Chapter 1
Dr. Temperance Brennan sat bolt upright in her bed, a cold sweat covering her from head to toe. Eyes wide she took a quick inventory of her surroundings and slowly began to relax. Several deep breaths later and her heart beat began to return to normal. Once she had brought her body back under control she closed her eyes against the memories threatening to overwhelm her. She knew exactly what had caused this reaction. She hugged her knees to her chest feeling every inch the same frightened, defenseless sixteen year old girl she used to be. It was the same nightmare that had haunted her until sentencing had been pronounced. Twenty years in the state prison. That was when she finally felt safe from him and the nightmares stopped. Brennan's entire being tightened as she thought about the parole notification sitting on her dining room table. I'm a well-known author, how hard would it be for him to find me? Will he even come looking?
Brennan chided herself for the thoughts running through her head. Let him try she thought I'm not that scared little girl anymore. I can take care of myself. She thought again about the notice and could not stop the chill from running down her spine.
Opening her eyes, Brennan looked to the alarm clock by her bed. 4:45 am. She sighed. Might as well get up and head to the lab. I won't be sleeping anymore tonight. Brennan headed to the Jeffersonian after grabbing a quick shower and dressing. The building was deserted save for security when she arrived at 5:30 am. With no cases pending she began work on remains from Limbo. By the time the rest of the squints arrived at 8 am she had identified 2 WWII soldiers. Both had been straightforward, simple ID's. The day passed uneventfully. Brennan began work on a recent delivered set of remains from Asia. The skull was badly damaged and required extensive work. By the time Brennan prepared to leave at 7pm that evening she had left the skull with tissue markers in Angela's office.
The rest of the week passed in a similar fashion. Much to Brennan's dismay she continued to be awakened early each morning by the recurring nightmare. By Friday the evidence of her exhaustion was apparent. Angela had picked up on the tension her best friend had carried all week. She also notice each day Brennan tried and failed to cover the dark circles under her eyes with makeup. On Friday evening Angela decided it was time to have a chat with Brennan. She had waited all week for Brennan to come to her but that was obviously not going to happen.
"Ok Sweetie" Angela began, walking into Brennan's office "I've been waiting all week for you to talk. So spill."
Brennan looked up from her computer to watch as her friend took a seat in her office. Brennan sighed to herself. She should have known she would not be able to hide the tension she was carrying from Angela. "What are you talking about Ange?" Brennan did not want to concern her friend. Plus the fact that Angela would run straight to Booth with the information. The last thing Brennan needed right now was Booth hovering over her in his best over-protective manner. Despite what everyone already knew of her past there were certain things best left buried.
"Bren" Angela rolled her eyes "This is me you're talking to. You're always early but this is crazy. You were here at 5:30 for three days. The last two you haven't gone home at all. And we don't even have a case." Brennan was always amazed at how Angela knew exactly how long. How was she supposed to explain to Angela she felt safer at the lab than at home?
"I just haven't been sleeping well this week." Brennan knew the best way around Angela was the truth, or at least part of it. She was never any good at lying anyway. "Really, Ange. That's it." Brennan reiterated. By the look on Angela's face she didn't believe her friend for a minute.
"What could possibly be keeping you up?" Angela wondered "I might understand if we were working on something major but, let's face it, things have been pretty dull around here lately." Brennan smiled. She had to admit that she missed the challenge her cases with Booth brought. Maybe something would be discovered over the weekend. Not that the discovery of a murder victim was a good thing but at least it was distracting.
"Must be nervous energy." Brennan shrugged "It's been a while since Booth and I have had a case. I guess things seem too calm." Brennan had looked back down at her computer while explaining to Angela. There was no way she could have gotten away with that explanation if she had looked Angela in the eye.
"Hmmm" Angela debated on how truthful Brennan was being "If you say so Sweetie. Just remember I'm here." Angela stood up to leave the office. She and Jack had weekend plans and if Brennan wasn't ready to talk then she might as well get going.
"Try to get some rest this weekend."
"Sure Ange" Brennan nodded absently. Brennan was putting together research for the remaining chapters of her book. She stayed at the lab late that night working on her novel before returning home.
Brennan fumbled with the lock on her apartment door, carrying her bag and 2 days' worth of mail. She turned and bolted the door after entering. She dropped her back and the mail on the dining room table before heading off to bed. Brennan was confident she had worked herself to the point she would sleep.
Brennan managed to sleep for six hours uninterrupted, more than any other night since receiving that notice. 8 am Saturday morning she flipped on the coffee pot, sat down at her table and perused her mail. A greeting card envelope was towards the bottom of the stack. Brennan didn't celebrate birthdays and even if she did hers was months away. She could not remember any popularly recognized holidays. Shrugging she opened the envelope.
The card was of a bird flying out from behind bars. "See you soon" was the only line scrawled on the inside of the card. The card dropped from her hand as she sat frozen in her chair. Double checking the address she realized the card came directly to her home. Not through her publisher and not through the Jeffersonian. Brennan did not need a signature or a return address to know where this had come from. He knows where I am was the only thought that ran through her head. She shook her head to clear out those thoughts. Booth. I should call Booth. As she picked up her cell she remember he had Parker for the weekend. Debating for a moment she put the phone back on the table. Booth did not get to spend enough time with Parker as it was. If she called he might cut the day short. Then she berated herself for considering calling him. You're becoming too dependent on Booth she told herself. She tried to think logically. A card meant nothing. She could take care of herself. She knew how to fight and she kept her gun in her bedside table. Besides, telling Booth or anyone else about the card meant telling them the whole story. She was not ready for that.
Nothing more happened over the weekend and Brennan began to relax. It had been silly of her to become so agitated in the first place. The nightmare hadn't stopped but it was not waking her up nearly as often either. Monday afternoon Booth strolled into her office at the Jeffersonian. "Hey Bones" He smiled at her "We've got a case."
Brennan was tempted to feel guilty at the relief that washed through her at those words. At least she would have fresh remains to focus on.