A/N: Well, this story all came about because of a lovely author here who goes by the penname stevieLUVSAlex, if you aren't familiar with her work please check it out! stevieLUVSAlex and I tossed around some ideas and decided to co-author a story and this is our brain child. Thanks so much stevieLUVSAlex, this wouldn't have been possible without you!
A/N 2: I don't own Bones, but goddess if I did I'd lock Booth and Brennan in a room until they finally came to their senses and got together. I am not making any money on this story, just gaining some valuable writing experience. Puck, Marie and the few other characters are creations of our own although, like Brennan's books if you know me you may be able to tell who inspired them.
A/N 3:Due to references of cutting, sex and other sensitive subject matter I'm rating this M, just to be safe. Also relax I do believe in happy endings.
Description: A case hits too close to home and opens old wounds. Bringing Brennan and Booth closer.
Brennan felt the vibration of her ringing phone, and dug into her pocket to retrieve the device. She fumbled with it as she shifted her body in the black swivel chair at her office desk. She pressed the call button, and held the phone to her ear.
"Brennan," she answered, the same way she always did.
"Hey Bones…" he answered.
Brennan smiled at the voice, and shifted to make herself more comfortable.
"We have a body!" she announced.
"What, no hello Booth… how are you?" he teased.
"We have far more significant things to attend to at this time, Booth," she lectured. "We can converse casually later."
"Hi Bones," he replied ignoring her advice.
"Hello Booth," she grinned to herself. "We have a body."
"Yeah, I got that memo… where?" he asked.
She gave him directions and they hung up, agreeing to meet as soon as possible.
Brennan was at the crime scene first, and went straight to the body, identifying the remains as she did, squatting on her knees to get a closer look. There was still a great deal of flesh on the body. The clothes appeared to have been roughly torn from the body. Animals had masticated on the flesh, exposing part of the rib cavity and left femur. A pair of heels was resting a few yards from the body. The bare feet of the victim were slashed with tiny cuts, some of the wounds were open at the time of death and other appeared to have been years old. There was something eerie about this case that Brennan couldn't quite place. She stood to come face to face with her FBI partner.
"Booth,"
He nodded. "Hey… what have we got?"
"Caucasian, female between the 15-17 years old, cause of death not immediately apparent. Death occurred between 10 to 14 days ago. All the animal activity appears to have been post mortem. Until I get her back to the lab and remove the excess flesh I can't determine whether there is a murder. However, judging from the condition of the body and clothing its probable," she explained. "Extensive striations and laceration to the soles of the feet, some of the wounds are fresh and others appear to be scarring or healing. Also there is something odd about the texture of the exposed bones."
Booth nodded as he listened, frowning at the appropriate places and nodding in others, as he listened to her explain the situation in her scientific babble. "Thanks, Bones," he said.
Brennan watched him intently for a few minutes. "You didn't understand any of what I told you, did you?" she pressed.
Booth considered lying, but decided against it. "Nope, Bones, not a word… but I figure that it will come to me in due course, but while I wait, why don't we grab a bite to eat at the diner or something."
"Booth, we have a case to sort," she frowned.
"Right now, I need food."
"I can't eat," she told him.
"That's okay," he shrugged. "You can keep me company."
She hesitated before following his lead.
Sometime later, they sat across from each other in the booth of the diner. Booth took a forkful of his pie, and savored the taste, pretending he was in love with it, before offering some to Brennan. She pulled a face before shaking her head.
"No, Booth. How many times must I stress the point that I don't eat my fruit cooked!" she snapped.
"How do you know unless you try it," he baited.
"I have tried it, Booth. And I have drawn the conclusion that it is distasteful."
"I like it."
"I don't!" she sipped her coffee.
"It might have changed since you last had some," he reasoned.
"Booth, stop trying to entice me to eat pie," she demanded. "Just because you like it, doesn't mean I have to!"
He shrugged casually, unaffected by her warning tone. "You know, if you tried some I might just stop asking you," he suggested.
She thought about it only for a moment. "NO!"
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