A/N: Please remember that this story is AU. If you have time to leave a review, I'd appreciate it.

So cold...it is so damn cold...the kind of cold where you think you'll never be warm again. The kind of cold that wears you out...it pulls you down...the kind of cold that makes you feel like you're sinking deeper and deeper...so damn cold…

Oooooooooo

Temperance Brennan briskly walked down the steps to the Jeffersonian's basement and pushed open the double doors that led to the bone storage room. Casting a backwards glance at her intern, she frowned as he tried to keep up with her. "Come along, Mr. Bray. We have work to do."

"Yes, Dr. Brennan." Following his mentor into the storeroom, the young man grimaced as he looked up at the towering shelves that held the many drawer-like containers of skeletal remains. For some reason he didn't completely understand, Limbo always gave him the creeps, even though he'd worked with several sets of human remains upstairs in the lab during his internship. Maybe it's because we don't know who these people are, or what happened to them...isn't this what everyone really fears? Dying alone, and no one knows what happened to you…forgotten...lost to the world forever. He struggled to quell his irrational discomfort as he pulled on his exam gloves. Come on...no big deal, right? Nothing to be afraid of down here...

All business, Brennan bustled around the stainless steel examination table in the middle of the room. Taking one of the tubs from lower part of the shelving, she placed it on the end of the table and began to unpack its contents. "I'll need you to watch carefully as I take these measurements for our new project, Mr. Bray. Because you're so detail oriented, it would help me a great deal if you could learn to take these measurements accurately and then enter them in the computer files. Here...I'll show you what I have in mind." She noted the number on the outside of the tub. "05121997UFA. You scan this number into this tablet, and it brings up the file. You can then open the file and enter the appropriate measurements and pictures of the remains. Angela will then be able to use the information to create an approximate 3D rendering of the person's appearance when they were alive. That image may then be used to assist us in finding out the person's identity."

They worked for several minutes together, concentrating on what they were doing, when Brennan stopped suddenly. "Why is that tub pulled away from the shelving?" She pointed over Wendell's shoulder to one of the upper shelves where a container was jutting out of its shelf. "We need to put that back in its proper position before it falls out."

"I'll take care of it, Dr. Brennan." Pulling over a medium sized step stool, Wendell climbed up and pushed the container back into its correct slot. "There we go. I don't know how it came loose…"

"It doesn't really matter." She picked up the skull and handed it to her intern. "So now that we've taken all of the measurements, we need to note any obvious anomalies, and then it'll be time for the photographs. Angela has listed what types of photographs she wants of the skull so she can make a more accurate facial reconstruction…close ups and the different angles..."

Brennan was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a plastic tub sliding off of its shelf. Clearly irritated, she pointed up at the same container. "I thought you put that box back where it belonged, Mr. Bray."

"I did, Dr. Brennan, and I pushed it in firmly, making sure it was as far into the slot as it could go." Pulling the step stool over again, Wendell climbed up and pushed the box back into its cubby hole. "I don't understand why this one slid out of its space. It fits perfectly…it's not loose at all."

"Perhaps we are experiencing earthquake tremors. Washington is in a seismically active zone, and the rolling motion of the surface waves could jar that container loose." Shrugging, Brennan bent over the skeleton on the table, taking more pictures of the skull. "That must be it."

"I didn't notice any unusual movements in the building, Dr. Brennan…", Wendell said cautiously, not wanting to annoy her, "...but even if it was a tremor, wouldn't more of the boxes be jarred loose? It was just that one…" Wendell paused as they heard the sound of a plastic tub sliding on its shelf. "...and that's the same one, isn't it?"

Brennan nodded as she looked up at the container, chewing her lip slightly as she studied the shelving unit. Many years of working in bone storage had inured her against the horror of the anonymous death surrounding them, but she was beginning to feel slightly nervous. Nonsense! She scolded herself severely as she moved the bones she'd been examining from the table back to their container. There must be a logical, rational explanation for that occurrence. Containers simply cannot move by themselves. Objects at rest stay at rest unless acted on by an outside force. "It may be that the runners on the shelf are damaged. I'll put in a request for maintenance to inspect that set of shelves. It may be that the section holding that container is worn out or faulty."

"Yeah...that's a good idea." Looking over his shoulder, Wendell shuddered slightly. The box had been pulled away from the shelf, protruding about halfway out from its slot. There's no way that drawer slid out by itself. Not wanting to appear superstitious in front of his mentor, he nodded. "I'll go push that box back where it belongs, and I'll check the runners." Climbing up on the step stool, he put the box back into its proper position, noticing that it took some effort to slide it back into place. He called down to Brennan. "This drawer has a lot of bones in it, Dr. B. It's kind of heavy to be sliding out by itself on these runners. I'm not sure what's causing it to move…"

"I suppose it's not anything we need to be concerned about at the moment. We should concentrate on the task at hand." After closing the computer file, Brennan returned the tub she'd been working on to its proper location on a lower shelf. "I'd like to have you practice those skeletal measurements under my direct supervision now before I allow you to work on this project by yourself. Here's another container…" She set a box on the table and began arranging the bones in their anatomical position. "I have confidence in you, Mr. Bray. You should be able to become proficient at this task quite easily."

Not thrilled at the thought of working in bone storage by himself, Wendell nodded slowly as he heard the box slide out of its slot again. "Yeah...great. Thanks. I'm glad you trust me like that, Dr. B." Carefully studying the bones on the table, he sighed. Just what I wanted to do, right? Work in a creepy underground storeroom full of old bones where inanimate objects move by themselves.

They worked on the remains from several more containers, each of them pretending not to notice that the offending drawer had moved out away from its shelf again. It was late in the afternoon when they finished the measurements on the last set of remains that Brennan had selected.

"Very good, Mr. Bray. You've been able to learn the skills I wanted to teach you in a very short period of time, as I knew you would. When you're not working on a case for the FBI, you may work down here in bone storage. I'm sure you'll be able to use the income provided by the extra hours of work, correct?" Brennan pulled off her gloves, throwing them away before she untied her lab apron. "This sort of work is very important in our providing names and faces to these unknown individuals. When you do this sort of menial labor, it allows me additional time to conduct the more difficult work involved in identification."

"Um...yeah. Thanks, Dr. B. I appreciate you training me to do something so I can make some extra money." He took off his gloves and tossed them in the trash can. "I'm attending a seminar on fracture remodeling all day tomorrow, but I can begin working down here on Wednesday if you want." He cringed as he realized what he'd just said. Shit...did I really just volunteer to work on this project right away? I could use the money, but I'm not really sure I want to be down here by myself with all of these boxes of remains…"I'm gonna fix that drawer, okay?" Climbing the stool one more time, Wendell pushed the drawer back into its slot.

"That will be satisfactory." She opened the door before flicking off the light switch. "Have a good evening, Wendell."

"Thanks. You, too."

Both of them hesitated as they heard the drawer slide out of its slot.

Brennan smiled faintly at her companion. "I'll call maintenance about that drawer before I leave this afternoon."

"Good."

They quickly walked up the stairs, anxious to leave the odd happenings of bone storage behind them.

Oooooooooo

"Hey, Bones…" Booth walked into Brennan's office, but finding it empty, he looked around the lab, wondering where she was. Checking his watch, he was grumbled to himself. He was right on time for their meeting about the Haggerty case, but she was nowhere to be found. Supposing that she'd lost track of time while she was working on a set of remains, he decided to wait in her office for a few minutes. He plopped down on the couch and took out his phone to check his messages, but there were none, so he tried to busy himself by checking some baseball scores. Stupid Phillies. They need a couple of new pitchers... After waiting for his partner for a quarter of an hour, he found himself growing drowsy, and after removing his jacket and making himself comfortable as he stretched out on the sofa, he was soon snoring softly.

Where am I? It was snowing heavily as he walked along a muddy, narrow path. It was pitch black, and there was very little noise...almost no sound. Just the sound of boots crunching the heavy, wet snow and some muffled sounds in the distance...was that thunder? He was cold...so horribly cold. Pulling his heavy jacket closer, he shivered, wishing he could get out his wet clothes...out of the snowy weather, out of the cold...but there was nowhere to go...nowhere to go except forward. Where am I going? I can't see...It's black, and it's cold...so damn cold…can't feel my feet...so tired...my bones...want my bones...

"Booth? Booth, wake up." Angela stood over him, smiling as she gently tried to rouse him. "Hey, Studly...you've been dreaming…"

"Umf? What?" He shook his head, rubbing his eyes as he tried to shake off his sleepiness. "Oh, hey, Angela…what's going on?" He sat up and looked around the room, surprised to find himself warm and dry in his partner's office. What a crazy dream. He tried to shake off his discomfort and uneasiness, smiling faintly at the artist. "I guess I dozed off."

"Yeah, you were sound asleep. I practically had to shake you to wake you up. Are you okay? You look like you don't feel good." Tilting her head to one side, she studied him closely as he shivered slightly. "You're really pale…"

"Nah, I'm fine. I just had a bad dream, that's all." Yawning and stretching, Booth looked around the office as if to get his bearings. "Um...where's Bones? It's after three. She should be here by now...we had an appointment this afternoon."

Angela shrugged as she sat down opposite of him. "She and Wendell are down in bone storage, working on a new method of cataloging the remains of the unidentified bodies in Limbo. They're going to enter measurements into some computer files so I can use them to make facial reconstructions that we can provide to law enforcement agencies all over the country via email. It might help us identify more missing people whose bones are down in Limbo."

"Yeah, that's great, I guess, but me and her had an appointment to discuss the Haggerty case. Caroline's worried about having enough solid evidence for the conviction, and she's been on my back, wanting me to make sure Bones has everything just right before we go to trial. I tried to tell her that it wasn't necessary...we got this, just like always, but you know how stubborn Caroline can be." Grumbling to himself, he slowly got up from the couch, smoothing his shirt and tie as he picked up his suit jacket. "Sorry if I bothered you with my nightmare, Angela. No hard feelings, okay? I'm just gonna go down to bone storage and see what Bones is up to." Still unsettled and shuddering slightly, he waved to her as he left Brennan's office.

Walking back to her own office, Angela puzzled over what had happened. It seemed like Booth had been calling out for Bones in his sleep. He'd sounded so sad...it was almost like she'd been listening to someone else call out. He said he'd had a bad dream, but something didn't quite seem right. He'd seemed stunned...scared...unhappy, and he'd been shivering in the middle of the summer...it must've been a terrible dream.

Angela sat down at her desk and opened one of the newly updated files from Limbo. As she entered the measurements into her reconstruction program, she tried to shake off the feeling that something strange was about to happen. Brushing off her nervousness, she was concentrating on making some adjustments to the rendering on her monitor when she heard a small noise in her doorway.

"Good afternoon, Angela…" A petite blonde woman entered the room and stood in front of her desk.

Angela smiled up at her visitor. "Hello, Avalon…"