Chapter One
Emily
Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Bones. All characters belong to Hart Hanson, Kathy Reichs, FOX, and their respective owners.
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"Bones!" Booth roared as he raced after her in the deserted street. A sharp pain shot up his leg as he felt his not fully healed gunshot wound protest the strenuous exercise so soon after injury and he fell to his knees with pain etched in every line on his face.
"BONES!" He yelled again, hoping for once she would listen to him. "Don't you dare keep running!"
She didn't answer as she sped up in time with their suspect's racing footsteps. They turned a corner as she saw the suspect race into a warehouse, slamming the door behind him.
She slammed into the closed door before pulling the latch up and pulling it open.
She was greeted with complete darkness as she slowed her steps. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her flashlight as she fumbled in the darkness. Her breath came hard and fast from how hard she had been running.
A slight shift in the air followed up hurried footsteps. She whirled to find no one behind her. More scratches and footsteps. She whirled again, grappling for the gun that Booth had slipped into her pocket before they started the chase.
Just as her fingers closed around the weapon, she felt a heavy sharp object collide with the back of her skull. She dropped like a stone without uttering a sound as the weapon and flashlight tumbled from her hands. A shadow fell across her face as red blood oozed from the jagged gash on her head.
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She sat up breathing hard as she awoke from the nightmare. The black cami she was wearing felt scratchy against her skin. Sunlight streamed in from the spotless windows and birds chattered, welcoming the new day with endless enthusiasm.
She rubbed her forehead as she felt the beginnings of a migraine.
"Good morning beautiful." Came a soothing voice from the doorway.
She looked up into the eyes of a blue eyed man with a warm smile and jumped to her feet, her body automatically moving into a fighting stance while her mind had no recollection of where it had learned it.
"Where am I?" She asked, confusion written on her face. Her memory was foggy as if she had awoken from a ten year nap. She couldn't remember her own name or who she was. Panic rose in her chest.
"At home sweetheart, with me." He said softly, sitting down and taking her hand.
She pulled herself out of his range of touch. "Who's Bones?" She said outloud, voicing her thoughts without even realizing it.
He looked at her confused. "I'm Mark, you're Emily. Our last name is Shelby. I have no idea where Bones came from.
"My name is Emily?" She asked.
He sighed and looked at her feet. "It happened again didn't it?"
"What are you talking about?" she questioned. "And you better tell before I send your balls up to live in your throat."
"Sweetie just calm down." He soothed, "Here sit down."
He gave her a gentle pull and she plopped down on the side of the bed beside him. "You had an accident. Your memory hasn't been the same since. You have your off days where you don't remember me or our daughter or the life we've made." He explained gently.
She felt coldness seep under her skin. How could she have a family, everything she ever secretly wanted and not have any idea how she got it?
"What happened to me?" she asked.
"A very bad man named Seeley Booth hit you over the head while you were walking home one night. It was enough to cause some damage to the part of your brain that stores memory." Mark murmured softly.
She shook her head. "I don't remember." She whispered.
"I know, but it's okay. We'll just start over again, just like last time and the time before that." He reassured. "Now let's go see our daughter Kyra. You usually feel better after you play with her."
Brennan was a strong woman. She rarely felt scared and never intimidated, but right now she was frightened. She had no memory of this man or this house or the supposed daughter she had. She didn't remember, but this man's overwhelming charm did manage to convince her to trust him, at least for now. She followed him out of the room and thought to herself.
"If what he's saying is true, then he must be in more pain than me."
Part of her was curious, another was unsure, another was happy. The house was nice, beautiful. The sun was streaming through the curtains, she would hearing the soft babbling of a young child in another room. Everything seemed so normal. A family, a child, a husband that had just had her threaten to kick his ass yet held nothing against her.
She would have never said it outloud, but it felt as wrong as it was right. Who am I? she wondered. Is he lying? Emily better to find our for yourself.
She made up her mind to do so, but something compelled her to try this life. She didn't know why, something forced her to accept it, as if she had wanted it all along.
Still she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was sinisterly wrong despite the warm and sunny appearance of the world before her.
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Booth sat in his office staring off into a blank wall. His badge and gun lay untouched on his desk as he lost himself in his own thoughts.
Him falling as the pain shot up in his leg. A previous injury that came back to hit him at the worst possible moment. Her footsteps as she raced after the suspect. The lone flashlight and his gun laying in a puddle of red blood without a trace of her in sight. The time that passed between then and now.
He put his face in his hands and fought back the urge to be sick, to cry, to weep, to break. His job was to protect her and he failed. Not only that but she was still missing.
It had been six months. Six months of time not knowing if she was alive, dead, or in pain. In time, one by one of the squints had given up. Been convinced that she was dead. That she was never coming back.
Angela had married Hodgins recently after finally realizing that her best friend would never be her maid of honor. The wedding had been bittersweet with tears of grief mingled with tears of joy.
Camille had tried to hire a replacement but everyone that came left within a week. Booth made sure of that and in time, she gave up as well. No one could replace Bones' genius, her brilliance, how she never failed to miss a single detail. Her office now remained empty and Booth had made sure her stuff was left untouched. He refused to believe that she was dead and told himself that if she ever came back she would have been furious to find her stuff moved. He nearly laughed at the thought, Bones angry. It was a sight he loved to see. In fact, any expression she would have had, he would have been overjoyed to see. Simply just to see her again, hear her laugh, her quirky manner, anything.
Zach had found a job elsewhere after realizing his teacher and mentor was not going to return. He was smart and he had known he would have never found anyone who could've taught him as much as Brennan did. He had left and torn by the bitter memories left in the Jeffersonian, and soon after Angela and Hodgins had as well.
Booth, however, could not leave. He could not believe she was dead despite the fact that everyone else told him so. He couldn't find her. He couldn't let her go.
She was so strong, always telling him that she could take care of herself. She was a fighter and he put his faith in her to stay alive and to wait for him to save her. He did before and he refused to give in now.
"Bones..." He whispered softly, hoping that somewhere out there she could hear him. "I'm not giving up, not on you. Never on you."
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Author's Note:
This is my first Bones story so I'm hoping everyone liked it. Tell me if you think I should continue or not. Thanks for reading!
