Finally, this story is done! It took almost a year to write, but it was worth it :)

Chapter 1

"Skull and Bones'

The night was dark when Temperance Brennan entered her apartment with an arm full of mail. She closed the door with her spare foot, and clicked the light switch with her elbow. She headed toward the counter and plopped her armload of papers and packages onto it. She smiled, happy to free herself of the load and started to organize the letters and packages into piles. "Ad, bill, fan mail." Her eyes drifted to one peculiar package. It was brown, quite large, and very carefully packaged. She looked at her piles, and decided to open it first. She grasped the bronze letter opener and sliced through the tape with ease. She didn't remember ordering anything. It probably was just an author sending her their transcript to their book.

Carefully she opened the sides of the box. As she glanced inside the box, her mouth dropped. The contents of the box consisted of a skull. She opened her purse and removed a pair of latex gloves and pulled them on. She clutched the skull and carefully pulled it out of the box. She held it up to the fluorescent kitchen light to more carefully examine it. She tapped the skull with the nail of her index finger. "Plastic," she stated quizzically. "It looks so real." Holding the skull up to the light she rotated it slowly to study it from every angle. She discovered that the back of the skull held a meticulous engraving in bold letters.
Temperance read the engraving aloud,

"COME AND SEE WHERE THIS VICTIM WILL LAY, FOR SHE WILL DIE IN JUST ONE DAY."

Temperance speed dialed her FBI partner Agent Seeley Booth. Booth and her were crime-fighting partners. She used her intelligence in the field of Forensic Anthropology, and he used his street like skills. Together, they solved countless murders, and gave back the identity of victims that essentially had lost their faces.

"Booth speaking" He said groggily, rubbing his tired eyes. He lay in his bed, and had been sleeping until the phone rang.

"Booth," Temperance began nervously, "someone mailed me a plastic skull!"

"It's not the first time you've received a weird gift from some deranged fan." Booth chuckled. Booth squinted at his alarm clock. "Bones it's two o' clock in the morning, get some rest. Can't we deal with the insane tomorrow?"

"I don't think it is from a fan. There's an engraving on the back." Temperance read the engraving to Booth.

"COME AND SEE WHERE THIS VICTIM WILL LAY FOR SHE WILL DIE IN JUST ONE DAY."

"I'll be over in a few minutes. Man, I hate lunatics!" He said as he sat up in his bed and wiped his eyes again.

"All-right." she said, and hung up the phone.

She looked at the skull on the counter. It was strange how uneasy it made her feel. She backed away from the skull and sank into an armchair to wait for her partner. She was too nervous to just sit, so she began marking the skull with some tissue markers made of erasers that she had in her bag.

Finally the intercom buzzed. She pushed the button to open the building door.

Booth took the stairs two at a time. The tone in his partner's voice had made him a little uneasy. He knocked at the door.

"It's open," Temperance called.

Booth yawned as he entered the apartment and found his partner who was hunched over the counter table placing pieces of eraser onto the plastic skull.

He studied the skull. "You know, Bones, this skull is not real! Why in the world are you putting erasers on it?" Booth questioned. "It just makes it more creepy."

Temperance picked up the skull to show her partner, "Look at the sutures, and the texture," she explained, pointing to the skull. "All the anatomical details are exactly perfect!"

"Bones, what are you getting at here?" Booth inquired intently.

Temperance answered, "Booth, this is an extremely precise replica of an actual skull!"

"Okay…." Booth said. His brow furrowed, as he looked more intently at the skull.

"The nasal arch and cheek bones indicate that a Caucasian female."

"Age?" Booth asked hunched over to take a closer look.

"Late twenties, early thirties."

"So this is what a Barbie's skull looks like." Booth grinned.

"I don't know what that means."

"Do you think that Angela can put the plastic head in the Angelator to figure out the mystery suspect?"

"Yes, of course." She answered, "By the way, this is not a Barbie."

"I'm running on two hours of sleep Bones. You woke me out of bed, I am allowed to make a joke." He pointed to the door. "Let's go" She carefully put the skull into the box and headed toward the vehicle while she speed dialed Angela, who would probably be in bed at this hour. But, she would help her. That's what she loved about her friend, always there for her.

When they arrived to the Jeffersonian, Temperance behind Booth while she carefully grasped the package to secure the safety of the evidence. "Come on Bones hurry up!" Booth insisted. She glared at him still staying her pace. "The faster we figure this is a prank, the faster I can go to bed." Booth said.

As she had assumed she was in the Angelator room with the weekly squint, the depressed Colin Fisher by her side. (Angela probably called Colin, who was working in Limbo at the time. But, most people knew he spent most of his time talking to the young Gothic janitor.) They were getting the computer ready to scan the skull. When Angela saw Temperance she came over. "How are you holding up sweetie?" Angela asked soothingly. Her hair was in a loose ponytail; her makeup put on haphazardly, small bags under her eyes, and was wearing gray sweats.

"Fine, but it would make me feel better if we found out who this who this person is. Booth wants to go back to bed." Temperance stated as she carefully pulled the skull out of the box. Angela looked stunned, "When did you this?" Angela asked pointing to the protruding erasers from the skull. "I did the tissue markers when I was waiting for Booth to come to pick me up." Temperance said. Temperance carefully handed the Skull to Angela to scan. Angela carefully pinpointed the points and put them in, and in thirty minutes time she was done. Angela smiled, "Are you ready to see our mystery subject."

"Can we hurry it up, I need to go back to Limbo." Colin complained.

"I think this is more important than to 'Gothic Dude'." Angela grinned, she pressed the button to reveal the skull on the hand-held screen before projecting it onto the large 3D monitor.

"OH MY." Angela's voice quivered.

"Angela, What's the matter?" Temperance pleaded

When Angela pressed the button to reveal the unknown suspect the whole room went silent. There was fear in the room, lots of it. Booth could only stutter three words "B.... Bones it's... you!!!" Temperance couldn't move, while she stared face to with herself. This was definitely not a prank. This was a threat.

TO BE CONTINUED . . . . . . .