Okay, so this is one of the stories I started writing ages ago but never got finished. I had a sudden burst of inspiration and thrashed out the last half in a few hours so I'm sorry if it seems rushed or there are mistakes.
Neighbour Neighbour
As Temperance Brennan rolls over in her large double bed, her cheek meets the cool material of the pillow and she sighs contentedly. Then her eyes fly open wide and she sits up, clutching the sheets around her. Snapping her head around she looks at the alarm clock and sees that it is flashing 00:00 indicating its power supply was cut. Climbing quickly out of bed, Brennan frantically looks on her dresser for her watch to find out what time it actually is. When she locates the chunky leather and gold trimmed watch she sees it is almost eight thirty.
"I'm late." She gasps. The next half hour flies by as Brennan has a quick shower and gets ready for work. Dr Saroyan is expecting her in a meeting at nine thirty and if she's late her new boss will hit the roof. When Brennan finally has her jacket and bag in her hands, she pulls her keys out and yanks open her apartment door. As she steps out into the hall she collides with someone and drops everything in her hands.
"I am so sorry." A soft male voice says.
"No it was my fault." Brennan replies as she crouches on the ground to pick up her belongings.
"Let me help." The man says, crouching next to her. Brennan lifts her head enough to see him. He looks to be in his mid thirties with sandy brown hair and glasses over dark brown eyes. He smiles and rises to his feet with Brennan following.
"I'm Evan, Evan Mitchell." He smiles warmly at Brennan.
"Uh, Temperance Brennan." She introduces.
"I've just moved into the building." He tells her, indicating with his hand that he has moved into the apartment directly opposite Brennan.
"Well welcome." Brennan says almost automatically. "I'm late, I have to go."
"No problem neighbour." Evan grins. "I'll see you around." He says as Brennan breezes past him and down the hall.
"A cute new neighbour?" Angela squeals when she hears about Brennan's encounter this morning.
"I never said anything about him being cute Angela." Brennan rolls her eyes.
"But he is right?"
"He isn't not cute." Brennan cocks her head to the side. "I only saw him for a minute."
"Saw who?" Booth grins as he strides into Brennan's office like he owns it.
"Don't you knock anymore?" Brennan asks as she turns her head to look at him. Booth merely shrugs, smiles at Angela, and plops himself down in the chair opposite her.
"Brennan has a new neighbour." Angela explains. "She was just telling me how cute he was."
"For the last time I did not say he was cute." Brennan feels a little flustered that she is discussing another man with Booth in the room and to get away from the situation she quickly rises to her feet and crosses the room to her bookcase.
"I'm a little busy here so if you came for a reason Booth." She waits for him to explain his presence, not that she minds that he's here in the slightest.
"Can't I just stop by to say hello." Booth asks as he twists in his chair to grin at her.
"Of course you can." Angela answers for Brennan. "We love having you round." Angela flashes her eyebrows up and down cheekily.
"Thanks Angela." Booth turns to grin at the other woman. "But I did actually come for a reason." He claps his hands together and rises to his feet. "Bones, I need you to come with me to Virginia."
"What for? Brennan asks as she pulls a book off the shelf and turns back to face him.
"Some kids found a skeleton in a federal park and I need you to do your magic." Brennan sighs and makes like she doesn't want to go when inside she's thinking about spending the rest of the day with Booth.
"Fine." She sighs. "But it's not magic." She adds.
It's after one in the morning when Brennan finally gets back to her apartment. Weary and with the beginnings of a headache the last thing Brennan needs to see is her new neighbour. But she does. When she approaches his door he exits his.
"Temperance." He smiles. "How are you?" he asks.
"Fine thanks." She replies as she sticks her keys in the door.
"Is this you just getting back from work?" he questions.
"I work odd hours." Brennan explains as she rubs her one temple.
"Long ones by looks of things." Evan smiles. "I'll see you later." He gives her a little wave as he heads down the hall. Brennan doesn't even bother to think why he's leaving his apartment in the middle of the night. All she wants is a couple of painkillers and to curl up in bed.
But she doesn't get that. Only an hour after she has lain down in bed her smoke alarm starts going off. After forcing her eyes open, Brennan climbs out of bed and pads through to the living room in her pyjamas to see what has caused it. She can't see anything on fire or creating smoke. As she drags a chair from the table to under the smoke alarm she hears a knocking at her door. Who the hell is that? She moans to herself before she crosses the room and yanks open the door.
"Evan!" she exclaims.
"Sorry, I was just coming home and heard the smoke alarm. Is everything alright?" he peers over her shoulder into her apartment.
"Yes. It just started going off by itself." Brennan tells him. "I'm about to take the battery out." She sighs.
"I can take a look at it." Evan offers. "I used to fit these." He tells her. Brennan looks a little reluctant to let him in but she caves after a moment. What can it hurt? She thinks. Stepping aside she lets Evan enter. He walks to the smoke alarm, steps on the chair and seconds later the beeping stops.
"There was a loose connection." Evan announces. "It's fixed now." He adds as he steps down.
"Thank you." Brennan replies.
"Anytime." Evan tells her. "I'm always here to help." He heads back over to the door. "Goodnight Temperance." he adds as he steps back into the hall and moves to his own door. Brennan hovers by her open door as he goes into his apartment before closing and locking the door. Peace
Brennan begins to see more and more of her new neighbour. It feels strange to her to be friendly with a neighbour. She's never really spoken to anyone else in the building before but Evan seems to be around a lot and he is incredibly friendly, despite the occasions when Brennan was deliberately more anti-social than normal. It becomes almost a ritual of her greeting him as they pass in the hall in the morning then stopping for a conversation when she returns after work. One afternoon he invites her in for coffee.
"Uh sure." Brennan replies. She steps into his apartment, remarking to herself how similar it is to her own in layout, except the actual design of the furniture. Evan quickly puts the coffee on as Brennan slips into a seat at the table in the kitchen.
"So, what is it you do that has you keeping such odd hours?" Evan asks.
"I'm a forensic anthropologist." Brennan tells him.
"What does that mean?"
"I specialise in identifying human remains….of people." She adds.
"Wow, that must be interesting work." Evan remarks.
"Most people think it's weird." She tells him.
"What sort of remains do you work on?" Evan questions further.
"I work at the Jeffersonian Institute. Some of my work is on remains of unknown soldiers from wars. I also get to look at ancient remains but most of my work these days is for the FBI."
"The FBI?" Evan asks as he hands her a hot cup of coffee.
"Yes." She states. "I help them identify murder victims and catch the killer." She takes a sip of the coffee.
"Well I think you must have the most interesting job I've ever heard of." He smiles at her. Brennan suddenly realises something and it surprises her that she picks up on it. Remembering something that Booth said to her over a year ago when they went to Washington State to work on a case, Brennan realises that Evan is hitting on her. He's showing a lot of interest in her work like the men in Aurora did when dancing with her in the bar. She starts to feel uncomfortable because she hardly knows him, and truth be told her heart lies elsewhere and she doesn't want to complicate things by starting a new relationship with unresolved feelings for someone else.
"Uh I guess." She replies. "Evan, thank you for the coffee but I really should get some rest." She rises to her feet and heads for the door.
"Anytime Temperance." Evan grins at her.
In the morning as Brennan tries to get ready she finds her water is not working. Sighing heavily she calls Booth on his cell to let him know she's going to be late.
"Problems?" Booth asks, finding it odd that Brennan would be late.
"My water isn't working." She explains. "I have to call the super. He'll take forever."
"I can swing by, see if I can fix it." Booth offers.
"I don't want to put you out." Brennan replies.
"No problem Bones." Booth smiles to himself. Spending time outside the lab with Brennan is always a treat no matter the circumstances.
Booth arrives at Brennan's apartment a little before nine. He finds her still wearing her pyjamas and it makes him smile to see her wearing pink cotton pyjamas with little kittens printed on them.
"Hey, so where's the main?" he asks. Brennan sends him over to the corner of the apartment where the main pipe bringing water to the building enters her apartment. She watches as Booth gets to work examining the pipe and the surround ones leading to her various appliances, namely the shower. As he works there is a knock at the door. Brennan pads over and pulls the door open, not at all surprised to see Evan standing there. Lately he seems to be the only one knocking on her door, except for Booth this morning of course.
"Hey, is your water out?" he asks.
"Uh yeah." She replies.
"Mine was too but I fixed it. You want me to take a look?" he asks.
"Um no, thank you. My uh friend is looking at it now." She turns and looks over at Booth. Evan sticks his head in the door and his eyes widen when he sees Booth.
"Right." He nods.
"Bones, the problem's fixed." Booth calls from the floor. When she doesn't immediately respond he stands up and sees her at the door talking to a man.
"Bones?" he calls over.
"Uh Booth, this is my neighbour. Evan Mitchell. Evan, my partner Seely Booth." Booth walks over and eyes up the neighbour.
"Special Agent Seely Booth." He offers his hand to Evan and when it's accepted he shakes it firmly, establishing dominance.
"Ah, the FBI guy." Evan nods. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to it if everything is under control?" he looks to Temperance, hoping she'll ask for his help.
"Yes, everything is under control." Booth voices for her. "See you." He waves off Evan as Brennan stands glaring at him. When the door is closed and they are alone she turns to him.
"You didn't have to be rude Booth."
"He's weird." Booth replies. "You don't want someone like that hanging around you.
"How would you know?" Brennan plants her hands on her hips in an attempt to look angry at him for being judgemental. For Booth it doesn't work because she just looks cute in her pyjamas.
"My gut." He tells her. The two glare at each other for a moment the Brennan breaks the moment and stalks off to the bathroom to finally get her shower.
If Brennan believed in such things as bad luck, she'd think she'd walked under a ladder or broken a mirror her luck is so bad. Things keep breaking, like her microwave, oven and leaky pipes and just this morning she finds the passenger window of her car smashed in To top it all off, a couple of nights ago Evan scared some guy away from her door in the middle of the night who, according to Evan, looking like he was trying to break in. Fortunately Brennan had not been home but the scratch marks on her door at the locks spoke for the incident. She had thanked Evan for being there and chasing the guy away.
Now, as she tells Angela of the smashed window both she and Booth who, as always, enters the room when she's discussing something she doesn't want him to know, both voice deep concern.
"What do you mean someone smashed your car window?" Booth demands.
"Just that Booth." Brennan brushes past him to move around behind her desk.
"Bones?" Booth plants his hands on his waist and stares at her.
"What do you want me to say?" she asks. "That I think some psycho is out to get me? Come on Booth, these things happen." She tells him. "It was probably kids."
"She's right Booth." Angela voices. Part of her worries it wasn't but there doesn't seem to be another rational explanation.
"And if not?" Booth asks.
"That's what you're here for." Brennan grins. "Unless you get me that gun." She waggles her eyebrows playfully.
"Just promise me you'll be careful." Booth says. Brennan gives him a look that tells Booth 'I can take care of myself' and Booth backs down for now. He can't help but feel overprotective of his partner. They've been through so much together and they encounter dangerous situations all the time.
"Bren, I know you brushed it off in front of Booth but I'm getting a little worried about all these incidents." Angela tells her friend. "Don't you think it's weird that things keep going wrong?" she asks.
"Not really." Brennan shrugs.
"Come on, the smoke alarm, the leaking pipes, the smashed car window, the attempted break in." Angela recounts the recent incidents and now that it's all been run together and coming from someone else, Brennan starts to think twice.
"I'm just having a run of bad luck." Brennan says. "And there was no proof that anyone was outside my apartment except for a few scratches on the door which I could have made myself." She states.
"Brennan, I don't want to freak you out but haven't you noticed that all this started happening when that new guy moved into your building?" Angela asks.
"Angela, Evan may keep odd hours and maybe I don't know much about him but he's not doing any of this." Brennan walks away from Angela to her desk.
"Just think about it sweetie." Angela offers before heading back to work.
Late in the evening, Brennan wakes from a troubled sleep with a start, sensing someone is in the room with her. As she sits up a figure steps out of the shadows.
"Don't be scared Temperance. It's me, Evan." He friendly neighbour says.
"Evan, what are you doing?"
"I'm looking out for you Temperance." He says softly. "So many bad things have been happening and you won't ask me for help."
"I don't need help." Brennan states. "I'd like you to leave." She doesn't really think her words will work but she has to try.
"I can't do that." Evan says. As he steps into the moonlight, Brennan sees he is holding a large carving knife in his hand.
"Evan, why do you have a knife?" Brennan asks. As he advances, she moves across the bed so she can get out. When she finds her feet Evan is walking around to her, pointing the knife at her. He doesn't answer Brennan's question, instead moving closer to her. The next few minutes pass in a blur as Brennan and Evan enter a deadly fight. She utilises all her self defence training to escape, hitting and punching Evan but receiving a few knocks herself. A searing pain in her side suddenly tells her she's lost the fight. Evan disappears into the darkness in a flash as Brennan stumbles across her bedroom, her hand pressed against her side. Her mind races as she feels a warm sticky substance she knows is blood from a stab wound. When she hears her apartment door slam shut she knows that she is safe for now, as long as she doesn't bleed to death.
A few minutes later in the kitchen, Brennan presses her hand to the cut on her side. A trail of blood leads from her bedroom across the apartment to where she is propped up against a counter taking deep breaths. Clutching the phone, Brennan dials Booth's number with a shaky hand.
"Booth." He answers after a few rings.
"It's me." Brennan gasps.
"Bones, it's the middle of the night." He says groggily.
"I know." Brennan says before gasping loudly. I need you
"Bones?" Booth hears something off in her voice. "Bones, what's wrong?" he probes.
"Evan." Brennan whispers. Help me
"What about him?"
"He stabbed me." Brennan tells him. In his bed, Booth sits bolt upright, a cold fear running through him.
"Bones, where are you?"
"Home."
"Where's Evan?"
"Gone." She whispers.
"Don't move, I'll be right over." Hurry
Booth calls the police and an ambulance on his way to Brennan's. He gets there in record time because there is no traffic at 3am. When he bursts through the door with his gun drawn he looks for Brennan but doesn't see her.
"Bones!" he calls out, his voice just a little shaky.
"Booth." Brennan croaks from her slumped position on the kitchen floor. Booth runs over, holstering his gun at the same time. His eyes scan over the bruise on her cheek and the deep red stain spreading over her white vest. Her face is pale and ashy and her brow beaded with sweat. Kneeling at her side, Booth gently lifts her vest away from her skin to see the wound. There is an inch long gash in her side bleeding profusely.
"Oh God Bones." He gasps. "I've called an ambulance. You're going to be fine." He assures her. "Bones, look at me." He lifts her chin with two fingers and locks eyes with her. "You're going to be fine." He tells her again, a little firmer. Brennan nods and sucks in a deep breath. She already feels a little safer now that he is here with her. Glancing around, Booth looks for something to use to stop the bleeding. He notices a dishcloth and reaches over to grab it. Folding the dishcloth he presses it firmly against Brennan's side. She cries out in pain but Booth maintains the pressure.
"I'm sorry Bones, I have to try and stop the bleeding." He tells her, focusing on her eyes. She keeps their gaze and nods her head.
"Tell me what happened."
"Evan was in my room." She says. "He had a knife. We fought and he stabbed me."
"Was he hurt?" Booth asks.
"I don't know. I might have…" Brennan trails off, a wave of pain and nausea coming over her.
"Bones?"
"I hit him pretty hard." She says weakly.
"That's my girl." Booth smiles and brushes his hand over her forehead and hair, giving Brennan a small amount of comfort despite her pain.
Brennan is rushed to hospital with Booth at her side the whole way. A quick analysis by the ER staff confirms that the wound is deep and needs immediate surgery so Brennan is whisked off to have the wound closed and her lost fluids restored. Booth has the unenviable task of calling Angela to tell her what has happened to her best friend. When he's done he waits patiently to see Brennan. Angela arrives before the surgeons are done so the two wait together.
"I knew there was something wrong with him but she wouldn't listen to me." Angela almost sounds angry.
"Go easy on her Angela. You realise that as screwed up as this turned out, this is the first time Bones has let someone into her life own her own. She's probably kicking herself for trusting him right now."
"I guess you're right." Angela agrees. "I'll just yell at her for not locking her door properly." She breaks a little smile. Booth is suddenly distracted by a doctor approaching them from down the hall.
"Here we go." He stands up and Angela rises with him, wringing her hands with worry.
"Agent Booth, Temperance is going to be just fine. We've repaired the damage and closed the wound. Right now she's in recovery but you'll be able to see her in a few hours when we move her to a room." He smiles. Booth and Angela both let out an audible sigh of relief and Angela suddenly throws her arms around Booth, hugging him tightly for a moment.
"Someone will call you when you can see her." As the surgeon walks away, Booth and Angela return to their seats to wait, this time the worry all but gone. Booth still knows that Evan Mitchell is out there on the loose and very unstable.
After a few days of rest in the hospital Brennan is released. Although she's happy to be getting out, she isn't sure about going home to her apartment. After what happened there she isn't sure she feels safe. When she walks out of her room to meet Angela who is supposed to be taking her one, one arm held protectively over her stomach and side where she has quite a few stitches, she finds not her best friend but Booth waiting with an anxious smile on his face.
"Need a ride?" he asks. Brennan smiles and cocks her head to the side.
"Where's Angela?" Brennan asks.
"She got held up at the lab." Booth explains. "She asked me to come get you."
"I suppose you'll do." Brennan smiles at him.
"Let me take that." Booth reaches out for the bag Brennan is holding in her other hand. She willingly gives it to him, the weight stretching her body and irritating her wound. "I thought you'd want to know. Evan Mitchell was picked up by the police last night." Booth tells her. Brennan remains silent. "His real name is Walter Rifkin and he has a record as long as…well lets' jut say you weren't the first person to have an encounter with him." Booth says gravely.
"How many?"
"Five reported assaults." Booth states. "One murder." He adds, hoping not to upset her too much.
"Oh."
"Don't worry Bones, he's behind bars and he's not getting out." Booth states as he puts his free arm around Brennan's shoulder and guides her down the hall to the elevator.
Across town a police transport vehicle carrying several prisoners to court for hearings and trials comes to a stop at a set of lights on an empty stretch of road. There are several loud thuds and a bang before the rear doors are thrown open and four men in orange jumpsuits leap out onto the deserted street. Evan, or Walter as his birth certificate states, looks around anxiously before running off into in the direction of some abandoned warehouses. He doesn't see, or care, where the other prisoners have gone. He only has one thing on his mind. Making Temperance Brennan his….forever.
So I've left this wide open for a second chapter. Right now I haven't written a word of the second chapter and I have no idea where it will go so I'll wait for any reviews I get before carrying on. If you liked this and want me to continue, you know what you have to do. Go on, press the little button, you know you want to…..