THE DARK WOODS.

Hi guys. I know i said at the end of 'Confessions' that my next update would be chapter two of 'A Picture Tells a Story:The green eyed monster. But its going to be delayed; I decided that our B and B should have a little good old fashioned quality time together before i make things complicated. I need some drama free chapters [at least as drama free as B and B can get] so here's my new fic and i'll be continuing with 'The green eyed Monster after this fic.

Brennan watched as Booth drove towards Pennsylvania. The peaceful silence washed over her, as she stared out the window watching the rain fall down. Brennan sighed. She was tired of the rain. She wished it would stop at some point, but the rain refused to listen to her wishes. The water kept on falling, first gently and then more harder. They had listened to the radio for two hours but the music Brennan liked to listen to drove Booth crazy. And then they spent another few hours arguing, first about Booth never letting Brennan drive and then about little things. Booth had gotten pretty tired of Brennan arguing about the driving issue so he had given into her; if only to shut her up for a while. And then Brennan had decided that she was tired and she let Booth drive again after their stop to get more petrol and lunch. Brennan realised that the rain wouldnt stop for awhile so she decided to sit back and enjoy the rain rather than spend the last of the few hours unpleasantly hating the weather and wishing it would clear up. She closed her eyes and tried to stop worrying about the series of unsolved cases that Cam had told her about yesterday evening...

Cam glanced at Booth and Brennan as they sat down in her office.

'Brennan you have been excused from working here for the next two weeks. Local law enforcement in Pennsylvania have asked for the FBI's help to solve a series of unsolved murder cases in the area. Booth, you've already been briefed by the FBI. But here's what they all have so far in the way of evidence. Cam said pointing to five files worth of unsolved cases. You'll have access to particulates and the bodies which have been exhumed at the request of the coroner and the families who havent gotten any answers. We'll all keep in touch via conference if you need any help with evidence; but generally you'll have everything you need.' Said Cam, watching Booth and Brennan look at each other before standing up and grabbing the case files and get ready for their long road trip towards Pennsylvania.

Cam smiled to herself as she watched them go. Booth insisting on carrying the files for her, and Brennan insisting that she didnt need any help carrying files. Quality time. She thought to herself, is exactly what those two need right now. She had to laugh as Brennan punched Booth on the shoulder and Booth pretending that Brennan's punch had hurt him.

Booth smiled as he watched Brennan sleep. He was glad for the peace and quiet; normally he preferred listening to sportcasts while driving but he had gotten really tired of listening to Brennan jabber on and on about letting her drive and about little things that only kids would argue about. He stopped the car and glanced at the huge mansion that they were staying in. The site of the five unsolved murders, Booth thought to himself. He had reservations about bringing his partner to a hotel/mansion place that had been the site of so many murders but Brennan had refused to allow him to talk her out of going with him; he admitted to himself that he was annoyed that she was never worried when it came to herself but he also admired that about her; he loved the fact that she never backed down, that she would do what she had to to get justice for the people out there who were murdered, the people who were still here to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Because Brennan had insisted that she and her team go through all the evidence again, with fresh unbiased eyes, the Pennsylvania police and FBI had decided to set up the second floor with most or all the technology they would need to reprocess evidence in order to solve the unsolved cases; He glanced at all the trees that the wind lashed at violently and that were planted all around the mansion and he looked around nervously; he noticed how dark it seemed; too much shade and trees meant that if the murderer or stranger decided to sneak up on them they had an added advantage of having plenty of places to hide where they could not be seen. The glass windows on the top story were all smashed and he shuddered as the branches of the tallest tree kept tapping on the few panes of glass that were left there. The murderer has a way in, Booth thought. He had to check out the attic as soon as possible. True, the murderer would have to be a good climber or he'd need a ladder to get into the house; but Booth hoped that the murderer would not be too smart; not much chance of that. If he's smart enough to get away with five murders and not leave behind much evidence then he's pretty intelligent. Booth thought to himself grimly. He glanced at the falling trellises of plants; roses. Or they would have been if someone had carefully tended to them. He looked over at his partner who was fitfully sleeping. He hated to wake her up, but they needed to get inside before it started to rain heavily again. He looked at the clouds that were dark and brooding and he knew that they had very little time before it would start raining heavily again.

Brennan jumped as she felt a hand on her. She opened her eyes, heart pounding and found Booth inches away from her face. He was grinning as he realised that he had scared her.

'Dont do that again Booth.' she said.

'Dont do what? Bones. He said, ignoring the frown she gave him. I'm sorry, did i scare you?'

'Of course not, Booth.'

He grinned. But didnt call her on the lie she just told. Instead he said. 'We're here, Bones. End of the line. Its going to rain again, pretty hard by the looks of it. Let's see if we can get all our stuff on the porch before it rains again, huh?'

Brennan glanced at him, still annoyed but she took on the challenge immediately. 'Last one in has to cook dinner tonight.' She said as she rushed by him and grabbed her bags. She laughed as she passed Booth, who was standing by the car by the time she was standing on the porch.

'Hey, that wasnt fair. You had a head start.' He said as he grabbed his bag and locked the car. He had just reached the porch when the rain began to pour.

Brennan shivered slightly as she looked around at her surroundings.

'Lots of trees, three levels, weeds, lots of shade, out in the middle of nowhere, stormy weather. Classic haunted house. These places are designed to play on your fears.' Said Brennan.

'You dont believe in ghosts. Why dont you just admit that you're scared and that you find this place, creepy.' Said Booth teasingly.

'I'm not scared, Booth. She said with a snort. Ghosts arent real. Its just trees. Its just darkness. There's no monsters in the dark. Its just the rain, the wind and the trees. Its the atmosphere and the movies you watch that put ideas in your head.'

Brennan grabbed the ball shaped doorknocker and Booth almost winced slightly as she dragged the doorknocker back and forth. Brennan grinned slyly as she noticed his wince. The door screeched open and Booth watched as Brennan's face lost colour and her ear shattering scream pierced the air...

TBC.