AN: This is my first Bones fanfic so please go easy on me ;) This is an episode replacement story. I felt season 5 finale should've mirrored season 4 finale and held more significance then a flashing clock and tower of wings in a hoarders house, especially if their going to have the same titles with key words swapped. So if you felt the same way then please read, enjoy, and review!
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the Bones characters but I do own the others in this story so please do not use them without my permission. Full list is on my profile.
Oh, I also did my homework so the scientific sounding stuff is real, not just made up words or garble. And to change it up a little from the show, there will be Nissan plug-ins, not Toyota :P
Chapter 1
The crisp autumn air brought an invigorating feel to the thickly wooded forest. The trees were beginning to turn into vibrant hues of yellows, reds and oranges. A herd of deer grazed at a stream nearby until the sound of an engine and crunching tires sent them skittering in different directions. A yellow Nissan Xterra broke through the trees, barreling its way across the invisible road it was creating.
"Booth, will you please be careful," Brennan snapped as she tightened her grip on the handle near her head.
"Awe, come on Bones; have a little faith in me, huh? I'll get you to the crime scene in one piece. Unless you wanted to free dive from a helicopter, four-wheel driving is the only way to get there." Booth flashed his cocky grin.
"What made you pick this ridiculous color anyway?" Brennan quipped.
"What's wrong with yellow? It's a cool color. Makes us look like a beacon of sunshine showing the way to righteousness."
Brennan bellowed out in laughter. "That's absurd."
Booth glanced sideways and smiled. He loved it when she laughed, especially that loud, hearty laugh, but he would never admit to it out loud.
Not now anyway.
He already had his heart crushed once by this beautiful woman, but it was partially his fault. He rushed her and he of all people knew she couldn't be rushed. He also made the mistake of saying he was giving up and moving on. He mentally slapped himself on that one. He decided to hit the restart button and try again.
He turned his attention back to the forest.
Within a few minutes other vehicles started to come into view.
"Looks like we're here Bones," Booth commented as he pointed to the vehicles and what appeared to be a lone burning barrel amidst the chaos of law enforcement officials.
Booth pulled the Xterra next to the other SUV's and parked. Brennan quickly climbed out and went to the back to retrieve her equipment while Booth leisurely stretched and looked around. He widened his arms in a grand gesture as he followed behind a quick-paced Brennan.
"Look at this place Bones. Just smell the clean, crisp air of New Hampshire State. Talk about getting away from the noise and the smell of the city."
Brennan just gave him a look that he knew well. It was the 'focus on the work at hand' look.
They made their way to the burning barrel where a few state police officers and FBI crime unit workers were scouting the area. No one was actually touching the barrel itself.
A state trooper stopped them and Booth pulled out his badge. "I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth and this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan."
The officer tipped his hat to Brennan and smiled. "Dr. Brennan, in the flesh; It's an honor. I've read all your books, ma'am."
Brennan opened her mouth to speak but Booth cut her off. "That's nice and all, Officer…" Booth squinted to read the officer's name pin, "Crest, but we have a job to do. What can you tell us about the body?"
Officer Crest nodded quickly. It was obvious that Booth made him slightly nervous.
"Yes, the body. Well a couple of local teens on four-wheelers found it; gave them quite a spook. There isn't much of a body left, just bones. Well, actually just a skull and what appears to be bones. I was the first responding officer and I knew right away this was out of our league."
"Has anyone touched the barrel or remains?" Brennan asked.
"No ma'am, I made sure that everyone steered clear of it as per the orders given by the FBI."
Brennan looked up at Booth and smiled. She knew it was him who gave the order. Booth winked at her then ushered her over to the barrel. When he peeked inside his eyes widened. "Wow! What a mess. I hope you're good at jigsaw puzzles."
"I don't know what that means."
He rolled his eyes. "Jigsaw puzzles Bones come on, little jagged pieces of cardboard that interlock. You can't tell me you never put one together."
She tilted her head in typical Brennan fashion. "I know what a jigsaw puzzle is Booth, but I don't see how it pertains to the shattered pieces…" Her eyes lit up as she figured out what Booth meant. "Oh I get it, because the victim is broken into several pieces resembling that of a jigsaw puzzle."
Booth shook his head then pulled out some index cards and a pen. Brennan peered down and noticed right away that this was not going to be an easy case.
Inside the barrel laid several hundred pieces of shattered bones with the skull sitting intact on top. They were all stripped of their flesh and gleaming white.
"So what have we got, Bones?"
"Well they are definitely human."
She waved a crime scene agent over and had him take some pictures before she disturbed it. Brennan leaned into the barrel and rummaged through the bone fragments until she spotted a broken rib. She picked it up and studied it for a few seconds.
"Pitting on the sternal rib end puts age between 30 and 35. Finding time of death is going to be difficult." Brennan bent back over and picked up the skull. She rotated it in her hands carefully, "appears to be female, Caucasian." She leaned again into the barrel and replaced the skull.
She started to lean in further, trying to dig deeper into the bone pile, hoping to find a full bone still intact.
Booth looked up from writing and saw Brennan bent in half into the barrel, standing on her tippy toes. Panicking, he quickly grabbed Brennan by the waist and hoisted her up into a standing position. "Geez Bones, are you trying to crawl in there with the victim?"
Brennan twisted in his hands and straightened. "I was perfectly in control Booth."
Their faces are mere inches apart and Booth suddenly remembered he still has his hands on her hips. Quickly removing them, he took a step back and nervously clapped his hands together. "Sure, Bones, whatever you say. Did you find cause of death?"
"This victim is broken into several hundred fragments. It's going to take some time to figure out cause of death, Booth." Brennan turned back to the barrel and looked down. "At least the skull remains intact. Identifying her shouldn't be difficult."
"So, ship it all to the Jeffersonian?"
Brennan shook her head. "No, I want to try to reassemble the pieces myself before shipping it."
"Awe, Bones don't you have faith in your squinterns?"
Brennan narrowed her eyes. "I don't believe in faith nor do I believe that this amount of damage should be handled by someone unable to get the job done in a timely manner. This victim deserves swift justice."
"And that person who can get it done in a timely manner is…" Booth led on even though he knew the answer.
"Is me of course." Brennan stated as she cocked her head and smiled.
"Of course," Booth chuckled as he waved Officer Crest over. "Do you have a lab or coroner's office nearby that Dr. Brennan can use to examine the remains?"
"Sure thing Agent Booth, she can use the coroner's lab in Jefferson. I'll go ahead and make the arrangements."
"Thanks Officer Crest," Booth turned to Brennan. "You hear that Bones? Jefferson. Your home away from home; your mini Jeffersonian in Jefferson."
Brennan gave him a quizzical look. "I don't know what that means."
Booth rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't, rain man."
Booth and Brennan stood over the skeletal remains on the table. The pieces had been removed from the barrel and placed on the stainless steel slab. Everything but the victim herself was sent to the Jeffersonian.
Brennan brought a bone fragment up to her nose and sniffed. Booth made a disgusted face.
"Do you have to do that in front of me?"
Brennan shoved the piece in Booth's face. "Smell it. What does it smell like to you?"
Booth carefully took a whiff and then took another. He relaxed when he realized it wasn't a horrible scent.
"Bleach. It smells like bleach."
"That was my conclusion also." She placed the bone back on the table.
"Bones this is a lot of… well, little bones," Booth observed. "I know you're good, well more then good, but this is going to take days to put back together. Maybe you should have a squintern fly up here."
"What's the matter Booth, don't you have faith in me?" Brennan questioned with a glint in her eyes.
"Of course I have faith in you. It's just, there are hundreds of pieces, some smaller then my finger nails," Booth paused as he locked eyes with Brennan's confidant stare. He knew he wasn't going to persuade you to bring in help. "Fine, I'll go get take out and coffee."
Armed with Elmer's glue and nothing more, she lost herself in her work. Booth had forced her to eat a little and kept feeding her coffee throughout the night. He reluctantly dozed off in a nearby chair and awoke several hours later. Rubbing his eyes and stretching his sore back, he looked over to find Brennan still hunched over the table.
"Why am I not surprised to find you still up?" Booth mused.
Brennan never looked over at him as she continued gluing. "You should've went to the hotel and slept. That chair was not the best decision with your back."
He stood up and stretched again. "Hey that's what I got you for."
He approached the table and was shocked to find almost the whole skeleton was complete. "Wow Bones you're almost done!"
"Yes. I had some difficulties with the right calcaneus, cuboids, and left medial cuneiform but the remaining pieces will be effortless to complete."
"I don't suppose you could pause for a few seconds and work your magic on my back?"
Brennan looked at him for the first time and smiled. She snapped her gloves off and Booth wordlessly turned around. His heart jumped a beat when he felt her warm arms slide underneath his and trail up to his neck. Slowly she rolled his upper body in circles then snapped him straight up. His entire spine cracked and he gasped at the sudden pain which thankfully subsided. She removed her arms and he immediately felt the coldness in their place. He wished he could feel those warm limbs under different circumstances.
Booth felt a blush start to warm his face. He quickly stumbled away from her and grabbed his blazer.
"Thanks Bones. I will uh, go get us some coffee," He stuttered.
He didn't wait for her answer as he quickly exited the lab. Brennan turned and was surprised by his sudden retreat. She shrugged to herself and went back to gluing.
Three hours later the victim's bones were completed and a full skeleton was laid out on the table in front of them. Brennan had already begun looking for a cause of death. Her laptop was set up next to the coroner's table and Cam's face appeared on the screen.
"There appears to be no flesh left for me to work with. Do you think a chemical agent removed the flesh?" Cam asked.
"They smell like bleach," Booth interjected.
"Well that won't be very helpful. You can buy bleach anywhere and it probably erased away whatever method was used to remove the flesh. What are your findings so far, Dr. Brennan?"
"She was severely tortured, peri-mortem," Brennan stated. She pointed to the victim's right arm. "The victim has damage to the metacarpal bones, along with compound fractures of the trapezium, scaphoid, and the base of the radius of the right arm. Her radius and ulna were also fractured on both arms."
"She put up a fight." Booth interpreted.
Brennan nodded in agreement and continued. "The victim also suffered a shattered patella of the right leg, fractured cheek and nasal bones, and a cracked sternum. Some of these wounds were in the first stages of healing."
"So she was beaten and tortured, then somehow had her flesh removed and her bones bleached and then the killer breaks her into a thousand pieces," Booth surmised.
"Actually it was 922 pieces," Brennan corrected.
"That poor woman suffered a horrible death," Cam commented.
Brennan tried to remain stiff-lipped. She refused to let herself see the pain the victim had suffered. "Did Dr. Hodgins have a chance to analyze the burning barrel?"
Before Cam could answer, the sound of a card being swiped could be heard and then Hodgins appeared on the screen. "Hey Dr. B, I've collected particulates from the barrel and found two interesting sediments: green slate containing chlorite and marble containing pyrite, chalcopyrite, muscovite, and chlorite. These two sediments are indigenous to southwestern Vermont."
"Vermont?" Booth questioned.
"I would say try looking somewhere around Burlington, Vermont," Hodgins explained.
"Have you looked for cause of death yet?" Cam asked.
"No. I was actually going to start looking now. If it's okay with you, I would like to find cause of death before I ship the remains to you," Brennan requested.
Cam nodded. "Of course Dr. Brennan, I would expect no less. Before you start your investigation, can you get the skull scanned and sent to Angela for identification?"
Brennan nodded.
"Okay then, we'll be in touch." A few seconds later the screen went blank.
"So how about we go find some grub to eat in this little town?" Booth suggested.
Brennan looked up briefly to make eye contact. "Sure, Booth just let me finish this. I need to place markers on the skull for Angela and scan it into the computer for her. Also, I would really like to start searching for cause of death."
"So what you're trying to say is no Booth, I need to stay here and do my squinty bone stare for several hours while you go fetch me food and coffee," Booth said mimicking her voice. "Well, I guess that means I'm on a mission to find take out again," Booth mumbled as he turned on his heel and left Brennan alone in the morgue.
A smile crept onto her lips that turned into a full grin as she picked up the skull and stared at it. "Got him wrapped around my thumb," She stated aloud to herself proudly.
Unbeknownst to her, Booth was still in hearing distance.
"Its little finger, you got me wrapped around your little finger, or pinky if you prefer," Booth shouted from the hallway.
Brennan's head snapped in the direction of his voice and then before she could prevent it, a light red started to paint her cheeks. She quickly went back to work and tried to pretend she never heard him respond. A chuckle from the hallway only made her face become redder and she cursed under her breath.
