No One Gets Left Behind

Author Notes

This was inspired by a prompt I found, 'He couldn't leave it alone.' And it's also my way of apologizing for not releasing anything in far too long a time.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bones or any of the characters. (If I did, it would be obvious).

Story

He couldn't leave it alone.

It haunted him, seeing his squint in the loony bin. Not that they ever were together, but the FBI agent loved Zack. When Sweets let it slip that he hadn't killed that lobbyist (he knew it deep in his bones that Zack wasn't able to kill anyone), Booth dashed from the psychologist's office to Caroline Julian's.

"What do you expect me to do, Cherie?"

"If I can get enough evidence and get him to admit, on record, that he wasn't the murderer and was forced by Gormogon to say where the guy was, will you offer him a plea? Please?"

"You are forgetting one thing. Why wouldn't he say that in the first place?"

"Because he'd rather be called a killer than a traitor."

"I'll agree to setting him off, since the poor kid just spent two months on a loony bin, if you can get him released from there."

He knew it was a good idea to bring a big box of donut holes along with him. Now he just needed to do some research.

Lucky for him, Hodgins' maid Ellie liked him, so she let him inside the apartment above the garage. There was no dust, despite being unoccupied for two months, a token that Ellie cared for the incarcerated squint. He started his research by the bedroom. Underneath the pillow laid a small beige notebook.

With what he needed. Perfect.

Before he left, he noticed one book that seemed out of place in the shelf. Amongst a bunch of titles he couldn't understand or even pronounce, laid a small copy of 'Coraline'. No one could say exactly why he had an urge to flicker through it but he was glad he did. It was a diary in disguise. Odd, he had already found the squint's journal.

"Doctor Sweets, Agent Booth." – Zack nodded at the two men sitting opposite from him. – "What are you doing here?"

"First things first." – He started to record the session on an old tape recorder. – "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford an attorney, one will be provided to you by the state."

"I have no need for a lawyer."

"Oh, I know." – The squint was surprised by the mutter, which wasn't unusual in itself, but he detected a fondness that wasn't audible before. – "Where were you Tuesday night three months ago?"

"The night of the murder? Agent Booth, you know very well that I" – hate lying to you. – "That I was-"

"Before you continue with that, remember that perjury is a crime."

He couldn't possibly know about me, could he?

It does not matter; I can't keep lying to him.

"I was at a model airplane show in Maryland."

Booth smiled, showing his teeth as he put some pictures of his squint flying his plane on the aforementioned show.

"Good, we're all being honest now. Did you cause the explosion at the lab?"

"Technically, yes. If I hadn't handled those chemicals, it wouldn't have happened." – He stared at the metal table separating them, refusing to meet the FBI agent's eyes. – "But I wasn't the one who exchanged my chemicals for the explosive ones. If I had any idea it would happen I would've made sure Hodge was far away from it."

He cares more about his best friend than about himself.

"And how are your hands, by the way?"

"Getting progressively better, Doctor Sweets. I estimate them to be at 80% their normal capacity. In less than a month they might return to 100%."

"So that's good."

The former sniper kept his face impassive but was filled with relief.

"Why did you tell Gormogon of Porter's whereabouts?"

"I suspect you already know why, Agent Booth. As I recall, I kept these pictures" – He put them in a pile before sliding them back to the older man. – "inside my journal."

"Yes." – He looked at the table for a short while before locking his eyes with Zack's. – "But I need you to say it on record."

"I informed him because I was lead to believe that he would murder and cannibalize all my friends." Including you.

I am glad that he found my journal instead of my diary. Many were the times in which I mentioned my feelings for him.

"Wait. So when you told me that you saw his reasoning…"

"I meant I understood that he was resourceful enough to harm the people I care about."

The former sniper stopped the tape, standing up. While at the door, he stopped long enough to see the guilt-filled tears on the eyes of the man he loved as he said 'Goodbye, agent Booth.'

"I wouldn't be so sure this is goodbye, Zack."

The abrupt exit was overshadowed by the subtle wink that accompanied it.

"Whoa." – Lance saw the silent exchange between the two men. – "You love him and he loves you." – He stopped muttering, raising his voice enough for Zack to hear. – "That's why he's so hellbent on getting you out of here."

"I don't follow."

"You will, soon enough. As soon as I tell the administration that you're not insane."

"You promised me you wouldn't violate doctor patient privilege."

"It's not breaking if I get you discharged."

Booth was the only one outside of the asylum the day Zack was released. He drove his squint straight to court, in a surprisingly not awkward car ride. No words were spoken inside the vehicle, but none were needed.

Zack wasn't very good in hiding his emotions from the FBI agent; who, in turn, put his hand on the younger man's shoulder with a charming smile on his face.

He was painfully aware of the warmth burning him up, but he would rather be consumed than cold again. His head unconsciously leaned towards the heat source, his face reddening.

The whole display was making Booth's pants tighter more than it should, given that it was completely chaste. (Well, if you excluded the FBI agent's heavy breathing).

"Thank you." – The squint mouthed, scared that a noise louder than his breathing would shatter the moment.

Doesn't matter what anyone says, Caroline is frightening good at her job; 15 minutes after entering the courthouse, Zack Addy was a free man.

His first act, after the shock was over, was to hug Booth and really, everything just spiraled from there. One moment it was an usual gesture (Not from Zack but in general) then the FBI agent's hands moved south and they were kissing until the gavel banged again and they broke apart.

"Will the two lovebirds get moving?"- The woman ushered them out of the marble halls before sending them off with a smirk that tried to be a smile. - "I have a full day, you know, Cherie."

"She was… pleasant. I believe I prefer her when she is scary." – He smiled for a bit before remembering something that made his heart race. – "Agent Booth, I think there is something that needs to be done before I can be reinstated at the Jeffersonian. How much do you know about Hercule Poirot?"

"Pops read Agatha Christie to us when it was time to go to bed."

"Would you mind indulging me in something?"

"Hey, I just kissed you inside a courthouse in front of the scariest woman in existence; I think it's safe to say there's little that I wouldn't do."

Zack bit his lip and flushed, looking more human than Booth had ever seen him. He tried to speak but he kept stuttering before taking a deep breath and kissing Booth once again. It did work the way he had expected it to, it grounded him.

"Gather the forensic and the authentications department together in the FBI. I think it's time to catch a killer."

"Isn't that my job?"

"Yes, but I had two months without anything to think about other than who rigged my chemicals and caused the explosion. I know that Gormogon must have had another accomplice and I know who it is." – The former sniper kept staring at the squint. – "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"Yeah, actually. Passion and fierce determination." – He took the younger's man face in his hands before commencing to kiss him breathless. – "It's a good look on you. Let's go, the game is afoot."

"That's Sherlock Holmes."

"It's not my fault that Hastings doesn't have a cliché saying."

The conference room was big enough to hold all of the people at the table. Booth and Sweets had already gone in to tell them that they were suspects in a crime and while the authentications accused the squints of bringing a monster to the Jeffersonian, the monster in question gathered his wits outside the wooden door.

With a sigh, he crossed the portal. Doctor Brennan was the one who exhibited most shock over his reappearance and Angela was the loudest about it. Cam and Hodge were in the middle. For someone not very much used to PDA, Zack had been hugged more this day than the rest of the year put together.

After they were done with certifying that yes, he was real; yes, he was free and yes, he planned on going back to work; he announced that Gormogon's apprentice was in the room. He chose to ignore the murmur that said it was him.

"While I may have been a pawn in his game, I have paid my debt to society. One of you however, has not. I would not have misplace the chemicals and caused the explosion two months ago. A background in chemistry isn't needed because the bottles are marked with orange tape if the compound is unstable."

"Which, really, you people shouldn't do that."

"But the person's presence the day before is required; otherwise they would not have known to mess with my experiments. Which exculpates no one but Misses Annette Roberts and Carla Boule. You two are free to leave." – He motion at the only two women from authentications. Three men remained from their department, as well as the entirety of the squint squad. – "But eight people remain. Another crime was committed, one that clears another three."

"Hey, Hodge?" - Angela pulled her lover aside, whispering. – "Have you ever seen Z-Man like this? Like he actually has confidence?"

"Yeah, once. His amateur theatre group had a modern version of Black Coffee by Agatha Christie and he was the main detective."

"Why didn't you take me? I'd kill to see that!"

"We weren't going out then."

"Hodgins." – The entomologist apologized for not paying attention, urging his friend to recap what he had said. – "The other crime I mentioned is the theft of the canines from the limbo."

"Then it isn't me, I never went there."

"Precisely, Hodge. Neither did Doctor Sweets nor Aaron Cavanaugh, which brings our suspect count down to five people. Much thought had to go into this because, unlike some cases, motives do not figure here. Any one of you would have the same motive, to aid a killer. Whoever did it hid their involvement well, both in the date of the theft and the night before the explosion, the power had been cut, and the lock to the rooms, picked. All very neat, or so the culprit thought."

Booth and Angela shared the same thought on the matter, a wish that a big bag of popcorn was near. Watching the squint unravel a mystery was more entertaining than most TV shows they'd seen in a while. Cam was deep in thought, so far authentications had three innocents out of five people and forensics only had one out of four. They really had to turn the score board.

"What do you mean?" – The voice came from Lewis Hill, the oldest person in the room, although it was unfair to call him old, after all he had just reached his forties. – "You have proof of wrongdoing?"

"Indeed. But first, two more pieces of exculpatory evidence exist. Cameras at the Hodgins' Estate place Miss Montenegro there at the time of both crimes and Doctor Saroyan was in a gala which occurred the day before the missing teeth. Assuming that the same person was responsible for the two crimes, she's off the hook, as they say."

"Yes!" – They all stared at the head of the forensics department. – "What? Can't I be happy that that gala was useful for something?"

Booth smirked at her before focusing his attention back on Zack.

"Back to the mistakes the guilty party committed-"

"Mistakes?" – This time it was Kevin King, Annette's ex. – "You mean as in more the one?"

"Yes. When the person cut the power the first time, they left a fingerprint. A fingerprint that matches the one they left on the safety gloves I used to mix the chemicals."

"That's a lie!" – Kevin stood up, as expected by the squint. Pride comes before a fall. – "I fucking wore gloves and you know it."

"I do. And now so does everyone else. I saved you, you know." – He ignored the rest of the room, wanting to get this out before he lost his nerve and returned to his usual self. – "If I hadn't talked, he would've killed you next. We were nothing but means to an end. And I think you know that."

There was no sound in the room apart from handcuffs being given to Zack to do the dubious honors.

"I do." – He turned around, allowing himself to be cuffed. – "You know, don't you?"

"I do." – He knew what it felt like to be used. Two FBI goons walked in and took him away while the squint poured himself into the vacant chair. – "I will never know how people can do this every day."

Authentications left and so did forensics, accompanied by Sweets, who wanted to leave the two men alone.

"That was awesome, Zack. I never knew you could be that badass."

"To be truthful, neither did I. Uhm. Would you like to go out with me some time?"

"Of course, Zack. Let's start now, the diner has a piece of cherry pie with our names on it." - Booth wrapped his arm around the squint's waist, leading him outside. Zack leaned into the warmth, a smile gracing his reddened face. He muttered a 'thank you for saving me' before kissing the FBI agent. – "I think you saved yourself."

"I knew it!" – Zack flinched when he heard Angela's voice. He really should've noticed that the squint squad wouldn't just leave. They all walked through the door she had been hiding behind. – "I have a sixth sense about these things."

Were not by the grip Booth had on him, the squint would've run away fast to hide his burning face. At least they were all happy with it. Although they did go along with them to the diner.

Oh, it didn't matter. They did have many dates in the nearby future. Alone.

"Come home with me tonight, Zack?"

"I would like that, Agen- Seeley."