good with feelings or opening up about painful memories. He wanted to forget about that part of his life and Sweets seemed to want him to open up and talk about it. Deep down though, Booth knew that Sweets was a good man and he was just trying to help. Booth never expected for Sweets to ever have been abused as he just didn't act like a typical abuse victim did. He knew tonight that there was a lot more to Sweets then he ever let on and now he was seriously injured.

"Does he have to spend the night?" Booth asked finally.

"Normally he would have to stay here because of the level of injuries that he has. However, he has some serious anxiety about hospitals from childhood experiences and that is making him uneasy and unsettled. He won't even take his bloody clothes off. Given that he could be fine at home if someone was there with him then I would allow that to happen. He needs to be woken up every two hours with the concussion which is why I would like him to stay here or have something there with him just in case something happens and he doesn't wake up. However, he has informed me that he has no parents or family members. I asked about any friends, but he said he didn't have any. Without someone being there with him tonight I need to keep him here. He can't be alone."

"No I'll stay with him. I don't know why he wouldn't have said that I would. I'll stay with him tonight and make sure he is okay." Booth said slightly hurt that Sweets didn't have any family or friends. He was also hurt that Sweets wouldn't consider Booth a friend, but when Booth thought about it he never really gave Sweets a reason to think of him as anything but a fellow Agent.

"If you are willing to stay with him tonight then I don't have a problem with him leaving. He needs to be woken up every two hours and asked a few simple questions like his name and age that type of thing. If he is unable to wake up fully or if he is unable to answer a question you need to bring him back in right away."

"I understand."

"I'll get his discharge papers together. He already has his prescription for the anti-biotic and he has one for pain medication. He's already dressed you can go in there if you wish. It'll only take me a few minutes to get the paperwork together for him to sign."

"Is he in the same room as before?"

"He is."

"I'll be in there with him."

"I'll be there shortly with the papers. He's still has some anxiety and he's shaky so have some patience with him."

"I will I won't push him tonight." Booth said sincerely.

Dr. Wells just gave a nod and he headed over to the nurses' station so he could get the paperwork in order. Booth headed to the examination room where Sweets was being kept. He knocked lightly on the door before he opened it. Sweets was laying on the bed with the back of the bed part way up. He had his legs bent up and he was clearly in pain despite the pain medication going through his body. The bruising had gotten deeper in the past five hours making Sweets covered in black spots. His left eye was swollen shut and his jaw looked painful. His left wrist was wrapped with gauze, his right wrist was in a black brace to help heal his broken wrist. His neck was covered in thick black bruising with a clear imprint of a hand. All in all he looked miserable. Booth went over to Sweet's right side, the side that his eye wasn't swollen shut on. Booth leaned against the side of the bed as he spoke.

"How are you feeling Sweets?" Booth asked gently.

"Fine. Thanks for bringing me here." Sweets said with a soft hoarse voice.

"It's no problem. The doctor is getting your paperwork ready so you can go home."

"Why? He said I couldn't be home alone." Sweets said with confusion in his voice.

"And you won't be alone. I'm gonna stay with you tonight to wake you up and make sure you're alright."

"You don't have to do that. You've done more than enough by bringing me here. I appreciate it."

"Sweets, I know I don't have to spend the night with you. I want to. I'm not about to leave you here in a hospital after being attacked when you don't need to be here. This isn't up for debate I'm going to be with you tonight. The doc is working on getting your paperwork together and then we'll head out of here. I can call Bones in the morning to give me a ride to work."

Sweets just gave an uncomfortable nod to Booth. Booth knew that Sweets was feeling awkward about this situation and he couldn't blame him. He was just starting to see that Sweets wasn't who he thought he was. The professional with confidence in his skills was not lying on this hospital bed. It was a twenty-three year old that had been abused as a child and has now been severely beaten. This man didn't have much confidence and he just looked so lost lying in this hospital bed. The protector and father in Booth was surfacing even more and he had the strong urge to hug Sweets and tell him it would all be okay like he would with Parker after a bad dream. They stayed in silence for a few minutes until the doctor came into the room with the discharge papers.

"Ok Dr. Sweets, I have your paperwork here. You need to be very careful of your ribs for the next few days. You also need to take all of your anti-biotic to get rid of the pneumonia. If you are experiencing an increase in pain or if your breathing gets difficult you need to come back in and we can do some tests." Dr. Wells said in a serious voice.

"Thank-you Dr. Wells." Sweets said as he signed the discharge papers.

"Have a good night and get some rest." Dr. Wells said before he headed out of the room.

"Alright let's get this show on the road. We'll get you back home and in your own bed." Booth said with support in his voice.

Sweets got up off the bed and Booth stood close by him in case he swayed or stumbled. They made a slow progress to the car, but they were able to get there without Sweets falling. Booth waited while Sweets got into the passenger seat before he went over to his side of the car. He got in and saw that Sweets was trying to buckle his seatbelt in.

"Here let me." Booth said gently as he took it from Sweets' banged up hands and clicked the seatbelt in for him. Booth then turned the car on.

"What's your address?" Booth asked.

"1843 Jackson Ave."

Booth pulled out of the hospital and headed off for Sweets' address. He stayed quiet, because he knew that Sweets was hurting and he didn't want to make Sweets' talk. They drove in silence and Booth kept looking over at Sweets to make sure he was alright. He was clearly not alright, but he didn't seem any worse than he was when they left the hospital. They arrived at Sweets' apartment. Booth parked his car on the side of the street. Booth got out and Sweets unbuckled himself before he went and got out of the car. Booth could see that Sweets was in a lot more pain and he put a gentle hand under Sweets' right elbow to help hold him up. Sweets flinched at the touch and Booth did his best not to notice or to feel the tension in Sweets' body at the simple touch. They both headed inside and over to the elevator. Sweets hit the button for his floor and he leaned against the back wall of the elevator. Sweets closed his eyes and tried to get the shakiness and dizziness under control. He was just so exhausted he wanted to sleep for the next week straight.

When they finally arrived on his floor they got off the elevator and made their way down the hallway to his apartment. Sweets took out his keys from his pants pocket and with a shaky hand he unlocked the door and headed inside. Booth followed in behind him and he immediately noticed the state of the apartment. There were papers from cases all over the place and there were books spread out in between it all. The apartment didn't have much in the sense of a personal life. There weren't even any photos on the walls to suggest who Sweets even was.

"Let's get you into your bedroom." Booth said.

Sweets started to walk towards his bedroom. Booth noticed that the apartment wasn't very big. Just a small one bedroom that was barely eight hundred feet. It was small and Booth couldn't help, but feel that it was depressing and lonely here. They got to Sweets' bedroom and it wasn't very big either. The walls were bare of anything personal or professional. They were just a beige color. There was a wooden dresser and a double bed and that is all that would fit into the room. Sweets went over to his dresser and opened a couple of drawers. He pulled out some black sweat pants and a black t-shirt. He then went back over to the bed and sat down with them. He clicked on the small lamp sitting on the small bedside table as he spoke.

"You really don't have to stay I'll be fine Agent Booth." Sweets said and Booth couldn't help but hear the pain and sadness in his voice.

"You need to be woken up every two hours." Booth started.

"I can set my alarm to wake me up. I'll be fine on my own."

"You're used to being on your own eh?" Booth said calmly.

Sweets looked to his right as he kept his head down and away from Booth's questioning eyes.

"Sweets, I'm not going anywhere. I would just be at home worrying about you. So I'm staying." Booth said in a voice that Sweets knew he was going to be stubborn and not let this one go.

"I need to get changed so if you wouldn't mind leaving my room then."

"Look the pants are all yours, but you need help getting that shirt off."

"I'll be fine." Sweets said and Booth could not only hear the panic in his voice, but he could clearly see it.

Booth bent down in front of Sweets and went to help get his suit jacket off.

"Let me help you or you'll make your injuries worse." Booth said with calmness to his voice.

The second Booth touched Sweets' jacket he flinched back and moved away from Booth on the bed closer to his pillows.

"No it's fine I can do it." Sweets said with complete panic and fear.

His shaking had picked up and Booth knew that Sweets truly didn't want Booth to see his injuries or something else. Booth knew he needed to handle this in a different manner.

"Lance, I have been to war, I've been an Agent for almost a decade. I've seen mutilated bodies, I've seen people getting tortured, I've seen them murdered. I've seen some very horrible things in this world. You know my childhood was awful. I have scars from it, I have scars from my time overseas and from being in the Agency. I've seen worse injuries than what you have. There is nothing underneath that shirt that is on you that I haven't seen worse of. Lance, I know you are tired and in pain and you have got to be feeling like shit right now. Let me help you get your shirt changed and then I'll let you get changed out of those pants." Booth said in a voice that he only ever used with his son.

Sweets really didn't want Booth to see his scars, but he also knew that he wasn't going to let this go. Sweets just gave a shaky nod.

"Ok let's get this jacket off first." Booth said calmly.

Booth brought his hands to Sweets' jacket again and he gently got Sweets' jacket off without causing too much movement. Now it was time for the dress shirt. Booth figured the easiest way was to undo the buttons so he could slide the shirt off from his arms. Booth went and started to undo the buttons. Once the buttons were undone he was able to see the bruising on Sweets' stomach and chest. Booth went to the sleeve of the left arm as it didn't have the brace to deal with. He was able to get Sweets' arm out of the sleeve and he only made a small groan at the movement. Booth noticed that Sweets' discomfort was getting worse and his shaking was increasing. Booth didn't understand why Sweets had such a problem with having his shirt off and when Booth saw the back of Sweets' left shoulder he understood why. There were roughly ten scars on his shoulder blade that looked very old. Booth knew that Sweets didn't want him to be seeing it, but it was unavoidable with his shirt being removed. Booth just acted normal and went to get the right arm out of his shirt. To his horror he saw the same scars on his other shoulder blade as well. Booth just ignored it and made sure his face didn't show any hurt or surprise. Booth looked at the level of bruising on Sweets and he felt his rage boiling over.

"Damn Sweets, how big was this guy?"

"There were four and a crowbar." Sweets said with pain and panic still in his voice. Having his shirt off was making him worse.

"Let's get this on." Booth said as he picked up the black t-shirt.

He was able to get it on Sweets without too much pain caused. Once his shirt was on Booth could see the shame all over Sweets' face. The whole time he didn't even look at Booth and he kept his eyes and head down. He looked like an abused dog just waiting to be kicked. It broke a piece of Booth's heart to see him like this.

"I'm going to wait for you outside while you change into your sweats. I'll grab you some water too."

Sweets just gave a nod and Booth headed out of the room and back down to the kitchen. Booth went into the kitchen and he put his hands on the counter and bowed his head. He couldn't get the image of Sweets out of his mind. He was so beat up and he just looked miserable. Booth had never expected for Sweets to ever look like that. He looked like an abused child tonight. The hurt and panic in his eyes were heart breaking. Booth looked around the kitchen and he didn't see anything on the counter in the way of dishes or food. He couldn't help, but open the fridge and he noticed that there was almost no food in it. He then opened the freezer and he saw that there were some frozen one meal dinners in there that reminded Booth of what a college kid would eat. Booth grabbed an ice pack and put it down on the counter. He went over to the cupboards and he noticed that there was no food in them almost either except for coffee and cereal. Booth grabbed a glass and he turned the cold water on. He filled the glass and then grabbed the ice pack before he walked back into the room slowly. He wanted to make sure that Sweets wasn't still changing. He saw that Sweets was putting his suit into the laundry basket in the corner. Sweets went back over to his bed and Booth moved the covers back for Sweets. Sweets sat down onto the bed and he put his left hand against his right side. His ribs were hurting him and he just wanted to be alone so he could curl up in a ball of misery and sleep.

"Here lay down. I brought you some water and an ice pack. It'll help numb your ribs and help with the pain." Booth said gently.

Sweets carefully laid down and Booth gently placed the ice pack against his broken ribs on his right side. Sweets let out a hiss at the cold and pressure of the ice pack.

"I know it hurts right now, but it will get better I promise." Booth said in an apologetic voice.

Sweets just gave a small nod. He still wouldn't look at Booth and Booth didn't know if he should be pushing or not. Booth figured for tonight he would let Sweets sleep and he would be able to talk to him tomorrow.

"Get some sleep. I'll come wake you up in a couple of hours." Booth said as he pulled the covers up over Sweets.

With that done Booth headed back out into the living room. Booth couldn't help, but look around and get the feeling like Sweets' apartment was just a slightly larger version of his office. There were case files everywhere and books all over the place. It looked like Sweets didn't do anything but work. There was a flat screen TV in the corner of the room, but that even had dust on it so it was clear that Sweets hadn't turned it on in a while. Booth couldn't help, but feel depressed in this small apartment. To think that someone lived here was sad, especially when that person was Sweets. They didn't know anything about Sweets, but he didn't come across as someone that would live this way. He presented himself well; he spoke like a highly educated person. Booth knew he was intelligent because he had two doctorates before the age of twenty-two. Booth could honestly say he knew nothing about Sweets. He didn't even know how long he had been working for the F.B.I.

Booth sat down on the couch in a free spot from all of the papers and he forced himself to think. He was trying to figure out how Sweets had gone unnoticed by him. He should have seen the signs that Sweets had been abused. He should have seen the signs that Sweets was all alone. He should have seen the signs that Sweets was working himself to death. Booth tried to think of what he knew about Sweets, but all he knew was what he had experienced at work. He was intelligent, hard-working, a polygraph machine and that was all Booth knew about him. He didn't like Sweets for the longest time, even tonight he could honestly say he never even liked him. But seeing him covered in blood, afraid and in pain on the ground had pulled something out of Booth. He wanted to protect Sweets. Sitting here in this small, depressing apartment made Booth want to drag Sweets out more. He wanted to invite Sweets out for lunch and check in on him. It wasn't healthy for someone to spend so much time at work. It wasn't healthy to be alone all the time. Sweets was a psychologist and from what Booth had been told and seen he was the best in the country, but he clearly had his own problems still as well. Booth had forgotten that Sweets was a person too and not just this annoyance in his life. Sweets had become a member of his team whether they fully accepted him yet or not he was and Booth wasn't going to let Sweets fall deeper into the darkness.

Booth pulled out his cell phone and saw that it was three in the morning. He knew that Angela would be sleeping right now, but he had decided that this was important enough to wake her up. He wanted to see if she could get the video footage from the parking garage and see if they could find Sweets' attack. After five rings a very tired voice answered.

"Mm, hello?" Angela said barely awake.

"Angela I'm sorry to wake you, but I have some urgent work for you."

"What time is it?" Angela said still out of it and Booth could hear shuffling and he knew she was looking at the clock. He could hear Hodgins voice still in the background asking what was going on. "Booth it's three in the morning. What could be so urgent that you had to wake me up?" Angela said clearly annoyed at being woken up.

"Sweets was attacked in the parking garage at the Bureau." Booth said in a serious voice.

"Wait what? Attacked? Is he okay?" Angela asked. She wasn't too happy with Sweets in the last little while, but she knew he was just an easy target for her anger and hurt about Zak. It wasn't his fault and she had been trying to be better towards him.

"He was seriously injured." Booth started, but Angela cut him off.

"Hang on I'm putting you on speaker phone." Angela hit the button and now Hodgins was sitting up in bed as well.

"What the hell is going on?" Hodgins asked not hearing that it was Sweets that had been attacked.

"Sweets was attacked in the parking garage at the Bureau." Angela answered.

"What? Is he okay?" Hodgins asked.

"Not really. Six broken ribs, a broken wrist, moderate concussion. His left eye is swollen shut, there is a crack in his jaw, he's covered in deep tissue bruising. He took twenty-five stitches to his forehead. He has bruising on his left kidney, liver and stomach. He was strangled so hard that it bruised his wind pipe and vocal cords. Both wrists were cut up pretty badly from the handcuffs that were used on him that the doctor had to use surgical glue to close the cuts. His right wrist is broken. He's also got pneumonia to top it all off." Booth said.

"Holy God." Angela said horrified.

"Who the hell attacked him? What hospital is he in?" Hodgins asked horrified that Sweets had taken such a beating.

"He's home right now. I'm here with him. I'll be here until tomorrow sometime. I don't know what happened. He just told me that it was four guys and a crowbar. I was hoping Angela you could go to your office and see if you can find the video footage of the parking garage. His parking spot is G5 and it happened right at his car."

"Ya of course I can do that." Angela said.

"What about his clothes?" Hodgins asked as he was already getting out of bed and getting dressed.

"They are here. Why?" Booth answered.

"I could check them for particulates and see if he got anything from his attackers." Hodgins answered.

"I'll bag his clothes for you." Booth said.

"What's Sweets' address I can come by and pick them up on the way in?" Hodgins asked.

"1843 Jackson Ave apartment 509."

"Ok we'll be there in like thirty and then we'll head to the office and see what we can find out. Did you tell Brennan yet?" Angela asked.

"No I haven't done that yet." Booth said.

"Well you better Dr. B doesn't like being kept in the dark." Hodgins said.

"I know, but I didn't know if she would care too much either. It's hard to tell with her sometimes." Booth said honestly.

"She might not like what Sweets' job is, but she still thinks of him as a good man. She'll want to know that he was attacked. You shouldn't keep this from her." Angela said.

"I'll call her and let her know." Booth said.

"We'll be there in about thirty minutes." Hodgins said.

"See you then." Booth said as he hung up his cell phone.

Booth got up off the couch and quietly headed down the hallway. He looked into the room and saw that Sweets was sound asleep. He quietly headed over to the laundry bin in the corner of the room. He grabbed the clothes that Sweets was wearing today and headed back out of the room. He closed the door most of the way before he went back out into the living room. He went into the kitchen and looked through the drawers and cupboards until he found some garbage bags. He put the clothes into the garbage bag before he went back over to the couch and pulled his cell phone out. He knew he had to call Bones, but he just didn't know if it was important to call her now. He knew how she felt about Sweets. She didn't really show that much respect for him or his profession. Booth didn't care for therapists, but he had come to see that value in Sweets' knowledge. He had been able to give them profiles that have led to a number of arrests. Whether they liked it or not Sweets had become a part of their team and he wasn't going to let Sweets deal with this on his own. Booth dialed Bones' number and after three rings she answered with a very tired voice.

"Dr. Brennan."

"Bones, we have a situation."

"What kind of situation?" Bones asked slightly more awake now.

"Sweets was attacked tonight in the parking garage at work."

"Is he alright?"

"He's pretty banged up. I'm here at his place with him right now. I have to wake him up every two hours."

"If you have to wake him up then he has a concussion. What were his injuries?"

"Six broken ribs, a broken wrist, twenty-five stitches to his forehead, moderate concussion. His left eye is swollen shut, there is a crack in his jaw, he's covered in deep tissue bruising. He has bruising on his left kidney, liver and stomach. He was strangled so hard that it bruised wind pipe and vocal cords. Both wrists were cut up pretty badly from the handcuffs that were used on him that the doctor had to use surgical glue to close the cuts. He's also got pneumonia."

"That's more than just a simple attack Booth." Bones said now feeling upset that Sweets had gotten that injured. It was true that she didn't like what Sweets did for a living, but that didn't man he deserved to be attacked and injured.

"He didn't tell me much. He's really tired and in a lot of pain right now. He just said that there were four of them and a crowbar. I called Angela and Hodgins and they are going to come by here to grab Sweets' clothes and then they are heading to the lab. Angela is going to try and pull up the video feeds to see if she can find the attack. It happened right next to his car."

"How did you find out about it? Did the hospital call you?"

"No Sweets did from the parking lot after his attack."

"What's Sweets' address?"

"1843 Jackson Ave apartment 509, why?"

"Because I'm coming over there."

"I don't know if that is a good idea Bones. I don't know how he would feel about it. He didn't even want me to stay here."

"I'm coming over Booth. I can at least check his injuries and see for myself that nothing was missed."

"Alright I'll see you soon then."

Booth hung up his phone and he rubbed a hand over his face. He didn't know how much Sweets would like Bones being there. He also could understand why Bones wanted to be there to make sure that Sweets was alright. Bones was the best in her field and she might be able to tell something is wrong that the doctor missed. Bones wasn't that observant, but Booth was still worried about what she would think of Sweets' place. This place wasn't exactly a happy environment and even someone as unobservant as Bones would still be able to tell that this place had some issues. Booth didn't know what he was going to do with Sweets, but he knew he couldn't just keep insulting him and ignoring him. No one should be living like this and something had obviously happened to Sweets tonight. He was seriously injured and the only reason he wasn't forced to stay in a hospital is because he had severe anxiety about them from growing up. Which was another issue, Sweets was abused growing up. It blew Booth's mind to think that Sweets had been abused growing up. He seemed so happy and enjoyed life. He didn't come across as someone that knew that kind of pain and yet he had deep scars on both shoulder blades from something. Booth didn't know what, but it almost looked like he had been whipped. Booth had seen similar scars from soldiers that had been captured and tortured. Booth couldn't even begin to imagine the pain Sweets would have been in at that young of an age to go through that.

Booth knew he needed to be there for Sweets more and try and get him outside of work more interactive. He couldn't just go to work all day look at case files and then come home to look at more case files. He needed more in his life than dead bodies and patients. Booth knew he wasn't one to talk, but he at least had friends. He would get together with Bones or Cam. He would watch the games with some Agents from work. He also had Parker to get his mind away from all of the death and destruction that they see every day. Sweets didn't have those outlets and Booth was worried about what it would do to someone's mind after a while, especially when Sweets was only twenty-three years old. Booth knew he was going to have to teach Sweets a few things and get him to see that life is about more than just work. He needed to show Sweets that he also had to live.

Fifteen minutes later there was a gentle knock on the door. Booth got up and looked out the peephole to see that it was Hodgins. He opened the door and Hodgins walked in.

"How is he?" Hodgins whispered so he wouldn't wake Sweets up.

"He's asleep, but he's got to be in a lot of pain." Booth whispered back.

"He's got some serious damage done to him. He should be in a hospital."

"The doctor said he didn't need to be as long as someone was here with him tonight to wake him up. There wasn't anything they could do for him besides give him time. He's also sick on top of everything else."

"Poor guy. Let me take the clothes and Ang and me will go back to the lab and see what we can find." Hodgins said with determination in his voice.

Booth grabbed the garbage bag of clothes and handed it over to Hodgins.

"There were four of them and Sweets' wrists were cuffed so it must have been Agents. There were two Agents that had a problem with Sweets just the other day Agent Anderson and Agent Richards. Agent Richards was being seen as a patient because of an evaluation. I don't know the story, but Richards needed Sweets' approval before he could be cleared for duty and Sweets refused to clear him. Richards said he would kill Sweets before he let him take his badge from him. Anderson was pissed with Sweets because Hacker questioned Anderson's arrest and it went against Sweets' profile of the killer. Sweets agreed and Hacker released the woman that Anderson arrested and handed the case back to Anderson. Anderson believed that Sweets screwed up and let the killer go free. I heard both arguments just yesterday or technically two days ago if you want to count today as a new day."

"Ya I got what you meant. Alright so me and Ang will focus on those two and see if they have anyone else that would have helped them. I'm assuming they wore masks?"

"Probably. Sweets didn't tell me who they were and he would have if he had known. Hacker also has Sweets doing evaluations on every Agent and their stats. Apparently there is an increase in cases turning cold. The Agent arrests the wrong person and they get cleared in court only for the case to go back to the original Agent, but the Agent doesn't continue to look into it. Hacker wanted Sweets to see if there were Agents that were neglecting their duty and arresting the wrong people because they wanted the case closed. If other Agents knew that Sweets was looking into it they could have attacked him to save themselves."

"Ok so lots of possibilities there. Alright I'll work the clothes and see if I can find any DNA or part of his attackers. See if you can get him talking to see if there were other Agents that might have a problem with him."

"I'll see what he says, but it's not going to be tonight."

"That's fine. This place is depressing." Hodgins said as he looked around from the doorway.

"So it's not just me then."

"Nope, this place is sad and depressing. He doesn't have anything on the walls. Where's his photos of his family and friends? Where's the graduation pictures? He graduated from different colleges and universities there should be pictures of it everywhere. Did he just move in?"

"I don't know. I was planning on talking to him about it later. All he has is case files and there is barely any food in the kitchen. It doesn't seem like he is here very much."

"See this is why twenty year olds live with their parents. They don't take care of themselves and they just focus on work or partying. I bet you he gets too caught up in work that he even forgets to eat."

"He's done that a few times at work I've noticed. I'll talk to him and straighten him out."

"Ya good luck with that. Ang is waiting so I better go. I'll call you if we get anything."

"Thanks Hodgins."

"Hey Sweets is a good guy even if he annoys the hell out of me at times. He doesn't deserve to be hurt like this. We'll find the guys we always do."

"Ya just be careful. These guys are Agents we don't need anyone else hurt."

"We'll be careful and we won't go anywhere without letting you know."

"Let me know when you have something."

Hodgins gave a nod before he headed out of the apartment and back down to the car. Booth went over to the pile of files sitting down on Sweets' coffee table. He picked them up and saw that they were Agent's files. Booth figured that Sweets was working on them last night. Booth knew that Sweets had planned on staying home today, but he got pulled into a kidnapping case. Booth briefly wondered how that case was going and he was hoping that the child was found because Sweets had left the building. Booth couldn't help, but feel like the other two Agents that attacked Sweets were ones that were worried about Sweets reviewing their cases. Booth had no doubt that the other two Agents were Anderson and Richards. They had both argued with Sweets just the other day and Richards had threatened Sweets. Booth knew that tomorrow he would bring them in and talk to them. He would also have to speak with Hacker to let him know what had happened to Sweets. He figured he would wait until the morning when hopefully Angela and Hodgins had something for him. Booth wanted to go through the files, but he also knew he wasn't allowed either. He didn't want to get Sweets in trouble if someone found out that Booth had looked through the files. They were trusted to Sweets and Booth didn't want to put Sweets in that position where his ethics might be compromised. Booth put the file back down and he continued to look around Sweets' place. There was literally nothing on the walls. There was just files and papers all over the place. Booth couldn't help the urge anymore and he began to pick up the pieces of paper that were all over the place and put them in piles.

Fifteen minutes later there was another knock on the door and Booth knew it was Bones. He went over to the door and opened it and stepped back to let Bones come into the room. She walked in and looked down the hallway as she spoke.

"Sweets is this way?" Bones asked as she pointed down the hallway.

"Yes, but he's asleep. He doesn't need to be woken up for just over an hour from now. If you want to see him then just look and don't touch. Wait until he has to wake up." Booth whispered.

"I'll just look." Bones whispered back.

She headed down the short hallway and she gently pushed the partly open door open more so she could walk in. Booth stood by the door as Bones went over to the bed and she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Sweets was very injured and covered in black bruises. After a moment she walked back towards the door and Booth moved back out of the way. Bones closed the door part way once again and they both headed back to the living room.

"He should be in a hospital Booth." Bones whispered with authority in her voice.

"I know, but the doctor allowed Sweets to leave as long as someone was with him tonight to wake him up. Sweets was having some serious anxiety from being in the hospital. He even pushed one of the nurses away from him." Booth whispered back.

"That's an extreme difference in Sweets' personality. Sweets doesn't get violent or confrontational at all. He tends to take it very submissively. Why the extreme anxiety?" Bones asked as she sat down on the couch.

Booth went and sat down on the other end of the couch and turned his body inward to face Bones.

"The nurse said she had seen it many times before. It happens with adults who have spent too much time in hospitals as a child. Bones, Sweets was abused as a child." Booth said gently.

"All because of some anxiety and what a nurse thinks? That's not very good proof Booth."

"It's true Bones. When we got back here I went to help him get his jacket and shirt off. He started to breathe heavy and he was shaking. He moved away from me and kept telling me he was fine he could do it. He was terrified of me seeing him without a shirt on and it wasn't from his current injuries. I finally got him to let me help and he has scars on both shoulder blades, about twenty of them. They look like he was whipped with something Bones. He was abused Bones." Booth said sadly.

"How? He doesn't come across as an abuse victim. He's so positive and innocent. How could we not have noticed?" Bones asked confused that they had missed something like this. That she had missed something like this. She wasn't the best in social situations, but she was observant and she thought she had read Sweets correctly.

"We didn't pay attention. Look around Bones, this place is bare of anything personal. It's depressing in here. All he has is papers and files. His TV even has dust on it from not being watched in so long. He was able to show just a professional side to everyone and we all ignored him on a personal level. We don't ever ask him how he is doing. We just go to him when we need something for a case. Even when we have our appointments with him we don't do what he asks us to do. We went on that double date thing with him and April, but even then we didn't interact with him. We know nothing about him and he knows so much about us."

"Well he knows so much because he's our therapist and he has our files. We don't talk about him and we don't see him outside of work unless it is for a case. He's not apart of our circle of friends."

"I know, but shouldn't he be? Bones he told the doctor that he didn't have any family and he didn't have any friends when the doctor suggested he could go home as long as someone was there with him. All he has is work and he doesn't have anyone else in his life. It's sad and no one should have to go through life all alone. He didn't even think that I would be willing to stay with him tonight. He was surprised and confused why I said I would. We gotta try and be there for him."

"We can find a place for him Booth. You are right no one should be alone in life and it appears that Sweets is. He has helped us solve murders and he should be considered part of the team for that. We can find him a place with the team. What are we doing about this attack?"

"Hodgins and Angela already came by to pick up Sweets' clothes from the attack. They were going to go to the lab and see if they could find anything. The attack happened right at his car at the Bureau so Angela was going to see if she could pull up the footage. His wrists were both cuffed together and the doctor had to use surgical glue to close the cuts."

"So the cuffs would have blood on them."

"So would the crowbar. His head took twenty-five stitches to close the cut on his forehead that would have come from the crowbar. He also has a hand bruise all around his neck."

"We could compare that bruise with the assailant's hand. If handcuffs were used then his attackers must have been within the Bureau."

"Sweets said there were four of them and they were all probably within the Bureau. The day before yesterday technically, I went to see Sweets in his office to ask about the case. When I got there Agent Anderson was waiting to speak to Sweets and Agent Richards was inside speaking to Sweets. Richards came out yelling at Sweets and even threatened to kill him if he tried to take his badge away. Sweets was in charge of evaluating Richards after a bad case to see if he was fit for duty and Sweets refused to clear him. Anderson also started to yell at Sweets because Sweets had the suspect that Anderson arrested let go."

"So they could be the two of the four Agents that attacked him."

"Could be. They don't have a reason to be pissed at Sweets. He was just doing his job. Richards had been through a tough case and he hadn't been dealing with it well. Hacker refused to let him return to duty until Sweets cleared him and Sweets couldn't do it. Richards thought that Sweets was trying to keep him from his job and wanted to end his career. Sweets just wanted to help."

"Sweets has no interest in ending anyone's career. It was all business to Sweets not personal. He can't let an Agent back into the field if he doesn't think he will be stable enough to handle the situation."

"Exactly and I told Richards that Sweets had no interesting in taking his badge, he just wanted him safe at work. I also told him I didn't want to hear anymore death threats from him or I would be taking his badge and he left."

"Sweets genuinely wants to help people he would have done anything for Richards to help him get back to work. What was Anderson's problem?"

"He arrested a woman for a murder case. Hacker reviewed it and had some questions and had Sweets take a look at it. Hacker is really liking Sweets and what he can do with profiles. He's been using Sweets a lot more recently to look at cases for other Agents and before he signs off on some. Sweets reviewed the case and he concluded that the woman was innocent and the killer was male. Hacker agreed with Sweets and had the woman released before she was sent to jail. Hacker gave Anderson the case back and Anderson was pissed that Sweets got involved and that his killer had been set free. Sweets told him that Hacker asked him to look into it and that his profile was for a male and not a woman."

"Could Sweets have been wrong?"

"No. Sweets told me the case and he's right the woman had no motive or any way of getting the chemical that was used to kill the victim. Sweets was right it wasn't the woman and it was a male. Guys like Anderson though they don't take it too well when someone screws around with their case. Someone like Sweets telling him he got it wrong would be a blow to his ego. A lot of the Agents don't like Sweets because of his age and what he does. I can see where they are coming from, but at the same time how many profiles has Sweets given us that has led us to our killer? He's good at what he does and if he tells me the killer is male I'm going to be looking at males and not females. He knows what he is doing."

"He has been very helpful on some cases when we had no more evidence to guide us in a direction. Who could the other two Agents be?"

"That's where it will get interesting. Hacker has been getting some heat from the brass above him. There has been an increase in cases going cold. Agents have been arresting a suspect and then that suspect spends up to a year in jail going through trails only for them to be found innocent. The case then goes back to the original Agent and the Agent doesn't reopen the investigation and it gets transferred down to the cold cases. Hacker wanted Sweets to review each Agent's stats and file to see if there was any Agents that were doing their job half assed or neglecting their duty. If other Agents got word of what Sweets was being ordered to do then any of them that had something to hide could have attacked him."

"So it could be two other Agents along with Anderson and Richards or it could be four Agents that have something to hide in their files. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to call Hacker in the morning and let him know what we have so far. I'm hoping Angela and Hodgins will be able to have something for me to use. I'm then going to bring in Anderson and Richards to talk to them and see if they will show me their cuffs. I need to talk to Sweets, but he's not in that great of shape to be doing it."

"The internal bruising on his organs will be very painful until they are fully healed. His stomach will give him shooting pains at random moments, it will hurt after he eats and he might not be as hungry as he normally is until the bruising is gone. Not to mention the damage done to his wind pipe and vocal cords. He'll have to be off work for a couple of weeks before he could return and even then he won't be able to be out in the field until the bruising heals."

"He doesn't tend to go out into the field to begin with. I just can't believe I never noticed before."

"Sweets is a psychologist he's trained to know human emotions and how to recognize them and how to hide them. He's a child prodigy it would only make sense that he's been able to hide it."

"Do you think it was his own parents? How long do you think it went on for?"

"I don't know. Only he has those answers and if he is anything like us he won't want to talk about it. We can keep a close eye on him and make sure he is eating properly and not working himself to death. He's only twenty-three he's still young by social standards. Hodgins said that most people his age are still living with their parents. He could just be adjusting back to being on his own after being out of school. We can keep a closer eye on him and make sure he is adjusting well. If he doesn't have any family in his life it must be hard to deal with everything on his own. To not have anyone to ask for their opinion or advice on something. I never realised until Angela how much I needed someone else there in my life to talk to. Sweets doesn't seem to have that and everyone needs that in their life."

"So we keep an eye on him and just be there for him."

"Exactly. He's one of us Booth, he's a survivor of child abuse. We can't just leave one of ours out there to suffer on his own." Bones said with emotions edging in her voice.

"Ok, one of us."

Bones gave a small smile and Booth gave one back. They couldn't ignore what they had found out. They couldn't leave Sweets on his own to deal with this all by himself. They didn't know his situation, but they were going to find out. For tonight they would just make sure he was alright physically before they worried about anything else. Tonight Sweets needed sleep and then tomorrow if he was feeling better they could deal with what happened.