Author's Note: I am not going to accept a Zach-less world. No, just, no. But, I am not going to ignore the Gormagon. Zach was set up by his sort of girlfriend, Naomi in Paleontology, who was the Gormagon's apprentice/lover. Any woman who would mock Zach's bedroom skills is obviously a sociopath. He was charged and set to prison, but they were able to get him out and Naomi went bye-bye. The grad students are still there because I love some of them. (Wendell is an inspiration, Clark and Fisher are funny and Sweets and Daisy are so cute!) Zach is living with Hodgins until he can find his own place. Set in Season 5.

I had published this under 'Frayed' and decided to re-write it as I realized it would crash and burn badly. So anyone who read that, this is the refined version.

Xxx

Prologue

18 years ago

If they ever come, hide until me or your daddy come and get you. Those had been his mother's instructions in case anyone from Child Services came. In his house, that was on par with the apocalypse. The boy ran up the stairs, his tiny legs pumping and his arms barely able to support the weight they carried. The baby was tiny, even though she was nearly three. He could carry her easily most of the time. The running made it a bit harder. The baby, who he called Boo, started to cry and he put a hand on her mouth for a second. Just a second. Boo shut up, her eyes boring into his. Her eyes were a hazel-green, nothing like his. But they both had black, wavy hair and similar features. To the boy, they were almost the same and that was enough to make her a big promise. That one day, he would get them out of that house. Even at six, Lance Delaney knew that this mass of people crowded into his house were a twisted parody of a family. It wasn't right. It was hell and Lance had promised his sister that things would get better.

Today could be the day. When the social worker had come to his school, she had been nice. Lance knew that she had known he was lying and she hadn't said a word. His mother was angry all the time. If Mommy thought Lance was lying, she would scream at him or get the whip. She never whipped Star, but she did do other things. She would burn Boo with cigarettes or just beat her. Lance's dad would do the same things and also call her the n-word. Star's daddy had disappeared. Mommy called him a fucking deadbeat wetback. But, Lance knew that he was dead.

When they got to the top of the stairs, Lance ducked into a closet with Boo and cuddled her into his arms. She looked up at him, her eyes wide and trusting. Star didn't talk. Mommy said she was a retard. Lance thought she was just too scared.

The social worker came a minute later. Her name was Dana Wise. When she saw those two tiny babies curled together with such stoic expressions, it broke her heart. It was clear that the boy would do anything to protect his sister. It was sad that they wouldn't be together for much longer. The girl's grandparents were at the DCS office, ready to pick her up. They had made it clear they only wanted their flesh. They did not want 'the son of that devil-whore'. The logic made little sense to Dana, as their granddaughter had come from the same woman.

As Lance had expected, the social worker brought them out of the house and led them onto the lawn, where their mother was fighting and spewing curse words at the police. They were put into a gray car and driven to what appeared to be an office building, but Lance could read the sign. This was the Department of Child Services. What happened next, he couldn't foresee.

At the end of the hall was a waiting room. In it were two people that jumped from their seats when they saw them. On the other end were more doors. Lance's heart sunk to his stomach and he looked up at the social worker.

"Please no," he whispered.

"Honey, she has to go to her family."

"I'm her family." Lance glared at her. "She needs me."

"Her grandparents will take care of her. And you will find a good home too."

Another social worker came and took Boo by the hand. She turned to Lance, her eyes desperate. She kept opening and closing her mouth, making sputtering sounds. She was trying to talk. As the social worker began to lead her away, one word was ripped from her lips.

"Lance!" she cried. The boy started to cry. Her first words were his name and they were still taking her away from him.

Xxx

Present Day

It was a late night for the squints and Angela. They were closing up the case of a construction worker that had accidentally been walled into a house he had been building. It had taken two months to find him, but other than that, it was a simple case. The night was still young, to Angela at least. It was ten when Sweets came bursting in, his face red and wearing a lot of black. He smelled like sweat and beer.

"Angela, I need a favor," he rushed the words out in one gasping breath.

"What is it honey?" Angela asked. "Does someone need bail? Are you on the run? What's with the costume?"

"Why are you talking so fast?" Sweets asked.

"I had a diet Redbull," she said. "What's going on?"

"I was at this small metal show downtown and I saw my sister crowd surfing," Sweets babbled. "At least I think it was her. I haven't seen her in 18 years, but I could have sworn it was her."

"Slow down," Angela held up a hand. "What do you mean, you saw your sister? Since when did you have a sister? Explain."

Sweets gave her the short version of his childhood. His mother and father had gone to prison and his half-sister's grandparents had taken her in and refused any sort of contact, as they believed him to be of the devil. Angela interrupted once to point out that at the moment, he kind of did.

"So I need you to do an age progression photo of Starbuck," Sweets said and took a photograph from his back pocket. The girl in photo was about two years old, with dusky skin, green eyes and curly black hair. A little boy about five years old was holding her proudly, a party hat on both heads.

"I'll do what I can," Angela said. As this was Angela, doing what she can meant she would do what everyone else called their best.

Meanwhile, Zach was down the street, getting food for Hodgins, Angela and himself as they had at least two more hours before they could go home. He had a list in hand and was browsing through the aisles of the mini-mart. The bell jingled again and he heard a group come in, a loud one at that. He peeked his head to see three college aged people, two women and a man. Two of them broke off from the third to get beer. The woman alone walked to where Zach was.

"Excuse me," she muttered, tucking her frizzy black hair behind her ear. She reached in front of his belt to grab a cup of ramen and he noticed that there was a tattoo of the Battlestar Galactica symbol, only without the writing, on her shoulder.

"I like your tattoo," Zach blurted out. She looked up at him, her eyebrow furrowed.

"Thank you," she said. "I take it you're a fan?"

"Yes, I am," Zach said. "I find the original more entertaining than the newer series."

"There's a new one?" the woman asked. "Wow."

Just as Zach was going to tell her where she could watch the new series online, her friends called her.

"STARBUCK, WE GOTTA GO!" the male hollered and she smiled before leaving. Zach sighed and finished his shopping. He liked her name. It was unusual.

A few minutes later, he was walking up to the lab and passed Angela's office. On the big screen was a picture of a Latina woman in her early twenties with black hair and green eyes. She strongly resembled the woman Zach had met in the mini-mart. He decided to comment on it.

"I saw someone that strongly resembles her just ten minutes ago," Zach blurted. Sweets and Angela turned to him. There was a manic look in Sweet's eyes that made Zach feel uncomfortable.

"Tell me everything."