Nex umbra inter victus
Disclaimer: I don't know Bones
A/N: This is the third in my Bones Series
A/N2: This does not follow all of S2, (Jack never proposed and Sully never left like he did)
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Chapter One: Football?
Temperance woke up early Saturday morning, her eyes scrunched closed in an effort to block the inordinate amount of light streaming in through her open curtains. It took a few minutes for her to register the fact that when she had gone to bed last night, the curtains had been drawn, and she certainly hadn't had a piece of paper taped to her forehead.
She bolted upright, her muscles screaming in protest of the sudden motion. Swinging her bare feet onto the wood floor, she made her way unsteadily to the bathroom. She leaned in to the mirror and squinted at the folded piece of paper stuck to her face. She rubbed blurry eyes in an attempt to clear them; at no point did it occur to the scientist to remove the document instead of trying to use a mirror to read it.
"Marco," that was all the outside said, and that was all that the anthropologist needed to know.
"Russ," she whispered, tears threatening to fall.
Tempe took no time in tearing the note off her skin and unfolding the letter. She licked her lips and took a deep breathe.
Tempe,
I miss you, and thank you for what you did for Dad and me. Letting him go was really nice, I know he won't say it, but Booth's a stand up guy. Don't get yourself in a mess. I heard you were dating some guy named Sullivan, an FBI agent. Dad looked him up, I know you may not want to know this stuff, but he's not a good guy. Apparently he was forced to go to AA meetings and was suspended a year ago for harassing a young woman he believed to be involved in a case.
Don't hate me Tempe, Dad and I'll be around. He came with tonight. We both thought you looked really beautiful. I don't know what else I can say, oh, when Dad read your book, he blushed like a sailor swears. Guess he didn't know that his little girl wrote porno for a living. Just kidding…well not about Dad…about the porno thing. I liked it, and when am I going to get a book dedicated to me? Booth got one. Where's the character based on me…Booth has one!
Love,
Your brother Russ
P.S. Dad didn't see me tape this note to your head, he left me alone with you for a second while he went out the window, he thought I was going to leave it on your nightstand.
P.P.S. What else are big brothers for?
Temperance had been so wrapped up in the letter that she didn't hear the phone ring, or the answering machine pick up. When she set the letter down, she was slightly confused, and maybe just a little embarrassed that her father had read her book. In her defense, she had never expected him to ever read her writing; she had really never had any hope that he was still alive.
Tempe went into the kitchen and on the table was a small box and leather bound journal sitting at her spot. Inside was a small note from her father, telling her he had been meaning to give her the journal and the necklaces to her since she was 16. The journal was blank beside the note, the box was black velvet, it was antique looking, and when she opened it, she found the prettiest diamond necklaces, a mix between classic, and vintage (pictures for all items:
Not allowing herself the time to think and process these sentimental gifts, she went about her morning routine. Start the coffee maker and check the messages, there were a few from museums, one from a college that wanted her to do a lecture, and three from Angela. Okay, there were eight from her, but she had made Hodgins and Zack call five times, but you could hear her telling them what to say. The last message made her smile.
"Yo, Bones! Up and at 'em Adam Ant, we got work to do. Body behind a restaurant, I'm having the bones brought to the lab. Should be pretty easy, just need an id and a cause of death. I don't have Parker tomorrow, so I thought that maybe I could cook you dinner. Anyway, get moving Tempe, I'm sure you have a dozen messages from our resident gossiper, wouldn't want to make her wait. I'll be at the lab in an hour. Bye-bye Bones."
Bones rolled her eyes, poor Angela would be disappointed, if she didn't get some dirt. Shoving the presents into her bag, and quickly showering, and changing into a pair of jeans and a camisole, she grabbed her coffee and ran out of the door. She made it all the way to the car before she remembered that she hadn't locked the door. Sighing, she went back upstairs and locked the door, wondering if she would ever make it to the lab if she kept being so scatter brained.
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Stalking into the lab, Dr. Brennan smiled briefly at the guard as she swiped her card over the scanner; she heard the tone signaling her acceptance. Replacing her badge, she moved up the steps to the platform, it was free of any people. It was a quarter to six after all; she checked her work e-mail and then looked at her chart of bones she needed to work through this week.
Temperance cleaned the examination table off and set up her tools, everything in the write order, she left the main floor and took the elevator down two floors, it was dark and dank. Brennan glanced at the file folder in her hand; she had realized that one of the set of bones in limbo was recognizable. They had gotten an inquiry three years before about a young man whose body had gone missing from a funeral home, he had been military. Finding the right drawer, she slid the John Doe card from the name plate and replaced it with the one bearing the name, Michael John DuGray.
Her smile glowed with satisfaction, and she returned to the platform, sitting back down at the computer, she logged onto her dating profile and typed in an excuse. True she didn't use it much anymore, she had been in a relationship, but she still got on from time to time. She changed her away message, which now explained that she would be out of the country for an undetermined amount of time. The last thing she did was print off all the pictures that Booth had ever e-mailed her of Parker. Putting them in a crisp manila folder, she slid it into the carryall case she took with her everywhere. She hid it between the gruesome photos she used as examples, and the dry summaries of the day's work.
The clock told the woman that her partner would be there very soon, she slid on her standard blue lab coat and adjusted her ponytail. Once her appearance was pleasing, she retrieved the new forms that she would have to fill out, sliding the stack onto a clipboard, the good doctor looked over the files that Booth had forwarded to her at the Jeffersonian. She inspected the crime scene photographs, and the inventory list of what was found at the site.
"Bones?" her name being called made her jump, she bit her tongue to keep from reaming Booth out.
She took a slow, steady breath and swiveled around on her chair, "Yes?"
Booth had been walking below the platform right in front of the computer and he spun at the sound of her voice, she allowed herself one smirk before schooling her features into indifference, "Alright, I've got two guys bringing in the bones. Ready to rumble?"
Tempe straightened and stood up, "I don't know what that means."
Booth closed his eyes and smiled softly, it didn't surprise him that she didn't know, "It's just something that they say before boxing or wrestling matches."
Bones looked thoughtful, "I don't remember them saying that when you boxed. Are there rules for when they say it?"
Booth pinched the bridge of his nose, "Forget it Bones, I'll teach you later. Do you know anything about football?"
"You think the victim might have been a football player?"
Booth couldn't help but grin, "One track mind that woman," he muttered to himself before turning back to his partner, "no, now answer the question."
She glanced behind her as the two FBI boys set a bag on the table, "I know a bit, Russ used to play when he was in high school. He taught me how to play when I was twelve, and I helped him practice with my father."
She turned around and started to unzip the body bag, she didn't hear Seeley's pleased snicker, or see his hands rubbing gleefully together. She glanced over the body quickly, "Male, 19-25, Caucasian, dead for approximately two months, I'll need Jack to confirm, but the bugs present now are consistent with that time frame. Fractures in the left humerus, the metacarpals are at best chipped, at worst, chunks are missing. The side of the skull has fissures, and the back. The back has a whole the size of a quarter missing, it's like someone had extremely good luck and hit just the rights way."
Her eyes were dark with anger and sadness, Booth had come to stand beside her, "What's the prognosis, Doc?"
She licked her lips and frowned, "He was beaten to the ground, probably by someone he knew and trusted, he tried to shield himself with his left arm. Whoever did this got a good hit to the side of his head which in all likelihood made him black out, he wasn't conscious when he was killed. You're looking for a rod of metal, maybe steel, thin, that would explain his injuries. This wasn't planned, this was brutal, there are signs that he was hit repeatedly after he was dead as well."
Booth locked his jaw, "So you're saying we're looking for a young man. This was a crime of passion, spur of the moment. Wonder what the inspiration was to kill someone who trusts you."
Bones gripped his forearm in a comforting gesture, his arms were crossed over his chest, "I don't know Booth, but we'll find out, we always do."
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Temperance Brennan said goodbye to Booth at the door to the Jeffersonian, she had assented to his plans, but still refused to tell him what her end of the bargain dealt with. He told her quite plainly that while he liked surprises, he was getting 'antsy', whatever that meant. Glancing at the watch on her wrist, she noted that is was a quarter to nine. The squints would be in by then, and she would have no peace.
She returned to examining the bones, she put the tissue markers on the skull and set it aside for Angela. She had already taken a dental impression and was running it through the database. The rest of the bones were laid out carefully, Tempe had asked him a multitude of questions, ones that his bones told her the answers. He ran regularly, he had broken his ankle a few months prior to his death, but he was healthy.
Pulling herself together, Dr. Brennan secluded herself in her office. She unlocked her closet door, and rooted around before pulling out a pristine pad of paper and a small black rectangular box. She set the items on her coffee table and turned the lamp on, closing the blinds to keep others from seeing her work, Brennan laid out the pictures she had printed earlier and settled down, a pillow behind her as she sat on the floor.
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She was concentrating so hard on the paper in front of her that she jumped at the resounding knock on her door. She had been the silent room for what seemed to be only a few minutes, but was actually closer to an hour and a half. Carefully covering her work and sliding it safely between a few files on the bookcase, she stretched and opened the door. She covered her mouth as she yawned, and stared in what must have been horror at Angela, who was practically jumping up and down.
"Bren, Sweetie, tell me what happened last night. I left you messages, the polite thing to do is call me back," Angela's admonishments were muted by the fact that she couldn't stop grinning.
Tempe smoothed her shirt down and proceeded to rub her temples, "Why would I call you if I was going to see you later?"
Angela rolled her eyes, "I am the best friend, I have to know all the dirt before the rest of the lab."
"Dirt, Angela? We went to the party, we ate, and we went for pie at the diner. Oh, and Cullen mentioned that he wanted Booth and I to go undercover again."
I was imagining the eager look on Booth's face. I had to be, he has never had anything but a professional interest in me.
Angela was waving a hand in front of her face, "Hello, anyone in there? Like I was saying, what is the case?"
Brennan shrugged, "I don't really know the details. Just something about a possible serial case, the husbands and wives were both killed in the four known cases."
Angela's eyes got wide, "You don't mean the Clementon Heights murders, do you?"
She shrugged her shoulders, "Cullen didn't say. Jack and Zack are here, right?"
Angela was upset that her friend was acting so cavalier, but tried to hide it, "Uh, yeah, jack at his work station, I thought I heard something about the racing championships being today, I decided I would avoid them."
Brennan slid her lab coat on again and headed out of her office, "Ange, I need you to do a facial reconstruction, the skull is already set up for the Angelator. Jack," she called out, "I need you to confirm time of death for me, and the body is on the table. Zack, I'd like to observe you on a limbo case today."
Jack nodded and went to work, Zack's head shot up, "Dr. Brennan?"
Tempe looked at her file, "I might be leaving the lab for a little while, so I need to make sure you can deal with the difficult cases on your own. You'll have full control, just act like I'm not there, okay?"
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It was a long day, and by the time Tempe had reached her car she was worn out. Zack had done well, he had been nervous, but apart from a few minor mistakes that she could have made, he had made her proud. Angela had come up with a face, which she had sent to Booth, which he had compared to missing persons files and identified the body as 18 year old Samuel Met. Zack had concurred about time of death, and the case was handed off to someone else to investigate.
The drive home was exhausting, traffic was heavy, and as she got closer to home, she was weighed down by the reality of her life.
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Whooo! Chapter one done! Yay! So, next we have Booth and Brennan dinner. I need your requests for items to be present. I will give credit. Hehe. Anyone want to beta this fic? It would do me a big favor! Please?
Review, and tell me what you think. This took me a long time to write. Reviews help me to write, keep that in mind.
Luv you all,
Ta!