TW: MENTIONS OF RAPE AND DRUGGING
Please, if you or someone you know has been affected by it, and it triggers you, don't read it. It doesn't go into detail but this chapter is significantly heavy on Isabelle and how she handles it (which she handles better than some). My deepest apologies to anyone who has been violated like this. It's horrible and men and women who who do this to others are horrible people.

I love you all.

Bree

Violated.
That's all she felt. Besides the pain. Her lungs burned from the lack of oxygen because her breaths were shallow, not filling her lungs.

He had done this. He had said he'd get her back and he did. Getting her fired wasn't enough because he wanted to exact his revenge on her himself. For turning him down and tuning him out.

Isabelle lay curled in a ball on the ground. She didn't know where she was and at that point and didn't care. But she was cold and her brain felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool.

She had laid there for half an hour before her memory had fully come back to her and that was when she knew she had been violated. Hurt. Brought to an unjust court by a man who acted as judge, jury and executioner. He'd hurt her again and she could feel in her foggy brain that it was what he wanted.
What he wanted her to deserve.

Maybe she did deserve it.

Feeling came back into the lower half of her body and she could feel rain splashing down on her bare legs.

Pain. The rain didn't wash away what she was feeling because the pain wasn't just external, it was internal. In her heart, brain, limbs.... Everything hurt.

Isabelle pushed herself up and could see that her dress had been pushed up to her waist, her underwear down by her ankles. She wanted to cry. Or was she crying? Maybe she was. The rain made it hard to tell.

"Isabelle?!" Wendell's voice called into the night. Mel's echoed his voice, desperation laced with their words. Mabel was searching through the building for any signs of Isabelle but no one could find her.

It was starting to rain now and rain hard. And it was getting harder to see but Wendell wasn't giving up. He needed to find her.

"ISABELLE?!" He yelled again, his voice getting hoarse. He was at the edge of the park now, across the road from the premises, his torch flashing in the dark. Where was she?

There was a roll of thunder and as it came to an end, he could hear Mel yelling his name somewhere to his right. He turned her torch and started running in her direction, getting soaked as the rain started to pour harder. His heart was hammering in his chest.

"MEL?"
"WENDELL?" She was close now. He ran his torch over once more and he spotted her. Pasty white skin and red hair sticking out like a beautiful sore thumb. And Mel was crouched beside her, gently helping her to do something.

Mel looked up and saw Wendell slow to a stop. She was crying as well, from relief but it had quickly turned to anger. Isabelle sat on the wet grass as she helped her pull her dress down but Mel could see her best friend was numb.

"Is she..."
"We need to get her inside. Now."
"We need to get her to a hospital." Mel nodded as Wendell slowly approached. Isabelle blinked a couple of times and looked up at Wendell in the strange way she had also looked at Mel. It was like she was waking up from a nap but... There was something off about it.

"We- help." She choked. Wendell nodded and took off his jacket and gently wrapped it around her shoulders.

"I think... Wendell you need to be careful." Mel whispered in a hoarse voice, her brain ticking over. If Isabelle had been what she thought she had been, she might be in a state of flight, fright or freeze and could turn immediately into another reaction. Wendell nodded.

"May I pick you up?" Wendell asked softly, not touching Isabelle. Thunder rolled once more but she nodded her head stiffly, not saying anything. Wendell scooped her up carefully and, with Mel in tow, reaching for Isabelle's hand, walked across to the event centre where they could call for help.

******

"Isabelle, honey, look at me."  Mabel was kneeling in front of Isabelle, flashing her penlight in front of her eyes as they waited for the police and ambulance to arrive. Isabelle had been placed in a chair but she hadn't loosened her grip on Wendell and Mel, her eyes bloodshot and makeup smeared under her eyes. She wasn't shivering son much from the cold anymore, Wendell's jacket wrapped around her shoulder and another placed over her legs.

Mabel had drawn the party to a stop when Mel had raced to her, soaked and crying. Mabel immediately switched into ER nurse mode and told everyone to stay put, a scary gleam in her eye that everyone took seriously.

"Isabelle... Izzy, honey." Mabel tried again but Isabelle couldn't hear her. Her mind was somewhere else, she was staring at the door they had come through. Mel had seen this and had tried to move but Mabel had shook her head.

"He.... He did this." Isabelle whispered quietly. Wendell looked down at her, eyebrows furrowed.

"Who?" Isabelle swallowed. Mel's jaw was wobbling, knowing exactly what was going to be said. She squeezed Isabelle's hand. She felt sick.

"I... I don't..."
"You don't have to, honey."
"No.. I.... My drink was funny so I went outside." She was talking quickly now, as though rushing to get it out. Wendell nodded. She had kissed him, told him she was getting some air and would be right back. That she felt funny. "He.... He was there." A new tear went down her cheek. Wendell went to wipe it but she flinched. He stopped and took his hand away but she continued herself to squeeze the one that she was holding on to. Mabel nodded, still kneeling before the red head. Isabelle looked down at her, and gave a wobbly breathe.

"Munroe." Was all she said. All she could manage. Mel wanted to scream.

"I'm going to kill him."
"Not if I kill him first." Mel shot at Wendell, her teeth gritted, eyes narrowed. Mabel had a hand on Isabelles knee and Isabelle released Wendell to hold hers, like she was trying to comfort the older woman, who stared at her with stormy eyes.

"You're going to have to tell the police, okay? And we're going to get you back to ED so we can do the tests to prove that he..."
"He raped me." Her voice was a hoarse whisper, so quiet. Saying the words, an hour after such an ordeal, was big for anyone. Mel had seen cases of people who couldn't face the truth.

The sound of cars pulling up and the flashing of lights filling the windows caught Wendell's attention. Isabelle wasn't holding on to him anymore so he stood up slowly.

"I'll go get them."
"Thank you." Mabel and Mel both said. Isabelle barely noticed him leave.

**********

It was after midnight before Mel pulled Isabelle gently into the house, arm wrapped around her friends waist as they slowly walked in. Isabelle hadn't spoken a word since giving her statement. Anything asked of her was simply yes or no. Mel didn't blame her. When Wendell had asked if she wanted him to stay and she shook her head, Mel didn't blame her then either.

"Come on." She pulled her friend to the bathroom and sat her on the edge of the toilet. She quickly dashed back to close to the front door and lock it, flipping the outside light off as she did so. She came back to Isabelle who had barely moved but was staring at the floor blankly.

"Let's get you cleaned up, okay?" Isabelle simply nodded. Mel got to work cleaning her makeup off and getting her dress off. As she worked at cleaning her friend and changing her into sweats and a t-shirt, she talked. About everything. Distractions.

The tests done on Isabelle had confirmed everything. Isabelle had been drugged, Munroes fingerprints were found on her wrists, inner thighs and neck. In some places,  she was starting to bruise. Mel cleaned carefully around those areas specially.

Now a warrent was out for Munroes arrest and Isabelles new friends with the FBI had been notified by Wendell, both of the agents apparently furious and the man, Booth, was heading into the office to see what he could do. The one person who hadn't been told was Sweets.

"Let's get you to bed, okay?" Isabelle took Mel's hand and shuffled behind her, following her to her bedroom. With the make up gone, she was more pale than usual. Mel led her to the room and pushed the duvet and sheet away and helped Isabelle into bed, pulling the covers over her as Isabelle rolled on to her side and curled into a ball.

"Will you stay with me?" Isabelle's voice came suddenly, just before Mel turned off the lamplight. Mel didn't even hesitate when she crawled into the bed beside her and looked her in the eyes, not even turning off the light. It was probably better that way.
"Of course." She whispered back. Isabelle nodded her thanks and her eyes began to close, tiredness over taking her. Mel watched her go to sleep.

When her breathing became evan, Mel finally allowed herself to properly cry.