The Man in The Park

A Bones fan fiction

1

"Zaaaaack Addy!"

Special Agent Seeley Booth subconsciously blocked out Zack's voice and tried to concentrate. He stared down at the macabre remains that lay on the sterilized table in front of him, but no matter how hard he focused on the body, no matter how often he mentally kicked himself and told himself to get a grip, his mind kept drifting, unbidden, to his partner. Even as he thought this, Temperance Brennan, his 'Bones', began talking.

"Male, age late thirties to early forties, oddly patterned fractures on the neck and skull. There are particulates imbedded in the bone, but I can't tell what they are. Not rust residue from a pipe, I can tell you that much, which leaves the marks unexplained; they look like marks left by a pipe."

Zack shrugged on Bones' laptop screen. "Could it be organic material?"

Bones picked up the skeleton's skull and turned it over in her gloved hands. "I'm not sure…. I'll have Hodgins run some tests." And they rambled on about things Booth could make neither heads nor tails of, so he returned to struggling with himself. He thought back on some of his greatest moments with Bones. When they were in Vegas and they had gone undercover as Roxy and Tony… He remembered Bones always hanging on him, whispering in his ear…. What had she said? "So much for my has-been army fighter." That was it. She had been proud of him when won that fight against that giant guy. She had even bet on him. All the times he had rescued her- they had been horrible at the time, of course, but having her safe in his arms… nothing could replace that. And then the kiss! The kiss!

"Booth? Booth!"

"Yeah." He blinked and returned to the present. Bones was waving a rubber-gloved hand in front of his face.

"You okay, Booth?"

"Yeah." He repeated. "So, what's up?" He roughly hid his embarrassment.

"Zack gave Hodgins some marrow samples-it's inorganic material that's on the skeleton. Lot's of it."

"Meaning?"

"Well, Hodgins showed it to me under a microscope, and it looks like a type of concrete or gravel."

"So?" He was getting impatient.

"So… it means the murder site we had was wrong- the body was found in a nature preserve; this stuff couldn't come from a grassy park."

"Get your stuff, Bones." Booth clapped her on the back, oddly aware of her touch. "We're going on a field trip."

***********************************Pennsylvania**********************************

"What is that?" Booth turned to the man who was driving his taxi, pointing at a large stone statue of a bear with a man in it's massive paw. The stone bear had foot-long teeth, and the stone man he had seemed to be crying out in pain.

"Local kooks say it symbolizes the power of the bear, a local Indian tribe." He taxi driver took a cigar out of the glove compartment and lit it. "Wanna smoke?"

"No thanks, I'm trying to live to forty."

The driver glared sullenly at Booth all the way to the hotel, where the man brusquely accepted his money and sped off. The hotel was low built and long, like a log cabin, surrounded by tall spruce trees. Booth walked in, nodded to the bucktoothed receptionist, and hurried down the long hallway, his steps quickening as he neared his room. He nearly ran in, and fumbled with the lock that adjoined his room with Bones'. He threw open the door.

"Bones, you are not going to-oh!" She was getting dressed. He gaped, and then shut his eyes.

"Booth!" He ducked back into his room, feeling heat rise in his cheeks. Whoops. He gave her five minutes, then reentered. She was sitting on the bed, tying her shoes. He sat down next to her. "Sorry about that."

"What was so urgent you couldn't even knock?"

"I got a lead in the case!" He grinned, rubbing his hands together.

"Really?" She was interested now. Maybe she'd forged the whole walked-in-on-you-while-you-were-half-undressed thing.

"Yep- I found the park ranger's name, Boris Adams, and here's his address."

Bones raised her eyebrows. "Nice work, Booth." She patted him on the shoulder. He beamed at her.

The ride to Boris's Adam's house was almost two hours from the hotel. Booth tried to relax, but every time Bones so much as jostled against him, he felt his heart jump.

Seeley! He angrily told himself to get a grip. Bones is probably going out with someone, even if you were interested. Which you aren't!

"Hey, Bones?"

"Yes?"

He hesitated. "So, who are you going out with now?"

"I-" She glanced out the window. "No one, I guess. Yo- um… This guy I knew, I- I don't think he's available anymore."

"Have you checked that?" He stared straight ahead, not looking at her.

"No." And the subject was dropped. An hour later they pulled into a dusty gravel driveway.

"Stop the car!" Cried Bones, so suddenly that Booth nearly drove into a tree. He braked and she jumped out, pulling a plastic baggie out of her pocket. "This could be the substance on the remains." She said, bagging a handful of the driveway gravel. "I'd better get a sample for Hodgins to check out and see if it matches." She jumped back in. It was getting dark as Booth started moving again. The driveway wound up the side of a mountain and he was forced to turn on the beams even though it was only five o' clock.

"Don't scare me like that, ok Bones? I thought you saw a Bigfoot."

"Haha." The driveway continued for another mile until they reached a run-down trailer home with a muddy jeep out front. Bones hopped out and began to walk to the door, but Booth grabbed her arm.

"Let the man with the gun lead." He knocked on the trailer door. There was no response.

"FBI! Mr. Adams, open the door!" Again, only silence answered them.

"Around back!" Bones raced around the trailer, leaving Booth behind.

"Bones!" He ran after her, pulling out his gun. He turned the corner and nearly ran into her. She was staring at something on the ground. He looked where her flashlight was pointing and blanched. A gruesome corpse was laying; torn and bloodied, on the trailers back steps. Booth whistled.

"That complicates things."

Sirens flashed behind him as Booth held the flashlight aloft for Bones. She had laid the partially eaten body on a lawn table and was examining it, her rubber gloves poking and prodding.

"Male, about forty years old, cause of death uncertain…" She flipped him over with a grisly crunch. Booth nearly dropped the flashlight.

"His pectoralis major is torn in three places," Bones continued casually. "Several phalanges on the left hand are missing, probably due to animal consumption. Fractures to the radius, fractures to the skull and mandible, both patella are crushed, most likely by a sledge hammer or bat."

Booth grimaced. "Ouch." Bones suddenly frowned and studied the skull closely. "The same marks that were on the first victim's skull." She murmured. "Get my computer out of my bag so Zack can see this."

Booth opened her backpack and pulled out her laptop, setting it up in front of her. Bones pulled her glove off her right hand and clicked once.

"Zaaaaack Ad-"

"No time, Zack." Bones cut him off. "We just found the body of the Park Ranger at the park where the first victim was found."

"Oh, wow."

"Yes. I'm sending you a picture on your phone." She quickly snapped some shots and hit send.

"Got them?"

"Got them, Doctor Brennan. I'll get to work right away." The screen went black.

"Okay." Bones stood up. "Can I get a body bag over here?"

Well? What did you guys think? This is my first Bones fan fiction that I've put on here, though I've written tons! I hope you liked the first chapter!! Next chapter = more bones/booth romance!!!!!!