Hey, everyone! This is my first Bones fanfiction, so please be patient with me! I really hope that you all enjoy and review! –Also, the characters do not belong to me, aside from the few I made up to help with the story (i.e. the Thomas's and Mr. Colt, etc.) Please R&R! Thanks! –Sarah
"Angela, have you come up with an ID for Jane Doe?" Brennan asked walking into her best friends' office.
Angela shook her head. "No, but I am scanning the reconstruction through the registry as we speak." She looked over at her friend and saw the dark circles under her eyes, the unusual ghost white paleness of her skin. "Sweetie, are you okay?"
Brennan sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't understand why I am having a hard time seeing her as just remains. It is completely irrational for me to feel how I do about someone I don't even know."
"Sweetie, it's probably because you don't see something like that every day." Angela replied and rested a hand on Brennan's shoulder. Beeping drew her attention away from her friend. "We've got a match. Mia Thomas, age seventeen, reported missing by her parents in Baltimore."
"Thank you. I'll go tell Booth." Brennan looked at the girls' ID for a couple moments longer before turning to walk away and call Booth from her office.
She could feel the toll this case was taking on her. Ever since two days ago when she and Booth had gotten called to the scene, she hadn't slept much, had close to no appetite, and felt a sense of impending doom. Sweets had noticed the change in her almost immediately and tried talking to her, but she quickly brushed him off, saying she wasn't feeling well. It was the truth, even though she wasn't feeling physically sick.
Sitting down at her desk, she dialed Booth's number.
"Booth."
"Mia Thomas of Baltimore, Maryland. Seventeen years old." She said, her voice drone-like.
"Okay, I am on my way to the Jeffersonian now. Do you want to come with me to speak to her parents?"
Brennan was silent for a few beats, thinking. Maybe if she got out of here for a while it would help. "Yes, I will see you soon." And she hung up before he could respond.
Booth was used to her hanging up abruptly, so he didn't take offense to it, especially after the last couple of days. He had to admit, it had been a long time since he had seen anything that horrible at a scene. It would be a long time before the images would stop haunting him. Constant shivers ran down his spine.
As he pulled up to the Jeffersonian, he saw Brennan standing outside waiting for him. He took in her appearance and his stomach clenched. She never looked like this and he was really starting to get concerned for his friend.
"Have you been home at all?" He asked as she got in and put her seatbelt on.
She looked up at him, realizing she hadn't. "No." Came her simple reply.
"Come on, we're going to your place first. We can't let Mia's family see you like this." Booth stated. Seeing her start to protest, he put his hand up. "Shower or stay, Bones" He demanded.
Her shoulders slumped and she rested against the seat. "Okay."
The shower felt great. Her muscles already felt a lot less tense and she didn't feel like the world was resting on her shoulders anymore.
After getting dressed, she walked into the kitchen, noticing Booth at the counter looking over photos of the crime scene. The girl's body hanging against the wall, arms and legs strapped down, a bloodied white rag wrapped around her mouth. There was still some flesh covering her bones, showing the wounds that were made from a currently unidentified type of blade on various parts of her body. Below her were the last of her internal organs, whatever the animals and bugs did not consume. In the corner of the dark lit room, a torn up mattress stained with blood lay under a rusted, leaky pipe with a rope attached to it. All of the horrifying scenarios that Brennan imagined came flooding back.
"We need to catch this guy, Booth." Brennan's voice was small behind him. He turned to face her, seeing her glassy eyes staring at the photos.
"We will, Bones. Okay? I promise." She didn't look at him, just simply nodded. "Are you ready to go?" He asked.
"Yes, just let me grab my jacket." She replied and walked away.
The drive to Mia's house was mostly silent. Booth tried at small talk, but Brennan would quickly respond and continue to stare out of the window, deep in thought. There was no other evidence so far in the case. No particulates, finger or shoe prints, not even tire treads outside the building. It was as though the building was untouched for years, minus the crime scene. Hopefully, she thought, the family could give them some sort of lead to go on. She was feeling helpless, a new, foreign feeling to her.
Walking up to Mia's house held dread and anticipation for them both. This part of being in the field was Brennan's least favorite.
Booth rang the doorbell. Moments later, a middle aged man answered. "Mr. Thomas?"
"Yes, what can I do for you?" He asked, confused.
"Hello, I am Agent Seeley Booth, and this is my partner, Dr. Temperance Brennan. We're with the FBI. May we come in, please?"
"Yes, please." He moved to let them in. "Gloria! The FBI is here!" He called to his wife. Gloria came walking down the hallway, a small towel moving nervously from one hand to the next.
"Is this about Mia? Did you find her? Is she okay?" She asked. Gloria led them all into the living room and motioned for them to sit on the couch. Her husband sat on a love seat across from them, and she sat on the arm of his seat.
As Booth started talking, Brennan tried to distract herself by looking at family pictures displayed all over the room.
"Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, but we found Mia's remains two days ago." He paused as he heard gasps and sobbing start, watching Mr. Thomas wrap a protective arm around his wife's waist as she cried into his shoulder.
"Wh- where? What happened?" Mr. Thomas asked.
"Brennan looked at the couple. She wished she was better with people, that she had the skills to offer something to help them. She was at a loss and continued sitting here, now looking at her hands.
"She was found outside of Richmond, Virginia. It appears that she has been murdered. I'm so sorry." Booth answered.
Gloria started crying harder. This was becoming too much for Brennan. On a normal day she could handle a small amount of crying, but in this moment, she was feeling the fight or flight brewing inside of her.
"I'm sorry, but we need to ask you a few questions. We're hoping that anything you tell us can help with our investigation." Booth started. The couple nodded in response. "Is there anyone who would want to hurt Mia? An ex-boyfriend, jealous girlfriend…?"
"No." Gloria answered, wiping her eyes. "She was a straight A student and part of many clubs at school. She was even tutoring other students on the weekends. Everyone loved her."
"Did you notice anyone suspicious hanging around your home before Mia went missing?" Brennan chimed in. She tried to be useful, not to look like a bump on a log.
"Well, there was this one guy who came to our house a few days before she went missing. He was saying he was thinking of moving into the neighborhood and wanted to know what it was like. He seemed nice. Not like someone I'd suspect anything like this from." Mr. Thomas answered.
"Did he have any contact with Mia?" Booth asked.
"Yes. She was here. We had invited him in for some coffee and we sat and talked for over an hour."
"Would you be able to give us a description of the man?" Brennan asked. Mr. Thomas nodded. After getting Angela on the phone, she collected the description from the father.
"Is there anything else you can think of that may be useful to us?" Booth asked Mia's mother.
Gloria shook her head. "No, I wish there was." She tried drying her eyes in vain.
Mr. Thomas hung up with Angel. "Please," he asked Brennan, handing her phone back to her, "please find who did this to our baby girl." She took her phone back silently, looking down at the floor.
"We will do everything possible." Booth and Brennan stood up and shook the pair's hands. "We'll be in touch."
Brennan called Angela back as soon as they got in the car.
"Hey, Ang. We're on our way back. Please try to have the sketch done by the time we get there."
"You got it, sweetie. Safe travels." And the women hung up.
Pulling onto the street, Booth looked at his partner. "You good, Bones?"
"I'm fine." Was all she could say.
"We'll find him, Bones. We will." He reassured her. She nodded and stared out the window.
The ride back to the Jeffersonian was silent.
Please R&R! I hope you liked it. Slow start, but it will be picking up in the coming chapters! Thanks for reading! -Sarah