The Toddler in the Tire 1
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. Shoot.
Dr. Temperance Brennan woke with a start. Someone was hammering on her door. She picked up her alarm clock and squinted at it; the sunlight streaming in her window hurt her eyes. 6:51 a.m. Nine minutes until her alarm was set to go off. Who was waking her up this early? She got out of bed and reached for the hair tie that was lying on her bedside table. She tied her hair back into a ponytail and walked to her front door, yawning widely as she did so. She looked out the peephole. It was Booth. Booth was pounding on her door at 6:51 no, make that 6:52 a.m. She groaned and opened the door.
Booth walked in, grinning and upbeat as usual. "Morning, Bones. Could I interest you in some coffee?"
"Yes please!" Brennan replied, taking a cup from his hand. She took a sip of the hot liquid and felt herself waking up. "And to what do I owe this very early visit?"
Booth took the hint and grinned. "Yeah, sorry about that one Bones. But you know, a dead body waits for no team."
"Do we have any details on said body?" Brennan asked, nursing her coffee and trying her best to speak coherently. Mornings were not her strong suit.
"Just that it was found in a junk yard," Booth said, plopping down on the sofa. "So how fast can you be ready?"
"Give me half an hour," she answered, rising from the other end of the sofa and setting her cup down. "And please, could you make some more coffee?"
Thirty- five minutes later, Brennan and Booth were on their way to Peach's Bait, Tackle, and Salvage yard. When they arrived Booth flashed his badge at the gate and they walked down the trail that led to dozens of rusty and taken-apart cars, where they could already see at least ten FBI agents in an already roped off crime scene. They ducked under the yellow tape and walked to the nearest supervisor. "Okay, what go you got?" asked Booth.
"You aren't going to like this one," the agent said with a grim look on his face. "Over there, in the tire."
Brennan and Booth walked over to an oversized truck tire and peered into the rim. When he saw the body Booth had to walk away, cursing under his breath. He thought he would be sick. Brennan, who normally had a strong stomach for bodies and the like, had to cover her mouth and turn away for a moment to regain composure. There in the tire lay the tiny form of a baby boy. Brennan turned back and started the ugly task of trying to identify the remains.
"Baby boy, approximately 12 months old, weighing 19 pounds and maybe 28 inches in length," she estimated quietly. "Clothes are stained with something that looks like spit up and dirt. Been out here maybe two weeks, but I need Hodgins to confirm." Booth just grunted. He was sitting on another truck tire a few feet away, his head in his hands. She knew he was thinking about Parker, and she didn't blame him. She looked at the supervising agent. "How was he found?"
"A couple boys were walking around here looking for mud tires to put on their trucks. One guy saw these and walked over. When he bent over to pick that one up he saw the baby and started hollering at his friend to call the cops."
All of a sudden she looked up and Booth was beside her. "We need this stuff sent to the lab," he said quietly. He looked at the supervisor and commanded "Bag this stuff up and send it to the Jeffersonian. And please be careful with that body."
"Will do, Agent Booth."
The partners walked back to the car and took their seats in silence. Booth started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. Still it was silent. They were halfway to the Jeffersonian before Brennan spoke.
"Are you okay Booth?"
"I guess. I was just thinking about Parker. What he looked like when he was that little. I thought he was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. I can't imagine what that baby's parents are going through."
"I can't imagine why anyone would do that to a baby so young. I mean, what could that tiny child possibly have done to deserve that? And as little maternal instinct as I have I know not to leave a baby in a junk yard."
Booth looked at her. "What do you mean no instinct? You're great with Parker and your nieces. It's your head that wants nothing to do with children."
"It's also my head that helps us solve these cases."
"Yeah, you and the Squint Squad. Sometimes I don't see how you do it. Most of the time Cam and Angela are the only ones that make sense."
"I apologize. Sometimes I do forget to hint you in on…what is it you call it? Squint speak."
"Its clue you in Bones, and its ok. Its funny how you get all excited and you start speaking gibberish."
"Well I'm glad you find it amusing," Brennan replied as Booth pulled into the parking lot at the Jeffersonian. He cut the SUV off and they climbed out of it, falling into a normal routine. They walked to the door and Booth swiped his card, opening the door for Brennan, who gave him an ill look. He gave her the infamous charm grin, and they walked down a hall, into the lab, and up to the platform. Brennan scanned her card, and they walked to the table, where the tiny body was laid out and all the squints were very delicately examining it. It was always harder on everyone when a child was involved.
"What do we have so far?" Booth asked, trying not to look at the baby.
"Dr. Brennan was pretty much right about everything," Cam started in.
"The larvae found around him suggest that he was there somewhere around ten to twelve days," Hodgins said. "I found traces of rubber on his clothes. But that's a given."
"The spinal column shows damage between the C2 and C3 vertebrae," Cam finished.
"Any brain damage?" Brennan asked, certain she knew where this was going.
"There was some subdural bruising on the frontal bone," Cam answered.
"Oh no," Brennan said, putting her face in her hand. Booth looked clueless and the squints looked stricken.
"What is it? Our cause of death?" Booth asked.
"Subdural bruising occurs when something shakes the brain so fast that it smacks the front of the skull," Cam explained quietly.
"And that means?"
"Booth, in a child this small, its very probable that there is only one thing to cause that kind of damage to a baby's brain." Brennan laid her hand on his arm and he gave her a 'keep talking' look. "It normally means the baby has been a victim of SBS, or Shaken Baby Syndrome." The look on her partner's face would have killed anyone guilty for such a crime.
"And it means this is officially a murder investigation," Cam announced as Angela walked up to the platform.
"I have a rendering," she said reluctantly. She held up a sketch of an adorable baby boy with bright blue eyes, wispy blonde curls, and a big grin with six teeth. "I also have a match. His name is Colby Grey. He went missing from his aunt's front yard eleven days ago."
"We have to inform the family," Brennan sighed. This was the first time they ever had to deal with a victim this young. How did you tell a family their baby boy was gone?
AN: Does that constitute as a cliff hanger? I've never written one before. If it don't then oh well. Maybe its not a cliff, just a high window. Either way, if you like it (yay!) or if you don't (aww.) please review. It would make my stuck at home with sick baby and no new bones blues day.