The Solution in the Crisis
Chapter 1: Friend in need
"Sweetie?" knocked Angela on Brennan's office door. "You really need to get out from here. You'll be late."
Bones looked up at Angela, who grinned at her as an sign to hurry up.
"Ange, I'm really confused." shrugged Bones. "I'm starting to realise my mistakes."
"You have been away from him for a year. You miss him. Now..." Angela walked to Brennan's chair and helped her to stand up. "Now Sweetheart, you'll meet him, you'll be gorgeous and everything is going to be shiny. Okay?"
"Fine. I'll change." groaned Bones as she walked out of her office. Angela looked after her and shook her head with a smug smile on her face.
Booth was waiting for Bones for about five minutes. He was anxious, he looked around every fourth second if he could catch a glimpse of her. Fortunately, he found her in the mass. She was smiling at him as she approached him. His heartbeat became outrageously fast and he felt breathless. She was amazingly beautiful. Deep within, he knew that this sight is only his.
"Hey." she greeted him in a gentle tone with a small, but very honest smile on her face.
He couldn't say a thing. He reached for her and wrapped his arms around her.
"I missed you." let Brennan go a sigh as she looked up on him. Her eyes were teary, but they were shining with happiness.
"I missed you too, Bones." wiped Booth a teardrop from her face. "You wouldn't believe how badly."
Brennan noticed a familiar ringtone somewhere nearby. She reached out for Booth's phone and checked the caller I.D.
"Uh-oh." she stated as he released her from the hug to take a look at the cell. He took it from Bones and answered it.
"Booth. Whoa, slow down, Cam. We'll be right there." he hung up and looked at Bones. "An elite hacker walked into the Jeffersonian and wants to talk to us."
A young woman sat in the guest's area with her arms crossed, clearly lost in her thoughts. Her clothes were casual, her long red hair was in a simple ponytail. Nobody would have guessed that she was one of the most famous hackers of the century. The most dangerous one. Brennan and Booth walked up and both suprised when they realised who they see.
"I arrested you! Because of you we had lost all our digital documents of our work." Booth became furious.
"I remember telling you that paper is more secure than the lousy security you had." the woman replied in a rather cold and calm manner.
"Petra. It's been a long time." smiled Brennan at her as she stood up. The two hugged happily.
"You...know each other?" eyed the women Booth suspiciously.
"Yes. We've been through quite a lot together." nodded Brennan still smiling.
"You're just as useless as the security system of the FBI. You know nothing." grinned Petra angrily.
"Stop it." Angela interrupted the argument. "This young lady is sure not happy to see it."
That was when Bones and Booth realised that Angela is holding a little girl in her arms. She was about 4 years old and her face was teary.
"Oh, Artemis." Petra stepped closer and took the girl from Angela. "Thank you." she smiled shyly at Angie.
"Wow, you have family." laughed Brennan and went to them to help comforting the child.
"She is Artemis Hawthorne." stated Petra, mostly aimed at Booth.
"Wait...Hawthorne?" his eyes became round from astonishment. "The daughter of my friend, Andrew Hawthorne?"
"I think I know how catch his murderer." Petra's eyes became colder than they were originally.
"I can't believe it." sighed Booth as he lied down on the couch in Brennan's office.
"You can't believe what?" blinked Bones at him.
"That little girl...is the orphan of my friend and that arrogant woman is his widow. I couldn't even attend the funeral." his voice became husky.
"Petra is not arrogant..." Bones tried to argue. "You don't know her past, right?"
Booth shook his head as a sign of negative.
"She was 5, when she became an orphan. In the barely post-socialist Hungary. She was able to come to America, all alone, without anybody. As soon as she got here...she found herself in the system. That's where I met her. She was way younger that I was, but gave me a lot insights about the reality on the streets. I tought her English. She started hacking at that time." as she explained, memories came back to her. A lot of strong memories. Before she could realise, she was sobbing. "Poor thing."
"Don't cry. You're not going to lose things. Never again." Booth sat up and walked to Bones.
"But she's a widow, raising her daughter. I couldn't imagine it, I mean, what would I do if I were to lose you?" Bones really started crying there.
Booth flashed the hottest smile he ever had. "You will never lose me." That was a well hidden confession. She can't lose me, right? I would die for her, I would kill for her, but I'll never leave her side.
Cam and Petra were waiting outside the office, hoping that the rather heated moment of the crime solving pair would end. Cam cleared her throat as knocked.
"Can we...come in?" she felt awkward asking it. But she had to.